PCV Software - More Than Just Web Pages!

Resources

To see samples of current website technology implemented on the PCV Software site, go to our technology demonstration page. Also, be sure to check out our weekly tip archive for more ideas on how to design and implement your website.

Many sites offer web design templates for purchase or no charge. In addition to those available through PCV Software, you can check out the following sites:

Template Monster offers not only complete designs, but also Flash and logo templates (Flash is a Macromedia product that produces the complex animation often sometimes found on entertainment-oriented web sites).
Open Source Web Design is a community of designers and site owners freely sharing designs as well as design information.
Free web templates offers, well, free web templates.
Adams Site has templates for for purchase, as well as templates for Flash animations (here at PCV Software we would use HTML templates for web design, and Swish templates for animation).
Freelayouts.com also has both templates and Flash animations.
Website Templates has a large selection of templates, as well as tutorials and information on other web technologies.

These are just a few of the hundreds of web sites that offer both free and pay web design templates. Just remember that a template is just a starting point, and that the more complex the template, the more it will impact the capabilities of your users' Internet connections and systems.

There are also Internet sites which offer stock photography, pictures that can be downloaded for free or for which a license must be purchased. If you want or need some eye-catching images for your site, you can try:

PCV Software has an account at Getty Images for downloading stock photography
Life Stock Photos offers an comprehensive portfolio of pictures by category (animals, communication, family, etc.)
Stock Photography Online offers a similar service
1StopStock.com allows you to search multiple stock photography databases with one query

Once you have a design, you'll need to contract with a hosting company to provide the Internet server that will actually serve up your pages to your customers. Considerations for the decision include server platform (Windows or Unix/Linux), database availability (for dynamic or e-commerce sites), disk space, bandwidth (how much data your site is allowed to transfer without surcharges) and support (24/7 versus 8-5, email versus telephone, free versus pay).

PCV Software resides at Hurricane Electric. They are extremely reliable, with virtually no downtime at all, but require an expert user (we would be the "expert user" for your site). We can also host your site on our server, but be sure to read the discussion about your domain name below. Other hosting companies which have been recommended are:

DBWired specializes in database and e-commerce solutions.
PowWeb is a low-cost provider of hosting services.
Handy Networks uses Windows 2000 servers, which tend to offer lower pricing, but are vulnerable to hackers and viruses.
FutureQuest has received good reviews.

Finally, you will probably want to register your own domain name (www.yourcompany.com). Your web host provider often will do this for you, or you can go directly to a company such as Network Solutions to register your name. If you host your site on the PCV Software server, however, while you won't have to buy a domain name, you will have to refer to your site as "http://www.pcvsoftware.net/yourcompanyname" when giving out your web address.

If all this sounds complicated, don't worry. As a function of our business consulting for your company ("more than just web pages!"), we can handle any or all of these tasks for you.

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