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Frequently Asked Questions (click the questions to get the answers)
General
Technical
Email
Marketing & Search Engines
Services We Provide
Photos and Images
Answers
In the past the most common place for someone to look for a product or service was in the Yellow pages, which may supply an address and telephone number. These days anyone with a computer (over 80% of the United States households) would look for a website first to get an in-depth look at your company and not just your contact information. If they can not find a website for you chances are they will try your competition.
Why does my website appear not to fill the monitor screen? Back to Top
It depends on what your screen resolution is set to on your monitor. The reason the site does not fill up the screen is because your screen resolution is probably 1024 x 768. In computers with a screen resolution of 800 x 600, the web page will fill the screen. If we design for a screen resolution of 1024 x 768, people who have their monitor set to 800 x 600 will have to scroll left to right to see the entire page.
 What is a "web safe" or "browser safe" font? Back to Top
These are fonts that most computers have installed on them by default. If an end user doesn't have a font installed on their computer that you are using on your website then they will not be able to see the font and then the computer chooses another font to use. This could make your website appearance skewed from what you intended.
We only use web safe fonts in the body text of your site so it looks the same on all end user machines. To the right is a list of web safe fonts and how they look.
I lost my Webmanager 3 Manual. Get I get another copy?
If you need it right now, you may click here to view a pdf online (it's a large file, so it might take a minute). We can send you another copy if you will just email us letting us know you need it.
Follow these steps to change your monitor resolution: Back to Top
Go to your desktop and right click on the blank space where there are no icons.
Click "Properties" on the box that appears
Click the "Settings" tab at the top of the next box
On screen area at the bottom right of the box, drag it to 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768, depending on your preference
Click OK
Click OK one or two more times when you are prompted.
Can I have a shopping cart and accept credit cards on my website? Back to Top
There are two ways to accept credit cards on your e-commerce website:
A Pay Pal Pro account will allow you accept credit cards online without having to run them on a terminal in your store/office. This would be a seamless solution and there is a monthly fee with Pay Pal and a percentage each month. The fee to integrate this into your website would be about $25 that you would need to pay us (in addition to Pay Pal). You can accept Master Card and Visa this way. Here is the link to read more about Pay Pal https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_wp-pro-overview-outside
The second option is to use the credit card part that is built into your website but just subscribe to a credit card processing company that accepts Visa and Master Card. This would mean when you receive a credit card order, you retrieve the number from the secure back end system (by logging in like you do to upload products) and run it on your terminal. There would be no charge by us for this because it is already built into the system. Here is an example of a virtual terminal: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_vt_hub-outside
What is the definition of cache (on my computer)? Back to Top
A cache (pronounced CASH) is a place to store something temporarily. The files you automatically request by looking at a Web page are stored on your hard disk. So, in turn, when you return to a page you've recently looked at, the browser can get it from the cache rather than the original server, saving you time and the network additional traffic.
To clear the Internet cache on your computer (in Internet Explorer), follow these steps:
Open your browser and go to a website other than the one you are having trouble with.
Go to Tools > Internet Options
In the 2nd box “Temporary Internet Files” or “Browsing History” (depending on the version of Internet Explorer you are using)
Click Delete Files (this may take a few minutes if this task has never been performed before) or “Delete”
If another box appears click the “Temporary Internet Files” deletion button
Then Click OK
1. Go to the Start Menu and Click Run...
2. Type "cmd" into the textbox (without the quotation marks).
3. This brings you to the command prompt. In the command prompt type: ipconfig /flushdns
4. Press Enter
5. Your cache should now be clear. Open the desired webpage in a new browser window to view changes.
We typically build our websites to be primarily compatible with the
most popular browsers which are currently Internet Explorer and FireFox.
This will account for roughly 96% of your website visitors. Safari,
which is the next most popular, accounts for roughly 1.5% of visitors.
While no two browsers will render the same page identically, it should
be expected that some pages may produce slight visual errors when using
a less popular browser. If you would like us to build your site with a
certain browser in mind, we can work with you to make sure it meets the
proper requirements.
How do I set up my email in Outlook or Outlook Express (POP3)? Back to Top
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Open the program and click Tools > Accounts.
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Click the Mail tab.
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Click the Add button and choose Mail.
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Type in your name, click Next.
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Type in your full @yourdomainname.com email address (ex: johndoe@yourdomainname.com), click Next.
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Next to "My incoming mail server is a" select POP3.
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Next to "Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP, or HTTP) server", type in: incoming.pronetsinc.com
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What you type In the "Outgoing mail (SMTP) server" line will be dependent upon where you are located. If you are going to use our outgoing server, enter outgoing.pronetsinc.com - otherwise, you will need to contact your Internet provider for your outgoing server information.
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Click Next.
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For the account or username, put in the full email address (ex: johndoe@yourdomainname.com) and then put in your password and click Next and Finish.
