10. There's just something about the number. 10 out 10. The perfect 10. 10 Green Bottles. 10 fingers and toes. 10 Little Indians. And then of course there's Bo Derek and her famous slow-motion jog down the beach in corn-braids and a bikini the size of a postage stamp in the movie 10.

Why 10? We're in the 10th month and celebrating the Internet's 10th birthday. October has very little going for it besides Halloween which is an American holiday anyway. The Internet on the other hand has email, flash, instant chat, Google, Facebook, Web 2.0, ADSL, Wi-Fi, triple-play, billions of websites, armchair travel, online banking, online everything and a server full of cyber memories! Not bad going for 10 years really.

Ah, cyber memories. Remember when you first had it installed? I remember grabbing everything in sight to check whether it had a site or could be found on the net. I remember fumbling through AOL to find that site and then waiting half an hour to download an appalling looking online brochure, just because I could. My, how far we've come.

This edition of quickNews unashamedly celebrates 10 years of connectivity with 10 of this and 10 of that such as the 10 do's and don'ts for branded web pages and 10 top tips on CSS and design.

Raise a glass at dinner tonight and toast 10 years of connectedness. 10 year of WWW. 10 years of awesome memories.

Keep surfing,

Francois and the quickOnline team.

Innovate

10 do's and don'ts of branded web applications
By Uno de Waal

Do it in a subtle manner
Probably the biggest thing to remember when designing a branded web application is that people aren't there to interact with your brand, they are there to interact with the space and platform that you've created. They want you to get out of their way and stand back while they do whatever they want to do.

Do offer utility
Users will leave if you don't offer them utility. If your application has hundreds of about or products pages, they'll leave and never come back. You application needs to make people's lives easier. People are looking for something that will make them remember their grocery shopping list or track their running progress, not to read up on the latest products. Read more    

Create

Malta Anyone?

The three little islands just south of Sicily have 300 rain days a year. After the arduous Cape Town winter, that's reason enough to want to immigrate immediately. Crusader Rock International makes immigration easy. The company focuses on facilitating permanent EU Residency in Malta and providing offshore properties and services, creating a Rand-hedge investment and lifestyle choice for South Africans. That's what the new website created by quickOnline says. The online company which specialises in making online easy, not only created a slick professional design, it also developed a custom content management system making the management of the complete site including property listings, its knowledgebase with FAQ's and listing of seminars, a veritable synch. Visit www.crusaderrock.com to see quickOnline's handiwork or for advice on how to gain your EU residency. 

Rock Paper Scissors goes quickOnline

New Cape-based PR agency Rock Paper Scissors which builds rock solid reputations for its clients by cutting through the marketing clutter appointed quickOnline to do just that with a new website. The small agency is lauded for its unbridled creativity in delivering results and meeting marketing objectives. Clients such as Optimal Energy, the creators of Africa's first all-electric car and the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation which seeks to empower tomorrow's high-growth entrepreneurs today, will attest. The site is clean and simple yet elegant and uncluttered, meeting the brief perfectly. Visit www.rockpaper.co.za.

Interact

10 Top Tips on Web 2.0
By Riyad Hartley

Web how much? Trying to find a definition and description of what Web 2.0 is and what it's not is more difficult than cracking the code to the grail. After spending far too much time googling and wikkying, we can say with confidence that it's said Web Two Point Zero. It seems that there exists no one answer to what it is and how best to use it. QuickOnline - specialists in making online easy, simplifies it and provides top tips on how best to incorporate it into private sites. Read more

Grow

We have just started on a website that will provide South African brands with an effective, credible and measurable channel that accelerates the positive word-of-mouth surrounding their brand. Sound intriguing? That's because it's supposed to be. This new product will result in increased sales and will be done in a way that excites and captivates the minds of the brands target market to get them talking.

We're finishing off the first phase of an exciting project where consumers can customise wine labels in store before purchasing the product. We're really excited about this one - the perfect gifting solution!

We're also busy with a new component of an ongoing client website. This time, we're helping to create an affiliate programme.

Apologies for being so vague about our projects. That's because they really are top secret. We'll tell you more about them just as soon as they're public domain.