Monthly Archives: January 2018

Navigating the web hosting environment today can be intimidating! There are large-scale providers like Amazon and Google. Plenty of new startups that are focused on niche industries. And they all offer similar services. It can be hard to decide what is best for your business (Need a little help? Check out our hosting assessment here).

We’re starting off the year with a series of how to differentiate between web hosting providers and what makes us different.

First and foremost, we take pride in our customer service. We believe that treating customers well is the key to any business’ success. So, what makes our customer service department different?

24/7 Support

For many of our customers, IT and web development is not in their primary job descriptions. They are business owners, office managers, and designers. They don’t want to take time away from their main responsibilities to handle IT issues. So, we understand how important it is to be available at any time of day because they’re working after hours.

That’s why one of our key principles for web hosting customer service is to be there for you at any time. Our helpdesk is open 24/7 to serve our customers around the world.

In-House Experts

Is there anything more frustrating than support professionals who aren’t familiar with your specific situation? We take pride in keeping our customer service experts in-house where other hosting companies cut costs by outsourcing their customer service departments. What does this mean for you? You have personalized, knowledgeable web hosting professionals to resolve your issues quickly and effectively.

Multiple Channels of Support

We like flexible support options and we know you do too. That’s why we offer support services via email, live chat, and over the phone! For less urgent questions, our secure helpdesk offers a ticket-bases system to get in touch with one of our professionals. In the middle of making changes and need a little guidance? Our live chat hosting techs are ready to walk you through whatever changes you need made. For situations where you need to talk to someone immediately, our emergency phone support is a great option!

These options ensure that we’re able to serve you in a way that’s most convenient for your business.

100% Customer Focused Techs

Don’t trust your crucial IT functions to “experts” who aren’t fully focused on customer service. Our support professionals are entirely dedicated to serving customers and addressing issues as quickly and painlessly as possible. They aren’t splitting time between departments or distracted by their other tasks. We invest in our web hosting customer service professionals to ensure that they are the best in the business – because that’s what makes us the best in the business.

Initial Installation + Setup Support

One of the most critical times in your web hosting is the initial application installation on our servers. There’s nothing more frustrating than deciding on a web hosting provider and not being able to take the next step forward. That’s why we offer side-by-side support throughout the initial installation and setup to make sure everything goes smoothly.

 

Web design is constantly evolving and it seems more rapidly each year. If it’s been more than a couple of years since your last website update, it may be time to think about a redesign. While the site content may remain similar, redesigning its presentation to be more engaging to your users can result in considerable traffic increase, engagement, and ultimately, more sales!

Thinking about giving your website a little facelift to kick off the new year? Here are the trends we expect to dominate in web design for 2018:

1. Video: This should come as no surprise, but video will continue to take center stage in 2018. The key will be integrating video into your website’s UX so that it’s seamless and doesn’t interrupt the other types of content on the page.
2. Interaction + Animation: Consumers in 2018 are looking for more from their online interactions with brands. When it comes to web design trends, that means integrating ways to personalize each user’s experience through interaction and animated elements on the website.

1. Interesting Page Transitions: Throughout all of the advancements in web design, one thing has remained constant: transitioning from page to page. This year, expect designers to ease the transition from page to page with consistent design and page element animations.
2. Maximalist Sites: Over the last several years, “clean” sites with abundant white space have dominated web design. Now, the reverse is starting to appear as designers buck up the web design trend with saturated, colorful designs and more complex structure.
3. Content: As with video, content isn’t going anywhere in 2018. Creating valuable content that’s highly engaging is the key to keeping consumers coming back to your site. Continued focus on connecting with users through this type of content will dominate the coming year.
4. Break Up Longform Content: When it comes to content, designers are focused on coming up with innovative ways to present longer form articles. Incorporating corresponding graphic elements, animated illustrations, or interactive features help keep readers engaged throughout the full experience.
5. UX – Giving Users Choice: Give users the ability to “choose their own adventure”, so to speak. Instead of dictating how they engage with your website with just one option, present your content in several different ways to appeal to as many users as possible.
6. Shadows: To give depth to previously flat designs, designers in 2018 are adding shadows to elements from illustrations to buttons. Using this to create dimension in the site helps encourage users.
7. Mobile First Design: Continuing the trend from the past several years, mobile first design trend will be paramount in 2018. As mobile has finally surpassed desktop in total users, ensuring that your site is navigable via phone and tablet should be your first priority.

1. Illustrations: Custom illustrations are the new hot graphic element for designers.
2. Asymmetry + Fewer Grid Constraints: One of our favorite design trends for the coming year is the breakdown of the traditional grid. Asymmetry will rule the day as designers literally think outside the box.

With some of the design trends like video and animation, it’s important to have a hosting environment that can run your site effectively. Not sure of your requirements? Take our hosting assessment to find out exactly what your business needs are.

