What are tips and tricks? Tips and tricks are techniques that the average guy is not aware of. Generally, they are recorded by those heavy users who have found short cuts to implement something or to skirt around difficulties. Many tips and tricks are very useful if properly used. Firstly, I will cover the hosting features that will help you, as a novice, to get things done. They are not true tips and tricks but it will make you aware of what you are getting into.
Control Panel
We are using Hepsia Web Hosting Control Panel instead of cPanel - this is the first of our tips and tricks. Having used both control panels, I found Hepsia Control panel to be less complicated and much easier to use as it a point and click control panel. This is especially excellent for beginners who have never had a website before or managed a website one. It was so user friendly that I didn't even read the user manual or watch the video.
Upgrade your website hosting needs as you grow
The second of our tips and tricks is use a web hosting provider that will allow you to grow. All our website hosting plans can be upgraded as your needs grow. They can be upgraded to the next plan or just upgrade individual items like, number of hosted domains, dedicated IP addresses, memory, bandwith, ...etc and you can even migrate to a dedicated server.
There are many website hosting plans on the market and some are very cheap. Do take the time to compare our performance with theirs. Another of our tips and tricks is to do a Google Search for the host you are checking up on. For example Google for "Problems xyzhost" where xyzhost is the host your are checking up on. Checkout our page loading speed by clearing your browser cache and reloading this siteor refreshing this page ... would your readers wait 8 or more seconds for pages to load in their browser before abandoning your page and visiting another site? The information coming from the SEO developers is that page download speed is a criteria for good Google Search Engine position of your website. Does it take a 30 seconds to back up your site or an hour to backup your site?
We provide, through our principal, LiquidNet Ltd. UK, 24/7 support. It can be day time or night or even the wee hours of the morning in your country, and you will still have round the clock support Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From my experience, their response times have been between 3 minutes and 22 minutes which is extremely good. This is the third of our tips and tricks, that is have access to good and prompt technical support.
Simple Tips and Tricks
Simple tips and tricks to boost your website performance with any of the web hosting plans.
1. If you are blogging install a cache. There are many caches, as plugins, for WordPress.
2. If you are operating a forum or have huge amount of visitor traffic then go for a dedicated server.
3. Our principal, LiquidNet Ltd., UK, has many data centers around the world, USA, UK and Australia, hence your visitors experience very fast page views of your site.
4. Use WordPress SEO optimisation. We have been using SEOPressor to have our Wordpress blog optimised to rank highly in Google Search Engine. This is another of our recommended tips and tricks....Click Here!.... We used SEOpressor to improve our ranking. It is very effective. SEOpressor was developd by Daniel Tan. He covers many tips and tricks for inline SEO and offline SEO. I learned many of the tips and tricks I am using from his software, newsletters and books.
5. Limit the number of WordPress plugins to less than 10 plugins. If you have more then we suggest you deactivate the plugins you rarely use. Only activate them when you need them.
6. Upload your videos to YouTube and embed the links into your site.
7. If you have many domains to be hosted, have them hosted over several accounts - this is the most important of our tips and tricks. I had all my domains on one host account (a multiple domain and multiple sub domains account) and when my site was hacked, the hackers took down all the sites on that account. That meant I had to restore all my sites. By splitting them over several accounts, hackers have a limited access to those domains in the account they are hacking. Hackers attack your site through the software package on your site and not through the host account. Once they penetrate your site, all sites on that account are accessible to them. Worst still your Google page rank will drop if you do not restore your site quickly. I have moved all my sites to this hosting services as after the hacking my old host has ceased operations.
Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is in hot demand right now. This unassuming 7-inch Android tablet is finding its way into millions of homes worldwide. Featuring a great set of specs that represent real value for money, the Asus-manufactured device delivers quality on a budget. If you’ve been unable to resist its charms, then you might be on the lookout for some handy Nexus 7 tips.
Before we dive in you might be interested to check out our Nexus 7 review, take a look at some common Nexus 7 problems and solutions, or find some great Android tablets apps and Android tablet games. We also have a brief guide on how to take a screenshot on the Nexus 7 and a guide to fixing common Nexus 7 problems. The guide below starts out simple and the tips escalate in complexity.
How to rotate orientation
By default, your new Nexus 7 will be locked to portrait orientation. To switch to landscape just pull down the notification bar and then tap on the orientation icon next to the date. You can also unlock the orientation via Settings > Accessibility > Auto-rotate.
How to turn off system sounds
You’ll notice audio cues every time you tap on the screen of the Nexus 7, but you can turn them off. Go to Settings > Sound and uncheck the boxes next to Touch sounds and Screen lock sounds if desired.
How to turn off keyboard sounds
If you’re irritated by the sound feedback when you type on the keyboard you can always turn that off as well. Go to Settings > Language & input > Android keyboard settings and uncheck the box next to Sound on keypress.
How to use gestures with the notifications menu
There are a couple of handy gestures you can use when you pull the Notifications bar down from the top of your Nexus 7 screen. You can simply swipe them off to the right to get rid of individual notifications. You can also pinch to minimize some notifications and reverse the gesture to maximize them. If you find notifications that won’t disappear when you swipe right then you’ll need to go into the related app and check the settings menu to disable them.
How to access ‘Recent apps’
Press the button to the right of the Home button to get a pop up list of your most recently opened apps. You can tap on them to re-launch, swipe them off to the right to close them, and you can press and hold your finger on them to access more info or bring up the full app menu. The full app menu lets you choose to uninstall or clear data, among other things.
How to shop for apps
Once you have registered your Nexus 7 on your Google account, you can browse Google Play from anywhere and, as long as you are signed in, you can select apps to automatically download to your tablet. That means you can shop for new apps and games on your desktop at work, just don’t get caught doing it!
Need more storage space?
The Nexus 7 has limited storage so you should take advantage of cloud services. Start with Google Music where you can store up to 20,000 songs and stream them to your device. You can also use cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox to store all kinds of files and share them easily and wirelessly between your laptop, smartphone, and other devices.
How to watch video and streaming via DLNA
The native Android video app is unlikely to support every video file or format that you want to play on your Nexus 7, especially if you have a movie collection on your computer that you want to play on your tablet. There are quite a few apps you might consider such as MX Player or DicePlayer. You may also want to grab a DLNA app from the Google Play Store so you can wirelessly stream photos, audio, and video to and from your Nexus 7 to other DLNA devices such as your HDTV, PlayStation 3, or music system. We like Skifta because it’s super easy to use.
How to stay secure
You should go to Settings > Security and consider which precautions you want to take with your Nexus 7 carefully. You can choose a Screen lock method as a password, a pattern, face unlock, or just allow swipe to unlock. If you’re only using your Nexus 7 around the house and you don’t intend to keep anything sensitive on it then there’s no need to worry, but if you’ll be taking your tablet out and about then it’s wise to set a password. You also have the extra secure option of encrypting the data on your tablet so it requires a PIN or password when it is powered on. This is not recommended for most people though.
