Getting Started
How can I get a Free Trial?
I've got a Free Trial - how can I pay for
a subscription, and keep the Free Trial site I've created?
Building Your Website
If I have a problem building my site,
how can I get help?
I've forgotten my password!
How do I build my website?
When can my site be viewed?
Are there any limits to the
number of changes I can make to my site?
Can I add advertising
banners to my website?
Is it possible to
choose different fonts and alter text layout?
Is it possible to get more
space?
What definition do you recommend
for images and how many can I have?
How can I change the size of images?
How do I put a link to an e-mail
address on my site?
Can I add a traffic counter or a
guestbook to my site?
Won't my site look similar to other
people's?
What is web hosting?
Why do you create a text-only version of
my website?
What type of content am I not allowed
to put on my website?
Selling Products or Services on Your Website
How can I sell products or services on my website?
How do I change my payment button?
When should I use a 'Buy Now' payment button,
when should I use a 'Shopping Cart' payment button?
Am I automatically signed up to PayPal?
Do I have to use an email address which matches my domain?
I have an old PayPal button which I put in my site using HTML code. Can I edit it using the new system?
Does 2-Minute-Website take any commission or fees out of the payment made with the PayPal button?
Do my customers have to open a PayPal account?
Why PayPal rather than some other payment method?
Can I use a payment button from a different company?
Search Engines
What is a search
engine?
Which search engines
will my site appear on?
How can I get more visitors from
search engines?
Domain Names
What is a domain name?
How long before
my domain name starts working?
Once I have purchased a domain
name with you, is it mine to take with me?
I know what domain name I want.
Should I buy it from another company, before buying my site from 2-Minute-Website.com?
How do I transfer
a domain name from another company to 2-Minute-Website.com?
How do I transfer
a domain name from 2-Minute-Website.com to another company?
Do you sell .uk names?
Payment Questions
I'm not in the UK - can I use
your service?
I am a UK business customer - can I reclaim
VAT?
I am in the US. Do you have a lot of
clients who sign up with you from here?
What credit and debit cards
do you accept?
Will my credit card
number be safe?
Can I buy without a credit
card?
Are there any hidden catches to
the free trial?
Are there any other costs after
I have paid for the year? What will the cost be after that?
I'm an existing customer
of 2-Minute-Website, and I've received an renewal invoice from someone else! Should
I pay it?
General Questions
What if I have
a complaint?
I'm a big fan of your service! What can I do to
help?
Is your company well-established? How can
I contact you?
Getting started
How can I get a Free Trial?
Simply go to 2-Minute-Website.com and click on 'Get a Free Trial', or
click here
to go direct to the Free Trial. You don't need to give your
credit card details for the free trial.
I've got a Free Trial - how can
I pay for a subscription, and keep the Free Trial site I've created?
Go to 'Manage Website' or 'Edit this page', and click on 'Get a full
subscription' (at the top of the page). Once you've paid, your Free Trial site
will be upgraded to a full subscription.
Building Your Website
If I have a problem
building my site, how can I get help?
If there's anything you need to ask, we're more than happy to help. We provide
technical support every day except weekends and public holidays and do our best
to reply within one working day. Our email address is customer.service@2-minute-website.com.
To ensure a speedy reply, please remember always to include your username when
you email us.
I've
forgotten my password!
Just go to our forgotten
password page to retrieve it.
How do I build my website?
It's easy - you don't need to know anything about web design. Just type into a
box on one of our web pages. See for yourself with our free
trial.
When can my site be viewed?
Your free trial website will be hosted and can be viewed over the Internet. If
you go to the editing desk on your site and press 'Public View' on the lefthand
menu, the web address you see at the top of your browser can be used to call up
the page.
Are there any limits
to the number of changes I can make to my site?
You can make as many changes to your site as you like, at no extra charge.
Can I add advertising
banners to my website?
Yes, you can add banners or anything else you like.
Is it possible
to choose different fonts and alter text layout?
You can change the design used on your site by clicking 'Manage Website', then
'Change Design'. For text layout, when you're editing your page and press Add
Paragraph, you'll see you can choose to align your text on the Left, Center or
Right.
Is it possible to get more
space?
We can't increase the number of pages beyond 255, but we can increase the disc
space available for a specific site. The cost depends on how much space is required,
contact customer.service@2-minute-website.com
for more details.
