Let’s face it, we all need a helping hand every now and again.

Here at LetsHost we realise that sometimes you need access to real web hosting experts for specialist advice and support relating to your web hosting account. Our dedicated 24/7 support website is tailored to provide you with access to the information you need, when you to need it.

The site features a knowledgebase of how-to articles and frequently asked questions (Web Hosting FAQ’s) to guide you through the various configuration options and settings in your hosting account, using CPanel features, domain name queries and a host of other topics.

Some of the more popular knowledge base articles currently on the site include.

• Can I host more than one website on my hosting account?
• CNAME / MX Record changes
• What is my database server name?

As well as our comprehensive and constantly growing knowledgebase of articles and FAQ’s the site also incorporates a class-leading support ticket system to help you log support issues with LetsHost’s technical web hosting experts.

The site makes it easy to submit new support tickets, track progress on existing support queries and will even e-mail your registered e-mail address to keep you up to date.

LetsHost 24/7 support is there to give you peace of mind; we’re always here when you need a helping hand.

Getting the right domain name for your budding online venture can make a huge difference to its success. Here are a few suggestions to bear in mind when researching your perfect domain name:

• Make it catchy, memorable and relevant: choose a catchy, easily identifiable domain name that’s relevant to your business and easy for people to remember.
• Use a country specific top level domain (ccTLD) to appeal to a local audience: if your market is local, it often pays to register the local version of the domain (.co.uk or .ie, for example) instead (or as well as) the more generic .com, .net or .org. If you’re appealing to an international audience, a generic TLD may serve you better. Of the generic TLDs .com is by far the most universally accepted and popular – making it the most valuable one to secure.
• You can buy multiple domain names: there’s nothing to stop you buying more than one domain to prevent others from registering them. You can then redirect or park the secondary domains so that they point to your main website. Another option is registering country specific domains to give yourself an online ‘presence’ in each country you do business in. You can then deploy a regionally tailored version of your website to each of those domains (the preferable option), or redirect them to a localised section on your main website.
• Keywords in a domain name can be beneficial: you may decide to incorporate one of your keyword phrases into your domain name. Opinion varies on the significance of this in terms of its impact on your search engine ranking, but it may help both search engines and users to establish what your site is about right from the start.

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Social Media has been the darling of the digirati, online early adopters and web2.0 advocates for a while now, but 2009 was the year when explosive growth took social media into the mainstream.

Research by Nielson group for the year to May 2009 revealed the following statistics:

• An 82% increase in the total time spent on social networks and blogs in the year to May 2009.
• A 62% increase in the average time per web user spent on social networks and blogs in the year to May 2009
• Traffic on Twitter, the “poster-boy” of Social Media in 2009, grew by a staggering 1,448%

What does the rise of social media mean for you, your brand and your website?

If your peers, your customers and your prospects aren’t already using social media, chances are good that they soon will be. Getting involved in the same online social circles offers you the opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue with them.

There’s a global conversation going on, through blogs, social networks, forums, “micro-blogging” platforms and other social media platforms. Here are just a few ways you can harness the power of social media to benefit the online presence of your brand:

• Get and give help and advice: learn what peers and thought leaders in your industry are talking about, and gain insight that can help you in your business, and help others in return.
• Build a community around your brand: people like to feel a connection with the products and services they use, and to interact with the human beings behind the logo.
• Monitor, respond and influence: there’s a conversation going on out there, with or without you. Far better to engage and foster a positive perception of your brand from the outset than to sit on the sidelines.
• Foster ongoing, mutually beneficial relationships: it’s far easier and more profitable to retain existing customers than it is to chase new ones… social media tools can help you to build stronger relationships with a much wider network of people.
• Word of mouth: good news travels fast online… social media offers a wonderful opportunity for people to spread the love about your brand.

Exactly what opportunities social media can offer you depends very much on your business, where your customers congregate online and what you want to get out of it. The best way to find out is to dive in and start exploring… to get started why not try following @LetsHost on Twitter, or post a comment on this blog post?

We’re looking forward to hearing more from you and your business online!

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Choosing the right web hosting partner can be crucial to the success of your online business… but with so much choice in today’s Web Hosting market where do you start?

Right here, that’s where!

To help you make sense of the web hosting conundrum we’ve put together the LetsHost web host selection guide.

• Choose a host in the country where your primary target market lives: this is important, because search engines deliver local search results to users based on the geographical location of the server on which the web pages reside (which they can infer from the server ip address)
• Make sure the host is reliable: do they offer guaranteed uptime / levels of service? Many hosts publish live server statistics that demonstrate the reliability of their services. You should expect a service level approaching 100% from a high quality hosting service.
• What sort of support do they offer: make sure the hosting you choose includes efficient and effective support 24/7. If your website goes down you need to be confident you can call on your host for assistance whatever time of the day or night.
• Backup and disaster recovery: if the worst happens and the server goes belly up, what sort of disaster recovery options does the host have in place? Ideally your host should take several daily snapshots of your entire account / server, allowing them to restore it and get your site back up and running as quickly as possible should the worst happen.
• What do others think: find out what other customers think. Read testimonials, and search for discussions on webmaster forums relating to the hosts your considering. Are other people’s experiences good or bad? Post a few questions.
• Shop around: hosting is an incredibly competitive industry, so shop around for the best deal – but bear in mind that the cheapest option isn’t always the best choice.

We believe that LetsHost offers the best balance of hosting features, reliability, support and value for money available in Ireland today. But don’t take our word for it… apply the checklist above and decide for yourself.