www.ipages.biz

Family Car Trip Chooses iPages for its E-commerce Website

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:54:17 +0100

Car travel accessory company Family Car Trip has launched its e-commerce website this week. Currently they are busy beavering away to bring the latest information on what to do when travelling where, and are busy sourcing the best travel accessories for your car.

So why was iPages the ideal e-commerce solution for Family Car Trip?

1. Our e-commerce website works with fulfillment houses.

2. All the back-office processes are taken care of so that Family Car Trip can focus on growing their business.

3. We were able to create the brand using a professional illustrator.

4. With our experience of search engine optimisation we were confident that we would be able to build an e-commerce website that was Google friendly.

5. With our knowledge of blogging, Twitter, and Facebook we were the ideal company to choose for setting up an e-commerce business.

6. Our team are always there at the end of a phone to assist the team at Family Car Trip to start their journey into the internet world.

7. Our e-commerce solution is extremely functional, but nonetheless affordable.

We are all excited by this new project and are looking forward to making Family Car Trip the place to go to for car travel accessories!

Does My E-commerce Website Need Good Photos?

Fri, 04 May 2012 16:46:19 +0100

If you are not a large corporation and yet want to succeed in the online business you are probably asking yourself this very question. Do I really need good quality photographs on my e-commerce website to be successful? Well if you were selling something that everyone was desperate for e.g. the elixir of life then the image wouldn't be that important, but in general you need clean images on your website to encourage sales! After all your online visitor has very little information to go on when it comes to purchasing a product. They do not have the advantage of a kind sales assistant talking them through the benefits of the product, they just have a picture, copy and a price. If an image is poorly shot, or blurred, or does not do the product justice then this decreases the chance of encouraging your prospect to buy it. The lack of a good photograph is a bit like having a shop display where the products were thrown on the floor or put on show in a less than perfect condition.

So how can you achieve better photos? At iPages we do take a lot of shots for our clients, and sometimes we get to enjoy the fruits of our labour - as in these macaroons (which are absolutely delicious and worth buying from Pure Fresh Tea!). Our clients benefit from an outstanding rate for photography, but if your e-commerce website development company doesn't offer this then we would suggest that you follow these tips:

Lighting

Try to find a way to use natural light. Take your shot near a window and if you have a white wall that reflects the window's light then this will work well.
Depending on the weather you might want to consider taking the shots outside either in the early morning or late afternoon, when the light is softer.
If it's not possible to use natural light, adjust the white balance function on your camera. You could also try to use a flash, but do tape white tissue paper over the flash to prevent any harsh shadows.
You could make a softbox from a cardboard box, which will really help to improve your photos. Alternatively take a look at eBay and buy a still life photography kit.

Background

Simple backgrounds work best!
If you're taking the shot on a table cover it with something, but do make sure that the material is wrinkle free. Tablecloths are good if they’re well-ironed; wrinkles just distract the eye. We recently white-washed some wood, which makes a fantastic surface to shoot on (note the macaroons!).
With e-commerce websites we would recommend a white background to shoot products on, but lifestyle shots are essential also. People work well to make products come alive and so do take some time to consider how you could group products together, along with some accessories, to make a shot really work.
Please note that mirrored articles will need to be shot carefully so that you are not visible in the shot!

Taking the shot

Unless you also double as a brain surgeon in your spare time we would recommend that you use a tripod. A shaking hand will cause photos to blur.
When you have smaller items make sure that you take a close up (use the macro setting). It is also good to have something in the shot that gives an idea of the product's size. Most e-commerce websites will enable you to put on more than one photo of the product so do make sure that you take lots of pictures so that your customers will get a good idea of what they will be buying.

We hope that you now realise that good image shots are essential to make your e-commerce website a success. Photography is an art, but taking the above simple steps will help you to take better photos of your products.

Help with Running Your E-commerce Website

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:42:01 +0100

We have noticed that over the past few months that our clients have needed more than just an excellent e-commerce website. Today there is a demand for SEO, blogging, social media networking and high quality photography. There is also an urgency to attract new customers to a website, and so we are always reminding our customers that good content is the way forward.

However, we have increased our services. So what do we now do at iPages?

Well for a small monthly fee we are taking on the SEO and marketing aspects of running an e-commerce website. That means that our clients can relax when it comes to blogging, or search engine opimization, or looking at their web statistics and making amendments accordingly because we are doing it for them. Unfortunately this is only for our iPages' customers, but it isn't too difficult to put a website into iPages.

This is what one of our customers said recently (check out his beautiful wood stove online store at www.woodburners.co.uk):

"I can't believe how much sales have increased since you took over the Search Engine Optimization and did the redesign. I had customers from Oxfordshire this week who had seen the website and travelled all the way to Sussex to buy one of our wood stoves that can't be bought online. It's amazing the response that we've had and our bounce rate has decreased by 30%!".

Not only are we offering SEO services, but we are using Emma Simpson's amazing photography skills and taking shots for clients for their home banners and HTML emails. Blogs are being written regularly and there are a team of people beavering away on our customers' ecommerce websites to ensure that each product is represented properly on the web in terms of search engine performance.

Are we busy? Yes we are!! But that doesn't mean that we don't want to take on new e-commerce projects so why not call us on 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

Do I need to keep working on my e-commerce website, or can I leave it?

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:29:57 +0100

There is only one answer to making a success of your e-commerce website and that is: keep working on it and keep it current!

I do think that web designers and developers are sometimes given a bad name. Even though they produce stunning e-commerce websites, that not only look good, but function well, they are blamed for the poor performance of a site. Why is this? Well the web has changed dramatically since we entered the business 12 years ago. Today there are companies that employ staff to work full-time on their websites keeping them current. Other e-commerce websites are maintained by contractors who write blogs, undertake SEO services and update products when required. So how can the small business survive?

Even if you are a small business your e-commerce website can still succeed on Google, but you must be prepared to put in some effort.

Firstly, remind yourself that you are an expert in your area, if you weren't then you wouldn't be in the business that you're in.

Secondly, you're passionate about what you do! It's your livelihood after all and that means that you will be more committed to your product than a larger business that has to, by default employ more staff. Passion sells, so be encouraged!

Thirdly, don't just put products on your website and sit back! Write about what you know, give advice to your web visitors, just as you would to people visiting your shop, or calling you on the phone.

Fourthly, build your brand. Now I sound like a marketing guru, and in all honesty I'm not officially qualified in that area, but I do see what works and becoming known on Social Networks (Twitter needs to be embraced I'm afraid!), on forums and blogs, is an advantage. Your e-commerce website needs to be the place to go for advice and good products.

Fifthly, keep in touch with your customers - HTML emails really do work, but they are an art in themselves!

Sixthly, use a solution that has good SEO within it and that you can alter yourself e.g. iPages!

Finally, remember that the web is price sensitive, but being a smaller business you may well be able to offer products at a lower cost than your larger competitors. Look at what is doing well for you and then see if you can buy a few more of them and secure a better price, so that you can offer this onto your customers.

So to conclude, an e-commerce website by itself will not make the great returns that you want it to, but with some work it will perform better than you could possibly imagine and is an ideal way to increase your market reach.

Does Redesigning Your E-commerce Website Bring a Good Return?

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:06:10 +0100

I have to admit to being remiss when it comes to keeping up this blog, and if I was one of our customers I would be gently reminding them that blogs need to be kept current so that visitors know that the site is still current! So I do apologise for the lack of communication, but we've had so many exciting things happening at iPages that there hasn't been the hours in the day to write here. So let's consider the topic for today:

To redesign or not to redesign - that is the question

The question of whether redesigning an e-commerce website increases sales is an interesting one. Firstly you need to know how well your current e-commerce website is performing for you, so you need to consider the following:

Where do I rank on Google for my chosen key words?
How many visitors do I have daily to my e-commerce website?
And how did they find the website?
Did they stay long on the site?
And at what point did they exit?
Are my web visitors accessing my products?
And more importantly am I converting these visits into sales?

So once you have this information you then need to consider whether you need a redesign! What is interesting is that the usability of a website is now important not only to the web visitor, but also to search engines. Google is looking at your bounce rate, and wants e-commerce websites to be packed full of unique information. Actually, so does your customer and so you do need to carefully consider the balance between good design and making products easy to find from the home page.

