Calendly is a gem in a coal mine for busy people looking to schedule meetings, book appointments, and keep their loaded schedule on track. Scheduling meetings or appointments can oftentimes be difficult, as people have contrasting schedules and live in different time zones. Instead of sending dozens of emails before you set up a meeting, Calendly makes it easy on website users to schedule meetings using one simple link. Invitees can only pick from time slots based on the calendar that you have created and sent to them. Calendly gives you total control when it comes to scheduling. It connects to all of your online calendars so you will never miss a meeting.

Imagine how much easier your life would be if you could integrate this software into your WordPress website! Technology these days, right? Well, say goodbye to the days of sending multiple emails, waiting days to schedule a good time to meet or giving up completely because your schedules just do not work. You can most definitely integrate Calendly into WordPress!

This functionality is handy to have on your website, as it allows your customers to easily schedule meeting times with you based on what you have available on your schedule. There is not a Calendly plugin for WordPress, which means you will have to create one yourself. 

Thankfully, it is a simple process. 

To get started, either login to your account or create an account with Calendly. 

1. After you login or create an account, you will see your events on the main page. Click on the gear icon on the event that you’d like to embed into WordPress. 

2. On the dropdown menu, click Add to Website. 

3. After you click Add to Website, Three options will be available to you. 

As you can see, you have the option to choose Inline Embed, Popup Widget and Popup Text.

• Inline Embed allows its users to load the Calendly scheduling page directly onto their website.
• The Popup Widget adds a floating button to your site that launches Calendly as a Popup. 
• Popup Text adds a text link into your site that launches Calendly as a Popup. 

4. Click on the option that you want and press continue 

5. As you can see, I clicked Inline Embed. It took me to this page that shows my Embed Code. On the left-hand side, you can customize the background color, the text color and the button and link color. On the bottom right-hand corner, click Copy Code. You can also keep this tab open just in case. 

6. Open a new tab on your browser and got to your WordPress website. You can embed Calendly onto any individual post or page. All you need to do is press the circled plus sign to add a new block to your page. 

7. Scroll down through the options and find formatting. 

8. Click on Formatting and Click Custom HTML

9. Paste the Embed Code into the HTML Text box 

10. Right next to the HTML tab at the top is Preview. Click preview to see Calendly embed in WordPress

If you like the way that looks, press save draft in the corner. If you would like to embed Calendly onto your site as a Popup widget or Popup text, then go back, choose your desired option and follow through the same process. See how easy that was? 

By using this simple tool you can schedule meetings, book appointments, keep it all organized and maintain your sanity! 

What are you waiting for? Go add it to your website! 

In today’s modern-day of unlimited Internet access and seemingly paper-thin smartphones, it is easy to assume that a majority of people know all about web creation websites like WordPress. My assumptions were proven wrong when somebody genuinely asked me, “What is WordPress?”. After thinking about that question it occurred to me that some people are very unaware of WordPress and what it has to offer. If you are stirring in silent embarrassment because you are also asking yourself the same question, then do not worry. This article is for you. 

WordPress is known as the most powerful, straightforward and versatile website content management system (CMS) in existence today. If you own a website, it is your website’s operating system. In simple terms, WordPress is the engine to your “vehicle”. In this case, WordPress is the engine, while your website is the vehicle. 

WordPress allows you to create and customize any kind of website that you want. It provides you with interchangeable themes, fonts and styles. People have created websites that feature topics such as E-commerce, social networking, business, membership, portfolio, forums, events, E-learning, weddings or even a simple blog. WordPress originated as a blogging tool but later developed into the content management system that it is today. 

Whether you’re an aspiring business owner attempting to establish your online presence or you’re secretly passionate about gardening and want to create an online outlet, it is easy for anyone to create a website. In fact, WordPress operates over 30% of all websites on the Internet.

There are many benefits to joining WordPress’s large and powerful website community. WordPress is very simple to operate, which is one of the most intriguing elements of the website. The website content management system is very easy to use, even for beginners. WordPress allows you to create and publish your website content quickly. Another great feature is that the actual WordPress software is free to download and use. WordPress also operates on all screen sizes and devices. It even comes in the form of an app! There are two different types of WordPress websites that you have the option to use.   

