Waypoint Systems Ltd has been providing online applications to a wide range of SME’s since 2003 - specializing in the creation, development and maintenance of bespoke websites as well as online data collection systems.

In 2008 Waypoint launched two bespoke software applications, which have been developed in-house to suit the needs of their client mix. These are an e-commerce store and a website content management system – both of which are extendable and flexible enough to deal with Waypoints ever growing list of clients and industry sectors.

Olivia Willcocks is the Managing Director of Waypoint Systems and here, she shares her 10 top tips to check that your website is working for you.

(1) Ensure your website is up to date.

Keep on top of the content you have online, make sure you only have new and relevant news and that all the pages contain up to date material.

(2) Manage the content yourself.

Make sure you are able to change everything on your website and that you receive adequate training on how to do this. With a good system you should be able to change every word and image on your website including the metadata.

(3) Make sure you know how well your website is working for you.

Are you meeting the targets you set for the website? Do you know that you are – are you getting monthly statistics reports or do you get access to online statistics so you can ensure that your website works for you?

(4) Make sure you are in control of the metadata on each page.

Each page of your website should have its own set of keywords and you should be able to alter these yourself. The CMS element of your website should also let you know what are strong and weak keywords for that individual page. This will increase your search engine optimization ratings significantly.

(5) Purchase similar domain names.

By purchasing similar domain names to your primary domain name you will not only aid your search engine ratings but will also stop your competitors from purchasing them and pointing the domains to their website.

(6) Feel comfortable with your website supplier.

Having a holistic approach to your relationship with your website supplier will ensure that you are able to tell them exactly what you think and what you want – after all your website supplier is one of your top sales agents.

(7) Ensure your website has synergy with the other elements of your marketing mix.

It is imperative that the look and feel of your website resembles the other marketing material that you utilize within your company. Failure to do this can result in mixed and confusing messages being sent out to your potential clients.

(8) Use a bespoke CMS or e-commerce element that works for you.

Using a templated element to your website will leave you without the ability to expand your website as you grow. A bespoke solution tailored to suit your company needs will ensure that you can keep your web presence up to date and relevant at all times.

(9) Does your website pass W3C standards.

All websites should pass W3C standards – this is the World Wide Web Consortium and they are responsible for developing specifications and guidelines to lead the web to its full potential. These guidelines will include web accessibility – so ensuring that your website can be viewed by people with site disabilities for example.

(10) Publish your website.

Once you have a website that you are proud of make sure you publish it and advertise the URL on all your marketing equipment. This is especially important for online marketing in order for you to build up your link exchanges, which aid your search engine optimization.

For more information on anything covered in this article please contact Olivia A Willcocks (o.willcocks@waypointsystems.co.uk) or alternatively check out their website http://www.waypointsystems.co.uk/.

2008 Home Business Report

As planned, Enterprise Nation today released the 2008 Home Business Report.

Included within it's 54 pages are a number of profiles on 16 key small businesses in the UK, including ourselves, 1st Addition Accountancy Limited.

To view the report, click on the heading to this post, or the link below. Essential reading if you are a home based business.

http://www.smallbusinessweek2008.co.uk/sp/media/direct/sbw/downloads/homebusinessreport2008.pdf

Small Business Week 2008 Is Launched

Today sees the launch of Small Business Week 2008, starting today with a webinar, and the release of the 'State Of The Small Business Nation' report.

Later in the week, a the 2008 Home Business Report is due to be released also, and, amongst its contents, 16 case studies of expanding small businesses, including ourselves, 1st Addition Accountancy Limited. I shall be publishing this report to our blog, as soon as it is released.

In the meantime, please feel free to check out the Small Business Week website, at; http://www.sbw08.co.uk/

It's also worth checking out the State of The Small Business Nation report, at; http://www.visualwebcaster.com/imageslides/51544/2008%20State%20of%20the%20Nation%20Report.pdf

The Difference Between Making A Will And Estate Planning

Pete Savage, MIPW, is an Estate Planning Consultant with DeedSafe Wills and Legal Services. In this brief feature, he gives us an insight into the importance of 'getting it right' before you go.

As Pete himself often reminds us, it's all about thinking outside the box before ending up inside one!

When people consider making a Will, experience has shown us that they will invariably think about leaving everything to their surviving spouse/partner on first death, then on second death to their children. This typical route has a host of hidden dangers which could mean your children are partially or totally disinherited. For example:

a) If after your death, your spouse/partner re-marries; their new spouse could inherit everything, not your children.
b) If you have children from a previous relationship; after your death your partner could change their Will to disinherit those children.
c) If you end up in a care home, your assets can be seized by the local authority to pay for your care.

Estate Planning is too important an area to risk making a do-it-yourself Will or to put in the hands of unqualified and unregulated so-called ‘will writers’.

A properly prepared Will can protect your family from all of the above scenarios.

You may also have specific wishes or situations which may need to be taken into consideration e.g. a disabled child or a beneficiary with acute behavioural problems or addictions. It would be potentially harmful for these people to benefit directly from your Will but you may not want to disinherit them completely.

Also you may wish somebody such as a partner or elderly relative to be granted the right to live in your property after your death but to not necessarily inherit it. These situations can be dealt with within a correctly drafted Will.

Of course within your Will you can name the people you want to do the important jobs such as who should take over parental responsibility for your children if you should die while they are still minors. You will appoint people to look after your cash and other assets also.

Furthermore, if you have an accident or worse still, become mentally or physically incapable, who’s going to arrange your finances and pay your bills? What if it becomes desirable to sell your home? Even if your husband/wife is still alive and well, they cannot give your consent to do any of these things.

A Lasting Power of Attorney document ensures all these matters are dealt with and stops the wrong people gaining control of your finances.

For further advice on any of the above topics please contact:

Peter Savage on 0800 781 9371

http://www.deedsafewills.co.uk/