Tips & Info

• August 2015 Website Builder Webinar

  Interested in building a kick ass website? We're here to help, register now! Tune in to our webinar on August 12, 2015 at 8:00 PDT for an informative presentation of how you can build the website you've always wanted using Dynadot's Website Builder! The main focus of this webinar will be to show YOU how to craft a customized personal or business website. We will go over our platform and various website building tools, giving you the knowledge you need to build your website. We will be posting more information about how to register and participate in our webinar right here as we gather more information. Register here, or email us at [email protected] in order to ensure your place in our webinar. Originally posted by Samantha Banks on Tuesday, June 30th. This article will be updated as more information is provided.      Tweet

• Wisdom Wednesday: What is SSL?

  What exactly is SSL? SSL facilitates e-commerce by encrypting communication between your customer's browser and your server which increases the confidence in the security of your website. In basic terms, SSL Certificates let your customers know their information is lock tight with top level verification and security! A user can tell if they are connected to a secure website if the website URL begins with https:// instead of http://. More About AlphaSSL AlphaSSL activates the essential SSL secure padlock in all popular browsers and mobile devices - letting customers know they have a secure connection from their browser to your server. AlphaSSL is owned by GlobalSign, the second oldest Certificate Authority (CA) next to Symantec. AlphaSSL certificates are recognized by 99% of all web browsers. Also, a single SSL Certificate will secure both www.yourdomain.com and yourdomain.com versions of your website - meaning there's no need for two Certificates. The easy installation process, speedy delivery, and affordable one year pricing of just $16.99 makes every connection a secure option for your domain. There are plenty of reasons why AlphaSSL benefits e-commerce domains, but here's a list to name a few: 99% Browser Recognition Supports PSP, Palm, and many more! 2048 bit chained root certificate 256 bit Encryption Level Less than one day issuance speed $1,000 Warranty Want more wisdom so you can impress your friends? Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we'll be posting wisdom every Wednesday with the hashtag #WisdomWednesday Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2014 by Kathleen Borg      Tweet

• Wisdom Wednesday: Learn about Basic Hosting!

  For just $1 a month you can enjoy all the benefits of our Basic Web Hosting package! Static websites- or websites that display the same information for each visitor and whose content is occasionally updated- are generally the ideal candidates for our Basic Web Hosting package. Your package includes plenty of bandwidth, starting at 3GB, 10GB, all the way up to 30GB. And let's not forget about disk space, starting at 30MB, 100MB, or up to 300MB, you've got plenty of room to get your website started. Each Basic Web Hosting account comes with unlimited email accounts for your domain, so you can send and receive emails with an address such as [email protected] Here at Dynadot we use POP (Post Office Protocol) and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) support, so you can choose to check your email from your browser or you can set it up with an email client. If you are planning to set up your basic hosting email to work with your Gmail account, we have specific instructions on how to do so in our help files. We've got more information on how to create and set up your email account using our Basic Web Hosting services on our blog as well! Basic Web Hosting includes: 3GB Bandwidth 30MB Storage Dynadot Control Panel Hosting for 1 Domain www. subdomain Subdirectories Unlimited Email Accounts 1 FTP Account Site Statistics Reliable uptime Customer support 7 days a week Want more wisdom so you can impress your friends? Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we'll be posting wisdom every Wednesday with the hashtag #WisdomWednesday Posted Wednesday, February 19, 2014 by Kathleen Borg      Tweet

• Wisdom Wednesday: Grace Period Deletions, Because We All Make Mistakes

  Changed your mind about the domain name that you just registered? No worries- you can "return" it! Our Grace Deletion period allows you to try out a domain before deciding to keep it. Most times people do this in order to test domain traffic. If for any reason you are unsatisfied with your new domain simply submit a grace period deletion request and we'll credit the amount back into your account after the deletion fee is taken out. So feel try to try before you buy, and return the domains that just aren't working out! The amount of time given to return a domain depends on the domain extension and whether or not the extension has reached its maximum deletion rate. Some domains have a limited grace deletion rate that is regulated by ICANN and the central registries. For a complete list of grace period times, deletion fees, and current deletion rates please see our Grace Deletion chart. To submit a Grace Period Deletion Request, please follow these steps: Log into your Dynadot account. Select "New Domains" from the "Domains" drop-down menu. Click the checkboxes next to every domain you wish to delete within the grace period. Click on the "Request Delete for Credit" button to submit your grace period deletion request. Want more wisdom so you can impress your friends? Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we'll be posting wisdom every Wednesday with the hashtag #WisdomWednesday Posted Wednesday, February 12, 2014 by Kathleen Borg      Tweet

• Hilarious Holidays: Have a Terrible Opposite Day!

