OAMPS is an Australian owned Insurance Broker Company with over 34 offices around the country. They asked us if we could do maintenance on their DotNetNuke CMS, specifically: to update a number of insurance client portals with their new logo. We of course eagerly accepted the task and formed a great relationship with Marnie, we are very excited to continue working with them in the future.

We also launched the new website for Quest Personnel (formerly Just Staff). They asked us to build them a very crisp and clear website in order to directly target their intended market. We are very happy with the finished product which included professional graphic design, WordPress CMS, initial SEO and cross browser compatibility. We are now in the process of setting up a website based timecard system which integrates with their accounting system. This will streamline their current office procedures when processing timecards.

Just recently we also launched the new website for Tribeca Legal. They had asked us to develop a site to showcase them as an industry leader. We were all very excited about the resulting site which included 10 pages, enquiry form, blog, new logo, WordPress CMS, initial SEO and cross browser compatibility. We wish Tribeca the best of luck with their site and their new office in Barwon Heads.

Give us a call if you would like to work with us on your next project.

You want to make sure that your websites users are going to find your site easy to use right? Well one of the biggest things which help make your site user friendly is to have short loading times. Like phones; the greater the distance, the longer it takes for information to travel. So if your intended market is in Australia you should make sure that the host (who is essentially storing your website on their server) is located as close as possible to your audience.

Another thing to consider is: if your website is hosted by an overseas company, Google may assume that this is where you are from and that your website is more relevant in that country than where you’re really from. This means that Google may not rank you as high as some of your competitors when a local user searches for your product or service.

Lastly if your web host is located in Australia their work hours are going to be similar to yours, so if something does go wrong it will be much easier to get it fixed. No need to send emails back and forth or stay up late to contact overseas companies!

As we are a first world country we have great infrastructure to support large bandwidth and storage requirements, don’t put money in overseas company’s pockets when you could be supporting fellow Aussies. At HU Web Development we can provide you with suitable hosting for your website and the best part is that if you are developing a site through us, not only is your web host in Australia but we can deal with everything website related for you. This means that you don’t need to relay information between more than one company and you don’t have to worry about problems arising due to communication issues.

Have a look through our hosting plans and see if we can help you.

• Added a promo video
• Added and resized logos
• Added and removed pages
• Added their brochure to the site
• Changed fonts and text

If you think that you may need some website maintenance or even just some website support, then check out our new maintenance plans to see if there’s something that suits your needs.

There are two kinds of domain names; Top level domains and Second level domains. Some well-known top level domains such as .com, .net, .org, .edu and .co are best suited if your website is aimed at an international audience whereas second level domains are a little more specific to who you are targeting, for example .com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .co.uk and .co.nz.

Your domain name should be short, easy to remember and relevant to your particular business, this way you will be found quickly and easily by all of your customers.

When choosing your domain name you don’t want to include words that will be difficult to spell, or the spelling of that word changes depending on the country the user is in. For example, the word organisation can also be spelled organization. Another thing that you should also consider is how the words will look when all the spaces are taken out. For example www.therapistfinder.com is actually a website that has a directory to help you to find a therapist.

One of the most important things to remember however is that when you register a domain name you are only registering it for a certain amount of time. So make sure that you are on top of your renewals and pay them straight away as you could find that one of your competitors may quickly snatch it up from under you.

HU Web Development can look after all of your domain needs at very competitive prices, enquire today. http://www.huwebdev.com.au/services/hosting-domain-names/

Lack of personal contact

A common issue that business owners express is that it seems ecommerce isolates businesses from their customers and they have no control over customer satisfaction.

Not true, in fact customer service is just as important when conducting online sales as it is with a physical sale.

This is where it is up to you to make sure you are doing everything you can to take care of your customers. What you lose in physically selling a product to your customer, you can gain back in the way you handle their primary requirements which are; that they are looking to purchase a product from you quickly, easily and quite often outside of business hours.

You need to make sure that your customers can purchase items easily without any problems. So if you are receive an email from a customer asking you a question, it’s important for you get back to them as soon as possible. If they don’t hear from you for two days, you can guarantee they won’t be as interested in your product as they were when they made the query – they may have even purchased elsewhere.

When done well your new customers will quickly turn into repeat customers because they will know that they can buy what they are looking for from you; quickly, easily and without any hassles. You can still up sell products and make sure that your customers will have a great experience.

The only difference between an eCommerce website and a physical store is that customer service is primarily done through computers, which is once again why it is important to make sure that your web developer is reputable. The process of buying a product should be quick, easy and the store front should accurately reflect your business. Therefore an inexperienced web developer should not be your first port of call.

