Some frustrated bloggers even accused that upgrading WordPress in vDeck is impossible or complicated. That’s so not true and I’m going to show you how simple it is to upgrade your WordPress software. Assuming that you already had installed WordPress in Startlogic account and wish to upgrade it. All you need to do is login to your Startlogic account and get in “InstallCentral” under “Scripting and Addons”.

Next, get to the WordPress installation page. All your WP installation will be shown here. In case your WP is out dated (based on Startlogic’s database record), you’ll be given the option to upgrade your installation. Referring to the figure below, note that all you need to do is to click ‘Upgrade’ in the whole process and Startlogic’s advance InstallCentral will sort things out accordingly.

It’s recommended to backup your files (and WP settings) before upgrading for safety purpose but everything works out fine for me and I don’t need to roll back any old settings. As soon as the upgrading process is completed, a notification page will be shown in your Startlogic vDeck control panel page. In our example, I had just upgraded http://www.reviewstartlogic.com to WordPress version 2.7.

The entire upgrading process took less than 2 minutes to complete and it is very not-complicated at all. I guess people who are complaining about Startlogic’s InstallCentral are just uninformed and do not know the right way. Once you know the where and how, I’m sure you’ll find Startlogic InstallCentral is convenient to use.

Many hosting companies are not being transparent when it comes to server maintenance.

These irresponsible web hosts normally do not provide clear maintenance schedule (probably because they are not planning at all) and cause a lot of unnecessary hassles to their users. Startlogic, however, is not one of these hosting companies.

In fact I’m quite impressed with Startlogic maintenance system. They are very organized and had planned 4 months ahead in server maintenance.

Exchange Hosting servers were having routine maintenance between 11:00pm EST on Friday, February 6 and 7:00am EST on Saturday, February 7, 2009; while further maintenance is set on March 13, April 17, May 15, as well as June 12 of year 2009. Users like you and me get to schedule our work accordingly when the maintenance schedule is told clearly.

Anyhow, in case you were uninformed for the recent Exchange Hosting server maintenance, worry not. Any mail sent to you during the maintenance period will be stored and delivered once the maintenance is complete.

The solution to this problem is simple. All you need to do is visit StartLogic’s Password Tool and ask for a new password. And yes, the password change will certainly affect your FTP and other related web authoring program.

In case you are interested to read in details, here are the full official news released.

If You Are Unable To Access Your Account, Read This Notice

To ensure the security of all accounts hosted with StartLogic, we have changed all customer passwords; this is the password you use to log in to your control panel and to access your site via FTP (or FrontPage, or other Web authoring program).

Please check your e-mail; we have sent you a message with your temporary password. You can also retrieve your new, temporary, password via our Re-Send Password Tool.

Once you receive your temporary password, be sure to change it to a more memorable, but not easily guessable, password; you can change your password using the Change Password Tool >>

WHY DID YOU CHANGE MY PASSWORD?
To provide all of our customers with the most secure hosting environment possible, we changed account/FTP passwords. Unfortunately, online criminals are continuously developing new ways to exploit Web sites, and we are committed to taking every possible precaution to protect our customers.

We recognize the inconvenience this may cause you, and we regret this necessary security measure.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD MY PASSWORD BE CHANGED? / WHY CAN’T I USE MY OLD PASSWORD?
We recommend that you change your password every 90 days or so. Many people use the same password for several different things, and the longer you go without changing it (and the more places you use it), the greater the risk.

We will not force you to change your password every 90 days, but we strongly encourage you to do so yourself.

WHY DO I NEED A STRONG PASSWORD?
Strong passwords are far more effective at keeping your account secure than simple, every-day words (or dates, etc.). Learn more about strong passwords.

Click-Through Tracker

One of my favorite tools on the list is Click-Through Tracker. Using Click-Through Tracker, you get to check how traffic flows through your site.

To start tracking your site click-thru, you’ll need to first create a tracking URL. In the Add a URL section:

1. Enter the URL you want to track.
2. Enter the name of the link.
3. Click Add URL.
4. Copy and Paste the tracking code in your web page to track the click throughs.

Sample of the tracking code.

Reporting on Click-Through Tracker

In the URLs Being Tracked section:

• Count – Number of clicks to the URL
• Reset – Click on the Reset link if you want to reset the count of the tracking URL
• Remove – Click on the Remove link to delete the tracking URL to remove the tracking code from your web page

Users who are unfamiliar with vDeck are advised to take the startlogic product tour or visit the startlogic vdeck demo login first. For your instant guides, here is how vDeck (in StartLogic) front page looks like this:

Specifications for StartLogic vDeck.

• Platform Type: Debian
• MySQL Version: 5.0.45
• Perl Version: 5.8.8
• PHP Version: 4.4.7
• Path to SendMail: /usr/sbin/sendmail
• Path to Perl: /usr/bin/perl
• Path to PHP: /usr/local/bin/php

Installing a WordPress blog is easy at StartLogic.

While it’s not the usual-Fantastico-procedure, my first WP installation on StartLogic is done smoothly and quickly. For your instant reference, here’s a step-by-step walk thru on the installation process.

