www.ipages.biz

Contact Management with Multiple Contacts at Multiple Organisations only £22 pcm!

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:47:03 +0100

Are you tired of not being able to contact multiple contacts at the same organisation with a simple email? Are you frustrated that your contact manager is licensed to a set machine, or a set number of users? Well iPages has the perfect solution for you.

For only £22 pcm you can manage your contacts within an organisation, and choose who you want to send emails to within that organisation. You will have an easy to read list of events associated with each contact and you can send unlimited HTML emails to your contacts using our easy to use email templates.

You don't have to change your website because our system will send emails from the address that you set up. Many of our customers use this package in addition to having their own website because it is a cost effective alternative to other packages out there.

To find out more call our sales today and see how you can manage your contacts simply with our CRM plug-in. Call 01403 786984

Bespoke Ecommerce Website with Content Management as seen at MAKE International

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:39:00 +0100

As websites go MAKE International is pretty good looking. It has a clean, professional look, and the lovely designer homeware, MAKE International's speciality, is displayed beautifully. But what you probably don't know is what is going on behind the scenes of the is fresh looking ecommerce website.

MAKE International is just one of iPages' customers, but have been with us for several years now, selling to both customers and retail.

"I think that iPages is an excellent choice for an ecommerce solution if a business wants the website to virtually run itself," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "The website will manage orders, invoicing, dispatch, credit notes, account customers, financial reporting and sales reporting."

"We are currently finishing our stock control module, which will certainly help businesses to manage their business better, and we will shortly be introducing the ability to search by attributes."

"It's an exciting time for iPages, as the relaunch of the MAKE site shows. We have been able to develop our software to enable greater flexibility with the the site and are extremely pleased with the results."

For more information on iPages' ecommerce websites call 01403 786984.

Manage Your Contacts for only £22 pcm

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:18:03 +0100

At iPages we are proud of our contact relationship management (CRM) plug-in. Not only can you keep track of all your events relating to your customers, but you can now store documents on your contact's profile. In addition you can send HTML emails using the CRM.

There is no license fee for each user, no limit on the number of users and as the system is web-based it can be used in a variety of locations. Manage your sales' staff, manage your events, and keep an overview of what is happening in your company.

If you would like to find out more why not contact us on 01403 786984.

Wild Bird Seed Site, SPC Wild Bird Supplies, Shows Ecommerce at its Best!

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:18:03 +0100

If you are looking for an ecommerce solution that not only looks good, but has outstanding functionality, look no further than SPC Wild Bird Supplies. Premier suppliers of wild bird food and wild bird seed, SPC Wild Bird Supplies' website illustrates how the internet can help you to compete against better known competitors.

"Seeing how attractive SPC Wild Bird Supplies is you wouldn't think that behind the scenes our iPages ecommerce solution is doing the job of one and a half people," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages.

"As soon as an order is made our ecommerce system springs into action to let the customer know that the order has been received and the sales department at SPC know that an order has been placed."

"All security checks are in place so that our clients can see the status of the order i.e. that the address matches that of the card, whether the CV2 matches, or if there is insufficient funds, or there is a problem with the card."

"To invoice an order requires a simple click of the mouse and then the dispatch note is emailed along with a link to the invoice."

Having such a sophisticated ecommerce solution that is affordable enables smaller companies to compete with larger businesses. The internet is excellent for creating an even playing field because it is available to all.

If you would like to have an ecommerce website that is functional, beautiful and affordable why not call 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Changing the content of your website without a designer!

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:00:15 +0100

Recently we've been contacted by businesses frustrated that they can't alter the content of their website. So these guys have bought a reasonably priced website, and are now frustrated that they have to pay for amendments!

We've also found another category of people who have a website, but because they need to know some HTML never change its content!

Now it seems bizarre to us to have a website that really isn't yours. I mean imagine having a car that you can park on your drive, but you can't actually go in the car and turn the key. That would be stupid! And that's why at iPages we have designed an easy to use content managed website.

Are are websites templated? Er no! You do need to have some design knowledge to get the look of iPages right. If you want to make it look fab then you'll need to employ a designer who is au fait with HTML and CSS.

But now I've confused with technical gobbledygook, and you just want a beautiful looking website that you can alter yourself. That's why iPages is so perfect. You can have a professional website, full of functionality and information, and you can make changes yourself with a click of a button.

And all this from as little as around £20 pcm for a simple 3 page website, and that includes hosting, commercial email, back ups, and optimisation of your site.

Too good to be true? Why not call today and find out how you can take the control back of your website and save yourself money!

Affordable Content Managed Ecommerce Websites - iPages has the answer!

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:32:07 +0100

An affordable Ecommerce Website that works is always useful! An affordable Ecommerce Website where you manage the content and that takes the strain out of selling online, well that's a tall order! But at iPages we have this ecommerce solution, a website that is bespoke, affordable, functional and will cut down on staffing costs and money.

You might be wondering how it is possible that we can offer this exciting opportunity for such little money. Well we have an outstanding web-based ecommerce solution that you can lease for an affordable monthly fee. The iPages' ecommerce website will run all your sales orders processing, manage your customers, run your accounts, give you a beautiful shop, keep you in touch with your shop visitors, and so much more.

We know that iPages has an outstanding ecommerce solution. Our customers know this also, and as a result are moving more and more of their business to us. It is the simplicity of iPages, and the low costs of maintaining a site that are the real winners for iPages. You will not need to employ someone to input orders, you won't need to pay your book-keeper to spend hours on your accounts, we are about to introduce our stock control module, so all in all it is an extremely comprehensive system.

Do you need to know how to code to use iPages? No. Do you have to pay a designer when you want to add a page, or alter a product? Can you import products, customers, and export your orders to a fulfillment company? Yes you can.

To find out how iPages can change how you run your ecommerce business call 01403 786984 and we'll see how we can help you.

Book Publishers Have Affordable & Functional Ecommerce Website with iPages

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:55:33 +0100

With ebooks outstripping sales of ordinary books on Amazon Book Publishers are looking for an affordable ecommerce solution that can meet the demand for downloadable books. At iPages we offer an ideal and cost effective ecommerce package that is web-based, can work smoothly with Amazon, whilst offering online sales.

"Currently we are seeing an increase in sales of our ecommerce websites to book publishers," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "This is because the finished site can look fantastic, but their is enormous functionality behind the ecommerce website. We specialise in downloadable products, which can sit easily alongside other items, and some of our sites mix buying from Amazon with buying directly from their site."

"As part of our ecommerce solution we also absorb the cost of the card processing payments, making iPages very financially attractive. The solution also incorporates financial accounting, saving hours in book-keepers and accountants, and our Contact Relationship plug-in means that customers can be notified of new products at the click of a button."

