Posts from — June 2010

Dating when you’re a single parent is generally scarier (and less convenient) than dating when you’re completely unattached.  You’ve got to worry about finding someone to accept (and hopefully love) both you and your children.  You’ve got to worry about finding someone stable, someone safe.  And, many times, you’ve got to worry about babysitting.  The good news is that online dating is a great way to connect with people at a time that’s convenient for your hectic life.  The bad news is that meeting others online always comes with additional security concerns, which are often compounded when there are children in the picture.

If you’re looking for some guidance before you enter the world of single parent online dating, you’ve come to the right place.  Follow these tips for a safe and successful single parent online dating experience.

1. Never post pictures of your children on your profile pages. For many parents (both single and in committed relationships), children are the apple of your eye, your pride and joy, the air you breathe…you get the idea.  But although online dating sites are designed to be safe, you never really know who will stumble across your profile.  Why expose your children to strangers unnecessarily?  When posting your profile on any online dating site, make sure to keep your children out of the snapshot.
2. Consider using sites that aren’t specifically for single parents.  This may sound counterintuitive, but many single parents feel more secure safeguarding this information until they’ve established that their potential suitor is a safe person.  Match.com, for example, is extremely popular as an outlet for single parent online dating.  Likewise, you can also try unconventional options like meeting people through Craigslist or other community websites.
3. Try dating sites that are specifically for single parents.  If the previous suggestion doesn’t appeal to you, try the other extreme.  Sites like Single Parents Mingle make it easy to find other singles that have gone through similarly difficult times, which may make them more appropriate matches for you.  You should still be wary of giving out personal information (especially as it pertains to your kids) so that you’ll ensure your family’s security.
4. Do a background check.  You don’t need to hire a private investigator to get the full scoop about your potential suitor(s) – you can do it simply with services that specialize in quick background checks starting at $15 and up.
5. Dress appropriately.  In the world of single parent online dating you’ll find many people who are desperate to leave the world of single parenthood behind.  Even if you’re one of those people, you wouldn’t want to transmit that message to a potential partner on the first day.  You’ll want to stay reserved, cautious and somewhat conservative until you’ve confirmed that the ‘coast is clear’. Save your mini-skirts and low-cut tops for the second or third date so that the partner sitting across from you won’t mark you as an easy target which can leave you and your children vulnerable and open to heartbreak.

Stay tuned for more online dating safety tips and feel free to share your own stories so that nobody else finds themselves in the same uncomfortable situation!

In these days of tight budgets and constant expenses, it’s normal to want to find free alternatives to paid services.  Web hosting is one area in which there are several respectable free options – if you’re willing to compromise on certain aspects of your website.  The question becomes, however, when it is necessary to pay for web hosting services and when is free hosting a viable option?  Here are some things to consider when making this important decision.

1. Do you want a custom domain? Many free hosting services require you to take their domain name onto yours.  In other words, instead of having mysite.com, you’d have mysite.yolasite.com if you’re using Yola’s free hosting service and a similar extension if you’re using the free services offered by Wix, Network Solutions or one of the other dozens of free hosting providers available.
2. Do you want an ad-free website? Many free websites impose placement of advertising on websites built through their platform.  This may not bother you if you’re starting a family blog (or even a personal blog) or are just using the website to test out the features of the web host before committing.  If you’re looking to create a professional web presence, however, you may not want irrelevant ads cluttering the design of your site.
3. Do you need significant storage space or bandwidth? If you’re planning on hosting a site that contains video or audio files, you may need more storage space or bandwidth than most free web hosting service offer.  Likewise, if you’re planning on having heavy traffic to your site or hosting a database for your site, you’ll need a significant amount of storage.  Many free web hosting providers offer only 5-10 MB of storage, which is insufficient for sites that are more than just a few pages of text.  If you’re looking to post your artistic portfolio, to sell items through a product database or to stream videos directly from your site, you may want to pay for a web hosting service such as FatCow which offers unlimited storage for a very reasonable monthly fee.
4. Do you want a completely custom design? If you’re choosing free hosting services through a web design company that offers a free package you’ll likely be limited to specific design options instead of having the flexibility to choose from the full array of options.  If you’re choosing a free hosting option through a hosting provider such as i6Networks you’ll probably have full customization abilities – if you have the technical prowess to design and build your own site (and if you don’t, you’ll need to pay a significant sum for this service).
5. Do you plan to expand the scope of your site in the near future? If so, you’ll need to consider whether you’ll eventually outgrow your free hosting plan, and the expense that will be involved in transferring it to another web host, domain name or design.  These fees can add up – so if you think you’ll need to pay them soon, you may end up saving more money by paying for web hosting straight from the outset.
6. Do you want a search-engine-friendly site? Many free websites are not particularly search-engine-friendly and will not assist you in achieving natural web traffic.  If you’re looking to expand your audience through search engines, you may want to consider a paid web hosting service that is located in your country so that you can better target the audience you’re looking for.

Although free stuff always sounds appealing, when it comes to free hosting it’s important to remember that saving money now may not actually save you money in the long run.  However, the true benefit of using a free hosting package is because it allows you to test out the hosting service (and web design service when relevant) to see if you like it and whether you want to continue using this service in the long run.