The services provided by Web-sites.com cover all stages of a web-site's development, from initial conceptualization and e-business strategy through design, programming, hosting and maintenance. The following is a general list of our services: Animation Take art one step further and add some movement. Animation can entertain, entice the user to click a link, or demonstrate how a product works. Calendar/Event Sign-up Companies that schedule many meetings or events, whether they are internal or for their clients, may benefit from an online calendar system. In most circumstances, many users need to maintain the calendar within their own specific categories. Web-sites.com has developed calendar systems that allow for multiple levels of administrator security. Using unique user names and passwords, high-level administrators may log into the web-site, create, edit, and remove events from the calendar. Web-sites.com has also created online calendars that allow visitors to register for calendar events. When a visitor signs up for an event, an e-mail notification of the new registration is automatically sent to a designated address, and the information is stored in a database. In some instances, Web-sites.com also accepts registration payment information for the client. Cascading Menus A cascading menu is a list of links that is invisible until you move your mouse over an existing link on a page. When your mouse is over the link, the cascading menu becomes visible, and you can scroll through the menu and click a new link. Since menu systems within popular programs like Microsoft Word and Microsoft Internet Explorer use cascading menus, most people are familiar and comfortable with how they work. And because they're hidden until you mouse over them, cascading menus are a great way to display a lot of links without using up a lot of web page "real estate." Content Management/Databases Building and using databases is the key to an interactive site that responds to your customers' needs. Organizing information in a database gives your site tremendous flexibility, allowing information to be searched and sorted on the fly. Web-based applications allow you to display dynamic information on the web directly from your company database as well as capture information provided by your web-site visitors. Web-sites.com offers database design and development for everything from online directories to elaborate media-rich catalogs. For clients who wish to update and maintain their sites themselves, we can also set up online content management systems. Clients with online content management systems are able to log into password-protected web pages and make basic updates to their web-sites from any computer. Copywriting A good visual impression is important to a site, but written content that is informative, persuasive, and professional is just as crucial. Some companies make the mistake of transferring copy from their print materials directly to the web. When writing copy for the web, it is important to understand that the amount of time users spend on each page is measured in seconds, not minutes. That means that your message needs to be clear, direct, and concise. Web-sites.com has written copy for many clients from consumer goods manufacturers to high-tech industries. Corporate Identity If your business is just starting out or if your current identity needs a facelift, Web-sites.com can help. The term corporate identity refers to a company's name, logo, tagline, and its visual expression or "look." For e-businesses, the corporate identity may be restricted to online use, but usually extends to a suite of print materials (business cards, letterhead, brochures). Domain Name Set-Up A domain name is also known as a web address, and is the unique name that identifies an Internet site. Web-sites.com can help you choose one or several available names, and take care of the registration and set-up for you. Extranets An extranet is a private, password-protected area between two or more businesses using the Internet as its backbone. It provides a way for employees within a company to communicate and share information in a secure environment. By connecting a business and its clients, an extranet can also streamline buyer-seller processes, creating cost and time savings for both parties. Web-sites.com has built extranets for many of our clients. Flash Animations Flash technology has changed the face of the web, adding a level of motion and interactivity that is not possible with traditional HTML pages. Over 97% of people on the web are able to view Flash animations, making it the most widely used plug-in on the Internet. Flash technology can be used to create everything from a simple animation to an interactive game to a full product catalog. Fun Downloads Downloading a screensaver or wallpaper from a site isn't just fun for your customers, it's a great way to advertise your business. Other downloadable extras include browser "hotbar" skins and favorites icons. Graphic Design Some clients know exactly how they want their site to look, and others have no idea where to start. No matter what you have planned, our design department will work with you to achieve a style that fits your business. Web-sites.com has designed sites that are high-tech, sites that are playful, and sites that are built to display large amounts of text and information. But no matter what the type of business, our designs are always clean and professional. Please visit our portfolio page to view samples of our design work. Hosting and Web Statistic Reporting We use high-speed web servers running Windows NT for our web-site hosting services. Uninterruptible power supplies and a high-speed Internet connection are used for web serving only (we do not provide Internet access services). Dedicating our resources to web hosting guarantees top performance for your web-site. All web servers are backed up each night, allowing an additional level of security that most small to medium sites can't afford. Our state-of-the-art server room features a climate-controlled environment, rack-mounted servers, static resistant floors, tape backup, proprietary firewall protection, redundant power supply, and multiple backbones to the Internet. These are features that ensure that your site, databases, and co-located servers are secure and operating at maximum efficiency. Intranets An Intranet is a private Internet operating on a company's internal network. Intranet systems can improve a company's communication and collaboration. Web-sites.com has built Intranets for several of our clients. IT Networking and System Security Services Web-sites.com offers a full array of IT networking support services. Our IT professionals can assist your company with simple projects such as adding new computers to your network or adding/upgrading applications to larger projects. Also, we