Thu
18
Dec
2008
Jimdo Photo Contest – voting has started!
Preview of the votingDear participants, dear interested - finally, the waiting is over!
We've just put up the best pictures for you to vote for! Unfortunately not as fast as originally promised, but seriously guys, you've not made it easy for us to make a selection from all these great submissions! From 30 photos we've put up for voting you can now choose your TOP 3 and decide who gets to win the first prize, a digital reflex camera by Nikon.
Of course, the other pictures put up for voting won't miss out either - they will be added to the Jimdo header gallery, ready to be picked by you as your new header picture! And get this: due to the wealth of amazing pictures submitted (too bad we were only able to put up 20 for voting) we decided to include even more pics to the gallery!! Feel free to get excited...
Since the holidays are about to come up, we made sure to extend the voting for a little bit until January 15th 2009 (so everyone gets a chance to vote for his or her favorite). We'll announce all winners here on Jimdo and naturally contact and inform them directly via e-mail right afterwards.
Now, all of you are invited to come along - voting's this way! (Just check your favorite photo and then click onto "Vote" and you've cast your vote - everyone gets to vote once!)
Best of fun and success to all users whose pictures are up for voting!
Your Jimdo Team
Mon
01
Dec
2008
The big Jimdo photo contest - Thanks for submitting your photos!
After a couple of weeks and thousands of phantastic submitted photos, the entry deadline for the big Jimdo photo contest passed yesterday.
We're really kind of overwhelmed - thank you so much for submitting such great photos from all over the world! Now it's our (very hard) part to choose the best images and to present them to you for the voting! Of course, we do our best to choose the best photos within the shortest period of time! And soon, you're welcome to vote for your favorite picture!
Unfortunately, we cannot show you any of the pictures yet - but we'll let you know as soon (as possible) as the time for the voting has come! :)
Best regards,
Your Jimdo Team
P.S. Need more information about the photo contest? Please click here!
Tue
25
Nov
2008
The new Jimdo Site-Admin is online!
All Jimdo-Users are familiar with it: the bar on the right hand side of your Jimdo-Page that always appears in editing mode. Here you can set your layout and font image, edit your Jimdo-Friends and work on general settings - in short: you construct the basic framework through the Site-Admin!
Now, the Site-Admin comes along with a completely new look! You can construct or change your basic framework even faster and more stable and get a better arranged overview, starting now!
An overview of the most important changes
At first glance you will notice the entirely new design and also the change of structure - but don't worry about any of these changes, you will find everything as easy and logically set up as you know your Jimdo. Soon you might neither remember nor miss the "former" look. :)
Along with the design for all menu points within the Site-Admin, this is new too: You can pull out the menu point of the Site-Admin that you're working on (e.g. Layout) to make it as large or small as you like. All depending on how much you would like to see at once. In addition, you can open and close the Admin completely, too.
The menu point "settings" - an overview
1. Settings = is now "Settings" and "Jimdo Account" all in one!
The menu point "Jimdo Account" does not exist anymore. Partially this separation of "Settings" and "Jimdo Account" has caused slight confusion, therefore all formerly separated menu sub points are now gathered under the new "Settings". From now on, this is where you can manage your e-mail and domains, work on your user and blog settings along with many more functions...
Another very important change: Anyone wanting to upgrade to "JimdoPro" should look for "Upgrade" within the new Site-Admin for this has become its own menu point.
As you can see, you can pull out the menu of the Site Admin
2. Layout and Style
Under "Style" you used to be able to only change the font image for your entire Jimdo-Page. This is a bit different now: in our opinion "Style" does not only include the font - from now on, background image and background pattern for your Jimdo-Page can be selected under "Style" as well.
Now, because of that, "Layout" simply means "layout only". :) Of course you can still choose between standard layouts, special layouts and your own layout for HTML- and CSS-experts!
As always, we're looking forward to hear your opinions on this! Do your like the new Site-Admin? Everything clearly arranged? Are there any questions, comments, suggestions...? Let it out, give us your feedback right here in this blog or write us an e-mail to support@jimdo.com!
Your Jimdo Team
Tue
11
Nov
2008
The new E-Mail Management is online
Good news for all JimdoPro users! As you know as JimdoPro user, an own email account and three redirection addresses (so-called aliases) are components of our service package JimdoPro - and from now on, you can set up your e-mail account easily by yourself - in only few steps!
In our Wiki, the Jimdo Help Section, you'll find detailed instructions and tips how to set up your email account quickly and easily. Don't worry, the article might look a bit complex at the first sight, but it's really not difficult. If you have any questions while setting up your e-mail account, you can of course write us an email to support@jimdo.com.
All the best,
Your Jimdo Team
1st step: Click on "e-mail" under "Settings" while you're logged in. Then set up your e-mail account step by step!
Thu
23
Oct
2008
Take part in the big Jimdo photo contest – and be a winner!
