Services

Practical website and technology support for small businesses and individuals. Whether you need a new website, help with an existing one or advice about a computer problem, we can help you find the next step.

Website Design

Your website should make it easy for customers to learn what you do, find your contact information and take the next step. We work with small business owners to create affordable sites that reflect their business and work well on phones, tablets and larger screens.

New small business websites with clear, easy-to-use navigation
Thoughtful redesigns of existing websites
Business information, service descriptions, photos and contact details
Website conversions that retain the look and feel you want to keep

See examples of our work on the Portfolio page. Our FAQ explains the website design process and common questions.

Website Maintenance & Repair

A website does not always need a complete redesign. Sometimes the right solution is updating its content, repairing a feature or improving how a page displays. We can look at your existing site and explain what is practical before recommending changes.

Updates to business hours, phone numbers, services and photos
Broken links, missing images and page display problems
Mobile layout and navigation improvements
Troubleshooting problems with existing website features

Our ability to update a site depends on the tools and technology used to build it. We will assess the site first and let you know how we can help. Tell us what needs attention.

Custom Website Features

When a standard page does not quite meet your needs, a custom feature can make your website more useful to both your customers and your staff. We help identify a practical approach and explain how it will work.

Calendars, location maps and directions
Owner-editable announcements, news and special offers
Easy-to-use FAQs, image galleries and slideshows
Special features such as barber shop waiting-area webcams

Explore examples below, including the original project descriptions and links to detailed demonstrations.

Business Location Map & Directions - For a business with a "brick and mortar" location, providing an on-line map and directions are crucial in attracting new customers. With many people regularly using Google Maps, it is a comfortable and familiar way to provide the site visitor with maps and directions.

Examples of the Map & Directions pages that we have created using Google Maps can be seen here and here. Note that the embedded maps on these pages are both scrollable and zoomable.

Easy-To-Use FAQ Page - A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on a website can be very useful addition when you are selling a product, providing a service, or giving information about a complex topic. To be most effective, an FAQ page must provide a simple way to navigate through the list of questions and answers.

Our FAQ page demonstrates an easy-to-use navigation interface we have created. It uses a "clickable question" design which allows a site visitor to individually show or hide the answer to each question. It also provides buttons which show or hide the answers for all of the questions.

Owner-Editable Status Area - A small business website is an excellent way to provide current and potential customers with information about upcoming specials deals or other news about the business.

An owner-editable status area gives the business owner a simple and direct way to regularly update such information on their website. These updates can be made by the owner or an employee in less than five minutes using any computer with internet access. The updates require no modification to the website and can be completed without assistance from the website designer.

Click here to see examples of owner-editable status areas we have incorporated into several websites along with details on how these status areas are easily updated by the owner or an employee.

Calendar - Chop Shop Barbers requested we include a monthly calendar so that customers could check their website for holiday closing days, staff vacations and other such events where the shop staff members would be working hours different than their normal schedule.

We implemented their monthly calendar using Google Calendar which provides them with an easy-to-use interface to add, modify and delete calendar date information. They simply update the information in Google Calendar and it is immediately viewable to customers viweing their website. Click here to view the monthly shop calendar for Chop Shop Barbers.

Such calendars are easily added a website and the layout can be customized to display information in other formats, such as a single weekl. Other tailoring options are also available including calendar size, time zone and various colors.

Barber Shop Webcam - Several of the websites we have created for barber shops incorporate a web-accessible camera to allow customers to see how many individuals are currently waiting for a haircut. We designed a low-cost system which "snaps" a new photo of their waiting area every 30 seconds and posts that image instantly on the barber shop's website.

The camera used in the system is about the size of a deck of playing cards. The camera uses a wireless internet connection so it can be easily positioned anywhere within the shop. It is powered by a low-voltage power adapter plugged into a standard electric outlet.

Click here and here to view the current images from some of these webcam pages.

WordPress Website Conversion - A client asked us to convert the underlying technology used to implement their website. Their existing site was built using WordPress and they wanted the site to be implemented using a HTML/CSS framework. This change was desired because they could not "tweak" the WordPress implementation to make minor formatting changes to the website.

A primary requirement of this conversion was that the new implementation had to retain the "look and feel" of the original website. The conversion was completed in 7 days and the new website looked essentially identical to the original.

Replacement Product Slideshow - A client inquired if we could replicate the "look and feel" of an existing product slideshow used on one of their websites. Their existing slideshow, which is a set of rotating images used to highlighting "featured" services and products, could not be viewed on some mobile devices including iPhones and iPads.

Click here to see our replacement product slideshow solution and read a more detailed explanation about the issues with viewing the original slideshow implementation on some mobile devices.

Owner-Configurable Image Gallery - A free-lance photographer asked us to create a website to display photographs that she sells as postcards, greeting cards, and limited edition prints. As part of her request, she asked us to include a simple method that she could use to add and remove images displayed on the website.

To provide an easy way to update the photographs on the website, we designed an owner-configurable image gallery. This solution uses a simple text file, which can be updated by a client, to customize the images displayed on a gallery page on a website.

Click here for more information on our owner-configurable image gallery solution.

Technology Consulting

Our work extends beyond websites. We also help small businesses and individuals make sense of computer-related technology, including PC hardware, software and networking.

Guidance on PC hardware and software
Help understanding computer and network problems
Practical advice about options for your situation
Clear explanations without unnecessary technical jargon

PAB Web Solutions is led by Paul Braun, who brings over 35 years of software engineering experience. Learn more about Paul or describe the help you need.

Not sure which service you need?

Tell us what you are trying to accomplish or what is not working. We will help you understand the options.

Discuss Your Project Call 314-287-3161