can tackle more important projects such as helping improve data integrity with the creation of off-site data storage and recovery systems for mission-critical information. If your company is concerned about network protection, we have the expertise to review your current system and implement a systems and procedures to reduce both internal and external threats of proprietary information theft. Listservers A ListServ e-mail list is a good way for companies to let their customers know about upcoming events, specials, and new products. When an e-mail is addressed to a ListServ mailing list, it is automatically broadcast to everyone on the list. Web-sites.com can help you set up and maintain a ListServ mailing list. Locator System For a company with multiple business locations, a locator system allows site visitors to search for a location within a certain area. Using a nationwide zip code database, Web-sites.com maintains a high-speed locator system. Message Boards Online message boards are a great way to get customers to return to your site and also build a sense of community among visitors. Whether they're used for technical support questions or a general dialogue, message boards allow people to help each other and exchange information. Web-sites.com can build many types of message boards; including those that are publicly accessible, registration-required, and moderated. Multimedia Presentations Using images, video, and sound to back up your sales message can leave a lasting impression on your customers. Multimedia presentations using Flash, Power Point, and other technologies can be burned onto CDs or downloaded from the web. The presentation can then be sent to prospective clients, displayed at tradeshows, or used for training purposes. By making a presentation interactive, the viewer is more likely to be engaged in your message. An interactive presentation can allow the user to jump directly to the information which interests him without having to watch the entire demo. Photography Web-sites.com has the digital photography equipment and expertise for all types of photographs. We have photographed products, people, and buildings. We also offer expert photo-retouching and scanning services for catalog and other images that you'd like to put up on your web-site. PDF Development PDF (Portable Document Format) documents are widely used on the Internet to view data sheets, technical papers, and other types of documents. The file format, which can be viewed with the free plug-in Adobe Acrobat Reader, is a way to distribute files to all different types of computers and all operating systems. Graphics, fonts, and page layout are faithfully preserved from the source document. Print Materials Our design department has the software and the expertise to create print materials for your business. We have produced business cards, letterhead, catalogs, and brochures for our clients. Web-sites.com can work directly with the printer to save you time and get the job done right. Product Configurators A product configurator is an e-commerce application that asks customers a set of pre-defined questions about their business type, goals, and product needs. Using the answers, the configurator selects products that match the customers' requirements and price range. Product configurators shorten a company's product development time and the design-to-order process. They also benefit the customer by offering them products that will best meet their needs. Profiled E-mail The backbone of a profiled e-mail system is a database that collects and stores customer preferences. Site visitors fill out a form asking questions about which products they use, what content is of most interest to them, and selected demographic information. Once the information is sent and stored, a web-site administrator can send targeted e-mail messages. The administrator has the option to send messages to all members or choose those members with appropriate interests. Profiled e-mail allows business to gather in-depth statistics on your customers and the effectiveness of e-mail campaigns. Sending HTML e-mail messages (which can include graphics and animations) to your customers can further drive revenue and bring customers back to your site. Programming Our developers utilize HTML, DHTML, XHTML, XML, ASP, CGI, CFM, SQL, WAP, XSLT, JavaScript, VBScript, and a host of other applications and languages to produce the back-end of your site. We work on a Microsoft system, and have Microsoft Certified developers. Search Engine Positioning Search engine positioning is the science of preparing and maintaining your site so that it appears at the top of the search engine lists when users enter keywords relating to your business. Since the majority of visitors find sites through search engines, a top-level ranking will drive increased traffic to your site. Shopping Carts Implementing a shopping cart on your site allows users to add and remove products and to purchase the chosen items. Shopping carts are a necessity for any e-business selling multiple products. Web-sites.com has researched, designed, and developed a flexible and user-friendly shopping cart system. Product, shipping, manufacturer and tax information are stored within a database, providing a high-performance, easy-to-maintain application for our clients. Using a standard web browser, product photos and descriptions may be uploaded to the site, prices may be changed, and secure orders are passed from the shopper to the store owner. Credit card information is protected by SSL (Secure Socket Layers) technology. Surveys and Web Polls Surveys can be conducted to find out visitors' behaviors and opinions, to provide entertainment value, or to collect information about how to improve your product or service. Surveys are also a way to gather users' e-mail addresses for your mailing list. Training For customers who would like to perform some of the routine updates and maintenance to their site themselves but aren't sure how to use the software, we can provide training. For example, we can teach you how to scan in new product photographs and prepare them for your site, or how to turn a data sheet created in Microsoft Word into a PDF file for the web. Web-sites.com can provide one-on-one or group training, in our office or yours. Web-based E-mail With web-based e-mail, you can send and receive messages from any computer connected to the Internet. Web-based e-mail works from home, work, school, or any other computer in the world with an Internet connection. This is great tool for companies with employees who travel frequently or use more than one computer. Most recently revised on Tuesday, September 20, 2005. Copyright© 1996 - 2006 by North Shore Marketing, LLC, d/b/a Web-sites.com E-mail info@web-sites.com Phone (603) 432-0188 Web-sites.com™ is a trademark of North Shore Marketing, LLC.