Blog

Personal Productivity Changes The World

Phillip Kingston
01/09/2009

As part of our commitment to the not-for-profit sector we are running a competition to promote personal productivity as a key driver of change within NFPs. Please find our Press Release below and click here to find out more.

PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY CHANGES THE WORLD COMPETITION

Do you work or volunteer for a registered not-for-profit organisation? If you think your personal productivity and ICT effectiveness needs no improvement, don't read any further. Everyone else, this is for you! Kingston Development invites you to send a 350-word submission on the role that personal productivity plays in changing the world. Entries close on 30 September 2009.

"The key to saving the world is personal productivity," stresses Dr James Gifford, Executive Director for the Principles for Responsible Investment, a UN-partnered initiative.

What does personal productivity mean for a not-for-profit institution?

How can improvement in personal productivity help the organisation address the global challenges of the 21st century in an attempt at shaping a better world?

If you have some ideas how to answer these questions, we are waiting to hear from you!

Winning applications will have the most potential for strong impact on their stakeholder base.

The competition is aimed at promoting efficient low-cost, growth-facilitating technical solutions in the non-profit sector. Win, and your organisation will reach a whole new level with the help of our workshop-and-consulting package, valued at $3,500. The competition is open to all registered not-for-profit organisations. Multiple entries per organisation are allowed, with the limit of one submission per person.

Entries close on 30 September 2009.

Click HERE to make your submission

eCommerce Guide, How Should I Accept Payments Online?

Phillip Kingston
21/03/2009

Businesses and not for profit organisations are often uncertain about the best method of accepting payments or donations online. I thought today that I'd outline some of the different options available, and the various costs, pros and cons of each.

If you're a small business then you have two main options - PayPal or a retail bank merchant account. PayPal has no setup fees, but charges higher percentage fees on transactions.

Retail banks, such as Commonwealth, NAB, ANZ and Westpac, all offer merchant facilities to approved businesses. There are reports that new or very small businesses have difficulty receiving approval, but I haven't experienced this.

To use a retail bank, you need three things: a merchant account with the bank, a secure payment gateway to transfer sensitive data from your website to the bank, and a security certificate (SSL certificate). There are usually no setup fees, but there is a monthly account fee of around $30.00 which may or may not include a secure payment gateway. Secure payment gateways are a necessary element in the equation which can cost $50+ per quarter. NetRegistry is a great gateway provider, but there are others such as SecurePay. An SSL certificate can be picked up for around $170 per year from just about anywhere.

You can avoid using a secure payment gateway, and buying an SSL certificate but your customers will have to check-out (enter their credit card details) on the bank's website, not yours. Some seller's dread the thought of this, others like to borrow the legitimacy of the bank's brand to their business.

PayPal has no approval process, and therefore is easier for start-up companies. It is not very customisable and is largely clinical. However, PayPal has some very generous customer protection policies and so it's likely your customers will be very comfortable using it. PayPal definitely out-does retail banks in terms of peace of mind to prospective online purchasers.

From Kingston Development's point of view, the price of integrating PayPal or a retail bank's merchant facilities into your website is the same, so don't worry about cost implications from our side.

If you're a not-for-profit then you have the same options described above although you may be able to negotiate your way out of a retail bank's fees - though it's likely these days are gone. I think St. George and Bendigo are nicer in this regard. Good luck.

Not-for-profits also have the great services of Ourcommunity.com.au available to them. There are a number of predatory "free" e-commerce providers to NFPs that charge huge percentage fees on donations. Do not use or support these. Use Ourcommunity.com.au which is a legitimate and great service. You can find out more here

We have cut a lot of the costs out of integrating e-commerce into our client's websites. Please talk to us about your options and to obtain a cost estimate.

Web Designer, Web Host, Web Development, What Does It All Mean?

Phillip Kingston
29/01/2009

There is a lot of jargon, change and confusion in the I.T. sector and unfortunately there aren't many people who are prepared to clear it all up. I thought I'd spend some time on the different elements that come together to make websites happen.

