We've got a new look for 2012! 

• Stop by and check out the revamped site and all our special promotions!

See Your Name "In Lights"

• Are you a satisfied DomainOfficials.com customer?  How about dropping us a line telling us about what you like about our services?  What can we do to improve our services?  We will post brief excerpts of the best testimonials we receive on our main header.  These testimonials will be rotated from time to time, so come back often to see if your comments get posted!  Send your testimonials to domains@domainofficials.com.

Stay Informed...

• Also, don't forget to follow us on Twitter.  VolcanoHost clients should follow us, anyway, since we use Twitter to report scheduled (and unscheduled) server downtime.  DomainOfficials clients should follow us because we often tweet special deals and promotions.  So be sure to give us a follow!

This is the latest radio spot that will be playing on the Valdese, NC radio station:

VolcanoHostvsSocialNetworking.mp3

WYSIWYG Web Builder 8 - $44.95

Web Builder 8.x is a WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) program used to create web pages. WYSIWYG means that the finished page will display exactly the way it was designed. The program generates HTML (HyperText Markup Language) tags while you point and click on desired functions; you can create a web page without learning HTML. Just drag and drop objects to the page position them 'anywhere' you want and when you're finished publish it to your web server (using the build in Publish tool). Web Builder gives you full control over the content and layout of your web page.

Registered users are allowed to install WB 8 on up to 3 computers!

• No HTML knowledge needed!
• Drag and drop of the HTML objects: Text, Lines, Images, Shapes, Marquees and Tables.
• Site Management. Easily add, edit, clone and structure your web pages from a single file.
• Form layout object to create forms, including actions, hidden fields etc. + validation tools.
• Supports Form fields: Editbox, TextArea, Checkbox, Radiobutton, Combobox and Button.
• ActiveX, JAVA, Flash, Windows Media player, Quicktime, RealPlayer and other Plug-In support.
• Publish to local drive or a FTP server using the build-in FTP manager.
• Build-in Photo Gallery maker.
• Build-in Banner maker.
• Rollover images.
• Bulleted Lists: Circle, Disc, Square, Numeric (1, 2, 3), Alpha (a, b, c) , Roman (I, II, III) and custom images.
• Rotation of shapes and images.
• Image tools: Contrast, Brightness, Flip, Rotate and Resample.
• Image effects: GrayScale, Negative, Sepia, Blur, Soften, Sharpen, Noise, Emboss and more!
• Navigation bars
• Ready-to-use Javascripts
• Template support. Already more than 100 templates available!
• Rotating Image component (useful for Ad Banners).
• Import existing HTML pages!
• Hyperlink Style Sheet, to customize the colors/formatting of hyperlinks
• Inline Frame component (IFRAME).
• Quick Properties window for quick object manupulation.
• Go menu component: easily create a drop-down navigation menus.
• Menubar component: powerful menu script that can mimic complex menus found in popular GUI applications
• Drawing tools: Line, Arrows, Scribble, Polygon, Curve and Closed Curve.
• and much more!
• Download a trial version here or...
  

Already a registered user?  You can upgrade to WB 8 for only $29.95!  Here's how:

1. Download & Install WB 8.
2. Request a Coupon Code by submitting your email & Serial Number here.
3. Enter Coupon Code when you checkout.
   
4. Run WB 8 and enter registration information on the startup screen.
5. That's it!  You are now the legal owner WB 8 & can install it on up to 3 computers!
   

We invite you to pay invoices using PaymentNetwork, a service from Intuit (makers of TurboTax, QuickBooks and Quicken) that lets you pay invoices directly from your bank account. This is the same type of payment you use when you pay your telephone or utility bill from your bank account.

To pay using the service, start with the invoice we send you. It contains a PaymentNetwork web address which you can visit to pay your bill online for FREE. Just click the link to pay. You must be a US resident over the age of 18 with a US bank account to use this service (international customers can use PayPal).

Customers already using PayPal subscriptions don't need to change anything, but if you'd like to switch to yearly payments, this is a good option.

PaymentNetwork offers you the following benefits: You can schedule the payment for any date you wish. You'll save the time and effort of writing a paper check and can track your payments with instant email confirmation alerts. Also, your bank account details stay private. We get the money you send us, but we never see your bank account information.

To learn more, visit https://ipn.intuit.com/qb/payorLearnMore

Thank you for your business,

VolcanoHost Support

By:  Joseph R. Ellis^[i]              

With the popularity of social networking, one might ask, “Are social networking sites killing off traditional web hosting as a business?”  The answer is:  Killing? No.  Hurting?  Probably. 

To fully understand how social networking is affecting the web hosting business, we must first examine the typical web hosting customer of the typical web hosting company.  The typical web hosting customer is not a huge corporation.  Why?  Large corporations usually host their own corporate websites in their own data centers, supported by their own IT staff.  So we’re mostly talking about small businesses, clubs, special interest groups and individuals.  Unfortunately, these are often the very people who are the most tempted to forego traditional web hosting in favor of a social networking site.

What is Wrong with Social Networking?

                There is nothing wrong with social networking, per se.   It can be a great marketing tool, if used correctly.  But it should not take the place of a traditional website.  Your website and your domain name are part of your organization’s online identity – part of your brand.  You need to have ownership of something so important.  Social networking sites do not give you this ownership.

