If you are a hosting provider or someone who operates and manages a shared hosting server, chances are that you either already have server monitoring services in place or that you are considering the utilization of a server monitoring service provider in the near future. Whether you already have server monitoring in place or you are considering putting such a safeguard into place in the near future, there are some rules you will want to keep in mind to ensure that your server monitoring efforts are successful and do not do more harm than good to your uptime percentages.

When it comes to successful ecommerce businesses, there are 7 things they all have in common, and they all relate to website downtime. This is because all successful ecommerce businesses realize just how detrimental downtime can be to their online endeavors and to their bottom line. If you want to be among the percentage of online ecommerce sites that do succeed, you need to familiarize yourself with these secrets and take the steps needed to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before you and achieved greatness.

As we spend the month of April “in the cloud” we feel it is important to help our readers understand the basics of what the cloud really is. The average person grasps the concept of the cloud, but doesn’t really understand the technology behind it. If you want to know how you can put the cloud to work for your business, you need to know the fundamentals about this popular technology and how it can work for you.

One of the latest buzzwords in the ecommerce world is the “cloud”. From cloud computing to cloud hosting, the word “cloud” seems to be everywhere. Unfortunately, not many people seem to truly understand the nature of the “cloud” or what it really is. In fact, when a study was conducted to see exactly how many people really understood the nature of the word, only 19 percent of those over the age of 30 truly grasped what the cloud really was. Even fewer understood how it related to their website hosting needs.

Here at Alertra we talk quite a bit about server and website uptime and how crucial it is to minimize downtime. As the cloud becomes a more integral part of the Internet, however, one must begin to question how well cloud companies are standing up to downtime issues. Surprisingly, the newer technology of the cloud seems to be outperforming long-standing technology such as traditional website hosting, which has had years to perfect its services. Of course, not all cloud vendors are created equal and that was proven in 2014.

At Alertra we often discuss the importance of transparency. When your website goes down, it goes without saying that you need to communicate with your customer base informing them of the issue. However, not all customer notifications are created equal. What you say when you inform your customers of downtime can mean the difference between customer understanding and retained loyalty or increased frustration and future revenue lost.

At Alertra we often talk about the dangers of downtime and how it can interfere with your business’s reputation, profits, and overall success. It appears, however, that there are times when downtime can actually be a good thing. While we have mentioned the activities of the group of hacktivists known as Anonymous in the past, their most recent efforts, targeting the propaganda of ISIS, is one example of how website downtime isn’t always a bad thing.

If you’ve ever shopped for or purchased website hosting services, chances are that you’ve seen a number of hosts, including the one you pay each month or year, claiming an uptime rate of 99.9 percent. The question is, are they really delivering on that promise? When it comes to something as serious as the hosting of your website, you need to be in a position to hold your hosting company accountable. The only effective way to do that is with a quality website monitoring service.

Most webmasters know the value of quality website monitoring service and ensure that such service is in place on each and every website they operate. However, simply outsourcing your website monitoring to a quality website monitoring service isn’t always enough. While website monitoring service is one of those rare services that pays for itself, you still want to make sure you get the most out of the service you invest in. Here are four ways to ensure you are doing just that.

Most ecommerce entrepreneurs know that website monitoring service is crucial to the success of their websites. What they don’t always know is how external website monitoring works or the differences between the types of website monitoring available. Before you can be sure you have the right website monitoring service in place on for your site, you need to familiarize yourself with the facts pertaining to the different types of website monitoring and how these services work.