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Managed VS Unmanaged Support for Virtual Private Servers

Virtual Private Servers are virtual machines. A physical server is divided virtually into smaller chunks of virtual servers that are then rented out to clients. With Virtual Private Servers, customers enjoy the same functionality as having their own physical computer acting as their server but in a smaller volume and lower cost.

With Virtual Private Servers, you can choose what operating system you want, how many sites you’d like to administrate, and other options.

What is VPS Hosting?

There are many companies offering top VPS hosting solutions. This web hosting service is offered both as an unmanaged hosting and managed hosting package depending on the company that offers it. With VPS hosting, a web hosting company has its own data center where physical computers are kept safely. VPS hosting can also be offered by resellers who only get their services from a web hosting company and they divide their hosting to smaller chunks and offer it to their own customers.

VPS hosting is what bridges shared web hosting and dedicated server hosting. You get the same independence as getting a dedicated server yet paying just a little higher than a shared web hosting.

The Advantages of Getting a VPS Hosting Plan

Getting a VPS hosting plan is great especially if you’re ready to step up from a shared web hosting plan. When your site needs more than what your shared web hosting can offer but you’re not yet ready to jump in and get a dedicated server hosting plan that costs a lot of money then VPS hosting plan is the right jump.

VPS hosting plans are flexible. With a VPS hosting plan, you can get just as much disk space, bandwidth, and others as you’d need by simply requesting for an adjustment from the web hosting company. This is something that you can’t find easy with a dedicated server because you’d get the space you have in the physical computer, no more no less. Of course you too could have it upgraded but it’s not as simple as in VPS.

The Difficulties You Can Encounter with Virtual Private Servers

Virtual Private Servers are great but it isn’t flawless. There are times when you’d experience a few bumps and if you’re not an expert web designer, you may need a bit of outside help especially in troubleshooting or in diagnosis. This is why managed VPS is a better choice.

The internet is pretty sneaky. No matter how safe your system may seem to be, hackers still have a way of trying to hack your site. Once they become successful, you need to solve the problem really quick to minimize the damage. With a managed VPS hosting, you can request for assistance and your web host will help you. You are paying more for the Managed VPS hosting but it’s a great security blanket if you are not sufficiently knowledgeable in running the server on your own. Believe us, we’ve had to rely on our VPS hosting provider several times to get issues like this fixed, we were very glad to have customer support available when we needed it!

Another difficulty you may experience is when you upgrade your automated software and something goes wrong. When this happens you need to fix the problem to keep your site available. The longer it takes you to fix it, the longer your site will suffer. If you have managed VPS hosting, the problem can be solved faster but it may seem impossible if you don’t know how it’s done.

There are many other system programming problems that may arise with a Virtual Private Server hosting that you may encounter. These problems are not necessarily caused by the server itself but with your own error in programming or with security intrusion (site hacking). In deciding whether you should go for the unmanaged VPS hosting or the managed VPS hosting really depends on you and how well you know in system administration. If you’re an expert or you have an IT team working for you that are experts in this then go ahead and choose the unmanaged VPS as it costs less but if you want the peace of mind and pay a little more then go and choose the managed Virtual Private Servers.

In Summary

Managed support is necessary for Virtual Private Servers if you don’t have the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain your site solely on your own. Managed support is not necessary if you know you can do it well without the help of your web host.

Managed VPS hosting costs higher but it gives you the peace of mind knowing you can lean on your web host when there’s a problem you can’t easily fix yourself. The difference between the two is really with the price and convenience. If you think paying a few more dollars won’t hurt you and you don’t want to spend hours trying to troubleshoot then better go for the Managed Virtual Private Servers.

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Benefits of Monitoring Software

Monitoring software has many benefits especially for parents. There are many ways that the cyber world can cause harm to our kids and we can’t always watch over them 24/7. For this reason, monitoring software starts sprouting out with the different brands and offerings you can find.

A monitoring software must be 100% reliable or else it’s really not worth having especially with older kids who can be clever enough to find a way to bypass the software if they can. If that’s the case then you will be deceived to think your kids are actually using the internet in the safe zone that you set but they are actually just bypassing your security software and they freely scan through malicious websites and chatting with online predators.