Installing apps from outside Google Play
There is a risk involved in installing apps from outside Google Play, but there are plenty of legitimate alternative Android app stores. You may also find that certain apps are listed as incompatible with your device, but it is still possible to install them from other sources (sometimes called sideloading). Apps are contained in packages called APK files and if you want to install them you need to go to Settings > Security > Unknown Sources and check the box. You can now download APK files from other app stores, directly from websites, or even email them or copy them across via something like Dropbox. Simply tap on the APK file on your Nexus 7 and you’ll be prompted to install with the usual information on permissions. If you do intend to do this, it’s a good idea to install a top Android security app first to prevent any malware from sneaking onto your tablet.
How to install Flash
Flash is not supported by default on the Nexus 7 or by the Chrome browser, but you can get it working. First, you’ll want to install an alternative browser, Firefox is a good choice. Then you’ll need to grab the Adobe Flash Player APK from outside of Google Play. Here’s a link to get it at the XDA Developer’s Forum. You will need the “install from unknown sources” option enabled as described above. Once Flash is installed, you should be able to play Flash content on your Nexus 7. (You may have to request the desktop version of websites; you can do this in Firefox by entering the menu then Settings > More and check the box next to Request Desktop Site.)
How to use the camera
The Nexus 7 does have a front-facing camera, but it doesn’t have a dedicated camera app. Most people use an app called Camera Launcher for Nexus 7 by MoDaCo which you’ll find in Google Play. It’s completely free.
How to use Google Now
Your friendly digital assistant will try to offer you handy information. There are a couple of quick ways to activate Google Now. Hold any of the bottom menu buttons and drag your finger to the Google logo. You can launch it straight from the lock screen as well by once again sliding your finger to the Google logo. Once Google Now is running, you can say “Google” or touch the microphone icon and then ask it questions or tell it to do things for you. There are lots of potential commands and requests like “Set alarm for 8.30” or “Search for Digital Trends” or “Is it going to rain today?” or “Navigate to Boda Bar in Edinburgh.” You can find a good list of potential Google Now voice commands at XDA Developer’s Forum.
How to disable pre-installed apps
Every device comes with apps pre-installed that you may not want, and if you don’t intend to use them then they could be unnecessarily draining your battery. You can’t uninstall them, but you can ‘disable’ them. Go to Settings > Apps and swipe to the All tab to find the app you want to disable. Tap on the app, select ‘disable,’ then click OK. The app will hibernate and the icon will be removed from your home screen and the app drawer. If you find that you want to re-activate it for any reason, just go back to Settings > Apps, swipe to All, then scroll to the bottom to find disabled apps.
More Nexus 7 tips
If you want to find more basic Nexus 7 tips, then you should go to Google Play and search for the Nexus 7 Guidebook by Google in Play Books. It’s completely free and worth a look. If you have any more useful Nexus 7 tricks or handy tips of your own to suggest then please post a comment and share them.
This guide lists some tips and tricks that you can use with the Dell XPS, Inspiron, Latitude and Studio line of products such as M1210, M1330, M1410, M1530, M1730, and M2010 models notebook to give you a richer experience. I got my Dell XPS M1210 from Dell Singapore, so configurations may slightly vary. Many of these tips can also be applied to other laptop brands such as HP, Lenovo, Acer, Gateway, Sony, etc.
A Mini Review of my Dell XPS M1210
Good Things
Star Performer
Dedicated buttons for music playback that can be used with Winamp (see tip below)
Batteries can last up to 6 hours with Internet usage and low brightness using 9 cell
Quiet operation with Quiet Acoustics mode
Excellent quality display, although reflections can get in the way with low brightness
Excellent Tech Support, never had to wait for more than 1 minute for my calls to be answered
180 Degree Rotatory WebCam (Actual about 100, since the top part is blocked)
7200rpm HDD customizability support
Huge Customizability Options when purchasing (who needs 4GB RAM anyway?)
MediaDirect
A few things that surprised me
It is Heavy and Thick (with a 9 cell and the Geforce Go 7400, the weight comes to 2.4kg)
The built-in speakers >suck.
The screen is too bright even at the lowest level (when all the lights are off)
MediaDirect is actually a variation of Windows XP. It does not save any power. I expected it to be a one-button touch to play media. Well, it is, but not the battery power saver kind I expected.
There are no protective covers for the once-in-a-while used VGA port.
The Media Buttons are not exactly easy to press, but then, it could be because they were meant to be like that
The Webcam (camera) sucks power even if you are not using it. Dell Support says that this is by design. You will notice that it gets noticeably warm even though its not used. BIG waste of battery.
The laptop gets hot and fans spin even under light usage (just surfing web). No amount of meddling with the clock speed could stop the fans from spinning up every once and then.
Not able to underclock the graphics card to save power. The nVidia applet keeps telling me that tests fail when I try to apply the settings.
"Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition" .. the software edition was added later so early birds who opted for it were surprised to find that it came with a Sigmatel sound card instead of a Creative one.
Tips to Maximize your Dell Laptop Portable's Performance
All downloads mentioned are free!
Monitor temperatures and Control Fan Speeds (For Dell laptops)
Download I8kfanGUI. You can view all temperatures, including CPU, RAM, chipset, hard disk and even the fan speed. Heck, you can also increase/decrease the fan speed and set it blasting away at full speed!
Speed up loading times
Defrag your hard disk regularly. Disable unnecessary services (run > services.msc), items in Startup folder and items set to auto run (run > msconfig) on Windows startup.
Force the CPU to work slower if you don't need the power
Use SpeedSwitchXpto force the CPU to a lower speed to conserve power, or force to high speed for highest performance. It can even automatically switch depending on whether battery or direct AC is being used!
Use the latest BIOS version available
As of this writing, the latest for XPS M1210 is A08 (or A07 if it causes problems) for M1210. REMEMBER TO USE AC POWER with BATTERY as any hiccups during the flashing process can render your laptop unbootable!
Enable Performance Mode in BIOS
Go to BIOS Setup, Performance, enable Performance mode for HDD Acoustics. Note that this will cause the HDD to be noisier, so you will need to decide if performance or noise is more important to you.
Face the Reality (For Dell XPS M1210 laptops)
Even though it claims to be a 256MB Geforce Go 7400, in reality, it is only 64MB dedicated, with the rest shared from the main memory pool. That is the meaning behind TurboCache. Just FYI.
Reformat, Reinstall and Enjoy a Ad-Free Installation
Dig out the Windows CD that came with the laptop and reinstall the operating system, deleting all partitions (this will also destroyMediaDirect, recovery partitions and all data on the hard disk including documents and programs that came pre-installed. If you want to save the recovery partition, simply format the drive that Windows is on using the Windows Setup CD).
Of course, you will need to reinstall all drivers and all necessary applications again - you have the CDs don't you? But now you have a choice on what you want to install as new laptops are known to come with many unnecessary software.
If you need MediaDirect functionality, you will need to leave unallocated space of 1.5GB for the MediaDirect files, which you can install from the Dell MediaDirect Repair CD. Have the technical support on the phone before installing Windows if you are not sure how to proceed.
