1) The graphics files that make up your website are too large. Web graphics are different than print graphics. If you use graphics meant for print on a website, it’s going to take forever for those graphics to load on someone’s screen.

2) There’s too much extra code behind the scenes of your website.

3) Your hosting account is slow. Your hosting account is like the gas for your website. If you have a junk hosting account, the site’s going to always run slow no matter what.

What’s the fix?

A) Have a web professional like myself or someone else have a look at your website for a free quick assessment.

B) Try switching to a new hosting account. I won’t name names but some are notoriously slow. Want a fast one? Here’s a company I recommend: Unlimited Domain Hosting Only $9.95 a Month

How? With some great software you probably already have on your computer or that you can get for free. Most computers have Microsoft Outlook pre-installed so all you have to do is plug in your information and use it. One of the features of Outlook is email management. If you don’t have Outlook or prefer to use something else, a free piece of software called Thunderbird 2 is a popular solution. Both are great solutions to email organization. 

What does this software do exactly? It check and downloads emails from all of your email accounts to your computer either automatically every “x” minutes or at the click of one button. With the click of a button you’ll know if you’ve received emails to any of those accounts in about 20 seconds or less. And, what’s even greater about the software is that you can reply to all the emails using the same piece of software!

No more opening browser window after browser window to check all of your email accounts and reply to them. 

You can also set up the software to run while you do your work, and when an email comes in from any of your accounts, the software will notify you either with a little pop-up window or an audible alert. It’s incredibly efficient.  

So, stop wasting your valuable time logging in and logging out managing multiple email accounts and get your computer to do it for you. Here’s where you can download Thunderbird 2 http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/

If your desk is like mine, real estate for sale in my work area is almost non-existent. I used to have a back up hard drive floating around on it but it has recently been ousted in my attempts eliminate clutter. One way to protect yourself and give yourself peace of mind, is to backup your important files online. There are several companiest that will store your data, photos, music, or whatever online so you can 1) access it anywhere and 2) recover all your important data in the event of a computer failure or theft. The services are definitely affordable. One of the newer companies to provide such services is www.keepit.com.

The keepit program has unlimited storage space so you don’t have to make the decision about what data you are willing to lose and what data is worthy of backing up. The service cost $4.95 per month. In my mind, it’s really a no brainer as far as peace of mind and protection goes. More at www.keepit.com.