Category: Web design

Krystal hosting review – VPS, Shared and Dedicated packages

PCRepairMan

Krystal are a UK-based host that offers configurable VPS, Shared and Dedicated packages. There’s not much choice in the UK hosting market so consequently there are some pretty steep prices out there compared to their USA datacentre counterparts. That said, Krystal seem to have all bases covered, let’s take a look at their offerings…

Krystal’s standard hosting features and guarantees

All Krystal plans share a common set of features, like premium control panel and a longer-than-most money-back guarantee. They have been in business since 2002 so they are here to stay and with over 90% of their customers recommending their hosting, it’s a no-brainer decision.

The Krystal difference

Their CEO, Simon Blackler, gives his reasons why they are different to other hosts:

In 2002, frustrated by poor service and bad business practices, I created Krystal to provide an “Honest, Reliable & Personal” alternative to the large faceless hosting corporations. We’re named Krystal because the company embodies values often associated with precious crystals, such as quality, rarity and transparency.

Over the last 15 years our unique approach to business has won us a reputation for excellence and a loyal following.
We’re now the largest independent UK web host and are rated the best web hosting company by popular review sites.

We’re in business because we’re passionate about technology and solving problems.
I hope that you’ll join us today and experience the Krystal difference for yourself.

Well, it’s true that many hosts have poor service and some even downright shady business practices, but judging on the reviews coming back from established sites such as Trust Pilot, Krystal are a force to be reckoned with.

At the time of writing, Krystal offer entry-level hosting for £3.99 monthly with these features:

  • FREE 256-bit SSL certificate
  • FREE website builder
  • 100% SSD cloud hosting
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Optimised for WordPress & more

There’s a configurable VPS from £9.99 monthly with these features:

  • 100% SSD cloud VPS
  • Full root access
  • Free DDoS protection
  • Free dedicated IP
  • No setup fee

For businesses requiring PCI compliance, £29.99 monthly gets you:

  • Fully PCI-DSS Compliant
  • FREE DDoS protection
  • FREE 256-bit SSL certificate
  • FREE backups every 6 hours
  • FREE domain name for life

The big plus is that you get a 60 day money back guarantee with everything, so a full refund can be had and you lose nothing (except your time testing their servers). In our experience you’ll probably stay with them as the ping times are as good as anything we have seen on the UK market and server configuration options are up there with the best.

Verdict

What we really like is the company’s transparency. They are trying to do things differently and succeeding – a refreshing thing in the murky world of hosting. They use green technology, which means 100% renewable energy at all of their sites, which we love because reducing the impact of these datacentres is a must.

With a more-than-standard offering, Krystal have certainly raised the bar. For the price-conscious, the VPS and dedicated prices are spot-on, being considerably cheaper than the opposition such as FastHosts, Rackspace, Ionos, 123-Reg and more (comparison reviews coming soon). There’s 24/7 ticket and email support, extremely friendly telephone support (10:00 to 17:00 UK time), cPanel, free migration assistance, automated backups, PHP (5.6 to current) and all the usual stuff like MySQL, PHPMyAdmin, SSH and even the ubiquitous Softaculous. What isn’t there to like? Click the link below to get hosting from what we believe is the best available for UK hosts:

Try Krystal free for 60 days

As a Krystal Associate I earn from qualifying purchases read more

Cheapest UK domain names with good support

PCRepairMan

Namecheap currently offer the cheapest UK domain names with prices starting from as little as £3.50. Their current offers on hosting packages are very good too and they offer a huge range of services from private Whois to advanced DNS.  No discount codes are required for their low prices.

In our experience, they are very reliable and have up-front pricing on both domain pricing and hosting. Tech support is via chat or email and the quality of support we received over the years has been generally higher than most registrars. Support emails tend to be replied to within 24 hours.

