Introducing Yola Pro

THANKS MONIQUE I HOPE SO. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

THANKS MONIQUE I HOPE SO. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

While $20 per year doesn't seem like much for one domain; multiply $20 X 20 domains for a year. While if I was making $200,000 a year, this wouldn't seem like a big deal; but while making $0 per year, $20 per domain X 20 domains is a big deal. And that wouldn't even include what I would have to spend putting domains on my Ning accounts. All I am saying is that I have been here from the start and the direction that Yola is headed into is the same patterns that all of the other builder sites use; the main thing I like about Yola is that it isn't like all the other sites and it is flexible. Take away the flexibility of being able to use off site registrars and Yola becomes just like every other builder site out there; more concerned with turning a profit than keeping a customer base. What I like about Yola is that they are unique, can't you find unique ways to turn a profit? Everybody has a Pro package now days; I plan to purchase a Pro account @ Widgetbox when I start to make a profit; or even turn a sale, but my company is struggling to get noticed, much less to offer a "Pro" package. Causing me to have to pay $20 per domain per year X 20, would kill my business and I would no longer be able to afford domains, meaning that I would have to try to turn a profit with subdomains; and we all know how well that works. That would more than double what I spend annually on my domains; which at this point would bankrupt my company. I am one of those unemployed statistics that got dumped by the corporations; I don't get paid to sit and play on forums all day & night and I have spent too much time here instead of working on my websites. Thank you, for trying to put my concerns to ease, but if you are willing to force me to have to register my domains for more money in order to use them on your website; when I have already paid for them once elsewhere, then I can not see where you have any concern for my needs as a customer. It seems that Yola is moving away from their philosophy and moving towards the bottom line. To leave me no other option than to register my domain with you and give up my trusted registrar that also handles other business needs that Yola doesn't provide, does not scream customer satisfaction. But then again, it may be that Yola is only looking for fly by night customers and doesn't want to build solid relationships with their clients. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

I meant to say that I have been working on this business for 2 years for free! I appreciate what you have to offer; but if you take away my free hosting and ability to use my registrar, then you kill my business because I can't afford to buy a server, nor is our only choices of rural internet services dependable enough to ensure even an 80% uptime guarantee. I am done with this topic now; I would rather be helping people than stressing my concerns; good luck with the Pro account, registration, and I wish you much success even as I am trying to help you achieve that success through my own success. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

I need to go finish downloading my websites, just in case my domains are invalid tomorrow. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

I too am a faithful customer here; but I am also a faithful customer to my registrar. When Yola started as Synthasite, they did not offer domain registration; which I did not mind because after a year of bad deals I found a great domain registrar that is constantly sending me special deals and offers through the mail as well as on their website. They treat me as a VIP even though I don't spend exuberant amounts of money there every year, and they offer business solutions that Yola does not nor can not offer. I actually paid less for 2nd & 3rd years than I did for the 1st year; and my price per domain decreases when I renew or purchase domains in bulk. No one in the industry can compete with my registrar, most of them use the same registrar and increase their registration price to profit from the registration. While I do not claim to be a Yola expert, I have been with the company since the beginning as Synthasite, when they were only out of Capetown and have been with them through the San Fransisco expansion. But I also work with many companies on the web; such as Widgetbox(exclusively), Ning, webs(formerly freewebs), GetSatisfaction, Disqus, OpenID, Google, Linkshare, Commission Junction, not to mention all of the OpenAPI social networks. I am a developer as well as a designer and publisher. I am also a published poet, and writer at such sites as Helium and Webook. I have a lot of experience in Open Source and have an account at Picnic as well and I am capable of utilizing their development tools also.

My cause for alarm was in Monique's statement, "Right now we do allow people to point domains purchased elsewhere to us for free, but the problem I have described above may force us to reconsider this. This concession is mainly intended for people who already have a domain when they join Yola, not for people who use our service and then go and buy their domains somewhere else after the fact."

