• Google Apps – Includes Google’s email app (Gmail), Google calendar, and Google Docs (which provides excellent web-based word processing and spreadsheet tools). As Google Apps are web-based you don’t need any special software or hardware, and you can access your data from anywhere. The standard edition is free. If you’ve got a larger business or need additional support you may want to consider the premier edition (which has a 30-day trial period).
• Google Analytics – Powerful tool for tracking, analysing and reporting on your website traffic.
• CutePDF – Create professional PDF files from any printable document.
• Paymo – Online time-tracking tool. Free for small businesses and freelancers (up to 3 users).
• Mindomo – Web-based mind mapping tool which allows you to create and edit mind maps, and share them with your colleagues or your friends.
• WordPress – Blog tool and web-publishing platform. While being incredibly powerful and well-featured, WordPress makes it simple to create and manage website content. At finding simple, we love WordPress.
• Skype – Make free video calls to other Skype users. Great for video-conferencing.

A couple of other apps we’ve heard good things about and are looking forward to using include:

• Jing – Grab and share screenshots and video straight from your PC.
• Remember the Milk – Online to-do list and task management program. Integrates with GMail and Twitter, syncs with Blackberry and Windows Mobile, and now features an iPhone app.
• Screenhunter 5.0 Free – Screen capture software. Instead of using ‘Print Screen’ and pasting into ‘Paint’, this application offers easier and more flexible screen capture.

While consumers may be purchasing less frequently than when the dollar was strong, e-commerce will remain important for many businesses, with Australian and New Zealand consumers showing the second highest rate of online sales conversions behind the US.

With more Australian consumers looking to local websites for their online shopping, should your business be thinking about offering your products online?

10. Lack of clear contact information

You’d be surprised how many site visitors just want a phone number to call or an email address to contact. They may have additional questions about your product/service or want to make a booking/purchase. Contact information needs to be easy to find. Users are quickly frustrated if they cant find it, and will quickly leave your website. Make sure you also provide a few different contact options (ie. phone, email, web contact form, physical store/office).

9. Slow load times

Graphics that aren’t optimised for the web and complex web animations can cause websites to load slowly which is frustrating for users. Slow load times are particularly problematic for users who access the internet using a dial-up connection. While broadband use is becoming more common, in 2007-08, 17% of Australian internet users were still accessing the internet using a dial-up connection.

8. Having a horizontal scrollbars

Horizontal scrollbars are annoying for users as they make scanning your website difficult and require extra mouse clicks/movement to view your entire webpage content. Websites that are designed using appropriate screen resolutions will avoid the need for horizontal scrollbars.

7. Using “splash” pages (or false home pages) that require an additional click to enter the site

Users want information about your product/service and they want it NOW. Splash pages are usually totally unnecessary – all they do is frustrate the user by adding an additional page and mouse click before they can get to the information they really want.

6. Requiring the use of plug-ins

A plug-In is a piece of software that works in conjunction with a browser to display specific material (eg. animation, sound etc). If your visitor doesn’t have the required plug-in they will need to download and install it before they can continue using your site. Often people are unwilling to or do not know how to do this.

5. Broken links

This is just plain frustrating for users. They are expecting certain information to appear when they click on a link on your site and will be disappointed when instead they get a HTTP 404 Not Found error message.

4. Poor graphic design

The design of your site should be easy on the eyes. This means that text is easy to read (choose appropriate fonts and text sizes), images should be appropriate sizes, colour choice appealing, and layout consistent between pages.

3. Music/sounds that play automatically

Users like to be in control of their web browsing experience. Sites that automatically play sounds or music remove that control and can annoy web visitors. The music on your site is unlikely to be to the taste of all visitors. In addition, if the user is viewing your site in a public place (library, internet cafe) or at work, they may be embarrassed by the sudden sounds and elect to exit from your site immediately.

2. Out-of-date content

There’s not much point in having information on your website if its obviously out-of-date. Users see little value in information that they suspect is out-of-date or no longer relevant. Make sure price lists and contact information are always up-to-date. Consider integrating a blog onto your website as this is a great way to keep users updated with latest news and offers, and it keeps your content fresh (which search engines love).

1. Grammatical and spelling errors

Grammatical and spelling errors demonstrate a level of carelessness, which may leave users wondering if you are careless in other aspects of your business. Have a friend/colleague/family proof-read your website content, and consider signing up for a spellr.us account.

We wish each and every one of you a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2009.

To help this process along I’ve decided to start a little non-event called the Very Small Business Lunch to bring soloists, entrepreneurs, freelancers and small business owners in the Canberra region together for an hour-long lunch once or twice a month.

I’ll be sending an email around for the first event in late October to early November, so if you are interested in tagging along, meeting a few new people and making some connections all you need to do is flick me your address on the Very Small Business Lunch site and I’ll let you know when and where (I like to keep things simple).

You can find the answer to the first question here, and as for the second – It just so happens that we have started compiling a list of Australian (and US) hosting providers to help you out when researching where to host your bits and bytes.

Its a work-in-progress, with providers including (but not limited to):

• AussieHost.com
• COVE
• Hostess
• ilisys
• Jumba
• Netregistry
• SmartyHost
• WebCentral
• Webcity

The complete list with entry level business plans and prices can be found on our new Web Hosting page.

Whilst sitting, hard at work in the office today I looked out the window to see this beauty and a bunch of his friends.

Thanks to Todd Wright from Threesides Marketing for the mention during his presentation on “Using the New Net and Blogging in Your Business” – its great to see small businesses are beginning to embrace blogging as a way to communicate with their clients.