How to Successfully Deal With Tech Support (5 Simple Steps)

Spoiler alert: Setting up a website can be stressful — especially if it’s your first time. And even if you’re a pro, having something go wrong with your website at one point or another is pretty much inevitable. The hard truth is that technical difficulties can make you want to throw in the towel.

But don’t give up, champ. 

DreamHost’s brilliant tech support team is here to get you back on track. For more than 20 years, our top priority has always been customer satisfaction, which is why our support team wins awards for quality and responsiveness. 

What’s more, getting help with your website is even easier if you know what to expect when you reach out to us and what you can do on your end to make the process as quick and painless as possible. Yep, you’ve got the power!

In this article, we’ll help you cope with your website’s technical difficulties, give you some advice for contacting technical support, and let you know what to expect when you interact with a customer service rep. 

Want to jump ahead? Here are 5 steps to successfully dealing with tech support:

1. Try Some Basic Solutions
2. Document the Problem in Detail
3. Contact the Support Team
4. Request a Callback (If Necessary)
5. Work with the Support Specialist to Solve the Problem

Are you ready to uncover the secrets to getting good customer service? Let’s dive in!

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Step 1: Try Some Basic Solutions

If it looks like your site has gone offline entirely, there may be a quick fix you can tackle on your own. First, check to make sure the website is genuinely down and that the issue isn’t something on your end.

Security software may be blocking your website, especially if you’re trying to access it from a different network than usual. Maybe your cat unplugged the router. Actually, she may be trying to help, so don’t forget to check and see if the reset worked. Last but not least, have you tried turning your computer on and off again? You’re welcome, fans of The IT Crowd.

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Once you’ve eliminated other possibilities and determined that your site is down, you’ll want to know whether it’s just you or if it’s a hosting problem. You can look at the DreamHost Status page to find out if there’s a system-wide issue.

If DreamHost is experiencing downtime, there’s no need to contact tech support, as we’re already aware of the problem. You’ll just have to sit tight until it’s over.

If this doesn’t seem to be the source of the issue, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Did you miss a hosting payment? Maybe your payment information changed and you forgot to update it. If so, once you’ve paid up, your site should be back in a few hours. 
• Have you recently made a Domain Name Server (DNS) change? If you’ve swapped hosting providers or made a similar change, your website may be down for several hours. Patience is the solution here.
• Did your domain expire? Perhaps life got crazy and you forgot to renew your domain. It happens. Fortunately, DreamHost gives you a 30-day grace period.
• Are your files in the wrong place? Websites can be finicky, so if you’ve moved an important file, your site may go down. You can check on this using the website file manager.
• Have you changed any code recently? If you suspect this is the problem, you may want to review your error log. Even if this isn’t the cause, the information may be helpful to share with tech support.

These are just a few possibilities, but asking the above questions may help get you on the right track. 

If you were able to pinpoint the issue, you might want to see if you can DIY your way to a solution. Troubleshooting help is available 24/7 via our Knowledge Base and blog. Or you can join our private Facebook group to swap ideas with other website owners. 

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Step 2: Document the Problem in Detail

So you’ve done your detective work, but you still don’t know what’s wrong. It’s probably time to call in some expert help. However, before contacting support, you might want to spend some time carefully documenting the issue your website is having. Being thorough now will make it easier for tech support to get you a solution quickly.

First, try to reproduce the issue. A problem that can’t be copied will be much more challenging to solve. If you’re able to consistently trigger the issue, you can provide more information to the DreamHost tech.

If you’re unable to recreate the exact circumstances, try to accomplish the task in other ways. Now might be an excellent time to explore the forums. Another user may have some helpful insight or creative suggestions for how to reproduce your problem.

You don’t need to be a tech expert to document complex issues. Just use precise language to describe what you see in as much detail as possible. If you’re vague or inaccurate, you’ll likely end up having more back and forth with the support agent.

Once you’ve put together a detailed description of the issue, you’ll want to compile your website’s recent history. Identify which domain is having problems and what Content Management System (CMS) you’re using. Include any changes you made, no matter how innocent they seem — even installing a new theme or plugin can sometimes create problems.

Additionally, you’ll want to take screenshots of what you see to support your description. A picture is worth a thousand words, especially in tech support! Bonus points apply if you can grab some video while you’re at it.

After you’ve thoroughly documented your problem, you’ll need to gather your account information. Have your domain name and the last four digits of your password handy.

Related: How Your Online Business Can Nail Customer Service

Step 3: Contact the DreamHost Tech Support Team

Now it’s time to contact DreamHost’s award-winning, in-house support team. You can access a technical support specialist by email or live chat. If you’re an existing customer, both of these options will be available to you through your panel on the Contact Support page. If you’re unable to log in to your DreamHost account for any reason, you’ll need to contact support using the online contact form.