Monitoring Children Online is Your Responsibility

The problem with the internet is that there’s no regulatory board that really keeps track of what’s posted online especially in the social networking media. People can just post whatever they like and the site can only put it down after abuse reports but that will take some time and thousands of exposures already. If your child taps into these websites they may expose themselves to vulgarity and violence which is unhealthy especially for their young and curious minds.

Having a monitoring software installed will greatly help parents in making sure their child uses the computer in a very safe environment only. Otherwise, they would get the log data that will tell them what and where their child is going online and they can inform their children about the dangers going into these types of websites. Also, children will also avoid talking to strangers online such as in chat rooms as there are many online predators and you won’t want your child to be one of the victims.

There had been much news on TV about these child predators and how dangerous it can be when your child connects to one. With monitoring software that is excellent in providing all the great features you need such as logging keystrokes, saving all chat messages and passwords, screenshots and others, you can find out if your child is in danger of such online predators and you will have all the necessary tools as proof that this man or woman is an online predator. You can send the information to the police and try to catch the predator so no other child will fall victim to him/her. You surely wouldn’t want to let that predator go freely knowing that they can attack somebody else’s child too.

Monitoring Software Remains Hidden and Transparent

You can install and run a monitoring software in complete stealth. This way your child won’t have a clue that whatever they are doing online is completely monitored. Depending on what software you buy, you also have the option to monitor when certain words are used or when such words are detected from the received chat messages or sites they visit. When these words are used, you will be alerted and a screenshot can also be taken to give you a clearer picture of what the message is used for. This is a great tool and you can choose to automatically block such sites or to stop the chat messages to avoid further exposure especially when signs of danger appear.

Parents can never protect their children well enough to make sure they will not be in harm’s way. We must admit, we are also limited, but this doesn’t mean we can’t try to find high-tech ways to find a solution. With monitoring software, you are one step ahead in making sure your children are safe from the time they sit and start using the computer up to the very end.

Learn More About Your Kids’ Internet Activities & Interests

Children are clever little ones. When parents are around they will not break any rules because they know they’ll be punished or reprimanded for it. What’s really important is not what you see when you are right beside them as they browse but what they actually do when you’re not around. This is the time you’ll know what your children are actually thinking of, what they become interested in and what they like to do online.

On a better note, monitoring software can also be great for parents who want to know the interests of their children. Some kids refuse to talk about what they think their parents wouldn’t understand because of their age differences. With this type of software you will find out exactly what interests them. If there are certain games they play online or pop groups they are fond of. This will make you feel closer to your child and he or she will find it cool that you know these things as well.

A monitoring software won’t just make you feel secure for your child’s sake but it can also bridge the gap as it lets you have time to do a bit of research on what fascinates your child and maybe you can start a conversation about his/her interests.

Final Words

All in all, there are many benefits of monitoring software especially for parents. It’s a complete solution that parents used to only dream of. The internet is really not a safe place to frolic but we can’t avoid it, kids will also want to stay online. If used properly, the internet is a wonderful tool to help kids learn more as they can do their research faster over the internet than by browsing some textbooks.

If used in the wrong way, the Internet can do more harm than good to very innocent little souls. Avoid this and any future tragedies associated with social networking and chat rooms. Also, make sure you teach your children about the dangers of the internet and how they should avoid putting themselves in a dangerous situation.

If your child really listens to you, you can be proud to see the results of having this type of software installed as you’ll know if they actually follow your words or not when their mom and dad are away and can’t watch what they are doing online.

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Why PCI Compliance is Important

What is PCI?

PCI is an abbreviation for Payment Card Industry. Its name really is PCI Security Standards Council but many just call it as PCI Council or simply PCI. This organization was founded by the 5 major companies for credit cards namely Visa, MascterCard, American Express, JCB and Discover.

The purpose of PCI is to have uniformed security standards for all companies that are processing transactions via credit card. Before PCI was created, each credit card company held their own set of standards. Though these standards are quite similar with each other yet they are not completely similar and uniform thus problems arise.

What is PCI Compliance?

The PCI Compliance standards are set to protect the personal information of individuals who are transacting payment with the use of a credit card. Once credit card payments are involved in an industry, whether you’re a credit card company, an eCommerce shopping cart site or a financial institution, you must comply with the standards set by the PCI Council. If not, you will pay fines and may even lose the advantage of being able to process credit card payments.

Does PCI Apply to Your Site?

All eCommerce sites must comply with the PCI standards. You must submit their requirements as listed on their official website. There are 4 levels for merchants with level 1 as the highest and level 4 as the lowest.

