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Tag: web hosting service

How a Hacked Website Can Impact your Business

Your website is your company’s primary asset in the digital age, and the last thing you want to happen is to wake up one day with a hacked one.

With the sudden shift in consumer behavior and increased use of online channels brought about by the pandemic, many businesses are now understanding the importance of having a website to pivot their business in the digital age.

While this is a good start to kick-off your digital presence, many are still neglecting a key element – website security.  This is especially common among small businesses as we tend to focus more on big companies and enterprises whose websites have been hacked before.

But did you know that small business websites are also at risk of getting their websites hacked too? In fact, according to a Verizon 2019 report, 43% of cyberattacks are aimed towards small businesses.

That is why as business owners, it is important to understand the possible impacts of a hacked website to your business, and what you can do to secure your website.

What will happen if your website’s hacked?

Your website is at risk of the following consequences if it gets hacked:

  1. Personal or financial data loss

Most hackers are after these things – personal and financial information. Cybercriminals fish for sensitive information (like your credit card information) often to sell it or use it for themselves.

  1. Slowed Down Website

It is also common for cybercriminals to hack into websites to store and run files on your server. This often leads to a slowed-down website, which can later affect your SEO ranking, as Google’s algorithm takes website speed into account in ranking pages.

  1. You will probably lose your customer’s trust too

No customer would like to hear or see their trusted brand’s website get hacked. Your hacked website not only puts your information at risk, but it also risks having your customer information stolen for can be used by cybercriminals for identity theft.

Additionally, you get possibly be held accountable for stolen customer data, and most customers will probably not be confident to visit your website anymore.

 

What can you do to make your website more secure?

  1. Make sure to get an SSL Certificate

A trusted website should be equipped with an SSL Certificate. This is essential for ALL websites, as it ensures that the data shared between your website and visitors are safe, encrypted, and secured from potential hackers or intruders.

  1. Choose a trusted Web Hosting Provider

The type of hosting you choose for your website can help determine your website’s security. It is important to know how well your hosting provider can protect your website from possible cyberattacks, and how they can respond to hacking incidents when it happens.

 

Conclusion

Website hacking is a real threat to businesses in the digital age. With this, keeping your website secure should be a priority for all businesses to ensure that your company and your client’s information are always safe.

Looking for the right web hosting partner for your business? Check out our website hosting services at iManila.

With over 20 years in the industry, iManila is one of the most trusted web hosting companies in the Philippines. Whether you are looking for a domain, security, or hosting solutions, contact us and we’d be glad to help!

Introducing the #iManilaHelpCenter

With the global pandemic keeping us within the confines of our homes and our workplaces, one thing we’ve found among our clients is an increase in email usage, an increase in website traffic, and to some extent – an increasing demand for technical support assistance. Despite the continued service of our brave frontliners – our Technical Support team, we also saw this time as an opportunity to further help and support our clients. With this, we’re happy to introduce our #iManilaHelpCenter. 

The #iManilaHelpCenter is available to anyone who needs detailed support in managing their cPanel. This is available and FREE for anyone by simply visiting www.imanila.ph/help. 

The main objective of our newest Help Center is not only to educate clients about their cPanel accounts, but also to give detailed instructions and steps on how to properly use, control and manage their individual hosting accounts. By visiting the Help Center, you’ll be able to find solutions to your Hosting concerns arranged according to the root of your issue whether it be relating to your: cPanel Dashboard, Databases, Domain, FTP, Files, Emails, etc. 

Further to this, the newest addition to our iManila website also features a wide knowledge base from frequently asked questions to common problems such as How to Access My Website or My Webmail or the definitions of Different Website Errors and many more! 

It is with our hope that the new iManila Help Center will not only help our clients, but empower others in learning something new and hopefully in line with our vision to continue to improve lives through technology. 