Enhance the fonts of your display (for XP users)
Use ClearType tuner to smooth the fonts of your display. Works wonders when surfing the net!
Use the display at its native resolution
Use your display at the optimum resolution - 1280 x 800 (for XPS M1210 users) - for the best quality. Try to play games at this resolution, as this is the native resolution for this LCD. Any lower, and it will be scaled to fit the LCD and image quality suffers considerably.
If you don't want the image to be stretch, this can be disabled in the BIOS setup. Instead, non-native resolution images will be displayed with black borders on the sides.
Enable Media Buttons to use in Winamp
Media buttons not working with Winamp? Download this plugin! UPDATE: Simply enabling Global Hot Keys in Winamp Preferences already work. Thanks to Shaun from the comments below.
Control your laptop from your desktop. Use TeamViewer and you can even control your desktop from your laptop (whenever there is Internet). Alternatively, UltraVNC is another 100% open source tool.
Automatically Shut Down Your Laptop at a pre-defined time
Have your laptop shutdown at a specified time! Get Switch Off and you can force all applications to close down. Great if you like playing videos/music when sleeping or watching DVDs.
Make use of your laptop's gaming powers!
Yearning for some shooting actions? Make good use of your Geforce card and download Unreal Tournament 2004. Or if you have a more capable system, try Race Driver GRID. All unlimited demo versions free!
Reduce the Gamma For A Vibrant Display (for nVidia cards only)
Access the NVIDIA Control Panel by right-clicking anywhere on the desktop and clicking it. Go to "Adjust desktop color settings". Drag the Gamma slider to the most left. Like it? Hit Apply and enjoy! If not, just click Restore Defaults at the top and settings will be restored.
Note that doing this will reduce image details and make images appear darker as well. Personally, I switch it to normal when playing games, viewing lots of photos or watching videos.
Use the latest drivers for your portable Download the latest XP/Vista chipset, audio, nVidia or intel graphics drivers, etc all here. Choose to enter your service tag, enter your service tag and you are presented with the list of latest drivers. NOTE: The latest version of the nVidia driver for Geforce 7200 for my XPS M1210 actually increased battery power by 25%. It also gave many problems. See update below. Use the driver that came in your Dell CD.
Tips to Minimize your Notebook's Power Usage
All downloads mentioned are free!
Disable anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall when not connected to a wireless network
This will save some CPU usage and make your system respond faster. Be forewarned, if you connect to any wireless network, you should enable them back.
Also,if you are doing risky activities such as using a friend's thumb drive or installing a program from dubious sources, be sure to enable your anti-virus
Defrag your hard disk
As mentioned above, defrag saves the hard disk from going all over the place to retrieve a file. When defragging, use AC power as it is a hard disk throttling process.
Disable unneeded programs from starting up
Using Start > Run > msconfig. Some programs may be essential, but most others just take up memory and CPU cycles; i.e. more power
Yet another more powerful utility is AutoRuns. Autoruns allows you to explore in more places where a program may start up, such as Services (Start > Run > services.msc).
Remember, if you are unsure, Google. Don't just disable programs. Disabling programs may cause some features to not work. One example is Bluetooth. I disabled the Service from starting up automatically. The tradeoff is that I had to manually create shortcuts in the start menu to load the required software when Bluetooth needs to be used.
Disable and/or remove hardware devices that you don't need
Except for the webcam - it sucks power even if you disable it in Device Manager. You can manually remove the DVD-ROM (or writer) to lighten the laptop as well as to save a bit of power there.
You can disable the following devices that you don't use in Device Manager (Start, Control Panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager)
DVD-RW drive (manually remove it to lighten the laptop and to completely cut the power connection)
Bluetooth devices
Modem
Network card
USB ports
However, I can't assure you that disabling the devices saves considerable battery power. The best way is to physically disconnect it from the system, which is what I recommend for the DVD drive. The other devices are built-in and are harder to physically remove.
Stand by the system rather than using Hibernate or Shut Down
If you are very likely to use the system again in the next 3 hours, I would suggest to put the system in standby mode. While in standby mode, only the following devices are turned on
CPU (in a very low power state)
Memory
Power LED indicator
That is all to the best of my knowledge. No hard disk spins. No fans. LCD is turned off. Booting up your system requires lots of CPU and hard disk activity. By the way, a quick shortcut for XPS M1210 to standby is to hit the Fn and Esc keys on your keyboard
Switch off Wireless and Bluetooth when not needed
XPS M1330 Wireless Switch (1) indicates the wireless switch, (2) is LED indicator, while (3) is Wi-Fi Catcher
The above image shows the Dell XPS m1330 wireless switch on the right side towards the front. Similar switches exist for the other laptop models. Simply push the switch to the off position and the power to the wireless card will be cut off.
Enable PowerMizer (for nVidia card owners)
Access the NVIDIA Control Panel by right-clicking anywhere on the desktop and clicking it. Click 'Change PowerMizer settings' under Mobile. Make sure PowerMizer is enabled as well as 'Extend battery charge by using less power for the display'. This will reduce refresh rate to 50Hz and MAY cause problems with games or 3D graphics applications but does extend battery life if you don't use such applications.
Standard Stuff That Doesn't Need to be Said (Or has been mentioned above)
Run minimal programs. For example, when you are done with Outlook, close it. Don't minimize it to the system tray or taskbar.
Use SpeedSwitchXPto force throttle the CPU to the lowest speed when on battery. Relying on Intel's automatic SpeedStep may cause the CPU to go to full speed without you knowing and taking up additional power.
Avoid using CPU intensive applications like games and encoding tasks when running on batteries.
Use the lowest LCD brightness where possible. When display is not needed, either close the lid or set SpeedswitchXP to switch off the display in one minute. Or use MonOff to manually trigger the LCD to be switched off.
Problems With My Dell XPS M1210 So Far
UPDATE 12 May 2007 - Random Problems Having major problems with the Dell Logitech QuickCam that is integrated into the laptop. Ever since I have got this laptop, I have had these intermittent problems:
gets stuck with a black lit screen after the Windows XP logo shows with a blinking activity LED
refuses to show the screen after closing and opening the lid.
