Please note: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small compensation if you choose to purchase any products linked below at no extra charge to you! Click here to view our disclosure policy.
Are you totally sick of your current blog or website host? Is your site running too slow, too much downtime, too much nickel and diming for every little thing?
Read below about how I finally bit the bullet and moved my website to a new host after 15 years! It was quick, easy, and I saved so much money in the long run.
I started my first website nearly 15 years ago. I was a college sophomore and had just finished my first photography class and wanted to get some of my work online, under my own name.
So I did! I used a template through another website, routed my domain name over to it and boom, done. A few years later, I was needing to create another website for another venture, and since I was already at GoDaddy, I figured hey, why not? I already have the account, I’ll just keep going.
Years later and several thoughts and attempts to move my website to another host, it was finally time. Not only was my website having slow loading times and it kept having way too much downtime, they wanted to charge way more for an SSL certificate than other hosts.
It. Was. Time. Time to move on!
I spent a few weeks reading articles, reviews, and researching about the different hosts. I even started the process with BlueHost. But with a toddler, my time is so incredibly limited. I just didn’t have the time to do even more research, go into my GoDaddy account and follow a three hour process to get everything transferred over.
How I switched website hosts in 20 minutes
Then I found SiteGround. I started a chat with one of their employees and within 20 minutes, I had not only all my questions answered, but signed up for an account and provided everything they needed to easily transfer my WordPress site to their host.
Um, could that have been any easier? I’m not kidding about the 20 minutes thing either. They have a timer on their help chats and it had just passed the 20 minute mark when I was completely finished!
Needless to say, I was wholly impressed. As a mom and blogger, my time is oh-so-precious.
And even though I was super savvy with the HTML as a teenager, I have definitely fallen out of the loop when it comes to the backend of websites. So it was such a refreshing change of pace to provide a few details and they take the wheel.
Typically, SiteGround will transfer your site and data for you for $30 – which is totally worth it, in my opinion! – but I lucked out and popped in just as they were having a promotion: free professional site transfers!
Later, I ended up transferring all of my domains and email addresses to SiteGround, as well, and after trying to research the process on my own, I reached out via the chat function and things were transferred and back up and running in mere minutes.
How I saved money with Siteground over GoDaddy
My site was down for maybe a few hours and when I logged back in my website was faster, more secure, and help was just a chat away. I even saved SO MUCH cash over my old host.
Not only does that help me personally when navigating and taking care of things on the backend, but professionally, it brings more people onto my blog, helps them stay longer, and even boosts my income!
Just before I made the official switch over to SiteGround, I did some calculating to make triple sure the switch would be worth it. I own three domains, one WordPress hosted website, and one email address through GoDaddy. In the last year, I spent $372.25 with GoDaddy.
That may not seem like a lot, but after switching and paying for a full year in advance for all the same features and way, way, way more features like more page visits, SSL, unlimited email address, I instantly saved $261.10.
I saved $261.10 per year moving to SiteGround. I mean, WOW.
Hands down, if you’re looking for a new host to transfer your website… or even looking to start your first blog or website, SiteGround is the place to be.
For what it’s worth, I have the GrowBIg plan, which is only $5.95/month. It includes unlimited websites, 25,000 visitors a month, 20GB of space, free SSL, daily backups, free email… the list goes on and on. It is SUCH a deal for such a great service and customer service.
Right now, you can get 3 months of SiteGround hosting for $0.33 per month for three months (less than a dollar!) or WordPress hosting starting at $3.95/month. That’s a savings of $96 a year with WordPress hosting! You can view all the hosting options and exclusive savings through my link here!
Do you have any questions about switching your website host? Horror stories? Good news? List them in the comments below!
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer! These are simple tips to protect your blog or business in the world of digital marketing. If you have additional questions, touch base with a lawyer specializing in your niche to help protect you and your business.
Some of the links on the blog are affiliate links. This means I may receive a small commission – at no charge to you! – if you click on a link and make a purchase. These affiliate links help us keep things running!Click here to view our disclosure policy.
Did you know there are laws regarding how you should manage your email list for your blog, organization or website? Before you start sending emails to your list (or if you already have!), be sure to review the highlights of what you can and can’t do with your email subscribers.
Why is the CAN-SPAM Act important?
The CAN-SPAM Act was passed in 2003 and helps protect consumers (or in this case, email recipients) from spammers. You’re probably thinking, “But I’m not a spammer!” I know. Me neither.
