While we can only offer a .uk domain name for free to new subscribers we can also register other types of domain name for special discounted prices.
When you log into your account and click the "Subscribe Now" button you will be asked to choose your domain name. Here you will be shown the different types of domain names we can register and, if applicable, the additional cost.
Can I Have A Message Forum On My Site?
Unfortunately we do not currently offer a forum service. However there are many companies who do offer free forums that you could then link to from your DoYourOwnSite! website. Try searching for "free forum" on your favourite search engine.
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Can I Have Email At My Domain Name?
For domain names that we have registered we can offer what is called "Email Forwarding". This means that ANYTHING you put before @yourdomainname.co.uk will be automatically re-directed to a single existing email address of your choice.
This enables you to choose as many email addresses as you want. For example, info@doyourownsite.co.uk or sales@doyourownsite.co.uk
Simply log in to your account, click on "Your Account" and then "Email Forwarding". You will then be able to enter the existing email address that you would like your email to be forwarded to.
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Can I Put A Counter On My Site?
While there are many sites that give you code to place a counter on your site (just type "free counter" into a search engine), we advise against them as they do not tend to give a professional impression and are more at home on a personal homepage.
We provide an alternative to a counter within your account. You can view statistics about how many people have visited your site and where they came from. Just login to your account and click the "Statistics" link that appears under "Useful Information" on the homepage. The link will only be visible if you have subscribed and your site is live on the web.
This page shows the number of visits that your site has received each day in the last month. The "Referers" table tells you what other sites your visitors are coming to your site from.
It's important to note that you will not get a referer for every visit, only visits where the user has come to your site via a link on another site.
Visits that will not generate a "referer" include:
- The user typed the address of your site directly into their browser
- A visit via a "Bookmark" or "Favourite"
- A visit via a link in an email
- When the user has security software, such as Norton, that prevents referers from being disclosed.
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Can I Put Music/Video On My Site?
Go to the "Site Content" screen (from the top menu), you will then see an "Add/Delete Files" option appear on the left hand side menu. This allows you to upload any file up to 2Mb in size and is ideal for files such as Word Documents, spreadsheets, PDF files and short music clips etc.
The files that you upload will appear at the bottom of the list of "Internal" links when you use the "Insert/Edit Link" option in the Page Editor.
If you have music and/or video files larger than the 2Mb limit then what some of our customers have done is upload files like this to the free webspace they get from their ISP and link to those files from their DoYourOwnSite! website.
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Can I Put Whatever I Want On My Website?
Generally speaking there are no restrictions imposed by us on what information you can publish on your website.
We do however require that you agree to our terms and conditions and do not publish any unsuitable material including, but not limited to, pornography, racism and other offensive materials. You must also not publish any material that you do not hold the copyright to, or have express permission to publish from the copyright holder.
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Can I Register Additional Domain Names For My Site?
If you would like to register an additional domain name to use with your site then login to your account, click on "Your Account" on the top menu, and then the "New Domain Name Registration" option. The prices are given on this page as they vary depending on the type of domain name you register.
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Can I Try It First?
Please feel free to sign up for a 30 day trial at http://www.doyourownsite.co.uk/signup.phtml
We don't ask for any payment details up-front, so it's a totally risk-free and no-obligation way to try out almost all the features of our powerful service before making the decision to subscribe.
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Can I update my website whenever I want?
Yes, you can make changes and updates as often as you want. As long as you have access to the internet you can log in to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere in the world.
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Can I Upgrade My Account At A Later Date?
If you are an existing subscriber and pay us monthly by credit card then you can upgrade your account and amend your monthly payment automatically.
All you have to do is login to your account, click "Your Account" on the top menu and select the option to "Upgrade Your Account".
If you pay for your account annually then please contact us regarding upgrading your account.
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Can I use a web designer to design my site?
You can have a designer create a tailor-made design to your specification while allowing you to retain the existing level of control you currently have over the content of your website.
To do this, you will need to download our “Web Designer's Development Kit” by logging into your account clicking into the Colours & Design screen and then choosing the "Web Designer's Development Kit" option. This will then need to be given to your designer.
We also offer an additonal design service to include a range of packages to suit your needs, from putting together the basics of your website, to an exclusive one-off custom design.
For more information about our design service please click on the link below:
http://www.doyourownsite.co.uk/design-services.phtml
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Can I use DoYourOwnSite! on a Mac or Linux Computer?
