What a variety. This girl does everything in music and is good in pretty much any genre. I’m so very pleased to be doing sites for people I admire and look up to.

Check Sam’s site here

People will check your company website before visiting your business and if it’s not up to date, they will most certainly go to your competitors. A First Impression may also be the last. If people don’t find your website appealing right from the start, they certainly won’t be back for more. Especially if it’s more of the same. Once you’ve made a beautiful website, the journey of having a website begins. it’s by no means the end. Customers don’t keep visiting the same beautiful website unless there’s something to see. And that means regular updates and change. Within your beautiful design.

Here are some tips to keep your site a going concern and ensure a steady stream of visitors:

1) Update.

Content is King. Refresh your website with new content on regular basis. Daily is best, weekly a close second, but do it at the same time every week or day. This way, regulars will return to see your new stuff. Always review static content (such as your “About Us” page) for corrections or updates. Post new entries or news articles that will capture your users imagination and result in comments and visits. Your policies and terms & conditions pages also need to be updated to keep up with the current privacy laws and regulations. Service agreements and contracts need to be screened at least monthly.

2) Check Browser Compatibility.

Your site needs to work on all browsers. Check your site in Firefox, IE, Google Chrome (my favourite due to its speed), Opera and Safari – on both Mac and PC versions. You need to ensure that all the elements of your design are working perfectly. You can use Browser Shots (http://browsershots.org/) to see screen-shots of your website in multiple browsers and on multiple platforms.

3) Check for broken links.

You need to check for broken links regularly. Because you can’t control which sites you link to, you need to check if they still exist – or when your link to a specific page on another site it’s still relevant. Broken links reflect poorly on you. It’s your job to maintain and make sure they work. Broken links means that your site doesn’t work properly and it’s just an irritation to potential customers.

4) Speed.

How quickly does your site load. Most of us have broadband, but there are still many people using dial-up. Plus 3G connectivity can still be a bit slow – a bit like when you get shaped because you’ve used your broadband. If your site is taking an inordinate time to load, then you need to do something about it. Gone are the days where you can put a Flash loader with the promise “Please wait. It’ll be worth it, I promise”. Nobody cares about your great graphical interface as much as you do. You can use tools for testing the loading speed of your web site with Web Page Analyser (http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/). Minimize the number of graphics on each page or optimise them for web delivery. Go easy on your animation (it’s a good idea to have only one moving item on your home page) and make sure your browser loads images before your front page image rotator tries to present them.

5) Conversation.

These days, business is “a conversation”. If you give people a space to express their opinions or interact with you directly, then they’re less likely to go and do it elsewhere. The conversation can be achieved by allowing commenting, feedbacks, track-backs, suggestions etc. on your site. If you open the communication doors, your audience will also inform you about errors, bad links and bugs that you can fix. Encourage criticism and feedback and if someone leaves a comment or sends you an email, respond quickly instead of leaving it for a week. Seek comments / discussion from people via social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook etc.) and make posts to busy forums where potential interested parties may be lurking. Ask people to review your site. Positive and negative responses can help improve the functionality and usability of your website and your business in general.

6) Make your website Search Engine Friendly.

Well Structured, W3C compliant, pixel perfect code will automatically make your website search engine friendly. 97% of people will find you using a search engine and more than 90% of those people will find you using Google (the biggest company in the world). Getting your web person to; add meta-tag descriptions, optimize and review title tags and keywords etc. will help you rank highly on search engines.

7) Analytics.

It’s important to monitor your website analytics regularly. Geoffrey Multimedia sends you this information weekly so you can see how you are faring in terms of traffic and visitors. But don’t get too obsessed by these statistics as it’s a bit like watching stock market fluctuations. Take more note of how the conversation is working. Are peopel leaving comments, sending you emails or attending your advertised events. Are they, ultimately, buying your product? Use “Call to Action” buttons and graphics on pages where you are selling a product or service. Geoffrey Multimedia uses Google Analytics which will send you an automated traffic report weekly.