• Level 1 – Merchants processing over 6 million Visa transactions a year
• Level 2 – Merchants processing from 1 million to 6 million Visa transactions a year
• Level 3 – Merchants processing from 20,000 to a million Visa transactions a year
• Level 4 – Merchants processing less than 20,000 Visa transactions a year
• Note: All of these are regardless of what acceptance channel used.

Complying with the PCI standards is quite complicated and difficult but it’s a must to any eCommerce sites to have. There are companies that also offer their services to make this process a lot less daunting.

The Standards Set by PCI that You Must Meet in Order to be PCI Compliant

There are 6 categories for PCI standards:

• Secure Network Maintenance – It is important to get a secure network and to maintain it. For eCommerce, the web server is the network that is vulnerable for attacks and data theft. It is important that hosting companies make sure that these networks are secure at all times to keep the cardholder data in safe hands.
• Cardholder Sata Protection – For eCommerce, cardholder data needs to be encrypted with at least the 128bit SSL certificate as the data is being sent over the internet. By encrypting the data, even when it is accessed illegally, they will still have difficulty in figuring out what the encryption says.
• Vulnerability Management Program – It’s important to maintain your computer hardware updated as well as the software and operating systems used. Most of all, regular anti-virus software updates and scans are also essential.
• Access Control Restriction – It is important to minimize the number of individuals who will be getting access to the cardholder data and each individual must be identified.
• Network Testing and Monitoring – By regularly testing and monitoring the networks storing the data will make sure that the network is safe and secure.
• Policy for Information Security – Information security policy is important for any company whether it’s for eCommerce or a physical business to have. Every individual must know about the policy regarding the cardholder data to avoid human errors and corruption.

For eCommerce, by being PCI compliant gives customers the peace of mind knowing that their credit card information are safe and will not be used for other purposes.

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Ecigs a Booming Industry and Only Getting Bigger

The tobacco industry is enjoying the billions of dollars people spend each year. Tobacco is well known to be causing a lot of health problems and diseases because of the many carcinogens it contains. Tobacco is well regulated which is why it’s priced high for taxes and many warnings are shown to sway people from smoking. But, nicotine is a highly addictive chemical, and many people who are already exposed to smoking just can’t easily kick the habit. Unfortunately, it is not just the smokers who are affected but second hand smoking also affects people around a smoker. 2^nd hand smoke can also make a non-smoker addicted to nicotine which will then convert him to smoke and to also suffer from many smoke-related diseases. It is said that second hand smoking may actually increase your vulnerability to actually get addicted to nicotine. Parents who smoke may most likely end up having children who will also smoke. That’s because unconsciously they are introducing nicotine into the system of their kids by smoking when kids are around.

Tobacco companies know about this trend but they don’t do anything about it because if they do, it may be the end of their industry. But, something has been done that will take the industry by storm. The tobacco companies would have to join in if they don’t want to be left behind. E-cigarettes or electronic cigarettes had only been introduced just a few years ago but it paved the way to making people see that there is an alternative to smoking that is much safer. E-cigarette is a booming industry and it’s only going to get bigger especially when it becomes regulated in 2016. The Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is said to be endorsing an e-cigarette brand that is produced by (BAT) or the British American Tobacco company and they will endorse this in 2014 and that’s going to make a big impact on the popularity of e-cigarettes. Because of this foresight, the tobacco companies need to be able to adapt to e-cigarettes before it becomes regulated if they don’t want to be left behind.

When the Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency endorse an e-cigarette product this is going to be very critical because that will only be telling people that using e-cigarettes would pose lesser risks to you than when you keep on using the traditional tobacco cigarettes.

The electronic cigarette is an electronic device that lets you inhale in vapor with nicotine. It can come in many different flavors from tobacco flavors to fruity flavors that make the experience a lot more fun. It is a substitute to regular tobacco as it looks and feels like a real cigarette. Some companies are now exerting efforts to develop their own brand of e-cigarettes so they could jump in with the trend as well.

It’s about time the world sees the rise of e-cigarettes. There’s no study to prove yet that e-cigarettes is healthy for you but if compared to traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes certainly pose a much lower risk. Traditional tobacco has already proven itself to be lethal with all the carcinogenic chemicals that gets burned and inhaled into the lungs. It’s the nicotine that people gets addicted to but other chemicals such as tar are also burned and introduced into the body and these lead to many health problems. E-cigarettes only let you inhale in nicotine and water vapor and other food grade chemicals that are known to be safe. It is quite obvious that e-cigarette smoking is indeed the much safer and more exciting choice.

