SiteKreator Company Blog http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/blog.html hourly11970-01-01T00:00+00:00NEW: Image Management Features http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_29697960 <p class="plain"></p><p class="plain">Adding nice images can significantly increase the appeal of a web page. However, to get an image to look just right often involves many pre-processing steps. To make that job easier we are pleased to announce the following new features:</p><br><ul><li class="plain"><p class="plain">Drag-and-Drop upload of images and video</p></li><li class="plain"><p class="plain">Quick image resize to preset or custom dimensions.</p></li><li class="plain"><p class="plain">Crop and zoom images within the editor</p></li></ul><br><p class="plain"><b>Drag-and-Drop Media Upload Feature</b></p><p class="plain">We’re introducing a new upload mechanism that supports drag-and-drop of image and video files.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"><img width="610px;" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/1df/270/24e/sb0ziDDQ1rooHnUhn2GVP3stjID88LOfnvpH9yqq5lJcOk1TILzQah5wKBgRfeqbJy26rRukR0b3wFXu' style="" height="400px;"></p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">You can now now drag and drop an image or video directly into the blue drop zone located in the right properties panel. No more browsing for files or navigating the file folder hierarchy. This new mechanism also supports adding mouse-over, table and cell background images.</p><br><p class="plain">We have implemented this feature with the latest HTML5 technology with no Flash involved. </p><br><p class="plain"><b>Built-in Image Manipulation Features</b></p><p class="plain">Resizing an image to the appropriate size to fit the layout is a routine chore. We are making it easier by enhancing the Text and Image editor to resize automatically on upload.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"><img width="610px;" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/131/0f3/127/eZ1V_YOFY5vI1QqB1NjP4FHEds7FJzrAyyDptIPUfRsyVmr59Ip-MJhU4QOuhq3iiCkFeNqhZEbLpdrF' style="" height="400px;"></p><br><p class="plain">You can now drag any image into the drop zone and it will be automatically set to the default size. Choose from 3 predefined image sizes: small (150px wide), medium (250px wide) and large (400px wide), or define your own. Even though an image may be resized, the system maintains the original image so it can be adjusted later. Also all resized images will appear with enhanced detail on a high resolution retina display.</p><br><p class="plain">Last but not the least, you can now adjust images right in the Text and Image Editor. You can easily crop an image and zoom into a specific area of an image without using another tool. The result will be instantly available for viewing and in the context of the page. This feature also applies to mouse-over images. The image crop and zoom feature is available via the Advanced Option switch, and the source image needs to be larger than the viewed image.</p><br><img width="610px;" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/278/214/3e0/3gKEVcvFnp86o3hGeUsuMF5OFhXV_d884wXfnimAc5OwBzbAk1ypQOrIt0WjUhKUwQMZzQgl_cTwkoIR' style="" height="400px;"><br><span class="plain"><br></span><div class="plain">We hope these new features will make it easier for you to employ images to create the exact look you are looking for. Gone are the days of adjusting the image with other tools and iterating until the final results “come out OK”. Please stay tuned as we are already busily working on the next set of enhancements and useful new features.<br><p class="plain"></p></div>Mark McGrady2013-04-25T18:55:40-07:00NEW: Image Management FeaturesNew: Service Plan Changes http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_29681032 <p class="plain">Dear SiteKreator Users,</p><p class="plain"></p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"></p><p class="plain"></p><p class="plain">We are happy to announce new changes to our service plans. If you are an existing Standard SiteKreator customer you will not be affected by this change. For existing Premium and Deluxe SiteKreator customers you will have access to additional premium applications as listed on the new pricing page (Deluxe plans will receive the same applications as the new Complete plan). Everyone will be able to continue to renew the existing packages at the same price, features, and services. There will be no other changes made to your account, unless you choose to upgrade or change to one of our new service plans.</p><p class="plain"></p><br><p class="plain"><b>What's new?</b></p><p class="plain">The following is a summary of the service plan changes:</p><p class="plain"></p><ul><li class="plain">We added a Starter package, this plan is limited to 10 pages and does not support Advanced Options</li><li class="plain">The Deluxe service package has been replaced with the new Complete package.</li><li class="plain">There are now 3 levels of custom design services</li><li class="plain">Availability of premium apps has been changed according the service plan.</li></ul><p class="plain"></p><br><p class="plain"><i>For more details, please visit: </i></p><p class="plain"><i><b><a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pricing.html" class="plain">http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pricing.html</a></b></i></p><p class="plain"></p><p class="plain"></p><br><span class="plain">As always, we’re open to all of your questions, suggestions and feedback. Please send them to: support [at] sitekreator [dot] com</span><br>Mark McGrady2013-04-23T11:41:30-07:00New: Service Plan ChangesDiscontinued: Built-in Site Statistics http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_29154558 <p class="plain"><img width="400" align="left" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/260/360/335/GoogleAnalytics.png' style="margin: 15px 15px 15px 0px;float: left" height="228" border="0" daid="13506466" keep_prop="1"><br>The internal site statistics is being phased out. It has been replaced with the more powerful Google Analytics.<br><br></p><font class="plain">All current sites using the built-in statistics feature will continue to work as before.</font><div class="plain"><br>The built-in statistic option will no longer be available in the Site Properties.</div><div class="plain"><br>We recommend to all customers to start using Google Analytics for more comprehensive statistics on website visitors, website traffic and application usage.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Learn more about the integrated Google Analytics feature <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/ga_integration.html" class="plain">here</a>.