Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Where do I send the information for my webpage?
A. WebSpawner is a complete webpage creation system, with easy-to-use interactive online tools. You need not send information to any address; rather, you create your own website using our simple step-by-step process. To get started click the "Create a Webpage" link found on our homepage.
Q. How do I change my webpage?
A. Go through the modification process by choosing "Modify" from the Members Menu. Follow the step-by-step instructions to make changes to your webpage. Complete the modification process by clicking "Continue" at the bottom of the form, then save your changes by clicking "I Like It" at the page preview.
You may modify your webpage as often as you like at NO charge. The modification process, as well as the creation process, is available 24 hours a day!
Q. If I provide my email address to WebSpawner, will I get unwanted "spam" emails?
A. No... WebSpawner dislikes "spam" messages very much, maybe even more than you do!
WebSpawner will send only occasional emails regarding the status of your webpage account and related services provided by WebSpawner (note that you may decline these at any time by adjusting the Options in your account). WebSpawner Customer Service will respond to any emailed requests for assistance which you may send. To ensure that you can receive assistance with your account, please be sure to provide a valid email address which you will check periodically.
Webspawner will NOT share, sell or rent your email address to other companies or individuals. WebSpawner also prohibits its members from using WebSpawner's services to send "spam" emails to others.
Q. How come you guys can give webpages away for free? What's the catch?
A. There is no catch, really. We give away free Basic pages with simple features in the hope that our customers will one day choose to Enhance their webpages for a nominal monthly fee, starting at $4.99. However, customers are under no obligation to do so.
Q. What does upgrading or Enhancing my account provide?
A. Enhancing your account for the minimal fee of $4.99 a month removes the advertising banners from your webpage, in addition to providing you with access to the following great Enhanced account features:
- Unlimited Web Page Creation
- Auto-linking of pages for easy site navigation
- Image Galleries with SlideShow Viewing
- Professional Quality Layouts
- Your Uploaded Images
- Background Images and Textures
- Web-based Email (You@WebSpawner.com)
- Free Domain Name Forwarding
- Guestbook
- Viewer Opinion Polls
- Live Access Counter
- Search Engine Interface
- Free For All Web Links
- Expert Mode for Advanced Modification
- Unlimited Customer Support
- 24 Hour Access to Your Account
These options make it very easy and very inexpensive to maintain a great multi-page site full of features suitable for personal or business use.
As an alternative to the $4.99 monthly payment option, we also offer a great 30% DISCOUNT for members who choose to pay once a year... for further information and pricing, see the "Enhance Your Site" link in the Members Menu!
Q. Can I use my own domain name with my webpage?
A. Yes. Register a domain of your choosing with a domain registrar, and WebSpawner can set up your WebSpawner webpage to work with your domain. There is NO additional charge for this service for Enhanced account members. WebSpawner can even recommend some registrars for you. For more information and assistance contact WebSpawner Customer Service through the "Customer Service" tab in the Members Menu.
Q. I don't use credit cards. Can I send you a personal check or money order?
A. Yes, WebSpawner does have a check or money order payment plan. A minimum of one year in advance payment is required in the amount of US $41.91. You can also include payment to have your page submitted to over 100 search engines and directories if you wish for an additional $39.95 (combined total of $81.86).
To pay by mail, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR ACCOUNT NAME IS CLEARLY MARKED ON YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER to assure proper credit, and send it to the following address:
Webspawner.com
P.O. Box 1225
West Plains, MO 65775
As soon as we receive and process your check/money order, we will enhance your page for you.
Q. Is it safe to provide WebSpawner with my credit card information online?
A. Yes, WebSpawner uses SSL ("Secure Socket Layer") connections to encrypt the billing information entered into the secure online order forms provided. Your card will only be billed for the services that you select on the order form.
Q. How do I find my webpage using search engines? (How do I register?)
A. If you wish, WebSpawner will submit your webpage to over 100 search engines, indexes and directories for a one-time fee of $39.95. Additional larger packages are available for even more exposure. You may submit your webpage to search engines yourself if you choose, but it is a lengthy process, especially if submitting to multiple search engines. WebSpawner makes this process quick and easy by rapidly taking care of the submissions for you.
After your webpage has been indexed by the search engines, it may be found by anyone searching for related keywords as it will be returned among the search result listings.
The length of time varies from one search engine to another in respect to how long it will take to include your listing. While some search engines may include a newly-submitted site very soon, others (especially the larger, more popular engines) may take as many as 6-8 weeks to review a submitted site and include it in its search listings.
