Domain Name ExposeExposing Domains & Domainers

Usabilla, a usability testing startup, launched earlier this month and congratulations are in order, as they have already been featured on Mashable.

While there are many popular and effective services for getting feedback about your website or application, Usabilla is bringing powerful tools like heat mapping data display and an innovative test interface to the masses.

As expected, the Usabilla member dashboard is extremely easy to use and building a usability test for your webpage is done in minutes.

Here is a quick video introduction showing Usabilla in action.

Usabilla works by displaying an image of your webpage to a participant who is asked to perform a task or answer a question about the page they are viewing.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to ask your website visitors questions like these?

• What things draw your attention the most?
• Which images are most appealing?
• What elements of the page do you like?
• What things would you remove from the page?
• What things need improvement?
• Where do you click to purchase?
• Where do you click for contact info?
• Where would you click next?

Now you can get valuable feedback from these questions and more.  Participants respond to tasks by tagging or clicking areas of the page and can additionally leave comments.

Once all of the data is collected, you can analyze a test through various methods including a visual heat map (shown below), or you can select a specific element of a page to view corresponding results.

You can use Usabilla on up to 5 pages and share the test with up to 25 participants for free. For those with the need to reach more participants and test more pages, there are Usabilla plans from $50 a year.

While reviewing Usabilla, I did notice that flash objects do not show up in their generated screenshots, so you may want to look into uploading a pixel perfect screenshot of your own to get the best test results. I recommend FireShot for Firefox, it can capture an entire page beyond the page fold.

I would love to hear if you give Usabilla a try and how the results work out for you. Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

This article is from DotSauce Magazine.

New Usability Tool Provides Valuable Feedback for Website Owners

I have been enthusiastically beta testing the Wibiya toolbar here on DotSauce for several months.  I’m happy to inform you that registration is now open to any blogger interested in having their own Wibiya toolbar.

The red toolbar you’re seeing at the bottom of the screen now, that’s Wibiya in action. Now loading faster and featuring a handful of new “apps” that can be easily added through a slick user dashboard.

You may have noticed the subtle, yet effective notification messages when visiting DotSauce previously (shown right, currently disabled) which I think is one of the best features of Wibiya toolbar. It provides an unobtrusive way to notify visitors to take action.

Admin Dashboard Features

I could go on at length about the many neat features of Wibiya, but I will spare you the time and just list them here.

• Change color scheme
• Drag and drop interface to arrange each item on toolbar
• Dashboard statistics showing visitor usage
• Suite of add-on applications

On-site Buttons Interact with Toolbar

New “website badges” (which I haven’t tried yet, but look very promising) enable you to place code on your site which interacts with your Wibiya toolbar. So, for example, you could place a “Tweet This” badge which launches your Twitter dashboard.

Excellent Suite of Applications

Who doesn’t love apps? Hopefully more innovative and useful apps will be able to be created by third partys. Here is a quick list of the apps currently available for Wibiya.

• Site Search
• Google Translate
• Latest Posts
• Random Posts
• RSS Subscribe
• Post Sharing Tool
• Live Notifications
• Photo Gallery
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Navigation Links
• Live chat room
• Real time visitors display
• Scroll to Top
• Flash Games

All of those applications translate to alot of value for your website! Here is an older screenshot of my statistics (the stats display has since been enhanced), just to show you how Wibiya is working for me.

Wibiya Works

I believe Wibiya is doing a phenomenal job reducing bounce rates, increasing on-site and social interactivity between a blog / website owner and their audience.

Not only has Wibiya developed the right applications for the job, but they are executing the applications themselves very effectively, reaching out to other companies to bundle features, providing community support and continually innovating!

All that being said, I’m sure you can guess that I highly recommend it! Give Wibiya.com a try on your website as soon as you can.

This article is from DotSauce Magazine.

