To not have to repeat this in every brief, all the following hosting companies listed offer unlimited disk space, bandwidth and hosted domains (or at least claim to offer). They all have their own web site builder, usually included with purchase, and most use cPanel for site configuration and management.  And, most importantly, most claim to have better than 99% uptime.

1&1

I have used this service for five years and have never had a complaint. There was only one time that my site was down and that was only for about 30 minutes – in five years. Every call/email to customer service has been met with a representative that has helped me through whatever solution I needed – sometimes in calls over 30 minutes. The setup is easy and their product offerings – domains, hosting options, web builder programs – are very competitive. The cPanel is easy to navigate through to complete the tasks at hand. My hosting package (affiliate link) – the home package – came with two domains but hosts unlimited names that I purchase through 1&1. The domains cost, regularly, $8.99 per year with free privacy registration. But, they offer many sales throughout the year that lower the first year of the domain to as little as $4.99. They have hosting levels to really meet your needs and the prices are pretty competitive – from $3.99 up. They usually have specials on the first year ranging from 3 to 6 months free.

HostGator

Whenever I think about reselling web hosting services, I always end up on HostGator. They have the best price for entry-level reselling packages and have a great reputation as a web host. But, they just don’t resell, they offer hosting plans starting at $3.96 (with a three-year commitment). Per year, though, the price is still low at under $6 a year. They deliver unlimited disk space and bandwidth on all their packages.  HostGator uses cPanel and offers a free Site Builder to their customers.

bluehost – HostMonster

Bluehost is the first site I go to when my package comes up on renewal. Their prices are very competitive – at $6.95 per month. The main reason I check bluehost first is the 1-click installs for not only WordPress but also for Joomla, Drupal, Roundcube, Zen Cart, phpBB, Magento, Concrete5 and over 50 over services. Bluehost also has a sister company – HostMonster – that is more of a “discount” host, offering a lower price per month on their hosting service.

iPage – FatCow

iPage and FatCow are sister companies that offer quality web hosting at a great price.  Personally, I go to iPage more than FatCow to compare what I have to what i could have at my renewal. iPage has always been an option for me with their $4.50 per month pricing (down to $4.25 for 2 or 3 year commitments) and extras like SiteLock security, free online store and other marketing tools.

Other companies that I know offer quality services but have personally not looked at in details (mainly just passing) are:

• justhost.com
• lunarpages
• DreamHost
• MediaTemplate
• Laughing Squid

I just launched a new client site – New York Business Valuation Services.  This business site was built to promote the services of Edward F. Saroney III.

After meeting with the client, he had a clear vision of what he wanted the site to look like and say.  He provided all the content, which was great as who better to communicate what their business offers than the client.  After reviewing the layout of the site, we took a look at the marketing materials that were already produced.  The goal was to have the web site complement the company’s portfolios, brochures and letterhead.

The portfolio was on an Antique Gray linen paper stock and the company’s color was a deep hunter green.  The color was easy to match but replicating the Antique Gray paper was a bit more difficult.  We secured an image of beige linen paper and adjusted the color balance to get a similar gray color.

On the site, that paper stock image was used as the background for the header and footer, as well as the navigation.  The main content area is white with borders constructed to appear like a piece of plain paper on top of heavy stock paper.  It is a simple design that is easy to read and navigate through.

Overall, the client was happy with the design.  Going forward, I will be maintaining the site with ongoing SEO and general upkeep.

The original web site had good content.  We merged that content into the new site and reformatted it to fit into the new design.  One thing Jim wanted to add was a blog, that would allow him to write his thoughts on things like home networking and IT security – two of his specialties.

Enwright IT Consulting also needed a new logo.  The original was good but, in consulting with Jim, we decided to re-brand the company with a bold, simple logo.  The primary logo has the full business name underneath a prominent “eIT” in black and blue.  This logo is being used across all marketing materials – business cards, letterhead and the web site.  On the web site, the logo is dressed with a cable background and two USB plugs.

The web site clearly explains what Enwright IT Consulting offers both business and personal clients.  The custom home page welcomes visitors and clearly points them through the site to find more information about Jim and Enwright IT Consulting.

***UPDATE…Enwright IT Consulting has ceased operation at new employers request***

I am proud to announce a new project that I am working on at OswegoHistorian.org.  I am working with the City Historian Dr. Luciano J. Iorizzo, Professor of History, Emeritus, SUNY Oswego, and friends on an archive project, of sorts, to try and preserve the history of a great American City – Oswego, New York.

We are developing a web site for the Oswego City Historians that would act as a reference point and archive for the people that love the Oswego.  The goal was to design an easy to use site where we could preserve the city’s history through published documents and future papers.