What definition do you
recommend for images and how many can I have?
72 dpi (Dots Per Inch), and you can have as many images as you like within your
space limits of 25Mb of disc space, and 255 pages. So the maximum number you can
have depends on how big they are.
How can I change
the size of images?
When building your site, you will find that logos are automatically made smaller
to fit the allotted space, while other pictures need to be resized to the size
you want them. You can do this by clicking on 'Resize' next to the image. Then
choose the new size you want the image to be.
How do I put a link to an e-mail
address on my site?
Go to your editing desk and click on ‘Add Web Link’. In the first
box, under 'What website do you want to link to?', you should put ‘mailto:’
followed by the e-mail address (e.g. "mailto:me@example.net"). In the
2nd box, under 'Describe your link' you put your text. This can be anything you
like - the email address, or something like ‘Click here to send me an email’.
Can I add a traffic counter or
a guestbook to my site?
You're welcome to link your site to guestbook, and there are plenty of
free ones to be found with a Google search for free
guestbook. All you need to do is go to the appropriate site and sign up. You'll
be given some HTML code which you can paste into an Add Paragraph box on your
website.
You don't need a traffic counter, as our service includes web statistics, which allow you to see how many visits each of your pages has received. Simply go to 'Manage Website' and click on 'View Usage Statistics' on the left.
Won't my site look similar to
other people's?
We'll be honest: yes, it will. But some web designers use standard templates to
create websites for their customers (without telling the customers), so this might
happen anyway. Still, there are 35 million websites on the Internet, so it's quite
unlikely that a potential customer will recognise the look of your site. And of
course, your site will contain your own unique text and images.
Our view is that, for many types of business, it's not necessary to have a totally unique website. You'd never consider having a car handmade to be totally unique - a standard web design product means that our price is a lot lower.
But if you'd like a particular change made to your web site design - perhaps a different colour to match your company logo - then contact us and we'll do our best to accomodate you. Equally, if you feel our service isn't suitable for your requirements, and you'd like to have your site handmade, then we'd be happy to recommend someone - we know the industry quite well.
What is web hosting?
Your website will be kept on a computer which is permanently connected to the
Internet. We have use web servers based in over 18 locations worldwide, with
very fast Internet connections - so your site will be quick.
Why do you create a text-only
version of my website?
Blind people can use the Internet, but many websites are hard for them to use.
Your text-only website will be updated as you change your main site; it's entirely
automatic. Providing a text-only version of your site ensures it complies with
relevant legislation on disabled access (an important consideration for UK-based
companies) as well as being plain good sense.
What type of content am I not allowed
to put on my website?
We have an Acceptable Use Policy, which forbids any illegal content, and certain
other activities such as adult services. See our Service
Agreement for full details.
Selling Products or Services on Your Website
How can I sell
products or services on my website?
In your site's Editing Desk, click on 'Add Payment Button'. Enter your email address, describe the product
and enter the amount of money you want to charge for it. Then click continue.
How do I change my payment button?
On the editing desk, click on the 'edit' symbol next to the payment button.
When should I use a 'Buy Now' payment button,
when should I use a 'Shopping Cart' payment button?
If your customer is likely to only buy one item from you, then use 'Buy Now'. If they're likely to buy a bunch of
items from you, use 'Shopping Cart'. If you're not sure then use 'Buy Now' as it's simpler for your customers.
Am I automatically signed up to PayPal?
No, but you can sign up with them when you receive your first payment.
Do I have to use an email address which matches my domain?
No, you can use any email address you want.
I have an old PayPal button which I put in my site using HTML code. Can I edit it using the new system?
No, you'd need to delete it and replace it with the new 'Add Payment Button' type.
Does 2-Minute-Website take any commission or fees out of the payment made with the PayPal button?
No, although PayPal takes a small fee (details on their website).
Do my customers have to open a PayPal account?
No, they can pay with their credit/debit card without opening a PayPal account.
Why PayPal rather than some other payment method?
It's what lots of our customers have been asking for.
Can I use a payment button from a different company?
Sure! Get them to send you the HTML code, then go to 'Add Paragraph' and click on the 'HTML' button. Paste
your HTML code in there, and click on 'update'.
Search Engines
What is a search
engine?