Snake River Press, Overcoming, and Ivy Press Shop are all companies that publish books or pamphlets and are using iPages' ecommerce websites to successfully promote their business.

Simple & affordable online CRM

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:37:48 +0100

At the moment we are redesigning our website here at iPages. And this involves copious cups of tea and hours spent trawling on the internet looking at what's available out there and seeing how iPages is the better solution. Now that's not to say that there aren't other web development companies who aren't good, but it has been consoling to see that we have some excellent benefits compared to other web development/design companies, we're just not very good at advertising them.

You'd have thought that a company like ours would make it a priority to promote our business. And yes, we can see all the advantages of this, but we are constantly trying to help our customers and so our work gets a lower priority, unfortunately.

Now before all you wonderful marketing consultants fire off your c.v. to iPages, we would like to point out that we've spent a lot of money on marketing professionals in the past with very little return. Again we might just have been unfortunate, but there is enough expertise within iPages to write copy and do design, but it's finding time to hide somewhere and do the rewrite.

Anyway, the point of this is to say that we have been underselling ourselves.

Take for example our CRM package that's available for only £22 pcm. Does it manage all relationships, not just customers? Yes it does. Can it be used by as many users as you want? Yes it can. And we don't start bumping up the price for the number of users. Does it have a calendar? Yes. Can you track who's done what? Yes you can, and that might be really important if you're trying to manage a sales team. Does it give you an action list? Yes of course, and you have all your notes and information on a server, so that you can instantly access those details.

Does our CRM have a registration form that collects data for you? Of course, and your contacts can be emailed at the click of a button. Then of course you can customise your groups and features, so that the CRM package fits your company.

So if you're pulling your hair out and wondering how to keep on top of your day to day activities why not give iPages a call and see how we can help you.

Web Design Associates Sought By iPages

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:53:15 +0100

Are you are an excellent web designer? Do you want to earn more money? Design sites quicker? Be able to offer greater functionality with your websites without having to pay for programming? Well what are you waiting for?!!!

If you are experienced in CSS and HTML then you'll find iPages the ideal solution for your design needs. At iPages we offer the following plug-ins to a website that can be added at the click of a button:

Ecommerce with full sales orders processing
Service activity management with associated invoicing
Photo - gallery
RSS News/Blog
Interactive contact form
CRM - including HTML emails
Forum
Access control
Directory
Events with a calendar
Resource catelogue

Our websites are also designed so that title tags and other optimisation requirements are built into the website.

If you are interested in how iPages can boost your sales and save you time call 01403 786984.

Ecommerce Website Makes Credits & Refunds Easy!

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:14:10 +0100

With the latest Trading Standards case against Next making national news you may be wondering how efficient your ecommerce website is at crediting and refunding your customers.

At iPages we believe that running an online shop should be easy. We have made crediting an invoice simple and have included the ability to refund any part of an invoice with a simple click of a button. So if you are selling to businesses you might choose not to credit the shipping of an item, and might even charge a restocking fee to receive goods back - if it's part of your terms and conditions. However, if you are selling directly to consumers then you must comply with the Distance Selling Regulations, which means that you have to refund not only the cost of the item, but also the shipping costs.

Running our own iPod and Mac accessory ecommerce website, macstore.co.uk, has enabled iPages to understand all the pitfalls that managing an ecommerce website might face, and have carefully developed an ecommerce solution to meet these eventualities.

If you'd like to find out more about iPages call 01403 786984.

Time and Service Invoicing Software Developed by iPages

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:51:06 +0100

IPages are experts in ecommerce software design. However, we have been asked by our associates recently to develop a plug-in that records time and activity on a client basis. They then wanted to be able to invoice directly from these records and so Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages, along with his team, set to work.

"We already have this software for Khoo Systems, the parent company of iPages," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "However, what was wanted is a little more complicated, but it we are confident that any business will find this plug-in invaluable. We are at the final stages of testing and will shortly be releasing this module at an affordable monthly fee."

For more information on iPages call 01403 786984.

Forum Software Available from iPages - In Action at Car4Play, the UK's No.1 Motoring Forum

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:54:42 +0100

The Motoring Forum, www.car4play.com, has gone from strength to strength since its beginning at the end of February. Not only has it attracted a loyal following, but its software has enabled the site to function quickly and the site is easy to use.

Forum software, similar to that used at Car4Play, is available at iPages, and for only a small monthly fee. Costs do depend on the number of posts, but this iPages' plug-in is outstanding value for money. And if you want to make the forum for private use only this is possible with our access control plug-in.

So if you would like to keep in-touch with a business group, or your customers, why not have an iPages' forum.

Content Managed Ecommerce Solutions Can Be Successful

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:58:46 +0100

Sussex Ecommerce Website Design Company, iPages, have seen their customers increase their profits with iPages' ecommerce solution. With over 15 years experience in programming iPages has made ecommerce accessible and affordable for businesses, and as a result seen their client base grow over the past few years.

"Our success has come because iPages isn't just an online shop." said Dr Khoo, Director of iPages. "Our ecommerce solution will virtually run the entire web business from ordering to accounting, and once the stock control module is finished then there will be little in the market to compete with the system."

"We are aware that ecommerce can be expensive, but our costs are based on the turnover of a business and includes card processing fees."

If you would like to find out how iPages can help you to grow your online business call 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Bespoke Content Managed Ecommerce Websites that are Affordable

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:59:19 +0100

iPages' has been providing Content Managed Ecommerce Websites that provide an excellent rate of return for almost a decade. But what makes us different is our service. We are professional, understanding, but we will speak your language and wont bamboozle you with technical jargon and additional costs.

At iPages we understand how difficult it is to find a company that you can trust. We appreciate the pitfalls and are proud that we have kept our customers for the past decade and have grown our customer base through refferals and recommendations. Although we are not the cheapest company around, we certainly are outstanding value when you consider the quality and functionality of our ecommerce websites.

The optmisation of your website is also part of iPages' ecommerce solution, as is hosting, commercial email, and payment card provider fees. This will save you a fortune and if you want a one-stop solution we do integrate to a couple of logistic companies so that your ecommerce website is virtually hassle free.

If you would like to find out more please call 01403 786984 and we will see how we can help.

Optimising Products on an Ecommerce Website

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:07:37 +0100

We are currently undertaking some work for one of our clients. He has an ecommerce website, that is doing so well that he has bought another one for his other business! But that's an aside, what I wanted to talk about was some research for his site.

We were searching Google for one of his products and found it listed on page 1! It's so exciting to see that the in-built title tag for each product really does work. Knowing that the title of your product is flagged to make it easier for Google to find it has brought much success to our clients. We are happy that our ecommerce websites are working and if you are wondering how your products can fare the same on Google either ask your web designer to put in title tags for your products, or alternatively call us and move your website to iPages!