• WordPress.org: This site is known as the self-hosted and free version of WordPress. This WordPress software is, in fact, free and is considered an open-source. Open-source means that you have the freedom to build, use, and modify the software in any way that you’d like without having to pay a fee. It also means that it’s licensed under the GNU Public License and it isn’t owned by one single company. With this software, you essentially install your own web host to create your website. This site does not generate any income. It also does not offer any support for its users. Using this site gives you more ownership as well as access to all the website’s perks. Anybody can download this version. WordPress.org is managed by the nonprofit WordPress Foundation.

• WordPress.com: This is a paid, profit-geared service that is operated by WordPress.org software. WordPress.com is a simple site that any person can navigate and use. With this service, you are essentially paying WordPress to host your site and handle everything for you. This service relieves you from the responsibility of building and managing your website. Many people choose this service because they want a professional website, created and operated by actual professionals. Once you pay for the WordPress.com service, you are paying to not have to worry about those things. This is a fantastic option for someone who has a business but does not have time to create a website. WordPress.com is a for-profit business owned by Automattic that uses WordPress.org open-source software. 

To get started with a self-hosting WordPress website, you will need to pay for web hosting and a domain name. If you choose to continue with a web hosting provider, the domain name, website and many other features will come with the package.

WordPress is used by all kinds of people for various reasons and goals. It is used by individuals, small businesses, large corporations, nonprofit groups, and many more. For example, the official White House website, BBC America, The Walt Disney Company, Vogue and so many more use WordPress to power their site. Take a look at each company’s website, the design, and how it correlates with the culture of the company or business. These examples depict an attractive outline for how a well-constructed website can look. Although these widely-known businesses utilized WordPress.com to their advantage, you can still create a free site using the open-source software. WordPress makes building a website easy and available to everyone, even people who aren’t developers!

Scope

We are performing routine generator maintenance at the Borman facility.

When

Start: Thursday, 06/11/2020, 9:00 AM central
End: Thursday, 06/11/2020, 3:00 PM central

Impact

We will be completing routine maintenance on the generator that supports your service. We do not anticipate any connectivity issues to your equipment during this maintenance window. 

Reason

Hostirian performs routine maintenance to ensure your services are more resilient and reliable.

Scope

We are performing routine generator maintenance at the Tucker facility.

When

Start: Thursday, 06/18/2020, 9:00 AM central
End: Thursday, 06/18/2020, 3:00 PM central

Impact

We will be completing routine maintenance on the generator that supports your service. We do not anticipate any connectivity issues to your equipment during this maintenance window. 

Reason

Hostirian performs routine maintenance to ensure your services are more resilient and reliable.

Think about all the websites that you visit daily. You might be scouring the Internet to get some grocery shopping done, to chat online, read up on the latest news, or reply to emails. Regardless of the websites that you visit, you are only able to view and interact with those sites because they are hosted by a web hosting service provider. You may be wondering, “What is web hosting? What is a web hosting service provider?”. 

There are countless details and features to web hosting that can make it difficult for a newcomer to understand and navigate. 

Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to post a website on the Internet. It is home to where your website lives and where all your files are stored and made public. A web hosting service provider, like us here at Hostirian, is a business that provides the services needed for the website or webpage to be viewed on the Internet. A web hosting provider allocates space on a web server for a website to store its files. These services cannot take place without an active server.

A server is a computer (software or hardware device) that receives and responds to requests made over a network. Essentially, servers host and store the websites from a service provider. The process is simple: 

1. An Internet user types a website address or domain into the browser.
2. The user’s computer will connect to the website’s server.
3. The web pages will be delivered to them through the browser.

When someone enters a domain name into the browser, the domain name is rendered into the IP address of the web hosting company’s computer. Generally, web hosting service providers will help you create a new domain if you do not already have one. If you have one, they will work with you on building your website, generating leads, and growing your online presence. 

As previously discussed, web hosting is the process of renting or buying a space to accommodate a website on the Internet. Think of a website domain name as the address of the house while web hosting is the actual house that the address leads to. There are a few things to remember before you begin creating your website. 

