WebSpawner.com Blog

If you have created a free WebSpawner website or have upgraded to an Enhanced web site account, there may be times when you have questions or need assistance or advice. WebSpawner’s Customer Support team is available to help you with information about using the web site tools, promoting your web site, the benefits of upgrading to an Enhanced account, and much more.

In the Member Menu of your WebSpawner account you’ll find the Customer Support links, which look like this:

Clicking the Customer Support Cases icon (the file folders) on the right allows you to view any previously-opened Support Cases within your account, where you can review answers given to your questions or re-open a closed Support Case for additional communications.

Clicking the Contact Customer Service icon (the bell) to the left enables you to communicate with a Customer Support representative through a live chat window, where you can type in your questions and receive quick answers. If all representatives are busy assisting other users and aren’t available to help you immediately, you’ll be given the option to open a new Support Case instead, as shown below:

Clicking the Open New Case button brings up a simple form allowing you to open a new Support Case. The form looks like this:

To complete the form:

1. Use the pull-down menu to select the topic that you are inquiring about; choose “General Question” if you don’t see a good match.
2. Type in a few words to give the Subject or Brief Description of the nature of your inquiry; your entry will become the Title of the Support Case.
3. Next, enter your Questions in the box provided, making sure to provide enough detail to accurately describe any problem you are experiencing or the type of information or assistance you need. If you have a multi-page Enhanced site, be sure to indicate which page you are referring to.
4. If you would like to receive an e-mail notification when a Customer Support representative has posted a response to your questions, enter your e-mail address in the optional space provided.
5. When finished, click the Submit button to create your new Support Case.

Your Support Case will be entered into a queue, and the next available representative will review your questions and post answers back to you within the Support Case. All Cases are answered as quickly as possible.

Here’s the most important part of this process: in order to receive the answers from Customer Support you’ll need to look back into your Support Case to receive the reply. When a response is waiting for you in a Support Case, you’ll see a pulsing notification on the Customer Support Cases icon in the Member Menu of your account… it will look like this:

The flashing blue exclamation mark is meant to draw your attention and alert you that answers to your questions are waiting for you to view; click the file folders icon to see the responses. You can then ask additional questions on the topic, or you can click the Consider Case Closed button if no further assistance is needed.

Log in to your WebSpawner account today and check to see if you have any responses awaiting your review, and get the assistance you need to make your web site a success.

It’s now official: Geocities is dead, and Yahoo is responsible. It wasn’t without warning; Yahoo announced six months ago that it would be shutting down Geocities (and all of the user sites it was hosting). As of today, it appears that all Geocities user sites are no longer available to view online.

Geocities, like WebSpawner, started offering free web space to users back in the mid 1990’s. Through ad-supported free hosting, both companies have helped millions of people who may not have otherwise been able to create or host a web site to get a site online for free.

Yahoo acquired Geocities back in 1999, but a decade later decided to pull the plug on it entirely, leaving its user base without the free hosting solution so many had come to depend upon. Yahoo decided to do this despite more than 10 million monthly unique visitors to the sites of Geocities users, according to WebProNews.com, stating that Geocities and its user base were “no longer counted among Yahoo’s priorities.” Geocities is just the latest service axed at the Yahoo chopping block; about 20 Yahoo services have been discontinued this year.

All of us here at WebSpawner would like to extend our condolences to the many ex-Geocities users affected by this decision. We’ve been providing millions of users with free web sites since 1996 and we continue to do so. If you were affected by the Geocities shutdown and would like a new dependable free solution for hosting a site online, we welcome you to create a free web site with WebSpawner today.

A domain name is a unique web address that can be entered into the Address Bar of a web browser (Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, or other) in order to visit a web site; for example, the domain Google.com connects to the Google search engine site.

Choosing a good domain name can help a web site be successful and bring in additional visitor traffic.

If you have created a web site with WebSpawner you can use your own registered domain name with your WebSpawner site; just contact WebSpawner Customer Service for assistance. If you have an Enhanced account, the configuration of your site to work with your registered domain is available at no additional cost!

Your selection of a domain name must be unique and not registered by another individual or company in order for you to be able to register it. The easiest way to tell if a domain is already registered is to visit a domain registrar such as Misk.com, type in the domain you are interested in, select extensions (discussed below) and click the Check Domains button as shown here:

But exactly how does one choose a GOOD domain name? Following are some tips to help you select a good domain name that will benefit your web site.

Select a domain name that is short and easy to spell and remember. The domain eBay.com is much easier for people to remember (and to type) than a longer one such as ASiteWhereYouCanAuctionAndBuyStuff.com, and the selection of that simple domain name likely helped lead to eBay’s success.

For a business site, a domain name which matches your business name or brand name is an excellent way to go (examples: Apple.com and Amazon.com). If you are just starting your business, you may want to find and register a domain name first, then name your business accordingly to promote branding.

For small businesses who do not have well-known household names, domains containing relevant keywords are highly recommended. Consider a domain that contains keywords related to the type of business you provide and reflects your offerings… for example, GreatHaircuts.com might be a wise choice for a hair stylist who does business under his or her own personal name rather than under a business name. Hyphens may also be used to separate multiple keywords in a domain, as in Reliable-Automotive-Service.com.

While shorter domains are generally better than longer ones, don’t abbreviate excessively or just use business initials as the domain name may end up being harder for people to remember… for example, FireHouseBBQ.com is longer but may be more easily recalled than fhbbq.com.

If your site advertises a business which serves only a local clientele, the inclusion of a town or city name in the domain may be beneficial to pinpoint your location and describe your offerings even if the city name is not part of your actual business name… for example, JacksonHoleBBQ.com.

While one-word domains are short and easy to remember, many of those domains will already be taken. Don’t be discouraged though… be creative and look at two- or three-word phrases that represent your site’s content.

Consider the most appropriate extension (.com, .org. .net, etc.) for your domain. The extensions are also called TLDs (Top Level Domains) and are intended to generally organize the internet into sites of different types. The .com extension represents commercial business sites but is usually highly desirable due to being the most well-known TLD in general. The .org extension is typically used for non-profit or service organizations, while .net is used for networks. Other extensions include .edu (educational institutions), .gov (government agencies), and .mil (military), just to name a few. You may also think about using a country-specific TLD extension - such as .co.uk, .ca, or .eu - if you are offering products or services only to people who live in your home country. For a list of country-specific TLDs, see this wikipedia article.

Consider legal trademarks of other businesses when selecting your domain and select something that will be uniquely yours… you don’t want to invite confusion which may lead to unnecessary legal action.

Finally, remember that you never really own a domain name; you only have control of the domain for the period of registration. If you let your domain expire without renewing in a timely manner it is entirely possible for someone else to register it! Mark your calendar and set yourself a reminder to renew your domain’s registration BEFORE it expires.

Crazy Art coming at you with a truly shocking sales event!

For a limited time only I’m going to slash an additional $10 off our already low prices on any Search Engine Submital package. And, to help energize your website with visitors from all over the world - I’ll DOUBLE the number of displays on any of our Banner Ad Display packages. Don’t have a banner yet? NO WORRIES… we can bring one to life for you in our laboratory!

These offers are only available to WebSpawner.com members, but you must act quickly… login to your WebSpawner account today and look for the offer in the Member Menu as shown below. Don’t delay, both of these Monster Savings offers will end on October 31st!