The home page provides one or more regions where you can place your own content. You have total control over the images which are displayed in the primary content region of your home page. You can upload photos and drop them in. You can add links to other pages, products and features in your site. We customize the navigation and add your company name and logo. We will prepare the initial photos which are displayed on the home page for you, so that when we deliver your site, the home page reflects your brand, services and products.

A single page is a page that has no pages under it -- it's simply one page that holds an unlimited amount of content. It can contain embedded images, tables, links to downloads, etc., but it's entirely managed by you, using our content management interface. The content is simply whatever you paste into it. Typical uses for a single page are

• About Us
• Privacy Policy
• Contact/Location Information
• Site Map

If you need multiple pages in one section of the site, you will instead prefer a tiered page type (see below). If you just want one simple page, a "single page" is the right call.

A "one-tier section" is a collection of pages. The pages in this section are not themselves broken into categories, so this is known as "one tier," and when someone goes to this section of your site, they will see a list of all the pages in this section. Typical uses for a one-tier section are

• Articles
• Services
• Case Studies
• Newsletters
• Office Locations
• About Us (where you need multiple pages)

The pages in a one-tier section can hold any content you want to place in them, including images, formatted tables, links to files or other web sites, videos, or richly formatted copy. You can have as many pages as you want in this section, up to the limits of your service plan, and you can add and remove them at any time. The navigational links can also be set to directly link to other pages on the site, and you can frame content in the page (such as a form). You can therefore cross-link pages in this section to any other page.

A "two-tier" section is a collection of pages that can be two levels deep. In other words, you can create any number of pages in this section (up to the limits of your service plan) and then you can create pages under those pages. You can effectively create both subcategories and pages within a two-tier section. When someone clicks a page, they will see all the pages under this as subnavigation. It is therefore suitable for holding larger quanties of pages that need to be categorized. Typical uses for a two-tier section are

• Services
• Products (i.e., categories of pages, not to be confused with e-commerce products)
• Projects
• Newsletters

The pages in a two-tier section can hold any content you want to place in them, including images, formatted tables, links to files or other web sites, videos, or richly formatted copy. You can have as many pages (and pages under these pages) as you want in this section, up to the limits of your service plan, and you can add and remove them at any time. The navigational links can also be set to directly link to other pages on the site, and you can frame content in the page (such as a form). You can therefore cross-link pages in this section to any other page.

Downloads are a list of files that can be downloaded from your web site. The great thing about a downloads page is that you can easily track the files that are being downloaded. (You can run traffic analysis on downloads, to see how often the files are being downloaded.) Any kind of file can be posted for download, including MP3s, video, Word documents, PDFs, image files, executables (programs), zip files, etc. We make it easy for you to post your files to the site and add them to your downloads page in one easy step.

You can also turn on RSS feeds for your downloads, which allows people to subscribe to your downloads. (An MP3 with an RSS feed is known as a "podcast," which means you can offer podcasts from your Xpress site.)  Downloads can be categorized, so when you add a downloads page to your site, you can create any number of categories and subcategories to organize those files.

A blog is a way to publish content to the web in a fashion which welcomes comments or feedback. Blogs (or "weblogs") are similar to a newspaper column or a journal, and they can include richly formatted copy, photos and video. You can allow people who visit your site to post comments about your blog entries (or make them read-only), and you can selectively screen responses before they appear on your site.

Blogs have the ability to be posted by multiple authors, and can be distinguished by category and date. Our blogs also include an automatic RSS feed, allowing you to syndicate your content to visitors, who can easily subscribe to your posts through a standard RSS reader. RSS feeds are also highly accessible to search engines, allowing you to reach a worldwide audience with your writing.

A press/news page allows you to post any number of dated articles under any number of categories. Articles are automatically organized by year. You can designate the categories as press releases, media, news coverage, newsletters, blogs, or anything else that makes sense to sort by date. So with one Press/News page you can actually offer dated content of many different types. We allow you to turn on an RSS feed for each category, to allow people to subscribe to your news posts.

Bios are collections of articles with associated photos that can be picked from a list. You can create any number of categories on a bios page, so it's perfect for showing groups of people (e.g., staff, administrative, sales team, executive team, board members) all in one place. You just upload the photos, then pick the one for each biography from a list. Bios pages are also suitable for any number of other applications where you want to combine a photo with a block of copy, and have articles sorted by category, including

• Projects
• Properties
• Case Studies
• Portfolio

Any biography can contain embedded photos, richly formatted copy, links, and video.

The event calendar is a way to provide a list of upcoming events to your visitors. This can be used as a way to show people your schedule, to inform them of recurring events (like classes and training sessions) or to keep them in touch with special events like concerts, shows and company gatherings. You can create any number of categories for an event calendar to separate different kinds of events (such as youth events from adult events). The list of events can be displayed in a calendar format, or your visitors can click a button and see it as a simple list, in order of date (starting with the next upcoming event.

As people place their cursor over the name of the event, a floating window appears to give them a little information about it. If they click it, they can go to a special page which provides as much information as you'd like to offer. Each event can have a page of any length, and can offer formatted copy, embedded images, video, and HTML objects (such as tables and links to downloads).