<br><br><br><p class="plain"></p></div>Slavka2013-02-26T07:03:07-08:00Discontinued: Built-in Site StatisticsNew: Table Editor Multi-Cell Formatting http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_29154283 <p class="plain"><img width="450" align="left" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/056/3ad/365/Multi-CellFormatting2.png' style="margin: 15px 15px 15px 0px;float: left" height="310" border="0" daid="13510741" keep_prop="1"><br></p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">It is now possible to format multiple cells with a single operation. Previously, in order to modify multiple cells you will need to select each cell individually and apply the same operation repeatedly. This enhancement allows you to apply the same operation to multiple cells at one time. </p><p class="plain"><br>Give it try the next time you are in the Text and Image Editor.<br><br></p>Slavka2013-02-26T06:43:36-08:00New: Table Editor Multi-Cell FormattingNew: Improved System Message Styling http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_29034649 <p class="plain"><img width="324px;" align="left" daid="13459483" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/10a/038/02f/em0inM1q5kXSQZGkKojTXL-QyZCS3a9usg2nCNmz_i7IjS1qod8YdkPmT_FgY2xthMUDz4d09Lcp-5IH' style="margin: 15px 15px 15px 0px;float: left" height="166px;"><br></p><p class="plain">We have redesigned the system pages to improve visitor experience and to deliver a more polished site look-and-feel. All messages displayed by the system (e.g. “page not found”, “please login”) will now support a new look.<br><br>To make the messages more intuitive, we have coded the different message categories by a color bar. A red bar indicates an error message, a yellow bar indicates a warning message, and a green bar indicates further user action is required.<br><br>For those pages under access control using the <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/applications/members-login.html" class="plain">Members Area</a> application (premium), we have also improve the user login experience. You can now provide the user with a specific login page link according to the page they are visiting and deliver an additional customized message.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"></p>Eva2013-02-13T14:19:32-08:00New: Improved System Message StylingNew: Add Images to News and Events Feed http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_29034656 <p class="plain"></p><p class="plain"><img width="320" align="left" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/190/1b8/23d/feed.png' style="margin: 15px 15px 15px 0px;float: left" height="223" border="0" daid="13461032" keep_prop="1"></p><p class="plain"><font class="plainsmall"> </font><br></p><p class="plain">Spice up the news feed on your site! Add images to any news and events entry via RSS or manual entry. Now you can improved the appearance of the news feed and increase the visual appeal of the website.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">The News and Events application now supports the following enhancements:</p><p class="plain"></p><span class="plain"> - Enable entries with the calendar icon and/or custom image</span><br><span class="plain"> - Configure each manual entry with a different image to support the content</span><br><span class="plain"> - Adjust image size to create the desired visual impact</span><br><span class="plain"> - Extract images directly from RSS feeds</span><br><span class="plain"> - Ability to embed a hyperlink in the image</span><br><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">To find out more, check out the News and Events <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/applications/news-events.html" class="plain">tutorial</a>.</p><p class="plain"></p>Eva2013-02-13T11:32:16-08:00New: Add Images to News and Events FeedNew: Custom Web Form Submission Message http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_29043495 <p class="plain"><b><img width="396px;" align="left" daid="13461711" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/068/3d8/11e/Bl3sdJYsQVoNFonAxwI1JwsXQFSnfufF8G0nKtwyaJlqB7iy0ENaOYtu7bz_E-38XO_y61uu0LT1PkEk' style="margin: 15px 15px 15px 0px;float: left" height="253px;"></b><font class="plainsmall"> <font class="copyright"> </font></font><br></p><p class="plain">We have added a new enhancement in the web form module. You can now specify a custom message to be displayed after a successful form submission. <br><br>A typical use case for this feature is to inform a visitor of the next steps after completing a registration form. Use this custom message to keep the visitor informed and to reduce uncertainty or anxiety.<br><br>This feature is accessible via the Advanced option. And it does not work concurrently with the “Next Page” option. </p><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">For more information, check out <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.premium-webhelp.com/forms.html" class="plain">this tutorial</a></div><p class="plain"></p>Slavka2013-02-12T17:23:31-08:00New: Custom Web Form Submission MessageDiscontinued: Page Access Control using Mailing List http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_29034651 <span class="plain">Support for the Mailing List Restriction in the </span><a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.website-creator.org/page-options.html#accesscontrol" class="plain">page access control mechanism</a><span class="plain"> has been discontinued. This dated and insecure access control mechanism released more than six years ago is being replaced by the more powerful and secure </span><a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/applications/members-login.html" class="plain">Members Area</a><span class="plain"><b> </b>application.</span><br><p class="plain"><br>All websites that already have the Mailing List Restriction installed will continue to maintain this feature without interruption. However, this feature can no longer be added through the Admin interface.<br><br>The replacement for this feature is the <b>Members Area</b> application (Premium). With this application you will be able to assign a login and password for each user, access multiple pages with a single login, and place the login form anywhere on a page. To find out more about this application please visit the <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/applications/members-login.html" class="plain">Members Area tutorial</a>.<br><br>If you need help to migrate a customer using Mailing List Restriction to the <b>Members Area</b> application please contact customer support.</p>Eva2013-02-12T15:24:23-08:00Discontinued: Page Access Control using Mailing ListNew: Make online payments with Paypal and Google Checkout http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_28514730 <p class="plain"></p><div class="plain"><font class="heading2">Reach online shoppers in over 140 countries!</font></div><div class="plain">The new SiteKreator Online Payments application helps you attract buyers from around the world to purchase your goods and services online. Easily integrate Google Checkout buttons, PayPal buttons, or both with your website and allow your customers to make fast and secure purchases from their desktops and mobile devices. The new application supersedes the old PayPal button application.