No matter which avenue you choose to get in touch, you’ll start by filling out the Contact Support form. Remember all that information we asked you to gather in the first two steps? Plug it into the form. Include your detailed description of the problem, as well as any methods you’ve tried to fix it.

Live chat is available from 5:30 am–9:30 pm Pacific time, seven days a week. The service is available in Spanish as well. After filling out the Contact Support box, click on the Chat now button and wait for an agent to join.

Once the chat is complete, you can review it in the Contact Support page’s Recent Messages section. Keep in mind that while it may be convenient, live chat is best suited for situations with a quick fix. If your issue is more complicated, the chat agent may ask you to open a ticket via email, as this is the preferred method for contacting support.

You can create a ticket the same way you access the live chat. The only difference is that you’ll click on the Submit a ticket button after you’ve filled out the Contact Support form.

Once you’ve submitted your ticket, it will appear under Open Tickets. You can withdraw it if you solve the issue independently and no longer need help from tech support. Otherwise, you’ll be able to view your conversation here. 

Step 4: Request a Callback if Necessary

After support resolves your issue, you can still refer back to the conversation if needed. You can find the closed ticket in the Support History section of DreamPanel. You’ll also find any other messages from DreamHost here.

If you need to submit a file, you can do so by selecting the Attach files link at the bottom of the form. If you prefer, you can send the file via SFTP to your DreamHost server. Just be sure to explain what you’ll be uploading and where you uploaded it.

DreamHost’s support team doesn’t typically operate over the phone. However, callbacks may be available to you, depending on your plan. You can choose to add three callbacks per month to any plan for an additional fee.

To access phone support, check the Request a callback box when you submit your ticket.

 

Here, you’ll also be able to add your phone number and a preferred time. Even if you choose to have a callback, be sure to include as much information as possible when filling out the Contact Support box.

Step 5: Work With Our Support Team to Solve Your Problem

The DreamHost support team tries to reply to all requests within 24 hours. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll completely solve the problem at that time. You’ll be working together with a support agent to diagnose and resolve your issue. Tech support is a team effort.

Be prepared to answer some questions and maybe even perform a few tasks to help diagnose the trouble. You’ll also be able to ask any questions that you may have. If it turns out the issue isn’t with DreamHost, our support specialists will try to point you in the right direction to get it worked out.

Of course, it helps the entire process if everyone tries to remain calm and courteous. Glitches and technical difficulties are part of owning a website, and this likely isn’t the only time you’ll encounter frustrations. Even if you’re worried about losing traffic, it won’t help to lose your cool. You haven’t done all that yoga for nothing. Breathe.

Remember, even if your website is experiencing significant downtime, DreamHost has a 100% uptime guarantee. You’ll receive credit for the inconvenience, and we’ll do everything we can to improve your customer experience.

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Great Customer Support Is a Click Away

Handling website problems is no one’s idea of a fun time, and TBH, neither is interacting with angry customers. It’s totally normal that you’re feeling stressed out, frustrated, and maybe even embarrassed for not having the answers yourself. But before you open that bottle of wine, keep calm and contact tech support.

Knowing what to do when complex issues arise can make the situation a little less scary. Also, planning ahead when dealing with tech support can help you get the most out of the experience. Gather as much detailed information as you can and know what channels you have available to you, as well as how to use them.

With DreamHost’s superhero tech support team in your corner, you can build your website fearlessly. Get started with a hosting plan today!

The post How to Successfully Deal With Tech Support (5 Simple Steps) appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-tech-support/

The Difference Between WordPress.com & WordPress.org

What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org? Turns out, it’s big, especially when you want full control over your website.

What do the New York Times, Katy Perry, Forbes, The Walt Disney Company, and Sony Music all have in common?

Well, for one thing, these well-known entities — and many others — have websites powered by WordPress.org, the open source force that for more than a decade, has been behind more than a quarter of the internet!

You’re probably familiar with WordPress, at least the WordPress.com side that allows you to quickly — and easily — create a basic blog (with that omnipresent .wordpress.com domain) and outfit it with preloaded themes and accessories.

But click over to WordPress.org, and you’ll quickly realize that with a self-hosted WordPress website, there are a lot more options.

Let’s dive in and discover everything — down to the nitty and the gritty — about WordPress, both the .com and .org sites, and find out how you can create your ideal space on the web.

WordPress.com: The Basics

So what if you didn’t even really know — until now, of course — that there were different WordPress services.

No problem. We’ll start with the bare bones.

