Partners

At attention-to-details, we concentrate on what we do best: web design and programming. Unlike other firms that do everything from hosting websites to selling cell phones, we partner with leaders in their fields to offer complete solution packages.

Web hosting

When it comes to web hosting, we recommend HostMySite.com. They offer a wide range of features, and their prices start at only $102 per year. For $180 per year ("Advanced Hosting") you get ODBC data sources, ASP/.NET capability, real-time usage stats, SSL pages (shared security certificate), and more.

HostMySite has a multitude of pre-installed ASP components. This makes it easy for you (and us!) to create a powerful website. Their installed components include ASPMail (send mail from forms and other ASP pages), ASPQMail (ASPMail with built-in queuing), ASPupload (upload files through a browser), ASPImage (manipulate and create images through scripting), ASPEncrypt (encrypt pages and email), ASPEmail ( alternate mail-sending component), ASPHTTP (combine content from multiple pages into a single page), and the DynuCOM package.

As an example, check out our project Scripts-and-Coverage.com, hosted on HostMySite. It featured an area for registered users with password protection; uploading .pdf and image files; automatic resampling of images into thumbnails; automatic credit card processing for sign-up and downloading files, and other sophisticated features.

E-commerce

We used to recommend a variety of e-commerce solutions. But a few months ago, we found the flat-out best deal: Candypress.com. They might have a strange name – but this e-commerce solution is outstanding. Fully customizable, scalable to large SQL Server or MySQL databases. We've looked at the code and found that it is very clean and well-written. This e-commerce solution is easy to administer even for store owners who don't know much about computers. Amazingly, this product costs only $40.

Before Candypress, we used to recommend StoreFront.net®. A few years ago, they were among the best (and most customizable) solutions, but their newest product (based on .NET) is going through growing pains right now and doesn't feature the source code (unless you pay in excess of $1000). Their previous product, storefront.net 5.0, is comparable to Candypress (with a much higher price tag), but their code is not as clean, and it can be tricky to customize. We still do modification on storefront.net solutions for our clients, and if you run storefront.net 5.0 and need customization, we can provide that service for you. But we also recommend looking into switching to Candypress.(We are not affiliated with Candypress, but make this recommendation solely on the basis of our experience with other products.)

Some other solutions we used to recommend

Yahoo® Stores are a classic choice for many online merchants. A very simple, easy-to-use solution that accomodates even larger product lines. The built-in marketing — being featured in Yahoo®'s marketplace — often outweighs higher monthly costs. We'll help you customize your Yahoo® Store to give it a sleek design beyond the basic templates.
Update: We don't recommend Yahoostores anymore (even though they've done some improvements lately, esp. in the ease of use for modifying templates). We still offer to customize RTML templates for clients who are more comfortable with their existing solution.

However, for all others, we recommend to switch:

• Nowadays, there is no need to be stuck with high monthly and transaction fees. Yahoo store fees can quickly add up, especially if you have a large product palette. Consider owning your own e-commerce solution – it's like buying a bicycle for $200 instead of leasing it for $50 per month.
• Being in the Yahoo Marketplace is an advantage – but there are better alternatives. E.g. buy search phrases on overture.com and get listed on top of the Yahoo search results. Buy Adwords on Google and increase your traffic from the biggest, most widely used search engines.
• Switching e-commerce solutions can seem daunting, especially if you've just spent months to get fully acquainted with the Yahoostore system. But using a different system is actually much easier. Here's an offer: send us sample data from your catalog, and we upload it to a Candypress store for free and send you a couple of links where you can administer the data online. You'll see that the interface is more modern and intuitive.

We used to recommend BigStep®. They are a very easy-to-use e-commerce solution – even someone with very little knowledge can set up their own store. However, their solution is not very scalable, and their fees have increased dramatically, and are not transparent in their advertising. Only when you start building your site, you learn you have to pay extra for even such a basic thing as adding a catalog (!), switching to a customizable format, and adding credit card processing.

Other ecommerce solutions

The recommendations above represent our own, subjective opinion. We are happy to help you with any e-commerce solution you choose! For example, if you're only getting started with e-commerce, we can help you get set up with a simple online catalog and check-out page using AmeriCart, Mal's E-commerce, or another free/low-cost provider of your choice.

Or, your existing hosting plan might already feature an e-commerce solution such as BetterCart.com, CartIt, CoolCart, CyberOffice Shopping Cart, DesignCart, DREAMcommerce, iisCART2000, Mal`s E-commerce, Merchant-Store.com, Miva Merchant, Monster Commerce, Pro Cart, RealCart... Then, it might be advisable to use the provided solution. We can accomodate any product for your e-commerce solution.

Contact us for a free e-mail or phone consultation

Use the Get a free web design quote page to contact us with your question. We're happy to discuss different options with you, and recommend a solution based on your individual needs.