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Before you send us a request of more information of the topics listed below, please look through the most commonly asked questions and the corresponding solutions. We are adding to them every day. If you don’t see your question listed here, please send us a message through our contact us page.
Technical Support
Sales and Service
Commercial vs. Non-Commercial Trust Mark
Partner and Affiliate Program
Reporting Violations or misuse of our service
Validating and Certifying My Website
Q: How do I check to see if you website is hosted in the U.S.A?
A: You may use the validation tool on the main landing page or by clicking the “Get it NOW” button to the right. Enter your domain name without the http:// and hit the ‘Check’ button. There will be a slight delay as your website is checked. A message will be displayed indicating your website is either hosted in the USA or not.
Q: I am putting my domain name in but it isn’t working or I am getting a ‘Not Found’ error. What am I doing wrong?
A: Make sure you are not putting the http:// in front of your domain. For example, enter mydomainname.com instead of http://www.mydomainname.com
A: You may have a 301 redirect or some other redirect interfering with the validation process. Try entering the IP address of the web server instead.
A: Your website may be too new and not updated in the WHOIS database, or your DNS settings with your web hosting company may not be configured properly. Typically it can take 3-7 days for the WHOIS database to be updated. If you have made a change to your DNS or you just activated your website you may need to check back in a couple of days to validate your website.
Q: I am getting a message saying that my website is not hosted in the U.S.A. but I am sure it is. What’s the problem?
A: Your website might actually not be hosted in the U.S.A. unless you can verify the physical location of your web server (i.e.: your looking at it) then you may need to check with your hosting company, administrator or whoever is administering your website as to the physical location of your web server.
A: Certain methods of redirecting traffic to your main site may be interfering with validating your website. If you are using a micro-site or feeder site to drive traffic to your actual website where you host your main site, use the domain name associated with the main site, not the feeder or micro-site. HostedInTheUSA.com does not allow our trust mark to be installed on feeder or micro-sites.
Technical Support back to Top
Q: I have created a profile but cannot find where my snippet code or I have lost my code. How can I retrieve it?
A: Scroll down to the bottom of your profile page. The will be a box that contains your unique snippet code. You will need to provide this code to your programmer or webpage developer to insert in the programming of your website.
Q: I had my programmer install the snippet on my website but it isn’t showing up on the website. What’s wrong?
A: The code was installed improperly or not according to the installation guide. You can access the installation guide here.
A: You did not properly copy and past the code into your programming. Make sure you highlight all the code, copy and then paste into a new text document (not a Word or Word Pad document because it might apply some styling at is not interpretable in ASCII format). Save the text document and send to your programmer. This will ensure the code will be preserved without any inadvertent alterations.
A: Murphy’s Law. There is a chance that our site is performing an update or in a maintenance window. If one hour goes by submit your inquiry through the Contact us form.
Q: Why does my trust mark disappear from time to time?
A: Generally we try and do all updates to the website and maintenance during off-peak hours. Occasionally as we perform a major update, the trust mark service may become temporally available. This is an avoidable consequence as we strive to improve the service and benefits of the trust mark. There is never a “convenient time to do this”. Usually the trust mark will reappear quickly.
A: Try clearing your history, cache and temporary internet files and refresh your website.
A: A change in your IP address or DNS records may be in conflict with the certification data originally gathered when you established you account. This is typically caused by one of two reasons. (1) You have changed your DNS settings or IP address and need to recertify your website or (2) Your website is not longer hosted outside in the U.S.A. and our automated validation service has detected you no longer meet the requirements to bear our trust mark on your website.
A: Make sure there are no SPAM filters, firewalls or other such filters active on your website our through your content management system that may be keeping our scanning services from communicating with your website. You may need to create an exception for our domain (http://www.hostedintheusa.com)
Q: I have lost my password or username to my secure profile, how do I get back in?
A: Follow the instruction on the login screen to recover your login credentials. You will have to know/have the original email address you used to register your account.
Q: I want to upgrade my account to acquire the commercial version of the trust mark.
A: If you will be upgrading your existing website that is on-file in your profile you will need to contact us though the Contact Us webpage to upgrade your account. If you want to validate a new site you will need to complete a new verification process and create a new account for the new website.
Sales and Serviceback to Top
Q: I want this, how do I but it now?
A: Simple, click the ‘Get it NOW’ on the main page or on any page located to the right.
