The year 2019 will probably stay in the memory of Combell CEO Jonas Dhaenens for a long time. Earlier this year, he received awards from Computable and Vlerick Business School. And more recently, he also won the title of “Voka Legende 2019”, which is quite an honour!

A Voka award, following in the footsteps of illustrious predecessors

Voka is the Flemish network of companies that acts as the umbrella organisation for the eight regional chambers of commerce, representing more than 18,000 companies. It strives for a business-friendly working environment and protects the interests of companies.

Cultural centres also want to work more efficiently, and the ERP software Yesplan helps them achieve their digital automation goals. Yesplan chose Combell to host its software platform. Wouter Vermeylen and Johan Brichau from Yesplan explain why.

Yesplan: automated back office for cultural centres

Yesplan is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) ERP system that is specifically used in a particular sector, i.e. culture. The software platform was originally created for the Vooruit in Ghent, as a means of automating the back office of this cultural centre. But since then, it has grown into a platform that can be found in 9 European countries, where 250 theatres and pop venues are now using Yesplan.

Google will soon warn users of its browser against slow loading websites. This may, of course, deter your visitors, resulting in missed sales opportunities. We are therefore going to help you optimise your website before it is too late. 

Google continues to strive for a better user experience

Responsive websites are rewarded

Search giant Google, which is also the creator of the Chrome browser, has set itself the goal of making the users' experience as optimal as possible – whether they are using a mobile device or a laptop/desktop computer to surf the Internet.

When it comes to choosing a company to register your domain name with, focusing on the price alone may not be the smartest thing to do. Because a cheap domain name could turn out to be an expensive deal. But what exactly should you consider?

Is your domain name still available?

How much does a domain name cost?

When you look at the price of a domain name, you have to distinguish between two separate costs: the purchase price for a domain that is taken and the actual registration fee for the domain name.

How big do you see the future? Developing your business to its full potential is not always easy. Every phase has its own growing pains. Obstacles, external factors and rules of the game often require more consideration than anticipated. And looking far enough ahead is the key to success. Combell itself once went through all the necessary steps, from start-up to international top player. This valuable experience is an essential basis for helping start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs and large companies to implement their growth strategy efficiently, safely, quickly and with enough ambition.

You have a creative idea for your company, and you want to register the corresponding domain name. Unfortunately, that domain name is already taken. But do not worry! We will show you how you can get hold of the ideal domain name anyway.

Is my domain name still available?

The time has finally come: your business plan is all set, you have come up with a name for your company and you are confident that the Internet will help you find the domain name that best suits your project. Now, 3 scenarios are possible:

• An existing website.

The Vlerick Award rewards alumni who stand out for their leadership. We are therefore particularly proud that our CEO Jonas Dhaenens received the Vlerick Venture Award in 2019. As for the Vlerick Enterprise Leading Award, it was won by Conny Vandendriessche, co-founder of Accent Jobs. Here is a brief explanation about this prestigious achievement. 

Vlerick Awards reward positive impact on society

Vlerick Business School is Europe's oldest business and management school, founded by André Vlerick in 1953. This professor and politician strongly believed that companies are the driving force behind progress and prosperity.

Grow Together is mainly about being practical, a place where you can learn new things. Almost 200 creative studios and agencies came to the first edition of this event on 24 September to attend the various workshops and presentations. Here is how things went... 

Using your own strengths

Creative studios, web agencies and marketing agencies like to collaborate. After all, exchanging experiences allows them to provide an even better service to their customers. They enrich each other and grow together.

In this context, it is important that you use your own strengths when dealing with your core business, and that you outsource or automate all other matters.

Your domain name is the first step to a thriving business. It is therefore crucial that you choose a reliable partner to register your domain name – one that can help you further develop your business. Combell is such a partner, and we are going to tell you why. 

Carefully choose where to register your domain name

There are many places on the Internet where you can register your domain name. And you might think that it does not matter where you do it, as long as the service provided is cheap.

On 1 October 2019, Combell and EURid, the registry for .eu domain names, will join forces in the context of CodeWeek to introduce primary school teachers from Ghent-based schools to Scratch, a child-friendly programming language. This will enable them to get down to work later on to guide children in their first steps in coding. Here is how this project came to be... 

The importance of programming for the future generation

Nowadays, you cannot get anywhere without digital skills: 90% of today's jobs require digital skills, including programming. There is an acute shortage of people who match present-day job profiles.

This year, Combell is celebrating its 20th anniversary! And we would not have been able to achieve that without our passionate colleagues who are dedicated to their work every day. So, we had to throw a big anniversary party to thank everyone for their dedication.

It was a great show with a hint of magic from the mentalist, an extraordinary fireworks show and a smashing finale!

Combell is a company that turns a job into a passion, and colleagues into friends. As our CEO Jonas said in his speech:

“Combell is one big family.

The best way to protect access to an account is to use two-factor authentication or 2FA. This is an extra layer of security on top of your standard password. And it is now also available for your Combell control panel. What is two-factor authentication and how can you enable it?

Even strong passwords are weak

When you need to log in to a website, a web service or a web app, you usually use a login (which is often your username or e-mail address) and a password. It is best to choose a password that is difficult to break.