(Hobby) photographers listen up! The big international Jimdo photo contest has started - and you're all welcome to take part and to win awesome prizes!
Send us your photos – and they’ll hit the road…
The best photos do not only win great prizes, they'll also travel around the world: The top photos will be included in the Jimdo gallery and contribute to Jimdo Pages' appearances all over the world!
Your photo in the Jimdo header gallery?
If some Jimdo users want to change their header image, they might find your photo in the gallery soon!
Take part and win!
- 1st prize: A Nikon digital reflex camera
- Start of the contest: October 23, 2008
- Entry deadline: November 30, 2008
Read more about further prizes and the conditions of participation here.
We're looking forward to your photos - and good luck to all of you!! And don't forget to tell all of your friends about the contest - everybody is welcome to take part, even if he or she doesn't have their own Jimdo Page.
Wed
24
Sep
2008
Good News: New URLs for your websites
Finally, we change over to more easy readable URLs (=internet addresses, please check Wikipedia for further information) that are going to be loved by search engines. Example: The URL of a page called "about me" was the following until now: name.jimdo.comc/about_me.php. From now on, it'll be name.jimdo.com/about-me/. Pages on the second navigation level will be included in the new URLs, e.g. name.jimdo.com/about-me/friends/.
Your advantages:
- For search engines, it's much easier to find these URLs - so the chance that your website is found, increases (the SEOs among you will be happy about that news! - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization)
- Looks better and is easier in all ways - If you send the link via email to friends, if you integrate the link on another page of your website or if you tell somebody a link on the phone...
- Info for the pros: URL encoding in UTF-8
Before and after – comparison
Let's assume that the navigation of your website is the following:
| Your Pages | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Home | /index.php | / |
| About Me | /about.php | /aboutme/ |
| Trips | /trips.php | /trips/ |
| Skitrip | /skitrip.php | /trips/skitrip/ |
| Sailing | /sailing.php | /trips/sailing/ |
| Pictures | /pictures.php | /pictures/ |
| Videos | /videos.php | /videos/ |
What do I have to consider?
First, the most important thing is: Even though the links of your page will change - the old links will still work fine.
Example: Your page name.jimdo.com/sailing.php will change into name.jimdo.com/sailing/ - Friends and Google only know the previous link. But we built it in a way that they are redirected automatically to name.jimdo.com/sailing/. Your friends might not notice the change, but Google recognizes it at once and saves the new link at once (for pros: 301 moved permanently).
You should consider that pages in the second navigation level repeat the name of top page. Example: /skitrip.php changes into /trips/skitrip/ -> check if you like the names of your pages. Otherwise, name them whatever you want to.
When and how are the changes made?
- All new websites get the new names immediately.
- The URLs of older websites are changed directly at the moment, if you change the navigation.
- Within the next weeks, we'll change all existing pages to the new name scheme.
We're looking forward to receiving your feedback!
All the best,
Your Jimdo Team
P.S. Of course, we tested everything in detail, but sometimes we overlook something. So if you should notice any errors or any noticeable problems, please let us know and write an email to support@jimdo.com - THANKS!
Tue
16
Sep
2008
Your most wanted Jimdo feature
At the beginning of July, we asked you to vote for the next Jimdo feature in our forum (take a look at it here). As a little reminder - you could vote for one of the following features:
- Restore/backup
- Own forum
- Poll
- Music player
- Counter
- Customisable fields for your contact forms
- Continuously adjustable image sizes
- Flash banners
The poll was finally closed on September 1st. Actually, it was a nip-and-tuck race between "Restore/backup" and "Own forum". It was so close that, summing up the votes of the English and the German forum, the score was even.
...and the winner is...
We thought about how to solve this stand-off and decided to develop "Restore/backup" as the next Jimdo feature. We really think that this is very useful and might be a great help after deleting something accidentally. Since it is a quite complicated process to develop such a feature, we won't be able to release it tomorrow :) But don't worry, we're working on it!
Those who voted for the own forum: Don't be disappointed! There are other ways to integrate a forum into your website! Several providers offer forum widgets for free - so it's not impossible! In our forum there are some posts in which an own forum is already discussed. Maybe you'll find some good tips here?
So, thank you all for voting! The winners of the JimdoPro packages will be informed by email! Congratulations to you!
Best regards,
Your Jimdo Team
Thu
11
Sep
2008
Music to the People - New music player online!
Often desired, long awaited and finally there: The new music player for your Jimdo Page is online! From now on you can enjoy your favorite music on your own Jimdo Page!
Our partner, online music player simfy makes it possible: From today on, every Jimdo user can use the simfy music player for his or her own website. Create as many playlists as you want to - you can upload your own music and you have access to the vast music library of simfy. This music library contains over 1 million songs - so it should be no problem if some songs are missing in your own collection. In that case, simfy's music library will provide you with the songs - and you can enjoy all titles legally and in full length!
