You may have heard about how the Internet is running out of IP addresses, and about the move to a new address space called IPv6. All computer systems on the Internet have an IP address, and the old addressing scheme, IPv4, only allows for around 4.3 billion possible addresses. Those are gradually getting used up, and with demand for IP addresses continuing to grow, the Internet is slowly moving to a new scheme called IPv6, which provides a virtually unlimited number of addresses.

The transition to IPv6 is proceeding slowly across all industry sectors, but the increasing scarcity of IPv4 is not an immediate concern to Exware clients.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact us.

Q. Do I need to buy the various .com, .biz, .info, .ca, etc. domains?

A. No, not unless you have a valuable brand name or trademark that you wish to protect from impostors.

Q. What is the difference between .com, .org, .ca, .bc.ca, etc.?

A. It is a trade-off between recognizability and exclusivity.

Anyone can get a .com, so they are recognizable and popular all over the world. But they are non-exclusive which means the domain type is shared with everything from legitimate businesses to personal blogs to shady scams, which makes them less prestigious. For this reason, organizations that qualify might want a more specific domain type such as .edu or .org.

Canadian individuals or organizations can use .ca domains to help distinguish them from the sea of .com domains. These domains are restricted to Canadians, so they are more exclusive. They are still very recognizable in Canada, but might be seen as more obscure outside of Canada.

Provincial domains like .bc.ca are even more exclusive than .ca. Organizations must have a provincial affiliation; since there is no provincial citizenship, that means .bc.ca domains are typically used by regional governments and provincial branches of national associations. This can increase the impression of "official status" for a regional website, at the expense of appearing more obscure to visitors who don't understand Canadian geography.

Q. Why do some registrars charge more for the same domain? Is there any reason not to go with the cheapest?

A. Registrars provide a service - they maintain your directory listing in the Internet domain system (DNS). This service is used indirectly every time someone looks up your web address. You also use this service directly whenever you renew your domain name, or reconfigure how lookups of your web address are done (for instance if you change nameservers). The price you pay for your domain might reflect the quality of service you can expect. A cheap registrar might provide simple automated tools for common service requests, but poor service if you have a specific request that requires a real tech support person. However, as with all purchases, there is no guarantee that high price = high quality service. Buyer beware.

With so many social and business networking sites available, how do you keep your members coming back to your site?

Creating a members-only area that is of value and interest to your members is a daunting task. It's not enough to allow members to login and update their contact info or read members-only announcements. You must create a real information exchange and social networking opportunities. Your members-only must have enough value to entice your members to return – and return on a regular basis.

Here are tips to generate member activity:

1. In addition to allowing members to update their contact information, allow them to post member-to-member news and/or events that would be of interest to other members. This offers additional networking and marketing opportunities for your members.
2. Encourage ongoing communication by allowing your members to privately message each other.
3. Add a Member Directory that allows members to post a bio or profile on their organization or products and services. Allow your members to post pictures to public or members only galleries. This offers your members a change to promote their services to their peers and generate new business opportunities.
4. Solicit comments and discussion from your members using blogs or forums. With blogs, you start the topics of conversation by posting articles on interesting or controversial topics. With forums, your members can start their own threads.
5. Include news feeds from relevant industry sites that allow members to keep up-to-date on the latest issues, without them having to visit each site individually. This essentially turns your member area into a portal for the latest news/topics of interest to your membership.
6. Let your headlines and updates find your members, rather than the other way around. Use RSS feeds, so that your members can "subscribe" to your website headlines. Alternatively, use regular e-mail digests or notifications that new stories have appeared. Send out teasers or headlines only, so that your members must come back to the site to get the full story.
7. Create a dynamic "Welcome" page once visitors login to your members-only area. It should act as a switchboard, directing them to the various items in your members-only area. It can include "hot" or current items like:

• Most recent members-only news postings
• Upcoming events
• Latest member-to-member news
• Their membership status with an automatic renewal option
• News feeds from third party sites that feature current industry news
• Most recent forum postings

Keeping your member-area updated and content-rich can be a daunting and time-consuming task. The above ideas not only keep your site current and interesting, they can all be automated or member-driven thus freeing up your staff's valuable time.

