Probably the most frequent feature prospective clients have ever requested is to be able to update their own web sites.

In many cases this has come from past experience with web designers who either charge a great deal to change even minor information, or who sometimes take weeks to get even small changes made.

Knowing that this was definitely the way the Internet was going to be, in 2000 we embarked on a project called 'WebUpdate'. WebUpdate was designed to enable clients to change text on existing site pages, from any computer.

There were still a few drawbacks, however, as more advanced things like changing images or creating new pages still had to be done through us, the site designers. At the time, and despite its limitations, WebUpdate proved to be popular with clients who had certain text information changing regularly, such as like 'What's New.'

This in mind, in 2002 we decided to make a new system, even bigger and better than WebUpdate. For the next two years we set about building in anything we felt a client could need to be truly independent.

In January 2004, WebUpdate2 was launched, and was immediately greeted with enthusiasm by prospective clients. No longer would the sites owners have to send text or photos to the designers and wait for the changes to be made. With WebUpdate2, clients can add, edit, or remove as many pages as they like.

They can add images, upload files, create links, even manage an email list, from any computer in the world with an internet connection, for free.

One of the most important things clients had been concerned about in the past was search engine placement. After all, there is no point in having a great site designed if nobody will ever find it. This is where FirstPage comes in. Of the two years we spent developing the WebUpdate2 system, several months went into just search engine optimization coding.

With FirstPage, whenever a change is made to the site, the FirstPage coding transmits itself to the searches using our own algorithms.

What does that all mean? Quite simply, that the site can get first page placement under multiple search terms with no extra cost at all.

This system has been extremely popular with professional businesses, from doctors and dentists to music lessons and foster care services.

Terry Young is the founder and CEO of Internet Marketing and Design. Since 1997,
his computer programming and graphic design knowledge have kept his company
at the forefront of the latest technology in web development.