Name: Back9 Creative Studio
Price range: $$
Rating: 5

What’s an API and Why Should you Care?

Posted on December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 by Phil

If you’ve ever heard someone mention an “API” and wondered what it was all about, you’re not alone. An Application Programming Interface (API) is one of those tech terms that gets tossed around a lot in the digital world. But few people really understand what it means. Let’s take a look at what APIs are and why they matter to your business

What Is An API?

At its most basic level, an API is a way for two different computer programs to talk to each other. It works like this: the first program (let’s call it Program A) has some data that Program B wants. Program B makes a request for the data from Program A, which responds with the requested information. This happens quickly, automatically, and without any human intervention — that’s the beauty of an API!

Why Do APIs Matter?

APIs have been around since the early days of computing, but their importance has grown exponentially in recent years. As businesses move more of their operations online, they need ways to connect different software components so they can work together seamlessly. And APIs provide exactly that capability. By connecting different systems together via APIs, businesses can create powerful automated workflows that save time and money. And all while improving efficiency across the board.

For example, say you have a customer relationship management system (CRM) – like Hubspot – where you store all your customer data. You could use an API to connect your CRM directly to your e-commerce website; this way, when customers make purchases on your site, their information is automatically added to your CRM without any manual effort on your part! Pretty cool, right?

APIs are essential tools for modern businesses looking to maximize efficiency and reduce costs without sacrificing quality or reliability. They allow you to connect different software components so they can communicate and share data automatically — no manual input is required. So next time someone mentions an “API” in conversation don’t be intimidated — just remember that it’s a powerful tool for streamlining and optimizing business processes!

Can I Create a Website Myself?

Posted on December 21, 2022July 4, 2024 by Phil

Do-It-Yourself or Hire an Expert: Building a Website for Your Business

When you’re ready to take your business to the next level, having an online presence is essential. But if you’re like most business owners or entrepreneurs, you may be asking yourself, “Can I create a website myself?”

The short answer is yes—you can use a website builder and get started with your website quickly. However, there are some things to consider when deciding whether to go it alone or hire a web design expert. Let’s explore the pros and cons of both approaches.

Creating a Website: Doing It Yourself: Pros and Cons

Free website design – is it the best option? Using a website builder to create your own website has its advantages. For starters, it’s usually less expensive than hiring someone else to do the work for you. You also have some limited control over the look and feel of your site. Plus, you can make changes whenever you want without having to wait on anyone else.

However, if you’re serious about making money with your site or scaling up in any meaningful way, then using a DIY approach might not be the best option for you. While website builders provide great tools for creating basic sites quickly, they often don’t offer the flexibility needed for more advanced features such as e-commerce capabilities or custom integrations with other software platforms. Additionally, many of these tools use pre-made templates that could limit how unique and professional your site looks.

Hiring an Expert to Create a Website: Pros and Cons

If you decide to hire an expert web designer or agency to build your site, then there are several advantages to consider. An experienced designer will have access to more powerful tools than those available through typical website builders. This means that they can create custom designs tailored specifically to your needs. They can also still maintain high standards of quality and usability. Additionally, they can optimize your site for search engine optimization (SEO) so that it ranks higher on Google and other search engines—which could lead to more traffic and revenue for your business in the long run!

The downside is that hiring an expert will cost more upfront than doing it yourself with a website builder. But websites these days are an investment. Websites can return far more than they cost over time. So consider this too, when making a decision. The cost will also depend on what type of project you need to be done (i.e. E-Commerce Design vs Simple Custom Web Design vs growth-driven design), costs can vary significantly from one project to another.

A Website is a Sales Tool – So Get the most out of it!

Making the decision between doing it yourself or hiring an expert depends largely on what kind of project you need. The timeframe you need it to be completed. And how much time/money/resources are available at that moment in time. If you have the time (and knowledge) required then creating a basic website yourself using a website builder might be worth considering. Especially if the budget is tight at this point in time! However, if you’re looking for something more complex or simply don’t have enough time/knowledge then employing a web design agency or individual might be worth considering. Especially when taking into account all aspects involved such as SEO optimization and scalability potentials down the line! In either case, it’s important to talk with an expert (or experts) before moving forward so that everyone involved is clear on expectations from start until launch day!

