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HOATown now offers free SSL security for all customers

HOATown now offers free SSL security for all customers

Great news! Your HOATown site is now SSL secured and encrypted with 256 bit encryption. Not to worry if a member goes to an old, non-secure page. They will be instantly redirected to the secure site.

Why is this important? SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral.

Please contact our support team if there are any issues with this security update. Thank you!
Regards,
HOATown Support


The Rise of the Homeowner Association UPDATED!

The Rise of the Homeowner Association UPDATED!

With 69 million Americans governed by HOA’s and $88 billion dollars in operating revenues and growing, HOATown.com thought is was time to bring clarity to the homeowner association with a one-of-a-kind infographic: The Rise of the Homeowner Association.


Here is the raw HTML code to post The Rise of the Homeowner Association HOA Infographic on your Website:

Original Size: 800×3959

Smaller Size: 600×2969


More on The Rise of the Homeowner Association Infographic

Homeowners associations first emerged in the United States in the mid-19th century. Their growth was limited, however, until the 1960s, when several factors led to a period of rapid national growth, including, a push towards large scale residential development by the Federal Housing Authority and the Urban Land Institute; an increasing cultural preference for architectural uniformity; a decline of readily available land; rising construction costs; and a modification of federal mortgage insurance rules to include cooperatives and condominiums.

Driving Forces for HOA Growth
– a push towards large scale residential development by the Federal Housing Authority and the Urban Land Institute
– an increasing cultural preference for architectural uniformity
– a decline of readily available land
– rising construction costs
– modification of federal mortgage insurance rules to include cooperatives and condominiums

HOATown.com is the #1 HOA Management Solution Online. We have been helping Homeowner Associations and HOA Management Companies since 2003 with HOA Websites that feature more interactivity, better communication and increased member satisfaction. We strive to consistently evolve to meet your needs in an ever changing and demanding environment. Our HOA Website solution is fast, affordable and powerful enabling you to connect more members with our new social plugins which give you more cost saving Give your members a push in the right direction with the only HOA Management Solution you will ever need. HOATown.com


Security is a priority

Security is a priority

HOATown takes security and the protection of your personal information very seriously. We use the best and most widely used technology on the market to insure consistency and practicality. Your website and all related data is stored at Rackspace, one of the nation’s leading hosting facilities, on a dedicated, secure server with 24/7 monitoring and support and daily data backup.

Server Uptime and Monitoring Guarantee

At HOATown, we put a premium on network reliability and performance and back it up with a 99.99% uptime guarantee. Additionally, our Network Operations Center (NOC) is manned 24/7/365 by expert technicians to ensure maximum network reliability and performance.

Ultimate Firewall and Anti-Virus Protection

A firewall is one of the most important components of a secure hosting environment. HOATown helps protect your information with a packet-filtering firewall on our dedicated server. We also use the award-winning FortiGate series of ASIC accelerated anti-virus firewalls, which detect and eliminate the most damaging content-based threats originating from email and Web traffic. This assures real time protection from viruses, worms, and intrusions.

Secure Hosting Facility

Our server facility is protected by multi-layered electronic security systems as well as 24/7 on site personnel. There are also electronic entry, motion, and breach alarms and a video surveillance system.

Reliable Power Backup

All power is filtered and conditioned by redundant UPS systems. These systems carry the data center’s power load during any transition between two primary hydroelectric utility feeds and between our utility feeds and emergency diesel generators. We are connected to two hydroelectric utility grids, Aquila and BCHydro, with standby diesel generators available for emergency power.


The Do’s and Don’ts of File Naming For The Web

The Do’s and Don’ts of File Naming For The Web

Ready to upload your files, documents and images to your HOATown Website? Follow this quick list of do’s and don’ts to eliminate any issues that may arise from improper file naming.

Use the following in your file names:
– Letters (ABCabc…)
– Numbers (0123456789)
– Underscores (_) can be used to represent a space
– File name length no more than 32 characters
– Document File Extension (i.e. doc, docx, pdf, xls, xlsx, ppt, etc.)

