Get your Press on at PHX Wordcamp, Nov 13th 8am-5pm at The Arizona Grand Resort.

WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamps are open to WordPress.com and WordPress.org users alike.

Do you have some WordPress questions or just want to learn more about this great blogging and content management system come on by and learn from local experts and the founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenwag.

Page.ly is proud to sponsor this great event brought to you by local WordPress users and GoDaddy.

Register today.. get your sweet T-shirt.

The Startup Mindset

I vividly remember the experience of starting my first company. I took the leap into entrepreneurship and was wildly optimistic. There was enough energy running through my veins that I believed my determination and forethought would launch me into profitable success almost overnight. My thoughts were brilliant and I was really going to help a lot of people. If I could just get my target market to listen. But I understood that I needed to appear credible first if anyone was going to take me serious. Form a legitimate business by incorporating, design & print business cards, create a business and marketing plan, and create a professional website were at the top of my credibility list. Once I started checking things off my list, I found out that starting a business was not as easy as I thought. There were many obstacles that scarred my spirit such as finances, nay-sayers, influx of permanent decisions, unforeseen chores, other’s timelines, and knowledge. I was on the emotional roller coaster that is entrepreneurship.

Fast forward to five years later-

The first business I started was with my husband and it was a web design, development and marketing shop. Our obstacles were not as bad as most entrepreneurs who have to pay and wait for their website or try to create a site on their own which takes even longer. In order for us to maintain a sustainable business, we charged more and offered great customer service.  When people called I could tell what stage of their business they were in. The startup  entrepreneurs were the same way I was; wildly optimistic, determined, and energized. The sad part was that their budgets were small and I had to turn them away without a good alternative. I felt like I had become a spirit crushing obstacle.

I called forth a meeting to discuss the problems/obstacles plaguing startups and small business. We pinpointed the complexities of website creation and automated the process. Page.ly was born. Page.ly gives novices what they expect which includes hosting, domain name, webmail, and a WordPress theme in 2 minutes for $15 a month. Usually these four parts are fragmented but Page.ly combines them. It’s been dubbed the fastest way to website creation. Startups and small businesses can enjoy a professional website fast for less and change the look at anytime. Page.ly pushes automatic updates to the clients and backs up the sites every night so business owners don’t need to worry. I know they have enough on their plates and I sleep well at night knowing that I’ve lessen the burden for startups.

- Sally Strebel, Co-founder Page.ly

PS. If you’re starting a company, remember this quote for the nay-sayers in life.

“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination” Mae Jemison

Similar to Shrek, domain names have layers like an onion. To understand the layers, one should understand the fundamentals. Computers and servers have a unique IP address that consist of numbers and dots. A domain name simply points to an IP address.  The illustration below shows the parts of a domain.

http:// – http:// stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol and acts as interpretation layer between web servers and web browsers.

URL – URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator and it’s the address of a webpage on the web.

TDL – TDL stands for Top-Level Domains. The most recognizable TDL is .com and resides in the generic category along with .net, .gov, .edu, etc. Country code is another catergory and offers .us, .ly, .es, .mp, etc.

SDL – SDL stands for Second-Level Domain and resides to the immediate left of the TDL. People customize this area for their needs such as company branding.

Sub-domain - In this instance the sub-domain represents a host server. The most recognizable host server is www. but sub-domains can be used to describe any subsection of a domain name, like blog.domain.com.

Directory – This is a directory for files or a representation of an action/method.

File name – This is the file that resides within the parent domain.

Choosing a domain name can invoke feelings of frustration, helplessness, and anger. So much rides on your ability to find the perfect domain name and it will take time.  The following secrets of choosing a domain name will help you understand the process and acquire the best available domain name for your website.

Brainstorm Your Brand

Before you start searching for a domain name, you should brainstorm your brand. If your company or personal name captures your brand, try to register the name as your domain. If your current company/personal name appears unavailable to register, list numerous keywords that describe your brand. Then dissect your list even further by using a thesaurus and figuring out what other objects convey the same sediment. Now you should have a good list of potential words.

The Shorter the Better

The shorter the domain the better is the goal and is accomplished when your branding remains intact and the domain is easy to remember. Try to string together some of the words on your brainstorm list. Typically, keep it under 14 characters but this does not apply if you are using only two words. Example- SmashingMagazine.com equals 16 characters.

Attempt to Find the .com

Once you start searching for your domain name, you’ll find that acquiring a .com domain may prove difficult due to their popularity. Consider a domain service that provides alternatives to your keywords like DomainsBot. If you still can’t find a good domain that encompasses your domain, don’t get discouraged, keep reading. If you do find the perfect .com, buy it in .net and .biz as well to secure your branding from potential competitors.

Concise Creativity

Do any of your keywords make sense when you add an ‘ly’ or an ‘mp’? If so, consider a domain that ends in .ly or .mp. These top-level domains cost more but may be worth it. Take for instance Page.ly or Bit.ly. Bit.ly, the URL shortener, bought j.mp. It’s shorter and clever.  Check out Domainr http://domai.nr/ for help.

The Distinguished Domain

Your domain should declare that it is a wolf and not a sheep. So stay away from domains that are not spelled the way they sound. If you choose to go with a mis-spelling, understand that the domain with the correct spelling will receive some traffic from your marketing efforts. Better yet, if you own the correct spelling of your domain, purchase common mis-spellings to monopolize your brand.

Quickly Register Now

Once you find your domain, register it immediately. Domain names go quick. In fact, register your second choice too. By registering your second choice, you won’t miss the opportunity if you decide to change your mind.

Allen Stern, of CenterNetworks.com, wrote a wonderful article titled “Pagely Breaks the Speed Record for Website Creation”. Here are some quotes from his post.

A new offering has hit the market that offers something I haven’t seen before. Page.ly offers a full website service from soup-to-nuts.

I could envision pushing some of my consulting clients to Page.ly instead of having to set everything up from scratch for each client.

Page.ly includes domain management, email manangement, a variety of themes, patch management and they backup each site nightly.

Allen made some recommendations too-

My only advice for Page.ly is to make the homepage show off their full feature set. Currently it looks like they are just offering a customized install for Wordpress.

We are taking his recommendations to heart and plan to implement them soon. Another avenue we plan to implement soon involves offering premium themes from the leading wordpress theme designers in our library.

Read the full article.