We have seen many mistakes made by people and companies registering domains. Here are some tips to help you do it right, and avoid some common pitfalls.

Think "Keywords"

When picking a domain name, try to include some of the keywords that potential visitors might be searching for. It will help your site rank higher on the search engines.

Spell it Like it Sounds

A good domain name is one that you can tell to people, and they will know how to type it. The easier it is to spell, the easier it can be remembered and spread by word of mouth. Avoid difficult-to-spell words, words with multiple spellings, and hyphens.

Watch Out for Hidden Meaning

When picking a domain, watch out for letter combinations that may make an unintended word or phrase. Notorious examples include Therapist Finder therapistfinder.com, and Speed Of Art design speedofart.com. These are embarrassing, and can also run afoul of automated porn-blockers and spam filters.

Watch Out for Hidden Meaning – Part II

You may also want to check that your domain doesn't translate into something odd in Spanish, French or other languages. Even English has obscure words you may not know about.

Forget the Alternatives

When you register a .com, you really don't need to worry about also registering the corresponding domains in .net, .org, and .biz. Almost nobody will go to those domains, so in most cases you are just wasting time and money.

Register It Yourself

You want to make sure your domain is registered in your name or your company's, and the best way to ensure that is to register it yourself! If you leave it to a third party, there's a good chance they could end up owning the domain. Getting domain ownership right the first time is especially important with Canadian .ca domains, as changing ownership of a .ca requires costly legal paperwork.

Avoid the One-Stop Shops

Many domain registrars are also hosting companies, and offer package deals that combine registration with web hosting. Avoid them, as it's a case of putting all your eggs in one basket. It's better to keep the two roles separate – register with a dedicated registrar and host with a dedicated hosting provider. It gives you greater flexibility and you avoid getting locked in to one provider.

Don't Cheap Out

Registering a domain is not terribly expensive, so it's better to go to a reliable registrar that costs a bit more, than trying to save a few bucks and end up paying for it down the road. If your registrar ever goes out of business, then your domain could get tied up in technical and legal hassles for many months.

Print and Save

When you get to the part of the registration where they tell you to print out and save your domain login information, then PRINT OUT AND SAVE YOUR DOMAIN LOGIN INFORMATION. Whoever has this information has control over your website and email, and if you don't have this information, then you don't have control. Don't rely on password reminders, as they don't always work.

Watch Out for Scams

Once your domain is registered, be wary scams. If you receive an invoice to renew your domain, make sure it is actually from your domain registrar. You can also safely ignore emails from any company warning you that somebody is about to register a domain similar to yours, or offering to register variations of your domain for the Asian market.

Questions?

Call Exware at 604-684-9440.

Before you begin developing your new or updated site, make sure you understand what technologies are going to be used. Making the wrong decision could negatively impact your search engine rankings well into the future.

 

Flash

 

Almost all search engines are designed to index websites written in HTML, not flash, so an all-flash website can be disastrous for search engine rankings. If you use a flash intro, make sure you provide a "skip intro" link in HTML. And if you use flash extensively on your site, you may want to provide an HTML alternative for the benefit of search engines, as well as users who don't have flash-enabled browsers.

 

Frames

 

Frames make it difficult for search engines to index a site because with frames you usually have multiple pages, perhaps even an entire website, all sharing the same URL. It's URLs that search engines index and link to, so frames make it difficult for them to direct people to your content. There are some instances where frames are useful, but you are generally better off avoiding them if you can.

 

Regional Domain Names

 

Some search engines may rank a regional domain name like ".ca" lower than if it was ".com" domain. However, it is generally believed Google is NOT one of these search engines. In fact if you have a ".ca" domain then you should get a higher ranking at Google's Canadian branded version, google.ca

 

Splash Pages

 

Splash pages can hurt your search engine rankings because they usually have little or no content for the search engines to index. This means that the primary URL for your website will get a low ranking. This is especially bad because the other websites that link to you will probably be linking to that poorly-ranked splash page, so you gain little benefit in the rankings from those links.

 

Dynamic vs static

 

Search engines generally don't penalise dynamic websites, but they will try to avoid complex database-driven sites. The reason is that the number of pages in such a site could be virtually unlimited, putting the search engine at risk of wasting its own resources, and of putting too much strain on the webserver by requesting pages too quickly and possibly crashing the website. A good rule is that if the URL contains a question mark, then you can question whether a search engine will ever see it.

