QR codes galore

Although I am seeing QR codes plastered on everything I still don’t know anyone who uses them.  It’s only a matter of time before people start getting QR code tattoos!

Maybe I’m just “old school” and don’t really use my iPhone for much other than calling, emailing and some web browsing, but I just can’t be bothered to take a photo of a QR code.  It seems faster to me to just write down the information I need or type in the website address.

In theory, I like the idea.  Plus, they are cute and mysterious looking, like some ancient symbol from aliens.  But, they are not for me.  Not yet anyways. :)

I think what would make them far more useful and enticing is if people put WHY I should scan them.  Usually they are just added without any direction or incentive.  For example, it could say: "Scan this code for additional photos of this property" or "Scan this code for a $20 coupon".  That would make it more interesting for me!  Maybe I'd become a QR lover then.

Posted by Robert

Wordpress hacked again

Regularly we are contracted to repair websites that have been hacked (that other website developers have setup).  This happens when a website is setup using Wordpress with a bunch of plug-ins and installed on some basic insecure hosting account.  It’s only a matter of time before Google blocks your site since it’s infecting people’s computers or you open up your home page one day and there is a giant “F U” on it!

I don’t mind fixing this problem for people, it’s good business.  But I feel sad that so many people think this is a viable solution.  It can be, but in practice, it’s not.  Hence why I don’t recommend it for anyone.

Like most things in life, if you just focus on price in the short-term you’ll likely pay more and have more headaches in the future. 

If you are running Wordpress and your site has become compromised, please let us know and we can help.  Part of the solution may be to switch to a more secure CMS and hosting account that isn’t wide open for abuse.

Posted by Robert

Remarketing – what does it mean?

Have you noticed that the ads being shown to you recently seem to know your search history, perhaps a little too well? 

Take Clearly Contacts for example: I used to only see their ads on the sky-train and then my girlfriend visited their website.  Now, almost every ad I see when I browse the web is for Clearly Contacts.  They are relentless!

I believe what has happened is that we have been flagged by their website to Google, letting Google know that we are interested in glasses and would be very happy to pay for us to come back to their site and make a purchase. 

As we browse the web, Google attempts to bring us back to past websites we’ve visited in order to convert us into a sale.  Increased relevancy should leads to increased clicks, which means more money for Google and potentially the advertiser in getting a returning visitor who completes the sale.

If you currently have a Google Adwords campaign then this “remarketing” feature is already available for you to use.  You simply need to define some “audiences” and assign those audiences to different pages on your site.  For example, if you sell glasses then you would define a “glasses” audience and place the tracking code on your pages pertaining to glasses.

If you would like to nudge previous visitors of your website to come back through the use of advertisements or just want to keep fresh in their minds, give remarketing a try.

Learn more and watch a video by visiting Google’s help page here.

By the way, my girlfriend did buy lots from clearlycontacts.ca afterall.

Posted by Robert

A big ‘thank you’

Thank you to everyone we worked with this year! 2011 was a very good year for us and as usual I am filled with pride for what we have achieved and gratitude for our customers who continue to place their trust in us.

We have lots planned for 2012 and hopefully we all enjoy good health, abundance, cooperation, peace, love and hopefully the world doesn’t come to an end.  Let’s kick some butt and make the best of it!

Happy New Year!

Posted by Robert

Dropbox: What a great service to sync and share files

For the last 10 years I have used Windows Remote Desktop to access my office computer whenever I was working from home or traveling.  This worked great but had some drawbacks such as on the day my office computer died and I was unable to “remote in” thus leaving me unable to work.  I decided to give file syncing a try once more and found that Dropbox was the solution.

I now have all our company files instantly synced onto our office network server (for everyone to use when at the office), on my home computer (for working at home) and on my laptop (for when I’m traveling).  I have everything I need to be productive wherever I am regardless of whether I have high-speed internet or am tethered to my iPhone. 

Working on the actual computer I’m using (instead of remotely) is also way quicker than via Remote Desktop.  I can use Photoshop (which is virtually impossible over Remote Desktop) and I can use multiple monitors (which is also impossible over Remote Desktop).

Dropbox is free if you have only a few gigs of data to sync, and is fairly inexpensive if you have 100’s of gigs.  We’re using the 100GB plan and that should be good for a while.

It’s also really easy to setup.  Just create an account, install the software on each of the computers that you want the files synced on, choose what folders to sync and you’re done.  When you update a file on any of the computers, Dropbox will update the other computers usually within seconds.

Dropbox also makes sharing files with other people very simple, we use this all the time when providing larger files to clients.

If you work from multiple computers and want to have your files easily available amongst them, or simply want an online backup of your data… give Dropbox a try.

Posted by Robert

Quickbooks Integration with Vortex CMS Shopping Cart

Manually recreating online orders in Quickbooks can be a time-consuming task… unless you have Vortex CMS Shopping Cart integrated with Quickbooks.