Google’s May Algorithm update is a Game Changer!

Posted on March 3, 2021December 23, 2021 by Phil

Most normal people don’t even know what the Google Algorithm is. Let alone care what a Google Algorithm Update is. Or what it means to them… Are you one of those people? That’s okay. But even if you are, if you’re in business and you have a website, and you want it to be found, then you need to know about this next update!

This update is BIG. REALLY big. It WILL separate the website winners from the losers! If you don’t understand – or even care for the “nerdy Geek Speak” – that’s cool I get it, but before your eyes glaze over and you hit the back button, or give up and go watch videos of cats, I urge you to read on, or at the very least, contact your website provider to discuss what you need to do to get your website up to speed.

The 3 Key Aspects of Core Web Vitals

Google announced this Algorithm update last April. This means that they’ve let us know ahead of time that this major change was in the works. Only recently did they put a date to it, however. In May, their new measurement for SEO called Core Web Vitals will start taking effect. Specifically, they are introducing three metrics specific to page experience. These Core Web Vitals put simply, will address:

1. Site speed

The speed a website page loads once a link is clicked on from search results. Google has been pushing fast site speed for several years, because that’s what users want. Over half of users won’t wait more than 3 seconds for a page to load. Yet, stats on page load speed claim the average is anywhere from 15 seconds to nearly 30 seconds to load. Mobile sites are meant to load faster, but many take longer because the site wasn’t designed to work on mobile devices.

So what does that mean for you? If you are able to get your pages to load in under 3 seconds, you should see a boost in results. All content “Above the fold” (What someone sees without scrolling down) should load within that time. Most sites are going slow, and if you’re faster, you’re more likely to rank above them in Google.

2. Interactivity

How seamless user interactivity is – for example, with no delays in button-tapping and site response or desired action. We’ve all been to a website with broken buttons or a confusing structure. With Interactivity being measured soon, sites that are designed and built better will rise to the top. Google knows design and ease of use is important to people. So they’re going to start rewarding sites that do it well–and punishing ones that don’t.

3. Stability

The stability of a webpage content is the way it loads for a user on the screen. Have you ever been on a website and see something you want to click, but then it moves right before you click it shifts and you click something else? Those kinds of things will soon be measured as Stability. The layout of the pages should generally be consistent. Pages where text or images keep shifting around while other things load (Think ads loading while you’re reading) will start to see a decrease in rankings. Google has known this kind of site behaviour annoys people, so they’ve found a way to measure and analyse the most important factors that cause this.

What does this mean for your website?

This change could be good or bad news for your website. It’s good news is that if you already have a well-built site that loads fast and gives a good user experience. You might not have to do anything to get the benefits! You’ll probably see your rankings increase and it will be easier for you to be found in Google.

The bad news is that if your site needs improvement, this update could hurt. An old, basic, slow site won’t do well when things change. If you’ve been putting off updating your website, now is a good time to action it. The sooner you do it, the better.

Procrastination is easy!

When you have hundreds of things on the go – as most business owners do, it’s easy to let something like this sit in the “I’ll worry about that when it happens category”, If you’re familiar with the Eisenhower Matrix then this is the probably sitting in the Important, but not Urgent quadrant.

This is normal. We see it all the time with business owners and only when something becomes Urgent and Important, is it really on the radar? It’s human nature to put things off or procrastinate when we don’t understand the impact or cost of the action, or the cost of inaction for that matter.

If you value your website and you get a good amount of leads from organic traffic, then the cost of inaction here could be detrimental to your business.

On the other hand if you don’t know what your website is up to or what it is returning for you I recommended you talk to a good Marketing Company. Have a read of our article by clicking the button below to see how to find a marketing company who is a good fit for you.

User Experience – It needs to be top shelf

User Experience is a bit of a buzzword these days in digital marketing. However, it also can’t be understated. The user, A.K.A. your leads, prospects, and customers have all of the power these days!

Your website needs to cater to their expectations. Whether that be expecting the site to load lightning fast, that they can navigate your site well, or simply find the answers to their questions about what you do and how much it costs.

