Open Source Solutions

I'm a big fan of efficiency. Same with the idea of core competencies. Also with saving money. Those three things also happen to be reasons that I'm a big fan of open source solutions when they're available.

What is open source?

Open Source solutions are programs or applications whose code is "open". This means that anyone may alter the code for their own specific uses and distribute it for free. This approach to software differs from the big players in the computer world who prefer all of their products to be proprietary. Good luck making a change to Microsoft Word and offering the new 'improved' version to your friends over the internet.

What are the benefits?

Cost for one. With Open Source solutions, you don't pay for the software yourself. I often recommend open source E-commerce applications because cost-wise, they are great value in comparison with most proprietary applications. Usually a packaged ecommerce shopping cart system will be at least $1000, and if it is custom built for you, it goes up from there very fast. Even with the packaged products, you (or your designer) will still need to re-template it so that it aligns with your organization's image.

Features is another reason. Think about wikipedia for a moment. It has over 7 million articles in over a hundred languages. It's free. How? Because it harnessed the labour of a great many people, and didn't have to pay any of them a penny. Now, of course, there have been instances where articles have been wrong, but as a user you're encouraged to be a critical and active participant yourself, not a silent consumer of information.

Open Source software works on similar principles in that anyone can contribute. Of course, as a user of the software, you don't need to use other peoples contributions. For example, osCommerce has shipping packages for most countries, but if you do business in Saskatoon, you'll likely use just the official Canada Post package. You can pick and choose what works for your situation, and only choose those contributions that are working for other people already.

When wouldn't you use OpenSource?

If you had a very specific need and are willing to pay to see it fulfilled. Then you'll likely want to hire a web programmer to create a tailor made solution and a web designer to ensure it looks good. The same goes if a pre-packaged solution is a perfect fit and the price is right for you. Then go ahead. Admittedly, it isn't too often that I find software that does exactly what I want it too, yet I still have the Adobe and Microsoft family of products on all of my computers because they're close enough and good enough to pay the money for them (no small amount of money either).

Web Promotion Campaigns

In this post, I'll go through some of the common elements of an online promotion campaign for a typical small/medium business website. First off though, let's talk about the goals of a campaign:

1. Increase search engine ranking (ex. PageRank in Google): some people view this as the end goal of a campaign, but in reality, it's the starting point. Because being number one on Google doesn't make you any money on its own.
2. Increased website traffic: goal number one will help this, but there are other ways to increase traffic than just through search engines. Again though, visitors alone don't pay for your time, unless if you're selling your traffic (to advertisers of your own), but most small businesses don't fall into that category.
3. Increase leads, inquiries, or sales. Here lies the true reason for starting a promotion campaign, to increase the number of people interesting in purchasing your goods and services.

How do we go from 1 to 3? Let's start with the search engine rankings and some examples of activities that will improve your standing:

Search Engine Ranking
Search engines are enigmatic beasts. Sometimes it's hard to tell why one site is listed before another. That being said, there are some factors that will your affect business' ranking on the major engines:

1. Backlinks (links from other sites to yours), links are rating according to their reputation (think Harvard vs. Lakeland College), relevancy to your site, and quantity.
2. Content: search engines want their users to find useful information. If you don't have any on your site, they'll give their users someone else's site instead.
3. Size and age of your site, older, larger sites are better.

So, the actions to be taken are: increase the quality and quantity of both the content on your website and the backlinks to it. Directory submissions are a low cost way of increasing backlinks, and blogs are fantastic for increasing the amount of content you have. Backlinks can also be purchased or exchanged with partner sites that are complementary.

Another important element of your campaign is to be strategic. All of the content on your page should be reviewed to emphasize the words you want people to find you by (ex. web design and search engine optimization are words you'll see all over my site). Try to think of unique words as well to get an edge on your competitors. For example, and this was accidental, my site is ranked on the first page of google when you type in "the invisible movie saskatoon", likely because that phrase doesn't appear all that often online. Now, you'll probably want more relevant keywords as I doubt the guy looking for the invisible movie found it on my site.

Website Traffic
Improving your search engine ranking is a great first step towards your final goals and will increase the traffic coming to your website. There are other more targeted ways to increase that traffic.

One is of course advertising, both online and off. There are millions of other webmasters that will gladly take your money in return for showing one of your ads on their page. The tricky part again is to pick those that will ultimately provide a return on the investment.

Email marketing is another method. If you have an email list and are coming out with a new product or promotion, then letting your past customers know about it while directing them to your website for more detailed information is a very affordable way to increase traffic from the best kind of visitor: ones that have already been loyal to your business.

