The article is a bit over a year old, but not much has changed. In fact the online store trend is still in the limelight with some of the big traditional retailers quite vocal and worried about the rise of online sales!

The reality is that when it comes to web development, top online business spend around $100,000 on their websites. Truth people! I know of one business in Australia that has just redesigned their website at a cost of about half a mil, not counting the 5 full timers that would be on a combined half a mil per year plus and the million dollars plus they spend on Google. This is before they even launched their online store!!! Of course you don’t HAVE to spend that much, but the reality is, to compete with the big boys, you will need a reasonable amount of seed capital from a bank or investor! Without it, you can still do quite nicely, but have reasonable expectations and be prepared for a lot of hard work!

PS – I came across this article when I was looking for a list of top 10 websites in Australia to use for benchmarking purposes. Stay tuned for more about that! In the meantime, check out the top 10 US online retailers.

Gallery on the Lane is a unique space open in the heart of Southport, dedicated to showcasing a contemporary range of photography and art from Australia and overseas.

“Our non-commercial space provides a platform for exciting new talent to showcase their work and gain experience in the marketing and display of their art. We are excited of the prospect of creating a website to further showcase these talented artists,” said curator Nicola Parsons.

Gallery on the Lane will receive an online marketing package worth $1800 including online marketing consultation, social media strategy, and a new website.

Blue Platypus is a Benefactor of The Arts Centre and has extended the relationship to providing a website design and marketing at no cost to a local artist or company.

Tanya Bellchambers, Director of Blue Platypus, believes this prize is a perfect blend of business communications, media and artistic pursuits.

“We are not a group of techy-web-boffins.  We think of ourselves as business savvy communications professionals who can help businesses, and in this case artists, use the web as a marketing channel to enhance bottom line business results,” she said.

“At Blue Platypus, we share a great respect for the myriad of performing and visual artforms and wish to actively support this sector of our community. We wanted to share our knowledge and skills in the online marketing space with a worthy artist or arts organisation.  We are now able to do this, thanks to the support of the Arts Centre Gold Coast.”

The Arts Centre Gold Coast is proud to support initiatives that support and grow the independent sector on the Gold Coast, ensuring future enjoyment and involvement in the performing and visual arts.

Creative Producer Brad Rush expressed the Centre’s appreciation for this prize to a local arts company.   “We are thrilled that Blue Platypus has given this opportunity to a local organisation.  The directors of Blue Platypus share The Arts Centre’s commitment to assist local arts workers grow and develop their organisations.  The online marketing package provides an excellent platform for Gallery on the Lane to continue their work here on the coast, he said.

Gallery on the Lane’s new website will be live by January 2012.

For more information
Tanya Bellchambers
Tel: 0430 809 122
Email: tanya@blueplatypus.com.au
Contact Us

All websites need software updates from time to time as technology changes.  Here are three good reasons to upgrade your website:

1. Browser compatibility -  With uptake of Internet Explorer 9 on the rise, it is timely to take a good look at your website.  Yes, your website could appear broken to users of Internet Explorer 9.  To check, download Internet Explorer 9 (it’s free) and take a good look at your website.  If you notice something has changed, is poorly aligned or isn’t working as it should, it could be time to upgrade.
2. Flash – We recommend removing all Flash from your website with the rise in iPhones and iPads.  It is easy to check whether you have Flash simply by viewing your site on an iPhone or iPad – the Flash will simply not appear.  iPhone and iPad do not run Flash – the only way to avoid the problem is to remove the Flash altogether.
3. Content management – if you don’t have a content management system, you are missing out on flexibility and potential search engine benefits.  As the owner of a small business you need to manage costs and have complete control.  Being able to make urgent changes internally just makes sense.  That is the power of a content management system.   A content management system also enables you to make search engine optimisation (SEO) improvements yourself.   With SEO prices rising dramatically as competition in Google hots up, this alone is a good reason to invest in a content management system.

There is no charge for basic testing to view your site in Internet Explorer 9 and on iPhone and iPad. We can also let you know whether your site is a content management system.  If you need help auditing or testing your website for any of the above, please contact us.

• www.kikkik.com.au – lovely stationery to help you and yours get organised in 2011.  We love the minimalist design and soft colouration of this high quality online shop.
• www.ezibuy.com.au – reasonably priced fashion and gifts.  We love their Christmas decorations.  This site consistently wins awards, so it is a great example of how online shopping should work.
• www.ebay.com.au – still the leader in online sales in Australia.  Check out their Fashion Gallery for discounted high street fashion.
• www.urbanrituelle.com.au – spoil your loved ones with divine soaps, lotions and potions.  This is a gorgeous website full of gorgeous stocking fillers.
• http://au.tiffany.com – if you are thinking of spoiling someone, look no further.  This is a luxury end store that is beautiful to browse.  Trust me, you will win hearts with gifts from here!

