"How do I get signed up for Shrink The Web?"

 

Signing up is easy.  

 

Click Join Now on the Home Page and fill out the Registration Form.  

Then click the activation link in your email and login!

 

 

"How do I get started using the free BASIC service?"

 

Getting started couldn't be easier.     

Check out the "Getting Started" box at the top of your STW Lobby.

 

 

"How do I upgrade to use the PRO Features?"

 

Upgrading to PRO is simple.  We have a wizard that can help you choose which features would be best for you, and an ALL PRO option available at a discount.  Even deeper discounts are available with Annual signups!  To get started find the "PRO Features Upgrade" box in your STW Lobby and click the "Upgrade" link.

 

 

"How do I use the PRO Features?"

 

Information on using the PRO Features can be found in our Documentation section.

 

 

"How do I change my password?"

 

To change your password find the "Profile" box in your STW Lobby and click the (Update) link.

 

 

"How do I reset my password if I've forgotten it?"

 

To reset your password just click "Join Now" and at the top of the Simple Registration Form.  Then click the link "Resend Activation Email".  Simply fill in the requested fields, and we'll send you a new temporary password.

 

 

"Can I refresh a screenshot using the BASIC Free Serivce?"

•  "How do I refresh a screenshot?"

 

Yes.  You can refresh upto 5 screenshots per month using the BASIC Free Service. 

 

 

What are some sample uses of site thumbnails?

 

Website thumbnails can actually help boost a website's income by increasing conversions. They are ideal for web directories, search engines, web designers, and bloggers. We have a page dedicated to demonstrating uses of thumbnails, so you can learn more about site thumbnail uses.

 

 

Is this thumbnail generator service really free?

 

Yes. It is a free service provided at no charge as a webmaster resource. We currently have no plans to ever make this a fee-based service (not for basic services that cover 99% of users anyway). Therefore, we allow users very generous, high limits. That allowance is aimed at getting actual companies and power users to pay for this service as it makes them more money (i.e. by fostering innovation) and that helps us pay for this service that is very expensive to operate and maintain.

 

However, please note that you will need to at least register a free account in order to obtain your credentials. Signup is quick and easy.

 

 

How can you afford to offer this service for free?

 

Our parent company, Neosys Consulting, has been run successfully by Brandon Elliott for the past decade and thrives on developing technologies and innovative applications. The company's current focus is on providing webmasters with a set of invaluable tools that they can afford -or better yet, are FREE.

 

Free is the case of ShrinkTheWeb and our PRO feature-set caters to 1% of our subscriber base. That 1% sees the value in subscribing to our reasonably-priced PRO service for features they cannot get elsewhere. So, it is a viable long-term business model.

 

We are NOT one of those "here today; gone tomorrow" startups.

 

 

What are the default sizes of site thumbnails you offer?

 

View our six(6) default sizes of thumbnails.

 

&Size=mcr 75x56

&Size=tny 90x75

&Size=vsm 100x75

&Size=sm 120x90

&Size=lg 200x150

&Size=xlg 320x240

 

 

Do you support Redirects?

 

Yes. If a requested site or page redirects, we will follow that page until it "lands" and then capture that screenshot.

 

Please Note: If you do not use "inside page" request for a full URL (such as http://www.shrinktheweb.com/somepage.htm), then we will capture the homepage. If the homepage does not redirect same as the full URL, then you will get different results than what you expect.

 

 

What does 'Invalid Credentials' mean?

 

If you send a request that has incorrect or incomplete information, you will see this error image. If you are looking at the information returned to you via XML, you will see this in the text returned.

 

In this case, double-check your access key ID and secret access key are correct.

 

You will also see this image if you submit a PRO feature request but have not upgraded to PRO status. The text returned via XML for an API request will notate that you do not have permission and need to upgrade.

 

 

What does 'Invalid Domain' mean?

 

This means that the thumbnail was marked as 'Bad' by our system. This can occur for a number of reasons including:

 

• Non-routable domain or site down condition (404 Error)
• End result is a blank page
  • Note: If submitting a specific page but not using "inside page" feature, we will capture the base domain
• Page takes longer to load than specified delay (8 seconds default)
• Site works but returns wrong error code (i.e. 501 server error, etc)

 

In the case of domains that were not working when queued but are working now, the solution is to refresh the thumbnail. This is done periodically (see refresh topic above) and may be requested sooner by a user with 'Refresh On-Demand' PRO feature access.

