Following are the answers to many of the most frequently asked questions about the iControl web management solution . If we have not addressed your questions, please email us at martin@thomathoma.com.

Do I have to buy software to use iControl?
NO! You may be thinking about corporate “content management systems” that can cost in the six figures. iControl gives you similar power at a total cost of deployment equal to or less than a new statically coded HTML site.

How do I know how well iControl will work?
We’ve built dozens of sites on this infrastructure; it’s proven technology built on industrial-strength hardware and software platforms. Look at our portfolio page for sites already in production. Talk to our clients already using the solution; take a look at what they say about us.

What about the Webmaster we already have?
Think about ways you could redeploy that programming capability in your organization. Would you rather have a $25,000 assistant or a $75,000 programmer maintaining your site content? There are lots of higher-value applications for computer science talent.

We don’t have that many changes; why not let our Internet provider make them?
Have you totaled up the annual cost of that work? We’ve seen sites that cost $10,000 to develop that clients were paying $8,000 a year just to maintain. They were spending a ton of money just to run in place. What if you could use that $8,000 to develop new web features and functions? Or what if you could use that $8,000 somewhere else in your marketing or business? One final question for you: If you’re not keeping your site fresh, why bother having one at all?

How much does iControl cost?
The better question is probably, “how much will it save?” An iControl site isn’t a low-cost solution to get into; it is, however, vastly less expensive in total cost of ownership. Typically, your new iControl site will cost the same as developing (or redeveloping) a site using traditional "static" HTML coding. After that, your maintenance costs are essentially zero. We will provide a fixed-price estimate, which will be based entirely on the features that we implement on your site. That requires only a brief consultation to determine requirements.

Can I start smaller and build?
Absolutely. By implementing your site in a progressive fashion, we can spread out your costs. Over time you can add features and functionality. In this fashion, future investments are not going to content maintenance and updates, but to upgrading and improving the site as a whole. Your site grows richer and better over time, instead of just standing still.

What ongoing costs can I expect?
Only a modest hosting fee, payable each year in advance. This hosting cost is lower than for many traditional or “static” sites—especially when you consider there are no storage space limitations and fees for excess storage. There are no other costs to maintain your site—unless of course, you want to hire us for editing or graphic services or other support. If you like, we can sign a multi-year hosting agreement for the term of your choice, with guaranteed annual fees.

Who owns it?
You have copyright ownership of 100% of your content. We own iControl.

What if I want to move my site to a different host in the future?
If you choose to move your site, we will provide an export of all your site’s pages in HTML form that you can put on the new Web server. The dynamic site management tools—what makes iControl iControl—are not portable.

How stable and reliable is the iControl hosting?
iControl is hosted at a major Internet hosting company with more than 200 servers and 60,000 domains. It’s currently connected to the Internet via redundant 100Mb connections with multiple carriers to ensure continued network connectivity in case any carrier goes down. All operating systems for hosting products are based on best-of-breed open-source solutions (Linux, Apache, MySQL), so we're not tied to any proprietary system or solution. With your iControl site, you can count on rock-solid service and connectivity.

Can I get iControl anywhere else?
Content-manageable Web sites are in no way unique—many of the largest corporations have had this kind of solution for some time. The difference is—those sites cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions—to build. iControl puts this kind of power in your hands at a price that’s reasonable for the small to medium business, membership association and nonprofit organization.