That's how it works
As always - it's very easy! :)
- Login to your Jimdo Page and decide on which page you would like to integrate the music player. Then add a new element and choose "music player" (see image on the right side)
- Next, the following view (see image below) appears. Since you didn't create any playlists yet the music player does not display any songs or playlists.
- "Playlist Title" - name your playlist! :)
- Think about the songs you would like to have in your playlist. Click on "Upload Music" if you have the songs stored in your own files on your computer.
- You would rather like to search for some new songs in simfy's music library? Type in the title or the artist in "Find Songs" and simfy finds the songs for you.
- You can activate "Autoplay" if the music should start automatically when somebody visits your site. If not, you can easily deactivate it again.
- Later, when you have already created some playlists, you can click on "Select another playlist" to choose some other songs - and you can also create new playlists here.
And there's more behind it...
Edit the settings for your music playerUnder "Settings" > "Simfy Player" you can manage your playlists.
- Click "Create new playlist" to set up a new list, name it and choose the music for it.
- Edit playlists: If you already created some playlists, they are shown one below the other under settings. Click on the playlist you would like to edit and
- delete songs from the list
- change the order of the songs
- add more songs
- delete the whole playlist
- rename the playlist
- delete songs from the list
Those who can't get enough of sharing or listening to music can think of signing up (for free!) for the music community of simfy. On simfy.de you can create your personal music library and fill it with your favorite music! Furthermore, you can share it with your friends on simfy and listen to their music - legally and for free!
And now - enjoy our little sample! Have fun with the new music player! MUSIC TO THE PEOPLE! YEAH! If you have any questions or comments - let us know, we're looking forward to reading them!
Fri
08
Aug
2008
Designspotters: It's all about Design
Our new partner, the online magazine DESIGNSPOTTER, offers everything a design enthusiast's heart could desire. In a daily blog, reports or in the column it's all about accessories, books, design contests, current exhibitions, fashion, furniture, architecture and much more...
The main concern of DESIGNSPOTTER is to offer young designers a platform for publication. Here they can get in contact with other designers and all those people who love and live design. By submitting their works, ideas and prototypes, designers can set up their own profile on designspotter.com.
So, if you are into design you should not miss to visit DESIGNSPOTTER - there are really a lot of things to see!
Get a foretaste and have also a look at those great websites of DESIGNSPOTTER readers who created their website with Jimdo:
Sui Generis Clothing
SUI GENERIS CLOTHING
Every single piece of clothing from the SUI GENERIS CLOTHING collection is handcrafted with love by the young Canadian designer Jordan de Ruiter. Most of the dresses and other beauties are individual items or limited editions. Her page is a must for everyone who loves cloths! Great colors and patterns glamorize every item and make it to something really special.
Free your Game!
FREE YOUR GAME
It's supposed that there are people who consider golfing to be kind of square. They sometimes have a really even kind of prejudices against that kind of sport! We promise all those people: Take a look at the Jimdo Page of FREE YOUR GAME and it's over... :) Golf lessons paired with creativity workshops, street art and fashion await you!
Hausbootbau OldenburgHAUSBOOTBAU OLDENBURG - a houseboat is born!
In Oldenburg, in the North of Germany, a boat is being built. A houseboat. It's probably going to be the most stylish houesboat the world has ever seen. The swimming house that arose from the creative minds of the designers Flo Florian and Sascha Akkerman, is supposed to be a full-fledged, top-quality home that represents a mixture of design and maritime romantic. We're already excited to see the houseboat finished! Visit the Jimdo Page to see status reports and more!
Looks promising, doesn't it? :) Great Pages and creative ideas - what do you think?
Best regards,
Your Jimdo Team
Wed
06
Aug
2008
New anti-spam protection for your contact forms
We all know this: Almost every day our email accounts are overflowed with spam mails... it's just annoying! And contact forms can be affected, too - unless you put some obstacles in the spammer's way: Captchas! Captchas are little tasks that can usually be solved easily by humans, but not by computers. So if the correct solution is entered, it is presumed that the user was human.
Since we received many questions concerning anti-spam protection recently, we decided to create a little Captcha for your contact forms that should preserve you from spam mails. However, since Captchas rely on visual perception, they offer only limited web accessibility. Users who are unable to view Captchas won't be able to perform the task. That is why you can decide when integrating a new contact form if you want to deactivate the anti-spam protection and offer full accessibility for your website (important for official websites of public authorities) or if you activate the anti-spam protection and get rid off spam mails.
Let us know what you think about it - does it work for you? Those who want to learn more about Captchas can look it up on Wikipedia.org.
That's what the picture looks like below the contact form. If you want to write someone a note via contact form, just type in the displayed code (no need for case sensitivity) and submit. Should the code be unreadable, just refresh it and a new code is generated.
We're looking forward to your feedback - we'd be glad if you let us know if the Captcha helps you to get rid off spam mails... :)
Best regards,
Your Jimdo Team
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