Tag Archives: tips and tricks

3 Psychologically Proven Methods For Creating A Better Workplace

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Hosting

The post 3 Psychologically Proven Methods For Creating A Better Workplace appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . When an influential mentor speaks to you, chances are you’re going to remember what they say. For me, it was a lecture early on in college where one of my Professors attempted to demonstrate the importance of social sciences in relation to real world business practices. The gist of what he said was, “Business is all about working with people. The more you understand what people want and how they operate, the more successful you’re going to be across any career path.” Essentially signifying the role and value our emotional quotient fulfills in an environment where humans attempt to cooperate with one another on mutual tasks. Quite frequently, though, we’re begrudged by disrespectful and demanding supervisors who have skills in every aspect to a managerial position, except interpersonal relations. Whether you’re struggling to develop a better relationship with your employees, or are simply lacking directional leadership skills, here are three ways you can improve the general happiness within your company.   Show Your Appreciation Appropriately There are many ways to motivate employees, but nothing can can quite replace the empowerment of expressing gratitude towards their efforts. By taking the time to examine what we appreciate from our team, we’re also encouraging others to do the same. The appropriateness comes into play in measures of frequency and the selective times in which we choose to show our appreciation. Not every routine action is in need of being remarked upon; rather, when an employee or co-worker seems to extend themselves beyond expectations be sure to reward their efforts by complimenting their work ethic. Successful managers may even take extra steps every week, or month to send individual e-mails pointing out times when the employee made an invaluable contribution. No one wants to feel like their work is going unnoticed. Giving someone a feeling of purpose is an excellent tool for building the strength of your business.   Don’t Stifle Creativity Officially classified as the ‘Technological Era’, our current trends of employment rely heavily on both sides of the brain. For the longest time we were seeing left-brained analytical work forces that didn’t allow for individuals to express their creativity within a company. Many careers during the informational era (Engineers, Doctors, Computer Programmers) were task oriented and routine, not allowing for an individuals personality to really impact their day to day. But the world has changed. While many, if not all careers, are still maximizing the linear and analytical portion of our brain (Left-half), we’re seeing a tremendous shift towards those who utilize the ‘big picture’ modules to steer business towards a more sustainable future. Automation has allowed for many careers to focus on the artistry and emotion of what makes our products/services human; therefore, right-brained individuals are thriving thanks to the opportunities presented in creative industries. Not everyone lands a position in a creative sector, however, and try as we might our ideas are often stifled due to the lack of open-mindedness in a given company’s upper management. Best recommendation: listen to what your employees have to suggest. Just like it’s become common place to have customer surveys, understanding and adapting to your employee’s needs will allow for your company to retain employees longer, while also providing a channel for their ideas to blossom.   Drop The Intimidation and Focus On Happiness I think we’ve finally realized that ruling by fear is not the most effective approach to increasing productivity from our employees. In today’s economic climate there is already enough uncertainty pertaining to the security of our jobs. This has led to notable increases in documented health issues directly correlated to stress from our jobs. Many reports have begun to emphasis the importance of ‘positive psychology’ in the workplace, disregarding prior methods of holding low job availability over employees heads as a means to generate pressure and fear. Positive psychology is all about the happiness of employees which has been shown to increase productivity, stimulate creativity, and create a better overall environment in which better candidates will apply to work for. Some great ways to reduce stress and increase happiness, include: Providing access to physical fitness – For some companies this means helping purchase gym memberships as a part of the benefits package. Incorporate mentoring programs for new employees – Feeling like your company has invested in your position is a great way to feel secure and learn how to start working at a higher level Engage a happiness trainer – While this can be expensive, the results could last much longer than employees constantly leaving in search of a better position. Creating a better working environment doesn’t require a complete overhaul of resources. Often it’s the small gestures, and genuine demeanor we exchange with those we’re closest with at the office that will spread throughout the entire company. By starting to prioritize your company’s positive reputation today, you’ll have an even better team in the days of tomorrow. web hosting Continue reading →

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Why Customer Service Matters

