Free Web Domain, No Strings Attached

Each week in our BNI lunchtime meeting, I am expected to get up and tell other members and visitors a little bit about my work in a sixty second snapshot.

If you want to find out a bit more about our weekly meetings, skip to the bottom of this page.

Here's what I had to say this week:

My name is Jon Ewing and I am from inframes.com ltd, a website design company from Reading.

"Following on from my 60 seconds last week in which I was talking about Google's Local Business Center, I wanted to draw your attention to another business opportunity sponsored by Google.

"This is particularly directed at Robert Craigs from Mailboxes Etc because he was telling me last week that he hasn't yet got a proper web site for his own business, just a page on the corporate website provided by MBE's head office.

"You may think that unusual, but in fact it's estimated that as many as 1.5 million businesses in the UK do not have a website.

"Which is why Google, along with Enterprise UK, BT and e-skills UK have launched a new project called Getting British Business Online with the aim of providing 100,000 businesses with a completely free website – including domain name registration for the first two years and all hosting.

"So, Robert, you can sign up for your free domain name and make your own website at gbbo.co.uk.

"To find out how good your website could be, look into inframes."

Further Reading

There are quite a few other places where you can help yourself to free web hosting to get your business online.

Tripod
Along with Yahoo!'s now-defunct Geocities, Tripod was one of the first companies to give away space for people to create their own web pages. They were bought by Lycos but have survived their parent company's collapse. It has been renamed Multimania in the UK and France.

Google Sites
The same system that powers the GBBO programme (see above).

Microsoft Office Live Small Business
Snappy title, Microsoft!

Weebly
Some people might blanche at placing the reputation of their company in the hands of a company called Weebly, but putting any qualms about their name to one side, this free hosting service ticks all the right boxes.

wix.com
This one's a bit different because a template-driven system allows you to create your website entirely using Adobe Flash, so it arguably looks a bit more slick than plain old text and pictures.

Blogger
Arguably a blog is no substitute for a company website, just a useful addition to one, but if (a) you've got no budget, (b) you have limited technical knowledge and (c) you can spare a few minutes a week to work on it, at least it's a start. As well as Blogger, look at Blog.com and Wordpress

Posterous
If the very idea of making a website is just too much, but you're comfortable using email, this might be worth a look. Posterous lets you make your own blog-style website by email alone.

Take a look at this page on freebielist.com for even more options. If you're prepared to compromise a little, it seems there's really no need to ever purchase web hosting ever again.

What's BNI?

I am part of a growing new chapter of the BNI business networking group and we're looking for other Reading-based small business professionals to refer business to.

We meet between 12.15pm and 1.45pm on Wednesdays. If you'd like to come along to a lunch, please drop me a line or give me a call and I'll put you in touch with our organiser.

There's absolutely no commitment required – you just pay a tenner, which covers the cost of lunch at the Strada on the Oracle Riverside - and you'll have a chance to meet existing members and other visitors, introduce your business and of course hand out business cards.

A Shortcut to Page One of Google

Each week in our BNI lunchtime meeting, I am expected to get up and tell other members and visitors a little bit about my work in a sixty second snapshot.

If you want to find out a bit more about our weekly meetings, skip to the bottom of this page.

Here's what I had to say this week:

"My name is Jon Ewing and I am from inframes.com ltd, a website design company from Reading.

You should refer business to me because I will give a free telephone consultation to anyone looking for advice on their website.

This week I've been talking to a young lady called Sascha who was referred to me by Dean Weller at Personal Career Management. Sascha has started up a business as a mobile massage therapist and wants some advice on getting more business from the web.

"And actually, one thing she had already done is so very effective that I thought I'd mention it today. It's something that takes five minutes, doesn't cost anything, and may - if you're very lucky - put your website straight the top of Google's listings.

"I'm talking about signing up to Google's own version of Yellow Pages, the Local Business Center.

"You can find add your business at google.com/local/add/ and if you take a look at this screengrab, you'll see that Sascha's listing for NaturalHaven.co.uk has been catapulted right to the top of the listings when I search for 'mobile massage therapist reading'. And she didn't pay a penny for it.



"So this week I'd like to request once again that you refer companies who already have a website and want to talk about ways to get more business from it without spending a fortune.

"To find out how good your website could be, look into inframes."

What's BNI?

I am part of a growing new chapter of the BNI business networking group and we're looking for other Reading-based small business professionals to refer business to.

We meet between 12.15pm and 1.45pm on Wednesdays. If you'd like to come along to a lunch, please drop me a line or give me a call and I'll put you in touch with our organiser.

There's absolutely no commitment required – you just pay a tenner, which covers the cost of lunch at the Strada on the Oracle Riverside - and you'll have a chance to meet existing members and other visitors, introduce your business and of course hand out business cards.

Turn Bad Luck into Good Customer Service

Each week in our BNI lunchtime meeting, I am expected to get up and tell other members and visitors a little bit about my work in a sixty second snapshot.

If you want to find out a bit more about our weekly meetings, skip to the bottom of this page.

Here's what I had to say this week:

"My name is Jon Ewing and I am from inframes.com ltd, a website design company from Reading.

