You heard right, DotSauce now has a free rewards program. See the “Rewards” button at the bottom left of your browser window? Securely connect with Facebook to earn points for simply reading articles. Earn enough points to claim prizes including free .Com domain registration and other special offers from the DotSauce Domain Club.

For National Small Business Week 2011 we want one lucky entrepreneur to start their summer with a professional website, absolutely free.

Small Business Startup Package

• Your choice of 1 domain name from DotSauce Domain Club inventory
• 1 month free trial of Domain Club Pro membership
• Professional WordPress website development with premium theme
• Logo design and theme customization
• Search engine and website performance optimization
• $100 Google AdWords gift card (for new accounts)
• Free web hosting for 1 year

Giveaway Details

Follow the instructions using the widget below to take part in the giveaway. There are many ways to gain entry points for better odds of winning the Small Business Startup Package.

Connect with the Giveaway widget and follow the instructions for earning entry points.

• Leave a comment on this blog post (+1 entry)
• Like DotSauce on Facebook (+1 entry)
• Tweet about this giveaway (+1 entry)
• Bonus (+unlimited entries): Share your invite link to earn +1 entry for every unique click-through and +5 entries if your friend joins the giveaway.

The giveaway will run through May 22nd at midnight. A winner will be announced on May 23rd.

Enter To Win

Update: The winner is Abdel Toughrai!

Note: If you are viewing through an RSS reader or have ads blocked you may not be able to see the widget.

Best of luck to you and all the many small businesses getting started this year.

Small Business Week Startup Package Giveaway DotSauce Magazine

After reviewing the full offering, I am convinced that CodeGuard is going to be a must-have service for serious web professionals and I am thrilled to be using it to protect my websites.

[Image by Flickr user Aaron Landry]

Super Backup

CodeGuard connects to your site through FTP and seamlessly goes to work for you backing up and monitoring your files.

Unlike traditional cloud storage services like DropBox, CodeGuard can be setup to backup your website hourly, daily or monthly and stores a unique image of your site each time.

Thwarting Hackers

Over the years I have seen a steady rise in attacks against websites and have even fallen victim to some very devious hacks and exploits myself. I wish CodeGuard would have been around to alert me about those issues.

CodeGuard continually scans your website files for unauthorized code. Pro members can be alerted by email in as little as a few minutes if anything malicious appears.

Mishaps Be Gone

CodeGuard Pro members never worry about breaking their websites. An amazing “rollback” feature works just like an undo tool, letting you effortlessly restore a previous version of an entire site.

The rollback feature could be particularly helpful when dealing with CMS updates that can at times break a customized website.

FREE Beta Offer With Activation Code: DOTSAUCE

CodeGuard is offering up to 5000 free accounts during their beta launch. They have been kind enough to provide DotSauce readers with an invitation.

Simply enter DOTSAUCE as your activation code when signing up for CodeGuard. You can use this activation code to backup one site for free or get CodeGuard Pro features and backup multiple sites for just $10 per month.

If you’re interested, hurry and try out the free Beta offering while it’s still available.

What do you think of CodeGuard? Leave a comment below to let us know how it works out or ask any questions you might have about CodeGuard’s service.

CodeGuard is a Must Have for Website Backup and Malware Monitoring – Free Beta Offer! DotSauce Magazine

Members of the popular SitePoint Forums marketplace received an announcement this morning about the upcoming launch of Flippa.com, a rebranded and enhanced SitePoint Marketplace. All 36,000 SitePoint members will be able to login with their existing username and password.

An official date has not been set on when the site will be public.

The Flippa interface is quite simplified but is lacking the defined categories that exist in the current marketplace such as Established Websites, Domain Names, and Startup Websites for example. However, Flippa’s Advanced Search feature may make up for it.