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><font class="plainlarge">Experience the Benefits of Payment Processing with Google Checkout and PayPal.</font></div><div class="plain"><ul><li class="plain">Quick implementation, just set your merchant account ID, product options, & button style</li><li class="plain">Receive notifications of new orders each time shoppers place a purchase.</li><li class="plain">Streamlined checkout processes help lower cart abandonment rates.</li><li class="plain">Enjoy easy setup and efficient order management</li><li class="plain">Fraud prevention tools help stop invalid orders from reaching you, resulting in industry-leading low fraud rates.</li></ul></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div align="left" class="plain"><a link="" target="_blank" href="http://help.premium-webhelp.com/customer/portal/articles/928370-online-payments-application" class="plainlarge">Click Here to Learn More! </a></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">The new SiteKreator Online Payments application is available free of charge with all subscription packages.</div><p class="plain"></p>Mark McGrady2013-01-11T13:29:25-08:00New: Make online payments with Paypal and Google CheckoutNew: Visual Vocabulary Essentials: Horizontal Lines Made Easy with SiteKreator http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_25501679 <font class="plain"><br>Do you know that something so simple as a horizontal line can have a great impact on the way your website design and content are perceived by your site visitors and potential clients? <br><br>All of SiteKreator design templates are tested and optimized to provide the best possible user experience. And when it comes to organizing your content inside the template, we’ve provided you with additional tools to help improve the readability of your site: columns, sections and now, introducing our latest addition - a versatile horizontal line feature. Following the success of the recent<a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_22784932" class="plain"> updates</a> we’ve made to our Text and Image editor, we are happy to provide you with our newest tool - the Horizontal line. You can access it by clicking on the launch icon, which is placed on the Text and Image editor toolbar.<br><br></font><p align="left" class="plain"><img align="" daid="12369292" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/0d1/2b8/298/horizontal-line-icon.png' border="0"><br></p><p class="plain"><i><br></i></p><p class="plain"><i>Click on the icon to insert a horizontal line and to format its appearance</i></p><span class="plain"><br>The Horizontal line tool provides you with an abundance of stylistic options. You can choose the style and texture of the line (solid, dotted, etc) and among 60 graphic ornaments which can be placed in 3 different positions along the line. The color of a horizontal line is automatically adjusted, depending on the background color of your design template. A line, placed on a light background will display in black, and placed on a dark background - in white. Additional options allow for using custom horizontal graphic separators that match your branding or to compliment a specific section of your website.<br><br></span><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/0d1/2b8/298/horizontal-line-separator.png' daid="12369293" border="0"><br><p class="plain"><i><br></i></p><p class="plain"><i>Choose among 60 different graphic ornaments.</i></p><span class="plain"><br>You can use horizontal lines as an essential building block of your visual vocabulary. Combined with the provided options for texture, shapes and space, lines give you a visual grammar which you can use to better communicate with your audience.</span><span class="plain"> In web design we use lines to organize, connect and separate information and visual elements. Alone or in combination with other lines or shapes they can aid in the readability, appearance, and message of a design. They can also be used to convey emotion and to accentuate width.<br><br></span><p class="plain"><img src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/259/2e4/144/horizontal-line-example.png' daid="12369294" border="0"><br></p><p class="plain"><i><br></i></p><p class="plain"><i>When you need to load a lot of content on a web page, horizontal lines can be used as visual anchor points to steady and guide the visitor’s eye.</i></p><span class="plain"><br>We hope that we’ve helped you see that something as simple as a line can have an immense effect on your website readability. Using lines with ornaments will also communicate attention to detail and set you apart from your competition. </span><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">The new Horizontal line feature is available for all SiteKreator Business Premium and Deluxe clients. In order to take full advantage of this feature, you need to <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_19601693" class="plain">reapply your design</a>.<br></p><br><br>Slavka2012-06-26T06:30:55-07:00New: Visual Vocabulary Essentials: Horizontal Lines Made Easy with SiteKreatorNew: Advanced Navigation options http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_25056100 <p class="plain">As part of an ongoing effort to increase the customization options of your site, we are now introducing Advanced Options <img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/2f1/3ca/027/Screen-Shot-2012-05-31-at-9.41.34-PM.png' daid="12228527" border="0"> for all <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.website-creator.org/navigation_areas.html" class="plain">Navigation Areas</a> and <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.website-creator.org/navigation_items.html" class="plain">Navigation Items</a>. </p><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img width="350" align="left" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/0a1/1fd/2ed/nav-item-prop.png' style="margin: 15px 15px 15px 0px;float: left" height="318" border="0" daid="12228528" keep_prop="1"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">When you enable the Advanced options in the Navigation Areas you will have access to some of the less frequently used options like Menu Alignment and Sub-Menu Appearance.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Enabling the Advanced options in Navigation Items properties reveals the Mouse Over Text, Color and custom image options. Also in this mode you can specify whether your links will open in the Same Window, New Window, or a Lightbox pop-up. By default all internal links will open in the same window and all external links will open in a new window, but with the new Advanced settings you can now change that.