Here are 10 things wrong with using social networking sites instead of a hosted website:

1. Social networking sites are often blocked by company IT departments.  If your company depends on any business-to-business interaction, you need to be sure your customers can access your information from their work computers. 
2. Most companies equate social networking activity by employees with huge losses of productivity.  Do you want your company’s main online venue to be associated with an activity that many employers ban, outright?
3. Social networking sites are often the source of malware.  In 2010, a third of small and medium businesses surveyed by Panda Security reported being hit by malware from social networks:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20016517-83.html
4. Social networking sites are often the target of hackers.  Elements of hacker / activist (hactivist) group, “Anonymous,” have vowed to destroy Facebook on November 5, 2011:  http://www.businessinsider.com/anonymous-facebook-2011-8.  Do you want your business to go down with them?
5. Social networking sites are subject to being bought and sold.  Sites come and go.  What is hot this week may be relegated to social outcasts next week.  Anyone still using MySpace?  Don’t put all of your company’s virtual eggs in one virtual basket!
6. With social networks, you are bound by their Terms Of Service.  If their TOS says they can use your content as they see fit, there is nothing you can do to stop them.  At one time, Facebook’s TOS allowed them full control of your content – even after you closed your account!  This is no longer the case, but you see our point.
7. You have no control over a social network’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as it relates to your page.  Your company’s social networking page may be found by search engines – or it may not.  If not, there is not much you can do about it.
8. You don’t have access to details about who is visiting your site and what they are viewing.  Okay, you may be able to access some of that information if you use 3^rd party add-ons or pay for premium accounts, such as those offered by Linkedin.
9. Social networking sites often limit how much of your content can be viewed by casual visitors.  You may have some control over this, but many social networking sites have an ulterior motive to sign up as many members as they can.  This could result in your potential customers going to your competition’s website.
10. Yes, your competition already has a website!  Why don’t you???

What is Right with Web Hosting?

                The biggest argument in favor of traditional web hosting is this:   You have complete control of your online identity.  You are not at the whim of some flaky college dropout prodigy or eccentric Silicon Valley billionaire.  You have complete control of what goes on your site and how it will look when it gets there. 

                Here are 10 things right about hosting with a traditional web hosting company:

1. A company website projects a much more professional image.  If you are looking for a good lawyer, would you be more likely to pick one who only has a Facebook page, or one who has a professional website?
2. A hosted website with matching domain email accounts creates much more company credibility.  Would you feel comfortable sharing tax and financial information with an accountant using a Yahoo or Gmail email address, or one using an email address that matches his or her company’s website?  Spammers use free email, therefore free email accounts are viewed with much greater scrutiny and more likely to get flagged as spam.  Always use email that matches your company’s domain name!
3. Your hosted website is not likely to be blocked by other businesses’ IT departments.  Of course, that might depend on the nature of your business.
4. Your website is less likely to get an employee in trouble for goofing off.  Again, that could depend on the nature of your business and your website’s content.  But if some or all of your customers are other businesses, they will have a much easier time accessing your content if you use a hosted website instead of a social network.
5. Your site is not likely to be a source of malware.  Unless you put it there yourself, and you’d never do that, would you?
6. Your site is far less likely to be the target of hackers.  No site is completely immune to hacker attempts, but if you are a small business (and that is who we are talking about), you are not likely to be a very big blip on the hackers’ radar screens.
7. You have access to great details about who visits your site.   Most web hosts include utilities such as Webalizer and Awstats that allow you to see who visited your site, what they viewed, which search engines brought them there and which keywords they used to find your site.
8. Your site is freely available to all of your potential customers.  If you need private “members only” sections, that is easy enough to implement.  But you don’t want to turn away potential new customers by making them sign up for some membership before they can see what your business is all about!
9. Your website is fully searchable by search engines.  Just posting your company’s products and information is enough to be found by most search engines.  But you can take things further by entering searchable keywords and meta tags in your html headers.  There is an entire industry built around Search Engine Optimization.  With a hosted website, you can take advantage of these services.
10. Your data is yours – you can take it with you when you move.  Any web host worth using will back up your data, although some charge extra for this service.  Many allow you to download your backups to your own computer for an extra measure of safe keeping.  The main point here is that your site should not be totally lost if your web host suffers a catastrophe, or if your business grows to the point where you’ve outgrown the web host’s capabilities (a nice problem to have).  Point your domain to a new host and upload your existing data and you are good to go!

What is Right with Social Networking

                Like we said, there is nothing wrong with social networking, per se.  It is an excellent way for companies to interact with their customers and potential customers.  We highly recommend placing links to all of you company’s social networking sites prominently on your website – preferably on the home page, and for sure on the “contact us” and support pages.

                Just remember that social networking is a tool that is best used in conjunction with – not instead of – your website. 

See you online!

 

The data center had to reboot the server and it is now running a disk check. Client sites will restore up as soon as this task is complete.

We just rolled out a brand new site for reselling pre-owned domain names.  These are all high-quality premium domains for various popular categories, such as cloud computing, hosting, dating, music, auctions and crime, just to name a fiew.

All domains have a listed Asking Price (Buy Now) that will assure you of obtaining the domain, should you be willing to pay it.  If you wish to submit a lower bid, you may do so, but there is no guarantee someone else won't out-bid you.

There are also several informative hints on registering new domains, what to do with the domains once you register them, and how you can make money with your "spare domains" by using a parking service.