WordPress.com, the WordPress you’re probably most familiar with, is a browser-based — meaning, no downloads involved — commercial website that is really popular amongst internet users. WordPress.com gets more unique visitors per month than Amazon!

WordPress allows users, after creating an account, to build and host their own blog on the WordPress site at no cost. We all like free, right? The approximately 76.5 million existing WordPress.com blogs are evidence of that.

As you create your new website, you’ll notice a few features of WordPress.com. For starters, you will get to create your domain name — up to the .wordpress.com tacked on at the end.

Additionally, WordPress supplies themes, which are essentially design templates, that you can choose from to customize the look of your blog or website. Many of these templates are free, but you can purchase a premium theme for a fee.

With a few clicks and no strain on your wallet, your* website is up and running. Voilà!

Related: Up Your Blogging Game with 20 Tips from Today’s Best Content Creators

The Hidden Costs of a Free Website

Ah, so you noticed the asterisk. Let me explain.

First of all, let’s understand what goes into making a website. In order to make a basic, functioning site, you need a few things:

• Domain Name
• Web Hosting
• Content Management System (like WordPress)
• Your code, plugins, images, etc.

There are other tools you’ll want for maintaining a website, but these are the basics.

WordPress.com is a website hosting service where you can house your blog or site for free. It is run by web company Automattic, and as you can see from the checklist below, its pre-programmed software helps users build and launch sites by providing them a domain name, the tools and templates to design their site, and a place to host it.

Now, back to the *fine print.

With WordPress.com, the website you create isn’t technically yours. Sure, you’ve plastered your name — or your brand’s — across you. But with WordPress’ commercial site, the $0 plan does come with some virtual expenses.

1. Limited Space

For one, while there is no cost to set up or house your website on the WordPress site, the site restricts space with an allowance of 3 GB. So if you’re website features high-quality videos or photos, your space could be limited, and you could be looking at a sizable fee — up to $25 a month — for a plan upgrade.

2. Stuck as a Subdomain

What’s more, if you’re anxious to ditch the .wordpress.com domain (a tag that makes you simply a subdomain of WordPress), you’ll have to dish out for that, too, as a custom domain requires a plan upgrade. There’s also no option for a domain email — something that your growing business will eventually need.

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Domain Name Registration

3. Fewer Metrics

There are some important metrics to gauge the trajectory of your blog or website — like bounce and conversion rates — that ideally, you’d want to be able to track on your own terms. But you’re limited to the analytic tools provided by WordPress, without an option to install your own analytics plugins or software, if you use the free service. In order to install your own analytics plugin, you’ll have to spring for a paid business plan.

4. WordPress Ads

A free plan allows WordPress.com to place ads on your site without your permission; you have no control over their content or placement, and none of the advertising revenue goes to you. Removing them requires — you guessed it — upgrading to a paid plan.

5. Less Control

Your free plan allows simply for basic design customization — a bunch of free WordPress themes and select themes you can buy — without the luxury of CSS options or code alterations. The Premium and Business paid plans allow for third-party theme and plugin integration, which help enhance the look and functionality of your website.

With this, you run the risk of having a cookie-cutter blog design; with only a handful of free WordPress themes, many blogs may look like yours. You have the option of purchasing a new theme or paying someone to make a custom one for you, but again, you could be looking at a wallop to your wallet. The cost-efficient option of WordPress.com becomes, at that point, not so cost-effective.

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6. Monetization Rules

And speaking of costs, there’s probably a chance you’d like to make money online. Well, with WordPress.com basic plans, you are not able to place your own code for ads like Google AdSense and must follow specific guidelines for affiliate linking and sponsored posting. So monetization on your blog also comes with its own price.

Related: How to Create Your First WordPress Plugin

WordPress.com: Apartment Complex of Internet Real Estate

If you’re looking to quickly get your info on the web in a fuss-free, no-frills manner, then WordPress.com is a great option. Potentially, from start to finish, you could get a website up and running in a matter of minutes.

It’s also a painless choice if you’re a little apprehensive about the technical aspects involved in creating and maintaining a website, or just want to get an initial feel for blogging. Sustaining a website on WordPress.com can be a temporary option, too, if you decide later that you want to migrate your content to your own self-hosted site.

But if you’re trying to build a long-term website and authoritative brand, then you’ll want your own domain, and you’ll surely want more control over the look and feel of your site through plugins, templates, and upgraded features.

So, when considering the characteristics of WordPress.com, think about it this way: WordPress.com is like renting an apartment versus owning a home.

When you rent an apartment, you have little control over what the apartment looks like; it’s likely that most of the apartments in the complex look similar unless you dish out more for fancy upgrades like a fireplace or an extra bedroom. Additionally, you’re subject to the rules and regulations of the company that owns your complex.