  Here's Why You Shouldn't Own a Domain in Honor of National Opposite Day If you're a small business owner, you don't want to own a domain. Owning a domain and hosting a website on it means customers will be able to find your business online 24/7. They'll be able to easily find your store's location, so they can come bother you during your daily working hours. Worse, they'll be able to reach your business during all hours of the day and night, likely keeping you from getting the precious sleep you need (think of all those annoying dings you'll hear as your email inbox is flooded). A website will open your business up to new customers that you'll have to spend time building a relationship with - and after you've already spent so much time building relationships with your current customers, I'm sure it will be exhausting. Plus, a website doesn't limit you to local customers only, which means you'll probably start to get strange outsiders interested in your website - probably from awful places like California ;). All this additional interest in your business could result in an increase in workload and the need to spend time hiring additional employees and growing your business. Seriously, who wants that? As you can see, owing a domain can bring lots of headaches such as more sales, more products, more customers, and worst of all, more money...because isn't money the root of all evil? Image is of Tardar Sauce, also know as "Grumpy Cat" Want more fun, crazy, and hilarious holidays? Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we'll be posting often with the hashtag #HilariousHolidays Posted January 25, 2014 by Robyn Norgan      Tweet

• Hilarious Holidays: National Handwriting Day

  I hope you've got your writing utensils ready because today is National Handwriting Day! We celebrate today's very special holiday every year on January 23rd in conjunction with John Hancock’s birthday who was often remembered for his iconic signature on the Declaration of Independence. Let's commemorate the holiday with a look at how handwriting has evolved- and, some would say, declined- over the centuries. During the United States's€™ infancy, professional penmen were responsible for copying official documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Nowadays, information is mainly documented and transferred back and forth through keyboards and computer monitors which explains why the use of handwriting has declined over the past few years. Although some may argue that technology has allowed for more time efficient means of communication, it does have it set backs. When comparing an e-mail and written letter, there's no arguing which of the two delivers a more personal message. I think we can all agree that a hand written letter requires a lot more time and effort and not to mention it costs more in the long run. But the simple fact that someone took time out of their day to sit down and write to you is a very lovely gesture that doesn't go unnoticed (or end up in your spam folder). So step away from your keyboard, and put pen to paper for old times sake! It's the perfect day to get in touch with your creative skills and achieve the penmanship you've always wanted- or at least attempt to improve it. Whether it's through a handwritten note, poem, letter or journal entry- the lost art or handwriting is one of the many ways we can uniquely express ourselves. Personalize Your Computer Font: If you're still a little skeptical about getting back into the rhythm of handwriting, myscriptfont.com let's you digitally produce documents with a personal touch again. All you need to do is fill out the template by hand and upload to your computer. This program is not only free, but it enables you to use your own handwriting as a font instead of every other generic writing style installed on your computer, so why not give it a shot! Want more fun, crazy, and hilarious holidays? Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we'll be posting often with the hashtag #HilariousHolidays Posted January 23, 2014 by Kathleen Borg      Tweet

• Hilarious Holidays: Thesaurus Day

  Happy Thesaurus Day! Today we celebrate the birth of Peter Roget, the author of the very first thesaurus, who was born January 18th, 1779. As many of us may know, a thesaurus is used to reference synonyms (words with similar meaning) and in some cases antonyms (words with opposite meanings) are given as well. The wordthesaurus has been derived from the latinisation of the Greek thēsauros, which literally means "treasure store". Generally speaking it represents a collection of things which are of big importance or value. Given a thesaurus, writers can prevent themselves from spoiling their literary art by avoiding repetition of a particular word or phrase over and over again. We now have the ability to easily alter our word choice without damaging our targeted message. Did you know you can use a thesaurus to help you find your perfect domain? Having celebrated National Dress Your Pet Up Day just a few days ago, I began to notice a huge pet outfit craze that's spreading across the globe - so why not invest in a pet friendly domain to showcase all your doggy divas! The first catchy name I could think of, PetPrints.com, was taken. So to come up a clever domain that wasn't already taken, I used my thesaurus of course! That's when it hit me, PawsandClawsApparel.com! Surprisingly it's still available for you to purchase! This is just one example of how a thesaurus can suggest the right words for your domain. Don't be afraid to play around with words - remember you want something creative, but not fancy. We all know shopping for a new domain can be a difficult task if the name you had in mind is already taken. However, a thesaurus could be the perfect tool to help you find words that are similar in meaning and available to register! Want more fun, crazy, and hilarious holidays? Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we'll be posting often with the hashtag #HilariousHolidays Posted January 18, 2014 by Kathleen Borg      Tweet

• Meme Monday: Don't Live Dangerously When It Comes to the Spelling of Your Domain!