</div><div class="plain"> </div><font class="plain"> <br></font><div class="plain"></div><p class="plain"></p>Mark McGrady2012-06-01T19:36:53-07:00New: Advanced Navigation optionsText and Image Editor Improvements - Part II http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_24648820 <p class="plain">Today we are very excited to announce the release of second batch of improvements in the most often used component in SiteKreator: the Text and Images editor. The goal of this release was to simplify the management of images for novice users, while at the same time unleash the power of the web to more experienced users.<br><img align="right" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/198/198/029/Screen-Shot-2012-05-10-at-10.17.20-PM.png' style="margin: 15px 0px 15px 15px;float: right" bmargin="15" border="0" daid="12099970" rmargin="0" tmargin="15" lmargin="15"></p><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">At first sight you will notice the image properties panel is significantly simplified with just three settings: Image Size, Caption and Alignment. But with the simple flip of the Advanced switch, you get all the options available before plus a lot more in the newly redesigned panel.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Another major improvement in this release is the ability to set a different image that will appear when you roll-over an image, and what transition effect should be used between these two images. Having roll-over images can greatly increase the interactivity of your web site, and can be used to create attractive call-to-action buttons. See example of this feature in action below (roll-over the image) as well as on <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/transitions.html" class="plain">this demo page</a>.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div align="center" class="plain"><a link="" onmouseover="rog1847099804.src='http://sitekreator.com/Tools/file_direct_link.html?node_id=24409848'" href="http://sitekreator.com" onmouseout="rog1847099804.src='http://sitekreator.com/Tools/file_direct_link.html?node_id=24409847'"><img src="http://sitekreator.com/Tools/file_direct_link.html?node_id=24409847" name="rog1847099804" border="0"/></a><br></div><font class="plain"> </font><div class="plain"><img align="left" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/369/264/072/Screen-Shot-2012-05-10-at-10.26.36-PM.png' style="margin: 15px 15px 15px 0px;float: left" bmargin="15" border="0" daid="12099973" lmargin="0" rmargin="15" tmargin="15"><br></div><div class="plain">In addition to the rollover image options, we are also introducing a new stock image library which will allow you to use stock images and icons on any of your pages. You can choose one of several collections of images and filter the images in a collection by keywords. <br><br></div><div class="plain">Once the stock image has been added in the Text and Image editor, you can use it as any normal image, except that you can’t edit it. <br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Learn more about the new Library features, and how to create rollover images in just a few clicks by following our <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/text_and_images_image_panel.html" class="plain">detailed tutorial</a> and in these <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/transitions.html" class="plain">examples</a>.</div>Mark McGrady2012-05-10T21:19:51-07:00Text and Image Editor Improvements - Part IIUpdate: Timeline-compatible Facebook Pages http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_23356891 <p class="plain">If you have not already switched over, on March 30, 2012, all <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/about/pages/" class="plain">Facebook Pages</a> will be automatically changed to the new Timeline design.</p><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img width="700" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/381/2fb/1da/sk-fb1.png' bmargin="0" height="501" border="0" daid="11786112" tmargin="0" lmargin="0" rmargin="0" keep_prop="1"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">The updated Facebook Page Layouts will accommodate the new 810px page width. and is available now in all recent *stock designs. To access the updated layout for your accounts you will need to <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_19601693" class="plain">re-apply your current design</a> by going to Control Panel > Change Design and clicking Apply.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><font class="plainsmall"><b>Note:</b> The Facebook Page Layout is available in the following designs: Atlas, Atria, Chara, Electra, Kuma, Meissa, Mira, Pasta Arc, Pasta Oval, Polaris, Sirius, and Vega.</font></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">The text content on your Facebook pages will adjust automatically, however, you may need to manually replace any custom Page Image, and also adjust any tables that have dimensions set in fixed pixels. And if you want to use this before March 30, while logged into Facebook and visiting your Page you will need to Preview¹ the Timeline design and then Publish² the update.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img width="700" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/2cc/040/31f/fb1.png' bmargin="0" height="260" border="0" daid="11786113" tmargin="0" lmargin="0" rmargin="0" keep_prop="1"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">If you are interested in creating Facebook tabs, than you might also like to check out our soon-to-be-released Facebook Tab Installer application, please <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/exclusive/early-access-program.html" class="plain">join our Early access program</a> to learn more!</div><font class="plain"> </font><p class="plain"></p>Mark McGrady2012-03-22T14:14:26-07:00Update: Timeline-compatible Facebook PagesAddThis Application Temporarily Disabled http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_22941998 <p class="plain"></p><div class="plain">Earlier today, our engineers discovered that an update released by <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://addthis.com" class="plain">AddThis</a> yesterday breaks editing functionality of our Admin area. As a consequence, users encountered difficulty editing pages that had the AddThis application installed.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">We have notified AddThis support of the issue and are working with them to resolve it as soon as possible.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Meanwhile, we have disabled the AddThis application for all our clients until a solution is available.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">There are a number of alternative widgets out that can be used in place of AddThis, without causing issues. <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sharethis.com/" class="plain">ShareThis</a> is one very popular option.