•  We’re finishing up the 2015 issue of Emma Jean’s Blue Ridge Almanac this week. Books will be available in November, 2014. If you’d like to be a distributor, just let us know.
• ISI is now on instagram. Follow us! (And we’re still on facebook. Like us!)
• BookFest is set for November 22, 2014.
  Watch for updates soon!
• Recently, we’ve helped with projects for NC Society of Historians as well as Northwestern Regional Library. More news on these projects will be posted this month.
• Our new site will be launching later this month, and Star Route Books‘ site and Shop will be changing, as well.

From 11am till 2pm on Saturday, June 28, regional authors will be appearing for book signings at downtown shops.

Hosting locations are Alleghany Arts & Crafts, Alleghany Historical Museum, Becca’s Backwoods, Books N’ Friends, Mangum-Cater on Main, Murphy’s Mercantile, Sparky’s Coffeehouse, Studio Redwood, and Touch of Grace.

Authors are Aaron McAlexander, Kay Bodeen, Tim Bullard, Jeff Halsey, Melvin Miles, Jeanette Roth, illustrator, Donn Shoultz, Maurice Thomas, Vicky Town, and Sparta United Methodist Women.

Downtown Sparta, NC
Saturday, June 28
11am – 2pm

We’ve been fighting it for years. Unwitting customers come to us and complain that we’re charging for services that should be “free.” After all, “free web hosting and domains are available everywhere.”

Well, maybe, but not really. There are some deals out there if you want to present commercials along with your content. Buy why would you? Your customers are valuable. Why would you want to sell access to them in order to save on reasonable hosting rates? That’s what your site is for- to get your company or organization’s message to interested visitors. You shouldn’t want to share valuable site space any more than you’d want to hang random ads around your store.

It’s important to pay for web hosting and avoid “free” services. It is just as important to avoid gimmicky pricing for domain names.

For example, many registrars will offer $2-domains, or other super-low promotional prices for domain names, as a hook to draw in unsuspecting clients. Below-cost pricing is effective because the low price encourages buyers to think a hosting company’s websites are a bargain.

But consider:

• The domain name is just one part of the website. The domain is just the address. Users still need web hosting (think of it as rent for the space where your website resides) and authoring of the actual website. Most users also expect to add email addresses- joe@theirdomain.com. Some companies charge for basic site updates or access to their server.
• Customers don’t always realize it’s a short-term promotion. In the case of under-priced promotions, the second and subsequent years’ fees are usually much (much) higher- many times higher than if they had charged a more standard price.
• In some cases the registrar even owns your domain and effectively leases it to back to you. If you try to change your hosting, you might have to pay a large fee to keep the domain you’ve been using, and advertising(!) for the entire time you’ve had had the site. Even established or personal names are at risk for this scam! What other reason would a host want to retain ownership?
  This is where we remind you to read the fine print.
  Imaging Specialist’s philosophy is simple: Our customers own their sites and their domain names.

It is best to go with a company who maintains pricing transparency. Let’s face it- there are as many deals out there as there are hosting companies. Most are honest, but the old saying still applies, “Buyer beware.” If a company gives away free services, they have to make it back somehow, or else they won’t be in business long.

Unethical or just unwise, why would anyone want to risk it?