Blog posts in Business IT

3 SEO improvements to boost your website's ranking

People can find your website in a variety of ways, but few are more important than being found ‘naturally’ via a search engine. Why? Because using a search engine is the most common way for people to find websites. Appearing in search results can cost nothing as opposed to paying to promote your website in print or through online adverts – and the higher you rank in the search engine results, the more traffic you get!

So, here are three tips to improve your website’s search engine optimisation (SEO) and boost your ranking…

Choose your keywords wisely

It’s important to choose the right keywords for every page on your site. These are words that relate to your field or topic and are likely to be used in searches.

Focus on different keywords for each page. This way, each keyword has its own unique value to a particular page, rather than the same set of keywords on every page competing against each other to do the same job, resulting in your SEO being less effective.

Try to place your keywords in the URL, headings, in image tags, and in the content, but don’t overdo it. If you cram in too many keywords or repeat the same ones endlessly, it will impact negatively on your search engine ranking and won’t read as well, lessening the quality of your content.

You can enhance your SEO and have great content by striking a good balance.

Create a blog

A key part of effective SEO is adding new and original content. If a search engine spider checks your site, it will be looking for fresh content or changes to existing content, so it’s important to ensure that your site gets updated frequently.

A great way to add new content is via a blog because it’s so easy to update regularly and perfect for adding unique content.

And it’s not only search engines that find new content on a blog appealing. Visitors to your site will be craving new information – and the blog on your website is exactly where they’ll find it.

Amongst this new information there may be links to articles on other websites. And if your content is good enough, those websites might return the favour and link back to your site, improving SEO and generating traffic for you – see the results for yourself.

Use meta description tags

It’s not just the information on your web pages that will affect your search engine optimisation. You can improve SEO by giving the search engine spider a taste of your website before it has even got to your homepage, with a meta description tag…

This is the short paragraph that appears in the search engine’s listings and gives a brief overview of your site. It’s also your first opportunity to attract potential visitors, as well as the search engine spider, so it’s important to give an accurate representation of your business and relate to the information on your site.

As with your website’s content, don’t fill the description, which should only be around 30 words, with only keywords in the hope of boosting your SEO. Again, you’ve got to find the right balance between effective keywords and marketing yourself to potential customers.

And just like keywords, be sure to use a different meta description tag for each page of your site, so as not to lessen its impact.

Improve your SEO in no time

There are lots of other ways to improve SEO. It’s one of the broadest topics when talking about websites, and the goal posts are changing all the time. You’ll see arguments for site maps, link building, analytics and more – they are all valid – but these three tips are a great place for you to start shooting up the rankings and generating traffic on your website!

Dale Cook, Serif. For more information on Serif and its products including WebPlus website design software, visit the Serif website

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10 important lessons our Q&As can teach you

1 Buying a business

“Buying an existing business can be less risky than creating one from scratch. If the business has customers, it has income. Risk is also easier to assess because you can calculate costs, turnover and profit – and thereby predict cashflow”

Emilie Corbille of www.daltonsbusiness.com

2 Setting up a limited company

“If you want to form a new company, you must send Companies House your registration fee plus a memorandum of association, articles of association and a completed IN01 form, which details the company’s registered office and the names and addresses of its directors (and company secretary, if applicable)” 

Andrew Millet of Wisteria Formations

3 Tax for the self-employed

“By putting away some money from your earnings each month – say, 25 per cent of your gross earnings – you should have more than enough money in the bank to take care of your tax bills”

James R McBrearty of www.taxhelp.uk.com

4 Market research for start-ups

“Even if you believe you have an excellent idea for a business, you mustn’t allow yourself to get fooled into a false sense of optimism. Test it thoroughly by doing some basic market research. Only then can you move forward on any sound basis”

Start-up author Kevin Duncan

5 Calculating start-up costs

“You should minimise your start-up costs because then you’ll stand a better chance of surviving that crucial first year. Also, it’s a good discipline to get into from day one. In business, you must keep your costs as low as possible ­– and avoid buying things you don’t need”