Interactivity is of course a strength of the internet, and having a site that allows it can keep visitors coming back to your website. Blogs with comment fields, forums, discussion boards are examples. Unfortunately, you do need a critical mass of visitors for this to be effective, otherwise you risk looking a little silly if your only discussion board item is a welcome message.

Sales, leads, business
Ultimately, the point of the above is to capture business (some campaigns may be focused solely on brand building or value adding, but I would posit that these activities as well have the end goal of providing a product or service). If you aren't operating an e-commerce site, and even if you are, it is important to query your customers in a non-intrusive way to find out how they discovered your business. Keep track of that information!

The really annoying thing about any type of marketing is trying to figure out when it's working. Some things can be measured (pagerank, search engine position, website traffic, emails, etc) but others can't (goodwill, billboard exposure, reputation). The factors that you can pin down, should be, and analyzed so that you have an idea as to what the effect of the money and time you spend on your marketing is. Some businesses spend the money and hope it works out, others choose not to make the investments in the first place, the sweet spot of course is somewhere in the middle.

Voice over Internet Phones

Potential Savings for Small Businesses

Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP is a phone line running over your internet connection. Many larger corporations and institutions are making the switch, and it's worthwhile for small businesses to think about it as well.

I use vonage, but there are a lot of options, depending on where you live. In most cities in Canada you can transfer your existing phone number to a VOIP line.

Misconceptions

Before delving into the issue, I'd like to just mention that first of all, VOIP has improved A LOT over the past few years. There can still be issues with sound quality, but by and large, it's comparable to a phone line (which can also have issues with sound quality). Also, you don't need to have your computer running in order to use your phone, and you can certainly use a "normal" phone assuming it's relatively new. Some people are concerned that they'll have to use a headset and microphone, and sit down at their computer to answer any call, don't worry, you don't have to.

Advantages

Number one: cost. Especially for multiple lines, long distance, and extra features. Packages start as low as $15 a month with free long distance and the normal features you'd expect (voice mail, call waiting, etc). Land lines can't compete on that front.

Number two: additional lines. Extra lines are equally affordable and the big bonus is you can purchase numbers from other areas and forward them to your main line. I started my business in Edmonton before I moved to Saskatoon, and I still have my Edmonton number. 1-800 numbers are also easily added to your package.

Number three: voicemail accessible from your email. If you're traveling, you can still receive your voicemails. If you're really industrious, you can also bring your adapter with you and make calls from your line if you have an internet connection.

Disadvantages

Power outages: if you loose power, or your internet connection, you loose your phone line. Calls will go to voicemail, but won't be able to make outgoing calls (including 9-1-1!). It helps to have friendly neighbours.

Internet connection speed: if you have a poor/slow internet connection, the quality of your phone line may suffer. I end up using my phone line savings to buy a faster internet connection, but considering my business (web design), I'd likely pay for faster internet anyways. Your situation may be different.

Phone jacks: all of those well placed phone jacks around your house just became a lot less useful. Unless if you're willing to rewire them, or add adapters to each one, you'll have to either set up a wireless phone system or make do with a single phone jack beside your adapter. I personally just use the one jack, but have a wireless phone set with three charging stations and three cordless phones.

Does a small business need a website?

According to the BBC, the Federation of Small Businesses in the UK claims that half of small to medium sized businesses in their country lack a web presence. The article presents the rhetorical question: Do small firms really need a website?

Of course, by the end of the article the answer is yes, of course. The why of it is more interesting, so I’ll speak to that. Again according to the article, “new technologies fundamentally alter consumer behaviour”. What has changed in our behaviour as consumers since the Internet age began?

As part of a trend that may or may not be caused solely by the internet, the pace of decisions has been sped up. What has been precipitated by the internet is our expectation that access to information be immediate. Imagine writing a letter to Sears today about a new product in their catalogue, and getting your hockey sweater three months later.

If for example, I am researching electrical contractors at 2 a.m. I only have two sources of information: a 1 X 3 inch Yellowpage ad and the internet. Perhaps there was a time when a consumer would be willing to go to bed, wait for the next day, find a copy of the Buy and Sell, or chat with friends at work on Monday, but we’ve grown accustomed to information being available instantly. Any contractor that has an online photo gallery of past work and testimonials is a leg up on another who lacks a website and is reliant on a phone call.

Website, especially for small businesses are a great leveler in the marketplace. Advertising in other media can be expensive, but websites don’t have to be. The only small businesses that can forgo cost effective ways of communicating to customers are businesses that either won’t be in business for long, or aren’t looking to either expand their business or offer a higher level of service to their existing customers. In any competitive marketplace, it doesn’t take long before the latter become the former.

Cost of a Web Site

A common question asked and often not answered among web designers is: what is the cost of a website. This is a complicated question as there are a lot of factors, custom web design work isn't like the retail industry with clearly defined price points. Below, I'll go through a few of the factors, and then, even go into the hard numbers.