Is your website well organized? Is it easy to use?

The quickest way to lose a customer is to let them get lost in your site. The number one reason why someone leaves a website is that they can't find what they are looking for. It is essential to organize your site in a way that follows the theme you are trying to promote. It should be a natural choice, and users should know which link or button to click to learn more or order your product and services.

A good method for testing how easy it is to navigate your site, is to ask people who've never seen it before to go on and try to find some specific information, while you peer over their shoulder.  This can be a quick way to discover poorly designed or misleading navigation links, or problems with the site's organization.

Here are some key tips and pitfalls:

Keep it inside: 
A common mistake made by web designers is to offer a link on the first page of the site that will take people out of your site and to some other page. Ensure all third party links open in a separate window so people can easily get back to your site.

Keep it simple: 
Big scientific or technical terms will turn your audience off. What good are they if people reading your page cannot understand what it is you are trying to sell.

Keep it truthful:
Don't try to deceive your visitors.  Make sure they know what it is you are selling, promoting or giving away.

Keep it fast:
Most visitors still do not have high speed internet. Use graphics sparingly to illustrate your point or product and keep in mind that 30 seconds waiting seems like an eternity to potential customers. Keep the graphics small so the page will load quickly.

Keep it informative:
Savvy web users want information that is well presented and easy to find.

Keep it polite:
Don't ask for too much information. People do not like receiving unwanted e-mails. Make sure the visitor knows what the information they are giving is going to be used for. Do you need their date of birth? Do you need their gender? Think about the information you're asking for, and ask yourself, would I want to give this information out?

Keep it correct: 
Nothing casts doubt like a website that has spelling errors or misplaced links. Your visitors are going to wonder about doing business with you.

Keep it search engine friendly: 
Understand what technology you are using and the impact it may have on search engines and your ranking.

 

Search Engine Optimization should be a standard component of any organization's marketing plan. Search Engine Optimization can be done in-house if you have the time and resources available. Here are a few tips to follow:

• Understand the technologies that support web optimization. For example, websites designed all in Flash or use Framesets will negatively impact your search engine rankings.
• Research the appropriate keywords for your marketplace. It is critical to understand what keywords/phrases people use to search for your type of products and services. Use www.wordtracker.com and visit your competitors' sites.
• Optimize your website HTML:
  • add HTML headers specific to each page
  • validate your HTML code
• Understand the importance of your home page:
  • remove splash page and/or flash intros
  • include approximately 100 words
  • incorporate a site tree or text links off your home page
• Have a content-rich site, if possible
• Implement a Web Linking Strategy:
  • seach engines will rank you higher if other relevant third party sites link to you
  • manually implement web linking strategy

Remember: SEO should be part of every company's marketing plan. Long-term strategy can produce long-term payoff.

Warning: Companies that try to trick search engines can be blacklisted. Understand your vendor's philosophies and SEO strategies

A website is not a brochure.

...but it can certainly be made to look like one. Most first-timers to the web build their first sites as brochure websites, describing their mission and services, and providing some basic contact information. The resulting site is simple, cheap, and easy to maintain, but it may not be much more than a glorified yellow-pages ad. It certainly does not take full advantage of web technology.

A website is not a magazine.

...but it can certainly be made to look like one. The advantage of online magazines is that they contain informative articles on whatever subjects are appropriate to the site, which helps to attract viewers. The disadvantage is that they may trap you into treating your web pages as static documents that are simply read and then discarded. Web pages are much more than articles wrapped in a slick graphic design.

A website is a communication tool.

Brochures and magazines are communication tools, but they are examples of one-way communication. You push your content out to the viewer, but receive nothing back. More sophisticated websites engage in multi-way communications, which gives not only a richer user experience, but also provides the site owner with useful new data and content. Any time you encounter an online form on the web, you are dealing with a site that receives information from the user, in addition to giving information out. Furthermore, many websites are connected to databases that serve as sources of information to display (such as catalogs, event calendars, and so on). As new information appears in the database, the site automatically grows in scope.

People like free stuff.