Martin Dunne of Sayers Butterworth chartered accountants

6 Effective cashflow management

“The old saying ‘turnover is vanity, profit sanity and cash reality’ remains true. Businesses go bust in the long term through lack of profit, but in the short term, they fail because they don’t have enough cash to pay their bills on demand. Cashflow is the lifeblood of any business”

Chartered Accountant Howard S Hackney

7 Supplier contracts

“Having a written contract clearly sets out the roles and responsibilities of both parties, which is helpful when it comes to monitoring the relationship’s success. It can also act as proof if a supplier’s performance falls short”

Marie Kell of Andrew Jackson solicitors

8 Complying with environmental legislation

“The onus is on the business to ensure staff comply with legislation. An act of omission by an employee is likely to have consequences for the business. In some circumstances, directors may even be personally liable. The consequences can be drastic”

Kevin Turnbull of Muckle LLP Solicitors

9 PR for start-ups

“Editorial is regarded as more believable than an advert. I’ve read that it’s 50 per cent easier to sell to someone who has read positive things about your business, products or services. And such publicity is usually no cost or low cost. Even if you have to pay someone to do your PR, gaining one piece of coverage per month can be much cheaper than advertising”

Jane Lee of IT PR specialist Dexterity

10 Setting up a home-based business

“It’s low cost and therefore less risky, because there aren’t any expensive premises overheads. You can also claim for a percentage of your domestic bills, for lighting, heating, telephone calls, etc. A home office means no commute, so you save money and time, too”

Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation

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How cloud computing can help a start-up

This blog has been written in the Cloud, edited in the Cloud, shared in the Cloud and critiqued in the Cloud. Indeed, a huge amount of my and colleagues’ work is done online, and so I’d like to pass on some thoughts on how this new phenomenon can help your organisation.

So for starters what is it? Cloud computing is in essence the ability to run programs and view files that are installed on a remote machine. There have been cloud-style systems in place for a long time - take browser-based email like hotmail and gmail for instance. Nowadays more and more ambitious systems are being created and it seems like everyone is getting involved.

To my mind there are three main areas where cloud computing has significant advantages over more traditional desktop systems.

Cost

Pros

At the start, when revenue is low and your company is growing, minimising costs can give you an advantage.

Cloud computing is very, very cheap. A standard desktop licence of Microsoft Office is roughly £239.99. So ignoring upgrade fees and installation hassle, that’s £240 per user for basic work capabilities.

Now take that user and give them full access to Microsoft’s online offering (Microsoft 365). That’s £4 a month and Google Apps is even cheaper at £3.30!

Cons

Cloud systems are still in their infancy and constantly being added. Some functionality that you are accustomed to may not yet be available, so do your research on what you need.

Security

Pros

You’ll undoubtedly be aware of the recent spate of large corporations being hacked (e.g. Sony, Fox News and Sega), often through simple flaws in their (expensive) IT networks. By passing the handling of data on to a third party you gain two key advantages:

Firstly, whoever stores your data has security at the forefront of their minds and (should be) constantly keeping up-to-date with the ever changing battleground of patches, hacks and updates. Your cloud supplier will have a budget for heavy duty protection that is simply out of reach for small businesses.

Secondly you also pass a degree of liability onto whoever holds your data. If they get hacked, they’ve failed to provide the service you’ve paid them for and you can claim.

Cons

You must be careful over who is holding your data. The EU has very strict rules about data protection and any company outside the EU must be listed on the “Safe Harbour” list to be allowed to hold onto information.

Portability

Pros

Any data or programs that are stored in the Cloud are available anywhere where there is an internet connection, which is very beneficial for people on the move.

Start-ups are often spread thin, with numerous responsibilities for any staff members, tight schedules and out-of-office engagements. The Cloud means that leaving files on the wrong machine before a key meeting is impossible, and any employees needing to work at home or make crucial changes to documents whilst on the go will have that ability.