Interestingly we have recently undertaken a redesign for the wood stove specialists, Bradley Stoves, Sussex and have seen their bounce rate drop from 60% to 27%. Sales have also increased and their website has encouraged customers to travel from Oxfordshire to Sussex just to visit their showroom! What makes the site is the ease of navigation and the attractive images, plus the home page does have information on it, but in bite-sized pieces.

In conclusion, it is best to keep your e-commerce website current and fresh looking. The Retro feel is in at the moment so might be worth considering, but whatever the look you choose you must consider how easy it is to navigate the site and whether your visitor will find what they are searching for.

An E-commerce Website that manages Fulfilment

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:52:38 +0100

At iPages we understand that starting an e-commerce business means more than just having an easily navigatable website. That should be a given, as should be a website that has inherent optimisation and can be updated at the click of a button.

What if you are a prospective entrepeneur, however, who is not an existing business? Once you have your website, your internet merchant bank account, and your marketing plan organised the big question is "where do I store my stock?". This question is not always easy to answer, unless you have a very large and waterproof garage, that has excellent security, and easy access to the post office or courier service!

At iPages we have designed our e-commerce websites to work with a fulfilment company (such as ILG, one of the UK leaders in fulfilment and courier services). Invoiced orders are exported twice a day to the fulfilment company and from there can be dispatched. This clearly takes all the strain of sending out the orders yourself and iPages will manage the stock control for you.

So if you are looking for an affordable e-commerce website that liaises easily with your logisitcs company then call us today on 01403 786984 for more information.

Solar PV Maintenance Launches new Website with iPages

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:54:31 +0100

When South Downs Solar wanted a new website for their Solar PV Maintenance website we decided to create something eye-catching. So we sat down and started designing a clean looking website, with good optimisation and its own infographic. We were also busy with the camera taking shots of the guys at work, and really got involved with the project.

"This has been a fun site to make," said Emma Simpson, resident Creative Director at iPages.

"Normally when you are designing a website there are already a wealth of other websites in existence to give you an idea of the industry. This was one of the first of its kind, which was a good challenge and hopefully this will set the standard for solar PV maintance websites."

At iPages we are happy to take on most challenges when it comes to website design and have found that we can make a website that will perform well on search engines. Obviously our main business focus is e-commerce websites, but often we will venture into other areas because iPages has such incredible functionality that suits many types of companies, who wish to have a strong performance on the internet.

If you would like more information please call us on 01403 786984.

Why Search Engine Optimisation should be Incorporated in an E-commerce Website Design

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:14:18 +0000

I know that it has been over a month since I wrote here, and if I was one of our clients I would be gently reprimanding them regarding their lack of blogging. After all, Google loves changing quality content, and so do most web visitors. And so I totally understand why we have fallen in page rankings on Google for the term "e-commerce website" and I apologise to my colleagues for letting them down.

The reason why I've not had any time to write on here is solely the volume of work that has been coming thick and fast to iPages. Much of this work has arisen because of the need for e-commerce websites to perform well on the web and, of course, the subject of search engine optimisation has been uppermost in all the enquiries.

So if you are looking to revamp your e-commerce website, or change providers (and we truly are a friendly bunch here at iPages!) then please ensure that you ask certain questions. For example:
Does each product have its own Page Head Tags that can be set as default, or be customised as standard?
Are there statistics available (apart from Google Analytics) that can show how well each page and product can perform?
Is each image and link tagged specifically for Search Engines?
Is there a blog incorporated within the e-commerce website that can be used for promoting news and making internal links from?
Are there quick links at the bottom of the site which relate to particular items?
Are Twitter and Facebook links incorporated into your website?
Do your products automatically upload to Google Products?
Will the developers/designers give you advice on how to blog successfully, how to describe items with Google in mind, and how to make a success of your e-commerce venture?

These things should come as standard with any e-commerce website. The underlying coding of the website must be written with Search Engine Optimisation in mind. Above all the website should be really easy to keep current and up to date and the blog must be written with an RSS Format.

With all these elements in place you possibly won't have to pay for an expensive Search Engine Optimisation company to come in and tweak your website.

At iPages we are pleased with the way our websites perform, although we would be the first to admit that once an e-commerce website is created you cannot expect it to work well for you without some effort. Search engines are looking for good quality changing content. As a business there will be few people out there who are as knowledgeable as you are about your product, or the need for it, or how it can be used. This is the sort of information that needs to be on your site and should hopefully attract people to your website without much effort. Keeping your website up to date, and using your blog to let the internet know about your business, will save you a fortune in Search Engine Optimisation fees, and with the current economic climate that is something worth considering.

With BAFTA Nominations & Showcasing by Rad Lab iPages can't move for Talent!

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:22:06 +0000

Ok, ok, so iPages wasn't up for a BAFTA, but Bobby Yeah was and our wonderful Emma Simpson and creative Mark Ashworth were heavily involved with the project (Mark was sound designer and scorist, Emma did the titles) prior to joining us at iPages! And as for the photograph on Totally Rad! It's amazing, and we're all hoping that it will win (not least because Emma is secretly coveting the camera bag that's on offer!).

So how does this relate to iPages? Well there were a lot of bitten nails prior to the announcement of the Best Short Animated Film winner, and now we are spending far too much time looking at the competition on Totally Rad, but what does it mean for our clients?

At iPages we can offer professionally shot photographs for your website and if you need any post-film editing, or any sound created for your site then we have the expertise to do this.

We are just putting together a gallery of our photos, but some can be seen on Heron Way School and Pure Fresh Tea.

If you are looking to build a website and need help with staging shots, photography, branding, usablility, optimisation then iPages can offer you a full service to help to make your business successful.

Woodburners.co.uk to get fresh look from iPages

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:16:58 +0000

Specialist woodburner company woodburners.co.uk have asked iPages to come up with a fresh look to their website to increase the number of click throughs from their home page. Although an incredibly popular site for buying woodburners, Bradley Stoves, Sussex, owners of woodburners.co.uk sought iPages' help to increase sales.

"We noticed that the bounce rate for this site could be improved on," said Heather Khoo, Project Manager at iPages.

"We are therefore proposing to provide a more accessible website with more calls to action and one that is easier to navigate."

Building a site that not only incorporates stunning design, but also assists optimisation and presents the visitor with immediate information is always challenging, but iPages relish this type of work and will be refreshing the look of woodburners.co.uk shortly and hoping to see sales of woodburners increase on the e-commerce website.

Watch this space to see how things go and to see if the bounce rate is improved.

Heron Way Primary School Launches New Website with iPages

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:31:22 +0000

There is a real sense of excitement here at iPages today because Heron Way Primary School, Horsham launched its new look website in iPages! It is not only a beautiful looking site, but it is packed with easily navigatable information for both parents and pupils.

We not only undertook the design, but we also shot all the photos, created a new online brand that reflected the school's excellence, and provided a simple CMS that ensures teachers and governors can keep the site current. The school also has an events module, a calendar, a blog, newsletters to download, and a link through to Moodle.

This is a new venture for iPages as we are specialists in e-commerce website design, but as a family business, with lots of children between us, we were up to the challenge!

"We are incredibly pleased with Heron Way Primary School's website," said Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages.

"The website looks good, but it's also easy to navigate and it is easy for the staff to keep the site up to date, which is essential for a school."

"Obviously we do have many clients who want to run an e-commerce business, but we do also think that there is room in the market for another web development company who can offer well designed, affordable and functional websites for schools."

If you would like to find out more about how iPages could help your school to have a strong online presence call 01403 786984.

E-commerce website with stock control that works!

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:55:00 +0000

Finding an e-commerce website solution with a fully integrated stock control module might seem daunting. And then there is the question of cost because of course coding this type of functionality is complicated. But at iPages we have developed an e-commerce solution that has a simple CMS and stock that works with one e-commerce website or across several, and is affordable.

With clients such as tekkers.co.uk, dejager.co.uk and makeinternational.com our e-commerce solution has to be able to work with business to customer sales and business to business sales. We have designed and developed admin that is simple to use and won't cost a fortune every time a change is made. Stock is simple to control and orders can be sent directly to a logistics company. In addition we include optimisation, mail campaigns, web stats, customer and contact management, photo-galleries, blogs and so much more!

