Aspire Media and Design Ltd News

Ignite website goes live

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +1200

Ignite Campus Outreach needed a solid solution for their website.

Ignite.org.nz need a website that could provide them with ease of Publishing, Newsletters, Staff pages, Events pages and configurable forms, Silverstripe 2.0 was their answer!

Ignite campus outreach needed a solution that could easily grow as they did. They needed a CMS that got things done fast and Silverstripe fitted the bill. Ignite is a Christian Campus outreach that started in the U.S. and grew throughout the world including in Australia.

Josh Eyre decided to make a difference and committed to training with Campus Outreach in Australia with the view to build an outreach in New Zealand. So now Josh and the team are setup in Dunedin with a fast growing group of keen students all growing together.

As his staff grows so will the level of communication to the large number of students studying in Dunedin. The system needs to be able to grow to include Blogs, Forums, Galleries and Video in the future which is an easy adaption for Silverstipe.

Aspire Media & Design congratulates Ignite Campus Outreach on the launch of their new site.

Pregnancy Counselling Services Inc have a new site

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +1300

Aspire Media and Design's latest silverstripe site went live in December 08, it is a version 2.2.3 of silverstripe and supports online image editing and Multi-lingual capabilities.

We were asked to redesign Pregnancy Counselling Services Inc old static site and provide some functionaliity that was going to allow pregnancy counsellors to communicate easily with people needing help.

They needed to be able to get their message out to people in need and to run campaigns and educate.
Key requirements was a system that logged email, easy to use, a new look and multiple ways for their customers to find information we believe it was achieved and Pregnancy counselling are very happy.

In time a Chinese translation will be available allowing further reach for those in need and providing support where needed.

Aspire Media & Design are proud to be associated with Pregnancy Counselling Services Inc and continue to keep working with them to reach those that need their help.

Canterbury Nursing website goes live

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +1200

Canterbury Nursing Agency are the proud owner of a new website that sports a nurse registration form written in Php and sends an email directly to Canterbury Nursing Agency.

The site is pretty much a standard template website that we made some basic cosmetic changes to so that the branding of Canterbury Nursing Agency came through. This made it a cheaper option for them as this was their first venture into the internet world.

Canterbury Nursing Agency Ltd is a company that recruits and managers nurses for Hospitals, General practices and specialists across the Canterbury region and further a field.

Mark wanted to give a his overseas contacts an easy way to find out more about his company and make it easier for nurses that were looking for work overseas.

To view the site go to http://www.nursingcna.co.nz/

Webstock the aftermath

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +1300

Well webstock is over now and I bet there's few web folks that have gone back with some pretty cool ideas, I know I have!

Jill Whelan's workshop was OK, there wasn't a lot of new material which was reinsuring as it confirmed I'm up with the latest and greatest in the world of SEO.

My favorite speaker was Micheal Lopp from Apple. He was speaking on software deveopment on the first day and Managing design on the second day. His experiences were born from the thrust and parry of the Apple stables where machines and man are tested to the limit and products were forged on the anvil of innovation.

What came from all this thrusting and parrying was the importance of working with talented and enthusiastic people. How giving channels for them to express themselves in constructive and creative ways can speed up the processes of design.

He also talked about Ponies (it was nice to have something else other than kittens and puppies), a pony is when someone starts to request things that are from a companies vision or culture and according to some people have to be in the product or concepts. They are called Ponies because generally they are of the same nature as when one of the kids sees a pony or has ridden a pony and from then on simply must own one. Micheals advice in a nutshell was to ride with it (no pun intended) and to let the design processes work them out and prove that by putting a pony in the design it will only be pony and not a product.

Next article will be about Morlocks and Eloy from Damian Conways presentation.

Google advice

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +1300

Website design these days involves many different skills in order to make a site successful. One of these skills is SEO (Search Engine Optimization), it's a real art and requires patience on behalf of the customer and the website design company.

Many times customers are puzzled to find that SEO results take time and a lot of hard work. They wonder why their site hasn't shown up in the top of Google or other search engines days after it went live.
It's a reasonable expectation if you have never had to deal with websites before, after all we live in an instant world and the web is the greatest thing since sliced bread, I understand how they feel.

So as I was contemplating how to write something about SEO I went to Google as a customer would that's looking for answers on SEO results. I found this page that I'd never seen before and thought YES Yes yes, this will help people understand the difficulties of SEO and help keep them safe from the vultures out there. So here it is it's titled: " What's an SEO? Does Google recommend working with companies that offer to make my site Google-friendly? ".