A website is a going concern – not a virtual brochure. It should be in a constant state of change, not static and gathering dust. In a way, it’s like a business unto itself.

Keep your shop front window tidy and try to move your stuff around every day. You never know who has an eye on that new bicycle and if they see it gone one day, you can guarantee they’ll come into your shop to see if it’s there and check out what else you have.

I don’t usually like to go public about some of my more eccentric personal habits, but Alien Moon Base is one a blog website that I was just itching to get out there (if you’ll excuse the pun).

I’ve been interested in UFOs and aliens since I was little and I’ve come to the brazen conclusion that we’re probably too stupid to know the truth (even if it is out there). In an effort to add to the already busting nut-house that is today’s inter-webs. I bought the domain www.alienmoonbase.com. Here I can vent and offload all my wild thoughts and ideas about alien culture, UFOs and associated cult religions.

Thanks to the internet, there are other nutters out there who are into aliens – some who take the subject all too seriously.

So, surrender your sense of disbelief, grab hold of your inner-child and get ready to do some pretty scary internet reading on my latest adventure.

www.alienmoonbase.com

I finally asked for server information – passwords, usernames etc. Always a trust issue, but I need this stuff to be able to build and upload the new website over the old one. The client fumbled around in a filing cabinet and pulled out a file with the relevant info etc.. He told me that he was a little worried. “Why so?” I asked as I sharpened my Staetdler Mars-780 German pencil with in-built sharpening tool.

Aside: I’m one of those people who work with pencil and paper until I absolutely MUST get on a bloody computer. It’s a love / hate thing. I love computers, but hate putting on weight and losing my eyesight.

As I was writing the server info down on a piece of paper, the new client told me what he was being charged for email services, spam protection, domain and website hosting. He showed me a bunch of invoices that made me rethink my whole approach to charging clients.

This person was paying around $A2K for these very basic services. I couldn’t believe it. I pay around A$65 per year for a superior, more holistic service and have never charged more than $500 to clients who have moving images and large files uploaded to their site.

Important Aside: All my clients tell me I undercharge, but I strongly disagree. In one case, an old client insisted I put my price up because I was too cheap. I simply wasn’t in the ballpark for consideration on a job, so I had to increase my quote. I reluctantly put my price up on the proviso that I do extra work on the site . . . Look. I’m no Saint. But I would feel extraordinarily bad about overcharging someone like this. I want my clients to call me again. I want them to be happy. My hourly rate is A$90 but really, at the base of it, I enjoy my job so much that it ends up being much less when I actually get involved in building a website. Weird and unforeseen things always crop up. And I lose myself having fun.

I told him what I pay for the same services personally. A$65 per annum for email, domain name and 50Mb of hosting. Sure I get it wholesale. I double the price for general clients because I do a lot of stuff behind the scenes.

I charge $125 for a basic website (50Mb) with email and .com domain (.com.au domains are more). Clients who want to put PDF files or movies on their server pay more, but I don’t have a single client who pays more than $500pa for email, website, file-space and other server requirements. It’s $140 bi-annually for Aussie domains and I don’t make a cent off those (mainly because I think it’s a rort and can’t justify charging extra on top of that).

This is what I do behind the scenes:
• I bounce email off client servers because it accumulates so quickly and you can run out of space for the actual website.
• I usually bounce email to Gmail, Hotmail or iinet accounts because these have great in-built spam detection software.
• If a company has many different email addresses (eg. info@company.com, johnno@company.com) I set up each email address and bounce mail into the individual’s private account.
• I check the server about twice a year to see if it has enough space and inform the client if an upgrade is needed (People often forget that BLOGS and PDF files take up space).
• I check all client software (Joomla, WordPress, other CMS) email etc. is up to date and if not – I update it.
• I go in and set limits on email accounts and clear out (or forward) clogged up email boxes
• Plus I answer all phone calls (for FREE)

I actually work for my money and it pains me to see others doing less and charging like wounded bulls. To see someone paying A$1K per year merely for email spam and virus protection – when it’s 100% free on Gmail (7Gb file limit and about $5pa. if you want a 25Gb limit) – is beyond me.