For any support-related concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us through [email protected] or via Chat here on our website. #iManila

Your Online Brand Starts with a Reliable Hosting Service

A lot of businesses have turned to digital when it comes to selling their products. Nowadays, a physical store goes hand in hand with an online store as well. This is because online selling has made it quick and convenient for customers to access and purchase any product they like.

As the demand for product availability in the digital world increases, the demand for a reliable hosting provider increases as well. This is probably where some marketing executives fall short as they have limited understanding of the parameters and limitations of their hosting provider, which as it goes on, might eventually lead to a digital disaster.

So to make it simpler to understand here’s some points on why it’s important to have a reliable hosting provider:

Your Hosting Server is the Primary Business Data Depository

Think of it as the main building of your business wherein you house all your files, documents, and the content of your website. Whatever happens to your server will also happen to your website and web applications such as your in-house CRM and ERP, should you have any.

Your Hosting Server Capacity Dictates Your Website

One of the most important aspects of a hosting server is its capacity. Your server capacity must be able to carry all of your website’s content. It’s also very crucial as it will dictate the speed and performance of your website. Interactive websites and web systems usually require bigger bandwidth. This is especially true for brands that have graphics and content-heavy websites.

The Security of your Hosting says a lot about your data’s longevity

With digital, the real treasure lies in data. Whatever you’ve posted online about your business, combined with the database gathered from interaction amongst potential clients such as the lead list, mailing list, etc. are the business’ assets and should definitely be protected at all costs.

Finding a hosting provider who can give you security options to keep your peace of mind is a step that your company needs to take.

Hosting Servers are the life and core of online marketing. One mistake caused by an unreliable hosting provider will lead to immense headaches for business operations.

iManila is a trusted provider of both reliable hosting services and technical support services. Our lines are open 24/7 and our sales executives are available Monday to Friday to assist you with your web, IT, and digital marketing needs!

Reach us at [email protected] or call us at 3490-0000! #iManila #Hosting

Things to consider when Choosing the Right Web Hosting Provider

Reliable web hosting is essential when building a website for your business. Your website files are all stored in a remote computer server which is called a host. It works when a certain online user wants to view your website and searched for your domain name or website address into their browser. Then, their computer will connect to your website server and your website content will be delivered to their browsers.

Easy as it may seem but web hosting involves various technical processes and technologies. Thus, a web hosting provider or company is a business that has the technologies and services needed for your website or webpages to be seen on the Internet.

To help you out, here are the important factors to consider when choosing the right web hosting provider for your business:

Type of Web Host

With the prevalence of digital media, it’s much easier to get hosting services today from both local and foreign providers compared to how it is a few years back. However, before you get one for your website, you must first know the different types of hosting services that are available and what suits your business.

Here are the three different types of website hosting that you can choose from:

  • Virtual Server Hosting – This is also dubbed as a virtual private server (VPS) that is available for your web hosting needs. It is actually a virtual server that a user perceives as a dedicated or private server even though it is installed on a physical computer that runs multiple operating systems. This kind of hosting is a shared system and has lesser user traffic but provides good speed. Web contents are loaded faster in this type of hosting system.
  • Cloud Shared Hosting – This hosting system is one of the most common and usually the best option for small and medium enterprises. In this kind of hosting, the web space is being shared with multiple business entities while the maintenance and cost of the web hosting service are also being shared by the users. With this, you only get charged for the space that was allocated for you.
  • Dedicated Hosting – In this kind of hosting system, excellent performance can be guaranteed. Dedicated hosting is where a business entity leases an entire server to provide their clients with their own data center. While this type may cost more than the other two, it promises great speed and full control over the server.

Correct Bandwidth and Security

Make sure that the provider whom you are coordinating with can provide the right bandwidth and disk storage space that you require. It is also ideal to go for a provider who can also offer Security Sockets Layer or SSL Certificate that can add protection to your website from potential hackers. (Read our previous blog about why it is important for you to have an SSL Certificate.)