Content Managed Ecommerce Websites from iPages Win Contracts Daily

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:26:32 +0100

Having a content managed ecommerce website that is professional, beautiful and functional is a tall order these days. Having an ecommerce website that works, can be found on Google, and is affordable is an even more far-fetched, but perhaps you've not considered iPages.

It's unfortunate that we can't do iPages justice in a few lines, but clearly our ecommerce solution is extremely attractive as more and more of our clients are expanding their onlne businesses to incorporate additional iPages' sites.

"We have seen an enormous rise in growth over the past six months," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "What is interesting is that many of our existing clients are ordering new websites from us, or are transferring their other websites to us."

"I think that once a customer can see what iPages can do for them, how the ecommerce solution will save them so much time and money, then they are keen to move other business to us. It is understandable that initially a new customer wont want to put all their eggs in one basket (unless they've had the system recommended to them), but normally we see other websites created as the result of the success of the client's ecommerce site."

If you would like to find out more as to how iPages can help you call 01403 78984.

Bespoke Ecommerce Website with Content Management

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:00:38 +0100

If you are looking for a bespoke ecommerce website which allows you to manage your own content then look no further. At iPages we not only design beautiful websites, but they are fully functional running your online sales, as well as your sales ordering process.

At iPages our ecommerce websites also manage your customers, creating events, detailing their orders and providing information on the card transactions. Accounts are exportable to SAGE. Our ecommerce solution will give you a breakdown of your sales figures and accounts and our system is ideal for account customers.

If you would like to find out more why not call us today and see how we can help you.

Financial Reports For Ecommerce Website Upgraded

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:22:03 +0100

Does your ecommerce website give you a break down of your daily sales? Does your ecommerce website show you total sales for each day, week, month? Does it break these sales down into variants so that you can see what stock is low and what needs ordering? Among the numerous financial reports that an iPages' website provides you is this new report that provides a complete breakdown on sales for the day.

This benefit has been introduced to help our ecommerce website customers view their daily sales for stock purposes. This will be part of the forerunner of the stock module which will be so much more than an indication of daily sales on the website.

For more information on iPages' ecommerce websitea please call 01403 786984.

Official ONE LOVE Manchester United Supporters Shirt Launched Today

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:40:40 +0100

Official ONE LOVE Manchester United Supporters' Shirt went on sale today at oneloveshirt.com. Using iPages' ecommerce solution hundreds of shirts were pre-sold in the first few hours of the site being launched.

M.U.S.T. has commissioned Tekkers, a new international leisurewear brand, to manufacture a limited edition run of 5,000 Football Shirts. Each shirt is uniquely numbered on the bottom left-hand side and is available for fans to buy prior to the season.

All profits from the sale of the shirt are going to the British Heart Foundation to fund pioneering research into regenerative medicine and iPages is glad to be able to support this worthy charity.

For more information on iPages' ecommerce solution call 01403 786984.

Optimisation of Ecommerce Website Improved by Product URL's

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:31:12 +0100

Optimisating your ecommerce website is important for sales. Although other techniques for marketing your business are essential, at iPages we are always looking for ways to increase your ecommerce website's performance on the web.

Recently we have introduced the customisation of the url to reflect the description of a product. This is a key way to help Google find your products. If your ecommerce website doesn't do this then we would suggest that you ask your developer to include this for you.

It is also important to look at how you name your products and categories. At iPages we will work with you to help you to choose the right description for your goods, that reflect what someone would search for on the net. You are able to override the title of a product for Search Engines whilst keeping a different name of your product on the site.

What is essential is that your ecommerce website is working for you, not against you, and iPages has been developed to help our customers sell online with ease.

How Can I Optimise My Website? A top tip…

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:07:24 +0100

Every day at iPages we are sent requests from businesses asking us to help them to optimise their websites. This is normally because their website just can't be found on Google.

We wondering if we should steal Spec Savers' strap line and use "Should have gone to iPages!" for marketing purposes! Why would you spend money on a website that doesn't include in-built optimisation and the option to purchase a News plug-in that attracts search engines to your website? Sadly we don't offer optimisation of other companies' websites, and encourage our customers not to be fooled by Search Engine companies who call touting for business.

But let me share some of the features that we include with an iPages' website, and it will help you to know what to ask for when having a website designed. We'd naturally welcome your business, but if you have gone elsewhere, or need to improve your website's ranking on Google we'd recommend the following:

Choose your key words wisely and ensure that they are in the title tag for your website. The <title> tag defines the title of a document is required on all websites. The title tag doesn't necessarily have to be the name of your company, although you might want to include the name in the heading.

The thing that you must ask yourself is "what is Joe Public going to type into Google that relates to my product?". If you are selling hand-painted furniture then this should be included in the title tag, if it's ecommerce websites, then include this. Time after time we answer questions on optimisation from people who believe that someone who lives hundreds of miles away from their business must have heard of them. It is unlikely that your company is that well known unless you are big like Amazon or Google. And although it is good to be found by your existing customers the purpose of most websites is to increase sales, so ask your friends and family what words best describes your company.

So that's my first top tip. If you're in a niche market then just changing the title tag can make an enormous difference in your performance on the web.

Hyatt Associates Choose iPages to Showcase Work

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:04:15 +0100

Hyatt Associates, creative designers, have chosen iPages to showcase their work. Having hosted their site with Khoo Systems Limited for several years they are moving to iPages because of the ability to illustrate their work so professionally.

"We have worked with Kelly Hyatt for several years," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "And in fact he has recently put together the new branding for iPages, which looks fresh and exciting."

"This site will illustrate superbly that iPages is not just an ecommerce website company, but can produce beatiful websites that are full of functionality."

To find out more about iPages call 01403 786984.

An Ecommerce Website with Affordable Functionality

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:20:52 +0100

An ecommerce website that has the ability to process orders, manage accounts, send HTML emails, offer discount vouchers, export to SAGE, include RSS News feeds, have account customers, provide trade discounts and be fully optimised might seem an expensive prospect. At iPages we believe that selling online should be affordable and so have developed an ecommerce solution that has outstanding functionality and costs very little per month.

"We are seeing a real growth in sales of ecommerce websites," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "I think that our customers and prospects can see that they can have a beautiful online store that also runs their sales ordering process. Some of our clients run their business from abroad because our ecommerce solution takes care of most things for them."

"With the introduction of automatic invoicing we have also given our customers more choice if they wish to focus on other areas rather than allocating sales themselves, so we are always developing iPages to improve its functionality."

For more information on iPages call 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Wild Bird Seed Suppliers, SPC Wild Bird Supplies, Launches Online Shop

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:45:58 +0100

Wild bird seed suppliers, SPC Wild Bird Supplies, launched its ecommerce website today using iPages' ecommerce solution. A beautiful website, full of functionality and information this ecommerce website illustrates the flexibility of iPages.