activating the webcam can freeze the whole system (with new webcam drivers)
sound and usb does not work sometimes on booting up (with new webcam drivers)
After countless power off's, installing of logitech software and updating drivers, I have just disabled and removed the webcam device in Device Manager. As of now, the first and last two issues are not there. Will update this section on how it goes with the 2nd issue. UPDATE 25 May 2007 - Webcam Found out that it was a webcam problem after installing XP to the second partition and the problem persisted. Dell offered to replace the webcam for me and it has been working properly for now. I wonder whether the time I use this laptop affects the life of the webcam, since the webcam is always-on whenever the laptop is on. UPDATE 27 Jan 2008 - 99% CPU Usage New problems! The system boots up with the System process at 99% CPU usage. This does not occur if I switch off the wireless before powering on. Even enabling the wireless after switching on the laptop brings the System process to 100 percent. Does not always happen though. Disabling the webcam seems to be resolving the issue for the past 3 days. Monitoring... UPDATE 31 Jan 2008 - Random Hanging The problem came back! Even when the webcam is disabled. Now I disabled the "Dell Wireless 355 Module with Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR Technology" in Device Manager and the problem seems to be gone again. Monitoring... UPDATE 15 Apr 2008 - Webcam Torture Restarting the laptop is a risk. Why? Everytime the XP progress bar disappears and just before it switches the LCD resolution, about 75% of the time, it will hang there. Tried replacing the webcam, same result. Disabled Logitech Webcam and Quickcam Microphone. Same result. Living with it for now, now rarely shutting down my laptop and leaving it on stand by. UPDATE 8 May 2008 - Bluetooth Culprit Narrowed it down to either a rusty bluetooth module (the left side where the screw is, is rusted) or a wireless switch that turns itself on depending on the stable environment. Dell replaced/fixed both without much questions. Now the system is working fine and stable. UPDATE 9 July 2008 - No Stereo Mix It has been rumored(confirmed with my XPS M1210) that Dell laptops using the Sigma audio chipset (that includes XPS models) are missing a "Stereo Mix" aka as "What You Hear" recording source so users are not able to record whatever that is coming out of the speakers due to RIAA influence. Also, another rumor is that Dell’s XPS M1330 and M1530 laptops using the Geforce 8x line of mobile chipsets have a high rate of failure. UPDATE 3 October 2009 - VGA output to projector fails Recently, I had been having problems outputting the display to an external projector with my XPS M1210. The funny thing is, when I went back home and tried it on a CRT display, it worked without any problems. Perplexed, I thought it is the motherboard problem and Dell replaced it for me without much questions. The problem still persisted. Morever, I noticed the battery usage is much faster than before (3 hours vs 5.5 hours on 9 cell), with the fan almost always spinning. Today, with the goal of getting to the bottom of this problem, I did some troubleshooting with the projector. Long story short, turns out that the latest nVidia Geforce Go 7400 driver was the cause. Installing the nVidia driver from my Dell CD solved the issue, and the fan started spinning less frequently. A case where updating drivers can make things go wrong. For those having this problem, the driver I used can be downloaded from Dell's site here (or from our site here). Note that this is ONLY for XPS M1210 with Geforce Go 7400 cards. And for those having a display refresh rate stuck to 50Hz and games like Unreal Tournament 2004 spewing errors on startup, this driver will also solve that issue. Just uncheck ''extend battery charge by using less power for the display'', under 'Mobile' > 'Change PowerMizer settings' in the nVidia Control Panel once this is installed and you're good to go. UPDATE 24 November 2009 - Electric Shocks from Webcam and Back cover when powered via AC Despite multiple replacements of the Logitech webcam and back cover, I still get electric shocks when touching the back of the LCD, especially the back of the webcam. This happens only when connected to a direct power source. The laptop is now out of warranty, but even if it was, I would not have asked for repairs as this has been done many times. The issue has been brought up to Dell multiple times and each time they would replace the webcam or back cover. However, the issue still exists. Living with it for now... UPDATE 20 July 2010 - Dell Sony DVD-RW DW-Q58A Firmware Recently I bought some Verbatim 16x DVD-Rs. However, Nero reported that it can burn data at only at 2X. This was a disappointment as the drive should at least support 4X. So I Googled around and long story short, I flashed the drive's firmware to an unofficial UYS4from the current version of UDS1 without backing up. What happened was that the drive now refused to burn the DVD. Nero showed that the disc can only be burnt at 1X but attempting to burn even at that speed fails with a "illegal disc" error. With more Googling for about two hours, I managed to locate a backup firmware from this thread [ mirror ] and reflashed the DVD writer back to UDS1 using MTKFLASH 1.83 for DOS. For those of you looking for UDS2 firmware, it can be gotten from Dell's website here. It still did not work for me at burning the 16X Verbitim media though but it's better than not being able to burn at all.
Simplicity rules! It makes a websites look sleek, reduce nagivation confusion and it helps achieving desired goals and results (I.e., more signups, subscribers and sales). But too often it seems elusive to simplify your website design. No matter how hard you try, you can’t make your work look like Apple’s. So what does a website designer really needs to do? Fret not, for there are 5 starting points to simplify your website design.
A simple website design shouldn’t be a daunting all-or-nothing ordeal – you can simplify your design by taking small steps. Simple tasks like putting the focus only on the essential elements of your website, getting rid of the unnecessary, reducing the number of pages your site has, getting more content above the fold, and limiting the number of colors you use. You can always fine-tune and improve your simple design, but the important thing here is to get started. Ready to start simplifying your website design? Awesome. Without further ado, here are 5 starting points to simplify your website design.
1. Focus Only On Essential Elements
This first step probably seems forehead-slapping obvious: of courseI should put the focus on the essential elements in my site, what am I, an idiot?But a surprising number of websites fail to achieve this and the result is a big mess of important and unimportant elements spewed onto a page. I’m as guilty of doing this in the past as anybody. It’s hard to be objective and prioritize what’s important or not, because everything seems essential. If you want your website design to be simpler, identify what needs to be focus, just like with any good visual design or piece of art. And that means putting the focus only on the essential elements.
Use the 80-20 rule
What 20% of what’s on a page gives 80% of the value and content that people go there for? It could be the copy, some social proof (review snippets, testimonials, media badges), and a signup form or call-to-action button, for example. That’s the 20% right there. On your website, as well as on each individual page, focus on displaying only the 20% of site elements that are delivering 80% of that usefulness. This isn’t a technical step but a principle that you can use as your guide to simplify your website design constantly. The 80-20 rule will help simplify your website design by pushing you to trim your site elements down to the essentials. What’s really cool is that the 80-20 rule can also help increase your desired results that you hope to achieve on your website. For example, an increased conversion rate in visitors subscribing, signing up, or buying. How? You’re making it so there are less distractions and things for visitors to click on to leave the page. As we all know, we’re always looking for an excuse not to purchase something at the final step, and any reason to navigate away is a good one. Reduce those reasons and click-away options with the 80-20 rule.
2. Get Rid of All Unnecessary Elements
We’re continuing with the 80-20 rule here. Now that you’ve identified the 20% of website elements that will get you 80% of your desired results, it’s time to get rid of all unnecessary elements. In other words, the 80% of website elements that will get you only 20% of results. It could be social media sharing widgets, sidebar elements, blog post meta details (date, time, author, number of comments, etc), or links in the footer (this is especially a huge culprit a lot of the times, particularly when the visitor is looking for the aforementioned excuse to navigate away from the page).
