Articles

How I Built a Website from Scratch With No Training or Education

So you’re interested in creating your own website. Whether you are an new entrepreneur wants to add a layer of legitimacy to your brand, or someone who wants to just blog about something you’re passionate about, the idea of building a website can be very intimidating. So we begin to let our own apprehension build until we’ve wasted so much time just putting off the task. You think to yourself, “I can pay someone else to build it for me”, however you look online to see how expensive something like that could be and decide to put it off because you don’t have the money for something like that. This is the cycle we all go through over and again and we never get anywhere.

The above mentioned scenario is exactly what happened to me. It went on forever. Then I finally stumbled upon a YouTube video that explained everything. I found that it really wasn’t hard when I had a step-by-step guide who can walk me through every step. Coming from someone who never built a website before. I thought building a website meant learning how to code and things like that. Now I know with modern hosting services like Bluehost and WordPress, it’s never been easier for the average person to build their own website for whatever they want.

First things first, you wanna look at pricing. Some hosting sights will go to $10/month or higher. In my opinion and based off of my research, this is a bit too high. A good price range is anywhere from$1.50-$3.50 per month to host a website. I used Bluehost because from all of my research and comparison, they were the most effective for beginners like me because it included a comprehensive step by step process with tips all along the way. Click the button below here to get your first year of web hosting for 70% off normal price.

Overall, it took me a total of about an hour to 90 minutes to get my domain, and build the foundation of my page. From beginning to end, it was a relatively painless process. So that leads me to my main point in writing this post. If you have the disposable income to hire someone else to build this website for you, that’s great, and I’m all for it. The people who do charge you to build a website can do a lot of great things to immediately put your website into a great place and do things that will separate your website from others. However if you’re like me, and you don’t have $1200 to put up upfront to build your new website, there is a different way for you to do these things that is very affordable and easy enough to learn and use. Between the YouTube Tutorials, Bluehost and WordPress you can forego the extras and make a really solid sight.

nicholasmason95

29 Mar, 2022

Articles

4 Simple Steps to Keep your Privacy and Security Online

Hi and Welcome! So by now I assume that by clicking on this blog post you are looking for ways to keep your information private and safe from hackers trying to get your information online. We all have heard horror stories about times when someone you know has gotten hacked and had to go through a super painful process of resetting all their passwords, attempting to get their money back, and even hiring someone to help clean up the mess. My goal for this blog post is to help you avoid this fate yourself and keep your information online safe and private. So below I am going to list 4 simple steps you can take right now to keep your information private and safe.

Set up 2-Factor Authentication for all of your online accounts

What is 2-Factor Authentication?

All this means is that when you go to log into a website online, after you enter your username and password, the website will send you an automatically generated code to your cell phone via a text message, which you will enter back into the computer to complete your log in. What this does is prevents hackers from getting into your accounts even if they know your password. This adds another wall of protection that hackers have to go through in order to gain access to your private information. Most websites have an option to set this up now. I highly recommend this as a base level step to secure your accounts.

2 Use a VPN

What is a VPN?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.

How does this help?

Well, when you’re using your computer, cell phone, or any other device that connects t0 the internet, the piece of sacred information called your IP address is visible to any hacker with mal-intent. I have another blog post about what they can do with this information which you can read, but for the sake of this post, we’ll say it opens the door for the hacker to see things like your location, what you are doing online, and even what device you are using.

What a VPN does is it throws a sheet over your IP address so nobody can see who you are, what you are doing, or where you are in the world. Keeping your experience on the web completely private. Click here to get up to 70% off Nord VPN for your first 2 years.

3 Update your computers software

Whether you use Windows or Mac, you must make sure you keep your software up to date.

I know a lot of us will see the update come up on our device throughout the day and never really get around to making sure it gets done. Here’s why it’s important.