Cons

As with any website, password safety is really important in the Cloud where your user name and password are the weakest link between a potential attacker and your data.

Ultimately, the Cloud offers some great opportunities for new businesses.

The low start-up costs of services and the limited hardware needed means it’s all very accessible. It’s easy to use, cheap to try, and is at least worth testing with a free trial.

Do you know of any Cloud success stories, or still have concerns for your company? I’m happy to share my experiences and ideas.

Matt Bird of printer cartridge supplier, StinkyInk

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Start your own web-based businesses

Looking back on all the ventures I've started or been involved in for the past 10 years, they all have one thing in common – they have all been internet businesses, mostly selling web-based software as a service.

It's not that I'm naturally a technical person. In fact, when it comes to DIY I'm the sort of person who will hammer a screw into the wall to save going to the hardware shop to get some nails. I couldn't write a single line of PHP code. I hardly know any Linux commands and yet most of the servers running my current email marketing business, Message Horizon, are based on Linux. I have no interest in learning these tools either. There's no need to. The most important thing for an entrepreneur starting a web-based business is to understand and research what the technology is capable of doing, and even more importantly – what its limitations are.

There are plenty of techies out there who really know their stuff. Let them build the technology. Make sure you team up with the best technical people you can afford. A word of warning, however – pick ones you think you can work with. The ability to get on with your technical people is key, as I’ve found they can be slightly arrogant when dealing with those of us who are less technical than them. If you spot one of these, avoid them at all costs – otherwise they will quickly drive you to despair.

So, why would a non-technical person be so heavily involved in web software businesses? The main reason is they make great businesses. They have all the key ingredients that make business fun and rewarding.

• They are only limited by your imagination. You can make software do almost anything with a computer. Whether it's automating your social media updates, sending email newsletters, taking online payments or powering data searches, your software does what you want it to do.
• A software as a service can produce recurring revenues, similar to subscription payments. This is the holy grail of any business. If you can build a decent base of clients paying you on a recurring basis then you're well on your way to having a stable, profitable business.
• They are scalable. You can start very small with a prototype and add layers of complexity and more processing power as you grow.
• They can make very low-cost start-up businesses. You don't need stock, premises, or even full-time staff. You can run them from home.
• They can be automated. Your website can do most of the selling for you. Some web businesses require very little customer pre-sales negotiation, if any. Payment and fulfilment can be handled automatically.
• Your market is international.
• You can add complementary services and build a portfolio of linked businesses.

The best way to start a web software business is with a basic version, which you develop according to user feedback. Over time the product will evolve into something customers actually want, rather than your own interpretation of what they need.

In terms of the idea, the key to web software is to automate a repetitive manual task or to simplify a very complicated one. Find a “problem” and make your software provide the solution. Take inspiration from your own everyday tasks, whether it be in the management of your website or any other task. Sooner or later you'll come across a requirement that isn't well served by existing tools. You may be already on the way to starting your own web software business.

Jonathan Rodger is managing director of email marketing service Message Horizon.

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My top ten favourite web applications and tools

The internet is now helping people reach their business goals quicker and easier than ever before, and this is one of IT’s true achievements over the past couple of years, with much credit due to resources already available on the market. My top ten favourite web applications and tools (in no particular order) which could help your business are:

1 Dropbox (free versions)

If you’re like me, your work location changes from day to day. For years I was frustrated by having to remember to put important documents I might need while out of the office onto a memory stick. What happens when the memory stick was full? You'd have to start deleting.

Dropbox is a virtual hard drive. No matter where you are, as long you have synced with the cloud-based tool, you can access your files. Even if you haven't synced, get your hands on an internet connection and you’re good to go. It's also great for sharing files without having to worry about emailing large attachments. Dropbox offers free and paid hosting solutions and is a must have for any start-up.

2 Basecamp

Keeping on top of projects and delegating tasks can be complicated and time-consuming. Basecamp is a great tool for project management and is full of great features that keep you on top of all of your projects.

