Alliances

Is it really free?

Yes. This offer is 100% genuine. The website build and online setup is 100% free. Hosting is also free for the first 12 months, so you can test the waters online without the pressure of cost. This is a gift from our company to help Kiwi micro, small and medium-sized businesses cross the digital divide and thrive in the digital economy.

What does the free GEM website package include?

The free package includes:

  • 100% of the build and setup costs involved with assembling, configuring and loading one of our GEM industry-targeted website packages - allowing you to get online quickly, and without the usual upfront risk associated with cost.
  • Initial digital marketing initiatives with a free Google My Business listing, and if relevant, integration with Google Shopping (subject to availability). In addition, your website will be compatible with the search engines, and you will have direct control over most things that are important to them.
  • Registration of a domain name for you (if required) and access to a 1-year SSL certificate.

In addition to the website build and setup, there are other ongoing costs involved with supporting a website, usually covered by a hosting fee. These services are offered to GEM clients for free, for the first 12 months.

  • Each GEM website is hosted in a professional-grade web hosting environment. This isn't cheap hosting where your site is thrown on a single server with hundreds of other sites. It is a scalable, load-balanced, clustered environment consisting of a group of servers with multiple layers of redundancy.
  • Ongoing phone, email and live-chat support. Inevitably if you're using a website, you will have some questions or need some help. We have a team available during extended New Zealand business hours, and 24/7 emergency help available if something critical is not working.
  • Ongoing development and maintenance of the underlying software. The software your GEM website runs on is continually upgraded behind the scenes without you having to do anything (or incur any further cost). Technology evolves at a huge rate in this area, and we have a team of designers and developers upgrading your underlying software and hosting infrastructure to keep pace - rolling out new features, dealing with potential security risks, resolving issues and deploying these upgrades to all our websites.
What are the usual costs associated with a website?

There are a number of costs to building and running a website, including:

  • Initial build: the one-off setup cost - including the time required to build the site, configure all the various aspects of it, ensure it's compatible with Google and other search engines, load content onto it, and purchase any software licenses.
  • Monthly running expenses: to keep things simple we bundle these up into a single monthly subscription package which covers professional hosting of the website; phone, email and live-chat support to help you get things done; and paying for a team of developers to make continual upgrades to the underlying software and hosting infrastructure that the website runs on.
  • There are often other costs like registration of the domain name and an SSL certificate to encrypt all traffic to and from your website.
  • Digital marketing and promotion: to drive targeted traffic to your website. There are a huge array of options available, and what is most effective at engaging target customers differs from business to business.
What's in it for you? Why are you doing this?

After 20 years in business ourselves, we had already been considering how we could use our ecommerce and digital expertise to have a greater social impact in New Zealand and abroad. Covid became a catalyst for this development at Zeald.

With Kiwi SMEs facing lockdowns, trading restrictions and ongoing, immense uncertainty, we felt compelled to help. We knew we were equipped to make a difference to businesses and individuals needing to digitally transform and upskill.

So we launched the Get Ecommerce Movement and our free GEM website initiative, along with other social initiatives under the GEM banner, designed to enable and support digital change in New Zealand and abroad in other developing economies.

We streamlined and optimised our workflows and processes, to be able to deliver GEM websites at volume and speed, with the ability to scale to meet demand.

Once digital transformation reaches high and consistent levels across businesses, individuals, and communities across New Zealand, our country will be in a strong to thrive in the post-Covid digital world.

We are committed to supporting MSME businesses to get started online, and to do digital well in these challenging times. To find out more read our history here.

What happens after the 12-month free hosting period ends?

Following the conclusion of the initial 12-month period, a hosting fee will apply.

For GEM ecommerce sites, this is calculated as 2% of the GST-exclusive value of sales made and transactions processed through your website each month capped at a maximum monthly fee of NZD $97+GST/mth. For Ecommerce sites set up to generate enquiries about your products, a hosting fee of $9.99+GST /mth applies.

For GEM charity and service-based (lead-generation) websites, a monthly hosting fee of $9.99+GST applies.

