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If you have a suggestion for a question to add to the FAQ, fill out the contact form. Thanks!

1. Why in the world should I put my pond web site up on Pond Showcase when there are many free and low cost web sites out there and/or I already have a web site?

That is an excellent question. The simple answer is "traffic." Pond Showcase is a site with just pond-related web pages. This brings in people who want to see your pond. Fishpondinfo, my huge site that gets thousands of hits every day, has a link to Pond Showcase on every page. That will hopefully bring in a lot of traffic. What this means is that it does not matter if you already have a pond web site or not. If you have a web site, then fill out a simple free form and link over to that site to get more traffic.

Reasons to join the Pond Showcase:

• It is easy.
  
• Your pond site would gain traffic and exposure.
  
• You do not need to know HTML.
  
• Your site would be easy to find.
  
• You would have own sub site at http://www.pondshowcase.com/yoursite/
  
• Your new site is announced in my monthly pond newsletter.
  
• You can update your site at any time and ask me, a real person, for help.
  
• For paying plans, you pay once and forget it.
  
• Only I have control of the site so that no one will mess with your site; nothing inappropriate will happen.

2. Why are you charging money to host more than a tiny site on Pond Showcase?

I paid almost $100 for the domain and more than $140 a year for hosting as well as $50 a year for usage of forms and $50 for the web design (one time cost). By adding ads on most pages, I can, in a few years, hopefully make back enough money to cover these yearly costs but that may be wishful thinking. When you submit a form, it does not automatically appear on Pond Showcase. I have to physically create a web site for you and upload it (on slow dial up connection as we cannot get fast connection at my house). So, this takes a lot of my time. The tiny fee I charge does not even begin to cover the work I put in but it does make me feel less guilty for "wasting my life." If the site become a hit, I will not be able to keep up. If it fails, I lose money. So, I am hoping for something in between. [Update 6/5/09: The site has garnered little activity.]

3. Why did you create Pond Showcase?

It literally came to me one day, and I could not get it out of my head. A day later, I checked and found that the URL was not taken! If it had been, that would have been the end of it. I stupidly, impulsively, bought it. The point of the site was to be able to post photos and information about people's ponds which I had thought of doing for years as a subdirectory of Fishpondinfo. I want Pond Showcase to be a service so that people looking for ideas can have a place to go and also for people to show off their ponds who would not otherwise have web sites of their own.

4. What do I do if I cannot contact your via the contact form on the contact page? What do I do if I am totally confused?

You can e-mail me directly at robyn@pondshowcase.com with any problems and questions.

5. Can I upgrade/downgrade a site?

You can upgrade a site at any time. For example, if you have a free site, you can fill out a form for a simple site with your account name and password. You can chose to have this replace your free page or be linked to from your free page or vice versa. The default will probably be to have a short intro/index page which then links to the various pages by title. Because the fees for the paid site are one time (except for the advanced which requires yearly fees if updates are made), there is no need to downgrade a site. If you wish to do so anyway, fill out the form you would like and send me a message from the contact page as to what your desires are. For example to replace your simple form page with a free page.

6. Can my site be anonymous?

I require your name and e-mail for my personal records to set up an account. I share that with no one. On your actual page, you can choose to not include any information. That means it is optional if you want your name, e-mail, web site, etc. on the page. You can remain an enigma to the outside world if you so choose.

1. How do I add a site? What are the choices?

Go to the add a site page.

2. What do I do if I have problems?

Fill out the contact form on the contact page, and I will get back to you.

3. How do I add more than one photo if I have a free site?

I have to download and upload photos so they take a lot of time and also space. The free pages only include one photo. You can get around that by putting photos up for free on various other web sites and providing a link to that page from your Pond Showcase page. The paying sites on Pond Showcase also allow more photos.

4. I do not understand this one account, multiple pages thing?

Each person will have one account. For example, I have taken "Robyn" which means my page at http://www.pondshowcase.com/Robyn/ goes to my index page. All of my pages, no matter how many ponds, how many pages, or how many plans are attached via an index to this page. If you have just one page, then that is the page. You can attach multiple forms/plans to your account. While you could make a separate account, that would make it harder for me and harder for you to find your pages. As far as the index of sites, each different page would be indexed under a different section if that is relevant. If each of your pages are all water gardens for example, then that would not be necessary. As you can see, there is a lot of flexibility. I can work with you to give you what you need. Without specific instructions, I will try to make your site (if it has multiple pages) connect well but I can change it if you send specific instructions via the contact form.

5. Can you explain the advanced plans?

See this page for more information.

6. What do I do if I want to update my page?

To make minor changes, fill out the contact form with your account name, password (both required), and the change(s) you would like to be made. If you have more than one page, be sure to let me know where the change should be made.

To update a page extensively, fill out the form again (as you did initially) with all the information, and I will change whatever you have changed. You do not have to pay again if it is a paid plan (just ignore that part). The exception is for advanced sites which have to pay if it has been more than a year since the last update.

7. Can I upload pages to my site directly?

Sorry, my host does not allow separate passwords for subdirectories. That means that all uploads have to go through me which takes a lot of time.

8. Can I put HTML on my page?

The free plans do not allow HTML. The paying plans allow HTML as specified in the forms.

9. Can I put other code on my page?

With the advanced plan, you can put whatever code you want on your site. The free plans do not allow other coding. For the simple and complex plans (and also advanced plans), other code may be allowed if it is functional and above reproach. That means it works, does not do anything to visitors or the site, does not allow hackers into the site, etc. For example, I may allow code for a guestbook or counter. Send the code to me using the contact form and explain what you want to do. I may or may not allow it depending on what it is.

10. Why can't I upload larger photos?

There are two reasons. First, I have a slow connection. I have to download your photo first which takes a long time and then upload it to the site as well. If the photos are large, it will never get done (the connection often drops too). Next, I have finite space on Pond Showcase so I want to conserve space. Often, you can see just as much in a reasonably-sized photo as one that is huge. People have e-mailed me photos over the years that I simply was never able to open or process; they were that big.

1. How do I search the sites on Pond Showcase?

To see an entire listing, go to the view sites page.

2. What if a pond page is relevant to more than one category?

The applicant will choose the most relevant category. That is where the site will be listed. It will also be listed under the complete directory.