It let's you do things such as assign specific tasks within projects to people and monitor their progress. The application has a great feature that allows you to exchange notes on each individual projects that you use a lot, brilliant if you have people working on projects in various locations. You must pay for the application, but it's worth it.

3 Email Center Pro

When we first launched, we found it hard to keep on top of all our customer service emails. Email Center Pro provided the solution. It gave us a virtual mailbox that could be accessed online from anywhere. The application is accessed through most web browsers and is full of features such as assigning emails to different members of staff, notifications of new emails, conversation tracker, etc. There are many more features included as standard. This is a paid-for service, but it’s incredibly cheap.

4 Google Calendars (free)

Knowing what you are meant to be doing, when and where is vital when running a business, but staying on top of all appointments can be hard. Google Calendars works well for us – and it’s free. Although it's not the most all-singing and all-dancing calendar application available, it does exactly what we need it to do. We can make appointments, invite attendees, email and send SMS notifications. It's basic, but sometimes that's all you need.

5 Wordpress (free)

Blogging is now very popular and with cutting-edge applications such as Wordpress, it's easy to set up your own blog site. Blogs are a great way to interact with customers and keep them up to date in more detail than Twitter and Facebook. We decided to use Wordpress because it's growing at an incredible rate, there’s a huge amount of plug-ins and support. It's available as a free hosted solution on wordpress.com or you can download the application for free and host it on your own server.

6 Tweetdeck (free)

Keeping Facebook and Twitter pages updated used to be a pain and, in my case, often ended up not happening. Now with the help of Tweetdeck, we can update both our Twitter and Facebook accounts from a nice desktop application. It's so easy to use and available for pretty much all interfaces. You can create an account for access through different machines and it also has a web browser version you can use when your on the road. Also there is support for many other web services such as Buzz, Myspace and LinkedIn.

7 Evernote (Free Versions)

Brianstorming is a massive part of many businesses’ growth ambitions. Evernote lets us share our notes with others and allow them to participate in our brainstorming efforts. There is a web version and desktop application available for most operating systems and a great mobile version for the iPhone. Free and Premium versions are available.

8 A virtual telephone number

We needed a telephone number that offered two things – ability to put calls through to multiple extensions and a voicemail service. We chose eReceptionist. With this web application we chose our telephone number, set up our extension landline diverts and set our open and close hours. We were up and running in less than an hour. If a customer calls out of hours they are transferred to our voicemail and we can also divert calls to another landline at a different office if there is no one available. It's a great application and works well for us.

Dale Broadhead, Ink Spark Limited

• Read more about apps and online tools on the Marketing Donut

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Protect your business from common email scams

There are many types of online fraud, but email scams are among the most prolific. Thankfully, many people are now more aware of online scams, but email fraud is still rife and it often targets small business. Here are two of the most common types of email scams:

1 Domain name expiry scam

Malicious fraudsters have now started targeting .uk domain names with falsified domain expiry warnings. Sadly, many of those who fall for this latest domain name con are small firms, largely because they do their own in-house IT management and are not fully au fait with some of the technical aspects involved.

Unscrupulous online criminals are manipulating this lack of knowledge. Many websites receive emails that warn of an imminent domain name expiry. A lot of small businesses, fearing they’re about to lose their domain name, pay extortionate fees to renew their domain unnecessarily.

The emails are usually called something like ‘Domain Registry Services’. They warn of an urgent renewal being required and will state the charge for a renewal. This charge will be much more than an average renewal. It will also be completely bogus.

Many small businesses don’t keep accurate records of when they bought or last renewed their domain name and they probably will not remember the original charge.  This is probably why this scam works so well. If you receive one of these emails and are in any doubt, contact Nominet.org.uk (the .uk internet registry at www.nic.uk).

2 Phishing and password theft

Most small businesses tend to manage and respond personally to business emails and can become targets for this renowned, but effective, email scam. ‘Phishing’ is the practice of attempting to gather sensitive, protected information by persuading someone to enter their private details online. The most common form of phishing scam is the fake bank email.