"You should refer business to me not only for prompt and personal service, but because I also endeavour to bring my clients good luck.

"Let me explain.

"One of my clients is The Audience Club, a members-only website for very low priced London theatre and concert tickets.

"On Monday I was informed that a new member, a Chinese lady, was unhappy with her membership number.

"That's because the Chinese word for 'four' sounds exactly like the word for 'death'. Worse still is a number containing a four and a two, because that sounds exactly like the Chinese words for 'dead body'.

"I immediately delved into the data and manually changed all her records and issued her with the new number 888888. In Chinese, the word for 'eight' is lucky because it sounds like the word for 'prosperity'.

"So this week I'd like you to refer me to anyone who has a customer database and wants to integrate it with their website so that customers can check their accounts online.

"With any luck, I'll be able to help.

"To find out how good your website could be, look into inframes."

What's BNI?

I am part of a growing new chapter of the BNI business networking group and we're looking for other Reading-based small business professionals to refer business to.

We meet between 12.15pm and 1.45pm on Wednesdays. If you'd like to come along to a lunch, please drop me a line or give me a call and I'll put you in touch with our organiser.

There's absolutely no commitment required – you just pay a tenner, which covers the cost of lunch at the Strada on the Oracle Riverside - and you'll have a chance to meet existing members and other visitors, introduce your business and of course hand out business cards.

Google Streetview comes to Reading

Reading Town Hall:


View Larger Map

Madejski Stadium:


View Larger Map

Cemetery Junction:


View Larger Map

Jackson's Corner:


View Larger Map

Oxford Road:


View Larger Map

Websites for Working Mums

Each week in our BNI lunchtime meeting, I am expected to get up and tell other members and visitors a little bit about my work in a sixty second snapshot.

If you want to find out a bit more about our weekly meetings, skip to the bottom of this page.

Here's what I had to say this week:

"My name is Jon Ewing and I am from inframes.com ltd, a website design and development company from Reading established more than ten years ago.

"You should refer business to me because when BNI's assistant director Nick Forgham took up my references to be a member of BNI, he said they were two of the best he'd ever been given.

"It's Mother's Day this Sunday, so I thought it timely to mention that working mums are amongst my best clients.

"I look after the website for my wife, who runs a company specialising in training public relations professionals.

"One of my clients is a lady in London who runs a business called The Audience Club providing very, very low priced tickets for theatre, comedy and concerts.

"Another is a working mum from Braintree who runs a travel business with her father, renting holiday villas in Tenerife and the Canary Islands.

"So this week I'd like you to refer me to a working mum who is starting up her own company and needs a website or just some advice on how to do business on the internet.

"And at this point I wanted to say that if you need me to provide a reference, I can give you a whole list of ladies who would be prepared to give me one... but then I thought that might not sound quite right.

"Instead I'll just say: to find out how good your website could be, look into inframes."

What's BNI?

I am one of half-a-dozen people who have started a new chapter of the BNI business networking group and we're looking for other Reading-based small business professionals to refer business to.

We meet between 12.15pm and 1.45pm on Wednesdays. If you'd like to come along to a lunch, please drop me a line or give me a call and I'll put you in touch with our organiser.

There's absolutely no commitment required – you just pay a tenner, which covers the cost of lunch at the Strada on the Oracle Riverside - and you'll have a chance to meet existing members and other visitors, introduce your business and of course hand out business cards.

BNI 60 Seconds - More Testimonials

Each week in our BNI lunchtime meeting, I am expected to get up and tell other members and visitors a little bit about my work in a sixty second snapshot.

If you want to find out a bit more about our weekly meetings, skip to the bottom of this page.

Here's what I had to say this week:

"My name is Jon Ewing and I am from inframes.com ltd, a website design and development company from Reading established more than ten years ago.

"You should refer business to me because in the past week, all modesty aside, I have received emails from two separate clients saying, and I quote 'What a star you are' and 'You are the king!'

"The reason for this praise is my ability to bail people out when their website is giving them trouble. This happened yesterday when Sarah from the Flowers and Plants Association gave me a call. It wasn't very profitable because I was able to fix her problem in ten minutes. In fact, I didn't even bother to bill her for it. It turned out someone had overwritten a file I had written last year with an older version, so all I had to do was upload the proper one and soak up the glory.

"So this week I'd like you refer someone who would like to add a 'star' to their team who can be relied on to pick up the pieces when their website goes wrong and charges a measly £35 an hour – or sometimes, if I'm feeling in a good mood, nothing at all.

"To find out how good your website could be, look into inframes."

What's BNI?

I am one of half-a-dozen people who have started a new chapter of the BNI business networking group and we're looking for other Reading-based small business professionals to refer business to.

We meet between 12.15pm and 1.45pm on Wednesdays. If you'd like to come along to a lunch, please drop me a line or give me a call and I'll put you in touch with our organiser.

There's absolutely no commitment required – you just pay a tenner, which covers the cost of lunch at the Strada on the Oracle Riverside - and you'll have a chance to meet existing members and other visitors, introduce your business and of course hand out business cards.