Enabling CGI for script installation

If you’re running a new StartLogic hosting account, there’s a big chance that your CGI is disable (default setting). To install any kind of scripts on your hosting, you’ll first need to enable CGI.

WordPress installation

When you’re in StartLogic vDeck main control page, you’ll notice there’s a shortcut named ‘Install Central WordPress’. Click on the icon will lead you to the this page (as below) where you can setup all the basic info for your WordPress blog installation.

Move on by clicking on ‘Install Now’. You should come to a web form by now where the basic blog information and installation path are set here. First, key in your blog title as well as your username, password, and email. Blog title can be changed anytime after the installation; while your username is unchangeable once it’s created. (you can, however, create/delete users inside WordPress in the future).

The “path to application” refers to the URL you wish to install as your WordPress root folder. Leave the folder section blank if you want to install it at the hosting root folder; or, you can name a new folder and have your WP blog installed in that particular folder.

Do note that the system will automatically create a database for your WordPress blog. To setup your database connection manually, click on ‘Use this database’ at the bottom of the page. Click ‘Install Now’ once everything’s set – your WordPress blog shall be ready in seconds.

Not sure if StartLogic will be upgrading on its vDeck version or not but good news is that vDeck is cooking something new in their R&D department. A sneak preview on what you can do with the new vDeck 3.0:

Web site Management

• iPage site-creation tool
• SiteDelux site-creation tool
• WebSite Creator, powered by CM4all
• FileManager
• FTP Manager
• FrontPage Extensions
• CGI Support
• Enhanced Script Library
• MySQL Management
• Site Backups and Restore
• Gallery 2
• phpBB
• WordPress
• Gbook

E-mail Management

• Manage autoresponders
• More powerful spam and virus protection
• Direct WebMail Access
• iContact e-newsletters
• Constant Contact e-newsletters

Domain Management

• DomainCentral
• Manage subdomains
• Private nameservers

E-commerce Services

• osCommerce
• ShopSite NEW!

Marketing Services

• Search engine optimization services
• Search engine submission services
• Free search engine coupons ($30 or more)
• Pay-per-click advertising NEW!
• E-mail newsletter creation and distribution services
• Logo design services NEW!

Account Management Services

• Online Billing Console
• Online Support Ticketing Syste
• Customizable control panel design layouts

Reseller Account Management Services

• Historical billing records and cost breakdowns for each account.
• Detailed monthly invoices and printable receipts.
• An option for grouped billing and consolidated invoices.
• The ability to brand your client control panel with your logo, colors and fonts.

To learn more, check out vDeck official website.

Nowadays most hosting are dominate by cPanel control interface.

Without doubt cPanel is one of the best control panel we can ever get online but hosting control panel software is not a one-size-fit-all thing. I am sure there are plenty users that are unhappy with cPanel and wish for something different.

Well, if you’re one of those who crave for a different hosting control panel, vDeck/StartLogic is your answer.

Frankly I respect StartLogic’s apprach in being different from the majority and to go with vDeck. IMHO, both vDeck and cPanel are more or less the same and they should be given even attention since both are serving the same industry.

About vDeck?

vDeck is the GUI for hosting server control panel. The system is mainly used for web hosting server management but it can be used as marketing tools and site building tools. For your quick reference, here’re the message I quoted from vDeck official website.

More than just a control panel, vDeck is the next generation in Web site management. With vDeck, creating, managing and promoting your Web site is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Build Your Site

vDeck is deeply integrated with several easy-to-use site creation tools—choose from hundreds of professional design templates to create your site without any HTML experience.

Available features include:

• Choice of three site-creation tools
• Hundreds of professional design templates
• Design editor
• Content manager
• Graphics editor
• Pre-installed CGI scripts
• Integrated e-commerce solutions

2. Manage Your Site

vDeck makes it easy to manage your Web site, e-mail and domain name from one central location. Take advantage of these vDeck 3.0 features:

• Billing & account management
• Comprehensive FileManager
• MailCentral for easy e-mail management
• Microsoft Exchange Hosting
• DomainCentral for easy domain management
• Install wizards for popular open source applications (such as WordPress)
• Web site statistics programs

3. Promote Your Site

vDeck 3.0 offers access to several marketing services to help you promote your site. Available services include:

• Search engine optimization services
• Search engine submission services
• Free search engine coupons ($30 or more)
• Pay-per-click advertising services
• E-mail newsletter creation and distribution services
• Logo design services

Adding a new e-mail address using vDeck

Take example of adding a new email using vDeck, here’s how you can do it in a few simple steps. First get to mail central from the login front page.

Mail central is where you can control all your email inbox configurations. Do note that there’s a catch-all email in default. To create a new email address, click on the ‘Create Mailbox’ button.

On the pop up page, keyin your desired email address as well as its quota limitation, move on when it’s done.

You’ll be directed back to the Mail Central once your mail box is created. If everything goes right, you should see your new mail box listed on the page. Whenever you feel like editing the mailbox setting or adding/deleting the mail box at your hosting, you can always come back here and click on the ‘edit’ link. It’s simple.

Well then, you have a new email address on your hosting now.