Get started today-call today! 1-877-843-8464

Frequently Asked Questions

The Process

Neighborhoods

Header/Color/Layout

Website

Administration/Security

Support

Cost/Billing

  

What domain will my site be?

You can choose any domain name. Only ONE domain name will be assigned to your site. If you need extra names, or alternative names, you may use techniques such as domain name forwarding.

There are many domain registration services out there, we recommend www.bluefiredomains.com.

What are the DNS settings for your server?

ns3.bluefirefast.com
ns4.bluefirefast.com

How do I change the DNS for my domain?

Login to the website for your registrar, ie. Godaddy.com, Bluefiredomains.com, Register.com and find the option to set nameservers. Once you have found this, delete the old name servers and place our nameservers there instead:
ns3.bluefirefast.com
ns4.bluefirefast.com
It may prompt you to make sure you wish to make the changes, agree and the changes will take affect within the next 24-48 hours. If you have trouble, you can contact your registrar for help.

Can I use my own domain name?

Yes.

If you wish to buy a domain name, we recommend www.bluefiredomains.com - where they are less than $10 per year and the Adminsitration functions make it very easy to change and manage your domain name.

How long does it take to get started?

5 to 7 days depending on how fast you can supply us with the information we need to create and set-up your site.

What happens once I place my order?

We ask you a set of questions that allows us to build a site, including color choices, neighborhood name, etc. We take that information and build a neighborhood website. We then send a welcome email to let you know that the website is complete, with links to a set of tutorials that will help you to make changes to your website. Once you have completed the tutorials, you can make an appointment for a question and answer session. We can arrange for additional sessions for personal help and walkthroughs for additional fees.

Is each Neighborhood sold Exclusively?

Yes. We do not duplicate any areas.

How is a "Neighborhood" defined?

We leave this entirely to you. For some it is a 50 unit apartment block. For others it will be a subdivision of 200-300 homes. In some cases we have clients who have chosen to provide a site to more than 1000 homes.

How big an area can I cover with a Neighborhood site?

This is your decision. However, remember that you are the one who will be promoting it. We find many of our clients are very successful promoting our sites to neighborhoods of 100 to 400 homes.

Can I choose a different Layout and Design?

We have one flexible and configurable template allowing the following types of changes:

The standard layout allows us to offer you upgrades to the website when the are available, without the worry of overwriting any changes you have made to the site.

Can I supply my own Site Header Graphic?

Yes. Being able to adjust headers and upload your own graphics is part of the ADMIN function. PLEASE NOTE: This option only applies to some of our site packages

NOTE: we will not manipulate your graphic - the system will simply upload and display your image.

What can I change in a configured header? and what is the difference between that and a custom header?

In a configured header, the text can be changed, as well as the photos. There are available spaces for photos, so any changes will be made within those photo spaces. Anything beyond that will be considered a custom header and will be billed accordingly.

What color choices do I have for my neighborhood website?

You may choose from a varity of color schemes.

My header seems to have a lot of space for my sponsor graphic, why is it so small?

We build our headers to fit expanding screens, so that you can see all of the important parts on an 800 wide screen. Therefore, if you have a larger screen, you will see more space than others who have smaller screens.

Can the Site have more than One Sponsor?

You can have more than one sponsor - there are no additional charges. Infact, you can make money by charging others to be co-sponsors of your site.

We have a number of sites with 2 or more sponsors. There would only be one Sponsors page, but you can design this to accommodate all of your sponsors.

In addition, you can sell advertising / sponsorship if you have that in your website package.

How much work will I have to put in to this site to make it successful?

The amount of work you have to put in depends on the size of the community and how often you want to update the site with news etc. The biggest task is quite often promotion of the site to ensure that residents register and begin to use the site. The benefit of a NonStopNeighbors site is that once people have registered, you have captured their email address. This means subsequent communications can be electronic and therefore, easy, fast and inexpensive.

Once users are using the site on a regular basis, your work will be much less.

Our sites use automation (for example our AUTO-UPDATES) and we also have a Virtual Assistant Service available for an extra fee if you want someone to help you update your site.

How do I Market my Neighborhood Website?

We can help you get the message out with our Launch Pack Services.

How much DISK storage is included in the Service?

Each site is allocated 100MB, which currently appears to be plenty for all our existing clients. If a client needs more then we can easily allocate more storage.

Can we add more pages?

You may add as many pages as you wish within the DISK storage allocated.

Can I change the Navigation and Menu Items?

The Menu structure can be EASILY adjusted by an administrator of the site using a simple control panel. You can change the text and modify the sequence as often as you like.

