As leaves begin to fall in preparation for winter, we're reminded of the value that comes from shedding the excess and focusing on your goals.

Freeparking wants to help you get back to your core business and in this issue we provide opportunities for you to do so through website tips, promotions, free tickets to the Small Business Expo, and more!

Congratulations to our recent refund draw winners NZ Autopage and PC Tool Box Ltd.

The Freeparking Team

Are you in need of a website but don't want to spend thousands on design? Freeparking offers a SiteBuilder program that's easy to use, with hundreds of templates and unlimited support from just $16.66/month. The SiteBuilder Lite and Plus plans come with everything you need to get started including a free domain, multiple e-mails and virus/spam filtering.

As an added bonus you can WIN 1 of 10 gift vouchers from a company near you when you purchase a SiteBuilder Lite or Plus plan. Vouchers could include a relaxing day spa session, skydiving, rally test drive, golf and more depending on your location! Check out the plans, view the templates and order SiteBuilder to be entered to win!

When building or revamping your website there are a few things you want to consider before going to your designer or building it yourself.

Logo: As your unique identity do you want an image and your company name with a tagline to better describe what you do or simply your company name with a special font?

Colours: What colours do you want to use throughout your site? One branding colour or multiple bright or darker tones to reflect your industry.

Menus: Do you want a top menu only, left/right side menu, sub-menus? Do you want drop-down menus or single tabs? What categories will make up your website? (company, products, contact, etc.)

Homepage: This is the cornerstone of all your sales efforts. What will you promote? Mission statement, primary products, images, awards? Are customers able to be one click/call away from a buying decision?

Log-in: Will visitors need to log-in to view certain information about your products or to view account details?

Security: Visitors want to be assured that any information they provide to you on your site is secure. A Secure Certificate helps give visitors confidence in your site. Freeparking offers these for $99.95/year.

Don't miss out on your FREE ticket to the Auckland Small Business Expo 30 May-1 June at the ASB Showgrounds. The Small Business Expo brings together every kind of product and service required by a business owner or manager along with informative presentations, mentoring and giveaways to help your business grow. Say hello to the Freeparking team at booth 285c and take advantage of great show specials!

To make sure we're providing you with the best products and service, Freeparking conducts surveys twice a year. Our next survey is in June and as our way of saying "thank you" we'll automatically enter you to win a free IPOD NANO. So look for your e-mail in the coming weeks, fill out the online survey and you'll be entered to win!

Thank you to everyone for their valuable feedback in December's survey. As a result, we've done the following:

• Increased payment options and working on bill synchronisation.
• Rolled out VPS product, spam updates and are investigating webmail options.
• Continuing to update the website and set-up e-mails with user-friendly copy.
• Updating the site regularly with outages/downtime.
• Added additional support staff.
   

In the mid 90's Bob Taylor began investing in residential property. Early last year he had an idea to offer an easy solution to Kiwis looking to sell their house quickly and deal directly with a potential buyer by using the internet as an advertising medium. Property Converters was the result.

At present over 23% of all residential property sales are sold privately as sellers have greater access to online listings through internet sites such as Trade Me or HomeSell. Alternatively there are 3^rd party buyers such as Property Converters.

When Bob decided to go online he was looking for a quick and easy solution that would offer him functionality, ease of use and the ability to tweak his site from any location. Freeparking's SiteBuilder allowed him to create a site in a matter of hours using the template program and benefit from the help of the support team.

"The great thing about having an internet presence is that it's an inexpensive way not only to advertise 24/7 but to also help customers make an informed decision at their leisure," explained Bob. "If I could offer advice to anyone under pressure to set up a web site quickly or just wants a simple website with functionality, Freeparking's SiteBuilder is the answer."