Welcome to the WebSite Tonight Developer Blog!
Hi everyone, my name is Tim and I am part of the GoDaddy WebSite Tonight development team. I graduated from Arizona State University in May 2005 and started working for GoDaddy in September 2005. I have only been a part of this team for a little over a month, but I have been with the company for almost a year. Before joining the WebSite Tonight team, I was part of the quality assurance team for Website Tonight and helped release the 3.0 version back in October, so I am very familiar with the entire product.
We have a great team of people here. Our goal is to make WebSite Tonight the best in its class, and we don't mind getting comments or suggestions to improve our product. I just recently made changes based on a suggestion from one of our users, so don't be shy if you have an idea that could make our product better. I look forward to your comments and suggestions.
I have sent some suggestions regarding the website tonight software... I think it is a pretty good tool but it has some major problems that need to be address. When I create a new page, it creates a link to all the pages i have previously created. I must there go to each page to remove this link. You can imagine how time consuming and tedious this is.. Please fix this issue. You should allow us to decide if we want to link the new page or not.
Also, the software has a way to upload images but not files. please provide a way for us to upload files eg, PDF files so that people can download and print from the website. Thanks
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Dear Dr. Kofi,
You can uncheck "Rebuild Page Navigation" on the Organize Site screen (accessed via the Build Web Site menu), and then click OK (to save the new setting). This will prevent WebSite Tonight from adding a link to a newly created page on the existing pages. We plan to add a similar check box to the Add Page wizard soon.
As for uploading files, you can easily do so on the Upload Files screen (again, accessed via the Build Web Site menu). Note that there's a 20 MB file size limit, and also certain file types (such as .html, .js, .php, etc.) cannot be uploaded.
I hope this helps, and thank you for your valuable comments.
Eric
WebSite Tonight Developer
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Hi Eric
Thanks for showing me how to upload files! However, the issue with creating new page remains even if the "Rebuild Page Navigation" is unchecked. I created a "test" page; you can check it out yourself.. my account number 3038332. Thanks
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Unfortunately, unchecking "Rebuild Navigation" currently only works from within Organize Site. That is, if you add pages via the Organize Site screen, then a link to the new pages will not be added to existing pages if "Rebuild Navigation" is unchecked. Adding pages via other screens (for instance, from within the Page Designer) ignores this setting.
We should have this problem fixed in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, consider adding new pages via Organize Site.
Thanks
Eric
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Thanks Eric! That works; you saved me a lot of time.
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Hi Tim. As this is my first time building a website, I'm enjoying the Website Tonight product. I have one suggestion however, (and it may already be there and I'm just missing it) but there sould be a way to change the color of the background behind the page without changing the whole color scheme. Take a look at my site (www.cadillactony.com), and how the olive background doesn't match the light blue foreground. If there is a way to change that, let me know. Thanks!
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Hi Tony,
As of now there is not a way of changing the background color without changing the entire color scheme. We have just recently released "CSS" based templates (they have a CSS symbol just above them in the template selection page). These templates allow you to customize much of the background by clicking the "Edit Template Images" button located just above the editor when you are modifying the pages. These templates are more flexible and easier to customize. You will lose your content when you switch to this template, but you can import all of your content from your current template as long as you make a backup of it (when you are in the editor and hover over a area to edit, you will notice that there is an "Import" option). Another added bonus of the CSS based templates is that if you switch from a CSS based template to another CSS based template, all of your content will be transfered to the new template. Hope this helps.
On a side note, I like what you have done with your site. I always enjoy seeing the web sites that people create using our product.
-Tim
WebSite Tonight Developer
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hey tony,
i looked at your site to get ideas from other users of website tonight. that is very nice clean,crip look. felt like i walked into a cadillac dealship showroom! good luck
charles
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hi, you need to make your font color on this blog darker, its too pale against the white background hard to read
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Hi Pat,
Thanks for the heads up. Consider it changed.
Clifford
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pat,
I checked out your site.very nice layout and wonderful area you live in. but seems kinda macabe' with all the black backgrounds. Lots of strong dark contrasts makes the reading difficult and hard on the eyes.
good luck in you real estate ventures!
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hey guys,
new question. Im not much for using to many "tables" in the website unless its for a menu or special catagory, but i have been filling my website because of the ease in controling where my content goes on the page. It seems easier to force content to the left right or middle and line up text while in a table. I really dont want to use tables that much because i like the sleek look of images with no border. any tips?