Some companies allow you to create a website for free, but you will have to essentially “start from scratch”. By that I mean, you will need to learn how to work that site on your own, buy a domain, create your business email, fix the website’s problems if the site goes down and so much more. By teaming up with a web hosting provider, you can run your business or website without any worry of internal or technical problems, site navigation, creation, or troubleshooting. It is crucial that you do not team up with just any web hosting service provider. You want to make sure that the company is reliable and persistent in helping you create the best website possible. You want to create fewer problems for yourself in the long run.

Signing up for a web hosting service offers so many benefits, including instant access to customer support to help with troubleshooting, problems with sending and receiving email, domain name renewal, script debugging, and more. Your web hosting service team will complete all of the “behind the scenes” work, leaving you with a hassle-free and uncomplicated experience. 

When getting started with web hosting, it is important to choose a web hosting service provider that is a good fit for you. Many web hosting companies strive to make the process as easy as possible for you. The team will take the confusion out of the process and leave you with an enhanced understanding of content management and website creation. 

All web hosting services provide some basic features such as email accounts, FTP access, databases, and WordPress support. You can create domain email address accounts through features provided by your hosting company. FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, access allows you to upload files from your computer to your web server. If you build your website using HTML files, you can transfer your files through the web server through FTP. That allows your website to be accessed through the internet. A database is an organized collection of data, generally stored and accessed electronically through a computer system. WordPress is a powerful blogging and website management tool. WordPress operates over 30% of websites on the internet. Some web hosting services may provide additional unique features such as generating leads for your social media, SEO boostability, reputation management, web design and hosting, business listings, 24/7/365 customer support, and DataVault information backup. 

The amount of space allocated on a server depends on the type of hosting that you are using. There are many different options to get your site on the web. They each offer contrasting elements that cater specifically to the website owner’s needs. There are six types of web hosting that you will most often come across, which include shared, virtual private server, dedicated server, cloud, managed, and colocation. These different types of web hosting can be differentiated by the kind of technology used for the server, the server management and the additional services per offer. 

When it comes to deciding which web hosting service provider or type of hosting you’d like to use, leave that to the professionals. They’ll help you find the best fit to begin your website building process. 

St. Louis, MO  April 21, 2020 – Hostirian, LLC, a provider of technological solutions, announced today that it has successfully completed a System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2® Type II Audit examination for their Colocation Data Center System. Hostirian, LLC retained international business advisory firm Skoda Minotti for its SOC 2® audit work. Hostirian, LLC selected Skoda Minotti after an intensive search based on their reputation as a leading risk advisory and compliance firm.

Ben Osbrach, CISSP, CISA, QSA, CICP, CCSFP, partner-in-charge of Skoda Minotti’s risk advisory group said, “We were excited to work with Hostirian from the very start. They are an intriguing organization delivering high-quality services and their business adds to our growing SOC reporting practice.”

SOC 2® engagements are performed in accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) AT-C 205, Reporting on controls at a service organization based on the trust service principles outlined in the AICPA Guide and reporting on controls at a service organization relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality or privacy. The SOC 2® Type II report is performed by an independent auditing firm and is intended to provide an understanding of the service organization’s suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of its internal controls. A service organization may select any or all of the trust service principles applicable to their business and Hostirian chose to report on security. The successful completion of this voluntary engagement illustrates Hostirian’s ongoing commitment to create and maintain a secure operating environment for their clients’ confidential data.

Skoda Minotti’s testing of Hostirian’s controls included examination of their policies and procedures regarding network connectivity, firewall configurations, systems development life cycle, computer operations, logical access, data transmission, backup and disaster recovery and other critical operational areas of their business. Upon completion of the audit, Hostirian received a Service Auditor’s Report with an unqualified opinion demonstrating that their policies, procedures, and infrastructure meet or exceed the stringent SOC 2® criteria.

“The successful completion of our SOC 2® Type II examination audit provides Hostirian’s clients with the assurance that the controls and safeguards we employ to protect and secure their data are in line with industry standards and best practices,” said Ken Cox, CEO.

About – Hostirian, LLC

Hostirian is a wholly-owned company of River City Internet Group, LLC. Hostirian is responsible for various activities related to managing client systems. The types of service offerings available are listed below.