<br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">We appologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Please follow our blog for updates on this issue.</div><p class="plain"></p>rene2012-03-08T03:23:24-08:00AddThis Application Temporarily DisabledUpdate: Improved Link Interface http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_22784932 <p class="plain"></p><div class="plain">We received lots of enthusiastic reactions to our <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/pc_url_21972350" class="plain">Text and Image editor update sneak preview</a>. So many of you were eager to get started with the new features, that we decided to split this release into several smaller updates, in order to get them to you sooner.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Today we are releasing the improved Link Interface. We've done a complete overhaul of its design and functionality, giving you more control over how you create links on your website.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img alt="SiteKreator Link Interface Update" src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/274/093/046/InsertLinkRTE.png' bmargin="0" border="0" daid="11642084" title="SiteKreator Link Interface Update" lmargin="0" rmargin="0" tmargin="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Besides the Text and Image editor, you'll find the updated Link Interface in the Page Image Slideshow, Section Tab options, Form action, Members Login, Galleries and Navigation Items options. </div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Jump in right away by <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/welcome-back.html" class="plain">logging in to your account</a> or read on to find out what is new.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><font class="heading2">Improved Workflow</font></div><div class="plain">The first thing you'll notice when you open the pull-down menu, is that the list of pages from your site that appears inside the pull-down menu, are much better organized. The pages now appear grouped and indented if they are in folders.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/3df/120/004/InsertLinkRTE2.png' daid="11642085" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">You'll see an anchor icon appear next to any page that contains one or more anchor links. Clicking on the triangle next to the icon, will lists all anchors on that page. Linking to any place, on any page on your site, was never this easy!</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/0ca/1ac/1d1/InsertLinkRTE3.png' daid="11642086" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">When you are linking images, a new { Image Lightbox } option will appear in the Link Interface. Selecting this option will create a link that opens the full-size image in a lightbox-style window. This new functionality will replace the Zoom application. </div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Typing the name or URL of any page into the Link text box, will instantly update the pull-down menu and filter the pages shown to match your search criteria.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Passing your mouse cursor over a page name in the pull-down menu a new tooltip will appear, that will show the name and the URL of that page. This comes in extremely handy when you have multiple pages with the same or similar names.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><font class="heading2">Different Link Types</font></div><div class="plain">To add an external link, all you have to do is click inside the text box of the Link Selection Interface, and start typing. The set button [ICON] becomes green as soon as you've entered a valid link to help you reduce the chance of entering invalid web addresses.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/270/1c0/177/InsertLinkRTE4.png' daid="11642087" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Linking to an email is as simple as typing a valid email address into the text area. You can even link to a phone by just typing <font class="plainfixedwidth">tel:</font> followed by the phone number. Linking to an external secure (https) page requires that the URL starts with <font class="plainfixedwidth">https://</font>.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Whether you select a page to link to from the pull-down menu, or enter it manually, a valid link is automatically indicated by an icon that appears in front of the link address, specifying the type of link. SiteKreator has different icons for internal pages, normal (http) and secure (https) external links, email addresses, and phone numbers.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/270/1c0/177/iconLibrary.png' daid="11642088" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><font class="heading2">Advanced Options</font></div><div class="plain">When advanced options is enabled for the Text and Image editor, the Link interface shows several additional options.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/270/1c0/177/InsertLinkRTE5.png' daid="11642089" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><b>New or Same Window</b></div><div class="plain">By default, all internal links open in the current browser window, while all external links open in a new tab or window. With the advanced options enabled, you can change this behavior any way you want and have full control over where you want your links to open.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><b>Open in Lightbox</b></div><div class="plain">New is that the pull-down menu now includes a Lightbox option. Instead of sending your website visitors to a different site, you can opt to show content you are linking to inside a lightbox, layered on top of your site. Note: this is different from the { image lightbox } mentioned earlier. </div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/274/093/046/contentInLightbox.png' daid="11642090" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><font class="heading2">More Search Engine Control</font></div><div class="plain">When search engines index the web, they look for links on pages that they already know, to find new content. This is how your new articles get automatically found by Google and other search engines. </div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Sometimes you don't want a certain page to be indexed by search engines. One way to achieve this is by creating a so-called "nofollow" link any time you link to that particular page. The new No Follow option in our Link interface lets will automatically create a link that instructs search engines not to follow or index the page you are linking to.