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Benefits of Responsive Design in WordPress Themes

In the past, people would browse over the internet using their PCs or laptops. Nowadays, people can browse the internet with other devices like tablets, smartphones, and others. When using such devices, the web pages that were not designed for their resolution won’t come out looking like how they’re supposed to look. It’s either the page would be too big or the resolution is just not as appealing. This became a problem to many site owners thus Responsive design in WordPress themes were created and it’s now becoming a fast trend.

Cross Browser Compatibility with Responsive Design WordPress Themes

Simply put, when a site claims that it has cross browser compatibility that simply means the site supports all kinds of browsers whether they are for PC, for Kindle, an iPad or any other devices. WordPress is one of the most preferred blogging tool and it is now equipped with Responsive Design themes to let their users enjoy cross browser compatibility.

The goal of web developers is to keep their visitors happy while browsing their website. When the site is only compatible to one particular browser then the developer will lose all prospected visitors using other browsers and that’s not a good thing. There are many browsers being used such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome and many others used for mobile devices. It’s the responsibility of web developers to ensure that their site will look identical no matter what browser visitors are using.

How Responsive Design in WordPress Themes Work

If a WordPress theme design is said to be “responsive” that means that all the contents and the layout responds to the screen that views it. If a user views the page with a PC or with another device, the site with a responsive design must automatically adjust to the screen whether it’s on a computer monitor or a small mobile device. The aim is to give the best display possible for any type of screen or browser.

What to Consider in Looking for a Responsive WordPress Theme

Since there are many responsive WordPress Themes available, you must know what to look for when making the selection. There are themes that you can get for free but the majority of these responsive design WordPress Themes are available at a price. If pricing is a big concern for you then you may narrow down your selection to the free themes available or those just within your budget.

Whether or not you are willing to pay for your Responsive Design WordPress theme, you still must evaluate the design to know what you are getting. It’s important to find the right one that fits your needs and wants. First of all, you must know how to check the design if it’s supported with other devices or browsers. There are tools available online that you can use such as the Browsershots, Browser Sandbox, Resizer, Adobe Browserlab and many others. By checking the design’s adaptation to different sized browsers let you see their weak points.

Menu handling and video handling are also important when making your choice. Menus most often are affected when the size of the screen has changed. When the theme is not responsive, the menu can break in different and weird places and the user may not be able to use the menu properly. In looking for a responsive design, make sure that it has the capability to make the menu adapt to whatever device or browser is used. Video handling is also important if your site has embedded video. This is particularly complicated if you create your own responsive designed site from scratch. Find a particular responsive design WordPress theme that can handle video embedding if this is one of your special needs.

There are other factors that you should consider such as the content hierarchy and ad display. Many website owners run ads on their website so they could earn especially from Google Adsense. It’s important to have a strategy on how you want to go about with these considerations. With content hierarchy you can set priorities to the real content and keep side bars hidden if that is what you prefer. Just make sure you check your site on the tools listed above to see if you are already satisfied. As for ads, you can opt for an alternative advertising when your site is viewed on mobile devices or simply turn advertising off.

Conclusion

As the way technology is going, it is inevitable that all themes will eventually have responsive designs. As an online publisher, it is your goal to have several versions of your site to accommodate more users using different browsers or mobile devices. The best way to get this is by getting a Responsive Design especially for WordPress themes to make your life easier. It will also make it easier for the readers to enjoy your site.

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Advantages of Having a VPS Plan

What is VPS Hosting?

VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. To illustrate what VPS Hosting is, just imagine having a server and you “virtually” split it into several other servers. It’s like a mixture of having a dedicated server and having shared web hosting service.

With VPS Hosting, you get your own disk space, you choose your own operating system, you have TCP and IP stacks, you do your own processes and everything else that you can get with your own dedicated server. The real difference is really with the size. It’s like a chopped up dedicated server where every slice is equal in all aspects and you get one slice. That slice is completely your own and it is not affected with anything that is added to the other slice. If the other user crashes his Virtual Private Server, you are not at all affected.

