- Why should I have a Showcase page on Textile & Apparel Traders'
web site?
- A Showcase page provides you with a web presence where you can promote
your skills or business in your own words to a built-in, targeted audience
of thousands of industry professionals. With a Showcase page you "Stand
Out From The Crowd!"
- Is my Showcase page a web site?
- No, your Showcase page is available within the Showcase section of
the Textile & Apparel Traders web site.
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- How is a Showcase page different than a web site?
- The short answer is that a Showcase page is a professional looking
web presence that is much less expensive and much easier to create than
a professional (or amateur) web site. It has instant built-in traffic
from sewn-product industry professionals. It is very difficult and expensive
to acquire equivalent traffic for an individual web site.
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- My ISP provides me with free space for a web site on their server.
Can't I just create my own site and point to it from my free T &
A Resource directory listing?
- No, Saddle Stitch Group/ApparelLink has invested over seven years
and great expense in developing a web presence that draws high traffic
consisting of professionals from the sewn-products industries. The only
links provided to other web sites are through our banner ad program.
A banner ad pointing off site is more expensive than a Showcase page.
You may list your own site on your Showcase page but no live links will
be provided.
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- What is involved in creating a professional web site?
- In order to have your own professional web site (with your own domain
name) you must first research and register a domain name (yourcompany.com).
The domain name must point to a web server (whether or not you have
created a site). You then must accumulate content, assemble it into
web pages on your local computer and upload those pages to a web server.
You must know how to design your pages to be appealing to your targeted
market. In order to reach that market those pages must be designed to
be search engine friendly and then you must submit your web site to
various search engines and directories. Even then, it may take years
if ever to match the amount and quality of traffic that already exists
for the ApparelLink Index community. Each time you upload (FTP) files
to a web server you must make certain that the new files do not "break"
the functionality of your site. ApparelLink, our web site developing
division, charges $1,200-$1,500 to assemble your content (images and
text) into a static brochure type web site and between $30.00 and $50.00
per month to host the site. There are additional charges when you want
to make changes to your site. Sophisticated interactive sites require
advanced skills and can be much more expensive.
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- What advantages does a Showcase page offer?
- With a Showcase page, once you accumulate your images and text, you
just fill out a user-friendly form that insert your information automatically
into our servers. The Showcase pages are created from that information.
You have free access to your data from your web browser so changes can
be made using the same familiar forms. Your information may be changed
by you at any time without having to pay maintenance fees. Your Showcase
page is then linked to from our Resource Directory search results pages.
This way, when someone searches for a product or service that you provide,
your listing will stand out from the others in the search results and
will be linked to your Showcase page. You get to "Stand Out From
The Crowd!" We also feature all Showcase pages in a separate directory
within the T & A Showcase section.
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- Are there limitations to my Showcase page?
- Content is limited to information of interest to our targeted audience.
It must be sewn-product industry specific. Images must be within certain
size limitations and are limited in quantity. Text and images will be
placed within predetermined areas in the various templates. Content
deemed offensive by the management of the site will be disallowed.
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- If Showcase pages are so great, why would I ever want my own web site?
- You may not ever need your own web site. It depends on your business.
Showcase pages are intended to provide a professional web presence for
smaller companies and individuals who may not be able to afford professionally
created custom web sites. They are an important first step though they
have some limitations in scope, individuality and the amount of information
they are able to provide. At some time in the future you may want to
have ApparelLink develop a professional web site that will give an even
more unique and impressive presence to your business. Until then, a
Showcase page will help you "Stand Out From The Crowd!"
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- How do I get my own Showcase page?
- Click here.
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