Yola (webhost)
Encyclopedia
Yola is a website builder
and website hosting company headquartered in San Francisco. People without programming skills and a limited knowledge of HTML
and graphic design
can make web sites using Yola. Its drag and drop system allows users to incorporate widgets without knowing HTML
. Yola also integrates e-commerce and blog
software and acts as a domain registrar. It competes with other web hosting and creation such as Weebly
, Lifeyo
, Jimdo
, Webs, uCoz
, Wix
and Webnode
.
in March 2007. In November 2007, the company raised a $5 million round of financing from Columbus Venture Capital and launched the beta version of the product.
In February 2009, SynthaSite announced $20 million in Series B funding from Reinet fund. The company was renamed Yola on March 26, 2009. Lingham said the rename was in anticipation of the company’s future direction, and further that "the name SynthaSite has brought us to where we are today, but it won't take us where we want to go. We're reaching a global market and need a name that is easy to say, resonates in any language, and captures the creativity and excitement that our users bring to their Websites."
According to Yola management, together with the Synthasite users, there are now more than a million users of the tools, including small businesses, individuals and groups.
Yola Premier package (which is a joint venture between Yola and HP Logoworks) costs $499.95 and includes one on one consultation with a HP Logoworks designer and a professionals created 5 page website.
Users can have domain name
s in .com, .net, .org, and .biz, each costing from $17.95 a year to $19.95 a year. The feature "Hide Yola Logo", which enables users to have a clear footer without the logo is available with the Yola Silver package.
Yola was also selected as an Endeavor (non-profit)
Entrepreneur in 2006.
Website builder
Website builders are tools that allow the construction of websites without manual code editing. They fall into two categories: on-line proprietary tools provided by web hosting companies, typically intended for users to build their private site; and software which runs on a computer, creating pages...
and website hosting company headquartered in San Francisco. People without programming skills and a limited knowledge of HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
and graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
can make web sites using Yola. Its drag and drop system allows users to incorporate widgets without knowing HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
. Yola also integrates e-commerce and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
software and acts as a domain registrar. It competes with other web hosting and creation such as Weebly
Weebly
Weebly is an online, free widget-based Web site creator, funded by micro-seed fund Y Combinator. It uses a widget-style format, allowing users to create pages with only a few clicks by dragging and dropping different page elements onto a page and filling in the content...
, Lifeyo
Lifeyo
LIFEYO is a free website builder and website hosting company founded in Newport Beach, CA. Lifeyo allows users to make websites without using HTML or managing a hosting account....
, Jimdo
Jimdo
Jimdo is a WYSIWYG web hosting service. Jimdo offers JimdoFree, a free web hosting service, JimdoPro and JimdoBusiness, both premium services. Jimdo is operated by Jimdo GmbH, a Hamburg, Germany-based company...
, Webs, uCoz
UCoz
uCoz is a free web hosting with built-in content management system. The modules of uCoz CMS can be used together to build a fully featured website, or separately, e.g. as a blog platform, webforum etc. As of July 10, 2010, there are more than one million websites created in uCoz systems...
, Wix
Wix.com
Wix.com is a free online platform that allows users to create Flash websites, Apple-compatible mobile sites and customized Facebook pages through the use of professionally designed templates and simple drag & drop tools...
and Webnode
Webnode
Webnode is an online Website Builder system developed by Westcom, s.r.o, a company based in Brno, Czech Republic. It can be compared with other online systems like Weebly....
.
Name
The name Yola comes from the Hindi word jhola, which has several meanings, one of which is "hatch" (used from a marketing perspective to signify that “Yola is where you hatch your big ideas”).Corporate history
The business started out under the name SynthaSite, founded by Vinny LinghamVinny Lingham
Vinny Lingham is a South African Internet entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Yola, Inc. , a San Francisco-based Web 2.0 start-up that provides free website building, publishing and hosting services. He is also the co-founder of SiliconCape.com, an NGO based in South Africa that aims to turn...
in March 2007. In November 2007, the company raised a $5 million round of financing from Columbus Venture Capital and launched the beta version of the product.
In February 2009, SynthaSite announced $20 million in Series B funding from Reinet fund. The company was renamed Yola on March 26, 2009. Lingham said the rename was in anticipation of the company’s future direction, and further that "the name SynthaSite has brought us to where we are today, but it won't take us where we want to go. We're reaching a global market and need a name that is easy to say, resonates in any language, and captures the creativity and excitement that our users bring to their Websites."
According to Yola management, together with the Synthasite users, there are now more than a million users of the tools, including small businesses, individuals and groups.
Features
Yola offers different service levels: Yola Free, Yola Bronze,Yola Silver, and Yola Premiere. The free accounts have a website limit of 5 sites, a download capacity of 1024 megabytes, and basic web builder tools. The Silver version requires subscribers to pay an annual rate of $99.95. Yola Silver has many additional features over free, including an expanded storage capacity of 25GB, a domain name with privacy guard, unlimited premium styles, Google and Facebook ad credits and more web building tools.Yola Premier package (which is a joint venture between Yola and HP Logoworks) costs $499.95 and includes one on one consultation with a HP Logoworks designer and a professionals created 5 page website.
Users can have domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
s in .com, .net, .org, and .biz, each costing from $17.95 a year to $19.95 a year. The feature "Hide Yola Logo", which enables users to have a clear footer without the logo is available with the Yola Silver package.
Awards and honors
The website has received several industry awards including:- 2008 Fast 50 Reader Favorites
- 2008 Industry Standard 100 Award
- 2008 Webuser's Gold Award
- 2009 R.E.C.S.S Support Awards
- 2010 R.E.C.S.S Support Awards
- 2011 R.E.C.S.S Support Awards
Yola was also selected as an Endeavor (non-profit)
Endeavor (non-profit)
Endeavor is a non-profit organization that pioneered the concept of High-Impact Entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Its mission is to “lead the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best High-Impact Entrepreneurs around the...
Entrepreneur in 2006.