Click the banner below to get free Whois privacy for 1 year and benefit from their keen pricing:


Free WhoisGuard with every domain purchase

 

 

Top 40 places to sell your designs

PCRepairMan

I have a talented client who is involved in greetings card design.  She was looking for ways to sell her unique designs so I suggested a few of the best known and some of the more obscure ones I have come across.  Here is the list I came up with….

Templates

ThemeForest – Sell web design templates.

WP Theme Market – Sell WordPress themes.

CMS Market – Sell templates, extensions and more for Joomla, Drupal and WordPress

Theme Galaxy – Premium WordPress theme designers who are always looking for new talent to join their team.

Images

iStockphoto – The biggest. Sell photos, illustrations, video and Flash.

GraphicRiver – Sell vector images and Photoshop files.

Shutterstock – Get paid per download for photographic images and vector images.

Cutcaster – Sell your digital images and vector graphics, along with stock video.

VectorStock – Sell…err…vector stock images.

Graphic Leftovers – Sell illustrations, logos, icons & templates.

Fotolia – Fotolia offers commission on your account with them

Fonts

MyFonts – Sell fonts via this huge provider.

Linotype.com – Sell fonts.

ITCFonts.com – Sell fonts.

Flash

FlashDen – Sell Flash files.

Tee shirt design

Threadless – Design a t-shirt, put it to a vote, see it sold if it’s good enough.

SpreadShirt – Create custom tee shirts.

Image Kind – Sell posters, greeting cards and canvas prints.

Video

VideoHive – Sell video footage.

Compete or bid to get projects

99 designs – Compete against other designers on real projects to win cash prizes.

crowdSPRING – Compete for design projects.

 

Payloadz – Sell digital products in your own store.

Zooppa – Create ads and compete against other designers to win cash prizes.

Minted –Design contests.

Miscellaneous

Digital Point – Huge forum to buy and sell stuff.

Red Bubble – Sell art, tee shirts and greeting cards.

Artist Rising – An artwork marketplace that includes photography and digital art. Sadly gone now.

CoSwap – Unique concept.  Swap your designs, illustrations or code or simply sell them.

Zazzle – Design for different products.

 

Cannot modify header information – headers already sent

PCRepairMan

So what exactly is ‘modify header information’ anyway? Well, it’s quite a common problem and one that has no definitive answer because there are many different code reasons why it occurs. That said, if you understand why it’s happening you should be able to diagnose your issue more easily. I’ll give an explanation first and then go on to provide a fix for WordPress template files as these seem to be the most prevalent code examples that get hacked and chopped about.

Headers sent to your browser explained

So, this issue rears its ugly head when someone visits your website and requests a page. Your server duly sends the page but before the visitor’s browser has completed the rendering of that page on the screen, it gets told to redirect to another page. This is unacceptable and the browser doesn’t like this so you see the error “Cannot modify header information – headers already sent”. Take this code example:

<html>
<?php
header('Location: https://www.pcrepairmansblog.com/');
exit;
?>

It’s simple enough php code where the object is to redirect the user’s browser to another website. This will not work though because the <html> line has started to output the code to the browser already. Remember that header() must be called before any actual output is sent and this can be by standard HTML, via PHP or even via the presence of blank lines.

The blank lines header error

The presence of blank lines within PHP in a file can cause errors. Here’s another example:

/*Some file*/

<?php

header('Location: https://www.pcrepairmansblog.com/');

exit;

? >

Spot the mistake? It’s a common one but the extra space after the final question mark is actually output to the browser and can be the difference between the page working or not. Extra whitespace where it shouldn’t be is tricky for coding beginners to spot, so work logically through the code and try to structure it as cleanly as possible. Compare any modifications you have made to the original file and try the original again to see if that triggers the error. Typical problems include whitespace or new lines before the opening <?php or after the closing ?> which works in many cases but often causes this error. Try to code more cleanly and remember this can cause big problems later on.

If your code has more than one PHP block in it and they are directly after each other, remove any spaces in between them. Try to consolidate the PHP into one block if possible here too.