There are a lot of web hosting companies that are also offering VPS. This is great for those who don’t want shared web hosting anymore but still can’t afford to get a dedicated server or the capacity of a dedicated server is still too much for them.

What is a Dedicated Server?

Dedicated Servers are for the more serious web designers there is. This is the highest end in web hosting and it’s the most expensive. With dedicated server hosting, the client gets the whole server and it is not being shared with anyone else. With a dedicated server you get to choose what hardware to use, what operating system and many others.

Dedicated servers are kept in data centers for best protection. You will also get support from the hosting providers in case of problems with your own dedicated server.

Dedicated servers can handle very large site traffic. Popular sites usually have their own dedicated servers as no other types of servers can handle their requirements. For those that don’t really require that much from their hosting provider can opt for either shared web hosting or VPS that are priced much less. There are a lot of VPS advantages if compared to dedicated servers for web designers with few managed sites with lesser needs.

What is Shared Web Hosting?

Shared web hosting is a type of hosting service offered wherein a server is divided into several sections and leased to website owners. These sections can affect each other as you are sharing RAM, Operating System, disk space and others. If one site is unfortunately hacked, yours could be compromised.

It is the cheapest web hosting plan there is and this is very appealing to many site owners who don’t really require much in running their sites. It’s also appealing to those who are still new in website designing and don’t want to risk on the more expensive hosting types such as VPS and dedicated servers.

What are the Advantages of going for VPS Hosting?

VPS Hosting vs. Shared Web Hosting:

• Better security with VPS Hosting than Shared Web Hosting. TCP/IP is not shared with other users and disk space is also not shared. You have your own designated disk space, TCP/IP and others.
• Predictable Environment. With Virtual Private Servers you can choose what Operating System you want, what type of control panel you want, etc. You are not affected with downtime when another site is having problems.
• Backup and Restore. With a VPS hosting, you can set your own backup with your own backup drives.
• Lastly, you get full control. With your own virtual private server, you get the full control just like what users with dedicated servers enjoy. This is something you can never get with a shared web hosting.

VPS Hosting vs. Dedicated Servers:

• VPS is more cost effective than a dedicated server
• A dedicated server has a lot more resources than the VPS thus it is more powerful, perfect for large sites.
• Dedicated servers are isolated. You have your own CPU that is dedicated just for you in a data center. It is not shared with anybody else.
• VPS lets you migrate into another VPS without much fuss. This is not an easy task in moving from 1 dedicated server to the next.
• VPS has pricing that you can easily afford while the dedicated servers can cost hundreds of dollars a month.
• Peak times can cause minor inconveniences for VPS users as each one share their resources with each other. Though completely virtually separated yet network connection is split with each one.

Conclusion

When looking at site response times, overall security, and reliability, shared web hosting ranks lower than Virtual Private Servers while Dedicated Servers are ranked the highest. If you have minimal needs with a website that doesn’t require a lot of resources (like a very popular WordPress blog or popular forum) then a good shared web hosting is for you. If you want superior hosting then having your own dedicated server is the best, although, most dedicated servers are well over $100 a month, often reaching $200+.

If you want reliable hosting that isn’t shared amongst thousands of website owners therefore providing better response times, better reliability, and better security, a VPS is your best choice. The best part about a VPS is the fact you aren’t on a shared IP address used by hundreds (or thousands) of websites. With a VPS, you’ll get 2 dedicated IP addresses with the ability to purchase more.

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A Guide to Ecommerce

High-quality shopping cart systems offer you a lot more than just a method for taking payments, which is why they’re called “systems.” The best software will provide you with comprehensive eCommerce solutions from top to bottom. They’ll not only be able to help you to process payments via credit or debit card, PayPal, online check or other methods, but will also assist you with design aspects of your site, shipping calculations, tax calculations, marketing opportunities, and more.

What Should I Look for in an eCommerce System?

At the most basic level, you do want as many different methods for taking payments as possible. Whether a customer will make a purchase or not often comes down to how convenient the purchase is. It’s hard enough to get a customer to buy something; you don’t want to make it harder by not taking all the payment methods you can. Likewise, however, you don’t want the shopping car to be confusing and counterintuitive. That’s why you should look for a system which will provide a simple interface for customers and provide website design tools which help you to integrate your cart seamlessly into your online store.

The system you purchase should not only take payments but also calculate them properly. That means that for every purchase, the system should be able to accurately reflect the correct shipping and tax rates and add them into the price for the purchase. That way you won’t find yourself paying for international shipping yourself because a customer was only charged for domestic shipping.

