Pluto Web Solutions

The Website Creating Process

When we create a new web site for you, we will take your existing information, and design schemes from any printed literature that you might have already created and turn it into a digital version. We'll help you select a domain name and then purchase and register the domain name for you. We'll set up the web hosting aspect of your web site and then begin building the site.
Every step of the way we'll help you to understand the process and to make good decisions. We'll explain all the costs up front and consult with you on changes and progress of the site. You'll be able to observe the growth of the web site as we work on it and we'll wait for your final approval before going live with the site.

Initial Contact
Based upon the information provided we should be able to accurately estimate the time and resources it will take to complete your web site. Complex web sites may require additional discussions via email or telephone. Very few website projects require a time consuming and sometimes costly face to face meeting.

Estimate & Contract
All web site development work requires that we provide you with a written contract clearly stating the nature of the project, your responsibilities and our responsibilities. The contract spells out all of the costs associated with the project as well as ongoing costs after the project has been completed. Finally the contract clearly defines ownership of the completed web site.

Deposit and Final Payment
A deposit is required to start all projects. This deposit is between 35% and 50% of the total project cost. Final payment is made after you have given final approval of the development site but before the the site is actually made live to the public. You may pay the initial deposit and final payment by credit card or check. You may submit credit card payments securely here.

Hosting & Domain Name Setup
We will configure your hosting service after the signed contract is received and the initial deposit has been made. You will have the choice of keeping your current hosting provider during this early development stage or moving your hosting service to the Trailhead Web Servers. You may be asked to change the DNS settings of your domain name at this time or we can do it for you. At no time do we require you to give up ownership of your domain name.

Email and Web Site Uptime
Throughout the development of your new web site, your email and current website will continue to function as normal, with no interruption in service.

Steps in the Web Site Building Process

1) Structure
A good web site is organized and the first step is to decide what pages will be in the website and what the basic structure will look like. We will ask you to outline the pages you think you want on the web site and after we review it we may have some additional suggestions. We suggest you review your competitors web sites to see what kind of pages they have included and review our suggestions for additional ideas.

2) Content Creation
Good websites are all about content and the next step in the web site building process is page and content creation. You will create the text for your web site in the word processing software of your choice and submit it to us. We will give you suggestions for writing search engine friendly text for your key pages.

3) Wireframe
After your structure and page content has been submitted, we will combine these two items into a simple web site called a wireframe. This wireframe is designed to show you the basic structure of the site. The wireframe is posted on your production site and does not affect your current web site, nor is it visible to others. Graphics, text, colors and fonts will all change from the initial wireframe but you will have a good idea of how the pages will lay out. After your review of the wireframe you may add/delete or rename pages and navigation and give general feedback about the structure. No need to give feedback on design colors etc. at this point.

4) Design
During these previous steps you will have been asked to submit links to web sites you like the design of and any additional "likes" or "dislikes" you might have regarding design. If you have particular colors, graphics, fonts or styles you would like incorporated you can specify them at this time. We will present you with an initial design concept based upon your input and post it on your development site. After your feedback we will tweak the design concept until you are happy with the look of your new web site.

5) Application
During this step we will apply your approved design concept to the wireframe and in the process create a custom template that allows us to quickly make changes to your site at a later date while keeping the look consistent and functional. You will be notified when the application process is complete.

6) Testing
We'll test the completed web site in a variety of web browsers and on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. We'll tweak the site to looks its best in the most common resolutions and browsers while ensuring that it is functional in all situations. We'll also test the forms, applications, security and emails associated with the site.

7) Going Live
After your final approval and after final payment is made, we'll launch the web site so it will be viewable to everyone. This is called going live. Shortly after we go live we will submit your finished site to the major search engines for review and inclusion in their index.

8) Final Tweaks
We always include one hour of free maintenance after your web site is complete. That way if you have small changes or additions you don't need to worry about extra costs.

Domains and Hosting
Websites are made accessible on the internet by the service known as web hosting. It is upon the web hosting service provider that the websites can be reached by people and that it is legally registered with a server. They let website share a space on their servers and provide them with internet connectivity. Before opting for web hosting of a new website, one must know what type of web hosting will be beneficial for the website and the owner.

Shared type of web hosting is the most popular and convenient one. This type of web hosting means that one website shares a server with many other websites. The advantage of this type is that the cost per month is reduced. The server allows you to use tools and other programs which might help in optimizing the website. The websites can use their own domain names as well. The disadvantage of this type of web hosting is of slow speed since many websites use the same server. Because of increased traffic, the website may become less secure. There is restriction on database and software support as well. Another disadvantage is that the popularity of one website affects the other websites negatively.

Dedicated web hosting is the most expensive of all. One server is completely dedicated to one website. This is beneficial for the website with very high traffic. All the resources of the server can be made use of without sharing with any other websites. Being the one and only, the websites’ performance becomes really high.