On the other hand, the upkeep is managed by a team of maintenance workers. You’re also protected by security personnel or a code-restrictive gate. The management deals with all the sometimes-messy, behind-the-scenes aspects of running the property. Ultimately, an apartment can be a good choice for those not yet seeking long-term housing or while still exploring a certain neighborhood or town.

So with a WordPress.com site: maintenance and security are largely maintained by the site itself (apart from your own secure password — you are in charge of your own apartment key, after all). You have minimal control over the appearance and functionality of your blog unless you pay for fancier addendums. But it can be a good choice for those who are testing the blogging waters and want to start small.

WordPress.org: The Basics

Not to be confused with its commercial counterpart, WordPress.org is often referred to as self-hosted WordPress.

It was created in 2003 (it’s older than Twitter and Facebook!) by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. Simply put, it’s open source code under the GNU General Public License — meaning it’s free to use, modify, build upon, and redistribute to create your own website, blog, or even an app. You download the code directly from the WordPress.org page (and at this moment, WordPress 4.8 has been downloaded 7,649,315 times . . . and counting!)

The source code is a framework — think of it like a skeleton — that is used in a development environment to build and customize your site. The engine is the same for yours and other websites that use the WordPress software, but the remaining features and accessorizing parts are yours to control and create. Make sense?

Because the code you work with is just the framework, it must be used in tandem with a web host, a company that provides space on its servers to house your website. The hosting service you choose will depend on the amount of space and bandwidth you need as well as your budget. For instance, DreamHost’s Starter Shared hosting plan starts at just $2.59 per month.

WordPress.org also provides substantial resources — called Documentation — to aid with the development of themes and plugins for your site, among a myriad of other useful topics.

Additionally, there are community-led forums that help answer common questions and aid with troubleshooting problems. The community features of WordPress.org allow you to collaborate and connect with other users for help in building your site.

Related: How Much Does It Actually Cost to Set Up a WordPress Website?

How to Create a Self-Hosted WordPress Website

According to WordPress.org, these are the steps for carrying out self-hosted WordPress functions.

1. Find a Web Host
2. Download & Install WordPress
3. Read the Documentation

Let’s dig a little deeper into each of these.

Choosing a Web Host

A web host is a third-party vendor that provides space on a server where your website is stored and provides the means for it to be accessed on the internet. There are a number of flexible hosting options, based on your site’s needs.

DreamHost offers additional perks through our service plans, like free domain names and unlimited hosting. We recently partnered with the folks at Automattic to make Jetpack Professional available to DreamPress Plus and Advanced customers.

And for the record: We come endorsed by WordPress.org and power more than 600,000 WordPress blogs and websites!

Related:

But even if you know which hosting provider you’d like to use, there is still the matter of choosing the right hosting plan for your website. Here is a quick, easy-reference guide to the most common types of hosting available.

Shared Hosting

Your website or blog is placed on a server with other sites, so the cost for the hosting is shared amongst the clients. The catch: a heavily-trafficked site on your server may affect your own site’s performance.

Virtual Private Server

A VPS acts as multiple virtual servers, even though users share one physical server and resources; a step between shared hosting and a dedicated server. To learn more, check out this beginner’s guide to VPS.

Dedicated Servers

Maximum control and resources at a higher cost; you exclusively rent your own dedicated server and don’t have to worry about sharing resources with other sites.

Managed WordPress Hosting

Additionally, DreamHost offers DreamPress, three managed WordPress hosting plans, where many of the technical components of operating WordPress — such as updates, security, and backups — are handled by our experts.

In this way, DreamPress mirrors the ease-of-use of the WordPress.com option. Plus, you’re armed with more power than you’d get from a basic shared plan and have access to 24/7 support, highly-tuned performance features, and easy management. And have we mentioned speed? With DreamPress, your service is five times faster than regular shared hosting.

Ultimately, a managed WordPress solution is the best option for WordPress beginners, giving you more control and less stress.

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Installing WordPress

Unless your web host is handling the software setup for you, there are a few things you’ll need to do for your WordPress installation.

Each requirement is explained through WordPress.org’s handy guidelines.

Reading the Documentation

Lastly, the Documentation allows you to find guides in building and using all the extras: plugins, themes, etc. Unlike a free WordPress.com site, WordPress.org allows full freedom in using your favorite premium plugin or uploading a custom theme. The sky is the limit! You can even create email addresses in conjunction with your website – a great tool for businesses.

But with that freedom – as Eleanor Roosevelt said – comes more responsibility.