"This is a fantastic website," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "We have enjoyed putting it together and the enthusiasm of the owners to make it successful has certainly helped to make the site a really useful website. Not only is it easy to buy things from, but it is packed with facts on wild birds and other indigenous animals in the UK."

"We wish SPC Wild Bird Supplies every success with their online shop and look forward to seeing their sales soar."

Office Supplies Express Furthers Relationship with iPages

Thu, 27 May 2010 10:54:27 +0100

A successful meeting took place yesterday between iPages and leading bespoke office supplies company Office Supplies Express.

Office Supplies Express are already using iPages' ecommerce solution to run two of their companies and are looking at moving their business forward. Using the Contact Relationship Module fully, and stretching iPages' ecommerce plug-in to its fullest capacity has helped iPages to see how the functionality of their ecommerce website can be further developed.

"It's always good to meet with clients," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "Office Supplies Express are an excellent example of how iPages can be used to run the sales ordering process and manage prospects and customers. Optimisation is also included, an RSS News plug-in and products can be uploaded to Google."

"Our ecommerce solution is also affordable and we are always developing it to meet our customers' needs and benefit them. If you buy a bespoke system in 6 months time you'll be wanting it to do something new and then having to go back to the developer for it to be recoded. At iPages new developments are uploaded to the system at no extra cost, or for a minimal fee, so it is a superb way of having cutting edge technology at a price a business can afford."

If you'd like to find out more about our ecommerce solution call 01403 786984.

Kim Make Up Brushes Launch Ecommerce Website using Pay Pal!

Mon, 24 May 2010 10:44:31 +0100

We are very excited here at iPages because we have our first ecommerce website using Pay Pal. This is a new feature for us and we are happy to be able to offer this method of payments to those of our customers who wish to take payment this way.

Kim Make Up Brushes are specialists in affordable professional make up brushes and are aiming to capture the student make up artist market.

"The ecommerce solution at iPages is ideal for this type of business," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "The company have a system that they know works at a price that they can afford. Our monthly costs reflect the usage of the system so as their business starts off then our charges are low. And as Kim's Brushes become more successful then they will not need to take on more staff as our sales order processing will run everything for them."

"We also have an excellent module that enables Kim's Brushes to email prospects and customers, and with optimisation built in, products exportable to Google products, and the ability to export accounts to SAGE at the click of a button, then iPages is a superb way to sell online."

If you would like to find out more on how iPages can help you call 01403 786984.

Key Words in URL's Improves Ecommerce Website's Google Performance

Wed, 19 May 2010 16:12:20 +0100

To further improve our ecommerce website's performance on Search Engines we have introduced keywords in the URL (Uniform Resource Locator, the unique address of a web page on the internet).

At iPages we are always looking to improve our customers' online shops performance on the web. By making this small change to the URL we are confident that our ecommerce customers will see a difference in ranking for their products.

"This service is included as part of iPages' functionality," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "Helping our ecommerce clients to be as successful as possible is important to us as a company, and we are looking forward to seeing an increase in our customers' sales as a result of this change."

For more information on how iPages can help you to sell online call 01403 786984.

Payment System Upgrade Goes Live

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:01:41 +0100

After months of solid programming iPages have released their upgraded payment system. This has introduced the ability to integrate to Pay Pal and Sage Pay, authorise the total amount required from a card and improved the emailing facilities for customers.

"Although for our ecommerce customers there wont appear to be too much of a change coding wise the system is now entirely different," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages.

"We have incorporated many alterations in the update of iPages and are excited with its potential," he continued. "We have ironed out some of the bugs, but mainly improved the ability to buy online for repeat customers and account customers, so we are extremely pleased with the results."

For more information on how iPages can help you with selling online call 01403 786984.

Discount Vouchers Increases Ecommerce Sales

Mon, 17 May 2010 15:59:49 +0100

Buying online is now a normal activity for most people, but to succeed as an ecommerce website discount vouchers are a must. At iPages discount vouchers are available as part of our ecommerce solution and can apply to categories, products, or on sales.

Discount vouchers are also a way in which you encourage your ecommerce customers to return to the site and at iPages we have seen the success of this for our clients. With our CRM module linking directly to customers emails relating to discounts can be sent to persuade existing customers to return to a site.

"We can see that discount vouchers really do make a difference to sales," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "And of course with an iPages' ecommerce website you can always show related items alongside products, which can really encourage sales."

If your ecommerce website needs to be upgraded why not see how iPages can help you. Call 01403 786984 for more information.

An Ecommerce Website Company that Cares!

Fri, 14 May 2010 16:57:00 +0100

It's a beautiful evening here in Sussex and as it's a Friday I've time to take stock of the week and what's been going on.

We've had the first week of a coalition government and although I think that things will be difficult during the next few years, I feel more hopeful somehow. At iPages we have always wanted to help our ecommerce customers through the challenges of the economy, and slashed our prices severely last year, hoping to take some of the strain of the recession from them.

I've also been mulling over iPages and thinking about the advantages of using us, and why we are gaining new customers daily, and generally growing at a rate of knots. I have to admit that my headline is a bit cheeky because most ecommerce website companies do care, but at iPages I often feel that we go the extra mile for customers, giving them advice on marketing, explaining to them how to use the news module successfully, and generally giving them advice on how to make the most of their website. And this comes without extra charge, which is unusual these days.

Many people come to iPages, and stay with us, not because we are the cheapest on the market, but because we give a very personal service. We will be committed to your business, and draw alongside you, if you want, to make in-roads into the market.

So if you're mulling over the performance of your ecommerce website, and are wondering if you could find a simpler system that has more functionality than most other systems out there, then give us a ring and see how we can help you.

iPages 2.2 Update

Thu, 13 May 2010 16:45:00 +0100

This page details the key changes made to the iPages website system by the 2.2 upgrade.

Rationale for Change

The main reason for the changes that we have made over the last few months was that an internet merchant bank had complained about the way we have been processing transactions. On card payment we would make a £1.01 transaction on a deferred transaction to verify and store a card reference and then submit this reference on invoice when the actual payment is taken. The initial transaction authorised with the bank had all card fields completed including the 3 digit number on the back of the card (the card verification number or CV2). The invoice payment transaction was only submitted with the card number and expiry date because our payment gateway providers are not allowed to store the CV2. So although we consider all transactions to be fully authorised because they can all be traced to an initial fully authorised transaction, this is not the way that the clearing banks see it. They see the invoice transaction as "unauthorised" because it does not have the CV2 submitted with it. They get particularly edgy when the amount taken is substantially more than the £1.01 "authorised".

The solution has not been easy. We could not simply alter the initial transaction to the full amount, because we have known some users to repeatedly authorise their card and what authorising for deferred payment does is to "ring fence" the amount authorised against the user's card preventing them from spending that credit on anything else. So while it is acceptable to ring fence £1.01 repeatedly, it is not acceptable to do this for large amounts as the shopper could rapidly use all the credit on their card.