Last Updated on January 3, 2018 by Ruchir Shastri

As technology is typically a part of your business that is “behind the scenes”, it can often be a bit neglected. Unfortunately, as a “Check Engine Light” in your car that is ignored or a slow leak in your ceiling that you keep putting off fixing, a neglected IT environment can lead to big problems for you and your business.

Like in those cases, if something goes wrong, it’s nice to have the experts on your side.

Even if you aren’t experiencing issues with your technology, it’s crucial to have a good handle on that aspect of your business. Need a demonstration of how crucial IT is to your company’s productivity? Switch off the wifi and see how long before panic ensues.

Technology can either be a crutch or a catapult to your growth.

Here are three big reasons to turn your IT from an afterthought to a strategic business advantage.

FLEXIBILITY

 

Your business is unique and has unique technology requirements. Don’t settle for an “out of the box” solution when you need an environment that will truly support and propel your business forward. At Softsys Hosting, we own all of our hardware from servers to network switches. This provides us total control over your infrastructure. In turn, we have the ability to build custom configurations that are perfectly suited to your needs.

There’s no longer a need to wonder whether a certain package will work for you and your business. We’ll make sure of it.

 

PEACE OF MIND

 

Is there anything worse than upgrading a software service, making a change to your website, or adding a user to your technology environment only to find out that your service has completely crashed? Of course not! That moment of panic can (luckily) be avoided with a program of consistent backups.

With our managed hosting services, we back up your entire service both weekly and daily to help ease the stress of a potential mistake.

Don’t realize your services are down right away? Accidentally deleted information that you realized you needed? We retain backups for the last 6-7 days so you have access to the data you need.

 

SUPPORT

 

Technology can seem overwhelming at times. It has the ability to make our lives and businesses much more effective but can also cause stress when it’s not functioning properly. That frustration is compounded when there isn’t a clear fix or someone to help get back on track.

Our in-house support team is available 24 hours a day to help solve your problems LIVE.

Service is our main focus and we pride ourselves on serving clients with speed and accuracy. We feature on average between 10-12 minutes response time to support tickets and work to make sure your experience is as seamless as possible.

We also monitor issues on your account for you and, in many cases, can fix problems before you even realize they are there. This keeps you focused and your business on track.

Don’t wait for your next technology emergency to reevaluate your IT systems. Invest in your company’s growth by devoting the time and resources necessary to support your critical systems with Softsys Hosting managed solutions.

Last Updated on January 3, 2018 by Ruchir Shastri

With the flip of the calendar comes a new year of opportunities. A new year of goals, revenue targets, and challenges. A new year of growth for business owners around the world. While goals and projections for 2018 have likely already been established, as people are getting back into their offices after the holidays, the question becomes HOW.

If you’re looking to grow your business in the new year, your approach will make all the difference in whether your growth is temporary or sustainable. For example, growth can come from additional work. Maybe you spent 30 hours per week working on your business in 2017 and plan to grow by dedicating an additional 15 hours in the coming year.

For many entrepreneurs, 30 hours of work pass within the first couple days of the week so working longer hours isn’t an option. In that case, it’s imperative to work smarter. Prioritize. Delegate. Outsource.

 

While outsourcing services and giving up control over certain systems can be intimidating initially, it frees you up to focus on your core business and revenue-generating activities.  

 

Our advice? Start small. Choose one aspect of your business to outsource and continue from there.

 

Here are 5 things we recommend outsourcing to enable you to grow in 2018:

 

IT Services: Unless IT is your core business, it’s time to bring in the experts. Moving your technology to a managed hosting environment will allow you to enhance your business and minimize distractions. IT is also a key component of your growth as it often needs to grow with your company so ensuring that you have the technology and service needed to keep your business running is crucial.

 

Accounting: Not only will this save you time, it may very well save you money. Hiring a professional to take care of your bookkeeping and tax preparation services is an investment that often pays for itself.

 

Payroll Services: This is another area where an outside professional can handle a task more effectively and efficiently than you are able to.

 

Legal Services: If you have growth plans for 2018, you may be looking to acquire a business, start a separate business, or otherwise change the structure of your company. While you likely can file your business paperwork yourself, ask yourself if the benefits and costs savings outweigh the risks. In this field, especially, hire a lawyer to look over your business legal needs and save yourself the potential headache.

 

Assistance: If you’re not ready to hire a full-time office assistant, look into virtual assistance to help with smaller tasks like data entry, research, or cold calling.

 

Not sure where to start? Consider the tasks that require a good bit of your time and are not a core competency of yours or your business’ and start researching outsourcing options.

Outsourcing parts of your business requires an investment of time on the front end, but will enable you to focus your energy on growing your company over the course of the year. Not to mention giving you peace of mind that your trusted partners are handling your business functions while you plan for the future.