Hard Costs

These costs are pretty fixed, there are certain things you need to host a website that can't be avoided:

• Domain name: from $15-35/year
• Host: from $5 to thousands per month, depending on the traffic and services. For example if you are hosting a direct to drive movie service, with tens of thousands of users, this won't be cheap. For most businesses this cost will be closer to $10-$30/month.

Preproduction

This is the stage before your site itself is made.

• Photography: both the purchase of stock images and hiring a photographer can be expensive. This could be anywhere from $0 to thousands, but I'd recommend setting aside a few hundred dollars if you don't already have high quality images to work with.
• Content writing: some clients save money by creating their own content, otherwise budget $25-$50 a page.
• Copy editing: if you do provide your own text, you'll still want your designer to proof it, and ensure it's "web-ready". Likely only a few hours work, so $50 is another safe budget.
• Video: if you need to shoot video for flash movies on your website, much like photography, the cost varies depending on what you need.
• High fidelity testing and focus groups: The most important part of preproduction is trying to minimize wasted production time. Focus groups and surveys are a great way of ensuring all of the elements you want in your website are desired by your users. Costs can go from $0-$1000 depending availability of participants, space rentals, meals, and of course analysis of the results.

Production

Now is where the real work begins.

• Design: a small site may take 10 hours of work, a large one 100 hours. Designers charge anywhere from $15/hr for inexperienced freelancers to $100/hr or more for industry leading professionals. For a typical small business site, you can budget $600 for this section.
• Image manipulation/optimization: depending on the amount of images, this could be a couple hours to hundreds for large projects. Again, for a small business $100-$200 worth of time should be sufficient.
• Testing: often included in the design component, your site should be tested extensively against many types of browsers, computers, small screen devices (cell phones, etc) to ensure it performs adequately.
  

Post-Production

Websites require a continuing investment of time and money. They lose value if left on their own and even small websites should be updated with some regularity.

• Surveys: once your site is up, solicit feedback to ensure it's effective. Your design studio can manage this campaign, or you can do it informally with your clients.
• Promotion: to get your site noticed on the internet it takes either time, money, or both. You can spend as little or as much as you'd like on this aspect depending on your business needs.
• Maintenance: keeping your site functional is of course important. A well designed site should maintain its look for a few years, but nevertheless it is a good idea to have someone available should any issues arise.
• Content: whenever possible, content should be kept up to date and fresh, otherwise you shouldn't expect much return traffic to your site.
  

Extras

The internet has a huge number of opportunities for businesses. If you want to go above a basic brochure like site, consider budgeting for something extra:

• Flash elements: Flash offers a rich experience to users if done well. It is of course more time consuming to make than a HTML based element, so of course it will add to the design cost of your project.
• Content Management System: If you'd like to be able to update your site yourself, without web programming experience, then consider a CMS. They are often more expensive than a standard site, but they will reduce the cost of maintenance, since you'll be able to post your own information without a developers help.
• E-commerce: from having an Ebay store, to setting up your own merchant account, secure website, online inventory, and payment system, the cost of an e-commerce application can range from a few hundred dollars to set up to many thousands.

Summary

The above might be nice to read, but may not answer your question: how much will my website cost? Here are a couple examples, all hypothetical:

Christminster Church: a local church making a site with monthly updates to post upcoming events for their members. Total: $935

• Domain name and host: $150/year.
• Content and Photography provided by church.
• Copy editing and image optimization: $75.
  
• Design of 5 page website: $300.
• Monthly updates provided to designer: $30/month = $360/year
• Limited web promotion: $50.
  

Sam's Autobody: a small business that wants a basic site to generate leads for real world business. Total: $1175

• Domain name and host: $150/year.
• Content provided by client.
• Photography: $100.
• Copy editing and image optimization: $75.
• Design of 8 page site: $400.
• Web promotion: $200.
• Flash image gallery: $250.

Of course, you can also contact me and I'll write you up a personalized quote.

Setting up a Saskatchewan Business, part 1

Preparation

Before you get into any nitty gritty, the first step is to step back. Analyze your idea, yourself, and your market. Is this what you want to do? Will people pay you money to do it?

Next up, who is your competition? Take your time, make lists, visit their places of business. Every bit of information you glean now will repay your time tenfold. If after surveying your market, you still think your business idea is sound, rejoice. Otherwise, spend some time tinkering with the plan.

Legalities

Perhaps the least fun but most necessary step in starting your business is registering for all of the necessary permits. This list isn't exhaustive as many types of businesses have specific licence requirements (visit BizPal, an online service to help you find out what kinds of licenses you may need):

• Name Registration
  Start this early, because first you'll need to do a name search, and only if your requested name is not already used will you be able to purchase the business name. Visit Saskatchewan Justice for more info.
• GST License, from Revenue Canada
• PST vendor's license, from Saskatchewan Justice
• Business liscence from your municipality

If you are starting a corporation there are additional forms to be completed, such as your articles of incorporation.