Primarily we work with our clients to help make their online business run so smoothly that they can focus on marketing and having time to do what they enjoy most!

We have an affordable pricing scheme and our e-commerce website designs start from £750. We can take a design and make it work within iPages and will help you to promote your online business so that is a success.

To find out more about how iPages can help you call 01403 786984 today.

Why Piwik Web Analytics Assists Optimisation & Blogging

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:07:06 +0000

Piwik Web Analytics is open source web analytics software that is proving popular here at iPages. Why do we like it? Well at a glance you can see:

Real time visitor log
What key words visitors used to find different areas of the website
What pages were looked at - giving you superb information on the behaviour of site visitors
And all the normal stuff that you would expect with analytics such as the number of visitors, length of stay, demographics etc.

Using Piwik has been extremely useful at seeing, for example, how improving calls to action on a home page has reduced the bounce rate on a website. With real time logging you can even see if changes have an immediate affect.

What's also been good is to see how visitors have navigated a site to see if changes can be made to make information more accessible. It is clear from the statistics that if visitors cannot find what they are looking for quickly that they will exit to find the information elsewhere.

At iPages we will use this information to improve the performance of a website. We work with our clients to make sure that their website provides the information that is being searched for quickly and easily. We'll let our clients know if items are being searched for that are currently not on the website, and identify trends in the searches to help our clients group information together, or put appropriate links between pages within their site.

Piwik Web Analytics is also excellent at providing topics to blog on. By knowing how successful searches are, and how many visitors search by these terms, and if visitors exit because the information is not availabe provides an excellent information to centre a blog on. For example, if 5% of visitors to a site want to find out more about round woodburners then not only is this worthy of a news item, but also shows that a category called "Round Woodburners" would make sense. It is also exciting to see that visitors use a website's blog as a means of determining information on a site, and that it provides a good way of drawing more visitors into a website.

Google analytics, of course, does provide a good deal of information, but Piwik gathers information from all unique visitors, not just those that come from Google. So Piwik Web Analytics can be an ideal tool when measuring the success of your optimisation and when looking at the behaviour of visitors to your website.

7 reasons why people choose iPages as their web development company

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:26:28 +0000

Here are 7 reasons why people choose iPages as their web development provider:

iPages has superb functionality e.g. access control
iPages is affordable
iPages is quick to set up
iPages has incredibly helpful and friendly staff
iPages will partner with you to grow your business
iPages is constantly upgrading its software and updates are free
iPages will offer you sensible advice on how to grow your business via the web.

Recently one of our clients, Alexa Tewkesbury, freelance writer and editor, wanted some help on how to improve the performance of her website on Google. After half an hour we had advised her on how to tweak the optimisation of her site, what key words and headlines to put in her blog, how to use Twitter and Facebook, and how to get her work published in magazines and newspapers.

Following our chat I received a call from Alexa thanking us for our advice and explaining that she had seen a significant rise in the number of visitors to her site since talking to us.

So if you feel alone when it comes to promoting your business online why not consider an iPages website and see how we can help to raise your online profile.

Why Blog when all I want to do is to increase sales on my E-commerce website?

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:17:07 +0000

Ok, so this is a question that we get asked increasingly here at iPages. And we can fully understand that if you are trying to increase your market reach in this economic climate, or maybe you're just trying to stay in business, then perhaps blogging isn't high on your list of priorities. But we think that writing about your product, providing information on your industry and giving advice to consumers and businesses is an essential these days for businesses that are competing against companies with a larger marketing budget. The internet is there primarily as an information source, so an e-commerce website needs to maximise this fact to benefit sales.

Yesterday I was asked how to write a blog and I am certain that if I searched the web there would be a step-to-step guide to blogging. But at the end of the day the guy who asked me was one of the most passionate people that I have ever met when it comes to his product. His enthusiasm was oozing from every pore and I advised him to transfer his excitement about what he does into a few thoughts on a screen. Seriously he'd make the perfect blogger because he naturally had all the attributes needed to write exciting posts.

So before you write an article have a think about what information would be useful on the web to attract a person to your website. For example, if you are selling woodburners, then write something about why woodburners with boilers save money. If you sell chabby chic furniture let people know how they can have a go at getting the look. If you look at your web statistics (we use Piwik here ate iPages) you'll be able to see what terms are being used to find your site and if that includes a question then write about it.

If you take a look at David Pogue's posts on the New York Times you'll see how blogging is done really well. He always provides information in an excellent way that is engaging and answers the questions that everyone wants to ask.

Blogging can be a chore for many businesses who sell online, but it does have a major advantage in that it keeps an e-commerce website current quickly and easily. Your e-commerce solution provider should have a blog available for you that sits neatly inside your website. We do here at iPages and so if you do need more information feel free to give us a call.

An e-commerce website company that specialises in Business to Business to Sales

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:58:41 +0000

If you are a company that are looking for an e-commerce website that is affordable and will work well for business to business sales as well as business to customer sales, then iPages can help.

At iPages we have developed our own e-commerce solution with business to business sales in mind, wanting to make selling online, and all the admin that goes with this, as simple as possible. So how can an iPages' e-commerce website help you?

We can provide a dedicated e-commerce website that can only be accessed by your account customers. Alternatively your businesses can see products at their discounted price on your business to customer website.

Different businesses can be given different discounts.

We have a quoting system to enable quotes to be given that can simply converted to an order.

Businesses can buy online by card, or as an account customer, with this you set up an account limit for them.

We have price breaks, discount vouchers and multi-buys are standard.

Prices can be shown inclusive or exclusive of VAT.

Full accounting is included within iPages, which includes the ability to export your accounts to SAGE, age debt analysis, transactional analysis and VAT breakdown.

Full optimisation of the site.

Superb web statistics that give excellent details of a visitor's actions on your site.

Hosting and email included.

Extremely friendly, ethical and helpful staff to help you to navigate through the minefield of selling online successfully.

So if you are thinking of making your business to business sales simpler to administrate then why not give us a call and see how we can help you.

A New Year and Great Expectations!

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:13:56 +0000

With a New Year comes the chance to look ahead to all that you want to achieve and at iPages we are looking forward excitedly to 2012.

We have had an excellent 2011. There has been growth in clients who want e-commerce websites and we have seen their sales increase. Our Resource and Directory Modules have enabled companies to increase the information on their sites, and this has in turn increased their turnovers. Interestingly we have seen an increase in portfolio websites, but this might be because of the personal support that we give clients and the photo-gallery is very easy to use, but all in all we have weathered the storm (so far).

As 2012 begins we are hopeful that despite the recession our e-commerce customers will weather the storm. Boxing Day visits to e-commerce websites were up 19.5% compared to last year according to Experian Hitwise and so selling online seems to be essential if companies are to survive this difficult economic climate. Our e-commerce website solution allows our clients to focus on marketing rather than the day to day hassles of running a web store and so we can see that iPages will increase its market reach this year. Hopefully iPages version 4 will shortly be launched with a new look for our admin area and new coding behind iPages itself. This will be a dramatic step forward for us, but one that is long overdue.

We are also taking on more Search Engine Optimisation work to help our clients to achieve better online results and will continue to Blog for our clients.

There are new ventures on the horizon, but all in all we are pleased with the challenges that we face and believe that iPages will grow from strength to strength.

We do wish all our visitors a happy and prosperous 2012 and hope that the recession won't impact you too much.

Don't be Bullied into a Quick Sale by a Tele-sales Person

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:04:14 +0000

Ok, so this is a bit of a grrr by us here at iPages. And for a change we are not frustrated with SEO companies who promise the world to our e-commerce customers! This is just a comment on how innocent businesses fall for the scare tactics of certain larger companies who should know better.
What we are finding is that some of our customers were originally sold a website and were told that if they wanted to move their domain then they would lose their website. Technically that is correct because if no new website is associated with their domain then the website won't be found on the internet. However, if there is a new website with the same domain name then that site will still be visible. It is wrong of any company to frighten people into believing that their website will cease to exist purely if they want to move to another company.
Although we are e-commerce website experts we seem to be growing rapidly in the area of non-e-commerce. I think that this is because we offer such a personal service where we take a holistic approach to business rather than making a quick sale. We prefer to work alongside our clients to encourage them in all aspects of growing their market reach and because of our various backgrounds can offer sound advice that would normally come at a premium.
So if you are unhappy with the performance of your website why not give us a call and see how we can help you, and don't be bullied by tele-sales personnel.