Here is what SitePoint had to say about this specific change…

“In the old marketplace we defined what a ‘start up site’ was and an ‘established site’ and so on. This caused way too much confusion. It’s now up to buyers to define their own categories based on data that sellers have entered for their listing. For instance, I might setup a saved search for “sites with more than 10,000 page-views a month” and I might call that ‘established sites’.” via Flippa Blog

The team at SitePoint seems to be focusing on website sales with this new marketplace brand.  The lack of defined categories could be beneficial for domainers to have their domains placed in the same marketplace stream as websites, especially if those domains are earning revenue.

It has yet to be announced if goods and services like hosting, links, consulting, and scripts will even allowed to be listed on Flippa.

There are some noteable improvements to the process of buying and selling websites through classifieds as well as features from the original SitePoint Marketplace.

Here is a snapshot of the handy statistics widget embedded within each listing.

What are your thoughts on Flippa? I for one am excitied to see it grow and gain more exposure to domain and website sales.  Please leave your comments and questions below.

SitePoint Set To Launch Flippa.com Enhanced Website Sales Marketplace DotSauce Magazine

This poll includes 12 popular online industries that are in some way directly or indirectly related to domaining, so I expect alot of you will show some interest in at least a few of these.

You may select as many industries as you like, but please try to select only those which you are actively interested in.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. If I missed something please let me know in the comment area below.

Check back later for the results!

Poll: What Online Industries Are You Active In? DotSauce Magazine

Mini site development has the potential to increase revenue and pay-per-click (PPC) conversions on domain names with traffic, especially those with natural type-in visitors.

Mini sites also allow you freedoms and features that current parking companies simply can’t and won’t provide you. If you have a domain with strong keywords there is also the possibility of ranking high in Google and increasing traffic significantly in due time.

Ron Jackson at DNJournal has recently published the DNJournal March Cover Story featuring an introduction to the rise of mini site development lately and list of other mini site development companies.

Each company is unique and has different features, models and methods to their developing madness.

Some are automated like WhyPark or Parking Revolution which places more interaction and content control with the user, others are on the pricey side but provide a hands on experience with true custom content, graphic and promotional work.

DN Media has announced today the launch of MiniSites.com. The new company provides mini site development services to domainers, which is as mentioned above, a hot trend in recent years for those seeking an alternative to falling revenue from traditional PPC parking companies.

MiniSites.com has three different mini site development packages to choose from which include features and services such as the following…

• Dedicated Project Manager
• Unique Content Creation
• Custom Text Logo Design
• Attractive Graphic Header Design
• Flexible Monetization Options
• Targeted Keyword Research
• Search Engine Optimization
• Easily Add Your Own Content Post-Launch
• Free Hosting for as Long as You Own the Domain

Looks like a great all around package for having someone develop a quick mini site for your domain name.  The base price is set at $120, but they do have discounts for bulk orders.

Surprisingly, the service price nearly triples from $120 to $350 when you want to add on advanced link building and advanced monetization packages.

No details are to be found on the company site regarding hosting or a user control panel. But, I think they are on the right track and I am sure more information will show up soon on MiniSites.com as they push through the new launch.

Would love to hear your comments about mini site development or MiniSites.com, please leave one below!

Mini Site Development Services: Creating Small Websites Based on Big Ideas DotSauce Magazine

What is TUTS Plus?

High quality tutorials from industry professionals guide you every step of the way towards creating beautiful graphics and rich interactive web applications.

How Can it Benefit Me?

Simply download the content files for any tutorial, customize, upload, and most importantly learn and improve your web development skills!

In just a short time since launch the guys behind TUTS+ have been churning out an amazing amount of Plus content.

Check out all the stuff you can get inside TUTS+ so far…

• WordPress, Beginner to Master Series: Part 1-3
• WordPress, Beginner to Master Series: Part 4-6
• Build a Shopping Cart With PHP and MySQL (Screencast + Source Files)
• Design a Ready to Print Brochure in Photoshop (Tutorial + Source Files)
• and many more design and script and website tutorials!

TUTS+ will grow your business, improve your existing websites, and most likely wow your visitors and clients.  I have been a regular at NETTUTS for awhile, but I can’t wait to get started with the new TUTS+ membership tutorials and screencasts.

Quality Education and Materials on the Cheap!