The Internet doesn't have a phone book; instead it has search engines. People
type in the subject they're looking for, and get a list of websites. We'll enter
your website in the major search engines, so new visitors will find you. Your
web pages also include features to get you up the listings.
For more information about search engines, see our article All About Search Engines.
Which search engines
will my site appear on?
Google, AOL Search, Yahoo! Search, Netscape Search, Open Directory, HotBot, Altavista,
and the other important search engines. It will take a few
months before your site appears in the listings, and while we promise to do our
best, we can’t guarantee inclusion on any particular search engine.
Some of our customers have received emails offering inclusion in hundreds of thousands
of search engines - this is simply a con. The top seven search engines have a
massive 94% of the market (Source:
SearchUtilities), and only the top twenty matter at all. We don't recommend
that you hire anyone who promises to submit your site to thousands of search engines
- more isn't better!
For more information about search engines, see our article All About Search Engines.
How can I get more visitors
from search engines?
To get more visitors, you want your site to appear high up in the search engine
listings, when people search for a relevant keyword.
The first thing you need to do is place relevant keywords in the titles of your pages (words you think people might type into the search engine when looking for a site like yours). This means you should include descriptive keywords in the title of each page. For example, imagine that your site is about a holiday cottage in Scotland called 'Fernlands'. It would be a bad idea to give your home page the title 'Fernlands', because few people would be likely to search for it. A better title would be 'Holiday Cottage in Scotland: Fernlands', because that would appear on searches for 'holiday cottage' and 'Scotland'. If you want to get visitors from other countries, you should think about international differences in language. A visitor from the USA is more likely to search for 'vacation rental' than 'holiday cottage', so a good title for our Fernlands site would be 'Holiday Cottage (Vacation Rental) in Scotland: Fernlands'
You should also try and include keywords in the description of each page, and have lots of relevant text in the body of each page. Ideally you should write some articles relating to the subject of your site, because these will contain lots of relevant keywords, and bring in visitors searching for keywords you might not have thought of. Don't just repeat the keywords meaninglessly (e.g. ‘sausages sausages sausages’) as the search engines will penalise you for this.
Look out for related web sites and ask them to link to you - if you both link to each other then this will bring more visitors to both sites.
For more information about search engines, see our article All About Search Engines.
Domain Names
What is a domain
name?
It's your web address, like amazon.com or yahoo.com. Our price includes a free
name ending in .com, .org, or .net, and extra names are only £20 each. For
more information about domain names, see our article What
is a Domain Name?
How
long before my domain name starts working?
Once you register a domain name, it takes about three to five days to start working.
For more information about domain names, see our article What
is a Domain Name?
Once I have purchased
a domain name with you, is it mine to take with me?
Once you've bought it from us, you need to renew it if you want to keep it. Apart
from that, you can transfer it any time you want to and (unlike some competitors)
we won't charge you extra to do that (although we'll be very sorry to see you
go).
We register your domain name as belonging to you, so it's legally yours to do with as you wish. This is something to check if you're shopping around - some of our competitors register customer domain names to themselves, so the customer has no rights over them.
I
know what domain name I want. Should I buy it from another company, before buying
my site from 2-Minute-Website.com?
No! If you do that, we'll need to transfer the name to us. We can't do a transfer
until the name has been registered for at least 60 days (that's one of the rules
of the domain name system), and it'll be a hassle for you to sort out the transfer.
If you buy the name from another company, you'll also be making a needless payment
to them, as a domain name is already included in your 2-Minute-Website.com subscription.
How
do I transfer a domain name from another company to 2-Minute-Website.com?
This is called an 'incoming transfer'. You need to:
1) Contact the company holding the name for you. Ask them to 'unlock' the name,
and ask them what the 'admin contact' email address is. You need to be able to
receive emails on this address! If the address doesn't exist any more, or you
can't access it, you need to get them to change it to your current email address.
If your domain name ends in .org.uk or .co.uk, you also need to ask your current
company to change the 'IPS tag' to 'TUCOWS-CA' (they will know what this means!)
2) Buy a website from us, but without choosing a domain name.
You can do this by creating a free trial, then upgrading it to a full site, but
not picking a domain name. Your transaction details on the credit
card page should say 'with 0 domain name'.
3) Email us, tell us you've just bought a site, and you want to transfer in a
name to go with it. Tell us what your username is, and tell us what the domain
name is.