Marketing features are also important in an eCommerce system. These are advanced features that have come about as a result of today’s social media and other popular marketing outlets online. Marketing features allow you to offer incentives like coupons and gift certificates as part of your sales and also to analyze sales information in order to figure out which marketing tactics are successful and which ones aren’t providing you with anything substantial.

A good eCommerce system will provide you with useful administrative tools which make it easier to control your shop. You should be able to review your inventory and to take care of some basic accounting using your cart system. Some systems even provide video tutorials to help you learn how to run your shop effectively.

Finally, one more essential feature is security. There are a number of factors that may deter customers from shopping online, one of which is security. If customers do not feel that their personal information is safe with your site, they will not buy from you. Your cart should offer encryption and should inform customers that you use SSL security at checkout. Systems that offer fraud protection for customers also can help customers to feel assured.

In eCommerce, the Art of Persuasion is Important

Technically the site design element of your system is also tied to security in the sense that a professional, clean, simple design will help to persuade customers that your shop is a secure, legitimate place to shop. If customers find your shop confusing, they will consider you less trustworthy and will be less likely to buy from you even if you are encrypting their information and providing buyer protection. Because of this, you can really consider all the features of an eCommerce system to be interrelated. Every aspect of the design has an impact on the final result, which is buyer conversions. TopFiveAdvisor will introduce you to a number of popular shopping cart systems and help you to find the ideal software solution for your needs, one which will maximize your conversions and optimize your work flow for the best results.

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Thesis Vs Genesis WordPress Framework Systems Compared

For small business website owners, it is essential to find the right theme framework that will help boost your business. Currently, the two most powerful and popular theme frameworks available for WordPress are the Thesis Framework and Genesis Framework. These frameworks are great and easy to use but you must choose one and stick with it as it’s very difficult to change your framework especially when your site is already established. You can get a penalty from Google when you make the switch and frameworks have different HTMLs so switching is highly complicated.

It is important to note that both the Thesis and the Genesis platforms are from well respected developers. Studiopress is the developer of the Genesis Framework while DIYThemes developed Thesis. With that said, you know you can never go wrong with any of the two and your choice will be based only on your preference and need.

Features Comparison for Thesis Vs Genesis

One of the top considerations of website owners when looking for a premium wordpress theme is its price. If the price is too high many would run and hide. With Thesis and Genesis, their prices vary and each has its own pros and cons.

Starting with Thesis, the price is at $87 for its personal option and $164 for the Developers. With its Personal Option you are allowed to use it on your personal website with 1 development center that is localized. This option is great for beginners who only intend on using it with just one website. The Developer’s Option packs more as you can use the framework in as many sites as you want provided that these are your own personal or business sites. If it’s for a client then you are to pay an additional fee. The price for the fee can go as low as $32 per website if you buy 10 licenses. The Developers option is great for personal use with multiple websites but can get a bit more expensive when you use it for your clients. For 10 licenses at $32 each that already adds up to $320 plus $164.

With Genesis, the Framework alone costs $59.95 but if with theme then it’s at $79.97. Their Pro Plus is priced at $299.95. The $59.95 price allows you to use their Framework to as many sites as you want whether it’s your own personal websites or for your client. The $79.97 package option lets you use their Framework inclusive of a child theme to as many websites you want. Their Pro Plus Package costing $299.95 lets you use their Framework and all the themes that are also developed by StudioPress. The number of child themes continues to grow so you will get a lot of options to choose from. The big advantage is that these child themes developed by StudioPress are yours for free. In comparison, the Pro Plus Package is cheaper than the Developer’s Option if to be used with several clients.

To compare Thesis Vs Genesis in terms of their base designs is easy as each one has their own style. With Thesis you can choose from the skins available while Genesis calls these base designs as child themes. DIYThemes don’t offer skins so you will have to get them from a 3rd-party developer and the selection are plentiful. Some skins are available for free while many are priced from over $30 to as high as over $80. There are memberships available from these developers so you can get a cheaper rate for multiple skin purchases.

Child Themes are also made by StudioPress so you are not dependent on any third party developers to get your theme. The big advantage to this is that when StudioPress updates the Genesis Framework then all the child themes will already be supported. There are many Child Themes available for your selection but if StudioPress’ selection isn’t enough for you then they also have a marketplace wherein you can purchase Child Themes from other developers that are approved by StudioPress. The price for each Child Theme is $24.95.