The design utilizes the new TwentyTen theme and, as the site grows, so with the features.  Plans for the site include accepting submissions from visitors in the form of original articles, postcards or event postings.  I am charged with maintaining the web site, filtering comments and emails from visitors and posting content.

March 20, 2010

The Tiger Woods Effect

Tiger Woods will end his indefinite hiatus from the PGA TOUR at this year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National.  It marks the first tournament that the world’s greatest golfer will play in since the unraveling of his private life to the tabloid and national media after his Thanksgiving night accident. How does it change the landscape of the 2010 PGA TOUR season?

The PGA season has been exciting with a few young players taking advantage of Woods’ absence.  But, has Woods really left our minds?  It seemed every week there was something – gossip or news – that brought Woods into the PGA conversation.  Woods was not really a part of January golf on the PGA TOUR for the last few years, so he was not missed from a tournament standpoint.  But, when play came to Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach, the talk of Woods’ return took center stage.  Rumors of when, where and how (well he played) were flying around every event in February and March.  But, the 2010 PGA TOUR season has been a successful campaign since teeing off at the SBS Championship in Hawaii in January.  The TOUR has seen some tremendous golf with many young stars winning for the first time in over a year.

It started off with Geoff Ogilvy successfully defending his title at the SBS Championship, followed by young players Ryan Palmer and Bill Haas grabbing impressive wins at the Sony Open and Bob Hope Classic, respectively.  Ben Crane won at Torrey Pines to take home the Farmers Insurance Open, where the tournament started with talk of Tiger’s dramatic win at the U. S. Open at Torrey Pines two years prior.  Steve Stricker then won the Northern Trust Open and took over the number two spot on the Official World Golf Rankings from Phil Mickelson, who has gotten off to a surprisingly slow start finishing outside of the top 10 in four of five events.

Talk of Woods’ return picked up when the PGA rolled into Pebble Beach for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, site of the 2010 U. S. Open.  Dustin Johnson, one of the bright young stars of the PGA, won at Pebble Beach.  Then, the first World Golf Championship event the Accenture Match Play Championship.  This is the first big event of the season, bringing the top 65 players in the world to play match play format for five days.  Woods, who made his return in 2009 at this event, scheduled his first public statement on the Friday of the event, stealing some headlines from the course.  It is important to note that Accenture was the first sponsor to drop Woods after his accident.  Ian Poulter was not bothered by the press conference as the Englishman cruised to his first WGC title.

Hunter Mahan, the American star of the 2008 Ryder Cup, won the next week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.  Then, Camilo Villegas followed up his third place finish at the Accenture Match Play Championship with his first win in over a year at the Honda Classic.  Both Mahan and Villegas are leaders of the next wave of great players that will shape the future of the PGA TOUR.

Rumors picked up the week of the second WGC event – the CA Championship – about Woods making his comeback at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, an event close to his Orlando home.  As Ernie Els celebrated his first win in two years at the CA Championship, Woods ended all speculation and announced he will play at the Masters.

How will Woods play at the Masters?

The players are excited to have Woods back between the ropes…as well they should with all the attention Woods normally brings.  But, are they happy that he is coming back at the first major championship of the year?  None will say.  The new chaos that Woods will bring to an event in 2010 will be subdued at the Masters.  But, for Woods, it only makes sense that he would make his return to golf at the Masters, a place he has won four times.  It is an event like no other.  The Augusta National leaders run the event and tickets are hard to come by, even for media.  It will provide Woods a safe haven in terms of having to deal with tabloid media and non-golf fans.

Can Woods win?  Without a doubt.  The Augusta National course did not go under any major renovations in the off season.  It should play very similar to last year’s event, one that Woods finished finished sixth.

Will Woods win?  We will see come Sunday, April 11th…

Tiger Woods: How the Mighty Fall

Tiger Woods has probably had the most regrettable week in his life.  For fans, it was the fall of what many thought was one of the true great ones…both inside and outside of the ropes.

Woods had a car accident in the early morning hours on the Friday after Thanksgiving outside his home in Florida.  That accident has spun into a firestorm that has seen Woods’ entire off-course life thrown onto the covers of tabloids, newspapers and blogs as well as coverage on television news.  Woods’ “indiscretions,” as he put it, not only cost him the privacy he held so dear but the respect of many fans.

In the age-old debate that athletes are not role models, and they are not to some,  I agree with FOXSports.com writer Robert Lusetich said in that for many though, Woods is what they admired and strove to be.  A confident, successful person (who happens to be an athlete) who is the best at what they do while at the same time is a great friend and person.  That reputation is now, and forever, tarnished.