An old web adage is that you should offer something for free. The internet is full of free information, and your website is competing against many others for the attention of users. The more barriers you place between the user and the information they would like to view, the more likely they will just go somewhere else to find it. "Free" in this sense means "freedom" just as much as it means "zero cost". For instance, users treat their privacy as having value; if you ask for their e-mail address or name before giving out your information, many users will decline unless they have no other choice. In this age of spam and viruses, one's personal e-mail address has equivalent-to-money value.

If you build it, they won't necessarily come.

Just because you are online doesn't mean visitors will automatically come to your site. Just as you cannot expect to run a booming retail outlet in the middle of nowhere, you also have to ensure that your site is well positioned to draw visitors to it. Website position is not quite as simple in concept as retail location, unfortunately. Good website marketing depends on how you expect people to find out about you. If you are expecting to draw the general public in, then search engine placement may be critical. Getting yourself indexed in appropriate web directories is also important. If you are marketing direct to customers, on the other hand, they need to know your website address, either from your published materials, email, or other means. And of course, once you get them to your website, you also have to keep them there, and possibly even entice them to return again another time.

Keeping content fresh is a big job.

For anything other than the simplest brochure websites, regular content updates are a must. Sites that require frequent or high-volume updates may absorb a lot of manpower keeping the site current. Skilled IT personell (aka. "webmasters") can help, but sometimes this can make the problem worse, since the webmaster can become a bottleneck. Often the webmaster's particular area of expertise (eg. graphic design) won't match the areas of work they get flooded with (eg. editing content, database management). More people for your web team can help, if you're lucky enough to have the budget for that. Otherwise, you should consider how a content management system can help to automate the process of updating your site.

Websites do not have to be built for public use.

Just because websites are publicly accessible on the Internet, doesn't mean they have to be build exclusively for the public. Many websites have private or members-only areas ("extranets") for more private or secure functions. These sites leverage the global reach of the Internet to give a small organization a computer network that can be accessed from anywhere. There are even many hidden sites out there that are built for single-person use; that one person gets their own private computer network tool that can be reached from anywhere in the world at near zero cost -- which is very useful for travellers.

Plan your foundation; don't get distracted by the wallpaper.

Building an interactive website can be a complex undertaking. It is analogous to building a house. You should have a blueprint that includes future forecasts as well as present undertakings. Otherwise you may find that you are not able to add that 2nd storey to your house, and will have to start all over from scratch. When you begin building your site, remember that construction is initially focussed on things like the foundation and layout. The wallpaper and paint (ie. your graphic design) are details that do not concern your construction crew, however much they may concern you as the homeowner. In the view of your contractors, you will be able to change the paint and wallpaper as much as you like once they are done, but if you get the foundation wrong, then your wallpaper plans are irrelevant.

Complex websites are software applications.

Many people view a web page as a simple document, like a page from a magazine (see above). However, if the web page has been composed from information taken from a database or a web form that the user has entered data into, then this document is not so simple. In fact, you also need special software that knows how to take all that information, and assemble it into the web page that the user actually sees. What this means is that a complex website is not really a collection of documents at all, but rather a bunch of computer programs that know how to build web pages on the fly from the content that they are provided with.

If you are managing a project to build your own such website, that means that you are not overseeing the production of documents, but rather the engineering of a software system. It would help to have some understanding of software development processes (especially issues such as developing your business logic and software testing), to better handle the issues that arise.

Pre-packaged web software systems are available that may suit your needs, but their extensibility may be limited. Feature sets may be fixed, or there may only be a specific set of add-ons available. If you need to add new functions, find out if you have to do this through the original vendor, or if you can shop around (or even do it in-house). You should also consider what sort of ongoing support is provided, and what your options are if the vendor goes out of business or stops developing the product.

Interactive websites are like icebergs.

95% of them are invisible. As mentioned above, an interactive website is primarily a software project. Software is all about function, but many newcomers to the web are distracted by websites' form (ie. the visible elements, such as graphics and text on screen). The visible elements of your website may be a very small fraction of everything that is going on there. This also means that your web developers could be making huge strides in your project, with little or no results that are visible to the end user. If you are overseeing a web development project, be sure to understand all these hidden components, so that you can tell the difference between a project that is going like gangbusters on the "back-end", and one that is stalled and in need of help.