Q: I want to buy the commercial version of the trust mark. Do you offer list billing or monthly invoices?
Yes, If you sign-up for a 1,2 or 3 year subscription plan you may opt for monthly payments. Because special pricing applies to these plans they are binding which means if you are on a monthly billing mode and you choose to discontinue using our trust mark service you will then be liable to pay the balance of the full subscription price for the plan your purchased. For example, if you bought a 1 years subscription with monthly billing but terminated your subscription 9 months later you would be liable to pay the balance for the remaining three months you committed to when signing up for the annual plan. The same would apply for a 2 or 3 year plan.
Q: How many pages can I install the snippet on my website?
A: Typically most vendors display the snippet on their Main landing page and Product or Check-out page.
Q: Is my subscription transferable to another website I own, or can I re-sell my subscription.
A: No. All subscriptions are non-transferable and cannot be used or transferred to any other website owned or not-owned by the profile owner. Any website you desire the trust mark to appear on must be registered and validated separately.
Q: I am a non-profit, charitable organization or Chamber of Commerce and I would like to apply for the non-commercial version of the trust mark for my website. What do I have to do to qualify?
A: You must send us an email before apply for the trust mark with a copy of your bylaws validating your non-profit status. We will not permit use of the non-commercial version of you trust mark on any non-profit, charitable entity or Chamber of Commerce’s website without first validating their nor-for-profit status. An email requesting review of your bylaws can be sent to info@hostedintheusa.com. The review process can take up to two weeks. Do call us, we’ll call you.
Q: I am a non-commercial website certifying I am not selling and products or services and my site does not exist for the express purpose of generating advertising revenue, redirecting traffic to a commercial website or is a micro or feeder-site meant to steer traffic to another commercial website and I would like to apply for the non-commercial trust mark. Do I have to do anything special?
A: The only thing you need to do is agree to the Terms of Service regarding the general usage of our trust mark services and the attest to the fact you are not website does not meet any of the disqualifying criteria.
Q: What happens if I violates the Terms of Service regarding any of the trust mark services?
A: Your account will be terminated and your trust mark will be inaccessible. There will be now refund. If you entered into a 1,2 or 3 year subscription agreement you will be billed the difference of the outstanding balance on the plan your purchased. We take violations of our Terms of Service very seriously. If you think you cannot follow the rules, do not purchase our trust mark.
Q: Do you have a referral program?
A: No, not yet. But we are planning on implementing one soon.
Q: Do you have promo code or coupons advertised on the internet?
A: Not at this moment, but keep an eye open your future promotions.
Commercial vs. Non-commercial Trust Markback to Top
Q: What is the difference between the commercial and non-commercial version of the trust mark.
A: Our main trust mark service is geared towards websites that maintain a presence on the internet with the express purpose of marketing and selling goods and services. Our core business if focused on providing this certification service to those looking for a competitive edge and a way to bolster consumer confidence in their brand and doing business on their website. The prestigious commercial trust mark is available to any company that maintains their website in the United States of America.
Our non-commercial version of the trust mark is our way of saying thank you to all the hard working people that make up non-profit and charitable organizations that make a real difference in our communities’ everyday. We also believe in support small business growth through local, state and national Chambers of Commerce. We are honored to provide our trust mark to these entities for a small fee. You must meet stringent requirement and provide evidence of your non-profit status to use this trust mark.
Q: Can I get the non-commercial trust mark if I am not a non-profit entity but want to display it on my blog or personal website?
A: We offer the same opportunity to any website owner that is not selling any product or service, is not engaged in any commercial activity (including advertising) and is not using their website as a micro or feeder-site for the purpose of redirecting traffic to a commercial website.
Partner and Affiliate Programsback to Top
Q: Do you have an affiliate or partner program?
A: Yes. Submit an inquiry through the contact page if you are interested in learning more about these opportunities.
Reporting violations and misuse of our trust markback to Top
Q: I know of someone who is illegally using your trust mark or using it in an improper fashion. How do I let you know?
A: All submissions are confidential. You can send us an email through the contact us page. Please be sure to include any information you may have such as: the name of the website, the nature of the violation, when you first noticed it, etc. If you are a valued client of HostedInTheUSA.com and purchased a subscription to gain a competitive edge over your competition and notice they are using the trust mark illegally absolutely speak-up. We are on your side.
If you are wondering whether or not your or someone else’s website is hosted in the U.S.A., you can find out using the validation tool on the home page.
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