If it doesn’t cater to these things, then the reality is you are likely to lose those visitors, never to return, especially if your competitor caters for their expectations better.

Google’s promise to all internet users

All online searchers want 2 things – relevant webpage results for their search query, and when they land on that page, a great experience from the websites. Google understands this and as such they want, no, NEED to deliver on that. And that is their core promise.

To deliver that promise, the Google Algorithm Update needs to be constantly evolving. And your website needs to keep up! Google added metrics around page loading speed, mobile-friendly need in 2018, then the BERT update in 2019 and in April 2020 they announced the focus on user experience. And May 2021 will see it come to fruition. To evaluate and measure page experience they will implement what they are referring to as Core Web Vitals.

Google has said for over a decade that they want users to have the best experience possible on websites and deliver those websites as their first results. A good website is an investment. It takes time, effort, and resources to do it right. At the end of the day, your website needs to have a good design with quality content. Some people have tried to take shortcuts, tricking the algorithm etc. but that was always a risk. Eventually, Google was going to find a way to find out what websites are doing it right and what ones took shortcuts. The next step for that starts in May. Are you ready?

What do you need to do now?

I mentioned the Eisenhower Matrix above and if you care about your search rankings, then now is the time to shift your focus. Your website maintenance, or design for user experience into the URGENT and IMPORTANT quadrant. I can tell you categorically as I write this, even our own website is well below average. Right now it needs some urgent attention! We’re working on improving it to make it better and easier to use.

So if you haven’t done much with your website in recent times – or worse – have done nothing, then please act… For your website users’ sake, please don’t procrastinate. Your website’s success quite literally depends on it.

See how your website is doing with a free website audit

When should I hire a professional to build my website?

Posted on March 1, 2021January 5, 2023 by John Tatu

You want to build a website and it seems like not too long ago that if you wanted to get a new website, it almost always required to hire a professional to do it for you. Doing it yourself required expert knowledge of coding if you wanted it to look anything like you want. Today, there are many DIY platforms that can help you get the website you want. Most of them are simple to use and only need a basic understanding of coding. So when should you hire a professional? Should you contact a developer directly? Or a Digital Marketing company, which offers a range of services? And if so, who is the best digital marketing company to contact?

The current DIY website landscape

Whether you have technical skills or not, there are platforms that promise to have the easiest drag-and-drop approach to designing and building your website. The ones that are widely available are Squarespace, Weebly, and Wix and WordPress, which powers 30% of all websites on the Internet and have a free or paid theme added to your site that you can customise.

One of the main reasons people get websites these days is so they can sell products online. This is called eCommerce and there are DIY platforms that use drag-and-drop that specialise in eCommerce. Some of the most popular ones are Shopify, Opencart, and WooCommerce (works with WordPress). If you’re interested in selling online, click the image below to read our article about which E-Commerce platform is best for you.

What is the purpose of the website?

Before you even think about what platform you should use to build your website, it is critical to know what type of site you need. This will be driven by the type of your business. Thinking about it will naturally lead to thoughts around design and functionality. As soon as you add in all the features you envision your website to have it will help you answer the question “Should I hire a professional or can I build it myself?”

Your capabilities

Even though the drag-and-drop tools we listed above might not require any technical skills, you’ll most certainly find yourself needing at least some basic HTML/CSS skills to make the site look professional and not just a template from the web. You’ll also need to have in mind some other basic web development practices in building your website, such as responsive design. About half of users on the web in New Zealand use a mobile device to browse the internet, so it’s only fair to say that having your website optimised for mobile is a must-have.

After designing your website, you might find yourself in a position where you want your website to do more than just an online brochure. You might want it to generate more leads, or you might need e-commerce to help increase sales. Soon, you’ll realise that you need to integrate 3rd party systems to help you achieve that, such as your CRM system or integrating a payment gateway to process online orders. If you already have systems in place this is very important so you aren’t double-handling.

Your time & budget

If you decide to use a DIY web design tool, it will seem, at first, that you are saving a great deal of time and money. One of the important questions that will come to your mind is: how much is my time worth? If you happen to have a great amount of time on your hands, you may be ok with building a website yourself. However, if you are not sure about how much available free time you have you might consider hiring a web design agency to help you. More than often people start building their websites and halfway into the project they realise it needs more time or skills to finalise the project.

