Frequently asked questions

The best way to pay an invoice is by logging into our client portal: https://secure.webics.com.au/login

For once off payments or payments over $300 we accept bank transfer. Any payments on-going payments (domains, hosting, campaigns) are required to be paid via credit card. All card details are stored securely and fully encrypted with our payment processor eWay.

You must contact our team to organise a meeting ahead of time. This will always need to be at least 24 hours in advance.

Yes, we have public liability and professional indemnity insurance.

Your proposal will contain a project timeline and a lead time, so you know exactly what to expect. Of course, life is never predictable and there are times when a project may be delayed. You can help speed things along by sending through content on time and responding to requests for feedback promptly.

We will tailor a quote based on your specific requirements as custom features and add-ons like copywriting will add to the cost.

Yes, and if your website hasn’t been updated in the past 2 years, it’s probably time for a refresh. The digital world changes fast, so to keep your website looking current and performing at its best, it needs constant attention. We can advise you on whether you need a major overhaul or a few tweaks to the existing design.

Yes. We build on WordPress, so you get your own login and can update text and images whenever you like. Training is available if you want to be shown through it, and if you would rather not touch it at all, our support plans cover the changes for you.

Because it works. WordPress is the most popular content management software in the world for a reason. It is versatile, user-friendly, fully customisable and suited to both large and small business websites.

Yes, anything is possible, but please bear in mind that adding new features may add to the cost and delay your project.

Yes, your website will be built to be responsive across all modern web browsers. We will not test old or abandoned browsers, for example Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 (or below) for Windows or Mac, previous versions of Apple’s Safari, Mozilla Firefox or Opera unless otherwise specified.

It depends on the scope of the project. We understand that most clients want their project finished ASAP so we give you a timeline in your proposal so you know what to expect.

We build on three. WooCommerce, for stores that sit inside a WordPress site and need real creative control over how products are presented. Shopify, when you want the hosting, payments and apps handled for you and a simpler day to day. Or a fully custom build, when the way you sell does not fit either. We will tell you which one suits your products and your team rather than pushing you at whichever we prefer.

Flat rate shipping is our standard inclusion. We can integrate calculated shipping options at an additional cost.

The platforms we use support unlimited products. We can upload 10 manually, and the rest can be bulk imported via spreadsheet.

We recommend Stripe for credit card processing. We also offer a wide range of integrations such as PayPal, AfterPay and Zip.

All our hosting plans come with support. We can help you choose a support package that suits the needs of your business.

No. Due to security, we don’t offer eCommerce websites that you can host on your own hosting account.

Yes, we have set up many successful B2B eCommerce websites.

Yes, our eCommerce websites come with standard training so you feel confident running your online store. Logins will also be provided.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a long-term strategy to improve a website’s organic rankings in the search engine results pages. PPC is a paid search engine marketing method to run advertisements for relevant keywords in the search results.

The biggest difference between Local SEO and regular SEO is that Local SEO focuses on improving your business’s visibility in Google for a specific geographic location. This is particularly important for brick and mortar businesses like shops, restaurants and cafes.

A Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free online tool that helps make your business more visible in Google. A Google Business Profile Listing is an essential tool for every business because it helps local customers find you when they are looking for your products or services. For example, if you are a pizza restaurant in Nowra and someone Google’s ‘Pizza Delivery Nowra’ or ‘Pizza Delivery Near Me,’ you want your business to appear on the map with the 3 listings underneath it. These are the top three local results. If a customer shares their location with Google they will automatically see businesses that are nearby.

Once your Google Business Profile listing is active, you need to add as much information as possible. This includes photographs, reviews, a list of your services, contact information and regular posts. A completed listing will appear higher in local rankings than an incomplete one.

Yes – we incorporate strategies that improve your website’s visibility not only in standard search engines, but also in AI-driven results and answer-platforms. That means: Structuring content so it can be easily parsed by AI systems and voice assistants (clear questions, concise answers, structured data) Ensuring your site provides authoritative, up-to-date information that AI platforms are more likely to reference Optimising for featured snippets, knowledge panels and generative-AI answer boxes, as well as traditional rankings Monitoring new AI result formats and adjusting your content and metadata accordingly

Yes, eCommerce SEO is critical if you want to boost your sales and stay ahead of your competitors.