The event calendar includes the ability to turn on or off an RSS feed, which means people can subscribe to get notifications of new events from the desktop of their computers.

The Locations page allows you to display a Google map for one or more locations. You can use this as your contact page to provide a dynamic, scalable map for one physical location. You can also use this to display location information for multiple pre-determined locations (such as regional offices, a chain of restaurants, voting polls, or schools in a district). More critically, you can use this as a location-finder for large numbers of locations, such as retail outlets or restaurants that are available nationally, dealers, counseling centers, church groups, art galleries, or any other type of location where you'd like to give people the opportunity to search for a location relative to their address. In such a case, the page first appears with a zip code field or address field, and then ranks the search results in proximity to the address provided. The individual locations all show up with a unique key on the map. Clicking the key letter will cause that location to automatically center in the map, and the map can then be zoomed as needed.

Each location in the search results can have its own page of detailed information (which is reached when the location is selected), including a link that will generate detailed driving directions and a print-friendly map. Locations can also have small photos that appear next to them in the search results. Google Maps supports international locations as easily as ones in the United States and Canada, so locations anywhere can be listed and located using our Locations page.

Frequently asked questions (or FAQs) are a collection of articles which are typically used to assist people in solving problems. You can use them to offer a knowledgebase of information under any number of topics. Just create the categories (e.g., one category for each of your product types) and then add as many questions and answers as needed. You can optionally set it up so that the date an answer was posted will show up, as well as the number of times people have viewed the answer.

 If you combine the FAQ section with a flexible form (see below), you can use this as a help-desk system, to give people a way to ask questions which can then be added to the knowledgebase. FAQs can contain embedded photos, HTML objects (such as links to downloads) and video.

The careers page has three components. First, it includes a 1-tier collection of pages to describe the benefits available through your company, or details on why your company is a great place to work. Second, it includes listings for any number of openings. You can categorize these by type or location, and these listings can easily be turned on or off (to permit use to reuse listings when the position becomes available again). The third component is a flexible form, which allows people to submit an application directly through the web site (including the ability to upload their resume as a file).

You can also turn on RSS feeds for your openings, which allows people to subscribe to your job listings. This will help search engines and job seekers keep track of opportunities at your company.

You can sell products and services using your Xpress site! We provide one of the most amazing shopping carts available anywhere, with the ability to offer unlimited products in hundreds of categories as easily as one product. Some of the features include

• Easy drag-and-drop category configuration
• Multiple product photos, photo "zoom" capability
• Flexible pricing and shipping configuration
• Integration with UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL
• Inventory control
• Bulk upload products from an Excel sheet
• Multiple options/product configuration
• Secure SSL protection at no additional charge
• Leading gateways supported (PayPal, AuthorizeNet, etc.)
• Automatic sizing and thumbnail generation for product photos
• Detailed My Account page for account management
• Formatted HTML response emails
• AJAX interface (changes occur without page refresh)
• Ability to sell gift certificates, site membership, downloads (such as programs, photos or MP3s)
• Ability to charge money to book appointments or schedule events (e-ticket capability)
• Manage the titles and metatags for products to help search engines
• Turn on RSS for any product category so people can subscribe to your store

For more details on the built-in capabilities of our e-commerce technology, click here.

A flexible form is a form that you control. You can build any number of text fields, lists, checkboxes, date fields, comment fields, etc. When people fill it out, you receive email notification and all the information is also stored in the database for easy retrieval. A flexible form can be

• A mailing list form
• A feedback/contact form
• A survey
• A "request for quote" form
• A catalog request form
• An event registration form
• A contest sign-up form

Forms can include the ability for people to upload files. So you can use a form to collect not only information, but also one or more files from people. You can add an automatic CAPTCHA component (those squiggly numbers that only people can read) to validate submissions. Since you can have multiple forms on your site, you can tweak and change them to control the kind of information you are acquiring.

Our gallery allows you to offer any number of photos or videos in FLV format in one convenient location. You can also create any number of categories to display them, which means you can offer numerous collections of photos or videos. Each photo or video includes room to add an extended amount of copy, which means that the gallery can be used to present more than just a photo. We have many different ways of displaying the items in a gallery, and you can choose any of these methods for each category. (So you can display them in a grid for one category, but using one of our custom Flash gallerties for another.) It's completely under your control.

The gallery can be used to present a collect of things which require a photo, including

• Projects
• Portfolio
• Properties
• People/Staff Bios
• Artwork
• Video Training Library

Realtors can use this to show high-quality photos of properties, for instance.

The donations page is a way for you to securely accept payment or support. You can use this as a way for people to support a ministry or other non-profit. You can also use it as a way for people to support a political cause or a community outreach. You can actually use this page to accept payment of any kind -- such as bill payment, event registration, rent, etc. It doesn't require an e-commerce package -- it works independent of having a shopping cart.

The donations page is fully compatible with payment gateways such as AuthorizeNet and PayPal, so you can do actual payment processing at the point they offer a credit card. There is also the option to allow them to post their bank account and routing number from a check.

