Hosting

Let the Captain take care of all your hosting needs.

If you already have a host for your web-site, we will work with you and use that one if you prefer. Our HTML/CSS sites are compatible with any server and will run on any host with modern equipment. Our CMS sites are more server-side intensive and require minimum requirements for the server they will run on. However, most modern hosting companies meet those minimum requirements. Most modern hosting companies maintain good equipment driven by reasonably up to date software. Our CMS sites will run on all the major hosts. With some minor configuration changes we can usually make to the server side software settings, they will run on most smaller hosts also.

The minimum server requirements for our CMS are as follows:

Server: Apache minimum 1.3 or above.
Database: mySQL 3.23 or above.
Scripting Language: PHP 4.3.10 or higher.
Also: mod_mysqul, mod_xml and mod_zlib.

If you don't have a host and want to use one of the major hosts, we suggest 1&1 or LunarPages, both very reasonably priced and both offer good quality hosting with many features and excellent uptime (99+%). We can set you up with hosting with one of these companies and then, once your site is up and running, turn the controls over to you and you can take care of the billing and management of your site from then on.

Of course, we would prefer that you let us host your site ourselves.

Our managed hosting gives you complete freedom from worrying about anything related to your site. We can provide a full range of managed hosting for very reasonable rates. We lease a server in one of the countries newest, largest, and most cutting edge data centers. Having our server in this data center gives you, as our customer, many benefits over hosting with a small company using a small data center (or a shelf in a closet) while choosing managed hosting from us gives you the benefit of working with a small company that you have easy access to.

By choosing to host with us you know your website will be safe in a state-of-the-art data center with multiple features that no single server housed in a small office can offer but you will still have the advantage of knowing the person taking care of your website and being able to call him personally in the unlikely event that any problems with the hosting should arise.

The data center where our server resides boasts a dedicated backbone to the internet with over 30 GBit of external connectivity. Foundry XMR and Cisco 7600 Series routers handle the traffic to and from your website simultaneously. If we’re updating one of the systems or it is experiencing specific problems, units of the other vendor will take over.

Our server is protected and monitored by automated support systems that permit real-time analysis, review, and maintenance. The data center runs a daily backup of the entire server and we will do a weekly off-site backup of your site’s database (if you have a CMS site). All technology used has been n+1 engineered throughout to avoid any single point of failure in connectivity, redundancy or power and is monitored around the clock by specialist network technicians.

We offer full support for your website and hosting needs. You will never have to worry about dealing with a third party or some phone support far across the globe where the technicians not only speak only in techno-babble but they do it politely in an accent you can't quite understand while providing you no real help. In the unlikely event that anything happens to your website or your data we will handle installing the backups, rebooting the server and getting you back online as quickly as possible.

Our managed hosting extends to your email server as well. With every hosting account comes a generous amount of email addresses and space on the server for your email box. We will set up the accounts you want, provide you with settings for setting them up in your own email client and provide you with a web-based interface you can use to access your account from anywhere you can access the internet. If you, or any of your employees or associates who use your " This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " email service have any problems with their email accounts we will handle them for you and have them back in operation right away. We will recommend and install (unless you insist we don't) both virus protection and spam eradication at the server level so you won't have to worry about it so much on your own computer. Of course, no anti-spam program can guarantee it will trap every spam email, at least not without risking accidentally trapping lots of legitimate emails, but we can be sure that we can severely limit the amount of spam that finds its way to your inbox. The same is true for server side anti-virus. While it offers a greatly added level of security and safety to your email, it is always best to have a local anti-virus running on your own computer and scanning all new items, including email and particularly attachments, as they are downloaded to your computer.

We think you'll find managed hosting with us well worth the small annual expense.

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Your Choices

Let The Captain Build It

Captain's Designs, of Apalachicola, Florida, can take care of all your web site design, hosting and site maintenance needs. We can give you a web presence that will help promote your product and business or just put some things that are important to you online to share. We are located in Apalachicola, Florida but can work with you no matter where you are located.

Complex or simple, CMS or HTML, large or small, the choice is yours. Let the Captain handle it all for you.

You Have Choices

We can build you a dynamic CMS database driven site like this one or a more conventional HTML and CSS styled site. You can switch between this CMS site and our own HTML site by using the button just below.

For more detailed articles about the differences between HTML sites and CMS ones, look on the main menu above.

Your Image

Your Image Matters

Your Image means the world to you.
Put your web site in the capable hands of Captain's Designs and we will present your image to the world in the best of all possible ways.

Continue reading to learn about some of the ways Captain's Designs can help you best present your image to the world.

How We Establish Your Image

If you want to start from scratch, often the color scheme is the best place to begin. First we work with you to create a co-ordinated palette for you. If you already have "signature colors", we can help you expand that into a full palette to use throughout the website to give your web presence continuity.

Next, if you don't already have a logo, we will create one using that color scheme and then use your new logo and color scheme to design and build a cohesive web site with a central theme. Read more...

Our Services

Secure Set-Up and Installation

Many new computers arrive already bogged down by excess programs and utilities that you will never need. You never really know how well it COULD work. Known as "bloatware", some of the largest computer builders (Dell, HP, Compaq) are the biggest offenders. Many other new computers are compromised within the first few days before their owners have a chance to learn how to keep them secure.

Why go through that? Let us set up your new computer, streamline it to run at its potential, immunize it against problems, and get you off to a good start.

Viral and Malware Extermination

We do on-site assessment of malware or viral infections. We will come to your home or office and assess the problems with any computer or network and give you good solid advice on how to proceed.

If your computer needs time consuming multiple scans, we can take it back to our "lab" so we can run those scans without having to charge you for all the time it takes to let the scans do their work. We keep up to date on the latest malware released "in the wild" and have a full arsenal of tools at our disposal to root out and defeat the toughest of computer infections.

Our Pricing

Static Sites (HTML)

If it will fit your needs, the least expensive option for a web presence can undoubtedly be a static HTML site. Don't misunderstand, the term "static site" simply means the pages themselves are created and stored on the server and then the user's browser calls up the entire "static" page when it visits the site. A "static HTML site" can still have lots of interesting features, slide shows, and even flash or video features,

Pricing for static HTML sites is fairly straightforward. Like most design companies, we charge per page and then give you an "a la carte" choice of a number of extras..

Content Management Sites (CMS)

Content Management Sites, or CMS, are so flexible, dynamic and scalable that it is impossible to set static prices. If you are interested in a CMS site (and if you want a cutting edge site with maximum flexibility you should really consider one) we will work with you and follow a basic workflow to arrive at a firm contract and price based on the site you want created before we begin.

We will meet with you, find out exactly what you have in mind, work up a mock-up and design ideas, present that to you, set a price for the project, sign a contract with you and move ahead with the design.

Some Demos

We've put together a page on our HTML site of links to demos of some features we have built for various sites. Some flash movies, slideshows, music, video and more elements that will give your pages more interest. Link below left is to demo page, icons link to features on live sites.

Click to view demos