Internet criminals clone an official bank email address or manipulate the recipient’s email inbox into believing the email has come from a trusted source. Often the sender of these emails will appear to be the real company. The email will often say that “owing to a recent security threat to the business’s account, to ensure there has been no fraudulent activity”, the business must log in to its account with its username and password.

The email will contain a believable login section that mimics the real bank’s website template. If the business owner enters their details, online fraudsters can access a business’s private accounts and steal money or make unwarranted transactions in the business’s name. Real banks will never ask for personal account information via email, of course.

Trust Your Instincts

Be cynical. If an email just doesn’t seem right – don’t open it. Then report it. Many email providers enable you to report spoof emails and phishing attempts. One of the best things a small business can do is use an email provider with high-end junk and spam filters. Many cheap web-hosting services provide email services, but their filtering software may be substandard. It may be prudent to invest in a reputable web host or use a generic email provider such as Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo!. If you receive a domain expiry email, contact your domain name supplier. It’s that simple. They won’t take umbrage.

There are many more scams other than the two I’ve mentioned. Caution, common sense and a little bit of knowledge will go a long way towards reducing the likelihood you’ll fall for an online dupe.

Daniel Offer is a partner in the Facebook messaging application Chit Chat for Facebook

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Protecting your printer warranty

Hardware warranties play a massive role in minimising early start-up expenditure. They provide not just after-sales value, but also security against future unexpected costs.

A 2009 survey conducted by Lexmark (State of Printing) suggested that 78 per cent of customers expected to have to replace their printer within five years. Printer manufacturers have attempted to assuage these consumer fears by providing guarantees lasting up to five years for most popular printers (excluding budget sub-£50 machines).

It stands to reason that you are going to want to protect this, so you’ll need to know how the terms of your warranty are affected.

Your warranty will typically be void if:

• damage is caused by you attempting to repair a hardware fault yourself
• modification of the hardware
• use of the product in unsuitable environment (eg very hot, sub-zero or dusty conditions)
• acts of God or nature
• unreasonable print volumes for the printer in question.

Although it is slightly annoying to know my Oki isn’t covered for lightning bolts or flash floods, these are nonetheless reasonable terms. However, there is one area of huge controversy that can affect your warranty – using third party printer consumables

Third party cartridges, as feared by the vast majority of customers, can have implications for your warranty, wholly dependent on the stage of the warranty you are in.

Standard warranty

Standard warranty typically covers the first year’s performance of your printer (or a high volume number of prints stated in the warranty conditions, whichever occurs first). It is illegal for a manufacturer to void this standard warranty because of third party cartridges. Rest assured, they’ll try to tell you they can, but you’re protected by this piece of legislation:

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act Chapter 50 – Section 2302
(c) No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection be waived by the commission if:

1. The warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and
2. the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest.

Extended warranties

Typically requiring registration with the manufacturer to activate, it is hazy at present whether these optional, manufacturer-provided, warranty extensions are exempt from the aforementioned Act. Do not be surprised if legislation soon moves to block this common practice by making the Act clearer.

This is unavoidable and places even more importance on the retailers from whom you source consumables. Always check for evidence of quality testing, performance guarantees and testimonials on customer service before buying. You are paying money in a highly competitive environment; these should be provided as standard.

Ultimately, third-party cartridges should be perfectly reliable (it’s so rare I have only encountered it once in the past year) you just need to be careful shoppers.

Working towards better warranties

At my company, Stinkyink.com, we are in contact with manufacturers for explanation of how they can legally enforce this, and we will get back with their response if they ever do provide a straight answer.

Have you had a bad experience with a manufacturers terms and conditions? Post below and see if anyone else has not only gone through the same thing, but if they have suggestions to help.

Matt Bird of printer cartridge supplier, StinkyInk

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Are your backoffice systems good enough?

