The Beginners Guide To Dealing With Website Downtime

26 September 2019

According to recent research, the average website is down for about three hours per month as a result of downtime to web hosting servers. The 99.9% uptime guarantee and refund policies offered by most to hosting provider, won’t matter if you have lost traffic as a result of downtime. On average businesses can lose $10.6 million a year as a result of website downtime.

What Are The Major Causes Of Website Downtime?

Website downtime occur for reasons,some of them include:

Website code issues: poor programming can cause heavy loads on servers which leads to database error then eventually, makes the site unresponsive

Hacker attacks: a website can be brought down by attack from hackers in various ways – the server can be overloaded with DOS attacks, or malicious code is injected to steal security credentials – either way, the website owners are often forced to shut down the site in order to resolve the problem.

Data Centre issues: downtime can be caused by the hosting company itself. In this instance, uptime monitoring tools come in handy because they allow you to track the reliability of your web hosting company.

Increased traffic: increased traffic is probably one of the leading causes of website downtime. The only way to keep your site up and running even when there is a traffic surge is to engage the services of a reliable web hosting provider – a fully functional optimized website would be useless if your web host is unreliable.

How To Protect Your Website From Downtime

It’s been established, website downtime can negatively impact an online business bottom line, therefore it is important to have protective measures in place to safeguard your business. Some of these methods include:

DNS management: is a service that automatically reroutes traffic from the affected server to a secondary server.

Backup recovery: setting up a secondary hosting account with a different hosting provider on a different server is a great backup option, that makes it easy for you to get your website online if your primary server experiences downtime

CDN: this network will basically store and deliver all cached content from your website and will protect it, in the occurrence of any short time downtime.

The combination of DNS management, a content delivery network (CDN) and a backup host- backup listing will go a long way in protecting your website from experiencing short or long-term downtime.

How To Avoid Prolonged Downtime With A Great Website Recovery Plan

Website downtime is unavoidable -site updates, extreme weather or equipment upgrade can cause website downtime. A website recovery plan and backup are are important to keep unplanned downtime from adversely affecting your business. Before setting up a website backup and recovery plan, you would need to put up – website monitoring systems in place to track website uptime. These monitoring tools provide vital information regarding website performance and availability.

With these tools, you can create a different test (checks on your website), to accurately narrow down the root cause of the problem and take adequate steps to correct it. These checks have to be set up outside of the basic HTTPS check the include-checking against known databases of virus and malware sources, record changes to DNS records and so on.

Set up a downtime page

The best time to set up a downtime page is when you still have access to your website. It comes in handy when there unplanned downtime or planned downtime. This page informs your visitor that you are on top of the situation. Putting up a ‘service unavailable’ or a ‘website undergoing maintenance’ message on a page is a great way to keep credibility and show that you have control of the situation.

How To Handle Website Downtime

1. Confirm site downtime: before taking any major step, you need to verify that your website is really down – that is, make sure it isn’t a problem with your Internet connection or browser. To be extra certain, use a different computer to test out your website.

2. Find the cause: you should try to ascertain what caused the downtime -hardware issues, a programming error, expired domain or a DNS problem?

3. Get in touch with IT support: get in touch with the support of your web host and get assistance for the issue. if you choose a great web host, you should have ready support available.

4. Inform your website users about the downtime: it is imperative that your website visitors are not left in the dark. Put out messages on your social media account to keep your customers informed about what is going on and that your business is taking steps to address the problem. If it is a planned all downtime, it is good practice to send out a warning message detailing the date and time of site maintenance.

5. Check-in with IT: communicate regularly with IT and offer any information they may need regarding the web server or your website. You should also get an estimate of how long it would take for the problem to be solved.

6. Remain calm: this is tough to do but it is important to remember that website downtime can affect anyone and it is not the end of the world. Keeping calm is a great way to stay on top of the situation and resolve it quickly.

In Conclusion

A website is an integral part of a business’s online success. Because of the great number of website downtime, it is imperative that downtime is dealt with swiftly to avoid long-term repercussions -loss of clients loyalty, the revenue.

Thankfully, major search engine websites like Google have put measures in place to help website owners mitigate SEO ranking damage by providing a way out.