Hostirian’s data centers are located on 11756 Borman Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146 and at 710 N. Tucker, Suite 420, St. Louis, MO 63101. Hostirian’s data centers are 10,000 square feet and 16,000 square feet data operation facilities intended to provide uninterrupted power and service for Hostirian clients. The facilities are designed to greatly reduce client downtime and operate under supervision 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. The data centers currently host, monitor and/or manage user systems located within the two facilities. The colocation model is available to all Hostirian clients and allows Hostirian to act as the client’s server or data warehouse.

The colocation model provides 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year on-site live support services for basic reboots, rack or cage space, and power to customer-owned equipment.

About – Skoda Minotti

Skoda Minotti is a Certified Public Accounting Firm based in Cleveland, OH offering a variety of tax, finance, and business advisory services in virtually every area of business. The Risk Advisory practice specializes in SOC Reporting, PCI DSS Compliance, HIPAA Compliance and HITRUST validation, FISMA, NIST, ISO 27001, Vulnerability and Penetration Testing, and other regulatory information security assessments. Staffs in Skoda Minotti’s Risk Advisory hold several industry certifications including Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN), and GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester (GWAPT). For more information about Skoda Minotti’s Risk Advisory Services, please visit skodaminotti.com/risk.

As we navigate COVID-19 our biggest commitment is keeping our employees, customers and communities healthy and safe.

Are next commitment is making it easy for businesses to stay in business and thrive.  The quarantine has been tough for everyone and forcing businesses to adapt to the new status quo.  What we found is that many businesses are struggling to adjust with little time and or resources.

In this time, communication is key.  We know that if you can communicate and connect with you customers you will increase the probability they will stay your customers when the dust settles. So we have been working to bring you a way to communicate with your customer base with no additional cost.

We have solidified a partnership with Constant Contact. Now we’re offering exclusively to our Hostirian family constant contact for 60 days as a zero cost trail! 

Constant Contact is a powerful email marketing tool, made simple.

Constant Contact helps delivery your message to your customer base, in an easy-to-use email marketing tool that doesn’t require spending a lot of time or money to get big results.  Constant contact is not just for marketing it could be used for newsletters or COVID-19 updates and precautions. 

Top 3 benefits to using constant contact:

1. For every $1 spent, $38% is the average return on email marketing investment. (Source: Direct Marketing Association, 2015)
2. 98.4% of consumers check their email daily. (The other 1.6% forgot their password.) [Source: Business Insider, 2015]
3. There are 2.5 billion email users in the world— about 233 million are in the U.S. (Source: Statista, 2015)

With this tool you will be able to keep in touch with your customer base along with connecting with new customers at no additional cost during this trial. IF you can’t work in your business now is the time to work on your business.

If you would like constant contact, or need something else, reply or click the link below:

https://calendly.com/how-to-optimize-your-free-tools/how-to-optimize-your-free-tools

Scope

We are performing routine Network maintenance.

When

Start: Thursday, 04/30/2020, 10:00 PM Central
End: Friday, 05/01/2020 6:00 AM Central

Impact

We will be completing routine maintenance on the network equipment that supports your service. We do not anticipate any connectivity issues to your equipment during this maintenance window. 

Reason

Hostirian performs routine maintenance to ensure your services are more resilient and reliable.

Scope

One of our upstream providers will be performing maintenance on 4/20/2020. Hostirian will proactively reroute the traffic prior to maintenance to minimize the impact to our clients.

When

Start: Monday, 04/20/2020, 10:00 PM Central
End: Tuesday, 04/21/2020 6:00 AM Central

Impact

Clients will see intermittent connectivity for up to 15 minutes at the start of the upstream providers maintenance and at the end of the upstream providers maintenance.

Reason

One of our upstream providers is preforming routine maintenance on their network.

Scope

We are performing routine Network maintenance.

When

Start: Thursday, 04/02/2020, 10:00 PM central
End: Friday, 04/03/2020 06:00 AM central

Impact

We will be completing routine maintenance on the network equipment that supports your service. We do not anticipate any connectivity issues to your equipment during this maintenance window.

Reason

Hostirian performs routine maintenance to ensure your services are more resilient and reliable.