Like it or not, computer systems are a part of everything to do with operating your business and are crucial to its success. An ideally tailored system, one that is adaptable, usable and affordable, will transform your business and be a huge enabler for future expansion. No matter how talented you and your staff are, a poor system will hold you back.

I certainly know that the recently introduced backend systems at my business Stinkyink have exceeded all expectations in how we can adapt and scale them to our changing needs. And I believe it is possible for any start-up or small business to be just as fortunate.

Any system that does what we need is fine

While the above statement is true to a certain extent, don’t let it control the direction of your business. An inflexible system, while satisfying your initial needs, can hold back a new business idea for pushing yourself to the next level. This “future-proofing” is key, especially as a start-up. The path your business takes will rarely be the one you imagined, and this highlights the importance of being supported by one that can survive in a changing environment.

The old systems and their providers had no intention of implementing features that are now crucial in all areas of our business and the backbone of the excellent service we provide. We would still have been good on the old software, but now we can be great.

Behind any good system there is a good team

Adaptation and scalability are key for a backoffice system, but there are other critical success factors. Dedicated support from the software supplier, knowledgeable employees and – crucially – an ability to take criticism and user advice, should all be part of the service. The sheer scope and reach of some backoffice systems, depending on the complexity of your business model, make training a necessity, and the quality of this training will heavily impact how much you get out of your system.

The best way I can sum up the ideal support team for your backoffice system is that they take any criticism or request that you, the user, highlights, and see it as an opportunity to enhance the package, for others as well as you. We are lucky enough to have that with our supplier, AxisFirst, and the efficiency gains we have experienced with little tweaks to the original system really are priceless.

Even if you’re happy – look around!

I am all for loyalty, but the sooner you can implement your ideal backoffice system, the better. Even if your existing one performs well, question it.

• Are there criticisms you or your staff make frequently?
• Something you’ve been told is not possible?
• A day-to-day activity that should really be automated?

It is a competitive market, so look around. You might be surprised how the system developers begin to think outside the box and things become possible when you see what competitors are offering.

Matt Bird of printer cartridge supplier, StinkyInk

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Investing in your local community

Investment is a common term for most start-ups, usually in the context of technology, buildings or staff training, but what about philanthropic investment? And in particular, should a start-up look to give to the local community when finances are usually so tight?

Your community would benefit from it

We’re in the midst of a recession and that doesn’t just affect commerce, but also local activities and groups. Any assistance you can give to your local community will surely be appreciated and remembered, for example, sponsoring local events or sporting teams. It need not be financial; products, time and manpower are just as valuable a commodity for some projects.

To my mind, if you can afford even a small input, there is no reason not to invest – a humanitarian deed for the day is a great way to live. But as with any investment, there must be a return – mustn’t there?

Could it benefit you?

A truly philanthropic investment would yield no direct financial return for your business, but with my most cynical of capitalist hats on, why be in business if not to make money? Yes, do things for the community, but away from work, with your own time and your own money. After all, without profitable businesses, there is no economy, no livelihoods and no thriving communities in the first place.

But there are less tangible returns that you might gain, for instance, on the public relations front. Everyone loves a ‘feel good’ story and if you have the opportunity to make a difference in your local community and can publish it correctly, this charitable activity can do wonders for your reputation.

Take Christmas, for example. If you normally send cards to customers and suppliers, think again. Instead, perhaps you could email everyone and explain that you are donating £xxx to a local cause.  Everybody wins, including the environment.

What if it backfires?

Breaking News: “Lovely generous business gives money to [insert charitable cause]” . Who doesn’t read it and replace the “Lovely generous business” thought with “looking for some public good will” judgement. We all do. And does this feeling really disappear when it is a start-up or small business? Has today’s hurly-burly environment removed our ability to see a selfless act and not be suspicious?

My thoughts

Personally, I think all businesses should make an effort to give something back to the community, whether you are resident there or if your business is simply based there. My employer invests an awful lot in the local Alveley community in Shropshire, with barely any of the investments receiving mention outside the parish. But it’s worthwhile because we see the appreciative faces, receive the handshakes and know our small contribution enabled an event to get off the ground and realise someone’s dream.