NOTE: If using our outgoing server, click Properties for the account you just added. Click Servers. At the bottom, click My server requires Authentication and click the More Settings button. Make sure that it is using the same log in information as your incoming server. Click OK, Apply and OK, then click Close on the accounts box and that should do the trick.
Alternatively, you can go to http://sqmail.pronetsinc.com/ and log in with your email address and password.
How do I set up my email in Outlook or Outlook Express (IMAP)? Back to Top
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Open the program and click Tools > Accounts.
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Click the Mail tab.
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Click the Add button and choose Mail.
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Type in your name, click Next.
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Type in your full @yourdomainname.com email address (ex: johndoe@yourdomainname.com), click Next.
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Next to "My incoming mail server is a" select IMAP.
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Next to "Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP, or HTTP) server", type in: incoming.pronetsinc.com
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What you type In the Outgoing mail (SMTP) server line will be dependent upon where you are located. If you are going to use our outgoing server, enter outgoing.pronetsinc.com - otherwise, you will need to contact your Internet provider for your outgoing server information.
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Click Next.
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For the account or username, put in the full email address (ex: johndoe@yourdomainname.com) and then put in your password and click Next and Finish.
NOTE: If using our outgoing server, click Properties for the account you just added. Click Servers. At the bottom, click My server requires Authentication and click the More Settings button. Make sure that it is using the same log in information as your incoming server. Click OK, Apply and OK, then click Close on the accounts box and that should do the trick.
Alternatively, you can go to http://sqmail.pronetsinc.com/ and log in with your email address and password.
What is the difference between POP3 or IMAP? Back to top
POP3 works by reviewing the inbox on the mail server, and downloading the new messages to your computer's hard drive. IMAP downloads the headers of the new messages on the server, then retrieves the message you want to read when you click on it.
When using POP3, your mail is stored on your PC.
When using IMAP, the mail is stored on the mail server. Unless you copy a message to a “Local Folder” the messages are never copied to your PC.
How do I set up a vacation message in Outlook? Back to top
Email addresses can be added to your whitelist by checking your spam filter. If a message gets caught in the spam filter and is not delivered to your inbox, place a check mark beside the message and click the "Deliver Checked" button. The spam filter will then be trained to deliver email messages from that particular email address. Read more about your spam filter here: http://pronetsweb.com/emailspamhelp.aspx
Where do I check my email that ends in my domain? Back to top
I receive mass emails in something that looks like Chinese writing. How can I fix it? Back to top
We have been told by the manufacturer of our mass email program that the problem is not with Professional Networks, Inc but that the customer's exchange server needs to be updated with the latest fix. Please contact your IT person if you are using an internal server or mail host so they may fix the problem.
Professional Networks forbids the sending of spam to any public forum or private email address. Spam is defined as any unwanted or unsolicited bulk email, commercial or otherwise. Customers who use their account to engage in the practice of spamming will be subject to immediate termination and will be fined at a rate of $20 per recipient per message. ProNets also forbids the sending of mass email to opt in mailing lists in excess of 20 recipients per 24 hours. Please contact us at info@pronetsweb.com if you are interested in sending a mass email to opt in recipients. Professional Networks provides electronic storage space to its customers for the purpose of publishing private and commercial information. The customer is solely responsible for the content of their publications and agrees to abide by local, state, federal, and international law.I, or someone I know, received an email from my own email account, but I didn't send it. How did this happen? Back to Top
E-mail address spoofing:
The sender information shown in e-mails (the "From" field) can be spoofed easily. This technique is commonly used by spammers to hide the origin of their e-mails and leads to problems such as misdirected bounces (i.e. e-mail spam backscatter).
E-mail address spoofing is done in quite the same way as writing a forged return address using snail mail. As long as the letter fits the protocol, (ie. stamp, postal code) the SMTP protocol will send the message. It can be done using a mail server with telnet.
With Windows Vista, I can't send emails and receive a message "An error occured while attempting to open the windows address book. Unable to find teh WAB DLL." Back to Top
To correct the issue, open up My Computer and select C:/Program Files/Microsoft Office/office/Outlook. Right click and select Properties, Compatibility. Under compatibility, place a check in the box that states "Run this program in compatibility mode for" and select Windows XP SP2.
Note: Vista compatible versions of Outlook: Outlook 2003 and 2007.
What are the email settings for my Blackberry? Back to Top
To set up your email on your BlackBerry, you will need to use the following credentials:
Incoming Server: incoming.pronetsinc.com
Outgoing Server: outgoing.pronetsinc.com
Username: your email address
Password: your email password
If you have an option for the outgoing server to use authentication, make sure it does and use the username and password above.
How can I backup my email messages in Outlook (IMAP ONLY)? Back to Top
If your mail is set up as IMAP, you can move the folders off the server and on to your local machine - you'll just want to be sure to back up your email.