TUTS+ exclusive membership is just $9 per month (or $22 per three months), a fantastic bargain for the high quality content.  They already have over 3000 happy members.

Earn Your Money Back

Once a member you can pass on the knowledge through the TUTS+ affiliate program.  Refer your friends and earn 25% of what they pay on the first month and every month.

TUTS+ Membership For Web Developers and Designers: Get Your Learn On DotSauce Magazine

What may be even more exciting than purchasing cool products at a large discount is that built into the DealDotCom system is a very exciting affiliate program which boasts an amazing lifetime commission and two tiers at that! When you refer a friend or reader to DDC you get 35% commission on any deal of the day that they purchase for the lifetime of their membership and in turn 15% of any purchases from members they refer.

Sign Up and Start Earning

I will leave my description at that and encourage you to sign up for your free account now and start building your DDC referral network while the hype is ripe.

DealDotCom Launches Today! Daily Web Marketing & Development Deals DotSauce Magazine

The idea behind this application is to draw valuable information from numerous web services and bring them into one easily readable and sortable list. Google’s PageRank, various search engine’s backlink counts, Alexa Rank, DMOZ status and domain age are a few of the services that are queried for your list of domains or websites.

Help Me Spread the Word

Please feel free to use and share BulkSEO for your domain and website research! I would very much appreciate if you would bookmark it, submit it to Social Networks (Del.ici.us, StumbleUpon, Bumpzee, Digg) and email the link to fellow web developers to help spread the word!

Limited Time Offer to Purchase the Code

I would also be willing to sell personal and reseller rights copies of this script for you to use in your own development projects or a standalone service for your website visitors. Please view a demo the exact script that is available for purchase.

• Personal Copy – Just $19!
  
  
  

  License to use and modify the Bulk Domain Lookup script on your own website. Not to be distributed or resold in any fashion.

• Personal Copy + Reseller Rights – Just $49!
  
  
  

  License to use and modify the Bulk Domain Lookup script as well as resell an unlimited number of individual copies of the script to others. You may set your own pricing but may never sell the rights to resell the script.

Please contact me for complete script details or if you are ready to purchase this excellent bulk domain lookup script. Payment is accepted by PayPal and the script will be emailed in a ZIP archive with simple installation instructions.

Presenting BulkSEO.com Domain & Website Research DotSauce Magazine

Premium Sponsorships Available

Since the very first article was published DotSauce has not had a single advertisement displayed. I wanted to develop, promote and market the magazine for several months before I attempted to monetize it at all. Now with several hundred dedicated feed subscribers and thousands of unique visitors monthly I think it is time I get a little something for my work!

Please see the Sponsorship information page for complete details on how you can advertise your product, service or website to thousands of domainers on a monthly basis. This offer is limited to only two sponsors per month and will be sold to the highest bidder. There are currently no takers yet–this could go for a steal during the month September!

Private Available Dot Com Domains List

I am an active contributing member to the NamePros forum community and wanted to give something back to all the other members. I am providing a protected list of several hundred dot com domain names that are available to register to NamePros members only.

You can join NamePros for free and then get the details on accessing DotSauce’s Available Domain list at this thread.

Free Site-wide SEO Friendly Links!

I have just implemented tracking system for those loyal readers who feel the urge to have their voices heard by commenting on articles. If you glance a bit to your right you will see a section for the “Most Active Readers” in which those who comment the most get their link prominently displayed on every page!

Thanks for your support, get started by commenting now! Feel free to grace our most active readers with a visit to their site.

Writers Wanted

Each resource section (Design, Develop, Hosting, Buying, Selling, Network) has a new category entitled “Additional Articles” in which your article can be featured! If you write a blog related to the domain industry, web development, design, SEO or hosting please contact me about the possibility of linking directly to one of your articles.

I am also looking for guest bloggers to write unique articles to be published solely on DotSauce Magazine. This can be a great way to get the word out that you are somebody in-the-know as credit will of course be given with a link to your blog.