Avoid the following in file names:
– Special characters ( ~ ! @ # $ % & etc.)
– Spaces (there have been problems related to this, though they are technically supported)
– Long File Names (Limit to 32 characters or less)

Examples of Good File names
– STpaper1.doc (short file name, includes file extension, no spaces or special characters, properly named)
– peer_review_presentation.ppt (properly named, less than 32 characters, includes file extension, no spaces or unsupported characters)

Examples of Bad File names
– HOA Rules #1 (no file extension, includes unsupported special character and spaces)
– my hoa proposal for Mike’s house on elm street.doc (filename is more than 32 characters, spaces and unsupported special characters are included)


How to upload a document and add a link

How to upload a document and add a link

Follow these instructions to upload a document and post a link to it on your HOATown.com Web site:

1) Login to your admin dashboard
2) On the left, click the page you want the link to point to
3) Click “Edit Page Content”
4) Next you will be in the editor. You can start a new line and type some text you want to appear (i.e. General Info Sheet)
5) Highlight your new text with your cursor. This should be the text you want to actually be clickable.
6) Click the “Insert/Edit Link” button which has a Globe icon with a chain link in front of it.
7) This will pop a window named “Link”…. Click the button “Browse Server”
8) Do you see at the bottom it says “Choose File”… and the “Upload” button to the right? This is how you will upload the document to the server
9) Click Choose File…. Find the file on your local machine and click “Open” and then click Upload.
10) Once it is uploaded, you can simply select it (click the file name) from the Browse Server window and it will be added to the Link window. Then you can click OK on that window.
11) Finally to save your page, click preview and then save.

We hope this helps you more efficiently upload documents and add links to your site.
Thank you!
HOATown Support


Added 12 new color schemes! Change the look of your HOATown website with one click.

Added 12 new color schemes! Change the look of your HOATown website with one click.

We just added 12 new color schemes! Now you can choose from a total of 18 colors schemes and change the look of your HOATown website with one click.

At HOATown.com we are working hard to keep your website fresh and easy to update. We just added 12 new color schemes that gives you a one-click way to change the look of your HOA website. It couldn’t be any easier!


New Year 2017 HOA Website Bundle Special!

New Year 2017 HOA Website Bundle Special!

Happy New Year 2017 from the HOATown.com family!

If you are ready to create, update, or expand your HOA website, then this post is for you.

HOATown is celebrating the new year 2014 with our HOA Website Bundle including:

  • Free setup
  • Free professionally designed header
  • Free Facebook integration
  • Free PayPal payments integration
  • and a Free month when you pay for a year

Head over to our package comparison chart and choose Basic or Plus, it’s that simple. HOATown is your best choice for enhancing community communication and streamlining information management.

Feel free to contact us online for fast and friendly email support.

From all of us at HOATown, we sincerely wish you the best new year ever!


New design update! Update the look of your HOATown site with one click

New design update! Update the look of your HOATown site with one click

Make your HOATown website the talk of your neighborhood with the latest free update. Now you can add an amazing background image with one click. Choose from 40 different backgrounds or set it to no background easily.

This is part of our free design and update service and its our way of saying thank you for being a valued customer of HOATown.com.


October is free SEO month!

October is free SEO month!

hoatown-seo

October is free SEO month! The HOATown Support team is offering free Search Engine Optimization services for all our valued customers. We will start by submitting your site to the major search engines and making some optimization in the code of your site. We will also make specific suggestions on how to increase your HOA site’s visibility in the search engines.

Send us an SEO request and the HOATown Support team will get to work on making your HOA website more search engine friendly.

HOATown.com is the #1 HOA Management Solution Online. We have been helping Homeowner Associations and HOA Management Companies since 2003 with HOA Websites that feature more interactivity, better communication and increased member satisfaction. We strive to consistently evolve to meet your needs in an ever changing and demanding environment. Our HOA Website solution is fast, affordable and powerful enabling you to connect more members with our new social plugins which give you more cost saving Give your members a push in the right direction with the only HOA Management Solution you will ever need. HOATown.com

Order Now!


HOATown for Management Companies

HOATown for Management Companies

Is your HOA management company looking for a new, easier HOA management solution? Our HOA management software is 100% Web-based and is ideal for single family homes, condos and apartments. HOATown.com boasts a wide array of HOA-specific features while offering your management company one low, fixed cost. Plus, get free setup and 24/7 priority support with HOATown.com.