Cost

An eCommerce site will cost slightly more than a regular website as there is more programming involved for security and accounting purposes. But remember you should be paying for a quality eCommerce website, not some cheap and shoddy online store that has just been knocked together by somebody without the experience that it requires.

Your digital security measures, procedures and store front are just as important as your physical security, procedures and store front. If you set yourself up properly from the beginning it will make all your eCommerce business practices a lot safer and easier.

In comparison to the value that most businesses find that they get from an eCommerce website, the upfront cost is undoubtedly minor. You will be increasing you customer base with lower overheads and without a lot of effort on your part.

Contact us today if you would like to discuss how we can help you.

Many businesses are asking themselves where to begin, and as a result some of them decide that opening another store is the answer. However it’s estimated that around 70% of traditional business expenses come from staff and rent.

Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are listed as having some of the most expensive retail rents in the world, eventually the decision to open another store in most cases ends up costing more than the business owner can afford and often they regret their decision.

So what other options are there?

eCommerce is having a huge impact on the way consumers think, what they expect and how they spend their hard earned money. Customers have the ease to shop anywhere, anytime, something that cannot be done if you only have a physical shop. It also allows businesses to target completely new customers from all over the globe without all the extra overheads that it would take to do this physically.

eCommerce is taking the world by storm and it’s predicted that the number of sales taking place over the internet will continue to increase yearly by up to 20%

Many business owners who are unfamiliar with the concept of ecommerce websites are concerned about a number of issues so shy away from the idea altogether. But if consumers are moving by the masses to shop online, where does that leave you and your business?

I have delved deeper in this two part blog, into some of your biggest concerns to help you decide whether or not an eCommerce site is for you.

Security

For those of you who are concerned with security issues in having an eCommerce site, you are right to be apprehensive as there are a lot of issues that come into play when going ahead with an eCommerce site. You are after all dealing with very sensitive information. However this is no reason to be afraid of eCommerce as it can also have great benefits to your business.

The best way to ensure that your eCommerce website is completely safe and secure is to get it developed by a reputable web developer who takes pride in ensuring that all PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards are followed, there should also be a dedicated payment gateway in place to reduce risk for you. A dedicated payment gateway will provide the credit card processing facilities required and will be handled by a third party that is then responsible for the safe handling of the sensitive information. The companies providing this service are experts in this area and follow very strict security standards which can be difficult for an eCommerce store on its own to adhere to.

Never be tempted to settle for someone who offers you the world for only a few hundred dollars as this is the easiest way to find yourself in hot water. It may cost you less upfront but your business name is on the line, I can almost guarantee that if you work with a developer who has low standards, you will lay awake at night wondering if you and your customers are sufficiently protected.

Lack of skills

You may be thinking “Sure, it would be great to sell my products online but I’m not a whiz on the computer”.

Well if you can use Microsoft Word, then you can maintain your eCommerce website.

Open Cart is simple to use shopping cart software that we here at HU Web Development recommend. It is designed to help you run your own store without having to go back to your developer every time you want to make minor changes. You can do everything that a business owner should be able to do like add new products, change descriptions, change prices, and keep an eye on your sales.

On Thursday I will talk about; personal contact with your customers and the cost that is involved with an eCommerce website.

Contact us today if you would like to discuss how we can help you.

He described how a lot of ways we currently live will change enormously with endless possibilities of web applications, new business practices and models, and other new technologies, which is all due to the overwhelming need to have instantaneous results and efficiency as Gen Y moves into the world arena.

So what should we take from this?

Well as he reiterated to us, it’s not a case of choosing whether we want these changes to happen or not, because they are inevitable.

It’s a case of deciding whether we want to be part of this change, grow with this change and steer this change.

Do you want to be left behind by your competitors who are adapting? Whether they are in your local area or even overseas, our world is no longer such a big place.

Someone will be revolutionising our future. Are you going to go with the flow and revise your current business model or will you put up brick walls around your business and hope that everything just works out?

These are changes to get excited about, not dwell on and struggle against. For those who choose to work with change, the momentum will surge them to new heights.

Give us a call if you would like us to help you lead the way.

Are you looking for a solution to streamline your sales processing and accounts procedures, effectively halving your usual workload?

We specialise in developing software, web applications and web sites that are seamless, systematic and elegant to ensure:

Give us a call to arrange a time to discuss how we can help you.

Click on the link below to view our flyer.

HU Web Development Flyer

The new website showcases some of their recent projects and allows potential clients to get a glimpse of what they can provide.

We were more then happy to provide our premium Geelong web design services and they’ve been very pleased with the result.

Do you need a new website or your old one just isn’t delivering the results? Give us a call or send us an email for an appointment to discuss how we can help you’re business. We are the premium Geelong web design providers!