The main difference between eCommerce SEO and normal SEO are the keywords. Content optimisation techniques used on eCommerce SEO are similar to non eCommerce sites, but the keywords will be product-focused and transactional in nature.

We have a range of SEO packages suited to the needs of different businesses. For an eCommerce site we would recommend either our Standard or Advanced package.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a long-term strategy to improve a website’s organic rankings in the search engine results pages. PPC is a paid search engine marketing method to run advertisements for relevant keywords in the search results.

Because the ad answered their query or they are already familiar with the brand. That’s why it is vital that your PPC campaign targets the right people with the right information at the right time.

ROI is subjective, so it does depend on what specific goals you have set for your business. The good news is that almost all PPC campaigns have an instant impact. They also generate a lot of data, so it is easy to see what is working and what isn’t, all of which will be detailed in your monthly report.

Webics operates so that your advertising budget is paid directly to the platform. This enables complete transparency, so you can easily distinguish between advertising spend and management costs.

The root cause of most failed Google Ads campaigns is poor management. Running a Google Ads campaign without an in-depth knowledge of the platform usually results in burning through money fast and unnecessarily. Inappropriate search terms, not enough A/B testing, poor landing page design and ineffective copy are just some of the reasons why your campaign may not have delivered the results you expected.

You can, but you might want to re-read the previous FAQ first. Setting up and managing a successful Google Ads campaign requires a significant investment of your time and that’s assuming you’ve done the background learning. As a Google Partner, we have passed all the Google Ads product certification exams and are up-to-date with all the latest changes and metrics.

There are several types of campaigns available on Google Ads, each designed to meet different goals. The main campaign types include: Search Ads Display Ads Video Ads Shopping Campaign App Campaign Choosing the right campaign type depends on your business goals. We can help you determine which option will drive the best results for your needs.

Optimisation ensures you are targeting the right audience at the right time with the right product or service, increasing your conversion rate and saving you money.

There are several reasons why your ads might not be showing including: Your daily budget has been reached You are located outside the targeted area Your ad may be scheduled to only run at certain times of the day If you repeatedly search for your ad without clicking, Google may recognise your computer and stop showing you the ad because it thinks you are not interested.

Generally speaking, we would expect you to start seeing impressions and clicks within the first few days of your campaign starting. Leads and conversions will increase over time with continual optimisation.

There is nothing stopping a competitor from bidding against your brand as long as they don’t mention your trademarked name in their ad copy.

Microsoft’s search engine Bing has 3.5% of the search market share, coming in second to Google. Microsoft Advertising is typically cheaper and can be more profitable as there is less competition.

While we can create and run advertising campaigns on each of these platforms separately, we typically recommend utilising both to capture as much market share as possible.

The stats vary but it’s not an insignificant number. Some reports suggest that almost half of the US runs a Bing search every month. There are over 2 billion Windows devices in the world and Bing is the default browser for Microsoft Edge, so whichever way you look at it there is a lot of traffic being directed Microsoft’s way. While we can create and run advertising campaigns on each of these platforms separately, we typically recommend utilising both to capture as much market share as possible.

Shopping ads may be displayed across a range of places on the internet, including: The Shopping tab on Google Search Google Search, next to the search results and Google Images Google Search Partner websites (optional) The Google Display Network, which includes YouTube, Gmail and Google Discover

Google Merchant Center is a tool we use to upload shop and product data to Google and make it available for Shopping ads and other Google services.

Shopping ads use Merchant Centre product data – not keywords – to decide how and where to show your ads.

Shopping ads show a photo of your product, plus a title, price, store name and more.

Like other Google Ad campaign types, shopping ads also partake in an ad auction. Product shopping ads are charged on a cost-per-click basis and Showcase Shopping ads are charged using cost-per-engagement (CPE) bidding. Shopping ads show a photo of your product, plus a title, price, store name and more.