Collocated web hosting service offers you to have your own web server but it is located at a place of the service provider. The data centre or service provider will provide with physical necessities like electricity, cooling, internet connectivity and security but you yourself are responsible for the maintenance of the server and its resources. The advantage is that of the availability of high band-width, high security and endless software options.

These are the main types of web hosting services that the clients opt for; shared web hosting being the most popular one. All of these are paid services. Paid web hosting services undoubtedly offer better resources and options to optimize the websites than the free web hosting services. Free web hosting service is limited. It is not very popular and is usually supported by advertisements.

Ecommerce Solutions

Ecommerce or electronic commerce is one of the hottest buzzwords on the Internet right now. Ecommerce giants like Dell Computer and Amazon Books have become household names. Ecommerce simply means selling items from your web site instead of, or in addition to, your traditional sales method.
There are basically three different approaches we take to ecommerce which vary in price and complexity. Complete Store Solutions, Simple Store or Order Form Only.
ShopSite (complete store)
Zen Cart (complete store)
OS Commerce (complete store)
PayPal (simple store)
Simple Order Form (order form only)
Complete Store Solutions

Create a virtual store with inventory tracking, credit card verification and electronic shopping cart. You login and check your orders or receive an email and then ship the product.

ShopSite - More Information
Creating and managing a successful online store is easier than ever before, thanks to ShopSite. No other shopping cart software combines ShopSite's unparalleled ease-of-use with such powerful marketing options. That is why more small- to medium-sized businesses rely on ShopSite than any other Internet commerce product.
ShopSite includes a large selection of merchandising tools, from simple sales to offering coupons and gift certificates. Volume pricing, real-time Credit Card Processing, product search, and customer registration are just a few of the many features that make ShopSite the ideal tool for creating and managing an online store.
Requirements & Costs:
Installation Fee: Free
Monthly License Fee: $54.95 (Manager) or $84.95 (Pro)
Monthly Hosting Fee: $24.95
SSL Certificate: $64.95/year
Merchant Account and Gateway Account: (cost varies)

ZenCart - More Information
Navigating through your merchandise offerings is a breeze with Zen Cart™, the program provides several "Spotlight" lists in addition to the traditional category to product links. Once a product is added to the shopping cart, secure checkout is a simple 3-step process. After providing the billing information, your customer chooses the shipping method. (multiple shipping methods including real-time internet shipping quotes are built-in) Next, a payment type is chosen from one of the popular payment modules. (PayPal™ and AuthorizeNet™ are just 2 of the included modules) Last, the customer reviews the order, shipping and payment choices, and confirms the order. You are immediately notified of the order and your customer automatically receives an e-mail confirmation.
Requirements & Costs:
Installation Fee: $30.00
Monthly License Fee: Free
Monthly Hosting Fee: $24.95
SSL Certificate: $64.95/year
Merchant Account and Gateway Account: (cost varies)
OSCommerce - More Information
osCommerce is the leading Open Source online shop e-commerce solution that is available for free under the GNU General Public License. It features a rich set of out-of-the-box online shopping cart functionality that allows store owners to setup, run, and maintain their online stores with minimum effort and with no costs, license fees, or limitations involved.
Requirements & Costs:
Installation Fee: $30.00
Monthly License Fee: Free
Monthly Hosting Fee: $24.95
SSL Certificate: $64.95/year
Merchant Account and Gateway Account: (cost varies)
Simple Store Solution

PayPal Shopping Cart - More Information | Demo
PayPal offers a simple shopping cart solution with their business accounts. PayPal takes a percentage of the transaction and provides the hosting for the secure checkout process. (Transaction Fees - 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD)
Customers shop on your website and pay on PayPal.
Complete Explanation from PayPal

Sign up for a PayPal Business Account
Requirements & Costs:
Installation Fee: $30.00
Monthly License Fee: Free
Monthly Hosting Fee: $9.95 - $24.95 (any hosting account)
SSL Certificate: Not required
Merchant Account and Gateway Account: Not required
PayPal Business Account: Free
Order Form Only

Simple Order Form - Demo
We create a online order form where users submit their order and credit card information over a secure connection. You receive an email and then charge and verify the card manually or through your virtual terminal and ship the product.
Note: This is not a shopping cart or compelte store solution.
Requirements & Costs:
Installation Fee: $60.00 - $180.00
Monthly License Fee: Free
Monthly Hosting Fee: $24.95
SSL Certificate: $64.95/year
Merchant Account and Gateway Account: (cost varies)

We offer web hosting which provides storage space on our web servers so that your web pages can be seen by anyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition to providing storage space, we make sure that our servers are secure and operating at peak efficiency.
You do not need to be a web design client of Pluto Web Solutions in order to host with us. Many of our web hosting clients build and maintain their own web sites.
Features with all accounts include an easy to use control panel, 24 hour access to update your site, web based email, SPAM and Anti Virus Filtering, multiple email accounts, complete statistics and much more...
Plans start at $9.95/month depending on what you need. There are no setup fees and no long term contracts. If you outgrow your current plan you can upgrade at any time.