Website and System

One year on and .....

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:06:00 GMT

It’s been a year since launching the Expats Cape Verde website and moving over to this new online business system with Eclipse. The Cape Verde Tips website and the Expats website are developing nicely, still loads to do and even more to learn about how things work in the back office.

Some friends, old work colleagues and family still find it hard to understand what I am doing with the websites and why I have invested money and spend most of my time working on them, and it’s hard for me to explain, there's many different things been achieved and yet there is so much more to be done. Yes I have been tempted to 'get a real job' as one or two people have suggested, but not to the extent of dropping the websites! However I must say, that since I have been back in UK, I have had a lot of support too and am really thankful for that support.

I have been posting articles on both websites and linking the articles across the sites to avoid duplication and time, not sure if that is a good thing or not for googlebots (yes even learned a new word) and some other technical things that either I have some understanding about, but with some things it’s still like trying to see the wood amongst the trees!

Announcements are posted on both sites, but I will be setting up RSS feeds to these and to the Blogs so you can subscribe to receive updates if you wish.

After over 4years of wanting to get the website to be an online business I feel I am at a stage where this is no longer a dream but more realistic. Having decided that this is now a goal I have been spending as much time as possible on trying things out and working on areas that will generate an income. This is obviously something that I needed to do, as most people that know me and the sites will know that up until now the sites have provided very useful information and services, but have been generally free.

With the redesign of the Property Section within Cape Verde Tips, to finally allow people and Property Agencies to upload property that they want to advertise for sale through subscription to a secure zone, has been a major milestone in the site's development.

People tell me through the queries they send in via the website what they are looking for, or through the pages they hit and the links they follow, forums that are posted as well as many other things. It’s also interesting that more people now want to sell their own items via the Cape Verde Tips and Expats websites such as Sun Blinds and books, so I must be doing some things right. I am also going to be asking the question of you........What would you like to know about? ....... And .......What services would you like to find on the Cape Verde Tips and Expats websites? This will help me understand my market better.

The book 'The International Retirement Directory' has been launched and both Cape Verde Tips and the Expats Cape Verde websites feature in the section about Cape Verde, so I am pleased about this.

There is so much I have yet do and try to understand i.e. its sometimes like trying to understand 'a foreign language', but I am still enjoying this challenge.

So for this Bank Holiday weekend I have two newsletter campaigns to start working on and I am looking forward to catching up with friends who visit Cape Verde (on Bank Holiday Monday).............hopefully will catch up on some goss too!!!! ;)

Regards

Cheryl

April 2010

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:50:00 GMT

Well, it’s now been 10 months since the Expats Cape Verde website was launched. Time goes quickly when you are having fun, in that I mean learning how things work on the new management system I have access too with Eclipse Online Solutions. It’s a slow and big learning curve, but in comparison to the work I had been able to do within the back office and my knowledge on how certain things were done with previous webhosts, ’it’s one small step for mankind’ etc.

Yes, I am still struggling to take in what words like 'trackbacks' and a hundred other things mean that keep getting in the way of what someone is trying to explain to me for the tenth time, but hey ho, hopefully it will all sink in one day. But then I could say the same for other programmes, which are lying dormant somewhere in the depths of my laptop!

I was really pleased I managed to load some You Tube videos, then copy some codes and place them within a Blog about Jennifer Figge’s Atlantic Swim. I keep checking them as I am chuffed I managed to get them on there, still not sure whether I should have just put the link in to the You Tube video instead of the actual video, but to me they look good for now, hope most of you are able to play them as they are of videos of Jennifer making comments about her Atlantic swim attempt.

I have now transferred some of my Picasa Album photos of Jennifer Figge that I took last year and placed them in the Photo Gallery of this website. I have a large and varied range of photo albums which have a number of uses and they are lovely to look through, they include photos taken on other Cape Verde Islands. A large percentage of my photo albums can be found within the Cape Verde Tips website site Photo Gallery and a link to my Picasa Photo Albums.

As some will know, I am back in the UK and continuing to develop my websites from here. So I am relying on friends, contacts I have made and people I have met whilst in Cape Verde to help provide me with updates on things that are happening on day to day, or week to week activities. I am hoping that these sources will continue to provide me with the information I require, especially for the Expat Newsletter.

I am working on both websites making changes, learning new things and concentrating on making the websites self sufficient. One of the facilities being re-launched is the Properties section within the Cape Verde Tips website, this has been on hold for a few years, but now I am re-launching it to advertise individual properties for sale on Sal and other islands. It should be launched this month (April 2010).

I know I have a lot to learn, but I am still enjoying the journey.

Note of thanks: A big thanks to friends and family for letting me use their internet. The Library and a dongle aren't the best way to run websites, but hope to get that sorted in the near future.

Bye for now
Cheryl

The right decision

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:04:00 GMT

At the beginning of January I was asked to consider the online system being provided by Eclipse Online Solutions for the Cape Verde Tips website. I knew I needed to do something to move me forward and I obviously wanted to make the right decision if I was to change web host. Eclipse made the suggestion that I should look online to see what else was available.

Not having any training in websites to speak of and then embarking on the Cape Verde Tips (CVTips) website in 2005, and initially not understanding the basics, getting confused by the jargon and terms used, together with a lack of foresight into how I wanted the website to function has been frustrating at times to say the least. This in turn has resulted in some lethargy on my part.

So, having taken some months to carry out this research I still kept coming back to Eclipse to check out their tutorials and watch the videos about the various modules/ functions they can provide. Their system is not just a website but an online business. Search engine optimisation being their strength.

I decided that Eclipse was the best choice from the mixed bunch I had looked at, from the system, functions to the price.

Eclipse also provide and build a website at a competetive rate (if you think you just need a website), this wasn't for me.....been there done that and now needed something better. Anyone looking to run their business through a website should take a look at their system, it costs more for hosting but it will be worth it in the long run. A free 30day trial of their system can be arranged too.......... there are no catches with this, you will not be signing up to buy a website or system off them at the end of the 30 days, unless you want too!

I have also excepted the opportunity to train and become more knowledgeable about how the system works in view to selling their system and working with Eclipse as their representative in Cape Verde.

At the same time as making the move over to Eclipse with the Cape Verde Tips website, I decided it was the right time to launch the second website, Expats Cape Verde.

At this point in time I am just starting the process. I am able to show those on Sal what the system looks like, the reports, e-commerce, marketing and other functionalities and discuss your needs for any new websites or transferring your website to Eclipse. If I can't help, then one of the team will.

The Eclipse system has provided me with the tools to take the CVTips website forward. My own personal development with websites is evolving at the same time.

The new web system provides a number of helpful tutorials and a lot more functions for me to play around with in the back office. There is still a lot of jargon or technical terms that I am unfamiliar with, but the information and support is brilliant. Its still trial and error for me as I don't always follow instructions and I am good at loosing stuff, but I am confident that with a lot of perseverance ‘I will get there’.

I hope you are around to watch both the CVTips and Expats CV sites grow with me.

Cheryl

blog

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:56:00 GMT

This item has no description. Follow link to view item.