3. Reduce the Number of Pages
A large part of simplifying your website design is to simply have fewer places to explore and click around. You can do that by trimming the page count.Either get rid of unnecessary pages that deep down inside you know aren’t needed, or at the very least, fuse multiple pages into one. I mean, you don’t really need to separate "about the site" and "about me" pages. Firstly, get in the mindset of the visitor – if you were to arrive on your website, what are the key things would you want to do? For instance find out what your stuff is about? Or contact you? Next, make sure that your pages facilitate what is necessary and nothing more. Don’t keep unnecessary pages on your website because you think you need to, or because other websites have them. When you reduce the number of pages on your website, not only it is easier for your visitors to focus on your content because there’s less places to click around, but your navigation menu is simpler too. We’ve all been on websites with too many nav menu items. We don’t know where to start navigating because we get overwhelmed by the choices. And when we get overwhelmed by being presented with too many choices, we go with choosing nothing. By having as few nav menu items as possible, you make your website not only simpler but more inviting and friendlier to visitors.
4. Get More Content Above the Fold
Studies have shown that a majority of people spend most of their time above the fold on web pages (what shows up on the screen without scrolling down). So if you want to increase the effectiveness of your website, have the main content and call-to-action elements above the fold. You can do something as simple as shortening the header height if you have a logo and a navigation menu at the top of your website. This involves nothing more than changing the header’s "height" value in your stylesheet (typically style.css or stylesheet.css). Also, see if a sign-up form or button is below the fold. Move that element higher up in the page so it’s the first thing a visitor sees. After all, that is your desired call-to-action of the visitor, so decrease the work needed to get to it (ie. scrolling).
5. Limit Your Color Scheme
It’s easy to get carried away with colors. Why settle on 2 or 3 colors when you can have 12 or 13? But in order to simplify your website design visually, you need to limit your color scheme. When in doubt, use fewer colors. It’ll vary based on your design of course, but try sticking with no more than 2 or 3 colors to start off. If you need more subtlety and texture to your visual design, use shades of the same color – light blue for the background and darker blue for header and menu items. I’m as guilty as anyone with getting wild with colors in the past. I’ll add this color, then another, and another – and before I know it, it looks like a rainbow diarrhea all over my website. You can have your website constructively simplified, but if the colors distract the eyes when you look at it rather than complimenting the content, then all that effort was for naught. So use fewer colors with your website design instead.
Targeting your audience with your design is not only possible, but also recommended. Some might not think it’s important, but I am sure all of you have some favourite websites that you visit from time to time, but because of their good design, you simply can’t stay away from them for long. Those kind of sites are what we are going to talk about today. Why? Because you can have one too if you really want to – all you need is a bit of marketing knowledge, a good strategy and some design skills and you’re pretty much there. Today we will talk about how to spot your real target audience. This is the first major step in your strategy and the most important. If you fail at this, nothing else will fall into place. Today’s article will also be about usability and web interfaces, but we will get into details further down the road.
Who is your audience?
There is no way you’ll be able to fine tune your design in order to better fit your visitors if you have no idea who those visitors are. Understanding users is not easy, but it gets easier when you use tools such as Google Analytics to see their behaviour. This is a key tool to be used in order to spot things they are not pleased with or things they enjoy. Finding out what your visitors look for on your webpage can also be done by looking at the keyword search in your analytics dashboard. You can see in this panel exactly what they’re searching for, and using this information you can find out what kind of people they are. Image by Spiderpops
You can also get into your readers’ minds by asking them questions. If you have a blog, then interacting with them should already be a part of your daily routine. There is a lot of valuable information you can get and this is really the best place to start. Ask questions, get their feedback, get their opinions about different things. This way you might not only find out who they are, but also find out ways to solve issues you have on your blog or website that you were unaware of. Question them about what exactly it is they like about your site and why do they come back and don’t forget to ask about improvements they might approve of. And if you really are into this “get to know your audience better,” but don’t know how to do it, then allow a company or a freelancer to do it. There are people out there who do this for a living and for a modest fee you can get somebody to do it for you.
The layout
Now we get to the more interesting things. The layout is the first thing that pops into my mind when I look at different unsuccessful blogs. And the ads. The ads kill me. How many columns you have or the image slider you use or whether you don’t even include a footer does not matter too much – if you know that is the style that fits you. But the mix of content, images and ads are an instant killer for many in the web industry, but also for the simple readers, who do not understand how a website is runs. Yes, you need some money to run your blog and generating revenues through ads is not easy, so the logic move would be to insert as many ads as you can and place them in key positions. No! The logical solution would be to leave them out. For $4 per month or even less (or whatever minimal fee you get) it is not worth annoying your loyal readers. Compromising the design with poor ad placement is a mistake many rookies out there do and this will never bring them huge revenue nor an increased number of readers. In case you really want to get some ad revenues, then track the ones that work best for you and leave the others out. Less ads will also mean visitors will not be distracted so much, so now they can focus on what is really important: your content. That’s what they came there for, give it to them! Another annoying thing is to try tricking your readers into clicking your ads. You can see above a huge Romanian tabloid which does that. Above the fold you can not see any of the content (just the navigation) – the rest is advertising. If for one second I feel they try to push me into clicking their ads (which they do, and which I feel), I will never return (which I don’t). It is as simple as that. And yes, here’s only me thinking like that. But out there must be some other tens of thousands who think like me. But if a huge tabloid can afford losing so many readers, the questions still remains: can your website afford it too?
Typography
I wrote an article few months ago mentioning that although people could read long before we had computers, typography was overseen until 5-6 years ago, when it became a trend to work on it. If you ignore it now, it can damage you and your website. The reason behind Amazon’s Kindle products being so popular is the fact that they focus a lot on the reading experience – fonts, size, line height, spacing, light and so on. When you get the Kindle, you can’t wait to start reading a book just because it is indeed a pleasure to do it while using the tremendous device. If you think the web is much more different than reading a book, you are mistaken. Typography is as important on the web nowadays at it is in print. Actually, it is much more important. If you bought a book with bad typography, you might end up reading it anyway because you spent money on it or because you really are interested in the subject. If a website has bad typography, you will just exit off it and find the same information somewhere else – this is the internet of 2012, anything can be found out there. Updating your fonts and general look of the text is so much easier to do now than 10 years ago, with the bunch load of software support we have at our disposal, such as CSS3 or the capability of embedding fonts. Don’t overlook typography, it is a huge setback. You have no idea how much line spacing can mean, even for the most basic font out there. Try it, go now on your website and increase the line-spacing to 1.5 of the font size. You will be amazed how a three-second tweak will make your website look like. And then imagine, if you did that with a basic font, how much can you do actually with a beautiful typeface? You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on typefaces just to see they don’t fit your website. Adjust the one that you have now. Play with line height, spacing (both between words and letters) and font size. These things are so basic and can do so much – it is incredible how many people choose to ignore them. If you are tired of your default font, you don’t necessarily need to spend money on a premium one. Google Fonts offers lots of beautiful typefaces which can be incorporated with a CSS property called @font-face. All the fonts offered by Google’s web app are free, so there is no excuse for not playing with them for a while. You might also want to check Adobe Web Fonts. HierarchyThis is another big one and has to do a lot with typography and font sizes. If you quickly scan this article, you will notice how fast you can get an overview of what I wrote about. You don’t need to read it. In less than 10 seconds you can already spot the main topic and what I covered, then you can decide if the article is worth reading or not. This has a lot to do with hierarchy and how we, at 1stwebdesigner, work with the headings. Offtopic: Working with the headings the right way will also help your website rank better in search engines, because the keywords in the headlines are very important and help search engines find out about the content of the article (just like it helps you). If headings are not normally something you use, get in the habit of doing it. Simply using the <h1> to <h6> tags will do a lot both for your content and readers.
