Saturday, April 28, 2012

Low cost web presence for small and micro businesses

I am often amazed at how much people pay just to have a web site. In fact I remember one company paying $500 dollars to have a domain registered. I asked the business owner what was his site address thinking this was quite a sum of money and would like to check out his site. He said he didn’t have a site, this was just the registration of the domain name.

It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to get your business started on the internet. With a small amount of knowledge it needn’t cost your anything, but I suggest spending an appropriate amount where the business has a single page site and the domain name reflects their business name or service. A one page site will enable the business to have an internet presence they are in control of, will enable their customers to find them on the internet and provide important contact and product or service information.

My approach is different to most web designers. As a computer consultant I charge for my time so my approach is to assist clients with my knowledge and empower them by setting them up so they are in control. Most web designers will set clients up using their facilities (most likely reselling larger companies services) and the designer retains control. I set clients up so they are the owner of the domain and in control of the hosting. Since most people don’t know how to create a web page I create the page for them, but they are free to use anyone, even a family member to create the page, or modify the page I create for them. The small business owner is not tied to me in any way.

The latest site I set up is Herding Dog Training (www.HerdingDogTraining.com). The cost or registering the domain was $12 for two years (discounted from $9 per year). I assisted the client to set up their hosting service which is where they’ll host their web page so the page can be found by others on the internet. I have a hosting company I suggest for reasons which provide future opportunities for the client, but the client is free to use their own preferred hosting company if they know one. The cost for hosting is around $10 a month which they pay directly to the company each month.

What I do is act as a facilitator. The time involved to register the domain and set up the hosting is around an hour.

Most people can’t create their own web page, so I’m happy to create the web page for their site. Once created however they are free to change it and update it if they wish to learn the skills, or know someone who already has the skills. The cost of creating the page can vary from one to two hours, but the approach I use is to have the client create a web page using a product they know such as Microsoft Word. There can be a lot of time involved in designing even a simple page, so if people design the layout themselves, that is a lot of time and thus money that can be saved. I then take the design they’ve created in Word and recreate the document as a web page. The software I use is reasonably priced commercial software and can be purchased by the client to maintain their own page if they want. Converting a page usually takes around an hour to an hour and a half.

An additional benefit to the client is the time from when they provide the material to the time the site goes live, which can be a matter of only days. One client provided their material on Tuesday morning, the web page was provided for review on Wednesday and changes were made. We organised a meeting for the Friday to set up the hosting (they already owned a domain), I then did the rest and they were live Friday afternoon. Their site appeared in Google in the first position when searching on their business name on Saturday night. I use some techniques which enables Google to quickly find sites and with some luck, usually provides the client with a very good position in Google. I say luck, but whilst the technique consistently works, I cannot control what Google may or may not do. As part of creating the page I also perform basic search engine optimisation (SEO) as part of the service, something others may charge hundreds of dollars for.

So in summary, if you’re thinking about a site to start your presence on the internet keep in mind it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can purchase an Australian domain for around $24 for two years and hosting for around $10 a month or less. If you don’t have the skills to set things up and don’t want to take the time to learn what you’d need to learn from the information provided on sites, a consultant like myself can assist you. I suggest to allow around an hour for registering the domain and setting up the hosting. If you need a page created and can create a document (most people are able to use Word to create a printed document they’d be happy to hand out to advertise their business) then you can have a web page created in one to two hours. You also don’t have to wait weeks or months as a site can be live within a matter of days. Keep in mind it also isn’t just about having a site. My approach often provides a strong presence on the internet, so make sure whoever you use can also give you a strong presence for your site to get you started without additional SEO costs.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Helping small and micro businesses get started on the internet.


Monday, April 23, 2012

Adele Highmore, a year 8 student, raised more than $4000 during the shave for a cure campaign

Two months later the year 8 Templestowe College student had organised for eight heads to be shaved, 100 cars washed and more than 200 sausages sold, raising $4298 for cancer research.... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problems.
No problem too small.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Templestowe Veterinary Clinc Manningham Road

Templestowe Veterinary Clinic has friendly felines - one tabby, one black and white, and one black and grey - to be picked up from the Manningham Rd clinic.... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problems.
No problem too small.

SEVEN poker machine venues across Manningham face a hike in rates

Five of the affected venues – Doncaster Inn, Shopping Town Hotel, Cherry Hill Tavern and Manningham Club – are owned by the ALH Group, Australia’s largest poker machine operator with 13,000 machines. Templestowe Hotel, Yarra Valley Country Club and the Veneto Club are the others. ... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problems.
No problem too small.

NBN Co rollout plan map now available covering the next three years

A while ago I booked into the NBN Co for a tour of their demo facilities. I was the only person who turned up for the tour so I was given special treatment. For me that meant the ability to ask all the questions I wanted to ask so I could assist my clients with respect to the NBN rollout.

