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There are plenty of IT support providers that you can call in case you encounter tech problems with your computer system or network. However, how do you know which one to choose?
You can weed out the technical jargon in forums, Q&A, and knowledge bases provided by Microsoft or hardware manufacturer/store where you bought your equipment. You can also rely on your in-house tech team to handle it. But what if you lack time and the problem is beyond the capabilities of your in-house technician?

Now, what do you do? Heres how to select professional computer and IT services that are available to you.

1. Do Some Comparative Shopping

One of the first things that you should check is the price of the service. Check if their rates are within your budget. Most of these IT service companies will charge a fixed monthly fee.
However, there are companies that will charge for each tech support issue that you encounter. Sometimes that would mean that the easier the problem the cheaper the fee or there will be a fixed fee for all types of support issues. You just get to pay for the number of issues that need to be resolved.

There are also companies that charge by the hour. That would be like renting the IT specialist/computer technician. Note that if parts need to be replaced you will have to shoulder the cost of the equipment.

2. Check Their Credentials

When we say credentials we usually think of certifications. Well, there isnt really any required certification to become a computer technician but these professionals need to have a degree in information systems, computer science, computer engineering, or some other related field.

Another bit of credential that you should be checking is liability insurance. That means if the tech breaks a part or a device by mistake then you wont have to shoulder the cost of replacing it. It will be charged to the computer servicing company.

You should also check out their policies. It is pretty common to find a no fix no fee policy for tech service companies that dont charge a flat rate. Check for any warranties that the service provider offers.

3. Check for On-Site Support

Some tech support companies only offer remote access support. That means they wont send someone out if the tech problem cant be fixed via phone call or remote access. On-site support should be part of the resolutions offered, just in case things get too difficult for your staff to fixyoure calling in a specialist to look into the matter.

4. Read the Reviews

Read the reviews for a certain company before you decide to hire them. Dont just check the reviews on their company website. Look at the reviews from the BBB, Yelp, and other third party review sites.

Are you thinking of hiring managed IT services? Are they a waste of money or will they benefit your enterprise? A lot of business have in-house IT teams, so why spend money hiring 3rd party providers?

We will answer all these questions in the discussion below.

Why You Should Hire Managed IT Services and Computer Support

The trend in IT solutions is changing. An in-house IT team today usually doesnt have the infrastructure, training, and experience that can match the ones provided by a managed IT services group.

You see managed IT focuses on that LOB while your IT team is streamlined for the needs and use of your business. They cant cover all the bases. You dont need to fire the people in your in-house IT team3rd party IT service providers actually work with them.

Together they can provide you the following services:

• Maintaining HIPAA compliance
• Data storage and cloud storage options
• CRM applications and services
• Email hosting
• Web design and marketing
• Backup and recovery solutions
• Network monitoring

An MSP or managed service provider can help maximize the potential of your in-house IT team. They can also help boost your organizations success. Here are some of the benefits you can get from such services.

Importance and Benefits of Managed IT Services

1. Reduced Employee Downtime

Employee downtime happens when computer services are down like when your internet connection suddenly becomes dysfunctional or when your web resources (e.g. your database, cloud services, website, apps, etc.) has an outage.
You end up finding employees loitering around in the lunchroom or maybe going outside of the premises for a quick smoke or something. An MSP can monitor your network and other IT essentials to reduce downtime.

Their services are also proactive. They dont just wait for something to happen. They will inspect your systems to find potential problems and prevent outages from occurring in the first place.

2. Expand Business Capacity and Expertise

An MSP can give you the professional expertise of an entire team. This huge team of IT experts have a wider breadth of experience and knowledge. They are most likely to be up to date and trained on the latest technology. They will also be certified with Microsoft, Apple, and other credentials as well.

3. Reduce IT Costs

You dont have to hire and train more IT people. You can maintain your current in-house team and take advantage of the things that they will learn from working with a managed IT service provider. Note that MSPs usually have fixed monthly fees, which means there will be no surprise expenses along the way. Thats a good way to streamline your budget for IT services.

4. Keep Your Business Secure

Your business generates a lot of sensitive data from customer information to personnel files and financial records. That is why your business is a potential target of cyber criminals and hackers. A managed IT team can provide you with the latest security measures to prevent unwarranted incursions and intrusions.

Managed IT services exist to provide businesses with quality IT infrastructure and software management. A lot of business owners have turned to outsourcing their IT needs to these service providers lately. Find out why managed IT and computer services outsourcing is becoming increasingly common across several businesses today.

