| WEBSITE
DESIGN AND HOSTING
In order to successfully establish an online
presence for your newly formed, or existing, offshore company you will have to
consider two key areas, website design and web hosting. back
to top WEBSITE
DESIGN
The design of the website is an absolute priority. The
website is the primary point of contact between you and your clients, it must
look right and inspire confidence because if clients like the site and find it
easy they will keep coming back to buy again. I know from my own experience of
three sites where I can buy items of South African food that I am not so concerned
that the site I use is a bit dearer than the other two, but I am concerned that
it is quick, easy and that everything works so the dearer site gets my business
most of the time. To
maximise your results your site needs to be easy to navigate, with links to click
between relevant areas so that clients can gather the information they need or
buy the goods or services you offer. We strongly advise against complex introductions
using flash animation's or sound effects, nothing is worse for a client than arriving
at your site while browsing the web at 1 am only to have music or sound effects
bursting out of his speakers and waking up his family.
The actual cost of designing your website is more or less a one off purchase although
you will want to update it at some point so maybe you would like to consider a
maintenance package to ensure the site is kept looking fresh and contemporary.
Many clients have friends or relatives who say they are a dab hand at web design,
if they are you are lucky but generally a lot of these sites look decidedly homemade
and may not allow for the addition of shopping carts or other features so we tend
to recommend using an experienced webdesigner.
We recommend two, firstly WebNet2000 and
secondly try contacting Secure
Data Systems who specialise in assembling tax free offshore sites. Back
to top WEBSITE
DESIGN
We can fully design and implement a static website, as specified
by yourself. This provides an excellent method to provide information as the nature
of your offshore company, services and products it may offer. The number of pages
you require will usually depend on the range and diversity of services you plan
to offer. If you currently
have a corporate ID, company colours, or any idea as to images and content to
your site we will incorporate these into our design to provide a seamless experience
for your prospective clients. ·Up
to 5 pages £495 / $869 / €699
·Up to 10 pages £645
/ $1125 / €925
·Up to 25 pages £795 / $1399 / €1135 A
single page, in general, is roughly equivalent to an A4 sheet, US = Quarto
back to
top Flash
Flash provides an excellent method to incorporate animation and active elements
into your website. Our designers can offer a range of Marcomedia Flash banners,
pre-loaders, intros and even complete flash sites although careful planning
is required to ensure this is done correctly. If you are selling houses or holidays
flash is great but it is not ideal if your clients want to get on with making
a purchase. The key is if you want to use flash avoid overload! back
to top Submission
Forms
We can create an electronic submission form that can allow people
to e-mail you via your website. Hence, removing the need for the sender to
use their e-mail package, i.e. they may be at an Internet cafe and wish you
to phone them on a mobile or send information to their web based account.
·Submission form, from £75 / $131
/ €107 The above
option can be combined with password directories and SSL for added security as
required back
to top Fixed
Shopping Basket
If you are listing products and services on your website,
you may wish to be able to allow your clients to buy these services online. The
 most
basic option is the fixed shopping basket. With this we add products to the shop
system, and you are e-mailed to alert you when a purchase has been made -
you can then view orders interactively and securely online.
·Shop system, SSL e-mail sender £295
/ $515 / €425
·Cost per product, including page. £8 / $14
/ €11 We can provide
automatic credit card billing should you require it through a variety of credit
card service providers.
To look at our merchants services options click here
back
to top Bespoke
Systems
If you require a system that is totally unique to your company
requirements, and allows you total control over the data placed on your site this
is probably the solution for you. Our designers can write a bespoke database system,
which requires no third party applications or 'off-the-shelf' databases.
Being a bespoke system you can precisely what information you want to store about
your products, uploading your product information is at the click of a button,
and you can have virtually any combination of specification of reports that you
want. This would be suitable for an online shopping site such as www.dvd4music.com.
They can also write totally web based systems, suitable for mass use. An example
of this is the auction site www.ebay.com. The beauty of a bespoke solution stems
from the fact that the limit of the system really is determined by your requirements
and imagination. If you can think of an idea, in 99% of cases it is entirely possible.
The first stage of creation of a bespoke system will be to create a report of
your unique requirements. This is used to gather your requirements, source your
information, relevant technical and planning details, and design. The interim
version of this report will be presented to you for your approval before we start
implementing the design. |Once your happy with our design we can start implementation.
This includes the actual coding, testing and evaluation.