The first impression
You know the saying: “There’s no second chance to make a first impression”. True in dating, true on the web, although in dating you might get a shot at a second date. On the web you will not get clicked on a second time if the first impression is bad. Let me ask you something. From the 10-15 totally new websites you visited today, in a matter of two seconds, how many of them can you remember? Most surely no more than 2. From the approximate 500 ads you saw today on the web, street, in the bus and in the shops, how many of them you remember? Most definitely not more than 5. This is because only few manage to create powerful emotions into you at the first glance.
Designs creating a powerful emotion are always easier to remember.
Your page should make it easy for visitors to find what they want. It should combine both usability and good interaction. Not more of one than the other. A book has a table of contents. IKEA has a map of the shop. A website has the home page, which is a top-level overview of the website and its content. Don’t make them scroll too much to find information, always keep in mind the “three click rule“. It is very easy to find out how good your home page works by checking the statistics in Google Analytics. If the exit or bounce rate is too high, then you must be doing something wrong. You need to be better at guiding your users to the right content.
Interacting
If you have a blog or a website, it is very likely for people to want to comment there. People have opinions and they do not love anything more than sharing them. But you still need to check on those from time to time, so they will not turn into a distraction. First you have the spammers, then you have the haters. Deal with spammers the way all of us do: no pity. Use plugins and moderation to fight it and do not allow it, as it will distract your readers. Adding a Captcha is something most of us do and it works just fine.
Graphics
If you wish to “break the silence” and make your content more appealing by including graphics, this is OK. You should probably have at least an image per each post, depending on how long it is. An image can set the tone for the article and take the focus out of the black and white chunk of text. Only use images that are free and do not use a lot of time to customize them. They are not SO important. If you can, break the content every 4 to 6 paragraphs with an image (in case the article is longer). It will allow people to rest their eyes. Offtopic: we get back to SEO for a moment here. Always add meta descriptions to your images, as it helps search engines very much.
Good example of how we break large chunks of text here at 1WD.
Social Media
By embedding social media into your website you can shoot two rabbits with the same bullet. You can make your content easier to read and you can make it easier to share. Allowing comments on different social media platforms will improve the way you interact with your readers. It is much easier to engage them on Facebook than it is to do it on your own blog. In regards with sharing the content, there are lots of plugins out there for WordPress and other platforms which make it easy for your readers to share your articles. There’s no prize for guessing how that could help you…
Make it responsive
I can’t stress enough about how important it is to have a responsive layout. People read on the go now, they are not always in front of their computer. I read books in the bus, using the Kindle app for the iPhone. Imagine how hard it would be if the layout wouldn’t fit my small device. You can see in Google Analytics how many people visit your blog or website from a mobile device. Make amends if you need to, take action! Create a responsive layout, so that I can read your blog whenever I am waiting for the bus.
Conclusion
To work on the design and usability of your website takes time – or at least improving these two takes time. But you simply need to be willing to do it, because there are others out there who do it constantly – and you like it or not, they are the ones getting the readers that maybe you deserve. So if you feel like you want to get a grip of them, at least now you know where to start from. Go out there and improve your website by making these few tweaks and you will see that your readers will be happier and will return more often.
Listing the Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Web Host is sort of like being asked to list the Top 10 Tips for Choosing a spouse or life partner. Some would even say it is more important, since without a good Web Host, one's business will surely suffer; and if one's business suffers, one's income decreases; and if one's income decreases, well, you get the picture. I just hope the 11th Tip does not turn out to be the "deal-breaker" for you. (Just kidding.)
As usual, care, caution and curiosity are advised. Do not be too quick to jump - at a web host or a potential partner! - and shop around for the one that has as many of the best qualities that you are looking for as possible, at a price you can afford, of course.
One phrase above should be emphasized: that you are looking for. Everyone has different needs and requirements, so you must select one from among the thousands out there that meets your needs on a number of levels, be it speed, bandwidth, support and service; or, in the human realm, intelligence, humor, support, and service - to mention but a few important vital statistics.
Please note that this article concerns Tips for Choosing a Web Host and is a non-technical introduction for those about to look for a Web Host for the first time. Our article on Choosing the Right Web Host for Your Site addresses the more specific technical needs of those looking for the best host for their site.
Alas, we must start our list somewhere, so it might as well be with that all-important category in many peoples' lives, like it or not: Shopping. First of all, we must know where to look before we can decide what to buy, right? We must also know what is out there. And so, without further ado Tip #1: Look Around.
Surf the Net. Search the Web. Ask around. Get a feel for the playing field, what's out there, what's available, what are the general specs and parameters? Well, that can be quite confusing for the first-timer - like looking for a needle in the Golden Triangle. Hence, the presence of, and need for, Web Hosting Directories. (Just because HostSearch happens to be a Web Hosting Directory does not mean that is why this happens to be Tip #1, by the way! I am an objective writer, totally unbiased in all things!)
However, that said, you have found your way here, so you're obviously on the right track already! Hosting Directories will save you loads of time and frustration, because the good ones have already done most of the work for you. Hundreds, if not thousands, of web hosts will be listed, described, and compared on a good Hosting Directory. Articles and reviews will be available, and you will be able to search for the specific web hosts that meet your personal criteria. This leads us to Tip #2: Determine Your Needs.
Everyone has different needs. You should decide what yours are before contacting any Web Hosts. Are you looking for a host for your business or simply a place to put up a personal homepage? Will a free service suffice or do you need a dedicated server? (Please see our articles on Choosing the Right Web Host for Your Site.) How much traffic do you expect and how much storage space will you need? What other options will you need? Once you start looking around, you will quickly learn what options are available and which ones you will need. There are a number of excellent Forums around you may wish to visit. Make a list of your requirements so that you are prepared when it comes time to question potential Web Hosts.
Tip #3: Make a Short List.
Use the Web Hosting Directories, Search Engines, and any referrals you can get from friends and colleagues to make a short list of possible Web Hosts that you are considering. You can add to this list as you go along, but at least you will have a something to work with as you continue your quest for your ideal web hosting partner; and believe me, they will be more of a partner in your business than you can possibly anticipate. Which is why you should take your time, do your homework, and be prepared before engaging a salesperson.
Tip #4: Search for Integrity.
Now that you have a working short list of Web Hosts, go to their sites and, again, look around - closely this time. See how you feel in the interface they are presenting to the world. Are you comfortable there? It is easy to find your way around and access the information you are looking for? Or is the interface clumsy and poorly designed?
While you are visiting these sites, read their fine print. Use a magnifying glass if necessary and see what they have to say about the all-important issues of reliability and refunds. A Web Host is worth nothing if it is not up virtually all the time serving your pages to prospective visitors to your site; by "virtually" we're talking 99% - 99.5% uptime, the actual time the host is functional.