With more control over your website and the ability to alter the code, you will be in charge of updating the WordPress software as new versions are released, paying for your web hosting services annually, maintaining the site with necessary backups and security precautions (if you haven’t chosen a hands-off managed WordPress hosting plan, that is), and protecting against spam and errors. If something goes wrong that you don’t know how to fix, you might need to hire a professional to help.

WordPress.org: Craftsman Bungalow of Internet Real Estate

Remember our housing analogy from before? Well, unlike renting an apartment, using the WordPress software is like owning your own home.

With a home, you are totally in charge of maintenance of the house and yard, paying your mortgage each month, taking security measures, and making necessary repairs and upgrades. But, when you own your own home, you have greater license to change features — like removing a wall or changing wall paint — and you also have a property that really belongs to you.

And that’s how it is with self-hosted WordPress. The control is in your hands, as is the increased responsibility to maintain your site. You can alter your WordPress theme and code, and you actually own your online content. This is especially important if you’re striving to create a lasting brand or monetize a website.

The Choice Is Yours

Your choice of WordPress.org or WordPress.com truly depends on what you want out of your website and, of course, your budget.

So how much does a WordPress website actually cost? This guide tallies up the annual expenses for a range of WordPress websites – free, budget-friendly, mid-range, and high-performance – so you can choose the right option for your goals (and wallet).

Remember, your hosting provider will play a big part in the total cost, so make sure you choose a good one. We’d recommend checking out our Starter Shared hosting plan if you’re looking to get a site online for less than $3 per month.

Ultimately, you’ll be on the path to choosing the right platform for your website after you analyze your goals, your level of comfort with technical functions, and your budget.

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The post The Difference Between WordPress.com & WordPress.org appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/wordpress-differences-beginners-guide/

Herald and Sons Publishing: The Ultimate Father-Son DIY Project

Ethan Herald is a natural storyteller. Almost as soon as he started talking, he made up fully-fleshed characters and told his parents all about them — what they did, where they went, what they wanted for dinner.

Today, five-year-old Ethan is a published author — thanks to his dad, Brian Herald. Herald, a technical writer by trade, was amused at his son’s stories and started jotting them down to remember them. Eventually, he realized that many of Ethan’s stories were more than a child’s ramblings; they had recognizable plots with beginning, middle, and end.

“One story in particular really stood out, so I thought that it would be cool to turn it into a book for him and surprise him with it,” Herald says. “So I wrote it out and broke it into pages and made a full story out of it and hired an illustrator.”

He printed a few dozen copies to share and expected to stop there. But soon, Herald dug into the world of self-publishing, and the more he learned about the industry, the more he wanted to see what he could do with his son’s stories.

That’s how Herald and Sons Publishing, the ultimate father-son DIY project, got off the ground. To provide a platform for Ethan’s stories, Herald started up their own indie publishing house. “On our website, we say it tongue-in-cheek: We are building a publishing empire on a foundation of child labor.”

Herald and his sons, Ethan and four-year-old Jonah, are a year into the project and have collaborated on two books, with a third scheduled to hit the presses this month. To flesh out a world around their characters and engage audiences, Herald is experimenting with activities, coloring pages, and videos — all hosted on their trusty DreamHost website.

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Telling Good Stories

Brian Herald and his sons Ethan and Jonah showing off their published books and the Herald and Sons website.

Growing up, Herald was part of his own father-and-son business. His dad owned Herald and Sons Construction, and he fondly remembers helping out on projects when he was young.

“He still has one of the ‘Herald and Sons Construction’ signs hanging up in his garage,” Herald says. “I still see that every time I go over. And when I thought of the name Herald and Sons Publishing, I was just like, ‘Oh man, that’s just too perfect. I can’t not do that.’”

Herald built his humble “publishing empire” to provide a home for Ethan’s books online, and the additional projects he creates. From the beginning, Herald wanted to make sure to put out a quality story that other kids could relate to.

“I wanted them to be good stories,” he says, “with a moral, a lesson, or substance to them, not just these tangents that my kids go on.”

Their first book, Forest Explorer, features Nino and his younger sister, Tenna — characters who have basically become members of the family now, thanks to Ethan’s detailed descriptions of the two and their adventures. In the story, Nino goes on a walk in a forest near his home. He notices flowers, insects, and the smells of the forest, and then spots a forest fire, which he tries to put out until the fire department comes to save the day.

Herald asks his sons questions to flesh out and fully develop each story, pushing for more and more details — including ones only a kid could dream up.

“I asked Ethan, ‘So, how did that fire start?’” Herald says. “And he’s like, ‘A dragon came down and sprayed fire.’ Oh, of course, the dragon started the fire. Obviously, it wasn’t because the bush was dry, and it was a strong wind or anything like that.”