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Hosting

The post Why Customer Service Matters appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing .   Sure, everyone says that customer service matters, and that customer service is important to the way that they do business… but how many times do you feel like the above situation is what’s actually happening when you’re dealing with a company? The most common perception is that no matter what the party line is, the fact of the matter is that companies today just don’t care. Most people get annoyed with it, but few people actually take the time to think about how those perceptions transfer to their business.   Does this Sound Familiar? You have an issue with a product you’ve purchased from a company, something frustrating in and of itself, and, already irate, you attempt to contact the company regarding the issue you’ve experienced. You want the company to take responsibility for the faulty product and take the time to get the matter resolved. Instead you either get an automated response, or, worse, the company tells you that it’s your fault that the issue arose and you’re out of luck, placing the blame on you for the issue with the product, regardless of whether or not it’s your fault that the issue occurred. You rant, rave, maybe even cuss, and get blown off in return.   Why it matters Your business won’t last if you don’t have any customers, and the introduction of social media to the business world makes this all the more important, as all the other customers of your company can see and talk about all of the issues that have occurred with your business in a medium that is directly tied to your business. The more negative that is said, the less likely that new customers will deign to use your products or services because they don’t want the same experience; business will continue to decrease until either you do something to correct the problem or until your company is down the drain.   What you should do Don’t make it simply a party line. Make customer service actually matter. Take the time to treat each customer as though their issue is unique (even though most will not be), and take the time to get it resolved correctly the first time. If you sell second hand appliances and you swear you’ve tested them out, don’t blame a customer when a thermostat breaks less than a month after they’ve bought it from you. If a product got damaged in shipping, apologize; don’t blame it on the post office. Always apologize for the issue. If it’s an issue of damage or an issue with a defect, ask for the product to be sent back, or ask for a picture of the issue, depending on what the issue is and what the product is. Have a system in place of working to handle issues. Resolve whatever the issue is promptly, and resolve it the first time. Treat each customer as though their business matters, and as though you value their opinion. Keep all negativity about the situation or about the customer to yourself. Treat each situation as though it could make or break your business, because it could. Once you’ve made customer service your priority, you have a solid foundation upon which to grow your business.   Image Source: Zetta. (2014). Customer Support Matters . Retrieved from http://www.zetta.net/images/Customer%20Support%20Matters%20at%20Zetta300x197.jpg web hosting Continue reading →

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Five Must-Have Google Chrome Extensions For 2014

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Hosting

The post Five Must-Have Google Chrome Extensions For 2014 appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . I’ve found that while computers have made our lives exponentially easier and more organized, sometimes the user can’t keep up with the technology, allowing mainstream tasks to become obsolete. For those of you who are unaware, a browser plug-in is a piece of software code that allows a program, or portion of a web page to do something it couldn’t by itself. One of the most common being Adobe Flash Player; without it, you wouldn’t be able to view videos embedded into web pages. For these reasons we thought it’d be a good idea to share five plug-ins and browser extensions that may make your work flow and internet capabilities that much easier. Facebook Unseen – Block’s Facebook’s read receipts from being sent. I actually really like this one. While Facebook has become an integral marketing tool , it has also become one of the largest time-sucks from a day of productivity. It’s hard not responding to a message from a friend or client when it’s indicated very clearly that the message has been received. Sometimes we receive a message via mobile and don’t have the means to respond properly on the go. I find this is the perfect solution to still being able to read a message, while not offending someone while you wait to respond until later.   Grammarly Lite – Rest assured your e-mails are making sense. Spell checking is nothing revolutionary when it comes to most e-mail and comment boxes. However, when it comes to ensuring professional fluency in the messages you send out, grammatical mistakes often go unnoticed until the message is already in your sent box. The ways in which you’re covered include: Prepositional errors Inaccurate usage of pronouns Irregular verb conjugations, etc. Spell checking is also included in the set of features, which may come in handy for less developed messaging programs. Grammarly Lite works on all Social Media applications as well, so status updates, and messages will be on point.   LastPass – Securely store your passwords and personal information How many contact forms are you going to fill out before you entrust a third party to securely remember all of your Log-in information? With LastPass you won’t have to again! Personally, I get overwhelmed with how many accounts I belong to, and how many new registration forms are requested on a monthly basis. Saving minutes here and there while logging in really amps up efficiency during the work day, and prevents remembering all of the various user-names and passwords we’re accountable for as individuals.   StayFocusd – Block out your online distractions Here I sit, guilty as charged. As a writer I spend the majority of my work day pinned between my word processor, and a limitless expansion of digital distractions. My saving grace has been allowing StayFocusd to do what my discipline could not, and that’s block the pages and applications I knew were hindering my work flow. Notable features include entire domain blocking, specific sub-domains, paths and in-page content (images, games, videos). You can even set a time limit if you want to browse for only a reasonable period of time. Many companies have put out comparable applications for considerable annual fees, StayFocusd is free!   NiftySplit – Split Chrome into two windows Not quite dual screen potential, but for anyone doing work on the go, having your browser split to surf through web pages more efficiently is a wonderful tool. How it works is you open your favorite website (The Homepage) and when you click on any link it then opens in the right hand side of the split screen interface. Researchers, shoppers, and anyone just browsing web links will love not having to open a web page, click back and find their location in the link index again. What are you favorite Chrome extensions? Let us know in the comments!   Image sources: Facebook Unseen- http://img.brothersoft.com/screenshots/softimage/f/facebook_unseen_for_chrome-518325-13771402970.jpeg LastPass- http://www.majorgeeks.com/index.php?ct=files&action=file&id=2566 NiftySplit- http://core5.staticworld.net/images/article/2013/09/niftysplit-100054314-large.jpg web hosting Continue reading →