I do not want to have to choose between my hosting partner and my registrar; as I stated before, I am developing a web company that designs websites, widgets, social networks, and much more; I am making plans to develop ways that not only compensate me, but my partners as well. Just as I am developing BLOGGLOB to be a source that utilizes the power of the Widgetbox viral installer; I plan to build websites exclusively on the Yola platform, and even register those domains through Yola, even though it would take money from my profit margin as I can not increase the registration price to absorb the cost, because it is a way for me to pay Yola back for all that they have offered for free. I also plan to offer free hosting to my clients; as that is only fair considering that I do not pay for hosting. I will only make money from the design, which doesn't leave me much room for profit with the hours that go into graphic design and implementation. This is why I have several projects going at once; niche marketing; just because my company is young, doesn't mean that I lack experience. I understand the cost that Yola is forced to absorb in offering what they do; and I also understand that while the premium templates are beautiful and original, many people would rather build a custom, one of a kind website (unless they are MLM marketer). I am only trying to be the voice of concern here and point out why people are opposed to the Pro features. I myself think that it is a good way to supplement the absorbed cost that Yola endures; but I think that perhaps it doesn't create enough incentive to purchase the Pro feature, which would cause Yola to either tighten restrictions to the site or create other ways to generate income that would affect the free hosting; and Synthasite promised that they would never charge for hosting. After all, hosting costs are the largest cost to a web company that does not own it's own servers; and one that owns it's own servers are absorbing costs of 24/7 runtime, maintenance, as well as paying for the amount of bandwidth from their ISP to keep the site running smooth and efficiently. I do not lack understanding; only voicing my concerns, which is what these forums are intended for, aren't they? ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

You can't be serious?? ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

I hear ya Boomer ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Spamola at its finest...

Interesting "MODIFICATION" of the YOLA logo on the index page... ;) ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Serious; yes, very! Price around; hosting fees are monthly anywhere else and the average per month price is between $5-$10 per month; compounded into a one time yearly charge to your credit card, or debit card. Hosting fees usually run into the hundreds annually; while Yola provides a free hosting platform. Look at other web builders on the web, even social; they all either want you to purchase your domain through them or pay a monthly fee to point your DNS; even web companies have to have revenue to survive. A good example of this is the failure of Pagii; as of October 30, Pagii will no longer be hosting it's web builder site; they depended on affiliate niche marketing for the survival of their business. Not enough people clicked the ads; they were there to build. I have been studying and working on web 2.0 technologies before it caused the SE to change how they crawl websites. I have been developing my PODS technique for almost 2 years and it is the most powerful personal web page I have seen in awhile. Not everyone has the time or knowledge to build their own website. The packages will be offered later this week, and whether the sponsors of these packages want to partner or not; these are the platforms I am offering; these are the best ranked and best companies on the web. Yola offers free hosting; and building tools that replaces expensive software; go see what webs charges for what they offer; and keep in mind that your domain registration there could go up in price after the first year, just as GoDaddy can, depending on the value of your domain. Apparently Yola has something to offer you; why else would you even be in the support forum here? You support the Wal Mart brand name every time you shop there, why shouldn't you support the company that allows your company to advertise with no ads of their own; only a small link on free accounts that you can remove for $10 a year and still have your free hosting. I think Yola is doing their best to find a balance between offering you the best web builder tools and free hosting and paying for you to use these free services; with over 300,000 people using the Yola brand for their web hosting needs; can run bills up with a quickness. Yola has been dedicated to providing FREE WEB HOSTING since it first started as Synthasite. To be able to have domain control on the same site as it is hosted on is quite a convenience, just try to find the same service that Yola offers anywhere else. Compare storage space you get at Yola with the space you get for free with webs. The fact you can not point your domain with webs and must register it with them for a fee; even a transfer fee, but can not transfer out of webs if not satisfied with their service. The same with Ning; you have to pay to point your domain bought elsewhere per MONTH, paid annually. No one else offers what Yola does, this is what makes the whole package Yola offers the best deal on the web! ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Ed-a-Torials @ Honey Bear Playhomes,

Thank you; took me about 5 minutes last night. Just a way for me to give back to free advertising for a company that does so much for me for free! ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

I personally cannot speak for Boomer or John but I find it rather rude, bad taste and just pain insulting that you in other posts try to cut down YOLA's fine service then do an about face and in the same breath sell your "Services" in a forum which is clearly not an advertising classifieds site...

I do believe that all three of our comments were related to your post in general as an ad placed here to drum up business for your site. This is not craigslist and I for one would prefer not to see it spammed up like crazy...

If you have something constructive, positive and a benefit to the community that shows something which can help others build and better their sites then to place your URL would be perfectly acceptable but if you or any other member out their (you guys know who you are) simply add posts or threads to try to benefit your site then I say please stop.