Aspire Media & Design agrees with everything in the article and works hard to sty with in the guidelines of SEO.

Here's a news article that's on the above Google page: Internet Advancement told to refund clients.

Well have a good read, If you need to know more contact us.

WDANZ Questions

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +1300

Just the other day Web Developers Association of New Zealand (WDANZ) sent me an email requesting some answers to questions that they will use in the Web Developers Association of New Zealand handbook.

I thought they were good questions for the handbook so I replied with my answers, then I thought these are the sort of questions that most new and experienced website owners ask so why not share them with everyone.

So for the viewing public here they are:

Q1. What is the best advice you would give to people planning their first web presence?

A. When looking to plan your first web presence stop and take stock of your objectives, think about the reasons for your web presence and then think about the how.

The How is such things as, How will I find all the material for this
project, How will I market this project, How will I maintain this project
once developed, How will I get it hosted, How will I get it developed, How will I know who to trust, etc.

Then think Who, Who will I choose to build this project (A WDANZ professional?), Who can I get advice from (WDANZ? or professional member.

Q2. What are the three most important considerations when improving the look and feel of an old or tired business website?

A. The three most important considerations when improving the look and feel of an old or tired business website are:
1: Has my target audience stayed the same or changed?
2: Have my objectives for the site stayed the same or changed.
3: How can I provide a useful and pleasant experience for the users of the site (The usability of the site)

Q3. How would you advise website owners to go about maximizing the effectiveness of their website (e.g sales, exposure or other outcomes)?

A. Maximizing the effectiveness of a website comes down to knowing your market, it's competition and where your site is in that market and most importantly who your customers are.
If you know these things well then working with a web marketing professional will be that much easier, ideas will come freely and the web marketing professional can be better informed to help you develop a strategy to get the maximum from your site.

Q4. In what ways do you see the Internet changing the way business is conducted today and likely in the near future?

A. Businesses today are realizing that the web is changing from a just simply getting the message out to a more social and personal thing. New generations always redefine things and we are seeing this today, we are seeing marketing efforts from businesses where social sites like Bebo, Facebook and YouTube have become their play ground. The point is that the internet has changed from individual websites that try to attract users to working together and optimizing opportunities that are on other sites.

Q5. In what areas are most businesses most likely to see growth in their use of the Internet over the next couple of years?

A. Growth will definitely be in the networking sites and the social sites for marketing purposes, internet campaigns will embrace web, cellular, and multimedia like never before.

Q6. Can you highlight a technology or service that you see making rapid advances in the online space?

A. Cell phones are the next natural progression for those that are keen to get the message out, integrated campaigns involving sites, phones and new emerging technologies like the Iphone is where we will see rapid change.
Websites are becoming another tool in the business persons arsenal rather than the latest and greatest technological leap, sites will be the base from which to launch products, competitions and marketing initiatives but cellphones will address the audiences of the future.

Webstock

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +1300

Well Webstock 08 isn't far away now so pack your bags, book your flights and get ready for the Code of Freedom!
And if you haven't booked be quick, it's going to be a cracker.

It sounds very dramatic I know but Webstock in some circles can equal a visit from the President of the U.S.A. in fact I'd wager that if both were happening on the same day, Webstock would win out right.

So for the uninitiated, what is Webstock about anyway?
Well, it's a conference that brings top name speakers from all around the world to excite us about the vitues of the web.
It starts on Monday 11th February and goes to Friday 15th February and has 21 speakers this year.

But wait there's more!
As well as listening to speakers you can participate in workshops to learn all manner of things about the web from some pretty famous people, for me I'm booked to brush up on my search engine optimisation skills from Jill Whelan, here's her credentials

"Jill Whalen, a pioneer in search engine optimization, founded High Rankings in 1995. Today High Rankings has grown to be one of the pre-eminent SEO companies in the United States. Over the past 12 years, High Rankings has worked with hundreds of clients across more than 40 industries... find out more"

Well I hope to some of you there it should be great!

Running site goes live

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +1300

Runningtours.co.nz has gone live!!
This site is a joint venture between the owners of www.acrossnz.com one of New Zealand’s premium online vacation and tour service sites and an entrepreneurial marathon runner.

Now marathon runners have dedicated service that will cater to all of their tour needs. Whether it is a short trip to a small cross country or a full top level Marathon; whether you are new to the sport or an old hand this site will offer you what you need.

