kinetik IT blog spot

In the first years of the Internet, websites offered information in straightforward (if not always attractive) formats, created by men and women with specialized training, often self-taught. Today, nearly anyone can create a web presence—a blog or website, compatible on multiple devices and across various platforms. As a business owner, it’s possible to create a site, but the real question is: will it deliver the results you’re looking for?

While the “build your own website” ads look appealing, with easy-to-fill-out forms and low prices, they may not be the best choice for your business. Choosing a company specializing in professional website building offers many advantages over the drag & drop, fill-in-the-blank, pre-formatted online builders.

Cost

While hiring a company to design your website might cost more money up front, the benefits reaped from a fully functioning, easy-to-use website can be enormous. By using an online site to build your website, you could miss out on different ways and  techniques to create more traffic for your site. This is the expertise you need  that a website company brings to the table.

New Trends

When choosing a website company, you get the expertise and knowledge of a large set of individuals. These experts know what is trending in design and how to create a user-friendly site with calls to action.

Saving Time

Most businesses and individuals do not have the time or in-depth knowledge required to build a truly useful and informative website that sets your company apart from the competition and provides a great user experience for any visitor.

Exact Specifications

Do you have specific design specifications you want incorporated into your new website? Do you have a vision for what your website will look like? If this is the case, an online website builder will be unable to fulfill your website dreams. Only a website company can sit down with you and talk through the wants and needs of your new website and advise on the best way to accomplish this.

When we hear the word trend, it’s often fashion we think of, or social media, as in “What’s trending on Twitter?” Trends, though the layperson is often oblivious to them, also emerge and develop online—on websites, and in mobile design for phones and tablets. Many trends that became prevalent in 2013 can still be seen on a regular basis—which is why, explains thenextweb.com writer Amber Leigh Turner, “they are called trends and not fads, as trends tend to stick around for a few years while fads are only hot for a very short time.”

And already, 2014 has been a great year for new trends in design, with simpler, to-the-point designs. With the rise of smartphones and tablets, mobile devices continue to inspire innovative design. Whether mobile or web, here is a short list of a few of the most popular trends in design so far this year. 

1. 

   Less Text -- Imagery has always been important on the web, and this trend won’t be letting up any time soon. Numerous apps, and some websites, rely almost exclusively on images and icons. This can work perfectly for some, but the trend isn’t ideal across the board. Don’t feel trapped by this trend; if more text is needed to convey your ideas or to make navigation easier for your customers, use it!

2. Minimalist Navigation -- This trend has been welcomed by many smartphone and tablet users, and with the interplay between design for mobile and web design, this trend is guaranteed to continue. The focus here is on scroll-downs, icons, and navigation that contracts when you scroll further down the page.
3. Cards and Tiles -- Look at any newer website, and you will see this trend in all its glory! Cards are like mini, condensed web pages, and commonly include title, a user name, a picture, various icons, and, sometimes, a brief amount of text (think Pinterest, and you’ll get the idea). Cards and tiles can be a great way to display large amounts of information without overwhelming users.
4. Expanding Search Bars -- This is a new trend welcomed by all. Its primary purpose is to save room on the page. Either a semi-hidden or an expanding search bar can be used at the top and toggle it up or down just like a navigation menu. This feature works great in responsive layouts and can be used in more complicated designs.
5. Quick User Registration -- Our world moves too quickly to fill out a long, detailed registration form. If you are looking to capture new visitors, try a two- to four-field registration. This newer trend is seeing a lot of use in all types of websites. Gone are the days of long forms, try this new trend to see a large increase in registrations! 
6. Typography and Monochromatic Design -- With the rise of web fonts, many designers are using a mix-and-match approach to websites. Sometimes bigger is better, and many designers are heading in that direction. Monochromatic design is also on the rise. Using only two colors and the numerous shades of each can make for a cleaner looking site. 

The joy of the web is that there is always something new to see and enjoy. These trends, and numerous others, give designers a new way to engage users and entices visitor interest in a particular site. The use of more than one of these trends can be seen in many sites. Be sure to think about what works best for the content and the user when considering a new trend.

Recent studies have shown that having a potted plant can significantly increase a worker’s productivity and creativity. The findings harken back to a theory first published in 1980, called “attention restoration theory.” The gist of this theory is that our brains expend a lot of energy on tasks that require direct attention. This type of mental fatigue is only restored when that concentration stops. There are multiple ways to do this—meditation or a nap is ideal, though not always practical on the job. When we're awake, direct attention can be refreshed by shifting focus to something indirect. In the potted plant study, nature offered just this type of absorbing, restorative distraction.