Remarketing (sometimes called retargeting) is a way of displaying ads to people who have already visited your website. Your ads effectively “follow” them across the internet as they browse Google and its partner websites.

Remarketing is a highly effective marketing strategy for businesses across all industries and is successful at supporting the conversion process.

No. Customers are assigned a cookie ID, they are random and non-identifiable.

Absolutely, but not for free. We will provide a quote for the number of concepts you would like to see and set to work once the deposit has been paid.

We understand what you had in your head may not be what we have in ours. It happens. That’s why we detail how many revisions are included in your quote. We will work closely with you during these revision rounds to make sure we get the design right.

Yes, you will, but payment must be received in full first!

Yes, we design and print business cards for businesses all over Australia.

Yes, printing is a service we offer. We have a good working relationship with a number of local printers in Sydney, Wollongong and Nowra that we know produce excellent quality products. Please ask about printing when you enquire and we will include the cost and timeframe in your quote.

We will provide print ready PDF, EPS, JPG, and PNG files.

It depends on your target audience and business goals. Facebook and Instagram remain the most widely used platforms, offering advanced targeting options based on demographics, interests, and behaviours. TikTok has grown rapidly, with 18-34 year-olds making up the largest percentage of users, making it ideal for brands that can create short, engaging video content. LinkedIn is the best option for B2B advertising, allowing businesses to reach professionals based on industry, job title, and company size.

Remarketing (sometimes called retargeting) is a way of displaying ads to people who have already visited your website. Your ads effectively “follow” them across the internet as they browse Google and its partner websites.

Yes, remarketing through social media is possible. For Facebook and Instagram, this is done through the installation of a Facebook Pixel on your website.

A Facebook Pixel is a tracking code that you add to your website so you can track conversions from Facebook Ads, optimise your campaigns, create custom audiences and gain rich insights into website traffic.

The 2 billion logged-in monthly users are probably the best reason! It is also the world’s second most popular website (second only to Google). You can choose from Display Ads, Overlay Ads, Skippable Video Ads and Non-Skippable Video Ads.

Yes, and it’s incredibly effective for reaching a professional audience. LinkedIn makes it easy for you to run campaigns that have clearly defined goals such as brand awareness, generating leads, website visits, video views or increasing engagement. Choose from Sponsored Content Ads, Sponsored InMail (targeted messages are delivered to LinkedIn member inboxes), Text Ads and Video Ads.

Social media advertising refers to paid ads that target a specific audience on social media. A social media post is content that you share with your followers. This content can be ‘boosted’ by paying a fee to reach people who don’t follow your account.

It depends on the results you want and what your marketing budget is. We can work with you to determine an appropriate budget to reach your goals.

Every website you’ve ever visited is hosted on a server. It’s where all the files that make up your website (images and code etc) are stored. In a sense, you are renting space for your website’s files from a web host, so that when a user types in your domain name, the web host’s server sends those files back to the user’s browser in a viewable form.

In a traditional hosting set up, your website is hosted on a single server in a single location. With cloud hosting, that single physical server is divided into multiple virtual servers, so instead of having all your data stored on a single machine, it is spread out across different machines in different places that are all connected together.

Cloud technology outperforms traditional dedicated servers because it: is more reliable offers increased scalability keeps your data more secure saves you money is incredibly fast

Yes. Thousands of websites are hacked every day. Data loss can be devastating, so it is essential that you have a copy of your content and data to avoid permanent loss. All of our hosting plans are backed up automatically using an application named “Acronis”. Backups are run hourly and will merge to different times spread across the 30 day retention period so it works out to: 24 hourly backups 7 daily backups 5 weekly backups 2 monthly backups

Your domain name is your online business address and an important part of your brand. Hosting involves a server that stores your website’s files. To have a visible website on the internet you need both a domain name and hosting. You can buy them from two separate companies, but for ease of management, we highly recommend you keep them with the same company.

With Webics it’s easy. We can set up one or multiple professional email addresses using your domain name. You can customise your address/es as well as set up multiple aliases to point to the same account.