 

Please DO NOT contact us asking for a particular domain to be refreshed. While every attempt is made to keep the thumbnails working and fresh, we do not guarantee the validity or accuracy of thumbnails for free, BASIC service users.

 

 

What does 'Problem Detected' mean?

 

This means that:

 

• the page was broken, missing, or offline
• the page itself contained unsupported content
• the request was improperly formatted or
• the request contained invalid characters for the request type*

 

*For instance, if you make a non-inside page request but you submit a URL with URL encoding, it will fail with this error message.

 

If you view the XML returned directly, you will see the text of 'Improperly formatted Url' or some other related message to help pinpoint the problem. So, be sure you pass the &Url variable with the domain as '[subdomain].[domain].[tld]'. Ex: &stwUrl=funplace.yoursite.com

 

 

Can your FREE service handle all the requests I will generate?

 

Our revenue model is built to allow small and startup companies to use our service at no charge whatsoever. We have numerous dedicated generators that handle requests on a first-come; first-served basis.

 

Plus, we have detailed monitoring that will alert us when we need to add more servers and increase capacity. Our strong community of webmaster supporters -like you- believes in this service and helps us to grow and support everyone.

 

Once you have grown your business or venture to the point of needing extremely high bandwidth or lots of "new requests" with a guaranteed response time, then you may want to consider paying for additional bandwidth and/or dedicated generators.

 

 

So, why would I want to PAY for thumbnails elsewhere?

 

Yeah, why would you? ;)

 

You will get more features, higher limits (if any), and better support right here at ShrinkTheWeb and most webmasters will never have to pay a dime for our services. In fact, a lot of our paying supporters pay us monthly because they feel compelled to help us help them succeed; not because we MAKE them.

 

 

How often do thumbnails get refreshed?

 

We try to refresh all thumbnails at least once per month. Moving forward, that may become more difficult and take more time as we will eventually have millions of thumbnails in the database.

 

However, members who "need" to have thumbnails refreshed more often or at specific times (for a specific task they perform) can upgrade to PRO membership and refresh thumbnails as needed.

 

 

Do you capture new sites/pages that I request?

 

Yes. We are aware that some similar services only provide thumbnails for sites they have previously put in their database and will not accept requests for new captures. However, ShrinkTheWeb was designed with your needs in mind. Our system will accept new requests and capture a snapshot of a site/page, even if it does not exist in our database already. New homepage and subdomain requests are part of the BASIC service at no charge. Specific page captures are available as a PRO feature upgrade.

 

There are generous allowances for free users that reset each month. To increase those monthly or daily allowances, you would need to upgrade to PRO and/or lease dedicated generators.

 

 

Can I run your website thumbnail generator script on my own server?

 

No. Any application service provider, such as a site thumbnail generation service, that is willing to license its proprietary code for sale is most likely planning an exit strategy to go out of business. In that case, you run the risk of buying a soon to be unsupported piece of complicated software. Plus, running this service is by no means inexpensive and will cost you far more than our pricing model -especially if you use our free BASIC service only.

 

Therefore, we do not license our code for sale because we are here for the long haul.

 

Learn more about the pros and cons of do-it-yourself website screenshots.

 

 

What does 'Thumbnail Queued' mean?

 

Sometimes you may see an image that says 'Thumbnail Queued' on it. This means that you are the first person to request that particular website and that it will be captured as a thumbnail as soon as possible. Typically this takes less than a minute.

 

 

Do you Offer an Option to Avoid the 'Thumbnail Queued' message?

 

If the image exists in our database already, we will deliver it instantly.

 

However, if it doesn't exist, there is no feasible way to instantly capture it. All captures take time to load the page, capture, and deliver the image. Some similar services claim to 'instantly capture' and avoid showing a 'queued' message, but those services can only work while they are small. Once popular, they cannot keep up with demand and quality of service goes down the drain.

 

The fact is that there are simply too many variables that exist, such as slow-loading websites, malicious code, etc.

 

It is not possible to capture all pages and sites on the Internet. At some point, we could pre-capture a majority of the 100 billion pages (and growing) that are out there, but that would require massive amounts of money and support from our users. Currently, our turnaround time on new captures is second to none!