  If you spend any amount of time on the Internet, you may have noticed that spelling and grammar mistakes run rampant. In fact, a school in Brazil used this to their advantage to teach students proper English by challenging them to play grammar cop to their favorite celebrities on Twitter. I think this is a great idea and more schools should do this. Maybe it will even get people to start using better spelling, grammar, and punctuation online! Personally, I still try to use proper spelling (no u, it's you), punctuation (commas save lives people, "let's eat grandma" needs a comma otherwise you're a cannibal!), and even capitalization (I not i, seriously this is a pet peeve of mine) as much as possible even on Twitter and when I text. Although I think everyone should always strive to do this in all of their writing, there is one place where it is especially important - your domain name. Now, you can't use punctuation or capitalization, so don't worry about that, but proper spelling is very important. When it comes to domains, you want to register something that is short, memorable, and easy to spell. This doesn't necessarily mean it's spelled correctly - flickr is a good example of this - but it does mean that you should pay attention and make sure you're registering the right spelling that you want before hitting submit. If you do want to go with a unique spelling, you should consider how this will affect your customer's ability to find your website. Is your unique spelling too complicated for customers to remember? You don't want to be losing out on tons of traffic going to the correctly spelled version of your domain name. Even if your domain isn't spelled wrong, you should also consider how customers might spell it wrong and potentially register your domain name in those possible spellings. For example, we also own dinadot.com and even dinodot.com. No matter what type of spelling you decide is best for your domain, again make sure it is the right spelling that you want before hitting submit. We have had customers who have contacted us after placing their order only to realize they registered jerrysrestarant.com instead of jerrysrestaurant.com. This is an easy mistake to make as we have all gotten used to autocorrect helping us along. Plus, if you've typed in several domain options, you may just not have noticed that one letter that's missing. And I'm sure many of you have seen a paragraph of words where only the first and last letter are in the correct place, yet most of us can still read the whole paragraph with minimal effort: fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. All I'm saying is when it comes to registering your domain, double and even triple check your spelling before submitting your order. Get a second set of eyes to look at it, copy and paste it into Google (you may need to add in the spaces), or even go old school and use a dictionary to check your spelling. Although we do offer domain grace deletion for several of our domain extensions, this is not something you should count on to "return" your domain due to a spelling error. In many cases, there will be a fee, plus there is no guarantee you'll be able to grace delete the domain since it is limited. Want more memes? Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we'll be posting every Monday with the hashtag #MemeMonday Posted Monday, February 24, 2014 by Robyn Norgan      Tweet

• Hilarious Holidays: Cable Car Day

  Cable Car Day is celebrated today because it was on January 17, 1871 that Andrew Smith Hallidie patented the first cable car. He got the idea while watching some horses struggle to pull a streetcar up one of San Francisco's famously steep hills. Eventually the horses slipped and were unfortunately dragged to their deaths right in front of him. After this Hallidie started Clay Street Hill Railway, the first cable car company. The company used his father's wire rope invention to pull streetcars up Clay Street and after its public debut on September 1, 1873 it was a big success. Although there used to be many cable car lines running all over the city of San Francisco, today there are just three cable car lines: the Powell-Hyde Line, the Powell-Mason Line, and the California Street Line. Riding a cable car when you visit San Francisco is a fun way to experience the city. Yes, it's touristy, but hey if you're visiting the city, then you are a tourist! There is also a Cable Car Museum that you can check out, which houses a collection of historic cable cars. Since our headquarters is located just south of San Francisco and I grew up just east of the city, I wanted to share a few tips for anyone planning to visit our fine city: 1. Check the weather & pack layers You may have heard the quote, "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Many attribute this quote to Mark Twain, but whether or not he said this, the quote is something to consider. Although whoever said this quote obviously wasn't a part of the recent polar vortex gripping the rest of the US this winter, San Francisco's summers can be very cool. In fact, while the rest of the US was reeling from high temperatures over this past summer, San Francisco was one of the coldest places in the mainland US. You can always tell the tourists during the summer because they're wearing brand new San Francisco sweatshirts. I should also mention that the surrounding area's weather can be vastly different from that of the city. Both in San Francisco itself and in the surrounding Bay Area, we have what are called microclimates, which means that if you're planning to also visit the Napa Valley for some wine, you will need those summer clothes! 2. Watch out for big events It seems like San Francisco always has big events going on. Many of these events can completely bog down the city and make hotel prices skyrocket. If you're planning a trip, try and check out the city's events calendar first. The city is already expensive, but there's no reason to pay more because of an event you aren't even attending. One good place to find upcoming events in the city is SanFrancisco.travel. 3. Plan ahead if you want to visit Alcatraz Alcatraz Island is one of San Francisco's biggest attractions - and for good reason - it's a really cool place to see. No matter when you're planning to visit the city, I recommend getting your tickets in advance. I tried to go on a random Monday in April once and it was already sold out for the day. This wasn't a big deal for me since I'm local, but if this is your one trip to San Francisco and Alcatraz is on your must-see list, plan ahead and get your tickets well in advance. Want more fun, crazy, and hilarious holidays? Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where we'll be posting often with the hashtag #HilariousHolidays Posted January 17, 2014 by Robyn Norgan      Tweet

• 2014's New TLDs & Release Dates

  Many of these new TLDs are available for preorder! Preorder now! Here it is everyone! For those of you who have been patiently awaiting more information regarding the new TLDs and their release dates, we've got all the info you need in this amazingly lengthy timeline. As you can see, we've got quite a long list of TLDs to remember, so set yourself up for domain success and mark your calendars with the TLD release dates you're most looking forward to! Don't see the TLD for you? Check out our full list of TLDs! Want to see what's launching in 2015? Check out our 2015 new TLD launch timeline and find the right TLD for you! Want more info on new TLDs? Check back with us right here and don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+! Originally posted Monday, March 10, 2014 by Kathleen Borg - The TLD timeline is updated as we are given new dates or as dates change.      Tweet

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