Whats Managed IT?

Managed IT is popularly known as third-party Managed Service Provider or MSP. It is an outsourced subscription-based IT maintenance service. Managed IT providers are composed of IT personnel with high levels of skilled expertise spanning the entire processes of a business.

Some business owners mistakenly think that Managed IT is the same as break/fix technicians. Managed IT actually refers to the year-round maintenance and monitoring of your businesss digital computing needs. On the other hand, break/fix technicians only come when specific IT infrastructure or software is broken and needs fixing.

MSPs offer varying IT support packages, which may range from the simplest basic IT services to more complicated ones including disaster recovery and strategy plans. Providers often charge fixed fees depending on the package and length of time you hired them for outsourced IT needs.

What IT Activities Are Outsourced?

Managed IT services deal with two major categories of computing technologies:

Infrastructure

Modern businesses moving towards digitization often face the need to build computer networks that can serve the needs of their growing businesses. But even the simplest IT infrastructure and hardware can be incredibly complicated and expensive. This is why businesses turn to MSPs to help them build ample networks, scale them down or up according to business needs, and help lessen hardware maintenance costs in the long run.

Software

Companies typically have their own software that addresses their unique computing needs. However, several issues arise when using enterprise software across an entire network of employees. Some of the challenges that may arise from enterprise software use include difficulties in updates, upgrades, synchronization, network security, and mismatch between software and hardware. MSPs greatly help to ensure that software is adequately implemented, upgraded, and maintained across the entire network of a company.

Why Move to Outsourced Managed IT Services?

Here are the common reasons why more businesses are switching to outsourced managed IT services:

Quality Expertise

Most small-to-medium business owners have limitations in their respective IT staff and departments. Outsourcing IT needs through an MSP ensures that all IT needs of the company are serviced and maintained by expert staff with a wide range of skills.

Affordable Yet High-End Service

MSPs are typically staffed by IT experts with high-caliber skill sets. These kinds of talent often match the requirements of big companies. But with the advent of MSPs, startups, small businesses, and medium-scale enterprises can expect high-quality IT maintenance at affordable packages and rates.

Improved Productivity

Your in-house IT staff can focus more on the immediate and pressing issues surrounding both your core business processes and your IT software and infrastructure. You can simply leave the MSPs to handle the heavy parts of IT maintenance. The result is better productivity on all computing fronts.

Summing It Up

Managed IT and computer services outsourcing has become increasingly popular nowadays. Managed IT providers offer packages of daily and ongoing IT support, maintenance, and troubleshooting at affordable rates. Hiring such providers to complement your small IT team helps you trim down your IT-related budget, improves your infrastructure and software, and increases overall productivity.

Customer reviews have always influenced the buying decisions of other people, even before online business pages existed. Simply put, you will more likely choose a company whose track record with other clients is good over one with a bad reputation or one who is relatively unknown.

 

Getting customers to leave their praises, however, does not come as easily as receiving their complaints and negative reviews. Unhappy or angry people want to express dissatisfaction, while contented ones may be quieter. Super happy ones, clients whose expectations were exceeded, may leave reviews willingly. The goal for businesses is to get these real, detailed feedback to lure potential customers.

 

Businesses do not have to just rely on their clientele to voluntarily leave their feedback. Many entrepreneurs are, in fact, eager to figure out how they can get more reviews on their online pages to increase their visibility and attractiveness to potential customers. Fortunately, there are a few, easy ways to get help with my online business reviews.

 

1. Ask For Feedback After The Buying Process

 

If you sell products online, then you will most likely have the email addresses of your customers. This makes it easy for you to contact them about details regarding their order, but this can also be a way for you to send them a link where they can rate you and leave their feedback. You can send them an email requesting for their reviews immediately after they purchase something at your site.

 

The key is to ask while the experience is still fresh in their minds. In fact, you can also have a pop-up or redirect their screens to a page where they can leave their ratings right after they have bought something. This is also quick and uncomplicated, something that many customers will not think twice of giving a minute of their time and attention.

 

2. Leave Reminders Everywhere

 

Asking every customer coming into your store might be tiring and unnecessary, especially since there are other ways to get them to leave their reviews. For example, a sign or a sticker on your store’s door can give a link where they can share their experiences. You can also put a sign on your tables if you are a restaurant or a snack bar.

 

Lastly, you can ask them for their reviews by leaving instructions at the bottom of the receipt or through business cards you can hand out existing and potential clients. These steps are especially suitable for customers who are regulars and have never thought of visiting your business page.

