Introduction

Well this being the first post an all for the MerlinFX blog, I thought I'd make mention who we are and what it is we do. MerlinFX is a Sydney based web developer specialising in ebusiness solutions and web applications. Sometimes we do the odd traditional website. So what does that all mean?

It might seem rather silly to say 'traditionally this' or 'traditionally that' about the web seeing it is still in its relative infancy with regards to time, but the rapid pace the web changes with new standards, coding systems, hardware and the blurring of many of the lines of communication; time in the web world is certainly a lot different in the normal day to day world.

So traditionally the web sites we built had some content (copy and images). Obviously the web has had a history prior to this and is for discussion another day. Then came along shopping online, payment gateways, eNewsletters, Bulk SMS, Content Management Systems (CMS) and so on.

Now we rarely build websites without their own CMS. This is where you take control of your content and update your own site. Leave the technical stuff to us - usually called maintenance. More on maintenance in a moment.

We use talented designers, copy writers, seo (search Engine Optimisation) experts to build a solution that suits your business, but it is a lot more sophisticated than getting your 'neighbours son's best mate who lives down the road who's good with computers and surfs the web a lot!' Sound familiar? If I can paint an analogy for you, would you get a student who has just finished school with architectural aspirations, no industry knowledge and his pencil case of tools to design your home or would you hire an architect with the latest computer modelling software, years in the business and many clients to get testimonials from? I know where I'd be spending my money. The last thing I want is costly changes and going over budget beause it wasn't built properly. Like the web today, you can get professionals or get amateurs.

MerlinFX via its partnership with WebSuite offers great web design and userability, and using the latest web technologies and standards to create hosted web applications. This is taking existing tools that resided on client machines and/or converting processes into easily managed web applications that look like local client software but run on your web browser.

For a small business, it's not just about getting your products out there on the web. It's about integrating your office systems, integrating with other web solutions to spread your reach and manage your business or parts of your business more effectively.

Why purchase servers and pay exhorbidant licensing fees for all your workers only to use a low percentage of the application? You can use a hosted subscription model that costs less to run and offers you peace of mind. You only pay for the parts you use. Need a feature tweaked or changed? Let us know and we'll change it - to how your business runs. Try calling Microsoft or Macromedia and asking them to change their software just for you.

For example: a client of ours, buyprinters wanted to sell more printers online. So working with WebSuite we were able to get them to integrate ShopBot and ShopFerret into their WebTrader online store solution. These two sites like many others are comparison shopping sites. Now each time buyprinters edits their site, it is reflected on the fly with ShopBot and ShopFerret in their listings of Xerox printers. There are plans to increase this integration with other comparison sites. They need not do anything, it is automatic.

Unashamedly a plug, but I do not give them without merit, I have known Mike and his team at buyprinters now for over 10 years. If you need a quality printer, value, a great price, trust and oodles of industry experience - you will do yourself an injustice if you do not buy your next printer from them.

Onto Maintenance. Site or Application Maintenance has for a long time conjured the image that something is broken and needs maintenance. Unfortunately this is a term we are stuck with, but in IT the term maintenance means updating, tweaking and changing the application based on users experiences, requirements , adapting the application to new technologies or integrating with other web solutions.

I will make note that as a web designer with web development tendencies, I am a partner and owner in the WebSuite company. WebSuite is an ebusiness web application developer that supports and supplies eBusiness tools, consultancy to established web developers, designers etc. WebSuite does not deal with the end client and only provides resources to its partners, for example MerlinFX. MerlinFX enjoys the same rates and fees as would any other web designer, developer, print designer etc. So when I refer to any eBusiness tool it has been created by WebSuite, but managed and/or designed by MerlinFX.