Please note that the search engine submission service does not provide a guarantee that a specific search engine or directory will include your webpage in its listings. Each search engine is a separate business entity which retains ultimate authority as to which sites it will include in its listings as well as the position or ranking of search results.
For more information about search engines and website promotion, see the "Promote Your Site" tab in the Members Menu.
Q. What is the space limit?
A. The only space limit we provide is that of your images - image files should be no larger than 130k each. Of course, the less information on a page, the faster it will load. For users with large amounts of information, we suggest choosing an Enhanced account to allow for multiple pages with automated linking for fast viewer access.
Q. Can I have multiple pages under one address?
A. Yes, Enhanced account members can create multiple pages under one account. An automated linking option is provided to link the URLs for all pages and create a functioning, multi-page website.
Q. Can I put HTML code in my Webpage?
A. Yes, you may insert HTML code into the body text area of your webpage. Be sure not to include header and footer information, as our system automatically provides that information. (See the next Question for more information about adding HTML code.)
Q. May I include a banner in my webpage? If so, how?
A. You may include banners in your webpage. To do so, you must insert the HTML code provided to you by the source of the banner into the body text area of your webpage between begin and end markers. For example:
<!--begin-->
HTML code for the banner
is placed here between the
markers.
<!--end-->These markers notify the WebSpawner Engine that it should not filter any of the information within the confines of the markers. In this manner the resulting HTML code is written properly to your webpage. Begin and end markers should be used any time you add HTML code to your webpage.
Q. How do I upload an image?
A. If you have an Enhanced page, go to the 'Image' step in the modification process, select the option to add an image and then follow the instructions provided to upload the image from your computer. If your web browser does not support the image upload process then attach your .gif or .jpg image to an e-mail message along with the account name and password for your webpage and we will upload your image for you. Send the image to: support@webspawner.com
Q. How do I strip the background from my image?
A. In reality you don't "strip" the background from the image, but instead indicate a palette entry that you want to become transparent. This works with web browsers which follow the GIF89a standard as they will not paint pixels whose color is defined by the transparent palette entry.
We suggest that you use LView Pro by Leonard Haddad Loureiro to define your transparent palette entry. You can obtain his fine program at http://www.lview.com/. Full details are given in the Help under the "Frequently Asked Questions" section on how to define your transparent entry and save the image in the proper format.
It is important to note that only one color in the palette may be marked as transparent. The ability to make a color in the palette transparent is only available in the GIF89a standard.
You must define the transparent palette entry for your image and save it with the transparent option prior to uploading the image to your WebSpawner webpage.
Q. How come the links I have placed on my webpage don't work?
A. First let's take a look at what makes a link to another URL (Universal Resource Locator) work. In HTML coding there are two parts to a Link; the URL and Title. When using WebSpawner these are the only two parts that you have to understand because the WebSpawner machine does all of the HTML coding for you; there is no need for you to understand and remember HTML syntax.
Below is an example of a valid URL and Title. In reality the portion which requires a level of 100% accuracy is the URL. The easiest way to find out the URL of a particular webpage or website is to visit the site and look at the "Location" or "Address" bar of your browser... this should give you the full URL of the site (you can even copy the URL for quick and easy pasting to prevent typing errors).
Title: WebSpawner
URL: http://www.webspawner.comNote that the Title of the link does not necessarily need to match the Title of the page... you can enter the Title text as you wish. The URL, however, must be a perfect match in order for the link to function.
Q. I have modified my webpage, but the changes don't appear when viewing my page. What is wrong?
A. Your web browser is probably showing you a cached copy of your webpage from a previous visit before your changes were made, rather than displaying a freshly-served copy (with your changes) from WebSpawner's servers. To correct this, click the 'Refresh' or 'Reload' button in your browser's toolbar while you are viewing your webpage... this should force your browser to reload the page and display your recent changes.
Note that some versions of Netscape may not 'reload' properly and may still display an existing webpage from the disk cache -- if this is the case you will need to perform a "super reload." To perform a "super reload" using Netscape Navigator, hold down the left shift key while clicking on "reload" from the "view menu" with your mouse.
If 'reload' or 'refresh' do not correct the matter, try emptying or deleting your browser's cache (see your browser's 'Help' files for more information).
When you make changes to your webpage and click the "I Like It" button at the page preview, those changes are immediately saved in the WebSpawner system and will be served and displayed to all viewers of your webpage after that point.
Q. I have read through the FAQ but I still have questions?
A. If you have a question that has not been answered by our FAQ then please go to the orange "Customer Service" tab in the Members Menu and click the 'Contact Customer Service' link. Enter your questions, and one of our helpful WebConsultants will respond promptly. Customer Service is available 7 days a week.