Herald wrote that answer down with a smile, hoping that his son’s thinking would connect well with other children. He asked for more details about what Nino saw in the woods, and “I realized that there was a moral there, or a lesson, which is being curious — like, you should always be aware of what’s around you, and you should be curious about what’s going on. So I try to infuse that in the story.”

Forest Explorer — plus its sequel Picture This, Imagine That — and a soon-to-be-published Nino and Tenna camping adventure story are available as printed books, e-reader downloads, and even audiobooks. Herald hopes these stories, along with the accompanying printable activities from his website, have some role in promoting language learning among young readers.

“The goal has become to entertain and inform readers while promoting literacy and language learning,” Herald says. “The stories and the kids’ activities and coloring pages are based around developing language, using repetition with words. In the back of my mind, I keep asking, ‘How is this helpful? Is this actually contributing something to the kids reading the story?’ I don’t want them reading empty words with nothing behind them.”

Related: This DreamHost Customer Is Helping a Generation of Young Women Own Their Power

Possibility Through Self Publishing

Forest Explorer was never supposed to be more than a fun surprise for Ethan and Jonah. But through the process of writing and printing it, Herald was introduced to the world of self-publishing — and the idea that he could take action to bring Nino and Tenna to a wider audience.

“I got really into a few podcasts, and one in particular, called The Self Publishing Show,” Herald says. “It just really struck me how they take a marketing perspective, and not just say, ‘You’re a great writer; your stories deserve to be told.’ It was more focused on, like, the logical steps you can take to promote your stories.”

Once Herald understood there were steps he could take to market his stories, he took it on as a personal challenge to see how far he could take Herald and Sons. He doesn’t sell the books directly on his website, but they’re available from a number of online retailers, including Amazon.

“Amazon has a really great platform for independent publishers where they offer a print-on-demand service,” Herald says. “Originally, my plan was to set up a seller account and just mail these things out one by one. But that simply is not scalable — I can’t be going to the post office every single day.”

He’s also made the print and audiobooks available to libraries, both locally and around the country, and can track when the book is checked out. “To see it getting discovered in a library and then checked out and listened to, it’s kind of cool.”

Related: Bibliophiles, Unite! Meet the DreamHost Customers Behind Silent Book Club

Thinking Like a Marketer

Herald has found marketing his books to be a challenge, and he really enjoys that aspect of publishing children’s stories. He stays up late at night filling Excel sheets with potential keywords, crafting ad copy, and finding new ways to get Ethan’s characters in front of more people.

“You can’t just put a book out and just sit there and wait for it to do anything,” he says.
You have to build a world around it, have activities that go along with it, and engage people — get them interested and give people something to do.”

One of his challenges is catering to two different audiences. The books and corresponding activities are used by children — but the ones doing the spending are parents and grandparents. “You’ve got to reach the parents and create something that they think their kids would enjoy. That’s really tricky, and I’m still working on getting the right voice and brand to present our stories as something a lot of kids would like to read.”

A key piece to organically growing an audience is creating fun, engaging activities and other materials freely available online that can introduce kids (and their parents) to Nino and Tenna. Herald offers activity books and other printable activities, including weekly word searches, mazes, coloring pages, and more.

Particularly popular are his kid’s calendars. Released each month in color and as coloring pages, the calendars list one fun holiday — think “Wiggle Your Toes Day” or “Chocolate Chip Cookie Day” — for each day of the month. Herald promotes these calendars on social media, using them as a way to bring visitors to his website and build his email marketing list. At the beginning of a new month, he advertises them on social media and sees big increases in website traffic — but always trusts his web host to keep everything loading quick and smoothly, even on busy days.

Home Base

Ethan and his son dropping some copies of a story into Little Library boxes around town.

This wasn’t the first time Herald has built and managed a website, though. He played drums in a band and started a flooring business with a friend and, in both cases, dreaded working on the websites.

With Herald and Sons, he took a leap of faith and switched over to a WordPress site hosted by DreamHost. Herald had been intimidated by WordPress in the past, but found it surprisingly easy and user friendly — and much more detailed, powerful, and effective than other platforms.

“I’m loving it; it’s so easy to use,” Herald says. “It does such a good job. I wish I’d used it to begin with other websites I’ve worked on.” He does most website updates on a browser, but sometimes he has to make a quick update or has a brilliant idea on the go and uses the WordPress app on his phone.

Herald runs social media accounts for the business, but he doesn’t spend a lot of time using them specifically to grow his audience. Concerned about social media platforms and changing algorithms that impact how followers find activities and updates, Herald decided to focus primarily on his website.