Because www.acrossnz.com are behind this the venture the site will have all the support and experience that comes with the years of working in the tourist industry and dealing with small to large tour parties.

www.runningtours.co.nz uses acrossnz's itinerary tracking service so that customers can check the details of their tour online using a username and password to protect their personal tour details.

Running is broken in to separate categories like Marathons & Road races, Trial & Off road, Recreational Running Tracks jus to name a few.

This is one unique site that is well worth a look even if you’re not into running I'm sure you will know someone that is. Aspire Media & Design Ltd congratulates runningtours.co.nz on its launch and wishes them all the best for the future.

New poppy sales site

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +1300

Poppies growers and importers Poppiesdirect.co.nz have a new site that they manage through a Content Management System (CMS) that has E-commerce capabilities.

Poppiesdirect wanted a website that they could update by themselves and keep track of orders and stock. They didn’t require online banking transactions immediately but wanted to be able to turn this on as their business investment grew.

Aspire Media & Design Ltd had just the CMS they were looking for, with some modification to get it to do what they needed and some design work to meet the design brief the site was ready start making money for them.

www.poppiesdirect.co.nz sells poppy seeds and plants, depending on the season. They import rare varieties of poppy flowers and seeds for the poppy loving public and specialist gardeners. As the name suggests the goods will be delivered direct to your door via couriers for your convenience.

This site is a Php and MySql solution using an object orientated approach. This allows for easy modification of the system to cater for many differing types of application as well as offering easy integration with online payment services like Paypal.

We would like to thank poppiesdirect for working with us and wish them all the best for the future with their new site.

WDANZ has a new General Manager

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +1300

I'd like to congratulate Jone Jones on his appointment as the General Manager of Web Developers Association of New Zealand.

John and I worked together last year and half of 2007 at Natcoll College of Design and Technology. He has a cooperative manner of leadership and I am sure he will benefit WDANZ greatly.

John has worked with Dennis Smith in the past so I'm sure their history together will help WDANZ web design conferences grow stronger.

Good luck Guys.

IPhone hits New Zealand

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +1200

The Iphone is finally here!

And people don't have to hack them!

I have had an Iphone for a while now, and I'm really pleased with it. It does what I want it to and is really easy to use.
I mostly use the Organiser, Email, SMS, and Ipod on a daily basis and it allows me to keep intouch with my customers really easily.

I have say I feel sorry for those that are looking at buying an Iphone in NZ and having to wear the outragoeus plans that Vodafone have put out. Australia has much more reasonable plans than NZ has, so it just shows that New Zealander's are getting hood-winked yet again.

I think that the only winners here are Vodafone and Apple because customers must sign up to a 24-month plan charging $250 per month for just an 8GB Iphone and only 1GB of data if they want to pay the NZ$199.00 price tag.

In the U.S. and U.K. cheaper plans are available for unlimited data, you can read about that here http://www.stuff.co.nz/4610626a28.html.

If your interested there's a petition that's asking Vodafone this "We call upon Vodafone New Zealand to reverse its decision to only offer the forthcoming iPhone 3G as part of an “On Account” plan at its launch into the New Zealand market on July 11, 2008. We ask that Vodafone New Zealand provide an alternate option for “prepay” customers wishing to purchase the iPhone exclusive to any ongoing contract or data plan."

You can see the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/nzmac/petition.html.

There are other plans but the price of the phone goes up until eventually you get to a you choose plan but pay the full price of the phone with the 8GB model costing NZ$979.00 and the 16GB model costing NZ$1129.00, that's alot more than I paid for my Iphone.

BIG warning folks, If you decide to pay the full price for the Iphone and hook into a "You Choose plan" make sure you check the contract in the selected services part of the contract if it has GPRS Casual usage plan and the GPRS service in it, watch out!!

This could mean that you will get hit hard for any data that the Iphone uses and I mean hard @ NZ$10.00 per MB. When I first got the phone I got hit with an extra NZ$60.00 for 6 MB, this was looking at two websites and the rest was from data came through on the phone network before the wireless connect kicked in at the office and home, Owww that hurt.

I was able to get Vodafone to take the GPRS off as I made it clear when I signed up that I didn't need a data plan because I use the wireless.

Firstly they tried to tell me that they couldn't do it, but after a couple of calls to their technicians they found out they could.
I was very please with the service and professionalism that the young lady who helped me in the Vodafone store showed.
And I have to say I was happy that Vodafone didn't try and fight the issue too hard. Perhaps the commerce law that states that people shouldn't be sold something that they didn't ask for helped?

So, becareful out there when buying an Iphone.