Customer Support

It is ideal for you to get a web hosting company that can provide you with 24/7 Technical Support. When it comes to website maintenance and making sure that your website is always up and running, your provider must have a reel time helpdesk through live chat, mail or call to resolve your queries on the dot.

Now that you have an idea on the various factors to consider when choosing the right web hosting provider, the next step is to look for the best and most reliable company that will not just cater your needs but will also exceed your expectations.

Turn to iManila and see our excellence as it happens! Experience the best web and email hosting in the Philippines with powerful features engineered to provide 99.95% uptime and availability, day-in, day-out.

Contact us now or send us an email at [email protected]!

Website Must-Haves: How to Reach your Full Potential Online

You can’t deny that modern technology has affected the way companies do business. Today, most successful businesses have grasped the importance of having an online presence. While a website is good place to start, it is not enough, and you definitely shouldn’t stop there.

To help you out, here are some factors that you should be keeping an eye on to make sure that your business will thrive in the digital age.

Site Security

Imagine that your website is your house. Now, you don’t want intruders easily accessing and coming into your house, right? So you put up a gate and filter what comes in and out of your house. That is precisely what an SSL Certificate does. SSL or Security Sockets Layer is the standard security technology that functions to establish an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. The link ensures that all the data or sensitive information that have been submitted or collected through the web server and the browser will remain private, confidential, and secure. You have to keep in mind that security builds credibility among your website visitors, thus, making your business look more legitimate and trustworthy. It is best that you secure your website by purchasing an SSL certificate from an authorized provider.

Better Google Ranking through Paid Ads

Aside from frequently uploading relevant content on your website, another factor that Google uses to help your website rank is PAID ADS. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) plays a vital role to reach a wider audience, drive more traffic to your website, and can potentially generate leads. The catch is making sure that your ads are relevant to your target audience. Google’s algorithm pushes your ads to users who are more likely to engage with it. Meaning, your ad should target a specific need of your audience so they will really click on it. Make sure you use the right keywords so you also reach the right audience.

Digital User Experience

Is your website user-friendly? Does it take less than a second to load? If yes, then great job on providing users with a good digital experience! Forbes defines ‘digital user experience’ as something that encompasses all aspects of person’s interaction with your website, including behavior, actions taken, perceptions, and satisfaction. However, if you are experiencing high bounce rate because your site is taking too long to load, then there might be a problem with your web host. On average, a user will leave your site if it takes more than 10-20 seconds to load. A good hosting provider will help you beat that time and successfully retain your audience.

Going digital has opened so many opportunities for businesses to reach their full potential. It’s important that you invest in the right marketing tools and strategies to keep your online presence afloat.  Now it’s all up to you. Will you just wait in vain while your competitors surpass you, or will you take the leap and go digital today?

Partner with a reliable digital marketing agency to cater to all your digital requirements. Here at iManila, we provide services that will help your business succeed in the digital world. We offer Web and App Development, Digital Marketing, Hosting Services, and 24/7 Technical Support. For inquiries, visit our Contact Us page or get in touch with our team at (02) 490 0000 or (+63) 917 845 6005.

 

Why Your Website Page Speed Matters?

 

Website Page Speed — In this age of digital transformation, time is of the essence for all. What considers the best experience for most of the people is being able to do what needs to be done in the quickest time possible. And that holds true for most things, especially on the internet.

Websites these days are not just about design and functionality; it is also about the page loading speed. No matter how well designed and informative your website is, if it takes almost a minute to load a single page, then you are lagging behind your competitor’s websites who loads faster than yours.

There are more to your website loading time than what you’ve probably thought before. Below are the two crucial points that compel website owners like you to optimize your website’s loading time.

It matters to Users.

A website that loads fast leaves a good impression to the users. Aside from that, online users have a growing rate of declining attention span. According to an article of Timothy Egan posted on New York Times online, a survey of media consumption by Microsoft concluded that the average attention span of humans had fallen to eight (8) seconds from twelve (12) in the year 2000.