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Hi Charles,
You hit the nail right on the head. Tables are a great way to position text that you don't simply want flush left or flush right. In fact, a majority of the high end html tools control text positioning by using tables.
Thanks.
Clifford
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Dr. Kofi,
i agree with you. i was going through that same problem for 2 days now, deleting all the menu buttons i didnt want on there,after adding new pages, adding to the fact that the program is based online and not locally ads even more time watching it update your changes.
Website tomorrow night perhaps
Charles
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I was asking a question about tables....
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I am BRAND new to this and am somewhat lost.
I am trying to create a web site for group oh high school buddies who are celebrating our 30th year together, as freinds.
The Kiangs is a fraternity, of sorts, and I cant locate a good template to start. Any suggestions?
Second question: When I signed up for the service, I selected a package which features an on-line photo album. This will be for the members of the Kiangs to post family pics. How do I do that?
Is that going to be an option as I build the web site?
HELP.....
Thanks
rd
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Hi Ron,
To answer your first question, I can't really suggest which template you should use since I don't know what kind of design elements you are looking for in your site. I can say this though, since the images can be swapped with your own personal images, feel free to go through all the templates.
As far as the photo album is concerned, you can add a photo album to any page by simply rolling your mouse over the blue dashed outline and click on "add contents". This will open up a page where you can select another text/image block or a photo album.
To order the images in your photo album, you'll want to add a number to the beginning of your photo description since they display in alphabetical order when published.
Thanks Ron!
Clifford
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COMPLAINT!!!
why is this app so slow!?!?!?
everytime I want to do something either the app page freezes or does not reload!
HELP!!!! THIS IS KILLING ME!!!
all input would greatly be appreciated...
Thanks in advanced
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Help is on the way my friend. We've got some really neat improvements coming out in the near future. I can't say when but they're coming!
Thanks!
Clifford
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That's cool but ca u tell me how in the world can I get website tonite to link with my quick blog instead of my quick log coming up as my home page.No part of my web page is coming up unless I go into my account mangr and I have published quick blog and my webite tonite. Im hopin t be able to use my blog page as one of my buttons if this is possible ?HHHHHHHHHelllllllllpppppppp!!
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Hi Catrina,
I emailed you some instructions on how to get your WebSite Tonight project showing up when you enter in your domain name. Just remember that once you finish the changes in the e-mail, you'll have to publish your site and wait a bit for it to show up since there will be some propagation time.
One more thing - if you want to link to your blog from your WebSite Tonight project, you just need to edit the Navigation section of your site and create a button with a link to your blog address.
Thanks!
Clifford
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Boy this is website next week, extremely slow and they said improvements soon, and that was a year ago.
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We have made several upgrades that was intended to make the application fast.
Please let us know if you still have the same experience.
thanks,
Gomathi
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I have just spent 4 hours trying to get 3 pictures loaded and positioned. There is a major bug that doesn't allow users to hyperlink to a larger version of the uploaded image. It's ridiculous, really. The images end up getting deleted after the site is published. Also, I have had to set up the site config keywords and description thrice, as those get deleted randomly, too. Yes, I've saved it all and published it all. It should be working, but it's a major ordeal. My client is paying me way too much to set up this site, as it is not intuitive and still has not entered Google's databank. It has been 7 days and a search for the specific site shows no results. I am not impressed. Why are there so many bugs with photos and uploads? It takes forever to accomplish (what should be) an easy task. Is this the "you get what you pay for" model?
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Hello,
It takes 3 to 6 months for the site to go up in the Google search engine.
We would like to know more details. Please click 24/7 Support to escalate your support question. We will be glad to resolve your issues.
thanks,
Gomathi
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Hi Tim,
Why can't i change the background color of the tables on the website tonight account?
Thank you.
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Hello,
You can add background color of the table using the html view.
We will add this item to our future release to use it without having to go to the html view.
thanks,
Gomathi
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Hello,
You can add background color of the table using the html view.
We will add this item to our future release to use it without having to go to the html view.
thanks,
Gomathi
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I am trying to make my site require a log in and password is this possible?
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Dear Karen,
Yes, you can password protect your site's pages. Simply select Password Protection from the Manage menu, and then mark the pages you'd like to protect, providing a user name and password for the login. You'll need to then publish your site for the changes to take effect. Please see the online help for more details: http://help.godaddy.com/article.php?article_id=2993.
Sincerely,
Eric S
WebSite Tonight Developer
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just designed my site. i need to upload pdf files that clients can view if they are interested in certain legal topics. i cannot figure out how to upload these docs and create links on the page for them to be opened. please help.
