Services

Design, Develop and Maintain Websites

New Website Design - we will build an original and unique website from scratch for your business or organization that is specifically designed to bring in new customers and support current ones. It will be compatible with all mobile devices; be search engine optimized; will work well with Google Places and Google Maps/Directions; and will utilize the latest social networking sites as far as possible. We believe that your website should act as your company brochure and most important promotional tool.

Website Makeovers - After a few years, a website become stale and dated. A website that does not change with time with regard to images and textual content, and is not updgraded in light of new web features and technical trends reflects negatively on the owner. If you are still running a frame or tables web design that features generic 'business images' and over used boilerplace text, a makover is due. Good websites use images that come directly out of their own businesses and organizations - and, they feature as much as possible the people who own and manage those organizations. This is especially true for small businesses. People tend to trust a business that is willing to put its owners and its workers on a site doing what they do at their everyday jobs. Feshen up your site's images and text, upgrade to new trends and technologies and make it personal.

Webcams & Security Systems

We are highly experienced with remote IP cameras, surveillance and security systems. We can install an IP Camera at your home or business, for example, that will allow you to monitor events there in real-time from anywhere outside using any computer browser or mobile device. We can also install a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) for your remote camera that will record and save whenever there is motion in the camera's view. For example, at any time I can view my front driveway and street from anywhere in teh world on my Iphone by going here and I can remotely zoom in and zoom out if need be. If you are not at the office or at home and want the security of knowing that 'everything is ok', you need just press a button on your iPhone or other mobile device to make sure.

Computer Optimization and Repair

Does your computer need 'something' done to it to speed it up or has it become buggy and unreliable for some reason? Are you confused and frustrated with Norton or McAfee anti-virus programs? All computers need a systematic hands on examination and cleanup from time to time. We can do that and teach you how to do it also. Is it time to upgrade your system? What do you really need to buy to make that upgrade and will you have all the capabilities you require to run the software that supports your business or home computer needs? Do you have networking problems? Is your home or business network secure from intrusion? Is your WiFi secure as possible? No WiFi is ultimately secure, so you do need to take some precautions.

Classes, In-Service Training and Private Tutoring

We can provide classes, in-service training and individual lessons for groups or individuals who need to learn computer and Internet basics:

Using email and navigating the Internet
Web design with graphics support
Basic PC diagnotics and maintenance
Fireworks, Photoshop, Dreamweaver (CS5)
Networking and Web Cams
Web and email security

Jim Sorenson has taught and counseled at all levels from K - University and is highly experienced at teaching classes, individuals in private lessons; as well as organizing and running seminars, trade shows and group projects.

How we Charge

After you contact us requesting information about our services and assuming you are located in the Western PA region, we will visit you and discuss your needs face to face. Once we have mutally determined your needs and requirements, I will issue you quotation based on an hourly rate or lump sum. Depending on the scope of the project I will charge between $25 and $50/hr. A new website design from scratch that would include minimum 5 pages, accompanying graphics, content management capability, Search Engine Optimization and search engine registrations, Google Analytics, a mobile friendly website with smart map, and java script based flyout menus would not be less than about $500 and of course could go higher depending on features required. These are ball park estimates based on previous projects and the state of the current marketplace in Western PA.

Normally we require half down at the start of a project and the balance at completion. We only handle a limited number of projects at a time and giving you a completion date you can rely on is one of our top priorities. Ours is a highly personal service and we expect to work closely with each customer to achieve a satisfactory result that we can be proud of. We will attempt to match or beat all other quotations.

frequently asked questions

Website Design for Small Businesses and Organizations

Here's what I can say from long experience:

Annoymous websites do not elicit trust.

Your site should include images of your own people - the ones who make the business turnover and run. It should also include images of real products, facilities, premises, and services in action. No generic images of smiling receptionists with telephones or "buttondown shirts and ties" standing around a computer or board room table like the one at the left - nothing phoney. Feature the management, the facilities, the location, the products and the workers.

Mobile Phones and Mobile Friendly Websites

A potential customer has to be able to reach your site and your place of business with his mobile phone in the very least number of steps possible from the web. Can you be found quickly on Google, Yahoo or Bing?

Make your website mobile-friendly with a redirect to your mobile site. You need a regular site and a simple mobile site to be found. Do you feature on Google Places on the first page in your business catch area. Are you on the map? If you are on the map, can a customer use 'directions' on his phone to drive to you? You need to have smart maps on both your main website and your mobile website - THAT WORK.

Google Rankings

There are only two things you can do, realistically, to boost your rank on Google. Spend money in promotion and encourage others to link to your site. There is actually a third thing --- have your site on the air for a long time......

Having relevant well organized content helps and the right META tags in your head section won't hurt, but don't expect to rise to the top until your site has been on the air for quite a while.

Google Places, Google Maps and Directions

However, you can still play in Google Places locally if you sign up (free) and do all the right tweaks and set all the right switches. If your clients and customers are local or even regional, you really don't care that much about your Google page rank - you can still have impact locally. Google may pick up your site automatically put you on Google Places but you will need to sign up, receive a ID number and then optimize your listing. We will do that for you.

Making money from your site

You need hits, lots of hits to do this. Your website is your quality brochure and the first look that many people will have at you and your business. Don't cheapen it with ads if you can help it. Google Ads are great as an on-the-side money maker if you have at least 5000 hits a day, but stay away for the meantime.