You can accidentally step into dangerous territory in the email marketing world without even realizing it, which can lead to some serious ramifications, like having your email address/domain blacklisted. Yikes!
In no fancy words, the CAN-SPAM Act helps keep businesses honest in their marketing practices and helps keep your inbox sparkly clean.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when emailing your subscribers, whether you have 5 email subscribers or 500,000:
Always get permission to email your subscribers
If you have a subscribe box or landing page (thanks, ConvertKit!) on your website or social media, your subscribers have opted-in, or given permission, for you to send them emails. This is the safest way to add subscribers to your list.
By having several places on your website where people can opt-in to your email list, you’re allowing them the option – and opportunity! – to invite you into their inbox.
That being said, there are a few ways to add subscribers to your email list when they don’t subscribe directly through your website.
If you’d like to add subscribers manually to your email list, you can ask them directly via email for permission, send them a survey about your services and add an opt-in checkbox at the bottom encouraging them to sign up for your mailing list or in the case of businesses that are at trade shows at events, have a sign-up sheet where people can add their email.
Here are some ways you cannot add people to your subscriber list:
Add people who email you for any reason
Add prospective clients who use your website’s contact form
Add clients who have not formally opted-in
Add people who have commented on your blog or website
It’s 2017 and you’re using the internet, so you’re probably familiar with the term clickbait. More and more social platforms and news outlets are cracking down on the use of clickbait, where the title of an article encourages you to click on the website, but the website is either irrelevant or lacks the information it promised in its title.
No clickbait in your emails. Don’t title an email “This is the best deal ever created!” and then only offer 10% off your services or products. Make sure that the title of your email is directly relevant to what’s inside.
That’s not to say you can’t have fun creating clever, click-worthy titles to your emails. They just have to be relevant. If not, you could 1) be flagged as spam and/or 2) get a hefty fine.
Keep your “From” lines honest, too!
By law, you’re required to be honest in who your emails are being “sent” from. That means you can’t place Justin Bieber’s name in the from line of your emails, unless of course, you work in the Biebs’ marketing department, sending emails out to his mailing list.
Here are a few examples of what you can place in your subject lines:
Your organization’s name (or any abbreviation)
Your name (First only or first and last or first, last and business name)
The name of a current employee of your business or organization
As long as it is relevant to the email and the employee approves it
Add a mailing address to your emails
This rule is probably the most broken… but don’t do it! You must have a mailing address in your emails. In fact, some email marketing platforms won’t let you send a single email until you’ve filled out your address. While you can add your home address, it is highly discouraged for obvious safety reasons.
Pro tip for online business owners: Sign up for a mailbox at a local UPS Store or a PO Box at your local post office. You can buy the smallest and/or cheapest option and ta-da! You have a business mailing address.
If you take advantage of a coworking space, many offer a mail service, which allows you to receive mail from that location and use the coworking space’s address as your email marketing contact address.
Place an unsubscribe link in every email
If you’re using a credible email marketing platform, an unsubscribe button or link is something that cannot be edited or removed from the emails you send. If not, make sure you’re placing a link for your subscribers to easily opt-out of your emails.
Depending on your email marketing platform, you can also link to a page that allows subscribers to choose how often they receive your emails, as well.
The unsubscribe link must be placed at the bottom of every email and cannot be concealed so it’s difficult for your subscribers to find. I personally moved from MailChimp to ConvertKit about a year and a half ago and I’ve been incredibly thrilled with it since day one! Click here to sign up for ConvertKit.
Remove unsubscribers from your list within 10 days
If you’re using an email marketing platform, this is most likely on autopilot and you don’t have to worry. Websites like MailChimp, Constant Contact and ConvertKit take care of unsubscribes through the handy link that’s at the bottom of the emails you send.
However, if you’re sending your marketing emails and have a ‘Reply to’ email address, sometimes you’ll get an email from someone asking to remove them from their mailing list. No matter how many clients, big or small, I’ve had, it still happens. You’ll need to make sure they’ve been removed from your mailing list, stat! Okay, not ‘stat,’ but within ten days, max.
What are some of your biggest email marketing struggles? Let me know in the comments below!
Please note: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small compensation if you choose to purchase any products linked below at no extra charge to you! Click here to view our disclosure policy.