When you don’t have a VPN, your device’s IP address can be easily identified. With this information alone, they cannot do much, however it only takes one or two more pieces of relatively easily accessible information to make an attempt at a hack. One of these pieces of information is the software that your device is currently running on. If your device is running on a older software than what is currently available, the hacker will research weaknesses in the security of that software and look for a way in. Regular software updates plug up a lot of these holes that otherwise would be susceptible to attack.

4 Be careful about personal information you choose to share online

At the time of the writing of this blog post, it’s 2022 and almost everyone is on some form of social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok are all ways to share our lives with others. Which can be great, but can also allow the wrong people to learn pieces of information about you that can create opportunities to hack your accounts and information. The things that could end up harming you may seem innocuous, but even something like posting your favorite coffee shop and your daily/ weekly habits to visit that location are something you might want to think twice about posting.

nicholasmason95

18 Feb, 2022

Articles

Hi! My name is Nick Mason. I am 26 years old and I am the owner of Smart Tech. I thought it may be helpful to know who I am and what I am about. So I am using this page on my website to introduce myself. I live in Glen Burnie, MD and I have worked at cell phone stores for many years now. Before that I was a martial arts instructor in Glen Burnie for 15 years and also worked with a center for children with autism called the Cisco Center for a period of time as well. So working at the cell phone store was a big change for me. It was the first time I was told I needed to sell people anything. Selling was and still isn’t my thing. But at the time it paid the bills so I decided to stay. In that cell phone store I learned a lot about how to sell, but more importantly I learned how study people and habits better than I ever have.

While I watched store reps interact with customers and learned a lot about how to and, most importantly, how to NOT treat customers. Whether that be pushing someone out the door before you are sure they are happy with what you did for them. Or just not giving certain customers the light of day because they most likely weren’t going to buy something. But the one thing that stood out above all, was how most reps would deal with their elderly customers who had que

nicholasmason95

3 Jan, 2022

Articles

It seems like back not so long ago, we would buy a fancy new device that we’ve never used before. Then we’d find an extensive manual that you’d have to read through in order to learn what you’re gonna do with this new gadget you’ve got your hands on. It wasn’t the best method in the world. It wasn’t convenient or enjoyable to read laboriously through the thick tiny little booklet that was given along with the box. However it was at least something to help you get to the point and, however painful, guided you to how to work that stupid thing.

However over the years we’ve seen a decline in the help we get to understand our own new devices. No manual, no guy to sit there and show you how to use it. Just as soon as they take your money they hand over the new tech, give you a “good luck” look and move on to the next customer. Why is this? Why are we just expected to know how these things work? Some will pick it up immediately. Some will fiddle around and fuss with it until they end up getting it. But that doesn’t work for everybody. Then you have the one’s who are so scared to mess something up they won’t even try. Why should everyone be forced to run at the same speed when a large portion of the population are being left behind?

These people are a large portion of the population and if they are left to fend for themselves, with no manual, they hve two options. Number 1, they can turn to a loved one for help, maybe a grandchild. Not everybody has someone to teach them how to use these devices. So now we get to option number 2, they can decide to live in resentment towards this new technology because they can’t understand it and nobody is there to help them.

In a world of constantly changing technology and so many are without help from their loved one’s, there needs to be a middle man. Someone who can step in and not only fix the problems that arise with these devices but also educate the people that struggle with it. Someone who can be patient, informative, kind, and helpful in giving the power of this technology to the people that may have fallen behind a bit. This is the reason for Smart Tech to exist. To give not only temporary solutions to those who struggle with their tech, but also to educate and coach them why the problem came up and how to avoid it in the future.

These days our computer storage can be a huge source of pain and frustration. If you are looking to upgrade from a lower storage laptop or mac, and don’t want to pay full price, I highly recommend checking out some deals on great used laptops on amazon. Amazon has an extremely thorough refurbishing process to ensure quality. Check out one of these “like new” macbooks here.

nicholasmason95

25 Jun, 2021

Articles

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