2008 Woodie Awards
Salve Senior Maintains Newportfinder.com, Looks to Expand
Ashley Giandomenio
Issue date: 3/16/05 Section: Entertainment
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NewportFinder.com is a new website produced by salve student, Shaun Nicholson, in order to facilitate the way for the public to explore downtown Newport with just one click.
Nicholson is in his last year at Salve Regina University. Therefore, like any other college senior with current limited funds and loans to pay back lurking around the corner, Nicholson started to brainstorm an easy way for him and his friends to make some extra money.
Being an ISS major, Nicholson knew his way around a computer and came up with an idea to create a website that would be free to use, but businesses would pay monthly to have a username, password, and be listed. Nicholson said that after he configured the idea, he started to gather the necessities for the launching of a website.
"I went out and spent about $500 on the internet domain names and a host and everything," Nicholson said. He said that he even purchased the name Newportfinder. Newport.Com is set up to benefit both the public and Newport businesses.
"There are tons of places in Newport that would take forever to find on your own," Nicholson said. "And NewportFinder is a great way for those places to get their names out there."
The website offers restaurant menus, photographs of businesses and job advertisements.
"It allows for the businesses to post anything they want, as often as they want," Nicholson said.
According to Nicholson, this was his first time creating his own website and the first one that sends and retrieves data from a database.
"The database the site uses is very complex so it still blows my mind that it actually works as well as it does," Nicholson said. The site he created does in fact work well and is fully functional and Nicholson anticipates positive responses from the public.
"Once we establish ourselves as the #1 Newport area website, we want to branch off and do ProvidenceFinder.Com, BostonFinder.Com, etc.," Nicholson said.
In the beginning Nicholson said that marketing on the site was a difficult task.
Nicholson is in his last year at Salve Regina University. Therefore, like any other college senior with current limited funds and loans to pay back lurking around the corner, Nicholson started to brainstorm an easy way for him and his friends to make some extra money.
Being an ISS major, Nicholson knew his way around a computer and came up with an idea to create a website that would be free to use, but businesses would pay monthly to have a username, password, and be listed. Nicholson said that after he configured the idea, he started to gather the necessities for the launching of a website.
"I went out and spent about $500 on the internet domain names and a host and everything," Nicholson said. He said that he even purchased the name Newportfinder. Newport.Com is set up to benefit both the public and Newport businesses.
"There are tons of places in Newport that would take forever to find on your own," Nicholson said. "And NewportFinder is a great way for those places to get their names out there."
The website offers restaurant menus, photographs of businesses and job advertisements.
"It allows for the businesses to post anything they want, as often as they want," Nicholson said.
According to Nicholson, this was his first time creating his own website and the first one that sends and retrieves data from a database.
"The database the site uses is very complex so it still blows my mind that it actually works as well as it does," Nicholson said. The site he created does in fact work well and is fully functional and Nicholson anticipates positive responses from the public.
"Once we establish ourselves as the #1 Newport area website, we want to branch off and do ProvidenceFinder.Com, BostonFinder.Com, etc.," Nicholson said.
In the beginning Nicholson said that marketing on the site was a difficult task.