 

3. Reply To All Reviews

 

When you ask your customers to spend time to leave a detailed review, you should also take the time and effort to respond to all of them. Positive ones should be acknowledged and thanked, while negative ones should be handled carefully. Complaints can be clarified with the client and a friendly, polite response can reduce their annoyance and show others that you are able to address such issues. They love patronizing businesses that are customer-oriented.

 

4. Share Their Reviews

 

Publishing your online reviews so far can encourage other clients to leave some nice words as well. Beyond helping you encourage customers to visit and rate your site or business, you are also encouraging potential ones to browse your business page.

 

5. Customer Service Is Key

 

Although there are advantages to collecting more online reviews, this is not the end goal. The idea and the emphasis should be in providing customers with a great buying experience. To do so, you need to focus on maintaining top customer service. Even if you slip up or fail to meet a client’s expectations, you can use this opportunity to improve.

 

Being naturally helpful and responsive to your clients’ questions, feedback, and criticism will give them a positive experience. Service that is beyond what is expected encourages clients to take the time to leave glowing reviews.

 

Online reviews are tools that can be used by business owners to publicize their businesses and attract new customers. With many people checking out how the personal experiences of existing clients, it can truly make or break your business. While getting consumers to leave as much feedback is good, it will only work out fully when you couple it with top customer service.

Updating WordPress is essential to keeping your website practical and protected, but updates can disrupt customizations or perhaps break your site.

That’s why, in this post, we cover the 5 factors to consider you should remember when it concerns setting up WordPress updates. Follow these and you’ll be able to upgrade every time without damaging your site’s functionality!

1. Back Up Your Website Regularly (and Prior To Updating Anything).

To avoid any worry of an upgrade hurting your website, make sure to support your site prior to you install any updates. You’re spoilt for option with choices on this front.

Our very first suggestion would be VaultPress if you’re looking for maybe the quickest and easiest option. Established by none other than the folks at Automattic, it’s a slick and full-featured premium remote backup service that’s a cinch to setup and use.

Mentioning remote backup services, that’s the only type we suggest. If some kind of fatal error destroys both your site and its backup( s), there’s little point in backing up to your server. Check out our advised compatible backup solutions if you’re a Dropbox fan.

There are plenty of other solutions– both totally free and premium– and we’ve featured the most popular here. And in the interests of efficiency, if you feel the need to carry out a manual backup at any time, the WordPress Codex has you covered.

2. Usage WP Safe Updates to Check Plugin Updates.

Because of the myriad mixes of designers, version compatibilities, and quality control, plugins are frequently the source of upgrade conflicts.

Fortunately, designer Antti Kuosmanen has created a brand-new plugin called WP Safe updates that lets you test plugin updates in a ‘sandbox’ environment. This allows you to identify prospective upgrade conflicts prior to they have the opportunity to be a concern on your live website.

In practice, WP Safe Updates adds a new Test Update button that appears when a plugin upgrade is available. Clicking this button lets you preview any changes the plugin makes before devoting to them. When you do things like creating new posts or changing settings, wp Safe Updates will show exactly how the updates will behave on your actual site.

Please note that setting up WP Safe Updates requires editing a percentage of your website’s code– directions for which are readily available in the Installation section of the plugin’s WordPress.org Plugin Directory site page.

While WP Safe Updates is a promising service to a common WordPress updates frustration, you ought to be aware that the plugin is still in its alpha variation. As such, it may not be completely trustworthy in its functionality. That being stated, we do recommend WordPress Safe Updates to anyone worried about plugin updates interfering with their site’s performance.

3. Utilize a Child Style.

Arguably WordPress’ greatest selling point is its customizability by means of themes and plugins. However, with great power comes excellent responsibility, and when making tweaks to your site’s design, you need to guarantee that you do so properly.

It’s tempting to make personalizations by modifying your style’s PHP or CSS files directly, however you ought to refrain from doing so for 2 reasons:.

There’s a risk of getting the feared “white screen of death” due to one lost bracket or semicolon.
Modifications you make to the original style files are impermanent (i.e. updating your site’s style will overwrite them).
To avoid both these issues, you must constantly use a child theme to customize any of your website’s code. Kid themes are easy to develop, and they allow you to experiment to your heart’s material.

4. Evaluation Style, Plugin, and Core Update Changelogs for Disputes.

Before you install any upgrade, we recommend that you read its changelog for possible conflicts. Keeping up to speed with what’s brand-new in the current version of any given style, plugin, or core upgrade works in and of itself, however beyond that, you’re looking for any changes that might interfere with your distinct setup and customizations.

