A few words about ScaleConf
Early this year, two of Yola’s operations engineers in Cape Town, Duncan and Jonathan, organized ScaleConf, a tech conference dealing with scalability issues and the problems faced by those building and running services on the internet today. They felt that more exposure on these issues was needed, and that the tech community in Cape Town would greatly benefit from such an event.
ScaleConf took place on the 26th and 27th of January, in the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The conference was a huge success with nearly 300 people attending including a number of international speakers. As an organizer of the conference, Jonathan (who is Operations Team Leader at Yola) gave the introductory talk, an overview of the types of issues that the conference would be covering. You can check out the slides for his speech on SlideShare: Jonathan Hitchcock – “Clearly, I Have Made Some Bad Decisions”.
Jonathan began by talking about how some people think they don’t have the sort of scaling problems that were going to be discussed. Perhaps because they don’t have millions of users, they think they don’t need to be worried about “scaling”. However, it is important to note that “scaling” is not about how many users you have, but about whether you can handle a rapid increase in traffic, or any other sort of change in the way things run normally. And the fact of the matter is, change always happens, and that is not something you can do anything about. In addition, people make mistakes, and you don’t always know that you have made a mistake until much later. Problems are going to occur, and you need to be ready for them when they do, so that they don’t have a catastrophic effect.
Jonathan then walked through some of the things you can do to prepare yourself for the problems:
- Use monitoring systems to watch how your systems behave, all the time. This is important because you need to know whether their current state is normal or not – otherwise you might think something is a problem when it is not, and waste time trying to “fix” a situation, when the real issue lies elsewhere.
- Store your infrastructure as code. Instead of manually setting up your systems, you need to write code to set them up automatically. This way, you can use all the clever tools you use to manage your source code to manage your systems as well. When you need a new system, you just run the code, and you instantly have a new one!
- Pay attention to how your code runs, as well as just what it does. You need to think about how to get your code onto your servers in a way that you can do again and again, very easily, so that updating your systems is trivial and you always know exactly what is deployed where. Too often, people just copy their code onto a server manually and think that this is sufficient.
- Make lots of little changes instead of one huge change. If you continuously push out new changes, you can see what effect they have immediately, and if they aren’t desirable, you just undo them. This way, you get constant, instant feedback, and know exactly what the consequences of your actions are as you are performing them. This means you become comfortable with making little mistakes and can fix them straight away, and aren’t scared to innovate or try things.
- Test how your systems behave when things go wrong. Things are going to go wrong, one day, and it is much better to be in control when it happens, so you can see how your failsafes behave, and make them better. Then, when things go wrong and you’re not in control, it won’t matter, because you have already tested the situation and know that you are fine.
Jonathan wrapped up by saying that if you have these good practices in place, and are ready for it, it won’t matter when things inevitably go wrong, because you have prepared yourself and your systems for these eventualities.
We hope you found this insight into the things our engineers need to do interesting!
Labels: News,Operations | No Comments »
Widget Wednesday: Facebook Comments
We’ve added another valuable social media widget to help you connect your website to previously untapped visitors. We all know how powerful word of mouth advertising can be, and nothing helps to spread the word like Facebook. By adding Facebook comments to your Yola site, visitors can easily leave comments that show up on your website as well as on their Facebook profiles. That means all of their connections will see it too!
In your Sitebuilder, select the Social category, locate the Facebook Comments widget and drag it onto your webpage.
Once you’ve added Facebook Comments in the Sitebuilder you’ll see the dialogue box shown above. Copy and paste the URL to the webpage you want the comments added to. You’ll then be able to customize the look of the widget. You can adjust the margins, alignment, number of posts displayed, width and the background color (theme) to insure it blends in with the design of your website.
That’s it! You’re all set up and can watch your comments spread and your customers grow.
Labels: Widget Wednesday | 1 Comment »
Introducing free stock images with Yola Silver
We are exited to announce a new addition to our Yola Silver hosting package. Starting today, your Silver package includes access to over 3,000 quality stock images. Stock images are a quick and easy ways to add professional looking photos to your business website.
Yola and Fotolia handpicked these images specifically for small businesses; we hope they will inspire you to create beautiful sites.
To t
ry this feature out, open your site in our Sitebuilder and add the Picture widget to your page. Click on the “Find Stock Images” button. The image selector has three sections. The first lets you browse your already uploaded files, the second contains Fotolia images available for purchase, and the third is a tab of free “Yola Images”. Check out this new complimentary gallery and let us know what you think. And if you have not tried our Yola Silver hosting package, this is one more reason to try it!
Labels: Product,Releases | 2 Comments »
Start Selling Your Products Online
Whether you are dreaming of starting the next Amazon.com or just looking to sell a few products online, Yola now has the solution for you..