We had to adopt a completely different strategy, meaning that the way we used to check out user's shopping carts had to be completely restructured. Essentially the payment screen had to be the last thing that the shopper saw when placing an order. This had the advantage that we could integrate to other payment systems that used only "form-based" payments where the user is directed off the shopping site to a payment page hosted elsewhere. For our existing customers who use our direct integration method of taking payments with Secure Hosting or Cardstream (both through Universal Payments Gateway) it meant that we created our own payments page that sits within their current site, giving the illusion to the shopper that they have never left the site.

In addition to changing the way we handle payments we also took the opportunity to update much of the iPages code infrastructure to use more of the features introduced by PHP5 (the language used behind iPages):

a new configuration class object was used to contain many of the iPages site settings
we made more use of objects for invoicing, orders, and payment processes
we added a new error handling (exceptions) system

.. among many things. If none of the above list makes any sense, in short we have recoded many thousands of lines of existing code to be in line with developments in the coding language. With so many changes it has taken a substantial amount of time to do the necessary bug testing. Although we have been as throrough as we can over this we are realists and assume that there will inevitably be some that have slipped through the net. We would appreciate it if you find anything that you let us know.

For completeness, here is a summary of some of the changes we have made that may affect you as an end user:

Ecommerce Trolley

Removed selection checkboxes and buttons for Delete selected, Update Quantities.
Moved Empty Trolley
All changes are now simply just made on clicking the Trash icon or changing quantities.
Added voucher code redemption

Ecommerce Vouchers - revised to allow

redemption of multiple vouchers
single use or exclusive vouchers.
single use vouchers can now be redeemed by first time shoppers
product or product category specific vouchers

Ecommerce Checkout

Removed checkout wizard screens (Invoice and Delivery ->Payment ->Confirmation).
Replaced with a single checkout screen followed by a payment screen (if online payment selected)
Validation occurs on the checkout screen as the user enters information
Second level of validation after clicking Place Your Order
Changes stored if user decides to go back and amend order
Trolley updates as options are selected
Multiple online payment gateways are possible
On completion of this screen you will have recorded in iPages
- customer information - including customer login if applicable
- order information, although this will display in the administration section as pay status failure.
If the customer does not complete payment they will be directed to another screen that allows them to either :
- cancel the order placed
- make payment from the previous selection of payment gateways. That way, if, for example Paypal fails, they could choose this time around to pay by Securehosting.

Ecommerce Payment

Paypal and Sagepay added.
Hosted form-based integration with Secure Hosting and Cardstream added.
In any of the above, payment is directed to a separate page which should be styled to suit your site appearance. Payment is also immediate.
We have retained our direct integration with Secure Hosting and Cardstream and if you have an account with either we would suggest that you remain with this method. With direct integration payments are authorised for the full amount of the order, but payment is not taken until invoice.

Payment Complete Screen

Reworded and restyled and displays
- order link,
- invoice link (if appropriate),
- offline payment information (if this payment method was selected)
- electronic downloads (if part of the order) for immediate download
- your custom text below this which can be either for successful or unsuccessful payment. (can be set in Admin->Ecommerce settings->Shop/Checkout Settings).
Electronic order items are invoiced for automatically
All orders can be invoiced automatically (can be set in Admin->Ecommerce settings ->Shop/Checkout Settings)

Adminstration Section

Customers
- split Name field into Title, Forename and Surname to match with payment gateways and the iPages Contacts.
- events for selected customer are now always visible even if the CRM module is not installed.
- events link to email events.
- emails read are now part of the email and not logged as a separate event.
- revised one off email to customer screen
- Online Payment and Place Order
  - customers are required to enter a CV2 every time they use an existing card
  - site administrators have the choice to use a CV2 (where a full authorisation will be made) or leave it off (when the existing card reference will be used and it will appear to the clearing bank that it is a repeat payment without authorisation)
Sales Order/Activity
- orders now show pay status and tooltips showing more information on the payment process. On direct integration the second tooltip shows logs of actions within the payment screen.
- orders are now Allocated and Invoiced instead of Allocated and Dispatched although the wording on the Allocate screen still shows Dispatch. We will be creating a new process called Allocate and Dispatch for invoices with an option of making this automatic for orders. This is to allow dispatch information to be recorded separately by many of our ecommerce customers who use fulfillment warehouses.
- invoices likewise show tooltips on payment information.
Settings
- Removed Terms and conditions item (replaced by URL link below)
- Shop/ Checkout Options
  - added option to invoice automatically on order
  - added URL of where your ecommerce Terms and Conditions are located. This replaces the separate ecommerce page within Settings. The Agree to terms checkbox does not show on Trolley Checkout if this URL is empty.
  - added payment successful and failed customisable text for Order Complete landing page.
- Payment Options
  - revised to allow multiple payment gateways. On each gateway:
    - Set enabled
    - Checkcode is the password for taking payments. Some gateways use the password field for refunds
    - Allow credit card charges as a percentage of order (we have removed the charges as fixed amount and percentage of each of the types of card used)
- Discount Voucher Campaigns
  - exclusive, single-use vouchers
  - vouchers for specified products or product categories

Email Queue

One of the problems you may have encountered with the CRM system was sending many thousand emails to your contacts - for example, for monthly newsletters. Basically the system could sometimes timeout when sending emails due to the volume sent at once. Furthermore once this had happened it was difficult to know where the system had got to and know who had not already been emailed.

We have added an email queuing system to iPages to address these issues.

all ecommerce automated emails are now queued and sent immediately. This applies to user registrations, orders, invoices, and supplier purchase orders.
all emails to customers are queued.
both of the above apply regardless of whether the CRM module is installed or not.
all emails to contacts are queued.

We have added an Email Queue section to the CRM. In this section you will be able to view and manage the queues for

contacts
customers (if the ecommerce module is installed)
Emails are now stored in the Email queue system instead of Events but are still visible within the Events list

Queued email actions:

view emails by various criteria
view the actual email that will be sent to a particular contact
make an email selection, and
- delete,
- place on hold
- requeue held emails
- send the selection immediately
display emails queued, sent and read

Edit Content

Miscellaneous->Setup Variables
- Fixed display of custom key variables (previously showed the substitution and not the key)
- Added variable {TIMESTAMP} - the current timestamp
  e.g. adverts with [TIMESTAMP] in the implementation code should have this variable changed to {TIMESTAMP}.
- Variables now are substituted within the page content section as well as all associated content.
- Variable keys are now checked on input to prevent use of {} and # characters that would mess up the substitution.

Resource Module

This has been re-written to be similar to the current directory and ecommerce modules.

tile, list and column views
categories
aliases
module in only once. Where it has been placed in several times we have combined them into categories.