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Dear Mary,
With WebSite Tonight, you can upload files to your account so that you can create direct links from your Web pages to the uploaded files. You can upload pictures, music, videos, graphics, Microsoft Office documents, and PDF files; however, you cannot upload .htm, .html, .js, .php, or .asp files.
This option is available from the Manage menu and by clicking Upload Files and Images
There is more information inhttp://help.godaddy.com/article/3060
Thanks,
Gomathi
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I know I am not able to upload certain file types like .html or .php, but is there anyway tech support would be able to help with this? I would really like to add a php file and don't want to change hosting services to accomplish this.
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Unfortunately, WebSite Tonight does not allow uploading PHP files for security reasons.
Regards,
Eric
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LOVE LOVE WEBSITE TONITE!
Some features/capabilities I need!:
THE FIRST ONE ABOUT THE NAVIGATION BUTTONS IS CRITICAL -- IT'S A BUG!!
1. Adjustment for the width of the (gray-like) navigation buttons at the top of the page to prevent "left over" button space on the right! THIS LOOKS BAD-- HOW CAN I FIX THIS?
2. Add border to text blocks.
3. Add color to background of text blocks.
4. Add bold and color options for the navigation buttons at the top for: text color, button color, highlight around buttons.
5. Add ability to use graphics for navigation buttons.
6. Add capability to add lines, rectangles, and ovals.
7. Provide RGB numbers for the color palette so I can try to match the color of jpegs I want to upload and display against your "blue" background.
8. Under "Show properties" move the OK button from the bottom to the top of the page (so not to forget to select the OK button).
9. Add capability to load larger video files, preferably up to 100MB.
10. Add capability to add meta tag label to photos and other pictures.
11. Split header into 2 regions to allow adding a icon picture without causing the text in the header to shift down.
12. Add border and highlight options for the web page.
13. When I access my uploaded images, I change the Display default from 6 to 15 every time. Allow the change to remain at 15. And allow to display up to 30 images per page.
14. Add capability to display the navigation buttons (on the top) on the bottom of the page AND keep the buttons on the top. Here's an example: http://www.parwel.com/deathtodiabetes/
15. Add capability to display the naviagation buttons (on the top) on the left side.
Thank you for a GREAT WEBSITE DESIGN TOOL!
Sincerely,
DeWayne
engineer@deathtodiabetes.com
www.deathtodiabetes.com
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Hi, when I launch Google Webmaster Tools from inside of Website Tonight I notice that I've gotten the following sitemap error on a few of my sites:
"When we tested a sample of the URLs from your Sitemap, we found that some URLs were not accessible to Googlebot because they contained too many redirects. Please change the URLs in your Sitemap that redirect and replace them with the destination URL (the redirect target). All valid URLs will still be submitted."
I don't have any redirected url's in my sitemap, nor any 301 codes on my websites. Can you tell me what this error is, and more importantly, how to resolve it so it doesn't hurt my site ranking? Thanks!
Paul
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Hi Paul,
We have made some updates to the Website Tonight Google Webmaster Tools, in the past few months. On looking at your web site, I did not find any google meta tags in your site pages.
Please let us know if your issues have been resolved.
Regards,
Rumeli.
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I created a website, and need to password protect the entry page. It is a company intranet site, and we don't want our competition to have access. What is the easiest way to password protect the site. I know website tonight doesn't currently support this, but there MUST be a fix, or I just wasted my time and money.
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Darrell Wass,
Please select Manage menu and select Password Protection. Here, you will be able to password protect the pages you want to restrict access to everyone. All you need to enter is a username and password.
thanks,
Gomathi
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I want to password protect the home page.
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Hi Darrell ,
Unfortunately, Website Tonight does not allow the home page to be password protected.
Thanks
Rumeli
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I am trying to help a friend design a website using Website Tonight and I can't figure out how to upload a thumbnail image (which someone could just click on to view a larger image.) Since her website is largely photo-based, this is important to her.
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Hi CrystaLynn,
Thanks you for your question. Website Tonight automatically create a thumbnail image as soon as you add an image to your photo album. And you can also click on that thumbnail image which will open the actual image associated with it. This feature ('Photo Album') is available from the insert toolbar on the page designer.
Please let us know if we can help you further.
Thanks, Sanjay
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Hello I have been working on my site for a while now and I have been trying to change my background to an image I have but I haven't been able to do that can some one help me out?
