These days, it’s crucial for every company and business wanting exposure to have a professional website. Web presence is simply not enough, since Internet users today can easily spot the difference between a high-quality professional website and one that may have been done up 8 years ago. Many times, a website is the first impression to a potential customer, and is the company’s most accessible sales and marketing tool, but sometimes website design companies don’t deliver exactly what they promise and they charge outrageously high hourly fees for their services. Whether your company is small or large, The Website Center can help you own and maintain a website to boost your brand and company exposure and attract new customers in a very easy and cost-effective way.

Founded by Principal Director, Aaron Lovelace, The Website Center has been in business in Honolulu since 2003. Originally from Seattle, Washington, Lovelace moved to Hawaii to study Marketing at the University of Hawaii at Manoa after spending a chilly year at the University of North Dakota. When Lovelace worked as a freelance web designer in Seattle, he found that the majority of the work came from clients who had websites, but had unreliable and unresponsive website designers as well, so the clients always needed someone else to do website updates or re-designing. Those clients also had to pay high hourly fees every time they needed help from someone new for those necessary services. Lovelace knew that providing website maintenance services for fixed, non-hourly prices would delight many people.

Lovelace also saw a need for website development to be simplified, thereby providing an easy way to meet his busy clients’ website needs; this concept of providing an “Easy Website Experience” ™ has become the mantra of The Website Center. With all this and a “72-hour guarantee or it’s free” motto, Lovelace says that, “every client is satisfied and has nothing to lose.” Once the buzz spread about Lovelace’s “Easy Website Experience”, small businesses and large companies (both here and nationally) quickly joined the Website Center’s client list. With his growing client list, Lovelace discovered that the needs of his clients were growing as well. Clients requested other website services, such as search engine optimization and website development, so Lovelace added specialists to his team in order to provide the highest level of service and design to every client, every time. Today, The Website Center’s team consists of two managing partners, five consultants, one project manager, and ten designers/programmers.

Last June, Lovelace acquired the talents of Nicholas Kane, who became a managing partner of the Website Center. Kane, who hails from San Jose, California, moved to Honolulu to finish his BBA in Marketing at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Kane brought with him his extensive background consisting of computer and communications systems, personnel management, technical training, and sales. It’s easy to see why business for Lovelace and Kane flourished in just the one year that Kane has been with The Website Center. “We are a one-stop-shop website services company. We don’t want our clients to have to worry about who to call or where to go to get everything they need. Our clients have only one friendly knowledgeable contact for their website,” says Lovelace.

The Website Center offers the following services: New Website Design, Website Updates and Maintenance, Search Engine Optimization, Flash Animation, Logo Design, Web Programming, Website Hosting, Professional Photography for the web, Website Moving, and Domain Name Registration. The Website Center offers three standard website design packages specifically tailored for different budgets. The first package, known as the Clarity Website, starts at $299.50, the second, called Professional Template, costs $499.50, and the third, called Custom Website, is $849.50. Clients can also have changes made to their existing website with The Website Center’s Pay-As –You-Go-Pricing updates program, which is an ala-carte menu that allows changes to be made after a website has been developed. The Website Center provides these update services to any client, even if the client's website was not originally created by The Website Center. The updates start at under $40.00, and include services like creation of new web pages, changes to existing pages, website re-design, fixing broken links, flash animation, and more. ”If your project doesn’t fit within these, we provide you with a quote within 24 hours—you still know what your project will cost before you commit,” Lovelace says.

Lovelace and Kane also prove that you can still get some things today for free. Consultations are free and non –obligatory and are given at The Website Center’s main office or the client’s place of business. According to Lovelace, “it is up to the client, and whatever provides them with an “Easy Website Experience.” Once the client’s website is up and running, technical support is also free and available 24/7 through the toll free phone number. Furthermore, The Website Center’s “72-Hour or It’s Free” guarantee is a hit with all of their clients. Developed by both Lovelace and Kane, the guarantee ensures that websites are done and service is provided within 72 hours or the client pays nothing. “We wanted our clients to know that when we say ‘fast service’, we mean it,” Lovelace affirms. What the world needs is more Website Center locations, and this image will soon become a reality.

Lovelace and his team are currently in the process of providing at least 2-3 Honolulu retail stores for clients to visit, and the first retail store should be ready by mid-late June 2006. Additionally, Kane will move back to San Jose, California this July to launch a hopeful 5-10 more retail stores on the West Coast by early 2007. All of The Website Center retail stores will feature the first-ever walk-in website helpdesks, provided to give clients even more access to The Website Center’s “Easy Website Experience” with a friendly and local touch.

In essence, the Website Center gives clients exceptional service without breaking any budgets. Lovelace’s concept for The Website Center outshines other website companies and represents everything else that the website industry does not. This includes: fixed, affordable prices, a local face, accessibility with traveling sales consultants and 24/7 customer support, professionalism, a one-stop shop for website needs, and an “Easy Website Experience” for clients. “Although another freelancer or company may be able to offer some of these, you will be looking for a long time to find another company that gives the entire package like The Website Center,” Lovelace adds. He’s definitely right about that. The Website Center’s main office is at 1132 Bishop Street, Suite 501 and office hours are from 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. For more details on The Website Center and their new Honolulu location, go to www.thewebsitecenter.net.

Article from www.pacificnews.net