Web Hosting

Firstly, a website itself - the pages, text, designs, pictures, etc - is simply a series of files on a computer somewhere. The computers that store and make accessible these files are appropriately called hosts or web hosts. Like your computer in the office or at home, these web hosts need a connection to the Internet so they are accessible from anywhere around the world. The web host faces costs of computer hardware, upgrades, software and a monthly internet connection. These costs are recuperated in the form of web hosting fees (or in some cases the placement of advertising on your website). All websites need a web host and as such an average business will need to put aside between $40-$100 a year for web hosting.

Web Development

Now you know what web hosting is, we can talk about web sites themselves. A website, like any piece of software, can perform many different functions depending on your requirements and budget constraints. Examples of functionality include:

• Product catalogue
• Contact form
• Shopping cart/eCommerce
• Mailing List
• Blog
• Forum/Discussion board

The implementation of these kinds of features is called Website Development and refers largely to programming services. A business' website can vary in price significantly based on the number and complexity of the desired features. An example price range might be $150-$3000 for a traditional business.

Web Design

Finally, we turn to making it all look good and making it usable. This is the realm of the graphic designer. Web Designers interpret the graphic and visual identity of the client, take into account the target market and audience, and turn these constraints into a design. Once this design is approved by the client, it is applied to the website functionality outlined above. Web Design, like Web Development, can vary substantially in price. A basic design might cost $200 but complex designs or large sites can easily cost thousands.

Where to from here?

If you have any questions about this process, or would like to find out how much it would cost to jazz up your website, or even to chat about your first website, please Contact Us. Kingston Development is a very cost effective and professional web development firm that can connect you to marketing leading web design, web development and web hosting services.

Preparing For A New Website

Phillip Kingston
29/01/2009

These days it is very common for regular website changes and even complete overhauls. It is also common for managers and small business owners to be disappointed (or not entirely satisfied) with their final website. It is therefore critical to be prepared when engaging a web development company. If you can engage the firm completely ready - having thought through the marketing, business case and functional requirements - you will be able to better brief the firm, have more informed and realistic expectations, and maximise the likelihood of an excellent product.

In thinking about what kind of website you want for your business. It is imperative to ask yourself why you want a website. Is it:

• To help people that already know you to find you?
• To help people that don't know you to find you?
• To educate people about your products or services?
• To link them onto another site?
• To impregnate a marketing message into their minds?
• To ask for direct action?
• To build your personal or business brand?
• To compete with your competition?

It isn't an easy journey and it's very important to be clear about what your needs are and who your target market is. The following 9 questions will help you (and us!) get a better idea of what you want out of your website:

Q1. What do you want your website to do for your business?

What are your key business aims? In an ideal world, what would the website do for you?

Q2. Who do you want to visit your website (your target market)?

Your content, language, use of animations/special effects, font size, etc should all be appropriate for your intended audience. It's critical that you work out who will be visiting your site so that you can tailor the site to their needs and internet usage patterns.

Profession:	Age Range:	Location:
Lawyer	40-55	Melbourne

Q3. What should your target market do as a result of visiting your website?

Should they buy something? Fill in a form? Join up to something? What is the ideal action invoked?

Q4. How do you think your target market should find your website?

If we asked visitors how they found out about your site, what do you think they would say?

Q5. What websites are your target market currently visiting?

What customer audience are you fighting for? What are the market expectations? What is your value-add?

Q6. What websites do you know about that are similar to what you want?

Have a look at what other people have done and learn from their mistakes (and their good ideas!). What are other people doing right? or wrong?

Q7. Do you think the website is going to be a small/medium/large contributor to sales?

What are your expectations of the website? It's important to match budgets with expectations. If you are planning for your website to contribute significantly to sales then it should be high on your spending list. If it is more of a business card or informational website then you can cut corners.

Q8. Do you wish to consider search advertising to bring clients to your site from search engines?

If you would like to drive direct sales from your website, it is usually important to capture valuable search engine traffic. Have a think about your maximum advertising spend.

Q9. What search keywords do you imagine your current/prospective clients would search for to find your site?

Have a think about what sorts of keywords you, your friends and family would use to find a product or service similar to yours. Think outside of the box here. People may be searching for product function or a product's associated benefits.

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Careful thought about these kinds of questions will ensure that you are ready to provide a detailed brief to your firm of choice. The better the brief, the faster and cheaper the development.