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Hi Joseph,
We apologize for the delayed reply. Since your post Website Tonight has gone through several changes. ‘Change background images’ is one of them. You can use 'Change Template Images' feature by clicking 'Change background images' in the page designer or you can invoke the same functionality by double clicking the image itself. Not all but most of our templates will let you do this.
Let us know if we can help you with anything else.
Thanks, Sanjay
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Gentlemen & Ladies,
We are using your WST three-column format/template, and 'printing' is a real big problem:
(1) In our first design efforts the center-column dropped below the right-hand column when the monitor was set narrow ...
(2) My designer modified the format code so the dropping only occurred in the preview function ...
(3) We next modified code to keep the middle column from dropping in the preview feature ...
(4) But when I try to print the 'preview' page, the center column still dropped down even though it was okay in preview. As a result, the page really looks 'amateurish!' And since I'm crating a breaking-news site, this is unacceptable ...
WHAT CAN WE DO TO FIX THIS??
True, most visiters to a news site probably won't print the page, but for the percentage that do want to print, this distorted print feature really, really makes WST and me look amateurish!
Please help us fix this printing feature!
thanks
Paul B Farrell, JD, PhD
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Hello Paul,
Sorry for your frustrations. It's true that many templates/websites are now very well designed for printing. While you can use the Advanced Style Options within Website Tonight to tweak your existing template, generally the simplest solution would be to try a few templates and layouts to experiment with the printability. To make matters worse, in terms of printing, often times different browsers will also print differently. My biggest suggestion would be to use simpler layouts (preferably one column) so the content flows easier. Of course, these suggestions are based on your desire to have a printer-friendly website, which as already mentioned can be further adjusted on your existing site by using the Advanced Style Options for those with a little more development savvy.
Lastly, feel free to contact our support line. We have a great crew, and very capable at assisting with things like this. We appreciate your feedback and take it very seriously.
Kind Regards,
Aaron S.
Website Tonight Team
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is there anyway to upload your own website template and flash intro into website tonight? and if you can, can you edit it in there as well??
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Hello Krista,
Currently there is no clear path for doing what you wish, which is a very understandable request. For now your best would be to either find an appropriate template to your liking, or continue doing as you are now. We're launching new features and enhanced experiences all the time, and we greatly appreciate feedback like yours to help us improve our customers experience.
Kind Regards,
Aaron
Website Tonight Team
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Are you going to add a search function for the image library? I'd like the ability to type a keyword and go directly to that category instead of going through each image one by one.
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Hi Rogenstyle,
We already have a search function for the image library. In the page designer, when you select to insert an image, the "Image Library" tab has a textbox where you can enter your search keyword, and click the "search" button. This will enlist all the images in the library that ,match your keyword.
Thanks
Rumeli
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Web site tonight What is the largest word doc i can upload i have a 1MB
thanks Mel D
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Dear Melvin,
You should be able to upload a 1 MB Word document without any problems; the max -size limit is 30 MB per file.
Eric Stone
WebSiteTonight Developer
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Iam trying to verify my site so I can get google adsense on it. Everytime I try and verify, it sends me a message that the meta tag is in the wrong spot.
I know that even though I have webmaster tools on web site tonite, and it shows the site verified, that doesnt do my any good when I try and put an add on my site...I opened webmaster tools under my name because I cant see away to verify under the tools on web site tonite...I have tried over and over using my webmaster tools and still says the same thing...not verified, meta tag is in wrong place. Helpppppppp....this is very frustrating.
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Hi Jim,
On viewing your website, it seems that you may have wrongly entered the google metatags in Website Tonight. To fix this, you need to log into your Website Tonight account, open the page designer, and go into "Page Properties". Scroll down to the "Custom Meta Tags" section. In the "name" text box, simply type "verify-v1" and in the content, simply type the content ("XY....").
Please do not include any tags like "<meta name = ..>" . Simply enter the values provided to you by Google, for the meta tag name and content. After saving this, you will need to republish your site.
This should resolve your problem.
Regards,
Rumeli
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I would like to add a search function similar to your quick search box above. Can I do this through website tonight. I have an account with GoDaddy, and am working on moving this site once the new site, currently working on it is complete.
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Hello Mark,
If you have a deluxe or premium plan, you can do the following to add this functionality
1) Select Insert and Widget
2) Once you click on Widget, select Web Sites option and click on 'Search Your Site With' option
3) enter your site url in the box below 'Site to Search' and click Get Widget
This will get your site visitors to search your site.
Thanks,
Gomathi
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