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/0ca/1ac/1d1/InsertLinkRTE6.png' daid="11642091" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">This is just a quick overview of the most significant changes and updates of the Link interface. Let us know in the comments below what you think of the update. </div><div class="plain"><br></div><p class="plain"></p>rene2012-03-01T02:21:11-08:00Update: Improved Link InterfaceUpdated Form Error Messages and HTML Snippets http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_22765307 <p class="plain">Earlier this week, we held our second, company-wide <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/hackathon/February-2012.html" class="plain">Hackathon</a>. Based on the work done during that day, we are today releasing two exciting updates. </p><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><font class="heading2">Improved Form messaging</font></div><div class="plain">Clear and proper messaging is crucial when optimizing forms for better conversion. Today's first update is a change in both the success and error messages for Forms.</div><div class="plain"><img alt="SiteKreator Form Success Message " src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/0a3/2a2/285/form-messages-success-preview.png' bmargin="0" border="0" daid="11635592" title="SiteKreator Form Success Message " rmargin="0" tmargin="0" lmargin="0"></div><div class="plain">Sometimes people make a mistake or skip a required field when they are filling out a form. When this happens, it is crucial that information about this error is provided in a way that will encourage users to correct the mistake and submit the form, to complete the conversion.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">The updated error messages of our forms that we released today, immediately show users which form field needs their attention and what action they need to take. We are confident that this change will help significantly improve your forms' conversion rates.</div><div class="plain"><img alt="SiteKreator Form Error Message" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/1e0/180/0c3/form-messages-error-preview.png' bmargin="0" border="0" daid="11635593" title="SiteKreator Form Error Message" rmargin="0" tmargin="0" lmargin="0"></div><div class="plain">By default, success and error messages appear at the top of the form, as shown in the screenshot above. If you want these messages to appear in a different location, you can do this with the new placement option in the Form menubar. Clicking option icon inserts a place holder at the cursor location. </div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/13d/378/33b/form-messages-placement.png' daid="11635594" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><font class="heading2">HTML Snippet Name</font></div><div class="plain">Using HTML Snippets can be extremely powerful, and working with snippets lets you go beyond what is possible with SiteKreator's already-powerful mouse-driven tools. The only drawback is that when you have several HTML Snippets on a page, it can become hard to remember what each of them did.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">We have now made this much easier by allowing you to give each snippet a name. This way, you can easily identify the functionality of each snippet, without having to open them one by one in the Snippet Editor.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/081/16f/054/html-snippet-new.png' daid="11641456" bmargin="0" lmargin="0" rmargin="0" tmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">The Snippet name will also appear in the snippet placeholder.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain"><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/06e/040/326/html-snippet-cropped-2.png' daid="11635596" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">The Snippet name field becomes available when you enable Advanced settings in the HTML Snippet Panel.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><p class="plain"></p>rene2012-02-29T07:11:49-08:00Updated Form Error Messages and HTML SnippetsNew Image Editor http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_22446271 <p class="plain"></p><div class="plain">SiteKreator users have come to rely on our fully-integrated image editor for correcting their photos before adding them to the pages of their website.</div><font class="plain"><br></font><div class="plain">What you may not have realized, is that the editor itself was provided by a service called Picnik. A few weeks ago, <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://blog.picnik.com/2012/01/official-announcement-picnik-is-closing/" class="plain">Picnik announced</a> they would shut down the service on April 19, 2012.</div><font class="plain"><br></font><div class="plain">Without wasting much time over the loss, we immediately started to look for a replacement.</div><font class="plain"><br></font><div class="plain">Today, we are announcing that we have replaced Picknik with <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://www.aviary.com/" class="plain">Aviary</a> as our new, fully-integrated image editing tool.</div><br><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/36c/04e/03f/Aviary_Editor.png' daid="11539386" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br><br><div class="plain">Aviary is a photo-editing platform that works just as seamlessly with SiteKreator as you are used from Picnik.<br><br></div><div class="plain">Aviary offers a number of great tools to spruce up the photos you add to your website. These include, among others, <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://blog.aviary.com/new-feature-alert-one-click-enhance/" class="plain">tools</a> for correcting and enhancing brightness and color balance, adjustment tools to adjust orientation, cropping and sharpness, even tools to remove red eyes and whiten teeth. In addition, Aviary also offers about a <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://www.aviary.com/features" class="plain">dozen beautiful stylistic effects</a> to make your photos pop.</div><font class="plain"><br></font><div class="plain">You can access Aviary by clicking the Edit button that appears after you upload an image in the Text and Image Editor, Image Galleries, Form Editor, Page Image Options, as well as in Customize Design > Custom Site Background and Custom Site Ornaments.</div><br><p class="plain"></p>Slavka2012-02-14T05:57:24-08:00New Image EditorHow to Optimize Your Content for Social Sharing http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_22389787 <font class="plain"><img align="left" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/05d/350/0d7/SharingKids.png' style="margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;float: left" bmargin="12" border="0" daid="11518657" lmargin="0" rmargin="12" tmargin="0">When we create fresh content for our website, we are used to thinking about <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_12477449" class="plain">search engine optimization</a>, but how often do we think about how our content gets shared on social networks? What can we do to optimize our content for social sharing?