Wibiya Blog Toolbar Upgraded and Opened to Public

I’m bringing back an old post since I’ve received 3 e-mails in the last month or so regarding AdSense for Domains (Google’s own personal domain parking system) and how to get the settings to work with the registrar Dynadot. Dated exactly 1 year and 10 days ago: Setting Up AdSense For Domains With Dynadot – Google AdSense [...]

View the rest of AdSense Domain Parking (AdSense For Domains) and Dynadot Settings at Fka200.com

Well, here’s another GoDaddy coupon code! GoDaddy will allow you to register .info domain names for $0.49 EACH and that includes  free private who-is for a whole year. The catch? You have to have FIVE of these in your cart to see them at this price (not that bad of a catch though, eh?). If you [...]

View the rest of Another GoDaddy Coupon Code – .info domains with free private whois – $0.49 each at Fka200.com

A very cool infographic about “A day in the internet“. Some amazing statistics I figured a bunch of people will enjoy. Just goes to show how much we might underestimate the actual reach of the internet, right? It’s amazing to know that there is still a LOT more room for internet growth! (Click image if you need [...]

View the rest of A Day In The Internet at Fka200.com

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday! View the rest of Happy Holidays! at Fka200.com More posts relating to this subjectHappy Holidays

View the rest of Happy Holidays! at Fka200.com

Just had to share these. Way too awesome not to be posted up on absolutely every single type of medium I control: Why It’s Better To Pretend You Don’t Know Anything About Computers 10 Reasons It Doesn’t Pay To Be “The Computer Guy” I already know of a handful of my blog readers that will really enjoy these [...]

View the rest of 10 Reasons It Doesn’t Pay To Be “The Computer Guy” and Why It’s Better To Pretend You Don’t Know Anything About Computers at Fka200.com

According to StatsCounter, Firefox 3.5 has become the top-used browser worldwide. Now that might seem like its great news for website developers, but when you total up Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7, it is still shown that Microsoft still has a majority stake in the browser business overall (hanging by a thread. if [...]

View the rest of Firefox 3.5 Now The Top Browser Worldwide – Internet Explorer 6+7 Combined Still Hold Majority By a Thread at Fka200.com

So, I really like to park domains. Buy ‘em, park ‘em, and twiddle my fingers. Yes, that’s my domainer career. On occasion, I sit and put together fascinating ideas for development and then, being the ‘handy man’ I am, attempt to do all this all by my lil ‘ol self (no PHP knowledge, but I’m [...]

View the rest of Sometimes Ugly Just Works at Fka200.com

Amazon.com is having a sale on some software that helps you create websites. They seemed cheap enough to make it worth posting and the reviews aren’t that bad (these are direct links–NOT affiliate links). With development, you will be able to get your sites indexed and ranked in Google, thus, helping bring in more traffic. [...]

View the rest of Amazon.com Sale on PagePlus X3 and WebPlus X2 – Website Maker Software at Fka200.com

Well, looks like a price hike has been announced. Expected, so no big surprise. VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world, today announced, effective July 1, 2010, an increase in registry domain name fees for .com and .net, per its agreements with ICANN. VeriSign announced that as of July [...]

View the rest of VeriSign Announces .COM and .NET Registry Price Increase at Fka200.com

Just wanted to post today to remind users that the “How to Maximize Revenue with Your Domain Portfolio” webinar will be held tomorrow, December 17, 2009 12PM Pacific/3PM Eastern. Click here to go GoToMeeting registration page Buying and selling domain names are only two of the three pieces you need to maximize your domain portfolio’s profits. The [...]

View the rest of Domain Monetizing Webinar – “How to Maximize Revenue with Your Domain Portfolio” at Fka200.com

I recently added the 144th entry to the Twitter application directory on my site, TweetSocial.com, a Twitter forum community. The shear amount of useful applications I’ve seen in the past year is surprising. A broad range of applications have been built on a fairly simple micro blogging network.