DoYourOwnSite! can be used if you have a Mac OS or Linux based computer. To use the service on these operating systems you must be using a recent version of the Mozilla Firefox browser available from http://www.mozilla.com/
Apple's "Safari" browser, and Linux based browsers such as "Konquerer", do not currently support all the neccessary features required by this sort of service.
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Can I Use HTML Code On My Site?
If you wish to use HTML code on your site, such as that given to you by an affiliate program or banner exchange for example, then you can use our "HTML Fragments" facility.
For a guide on how to use this facility please read our article, "How To Use HTML Fragments", which can be found on the homepage, after you login to your account, under "Useful Information".
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Can I Use My Existing Domain Name?
How Do I Transfer My Domain Name To You?
There should be no problem using your existing domain name with your DoYourOwnSite! website. When you subscribe to our service the first thing you will be asked is to choose your domain name. Below this is a button to press, titled "I already have my chosen domain name". Once you have subscribed, using this option, the necessary arrangements will need to be made to use your existing domain name with your new website.
You will need to contact the company who registered your domain name for you and ask them to "Change the DNS 'A Record' For your domain name to 193.109.194.27". If they gave you a username and password when you registered the domain name then you may be able to do this yourself, in which case they should provide you with the relevant instructions and support.
If you entered your domain name during the subscription process then everything will be configured at our end automatically. Otherwise you will need to let us know what the domain name is so that we can link it to your account.
If the company will not make the change as detailed above then you can also use "Web Forwarding" to redirect your domain name. Setting this up varies between different companies so contact the company who registered your domain name for you if you need any help. Your web forwarding address will be http://username.doyourownsite.com/ where "username" is replaced by your own DoYourOwnSite! username.
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Can I Use My Own Webspace?
The monthly subscription that we charge includes all hosting. The way our system works, requires that any sites be hosted on our servers so that you can easily log in and update your site whenever you want. You would then be able to cancel any webspace that you are paying for elsewhere. For more detailed information on our service please visit our "What We Offer" page at http://www.doyourownsite.co.uk/what.phtml
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Can I Use Other Fonts / Typefaces?
We are looking into ways of allowing the use of other fonts but unfortunately those that are currently available are the only ones that you can guarantee all of your users will see correctly.
If a visitor comes to your website and does not have the same font that you used installed on their own computer then they will not see your site as you intended.
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Can I work offline, or do I have to be online to use your service?
DoYourOwnSite! is a web-based system so you will need to be connected to the internet in order to use it. It is not a piece of software that you can download and install on your own computer.
The advantage of this is that you can login to your account and administer your website from almost any internet-connected computer.
It also means that you automatically get any new features we add to the system as there is no software on your computer that has to be updated.
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Do I have to install software on my computer to use Doyourownsite?
Doyourownsite! is a web-based service and runs on our servers, therefore, you do not need to install the system or any software onto your computer in order to use it. You can access your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by simply logging in.
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Do I have to show the DoYourOwnSite! logo on my site?
When you subscribe, you can choose whether to display the DoYourOwnSite! logo on your site by selecting the "Show The DoYourOwnSite! Logo" or "Do Not Show The DoYourOwnSite!" option.
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Do you offer an affiliate program so that I can earn money by referring people to DoYourOwnSite?
Yes, we do offer an affiliate program. For each paying customer you refer you can earn 10% commission on all subscription payments they make for as long as they are subscribed to our service!
For example, if you refer a customer who builds a website and chooses not to show the "DoYourOwnSite!" logo and pays monthly for their subscription, you would earn £1.50 each month for as long as they pay.
To join click on the link below and enter your details
http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=3&id=43700
Once you have been accepted into the program, login with the username and password for the affiliate program, click on “Join New Merchants” and enter doyourownsite in the search box. This will bring up our details and you should click the yellow button “Join”. Once you have done this you can start adding links and graphics to your website or refer your friends by sending them your unique link.
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How Do I Accept Credit Card Payments?
To accept credit card payments through your online shop you will need to setup an account with a payment processing company. Our system supports the following payment gateway services:
WorldPay - http://www.worldpay.com/
PayPal - http://www.paypal.com/
ProtX - http://www.protx.com/
NoCHEX - http://www.nochex.com/
SecPay - http://www.secpay.com/
A PayPal account is free to set up with no annual fees you only pay a percentage commission on every purchase made from your site. Once you have signed up you will need to upgrade your account to either Premier or Business level to begin accepting payments.