Customer Support Comparison for Thesis Vs Genesis

The customer support of Thesis vs Genesis customer support is practically at par with each other. That’s because both are offering great support so customers are assured they won’t end up spending days to get a response from the team. Both have their support forums which is great as you can get answers from their representatives and from other webmasters as well.

If there’s one advantage Thesis has over Genesis in terms of customer support is with their online manual. You can even copy some of the snippets that you’d want to share in your websites. Genesis does not have a user manual.

Conclusion

All in all, Thesis and Genesis deserve their spots as the two most competitive Framework Systems for WordPress. Other similar Frameworks can’t compare. You can never go wrong whether you choose Thesis or you choose Genesis. What’s important is that when you choose one you got to make sure you already made up your mind as you have to stick with it until the end.

Guide in choosing the right Framework:

Choose Genesis – Click here to visit their site

• If you are not an expert in PHP, CSS or HTML
• If you don’t want to spend so much time in setting up your website
• If you are happy with skins quite similar with other WordPress sites
• If you have multiple client websites as choosing their Pro Plus package will save you money

Choose Thesis – Click here to visit their site

• If you know PHP, CSS and HTML well
• If you prefer to customize your sites to make it look unique
• With lots of time and energy in personalizing the look of your site
• If you only work on your own personal and business websites so you only pay $164 for unlimited use.

Your budget and need are really the two factors you have to consider when making a selection. By answering the guide listed above, you won’t go wrong in making the right choice for you.

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Differences Between a cPanel VPS and Plesk VPS

Hosting a site is made easy with the use of a control panel. There are two popular control panels especially for VPS hosting and they are the cPanel and Plesk control panel. It is hard to compare one from the other as they are somewhat similar but with some difference especially with regards to its setup. The truth is, these two are excellent control panels. When you choose cPanel or Plesk, it is best to stick with it as switching from one to the other would be quite complicated and time consuming.

cPanel VPS control panel had been used for many years. In fact, many well experienced webmasters are already quite familiar with this application. Plesk is still relatively quite new but its interface is much easier to understand. Though Plesk VPS control panel is easy to understand, those who have already grown familiar with cPanel would need to re-learn how to use this new type of control panel. Plesk VPS is a better choice for those who are going with a fresh mind, without the familiarity yet of cPanel.

What is the Right Control Panel for Me?

Finding the right control panel for you depends on what you are actually looking for. cPanel is a UNIX-based application therefore it’s great for those who prefer a VPS with the Linux or UNIX operating system. If you want to go with the Windows based web hosting then you should choose Plesk. Also take note that Plesk is also available for Linux-based servers. Though there are other control panels available that are Linux-based and Windows-based, these two are the best.

Cost is also a factor to consider. cPanel is cheaper than Plesk but the latter is also able to offer smaller plans that cPanel does not have. If you are getting your web hosting service from a service company, the price for their chosen control panel is already added to the price of their web service. Web hosts are the ones who determine how much they would pass along to their clients so you can base the price on the price of the web hosting package itself.

cPanel also is working in conjunction with WHM. You would need to login to them individually while Plesk is a two in one control panel. cPanel is the control panel for the domains while WHM is for server administration. With this said, it is possible for someone to be given access on cPanel but can’t access WHM as they are only given administrator privilege on pages but don’t have privileges in administrating the server. As for Plesk, those who can login to it will have both access.

What to Choose for My VPS Server?

Choosing from cPanel or Plesk for your VPS server is an easy task. You have the option whether you want a cPanel VPS for Linux O.S. or if you want the Plesk VPS for your Windows web hosting or you want Plesk VPS for Linux. What’s important really is that you’d be loyal to it.

Make sure that when you choose one control panel you won’t have plans of choosing the other in the future. This is because migrating from one server to the next and changing control panels is hard. Plesk has a migration system that can help but it’s not going to give you a very neat end result. It’s easy to migrate from one server to another as long as they both have the same control panels as there won’t be any compatibility problems.

Conclusion

Both the cPanel VPS and the Plesk VPS are two very good choices. The differences between the two are quite minor that you really can’t make a clear winner between them. What matters most is that you get one that you are most comfortable with. Learn more about the best VPS hosting solutions.