Necessities

Once you have your business name secured, and all necessary licenses, you can start to arrange for the other necessities of running a business, such as:

• Bank account
• Merchant Account (to receive debit/credit payment)
• Phone line and email address
• Website domain name (even if you haven't begun working on the website, secure your domain name early once you know your business name)
• Business Cards
• Promotional material such as brochures, leaflets, power point presentations, etc.
• An adequate filing system
• A solid accounting system, set this up before you start making purchases and receiving payment.
• Odds and saws: letterhead, stationary, etc.

Why Build a Website

By Robert Blizzard

Though some may respond to such a question with “Well, why not?”, the continuing investment of time and money to have a meaningful web presence demands a better answer. I’ll offer three to start us off, even though there are many more.

• Meet organizational goals
• Increase Professionalism
• Visibility & Promotion

Goals

Before deciding on embarking on a web project, a moment should be spent on seeing what you hope to accomplish with it. It is best to view the Internet like any other marketing medium, perhaps it has more potential and functionality, but it will not provide an immediate return on investment if you’re not sure why you need it. For example, a local community garden would not find a full page ad in a national newspaper to be an effective use of resources. Similarly, a flash-driven, web database of what is growing in the garden would also be a poor use of resources.

But perhaps that garden is always looking for new community members who want to be a part of the organization. Maybe the fact that they are volunteer run makes it hard for members to receive updates and information. These are the types of challenges that can be met by an effective web presence.

Having defined goals which you expect a website to help you attain is not only a solid organizational practice to begin with, it is also a necessity to maximize the value you receive from the investment you’ll make.

Professionalism

Within minutes, anyone is now capable of creating a MySpace page, a personal blog, or any number of other template based websites. What differentiates a professional organization for “anyone” is a commitment to quality. Generally speaking, the smaller the organization, the more important it is that all promotional material, literature, brochures, etc, including websites, be as professional as possible.

Having a website with information about your company increases your credibility with clients, donors, and customers. In much the same way that a contractor is benefited by having a physical office that a customer can return to if they have any concerns, an organization is benefited by having a 24 hour a day point of information and contact through the web.

Promotion

Web sites are not promotional/marking campaigns. They can however be very powerful elements of one. A bookmark with nothing but a website makes for a great giveaway. A website in the signature line of every email you send makes every piece of correspondence a marketing tool. Just like the old strategy of stuffing extra leaflets into envelopes to maximize the value of postage, the url of your organization in the space of 12 characters can become a gateway to a host of information.

6 Steps to Creating a Website

By Robert Blizzard

Step 1: Why?

The first and most important step when creating a website, or having another person do it for you, is to spend some time deciding why you want one. A lot of time and money can be wasted if you don’t have a clear idea of what you’d like to achieve with your web presence.
Examples of goals for a website:

• Leads for your business


• Information for your customers


• Community for your members

Step 2: What?

Once you’ve decided what you want your site to do, the next step is to decide what information you’ll need to achieve those goals. Before writing the copy, or choosing images though, it’s a good idea to create a sitemap that will define, down to the page, what will be in your website.

Example sitemap:

• Home


• Products


• New


• Used


• Testimonials


• Contact

Now that you know where the information is going, the hard part of actually writing the content down starts. Keep your content short. Users are unlikely to read more than three lines beneath a heading. Be sure that you make every word count.

Step 3: Layout and Design

This is where you may need professional help. You’ve all the pieces at this point, you just need to put the puzzle together in an attractive way. There are decisions to be made at this juncture, like whether your site will incorporate Flash, what screen resolution it will support, and the colour scheme.

Step 4: Getting Online

By now you’ll have a working website, but no one can see it if it’s in your My Documents folder. You’ll need both a domain name and a host. Take your time choosing a domain name, as it will be central to your marketing (on and offline) for as long as you keep it. Exercise caution too when picking a company to host your website. There are many to choose from, but I like to filter down to a local company that I can actually visit if I need to.

Step 5: Promotion

I’d like to say you’re almost done, but an online presence is going to involve an ongoing commitment. Right away, your site might as well still be sitting in your My Documents folder since no one out there will know it exists. You’ll need to submit it to business listings, search engines, and online directories to generate traffic. You’ll also need other websites to add links to yours. This is best done, not all at once, but a little at a time.

Step 6: Maintenance

If you’d like people to return to your website, you’ll also need to maintain it. New content, special promotions, and the occasional redesign will keep your website from gathering dust.