Yes, businesses exist to make money, but there is no need for that money to sit in a bank when it could be put to good use.

Matt Bird of printer cartridge supplier, StinkyInk

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10 important steps to take when you’re setting up an online shop

There are millions of online shops, and whether they’re selling clothes, books, tools, gifts, homeware or camping equipment they all had to take the first steps towards getting their store online.

Setting up an e-commerce shop might seem daunting, but by reading these tips and following them up you can make the process smooth and hassle free.

1 Decide on a name for your shop and buy your domain name

It should be memorable and not too long. You can buy domains at Go Daddy, 1 & 1 Internet and Easyspace plus hundreds of other sites. Make a note of your username and password – this is essential as your web developer will need these details.

You could also look into buying domains that are related to the products you're selling and then point them towards your primary domain.

2 Talk to your bank about setting up an Internet Merchant account

You can then link this to SagePay and/or Streamline (secure card payment service). This can take time, so it's best to start the process early.

3 Work out your budget

This is crucial as it will help you focus on what you actually need at the moment and what would be nice to implement in the future. It will also help you choose who will build it (see point 5). Be realistic and remember that the more you invest in your new website at this stage, the less time and money you'll have to spend in the future developing the site.

4 Think about the branding, pages, content and functionality you’ll want

This will enable you to give a clear brief to your potential design agencies. It’ll also save time in the long run if you have a clear picture in your mind of what you’re aiming for.

5 Start researching web design providers - both agencies and freelancers

Look at e-commerce websites that you like and find out who built them or search online for agencies that can help. If you can look at testimonials from their customers or even speak to people who’ve used their services, you’ll be able to make a decision on who you feel most comfortable with.

6 Prepare your product list and images

You’ll probably find that this takes most of your time. Your web designers will give you advice on what they need from you, but if you want to get a head start you can create the product list on an Excel spreadsheet. The column headings would be along these lines (depending on what you will be retailing):

• Unique product code
• Category
• Sub category (if applicable)
• Product name
• Image file name (this should be the exact file name for the relevant main image – e.g. “rolling-stones-tshirt-lips.jpg” or it could be labelled by the product ID code, e.g. “100233.jpg”
• Product description (remember to make it informative and use your keywords for the search engines)
• Sizes available
• Colour
• Price
• In stock (1) or out of stock (0)
• Quantity in stock

7 Prepare your images

PLEASE don’t snap away with that disposable camera you stole from a wedding two years ago! There’s nothing worse than seeing a well-designed website with poor, fuzzy pictures. You may already have professional photographs from the manufacturer or you may need to book a photographer. The crucial point here is that your images must be crisp and clear.

Label them well and file them in an organised way so they will be easy to find and sift through as and when needed. Your web design provider may need to crop, cut out or alter the images for your new website and the better the quality of the photographs, the easier and more effective this will be.

8 Make sure you’re completely happy with the visuals from your website designer

Any tweaks to colours, layout, typefaces, etc should be requested now as it would be very difficult (and expensive) to change these further down the line.

You would be wise to steer clear of anything that's too "of the moment" and fashionable when it comes to design and colour - this will date very quickly. Neutral tones will ensure your website remains a contemporary classic and it will need little future investment when it comes to design.

9 While your website is being built, make yourself available for any queries from the web developer

The faster you can come back with the answers, the sooner your website will be ready to launch.

You’ll also need to test, test, test. Think of every possible scenario, try out the payment system and ask your friends to do the same. Their comments will be invaluable as you don’t want your customers to come across too many glitches in the system. There are bound to be a few teething problems and the aim here is to reduce them as much as possible before you launch to the general public.