Appearance Designer

We have added Multilevel Dropdown Navigation

In this section you will be able to turn on drop down menus for your horizontal and/ or vertical navigation.
Adds to the existing navigation system
Style (colours, backgrounds, borders, dividers, opacity, drop shadows and other settings like offsets)
Works on {_pane_vnav} and {_pane_hnav} variables.
Some features like opacity do not work on Internet Explorer 6

Ecommerce Website Affordable and Functional

Thu, 13 May 2010 16:32:10 +0100

At iPages we understand how hard it is for a start up business to make money initially through their ecommerce website. That's why we do not charge a large upfront development fee, but have a monthly fee that is based on sales. Therefore if you do not sell very much during your first month of trading then you'll only have to pay a small fee, as your sales increase, and iPages does more work for you running your ecommerce business, then we will charge you a small percentage of your sales.

"We've found that our customers are very happy with this system," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages Ltd. "They know that they will be having an ecommerce website that works, and that will save them an enormous amount of time and money. We have known customers to redeploy staff as they no longer have to type in orders, create invoices and weigh items to work out the delivery price."

If your company would benefit from an affordable and easy to use ecommerce website call 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Need an Ecommerce Solution? Look no further!

Wed, 12 May 2010 10:18:56 +0100

It's interesting sometimes talking with prospective ecommerce clients. I think what we enjoy most is being able to say "yes" to most things. Let's look at a conversation that I had yesterday:

Q: "Do you have a forum, as we're hoping to build a community alongside our product?"

A: "Yes we do at it starts from only a fiver a month. It's being used by the Prison Service and can be seen in action at the motoring forum Car4Play.com."

Q: "Great, but we want to let people know about events to promote our business, you don't happen to have something like that do you?"

A: "Of course we do, we have an outstanding events module and it's linked to a calendar."

Q: "What about resellers, can they see the products at their discount price?"

A: "Yep, and you can even calculate the commission on their sales."

Q: "What about a blog, we'd like to be able to chat about our product and use that to help us on Google."

A: "Blogging is simple with an iPages' ecommerce website, you just put in the News module and you can start letting your web visitors know what you're up to, and they can post comments. This is written in a special format liked by Search Engines so it will help your success on Google, and it's only £7.50 pcm!"

Q: "Mmm, this all sounds good, but does your system invoice people automatically, if I want it to?"

A: "Yes, and it will automatically send out the dispatch note and invoice. And if you have to credit someone then the credit note is also automatically generated when the money is put back on the card."

Q: "Can I use a call centre to take orders?"

A: "Yes, iPages has been specifically written to enable call centres to take orders on behalf of customers. Several of our clients use this method of sales very successfully."

Q: "OK, it's sounding very good, but what about my accounts?"

A: "The system can do all your accounting for you, but there is also an option to export your accounts to SAGE, so it can save heaps of time every quarter when it comes to filling in your VAT return."

So this gives you an idea of what iPages can do, and you can see that it is so much more than an ecommerce website. Did we win the contract? Well the time limit on this one was a little bit tight, and there was fierce opposition by a strong competitor, but we ticked all the boxes, so I'll let you know how it goes.

If you're after a comprehensive ecommerce solution, at a price that you can afford, why not call us today on 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Discount Available For Billingshurst's Business Community on Websites from iPages!

Mon, 10 May 2010 15:07:32 +0100

At iPages we are great believers in supporting the local community. Although our client base is national we are always willing to help Billingshurst businesses who would like to have a website, or feel that their website is just not working for them. At iPages we are experts in professional website design and specialise in making the functional beautiful. Our leased website solution will enable you to compete successfully on the web and show case your work superbly. In addition we can offer HTML email marketing, a resource directory, an events calendar, a photo-gallery, an online brochure, and a news module that will help to promote various aspects of your business.

We want to support our local businesses so currently are offering a 15% discount to all local businesses based in and around Billingshurst. Every website comes with free hosting and commercial email, and each page can be optimised saving you a fortune on Search Engine Optimisation specialist fees.

If you would like to find out more please call 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

An Ecommerce Website available to Billingshurst's Businesses

Mon, 10 May 2010 11:19:53 +0100

We like helping businesses to fulfill their dream of selling online. We enjoy working with companies to make a success of their ecommerce website, and we're good at it. Our ecommerce websites are being used to sell furniture, bespoke cards, tools, pills, t-shirts, books, electronic goods, car parts, electronic downloads, magazines, clothes, bird seed, bulbs, plants and so much more!

If you are local to us here in Billingshurst and you are thinking about selling online, or are already doing so, but are disappointed with your return, why not call us on 01403 86984 to see how we can help you?

Sussex web design company offers more than just ecommerce websites

Fri, 07 May 2010 14:31:37 +0100

We enjoy our work here at iPages and are very focused on developing our ecommerce solution. We are hoping that our new payment system will be live next week, but it is easy to forget that iPages offers so much more than an affordable ecommerce website solution.

One of the modules developed by iPages is the photo-gallery. This is a superb way of show-casing work online and letting your customers and prospects know what you can do for them and the benefits that your company can offer.

An excellent example of how the photo-gallery can work can be seen at Colin Jessey. Colin Jessey are experts in architecture, surveying and design in Worthing, Sussex and have used the photo-gallery to illustrate their work.

The photo-gallery module is extremely affordable and for a small monthly fee is a superb way to present your recent projects to the web.

To find out how iPages can help your business to increase its market reach call 01403 786984.

An Ecommerce Website for all Target Groups

Wed, 05 May 2010 16:15:09 +0100

It is only when you sit down with a customer who wants an ecommerce website that you begin to realise just how versatile iPages is. Whether it is an arty website, or one that is more traditional iPages can accommodate your ideas of how you wish your website to look like.

What is most exciting is that the website can make selling online simple. The sites are simple to set up, the products and admin areas are easy to put together and the site will be optimised by us. Then there are all the benefits with an iPages' ecommerce website:

sales information
emails to suppliers
automated emails
html emails to customers
news/blog
accounts exportable to SAGE
affordable costs each month
free updates
software that keeps up with the latest technology
content managed by yourself

and so much more.

If you would like to find out more about iPages then call 01403 786984.

An Ecommerce Website that's Beautiful and Functional

Tue, 04 May 2010 14:38:35 +0100

At iPages we are committed to making our ecommerce websites beautiful and functional. Since the enormous changes that were made to iPages at the end of last year we have been able to introduce new ways of presenting our websites, so much so that we are starting on our own redesign here in the office.

"It's amazing just how far we've come in the past year," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "We've had some amazing ecommerce websites, but each time I look there is another one that has newer elements of design that I am amazed by."

