Says Hanru Nienaber, the developer of the system, “Many of the SMEs that have approached us over the years to develop websites say they feel lost and overwhelmed in the hi-tech space of website design and hosting.

"Not only is it difficult to find the right developer to build a quality website at a price that a startup or small business can afford, but deciding on specifications for a websites could also be a daunting task. How is a small business owner, for example, supposed to know if they need Windows or Linux hosting and how many megabytes of space they will require? The Lutho Builder takes away the complexities surrounding the process of getting a website and makes it easy, quick and fun.”

Business owners are not required to have any technical knowledge and are guided through five steps to provide the system with all the information that it needs to build a website and set up all the technical components in the background. “You can choose between a number of templates and banner images, colour schemes and other aspects to create a website that is unique and suitable for your business,” says Nienaber.

Based on the information provided, the Lutho® Builder generates a website that includes a home page, information about the company and contact details. According to him, “You also have access to a backoffice website where you can add news articles, photos, products and more to keep content on your website fresh. The best part is that you can update the articles or the website itself at any time without calling your web developer, meaning no more delays.

Apart from the website, a professional-looking email address like This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is also included. Using your own name in your email address on your business card gives your company so much more credibility that using a free mail or ISP-branded address.”

Small businesses will be glad to hear that the company’s website offer was designed to also take SMEs’ unique financial circumstances into account. “Cashflow is scarce for many startup, small and even medium sized businesses that often find it difficult to fork out the upfront website design fees of between R3 000 and R10 000 that many developers charge for even a basic website, not to mention being bound to a long-term website hosting contract. We have therefore decided to make the website development tool available free of charge and to keep our monthly subscription fees to a minimum. Customers are allowed to cancel their subscription at any time as the idea is to build customer loyalty so that we are successful when our clients are successful.“

Clients subscribe for the website and email service at R145 per month. The first step is to purchase a voucher number that is used to activate the website after which the subscription is renewed on a month-to-month basis. The vouchers are available online from the company’s website at www.lutho.com or from their offices in Randburg.

Nienaber concludes, “We believe that this product will revolutionise the way that small businesses find their way onto the Internet and we hope that we can contribute to their and our own success by making the process of getting a quality branded website easier and more affordable."