• Is all text free from spelling errors?
• Has content been placed consistently?
• Have enquiry or shopping cart forms been tested and processed correctly?
• Have the compulsory question and answer fields been tested?
• Do your enquiry and order forms send to the correct recipient?
• Has your website been fully optimised for search engines?
• Does your website display correctly on all browsers
• Is your Web Statistics package (e.g. Google Analytics) installed and operational?

10 Launch date!

Tell as many people as possible about your new website. If you already have a customer database, send them an email to let them know that their shopping experience is about to improve beyond measure.

If you have a Facebook account, set up a business page too and invite all your friends to “like” it. Join Twitter to promote your website and try out using Google AdWords if you have the budget.

Check that your web design providers have submitted your site to Google, and register with as many relevant online directories as possible such as FreeIndex and let the universe know about your new site. Make sure your web address is on all your stationery and business cards, and make good use of them.

Alex Astell of Manage My Website

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Ten applications to connect your home office to the world

Here are my top ten software applications that can enable you to connect your home office to customers, contacts and partners in the world beyond.

Attend meetings

Say ‘hello’ and talk business with contacts by using these online tools and services:

• Dimdim – enables you to attend live meetings, demonstrations and webinars
• Ketchup – enables you to share and record meeting notes
• Pow Wow Now – free conference calling at ‘Open Access’ level. Priced packages also available
• Skype – free and easy to use conference calls for Skype users
• Tinychat – group video conferencing, for free
• GoToWebinar – host a meeting of many and present to potential customers by inviting them to join you for an interactive webinar   

Manage projects  

Stay on top of projects and in touch with partners via one of these project management tools:

• Basecamp – allows you to create projects, invite people to view them, upload files and make comments. It’s effective online project management that can be accessed from anywhere
• GoogleDocs – share documents via Google with GoogleDocs. You can edit on the move, choose who accesses documents and share changes in real-time 
• Glasscubes – this tool offers project management, collaboration and CRM (customer relationship management) all in one package
• Huddle – offers simple and secure online workspaces. Huddle is hosted, so there’s no software to download and it’s free to get started

There are also technologies you can adopt to ensure your business travels with you. These include: webmail systems that enable access to your emails from anywhere; a remote desktop offering files and folders on the go; or web-based office systems such as Google Apps or Open Office, so your entire business is stored online and in easy reach. I’ll cover these in detail in a future piece. Until then, happy homeworking and connecting with the globe.

Emma Jones is Founder of Enterprise Nation the home business website and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’ and ‘Working 5 to 9 – how to start a business in your spare time’.

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Coming in August: great IT advice for businesses

I’m pleased to report that the wraps are off: The IT Donut, a new website for small businesses, will be launching the week of 23 August.

The IT Donut will be the fourth in a family of websites. You might already have seen the Marketing, Law and Start-Up Donuts. Its aim will be to demystify every aspect of business technology.

Expect heaps of advice about choosing, using and generally not getting totally frustrated with IT in your business.

I’ve taken on the role of editor (the next few months are looking to be very busy), but thankfully there’s a whole team of great people from BHP Information Solutions working hard on the site too. And because you can’t substitute for first-hand knowledge and experience, we’re on the hunt for experts who know all about IT at the sharp end of business.

You see, when businesses use IT, there’s an ideal world, and there’s what actually happens. The two often differ quite considerably.

The IT Donut isn’t going to live in the plain sailing, smooth running and largely theoretical ideal world. It will acknowledge the situations and challenges businesses face every day with their IT.

Although the team behind the website is packed with experience (I’ve been writing about small businesses and IT for years now), we need people who’ve been there and done it to help us cover every area. These IT experts are the people who’ll really bring the site to life.

So if you know a bit about IT in business, I want to hear from you. You might be an expert in web hosting, networking or accounting software. Or you might be a business that’s experimented with cloud computing, open source software – or gained some other knowledge that you’d like to share.

Whatever your expertise, give me a shout. It’s your chance to be involved in one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever worked on – and to get some great PR while you’re at it.

John McGarvey is the editor of the forthcoming IT Donut and is happy to discuss ideas and opportunities with you.

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