OGLCC

What is your primary product or service?
We develop websites for small businesses via affordable monthly plans. We also offer search engine marketing services for our clients to drive traffic to their websites – particularly through Search Engine Optimization (SEO; the process of increasing a website’s ranking on search engines for keywords likely to be searched for by potential customers).
How long have you been in business?
We’ve been in business now since 2001.
What is the history of your business?
I started the company (Alcaris Inc.) in 2001 while I was still in high school. We were given the opportunity to develop websites and web applications for our local school board, and so that provided the original impetus to form the company. I then went off to university in Toronto at the University of Toronto in 2002 and took on the occasional website project while I was studying. After graduating in 2007, I devoted myself fully to the company and renamed our service Website On-Demand. Since the end of 2007, we’ve grown to a staff of five web developers here in Toronto including myself.  
What makes your business or service unique?
What makes us unique is our “Call-to-Action” based development methodology and adherence to SEO best practices. Through our initial interview process, we identify the actions that are most important for visitors to take on your website (e.g., making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, completing a contact form, etc.) and then design your website to increase the percentage of visitors that will take that action. We also integrate Search Engine Optimization best practices right from the beginning so our Clients websites are able to both attract visitors and convert them into potential customers once they’re on the website. It is not uncommon for our clients to catapult to the first page of a Google search for their most competitive keywords simply through our adherence to these best practices.
Who would be a good customer for you?
A good customer for us is a small business suffering from one of three common conditions:

1. No existing website
2. An existing website that receives no traffic
3. An existing website with traffic but that isn’t able to generate leads from that traffic

I encourage any business suffering from one of those three conditions to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (416) 963-8860 for a free web design consultation. Our portfolio, consisting primarily of local Toronto businesses, can be viewed on our website at http://www.websiteondemand.ca.
What does being a member of the OGLCC mean to you and your business?
As an LGBTQ business owner, the OGLCC has offered me a means to connect with other LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly business owners here in Toronto. The life of an entrepreneur is hectic and often a bit isolating, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the networking opportunities the OGLCC offers. From a business benefits perspective, I’ve met many valuable business contacts through the OGLCC’s Open Minds Open Doors networking series, and my business continues to benefit from these relationships.