General

The name Zhibit is taken from, and pronounced like, the last two syllables of the word exhibit.

What is the difference between Zhibit.org and Zhibit.com?

While Zhibit.org is reserved for artists only and shall remain focused on the art community, Zhibit.com is open for all other types of businesses and is geared towards the needs of business.

New subscribers

How long does it take to set up a website?

Assuming you already have digital images of your artwork and your biography written down, typically you can have a basic website up and running in under 30 minutes. The more advanced features like offering and pricing your work for sale and linking your own domain name will take longer to set up.

I already have a website, how can I transfer it to run on Zhibit.org?

Due to the large variety of websites out there, there is no automated migration path that can import an existing website to run on Zhibit.org. You will have to manually upload your images to Zhibit.org and effectively create your site from scratch.

I'm not very savvy with computers, is Zhibit.org for me?

Yes, Zhibit.org was designed from the grounds up to simpify as much as possible the creation of your website and our user friendly website will guide you through the process of creating your own step by step. A basic understanding of web browsing (not authoring) is all it takes to get started.

What login ID is best?

Your login ID is also part of the URL to your website, which is given high importance by search engines when indexing your site. You should therefore use terms that you want your site to be associated with, such as your name and main line of work, for example "johnqpublicphotography". Just remember that this ID also needs to be easily memorable so don't go over board with one that is too long.

Why does my website have to be offline for the trial period?

Zhibit.org is not free. Until you subscribe and activate your account, your account is not visible to the public. The trial period is for you to try out the service and preview how things would look once you activate your account. It is entirely up to you to decide when to activate your account.

Do I have to furnish any financial information in order to try the service out?

No, we only ask you for payment if and when you activate your account.

Why don't you offer a free subscription plan?

Free services are great but they come with the price that subscribers can not be held accountable for the content they publish. Zhibit LLC is committed to offer our subscribers quality content and it is important to us to be able to prevent abuse of Zhibit.org. Charging a subscription fee allows us on one hand to verify a subscriber's identity and on the other to discourage abusers from joining in. Also, please remember that Zhibit.org is an ad-free zone and your subscription fee is what allows us to offer you this service.

I just want to participate in an art competition, do I need to open an account?

Yes, an account with Zhibit.org is required to enter art competitions on the site. Although subscribers who also maintain a website with us can typically expect a lower entry fee, subscription to such plans is not required.

Must I have an account in order to be listed in Zhibit.org's directory?

Yes, only active subscribers of Zhibit.org who host and maintain a website with Zhibit.org are eligible to be listed in the directory.

Payment

How do you safeguard my financial information?

At Zhibit LLC we are very sensitive to the privacy and security of your information. To eliminate unnecessary risks, we do not store on our servers any of your financial information. Instead, we partner with PayPal - the leading online payment processor - to handle all transactions. You give your billing information to PayPal. PayPal then deducts the monies from your account and transfers them to us. At no time does PayPal share with us any of your financial data. If we don't have it, we can't lose it.

Must I have a PayPal account in order to subscribe to Zhibit.org?

Although PayPal processes all payments for Zhibit.org, a PayPal account is not required to subscribe to Zhibit.org. A major credit card is all that it takes. Be advised however that some of the enhanced features of Zhibit.org, namely selling online, do require linking a PayPal business account.

I do not have a credit card, can I mail in a check or wire funds?

At this time we cannot accept payments by mail or wire. We work with PayPal because it helps us to reduce collection costs as well as offer a level of protection (for you and for us) against fraud. If you do not have a credit card, opening a PayPal account will allow you to make payments directly out of your US bank account. Please refer to PayPal's website for more information.

I am concerned about using my credit card number online, can I pay by phone or fax?

Zhibit LLC cannot currently accept payments by any means other than online through PayPal as the costs of administering these payments manually would be prohibitive. Most credit card companies offer innovative ways to confront fraud, including for example the use of randomly generated virtual account numbers that are only good for one purchase. If that number is lost or stolen, it can't be used for anything other than for the original transaction. You are encouraged to check the website of your credit card company for more information on how to use your card securely online.

How do I update my credit card information?

Because Zhibit LLC uses PayPal to process payments, we do not directly know or keep your credit card information. Any changes you want to make to your payment methods, including to credit card data, must therefore be made at your PayPal account. You can update your credit card information after logging in to PayPal under the My Account | Profile | Financial Information | Credit Card screen. Any such updates might trigger PayPal to notify Zhibit.org of the cancellation of your autopay subscription. Rest assured that in this case your data and any unused balances are safe. Simply resubscribe to Zhibit.org to reactivate your account.

