Web Design and Development Blog | Search Engine Marketing | Christchurch, New Zealand | Meta Solutions

Word Gurus BlogStar Package

norman — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:44:57 +0000

People love the idea of staying in touch with their client base and keeping fresh content popping up on their website, but the reality of regularly sitting down and writing up an interesting, informative post that gives value to the reader is often too hard to squeeze in.

Our partners Word Gurus are now offering a 12 month ‘BlogStar’ package – they will talk with you, organise 12 post titles/topics relevant for your customer base, and send you through one post every month for your blog. (or if you prefer, write them all in advance and send through in bulk) Each post will be between 400 – 500 words, and keyword optimised. Usually a blog post would cost $70, but the package is priced at $720 for 12 posts = $840 value!

SEO copywriting is very important for improving your search engine rankings and increase the conversion rate on your website. Don’t miss this great opportunity to help your business connect with more customers. Get in touch with us today to started on your Word Gurus BlogStar Package!

Kenton Chambers is No More…

norman — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:01:22 +0000

“Kenton Chambers is no more.” I heard through Twitter last night and had to find out for myself.. Our beloved historic office building Kenton Chambers has been felled and is now just a very big pile of rubble. We had no chance to recover any of the property still inside..

Meta Goes Inside the Red Zone

norman — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:50:47 +0000

Like so many other Christchurch businesses who worked in the CBD, on February 22nd we had to make a hasty retreat from our office and get to safety.. Personal property, computers, and all that helps a business to run had to be abandoned (including Richards lunch!). We had no idea if we would even have the opportunity to recover our possessions again (or what state it was in).

So after over three months – we were pretty excited to have the chance for escorted and controlled access to our ‘temporary’ office at Hereford Street for 90 minutes to retrieve essential business items. For us this was the first time to see our office and computers – and find out what actually survived.

I took a few photos to document the experience from my own perspective – from the initial briefing, the roller-coaster bus ride through the cordons and into the CBD, and finally of our beaten up temporary office.

We have all seen the photos and news footage – so I figured I knew what we were getting into, but to actually be there, and see a city that looks more like something from a war zone was something I will never forget.

I never get used to seeing the familiar buildings and places in this state. It is all very sobering and brings home the reality that the Christchurch we knew and loved really is gone forever…

Christchurch Open for Business

norman — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:26:33 +0000

The best thing you can do for business in Christchurch is to do business with the people of Christchurch, says Phil O’Reilly of Business New Zealand.

One of the key messages that Christchurch business owners want to put to New Zealand is “Christchurch is open for business”.

A new website has been set up in partnership with Jepsen Ventures, Meta Solutions, and Kopara Creative where Christchurch businesses who are still operating can advertise they are ‘Open for Business’. Its free to advertise your Christchurch business.

Site is www.openforbusiness.org.nz

Post Earthquake Update

norman — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:20:24 +0000

As most people will have heard by now, on the 22nd of February 2011, Christchurch was hit by a catastrophic earthquake which has left most of the central business district destroyed and taken the lives of many people.

First and foremost we would like to express our deepest sympathy to all of those families who have lost loved ones and who have been affected by this terrible event to hit Christchurch. We are truly sorry for your loss..

All our staff were very lucky and we managed to get out of our building with no injuries. We may have lost our office our computers and our equipment – but thankfully we still have our people – they are truly what matters most.

The CBD remains off-limits, and we don’t know when we will be able to return to assess the extent of the damage. But the outlook isn’t good and it will be a very long time before anyone returns to the CBD to do business.

We want to assure our clients that their websites and information is backed up, so all is not lost.

Moving Forward

In the coming days, weeks and months, the enormity of this disaster will start to hit our community. Apart from getting stuck-in and helping out around the community, we need the get the wheels of trade turning. Christchurch needs money to flow through all businesses to help save jobs and help people feed their families

We’re committed to helping rebuild Christchurch. The best way to achieve that is to ensure the economy stays viable.

How Can You Help?

Meta Solutions is still operating and ready to work (with the team working together from one of our homes). Our team is raring to go – we just need work.

We are looking for website design work. We can help with Website Design projects, Content Management Systems and eCommerce implementations – both short, quick turn-around projects, and larger ones. We work with open source technologies including WordPress, Drupal and Magento eCommerce. We also work with graphic design studios to provide ‘Design to Code’ services..

We are asking people to stop and ask the following question – “If the price is competitive can I purchase this product in Christchurch?” if the answer is yes, you will be helping to rebuild Canterbury and save jobs.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has sent us messages of support and concern. The messages are sincerely appreciated and go a long way to supporting the team.

Christchurch Declared State of Emergency

norman — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:49:20 +0000

Following yesterday’s massive earthquake that struck Christchurch at approximately 1pm, the Mayor of Christchurch has declared a state of emergency. Authorities have cordoned off the Christchurch CBD and have evacuated all non-essential personnel from that area.

Unfortunately Meta Solutions had only just relocated our studio back into the CBD which has suffered catastrophic damage. Our office will be closed until the cordon has been lifted and we can assess the state of our business. We will look to relocating again to continue to offer our web design services to our customers.

All of our team and their immediate families are alive and unharmed – we couldn’t want for better than that. We are very grateful to be alive and our hearts break for all of those families coming to terms with the loss of loved ones today..

We’re Moving!

norman — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:22:37 +0000

Finally! We have finally managed to find ourselves a fantastic new space just a few hundred meters down the road at Broadlands House 165 Hereford Street.. We’re on the top floor and have a separate boardroom, kitchen/cafeteria and fantastic view. The team is really amped to be working together again!

If you are in the area please come up and visit – we’ll make you a coffee and look forward to catching up!

Our phone number remains the same 03 963 3739 so please get in touch with us about your next website project – the team is amped up and ready to get into some serious work!

Boxing Day Aftermath

norman — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:34:42 +0000

Following the Boxing Day aftershocks in Christchurch the historic Kenton Chambers building where our studio is based has been seriously damaged.

After a very long and drawn out process of some weeks, the building has been officially red stickered which means no one is allowed to enter the building. We have no information yet as to what is the status with Kenton Chambers, whether it will be demolished or a lengthy restoration.

We haven’t had access to either our studio or our equipment since breaking for Christmas!

This has been a real knock-back for the team after surviving the set back caused from the original 7.1 magnitude earthquake in September 2010. But we have managed to continue working from our homes – I really must commend the boys on a great effort so far! Working from home has been really tough as we are so used to a team environment.

We are truly grateful to all of our customers for sticking by us through this time when we are not operating at our best.

We’re Back!

norman — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:58:03 +0000

It’s official – we are back in our studio at Kenton Chambers.. The ‘yellow sticker’ status has been lifted and the building given the all clear..

Don’t Panic We’re Still in Business!

norman — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:53:09 +0000

Following the 7.1 magnitude Canterbury Earthquake earlier this month, our Christchurch office has been yellow stickered causing the closure of our building until an engineer’s report.

We are working hard to minimise the impact it has on your business. Although our building is locked-down our team is still working from various locations and are still available. We encourage our clients in need of support to contact us via email (enquiries@metasolutions.co.nz).

Alternatively you can also contact Norman McKenzie directly on 029 366-7739. Please get in touch – we look forward to working together!