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Online Business Planning For Newbs

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Hosting

The post Online Business Planning For Newbs appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Have you discovered a need that can be filled online? Are you decided in your approach to fill that need? Are you clueless or brand new to the process of creating, publishing and maintaining a website? If so, this article is for you. At this point, you may have already outlined your operations strategy and colorfully grown your brain child into an impressive embryo of idea rich DNA. And, if you are a business mind worth anywhere near your salt, you are preparing to tackle all those unknown expletives…lol…or rather variables   1. Know Your 1, 2, 3s First thing’s first. A decision to proceed and capitalize on the shiny new “land of opportunity”, found in the WWW, is a decision to either spend money (hopefully wisely) OR invest considerable time. Again, just to be clear, your success will be a derivative of either 1. Monetary Investment or 2. Substantial Time Investment. And, in most cases, depending on the lofty or lowly goals you may set, 3. Both could be imperative. It is, therefore, necessary to ensure you make the “right” decision for YOU and your business model. There is typically a direct relationship between the quality of development and the amount of monetary investment required. A good web developer will cost a good amount of money while a great developer will cost a great amount of money. The same is true of your time investment. If you are completely inexperienced, developing a site, alone, from scratch, will require serious time in order to conquer the learning curve involved. The more complex or polished you desire your site to be, the more the time investment you must make in order to get it that way. You must also consider that websites are not static. Generally speaking. They will consequently require occasional or frequent updates. These updates could be necessary on a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis depending on your business needs. Again, this will cost either money or time. Unless, of course, you have an awesome friend who is adept at all things “web” and can give you a courtesy hook up. Otherwise, build this cost into your business budget and plan. It is an absolute.   2. Mark Your Method Once you have picked your poison and chosen your pill, outline the next steps of your process (realistically). Example: When tieing shoes, step 1 is take string A and crossover string B…In other words, you want a REAL step by step process in place so you can quickly identify your prefered criteria and make an informed decision. That process can take a while. So, we created the following starter checklist just to get you started:   When evaluating potential developers you will want to evaluate: 1. Are their prices competitive? 2. Does their work portfolio include examples similar to your expectations? 3. Can they provide ongoing maintenance as you would need it?   When deciding on a DIY-business project you will want to do the following: 1.  Establish a set period of time (start and finish) during which you will commit to hone your skills as a developer. 2. Decide what information (i.e. books, websites, how-to articles, etc.) you need to study in order to create the vision you have in mind. 3. Consider and plan to study all necessary security measures if developing an ecommerce site.   3. EXECUTE!!! A plan means NOTHING without action. Therefore, plan the execution of your plan. Set a solid start date and develop a timeline with various (practical) goals. Understand that the nature of planning denotes that everything will not always go according to plan. So, plan for change. Build a “review period” into your timeline and prioritize celebrating your successes in addition to acknowledging where/how you need to improve.   4. Launch Never approach a launch casually. Be sure to check and double check and triple check site functionality. Have others proofread and test the site thoroughly. After all is officially approved-set and promote your launch. And, when you arrive at this point in the process, give yourself a pat on the back. Invite your friends over for a party. Go out on the town. Whatever you do, make sure you do something AND enjoy yourself!!! You have reached a significant milestone in the life of your business. Whether you contracted someone to do help put flesh on your idea or you did all the grunt work alone, you still have great cause to be excited. Make a big deal about your launch. You earned it!   Quick recap, understand the different types of investments that will be required. Choose one (or a combination). Build your plan according to the corresponding investment method. Execute your plan. Launch your business! web hosting Continue reading →