I'm upgrading my subscription plan, why am I charged $1 for the already paid portion of my subscription period?

Some PayPal accounts experience an error when attempting to subscribe with no payment at all. This is a known issue with PayPal and charging a small amount is PayPal's recommended workaround. Rest assured that the $1 is applied towards your subscription time and isn't lost.

Features

Can I link my own domain name with your service?

There are three possible methods to configure the address (URL) to the website you create on Zhibit.org:

a) A sub-directory under Zhibit.org's domain name is automatically created for you based on your chosen login ID. For example, if your login ID is johnqpublic, the URL to your site will be Zhibit.org/johnqpublict.

b) If you own your own domain name, e.g. johnqpublic.com, you can use web forwarding or other similar means to redirect users to your website on Zhibit.org, i.e. to Zhibit.org/johnqpublic. When users type your domain name in the browser's address bar, they will be redirected to Zhibit.org from which point on Zhibit.org's domain name will appear in the browser address bar. While it is possible to use masking to obscure Zhibit.org's domain name we cannot wholeheartedly recommend you employ this technique since it might clash with some search engines and confuse your visitors. Please refer to your domain name registrar for instructions on how to set up web forwarding.

c) A transparent mapping of your domain name to point to our servers in a way that will completely obscure Zhibit.org's domain name is available through domain aliasing on select subscription plans. Once set, Zhibit.org will serve all HTTP requests going to your domain and in effect will become your domain's web server.

Where should I register my domain name so that I can alias it to my Zhibit.org site?

Zhibit LLC itself does not resell domain names. There are many domain name registrars out there and we encourage you to shop around and choose the one that best fits your needs. The only requirement is that your registrar provides you with complete control over DNS settings. More specifically, you should be able to configure the A-record of your domain to point to Zhibit.org's IP address.

The following registrars have been proven to work with Zhibit.org: Network Solutions, Yahoo Domains, DynDNS, Register.com and GoDaddy.com. Zhibit.org's domain aliasing wizard will present you with step-by-step instructions on how to set the A-record for your domain for any of these registrars.

I'd like to receive email at my private domain name, can Zhibit.org help me with that?

At this time Zhibit.org's services do not include email hosting. Most subscribers of Zhibit.org use their web-based email accounts (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) to receive emails. You will need a separate solution if it's important to you to receive email at your private domain name (i.e. johnqpublic@domain.com). Typically, domain name registrars offer email hosting services at an extra cost and you may want to start your search there.

I would like to put up my art for sale on my website, how exactly will that work?

An easy-to-follow wizard will guide you through the process of linking your PayPal business account with Zhibit.org. Then, all you need to do is put a price on each item that you want to offer for sale. Visitors who view these items will be presented with a "Buy" button that, when clicked, will direct them to PayPal where they will be able to effect payment directly to you. At the completion of the transaction PayPal will email both you and the buyer. You will then need to fulfill the order and deliver the items to the buyer.

Shipping and handling and tax charges are calculated by PayPal during the checkout process based on the settings you specified for your PayPal business account. Please refer to PayPal for more information regarding these topics.

Legal

Do I need a business license to sell online?

Zhibit LLC is in no position to provide legal advice and we encourage you to check with a professional for the relevant laws of your locality. If you are a resident of the US, you may want to take a look at http://www.sba.gov/hotlist/license.html for a list of resources in your state.

Where can I find more information about protecting my copyright?

Please visit the United States Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov for important information regarding the copyright laws and your rights under them.

In your terms of use, why do you require rights to my copyrighted material?

We require rights to your content because, by its nature, Zhibit.org will modify your content (e.g. by cropping it) and publish it worldwide, often edited and embedded in other forms (e.g. in web pages containing other subscribers' work). We require these rights to protect Zhibit LLC from potential lawsuits. We do not sell your content and in fact, selling your work or derivatives thereof is not part of the rights you give us.

Zhibit LLC may from time to time publish advertisements that include images, text or other content you've uploaded to the website. The purpose of these publications is solely to promote your website and the services of Zhibit.org. Participation in online advertisements is on an opt-out basis; for printed advertisements we make the habit of asking your specific permission before using your material.

