What is DIY Webbuilder?
DIY Webbuilder is an online site building tool which makes it possible to edit and host professional looking, scalable, full featured web sites without any technical expertise.
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What can I do with DIY Webbuilder?
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You can add unlimited number of pages and any type of content - text, music, video, photo galleries and files
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You can add interactive elements such as a discussion forum or blog, web forms, mailing lists
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You can safely work on content changes while visitors are browsing your site
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You can publish updates instantly
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You can restrict access to specific areas on your site to select users
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You can monitor site statistics
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You can have your site hosted under your own domain
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Does DIY Webbuilder have any limitations?
Each new version of DIY Webbuilder brings in new functionalities which are automatically integrated into your website. The current DIY Webbuilder version does not offer the following capabilities:
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There is no option for simultaneous editing of the same content by several users.
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There are no different administrative access levels, approval work flow and history of changes
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There isn't an integrated shopping cart system with online credit card processing. This featrue will be avaiable within the next twelve months. For the time being we offer integration with PayPal ® merchant tools.
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You can't create your DIY Webbuilder design template on your own
- You can't use DIY Webbuilder as a general hosting solution - we don't offer FTP, SSH or ability to run custom scripts. DIY Webbuilder provides instead an integrated platform where you can build web sites without any need of FTP, SSH or scripting
- You have to be online in order to edit your site
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How do I set up hosting my site under my own domain name?
DIY Webbuilder allows you to host your web site under your own domain name. This makes all pages on your site available under http://mydomain.tld/page.html instead of http://diywebbuilder.com/myname/page.html.
If you already have a domain name, you can make your DIY Webbuilder site appear under it in two easy steps:
- Specify your domain name(s) under My Domain field in Site Properties
- Set your domain to point to DIY Webbuilder's IP address (209.128.123.196)
Step 1: File your domain name(s) under My Domain in Site Properties
Step 2. Set your domain to point to DIY Webbuilder's IP address
The approach to this step depends on the level of control you have over your domain name. For each option please allow up to 48 hours for the change to get fully propagated.
Option A. You can manage the DNS for your domain from the registrar's website
Login to your registrar's website with the username and password for your domain management account.
Locate the option for DNS Management (different registrars may use different names for it, e.g. DNS Control). Set the IP (A record) of your domain to DIY Webbuilder's IP 209.128.123.196.
Create an alias (CNAME record) "www" pointing the record you created.
Option B. You (or your hosting company) manage the DNS servers for your domain
You need to set (or ask your hosting company to do so) the IP address of your domain to 209.128.123.196. It is recommended to also create an alias (CNAME) for www.yourdomain.tld pointing to the same IP address.
Option C. You can't manage your DNS from the registrar's website
You can use one of the many free DNS hosting services like http://www.xname.org, http://www.everydns.net, http://www.zoneedit.com. The interface in each one of them is different, but your goal is the same: to create "A" record pointing to DIY Webbsuiler's IP 209.128.123.196 and add www alias "CNAME" pointing to this record.
For questions or issues with your domain name setup contact DIY Webbuilder Support.
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Who can use DIY Webbuilder?
Practically everyone who can use a browser and text editing software will be able to use DIY Webbuilder. DIY Webbuilder can be particularly useful to:
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Small businesses and professionals who wish to establish an upscale web presence
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Artists, writers or photographers in need of an online portfolio
- Collaboration teams looking for an online venue to present project information and coordinate activities
- Anyone who wishes to have a full-featured, good-looking web site that can be easily managed and updated
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What makes DIY Webbuilder different from other website building tools?
The key advantages that set DIY Webbuilder apart from the multitude of website building tools are:
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Flexible pricing structure to accommodate every need, starting from $299, which includes hosting!
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Easy for beginners to edit content even with no technical skills at all
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What does it cost to make a site with DIY Webbuilder?
DIY Webbuilder has a range of packages available starting from $299. The best thing about DIY Webbuilder is it is an all inclusive website strategy so there are no hidden or ongoing costs apart from your 12 month subscription. Click here for full details of the packages we have available.
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Can I use DIY Webbuilder for blogging?
Sure. DIY Webbuilder includes a powerful Blog module with abilities for moderation, access restrictions, RSS and posting via email. DIY Webbuilder offers much more than purely Blogging services however. You can establish a complete web presence of which the Blog is just one feature.
