RSS Updates

09

Aug

9

Much Love For Backups

I love backups. In fact one could say I’m a little obssessed with backups. At HostNexus we backup shared/reseller servers to big beefy backup servers across a private network at the data center. Back in the old days we used to use disk-to-disk backups and this is still the default backup method for managed dedicated servers. But as shared/reseller servers fill and get busy the amount of data can get quite large and disk-to-disk backups start to take alot of time and cause very high loads on the server so enter the remote backup system. Read the rest of this entry »

09

Apr

14

The Site That Took Three Years To Build

Our new site has been live for a month now. The feedback has been truly amazing. So many people mentioned how much they liked the site and many emailed us just to say that. I thought the site was good but the sheer amount of positive feedback really took me by suprise.

We have seen a 400% increase in sales and about the same increase in traffic. The traffic stats are a bit skewed because the old NexusPortal is now integrated with HostNexus so the stats include forum traffic and support traffic. But there is no doubt that a good site helps convert visitors into customers. I saw the same thing 6 years ago when we launched the old Ceonex site.

But how often should a company change its site? The net is an ever-transforming animal so there really is a need to change designs to keep up with the latest trends. Some people say once a year but I think that’s a bit much and I certainly wouldn’t be able to handle that. I think maybe every 2 years would okay for small changes. In our case it had been 6 years so a radical change was needed but believe it or not I set out on this mission to get a new site up for HN in June 2006 - yep, 3 years ago. So just how can a site take 3 years to build?
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09

Mar

8

Welcome to nexus 3.0

welcome

It’s hard to believe.  Some say it would never be achieved.  They were almost right. But finally, (FINALLY!) the new HostNexus is live.  There are a few elements that need to be ported over from the old site and NexusPortal and that will be completed in due course but the meat and potatoes is in.

The new site is modern with a web 2.0 feel which is a direct reflection on the direction in which I’m taking the company.   This new site incorporates the content from NexusPortal so everything is on the hostnexus.com domain. Please bow your heads in remembrance of NexusPortal, she served us well and will be remembered. But now - onto newer, bigger and better things!

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