4) We'll start the transfer, and you should receive an email from your current
company asking you to confirm that you want the transfer to go ahead. Follow the
instructions in that email, and you'll be able to complete the transfer.
By the way, we can only transfer in names ending in .com, .org, .net, .co.uk or
.org.uk. You need to already be the owner of the name - you can't transfer a name
that belongs to someone else.
How
do I transfer a domain name from 2-Minute-Website.com to another company?
This is called an 'outgoing transfer'. You need to:
1) Contact us and ask us to check the name is unlocked (it should be unlocked
already unless you've asked us to lock it in the past). Ask us to check the 'admin
email address' too - it should be an email address you currently use.
2) Contact your new company and ask them to start the transfer. Then follow their
instructions to complete it.
Do
you sell .uk names?
Yes, we do. By the way, UK websites don't have to have names ending in uk: .com,
.org and .net are international, so there's no reason for a UK company not to
use them (we do!).
For more information about domain names, see our article What is a Domain Name?
Payment Questions
I'm not in the UK - can
I use your service?
Yes. We take payment in US dollars and Euros
as well as UK pounds. If you use a different currency, simply
choose one of the three above, and your credit card company will convert it from
your local currency.
I am a UK or EU business customer
- can I reclaim VAT?
Yes, you can reclaim VAT if you're in the UK or another EU country. From
1st March 2006 we charge VAT to customers within the European Union (this includes
the UK). You will receive a VAT receipt by email, once you've bought your site.
This receipt includes our VAT number.
I am in the US. Do you have a lot
of clients who sign up with you from here?
We have hundreds of US customers and we always welcome more!
What credit and debit cards
do you accept?
Visa, Mastercard, Switch, Delta, Eurocard, Solo and JCB.
Will my credit
card number be safe?
Yes, definitely! We use Worldpay Plc, one of
the world's leading companies for secure payment processing.
They are approved by the high street banks, and serve many major, multinational
companies. Here at 2-Minute-Website we do not at any time see your credit
card number - the transaction is conducted entirely through WorldPay.
Can I buy without a credit
card?
Yes you can, though other methods may take longer to clear - email customer.service@2-minute-website.com
for further details.
Are there any hidden catches
to the free trial?
Absolutely not. We don’t ask you to give any personal information or credit
card details. If you don’t want to, you don’t even have to give us
your e-mail address!
Are there any other costs
after I have paid for the year? What will the cost be after that?
There are no other costs. When your subscription expires, we will ask you to renew
at our current price.
I'm an existing customer
of 2-Minute-Website, and I've received an renewal invoice from someone else! Should
I pay it?
Some unscrupulous companies send out - through the post or by email - invoices
that look like requests for renewal of an existing service, but are actually attempts
to get new business. This is known as 'Fraudulent Invoicing', and is illegal in
the US and UK. Needless to say, you should throw away any such invoices - if you
pay them then not only will you have lost your money, but your website will stop
working too! (as the domain name will be transferred away from us). You don't
need to pay subscription or renewal fees to anyone but 2-Minute-Website Ltd.
General Questions
What if I have a complaint?
If you're unhappy with any aspect of our service, we urge you to contact us -
we take customer complaints very seriously indeed. Your first point of contact
is Customer Service: customer.service@2-minute-website.com.
If you're not happy with the response you receive, you can contact the Managing
Director, Andrew Ellam: andy.ellam@2-minute-website.com.
I'm a big fan of your service! What
can I do to help?
Well, we're delighted to hear it. Our low prices mean that we use very little
advertising; instead we depend on word-of-mouth to spread the news about 2-Minute-Website.
If you like our service, we'd be delighted if you'd tell your friends and business
contacts. If a number of people are interested in subscribing (perhaps from a
trade association or local business network), we can arrange a volume discount
for your group - contact us for further details.
You can write a review of 2-Minute-Website on the Web at Ciao or DooYoo, and we are always happy to provide information to the press for articles in trade magazines and other publications - email customer.service@2-minute-website.com.
Is your company well-established?
How can I contact you?
2-Minute-Website Ltd was established in 2002 to provide small businesses with
a straightforward, fairly priced way to publish information on the Web. Though
small enough to provide personal service to our small business customers, we are
also trusted by larger clients - our biggest is a UK blue-chip company
with turnover above £19bn. See About
Us for contact details.