Additional navigation links to Content Pages can be easily created from the home page and from other areas in the website that allow links (e.g the NEWS section).

How do I make my site a success?

The ideal success of your site depends on getting your users on the site and using it to communicate with each other, although we have added many tools to achieve this end, you just need to get them started. Some things we recommend for doing this include:

Once it starts, the momentum should continue until it is a thriving website that is a regular tool used in your community.

How much work is involved to keep the site running?

After a month or so, we would expect most of our clients to be spending 2-4 hours per month.

However, in the early days, when you are promoting the site and bringing new people on board, we would expect you to spend around two hours each week maintaining the site and learning to use it.

Our Virtual Assistant Service can provide all this support if you require if you wish to purchase this upgrade.

Can I stop other Realtors or Mortgage professionals advertising on my site?

If you initially purchase the site and have editorial control then we can eliminate all conflicting categories in the Classified Ads and Yellow Pages. You also have administrative control over the website, you can delete any entries at any time. You can also warn and delete users if you feel that they are abusing their privileges on the site.

I see the administrator link when I go to the neighborhood site, will all users be able to see this?

No, once you login as administrator, your computer has a cookie that shows you are logged in and therefore shows the link. The computer will hold this cookie for 30 days and may require you to login again after that.

How do I logout as administrator?

Click the logout link on the left hand menu under the administrator menu link. Once you have done this, refresh your screen, it should prompt you for your login and password, now you are logged out as administrator.

What is my administrative login and password?

In order to make your lives easier, we ask for a login and password during the ordering process. We realize you have enough to remember and think about than to add another random set of logins to your list, therefore we recommend choosing something that you will remember and perhaps adding a two or three digit number at the end of the password if you want to make it more secure. This way you can coordinate the login and password with other accounts you already have, making it easier to remember and/or keep track of. Once it is set up, it is very difficult to change, so please keep track of it in a secure place if you aren't good at remembering it.

What is the difference between logging in as an Administrator or a User?

One of the biggest concerns about the neighborhood sights was security, by making the administration login separate from the regular site, we have made it more secure from users and the general public hacking into the site and making changes that may ruin the secure environment.

There are a few functions that users can add content to, they are:

The above are the tools that the website has available for them to use in order to interact with other members of the community. They can also register themselves and if they're registration is approved, then they will be added to the website as a user.

Things that administrators are responsible for:

The news, galleries, documents, and links are items that most agreed should be kept away from the users as inappropriate content might be added. The rest of the items listed above are normal administrative function things that can be taken care of as needed, but not on a continual basis.

Do I need to register or add myself as a user in order to use the site?

NO, we have used the same login and password to set up a USER account AS WELL AS an administrator account. If you choose to CHANGE your existing user account that we have set up for you, you can do so by using the edit users function in the administration menu.

Where do I go if I need help with my website?

First you can check the tutorials and the FAQ's to see if your questions are answered. If not, you can go to our trouble ticket system available at our HELP DESK. We have a team of people waiting to help you with your trouble ticket.

After my site is up and running, and I want personal phone support, who do I call?

We offer various avenues of support, including the tutorials, the FAQ's and a trouble ticket system. We have a team of people available to answer your trouble tickets, and we have found this to be a more efficient system than individual phone support for technical issues. If you want assistance with maintaining your website, we have a virtual assistant service available which includes phone conversations with a real person. Additonal walkthroughs and question and answer sessions beyond the one provided with the service can be purchased for an additional fee.

How much does a Neighborhood Web Site Cost, and what is included in the fee?

There is a one time set up fee of $99 and a monthly fee of $19 for the basic website package. Upgrades and other services are available for extra fees. Click here for information about available packages and services.

The set up fee includes:

Monthly service fee includes:

How long is the contract for?

Our contract is month to month, unless our Clients requests a longer contract (typically 12 months).

Can I get a price discount if I have multiple sites?

Yes - two or more sites will attract discounts on both Set up and Monthly fees. Please contact us for details.

When are the fees due?

Set up fees are billed and are due upon completion of your website. Monthly fees are due at the beginning of each month. If you are using a credit card to pay for your website, your card will be charged automatically at the time of the emails that get sent out upon completion and at the beginning of the month. The first month of service is free, to allow you time to set up your website and get it going.

What Optional Upgrade Services are available?

You may choose to upgrade your service in one or more of the following ways

For more information on upgrades and prices, click here.

How long has Non-Stop Neighbors been around - and are you going to stay in business?

Non Stop Neighbors is a brand name of the Blue Fire Group Inc. and has been supplying Neighborhood websites since 2002. We have no investors other than the founders of the company. We have no debts and our growth is built on profits.