 

Modify headers error where session_start() is used

Here’s another scenario:

<html>

<?php session_start(); ?>

<head>

<title>What's wrong?</title>

</head>

</html>

So what is going wrong here? Well, the session_start() function attempts to send headers with the session cookie to the client. Unfortunately, PHP already sent headers when it wrote the title element to the ‘output stream’. To resolve this, you would need to move the session_start() code to the top, above the <html> line.

Often, the error indicates exactly where you should be looking in your code so look for php and html output around there.

Script encoding errors, UTF-8 and BOM

The Byte Order Mark (BOM) is a Unicode character used to signal the byte order (aka ‘Endianness’) of a text file or stream. Still with me? If you’re not, don’t worry, all you need to do is to try to make sure you don’t have any Byte Order Marks in your code as this messes up the headers too. There is, in my mind, little place for BOM on a WordPress installation. The Unicode standard permits BOM in UTF-8 but doesn’t recommend it.

Errors caused by the inclusion of BOM are generally because

  • You viewed the source in a bad text editor and saved it (hint use Notepad++ which is free and brilliant)
  • You used a poor FTP client (hint: use WinSCP, also free and brilliant)
  • You had the BOM in there originally (hint: don’t download files from dodgy sites).

The simple solution is to open up all the offending files in Notepad++ (or a similar good text editor) and swap the file format from Windows/Mac to Unix and turn off the BOM.

For advanced users, you can run this nifty ‘find’ code on the server to remove all BOM code. Use with caution as it can modify any file.

find . -type f -exec sed '1s/^\xEF\xBB\xBF//' -i.bak {} \; -exec rm {}.bak \;

If you prefer to tread cautiously, use this code to simply display those BOM files:

grep -rl $'\xEF\xBB\xBF' .

The code above cleverly looks in the first line only which is where we find the BOM byte sequence (the UTF-8 representation of this is 0xEF,0xBB,0xBF). This means it runs pretty quickly.

Code your way out in functions.php

Well, I said I would give you a solution that works for WordPress and here it is. Please note, I would thoroughly recommend attacking the other solutions above first but if you are at your wits end try adding this to your theme’s functions.php file:

add_action('init', 'do_output_buffer');
function do_output_buffer() {
        ob_start();
}

PHP will now not send any input to the browser until the page is fully loaded. This in turn allows your WordPress installation to redirect users as it sees fit.

Summary

Remember, what you are trying to find is basically two lots of output to your browser and this is often via HTML code and PHP code being run at the same time. Track it down and your error should be removed. Don’t underestimate the widespread duff code in 3rd party plugins too, disable these one by one and try again.

Hope this helps you to sort out your ‘headers already sent’ issues, please use the social links to recommend this page to others before they pull their hair out too 🙂

 

How to clear the DNS cache

PCRepairMan

clear dns cache mac windows

Your DNS cache stores IP addresses of webservers. These servers have delivered pages which you and others have recently viewed. If the location of the web server changes for any reason before the entry in your DNS cache automatically updates, you will find yourself unable to access the website. You may also see a lot of 404 error codes, which generally happens when your DNS cache is messed up.

This is particularly prevalent for Webmasters who are setting up a new website and suddenly get presented with an old page or no page at all. Often it is visble on another computer or mobile phone which makes it even more frustrating.

By clearing this DNS cache, your computer will then re-query the nameservers for the new DNS information.

How to clear your computer’s DNS cache in Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 or 8

  • Click the Start button
  • On the Start menu, click Run
  • If you do not see the Run command in Vista/7/8, enter “run” in the Search bar just above the start orb
  • Type the following in the Run text box: ipconfig /flushdns
  • Press Enter

Pay attention to the space between the g and the forward slash.

Close the command window and retry your browser.

How to clear your computer’s DNS cache in Mac OS 10.7 onwards

Please note that for this to work you require the Admin account password.

  • Click Applications
  • Click Utilities
  • Double click the Terminal application
  • Type in: sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Close the terminal window and retry your browser.