While the basis for this theory lies in spending time observing nature, similar benefits are seen when individuals engage in other activities, such as playing games and playing with toys. That’s right—playing with toys. We’ve all heard tales of the Google and Facebook corporate campuses, where arcade games are common, and extracurricular activities abound (including gardening at Google’s London HQ). This is attention restoration theory at work.

Most businesses don’t budget or have the space for ping pong tables or pinball machines; fortunately, smaller games and puzzles also provide the rejuvenation that employees periodically need. Simple items that allow for tactile engagement offer similar benefits to restore the overworked brain and lead to high productivity and happier employees.

Visit www.kinetik-it.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Oftentimes, the rule of thumb for managed web hosting is the higher the price tag, the better the technical support. The monthly cost of managed hosting packages can vary from less than $50 to several hundred dollars.

At Kinetik I.T., we don’t think it should cost a fortune to host your website. We offer managed hosting solutions that are secure, affordable and easy to maintain.  Our web-hosting servers are co-located in a state-of-the-art data center with continuous monitoring and 24/7 toll-free technical support. Through redundancy and reliability, our server configurations allow us to guarantee 99.9% up-time.

Easily Manage Your Domain
Our web hosting service features

• 24/7 Toll-Free Technical Support – Talk to a live technician right away and get your questions answered now.

• Server-Side E-Mail SPAM Filter – With 3 levels of sensitivity and 3 different handling options, the filter will reduce SPAM delivery by over 90%.

• Server-Side E-Mail Virus Scanning – A virus can never make it into your inbox, because the server deletes the virus and notifies you of the attempted intrusion.

• Rotated Visitor Logs for Statistical Reporting – At the interval you desire, logs are automatically rotated and compressed into time-stamped files for quick identification.

Our goal is to empower you an simple to use and secure control panel so you can easily manage all aspects of your hosting account. Our web hosting allows you to create and manage e-mail boxes, FTP accounts within your domain, generate usage statistics, manage your files on the server, analyze your web site structure and integrity, secure sections of your web site and manage multiple user access, and configure and install common CGI scripts and more. 

To learn more about web hosting, and a wide array of other services and products, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik I.T. on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

As we’ve learned from the recent attacks on major retailers Target and Nieman Marcus, and websites like LinkedIn and Kickstarter, cyber theft is a big business – and focused on big business.  When hearing stories about compromised security, it’s easy to become concerned about the level of safety on one’s own computer.  It’s also important to keep fears in check.

Discussing the topic, Kinetik I.T. President Josette van Stiphout had this to say:

“I think we all get paranoid when these things happen, but we also need to keep it in perspective, because professional cyber hackers are out for massive information. They're most likely not going as much after the small individual business to capture data. They're going to go for the masses.  They want to get as much data in the least amount of time, and therefore they are targeting industries and sites that store a lot of personal data – for example the retail industry is now a huge target, with credit card numbers, personal information – that’s what they're going to go for.”

Josette advises not getting overly paranoid, suggesting that “if you are the small individual business, you want to make sure that your data is secured, that it's not easily accessible, and that you have a strong authentication process that has been tested. Furthermore, check for “back-doors” that could provide easy access for hackers to your network and servers.” Taking action that’s appropriate to your business should be a consideration.

Although cyber-security is about dealing with professional hackers and thieves who always seem to be a step ahead of technology, not having appropriate security levels in place can cause a company a great deal of issues and headaches.  

As a premier provider of internet and information technology solutions and resources, Kinetik I.T. has a mission to move clients forward, enabling them to reach their full business potential by providing products and services specially suited for their individual business needs.  To learn more, and to stay up to date with Kinetik I.T., visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

When a major national retailer is the victim of cyber-attack, it’s headline news.  Late in 2013, Minneapolis-based Target Corporation and Neiman Marcus succumbed to cyber thieves.  It’s now estimated that between November 27 and December 15, 2013 – prime holiday shopping season – the payment card data of 40 million shoppers who bought merchandise in-store at U.S. stores, as well as the personal information of another 70 million customers, was compromised. 