“It’s so important to have your own space, your own home base,” he says. “I’m trying to do a lot of different things for marketing, like Facebook and Amazon advertisements, and just using social media a little bit. The website has been huge in this, because everything I come up with, it all goes up on the website, and that’s our home base for everything.”

The website is also key to building an email marketing list, too. WordPress through DreamHost integrates seamlessly with MailChimp to help people sign up for the newsletter to learn about activities and get the kids’ calendar through email.

Herald is happy with his choice to use DreamHost for his website — a choice that was solidified days after he signed up.

“I got an email from a marketing manager; her name was Marissa,” he says. “She reached out just to say hi and check in, you know, to see if I needed anything.”

They emailed back and forth a bit. Herald discovered that Marissa had a new baby at home and ended up sending her a copy of Ethan’s story. “That was a personal touch that felt really great,” he says. “It was validation that I was going on the right path.”

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Teaching Grit

Whether or not they build that publishing empire, Herald is glad to work together with his kids on a project that’s not just fun, but that can really teach them something. Beyond giving Ethan and Jonah the chance to be creative and think critically about story and plot at such young ages, Herald hopes they develop a grit that will serve them well in future projects.

“One thing that I really hope that they get from this is that if they want to create something, or have an idea, that they can just go for it,” says Herald. “They don’t have to wait for somebody to tell them it’s a good idea or even have a good reason for doing it, other than just being interested in it.”

Herald hopes that the boys will be proud of their work down the road — even if it might bring some teasing and embarrassment in the notorious middle school years. The publishing business has been around for about a year now. He’s not sure how long the Nino and Tenna series will last, though Ethan is as eager as always to fill his family in on stories and details about the characters. Eventually, Herald wants to try his hand at writing his own fiction.

For now, Jonah loves hearing their books at bedtime, and Ethan is happy to see his stories in print, scrawling his autograph in five-year-old handwriting across each copy that gets sent out to a friend. Though sometimes on re-readings, Ethan has more feedback on the book: “That’s not what Nino was wearing!” or, “That’s not what he did!”

Herald laughs it off. “It’s OK; we’ll fix that in the next edition.”

The post Herald and Sons Publishing: The Ultimate Father-Son DIY Project appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/customer-spotlight-herald-and-sons/

Fixing Tech’s Gender Gap: 10 Questions with Author Therese Huston

With male leaders outnumbering women four to one, the tech industry has notoriously been a gentleman’s club. Still, more and more women are “leaning in” and finding their places at the table in technology and science. But are their voices equally valued?

DreamHost takes this issue to heart and has been working to support women in tech for years.  And that’s why we reached out to author Therese Huston.

“When it comes to decision-making and leadership, men are from Mars, and women are from a less respected part of Mars,” Huston says. The author of How Women Decide: What’s True, What’s Not, and What Strategies Spark the Best Choices,  Huston shares her insights on challenges facing women in tech — and how we can all do better to make sure every voice is heard.

Therese Huston

1. What challenges do women face in a male-dominated field?

A really common complaint — and one backed by research — is that women have to keep proving their competence. People are more likely to notice women’s mistakes and to remember them longer; while with men, we tend to remember successes longer and more readily forgive mistakes.

Related: 6 Things Women in Tech Are Sick of Hearing

2. We like to think that all good ideas are valued and recognized. How true is that in practice?

Sadly, credit is not always given where it is due, especially when it is due to a woman. I’ve heard countless stories about women making a suggestion that doesn’t get picked up, but then when a guy makes the same suggestion later, all of a sudden everyone is enthusiastic about it.

Researchers studying mixed-gender work teams in male-dominated fields found that when a group’s successful problem solving was evaluated by an outsider not present for the collaboration, if it wasn’t specified exactly who did what, it was automatically assumed that a man was the top performer and deserves the credit. That’s really concerning, especially when management teams are doing reviews or considering promotions.

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3. What are some key differences between how men and women make decisions?

Actually, research by neuroscientists is showing that under normal circumstances, men and women actually approach a problem the same way. But put them under stress — maybe with a deadline, the threat of a product being cut — and you’ll see a difference. Men suddenly become much more drawn to risks and big rewards than normal. Women do the opposite; they want to do what they know will work, what has worked in the past, what they know they have the full resources to accomplish.

I like to use baseball as an analogy: Men want to go for the home run, which is very difficult to accomplish but offers a big reward, while women aim for the more tried-and-true goal of getting on base. What you want in stressful circumstances is a mix of both strategies.

Unfortunately, all too often in tech at the management level, it’s just a room full of men. What that says to me is that we really need to tap more gender balance in our leadership teams and to listen to the women who get there.

