requires www?

[kersti]

I'm adding some links to my directory, all is going well until I try to add a link to http://irisembroidery.homestead.com/index.html

This is throwing up the error - The URL you entered is not valid. Please make sure that you have entered a valid URL.

Is there a way around this?

[Brian]

That URL is returning '403 Forbidden' errors in it's headers, so that's why it's being rejected. You could login to your Admin CP and disable the 'Verify New Links' setting (under 'Submit Link Verification Options' in your vBa Links settings) before you submit that link to bypass the check.