With our newest feature, the Yola Online Store, we’re changing the game for online sellers around the world, by seamlessly integrating an advanced online store with our powerful business website builder all for a remarkably low price of $19.95/month, over one hundred dollars per month less than our leading competitors.
We are thrilled to introduce the Yola Online Store, a package that allows you to create sophisticated online stores from within your Yola website. With this new addition, now you can manage your store, mobile website, email, new customer submission and much more, all from your Yola account.
With advanced features like tax and shipping integration, the acceptance of over 15 payment methods, and the ability for your customers save their profile into your store, Yola Online Store has all the features you need to create and run a professional store. You can sign up and start selling online today.
For users who do not yet have a Yola Bronze or Silver hosting package, Yola Online Store is available for $19.95/mo and it includes all the features of our Yola Silver package in addition to the eCommerce features. If you are already a Yola Bronze or Yola Silver customer, Yola Online Store will be available to you as an upgrade for only $10 more per month.
Yola Online Store features include:
- An integrated shopping cart that can be added to multiple pages or sites, including your Facebook page, allows your products to be seen (and purchased) in more places
- Advanced product set-up, including variable pricing for options like different sizes, colors, models means a complex inventory can be made simple
- Yola Store accepts payments through multiple payment gateways (for example PayPal, Google Checkout, SagePay and more) giving you complete flexibility to choose the right one for you.
- We support dozens of languages for your storefront including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Brazilian Portuguese, and many more. This means your store can be open to more customers worldwide.
- Integrated with local and international shipping providers, including: UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS means your products can be shipped to your customers faster.
- The ability to set up a sales tax for your products based on your location and the location of your customers means you can localize your store to your customers.
- Your users will be able to save their shopping profile, including payment method, billing address, shipping address and previous orders, so they can place repeat orders quicker and easier.
- The management of your inventory, orders, sales and invoices is made easy with our intuitive online dashboard
- Order tracking and automated confirmation and shipping emails keep your customers informed about their purchase.
- Easily upload products in bulk to your store to save time and effort
- Integrated with mobile friendly-site publishing included in Yola Silver
The release of this feature would have not been possible without the help of our partners, the Ecwid team, and the help of our beta users that have been using the store and providing us with invaluable feedback. Yola sends a big thank you to everyone involved.
We hope you enjoy this new feature, and we look forward to seeing your stores and hearing your success stories,
Please email us with any feedback or product improvements ideas at ecommerce-beta@yola.com, and, as always, don’t hesitate to contact our support team with any questions at support@yola.com.
Labels: Product,Releases | 2 Comments »
For 2012, make sure your site’s the best it can be
Now that 2012 is here, you’ve probably made a few New Year’s resolutions—some of which you might keep, and some of which… well, let’s just say we think we’ll be hearing those again in 2013.
But if there’s one resolution you should make—and keep—this year, it’s to make sure your website’s the best it can be for 2012 and beyond. The good news is, Yola makes this one promise that’s super-simple to keep!
Our website building tool lets you build and update your site all in moments—no web developer or designers necessary. Just hit the “Publish to the web” button, choose your domain, and you’re off to the races. And with the 20 new style templates we’ve added over the past year, you might even just want to refresh your look for the New Year.
2012 is definitely the year to start driving more customers to your site. Google AdWords (you get a $50 credit with Yola Bronze and a $75 credit with Yola Silver), simple SEO (search engine optimization) strategies, and email newsletters are all great ways to help more people find your site and your business. Check out this Mashable article for other great ideas on driving more sales from your site.
Be sure to take advantage of our other recent tools, like integrating your blog with Yola using Tumblr, adding social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to your site through our Social Share Me widget, and even making your logo more unique by uploading your own font through our site.
As always, we’re here to make sure your site is a straight-up success. Our Yola Bronze package (just $4.95 a month) will get you online and looking professional and our Yola Silver package (just $9.95 a month) will help you stand out from the competition. And don’t forget that you can get your own custom domain from us for only $11.95 a year.
From all of us at Yola: here’s to a wildly successful 2012!
Labels: Small Business | 3 Comments »
Featured Website: Daily Cup of Fitness
For fitness professionals Karen Vizueta and Sabrina Sarabella, getting in shape and leading a healthier lifestyle isn’t something you should think about just once or twice a week—it really should be a part of your daily routine. That’s why their site, dailycupoffitness.com, provides visitors with regularly updated fitness and nutrition tips designed to “fit into any busy schedule.”
Here’s what Karen and Sabrina have to say about choosing—and using—Yola:
Being fitness experts and not technology experts, Yola gives us the user-friendly tools to get our fitness tips to our viewers on a daily basis.