Secret magic ingredient to make our e-commerce website photos 'pop'!

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:04:07 +0000

Recently here at iPages we've had a few requests to not only design the site, devise an SEO and SEM strategy, edit the content for our e-commerce websites and then to build it but now to take the photographs too. This is partly because I have a background in directing and styling photographic shoots for a wide range of glossy national and international magazines and am able to now bring that experience to our iPages clients.

I thought I would share my most recent discovery which has seriously sped up the things I do for every single photograph which is to sharpen, correct colour, adjust levels, adjust curves and make sure there is plenty of detail in the highlights and in the shadow areas.

Even if you're not a web professional, any amateur photographer could equally utilize and enjoy the speed and ease which this plugin transforms image adjustments in Photoshop.

I downloaded a trial version of RadLab, fired up Photoshop and from that moment, my life has never been the same. There are a wide variety of pre-set colour correction filters, sharpening filters, saturation filters and my personal favourite a filter which manges to separate the highlights meaning I get more detail in the highlights without losing contrast. Each of these filters can be layered on top of the other and individually adjusted. Furthermore, these combinations of filters can then be saved as a 'recipe' which I can come back to keeping all the images across the site easily and quickly consistent. Also because it works through the filters menu, this means for each of the images I did for Pure Fresh Tea which needed a similar treatment for each image, I was able to simply hit 'Cmd F' on opening each image and they were all instantly brightened, sharpened with the reds brought out and slightly warmed. This translates as a real world saving of about a days work for 100 images taking approximately 5 minutes per image in manual adjustment.

I know I could have recorded an action but that involves working out what adjustment I want to give each image first, then recording it. This way I can quickly adjust, save the recipe, apply to all images and maintain manual adjustment to fine tune an image if necessary.

Since doing the Pure Fresh Tea site (the details of the shoot can be read in our previous blog entry), I've used it to similarly speed up my working process designing and building a schools site which I also took all the photographs for. I can see it will now be an essential part of my daily work. Today, we got sent in a new banner for the de Jager website. The colours were already strongly saturated with good colour balance which fitted with the rest of the images across the site. I simply used the amazing highlight separator and put about three other filters on to bring out the detail in the flowers without touching the colour and not losing the contrast. I think I now just want to treat all my personal family images and decorate the house.

How will Changes in Google's Privacy Rules affect your E-commerce Website's Performance?

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:09:28 +0000

Search Engine Optimisation wasn't a big business when we first started iPages. What really counted was an easy to use website that had good content and was secure to buy from. We created iPages' e-commerce module because we realised smaller businesses could not afford to pay programmers thousands of pounds to develop a fully functional bespoke integrated e-commerce website. Certainly what iPages provides for its clients at only £99 pcm would cost in the region of £50, 000 if this was to be developed elsewhere (we have gone and got quotes to back this up). By offering a leased model for an e-commerce solution (that includes hosting, commercial email, and backing up the website in triplicate), businesses could then compete with their larger competitors and the internet was an even playing field.

In the past 3 years we have seen the rise of the Search Optimisation Engine empire. It is no longer the case that a well designed website with good content and products is enough to succeed on Google and other search engines. Numerous companies have sprung up promising to ensure that your website will be found at the top of Google for a fee from £100 to several thousand pounds per month. Many of these companies do have expertise in understanding Google analytics, and key words, and will employ people to create links back to your website behind keywords that people have already search for on Google.

Google announced last month that they were increasing users' privacy and were not providing key word data from organic searches from those people who were logged into Google. They anticipate that less than 10% of Google Analytic data will be affected and key word results from paid Google adverts will still be provided (not quite sure how that one works!). However, there is a lot of talk about this amongst the SEO community and SEOMoz have some excellent blogs on the ramifications of these changes.

What has interested us here at iPages is that the internet has ceased to be an even playing field with the onslaught of optimisation companies. One of our clients is trying to compete with a firm that is rumoured to have spent over £2 million on SEO and internet marketing! As a smaller company they do not have that type of budget and so once again we see that we have almost gone full circle where to be successful on the net you have to have money to spend. The reason for the changes on Google have been questioned by the SEO companies, but we are hoping that it might give smaller companies more chance to compete on the internet.

An E-commerce Website Company with a Difference

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:33:06 +0000

Ok, ok, so every e-commerce website company will claim that they are different from the others out there, but in what way you might be asking? Well we're in a bit of quandry about sharing this because we're worried that we might seem somewhat unprofessional insomuch as we have wandered from the path of advice to our clients solely on e-commerce matters.

At iPages we have kept our clients for years. That's the way it is, and many of them we've never met, but somehow over the years we've built up a relationship with them so that we know a little bit more about them as people, what makes them tick, and what they want from their e-commerce website. As a result of my relationships I'm hesitant to put a picture on iPages of what I look like in case I ruin the image that everyone has of me as a 34 year old who is Scarlett Johansson's twin sister! However, the question still remains: 'what makes iPages an e-commerce website company with a difference?'.

Today I received a phone call of thanks from one of our clients because of the advice that I had given on a completely non-related e-commerce matter. It was good to know a conversation had been so beneficial, and funnily enough makes the job so much more fulfilling.

So, no we are not offering a full-time counselling service here at iPages, we are still majoring in e-commerce solutions, but we are promoting the fact that when you choose iPages for your e-commerce website you get more than just an account manager.

Photo-shoot for E-commerce Website Success!

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:00:23 +0000

It is amazing that the sun shone on Wednesday afternoon as the iPages' team picked up their painted board and props to take shots for one of their e-commerce website clients. Pure Fresh Tea was in need of a refresh, as we've mentioned, and so we set to work with a Christmas theme.

We are really pleased at iPages that our team can rise to producing professional pictures courtesy of excellent products from Pure Fresh Tea, the right light and perfect settings. We all also spent a lot of time in our lofts trawling through Christmas decorations to ensure that we had the right ornaments for the shoot!

Not only is our client really pleased, but so are we. We are also really proud that our e-commerce websites can be quickly redesigned without having to cost a lot of money, nor does the site have to close (which is particularly important at this time of year) during the redesign.
So we are busy drinking tea and munching biscuits today - these being left from the shoot, but we trust that all goes well for Pure Fresh Tea and their Christmas marketing.

Paint Brush is out to Create Setting for E-commerce Website Pure Tea

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:04:55 +0000

"What do you mean they're in the National Press on Friday?" was the cry to be heard from the iPages' office this afternoon.

It was a stunned and shocked question aimed at the Project Manager, as the design team came to terms with the realisation that Thursday was their deadline to refresh an e-commerce website previously designed elsewhere. We had scheduled the project for the end of next week, little knowing that the client had his dates mixed up.

"But we haven't got any props!" resounded round the office and then everyone turned to look at the Project Manager who, unbeknown to many people, is Wonder Woman in disguise!

With some scurrying and hurrying pine boards were found, along with white emulsion paint, festive ribbons and linen! A couple of phone calls to clients facilitated the making of Christmas cupcakes and a woodburner setting, and suddenly we were back in the game!

Being an e-commerce website company that is not only professional, but also cares we have scheduled in a time and are determined to do our best by the end of Thursday. We want the website to not only succeed, but also to reflect the high end product that our client offers.

We'll keep you posted and you can see the finished product soon!

Will your E-commerce Website bring you Christmas Cheer?

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:05:52 +0000

It's that time of year when e-commerce websites really come into their own. With over £527 million being spent each week online in the UK it would be criminal if your e-commerce website doesn't benefit from websales this Christmas.

If you're anything like me you'll have already been using Google Products to check out prices and will have bought some presents. I have 7 kids to buy for, along with family, friends and work colleagues so the internet is perfect for me. Who wants the inconvenience of tramping round shops when you can sit with a glass of wine and buy online? There's nothing like the wood stove to put you in the mood for Christmas and without having to find a parking space, or compete with other shoppers then sorting out Christmas can actually be pleasant!

