Beginner's Guide to Web Services What is a web page? A web page is a document or information made available via the internet. A collection of related web pages is often referred to as as a web site, though multiple documents are sometimes also called simply a web page. You are reading a web page right now, which is part of the Spruce Software web site. Why have a web page? Increasingly, people are using the internet to gather information and look up facts of interest. You can find all sorts of things on-line - train schedules, restaurant menus, mail-order catalogs, even self-help books. If you have information that you would like others to be able to access at all hours of the day, from any location, at no charge to them and at very low cost to you, a web page is the perfect means. What kinds of web pages are possible? The variety of pages possible is virtually without limit. There are books, clippings, headlines, bookmark collections, article digests, message boards, and countless others. There are pages with just a tiny bit of information, and large, complex sites that contain huge databases managed by an army of technical staff. We specialize in simple, down-to-earth pages that convey information in a clean, attractive, direct and effective manner. Scan our gallery to see pages we've built in the past. What is required to have a web page? At a minimum, you need content, a hosting server connected permanently to the internet, and a URL. You can provide any, all or none of these yourself; you can buy or rent the others. What is a URL? It's the web address where specific on-line information can be found. URL was the technical term that has found its way into common usage. All web pages must have a URL on a web server, otherwise they could not be accessed by anyone other than you. What is a domain name? The domain name is the top-level, most visible part of the URL, the web address. Many businesses choose to invest in their own domain name, as this often results in a shorter and more easily remembered URL. It also allows them to receive all e-mail sent to addresses at that domain. For example, Spruce Software owns the sprucesoftware.com domain. Attached to that domain is our web site, reachable by visiting www.SpruceSoftware.com, and part of that that web site is the web page you're currently reading. All e-mail sent to any and every e-mail address at Spruce, ie. "any-address@SpruceSoftware.com" will reach us; we can even sort and forward message into separate mailboxes! What is involved in setting up a web page? First you need content. You need to organize your information into topics, and structure the topics into a document. When done, you'll need to find a server to host your page, buy a web address (domain name), and attach it so the page can be found by others. Or you can simply ask us to build you one, and we'll take care of the details. Is it expensive? I suppose that depends on what you've been shopping for lately. For most common purposes, building a web page would could less than a set of decent tires for your car. Our overhead is low, most of the cost goes directly to labor. But we're skilled and efficient, and can accomplish much in just a few short hours. Who can have a web page? Anyone! The federal government, corporations, the bagel shop, the florist on the corner, and the neighbor across the street. There are corporate web sites, informational sites, shopping sites, and family photo albums. We are equipped for building large and complex pages; our limits are imposed not by skill but by the time required. We are a mom-and-pop business, and do not have the manpower to dedicate to overly grand projects. Certain projects call for large budgets and large staff, or your needs may be better met by hiring a full-timer webmaster. Don't worry, we'll let you know. We're creative, highly skilled and we're efficient - it might make more sense for us to consult for you and help out your in-house staff instead! How can I Help? Prepare ahead of time! If you have an plan in mind, have your pamphlets and samples ready, it will save us time, and save you money. We can take digital photographs, or scan your existing pictures. Our background is in digital imaging, and we do a really nice job with on-line graphics. What does Spruce Software do? We build web pages. We are a full-service web design service - we work with you to construct a web page for your specific needs, build it, host it, and maintain it. Think of us as your web page mechanics - it's your page, but we keep it running. When we build your page, we can provide for hosting space, connectivity, URL, and all other essentials involved in hosting a page. We can reserve or purchase a domain name for you - even design the artwork and write the page content. Just e-mail us! Home