PORTLAND PRESS HERALD: JUNE 1997

WebSmith is targeting area's small business:

Today's to-do list: Drop off the dry cleaning, pick up a cup of coffee, stop by the ATM and take care of that homepage for the Web.

Janet Harvie is hoping her storefront operation, Portland WebSmith at 142 High St., makes the last item as common as the first three.

"If you come by a 10 o'clock in the morning, I can probably give it to you by 10 the next morning," said Harvie, who opened her walk-in Web store a week ago.

Harvie is targeting small businesses that feel the need to have a presence on the Internet. She offers a package for $325 - she'll scan in two images, such as a logo or photo, add up to 300 words of description, put it on her company's Internet server for three months and register the site with at least 15 well known search engines.

After the initial three months, she charges $30 a month to keep the site on her Internet through her server, which is at www.portlandwebsmith.com.

Harvie said she doesn't believe everyone should have a homepage, but thinks there is a need for a service that can get people on the Internet quickly and economically.

Harvie, who used to be the webmaster for Casco Bay Online, has been designing web pages for three years. Lately, she's been operating her business out of her West End apartment, but she recently landed some big clients and decided to set up an office.

"If I'm going to pay a couple, three, maybe $400 for an office and somebody to help me, why not make it a storefront?" she decided. A walk-in shop may make the web less intimidating to technophobes, Harvie said.

"A lot of people don't always know where to find a web designer," she said. "For people who don't know where to begin, there's now a place you can walk in."

- Edward W. Murphy