So what should you be asking your e-commerce website developer at this time of year to make sure that you see your sales bring rewards this festive season?

Are my products automatically uploaded to Google Products?
Are Google Analytics automatically linked to my website?
Is my e-commerce website built with optimisation in mind?
Does my e-commerce website gather information on my customers?
Can I send out marketing emails to both my customers and contacts from my e-commerce website?
Is there a campaign manager in the admin section of my website to provide reports on my email campaign?
Can I send my customers and contacts discount vouchers to encourage them to buy?
Can I offer multi-buys or free shipping?
Does my e-commerce website work out the commission for others who send sales to my e-commerce website?

If your e-commerce website is not providing these things then you'll need to act quickly to make sure that it does. At iPages these things come as standard, and at an extremely competitive price. However, if you're not using iPages then act quickly to ensure that your e-commerce website reaches its potential this Christmas.

Why Social Media Can Benefit E-commerce Websites

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:49:27 +0000

Social media has been around for some time now and was thought of as a "young person's thing" or for celebrities only. However, the power of social media cannot be underestimated, and therefore if you have an e-commerce website social media should not be ignored.
Learning to share things that "you like" on the web is something that for many people would seem strange or alien, but using the web to promote your products or discounts can be a powerful tool.
Let's look at how Twitter can help. If you can promote your latest offers, or tweet a discount code there is a chance that your tweet will be retweeted. Maths was never my strong subject, but logic tells me that viral internet promotion is an ideal way to pass on a message.
For many the idea of tweeting, writing on Facebook, or even blogging just seems like hard work. There are companies, such as iPages, that can help you with this, but really it is worth taking out a few minutes in a day to use the best free tool available currently to market your wares.
An e-commerce website should include the ability to post a product on Twitter or Facebook. Then you can either upload the link yourself, or one of your e-commerce customers might do that for you.
In today's competitive market an e-commerce website must do so much more than provide an online shop. It has to be easy to navigate, manage your customers, provide discounts and link to Twitter and Facebook. Social media will certainly improve recognition for your branding and should not be overlooked even if it is an aspect of the internet that you are not familiar with.

Simple e-commerce websites from Sussex company

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:05:25 +0100

Providing simple e-commerce websites is what we are about here at iPages in Billingshurst, West Sussex. However, when we say simple, that doesn't mean that our e-commerce solution won't halve the time that you presently waste on administering your e-commerce website, of course iPages will do that. But what we really like is the fact that an iPages e-commerce website is really easy to use!
I think that I realised today just how intuitive iPages is when a lovely young lady came in to learn how to use the admin section of her employer's e-commerce website. He could have shown her, but he felt that I would do a better job! Anyway, bless her heart she was just 16 and had been offered her first "Saturday" job working on a woodburner online store.
So how did iPages fare? Well I was overwhelmingly surprised! Why this should be I have no idea because I know that iPages is simple to use, that putting in categories and products is a piece of cake, but that's because I am so familiar with the system! When a 16 year old saw it for the first time she commented "Oh this is so easy to use", and was able to get going straight away!
Are we smug then in the office to see our e-commerce website solution put to the test (it doesn't matter what you say about youngsters these days I was pretty impressed with the Sussex lass that I met this morning!) and perform so well? Certainly not, in fact it would be more honest to say that there is a tad of grumpiness loitering in the office here in Billingshurst, West Sussex! Why should that be you're probably wondering? After all it was a good meeting this morning, our admin overhaul is going well, and our e-commerce websites are increasing their market reach. Ah yes, but we have been reading one of our client's report on their e-commerce website written by an SEO company.
Everyone has something that they like to rant about and sadly mine isn't the environment (it was when I was younger and believe me I was signed up to every environmental lobbying organisation!). My main gripe is SEO companies who rip off our clients, and other businesses, just by making things up! For example although Google is interested in the speed of a website, it isn't the make or break issue, especially as most people will search Google in the uk using google.co.uk!
Google states: "While site speed is a new signal, it doesn't carry as much weight as the relevance of a page. Currently, fewer than 1% of search queries are affected by the site speed signal in our implementation and the signal for site speed only applies for visitors searching in English on Google.com at this point. We launched this change a few weeks back after rigorous testing. If you haven't seen much change to your site rankings, then this site speed change possibly did not impact your site."
Interestingly the speed of an iPages e-commerce website is comparable to the BBC's and scores really highly when tested and unsurprisingly scores better than the SEO company that produced the report!
So if you are thinking that an SEO company will increase your sales do look at what your e-commerce website can give you in terms of good content, in-built optimisation and blogging before you decide part with your money.

An e-commerce website that takes photos as well

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:50:37 +0100

… oooh and we give advice on how to dress a showroom for maximum impact!

We've had an interesting morning shooting woodburners for one of our clients and visiting their new showroom. Although we inherited the wood stove we have worked with our client over the past three years to help him to successfully build his online business.

Shooting products is not normally part of our business, but we were happy to take some beautiful shots of logs gently burning in wood stoves along with more seasonal products.

At iPages we believe in an old-fashioned approach to business whereby we take an interest in our clients and help them with the aspects of their business that we have expertise in. Obviously we are fully aware of the e-commerce website industry, and are also pretty clued in on Search Engine Optimisation. However, because we are an ecletic mix of people here at iPages we are able to solve an awful lot of the questions asked of us. And we don't charge for our advice, that's part of the service that our customers receive when they choose an e-commerce website with us.

We are excited by all that is happening at iPages and are looking forward to launching some exciting new websites shortly.

South Downs Solar Launch Solar PV Website with iPages

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:13:38 +0100

South Downs Solar, accredited Solar PV Panels installers, recently launched their website with iPages. And no it's not an e-commerce website, and yes that is what we specialise in, but iPages have a number of modules that work well for businesses that want to promote their company online.

South Downs Solar sell Solar Photovoltaic Panels and Solar Panels to heat hot water. It's an interesting company to work with and we do really like the design of the website. However, we are hoping to do further work with South Downs Solar so please watch this space and you can see how we get on!

One of the reasons that iPages is chosen by companies for their websites is the quality of service from the staff here at iPages. I know that I'm one of them, so maybe I am just a little biased, but I was very happy when I received an email from one of our clients last week thanking us for all our marketing advice. Now we know how much marketing consultants charge, but as a client of iPages we offer free tips on how to make a success from your business. This might be advice on writing a press release, or explaining how to obtain editorial from the local paper to promote your services. We also know how to write good copy, we understand blogging, and we also appreciate the pitfuls of Search Engine Optimisation.

So although we believe that iPages has the most comprehensive and affordable e-commerce website solution out there at the moment we are still seeing substantial growth in our non-ecommerce market. As we have said before we do not believe that we can compete with Wordpress, and neither do we wish to, but if a business wants CRM, email campaigns, and a resource module, all of which integrates with each other then iPages has the perfect solution.

If you would like to find out more about iPages then please feel free to call us on 01403 786984.

What else will make my E-commerce Website Successful?

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:03:26 +0100

We have been watching with interest the changes in e-commerce websites on the net. Partly we are a little disappointed because the days when design was everything seems to be gone, or at least going. It is not enough to have a beautifully designed e-commerce website that is functional and affordable. Currently we are noticing a demand from our customers to put in bolder "call to action" buttons that are not in-keeping with the site, in other words "the hard sell".

So why are we being asked to make these alterations? We think that it's probably because the e-commerce market is becoming saturated and because the recession is forcing companies to look at their online marketing and to become more aggressive. There is also the influence of the SEO companies who promise companies higher returns if the buy buttons are made bolder and brighter. This might well be the case, we shall wait and see.

We are not anti usability, and have always strived to make our e-commerce websites easy to buy from and aesthetically pleasing. However, we will be watching with interest to see the success of the changes being made, and whether sales increase significantly as a result of bigger buttons and more directional wording.

Ultimately we believe that e-commerce does come down to price and that the public is smart enough to find the lowest price for a product.

At iPages we will continue to help our customers to attain success on the web through advising on good content, pricing and good search engine optimisation. If we think that the brief for an e-commerce website does not make buying easy for the customer then we will advise accordingly, but altering the look and feel of a site purely for marketing purposes is probably something that we will try to resist while we can.