Read Also:

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

5 Cool Antique Cotton Harvester

Cotton plants have been an integral part of the United States and American history since the first days of colonization. Along with tobacco and the gold and silver mines of South America, cotton was one of the most valuable exports which created an immediate demand in Europe, resulting in many investors funding some of the first communities to profit from cotton production. Cotton is a labor-intensive difficult crop to grow and harvest, unfortunately, slave labor was sued for much of the hardest aspects of the job. With that said, people are inclined to always “build a better mousetrap” and also have tried more efficient means of harvesting cotton. Although modern technology has made for much more efficient cotton machinery with an expected use for industrial farming, the simplicity and beauty of antique equipment can make for a fun hobby to restore and use on a smaller scale than what is required of commercial farms. Some have been designed as an attachment to be used with a regular tractor, essentially running the tractor in reverse with the large wheels to the front instead of the rear, others were made as independent designs specific for the single use of picking cotton and transporting it back to the barn to be cleaned by a cotton gin and baled as a separate process. Over the years, there have been some exceptionally cool ideas about how to pick cotton without the extensive labor required when people have to harvest by hand. 1820's: Trained Monkeys Nobody can argue how cool an idea it was when a Louisiana farmer had the idea in 1820 to purchase a group of money and train them to pick cotton. This almost sounds like a joke from a comedy movie, but the guy actually thought it might work. Spoiler alert, it didn't. He was able to teach them to pick cotton while in captivity, but when he released them into the fields to actually conduct the harvest, they quickly became distracted and ran off into the surrounding woods. Okay, the proof is in the pudding and maybe that wasn't a “great” idea, but such idiocy certainly brings a few giggles to nearly everyone when they hear the story. Patent Number 7,631, Subclass 48 Invented in 1850 by Samuel S. Rembert and Jedediah Prescott of Memphis, TN., the first cotton picking machine used cylinders and disks to pick cotton. The interesting aspect of the invention was it's being designed to add more units capable of harvesting more than one row at a time, a concept still used by modern harvesters. It didn't work well in terms of reliability because it required the operator to constantly stop and clean off the cotton oils as they jammed up the operating mechanisms, but it did prove such a machine was possible but needed some further development and improvement. 1930's: John Daniel Rust Rust invented one of the first usable cotton pickers in 1933, which didn't become commercially popular until 1938. It attached to the rear of a tractor and picked cotton without stripping it. Pictures show the tractor driver often holding the steering wheel to maintain a straight line while looking over their shoulder to evaluate how the harvest was proceeding. This was the machine that made mechanical cotton pickers an integral aspect of cotton farms, as they could produce as much cotton in an hour as had previously been expected after a day's worth of labor. The patent was sold in the 1940s and used by different companies before becoming an outdated machine, even though some of the most basic concepts it used are still part of modern cotton pickers, with a few upgrades and improvements to details of the harvest process. 1940's International Harvester Model 114A The I.H. Model 114A was one of the first cotton picking specific machines, and set a new standard for cotton farmers when it came out in 1943. The problem with previous mechanical harvesting was it didn't always clean the cotton efficiently enough to go straight to the cotton gin for separation. The 114A resolved that problem and reliably picked cotton while removing unopened bolls and other debris which would clog a gin. By doing so, the amount of labor required during a cotton harvest was immensely lowered while increasing production rates. With a growing demand for cotton worldwide both as a fabric and for other uses such as in cooking oil or rubber products, such an invention had become an absolute necessity toward a farm's continued success in the cotton industry. 1950 I.H. M120 Cotton Picker The I.H. M120 basically added a cotton picker to a tractor in a means which would turn the tractor into a specialized piece of machinery used only to pick cotton. It essentially turned the tractor around to drive with the large wheels in the front behind the spindles which harvested cotton one row at a time. The steering wheel and seat were moved to face what is generally considered the rear of the tractor, and the basket was mounted over the engine hood. Although modern cotton pickers operate much the same way with rear-wheel steering, they do more than just picking the cotton but also strip and bale the crop. It's interesting to see how that design began and how it has evolved over time. Certi-Pik USA Parts and Equipment If you're fortunate enough to find an antique cotton picker, it's likely going to be in a condition that requires restoration, and that's going to require parts. At Certi-Pik, we provide certified aftermarket OEM parts for modern and older cotton machinery according to your needs; we're specifically certified by John Deere and Case/IH. Although we also sell parts for many other makes of cotton picker and tractor equipment. Our staff is trained and understands both the mechanical needs of your equipment and the importance of getting it fixed as quickly as possible to avoid downtime in the field. We can provide advice if you have questions about which part will best fix any problem your equipment may be having. Contact us for all your aftermarket parts needs so we can help you achieve your goals of producing a successful and profitable cotton crop each year. Read Also: How Does Modern Technology Propel The Success of Your Business? Ten Ways Technology is Impacting Modern Education How Cutting Edge Technology is Helping Dubai Improve its Healthcare Services