Seeing these invoices really made me want to do the right thing by this new client. I understand that companies have employees, overheads and rent to pay, but bad business and money management shouldn’t be taken out on your clients!

I guess my set-up is very different. I work from home and / or with like-minded 3D graphic artist and Designers, so I have fewer overheads and therefore my rates are a lot cheaper. But I’d never charge money for doing nothing.

Business is business?

No! Business is always personal because there are people involved.

‘Nuff said.

Fill in this form if you want a website. I’m happy to meet with you for free – even if you don’t choose me to build your site. I’m a strong believer in what goes around comes around.

It’s the coolest way to navigate a smaller site which doesn’t have a news section or a BLOG. New info can easily be added manually and it has a lovely photo gallery which can also be easily updated.

Visit the site : www.narellebelle.com

Originally the CM Films site was authored in electric green, but because of the onset of winter and also in keeping with CM Films’ new corporate (but fun) look, we decided to make the site blue.

Changing the colour scheme of an existing website can be done in a morning with new files uploaded and ready by lunch time. This whole job took just under 4 hours. It was a matter of collating existing graphics and changing their colours to suit the new scheme. A company logo had to be married into the new look.

A standard website colour scheme change like this can be done for $350.

- 10 Steps to a New Website.

There’s no better time to turn your hobby into a thriving business on the web. That’s pretty much what I did right here. Anybody who has money to spend in the world is probably attached to a computer. More and more people are buying stuff online as we all turn our backs on greedy big business. Small, cottage-industry style operations (some in the form of BLOGs) are slowly taking over. TV companies are jumping the shark, making terrible shows and losing money to internet advertising hand over fist. Their insecurity has forced them to actually advertise the benefits of TV advertising on TV. It’s cheaper to advertise on the web than it is on television plus only the most relevant buyers are seeing your ad.

Aye, these are heady days for internet start-ups. If you feel a strong desire to sack your boss, and you answer no to most of these questions, you might need to open a business.

1. Are you happy at work?

If you’re not happy in your job and / or you felt the same way in your previous job, then maybe it’s you! Stop wasting time. Perhaps you’re a born freelancer. Freelancers are free spirits who don’t really like being told what to do. Why put up with this job when you can make one of your own? And keep the profit. If you work from home, you can even get tax benefits towards your rent and some food / electricity costs.

2. Is your boss making money off you?

There’s nothing worse than a happy boss – one who has just made a bunch of bills selling your work to someone else. You can do that yourself. The whole point of being in business is to make money. Employee time is bought and then sold at a profit and that profit can sometimes be your loss.

3. Do you work too many hours?

You’ve worked for the man long enough and for enough hours in the day. Maybe it’s time to work for yourself. If you wanna be da man.

4. Do you have burning ambition?

Drawing a wage every week isn’t going to get you closer to that dream of being a dancer, a web designer or an architect. Maybe bailing work and going back to study is an option. Jump and the parachute will magically appear. In other words, learn to trust yourself. You’ve come this far.

5. Do you want to get paid 3x your current rate?

Maybe more. When you work for yourself, you keep the profit. The down side of freelancing is that when you don’t work – you don’t get paid. My hourly rate may be $80/hr as a web designer, but some weeks I may only get 10 billable hours. Freelancers need to manage their time very efficiently (it’s not always easy to do).

6. Paying too much tax?

When you’re on a salary, your boss claims all your work perks – the computer, the car, maybe even your suit. They’re all a business expense. You could be doing that.

7. Feel like a sicky?

Being your own boss means that your time is your own. If you want to go shopping on a Thursday afternoon, you can. But do remember that you don’t get paid to go shopping.