Three Steps to Growth on the Internet for e-commerce websites

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:10:53 +0100

There is much excitement in the office today as our new leaflets have arrived, some more battered by Parcel Force than others.

We had a brain storming day recently when it seemed an amazing idea to link a free gift of seeds in a leaflet with our ability to help clients to grow online. To add to the end user experience we wanted to include a personal touch with our branding. Our designer ordered a specially created rubber stamp to be used on each envelope that housed the seeds. With 30 stamps done and 970 stamps still to do, she is now questioning whether the aesthetics are really worth the effort! But equally, this hand finished feel is in keeping with our company philosophy where customer care is paramount even if the prospect never uses the product. Bonkers I know and totally out of step with modern thinking, but it's how we roll.

The other idea which we also wanted to convey is the sheer volume of internet sales taking place in the UK every single week. There are many solutions which people can use to get their products online, but none can grow with the business in the way that iPages can, or offer as many extra functional parts such as buy one, get one free, or the ability to handle various discount codes which are included as standard within iPages' e-commerce website pricing plan. There are systems which offer the same functionality and bespoke design, but they cost a small fortune. We feel proud we have found a way of bringing this kind of functionality into the financial reaches of the average small to medium sized business who want an affordable e-commerce website.

Our Three Steps to Growth on the Internet:

1. Choose where to plant your seeds carefully. We can help you plant in a well designed site with the functionality to enable your business to take root.

2. Provide good conditions for growth. We provide Search Engine Optimisation, our expertise and a stable platfrom for your business to form strong roots.

3. Frequent tending will ensure your plants produce a good harvest. We partner with you to tend your website and make sure you can reap the rewards.

The only thing left for us to do now is to buy the seeds... oh and finish stamping all those envelopes.

We are raising a glass to Steve Jobs at iPages

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:49:46 +0100

I am not a sentimentalist, and certainly it is not often that I am touched at the passing of someone famous. It has come as somewhat of a surprise, therefore, to feel so moved at the death of Steve Jobs. There will be numerous more eloquent eulogies than mine on the internet, and yet it would be wrong for me not to mention the impact that Steve Jobs and Apple have had on Khoo Systems Limited, and our deep regret that his creativity will no longer be enjoyed.

Our Director got his first Mac in 1985 and hasn't looked back. He is a true Apple advocate and although not obsessive has always enjoyed the beauty of Apple's products and their intuitive functionality.

When I joined Khoo Systems I had never used a Mac and wondered how on earth it worked! I have to admit that I was terrified! However, after all these years I am a convert - I even have an iPhone! I have grown to love the way that Apple has never shrunk away from the innovative and no matter how much they were slated by their critics they forged on with what they believed in, despite intense criticism and jealously.

Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford in 2005 has been exhaustively mentioned today, but it is an incredibly motivating speech, and one which I have already shared with my children. But I'd like to include a part of it, if I may:

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. … Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

I think this partly reflects our philosophy here at Khoo Systems Limited. We have always tried to stay true to what we believe in, even when the so called "business consultants" have come in and been derisive about our old-fashioned approach to customer care. We will be a long time dead and we have always wanted to be a company that is remembered for exceptional customer care and daring to go against the tide and set a path where we feel the internet is going, even if we are trail blazers.

Steve Jobs innovative creativity will not be forgotten and we will always admire his striving for excellence and no-compromise approach. The world will be a sadder place from today, but it has been a pleasure to have been part of the generation that experienced the exciting changes that Steve Jobs introduced.

How well is your e-commerce website doing?

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:11:18 +0100

With internet sales accounting for over £527 million per week in the UK it is not surprising that the larger companies such as M&S and New Look have their own e-commerce directors. So what hope is there for smaller companies who do not have the funds to employ a dedicated e-commerce marketeer?

"I think that it is possible for a small business to improve its sales via the web, but the days of having a shop online have long gone," said Dr Stephen Khoo, Director of iPages.

"Any e-commerce solution must offer full sales order processing and management of customers to provide time for marketing and keeping the website current."

"SEO companies often dismiss the use of blogs, but these are absolutely essential in keeping a website up to date. Search engines want changing content and if blogs are well written and have good content then not only will the website be visited regularly by Google, but it will also pick up web traffic."

"We have found that our e-commerce websites with blogs attract more unique visitors and have higher sales than those which do not. At iPages we give clear information on how to use a blog to increase sales and we do write news for several of our customers."

It has become increasingly important to have an e-commerce website that is easy to update, functional and looks good. With the larger companies spending literally hundreds of thousands of pounds on their websites then the design of a site is paramount. Usablility is also critical. Is the "call to action" obvious? Can customers see related items? Are they kept informed of the latest offers? Can they be given special discounts? Are there buy-one-get-one free offers? Is stock monitored?

If you want to increase your sales on the web then these are questions that you need to be asking about your e-commerce website. You also need to use Google shopping to make sure that you are competitive in your pricing and that your products can be found.

At iPages we have superb experience in helping customers increase their sales on the web and have developed our e-commerce solution accordingly. The internet has an amazing potential for every business, but getting rich from online sales takes hard work and cannot be automatically guaranteed.

Our Ecommerce Website Marketing Campaign Gets off to Flying Start

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:27:19 +0100

Here we can show a sneak preview of our new marketing campaign. Much brain storming resulted in wanting to focus on how iPages is ideally placed to help businesses to grow on the internet. We saw a new paper invention where the paper itself has seeds embedded within it and so it would be possible to plant our flyer and watch it grow and flower. Our designer was keen to indulge her fetish for lovely stationery and packaging so more conventional seeds will be attached to the flyer in a packet which will be adorned with iPages stickers and stamps with some hand drawn elements to emphasise how each and every client with us gets a really quality service with attention to detail and a personal touch.

With the design finished, we sought feedback through a variety of means both online and off. One online resource is a site called Concept Feedback where we have been pleased and suprised to be voted best concept of the week. We are taking on board the comments we have received and will further amend the flyer before we get it printed and post it out and hope that we can reach a wider market and help more businesses compete in a competitive marketplace whilst providing a caring, quality service.

Mount Kilimanjaro Successfully Climbed!

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:31:48 +0100

Ok, so this is not my normal informative post about e-commerce websites, or nice design, or how to make the most out of your blog, but we are indeed celebrating here at iPages! Our Director, Dr Stephen Khoo, has made it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro - yay! This is no mean feat considering the lack of training (I am not sure that walking round the block most evenings counts, even in walking boots!), but we are all so proud of him and his achievement!

Life in the office has continued as normal, but we have been on tender hooks waiting for phone calls and texts. Not that we have expected him to continue to carry on working, but as a company that is old-fashioned in its ethos, then there is a deep element of care and concern that exists between us. If one of us succeeds we all feel pride, if one of us is going through a hard time we all feel it.

It has been lovely too that so many of our clients have supported Stephen in his climb for the charity RockUK and have been ringing and emailing for news. And that got me thinking about our relationships with our clients.
How often do you have such a personal relationship with one of your suppliers that you actually ring or email to find out how one of them is getting on? I don't know about you, but that just doesn't happen. And yet, iPages is not just a website solution, but it's a community where our clients feel almost part of "the family" and are cared for.

We are always delighted with our clients' successes. When Wayne Rooney appeared on the new sportswear site Tekkers, we passed on our congratulations, when Calico Cat made their first shabby chic sale we were straight on the phone! This is the type of service that we like to receive and will always try to give.

It will be an exciting Monday as we hear of adventures up on the mountain from our intrepid Director, but we will always stop and put our customers first when they ring because they will always come first.

Percentage discounts relating to customer spend standard with iPages' e-commerce website

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:53:51 +0100

It's difficult sometimes to remember all the amazing features of iPages. For example, our e-commerce websites can apply discounts to orders depending on the amount spent by the customer. So it's possible to run a promotional campaign whereby if a customer spends over £25 they get a 10% discount, if they spend over £50 they can receive a £20% discount etc.

This function comes with every iPages' e-commerce website and is simple to set up.

"Including the ability to offer discounts and multi-buys on an e-commerce website is essential," said Dave Kent, Senior Developer with Khoo Systems Ltd.

"E-commerce solutions must always incorporate ways to help their clients make more sales and iPages certainly has done this from the very beginning."