Regular fees are 3.4% of the total charged plus a one-off £0.20 GBP per transaction. A sliding scale is in place for merchants and eligibility for these rates is determined based on sales volume from the previous calendar month.
If you wish to sign up please follow this link to sign-up for an account now - https://www.paypal.com/uk/mrb/pal=5L9KMHCNZJ984
WorldPay are the more expensive option, but usually preferred by sites wishing to create a more professional impression. WorldPay can be far better integrated with your website, allowing you to customise the payment pages to match the colours of your site and allowing your customers to complete their purchase more quickly and seamlessly.
Pricing is based on your merchant profile, and may vary depending on the risk sector you operate in and your trading history and background. As an indication, charges are likely to include a one-off set-up fee, a recurring annual charge and charges for processing UK debit card transactions which are made on a “pence per transaction” basis. All other card transactions are charged at an agreed percentage for each online transaction amount.
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How Do I Build An Online Shop?
Our online shop service simplifies all aspects of creating and maintaining a shop on the web. We have written an article called "How To Build An Online Shop" which takes your through all aspects of our system.
This can be found on the homepage after you login to your account, under "Useful Information".
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How Do I Make Online Forms And Surveys?
If you would like to create a form to place on one of the pages of your site, such as a survey, a registration form or a booking form for example, then you can do this with our "Custom Forms" facility.
Login to your account and you will find this feature by clicking the "Add/Edit/Delete Forms" link on the left hand side of your "Site Content" screen.
Once you have created your form(s) they can be inserted on to a page using the page editor, where you will find an "Insert Forms" button on the top row of the toolbar. Remember, you can find out what any of the buttons in the page editor do by holding your mouse over the button and reading the information that pops up in a yellow box to the left of your screen.
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How Will People Find My Site?
Unfortunately getting listed on the search engines can be quite a slow process, taking a few weeks to get on to some of the major search engines. You will need to submit your website address (URL) to the search engines using pages like these:
http://www.google.co.uk/addurl.html
http://search.msn.co.uk/docs/submit.aspx
http://uk.search.yahoo.com/freesubmit/submit
Once you are on a few search engines others may also slowly start to find you. Search engines calculate the relevance of a site, and thus how high it will appear in their search results, using a number of factors. One of these is the number of relevant sites that link to yours so try and set up as many link exchanges with other relevant sites as you can or find any relevant sites, such as directories, that accept link submissions.
We offer an article on our site called "How To Promote Your Website" which can be found at the bottom left of the homepage, after you login to your account, under "useful information". This covers the basics of getting people to visit your website.
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How Do I Cancel My Free Trial?
We are sorry to hear that you do not wish to use our services at this time. If there is anything in particular that you feel we do not offer or that you were not sure how to do with our system then please let us know and we will do whatever we can to help.
If you have just changed your mind about wanting to create a website then you do not need to do anything as your Free Trial will expire automatically, with nothing to pay, after the 30 days have passed.
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My Trial Expired. Can I Extend It?
If you have not had enough time to properly evaluate all the features of our powerful service during your trial period then you can extend your free trial by going to the following page and entering your username and password:
http://www.doyourownsite.co.uk/extend.phtml
Please note that this only works AFTER your account has expired. If you are still within your 30 day trial period then you will receive these instructions again in the notification email that your trial has expired.
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Something isn't working, what should I do?
If you are having a problem with any part of the DoYourOwnSite! system or something is not working as you expect it to then please read carefully through our "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) before you email us, as your question may have already been answered.
You may also find that some of the "Useful Information" articles, found on the homepage after you login to your site administration area, may be relevant to your query.
If you cannot find a solution to your problem in these places then, in order for us to resolve your problem as quickly and efficiently as possible, please be sure to follow these guidelines when emailing us:
1. Please be as detailed as you can about the problem you are having. We sometimes receive emails from customers that simply state something is "not working!" from which it is impossible to diagnose the problem without requesting further information.
2. Information that may be useful to us in diagnosing your problem may include things such as:
- What steps were taken, buttons pressed, etc, that led to the problem occurring?
- Whether a problem effects all pages of your site or just specific ones, and if so which ones?
- Does the problem occur consistently or only intermittently?
- When did the problem start?
These are only examples, so please give us any information that you think might be relevant to your enquiry.