The web host should provide some sort of refund - either a pro-rated refund or a discount - if it falls below their stated figure. Find out what you must do to get that refund; specifically, what sort of documentation or proof must you provide, or will they freely admit to the downtimes and give you the appropriate credit? Some hosts are actually very good with this. Others are not. And there are ways to monitor their performance as well, which you can learn about through a little additional research. [Note to HostSearch: Future article perhaps.]
Find out what kind of trial periods, if any, they offer, and exactly what refunds they will give you in the event you are not satisfied. That is, do they refund all payments you have given them? Or only monthly fees, but not setup fees, etc. Take some time to read these details - you may be glad you did when things do not work out as rosy as promised.
Tip #5: Check the Specs.
Now, your short list should be getting even shorter. It is time to check out what packages are available and what it costs for the specs you are looking for. Examine and evaluate their different packages, and you will soon see that many are grouped according to similar criteria.
Ask yourself not only what you really need right now, but what you might need later as your business and website grows. For example, you may not need e-commerce today, but what about tomorrow? How "scalable" are their services? That is, how easy will it be for you to upgrade your package as your needs and requirements change?
How much disk space do you need? Most average websites actually use less than 5MB of web space, so there is no point in choosing a package that offers 200MB or 500MB, or especially "unlimited disk space." In fact, when you see the phrase "unlimited disk space," cross the host off your short list - they are insulting your intelligence and preying on those who are impressed by big numbers. They would go out of business tomorrow if this offer were true.
Other specs and options you need to look at and compare are the number of POP3 mail accounts and aliases they offer and what kind of access they will allow you, and how. Most servers have some form of Domain or Admin Control Panel for you to use to administer your account. Check theirs out and see if you understand it and feel comfortable with it. Other more technical features you need to be aware of include FTP, CGI-BIN access, SSI, .htaccess, telnet, crontabs, and PHP. (We discuss these in more detail in our article on Choosing the Right Web Host for Your Site.)
Tip #6: Check Them Out.
Now that you have narrowed down your list to a number of contenders, it is time to see what others have to say about them; and who better to ask first than current users of their services. Most reputable hosting services will have a partial client list of companies that use them. If they don't ask the Web Host for them in your Test Email (described below). Contact them and ask if they are satisfied with the services provided. Be sure to ask about any problems these clients may have had with them, if the host has been down much in the past, how their customer service and technical support is, and if they would recommend them to you.
While you're at it, consider the type of clients this host has. One important question to note to ask Web Hosts is if they are hosting any Adult Sites. These sites often use up substantial server resources, and you do not want to be sharing a server with any bandwidth hogs. In fact, if your company size and budget warrants it, you should look into getting your own dedicated server.
Most Web Hosts are not stupid enough to list their unhappy (former) customers in their client lists. So it is important that you take the initiative to explore whatever dark sides these hosts may be trying to hide. This is not all that difficult given the resources available on the Web today.
A good starting to browse, pick up tips, and ask questions is the newsgroup http://allmyfaqs.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AWW_FAQ/Edited. Like many newsgroups, you will need to separate the wheat from the chaff, but it is a good place to look around, get the lay of the land, and ask a few questions.
Also be sure to check the Web Hosting Directories and guides, which often have forums, reviews of hosting companies, and even blacklists. You could save yourself a world of grief by checking these out before forking anything out.
Tip #7: Assess Service & Support.
This is where the rubber meets the road. This is what can make or break a Web Host. This is the contact point between Us and Them. Funny thing, then, that so many Web Hosts apparently pay so little attention to Customer Service and Technical Support.
However, it is not really as "funny" as it would appear on the surface. For it takes a truly professional, committed company to invest the funds necessary to establish and maintain high quality support departments. Which is why it is one of the best avenues you can take to assess a prospective web host.
Unfortunately, there will be times, hopefully less rather than more, that you will need accessible, efficient, and personal technical and customer support. So add this to your list of questions for your email, look around their sites for contact points, and see what their Online Help Files look like. You should be able to judge whether a company cares about their relationship with you, or are they simply trying to dodge and avoid you by making any contact with them all but impossible. We will be testing them further in the next tip, Tip #8: Send Them a Test Email.
Use the list you have made to write an email to your prospective web hosts. This will be useful in several ways. First, it will help you define and articulate your needs, so that by the time you have finished the email, you will have a better idea of what you are actually looking for. Second, your email will be very useful in assessing the different Web Hosts' level of Customer Service. (See our articles on Choosing the Right Web Host for Your Site.) Although their Sales Departments may respond more quickly than their Technical Support people, at least you can eliminate those hosts that do not even bother to respond to your inquiry. (For more details, see our article, A Must-Send Email for Serious Web Host Shoppers".)
It seems all too many Web Hosts have more customers than they know what to do with, at least judging by the slowness or complete absence of responses to inquiries and requests for assistance. Be that as it may, there are those out there who do want your business, and are willing to take the time necessary to build working relationships with their clients. Obviously, these are the ones that deserve your business, and they are well worth seeking out. Send your test email to them and see which among them actually wants and deserves your business and hard-earned money.
Finally, just because a host says that it has 24/7 customer support does not mean that it really offers that level of support. Test them out by sending your email after hours or on a Saturday afternoon to see how long it actually does take them to respond. In addition to the speed of their responses, judge the quality, competence and care taken in their responses to you. Test them even further by demanding that they assign a real person with an actual name and email to administer your account, so that his person will be familiar with your site and any problems it may have. This will do wonders for the Web Hosts' accountability and sense of responsibility.
Tip #9: Look to the Bottom Line.
After looking over your list of criteria, you may decide that you need all or most of the features you have written down. The price, however, might convince you to shoot somewhat lower. If the web host has scalable packages, you can always upgrade to those other features later. Choose a host that offers you most of what you need at the most reasonable price, and with options to upgrade later for reasonable rates.
When looking at prices, bear in mind those old clichs "You get what you pay for," and "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Clichs exist for a reason - they are usually based in hard reality and experience. This doesn't mean you should choose the most expensive plan, however. You should be able to find a perfectly acceptable virtual domain provider for between $10 and $25 per month, including as much server space as you will ever need.
Consider paying somewhat more for extra server space and better customer service. That way, even if your website expands, you won't have to go through the trouble of change web hosting companies (See our article on 10 Smart Steps to Ease the Pain of Changing Web Hosts). And, you will never regret going with the host with the most in the area of customer service, believe me. There is nothing more frustrating than having to wait for a response from your Web Host for days and days while your site is down or important features are not functioning properly.
There are free sites around, but most require you to display banner advertising and offer few features, not to mention abysmal or non-existent customer service. A site with a banner and / or annoying pop-ups hardly highlights your commitment to having a professional site, although for a small, personal homepage it may be fine. (See our articles on Free Hosting.)
Finally, most web hosting companies offer monthly, quarterly and yearly payment options, so be sure to ask about their minimum commitment period as well as their refund and cancellation policies. You should also receive a discount for longer time periods paid for. Exercising due diligence in these matters pays off many times over in the long run.
