WebServer Co. - About Us

About Us

• WEBSERVERCO specializes in providing business web sites and services to small business.

Many smaller businesses are now setting up web sites of their own. This is due to two things:

An increasing acceptance that, like the phone, fax, and computer, a presence on the world-wide-web has become an essential business tool.
The costs and complications involved in the operation of a web site have dropped dramatically in the last few years, making web sites available to any business, small or large.

Before we get into what we do, a brief background to the 'web site' situation. If you are really interested in setting up a web site for your small business, we earnestly recommend that you read through this.

• Does the mere fact that a company has a business web site mean that large amounts of extra business will suddenly materialise?

Unfortunately, the answer is an emphatic "No". The reason for this lies in the old adage "location, location, location". Unless the public can see you - knows that you are in business - you won't do a lot of business. Business web sites are very much like 'interactive newspaper advertisements', in the sense that you 'read the ad', and with the Internet you can order and pay online - as opposed to the 'old models' in which you read the ad and went to the store, ordered by mail, or used your credit card and ordered over the phone. Newspaper and other media advertising costs are high, and small business cannot gain exposure through such means. Even if a business inserts a small ad in a local paper, the number of people that will read it are a small percentage of those that bought the paper. Now imagine a 'global online newspaper' (the World-Wide-Web) with over 4 million - and counting - businesses advertising in it and competing for attention. Once again, the main beneficiaries are the large corporations, with their large, cross media, advertising budgets. The chances of a small-business web site generating 'drop in' business on the Internet is close to zero.

•Why, then, would any small business bother with a web site? What's in it for them?

In a nutshell, the business that a web site generates will result from the work that a company puts into letting its present customers know that it has a web site, and inviting them to browse the site from home at their leisure. This means that all business stationery, flyers and other advertising all contain a prominent invitation to visit the www site. Certain types of small business - many local small owner-operated stores for instance - are unlikely ever to find a viable reason for having a web site. There are many types of small businesses, however, that can profit to some extent from having a business web site. Successful examples would be antique shops, art galleries, travel agents, hardware stores, tire dealers, small manufacturers, import/export companies, fashion designers, and boutique stores...... With a little thought, such a small business could make profitable use of a web site, including the use of e-commerce. Remember, e-commerce is just the online version of giving your credit card details to an order-clerk on the telephone.

Having said that there are indeed valid and viable small-business uses for web sites, it must also be said that in the end, very much as with the telephone and fax machine, virtually every company and individual will have at least a one-page web site. Many companies that do not actually need a web site get one just to be able to list it on their company letterhead, along with the address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. In the end, each company will have its own reason for having or not having its own business web site.

•What is really involved in setting up a business web site?

Because of the relative ease with which a web site can be set-up, many small businesses have signed-up for 'hosted' webspace in which they are leased space on a server, given an Internet address, and left to set-up their own sites. Such an option provides cheap access to the world-wide-web. The problem is that many of these small businesses have vastly inflated expectations of the benefits that will flow to them from having a web site, and a highly optimistic interpretation of the phrase 'relative ease' with respect to the setting up and maintenance of a web site.

Real-world web-traffic returns will soon dispel any illusions of immediate and massive Internet business, and the realities of the time involved in learning how to set-up a web site quickly become apparent. The time required to master a web site set-up program usually turns out to exceed that available to the average small businessperson. The alternative? Pay an expert web designer set up the site. The cost for this can run to several thousand dollars and more. And the business is still left with the problem of managing and updating their site.

So, the steps involved in getting a web site set up.

Find a web hosting company. Companies such as Webserverco lease server space, on which web sites are located, to business users. Basic service fees - for the provision of a 'do it yourself' web site - are fairly uniform. Details of the services provided and hardware specifications should be compared. Additional services, such as site management, should be available at a reasonable cost.
Decide whether, in all honesty, anyone in your company has, or can reasonably be expected to acquire, the knowledge to create and service a web site.
If the answer is no, then you are faced with the prospect of having to pay for these services. Find out precisely how much. Caveat emptor. Keep it simple. Some of the largest corporations in the world have very simple layouts, which can be created in a few hours. Web browsers are, by and large, looking for information when they arrive at a web site, not an artistic treat. A complicated home page can take longer to come up on the screen than the average browser is prepared to wait. Many businesses will have little real need for frequent updates of their web sites. Web site e-mail accounts will have to be set up.
Having arranged for the web site to be created, a www. address must be researched and registered with Internic at a cost of US$70 for two years, and subsequent yearly payments of US$35.
Have the site linked to as many other sites and search engines as possible. No harm in trying.
Put the web site address on all business literature and advertisements. Promotion of the web site in this way is absolutely essential. For most small-business sites, this will provide almost 100% of their Internet business.
Don't be afraid to think of a new idea for your web site. Don't be afraid to ask how much it will cost either.
If needed, online e-commerce facilities are fairly easy to arrange. A number of financial institutions offer e-commerce packages, very much like the arrangements between storeowners and credit card companies. Web hosts can provide referrals, but the contracts are signed between the business and the financial institution. The web host normally has no part in the contract.
Read the occasional article on the business use of the Internet. See if there are any ideas that might be applicable to your own business.

•What services does Webserverco offer?

If you've read the background information above, you will know what the basic benefits and problems facing the average small businessperson that wants to establish a company web site are. Webserverco specializes in filling the web site needs of small business, from the leasing of basic web sites to the total set-up and management of web sites. Webserverco also provides other specialized and web site consultation services. We take the work out of setting up small-business web sites. Although we offer a basic web site package, the vast majority of our clients opt for our managed-site package. This is not surprising, since the managed site package is so affordable. In fact, all Webserverco service prices are extremely affordable. There are no exorbitant fees or hidden charges. Webserverco employs university trained computer and web specialists to meet the needs of its clients. You will find technical details of the server/Internet system employed by Webserverco on the 'Technical' page. There is also a Glossary provided, so that you can familiarize yourself with the technical jargon - and the meaning - when you are considering technical specifications.

You now know more or less what to expect from a small-business web site. If you still think that your business must have a web site of its own, compare Webserverco's services and prices with other web hosting services. We expect to hear from you when you have done so.

Thank you for your interest.