I did not have a problem with Woods’ actions after the crash.  He had an accident and that was it.  He did not owe the media or fans an explanation as to why he was driving his SUV at 2-something in the morning…sober.  The media was wrong in attacking him for not commenting on camera earlier than he did.  But, that is what tabloids do…they want a juicy story that makes you pick up the magazine at the supermarket checkout line.  Jason Whitlock was right in calling out the sports reporters that acted like tabloid journalists for one reason or another.  Woods’ actions fueled the media and now his “indiscretions” are coming back to haunt him one at a time for their 15-minutes of fame.

Does this spell trouble for the PGA TOUR?  No way.  Woods gets determined and focused when people doubt or question him.  The course will provide him with an escape, making the world’s greatest golfer extremely dangerous.  Would you be surprised if he ran the table in majors this year – tying Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18?  I wouldn’t at all.  He finished sixth and second in the last two Masters and the 2010 U. S. Open is at Pebble Beach with the British Open at St. Andrews.  Sky’s the limit.  The only question mark would be the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, where Woods finished tied for 24th place at the 2004. But, if you add the fuel of last year’s loss to Y. E. Yang to the fire, Woods could complete the Grand Slam of golf.

Woods’ season should open at the end of January at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines.  Woods has won that event six times and Torrey Pines is the site for his most memorable major championships – the 2008 U. S. Open.  That will be the start of something special for golf fans.

This site does not use WordPress in the traditional blog sense.  The focus is on delivering information with clear page navigation, as in a traditional business site, with an added blog component.  The screenshot to the right is of the previous version of dotblueprint.com.  It featured the two components of the business with easy navigation.  The new design delivers that same clean look and ease of use but, improves the site with better navigation while delivering more effective information from the start.

With the 2009 golf season heading into the winter, I felt it was time to update TeeOff Post.  I wanted to use one of the WordPress frameworks to deliver updated functionality and search engine optimization – SEO – with the flexibility to develop child themes to make future adjustments to the site easier.  I went with Ian Stewart’s Thematic Framework.

The redesign was not a drastic one, as I wanted to continue to deliver plenty of content on the front page.  I also wanted to keep the prominent feature section at the top, which was made possible (and easy) with code from CozmosLabs.com.  Finally, I still wanted to have links to other categories and their recent titles.  In the previous version of TeeOff Post, there was a “Featured Post” section on the left sidebar.  I wanted to open up the content area so, I decided to put these featured posts at the end of the content.  They are now boxed across the bottom of the content section, above the footer.

The next change for TeeOff Post will come editorially where readers will see new features to compliment the weekly tournament coverage.

The original design for the Bresnan Golf Company web site (below on left) featured a blue and grey color theme with a navigation bar on top and basic logo to the right.  The links led to pages with information about lessons, club repair and the pro shop.

For the redesign (screenshot on right), we made the site more spacious to make it easier to navigate and read.  The site has a charcoal background and features the company logo prominently at the top of the page with navigation links below.

October 1, 2009

PGA TOUR Fall Series: Fight for 125

Now that the PGA TOUR Playoffs are over, the focus is on keeping playing rights for the 2010 season. The Fall Series is the next five events on the PGA schedule, starting this week with the Turning Stone Resort Championship in Verona, New York.

The goal over the next few weeks is to finish the season in the top 125 on the official PGA TOUR money list. Players in the top 125 get full playing privileges for the next season and those outside that number, well, it’s back to Q-school, the PGA TOUR’s qualifying tournament. If a player finishes between 126 and 160 on the money list, they do receive an exemption from the first stages of Q-school and are automatically entered into the final event.

The five events of the Fall Series are Turning Stone Resort Championship, Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Frys.com Open, Viking Classic and the Children’s Miracle Network Classic.

Last year, rookies Dustin Johnson and Marc Turnesa won for the first time on the PGA TOUR with victories at the Turning Stone Resort Championship and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, respectively. This year, players like Webb Simpson and Michael Sim look to capture some of that magic.

Simpson had a great start to his rookie season, finishing in the top 10 in his first two tournaments. He qualified for the FedEx Cup and played in three of the four events, missing out on THE TOUR Championship.

Sim just received a promotion to the PGA TOUR after winning for the third time on the Nationwide Tour. He did play in this year’s U. S. Open and PGA Championship, finishing 18th and 51st, respectively.

But, the Fall Series is not just for rookies. Top level players like Adam Scott, Charles Howell III and Rory Sabbatini are scheduled to play at this week’s Turning Stone Resort Championship. They are trying to make 2009 a winning season and hopefully turn some momentum in their favor heading into the offseason. Other popular players that are going to need to climb a few spots on the money list this fall are Corey Pavin, Stuart Appleby, Rocco Mediate, Chris DiMarco and Vaughn Taylor.

In all, the Fall Series may not have the star power that a summer event does but, the drama and excitement is there as players are fighting for their futures. Also, the Fall Series gives fans a chance to see some of the young, up-and-coming stars of the game.