This done, it is finally time to make the leap
Tip #10: Make a Decision.
After having completed all the steps outlined above, you should be in a good position to make your decision. Start by eliminating all those hosts who have not responded to your email or have responded inadequately. You should have a very short list indeed by this time, and chances are you already know who you would like to work with, who you want to be your web hosting partner.
All that is left to do then is place your order and upload your site to the Web Host using the information they provide. Of course you will need to inform your registrar of your new DNS information so that people will be able to find you on the Web Web (see our article on 10 Smart Steps to Ease the Pain of Changing Web Hosts).
Now that you have a happy home for your website, you are well situated to begin the exciting work of promoting your site, letting others know about it, and establishing yourself as a real presence on the amazing World Wide Web Our Beyond Hosting section is a good place to go from here.
Always-On is a Self-service option for departments and schools that use conferencing services on a regular basis or want 7 x 24 access. With this option, customers are issued their own specific toll-free number and "leader" and "participant" passcodes which will not change or expire. Upon completing the online sign-up form, the event leader will receive an email from Conference America with his or her access numbers and "leader" and "participant" passcodes, as well as basic instructions. A wallet card will be mailed subsequently with this information for future reference. The Always-On account is automatically assigned 35 lines. For additional lines, whether it's for a one-time occurrence or on an ongoing basis, please contact Conference America directly at 800-925-8000.
Always-On provides the conference leader with online tools, which can be used to schedule and manage conference calls and to dial out to international participants. Simply log on to https://www.yourcall.com/aocontrol/ and click on one of the following menu options: Always-On Control or Schedule a Conference. See instructions noted below. To obtain an account, pleaseclick here.
You will be directed to the Harvard University Pin Authentication page for validation.
Upon validation, you’ll be re-directed to the Conference America online sign-up page.
Once you complete the sign up you, as the event leader, you will receive two emails from Conference America:
The first is an acknowledgement of your request.
The second will contain the access numbers and "leader" and "participant" passcodes, as well as basic instructions, which you can use immediately to conduct a conference call.
A wallet card will be mailed subsequently with this information for future reference.
Billing and Rates
• Total cost of the call, which includes usage and regulatory charges for all of the participants, will bill to the Conference Leader's Harvard University Phone Number which was entered on the online sign-up form. • There is no monthly fee. You are billed for usage only when you use the service. Calling Rates:
Cost To Record: 2.9¢/per minute per participant
Cost to Listen to a Recorded Call: 4.9¢ per minute/per participant
Domestic (USA & Canada):
Cost: 2.9¢ /per minute per participant
International: (two methods available for Always-On rates to apply) 1. Dial-out: The Always-On Control web tool must be used in order for Always-On International rates to apply. International Rates: For country specific rates on these two services, please see our rate list.
Rates do not include regulatory fees.
Rates and services are subject to change.
Please Note: • If (*0) is entered, an operator will come on line and can assist with dialing out to participant. Please note that Operator-Handled rates will apply rather than Always-On international rates. • Using a Toll Number is not the same as using a Toll-Free number. With Toll-numbers, the participant pays to call from their location to the toll number. Then the conference leader is billed $.029 per minute once the participant dials in to the conf bridge. If you do not want a participant to pay for the call, you must do one of the following: For International calls: Dial out to participant or obtain an International toll- free number if available. This service is not available in all countries. Conference leader must call Conference America @ 800-925-8000 to obtain country specific toll-free number prior to scheduled call. (Dial-out rate is usually less expensive.) For Domestic: Always have participants dial in to the toll-free number associated with your account. • It is the event leader's responsibility to provide the access number and participant passcode to each participant in advance of the meeting. Leaders, do not give out your leader passcode. Only give out the participant passcode since billing will generate every time a leader code is used.
Always-On Instructions
Always-On Control Instructions:
Visit: https://www.yourcall.com to log in. Enter the leader's email address and his or her passcode.
Click on the "Client Corner" tab.
Click on Always-On Control.
Click on "Leader's name" next to green arrow.
Click on "Call Me" button. Call will commence when the leader starts the call.
Click on "Call a Participant" button and enter each participant's phone number. They will be dialed out to and then able to join the call.
Click on "End Conf" button to end the call.
Log out of the "Client Corner" page.
To record a call: Only leaders can record a call. Dial 866-890-3820, enter your leader passcode, and wait until your passcode is confirmed and you’re joined to the conference. Then enter (*2), then (*1) to begin recording. To end recording, enter (*2), then (*1) or simply hang up. Please note: Recordings are saved by date and Central Time. Therefore, when you or your participants enter the system to retrieve the recorded call, make sure to look for the time of call to be 1 hour earlier that actual time recorded. To listen to a recoding: Dial 877-919-4059 (Always-On Reply System); enter the passcode of the conference you would like to have replayed (Leaders, if you offer a replay option, please tell your listeners to use their participant code to retrieve the recording. Never give out your leader passcode. As a leader, you may access the recorded call by entering your leader passcode or your participant code. Follow the prompts in the system to listen to the recorded call.) To View Call Details: Please Note: This feature is only available to Always-On subscribers. To view your conference call detail for a Conference America Always On account go to the vendor's web site: http://www.yourcall.com and select the following options: Click on the Client Corner tab, enter. Login name: “Event Leader”, enter your email address and your Leader Passcode. Click on Conference Cost Manager under the My Reports tab Then select the following options: Usage Month Service Date Reference No. £ Check "View Call Participants" to view all participant information for a specific call, including participant dial in phone number, connect/disconnect time and access method. For further questions, email huit-telecom@harvard.edu or call us at 5-4900.
Call (617) 495-5575and provide the following information:
Billing telephone number (must be a Harvard telephone number). The total conference call charges are billed to the conference leader's Harvard number.
Name & telephone number of the conference call leader
Specific call information
Special requests (e.g. to record or transcribe the call.)
Your fax # or email address for confirmation
Please verify the Harvard Billing number is correct as all charges will bill back to the number you provide.
The conference leader is responsible for providing the toll-free access number and passcode to each participant
Calling Rates:
Domestic (USA & Canada) Cost: $.109 / per minute per participant
International: Two options available; Dial out or Toll-Free
Dial-Out: Conference America operator dials-out to participants
Toll-Free: Participants dial-in to a country specific toll-free number. Not available in all countries. Number will be provided at time call is confirmed.
Please Note: • Using a Toll Number is not the same as using a Toll-Free number. With Toll-numbers the participant pays to call from their location to the toll number. Then the conference leader is billed $.109 per minute once the participant dials in to the conference bridge. If you do not want a participant to pay for the call you must do one of the following: •For International calls: Dial out to participant or obtain an Int’l toll- free number if available. (Dial is out is usually less expensive than toll-free) •For Domestic: Always have participants dial-in to the toll-free number. Additional Info:
There is no monthly fee you are billed for usage only when you use the service.
Total cost of the call, which includes usage & regulatory charges for all of the participants, will bill to Conference Leaders Harvard University Phone Number
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