Mixture of fun, function brings success for club.coolmaps.com, which offers design features for Web pages.

9/27/99
By RON TRUJILLO
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

High-tech firm coolmaps.com is into freaky follow-you eyes and funky names.

And so far, the combination of fun and function has created financial success.

"Sometimes, the Web just isn't fun enough," said Peter Sklar, president of coolmaps.com (www.coolmaps.com) in Santa Barbara.

But the company's "drag-and-drop" components -- basically creative design features for online pages -- are converting often-overlooked Internet pages into eye-catching sites.

coolmaps.com's components "create a style," said Sklar, adding that some computer users combine the features. "It's not high impact, but just quick things (components) that give you a quick feature. What our customers want is to build better Web pages."

The company's add-ons, from customized borders to online clocks, apparently are right on target, luring Web page designers worldwide.

The company's components "save me so much time, and help make a great product," said computer book writer and Web page designer Brian Austin of York, England. "They're ideal for what I want. They work, usually the first time, they're easy to implement and customers think they're cool."

The company's add-ons -- with clever names such as BorderPatrol, RemoteControl, RoboText, SlideShow and TitleWave -- are designed for NetObjects Fusion 4.0, a Web authoring platform. But soon, coolmaps.com components will also be available for PhotoShop and possibly other software, said company executive Tal Avitzur.

"It's a brilliant tool for newbies," said an Austin, Texas, digital artist who goes simply by the name Moyra . Her site (moyra.com) features coolmaps.com plug-ins. "It's like one, two, three -- and it's up. My site wouldn't be what it is without coolmaps."

But the fast-growing firm can be much more than plug-ins for the Web, said Sklar, who has moved the eight-employee firm from his garage and into the Granada Building the past several weeks. The company's Internet site has about 3,000 page impressions daily.

"I want coolmaps to be a recognized (online) magazine that not only provides content, but software, too," said Sklar, who has created the coolmaps components club. The 2,000-member club allows clients to download components, enjoy technical support and meet fellow users. The cost ranges from a basic $49-a-year charge -- or $249 for a gold membership, offering unlimited plug-ins throughout the year.

"Our members get to be part of the (coolmaps) community," said Sklar, a former part-time math instructor at Santa Barbara City College. "We want to give them (clients and coolmaps club members) so many more resources."

It's an approach that has allowed coolmaps.com to evolve from a single-product company into a multimedia firm.

Coolmaps.com began in May 1996, designing door-to-door maps for financial giants, including Sanwa Bank and Union Bank of California. The banks' Internet sites continue using the high-tech maps, and generating about 15 percent of coolmaps.com's revenue yearly, Avitzur said.

But coolmaps began developing the components in November 1997, and making a profit in January 1998. The company continues to design and introduce new plug-ins every several weeks, Avitzur said.

"There are so many good ideas out there" for new component features, Sklar said. "But the hardest part is coming up with good names."