Drake Technologies, Inc. — CPASites.com

From the December 2005 Review Website
Solutions for Accountants

Drake Technologies, Inc. offers custom design web site building services to
accounting firms. These web sites are built from scratch using the firm’s
own graphics as well as local news, attractions and events. The company’s
CPA Sites.com service was introduced in 1997. The following are sample user
sites: www.isler.com, www.orlandocpa.com,
nethawayclausen.com, www.scottmcelveen.com,
and www.earneynet.com.

Design Theme – 5 Stars
CPASites.com does not offer design templates per se. As noted above, the company
focuses on custom developed web sites that are created from scratch and can
provide Flash animation, custom graphics and drop-down menus.

Content – 5 Stars
CPASites.com offers a menu of options regarding content, ranging from a basic
set of financial calculators, web site links and databases to a full-service
offering that adds an exclusive newsletter (by territory) that is updated monthly,
newsletter archiving and reference links to all 50 states. So you can pick the
option that is best suited for your needs and budget.

Site Maintenance – 4 Stars
The site is hosted by Hosting.com, one of the largest hosting companies in the
country located in Louisville, Ky. CPASites.com’s offering includes up
to half an hour per month of site maintenance and update support.

Utility Software/Applications – 3 Stars
Since the vendor is a custom design shop, there are no integrated applications.
However, links can be established to other applications as necessary, and an
e-mail account is provided.

Site Marketing – 4 Stars
Search engine submissions and visitor statistics are available. Domain names
are unique and owned by the subscriber.

Vendor Service & Support – 4 Stars
While the vendor would not disclose the current number of firm web sites utilizing
its service today, users can take some comfort in the fact that it’s been
around for several years. Monthly subscription costs include a given amount
of time for edits and are performed by the vendor’s technicians upon a
customer’s request.

Pricing/Value – 4 Stars
There is no setup fee, and the monthly recurring cost ranges from $25 to $150.
Originally focused on larger firms, the vendor is now going after the smaller
firm market, and that resulted in the elimination of its setup fee.

Summary
CPASites.com features three levels of service, including full service with one
half hour of updating service monthly. After reviewing more than a half dozen
web sites of firms that subscribe to this service, I was impressed by the fact
that each firm’s site had a unique and distinct design on the front end.
The back-end content (i.e., newsletters, calculators, etc.) used the same template.
The bottom line is that you’ll find a nice balance between unique design
themes and template-based content with CPASites.com.

2005 Overall Rating – 4 Stars