"We are so blessed to have a good team of expert web designers," Dr Khoo continued. "Although there is a charge for an ecommerce website design we believe that we do provide outstanding value for money. Our ecommerce website designs start from only £1000 and yet our designs are beautiful, sophisticated, clean and professional. Even though there is enormous functionality behind each website this is incorporated seamlessly into the design."

If you would like a beautiful yet functional ecommerce website call 01403 786984.

Time for Customers is Central to iPages - specialists in ecommerce websites

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:11:32 +0100

It's the Friday of the Bank Holiday and although the skies are gloomy over West Sussex the iPages' team are jolly and enjoying helping their ecommerce website customers.

This was something that I was pondering today as I answered yet another enquiry from one of our customers. The majority of the questions that we receive do not relate directly to iPages, but we realised that one of our unique selling points as a company is that you can pick up a phone and ask for some advice. You might think that this is not cost effective (I'm certain that our accountant thinks the same), but one of the main reasons why iPages is so successful is that we are a company that cares.

It is unusual these days to find a company that doesn't charge you for advice, but we are always willing to help our customers with their business. This is probably one of the main reasons that we maintain our customer base because of the personal service that they receive. And all our staff are trained in this ethos, that people are important and it is more about the service than the money.

If you feel that your web development company isn't really meeting your needs then please feel free to talk to us about having an iPages' website. You don't have to be selling online to take advantage of our outstanding system, many of our customers use iPages to promote their business, or to contact their clients. For a small monthly fee you will have a superb website, email, hosting and support from people who care. Why not call today on 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Totally Managed Ecommerce Website Solution Available

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:02:15 +0100

If you are looking for a managed ecommerce solution that incorporates a beautiful, but functional website, a call centre and an outstanding logistics company then look no further. At iPages we have an ecommerce solution that makes selling online easy and can be used in conjuction with a call centre and the logistics company ILG.

With an iPages' ecommerce website a call centre can take orders by phone for your customers. Once these orders are dispatched by you (this can be done automatically by the system) these sales will be transferred to ILG for them to dispatch on your behalf. The system couldn't be simpler and will save you time and money.

ILG staff are all ready to help talk you through how iPages works so well with their fulfillment service and can advise you on the advantages of having a fully managed ecommerce website system.

If you would like to find out more why not call iPages today to see how we can help you on 01403 786984.

Advantages of an Ecommerce Website that it is Leased

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:42:13 +0100

You may well be wondering what are the advantages of leasing the iPages' software for your ecommerce website, rather than having a site developed and then owning the software outright. In fact the thought of not owning the software behind your ecommerce website may well be one of the stumbling blocks for not choosing us.

It is a discussion that we have from time to time with prospective clients. Interestingly many of these prospects have Microsoft's products at the heart of their business and yet not owning their email, spreadsheet, and presentation software doesn't appear to be an issue.

Perhaps an objection to using iPages' ecommerce solution is feeling tied into a system that you don't own, but all the accounts can be simply exported to SAGE, and products and customers can be simply exported to a csv file, and therefore extracating data is extremely easy. Over the past 7 years we've only had one ecommerce choose another system, and that was due to a change of ownership of the company. Our track record speaks for itself, in addition over 80% of our new customers have had bespoke ecommerce websites which just haven't done the job for them, and have been too costly to maintain and update.

So why choose iPages' ecommerce solution rather than going to a company and having a system written for you? Well firstly you know that the system is going to work. From day 1 you'll be able to make sales, process orders, manage your customers, send emails, and have your site optimised. There'll be no frantic phone calls to your developer pointing out teething problems, no feelings of regret that your site doesn't work in every browser, and no sinking feeling that you forgot to have your site optimised and that that wasn't included in your fee.

Other advantages of having an iPages website is that you wont have paid out thousands of pounds for a website to be developed that just doesn't do all that you want it to. At iPages your optimisation is included, you have a News module/Blog just waiting to go, you wont need to know any HTML programming to update your site.

We are also actively updating the functionality of our ecommerce solution and all these improvements are passed on to our customers at no extra charge. With the internet constantly changing you do need to have a website that meets your web customers expectations, not just this year, but next. If you wish to have your bespoke site upgraded you will naturally have to pay for this.

All in all there are enormous benefits of having an iPages' ecommerce website, so if you would like to find out how we can help you please call 01403 786984.

HVP Supplies Relaunches Ecommerce Website

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:13:22 +0100

HVP Supplies, specialist suppliers of products for Gas Safety engineers, relaunched their website today. One of iPages' oldest ecommerce website HVP Supplies have recently changed ownership and the new company expressed their delight with all the benefits associated with iPages.

"Having so many features as standard in an ecommerce website can be a surprise for some businesses," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "Not only does the website run a successful online shop, but it also manages customers' accounts, provides sales analysis and financial reports. Exporting financial data to SAGE has been an enormous benefit for most companies, and being able to take online and offline payments has also proved beneficial for many of our customers."

"Optimisation of pages and products is included as standard," continued Dr Khoo, "And the email service that we provide is of an extremely high standard, quick, efficient and with very little down time."

If your business would benefit from an iPages' ecommerce website call 01403 786984.

An Ecommerce Solution Independent of Flight Delays!

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:25:16 +0100

Despite the stress of the flight delays iPages' customers can continue to work as our ecommerce solution is not desktop dependent, but can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Keeping on top of your sales is easy with an iPages' ecommerce website as it is web-based and therefore whichever airport you are stuck in you can carry on making sales, writing to your customers and viewing your staff's activity.

"We always had remote working in mind when we developed iPages," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages. "We always believed that software would become web-based and this has indeed been the case over the past decade. We have clients who work from abroad with a call-centre and warehouse in the UK overseeing sales."

"It is a wonderful thing to not have the stress of having to get to an office to work, and iPages really will give you control of your business, wherever you are in the world. Although our Contacts Module is ideally designed for HTML emailing, it will also give you a trail of events relating to customers and staff, so you can always see how sales are coming along, what work is being undertaken by your staff, and who is meeting their targets."

"In addition, your staff can also work from home as you'll be able to see when they've logged into your iPages' website and what actions they've taken."

"Our system can also be set up to automatically send a sales order to a supplier, so if you do not wish to carry your own stock then you can outsource this part of your business."

"The internet is a superb way of keeping in touch, and enabling satellite working, which can dramatically cut costs. Our iPages' ecomerce customers have not been affected by the flight problems because of our ethos of allowing access to their websites from anywhere."

If you would like to find out more about iPages' ecommerce solution call 01403 786984.

Online Ordering for Customers is Easy with iPages' Ecommerce Website

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:14:12 +0100

It has been a hectic week at iPages with almost everyone bug testing the new ecommerce payment system. But what has been exciting is seeing again just how easy iPages is to use.

One of the main benefits of the iPages' ecommerce solution is the ability to order for customers from the admin section of the website. This is particularly useful if you take orders from customers via the telephone. A new customer can be made simply and the system keeps details of all existing customers.