According to available data, the Target mishap is one of the country’s largest recorded data security breaches. Considering the scope of this crime, it’s easy to assume a heist the planning and implementation of which would rival those of a modern-day thriller. To the contrary, the security breach is believed to have been the result of that most innocuous of daily trifles: phishing emails.

According to recent research, while the amount of phishing is decreasing, the methods employed are more targeted, with cyber criminals becoming more skillful. And harmless as it may seem when it appears in the inbox, one of the most effective subject lines, as determined by cyber-security experts at Websense of San Diego, is an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. And if the first and second emails don’t draw in the prospect, data indicates that the third email will finally get them to click a link or open an attachment – though these may not always prove malicious.  Phishing emails proved to be Target’s downfall, when an employee of third-party contractor Fazio Mechanical Services Inc. of Sharpsburg, PA clicked through from a “malware-laced e-mail phishing attack.” Unfortunately, the company’s detection software simply wasn’t capable of protecting the company’s network from the threat.

This kind of incident leaves a business owner to ask, "What can I do to make my company data more secure?"  The best place to start is with awareness.

Security is not a one‑size‑fits‑all approach, because each business is unique, with different network and data challenges. Security measures also depend on the size of the company, the amount of business, on what data is at risk.  

Employees can also be a threat to cyber‑securing the business. The data breaches can occur by simple human error – as with the Target breach, and more recently with Kickstarter, the popular online crowd-sourcing website. This type of error can be related to many factors, among them poor decision‑making, or the consequences of someone else's decision‑making, and not understanding security policies and procedures.

Understanding existing security policies and protocols is imperative, and assembling a security matrix to addresses internal organization risk is a great place to start.  Begin by assessing and assigning appropriate levels of access and security on email servers, employees' tablets or mobile phones. 

When cyber attacks are in the news, it’s important to maintain perspective. Small-to-medium-sized businesses will have less to worry about than a major like Target, or a site with the online reach of Kickstarter.  While keeping data safe should be of concern to every business, the level of security should be appropriate to the size and scope of the individual entity and specific data or intellectual property to safeguard. 

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik I.T., visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

When developing a website to focus on product and service offerings, custom design often comes into play.  For some businesses, a custom build can be not only appropriate but necessary, though not in all cases.  Along with custom design can come ongoing maintenance, specialized knowledge and training, and regular updates.  Besides raising the question of who will maintain the site, ongoing upkeep often equates to ongoing cost.  

According to President Josette van Stiphout, “At Kinetik IT, our philosophy is not to be in the business of holding clients hostage. We want them to come back to us because they want to, not because they have to.  It's a different approach. We want to make sure that our clients are happy with what products we deliver, the customer service and everything that's tied into that. We want to do that at a reasonable price.” 

Kinetik IT’s rates have remained competitive for the duration of the company’s existence, with cuts coming not from laying off employees or cutting salaries, but by becoming more efficient and better-performing than the norm.  This client-centered philosophy stems from the understanding that clients may not be able to raise their own rates to accommodate the cost of necessary services, upgrades, and maintenance,

“Our rates are beyond competitive.  We haven't raised our rates in several years, because we want to make sure our prices are reasonable. In order to keep them reasonable, we have to become more efficient as a company rather than raising our rates every year for our clients,” van Stiphout said.  

It's not the easiest philosophy, but it's a philosophy that has been present since the beginning, and one which the company will strive to incorporate as much as possible. Says van Stiphout, “We've been pretty successful at following this business philosophy, but again, it's not mainstream corporate philosophy.”

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

The idea of reducing your company’s carbon footprint is nothing new; in fact, “greening” started way back in the 1970s, and some would argue the movement began more than a century before that!  As the world becomes more connected and informed, we understand better than ever how important it is for each and every one of us to do our part in protecting the environment.  At Kinetik IT, we are passionate about our role as environmental stewards and making a difference in our environment. We want to help change the world, one client at a time.

We do this in big and small ways.  First, we take care with our everyday activities – by working with our staff to create a paperless work environment, by recycling, and by controlling our waste, energy and water usage. We also commit in bigger ways – by donating a percentage of our gross revenue to eco-friendly projects and eco-supporting organizations that our clients are passionate about.

It’s a partnership.  At Kinetik IT, we contribute a percentage of the gross amount paid by the client to eco-friendly projects or eco-supporting organizations chosen by the client.  Clients choose from the organization we regularly donate to, or provide us another of their choosing.  Organizations we’ve donated to include the following:

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.