Web Site development is made up of a number of tasks. ICS can do all or some of them for you. We can also act as your consultant to help you build all or part of a Web site that will support your business goals.

• Content Development - ICS will discuss your plans for a Web site with you and review materials (photographs, graphics, articles, etc.) that you might want to include in your site.

• Web site Architecture - ICS will categorize all available content and create hierarchies of information that will become the sections and individual pages of your Web site.

• Graphics - ICS will advise on the placement of existing graphics, search for stock graphics that will support the goals of your Web site, and arrange to have graphics created from scans or designed from scratch.

• Web Site Construction - ICS will build your Web site and present it to you for approval as it is being built.

• Site Review and Testing - ICS will proof and review final HTML files for content accuracy, verify links and navigation, and test the site with different browsers. We will then make the site available to you for final approval.

Internet Communication Services offers a number of Web site promotion services that will attract new and return visitors to your Web site.

• Registration with Search Engines - ICS will use its knowledge of search engines to register your Web site in a way that will increase the chances that your Web site will be among the top twenty in the response list.

• Advertising your Web Site - ICS has a list of hundreds of places where Web Sites can be advertised free of charge. ICS will use this list to place advertisements for your Web site and business. We will also register your site in the on-line yellow pages.

• Newsgroups - ICS will identify newsgroups that are relevant to your Web site. We will advise you how to use them to draw people to your Web site.

• "What's New" Page - ICS will set up a "What's New" page on your Web site that can be used to link former visitors directly to the change or new addition to your Web site. This feature is particularly useful to wholesalers or retailers who need to inform customers that new merchandise available or who need to announce a sale.

Internet Communication Services will host your Web site on a server connected to the Internet via multiple T3 lines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The server supports Netscape Encryption and PGP which provide security for credit card transactions. Multimedia extensions such as Shockwave and VRML are also supported, as are the use of Java Applets.

ICS provides the services below at no extra cost to you.

• Domain Name Selection - ICS will verify the availability of possible domain names for your Web site as part of the hosting process.

  If you do not wish to acquire your own domain name, you may use ICS's domain name for your Web site. The name of your site would be "www.icserv.com/your choice of directory/".

• Domain Name Registration - If you have chosen to acquire your own domain name for your Web site, ICS will register it with Internic as part of the hosting process. (Currently Internic is the sole registrar for domain names in the United States.)

• Technical Troubleshooting - ICS will respond directly to technical questions from visitors to your Web site.

• Transfer of Web Site to Server - ICS will transfer your the files that make up your Web site to the server.

Internet Communication Services can update information on your Web site on a regularly scheduled basis, or as needed.

ICS follows the steps below to insure problem-free maintenance.

• Verification - All modifications are spell-checked. ICS then proof reads them since an incorrect word with correct spelling will pass through the spell-checker.

• Testing - Modified pages are checked on multiple browsers.

When is a make-over needed? Read our guidelines below to see if your site may need one.

• Web Site Sprawl - When a Web site has had add-ons that were not anticipated, it site may no longer have a unifying theme. Visitors may find navigation confusing and may be missing the message it is trying to convey.

• Static Web Sites - Web sites developed in the early years of the Web did not allow for visitor feedback. E-mail, forms, guest books and bulletin boards will make it possible for visitors to communicate with you and with each other. Communication will encourage return visits.

• Web Sites that are Not Goal Oriented - All Web sites should have one or more goals. Content and design should support those goals.

  If you are an non-profit organization, a Web site could help you raise funds, fulfill your mission as an organization, encourage interaction among members, and encourage new memberships by providing information that is valuable and easily accessible. If your Web site is not helping your organization to accomplish its goals, a make-over is in order.

  If you are a profit-making business your Web site should provide information about your goods or services that will set you apart from your competitors. A number of payment options should be available to make purchases convenient.

• "User Unfriendly" Web Sites - If your site has any of these "user unfriendly" characteristics it is a candidate for a make-over.
  1. Graphics take "forever" to load.
  2. Text color is white. Information can not be seen when printed.
  3. Description of links is unclear. ("Click here")
  4. Web pages do not have enough "white space". Pages appear cluttered and are difficult to read.
  5. Background textures make it difficult for the visitor to read text.
  6. There is no way for return visitors to go directly to new and updated pages.
  7. There is no way for the visitor to return directly to the home page.
  8. Main points are not emphasized. Important information is buried within paragraphs.
  9. Visitors who have printed a page can not return because no URL is printed on the bottom of it.
  10. Alternatives to graphics are not provided for those who have turned their graphics off.