5 Reasons To Prefer Buying Printer Ink Cartridges Online

Are you the owner of a printing business? Searching for suitable cartridges for your printers can be tedious as you go from store to store. This is particularly true if you need a lot of ink at once. Different retail stores may have their own price and a certain amount of inventory. Your cost becomes significantly higher if you have to purchase from many dealers. In this scenario, it would be great if you’re able to purchase ink cartridges online from one or two places and acquire all you need in one go. This blog post will discuss the benefits of buying printer ink cartridges online. 1. Standard And High-Quality Online shopping guarantees the toner cartridge’s standard and quality. Also, you can look at the specifics to see whether the items are appropriate for the printer. As a result, you can be confident that the toner cartridges won't cause the printer to malfunction. There are possibilities for refilling the cartridges and purchasing new ones online. When purchasing from an internet retailer, you can put your confidence in the recommendations if there are genuine customer reviews. 2. Convenience In comparison to the desire for movement, practicality and comfort are unmatched. No other way of purchase can compare to the ease you get when you buy HP toner cartridges online and ink. In only a few clicks, a shopper may calmly choose things online, alter amounts, and sort items by color from anywhere they want. 3. Price Comparison In Real-Time The price comparison is nearly instant if the transaction is conducted online. You can surf around the internet and compare the prices in just a few clicks. All it takes is clicking the address of the business selling toner or cartridges, comparing the pricing, and deciding which choice is most appealing to you. You may also hunt for deals on the toner or cartridges you need. 4. There Are More Options Available Online There can only be a certain number of stores close to where you live or work. On the other hand, several websites offer ink and toner cartridges online. Additionally, there aren't many brands available in your area. However, there is a wide range of ink cartridges online. In the online space, you have more options in terms of suitable brands and internet suppliers of ink and toner cartridges. 5. Shipping And Special Offers Every store owner knows that buying in bulk results in cost savings, yet purchasing 10 ink cartridges from a street retailer seldom results in such savings. Online, you would often be able to find savings and free delivery if you were to perform the same action. Additionally, it implies that buying a large quantity of printer supplies and cartridges at once and keeping them until you need them might result in financial savings. If you regularly print, going to the store to buy printer ink or toner is annoying. Online businesses provide same-day delivery for situations where speedy delivery is crucial. Read Also: 7 Ways To Stop Spending So Much On Printing In Your Business Paper Authority: Basic Tips In Purchasing A Printer How To Choose The Best Printer For Your Office

Clover Station for Liquor Store Management

Keeping track of inventory, managing employees and making sales are all in a day’s work when operating a liquor store. Clover Station 2.0 facilitates all of these tasks and can replace a cash register or terminal with secure and versatile point-of-sale technology. Learn more about how the hardware and software plans available through Merchant Account Solutions make it easier to manage store operations. Know how the hardware and software plans available through Merchant Account Solutions: A Full-Service POS System A 14-inch main display and customer-facing printer set the latest version of the Clover Station apart from previous releases and other POS systems. The Station comes ready to accept payments with EMV or chip cards, cards that have magnetic stripes and contactless near-field communication payment methods. The included Clover Cash Drawer connects to the station and can be set to open automatically for certain payment methods. The drawer can also be manually locked for security. The countertop Station 2.0 has a 14-inch display and features such as a customer-facing printer display. This all-in-one hardware also scans barcodes for easy checkout. For greater versatility, a Clover Mini can be paired with the latest Station hardware to add a 7-inch customer-facing touch screen interface. Inventory and Sales When the Clover Station hardware is used with the Register software plan, this liquor store POS system provides a full suite of inventory management features. Increase the accuracy of reporting and overall ease of use by pairing a Station with a portable device such as the Flex, which features a built-in camera for scanning barcodes on the go. The Clover Dashboard or mobile Dashboard application enables store owners to monitor sales in real-time and review closeout or end-of-day reports. The Dashboard also provides access to comprehensive revenue reports, information about sales trends and transaction details. Owners of multiple stores can aggregate sales data for all locations or view records for each store. Employee Accounts A Clover Station makes it simple for store owners or managers to set up accounts for employees. The built-in Time Clock tool supports scheduling shifts and the Station 2.0 hardware provides fingerprint login for enhanced security. User access and permissions can be adjusted as needed. Individual user accounts make it easier for owners and managers to measure employee performance and calculate commissions. Applications available through the Clover App Market offer integrated solutions for processing payroll and performing other staffing tasks. Portable Pairings A Clover Station with the Register system software plan enables liquor store owners to accept all forms of payment and manage inventory and operations. Clover also makes other types of POS hardware with smaller profiles, such as the 7-inch Mini tablet and the portable Flex with a 5-inch touch screen. The Clover Go is the most mobile option designed for use with a smartphone or tablet. Any Clover hardware can be paired with a Station, used at smaller stores with less extensive management needs or brought to an event to process payments. The full range of devices and software available from Clover offer store owners a choice of adaptable and affordable payment processing and operational management systems. Read also: The Versatility of Clover POS Systems Learning How to Choose the Best Merchant Account for Your Burgeoning Insurance Company

The Beginners Guide To Dealing With Website Downtime

What Are The Major Causes Of Website Downtime?

How To Protect Your Website From Downtime