Yes, we provide support with our hosting services. If your website is hosted with us, our team will assist with server-related issues, security updates, and general maintenance to ensure your site runs smoothly. However, support for website edits, content updates, or additional functionality falls outside of standard hosting and may require a separate support plan. If you’re unsure about what’s included, feel free to reach out, and we’ll be happy to help.

In simple terms, SSL is that extra ‘s’ you see after the ‘http’ and it means any data you share with that particular website is secure and encrypted. We provide free SSL certificates with all our hosting plans because we know how important they are. Your website will rank higher if you have an SSL certificate and your customers will feel more confident interacting with your website.

Our servers are located in Australia. This means your website will load faster than websites hosted on overseas servers and give your users a better experience.

Webics requires the login details for your current hosting, then we will log in and transfer the hosting across into our management system. If you have any difficulties, our support team is here to assist.

Your disk space requirements will depend on how big your website is. However, most websites do not require over 15 GB of storage. As a rough guide, a website with 100 pages will need approximately 350 MB and a website with 1000 pages will need approximately 5GB of disk space.

Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that your website can transfer to users over a set period of time. If your website has a lot of high-resolution images, video and audio files, you will need a higher bandwidth than someone with a text-based website. Webics includes unlimited bandwidth in all our hosting plans so you don’t have to worry.

Our web hosting service is equipped with the latest security measures to ensure maximum protection for your website. We are PCI compliant, ensuring that our platform meets the strict security standards set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). We have implemented the following essential security measures to safeguard your website: Fortinet hardware firewalls, providing an extra layer of security to prevent unauthorised access. Corero DDoS mitigation, protecting your website against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, which can cause significant downtime and disrupt your online presence. Mod Security (Web Application Firewall), preventing web application attacks by filtering out malicious requests and blocking attacks before they reach your website. CXS, continuously scanning your files for any malicious content and promptly removing any threats to protect your website from malware. CSF and LFD, providing server-level protection by blocking known attacks and filtering out malicious traffic. CloudLinux and CageFS, providing enhanced security by isolating each user account and limiting access to server resources.

Not necessarily, but there are strict eligibility criteria you need to meet. To register a .com.au address you need to supply one of the following: ABN (Australian Business Number) ACN (Australian Company Number)

If your business is based in Australia with predominantly Australian customers, it is best to register a .com.au domain and host it on an Australian server. The .com.au extension tells your customers you are an Australian based business and that you can be trusted. This is particularly important if you are just starting out. There’s nothing stopping you from registering the .com domain as well in case you wish to use it in the future.

Not much. If a domain name has already been registered you can not apply for that domain until the registration expires. Your only option is to use the WHOIS database to access the contact information of the registrant. You can then negotiate directly with them if you are lucky enough to get a response, and they are willing.

No. Your only option is to wait for the domain to expire and try to register it once it becomes available or contact the registrant via the WHOIS database .

As many as you want as long as you meet the general eligibility guidelines.

Yes. You do not have to use your domain until you want to. Webics offers a free domain parking service so you can secure your domain/s today and think about how you may want to use them in the future.

If you have forgotten to renew your domain you have 30 days to get it back. After your.au domain expires, there is a 30 day grace period during which you can still renew it. After this period, the domain becomes inactive and can be registered by anyone (including one of your competitors!) If your domain expires anything linked to the domain (such as a website or emails) will also cease to function until it is renewed. For your peace of mind, Webics sends out a reminder that the domain is due for renewal 90 days before the due date.

Google Workspace allows you to have a professional email address – YourName@yourcompany – as well as group email addresses so your whole team can see an email if they need to. Google Workspace also comes with a guaranteed 99.9% uptime, extra security options, more storage and administrative control for user accounts.

Yes, we charge a fee based on the number of accounts that need to be moved across.

The most popular apps include Calendar, Docs, Drive, Chat and Meet. View the full list of applications included with Google Workspace .

Yes, you can upgrade your starter plan to a business plan at any time. Just contact us to change the plan.

Yes, you can create multiple email aliases such as contact@yourcompany or customerservice@yourcompany.