"Developing our e-commerce website solution with a business that wanted to trade on the internet gave us a very clear perspective on what was needed for a successful online store that also had full back office support."

"Today we are still enhancing iPages' e-commerce solution. The internet is always making further demands on developers and therefore having a solution such as iPages, which is constantly being updated makes moresense than buying an e-commerce website that is handed over to you and can't be enhanced without further cost."

There is always so much to consider when entering the world of e-commerce, but being able to apply discounts and offer multi-buys should always be high on the list when considering which e-commerce solution to purchase.

Not just an e-commerce website company

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:41:39 +0100

Although www.ipages.biz has a well-earned reputation for providing affordable, feature-rich and beautiful e-commerce websites we also like to undertake other projects. Currently we are working for a local school redesigning their website, taking photos for them and rebranding their stationery.

Our brief was to make a website that was easy to use, modern and reflected the school's values. We are still busy putting it together, but I wanted to put a part of the graphic in our news because it is such a moving scene and I'm really excited about how the website will look.

At iPages we enjoy working with our clients to reflect their business on the web. Whether it's a school, photographer or a solar panel company we want to provide a website that not only helps our customers to run their business well, but provides a stunning window to the world.

Mount Kilimanjaro to be climbed for Charity!

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:15:33 +0100

When the Director said that he needed some "blue sky time" we thought that he'd be taking a little walk outside to clear his head and gain inspiration! We have a lot going on here, what with the admin section of iPages being redesigned and reprogrammed, features being added to our e-commerce websites and our motoring forum Car4Play (a sister company) being reworked. In actual fact we could all understand the need for some time and space - it's exhausting being creative! However, some of us did think that perhaps climbing the largest volcano in Africa was taking things a little too far!

We are pleased that our Director, Stephen Khoo, will be climbing Kilimanjaro for the amazing charity RockUK. This charity helps disadvantaged teenagers to build confidence and learn leadership skills and does fantastic work with youngsters.

If you would like to support Stephen's effort then you can donate at Stephen Khoo's Just Giving page.

E-commerce solution ideal for Safety Products

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:06:51 +0100

At iPages we are known for supplying beautifully bespoke and affordable e-commerce websites for designer homeware, bags, stationery etc. However, iPages is also an ideal e-commerce solution for selling safety products. HVP Supplies sells gas safety products to the gas safety community, chimney linings to wood stove fitters, and online digital maps.

With our simple Content Management System and Integrated Stock Control selling parts and office equipment is simple. Superbly affordable and placed to deal with business to business sales (as well as business to customer sales) iPages has designed its e-commerce websites to run the e-commerce business whilst you focus on marketing and sales.

If you are looking for a new e-commerce website that has a set monthly fee and will help you to grow your online business please call 01403 786984.

More than an e-commerce website design company

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:23:26 +0100

Although iPages are specialists in designing and producing feature-rich e-commerce websites we aso design non-commerce websites.

Simon Carter, photographer, illustrator and director of photography launched his website last week in iPages. It's a stunning website, primarily because Simon Carter's work is outstanding. I am not trying to take anything away from one of our superb web designers, Richard Constable, but the photographs really do look amazing. We were pleased that the photo-gallery module displays work so well and shows that iPages can rival other website software such as WordPress.

We are also pleased to be able to offer designers, photographers, and all serviced based businesses an outstanding Service Module that will enable to record and invoice your customers quickly and easily at only a click of a button. This module enables you to set up customers and charge them accordingly. You can set up standard charges for all your work and override these if you want to apply different rates to different customers. Invoices will be made instantly and you will be able to see at a click who owes you money

At iPages we are always trying to help our own designers out with modules to make their lives easier, but if you think that the Service Module would help you please call 01403 786 984.

An E-commerce Website that Works with Sage is worth considering!

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:02:10 +0100

An E-commerce website that works with Sage certainly saves time and money for businesses with a successful online store. With this feature you can export your financial details to Sage including transactions, payments, refunds and an audit trail transactions at the end of each week, quarter, and month. This saves an enormous amount of time keying in invoices etc. and will make VAT returns much simpler and less time consuming.
Other things that you might want to think about when looking for an e-commerce solution is whether there are detailed reports on sales by date and product, VAT breakdown, transactions analysis, customer turnover, open invoice statements etc. If you are trying to determine sales statistics and keep on top of your accounts then this sort of information is vital, and should be fundamental to any e-commerce website.
Does iPages' e-commerce solution provide this? Well of course, but then again you would expect that from a company that has worked alongside businesses to write a system that meets their needs. To find out more do call 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

E-commerce at its very best - Keith Brymer Jones' website!

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:13:38 +0100

If you were to ask what is needed for a successful e-commerce website I would probably give you the usual spiel about clean looking design, ease of use, an obvious call to action for the customer, a secure payment area, full back office support, a CRM that manages customers and of course a simple content management system.

However, from now on I shall be answering this question differently and will simply ask "Have you seen Keith Brymer Jones' e-commerce website?".

Keith Brymer Jones designs contemporary homeware at its very best and so it was inevitable that his website should reflect something of his unique creativity and design style. This iPages e-commerce website is simply stunning. It's not just the colours, nor the use of the accordian style on the home page that enables you to flick through the different ranges, it's something else. I think that it is the way that the whole site flows and fits together. The products are clearly displayed, but it is the sense of serenity and calm that has been encompassed in the design. Everything looks wonderful and the website demands to be searched through, which is where the gallery has worked so well by displaying the items perfectly.

Of course the website has all the benefits of an iPages e-commerce website, including integration with a fulfilment company, so that the website not only looks beautiful, but is feature rich. The admin area of the website takes orders securely, sends out automatic emails, manages customers, enables business to business sales via accounts, provides sales analysis as well financial reports. This ensures that someone as busy as Keith Brymer Jones doesn't have to worry about the practical details of selling online because iPages will do that for him, he can simply focus on what he enjoys most, designing and creating exquisite contemporary homeware.

How Practical is your E-commerce Website?

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:04:20 +0100

It is not until you run your own online store that you start to realise what you need from an e-commerce website. Obviously it has to look good, be found on Google and be easy for your customers to use. In addition it must be secure to buy from and keep your customers informed on the status of their order. However, if this is all that your e-commerce website does then you will find that you spend a lot of time on administration.

When iPages was developed we sat with a local business and asked them what they wanted from an e-commerce website. Surprisingly it had little to do with the look of the site, but more to do with its functionality. They wanted to have more time for leisure and less time running their store. So they asked that a Contact Relationship Management module to be built into the website that not only managed their customers, but their suppliers, contractors, staff and prospects.

They wanted comprehensive sales reports by date, product, customer and they wanted a full financial reporting package built in. Some of their products had zero-rated VAT , and some were exempt, so the e-commerce website had to manage that. In addition they had European business customers so the VAT had to be exempted at the point of sale.

As they started to realise what we could programme they asked for even more functionality. This company made business to business sales as well as business to customer sales and so it was essential that iPages could manage account customers, and that payments made off-line could be inputted onto the system, and then exported out to SAGE.

We were also asked to develop stock control, export of orders to fulfillment companies, email campaigns and so much more. It has been an exciting journey for us, but we know that our e-commerce websites are far more than a shop online and can run a business, enabling Managers to focus on marketing and increasing sales.

It was the delight of introducing a customer today to the ease of custom invoicing against an existing order that made me want to write this article. With one simple click a custom invoice was made and the money taken immediately. Few systems have the complexity of accounting that iPages has and if you want to be at the cutting edge of internet sales you really do need an e-commerce website that will take the strain for you whilst you build your business.

E-commerce Website Pricing on iPages Explained

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:14:18 +0100

If you are thinking about changing your e-commerce solution, or need an e-commerce website then maybe iPages is the answer for you? We have recently introduced monthly e-commerce contract plans to make budgeting easier.

The fee for having an iPages' e-commerce website is based on the monthly turnover of the website. There are a range of options, but a business is required to sign up to iPages for a year to benefit from having a plan.

If you are just starting an e-commerce business then we have the E-Silver plan costing only £45 pcm. This is for businesses where they are not expecting to turnover more than £1000 pcm. As with all iPages the monthly fee covers hosting, email and back-up of the site's data. All sales are made on a secure server and the entire sales ordering process is managed by the website.