Website Hosting

It's very likely that you are paying too much for web hosting right now. If you are paying anybody (third party consultant) anything over $5 a month you are paying too much. The competition is so fierce in this business sector that you will be able to have everything you need (bandwidth, databases, email addresses, PHP, technical support and free add-on programs) for that 3 to 5 dollars a month. We know some reliable hosting outfits and setting you up on them free of charge is what we'll do.

Domain Names

Your www.mybusiness.com will cost you from a $1 to $10 a year for registration. It can be with the same company as your hosting (makes it somewhat easier), but does not have to be. Originally all domain names were registered with Network Solutions, but most hosting companies can sell you a domain name or will even include it in the cost of your hosting in some cases.

The problem is that you may not find the name you desire available. You will have to become creative to find a name that is both relavant to your business interests and short enough to be useable. Consider the first part of your domain name as a keyword of sorts: www.widgetsinternational.com, for example. For promotional purposes get your business name in there somehow. In some cases, the .COM for the name you would prefer is taken but you can still buy the .ORG, .NET, .INFO,. MOBI, BIZ or US for your preference. You can also consider a hypenated domain name. They are not considered as 'cool' as a dot com but you may be able to obtain a better looking and more easily recognized domain name this way. There are a lot of other factors invovled in the choice - we can advise, we've registered hundreds of names over the years.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

As I've said before, doing a thorough SEO on your website will not guarantee that viewers will flock to your site. But as a matter of best practices, your site should be optimized: META tags, descriptive keywords, meaningful titles over all content paragraphs, alt tags for all images - these are the major concerns. Stay away from excess padding, invisable keywords on the home page and other tricks: Google knows them all and if your are caught not playing by the rules in an attempt to raise your ranking, you could be blacklisted by Google. This will be very bad news, indeed.

We install Google Analytics on every site we build and it's all you will need to know who comes to your site, from where and how often. There are other tools available on Analytics that will help us tune your site to be Google compliant in all regards. Of coures Google is only one of the principle search engines and you should be registered for Yahoo and Bing as well.

Social Networking

Facebook and Twitter may or may not be appropriate for your operational or promotional needs. Much of what is written about using Facebook as a promotional tool for business is pure hype, but some don't agree. Look at this page - 32 Ways to Use Facebook for Business and see if any of these uses might just fit your business. If you have a loyal customer base that you have already signed up for email newsletters and product announcements, for example, you can easily integrate Facebook and Twitter into the mix. Building a bulletin board or Forum should probably be the first step in your social networking activities, which is just basically good customer support.

Content Management Systems

A CMS is just another kind of website that provides an administrative panel to allow you, the owner, to manage your own website:

A web content management system (WCMS or Web CMS) is a content management system (CMS) software, usually implemented as a Web application, for creating and managing HTML content. It is used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents and their associated images). A CMS facilitates content creation, content control, editing, and many essential Web maintenance functions.

There was a time when anyone who wanted any changes made in their website had to ask a webmaster or consultant to do those changes and was charged by the hour accordingly. You had to pay this 'medicine man' to run your site. It's still the case with many, however if anyone in your organization can be trained up on Dreamweaver or FrontPage (web design software packages), you can quite easily and inexpensively manage your site without any third party help. In that case, perhaps your secretary, or even you the owner, can manage your website.

CMS packages are more appropriate for larger organizations with many customers and/or internal users. They most always need at least one trained technical person to provide administration and training either in-house or through an outside consultant. If you have emplyees who work at home or in the field and your content changes a great deal from day to day, consider installing one. Otherwise beware. If you try it yourself you will always bite off more than you can chew. For small to medium businesses we have a solution that will allow you or your staff to change content on any part of your site at will without getting deeply invovled in any CMS packages. If needed, we can install and manage systems like Druple, Joomla or WordPress. Keep it simple.

Webcams and Security Surveillence Systems

For promotional and security reasons, put a like webcam on your business. We built PyramidCam, the only online live webcam in Cairo which was used to promote tourism in Egypt and allow people around the world who would never visit Egypt the opportunity to view the Pyramids in color at 30 second intervals. Many have joked to us that we were the only people providing a live security system for the Pryamids. Go to www.pyramidcam.com to view some of the fantastic images we captured over a 5 year period. You can enhance your website by providing a live view of your premises, street or unique picturesque view from your office by installing a live IP camera. We would be happy to carry out a demonstration at your office or home.

Bells and Whistles

What else can we do for you?

Forums, WordPress blogs, photo albums, mySQL databases, professional photos taken for your site, newsletters, PDF file presentation; conversion of books and documents to Kindle format, site search program; comment and guestbook modules, shopfronts using PayPal and credit cards, original graphic mastheads and banners, Google ads, Google Places, Google Analytics, smart maps for directions, Geographical Information Systems with graphical maps, GPS tracking and location, surveys, balloting, CMS and network security auditing.

Our Aims

• Provide our customers with a modern looking and unique state-of-the-art website that that can be managed in-house without ongoing third party charges
• Lower your current web-related costs
• Improve your promotional and marketing impact locally
• Assure that your potential local customers find you and your business on the net and particularly from their mobile phones
• Make you independent and cost effective with regard to all your Internet operations.