What makes or breaks a design? Is it the size of the graphic? No. How about the colors? Eh, sometimes. But what happens if you have 8 different fonts in different sizes and you have no idea where to look or what some of the things say and now you’re totally overwhelmed and you’re thinking in run-on sentences because that’s what bad font choices can do sometimes? Bingo.
The fonts you use on your graphics for your website, social media and print materials can make or break or small business or organization. It can either make you look 100% professional, you have your stuff together and can provide awesome services or products… Or look like you’re running an operation out of the trunk of your car part-time. Choose your fonts wisely!
First, let’s break down some of the font terms:
TYPEFACE
Another word for font! You may hear your designer use typeface and font interchangeably. Don’t panic: it’s totally normal. Now you are prepared and can join the ranks of pro designers who dare never use the word “font.” Kidding, we all swap the two terms.
SERIF
A serif font or typeface that has lines attached to the endpoints or stroke of each letter. What does that mean? It means you’ll see little feet, known as a serif, on the bottom of most letters like the H, i, I, m, s, r and f in the graphic below. A terminal appears as a rounded end on some sans-serif characters, like a and f in the graphic below.
Examples of san-serif fonts are Times New Roman (below), Garamond, Bodoni.
Fun fact: Serif fonts have been proven to be more readable when used at smaller font sizes, such as large blocks of text since the serifs on each letter lead into the next letter more easily.
SANS-SERIF
Once you get the hang of serif, sans-serif is pretty self-explanatory. Sans = without. A sans-serif is a font without serifs, or lines attached to the endpoints. Examples: Arial, Helvetica (below), Museo Sans.
Fun fact: The font, Helvetica, has its very own documentary by Gary Hustwit. It’s not on Netflix Instant, but with a quick online search, you can easily find it online to stream or purchase.
While fonts can easily be broken down into even more categories under serif and san-serif, fonts are typically broken up into three categories: Serif, san-serif and script.
Here are some quick tips on pairing fonts for documents, whether you’re designing a logo, social media graphic, e-book, course or the hundreds of types of collateral for businesses.
USE NO MORE THAN THREE FONTS
This is a golden rule of graphic design, especially for smaller designs. It’s usually broken up into three categories: Header, sub-header and body text. Keep in mind that using the bold and italics on the same font does not mean you’re adding an extra font! Same font, different weight.
For social media graphics, I recommend only using two fonts. One can be your heading or a large, decorative text, and the other the body text (small-ish type that is often seen in paragraphs). Check out how I design my Instagram graphics:
You see two fonts in this graphic: The header and the body text. I repeat the header text at the bottom, in a different, complementary color for my brand to attribute the quote..
On larger design documents like annual reports, media packets, brand style guides, etc. it’s common to see more than three fonts, especially to represent different sections. And of course, this rule can be broken ALL OF THE TIME… as long as you’re doing it right. Just starting out? Stick with this rule until you’re ready to branch out and can find fonts that complement one another.
PAIR TWO TYPES OF FONTS
Just because you want consistency in your brand identity, it doesn’t mean all of your fonts have to look alike! Pair a serif with a sans-serif, or a handwritten with a book font. Find a fun, script font and give it a modern, thin and sleek font to give it pizzazz. It’s like yin and yang.
NEVER USE SCRIPT OR NOVELTY FONTS IN LARGE BODIES OF TEXT
A good rule of thumb is if it is more than 5-8 words, it shouldn’t be a script font. It’s not about being a party-pooper, it’s about readability. You want your audience to know what important words you’re telling them, quickly and easily. The longer someone has to spend deciphering words, the less likely they’ll comprehend it and the less likely they’re going to keep reading.
Script fonts are perfect for big, bold headlines and logos. Anything else, you might consider swapping it for another font. Try to think about someone who may have never seen that font before, rather than the fact you can read it.
Adobe Typekit is a great resource for free fonts, some of which linked above, if you are an Adobe Creative Cloud member. If not, click here to get any (or all!) Adobe Creative Cloud programs starting at less than $10 a month.
Brenda is a voice of hope and humor for moms dealing with the trials and tribulations of living with chronic illness. As an advocate for those with invisible illnesses, she’s changing the way the world views chronic illness and disability, especially in young women and mothers.
Her goal is to show women they can live a fabulous life they love, even with limitations on health and diet. Her blog focuses on gluten-free entertaining, parenting tips, pregnancy and postpartum guides, shopping, and family travel.