For instance, if you’re using customized CSS to modify the appearance of a plugin-generated contact form, you ought to make certain the update doesn’t change any of the CSS IDs or classes that your custom code utilizes.

Where to find the changelog will depend upon what you’re updating.

For plugins downloaded from WordPress.org, the changelog is one of the available tabs on the plugin’s WordPress.org Plugin Directory page.

For themes, you must seek advice from the style designer’s website. Default WordPress styles such as Twenty Sixteen have their changelog readily available within the WordPress Codex. All quality themes– totally free or paid– must consist of a changelog.

For updates to WordPress core, a total changelog of every variation to this day is available in the Codex.

Reviewing the changelog for possible conflicts is key to making sure that any WordPress updates go efficiently.

5. Never Ever Test Updates on a Live Site.

To ensure the user experience isn’t interrupted by an update gone wrong, you should never check updates on a live site. Following this easy guideline will conserve you a horrible great deal of headaches in time.

There are several options for screening WordPress updates beyond your live website. The one you select will depend on your hosting solution, your technical capability, and the magnitude of the update. Choices include:.

Create a WordPress staging website through your web host. The exact information will depend upon your hosting company, but handled hosting options such as WP Engine, FlyWheel, and Pressable all make this possible.
Test updates with a plugin such as WP Staging. If an upgrade breaks the test website, your live site will stay unhurt.
Test updates in a regional advancement environment including a carbon copy of your site. For more information, take a look at our guides to creating a local advancement environment on a Mac and in Windows.
Utilizing any of the above choices will allow you to test updates and settle the kinks prior to going live. A staging site is my personal option; for more information, take a look at our overview of developing a WordPress staging site.

Conclusion.

It’s one thing comprehending how important upgrading WordPress is, however having the self-confidence to install updates without the fear of prospective disputes developing is something else altogether. Luckily, with this article, you have the service.

Follow the easy guidelines listed below to make sure that WordPress updates on your live website( s) successfully whenever:.

• Back up your website regularly (and prior to updating).
• Test plugin updates with WP Safe Updates.
• Make all theme customizations in a kid style.
• Evaluation update changelogs prior to applying them.
• Never ever check updates on a live site.

Going To Buy A Brand New PC Or Laptop computer?

This information talks about what to expect if you are buying new a new PC computer or a laptop. There are plenty of people who have got no ideas when it comes to what to look out for when buying personal computers, laptops, and PC equipment. Hopefully the information and facts below can make suggestions and help you.

The more info which you have regarding the different types of computers and mobile computing devices, the faster and easier it is going to be for you to make the best decisions when you finally do go to spend money on your hardware.

WHAT TO Choose When Purchasing A DESKTOP Computer OR Laptop computer

If you happen to be uncertain whether to purchase a desktop personal computer or a notebook computer, a desktop personal computer will definitely provide you with the most cost effective computing power for the very same cash as a laptop.

Laptop computers are particularly handy as they are typically much easier to carry around, but whenever you do have the desktop space in your own home and you do not have to be working whilst you are on the move, a desktop PC is really what i highly recommend you go for.

For those who play video games, make music, or carry out professional video editing and cropping etc. you will definitely need a lot more computing power.

Desktop pc’s tend to be more comfortable when used with ergonomic keyboards and a sizeable up-to-date monitor screen that is not going to give you eyestrain. After everything is setup the right way on a table, you will have a very relaxing working environment.

PC’s usually arrive set up with an operating system such as Microsoft Windows, or the MAC OS by APPLE. The type of operating system that you like is normally a case of personal taste.

The cost will depend on your requirements and exactly what you’re happy to pay for your pc or laptop.

Nowadays, virtually every household has at the least one laptop or computer. Almost all people use their home computers everyday for work, for recreation, or for networking with friends and family.

We depend on our computing devices for giving us access to the worldwide web, for saving personal data, photos, and video clips etc . and we’d be frustrated if without any warning, it was taken away.

Whenever something goes wrong you need somebody trustworthy and knowledgeable that can find and fix the issues quickly and efficiently, someone who won’t confuse you with techie terminology and who won’t charge you an arm and a leg along the way.

A personal computer repair professional can recognise the problem quickly, will fix it, and get back up and operating in the quickest possible time, no matter what’s wrong. whether it’s malware that’s invaded your system, or if your operating-system will not load.

Call in the professionals, call Fix PC Manchester today.