Vortex CMS Shopping Cart can be integrated with Quickbooks such that your orders, products and customers are automatically imported and synchronized saving you hours of manual work.

Using Webgility’s eCC software with Vortex CMS you can also integrate your shipping processor (ie. Fedex, USPS, etc.) and your payment processor into one streamlined application.

If you are manually creating your online orders, please talk to us about how to make the process easier and quicker for you.  The cost to setup integration can vary from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the complexity of your online store, whether you want inventory tracking and payment processing, etc.  However, the cost to setup integration will no doubt pay for itself in accumulated time savings and improved customer service.

To learn more, please contact us.

Posted by Robert

Our First Azaris Golf Tournament

Last Friday we took the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine and play a round of golf, hey why not?  Although none of us are very good, it was a fun time and somewhat surprisingly Howard had the best score despite it being his first time golfing!  What that clearly indicates is that the rest of us, with the little experience we have, are actually worse off than if we had never played before. 

Howard & Darryl each took home the grand prize of a Costco fuzzy blanket and Ashley (the most experienced player) took home a multi-pack of Dental Floss for being in last place.

We also learned that Dan can juggle 5 golf balls and that 20 golf balls is not nearly enough for 5 players when there are lots of water traps.

The highlight reel would have included Howards amazing drive off the tee where the ball went straight into the water, skipped along the surface, and flew down the fairway onto the green.  I tried to recreate that shot (on purpose of course) but my shot just stayed in the water…

Next time we will hit up the driving range beforehand to see if that helps improve performance.  It’s only a matter of time before we’re winning championships!  Or perhaps we should start a softball team instead… for now, we’ll get back to doing something we are good at: making websites.

Posted by Robert

WordPress vs. Vortex CMS

WordPress is a popular blogging platform that can be extended using “plugins” to provide the ability to manage your entire website.

However, we have found that using WordPress to manage your website is like taking a toaster, finding a bunch of other appliances, combining them together until you have a spaceship and hoping it flies.

So unless you have a very basic website or want to setup a blog, we do not recommend WordPress. 

What we do recommend is Vortex CMS, a platform that was created specifically for maintaining simple to complex websites, not just a blog, which provides a much faster and easier way to develop and maintain your site.

Although some of the features WordPress is missing can be handled with “plugins” they take much longer to find, configure and integrate with your website than Vortex and have so many features it takes someone very experienced in websites to understand it all.   

The ongoing costs of having WordPress is also slightly higher in our experience since although WordPress is free it still requires someone to maintain it and support it, which WordPress doesn’t provide for free.  It needs regular attention to keep ahead of all the security loop holes caused by the mishmash of plugins and open source code.

I asked Howard what he thinks about setting up WordPress for our customers:

“I don't see a point in using Wordpress since it's less convenient for the customer (loads slower, too many unneeded / confusing features), and we would just be trying to hack together a less integrated version of Vortex in the end.” 

Ultimately WordPress is a publishing platform best suited to blogs and simple content websites. 

To discuss the options or to see a live demonstration between WordPress and Vortex CMS please contact us.

Posted by Robert

INTERAC® Online: A New Payment Option

Our ecommerce & shopping cart solution, Vortex, is configured to work with INTERAC Online’s payment service which provides the ability for online shoppers to pay for their order using their bank account.  Neat!

It’s secure and easy to use.  Here’s how it works:  customers add products to their shopping cart, checkout and choose INTERAC Online as their payment option, review their order and then are transferred to their bank to authorize the payment by logging into their Online Banking, and then are sent back to your website to view their receipt. 

This service could also be setup on your website to allow customers to pay invoices online directly out of their bank account instead of mailing a cheque.

Many payment gateways are offering the service, such as Beanstream, and I highly recommend adding it to your shopping cart in addition to accepting credit cards.  

Currently the service is available for customers with accounts at RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust and BMO Bank of Montreal. 

Please contact us if you would like to discuss adding INTERAC Online as a payment option on your website.

® Trade-mark of Interac Inc. Used under license.

Posted by Robert

Websites Made in Canada

We are often asked whether we outsource our work to India or elsewhere – are we truly "made in Canada"?

This doesn’t surprise me considering how many global companies are offering website design & development outsourcing.  I have also heard of web companies (and others) that are basically just a sales front while all the work is done overseas. 

It’s therefore also not surprising that so many businesses that find us have been sorely disappointed with their previous service provider. 

I hear these concerns: it takes weeks to get a response, little alone anything done; they said it wasn’t possible or they said they could do it but couldn’t actually deliver what we asked.

I think there is good reason to ensure that the people you’re dealing with when finding a new website service provider are actually the people doing the work.   I’m not offended when people ask “are you actually Azaris or just some broker?” or “Are you the programmers we will work with or are they in India?”

We are proudly located in Victoria, BC! And we don’t outsource our work.

Posted by Robert