In Outlook, make a folder for the messages you wish to keep under Personal Folders. (Right click on Personal Folders and left click on New Folder and type in the name of the folder. If you're using Outlook 2007, Folder contains Mail and Post Items and make sure it's set to Personal Folders.
You should see your folders on the server underneath that - should say either email@yourdomain.com or incoming.pronetsinc.com. If you expand that, you'll see your folders.
Click the folder on the server that you wish to move locally and drag it into the new folder you made under Personal Folders. It may take a while depending on the size of the folder. You can also do this with individual messages.
Treat your web address like you would your telephone number. Please include it in ALL of your invoices, as well as marketing and advertising media: Letterhead, Business Cards, Flyers, Price Sheets, Radio Ads, Television, Billboards, Magazine & Newspaper Ads, and Promotional Products such as mugs or pens.
Get your company AFFILIATED with national organizations, current vendors or other websites. It is usually FREE to trade links. Investigate, surf the Internet for a similar business or purpose, and contact them about trading links. Affiliation with other sites can generate traffic to your website.
Spread the word about your website and your offerings. Give out business cards by the dozen! Ask people to spread the word for you. Referrals are still a BIG part of business today.
Yes, we do pay per click. Due to the amount of time it takes to research for the quote, we do charge the for the time involved.
Why do I need to decide my key phrases before my website is developed? Back to Top
We optimize your website for specific key phrases when we are developing the website with our proven optimization techniques. We do not simply add them to your meta tags once the pages have been designed. This helps us to be able to achieve high rankings for your website.
At Professional Networks, Inc. we specialize in helping your website rank well in the major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and more. We optimize the website as we build it and our methods have proven very successful in the past. Also, we hand submit your website to the search engines that helps better your rankings. We are continually researching and working to help your website climb to the top for the key phrases your website is optimized for.
Your website is optimized based on key phrases that actual web users were searching for. You may think someone is looking for "Galax, Virginia Events" when in actuality, they are searching for "Events in Galax, Virginia". Special care is taken to make sure your website is optimized based on what customers are looking for.
When your website is launched on the World Wide Web and we do the first submission to the search engines, they will send crawlers to rank your website against the millions of other websites at their leisure (which sometimes takes up to 6 weeks). Keep in mind that these other websites you are competing with are optimized for the same key phrases as your website and have been ranked anywhere from 1 day to 10+ years. The process of climbing in the rankings is not immediate, so more than likely your website will not be on the top 10 in Google or Yahoo the week after the site goes live. However, we do provide you with a ranking and statistical report about three months after the website is launched so you can see where your website is ranking and how much traffic it is getting. We can also provide you with your own login to SmarterStats, a great tool that shows a wealth of information about your website traffic.
If you are concerned about your search engine rankings after your website has been live for at least three months, please let us know. If there are certain phrases you are not ranking for that you feel you need to be included, please let us know.
We do offer Pay-Per-Click services for targeted key phrases that are competitive. Additional fees apply for these services and we would be happy to provide you with more information.
What are the differences between Bandwidth, Page Views, Hits and Visits in my statistical report? Back to top
Bandwidth - Bandwidth represents the total number of kilobytes that were sent to people visiting your site. Bandwidth includes all resources requested by the users.
Hits - A hit represents a request to your web site for a file such as an image, a web page, or a CGI script. One web page may contain several related resources, and as a result, a visitor viewing one web page may trigger several hits. Hits generated as a result of an error (either a 400 or 500 level error) are not counted as actual hits to your site, and are kept separate from successful hits.
Page Views - A page view is a successful request for a file on your web site that is considered to be a page. These usually mean files with extensions such as .txt, .asp, .aspx, .php, etc. Views generated as a result of an error (either a 400 or 500 level error) are not counted as actual views for your site, and are kept separate from successful views.
Visits - Visits represent the total number of times people have visited your web site. A visit is counted whenever a web site user requests one or more files from the web server. If the user becomes idle for more than a certain amount of time (usually 20 minutes), a new visit is generated when they come back.
Do you provide statistical tools for my website? Back to Top
For websites that we develop, the client will receive a free monthly email summary of their website statistics with the option to subscribe to an in-depth reporting tool. We normally do a quarterly ranking report as well that shows them where they are ranking in the search engines.
We can do logo design. The fee is $130 for 3 choices if you provide us with an idea of what images, colors, etc you want to use.
Yes, we do train our clients on how to update their website. Normally, that is built into their quote. They come here and we sit down and go over it step by step with them and also give them a user's manual.
If my images are too large for my website, what do I do? Back to Top
We recommend Ulead PhotoImpact software to help reduce image size while keeping good quality. The software can "batch" several photos down to a smaller size very quickly and easily.
If you have the software and need help with batching, click here to view the pdf instruction sheet.
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