It is a crucial point showing that as technology improves, the attention span declines. Optimizing your website to meet this emerging user behavior will surely improve its performance.

And it matters to Google too.

Google puts user experience at the core of its technology and business. And what matters to the users, also matters to Google. It is the behavior and preferences of the online users that became the basis of all improvements applied to the search engine.

According to Google, the average loading time of a mobile landing page to fully load all elements is at 22 seconds. However, 53% of visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load. And that where the problem lies. While most websites take 22 seconds to load, the users’ attention span is only at 8 seconds – at the most.

Below are the critical points Google shared to webmasters.

 

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In the same way, a slow page loading time might affect your website’s search engine ranking. Since Google prioritize user experience, it will not let a slow loading website rank on the first page of Google SERP despite having marvelous content.

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What do you need to do?

To improve your website’s loading time, below are the steps that you need to take to optimize it.

  1. Using the webpagetest.org, check the loading time of every element in your website.
  2. Improve what needs to improve such as:
  • Compress large image and video files
  • Remove unnecessary plugins that slow your website loading time
  1. ALWAYS, depend on a reliable and high-quality web hosting server to make sure that your website loads on an optimal level. Servers are also responsible for loading time of the website, if your server is too old and lacks resources, your website won’t load fast enough.
  2. And you are covering visitors and audiences across the globe, you need to also use Content Delivery Network (CDN) to speed up the delivery of your website’s page loading on areas far from the location of your web hosting server.

Page speed is indeed a crucial part in the success of a website. In this age when human attention span is shorter than the goldfish, the only way website owners need to do to adapt is to optimize their websites from content to loading time according to the behavior of the users.

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iManila is a trusted provider of both web solutions and digital marketing services that surely covers small and medium businesses online marketing needs. Our lines are open 24/7 and our sales executives are available Mondays to Fridays to assist you with your web, IT, and digital marketing queries.

Emails: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]

Telephone numbers: (02) 490-0000, 01, 03 or at (02) 959-4807

Mobile number: (+63) 917-8476005

 

 

Sources:

  1. wisdekcorp.com
  2. nytimes.com
  3. thinkwithgoogle.com

iManila’s PISO HOSTING Promo is Now Available!

 

WEB HOSTING SERVICE ~ For you to keep up to the speed in this fast-paced digital world, you need first to have a solid foundation that can provide the availability and stability that you need. Aside from the experience and expertise, one thing must also take in consideration, the expenses. That combination is what makes iManila’s web hosting service the perfect one. With its more than 20 years of experience and expertise in providing reliable internet services, you can count on iManila to provide a 99.95% uptime and availability, day-in, day out.

The catch here is, you can enjoy a year of iManila’s Gold Hosting Package in just ONE PESO. Yes, a single peso can let you experience the best web and email hosting in the Philippines. With 20 GB disk storage space, and 100 GB monthly data transfer, iManila can provide the web hosting service that your business requires.

Transferring hosting server has never been this easy. All you need to do is to avail iManila’s Gold Hosting Package for 24 months and pay your total package cost for two years, amounting to Php 6,001.00 all in one full payment. And that’s it! One peso for your first 12 months.

 

Here’s how you can avail of this exclusive promo in just three (3) easy steps:

1) Order directly online our Gold Hosting Package

       STEP 1. Transfer your domain by typing it in the space given.

       STEP 2. Fill out the form on the next page and make sure to indicate necessary notes if you have one. Also, choose the payment mode available to you. Either Bank deposit, Paypal or Payment Pick-up.

2) Pay your two years (24 months) package cost (amounting to Php 6,001.00) in full.

3) And you can now transfer your hosting to us, with your first 12 months for just one (1) peso.

Note: This applies to hosting transfer only. Any additionals like domain purchase and premium tech support service are considered premium and shall be billed separately.