The GEM hosting fee will automatically be applied to your GEM website after 12 months, unless you make prior arrangements.

We register your domain name for the first 12 months for free, and provide a 1-year SSL certificate at no charge. Domain and SSL renewal fees will apply after the initial 12 months, which will be invoiced to you.

Why is there a hosting fee on GEM websites after 12 months?

We have committed to offering GEM websites free for an initial period (12 months) so that micro and small businesses can get started online without the usual upfront cost barrier, or the ongoing requirement of cost in that first year.

However, we also need to cover our own costs beyond that initial 12-month period.

We feel that charging a 2% success fee, capped at a maximum monthly fee of $97+GST/mth, on ecommerce websites, and $9.99 (+GST) per month for service-based and charity websites, is fair and reasonable after 12 months. It means that a business or organisation is only required to contribute to the cost of their website once they're up and running, and trading or operating successfully online.

The 2% hosting fee on a GEM ecommerce site can start to add up

If your business is making a lot of sales, then yes 2% can start to add up. This is why the monthly hosting fee is capped at a maximum of NZD $97+GST/mth. So you will never pay more than $97+GST/mth on the standard GEM ecommerce hosting plan.

Am I locked in for 12 months?

No. There is no minimum term. You are never locked in with this GEM website offer.

If you are not happy with your GEM website, at any time you can give us one month's notice and take your website content, domain name and any other information included in your website (such as your history of orders and customer information) and go to another web design agency or provider.

Can I cancel my GEM website after the initial free period?

Yes you can. If you do not wish to continue with your GEM website, at any time you can give us one month's notice and cancel your website. Please note, the GEM hosting fee will automatically be applied to your GEM website after 12 months, unless you cancel your website prior.

What are the ongoing charges after 12 months?

Following the conclusion of the initial 12-month period, a GEM hosting fee will apply.

For GEM ecommerce sites, this is calculated as 2% of the GST-exclusive value of sales made and transactions processed through your website each month capped at a maximum monthly fee of NZD $97+GST/mth. For Ecommerce sites set up to generate enquiries about your products, a hosting fee of $9.99+GST /mth applies.

For GEM charity and service-based (lead-generation) websites, a monthly hosting fee of $9.99+GST applies.

The GEM hosting fee will automatically be applied to your GEM website after 12 months, unless you make prior arrangements.

We register your domain name for the first 12 months for free, and provide a 1-year SSL certificate at no charge. Domain and SSL renewal fees will apply after the initial 12 months, which will be invoiced to you.

If you provide me with a free domain name, who owns the name?

You do. We register your domain name for the first 12 months for free, using whatever name you provide us with (either your personal name or your company name). You retain ownership of that domain name at all times. After 12 months, a domain renewal fee will apply and will be invoiced to you.

Do I own my GEM website?

We own our website management and digital marketing system and our pre-designed and pre-produced templates that we have created for specific industry segments.

You own your website content, domain name and other information included in your website such as your history of orders and customer information.

From an ownership perspective, the Zeald system works very similar to how Xero works. Xero owns its accounting system. You own your information that is within their system - but you don't ever own Xero itself (or a copy of Xero). You pay a monthly fee to Xero to use their system. And beyond the initial 12 months, you pay a monthly fee to us to use our website hosting system.

If you have any further questions about this, or if anything isn't clear then you are welcome to email us at support@zeald.com

Are there any additional charges?

There are no charges associated with the standard GEM website package. However, if you would like Zeald to undertake additional work for you outside of what's offered in the standard website package, then we will need to charge for this work. We will do everything we can to keep our fees to you as reasonable as possible. Using our website management system, you are able to complete many tasks yourself. However, if you want us to complete tasks for you then we are happy to help in whatever way we can.

