Businesses have snapped up free digital assistance from  New Zealand’s largest website design company,

Zeald has given away 500 free websites to SMEs so that more stores can operate with Covid-19 restrictions.

E-commerce has quickly become a new necessity, seeing the 500 websites snapped up very quickly, with new applications still rolling in.

Zeald chairman David Kelly told Kate Hawkesby that they feel they have a key role to play in helping getting businesses online.

"We've really sorted one essential business categories such as food and beverage, medical supplies, pet food supplies." 

He says that he is not surprised that many businesses still aren't online, something he thought would no longer be the case when the company started 20 years ago. 

"As I've looked at businesses over the years, it is pretty daunting for a lot of people, especially if they don't have a background."