New Arrivals to the WEb

I was quite excited to see the new initiative  launched by Enda Kenny last week for Getting Irish Business Online  it helps people to get a starter website online and opens a new business avenue for  them.

From a website design perspective there have been lots of commentary that this will stop people using website designers but I believe the complete opposite.

People will need.

• Someone to make future additions to their site
• Help them learn more about expanding their site
• Tips on how to publicise their website.
• Show them how to use a CMS
• Grow the stie even more so that it is actually useful for business

So all is not lost.  Well done..

How to Create a Website?

Completely biased here but it doesn't hurt to learn how to design a website.  Cork website design company Grange Web Design that I run and own does it all the time.  But it might make more sense to use one of the free blogging platforms  that are available to sharpen your skills.  About.me also provides a very simple method of putting up a one page portfolio page that looks well and can be added to your CV.

Why Should I Bother with a Website?


There are many reasons but her are a hundred (OK 4)

1. It shows that you are PC and internet literate
2. It displays initiative and that you do a little bit extra above other people who are looking for a job "Oh look he/she has a a website - fair dues to them"  It may also allow people to look at some of the work or extra curricular activities that you have.
3. It may open an additional door in the company for you and show skills that they were looking for but not advertising   So many jobs are not advertised and this may be the one for you.
4. You may have skills that you cannot show well on a CV like Photgraphy, sketches, records,  and so on.  A website can do this easily

Even this blog is on one and might be a stepping stone.  I also recommend Wordpress.com as this is quite powerful and people have won Irish blog awards just using  this platform alone.

So you might want a career in web design but you could learn how to use some of the tools.

Builders in Athlone

Whether your are a builder in Athlone or a carpenter in Galway you need to think about using he web to promote your business.  The tradesmen who ignore the web in the past now realise that in the ultra competitive building space that having a website can make the difference between getting a customer and not.

Here are 5 simple steps to getting a website.

1. Gather as much information about what you do as possible.  Photos of of your work,  testimonials and records of work.
2. Contact a website design company who will talk you through the process.
3. Work closely with the company to deliver a professional and complete message.

Search Engine Optimisation

  Search Engine Optimisation is a term that is getting greater recognition in the Irish business community over the past 12-18 months.  As more and more business people put up a website they realise that their new site can be like a idyllic Philippine Island.  Beautiful to the eye but nobody visits it.

Primary Position in Limerick are an excellent SEO company and one of the best in their area.  They provide a free site review and are excellent to deal with.  Why not start with them on your path to leaving the Philippine island and becoming a busy main street business online?

If the business you are has any level of competition on web search it is highly advisable looking at working with a reputable Search Engine Optimisation expert.  Beware out for the information on the web that tells you that it is just a matter of following 10 steps to getting found on Google.

Yes there are a lot of sensible practical steps to help that happen but for a term that a lot of people are looking for speak to an SEO expert. The right person will advise you on correct B2B and B2C strategies to getting your website found for the correct business terms.  It is not a short term engagement either and involves the right mix of on page changes, internet marketing, off page development and actual work on your whole business strategy in general.

Google Analytics Doesn't Do Everything

Well it doesn't claim to do everything to be fair.  Its latest release makes it a huge mistake not to use it on your website and it is well worthwhile spending sometime playing with the advanced features for your site.


If you have a website and do not know your site statistics it is pretty straightforward to add it to your site in the first place and this is one of the first things that you should do when you build a site.

One of the things that does make me wonder from time to time is how would a person know that someone called them based on their phone number on the site.  More and more people just use Google as an advanced Yellow Pages.  You should at least ask people how they found your number but unless you log calls using a CRM system you more often than not forget to.

It would be excellent if there was a Phone Analytics tool that could show how much of your business from a website was from viewing the phone number and then dialling.  Perhaps it exists on an off-line tool like the CRM system above but I think for the moment you just need to ask.

The World is Full of Idiots - Have a No Download Day

Strong words but it is true.  Every day we get e-mails, tips, product info on the latest gadget that we can use to make our desktop more productive.  Tools to do graphics, manage our to do lists, improve our surfing the internet experience We blindly download them,  play with them for a few days, weeks and then forget them and even worse then forget to unistall them and make our PC, laptop get more and more bloated.

My advice today is a productivity one.  Look at the tools that you already have on your desktop and learn a little more about them.  Looking for a Productivity App?  Use MS Word.  Create a List.  Open it every day - update ' print ' post save.

Need a note taking application - use Notepad
Need a graphics too - you actually don't - leave the graphics to the designers.  Need to draw circles, boxes and lines - your desktop publishing tools can do that already.

Learn about what you have stop looking over the horizon.  Save your self time learning new apps when you haventt even learnt the apps you have already.

Google Experts - Where are You

Absolutely everyone who uses the Internet now uses Google but so few people are experts in the use of it and can use the power to its maximum.  As part of my website design business in Cork customers often ask me how to get on the first page of Google thinking that as I am a web designer that I am also an expert in all things related to Google.

My short and sweet answer to them is that They cant get to #1 on Google!.

Well not actually true.  You can be number one on Google if the topic that you blog about or the site that you create does not have a lot of traffic.  For example if you write about Ping Tutus for Sheep farmers then you will be number one in Google in a couple of days (come back in a few days and Google this search term and I bet chances are that this post will be on the front page.

But if you want to figure on the hallowed ground for a more competitive area then you need to have some serious Search Engine Optimisation done (SEO for short).  What is SEO?  This is not an area I am expert in.  I know an awful lot about it but will never claim to be  expert as it is a full time job done by people with laser like focus on the topic. There are a large number of factors for getting good ranking here are only 5 that make a difference (not in priority just a dump of items)

1. Keywords on your main page and how they are placed and ordered
2. Your domain name
3. Your domain age
4. Links to your site from other sites
5. Ratings of your site on social networks

There are many many others but this is just a start.  Google Experts beware!