Some examples of the types of additional work that we do, and the fees we usually charge (all prices exclusive of GST), are as follows:

  • Change the logo in your website header - $25 p/update
  • Update text on a website page or order email etc - $25 p/update
  • Styling change to a web page (colour, alignment or font change) - $25 p/update
  • Change the label of an existing form field. For example: change the title "Delivery Details" to be "Shipping Details" - $25 p/change
  • Change the responsive view of a web page - e.g. Hide one element or change the way the hero image displays etc. - $25 p/change
  • Change the default setting for "Sort by" on category pages. For example: From Recommended or Alphabetically to Lowest Price or Most Popular. - $25 p/change
  • Add a new field to the check-out form and have this information come through with each new order and store it in the website management system - $150

Please note that we reserve the right to decline to provide additional services at the prices indicated if your requirements are significantly more complex than what we have assumed with our standard pricing.

If you have any further questions regarding our pricing or additional services, you are welcome to phone, email (support@zeald.com) or contact us over live chat.

Am I able to change the content on my website myself?

Yes. You can change the majority of the content on your website yourself using the website management system. For those few areas you can't change, we can update them for you for a small charge (see question "Are there any additional charges?").

Can I get my website customised to my unique requirements?

Yes you can. If you want to customise your GEM website we can provide you with an estimate. If your customisation is reasonably simple then we will provide you with a fixed-price. If the customisation is complex or variable in scope, we will provide you with an estimate and charge you on an hourly-rate basis.

Are you able to help with the marketing of my website?

Yes. We do provide a range of digital marketing services, including Google and Facebook advertising packages, Search Engine Optimisation services, conversion rate optimisation and so on. Please enquire for further details.

Can you create content?

Yes. We can produce a range of content, from copywriting to video production - please talk to our team for further details.

There is also a wide range of high-quality third-party content providers in both the New Zealand and global marketplace that you can use to help in the production of quality content.

Are there any plugins, add-ons or extensions that can be enabled on my website?

Each industry-specific GEM website we produce is a full-functioned ecommerce website that contains the standard functionality we believe most businesses in that industry will require. There is also a wide range of extensions that can be added to your website depending on your specific requirements, and we can completely customise your website for you too if you want to (see question, "Can I get my website customised to my unique requirements?").

To borrow a car analogy, we have worked hard to build a Toyota. Strong, elegant, dependable, reliable. It is not a Rolls Royce, a Range Rover or a Bentley and it is not a custom-built Hot Rod (nor does it come with the cost). There are other agencies that specialise in these types of websites. You can modify your Toyota - you can extend it and trick it up, if you want to and if you want to invest more in it. But if you leave it just as it is, it should still be strong, dependable and reliable. It should serve you really well.

If you are able to produce these websites so fast, does this mean they're cookie-cutter, template websites?

We have developed a range of GEM website templates and packages, carefully designed for specific industries. The design templates are based on usability, conversion optimisation, years of experience, and thorough research into the specific industry areas. These templates form the structure and foundation of each GEM website, which we then personalise with the content you provide us with.

All websites share a lot of similar elements. High-quality ecommerce websites generally work in a similar way to other ones - intentionally so. Users expect certain elements to be in certain places and for websites to follow a specific process from the homepage through to completing an order. It would make little sense to build every element from scratch for every website.

Zeald has a huge array of elements that we assemble for different websites based on the unique requirements of each business. Yes, your GEM website will share a lot of common elements to other websites, but it will uniquely reflect your business.

As part of our standard GEM package, we personalise your website to reflect your business and unique brand by applying your logo, colour choices, and the images and text you supply. We will load 25 products or content pages that you provide us with, to help you get online as quickly as possible.

If you require a custom design, you can make many of your own changes using the website management system, or you can request small design changes to your website from as little as $25+GST, or step up to your own fully-customised design (please enquire for a cost estimate).

Zeald works closely with a number of strategic allies, integration partners and recommended suppliers. Please contact us if you would like an introduction.

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Google

Zeald is a trusted and certified Premier Agency Google Partner, meaning our business is healthy, our clients are happy, and that we follow Google best practices.

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Payment Express

Zeald has a long-standing relationship with Payment Express and is also a Payment Express Premium Partner, enabling us to provide our clients favourable rates, high levels of service, and plans tailored to suit a range of payment gateway needs.

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Xero 

Zeald's Xero Integration Add-On allows Zeald ecommerce websites to communicate with Xero's beautiful online accounting software, designed specifically for small businesses.

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Tripledash

Tripledash is an innovative DIY website solution designed to help SMEs succeed online. You don't need any website experience to get started. Engineered by the experts at Zeald, Tripledash makes things simple, so you can manage your business and make it grow.

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Warehouse Stationery

Warehouse Stationery is focused on providing one stop solutions for their customers, with the option to shop in store or online throughout New Zealand.  They stock a wide range of credible brands including Tripledash, engineered by Zeald.

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Shopify

Shopify is a leading cloud-based, multichannel ecommerce platform designed for small and medium sized businesses.  Talk to Zeald, a certified Shopify Experts partner, about your Shopify website.

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Retail NZ

Retail NZ is New Zealand's leading retail trade association, providing its members retail advice, member benefit savings, industry information and education. 

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Unleashed 

Zeald is a certified Unleashed Platform Partner, enabling Zeald websites to directly integrate with Unleashed's powerful inventory software, so that you can manage your stock in real-time and make sound business decisions based on dynamic inventory intelligence.

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ecentre

A not-for-profit business accelerator and incubator at Massey University, the ecentre creates the entrepreneurs of tomorrow and increases the number of high growth technology companies by providing access to coaching, connections, capability development and capital. The ecentre offers a customised service to accelerate growth, reduce costs and manage risks for advanced startups and small businesses. Zeald is a proud graduate of the ecentre.

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Convergence

Convergence are specialists in eCommerce integration. Automatically synchronise data between your Zeald website and a vast range of business applications [on-premise or in the cloud]. Maintain products, inventory, customer details etc. once in one place, i.e. your ERP or accounting software. See website orders flow directly through to your business software without needing to re-key them. And more...

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Link Solutions

Link Solutions implement and support cloud based applications in the Xero ecosystem. Link Solutions' mission is to help business owners overcome the challenges of moving operations into the cloud and to support them in getting the most out of their applications. Zeald has arranged free one-hour initial consultations with Link Solutions.  Contact us for more information.

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Applicable

A Zeald company specialising in cloud-based apps, and tailored online solutions for large-scale New Zealand businesses.

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gosweetspot

New Zealand's biggest freight aggregator, courier and freight agents gosweetspot provide attractive rates from their carefully selected domestic and  international supplier partners.  The gosweetspot system integrates seamlessly with Zeald, allowing freight optimisation, time/effort efficiencies, plus cost savings and extra visibility.

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Flow

Flow Software specialises in software integration and electronic data interchange (EDI). 500+ sites including leading Australian and New Zealand businesses trust Flow as their mission critical integration and EDI platform. Utilise Flow to integrate your Zeald e-commerce website with your other internal business applications.

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Product Image Photography

High-quality product, premises and staff photography - or that awesome hero image - for your Zeald website. Take advantage of a 25% discount for referred Zeald customers.

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CodeBlue

CodeBlue provides pragmatic, enterprise grade IT services and technology, optimised for the 20-300 seat market.  CodeBlue offer free IT audits to qualified Zeald customers.

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Address Finder

Providing address verifications services that turn your address fields into interactive address autocomplete fields - AUS and NZ. Eliminates address errors, prevents shipping problems and improves checkout experience. Talk to your Zeald developer about adding AddressFinder to your website today.

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Creation Films

A fresh, innovative production company producing dynamically powerful video.  From $1990 +gst Creation Films LITE is the most cost-effective way to access years of top-class film making experience. It is a simple, elegant, stripped down offering that delivers a web video presence that will engage customers and grow business.

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Poste Haste Couriers

Providing network courier services throughout New Zealand, Post Haste caters to the needs of the commercial and industrial sectors by completing all overnight intercity deliveries next day by noon and residential consignments on a next day basis.

 

Elevate Your Online Presence with Zeald, Your Premier Google Partner

Discover the power of partnership! This esteemed status places us in the top 3% of Google’s trusted collaborators globally, a testament to our expertise in digital marketing. ensuring your campaigns are not just managed, but optimised for exceptional performance.