3. If you are receiving an error message of any kind then please include the exact message in your email
4. If you have a DoYourOwnSite! account then please login and use the "Contact Us" option in your site administration area rather than the contact us page on our main website.
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There's An Error Message! What Should I Do?
Many error messages will include information to help you resolve whatever the problem is yourself, but occasionally due to various factors an "unfriendly" error message can appear.
If the problem persists after a few attempts then please contact us. Be sure to tell us the exact error message that you are receiving and give us as much information as you can about what you did that made the error message appear.
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What Are Metatags?
Metatags are used by the search engines to help rate the "relevance" of a site to whatever a user is searching for. The two important types of metatag are Description and Keywords.
For the keywords field you need to put yourself "in the shoes" of the people you think will be looking for your site. What will they type into a search engine when they want to find you? Create a list of about twenty words and/or phrases, separated by commas, to put in the metatag keywords field.
The description field is used by some search engines as a brief summary of your site that is shown to users. Try to write one or two sentences that accurately describe your site and your business. If possible, try to include a few of your most important words and phrases from the keywords field.
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What browsers and operating systems will DoYourOwnSite! work with?
The DoYourOwnSite! system can now be used with a variety of operating systems. As well as "Internet Explorer" on Microsoft Windows the editor can also be used with the "Mozilla Firefox" browser on Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems. Other less popular web browsers such as "Opera" and Mac OS's "Safari" are NOT currently supported.
Full documentation on the editor can be found in our article "Using The DoYourOwnSite! Editor" under "Useful Information" on the home page of your site administration area.
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What Does It Cost?
What Does It Cost?
Our service is available from £5+vat a month for a basic account. Details of the different accounts we offer, along with their features and prices, can be found on our "What It Costs" page at http://www.doyourownsite.co.uk/pricing.phtml
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What Does Your Service Offer?
DoYourOwnSite! enables you to produce and maintain a professional looking website, without any knowledge of the complex languages and skills usually required.
There are no hidden extras, no set-up charges, no additional "hosting" fees, no new software or hardware to buy and no expensive web design bills every time you want to update your site! For more detailed information on our service please visit our "What We Offer" page at http://www.doyourownsite.co.uk/what.phtml
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What is a domain name?
A domain name is a unique name used to reference a website on the internet. For example DoYourOwnSite! uses the domain name www.doyourownsite.co.uk
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What Payment Methods Do You Accept?
We accept all major debit and credit cards, including UK debit cards such as Delta, Switch, Solo and VISA Electron.
When you are ready to subscribe, log in to your account and click the "Subscribe Now" button. This takes you through the subscription process and allows you to choose to pay either monthly or receive a discount for paying yearly.
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Can You Choose A Suitable Domain Name For Me?
What Should My Domain Name Be?
Your domain name is something that you need to think about carefully and choose yourself as only you know what will best reflect the nature of your business. There are two routes you can go down when choosing a domain name.
1. Company name. Most commonly people just register their exact company name as their domain name. This is a good approach if you think people will be searching for you by name or if you have existing customers that will be looking for your website.
2. Nature Of Business. An alternative is to go for a domain name that does not include your company name but instead reflects what you do or the services you offer. For example: A gardener called John Smith might register johnsmith.co.uk as his domain name. Alternatively he could register something like landscape-gardening-services.co.uk. The latter includes keywords about what he does and could help improve his ranking for those keywords on the search engines.
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Why Should I Optimize My Images?
It is vitally important that any images to be used on a website are properly optimized. This is basically making the image file as small as possible without any noticable loss of quality. This makes the pages of your site download faster and provides a better, quicker, experience for your users.
We provide an article on using images on your site that can be found at the bottom left of the homepage, after you login to your account, under "Useful Information".
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Will I ever be charged while on my free trial?
We never ask for any credit card details until our customers are ready to end their free trial period and "Publish To Web" by going through the subscription process.
This process clearly states that subscribing will end your free trial along with how much and when you will be charged.
You will be asked to choose a domain name if required, select the account level to subscribe to and then select whether to pay monthly or annually before being taken to our payment page to enter your credit card details.
You will also receive emails from our Payment Processing partner, WorldPay, confirming your initial payment and the setup of your monthly payment agreement.
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Will you build my site for me?
DoYourOwnSite! currently offers an additional design service to include a range of packages to suit your needs, from putting together the basics of your website, to an exclusive one-off custom design.
For more information about our design service please click on the link below:
http://www.doyourownsite.co.uk/design-services.phtml
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