WestHost Webmaster Connection July 19th, 2007

Specials    Up to 3 Months Free for referrals + $500 bonus!    Up to 6 Months Free for transfer clients!  Web Development Tips    How to Create Flick Animations with CSS  Marketing Tips    Should You Do the DotMobi?  Notable Site    CSSplay  Quote of the Week    Improving the universe?

Specials

Up to 3 Months Free for each referral + $500 bonus! Want to get free web hosting? For a limited time WestHost's Referral Program offers up to 3 months credit to current clients for each new account they refer to us. You're probably already telling your friends, business associates and family about your Web site with WestHost, why not get credit when your referrals order their own account? Plus, refer the most friends and family to WestHost from now until the end of September and you'll also receive a $500 Amazon Gift Certificate! Visit http://refer.westhost.com for details. back to top Up to 6 Months Free for transfer clients! Through July 31st, get up to 6 MONTHS of FREE HOSTING when you move an existing Web site to a new account at WestHost. Get up to 3 MONTHS of FREE HOSTING and a FREE DOMAIN when you sign up for a new Web site account! Take advantage of this valuable offer yourself, or tell your friends, business associates and family about the incredible deals available right now at WestHost (and also get that referral credit)! Visit http://www.westhost.com/web-hosting.html for more information. back to top

Web Development Tips

How to Create Flick Animations with CSS By: Stu Nicholls Introduction Fed up with 'Flash'? Getting annoyed with animated gifs? Well, why not try an alternative - CSS Flick Animation. This is a method of animation that requires some interaction with your visitors, making a visit to your web site a more enjoyable experience for them, and maybe tempting them to come back for more. The animations normally appear as static images on the page but they will spring into life when you move your mouse across them. This can be used in many serious applications as well as just for fun. With this article I will show you how to style a basic animation (and also an enhanced version which comprises the same animation with associated text). This could be used on an educational site to explain the various stages of the animation (such as the internal combustion engine). FLICK ANIMATION is 100% CSS and DOES NOT use javascript (Click Here to continue reading this article) back to top

Marketing Tips

Should You Do the DotMobi? By: Lauren Simonds The latest trend working its way into the small business world concerns mobile phones and Web sites. If you've ever tried to access your favorite site with a handheld mobile device, you're familiar with how bad most Web sites look and how hard it is to use them. That's the problem dotMobi was created to solve. DotMobi, more commonly written as .mobi, is a top-level domain – as are other more familiar domains such as .com, .biz and .org. A dotMobi domain is designed to optimize Web content for mobile devices – PDAs, smartphones and Internet-ready cell phones. The desired end result is a site that looks as good – and performs as well -- on a handheld as it does on a computer. The dotMobi domain is still a fairly young innovation, but according Jeff Grosman, senior vice president at Network Solutions, one of many Internet service providers that offers dotMobi domain registration, hosting and services, so far a total of 600,000 mobile-optimized domains have been sold in since October 2006. This trend may gain traction since sales of handheld devices are eclipsing computers. In 2006, Gartner analysts estimated that sales of mobile phones alone would hit 986 million units. Compare that to IDC's estimates that PC sales will hit 300 million units annually by 2009. The dot.mobi technology is still in the early stages, though Grosman said he expects things to advance quickly. "We expect to see the same progression with dotMobi as we've seen with traditional Web sites," said Grosman. He added that dotMobi sites currently provide basic information such as sales specials, menus, location, phone number and store hours. As the application technology develops, those sites will offer information services like tracking packages, account balances and e-commerce. (Click Here to continue reading this article) Did you know you can register .mobi domain names at WestHost? Anyone can register .mobi domain names - and since it has just recently launched to the public, there are many great names still available. Register the .mobi TLD for your site at http://www.westhost.com/domainreg today! back to top

Notable Site

CSSplay This site from the UK offers hundreds of experimental pages using only Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). You'll be amazed at all the layout, styles, designs and animations that are possible using only CSS and a little creativity. To find out more, please visit http://www.cssplay.co.uk back to top

Quote of the Week

Improving the universe? "There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self." - Aldous Huxley, English critic & novelist               back to top

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