If instead, you are a business owner that has some money set aside for marketing, a website is probably the best place to spend it. Professional web developers are familiar with the different platforms and up-to-date methods for building websites. If you’re already very busy, a web developer may be able to build you a completely custom site in the time it would take for you to use a template builder. Consider a professional if you’re looking for top-quality results quickly and have some budget set aside. Read through our article How much does a website cost for more information.

What’s the right option for you?

As you can see, it’s pretty easy to get a basic web site up and running in no time these days. But should you do it? The first step in helping you make the right call is to write down all the feature you’d like your website to have. Then, browse the internet and see if that is going to be achievable using one of the platforms and figure out how much time and other resources you’re going to need. If you add these together and feel you’ll be investing more than what you’ll get in return, then getting a professional web design agency to do it for you might be the best decision for the future of your business. Get in touch today to find out more about how professional web development can work for you.

How much does it cost to host a website?

Posted on February 25, 2021November 20, 2023 by Phil

Website hosting is a necessary part of running a website. By “necessary” we mean that it won’t function without it and is an absolute requirement. It also comes with its own set of costs. Website hosting can cost as little as $8 per month and if it includes a comprehensive maintenance package – at the high end can be in excess of $1000 per month. So with such a big ballpark, how much should website hosting really cost? And is just hosting actually what you are receiving if you’re paying towards the higher end of the spectrum? Are you comparing apples with apples? How do you know you’re getting the best solution and not being ripped off!

The simple answer is, the cost to host a website ‘depends’… It depends on whether your website is uploaded to a server and left to its own devices or if it is proactively maintained and if so, what additional services or value are you getting from your provider?

Things pricing to host a website can depend on are:

The type of hosting service/package
Web Server Quality
Web Server Location
Self Managed – If you’re hosting your website yourself and responsible for any and all updates/upgrades
Managed Hosting – If a website is hosted on your behalf, by a marketing or web design company – And what you are getting for this service
If server upgrades are included – like anything tech, software and hardware outdates.
If you are actually also getting proactive maintenance on the site and the server
And more…

Web hosting is a complicated beast and unless you’re into IT (like REALLY into it) it’s something that you’ll probably never actually understand completely. But since your website can’t exist without it, we’ll attempt and explain briefly what it is and why it costs what it does in this article.

What is Website Hosting?

When a website is hosted this means it is stored on a server. A server is basically a computer. This computer is where your website “lives”. When you type in a website, what happens is that it gets the information from that server computer and then shows it on your screen. This means the quality of the server itself can dramatically affect the performance of a website. The power of the server (or computer) means that the faster it will go, the better your website will perform. This is just one factor in website performance, but it is an important one to understand.

And just like computers, Servers come in all sizes, and can be configured in a number of ways too. The power, speed and configuration of the server your website is on is defined by the ‘type’ of hosting your may have.What are the types of website hosting?

As mentioned above the type of website hosting or the configuration of the server can play a very important role in your website performance and also dramatically affect the cost to host a website. Three main types of hosting you might come across are Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the cheapest form of hosting because you are literally sharing the load with a bunch of other websites. Think about the cost of flying a plane. The more people that can fit on the plane the cheaper the ticket becomes. This is because you’re sharing the flight with (in some cases) hundreds of other people.

The downside of that is you don’t necessarily know who you’re sharing the flight with. Or going to be sitting next to. If Google is the moderator of aviation law, and they decide one of those passengers is unsavoury then this could also affect the quality of another website on the same server. It gets tarred with the same brush.

Cloud Containers

Cloud Containers primarily offer a huge amount of control for developers. (So this is often our first choice for hosting clients websites). It means we can do more, faster, and maintain up-to-date infrastructure without too many technical headaches – both for us and you…

VPS Hosting

VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. This means that a website can be partitioned off and essentially separated from the other website on the physical server. In saying that though each website may still need to use ‘shared resources’ Let’s go back to that flight we spoke about above. VPS could be compared to travelling in First class. You’re still using the same aircraft, the same fuel and crew for example, but you have more room of your own. Even though you’re on the same flight, you’re “on the other side of the curtain”, separated from the rest.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated website hosting, is just as the name suggests. Instead of you being on a plane, you own a private aircraft. You have the whole entire thing to yourself. The size of the plane may vary depending on your requirements, and this too will affect the cost of hosting a website. As expected, dedicated hosting is the most expensive option.

