I have just found a rather inspiring example of a business that has taken a very simple and super economical approach to web design.

Admiring the business card (beautifully designed, I might add) of a very popular, local harbourside cafe — The Customhouse — I typed their web address into Google:

www.thecustomhouse.co.nz/

This actually “redirects” the browser to point to this address:

http://www.eatout.co.nz/the-customhouse.html

…a very useful online resource for would be diners around the country (and some Australian locations).

What a great way to save money (and time) while retaining the features and functionality of an expensive website.

For a modest outlay of the standard annual domain name registration fee (around $30 per year), and a modest outlay of their own time (all of this would have taken maybe three or four hours to achieve), The Customhouse has tapped into a pre-existing website that has the kind of interactivity and functionality (e.g. customer comments, location map, menu facility, etc.) that could have cost well into the thousands should they have had a design company build their site from scratch.

Not only that, but they have automatically exposed themselves to a site with great user traffic and a track record.

The Customhouse also retain all the usual email features; email accounts are set up directly with your ISP or web host — hence their ability to advertise a professional looking email address on their business cards (in this case, info@thecustomhouse.co.nz).

Now that’s affordable web design! It also emphasises the enormous value of your domain name as an asset to your business.

Of course, there are pitfalls to this approach. For example, it does lock you in to the style and features of the terminating location (eatout.co.nz), limiting your options. (E.g. What can you upload to the “site”,  can you still cross-link to other websites, etc.).

But for the many business owners out there who are strapped for time  and cash, it’s a perfectly viable solution for online visibility. Perhaps you could treat it as a quickfire, temporary solution, while you are waiting for a more customised site design to be done.

Which industry are you in?

There are other examples of existing web sites that collate free pages or mini sites in this way, for particular industries. Try typing in the name of your industry, or some of your competitors, into your search engine of choice and see what you find in the search results. If you’re in a competitive industry you may find a similar service that will allow you to set up a free online presence that you could, in turn, link to your own domain name.

And don’t forget, for ALL business types, there are the staples, such as: nzs.com, finda.co.nz, yellowpages.co.nz and your local council website. Get listed on these regardless!

How do I redirect my site to another site?

Try any of these sources to do it yourself:

http://webmaster.indiana.edu/tool_guide_info/refresh_metatag.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL_redirection#Refresh_Meta_tag_and_HTTP_refresh_header

http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/dreamweaver_tutorial_redirecting_users.html

I have a small advertising budget. Will the big guys always be able to outrank me by paying more for the same keyword?

In a nutshell, the answer is No. You can outsmart the competition with highly targeted keywords and ad text in your campaigns, thereby optimising your all important “Quality Score”. This requires you think very carefully about a tight relationship between the following four critical factors:

• the keywords assigned to your campaign
• the text you use in your ad copy
• the words you use in your “landing page”
• the click-through rate (CTR) of your keywords

A lot of this comes down to a well thought out ad campaign; how well you understand your target audience.

Planning for success
Very thorough reference source for D-I-Y business planning.

Foundations for growth
How to improve your business practices once you’re already established.

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