 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Sounds a good deal to you?

 

ORDER NOW

 

Promo is extended until October 30, 2017

 

Reminders:       

For those who will pay via PayPal, your account shall be automatically processed after providing your PayPal account details on the next page.

For Bank Deposit, you will see the bank account numbers of iManila where you can deposit your payment. Upon sending your deposit, your account will be processed within 24 hours. You can send your deposit slip via [email protected] or through your created account in this portal. You can also fax it to (02) 634-5139.

For Pickup payment, iManila shall base your billing address on the details you’ve provided on the form. Expect a verification call from us about the date of the pickup and the time and date of account activation.

Security Questions to Ask Your Hosting Providers

 

Your suppliers and agency partners are also your business partners. At the very least, they should earn your trust. As service providers, your suppliers should think like you, and should value your business they way you do – and your hosting provider is not an exemption in the list.

The truth is, not all hosting providers are made equal, and definitely, not all of them can empathize with you. To make sure you are getting what you exactly need, below are the things you need to ask your hosting provider in terms of your hosting security.

Asking your hosting provider about security feature that will fend-off most malware and virus attack is mandatory. Also, it is in your best interest to ask them about how they handle such events and making sure that your data is protected.

However, as a client, you also need to closely monitor your company email users and their activities, as it will hit your server hard. Usually, malicious files are sent via unscrupulous emails that can sometimes pass through the spam filters. This thing should be dealt with utmost supervision on your end.

Hosting providers that give you support in this case is a plus point. That means that they care for your business.

  • Security Against Digital Attacks

As what we’ve previously mentioned in our former blog entry, hackers work harder to find ways on how to mine important data from various websites that they want to attack. Your server security should work as hard these hackers to safeguard your important business information stored in your database.

But in times, when securities can no longer keep hackers at bay, ask your provider if they have protocols that can help you salvage all files in your database, so as not to hamper your business operations.

It is a plus point if your provider has regular backups of your site to make the impact of the attack bearable for you as a client.

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This may not very a security feature, but this will be helpful for you. A hosting service provider with 24/7 support (either by chat or phone) is a must. The reason is that; perpetrators of malicious activities online are web inhabitants who work round the clock. There are chances that you might get caught in the middle of the night or during the wee hours when most of your IT personnel are off to bed or either out in the office with friends and their families.

The thing is, a 24/7 support feature gives you some sort of insurance that your provider is there to give you support when you need it the most – be it emergency cases of minuscule glitches.

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These are the main things that should be of your concern regarding your business. Other nitty-gritty can be handled by your IT team. If you don’t have one, you can rely on some companies you can provide you consultancy or even the service to keep your IT needs and concern on the check.

iManila is a trusted provider of both reliable hosting services and tech support service that surely covers small and medium businesses IT concerns. Our lines are open 24/7 and our sales executives are available Mondays to Fridays to assist you with your web, IT, and digital marketing queries.

Emails: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]

Telephone numbers: (02) 490-0000, 01, 03 or at (02) 959-4807

Mobile number: (+63) 917-8476005

The Hidden Benefits of Dedicated Hosting Service

 

When you are working in a marketing department or most especially in the IT department, you heard about your web or email server a lot of times. You would probably hear the term dedicated hosting service too. During the days when you are having massive marketing campaigns online, you’ll probably make it your default process to make your website as the primary landing page. And in the midst of the campaign, you will definitely experience some unwanted glitches. Two of these glitches are slow loading time of the website and inaccessibility for a certain period of time. If your company website and even emails are hosted on a shared environment, then this occurrence is expected. These things are all related to your hosting server.

Below is a perfect example of a similar situation that can be possibly be attributed to hosting server issue.

