(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Knoxville-based web design firm and hosting provider Slamdot (www.slamdot.com) announced this week that it will begin selling professionally designed website packages through a retail store, an unusual move for a company in a business that does a great deal of its transacting online.
Slamdot says it will open its first store at 108 South Gay Street in Knoxville, Tennesse, offering web design packages at retail, along with in-store training and support. The store opens Friday, December 4.
This is not the first time a company has attempted to sell web design and hosting in a storefront setting. In 2002, C I Host partnered with retailer CompUSA to sell private-labeled off-the-shelf web design and hosting services as “CompUSA Web Design/Hosting,” a project that was later discontinued. Several other hosts have attempted “in a box” type packaged hosting products with varying degrees of success.
The Slamdot store – a project that might fare better in the current era of Apple Stores, Nike Stores and various other product-branded storefronts – is an effort to bring web site design to customers in a traditional buying environment they’ll find familiar. Customers consult with shopping assistants, who help them choose the package that fits their needs. Then they check out in the traditional retail setting.
“We think the Slamdot Store is a very dynamic idea, and consider the Knoxville location just the beginning,” says Slamdot founder Sean Christman, quoted in the press release. “We’re making professional web sites affordable and streamlining the buying experience, and we think it’s an idea that can spread from our first store.”
Christman says the process that follows the initial purchase is just as important as the in-store interaction.
“Once the sale is complete, we also handle the development of the site, work one-on-one with customers, and provide expertise all along the way,” he says. “It’s not enough to just stick a website in someone’s hands. You’ve got to back it up.”
Slamdot also provides customers with opportunities to attend “SlamCamps,” providing hands-on training on such topics as web hosting, email, social media and Internet marketing.
Customers will also be able to access technical support through the Slamdot Store.
Slamdot’s web hosting packages start at $11 per month.