New Stuff on DotSauce Magazine! DotSauce Magazine

All proceeds of the upcoming domain auction on Friday July 20th at 5PM EST are to benefit a Cancer Research charity! Many NamePros members have already been contributing domains, domain registrations, web hosting, apparel and more.

NamePros.com Community (Sign up for Free)
Live Auction Queue (Stuff you can Bid on!)
Add Item Form (Contribute stuff be auctioned!)

I urge you attend the live auction to get some great deals on lots of cool and useful stuff. Of course, you will be contributing to a great cause as well! Winning bidders will be paying for the items by donating the winning bid amount to charity. DotSauce is auctioning off 2 FREE lifetime hosting accounts! Bid for charity and get great quality web hosting for your websites and never pay a dime again.

NamePros Live Charity Auction Starts Friday July 20th at 5PM Eastern DotSauce Magazine

Here is a transcript of the email sent to DreamHost accounts:

This email is to inform you that a few of your sites were getting hammered by Google bot. This was causing a heavy load on the webserver, and in turn affecting other customers on your shared server. In order to maintain stability on the webserver, I was forced to block Google bot via the .htaccess file.

[Limit GET HEAD POST
order allow,deny
deny from 66.249
allow from all]

You also want to consider making your files be unsearchable by robots and crawlers, as that usually contributes to high number of hits. If they hit a dynamic file, like php, it can cause high memory usage and consequently high load…

As of yesterday, it has been reported that DreamHost corrected the issue and removed the block from several .htaccess files, stating that it was no longer necessary. The company most likely had the best of intentions to improve server stability for websites that had excessive CPU usage. Many, including myself, find it quite ironic and funny mainly because of the buzz focused around SEO by today’s webmasters.

DreamHost Blocks Googlebot, Hillarity Ensues DotSauce Magazine

• Web Design
• Web Development
• Web Hosting
• Buying Domains
• Selling Domains
• Social Networking

If you are reading this from our RSS feed, please drop by the site and check out the new sections.

Each section will contain relevant articles from DotSauce Magazine as well as a list of external articles on the subject from various quality blogs and news sources. Each section also features a link directory of websites, tools, tutorials and web applications.

I am actively working through the tedious process of merging my extensive bookmarked links and articles into these pages, so please bare with me as the resource lists continue to grow over the next few days. I am most definitely interested in your suggestions. My goal is for DotSauce to become a comprehensive source for information on the domain industry, how to get started, be successful and maintain a high-level of productivity.

Please contact me if you have any suggestions for relevant links to be included.

Restructuring DotSauce, in-depth resources for domain owners DotSauce Magazine

I have recently launched an online directory of RSS feeds– RSSbuffet.com, Serving up fresh article and news feeds of all flavors. You can learn more about what RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds and feed readers are at the RSSbuffet Blog.

There are hundreds of thousands of RSS feeds online and I want all the quality and useful ones to be organized and put on the menu at RSSbuffet. With your help this directory can grow into a wonderful resource for finding information of all flavors.

The Affiliate Program allows anyone to earn 20¢ per submission. Once an affiliate has earned at least $20 (only 100 feed submissions) we promptly send your earnings via PayPal.

You can learn more about the affiliate program here: www.rssbuffet.com/blog/affiliates

My RSS directory affiliates, contibute feeds and earn money DotSauce Magazine

Unfortunately DotSauce having launched this month did not have time to sneak past PageRank 0, but for an example you can see for yourself here that my MySpace music directory website is going from PR0 to PR4.

PageRank is not everything when it comes to the value of a domain name, search engine page rank for specific keywords is more important. However, PageRank can help you to better promote your site and most definitely can improve your advertising sales as well as popularity in general.

So, how did you fare during this long-awaited update? Comment here on your new ranks and post a link.

GoogleBot finally updates PageRank after 92 days DotSauce Magazine

In the coming days will be syndicating various sources for notable articles on domain names and related current events. Expect to see feature articles on domain applications, resources and tools in the near future.

We look forward to building a great community of domain geeks, entrepreneurs, buyers, sellers and developers!

Do you like it hot? DotSauce Magazine