How to clear your computer’s DNS cache in Mac OS 10.6 and below

  • Click Applications
  • Click Utilities
  • Double-click the Terminal application
  • Type in: dscacheutil -flushcache

That’s it and you should now be able to fire up your browser and get a fresh version of the page.

GoDaddy 99 cent domains are back!

PCRepairMan

Godaddy cheap domain trickYes, GoDaddy 99 cent domains are back with this simple method and coupon code for December! It’s limited to 3 per account but does include existing GoDaddy account holders to purchase. I’ll show you below how to mix it up and get 6 domains for as low as $4.

At time of writing, 4USD = about 2.50GBP or 3.8AUD or 4.7 NZD or 3Euro

Start off by opening GoDaddy using this link (opens in a new window).

Sign up or login if you are already a customer.

First off, if you are from any country other than the US, set your primary currency to dollars. I’m outside the US but I keep it in this currency as it’s often where the better deals are.

Search for your 3 .com domains and add them to your basket.

Set all domains to 1 year duration using the dropdown menu.

Below each domain you see this:
YOURDOMAINNAME.INFO FREE with .COM or .CO^ – Add

Click the little ‘Add’ link for each one, this will add the free .info to your basket.

Verify your domains and that the corresponding .infos are all there, you should have 6 domains in total.

Now go to your Order Summary box on the right side of the page and add this special GoDaddy promotional coupon code:

LKSRTL99X

You should see that all 3 of your .coms have dropped to $0.99 (plus $0.18 tax) and that the .infos are completely free (with $0.18 sales tax). Something like this:

Godaddy 99 cent domain coupon code

 

Godaddy free info domain

 

At their current non-discounted prices (and GoDaddy are reasonable for their full-price domains) the basket would cost $82 for those 6 domains. Using this trick it comes down to a shade over $4.

That’s a $78 dollar saving, or 95% if you prefer!

Here’s what I have just ordered:

Godaddy 99 cent domains coupon deal

Yes that really is just over $4 for 6 domain names!!

 

Update: Working GoDaddy coupon codes for January 2013:

Enter code cjc295j1 for any domain at $2.95

Enter code gd3115c for any .info at $1.49

Enter code UNLOCKED for any .com at $1.17

Bookmark this page and check back for new codes before purchasing any domain!

 

Go straight to GoDaddy and register your domains now (link opens in new window).

Facebook This public profile is not visible

PCRepairMan

Problem: You have added a Facebook “Like” box to your website and it worked at first, but now it shows this error “This public profile is not visible”. Here’s a snippet of what it looks like:

 

Facebook this public profile is not visible

Well, it WAS working.....!

 

 

If you login to Facebook then return to your website, you’ll probably see that the “Like” box now appears correctly and shows some happy users. So what’s the problem and how do I fix it?

Well, first off you must make sure that your Facebook page and website are suitable for an audience of people aged 13 or older. They are?  OK, let’s proceed.

Login to Facebook and edit your page.

In the left column, click on “Manage Permissions” .

Change the age restrictions setting to “Anyone (13+)” and save the settings.

Logout of Facebook and go to your website. Refresh the page and you should now see all information correctly presented. It’s a common mistake but one which is easily solved.

 

Cheap freelance work on Friskk

PCRepairMan

Gigs for a fiverrIf you are looking for cheap freelance work then one site stands out above all others. Friskk has high quality services by freelancers from around the world. Starting from a ridiculously low $5 ( 3.17 GB Pounds at today’s exchange rates! ) Friskk users offer services in many different sectors.

Want a WordPress site cloning then moving to another server? $10

Want a new logo for your website, designed and built to a high standard? $15

See the PCRepairMan up top? He was designed and built using services found on Friskk.com.

Other cheap freelance work includes video intros, cheap website backlinks, zombie transformations to photos of your friends, singing birthday videos….sky’s the limit really.  Some of the imagination is incredible and for gift ideas this site is really top notch.  Each service offered is for a fixed price and these are called ‘gigs’. On completion of the gig you pay the service provider an agreed fee. You pay nothing to register, and no fees to the website. How cool is that?  If you want to sell a service then you would pay a small commission on the final sale price.  If you don’t see the service you need, then you can request a service using the instant suggestion box.