For me it is about knowing whether or not NBN is about to be rolled out to a particular area and how that couple affect a client. For example if a client is about to invest in new equipment to connect to the internet, it is a good idea to know if that equipment will be obsolete within the next twelve months.

One thing that I found very interesting was the thickness of the actual fibre optic cable. The cable is about the thickness of a match. Most of us won’t ever see the actual cable as we’ll see it enclosed in a protective sheath such as when it comes into our properties.

When ADSL first arrived I found many people would plug directly into their ISP’s connection with little to no protection from the internet and could easily infect their computer. I standardised on an approach which would provide clients with a better level of protection and greater flexibility. The same thing can happen with initial users of NBN’s service so it is a good idea to make sure you get professional advice to ensure you’re adequately protected and have the flexibility you require for your home or business needs.

The NBN for some now is just around the corner. If you’re considering moving to a different ISP, or purchasing new equipment, now is a good time to pause and consider your options.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.

NBN Co rollout plan for Templestowe Lower (Lower Templestowe) 3107

NBN have now released maps for the rollout plan for the next three years.

According to the NBN site Templestowe Lower is not in the schedule for the next year. According to the NBN site the NBN rollout activity is:

Fibre | Work to commence within three years - we will commence work in your area from Sep 2014 in phases with last work scheduled to commence in Sep 2015*.

It is estimated that the average time from work beginning to NBN services being available is 12 months.


Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.

 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

One page web sites for local businesses.

Over the years I’ve been amazed that local businesses often don’t have a presence as simple as a one page web site. I suspect the main reason is if they approach a web designer they’ll often be quote hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, when to get started it can cost much less.

To put this in context, all a small business generally requires is one new customer, or keep an existing customer from going elsewhere and their web presence can pay for itself.

Many times when I’ve wanted to buy take away for family or friends, the only menus we can find online are the big companies, yet most of the time we use the smaller local businesses for ourselves. I’ve done some testing over the years and small take-away businesses can get a reasonable amount of business by having their menu online. At worst they don’t lose potential business from good customers when the customers need to see a menu online.

To show local businesses the value of promoting themselves online I’ve now sponsored a number of local business to provide them with an online presence. They are the businesses I use so now they’ll gain my business when I need an online menu.

 

Flying Dragon Chinese Restaurant, Papa Loui's Pizza and Pasta, Bolton Fish Shop, Panic Pizza Doncaster East, Middle Camberwell Fish and Chips

If you own a small business and would like to have your menu online for your customers, but don’t want to pay a small fortune, then send me an email. The way I set up a small business is I create a one page site with their menu and then help them sign up for hosting and registering their domain, By getting the business to register domain and sign up for hosting they retain total control which is a strategy in business. Most web design businesses tie businesses in so if they want anything done, they have to go back to the designer to get expensive changes done. My approach is to have businesses use me if they want to, but because they have total control over their site, they can easily have someone else, including a family member or friend, look after their site. No lock in means businesses use my services because they want to, not because they have to.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Helping micro and small businesses with a cost effective online presence.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Woman tasered at ATM bank machine in Templestowe Lower mall

The woman's son, Bruce Watt, said she sensed someone was standing too close and was about to turn around and ask him to step back when she felt an electric shock.... Read More

Victoria Police News - The man is described as Caucasian, aged 25 -35 years, large build, 180cm tall and weighting approximately 90kgs, with light brown hair and unshaven. At the time of the incident the man was wearing a Khaki cap, a fluoro yellow and orange jumper and khaki work pants... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problems.
No problem too small.

Comedian George Kapiniaris at his favourite local coffee haunt, Caffe Macchiato, where he will perform

Kapiniaris grew up in Doncaster after his parents, Greek migrants, moved to the area in 1974. He said he had drawn much of his material from Manningham.... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problems.
No problem too small.

The Persian Fair, at Abbotsford Convent on Sunday, April 22

Organiser Jackie Jafari, of Lower Templestowe, said the day would be a chance for people to learn more about the ancient culture. ... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problems.
No problem too small.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Doncaster Pizza - Papa Loui's Pizza and Pasta

I decided recently to drop in to The Village on High Street and purchase a Pizza from Papa Loui’s. I ordered a capricciosa and said hold the anchovies. The pizza was very enjoyable. OK. I have to admit, I do like pizza and wasn’t disappointed.

Papa Loui’s is located on High Street in Doncaster. They’re well positioned for picking up a pizza on the way home to Doncaster, Templestowe or Templestowe Lower. Papa Loui’s prices are also very good.

You can now find Papa Loui’s menu on the JustLocal 3108 page. Call ahead when picking up pizza and save some time.

Bon appetit.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au