</font><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">First of all, the obvious difference: when people use social networks, they want to connect in the first place, and they want to entertain and to be entertained in the second place. They look for information in a different way, so we have to present our information in a way that it will attract them. </p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">Any share-friendly article starts with high-quality content. If your readers do not think the content is worth the time to read, then it is not likely to be shared. <br></p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">Once you have the content taken care of, you need to make sure it has a title that stands out and pulls people in, while at the same time giving them an idea of what the article is about. You will also want to keep the title short so that it can be easily shared on media like Twitter where every message has to fit in 140 characters, including the URL. </p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">Next, add high-quality, attention-grabbing photos or videos. It is best to use images with less details. Most social networks will show sized-down versions of your files, so having lots of details often leads to unclear, noisy images that are no longer attractive.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"><b>More Than Just Share-friendly Content</b></p><p class="plain">So far, you may still find most of this very similar to good SEO practise. Under normal circumstances, social networks like Facebook and Google+ are perfectly happy to use the Title and Description meta-tags that you have provided as part of your SEO.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">But if you're going to try to improve social sharing, you'll want to add a few extra pieces of information to your pages. In technical terms these are called Open Graph metatags, and you can find out all about their technical details on the <a link="" target="_blank" href="https://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph/" class="plain">Facebook Developer pages</a>. </p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">What is important to know is that social networks tend to use these tags instead of the standard metatags you create in SEO. In the rest of this article, we'll focus on the three most important Open Graph metatags for social sharing and on why you should add those to your pages. All of this is very simple to do with SiteKreator's <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/pc_url_22020948" class="plain">new Social Tools</a>.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"><img align="" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/0cd/1f0/212/PageOptionsScreenshot.png' bmargin="0" border="0" daid="11518658" rmargin="0" tmargin="0" lmargin="0"><br></p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"><i><a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/page-options.html#SocialSharingImage" class="plain"><i>Image</i></a>.</i> Has this ever happened to you: you click on the Like button on a page, only to see later on that the article you Liked has been shared using an ad that was on the same page as the thumbnail image? You can prevent this from happening by defining what image Facebook and other networks use when your pages are shared. This way, your shared articles will always use that one, extra-attention-grabbing image that you picked for the article. </p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">One thing to keep in mind is that <a link="" target="_blank" href="https://developers.facebook.com/docs/share/" class="plain">Facebook is very particular about the size</a> of these images; minimum 50 by 50 pixels, but no larger than 130 by 110. </p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"><i><a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/page-options.html#SocialSharingTitle" class="plain"><i>Title</i></a></i><i>. </i>Research has shown that people on social networks are more likely to share entertaining or funny content. Sometimes, using a slightly different, more enteraining title for your content, can help make it more share-friendly.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"><a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/page-options.html#SocialSharingDescription" class="plain">Description</a>. Here too, changing the description of the page to be a better fit to the attitude of the social network users that you are trying to reach, increases the likelihood of your content getting shared or clicked on.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">Adding these extra pieces of information to your pages is extremely simple with SiteKreator and takes just a few clicks of your mouse. You can set the social sharing image for all the pages on your site in the <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/site_properties.html#SocialSharingImage" class="plain">Site Properties Panel</a>, but you'll want to make these settings separately for every page that you are trying to optimize fully. This is done from in the <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://support.sitekreator.com/page-options.html#SocialTools" class="plain">Page Options panel</a>. You don't, of course, have to optimize every single page on your site. Focus on those pages that are most important.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">And even if you don't specify these settings at all, SiteKreator still has you covered, as we'll provide social networks with the content from your SEO settings.</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain">Do you have any other suggestions to make content more social media share-frienly? Let us know in the comments below. </p>rene2012-02-10T10:35:35-08:00How to Optimize Your Content for Social Sharing7 Tips to Prepare for Valentine’s Day http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_22206897 <p class="plain">A couple of weeks ago we asked our Facebook friends what their Valentine’s Day ideas and plans were on how to boost their sales for the holiday. If you were among the many that responded, we'd like to thank you! Some of you shared their strategies, but the majority of our clients who sent us emails asked us for advice. There is only 2 weeks left until the holiday, and if your business could benefit from it, there is still enough time to prepare and execute a successful Valentine’s Day campaign by following these 7 useful tips.<br><br><font class="heading2">1. Make sure your website is relevant to Valentine's Day.<br></font>If you consider capitalizing on Valentine’s Day, the first and most important thing to keep in mind is that not every business is going to see an increased demand for the holiday. If you're offering business-to-business services, don’t set your expectations too high. But if you're selling chocolates, beauty products or services, jewellery or other desirable Valentine's presents, putting a little bit of extra effort into your site might get your sales to really peak this holiday.