How does Server Location Affect Website Hosting Costs?

We all expect websites to load lightning-fast these days. In fact, If your website takes longer than three seconds to load, you could be losing a lot of your website visitors. here’s 11 statistics you need to know.

Whilst websites themselves need to be also built and optimised well to begin with, they need to be maintained too (something the Website Performance Booster can also help with can dramatically help with). However, the distance between your site visitors and your server can also affect this dramatically too.

If we go back to our aircraft analogy, and think about the time it takes to fly from New Zealand to Australia, versus the UK or US, then it stands to reason that server location can affect your website speed and in turn the cost to host a website.

Shorter distances between you and the VPN server improve internet speed. For example, if you’re in the UK and connecting to a server in Australia, it is a substantial distance for a data packet to travel. So the nearer a server is located, the faster the internet speed will be.

So what is a reasonable price to pay for website hosting?

As mentioned in the first section of this article, Website Hosting is complicated. There are literally hundreds of variables. The most important thing to understand with websites, in general, is that they are no longer an online brochure. A website is a sales tool. And these days, a website is like a staff member – one who can sell 24/7. A website is an investment and always a work in progress, and this should be reflected in what you are prepared to pay to host and maintain it. If you want it to perform at its peak it needs time, money and energy invested.

You wouldn’t own a private jet, or expect to travel on a plane and expect it to run on 91 Octane! You need the right mix of fuel to keep it running well in order to safely reach your destination (your goals). And your website should be no different. You should be consistently setting new goals and objectives for your website to achieve – just like your staff!

At Back9 we are not a web hosting company. Therefore we only provide a managed hosting service coupled with website and server maintenance. We have found this to be the best solution for the broad range of clients we have websites hosted for.

So what is a reasonable price to pay for website hosting? Well, again that depends 100% on you! To give you an idea, our packages at back9 for website hosting and related services, range from $54 + GST per month – 199 + GST per month (with discounts for paying quarterly) depending on requirements. This offers server maintenance and upgrades, plugin updates and then upgrades (at the higher level) quarterly website performance maintenance too. And if that keeps your website performing at its peak then that is priceless.

What do I get with my Back9 hosting package?

It’s fair to ask about Website Maintenance and Hosting. And What Are You Actually Paying For? So the cost of hosting a website with us includes the cost of that lease (or a portion thereof) and depending on the hosting package you choose, our service can include:

Hosting set up that suits your website and business
SSL certificate, set up and renewal
99% uptime
Security updates and website data backups
Server upgrades as and when required (generally every 2-3 years)
website theme, or plugin upgrades, as required,
website audits/testing and repairs and maintenance
Updates to website content as required
And more.

To find out more about the specific hosting packages, click the button below or get in touch

Do I need a website if I have Facebook?

Posted on January 26, 2021January 20, 2025 by Phil

Every business should have a Facebook page in the 2020s. With nearly 3 billion active users, practically everyone who’s online is using Facebook… Or at least knows of it and spies on a page every now and then without making an account. But is that all you need for your business? You may be asking “Do I really need a website if I have enough clients?” This also begs the question, Does your business need a website if you have Facebook?

Most likely, yes.

Having a Facebook page as part of your Social Media Marketing is great. It can help you connect with potential customers and leads. It’s a familiar platform many people know how to navigate. But it also comes with a number of restrictions and limitations that can hinder long-term growth and success. For some businesses, a Facebook page is enough. But is it for yours?

What can a website do that Facebook can’t?

Facebook is rolling out new features regularly. Now, you can create a business page, host events, and even sell products all in one place. If you spend time learning Facebook Ads, you can even get your business in front of people who are likely to be interested in it. So why bother with a website?

