Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)The answers provided below address the most commonly asked questions about this site. If you would like to contact us about these, or any other matters, please contact us.
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What does the High Street offer?
We offer a comprehensive and informative site that is well placed amongst the major search engines like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Live and Altavista. We provide you with a web presence and are offering you your own web page and an email address that is really easy for you and your customers to remember and use. All mail forwarded to your High.St address is virus checked before it is forwarded to your current email address. The High.St website also allows visitors to your town to browse the shops and make contact with you. Easy access and easy contact means more business for you.
Are there any other benefits?
Yes, all the shops in the main shopping areas of featured towns are listed, not just those who have subscribed, as is the case with most other sites. This means more people visit www.High.St because it provides a more complete picture. More visitors means more potential business for you.
Small businesses without their own website can also benefit. We provide a complete package for you: a web page hosted on our site, which is well paced in the search engines, and a professional email address that does not give away your small size and leaves your own personal email address private for your family and friends. All you have to do is ask and we do the rest.
What if we are not on the High Street?
We know that the main street in many towns is not called the High Street and in others the shops spill over into adjacent streets. Due to popular demand we are now adding many more shops located in the main shopping area. As long as customers associate your business with a town centre then you will benefit from joining us. If your address is a road that is an extension of the High St, then we will show your shop in the town index list of High St shops (see Inverness as an example). If your premises is nearby, then it won't appear on the list of High St shops but we can add a separate entry with a link to your website after the main list of High Street shops and your entry will be searchable. Wherever you are, you can still get and benefit from a memorable High.St email address.
What if I don't have an email address?
Our service relies on forwarding to another address but you may have this already if you have Internet access. Even if you don't, it is free to sign up for an account with Hotmail, Yahoo or many other sites. Best of all, it doesn't matter if this free account name is a bit obscure because your customers only ever have to remember your simple High.St address!
What if I change my personal email address?
That's no problem. Just let us know and we will redirect mail from your old address to your new one. We recommend a period of overlap to ensure a smooth transition but your customers will never know because they will simply keep using the same High.St address. The process is similar to asking the Royal Mail to redirect your mail when you move house.
Sounds good. But what is .St?
The Internet uses many suffix extensions to indicate the broad nature of the site being visited. '.COM' is primarily used by COMmercial websites and '.ORG' by ORGanisations. There are also country codes like '.UK' for UK addresses and '.IT' for Italy. '.ST' is the country code domain for São Tomé & Principe; an island off the West coast of Africa. It is this extension we have adopted to represent our familiar abbreviation for Street - St.
Can we use another country's extension?
Yes. The Internet is a truly global phenomenon. São Tomé & Principe recognises the unique value of its St extension and promotes its use as a valuable resource to improve the life of its inhabitants. The domain is run in partnership with a Swedish company, guaranteeing cutting-edge technical quality and a very reliable service.
What happens if someone has my first choice for a name?
No two people or businesses can have the same address so if there are two similar shops on your High Street, the first to register will be able to choose their preferred name and the other shop will have to think of a different name. For example, one might choose Pharmacy@YourTown.High.St and the other, Chemist@YourTown.High.St
Can I reserve a name?
No, registrations are awarded on a strictly a first-come first-served basis.
What about Trademark names?
The same rules of law apply to Internet names as they do to other business names. In other words, you risk engaging the wrath of some big players if you tried to register names like WaltDisney@YourTown.High.St or McDonalds@YourTown.High.St. We will investigate your right to register some of the more familiar trademarks but our Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) clearly state that the ultimate responsibility and liability for complying with International laws rests with yourself.
How long can I keep my High.St name?
All registrations run continuously for as long as you pay the appropriate fee and the service is operating. Typically you will have completed a Standing Order so you won't need to do anything. If necessary, we will send out a reminder when your registration is due for renewal but it is ultimately your responsibility to ensure we receive payment before your name's anniversary. We strongly recommend paying by Standing Order or Direct Debit through your bank. That way, you won't forget to renew and you won't run the risk of losing 'your' name.
What do I do next?
Return to the main screen and then follow the 3 simple steps: Read and accept the Terms & Conditions. Fill out the form with your forwarding details. Arrange payment through your bank or by downloading and completing the Standing Order form.
Do you offer any other services?
We are planning to. The most significant of these is to provide you with a web address similar to your High.St email address. For example: www.YourShop.YourTown.High.St will take a customer direct to your web site. This requires a server upgrade but will be provided free for those who have already registered and provided a web link when they completed the application form. Note, this will be an additional benefit to the link we already provide from the town page.
What if I don't have a web site?
This is what we do! We can provide you with a web page with, for example, your address and telephone details and the sort of products or services you provide. See examples on our Sample Page. We link this page to your listing in the relevant town page which means the search engines will learn about your business - bringing you more customers! There is a small cost for this service but this combination of a web page hosted on a popular site with email is the best and easiest way of getting a professional presence on the web. We can also arrange larger websites, contact us for details. Of course, you can still use the email service without a web site.
So is this a 'shopping' site?
We are different. Most shopping sites let you search by product and then provide a list of retailers. We let people view the town and the shops they will find there. A link is provided so that customers can contact you by email and, in the near future, link to your own web site. In this sense, they can shop from the High.St but you won't be competing with thousands of other on-line retailers.
What else do I need to know?
Hopefully we have provided all the information you need but if you would like additional information, you can email us at: