Optix Solutions would like to bring to your attention a recent deal between Sage Pay (formerly Protx) and American Express for customers wishing to accept American Express cards.

The agreement means that if you apply to accept American Express through Sage Pay, not only will American Express waive the standard £150 joining fee, but you will ONLY pay a merchant service fee of 1.5% on the first £5,000 of American Express transactions you process.

Recent research conducted by CyberSource found that merchants who support payment types beyond credit cards, such as gift certificates, typically see significant increases in online sales.

It also concluded that merchants who offer more payment methods have lower shopping cart abandonment rates and on average up to 20% higher order conversion.

No additional development work is required by Optix in order for you to start accepting American Express Cards unless you wish to add the American Express credit card logo to your website and or make reference to its availability.

Further details of this special offer can be found on the Sage Pay website by logging on to: http://www.sagepay.com/offers/amex.asp or by calling the Sage Pay team on: 0845 111 4455.

The success of Exeter-based Ink2Paper.com is founded not just on its premium quality paper products and excellent value but also its willingness to listen to, and learn from, its customers in order to guarantee unrivalled service.

With these values in mind, Optix Solutions were recently asked to improve and make even more user-friendly Ink2Paper.com’s already highly successful web presence.

To enable the company to better communicate with its customers, a new blog has been created to facilitate feedback on any aspect of the business, its products or service. As part of its ‘We need to know’ campaign, Ink2Paper.com are encouraging clients to use the blog to tell them about the quality of their shopping experience and anything that could be done to improve it.

The blog also allows the company to tell visitors about new product ranges, offers and developments within the business. Clients can now also subscribe to a regular newsletter containing all the latest news, product information and special offers.

Also included in Optix Solutions’ brief was to make the new site easier to navigate.

For instance, the weights of all the different types of paper available are displayed and the product’s applications and technical details listed to enable the buyer to make the right choice. There is also a table below each paper grade detailing which settings to use to get the best out of the product according to the printer used.

The shopping basket feature has also been enhanced. Customers can now view exactly what is in their cart throughout the buying process rather than waiting until checkout, and, once there, will automatically be told of relevant special offers before submitting a final order.

Ink2Paper’s Martin Humphries says: “Optix Solutions has created a platform for Ink2Paper to become truly ‘world class’.”

“Our commercial experience linked to their creativity has facilitated a process which has produced an e-commerce website that both companies should be proud of.”

“The feedback and involvement from customers has been truly extraordinary and the focus for the future is ongoing, constant and continuous improvement.”

How many times have you clicked onto a promising-looking website only to click off it moments later having got fed up trying to make head or tale of the content or ploughing through reams of jargonese?

The importance of content, the words that actually sell your product or service to the customer and persuade them that you have the answers to their particular needs or problems, have too long been overlooked by both website designers and businesses.

Statistically, the average time spent on a website homepage is just eight seconds. That is eight seconds to persuade that person to read on and find out more rather than go elsewhere, often to your nearest search engine rival.

Optix Solutions have grown to understand the importance of providing clear, attention-grabbing and relevant content, written in a way people can understand, absorb quickly and in such a way that encourages them to read further. That is why we now offer a content writing service using professionals with experience in both web and print media.

Your web designer can produce the most, creative, eye-catching and up to the minute website, but if potential clients leave because of poorly written or confusing copy their efforts and your money are wasted.

The advantages of professionally crafted content go beyond simply making your site stand out from the crowd.

Other benefits include:

Improved sales – Copy that quickly and succinctly identifies what you sell, who to and why it is appropriate to the visitor has consistently been shown to produce a much higher conversion of traffic into genuine sales leads

Higher search engine rankings – Content is one of the key elements in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). A skilled writer can weave key words and phrases into the copy without making it clumsy or dull

Time/revenue savings – Delayed content is one of the main reasons for sites sitting redundant when they should be creating business. Writing creative copy is not as easy as some think and those within the business who are charged with producing it often struggle. They may have key positions within the organisation and their time is better spent generating income or concentrating on their normal roles

Perspective – It is hard to write about your own business. You can be too close to it. Our professional copywriters will meet with you and take a dispassionate, ‘man on the street’ viewpoint, identifying what works and what doesn’t

Optix’s web content service is affordable to even the smallest business, can be worked into budgets and offers the same care and attention to detail regardless of the size of the project. For details contact us now on 0845 029 7766.