'Getting Aussie Business Online' allows Aussie retailers to get a website - for free
Australian small businesses offered free websites
Posted March 08, 2011 | By Sonia Nair
A nationwide initiative called ‘Getting Aussie Business Online’ has launched in collaboration with Google, with the aim of offering small businesses the chance to build their own website – for free.
The scheme, which was established with the aid of international business management solutions provider MYOB, is designed to give small businesses who are currently “invisible” online a helping hand by enabling them to launch a website that is easy to set up and maintain.
The initiative will act as a further push for jewellery retailers that have yet to establish an online presence. Like other sectors, the jewellery industry has been criticised by business experts for its slow take-up of the online medium.
Google’s head of local business Claire Hatton used the construction sector as an example of how far Australian businesses are lagging behind their customers.
“Every day in Australia there are 12,000 Google searches for builders but fewer than one in four businesses in the construction and trade industry has a website,” Hatton said.
“Australians go online first to research local products and services,” she added.
Hatton added that the tool would remove commonly cited barriers such as cost, knowledge and time that often stop small businesses from jumping online.
Businesses who are interested in taking part in the initiative can to visit the ‘Getting Aussie Business Online’ website. Once a company has entered a few business details, their free website will be available immediately.
The tool offers a free ‘com.au’ domain for the first year and will allow businesses to add features and information to their website over time.
After the first year, businesses can choose to pay $5 a month on a pay-as-you-go basis to maintain their website using the MYOB Atlas tool. Websites can be cancelled at any time. The ‘com.au’ domain is free for the first two years, after which businesses can expect to pay $30 to renew for two years.
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