8. Feeling duped by Superannuation?

Too many people lost more than half of their retirement income in the last few years due to the GFC (global financial crisis). The only people who benefited from this crash were Bank CEOs who bailed with golden handshakes paid by the taxpayer. The money paid into Super was never meant for you. Someone got away with the pot.

9. Wanna own the means of production?

In your own business you get to buy at trade rates and keep the gear. You write off depreciation on electrical items and you get to play your own swivel chair.

10. Is your boss an idiot?

Does your boss tend to load up your in-tray just because he’s had a bad day? Does she blame you for things which were her responsibility? Is your boss mid-divorce and taking personal issues out on the office. Maybe your boss is just another insecure man promoted out of harm’s way and enjoying his power trip.

You don’t have to put up with bosses in your own business. You’ll have clients and some can be painful. But clients don’t have your balls in a bear trap. Your relationship with a client (or customer) is an equal trading relationship where both parties stand to gain a lot from their time together. And besides, you can always choose your client.

In Conclusion

Working freelance isn’t for everyone. Setting up a business, finding your market and then employing people might mean you end up working 80 hours per week in the first year. Every now and then, there’s a lull in business. Especially after Christmas. If you don’t like a client, you can sack him and not feel bad about it later.

Good luck.

• Website Maintenance Tips
• Business Isn't Business - It's Always Personal
• 10 Questions For Disgruntled Worker Bees
• Revealing Yourself Online
• How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Website
]]> http://geoffreymultimedia.com/2010/03/10-reasons-to-go-solo/feed/ 2 http://geoffreymultimedia.com/2010/03/website-makeover-for-concert-corporate-productions/ http://geoffreymultimedia.com/2010/03/website-makeover-for-concert-corporate-productions/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:03:13 +0000 Edwin Lynch http://geoffreymultimedia.com/?p=1556 We’ve come a long way and I’ve finally made the new CCPWA website live.

You can see it here.

It was tricky getting the project galleries working pixel-perfect but now everything is full steam ahead and it looks dreamy. CCP’s Administrative Assistant, Erin Tagliaferri was pretty much Project Coordinator by proxy on this job. She quickly learned a bit of code and even modified some visual aspects of the site layout while it was in development.

I had a lot of fun making this site and I want to personally thank Erin for all her support and positive (and constructive) feedback. Thanks Erin.

I hope Camille likes it, too. ;)

]]> http://geoffreymultimedia.com/2010/03/website-makeover-for-concert-corporate-productions/feed/ 0 http://geoffreymultimedia.com/2010/03/650-webpage-special/ http://geoffreymultimedia.com/2010/03/650-webpage-special/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:20:58 +0000 Edwin Lynch http://geoffreymultimedia.com/?p=1527 It’s that time of the year. “What . . . March?” say you?

Yellow Pages Australia is about to publish its online directory and they want to link to your website. I get a lot of requests for web pages around now from people who want websites because of this Yellow Pages deadline. Yellow Pages aside, and for March only, I can do you a beautiful single page web site (including yearly hosting) for only A$650.00 or, for our US-based friends, US$600.00.

What I will do for $650

Build you a single, entry-level web page with .com domain.*
Yearly cost is $150/pa (hosting, domain name and maintenance).

* Add $35pa. extra for a .com.au domain (A$685 total cost – proof of business registration required)

This package is ideal for quickly getting yourself on the web and establishing your company’s internet presence. Use your existing email address.

• NB: You can upgrade from this single page website to a 6 page business (updateable) website any time for an additional $1,400.

Features :

• A 2 column, single webpage
• Your logo (must be provided)
• 1 to 3 photos / graphics of your product or service
• A single Contact Form (6 fields of info sent directly to your email)
• Links to other sites
• Traffic stats sent to you weekly
• NB : logo must be provided either as emailed .jpg, .gif, .pngor .eps.

Send images with this form

and we will get back to you within 48 hours.

[contact-form] ]]> http://geoffreymultimedia.com/2010/03/650-webpage-special/feed/ 0