Through a combination of experience, feedback and new technologies we have continued to strive for a better product. Something that can offer more to you, the client, but at the same time become easier and more intuitive to use. We have also looked to incorporate new modules and functionality to add to the library of tasks The Admin Site can help you with.

Behind the scenes there have been many changes to help make The Admin Site run faster and smoother than the older version, however, what we’re excited about are some of the great new plug-ins we have available in version 2.0.

Some of the great new features available are…

New Online Store
Spike has developed their own online store which can quickly and easily be customised to your businesses requirements. The store can connect to a variety of payment gateways including the world renowned PayPal or Camtech gateways. Ask us how our store can be tailored to your businesses.

HTML Newsletter Management Version 4
Many of you have a version of the HTML email / newsletter on your system. Each version of the HTML email / newsletter comes with increased filtering options, record keeping and reporting.

Brand New Photos Galleries
Our new photo galleries make use of the funky new jQuery technology which allows your website’s visitors to easily view hundreds of photos at terrific resolution while navigating easily between the photos.

The Admin Site Version 2.0 allows you to easily upload multiple photos, add comments as well as edit, hide or delete individual or groups of images. You are also able to categorise all of your images into albums and galleries.

You can view an example of the galleries at http://au.blueseptember.org/blue_september_photo_albums.php.

Product Image Zoom
This is a terrific little application which allows your clients to easily zoom in on smaller images in order to see the detail of the product. All you need to do is upload a small image and a large image via The Admin Site and the rest is done for you.

You can view an example of the Product Image Zoom at http://www.pca.org.au/results09/sx/awards/Best-of-Show-Award-3.php

New Video Galleries
Many of you have had the need for video on your website over time, now we have a great application which allows you to either upload your own videos, or grab a video from YouTube and put it into you website. You can have as many videos as you like, listed in a play list which is easy for your website’s visitors to click and view.

We’ve made use of this technology in our new video tutorials which many of you would already be using. We can of course ‘skin’ the player and playlist so that it fits perfectly into your website’s look and feel.

Video Tutorials
With the latest version of The Admin Site comes video tutorials. The video tutorials are never longer than five minutes in duration are aimed at showing your how to quickly and easily use The Admin Site. You are also able to request the creation of a video should you require it.

Improved Search Engine Optimisation
With version 2 of The Admin Site comes the ability for you to control even more aspects of your website which effect your performance in search engines such as Google.

On top of these great new additions to The Admin Site, Spike WebDesign has also been doing a lot of work developing software which helps to streamline our clients’ workflow. If you have tasks which are taking up a lot of your time or repeatedly costing you money, talk to us about how we can automate these tasks and free up your time to focus on more important areas of your business.

“I really need a website”.

“I must get that shopping cart so I can sell my products online”.

“I’ll update my website in the New Year”.

Resolutions and thoughts like this are common ones, especially amongst business owners. However, as the New Year starts and all that comes with it means that your current website, or ambitions of finally getting a website, get swept under the carpet.

We’ll make the assumption that you and your business is good at what you do and you have good customer service, after those two things your company’s website is the most important aspect of your business.

A website:

• Is your primary source of advertising.
• Can become the number one pathway that your clients take to reach you.
• Tells potential clients about your services and why they should use you.
• Can save you thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours by automating mundane repetitive administration tasks (if you have a good content management system).
• Can take your client’s payments online and can also create a terrific flow of passive income.
• Can communicate with you current clients, either by bulk HTML emails, sms text message, blog / news articles or general updates on your site.
• Can easily manage vast databases of information once again saving you time and money.
• Showcase your products and services through photo or video galleries.

When you look at these points, as well as extrapolate these ideas based on your business’ specific needs, it would be negligent not make your website your number one New Year’s resolution.

“I can’t afford a new website”.

“Why do websites cost so much?”

Both of these comments are common and nine times out of ten not well thought out. A basic website might take 5 to 15 hours of work to develop. However, most website companies also have their own software or code which they have developed in their own time which they can plug in to new websites, meaning more than just the 5 to 15 hours go into a website.  More complicated database driven websites can often be anywhere from 10 hours work to upwards of 100 hours worth of work.

So if you are a business owner and want a new website and you get a range of quotes, a good thing to do would be to divide the quoted amount by your hourly rate, just to get a perspective on the price you’ve been given. Sure, everybody has different hourly rates, but this at least will start to help you make an informed decision.

The other point to consider is the monetary outlay for your website versus potential revenue generated by your website. If someone were to tell you that if you invested $5,000 and would get $100,000 in return over the next few years I don’t think anyone would turn that offer down. However, you would be surprised how many people baulk at a website quote which is only a fraction of what they would be making if their business becomes successful.

Sounds stupid, right?

“I want to make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, but I’m only willing to spend a few hundred dollars to achieve it”. For people with attitudes like this I have one piece of advice, buy a Tattslotto ticket. If you want to get the most out of the internet and your website, you have to be willing to invest time, resources and money. Otherwise you are dreaming and will be making the same resolutions next year.

So in short, don’t put off to tomorrow what you could otherwise do today. The sooner you initiate the process of a new website or upgrades to your current site, the sooner you will be reaping the rewards.

Happy New Year!

There are so many Content Management Systems out there, many of them really good. Some of the better known CMS’ are Joomla and Mambo, both of which are built using the same programming language as The Admin Site, PHP.

It was these very Content Management Systems which fuelled our desire to build our own CMS. Many average punters are given content management systems, like Joomla or Mambo, to manage their websites, however, these systems are not user friendly for your average business owner who knows little or nothing about websites and the internet. We wanted to create a content management system which would revolve around ease of use and would not confuse it’s users by bombarding them with dozens of links or with using terminology which would only serve to confuse them.

Our second bug bear about the content management systems out there was that a website had to be designed around the limitations of the CMS. We wanted a CMS which could be customised to any requirement, thus a freer creative process which resulted in what the client wanted, rather than what the content management system dictated.

So after 12 months of research, testing and development we came up with The Admin Site. The initial feedback we received from the first of our clients to use The Admin Site was terrific! Over the following months we sought continual feedback and made efforts to refine and add various elements.

The Admin Site is now approaching is second birthday and like all two year olds, The Admin Site has made tremendous leaps and bounds since its birth, however, what really excites us are all the new plug-ins and functionality we are developing.

The Admin Site now handles a huge range of elements from your basic content entry, to flash or jQuery photo galleries, from search engine optimisation to online store management or email marketing. Basically, The Admin Site can handle anything that you need to do in order to make the day to day operation of your business and website easier and more efficient.

We are extremely excited with what we hope to achieve in the future with The Admin Site and are continually looking for bigger and more complex challenges to which we can apply The Admin Site.

If you have any questions about how The Admin Site can help your business and website or would like to arrange a demonstration, please drop us an email at info@spikewebdesign.com.au.