If you have an online store yourself, check out these “top end of town” sites and take note of how they work.  There are always best practice lessons to be learnt by the big players. Note what they put on their home page, how they categorise products, how they treat delivery and also the general functionality of the shopping cart.  For more info on the leading online retailers in Australia visit http://www.hitwise.com/au/datacentre/retail/

Please remember when shopping online to protect your privacy and financial information.  Check out the Australian Government’s cyber security website at http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/ for some great online shopping tips.  There is also a shopping quiz to see if you are a smart online shopper!  Remember to shop safe online this Christmas.

The brief was for a brochure website with lots of colour, simple navigation and an easy-to-update blog.  The website is now live: www.pacificatrading.com.au

Sporadic blogging isn’t ideal.  Best practice is at least once a week.  Yes, that’s right “once a week”!  So to make this happen, you certainly can’t afford to get bloggers block.
Here are a few ideas on how you might avoid bloggers block:

1. Re-post others content – news articles are perfect for this.  Grab a couple of related links to something topical and timely.  Add a few words such as a personal opinion or anecdote and post the links.
2. Re-purpose your own content – perhaps you wrote something insightful that resulted in great feedback or if you have a business blog, maybe you generated leads after a particular blog post.  If some time has lapsed, perhaps you could review, revise and repost it!
3. Set aside time for blogging.  This is obvious, but if you don’t set aside time, you will find you start missing posts.  If you find it hard to set aside time every week, set aside time once a month to write four posts.
4. Break up meaty topics into a series of posts – if you find yourself writing pages of valuable content on one topic look for natural breaks and post the article as a series of three or more.  Ideally you have written the whole lot in one session which means you are set up for a few weeks at least.  From your readers’ perspective, they are more likely to come back if they have read just one instalment in a series.
5. Share a link to an event or a business that supplements (not competes with) yours.  For example if you are in the technology space, let your readers know about an upcoming conference.  If you sell clothing, share a link to a gorgeous range of shoes or accessories.
6. Don’t get hung up on word count.  A few hundred words posted regularly is better than a few thousand words once every three months. It is regularity and relevance, not verbosity that counts.

Well that’s enough from me today.  I need to start putting these strategies into practice.  See you next week… I promise!

X Factor Security www.xfactorsecurity.com.au
Body Vibes Fitness Wear www.bodyvibesfitnesswear.com.au
Absolute Accountants Melbourne www.absoluteaccountantsmelbourne.com.au
Coralie Blake Celebrant www.coralieblakecelebrant.com.au

Enjoy browsing these great companies’ websites.

• Finding and engaging your target audience
• How to use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for marketing
• How to monitor and measure social media results

Go here to see all the sessions This is more than just an online conference. It’s also a way for people just like you to come together, share their experiences, meet the experts and network. At the last summit, 96 percent of attendees said they’d recommend the event to a friend AND attend again! That’s some endorsement. FAST ACTION HAS IT’S ADVANTAGES The event organizers added twenty-one great bonuses worth more than $1197 for early registrants. These are high-value video courses. When you sign up for the event, you get all of these included at no extra cost! Here’s a sample of the valuable bonuses they’re giving away:

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At Blue Platypus we start by getting to understand your business objectives, your target market and your marketing goals.  Once armed with this information we commence the bespoke design process.  The result is a bespoke website that is 100% customised to your business and your budget… in a nutshell, a website that gets results.

Bespoke web applications

Blue Platypus has the experience and expertise to create a unique bespoke web application such as a database backed bespoke application, mobile application or any other bespoke web system.

Add a bespoke web page to your existing website

Perhaps you are looking to add bespoke web pages to an existing website.  Not a problem!  Blue Platypus web design can help you with large or small bespoke web design projects. Your bespoke website pages are created specifically for your company by a senior graphic designer, free of templates and stock graphical elements. Bespoke website designs allow your company to stand out from your competitors. Adding a bespoke website page is also the perfect strategy to enhance conversion from your advertising campaigns.

Contact Blue Platypus for an obligation-free consultation regarding your bespoke website design project.

What are you waiting for?

We are here to help. Contact us with any questions you may have or for a free bespoke website development quote.

Join 23 experts (including Scott Monty, Brian Clark, Darren Rowse and experts from Sony, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s and Southwest Airlines) as they help you master blogging at Blogging Success Summit 2011. Fully online. Click here for sample class.