Scenario 1

One best scenario that would also describe this kind of difficulty is the booking website of a known LCC (low-cost carriers) airlines here in the Philippines. This airline, which is famous for its super low flight price promo, runs Piso-fare which is an annual flight sale. You can book flights that are incredibly cheap in advance. When this happens, a lot of consumers who are also into booking cheap flights are complaining about the inaccessibility of the website. Some may have encountered booking a slot but are having a hard time processing the payment or worse, experiencing an expired session, prompting them to start booking again.

This is really frustrating for visitors and often leads to poor traffic and conversion.

The fault may not be solely due to the server – because the coding and programming quality are also factors to consider – but the hosting server holds a large portion of the responsibility for this matter.

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Scenario 2

Probably the most epic of all are the government websites. In some corporate documents and presentation, government data is very important in setting the road for strategic directions. And oftentimes, government websites failed us the time we need them the most.

However, there are government websites that are hands-on in managing and optimizing their websites. The office of the president and the vice president, the Philippine Statistical Authority, and the Department of Science and Technology are some of the offices that have tidy and performing websites.

Verdict

There are two potential reasons for this kind of scenarios:

Firstly, they could be using a shared hosting environment and haven’t anticipated the surging visits to their websites – hence the problem of downtime and slow loading time.

Secondly, they could be using a dedicated hosting environment, but not solely dedicated to their websites. It is possible that even the webmails and other intra-agency files that eat the buffer space that should be used, in times of surging web visits.

Dedicated Hosting Server for your Website

The thing is, before signing a contract or allocating server space for your website, you need to have a background of your industry’s competition first. If you are catering to end consumer with built-in product catalog, you might want to consider a dedicated server for your website.

Why?

Because, catering to end consumer means, capturing a larger audience than those of the companies who deal with businesses. And usually, tangible products which are fast-moving are much prone to bloating web visits. Another consideration is if you’re a publisher. Publishers experience doubled the traffic of FMCGs. If you are either of the two, you need to go for a dedicated web hosting.

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Hidden Benefits

Sometimes we take things at face value. When it’s pricey, we turn it down. When it is a little cheaper, we go for it. The truth is, things that are priced cheap are often limited or capped. Those that are expensive will last longer and are flexible, and the same thing goes for hosting services.

Shared hosting environment is practically affordable because it is meant for website owners that are not into online commerce of publishing. An info site that is made as a reference site for the company, won’t consume much. That is why shared hosting server will do – even with email hosting in it.

  • Greater security and flexibility

Compared with shared hosting server, the dedicated server gives webmasters and web owners the flexibility that they need. Dedicated Hosting also comes with a better security because you don’t need to worry about other tenants that you are sharing the server with. In short, you have the full control of the server.

Dedicated hosting services usually come with support too. When you are having troubles managing the environment, you can contact your provider and seek some help. We at iManila, we don’t just provide support, we provide 24/7 support to make sure our hosting clients are well taken care of.

Since you are using the entire environment for your own benefit, that means the resources are all yours to use. That means that even when there are unexpected surges of web visits, your website is still up and running. Here in iManila, our servers guarantee a 99.95% uptime.

This is the best part. Since dedicated servers are flexible, you have enough room to scale-up your environment should the need for it arises. Will all the evolution of media consumption, the trend is always going up. People are more demanding in terms of content. Gone are the days of text and images, as people are starting to get accustomed to rich media such as plotagraphs, GIF animation, motion graphic and videos. These file formats are seriously eating up spaces, and once you are compelled to use them, a scalable dedicated server is your only choice.

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With the fast evolving online community obsolescence is the only constant word to describe it. Megabytes are now just a child’s play, and who knows? The terabytes might be the next end users’ USB making hosting servers much bigger than they are now. With dedicated hosting, you have the power to scale up anytime you want, and with the support and security that comes with it, you can be sure that your website can meet the demands of the coming years.

For inquiries about web and email hosting service, you can call iManila at (02) 490-0000 or through the direct landline of our tech support guys at (02) 959-4807. You can also send us a direct mail at [email protected] or fill-out our contact forms through this LINK.