Your telesales operatives can go to a customer's screen and simply place an order for them using the iPages' shop. The website will send out all the appropriate emails confirming the orders and the experience will be an excellent one for your customer.

At iPages our aim is to ensure that your ecommerce customers have an excellent experience of shopping with you. We want our clients to also have a stress-free time using our ecommerce solution so that they can focus on growing their business.

If you think that your business would benefit from working with us why not call today to see how we can help you.

Trims & Bows, Chair Covers & Decoration Website, Saves Day!

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:55:35 +0100

Perhaps you are not aware that iPages is a family run business. We have many associates who work alongside us, some of whom spend Christmas and Easter with us, and of course we wouldn't be without Dave and Sarah in the office, but the company does have a distinct family feel, where traditional values of doing business are upheld.

Last week we were all involved in decorating a village hall for a friend's wedding. As a company where good design is paramount this was a challenge, so we looked to see who could help us transform a dowdy village hall to a beautiful venue. This is where the internet came into its own because I was able to find a local firm, Trims & Bows, specialists in chair covers, via Google and once I'd seen their gallery and read the comments on their website, I was happy to give them a call. Pat and her daughter Suzie did an outstanding job, and although her website isn't an iPages site, it shows how important the web is in finding clients.

I think what resonated with us was the personal service that we received from Trims & Bows. We had advice, discounts because of the circumstances of the bride, and enormous help with the finishing touches. The look of the hall was totally transformed with crisp white linen seat covers, cornflower blue organza bows, matching runners and table swags, and a curtain swag over the lighting display behind the top table. Their attention to detail and wanting everything to be right for us reminded me of the type of service that we provide our iPages' customers with at no extra charge.

At iPages we walk alongside our clients to try to help them to grow their business. We will give them free advice on marketing, optimisation, Google ads, html emailing, what makes a good news article and what works well on the web. We will never sell extra modules just to make money, and often we will try to work with our clients to help them make cost effective decisions, always putting their financial needs before our own.

So why does iPages value this approach to business? Well because even though we are at the cutting edge of technology we believe that good business is built on relationships and trust. We have been bitten of late by certain companies, but these have tended to be national businesses, who perhaps see little worth in treating people with respect.

Trims & Bows reflected the type of approach to business that we have at iPages i.e. not greedy, kind, caring and approachable. There is no problem in paying a fair price for a good service, and that is what you will get with iPages. We certainly aren't the cheapest providers of websites that you will find on the internet, but then again we aren't the most expensive either. We will not cheat you, nor will we lie to you, honesty being a major part of our work ethic. That's why it is so difficult for us to come to terms with not being paid for work that was undertaken in good faith.

So if you value business how it used to be, a hand shake and the sense that you will have good people working their hardest for you, then why not consider having a website with us? Many of our clients go on to have more than one website with iPages because of their happy experience with us.

It is rare to find a company like Trims & Bows these days, and I certainly would recommend them. We'd like to think that iPages has a similar ethos and know that that's why our business is growing so well via referrals.

If you would like to use a website design company, who will give the kind of service that used to be the norm, why not call 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Life Plan Investments Launch New Website

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:35:30 +0100

Life Plan Investments, Finance and Insurance Specialists, launched their website with iPages this week. A beautifully designed site with outstanding functionality, Life Plan Investments is just one more example of how iPages can promote a business.

"This website illustrates how easy it is to promote a company's services online for a small monthly fee," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages.

"All our websites can be simply optimised, and as they are content managed clients can edit the website themselves without the need to know HTML programming or anything complicated."

If your business could benefit from an iPages website why not phone 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Ecommerce Website Accounts that Export to Sage

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:06:12 +0100

If your VAT return is looming and you are dreading wading through the invoices from your ecommerce website then maybe iPages has the answer. At iPages our ecommerce solution can save you time and money because by simply clicking a button you can export your payments to Sage. It sounds too good to be true, but we have known our clients to have saved days by having this function in their ecommerce website.

In addition you can also see financial reports on the following:

Daily sales reports for the month and year
Sales by Period for VAT analysis
Item sales by period
Aged debt analysis (useful for account customers)
Open invoices
Customer turnover
All transactions
Transactional analysis
Card transactions
Failed card transactions

At iPages our ecommerce websites make the functional beautiful, so if you'd like further information please call 0403 786984.

Optimisation and Google Analytics Standard with iPages' Ecommerce Websites

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:05:29 +0100

If you are paying extra to have your ecommerce website optimised then you're probably not with iPages. If you're wondering how to climb the Search Engine pages then you're probably not with iPages. Indeed if you've not even got Google Analytics sorted on your website then perhaps it is time to change your ecommerce provider.

At iPages we take optimisation and Google analytics as normal. It isn't something that you should be paying extra for. When you have your website developed the development company should be sorting out how you'll be found on the web for you. They should be helping you set up your Google analytics, and offering you the extra facility of unique visitor statistics if you want them. An RSS News feed should be the norm and the ability to export your accounts to SAGE should also be included.

All these benefits are available with an iPages ecommerce website. If your site isn't performing how you wish it to maybe it's time to give us a call and see how we can help you to save money and give you back control of your website. Call us now on 01403 786984 for further information.

Beautiful Britain launches New Look Ecommerce Website with iPages

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:48:51 +0100

Beautiful Britain Magazine has one of the loveliest websites on the internet. It is such a calm website that epitomises Britain and the beauty of our fair nation. In the current tumultuous political it is wonderful to be able to look at a website that brings tranquility and a sense of pride in our country. The use of a full-screen catalogue illustrates the quality of the magazine that Beautiful Britain produces and the easy online subscription shows how simple iPages is to use as your ecommerce solution.

If your company is in need of a face lift on the web why not contact us now on 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Motoring Forum Car4Play.com Shows Value of Google Cache

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:31:17 +0100

As you will be aware we have been watching with interest the success of the motoring forum Car4play.com. As the website is only 4 weeks old we wanted to see if we could learn any lessons on how to optimise a site to make it perform well on search engines.

One of the things by which we have measured our success of the website is how often Google visits our site. Originally it was a week between visits, but now it is daily. If you search for your website on Google, click on the word Cached, you will get an idea of when your site was last visited by Google. Keep an eye on this statistic daily and see if the techniques that you employ to optimise your site makes any difference in the frequency of Google's visits to your site.

With an iPages' website it is simple to make changes to your website daily. The News module is easy to use, and you can always alter content on your site. With Car4Play the site has a forum which is constantly publishing information to the internet. This makes it very attractive to Search Engines. With an iPages' website you too could monopolise many of iPages' features, including a forum, to ensure that your website is always found at the top of Google, Yahoo and other search engines.

To summarise, be aware of the date of the Cache on Google and see if you can influence the frequency of visits to your site.