A website is customisable

One of the biggest advantages of having a website is that you can customise it. All Facebook pages use the same basic layout. Any images, videos, and content have to fit into the spaces Facebook decides.

When you have a website, you get to decide what goes where. You can have a banner video showcasing your latest product right on the home page. You can have quirky image sizes in fun shapes. Or you can have a browser video game where the hero uses your products to defeat evil. Whatever you can think of, an experienced web developer can build it.

A website is more credible

Anyone can have a Facebook page. Setting up a basic business page can be done in under half an hour. But just because a Facebook page for a company exists doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s legitimate. In 2020, there were numerous reports of scammers posing as real, authentic businesses in NZ. While an official business or celebrity page can have their account verified, an unverified account doesn’t necessarily mean the page is fake. Many smaller businesses aren’t aware of verification and simply don’t know that it’s an option. Sometimes they’re easy to spot, but not always.

Having a website also lets customers feel like you’re invested and credible. And you can build that credibility further by having good website design. If you position yourself as an expert and educate visitors, it helps you gain trust. If the navigation works well and shows related content, that’s more bonus points. Keep in mind though that a bad experience can have the opposite effect. A bad website is worse than having none at all, and can kill your reputation fast.

Have control over your own content

Have you ever been notified that Facebook had a new update that changed everything and you absolutely hated it? When you’re using someone else’s platform, they’re in charge. On Facebook, they decide what gets shown to people, what content is appropriate, and how it looks. If Facebook decides one day that they don’t like your industry or your name contains or is too close to an inappropriate word, too bad for you. They have the right to remove your page at any time.

As a multinational company, Facebook has to appeal to a wide range of rules and laws. Since they’re headquartered in the United States, any major legislation that happens there could affect your Facebook page; even if it has nothing to with New Zealand. If your only online presence is Facebook, you could face some serious obstacles if they make a major change.

One of the biggest problems with using Facebook for business updates and product announcements is that posts are fleeting. An important update will get buried quickly under your other posts. If someone is looking for something specific, they’ll have to scroll through your posts and hope they come across it. On your own website, you get to decide when and where information appears.

A well-built website helps you get found easier

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is all about getting found on Google. Since it’s net worth is in the billions, Facebook does have good SEO in place. If all you have is a business page and someone searches for your business directly, there’s a good chance that it will come up. But if you want to find customers who don’t know about you and search for what you do instead, your Facebook page will get pushed down and likely off the first page.

Built to be found on Google

With a custom-built website, your site can be built around being found on Google. There are a lot of key signals that Google looks for when deciding which page shows up first. Experienced website design is created with these signals in mind. Teamed up with a professional web designer, you can get a site that’s built well and looks great–and will put you above Facebook.

Focusing on keywords and phrases

One of the most important parts of SEO is building pages and articles around key phrases and words. These are the terms that people actually search for in Google. So if you’re a cafe, that could be phrases like “Coffee shop” or “Pastries near me” or “Iced chocolate” or anything else that you have on the menu. You can emphasise these keywords and even create whole articles around them if you want to hit it hard. And that’s something that simply isn’t possible on Facebook.

Keep track of leads and prospects

With Facebook, you can see who likes and follows your page. Then, if someone messages you, you can reach out and answer their inquiry. But there’s not much you can do to track leads and give them what they need when they need it.

If you have a website, you can integrate it with your database or CRM. You can have forms to collect information, have people sign up for your newsletter, or send great deals and product updates. Once you have these leads you can reach out to them when it’s appropriate and helpful to them–something much harder to do on Facebook.

When is just a Facebook page enough?

If you’re starting out a new side-hustle or have a brand new business and not a lot to invest in it, a business Facebook page is a good place to start. It’s free to make and can at least help you get your details out there. Facebook is a good way to test the waters and see if a product or service you’re unsure about can swim on its own.

Once you do decide to move forward and look at the business as a long-term investment, you’ll want to get a website. The kind of website you need depends on your goals, visions, and budget. You can find out about some of the different kinds of websites and how much they cost in our article How much does a website cost?

Or if you’d rather come in to talk about what would be best for your specific situation, you can give us a call or book a meeting now on our calendar below.

Category: Website Development