Our HOA management software has been constantly updated and improved since 2003 making us one of the oldest and most experienced HOA Management software solutions online. We work daily to beat the competition in price, support and HOA management features. Review the features and details below and let us know if you have any questions or proceed to the order page to get started. Thank you and we sincerely look forward to serving your HOA management company needs.

100% Customizable You have total control over the look and feel of your website. Customize your header, footer, buttons, font colors and site colors.
Additional Web Pages Create up to 15 additional web pages and unlimited sub-pages. Each HOATown package allows you maximum flexibility.
Content Editor Your site contains the award winning CKEditor that lets you add and format custom content to your web pages.
Privileges Management Assigning member privileges allows you to share the administration of your website with as many registered members as you wish.
Privacy Manager While admin retains access to all data, members have total control over what personal information will be displayed on the site.
Group Creation Create Groups (Board Members, Committees, Clubs, etc.) for easy filtering of the Member Directory and for sending broadcast emails.
Email Members Use our email interface to create and send messages with attachments to your registered community members individually or by groups.
Secure Hosting Your website is hosted on a secure server with 24/7 monitoring and support. All data is backed up on a daily basis. Learn More
Directory The dynamically searchable Directory allows you to filter by subdivision, gender, status and interest, making finding members a snap.
Calendar Your calendar lets you list and view events by month, day and time and offers full recursive functionality.
Classifieds Advertise goods and services on your community Classifieds. Don’t want Classifieds? You can hide any module with a click of the mouse.
Forum Create public and private boards, post topics, messages and replies on your fully interactive community Forum.
Request Management Our Request System allows residents to submit requests online and have them processed according to your rules. Learn More
Statistics View daily, weekly, monthly and lifetime hit statistics by module and learn which areas of your website are most frequently accessed.
Advertisers Let members advertise services on your site.
Area Links Display noteworthy or important area attractions.
Board Members Upload Photos and offer Board Member details.
Clubs Display all community clubs, chairperson and members.
Committees Display active committees in your community.
Documents Store important files and documents for download.
Facilities/Amenities List your facilities, amenities and times of operation.
Garage Sales Find out where to go bargain hunting each weekend.
Homes For Rent/Lease List and search for available rental homes.
Homes For Sale List and search for available homes for sale.
Lots For Sale List and search for available lots for sale.
Online Forms Create custom dynamic forms that members can submit.
Online Polls Gain member insights by adding up to 20 community polls.
Pet Directory Found a lost pet? Find its photo and owner information here.
Photo Galleries Create beautiful photo galleries and view slideshows.
Recipe Exchange Share your favorite recipes with your neighbors.
Sitter Services Find available baby, pet and house sitters.
Website Sponsors Advertise your valued website sponsors.

 

Exciting new changes have arrived with the latest version of HOATown for Management Companies. The new release is the result of over a decade of listening to valuable client feedback and suggestions and we are confident you will be thrilled once you begin to experience all the new features and functionality. Below is a short list of some of the new features versus the previous version.

Feature Description
Improved Site Design Your website now features a width of 960px and the modern look, feel and functionality you demand.
Faster Page Loading All button and bullet images have been replaced on the new version, resulting in lightning fast page loading. Additionally, due to the structural changes, your website will now work directly from your iPhone, Blackberry, or other PDA.
Redesigned Modules For ease of use, all modules have been renamed and completely redesigned in order to make your user experience even better!
Four New Modules New modules have been added for Advertisers, Clubs, Terms of Use, plus a What”s New module that will highlight recently added content.
Internal Member Email All members will now have their own internal email, offering them the ability to email other registered members and established groups. This powerful communication tool can enabled or disabled for individual members by the website administrator.
Enhanced Site Customization With our advanced customization tools, your site will look better than ever! Create a header or upload a custom header, select and manage all website colors including rollover backgrounds and fonts, plus publish/hide/arrange modules and web pages.

Order Now!

HOATown.com is the #1 HOA Management Solution Online. We have been helping Homeowner Associations and HOA Management Companies since 2003 with HOA Websites that feature more interactivity, better communication and increased member satisfaction. We strive to consistently evolve to meet your needs in an ever changing and demanding environment. Our HOA Website solution is fast, affordable and powerful enabling you to connect more members with our new social plugins which give you more cost saving Give your members a push in the right direction with the only HOA Management Solution you will ever need. HOATown.com