After finding initial success with Web design, Rocket Science discovered a quandary: existing content management systems either gave clients too much or too little control. So the company did what it does best: Design new software.

That software, known as WebRocket, soon became a subsidiary of Rocket Science.

Rocket Science president Reuben Brunson says the new product gives clients more versatility.

"Our clients can create or change pages, but whatever they create will keep with the continuity of the rest of the site," Brunson says. "All they do is log in, make the changes and log back out."

Brunson says WebRocket should be available for 100 of Rocket Science's sites by the end of this year and 500 by next year. The company typically charges $3,000 for development of a Web site, with an $80-per-month service fee, depending on what a client needs. WebRocket's clients include St. Blues Guitars, GameTime Athletics and Hope Presbyterian Church.

Bryan Eagle, a principal with St. Blues Guitars, says the biggest problem with traditional Web development and content management systems has been that clients constantly go back to designers for changes as small as adding a new merchandise dealer or changing an address.

"There are other systems out there, but complex systems don't work for small companies like us that may not have IT departments," Eagle says. "The simple ones look like they came from Acme Web sites or something and they are so constraining that you can't get them to look like you want them to."

Eagle says WebRocket can be customized for individual clients' needs.

"We're adding new dealers every day and adding new guitars and we should be able to manage those things ourselves without calling our design shop," Eagle says. "Every time you go to the developer, you pay for it."

Andy McFarland, a senior programmer at WebRocket, says a happy client is more important than constant service calls and charges.


"This is easy enough for someone who isn't familiar with the Web to use and since it is Web-based, you can use it from anywhere," McFarland says.

McFarland says other issues like adding new digital pictures will also conform to the original template of the site.

"We've got predetermined sizes that make the pictures fit for you," he says. "Anything you don't know, the system will help you. We can make it do anything we want."

McFarland says clients can still call the designers, but that option is a last resort rather than the first choice.

"This streamlines the process for us and the clients," he says. "We spend as little time on it as necessary, which saves them money. And they spend less time on it, which saves them aggravation."

WebRocket (now RocketFuel)

President: Reuben Brunson
Address: 80 Monroe Ave, Suite 625
Phone: (901) 522-0205
Web site: www.goRocketFuel.com

msheffield@bizjournals.com | 259-1722

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