·Bespoke systems from £750 / $1315
/ €1075 back
to top Password
Directories
We can encode a directory with a unique username and password
to ensure you can control access to various portions of your server. This can
be particularly useful for sensitive information if you combine it with SSL
·Password directory from £35 / $61
/ €50 Secure
Socket Layer
A Secure Socket Layer connection utilises 128 bit public
key cryptography to ensure that data is encrypted on the client side before transmission
to the server, and vice-versa. ·Secure
certificate setup £285 / $499 / €405
·Annual secure certificate
renewal £195 / $340 / €279 back
to top File
Storage Web - Interface
We can create a web-interface to store
and retrieve your files online. Used in conjunction with SSL this can provide
an excellent method of securely storing your data ·File
Storage web-interface £85 / $149 / €121 back
to top Maintenance
Agreement
Many companies find it useful to be able to plan ahead in
terms of accounting, and a maintenance pack provides the ability to continually
update your website and know precisely how much your going to spend. Also, if
you are going to be making frequent updates, it can work out to be more cost effective
than making constant ad-hoc changes. If you are unsure of the best option
for you call us and we can discuss the various options open to you.
- Maintenance agreements from £15 / $26
/ €21 per month.
Back
to top WEBSITE
HOSTING
When you are hosting an offshore company website it is
vital that the registration details are all recorded correctly in order to highlight
the legitimate nature of your offshore operation. I cannot recall the number of
times were have setup a company and the client has said "I already have a
.com domain" only for us to discover it is registered to his home or office
in say the UK or US! It is crucial that everything looks correct and we can advise
you on the correct domain names required for your company as well as the best
country for hosting. As a general rule, if you are conducting open trade using
an offshore company, you may register a .com or a .country.com or for that matter
any appropriate domain such as Belize .bz or British Virgin Isles .vg domain and
host the actual site in the US or UK or virtually anywhere for that matter. Obviously,
the actual domain would be registered to the offshore company so there would be
no way to link the site to an office or address in your own country. If, however,
you require the additional security that offshore hosting provides, for example,
by local secrecy laws, we can advise and provide this service as well. The key
point is that we will liaise with you to provide the services that you require;
we don't want to give you some prepackaged product, but one that suits your specific
requirements and needs. The advice both our colleagues and ourselves provide with
regards to your Internet development, is of course totally confidential. Back
to top Domain
Hosting
We will provide you with relevant storage space on your webserver,
and renew your domain name when you require the relevant authority. Secure
File Storage - Onshore
You access your webspace using Windows
98/ME/XP and the FTO browser as usual. You encrypt files using a package like
PGP or an alternative system which might be preferable for your personal needs,
once this system is in place the data is securely stored online and is accessible
worldwide. The public
part of the your key-pair can simply be stored online. You would probably
store your private key on a floppy disc, CD-ROM, or swipe card. Due
to the key distribution problem the solution below is our preferred alternative
back to
top "Do
i really need an e-mail address?" Being
able to communicate by e-mail makes everything much more convenient and reduces
cost by avoiding phone calls and faxes, although it is not obligatory it certainly
saves a lot of hassles. If you don't already have your own private e-mail facility
we recommend contacting either Webnet2000
or our sister company ORCA
Secure Data. If you prefer a simple e-mail address with good storage Yahoo
is a good free option but for the cost of a professional system in your own name
or business name with a mail box which can be accessed from anywhere you have
internet access the Webnet or Secure Data facility is the best option. The reason
for this is that for such a small outlay it is much better to have yourname@yourdomain.com
than your.name@yahoo.com. Secure
E-mail and File Storage - Offshore
We can compose a
secure file storage mechanism in order for you to transfer files successfully
using public key encryption. A common solution is to use our services for:
·File storage web-interfaced, to facilitate
the transfer of files ·SSL certificate
to encrypt data to and from offshore server ·An
offshore server to remotely store files securely. Additionally,
we can allow certain users of the system only privilege's to their own areas or
directories. Hence, you can permit some people limited rights, thus protecting
the rest of your data files. Since
the above solution is the simplest to use, in terms of no requirements to distribution
keys, and a simple web interface, it is preferred by most clients to the onshore
alternative. Additional facilities,
such as FTP are also available on request. If you contact either ourselves or
our partner company who specialise in Data and Communications Security we can
advise you of the most cost effective solutions to your need, our e-mail address
is datasecurity@orca.vg or Secure Data
is at info@sec-data.com back
to top "Do
I really need an email address?"
Being
able to communicate by e-mail makes everything much more convenient and reduces
cost by avoiding phone calls and faxes, although it is not obligatory it certainly
saves a lot of hassles. If you don't already have your own private e-mail facility
we recommend contacting either Webnet2000
or our sister company ORCA
Secure Data. If you prefer a simple e-mail address with good storage Yahoo
is a good free option but for the cost of a professional system in your own name
or business name with a mail box which can be accessed from anywhere you have
internet access the Webnet or Secure Data facility is the best option. The reason
for this is that for such a small outlay it is much better to have yourname@yourdomain.com
than your.name@yahoo.com. back
to top Secure
E-mail Solutions.