<br><br>To best promote your holiday-themed products and services, make sure your presentation has a strong Valentine's Day look and feel. You can achieve this by simply changing your background color and applying relevant background ornaments. <br><br>All our modern designs (Atlas, Atria, Chara, Electra, Kuma, Meissa, Mira, Pasta Arc, Pasta Oval, Polaris, Sirius, Vega) support Site Background and Site Background Ornament customization. We've even pre-loaded some Valentine's Day ornaments.</p><p class="plain"><br><img src='http://0801.nccdn.net/1_5/118/118/2fc/Vday_Screenshot_Before.png' daid="11460369" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br></p><p class="plain"></p><p class="plain">[Before]</p><p class="plain"><br></p><p class="plain"><img src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/1b5/288/24d/Vday_Screenshot_After.png' daid="11460370" bmargin="0" tmargin="0" rmargin="0" lmargin="0" border="0"><br>[After]</p><p class="plain"><br><font class="heading2">2. Create a prominent feature area.<br></font>Next, pull all of your Valentine's Day merchandise or offers to your home page, so customers don't have to search through your entire website to find the perfect gift. <br><br>If you haven’t already done so, setup a Page Image Slideshow on your home page and use relevant images to link to your product or service pages.<br><br><font class="heading2">3. Create your own special offers and packages.<br></font>Gift Certificates are a great way to turn services or even a vacation package into a Valentine's Day present. Why not create a promo package by pulling several related products together? Don't forget to add a gift-wrap option and promote this package as the perfect grab-and-go Valentine's Day gift.<br><br>You can easily add gift certificates to your site with our new Local Promotions application. Even though it is not officially released yet, you can get access to the application by joining our <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/exclusive/early-access-program.html" class="plain">Early Access program</a>. Just fill out this form today, and we'll send you all the instructions you need by email.<br><br><font class="heading2">4. Help your customers offer creative gifts.<br></font>Many customers will visit your website looking for a unique and special present, but without a clear idea on what that would be. You can sell more by thinking up creative gifts around your offerings. When creating your special gift packages, think of a story that goes with them.<br><br>Fairy tales and romantic movies are always a good source of inspiration for Valentine’s Day gift ideas. Why not create a “Sleeping Beauty” gift box of evening flavored teas that you already sell, or a “Romeo and Juliet” selection of beauty salon treatments for two. <br><br><font class="heading2">5. Get the word out.<br></font>So you’ve gone through all the tips so far and you have the site decorations, the gift packages, and the gift certificates ready. But still, if nobody knows about it, it won’t get you the results you’re planning for.<br><br>Send out an e-mail to your customer mailing list and invite everyone to your website for some great Valentine's Day gifts. Let them know about the special gift packages you’ve selected for them, the special deals you’ve set up and don’t forget to mention it if you’ve started offering gift certificates. <br><br><font class="heading2">6. Use social media to drive more traffic.<br></font>Don't forget social media and third party blogs to announce your Valentine's Day offers. Use your Facebook Page and Twitter to remind all your fans and followers why you are the place to go for great Valentine's Day gifts. If you have a large fan base on Facebook you may want to go the extra mile and create a special Valentine’s Day <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_18656826" class="plain">page tab</a>.<br><br><font class="heading2">7. Be prepared for increased demand. <br></font>After you've followed through all the tips above, make sure you are ready to handle any increased demand. Nothing is worse than running out of stock on your themed merchandise or offers and lose precious holiday sales. If you’re offering beauty services for example, it will be easier to keep track of your appointments by using SiteKreator’s built-in <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://sitekreator.com/resources/successful-appointment-scheduling-in-3-easy-steps.html" class="plain">Appointment Scheduler</a> application. The application will not only prevent double-booking which may ruin your clients’ holiday, but will also help you fill-up all your available slots.<br><br>One last tip from us: don’t forget to do your own Valentine’s Day shopping in time for the big day so you won't have to resort to desperate last-minute purchases, that will leave you with nothing to choose from, but cheesy greeting cards and overpriced carnation bouquets.<br></p>Slavka2012-02-02T06:17:44-08:007 Tips to Prepare for Valentine’s DayUpdate: Improved Support for Automated Feeds in News and Events http://sitekreator.com/sitekreator/pc_url_22043259 <p class="plain"></p><div class="plain"><img align="left" src='http://0701.nccdn.net/1_5/0ff/1c8/27f/RSS_icon128px.png' style="margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px;float: left" bmargin="15" border="0" daid="11409389" lmargin="0" rmargin="15" tmargin="0">Our News and Events Application is used by thousands of our customers to automatically add fresh and up-to-date content to their business website.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Today we are announcing an update of this application that will let you include even more types of feeds.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">There are several technical standards for automated news feeds. So far, we have supported <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS" class="plain">the RSS standard</a>.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Today's release adds support for <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_(standard)" class="plain">the Atom standard</a>.</div><div class="plain"> </div><div class="plain">What this means in practice, is that you now have a much wider range of news and event feeds that you can add to your business website. Atom feeds can be found in <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://blogger.com" class="plain">Blogger</a>, <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://http://news.google.com/" class="plain">Google News</a>, <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://gmail.com" class="plain">Gmail</a>, on <a link="" target="_blank" href="http://wordpress.com" class="plain">Wordpress.com</a> and in many other places around the web.</div><div class="plain"><br></div><div class="plain">Go ahead and add one to your site. </div><div class="plain"><br></div><p class="plain"></p>rene2012-01-24T07:24:23-08:00Update: Improved Support for Automated Feeds in News and Events