Every business needs a website, no matter what sort of business it is, or what size. At the very least, an Online Business Card style website will ensure a Google search will find your business, and allow you some control in how it is presented online.

Following is a summary of some different categories of business website.

Online Business Card Website

This is as basic as you can get, and should be the minimum requirement for your business.

• One page website
• Displays your logo and tagline
• Includes basic details such as address and contact information
• Can also include a brief description of products and services offered

Online Brochure Website

This is a more standard website for a small business, and will suit most businesses with basic requirements.

• Approximately five pages
• The home page will be sales focused and feature an overview of your business offering
• Products and services will be the main focus of the website
• A page about your business will be included, such as your team and history
• A contact page is mandatory, and can include a map and a contact form

Content Management System (CMS) Websites

For business with lots of information to be organised and made available, a database enables efficient storage and retrieval of information.

A CMS features an administration area that you can log into to manage the website content and pages. Often an administrative staff member will take on this role.

Using a CMS allows website management to become very efficient, and most feature:

• Search engine optimised web pages
• Document and image management
• User profiles
• Creating and saving draft pages
• Microsoft Word style toolbar to simplify rich text formatting

Blog Website

Blogs are great for generating traffic from search engines like Google. A blog can be a standalone website, or can be integrated into any other type of website.

Maintaining a blog requires some writing skills, and commitment to writing regularly, and on topic. Twice a day is fantastic, daily is good, weekly is fine, and monthly is the bare minimum. If you can’t commit to this schedule, then a blog is probably not for you.

Ecommerce Websites

Ecommerce websites are focused on selling products online, and usually feature shopping cart software and online payment systems.

They can be large or small, simple or complex. The products can be physical and require delivery by courier or post, or electronic with instant digital delivery.

Payment methods can be secure credit card, Paypal, direct deposit, and many more.

Application Websites

These days, virtually any kind of software you can imagine can run on the internet.

The great advantage of this is the ability to access it from anywhere in the world, you just need a computer and an internet connection, or a smart phone, such as an iPhone or Blackberry.

Another advantage is the data storage is in a centralised location, rather than on a multitude of desktop computers.

Well, it’s dying. Today’s expensive glossy ads that cost thousands of dollars end up in the bin tomorrow.

Whereas the same money invested online can provide greater returns over a much greater time period.

For example, you can advertise in the place that more people go to when they’re looking for something – Google.

And not only that, you can target your ad to only those who are searching for products or services that you provide.

Then, you can link your ad to a page on your website that’s designed to generate sales or enquiries. That way you get instant, measurable feedback from your investment.

And with the wealth of statistics that are generated from this process, you can tweak your advertising campaign in real time to increase the return.

Once the campaign is making a profit, you can increase your investment, increasing your profit in the process.

For more information, or a free consultation regarding advertising online, contact us today.

If you have an accommodation website, you want people to make a booking online, or at least make an enquiry, so you can follow up.

It’s amazing how many sites make potential customers hunt for ways to make contact! Here are some tips to maximise your enquiry rate:

• Put your phone number on every page of your website, in large text, in a prominent position such as top right. It’s best to use a 1300 number, but a landline is acceptable, including area code.
• While you’re there, include your email address. Make it something generic like sales@yourbusiness.com, rather than using a personal email like yourname@gmail.com.
• Then, somewhere on every page, include an enquiry form that will allow someone to easily submit an enquiry.

By implementing these tips on your website, you’re sure to increase the enquiry rate to your business, and therefore increase overall business.

The word ‘blog’ is a strange one. It’s been in use since around 1999, when it was shortened from the term ‘weblog’, or online journal.

Any business that wants to increase traffic to its website, and can arrange to write regular articles or updates, needs a blog.

On the internet information is king. The more you have the better, as long as it’s original and relevant to your business.

A blog is a tool that allows for the organisation and categorisation of articles on a website, which over time will build up a body of information that will generate its own website traffic.

It also provides a mechanism for creating targeted content on your website. For example, if you manage an accommodation business and the annual tourist event is coming up, you could write an article about the event, and even several more articles with updates as the event gets closer.

When people are searching for accommodation in your area and they search for the event, your website will be likely to appear in the search results. And even better, next year the content will already be on the website as an archive, so it will continue working for you.

There are many types of blogging software available, most of it is free. However to set it up properly takes some knowledge of the web. Get advice from your trusted website professional before committing your business to the blogosphere.

A browser is the software used to view websites on the internet.

Here is a list of the most popular browsers. They are all free, and can be downloaded and installed from their respective website. Internet Explorer only runs on Microsoft Windows, the others run on both Windows and Apple Mac.

Use these links to download the browser software:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox
• Apple Safari
• Google Chrome

There used to be big differences in browser features and how they displayed websites, but these days all browsers display websites well, and have similar features.

Give them a try, you’ll need to use each one for a few days to really get a feel for it, and you will start to see subtle differences in the way websites display in each browser.

The internet was created in the late sixties, but didn’t really start to catch on until about 1995. Back then, it was never conceived that it would be used for many of the things that it’s being used for today.

Where is the internet heading? Many trends have already emerged.

People use the internet as the first point of call when searching for information – no longer a library or yellow pages.

Socialising and meeting new people is no longer limited by geographical boundaries. If Facebook were a country it would be the third most populous in the world, with over 400 million users networking with each other.

For business, high quality video conferencing in virtual boardrooms will become normal, those who have had a video call on Skype will have had a glimpse into this future.

Watching TV shows when they are scheduled is a thing of the past already. Video hire shops are limited by the stock they can hold. Video on demand over the internet will allow viewing anything anytime, without having to go out!

Some of these innovations are constrained by currently installed technology. The Australian government has proposed a National Broadband Network (NBN) which will improve internet speed, but it won’t come online for years, and it will still be slower than what other countries can access.

In the USA, Google is starting to build a network with speeds of 1 gigabit per second, 10 times faster than that proposed by the NBN.

The internet is the modern day equivalent of the 19th century railways, and the 20th century telephone. It warrants significant investment in infrastructure to enable Australia to engage with the world on a level field into the future.