Why do I need a Web site?
You're here, aren't you? :-) You're looking at this page to get information. Are you at work? Are you at home? There are millions like you. The Internet can expose your organization to vast numbers of potential customers - local, national, and international. The Web is one of the least expensive and yet most targeted, flexible, and effective forms of advertising available. Plus, many companies discover that a Web site is a more economical, faster, and efficient way to make information available to clients, customers, distributors and employees. Instead of spending large amounts of money producing newsletters, brochures, memos, product booklets, catalogs, etc., businesses are pointing people to their Web site where they can quickly add and change information.

I'm confused and overwhelmed. Where do I start?

What is hosting? Do you offer hosting? Do I need to buy/install a server?
The host is the computer or server that "houses" your Web site. It could be in your back office, at an Internet Service Provider in your town, or it could be hosted in another city. Physical location is not important but the reliability, capabilities and support of the hosting company are very important. For the vast majority of sites, bandwidth and storage are far less important than features, support & reliability. You want your site to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and you want a host that will meet your current and growing needs.

Web Design Carolinas specializes in Web site design services ... we do not offer on-site hosting. Nor do we have a hosting or reseller agreement with any particular hosting company. There are many excellent companies that specialize in hosting. We will help you choose a host that best meets your needs and then guide you through the setup process. We suggest that you do not make a decision on hosting at the onset ... there is no need to pay for months of hosting if your site's completion is months away.

Will a Web site improve my bottom line?
It depends on how you measure your bottom line and how hard you "work" your Web site.

• E-commerce, e-business, new paradigm, the new economy ... all buzz words. If you're selling products online, it's easy to see how your site can add to the bottom line. But e-commerce/e-business is so much more. Maybe the "e" in e-commerce should stand for efficiency. E-business encompasses all the ways that a Web site can improve communication, distribution, customer support, marketing, etc. Often e-business is more about reducing costs (e.g. reducing mailings of catalogs) or improving productivity (e.g. applications and content aimed at sales force support) than direct sales. And let's be frank, for many organizations, a Web site is part of their competitive image and marketing. Do your competitors have Web sites? We believe that a Web site is now a necessity, not a luxury ... it is the fax machine, cell phone of this era.
• You must "work" the Web. If you do not update your site, add new content, give visitors a reason to return ... you will not be using your site to its advantage. And you must market your site through conventional means (include your address on letterhead, advertisements, etc.) ... do not depend solely on search engine traffic to bring visitors to your site.

Can you provide online shopping for my site?
Yes, we have experience developing online shopping/storefronts and we will guide you through the process. However, keep in mind that adding this function to a site can significantly increase the expense of developing the site. If, like the majority of businesses, you want to accept online credit card orders, there are additional expenses (other than site design) and a few other things you need to know.

1. You must obtain a merchant account through a bank or financial institution (if you already accept credit cards just contact your financial institution and tell them you intend to accept online orders as well)
2. Decide whether you want offline order processing (swipe, phone or computer entry of credit card orders at your place of business) or online/realtime order processing (all automatic - you are sent confirmation to fill the order - no order entry on your part). Both methods involve per transaction fees - real time order processing is more expensive.
3. Hosting charges will almost always be higher for online shopping sites.
4. Decide on shipping and return policies upfront.
5. Determine whether you want order integration with a back-end database or accounting package.

A few businesses want to "sell" products through their web site but do not want to accept online credit card orders. If that is your preference, we will help you develop alternatives to conventional online shopping.