Verizon Online Turns Web Site Woes into Web Site Wows with New Business Site Design Tools
                                      
          Services Offered Include Personalized Web Site Designs and
                           Full-Service Web Hosting

    NEW YORK, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- To help small and mid-sized businesses stand out in cyberspace, Verizon Online introduces complete Web site design and hosting services with round-the-clock site monitoring.  Options range from do-it-yourself Web site packages to professionally designed and hosted Web site services.
    "To stay competitive, most businesses need their own attention-grabbing
Web site that can be accessed quickly," said Tim Eggleston, director-product management for Verizon Online.  "Our new Web site design services take the work out of designing a unique site and we can help customers run it.  The service allows customers to concentrate on running their business, instead of learning a new language, like HTML."
    Verizon Online offers a range of options for small businesses whether the
businesses are new to the Web or already have an existing site.  Verizon
Online offers two levels of its Web site design services, from do-it-yourself
to turnkey:

     *  The Site Builder service includes a step-by-step, do-it-yourself
        software package that helps businesses create and maintain their own
        Web site.  There are more than 30 different design templates that can
        be customized by individual business as well as suggestions for
        popular Web site topics.  With the Site Builder tools, customers can
        make changes at any time without paying additional fees.  For $420 a
        year ($34.95 a month), Site Builder provides a service with both
        self-service design tools and 24x7 monitoring of its professional
        hosting services.
     *  The Site Starter full-service package also includes Web hosting with
        round-the-clock monitoring plus the services of expert Web designers
        who will create a unique site. Also, included as part of the
        $780 yearly fee ($64.95 a month), customers will get a monthly
        consultation to keep their Web site current.

    Business customers who sign up for either Site Builder or Site Starter by
April 30th   will receive a $100 discount with a one-year commitment.  Two
other services are offered for a limited time with a one-year contract.
    As a stop-gap measure for companies that want a presence on the Web but aren't ready to launch their own site yet, Verizon Online is launching Custom Web Page.  It is a stand-alone single page announcing the company's site while it's under construction.  With an annual Web hosting agreement, new customers can receive a Custom Web Page for free (a $99 retail value).
    Businesses with existing Web sites that want to use Verizon Online's Web
hosting services, can transfer their Web files at no cost when signing an
annual contract.  According to Eggleston, having Verizon Online transfer the
files can help limit or prevent the loss of information.
    "Verizon has the tools and technical wizards to give small and midsize
business customers everything they need to create top-quality Web sites at
affordable prices, while maintaining focus on their business," Eggleston said.
To learn more about Verizon Online's Web design and hosting services,
businesses can call 1-888-483-1794.

    Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services.  Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 132.1 million access line equivalents and 29.4 million wireless customers.  Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world.  A Fortune 10 company with more than $67 billion in annual revenues and approximately 247,000 employees, Verizon's global presence extends to more than 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.  For more information on Verizon, visit http://www.verizon.com.

    ON THE INTERNET: Verizon news releases, executive speeches, biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news.  To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for personalized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

                     MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT -  Click Here
               http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X58595012

SOURCE  Verizon Communications
    -0-                              03/07/2002
    /CONTACT:  Briana Gowing of Verizon, +1-972-718-6202,
briana.gowing@verizon.com/
    /Company News On-Call:   http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html/
    /Web site:  http://www.verizon.com//
    (VZ)