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Responsive Web Design: A Goal For 2014

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Hosting

The post Responsive Web Design: A Goal For 2014 appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . If your business depends on its website to any extent, and you haven’t made the switch to a responsive design by now, you’re at risk for losing a lot of business in 2014. The primary reason being the massive shift happening in how people browse the internet nowadays. During a study conducted at the end of 2013, Smart Insights discovered that of all web browsing just over 25% was done either on a Smartphone or Tablet. Signifying a potential 25% loss in business due to the sub-optimal experience many visitors encountered on web-pages that did not adjust for their particular device. What’s more notable is that by 2015, mobile browsing is expected to surpass desktop use, making it imperative your website will be ready for use across any screen as soon as possible.   Responsive Web Design (RWD) Defined Although it has been around since May of 2010, RWD is still a fairly new strategy to the majority of business owners. Most simply put, Responsive Design is: a website design that will adjust flawlessly to fit on a desktop, smartphone and tablet browser. If you’ve ever pulled open a website on a mobile device only to see the desktop version you understand it can be difficult to zoom in, navigate and ultimately achieve what you had intended by opening the web page in the first place.   How It Works RWD aims to make the browsing experience seamless from one device to the next; therefore, retaining visitors no matter how they choose to access your site. As you can see in the image above, the web-page’s content has re-sized and adjusted to fit within the confines of available space. The principles of RWD use “media queries” to figure out the resolution of the device it’s being served on, coupled with flexible images and fluid grids to then size everything correctly to fit on the screen. In the past web designers would develop a desktop site, and then an entirely different mobile version to try and accommodate for all the different emerging devices. In November of 2012, the popular website Mashable was accessed by more than 2,500 different devices, a number that helped them declare 2013 to be the Year of Responsive Web Design .   The Top 5 Reasons To Adopt RWD Beyond universal accessibility, there are several other benefits to having a site that can exist under one URL, the first being: 1. Google Highly Recommends It Much like anything Google recommends, marketers and web professionals are usually keen with interest. In 2012, Google deemed it a best practice for smart-phone optimized websites. Having one URL and the same HTML allows Google to easily crawl and index your website within its algorithms. Leading into our next benefit: 2. One SEO Campaign In order to promote your website within the search engines, you’ve probably managed an SEO campaign to help your website rank. With a Responsive Design you no longer have to worry about ranking two individual sites (Web and Mobile). Instead all of your efforts can now be concentrated towards one page. All of the links, all of the content will now be working twice as hard to ensure your page gets seen no matter what device it’s searched on. Talk about a good deal! 3. Positive User Experience Without the satisfaction of your visitors, all of this talk of technique and strategy would be utterly pointless. RWD’s main purpose is to allow the users of your web-page to browse however they feel most comfortable. For if a potential customer arrives onto your page while browsing on a mobile device and feels the need to leave seconds later, you may have just lost a potential sale. Research on mobile website usability shows that websites that are responsive and mobile-ready significantly improve user experience and satisfaction. By 2015 50% of visitors will be on a mobile device, be ready! 4. Adapting For The Future The combination of media queries paired with fluid grids will give your web design sustainability in a time of rapidly changing technological trends. Users may keep updating their devices, but no matter how the screen sizes keep changing your website will be able to adapt which is an excellent feeling knowing your investing in a long-term design. 5. Saving Time And Money While RWD aims to serve the satisfaction of your visitors, the bottom line is you’re tired of having to keep up with all the marketing trends when ultimately you just want to run a business. Cutting out dual websites, dual SEO campaigns and constant website maintenance will prove to be incredibly valuable both to your bank account and time management. It’s time to get back to what’s really important, so where do you sign up?   Getting Started Much like hiring a web-designer there is no fixed cost when it comes to implementing RWD. If you have a simple brochure website for your business, modifications may cost as little as a few hundred. Perhaps you want to start from scratch, most web hosting domains have templates with RWD built right in with no experience necessary. We recommend reading the book Implementing Responsive Web Design , if you”re serious about being on the forefront of RWD and learning how to build these sites yourself. Otherwise, get in touch with your preferred web designer and see how you can go about optimizing your site today. You will not regret it!   Image Source #1: http://poweredwebdev.com/tag/responsive-web-design-2/Image Source #2: http://www.cascadingmedia.com/responsive-web-design web hosting Continue reading →

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