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Can I use DIY Webbuilder for selling products online?
Yes. You can easily sell products on your DIY Webbuilder website by integrating PayPal® Buy Now Buttons or Shopping Cart. A DIY Webbuilder Shopping Cart module with shipping and handling calculator and online credit card processing will be introduced within the next twelve months.
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Can I use DIY Webbuilder for photo-sharing?
Certainly! DIY Webbuilder's Image Galleries allow for multiple images upload, automatically prepared thumbnails and navigation, a variety of views including slideshow. You can also order high quality photo prints and restrict access to original images to select users.
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Can I use DIY Webbuilder as an FTP server? No, DIY Webbuilder doesn't support FTP. The product has been designed with the aim to allow people without technical skills to edit feature-rich web sites. We are not trying to compete with companies offering standard FTP-based hosting. This market has been saturated and we can't really provide any competitive advantage there.
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Can I use DIY Webbuilder for editing my current website?
DIY Webbuilder is not a stand-alone application which can be used as an editing tool on any website. It is a complex web publishing platform with integrated hosting. So, in order to edit your current website with DIY Webbuilder, you will first need to recreate it with DIY Webbuilder by opening an account and loading your content. In most cases you can just copy-paste each page from your old site into DIY Webbuilder. If your current website features functionality which is not among DIY Webbuilder's features, please contact us for a consultation on how it can be implemented.
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What browsers and operating systems is DIY Webbuilder compatible with?
DIY Webbuilder is fully compatible with Internet Explorer 5.5 + on Windows and Mozilla 1.4+ / Firefox 1.0 + on Windows / Linux / Mac OS X. DIY Webbuilder is not yet fully tested with Internet Explorer 7.0. With the partially supported browsers listed below you will not be able to edit text and images using the Text and Image editor and there may be problems opening the Photo Galleries pop-up viewer (Safari)
Fully and partially supported browsers grouped by OS:
| OS | Fully supported browsers | Partially supported browsers |
| Windows | Internet Explorer 5.5 + Mozilla 1.4 + Firefox 1.0 + *** | Opera |
| Linux | Mozilla 1.4 + Firefox 1.0 + | Konqueror Opera |
| Mac OS X | Mozilla 1.4 + Firefox 1.0 + | Internet Explorer 5.5 Safari Opera |
*** the Back browser button in FF 1.0.x is not functioning properly due to some browser limitations
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How do I edit the content on my DIY Webbuilder website?
You can manage the content on your DIY Webbuilder website with the online editing tools available in Admin view of the site.
- To login to Admin view simply click the Edit link available at the bottom of each page on your site and enter your login and password created during sign up. You can also login from DIY Webbuilder's home page.
- Once logged, you can change the content on your site with the help of the edit icons which stand for each content element on the page. Clicking an icon allows you to edit the specific element. Roll over an icon brings up additional options for adding more items, moving or deleting items.
- The Control Panel available in the top right corner of each page in Admin view will give you access to functions related to the whole site.
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What is the difference between Admin view and Normal view?
The Normal view is what visitors accessing your site will see. You can see your site in Normal view at http://diywebbuilder.com.au/<login> where <login> is the login name you have selected when signing up for an account. Only the changes which are published are visible in Normal view.
The Admin view is accessible only for the site owner after logging with a password. It is your workplace for managing content. The Admin view looks just like the Normal view apart from the little edit icons throughout the page. Each icon allows you to manage the object it stands for.
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Will users see the changes I make in Admin view?
The changes you make in Admin view will not be visible to outside visitors until you decide you are ready to publish them. So, you can safely work on content in Admin view while visitors are browsing the site.
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How do I publish changes?
With DIY Webbuilder you can publish changes instantly. There are three publishing options depending on the scope of the changes you want to publish:
- If you wish to publish updates done on a particular page, simply click the red label
located in the top right corner of the page. - If you wish to publish updates done on several pages, roll over the Control Panel
icon in the top right corner of a page and select "Manage Pages". All pages with not published updates will be marked with a red
icon. Click the icon for each page you wish to publish. - If you wish to publish all changes on the site use the "Publish All Pages" option available in "Manage Pages", or from Control Panel
select "Site Properties" and click the "Publish All Changes" button.