We can arrange a number of secure e-mail
systems, the decision as to which option to use centres on ensuring it is correct
for your personal requirements, Some systems are ultra secure, PGP, but they can
be more fiddly to use than some of the alternatives. Personally I would say that
for most clients a good middle road system using 128SSL encryption, and offering
the ability to both set passwords, encrypt between different mailboxes and offer
your clients the ability to send encrypted replies would suffice for sending sensitive
information such as credit card information between offices and customers. The
addition of a self destruct facility is also important for many clients because
messages can be sent which expire whether they are read or not after a preset
period. Ideal for special offers and time sensitive information. The
purpose of encryption is easily defined and the following four points cover the
reasons you may need to implement a secure system. ·To
ensure that only the intended recipient can read the message ·To
ensure that the message has not been altered ·To
enable messages to be sent which can be viewed on a secure server and will self
destruct after a preset period ·To
offer clients the option to send secure replies even if the encryption program
is not installed on their computer Many
clients do not realise that electronic mail is surpassingly very much like snail
mail in terms of security? In other words for most people it is totally insecure! E-mail
is essentially vulnerable at four key areas: ·The
senders computer may have been tampered with in order to send a BCC to a third
party, or the sender may just leave the message in 'sent items' ·During
transit the sent e-mail will travel through many intermediate host computers.
A 'tap' or 'packet sniffer' is a relatively complex device in terms of of deciphering
one particular e-mail, but not beyond the capability of a large government
or even a determined hacker or computer whizzkid. ·E-mails
are generally stored on e-mail servers as text files until they are collected.
At this point they are most vulnerable to either being read, deleted or being
changed. ·At your computer your
e-mail software may have been configured to send to another person, you may
have a virus, or a TSR program that allows snooping.
If you are using your own server and do not wish to opt for secure mail option
outlined earlier there are two possible solutions to this problem. Either use
an e-mail package with a built in cipher, like Pegasus Mail, or use a custom
built public key cipher such as PGP with your e-mail package. The
obvious advantage of using a package with a built in cipher is that it is far
more convenient to use than third party packages with plugins, you simply type
a password into your e-mail and its encrypted. The disadvantages are two fold:
the cipher is specific to the package, so you can only use it with people who
have the package; and, it is not as unbreakable as PGP, though it is more than
enough to stop the average private investigator, spouse or business associate.
The advantage of using PGP with an e-mail system such as Microsoft Outlook
is that PGP provides a far higher level of security than any in-built encryption
technique shipped with e-mail packages. Again, the only disadvantage is that
both sender and receiver must have the PGP software installed on their system.
In addition employees will need to be shown how to use the PGP and may not be
able to open a file at a crucial time. In addition they cannot access the files
in an Internet cafe or or on a computer without the software installed so careful
thought is needed to ensure the right system is used. It might be that the answer
is a combination of two systems, but if you call us we can advise and to how you
could achieve your needs. Always be
cautious, several systems are available which appear to provide then answer to
everyone's needs. One of our colleagues recently evaluated what appeared to be
an ideal system but ended up having to re-install Windows on the evaluation
computer so the only thing I can say is that Caveat Emptor - Let the buyer
beware! We offer a tried and tested
system. The cost of the secure mail system, including a domain registered to a
tax haven address, is £295 / $515 / €425 per annum, this includes the
initial setup and configuration. All you will need to do is log-in and everything
will be ready to use it is quick, easy to use and can be taught to staff in 5
minutes, it also has on screen help if needed. This
provides the following facilities: I:
Secure 128 SSL encryption
II: Ability to send non-encrypted e-mail
from the system
III: Password protected messages can be sent
IV:
Encrypted messages with preset self destruct option
V: Secure file
storage
VI: Web based access to the system
VII: Suppression
of ISP information
VIII: Ability to setup several boxes within the
system meaning that all mail remaining on the server is 100% secure without the
need to use passwords
IX: Can be linked to your existing domain by
changing your MX settings.
To order this secure e-mail system which costs £295 / $515 / €425
per annum just click this link and you will be up and running in 48 hours. Keep
in mind that by hosting your e-mail offshore you have the added security that
you cannot have court orders placed on your e-mail box. An example of this
is in the UK, under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, an employee or
associate of a company, if served with appropriate order, may have to do everything
in his power to assist law enforcement and intelligence services as reasonably
requested, and may not inform friends, colleagues or relatives of the request.
Yes, you too can be a spy! Whether you agree or not! back
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