Regardless, Zhibit.org uses only what is currently uploaded to the site. Other than for backup purposes, we do not maintain copies of content you deleted from your site so you're always able to control what we have access to.

Existing subscribers

What are the suggested formats and dimensions of images I should upload for best results?

Regardless of the format that your original images are encoded in, Zhibit.org's servers will convert and save them as JPGs. Zhibit.org can accept BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG and TIFF image formats (PSD and RAW formats are not accepted). At this time only images with an RGB color model are supported and an error will occur if you attempt to upload a CMYK or other color modeled image. If you don't have the right software for it, there are several online services offering image color model conversion and you can start your search there.

Zhibit.org automatically scales the images to best fit various web page layouts so you do not need to resize images before uploading them. However, for smoother uploads, we recommend uploading images that are no larger than 2400 pixels in width or in height and that are under 2MB in file size. Large images, especially TIFFs, may take too long to upload over a slow internet connection. In this case we recommend scaling down the images to no less than 600 pixels in width or in height before uploading them.

I'm getting an error uploading an image to the website, what can I do?

Check that the color model of the image is RGB. If you have Photoshop, you may convert between color models using the Image | Mode menu options.

Verify the file format is either a BMP, GIF, JPG or PNG. TIFFs are also acceptable but generally not recommended because of their large size which affects upload times. Do not upload a Photoshop PSD file or a camera's RAW image file. If you have Photoshop, you may convert between file formats using the File | Save As... menu option.

If the size of your file is over 2MB and/or if you are using a slow internet connection such as a dialup modem, the failure may be due to network connectivity issues. Try scaling down the image and reduce its size before uploading it again. If you have Photoshop, you may scale images using the Image | Image Size... menu option.

What is your policy regarding nudity?

While artistic nude is generally allowed on Zhibit.org, we do set limits and we will not tolerate material that is clearly pornographic, or that we otherwise, in our sole discretion, find inappropriate. Please exercise your best judgment when posting material that you suspect might be offensive to others.

I've created a site on Zhibit.org, why don't I see it listed on Google?

Google, and other search engines for that matter, crawl Zhibit.org periodically at their own schedule. This means that any changes to the site, including the introduction of new websites, are discovered with a delay of anywhere between a few hours and a few weeks.

How can I improve the search engine ranking of my site?

Although no method can guarantee better search engine ranking, Zhibit.org employs several known SEO (search engine optimization) methods. To take advantage, make sure to give your site and your artwork meaningful titles. When a title is not enough, use the description field and include relevant search terms. Also, writing a blog about your art and surrounding topics is a great way to teach search engines what your site is about.

Another proven method to help boost search engine ranking is to link to your site on Zhibit.org from other websites such as online bulletin boards, discussion forums, social networks, social bookmarking services, etc. Such links increase the reputation of your site in the eyes of the search engine and should boost its ranking. Also, search engines are known to decrease the importance of stale content, so update your website as often as you can.

What do I have to do to be featured on Zhibit.org's home page?

Nothing. Subscribers are randomly selected to be featured on the home page to allow everyone an equal chance at it.

How can I increase traffic to my website?

We do not believe there's a one size fits all solution when it comes to marketing art and so while Zhibit.org provides the tools to create a website, we generally leave its promotion to you. You know your art best and we believe you will be its best promoter.

It's important to realize that it takes time to build an internet presence and one cannot expect to do it overnight. Optimizing your site's content to search engines, publicizing its URL online and offline as much as possible and purchasing of online ads such as through Google AdWords are just a few ideas that can get you started.

How can I measure the amount of hits on my website?

There are two ways to measure hits on your website. Zhibit.org includes a basic visits counter that can be seen after logging in to your account. For those interested in more sophisticated tracking, Zhibit.org can be integrated with a third party analytics provider, such as Google Analytics.

How can I change my login ID?

Login IDs are not easily changed so choose yours carefully. If you had just opened your account, the best method is to create a new account with the ID of your choosing and to re-upload your content. If that is not possible, please contact us and we will attempt to rename your ID on our end.

Be advised that changing your login ID will change the URL to your website and will break any links established to the old location, including links listed by search engines such as Google.

Can I edit the HTML code of my site?

Zhibit.org does not support setting arbitrary HTML or JavaScript code on hosted websites. This limitation is necessary in order to maintain the integrity of the sites hosted on Zhibit.org and Zhibit.org as a whole and to protect our subscribers and visitors from potentially malicious code.