What if we could spark this kind of revolution for the domain name industry? There is alot of room for improvement in many of the things that impact our online business most: domain tools, domain research, SEO tools, domain registrations, domain hosting, auctions, expired domains, available domains, domain sales, marketing, networking, etc.

I would like to see the domain name industry reach out to closely related industries; web development, design, programming, marketing, branding, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. To start off, we could connect our services like domain registration, WHOIS, domain research and more with popular social networking sites through their open APIs.

We have seen advancements in domain tools and services recently. FreshDrop, Valuate.com appraisals, Bido auctions, DomainTools and EstiBot Beta are continuing to develop innovative tools for domain research and sales. There is still much more room to grow. There are huge audiences with a need for quality domain names. We can educate and accommodate with easy to use tools and resources. In return, we are rewarded with growth and exposure, increasing the value and liquidity of our virtual real estate.

X Prize Propels Technology into Space and Beyond

You may remember when the Mojave Aerospace Ventures team (financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen) won the original $10 million Ansari X Prize for space flight in 2004. The X Prize organization is now celebrating it’s 5th anniversary.

So, what is an X Prize? Here’s a great description from the official site:

Rather than awarding money to honor past achievements or directly funding research, an X Prize incites innovation by tapping into our competitive and entrepreneurial spirits.

Google now has an ongoing $30 million Lunar X Prize for privately funded teams to deploy a rover on the moon that can transmit video, images and data back to earth.

MIT Team Wins Military Challenge

Just last week, an MIT team won a $40,000 challenge made by the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to find large red weather balloons placed in random locations throughout the U.S.

The MIT team quickly launched a social website which encouraged friend referrals and prizes for spotting the balloons. The team had successfully identified the coordinates of all 10 DARPA weather balloons in less than 9 hours after the contest launched.

This story is quite an inspiring show of the benefits of pitting bright minds against a challenge to spur innovation and additionally speaks well of the power of social networking.

Innovation in Domaining and Development

I would love to host a challenge for programmers, entrepreneurs and domainers to develop tools and applications that improve, promote and otherwise further advance the domain name industry.

The specific format of an X Prize (1 winner and 1 ultimate goal) may not be the most ideal format for a challenge of this type.

I’m not setting any rules or terms in stone just yet, as I would love to get feedback from anyone who may be interested in participating or helping the cause.

What’s the Ultimate Goal? – What should the ultimate goal for the challenge be? It could be as broad as anything related to domain names or online business or as narrow as strictly domain research tool development. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Sponsors and Prizes? – The prize is the backbone behind the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. A nice sum of cash from a sponsor would do nicely. Though there are many other things we all enjoy like domain registrations, books, rum cakes anyone?

If you are interested in sponsoring the challenge, please contact me.

Interested in the Challenge? – A challenge is nothing without competitors. If you are a programmer with the know how or a project manager with the resources, consider this an invitation to get started on building the next big thing. If you think you may be up for the challenge please leave a comment or mention it to me on Twitter or Facebook so I can get an idea of interest.

I have ideas of my own for the challenge, but would like to get feedback from others in the industry before continuing. Thank you in advance for any help making this challenge a success! Stay tuned for updates.

This article is from DotSauce Magazine.

Industry Challenge: Sparking Innovation in Domaining and Web Development

Godaddy has released another promotional coupon code so you can get your hands on a domain name for 99cents! Wooptie doo! 99cent Godaddy coupon code domain registration: BUYCOM99 Update: Two other Godaddy coupon codes to try out in case BUYCOM99 no longer works and you need cheaper ($7.49 com/net) domain registration cjc749b002 – $7.49 .COM/.NET GRAVITY1 Godaddy Coupon Code details [...]

View the rest of GoDaddy Coupon Code: 99cent Domains at GoDaddy with Coupon! at Fka200.com

Just a quick note for the Canadian domainers out there – the TBR sessions scheduled for Wednesday December 23 and 30 will go ahead as normal.  There will be no changes due to the holiday season.