The best choice depends on how your business operates and what features you need. Google Workspace is ideal for businesses that prefer a cloud-first approach, with web-based applications for email, document creation, and collaboration. It works best for teams that rely on Google Drive, Google Docs, and seamless integration with other Google services. Microsoft 365 is a better fit for businesses that need desktop applications, advanced security features, and integration with Windows environments. It includes the full Microsoft Office suite with Word, Excel, and Outlook, along with cloud storage via OneDrive and collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams. If you are unsure which option is right for your business, we can help you assess your needs and choose the best solution.

Microsoft 365 allows you to have a professional email address such as YourName@YourCompany and includes additional business features such as shared calendars, advanced security options, OneDrive cloud storage and full administrative control over user accounts. It also guarantees 99.9% uptime, ensuring reliable access to emails and files.

Yes, we can migrate your emails to Microsoft 365 for a fee based on the number of accounts that need to be moved. We ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption to your business operations.

The most popular apps include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneDrive. Some plans also include Microsoft Teams, Publisher, and Access. View the full list of applications included with Microsoft 365 .

Yes, you can upgrade your plan at any time. Just contact us and we will assist you with the upgrade process to ensure a seamless transition.

Yes, you can create multiple email aliases such as contact@yourcompany or customerservice@yourcompany.

Yes, Microsoft Teams is included in most Microsoft 365 Business plans, providing chat, video conferencing and file-sharing tools for seamless team collaboration.

The best choice depends on how your business operates and what features you need. Google Workspace is ideal for businesses that prefer a cloud-first approach, with web-based applications for email, document creation, and collaboration. It works best for teams that rely on Google Drive, Google Docs, and seamless integration with other Google services. Microsoft 365 is a better fit for businesses that need desktop applications, advanced security features, and integration with Windows environments. It includes the full Microsoft Office suite with Word, Excel, and Outlook, along with cloud storage via OneDrive and collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams. If you are unsure which option is right for your business, we can help you assess your needs and choose the best solution.

Sometimes, and sometimes no. It comes down to whether you have work that happens often, follows a pattern and is eating real hours. A two-person business that retypes every enquiry into a spreadsheet has a strong case. A business where every job is genuinely different, and the admin is a few minutes a week, does not. We would rather tell you it is not worth doing than sell you something that sits unused. If you are not sure, describe the job that annoys your team most and we will give you a straight answer.

That is not what we build, and it is not usually what a small business needs. The jobs worth automating are the ones nobody enjoys anyway: retyping data between systems, chasing the same follow-up, answering the same question for the fortieth time. Automating those gives your team their day back for the work that actually needs a person, like talking to customers and quoting jobs. If a business is looking to cut staff, automation is a poor way to go about it, because someone still has to own the process and check it is working.

It is a fair question and you should ask it of anyone selling you AI. Before anything is built we work out what data the tool actually needs, because the safest answer is usually less than people assume. We will tell you where your data goes, whether it leaves Australia, whether it is used to train anyone's model, and what the contract with that provider actually says. If a job would mean sending sensitive customer information somewhere we are not comfortable with, we will say so and look at a different approach. Australian privacy obligations apply to your business whether a tool is involved or not.

It will, occasionally, which is why the design matters more than the tool. Anything where a wrong answer costs real money or upsets a customer gets a human check built into it before it goes anywhere near a customer. Anything low risk can run on its own. We also build in a way to see what it did and why, so when something looks off you can go and look instead of guessing. Any tool that cannot be checked is a tool we would not put in your business.

With one job, not with a plan for everything. Pick the task your team complains about most, or the one where information gets retyped from one screen into another. That is almost always where the time is going. From there we look at how the work really moves through your business, work out what it is costing in hours, and tell you whether automating it is worth the effort. Starting small means you find out quickly whether it works for you, rather than committing to something big on a promise.

Very often it is the second one, and it is worth knowing that before you spend anything. A lot of the time businesses lose is not to hard problems, it is to two systems that have no connection, with a person acting as the bridge between them. A plain integration fixes that, it is cheaper than an AI build, and it does the same thing every time. AI earns its place on the parts that need judgement, like reading a message and working out what it is about, or pulling details out of a document that is different every time. We will tell you which one your job needs.