4. How true is it that women rely on emotion in decision-making?

You’ve heard the phrase “woman’s intuition” — but probably not “man’s intuition.” We think of women as going with their gut or following their heart. However, the research shows that women tend to take a more analytical approach; they are more likely than men to do research and analyze possible scenarios and pros and cons. It’s actually the men who are more likely to go with their gut and what “feels right” as opposed to doing the necessary analytics.

5. How are women’s decisions received differently than men’s are?

There’s ample evidence that women’s ideas are more scrutinized. A Yale researcher asked people to read about a scenario in which a male or female leader in a traditionally male occupation made a costly mistake. They then evaluated how good or bad a leader they thought that person was.

When a male leader showed poor judgment, his rating dropped about 10 percent, while a woman making the same mistake suffered three times the penalty, and some people even called for her demotion.

When we scrutinize a woman’s mistakes much harsher than a man’s, that makes it all the more difficult for women to simply be promoted within the organization, let alone reach the c-suite. In tech you’re told to fail early and fail often — but that only really applies if you are a guy.

6. Is it only men who are guilty of gender bias?

Not at all. Women will often think that men’s ideas are more credible, though they are likely to disavow that if you ask them. We all live and work in the same culture and are subject to the same unconscious biases.

7. Sounds like we have a long way to go. How can women make sure their voices are heard?

One of my favorite techniques is amplification. This idea actually came from the Obama administration. Women were finding that their ideas weren’t being heard or given due credit, so they began to amplify one another in meetings: If one woman in the meeting suggested an idea, another woman in the meeting would immediately speak up, name and credit the first woman, and repeat her idea. The women later reported getting credit for their ideas and more opportunities to contribute.

Amplification translates well to tech, where women can team up with each other or a male colleague, and it doesn’t come across as aggressive — a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” trait commonly criticized in female leaders.

Related: What It’s Like to Be a Black Woman in Tech: A Q&A with Kaya Thomas

8. How can women advocate their ideas without being dismissed as overly aggressive?

There is some fabulous research recently looking at which types of aggressive behaviors work for women in meetings and which don’t. Talking louder or getting angry, for example, is not liked. But one aggressive technique that doesn’t seem to lead to penalties for women is interrupting.

It might feel awkward to interrupt — it certainly does for me — but it’s effective. I don’t mean you should spend the whole meeting talking over everyone, but if there is something you really want to say, then say it. No one is going to call on you; if you’re waiting for a pause, it’s not going to happen.

If you, like me, find the thought of interrupting painful and stress over finding the right moment, try counting backward from ten and when you hit one, blurt out your idea, no matter what. Interrupting gives you a huge surge of adrenaline and helps you stay enthused in the meeting, rather than tuning out and giving up.

Another strategy to help women — or really, anyone — to give their ideas a boost is to frame it as a question. So say “Would it be possible to … “ instead of “What we need to do is … “ Research shows that this phrasing invites discussion and gives ideas more airtime. The phrasing can be a little tricky for women because there’s a fear that they are sounding soft and asking for permission, but it is actually an effective strategy for both men and women looking to get their voices heard.

9. What can men do to support their female colleagues? 

For one, they can partner up with the women in their group and try the amplification technique — or simply get in the habit of amplifying good ideas. Prompts as simple as, “What I like about Emily’s idea is . . .” or “I think Samantha suggested that earlier” ensure that women get credit for their ideas.

Managers or others who may want to help without coming across as patronizing could pass along the article about amplification in the Obama administration to team members, starting a conversation about this issue and what everyone can do to help.

Related: Six Women Programmed the First Computer . . . And Didn’t Get the Credit

10. What can tech companies — like DreamHost — do to help?

They need to put conscious strategies in place to counteract unconscious gender biases. In meetings, those in management could make a habit of asking to hear input from someone who hasn’t spoken yet. That creates an opportunity for women to speak up, along with anyone else who might need more time to think through their comments.

Saying something as simple as, “Wait, I want to hear what Julia has to say,” can open the conversation, as can bringing the conversation back to an idea that may have been interrupted. Managers could also take the time to write down the division of roles, so when the work is being analyzed later, women will get credit for the work they’ve done.

Related: 30 Ways to Be an Ally for Women in Tech

Now Share Your Voice

We’d love to hear your take! What are some biases you’ve noticed in the workplace? How have these affected you or your co-workers? What strategies have you used to make sure yours — and other’s — ideas are equally heard and valued? And have you tried any of Huston’s techniques? Join us on Twitter and Facebook to start the conversation.

The post Fixing Tech’s Gender Gap: 10 Questions with Author Therese Huston appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/fixing-tech-industry-gender-gap/