Our other e-commerce website plans offer a full range of features for a set monthly fee depending on the turnover per month. For a company that makes from £1-5k pcm online it only costs £99 pcm to have an e-commerce website that has email, hosting, optimisation, site back-up, full back office support, discount vouchers, multi-buys (i.e. buy one get one free!), price breaks, stock control, blogs, photo-galleries, products on Google, Twitter links, CRM, email campaigns, site search, Google analytics and so much more!

We have other plans available, but we will also absorb your payment provider fees as well, making iPages extremely affordable!

So to find out more why not call 01403 786984 and see how iPages can help your e-commerce website to increase your revenue.

Anouk Designer Handbags Launch E-commerce Website with iPages

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:15:23 +0100

Anouk Designer Handmade Handbags have launched their new look e-commerce website with iPages this week. Anouk Handbags sell stunning handmade handbags in quality leather and python skin, and the ladies at iPages have been hinting to their partners that an Anouk handbag would definitely be a welcomed addition!

Anouk Handbags have chosen iPages for their e-commerce website because the website has a simple CMS, making changes easy, and because iPages works well for business to customer and business to business sales.

"We're excited to have Anouk Handbags joining iPages," said Dr Stephen Khoo. "The website looks beautiful, and of course we know that it is feature-rich and will help the company to save money when selling online."

"At iPages we have worked hard to produce an e-commerce solution that runs the back-office, manages stock, and integrates with SAGE."

"We are constantly upgrading the features within our e-commerce website and have found that our new pricing structure has opened up new opportunities for e-commerce businesses to have superb functionality with their website at an affordable price."

For more information on how iPages can help you to grow your online business call 01403 786984.

E-commerce Website Design Company in Billingshurst find Good Use for iPhone!

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:51:14 +0100

When Southern Watern mentioned works in our road in Billingshurst we thought little of it. Yes it would be noisy, yes it would be a little inconvenient when it came to clients visiting to discuss how they want their e-commerce websites to look, but we never really gave it another thought. This was a tad optimistic of us!

When the Water Board decided to dig up the road what they failed to tell us is that they would also be accidently digging up the telephone cables and consequently our Broadband. I am absolutely convinced that this was not their intention, but when we arrived on Monday morning and noted that we had no internet we became a little suspicious of the enormous holes that had appeared outside in the road.

As an e-commerce website company we are fortunate that our servers are in London and Sheffield. We are happy, too, that our mail is managed by The Very Good Email company, who do a stirling job, and so our day to day business continues seamlessly. Our telephone provider Wise Telecom have also been outstanding forwarding all our calls to a mobile, but it is O₂ that have my most admiration. For a small fee our iPhones have been upgraded so that they work as routers and we can access the internet as normal!

So we trundle on, and are hopeful that by tomorrow everything will be back to normal unless Southern Water's diggers get a little over enthusiastic once more!

Bespoke products and an e-commerce website at what price?

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:58:47 +0100

That might well be the question that you are asking yourself and if you were to go to a developer and asked them to code you a website that has a simple CMS and can handle variants and customisation from scratch then you might find that their quote runs into thousands of pounds. That is because the amount of work that's needed to produce an e-commerce solution with that type of complexity is enormous, and yet having an e-commerce website that can sell bespoke products doesn't have to be expensive.

At iPages we have an e-commerce solution that can offers the ability to customise products as standard. The feature list of iPages is superb, but we have kept our prices at a level to make having an iPages e-commerce website affordable.

Our ethos has always been to offer to smaller businesses the same level of functionality of a website that normally only larger companies can afford. By offering iPages for a small monthly fee means that iPages is more financially accessible and enables our clients to compete against their larger competitors. We want our clients to succeed, but not at the expense of customer care, the design and usability of an iPages website, nor compromising our standards of excellence.

So if you have an e-commerce website that really isn't working for you when it comes to selling your products why not give us a call and see how we can help you.

Affordable Pricing for an E-commerce Website from West Sussex Web Company

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:12:48 +0100

Affordable contract plans for an E-commerce website are now available from iPages, a web development company from Billingshurst, West Sussex. The introduction of the E-Silver, E-Gold 5k, E-Gold 15k and E-Gold 75k pricing plans provide an outstanding opportunity for businesses to have a superbly feature-rich e-commerce website that is affordable, and can be easily budgeted for.

The pricing plans focus on the monthly turnover of a business and include optimisation of the site, commercial email, hosting, back up of data and the full back office process managed for you. In addition iPages will absorb the payment service provider fees as part of the package.

So, for example, if your business is turning over up to £15k pcm then you will be charged a flat monthly fee of £299 (+ VAT) and you can see from the plans that you'll be able to manage your sales, customers, financial accounts (which are exportable to SAGE), sales analysis, email campaigns and blog. With an iPages e-commerce website you'll also be able to manage business to business sales, track affiliate sales, manage stock and manage multiple sites in different currencies.

An e-commerce website with iPages will also look beautiful and be simple to use. Our e-commerce solution is coded with search engines in mind and you will be able to make changes easily as iPages has a simple CMS meaning that you don't need any coding knowledge to use the system.

If you would like to know more about iPages' e-commerce solution call 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

E-commerce Websites from iPages can Dramatically Increase a Web Designer's Income

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:41:13 +0100

An e-commerce website is not only quick to put together, incredibly feature-rich and brillant for businesses, but we also offer commission to web designers who use iPages.

iPages is more than an online store, it manages the back office processes and customers, has features such as stock control and multi-buys, B2B sales, email campaigns, finance reports (exportable to SAGE) and so much more.

If you design a website using iPages we will pay you 25% commission each month on any fee that we receive from the client that you introduce and manage. For example if you had 100 customers using our E-Gold 15k package you’d earn an extra £34,800 per year!

All you have to do is to design the website using iPages, manage the client and we’ll do the rest!

Our e-commerce solution is a turn key solution and is being used successfully by our customers in the UK.

To find out more why not call us on 01403 786984 and see how we can help you !

Charitable websites are affordable with iPages - why we believe in helping charities

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:28:07 +0100

I was surprised to find out recently that the charity sector is a £30 billion sector, with much of its funding coming from individual donors.

At iPages we have always actively supported charities and work quietly behind the scenes with those that are our customers to achieve success on the internet. Obviously charities are under the same pressures as normal businesses to maximise their efficiency and to have an effective presence on the web, and iPages has worked incredibly well for our clients to achieve their aims.

As a web development company our web solution is ideally placed to help charitable concerns. We have a simple CMS that is easy to use, modules that enable donations to be given, events to be publicised, resources to be advertised, photos to be displayed and emails to be sent to supporters. Best of all iPages is affordable and we work hard to keep costs down preferring to lower our profits and give to others.

If you are a charity and need to upgrade your website, or need a website, why not call us on 01403 786984 to see how we can help you.

E-commerce website with Stock Control that's Affordable

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:44:03 +0100

Trying to find an e-commerce website that has stock control and is affordable can be challenging. At iPages we have a superb e-commerce solution that will not only manage your stock, but will also look after all your back office procedures. And wonderfully there is no HTML coding needed and the system is affordable.

At iPages we believe in helping businesses to grow. We realise that the internet is an ideal place to compete with bigger companies, but to be successful you will need an e-commerce website that will do most of the work for you whilst you focus on marketing and blogging about your products.

Our stock control module will let you set up stock policies for your online shop and then apply the policy to your products. For example, you can set up a stock policy whereby if your stock level runs to 10 for an item you are emailed immediately to let you know. And as soon as you run out of stock the product is hidden, or shown as out of stock etc.

Our stock module is extremely comprehensive and can manage sets of items (such as dinner services or hampers) that are made up of individual products. Our cleverly craft e-commerce solution knows too how many products have been ordered, but not sent out so that the stock levels match exactly what has been promised to customers.

Such a solution should cost the earth, but at iPages prices start at only £99 to run your e-commerce business (where your turnover is up to £5k pcm). We have a range of contracts available for the e-commerce customer, which include "buy one get one free".

To find out more about iPages' websites please visit our e-commerce section and to look at our prices please visit our e-commerce pricing plans.