Cheap freelance work by professionals

Many of the users on Friskk are professionals in their field, looking to earn extra money with small projects. This means that they often finish the project in very good time and can deliver excellent results.

So have a look around, see what’s on offer and get something unique for less than the price of a Starbucks!    www.friskk.com

 

 

Notepad Plus Plus add text to the start of a line

PCRepairMan

Notepad ++ plus plus pcrepairmanIf you’ve got a text list that you want to add the same data to at the start of each line, then use this simple trick in Notepad Plus Plus:

  • Move your cursor to the start of the first line
  • Hold down Alt + Shift together then use the cursor down key to select subsequent lines
  • Type in your text that you wish to prepend every line with

You’ll find this comes in especially useful where you have long lists like domain names that need to be prepended with https://

Notepad ++ is a brilliant, free text editor available on Sourceforge.

Fatal error cannot redeclare class TextStatistics Easy WP Seo

PCRepairMan

Problem: You try to save a draft, publish or update a post in WordPress and you get:

Fatal error: Cannot redeclare class TextStatistics in /home/nasalcon/public_html/wp-content/plugins/easywpseo/onpageseo-readability.php on line 35

This is caused by a conflict between Yoast’s excellent WP SEO plugin and the (equally excellent) Easy WP SEO plugin. It was triggered on the v1.2 update of the Yoast plugin that happened on 12th June 2012. Now I’ll make it clear that the problem does not appear to be with Yoast’s plugin, it seems to be the fact that both are using the php Text Statistics code released here:

https://code.google.com/p/php-text-statistics/

I have contacted the developer of EasyWP SEO but, to date, have had no reply. Since it renders a website unable to create posts, I thought I’d better write a fix for my clients and for those of you who use both plugins. I have added a small text link to this article in case the developer updates the plugin, I’ll let you know here if he does.

Many people use Yoast’s plugin for its useful sitemap and meta description functionality and have no need for the SEO scoring tools that were introduced in the last update as they use alternative plugins.

The TextStatistics fix

What I have done is modified the code to temporarily disable the calls to the readability class within Easy WP SEO.  Most, if not all of my clients do not use the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease tests in the ‘Readability’ section so this has no adverse effect.

To apply my fix, you’ll need to update just 2 files on your server. I presume that you are familiar with FTP and unzipping, let me know if not. I’ll also presume you are running the latest version of Easy WP SEO (v1.6 or 1.6.2), I am unable to check any backwards compatibility. My method does create backups of both files though so should be very safe.

Download the zip file here (UPDATE – THIS IS NO LONGER NECESSARY, THE AUTHOR HAS NOW FIXED THE PROGRAM) and follow this method:

  • Extract the files onto your desktop, they’ll be in a folder called PCRMB-EWPSEO-fix-v1.
  • Using an FTP client, navigate to wp-content/plugins/easywpseo/ and rename the file “onpageseo-admin.php” to “onpageseo-adminBAK.php“
  • Copy the extracted file “onpageseo-admin.php” from your new desktop folder to wp-content/plugins/easywpseo/
  • Now navigate to wp-content/plugins/easywpseo/templates/ and rename the file “admin-score-metabox.php” to “admin-score-metaboxBAK.php“
  • Copy the extracted file “admin-score-metabox.php” to wp-content/plugins/easywpseo/templates/

Create a test post and fill in some keywords in the Easy WP SEO box. You should now have no conflict between Yoast’s WP SEO and Easy WP SEO.

Please note that you should not fill in the WP SEO ‘Focus Keyword’ as you are choosing to keep the more graphical Easy WP SEO tool as the primary SEO scoring indicator.

Please drop me a comment below or click one of the social buttons if this helped you. Also please let me know if you get any other errors.