We’re able to spend more time researching and writing and less time uploading and publishing. We love the fact that we can update our daily tips from wherever we are.
Our site has given us the ability to reach viewers daily and add pictures and video of fitness instruction. We now have a great site where we send our clients, potential clients and anyone we meet. Thank you for allowing us to spread and share our passion of fitness with quick and effective tips all week long!
Would you like to see your site featured on our blog? Just take a few minutes to tell us what you think makes your site stand out and send it to support@yola.com.
Labels: Featured Websites | No Comments »
Widget Wednesday: Google AdSense
Today’s widget under the spotlight is the Google AdSense widget.
The Google AdSense widget makes the implementation of Google ads on your site as simple as copy and paste! If you’re not familiar with Google AdSense, read-on for more information.
What is Google AdSense?
Google AdSense is a flexible, hassle-free way to earn revenue by showing relevant and engaging ads alongside your online content. Best part? It’s free, easy to use and there’s no contract required!
How does it work?
AdSense works by matching text and image ads to your site based on your content and the types of users that visit your site. For example, if you write about running, your readers may see ads next to your post about running shoes and equipment. Ads are created and paid for by advertisers who want to promote their products.
Great content is key
Posting high quality content is the best way to maximize your returns with AdSense. It’s important to take a little extra time defining your topic, creating a post that is engaging and matters to your readers. The more interesting and appealing your content is, the more likely your readers will be to click on the ads on your website.
You can find the Google AdSense widget under the Ecommerce widget category in Sitebuilder.
Drag the widget to where you would like the ads to display on your website. It will then open up a dialog box where you can sign up to AdSense and get your code.
Once you have the code, simply paste it into the field shown below and press save.
AdSense may take a while to appear after you have saved it. Don’t worry, just wait a few minutes and then refresh your page.
You are investing precious resources into creating great original content for your users, how about you put it at work with AdSense? Add the Google AdSense Widget to get started and good luck!
Labels: Widget Wednesday | 1 Comment »
Widget Wednesday: Column Divider Widget
Our Column Divider Widget seems like quiet and unassuming widget but really it is a heavy lifter. It can completely change the layout of your website and organize any unruly content. You can nest additional widgets inside the columns created by the Column Divider Widget, and you can even add more Column Dividers inside of Column Dividers to create more columns and organization.
The center divider of the Column Divider Widget can be dragged to the left or right to change the size of the columns. You can also edit the margins by clicking on the “Margin” link on the top left-hand corner of the widget. This will open up a screen that allows you to adjust the margins. You can adjust the margins individually by entering the value desired into each box in the diamond formation (top, right, bottom, left). You can also have your margins be created equally on all sides by dragging the slider to the right to increase the margin size and to the left to decrease it. It is a good idea to create margins so that content from the different columns doesn’t appear to “run together” on the page.
Labels: Widget Wednesday | No Comments »
Take Your Site Mobile
We are exited to announce our newest feature: mobile publishing!
Mobile publishing lets you take your existing website and instantly create a version optimized for viewing on an iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry device. The mobile version contains all of your website’s pages and information in a size that fits perfectly on a smaller screen. If you have a business number or address, it will automatically add a “Call” and “Map” button to the top of your mobile site.
Internet usage on smart phones will soon exceed that on regular computers, making mobile sites a necessity for being well-positioned online. With a mobile site, your customers can now connect with your business anytime, anywhere.
The feature is still in early beta testing, so please excuse us while we iron out the kinks. But check it out and let us know what you think. It is free to everyone with the Yola Silver hosting package.
Labels: Product,Releases | 5 Comments »
Featured Website: Theatre Talks
For almost a decade, Cezar Del Valle’s Theatre Talks website was hosted by a different company. But wanting more features and an easier-to-use site builder, he picked Yola for his new-and-improved site.
A basic design with emphasis on content has always been my preference for Theatre Talks. This was quite easy to set-up on Yola even with uploading my own background. What set the new site apart from the old were the various widgets. Instead of a changing display of Flickr photos, I was able to set up a more professional-looking slideshow of my walking tours complete with fades and dissolves. As the finishing touches were being added to Theatre Talks, I also quickly and effortlessly built an eCommerce site using Yola’s widgets. Rebuilding my old home page while also constructing a new online bookstore has been very a positive experience and surprisingly enjoyable. — Cezar Del Valle
Cezar also tells us that he previewed his new slideshows to friends on Facebook and LinkedIn, drawing numerous positive comments. Bravo!
Want to see your site featured here? Take a few minutes to tell us what you think makes your site stand out and submit it to: support@yola.com.
Labels: Uncategorized | No Comments »