This topic of advertising on GS has come up countless times and at each occurrence it has been met with the same disdain and dislike by all members. Please let's keep it free from this type of advertising... ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Gabriel

My comment about your use of the YOLA logo was more of a backward attempt to say hey YOLA look at his modification of your trademarked logo and the fact that it was taken from a page that clearly states and I quote...

Badge do's and don'ts:

* The badges are for use only on your Yolasite and not for broad distribution or other non-Yola channels.
* Do not distort the badge, always maintain its original proportions.
* Do not alter the shape, configuration or proportions of the badge.
* Do not add text or graphics to the badge.

http://www.yola.com/community-badges....

You might think about finding one that you like and not altering it to suit your site my friend... ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Actually you can visit my conversation about just this thing which was answered by Monique and I quote;

Remove
Monique, (Official Rep), commented 1 day ago
Hi Gabriel. Thank you for clarifying this point. Here is a general guideline for people to follow: you should not use the name Yola to try to pass off your own site as being connected to Yola (such as in your site title or domain name). However, you are always welcome to link to us, provided it is clear that you are promoting the Yola brand and any advertising links back to www.yola.com. Once again, thank you for your support and we wish you the best of luck with your site!

You can visit this thread here

Apparently you did not click through the banner to see that it promotes Yola and even says so in the TM banner, notice that the TM is still present in the Logo and is connected to Yola. My company does not profit directly from or indirectly from the banner; the only one that profits from the banner is Yola. I only pointed out a vulnerability. I do have a lot to contribute to the community; and I will respect the wishes of the Official Reps, but I provided examples of how you can use Pro features of Yola and other businesses like Yola to benefit your business. Yola will let me know whether they disapprove of the free affiliate banner link.

these were acceptable examples:
http://forum.yola.com/yola/topics/rea...
Thank you kindly, however if I was really spamming, it would have been a simple linked .jpg...I am also working on a website to provide FREE links to FREE resources for web production that I have found, used and learned from to be able to write & read code, as well as development; because so many people have asked me to teach them to do what I do. Thank you, Emmy for your kind direction, I will adhere better.
and after looking at Yola's business model I provided a turn about on my opinion of the domain registration; as well as provided examples of how a person can use Yola's paid features to benefit your company indirectly ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

OK; now my company benefits from the link; as I am now a company affiliate and have replaced my custom banner with an affiliate banner. Thank you for pointing that out to me Ed-a-Torials @ Honey Bear Playhomes. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Link back aside it still is an infringement or alteration of a respected trademark which has implications in itself and I was pointing out that you might wish to rethink the editing of the logo as they have in the past had issue with others that did so. Yours may very well be innocent but it directly goes against the previously stated TOS.



I think that you are misinterpreting that which was stated by Monique as to the image you presented to her in that thread. It appears that you altered the image after you posted and that is the issue I see and not that you asked for permission and was granted it but used permission then changed it after.

Here is an alternate to editing the image. Become a Commission Junction affiliate and place a banner on your site which earns you money instead.

http://forum.yola.com/yola/topics/the... ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Hey that's great... Now you are good to go and on the up and up... Great job on the little change... I hope it pays off ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Apparently you missed my last post; I am now a Yola affiliate and have a link banner; CJ is one of my favorite affiliate companies, kind of like I can see the future, huh? LOL... Why are you so offended? Thanks for the advertising, though. Wouldn't it be funny if there were a feature or social network that ended up with that same logo; sponsored by Yola of course...gee, it sure is a cute logo, even if I do say so myself. Wouldn't it be cool to have a free feature that showcased your @Yola! built websites? A website that showcased the talent @Yola!, connected with a social network that would allow Yola designers and clients to get to know each other and add to the web 2.0 strength in the search engines; that type of improvement to Yola could move their ranking up into the top 100...so what do you think? ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Why not tell Yola that you would like to see greyeyesgabriel @Yola! idea implemented into the company...I don't see how anyone could not like the idea. ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

I have submitted this idea and transferred further discussion of it to a new thread; come read about an idea for a new feature Yola; The @Yola! Network, and let Yola as well as myself know what you think about it.

http://forum.yola.com/yola/topics/_yola

P.S. my opening link on my company website says Get Noticed... do you see me? ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

I'm confused. ^^ eyebrows raised and eyes rolling ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

Don't be confused diane, GetSatisfaction prefers that I use my real name; but I am better know in the virtual world as greyeyesgabriel, the link is kinda like where's waldo for the web... ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )

actually I was being sarcastic. (now I'm going to have to stop following this conversation again :)) ( Delete or Edit for 15 minutes )