Maintenance Complete

September 19th, 2009 by Keith from shrewdies | Comments Off | Filed in Web Hosting

Site has now being updated.

If any problems persist, please report them in the new hosting forum.

Google Keyword Grouping

September 18th, 2009 by Keith from shrewdies | Comments Off | Filed in Foundation

I’ve neglected this site of late, but this will be changing soon.

As well as new site management tools, I will soon be launching a new web business management site. In fact it’s a business methodology that applies to bricks-n-mortar businesses, and almost any enterprise.

Just to keep you interested, and to prove there is life around here somewhere, I’ve made a public demo of a filtering technique that I use in Google Spreadsheets.

I find that filtering is imperative for keyword grouping, and though some authorities decry spreadsheets, I will be explaining soon just how valuable they can be (not to mention free). Now filtering is great in Excel, or even better, in Open Office, but I need to keep my office on the web, so I like to use Google Docs.

Unfortunately, even though they have now added a rudimentary filtering solution in the new List View, there is no custom filtering.

The Google Spreadsheet Custom Filter Demo solves that problem. It should be self explanatory, but if not, please ask your questions in the comments box below.

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Multi User Web Hosting: WPMU From Scratch

February 24th, 2008 by Keith from shrewdies | 1 Comment | Filed in Foundation


Multi User
Thanks to (nz)dave for this image
How different is Multi User Web Hosting compared to a standard hosted WordPress installation?
There are more similarities than differences, but you must prepare properly and keep your wits about you.

My standard WordPress installation wizard starts after you have a domain up and running. WordPress Multi User (WPMU) installation requires some changes to how your domain is configured. Specifically, you need to change DNS records if you want user blogs to be userblog.domain.com rather than www.domain.com/userblog.

I need to do a separate Multi User Wizard, but for now, I will list all the steps I took to get WPMU running. I’m pretty sure that the plugins and other configuration steps will differ, so I will generate the first phase of my Multi User Wizard over the next few days.

For now, the installation steps, with a couple of warnings, are:
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Web Hosting For Dummies

February 21st, 2008 by Keith from shrewdies | 6 Comments | Filed in Managed Hosting Service, Old Web Business Posts, WordPress Hosting
2010 Update:

I have had so much interest in a Web Hosting For Dummies book (that does not exist), I’ve introduced a new section looking at appropriate books in the field of web hosting.

Also, a couple of other updates:

  • WordPress.com has clarified that it does allow some site monetization as log as it is ethical and incidental (my interpretation). I’ll review this in more detail just as soon as somebody asks me to.
  • My installation wizard is on-hold. Now that Pods is here, there is a better way to manage it, but I have other Pods projects to complete first.

Web Hosting For Dummies

I know many people seeking web hosting for dummies.

Millions of people have gained benefits from “For Dummies” books. Most don’t really like admitting to being dummies. Many are far from dummies, but want to get back to basics so they have a good foundation for whatever they want to learn.

These people are Shrewdies.

They want to gain the benefits of web hosting without years of learning technology secrets.

How can Shrewdies get good quality web hosting at reasonable prices? Or free?

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Bad Web Hosting Behavior

February 19th, 2008 by Keith from shrewdies | 2 Comments | Filed in Phase 1, WordPress Hosting
Bad Behavior
Thanks to dogwelder for this image
After a short break from developing my web hosting business, I have a new exciting project.

I’ll use the project to describe the technical steps you need to consider when hosting a new website, and take the opportunity of developing my webhosting wizard.

I will document this project development from a number of different angles. This makes the development time slightly longer, but allows me to save time on future projects, by keeping all the management and technical issues recorded.

More importantly, it helps you to plan your web hosting projects better.

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2 Essential Visitor Management Tools

September 21st, 2007 by Keith from shrewdies | 1 Comment | Filed in Phase 1, Web Business Promotion, WordPress Hosting
Visitor management is crucial to all but the unfriendliest of business websites.

It’s no use putting on a friendly face, and hoping that your visitors will be happy – you have to work to keep them happy.

Visitor satisfaction must run through all aspects of your website. Much is commonsense:

  • Encourage customer feedback
  • Prompt response to feedback
  • Clear site policies
  • Consistent navigation

Most of all, you have to overdeliver in every department. There are a couple of essential tools which I have added to my WordPress Installation pack.

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Small Business Web Site Development Wizard

September 20th, 2007 by Keith from shrewdies | Comments Off | Filed in Web Business Content
Your small business web site development needs more than a flashy installation wizard and content management system.

You need a support system to constantly manage new content that satisfies your visitors thirst for relevant information.

There is a milestone for most websites when you get more input from your actual visitors than you did from your keyword research. Typically this is around 60 pages, but can be much earlier on a site that encourages visitor involvement.

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Small Business Web Site Promotion

September 16th, 2007 by Keith from shrewdies | Comments Off | Filed in Phase 1, Web Business Promotion
October 2008 Update: BlogRush is sadly no longer with us. See Bye Bye BlogRush
The latest small business web site promotion looks set to be the best.

I believe any serious small business website needs to include a substantial blogging element. It is the easiest way to generate content for your visitors, and the easiest way to keep your customers informed.

Blog style websites have long been the easiest to promote, and blog promotion just got easier. And better.

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Web Business Opportunity: AdSense Referrals

September 14th, 2007 by Keith from shrewdies | Comments Off | Filed in Web Business Monetization, WordPress Hosting
Why is it that when people ask about web business opportunities, I immediately talk about AdSense, but hardly ever mention AdSense Referrals?

The AdSense for Content scheme dominates my thoughts, perhaps because, for many sites, it is the main earner. But AdSense Referrals can also bring significant income, and the product list has grown tremendously from the original Google product line.

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Business Website Builder

September 10th, 2007 by Keith from shrewdies | Comments Off | Filed in Phase 1, WordPress Hosting
My main activity, currently, is developing my business website builder wizard. I’ve added a new page to keep track of development. Though it is a long way from finished, I hope you find some of the development information useful.

I have called the first part Essential Plug-ins. These are ones that any self-respecting WordPress web business needs. Some may have alternatives. I have selected ones that I know work. If you know of alternatives that you think are better, please let me know.

I noticed one or two that I rely on, but haven’t mentioned in this blog, so I will mention them now.

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