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Can several people edit content on the site at the same time?
Not currently. If several people make changes over the same content only the updates of the last one will be saved. DIY Webbuilder's version 3.0 will introduce a page locking mechanism which will allow for multi-user editing.
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Can I remove an already published content from Normal view but still keep it in Admin view?
Yes. To remove a published content element from Normal view, roll over its icon and select "Hold". The item's icon will change to reflect that it is placed on hold - a red mark will appear in one corner. After placing the item on hold, publish the page and the item will no longer be available in Normal view. When you decide to restore the item in Normal view again, roll-over its icon, select "Unhold" and publish the change.
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Can I undo changes and revert to a previous version of the content?
Although the DIY Webbuilder system supports versioning of content, for the time being there is no user interface to undo a change once saved even if you haven't published to Normal view yet. The option to revert to the last published version of content will be introduced in future releases. Currently, you can use Undo / Redo functionality only while working within the Text and Image editor before you have submitted the changes to the page. If you have applied an update in Admin view that you wish to undo and the change is not published to Normal View yet you can restore the content by copy-pasting it from Normal view.
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Can I edit my DIY Webbuilder site offline?
No. DIY Webbuilder is a platform for online content management. You need to be online in order to apply updates and manage your site. You can, of course, work on text content for your pages offline in a text editing program and easily copy-paste it in the Text and Image editor once you login to your DIY Webbuilder website.
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Can I see what the Normal view of my website will look like without logging out of the Admin view and publishing changes?
Yes. If you want to check how the content will appear in Normal View, before to publish any changes, roll over the Control panel
icon available in Admin view of your website and select "Show / Hide icons ".
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Can I export the content of my site?
Yes, you can. Contact us for more details.
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How do I enable advanced features such as Forms, Forum and Blog, Mailing List, Hits Counter, HTML Snippet?
The advanced elements can be enabled for a particular working session. To select an advanced element, follow these steps:
The option for adding the selected advanced elements will now be available when you roll over the element icons on the page.
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Can I create a site with multi-language content with DIY Webbuilder?
All content areas except menu items and page titles can work with multi-language text. Multi-language support for these two areas is included in the wish list for upcoming releases.
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I can't publish updates. There is no Publish option in the top right corner of the page or it doesn't work.
The problem could be due to browser cache or interference of security programs installed on your computer. Please try clearing your browser cache first.
If you are using Internet Explorer:
1. Select "Tools" > "Internet Options"
2. In the "General" tab - press the "Settings" button in the "Temporary Internet Files" section.
3. Click "Delete files" button in the "Temporary Internet Files" section.
4. In the pop-up that opens, check "Delete offline content". Click "OK".
For FireFox, please follow these steps:
1. Select "Tools" > "Options"
2. In the "Privacy" tab locate the "Cache" option and press "Clear"
3. Press "OK".
Close all browser windows then open a new browser and try to login and try publishing.
If the clearing of cache doesn't help, check if you have an internet security program enabled on your machine (i.e. Norton Internet Security, Zone Alarm or others). Such programs may alter the code of the page and not allow active functions like the Publishing interface to work properly. If disabling the software doesn't help, please contact us for further help.
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Is there an easy way to notify a group of users when I publish new updates?
Yes. For any page on your site, you can enable automatic notification for publish. It will send an email message to the members of a selected mailing list on your site whenever new updates are published on this page.
- In Admin view, go to the page you wish to set notification for
- Roll over the Control Panel
icon in the top right corner and select "Page Properties" - Open the "Special Features" sections by clicking on "Show Option" next to it
- In "Notify by email on publish" field choose a mailing list
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No editing options appear when I click on the element icons.
The problem could be due to a pop-up blocking software installed on your machine or popup blocking options enabled in your browser settings. You should enable pop-ups for diywebbuilder.com.au in the browser or pop-up blocking software settings.
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Can I edit two DIY Webbuilder websites simultaneously?
Editing two DIY Webbuilder websites at the same time is not recommended. It may result in a mix-up of browser sessions and cause problems with inability to login to one of the accounts or elements from one of the sites displayed into the other website. In both cases the problems can be quickly resolved. Please, contact DIY Webbuilder Support for assistance.