What type of site do I need?
There are four main types of web site:

1. Static
2. Information or Brochure sites
3. Interactive Sites
4. Ecommerce (web store, shopping cart, etc.)

INTERACTIVE WEB SITES
The interactive web site is a site where visitors can either request information, leave comments, ask questions, take polls, access forums, download information, software or graphics. Other forms of interactivity such as chat rooms and message boards are also very popular but more technical. This type of site is becoming very popular as technology is more widely available and less expensive.

ECOMMERCE WEB SITES
These are most commonly known as e-commerce or online shopping sites. If you have services or products you want to sell then this is the site for you. The e-commerce type of web site can be divided into two categories:

The Secure Page based site
This is the simplest type of e-commerce site, usually used if the client only has a few items to sell or if they have a very limited budget. Nevertheless it can be a very cost-effective way of getting an Internet presence and should not be ignored as an option.

The Database based site
A fully Database driven site will allow many hundreds or even thousands of products to be displayed and sold over the Internet. It is a very powerful technology and when set up properly can be very effective at increasing sales and profit margins.
*NOTE: Both types of ecommerce web sites should have a Secure Sockets Layer (S.S.L.)*

There is considerable difference in set up costs and ongoing maintenance costs between the database and secure page which must be considered when thinking about budgets.

DYNAMIC WEB SITES
FLASH Web Sites are fast becoming very popular as higher bandwidth and increasingly powerful computers have allowed stunning animated graphics and 3D images to included almost commonly into web site or created as a Dynamic web site on it's own.

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (CMS)
These types of dynamic web site can be run on either unix or windows servers. Most commonly written in A.S.P. or PHP.
There is no need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on content management systems. You don't need to have your staff specially trained and or even need to hire new staff just to manage your site.
You can have a vast array of professional content tools which will allow you to display a powerful dynamic web site. Updating privileges to any part of your staff no matter their level of experience. Simple-to-use features which will always keep your online image updated and professional.

Others:
There are of course other types, including Intra and Extra nets used for specific purposes. These are the most common and hopefully can give you some insight on where to start.

If you have more questions or clarifications please feel free to contact us.