The donations page sits under a digital certificate and is therefore entirely secure for accepting payments.

The Help Desk is a page designed to provide assistance to customers through your web site. It includes a ticketing system that allows visitors to your web site to open a ticket with a problem or question, and then to receive help resolving that issue. The ticket allows them to correspond with one of your agents in a secure fashion, and to pass links or other relevant files needed to troubleshoot their problem. Your staff members can interact with your customers and maintain the status of tickets (either open, closed or cancelled), and the system allows you to track the resolution of problems systematically.

The Help Desk also allows you to offer a connection to frequently asked questions and downloads on your site, to encourage customers to look for solutions that have already been added to your knowledgebase. (To create that connection, you should include FAQ and Downloads pages as part of your site.)

Most of the content in an Xpress site is indexed the moment you add it to your site using our content management interface. If you include a search page, it means people can search and locate content based on the keywords which you use in the pages. This includes the majority of pages listed above. (The home page is not indexed, and forms pages are not indexed. But most of the other pages above are indexed.) When people perform a search, the results are listed and separated by each major section of the site. So people see matches in Articles, Products, Bios, etc.

The site map page will generate an outline of your entire site -- automatically! When you add pages or products to any section they will automatically appear in the site map. A site map is a way for people to see, at a glance, the entire structure of your site, and click a link to instantly reach a page. More critically, a site map is a tool to help search engines index all the content in your site in one easy move. When they reach the site map, the links on this page will take the search engine spiders into the nooks and crannies of your site, and allow them to index all your pages based on relevant keywords.

If you are requesting a storefront (shopping cart) for your Xpress site, you can optionally offer a gift registry. A gift registry (or wish list) is a way for people to create lists of things that they want other people to buy for them on your site. They can then invite people to come to your site and buy them the things on their list. We provide the ability for people to track the purchases, so that they can see how many items on their registry list have been purchased, and they can go back and modify their registry as needed.

Want to share files back and forth with people, securely? Have your clients retrieve files you post for them, and allow them to send files to you, that only you can access? Our file sharing solution allows you to add this to any Xpress site. It's a built-in way for you to create accounts with secure access to one or more files. You can even create many collections of files (e.g., one for each project) and give a client access to all of those. This means you can exchange files of any size with clients, family or employees anywhere. You can post files for yourself and access them as you travel. You can do research and remotely store documents from any location with an internet connection. File sharing is available with any service plan at a small additional monthly fee.

Files are stored in a secure file path, so they cannot be downloaded except for someone with the proper login credentials. You can set it up so that, optionally, when you post a file, all the people with access to it are automatically notified by email. And when they upload a file to you, you can set it so that you are automatically notified. No FTP software is necessary -- all file transfers occur through a standard web page, and files of almost any size can be uploaded and downloaded. You can also run reporting to track who is uploading and downloading, and when. We also allow you to set status flags and post comments about files, so it is possible for you and the people you provide access to share comments and approval on files that are posted.

You can use your Xpress site to schedule events or appointments for any number of entities. Our appointment scheduler can be used to

• Reserve space at a class or training session
• Book individual appointments with technicians, therapists, stylists, doctors
• Schedule a service or an in-home installation
• Reserve one or more spots at a live event
• Schedule use of a piece of equipment (such as a company van)
• Reserve a facility or conference room

Our appointment scheduler includes the ability to create any number of services and service providers. So it can be used to handle a schedule for multiple doctors in one or more doctors offices, multiple treatments for one or more salon workers, multiple hair services (coloring, cutting, etc.) for one or more stylists, etc. You could set up the ability to reserve mutliple vans or other equipment for varying lengths of time, multiple conference rooms for different blocks of time, etc.

The appointment scheduler requires an e-commerce service plan, and is available at a small additional monthly fee. Our scheduler ties into our shopping cart, so you can optionally charge to schedule an event. (A charge could simply be a non-refundable deposit, or a token deposit to validate a credit card.) You can also make event registration free, so that when they "check out" they do not need to provide payment at all. As people are chekcing out, their space is reserved for the event until they finish. (If they do not finish booking their reservation, the space is released 20 minutes later.) At the conclusion of the process, they can print out an e-ticket which includes a confirmation number to guarantee their reservation.

Discussion Forums permit any number of visitors to your site to interact on any number of topics. It is a way to build a community through interation on topics of interest. You can permit anonymous posts or you can force people to register with your site in order to post a question or comment, and thereby effectively build a database of customers. Discussion Forums are a way to provide customer service by allowing customers who have solved problems assist ones who have questions. In other words, Discussion Forums allow visitors to your site to create content for you.).

Our discussion forums follow the format prevalent through the internet, and include the ability for people to maintain their account, set up their own photo (i.e., avatars), and to see who is online at any given moment. You can also choose if registered members can enter rich HTML posts or if they are limited to basic text, for security purposes. You have the ability to ban inappropriate users as well as elevate members to moderator status, and allow them to help you keep an eye on your forums.

Discussion Forums are available at a small additional monthly fee.