Website Design
Our core business is, and will always be, web design.
Regardless of size or complexity of the website, we create bespoke designs for all clients so that we can make sure the style, branding and functionality of the site meets what you need.
We proudly use trusted, reliable open-source software, and the majority of our client sites are built on the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) platform. According to recent figures, WordPress powers around 27% of the entire internet and that is true for a reason – it’s a flexible, secure, accessible and affordable way to build web applications.
WordPress has a massive contingent of skilled developers around the world, and its core software and associated extensions are being actively developed and enhanced all the time. That means that we can deploy a huge range of web functionality without the need for costly and complex bespoke development.
For clients who wish to manage the content of their websites themselves, WordPress is a perfect platform – because it was built from the ground up to be suitable for developers and non-technical users alike.
All new client sites will be built using responsive design techniques (so that the website display adapts to suit the device it’s being viewed on, be it desktop, tablet or smartphone), to ensure that Google considers your site to be officially ‘mobile-friendly’.
Web Hosting
Every website needs to be ‘hosted’ somewhere – i.e. all of the files, databases and images that make up a website need to be physically stored on one or more servers somewhere, and those servers need to be connected to the internet.
We manage and maintain a collection of Virtual Private Server environments, based in the UK, Europe and the US. This allows us to offer web hosting facilities which, in our opinion, offer the best combination of performance, security, control and cost.
We can also work with clients’ existing 3rd party hosting companies (where appropriate) or even provision dedicated cloud hosting environments for high-demand applications.
Support & Maintenance
We are always happy to offer ongoing technical support and maintenance for all websites that we create. We are firm believers that websites should not be thought of as ‘one-and-done’ exercises – they need to be maintained (from a technical and security perspective) and kept up-to-date from a content standpoint.
Technical maintenance includes software updates, 24/7 uptime monitoring, bug fixes, regular site backups with secure remote cloud storage, and more.
Technical maintenance carries monthly fees, and is often bundled with web hosting charges.
Email & Campaign Management
Email remains an important business tool and business-branded email facilities (with addresses like info@yourdomainname.com) add an extra level of credibility to your communications. We can configure email hosting facilities from a wide variety of email hosts as part of a web project.
For websites that require automated email notifications (such as e-commerce sites) we can provide secure outbound email routing through Amazon Web Services, alongside managing anti-spam protections such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC policies in order to maximise the delivery of critical emails.
For businesses operating mailing lists, we can implement and configure outbound email campaign tools such as Mailchimp.
Social Media Marketing
Generating and increasing web traffic is always a challenge for newly created websites, and social media engagement can be an effective and affordable way of driving visitors to your site. But if you’re new to using social media for business, it can seem a bit daunting.
We will be happy to advise on social media marketing, or marketing plans more generally. Where required, all of our websites can be configured with social media conversion tracking facilities such as the Facebook tracking pixel, to enable you to promote your website to custom, targeted social media audiences (targeting the demographics of people most likely to be interested in your services).
Search Engine Optimisation
All of our websites are built with the required search engine configuration to allow Google (and others) to find and index your site, which is the first essential step towards driving ‘organic’ search engine results.
If required, we can perform bespoke ‘keyword analysis’ to enable you to better understand the online competition for your services, and the types and frequencies of searches on Google.
We will also advise on planning realistic search engine marketing strategies, and how organic SEO fits into the bigger marketing picture.
Customer Relationship Management
One of the most common challenges for new startups and established businesses alike is efficiently keeping track of customer information. Juggling spreadsheets might be fine up to a point, but when you’re spending more time trying to track down customer information and generate invoices than you are actually running your business, something’s got to give.
We can implement and configure a number of different open-source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems as standalone projects to finally enable you to centralise and control your customer data and interactions.
Privacy & GDPR
2018 was a year of change for online privacy and data protection, and the changes resulting from the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) were wide-ranging.
We will be happy to advise on data privacy issues as part of all new client sites, and operate on the basis of ‘privacy by design’, where the security of web visitor data and your protection as site owner and ‘Data Controller’, are built into the design from the ground up.
We can undertake personal data audits and assist with Privacy Policies and processes where required.
Feel free to check out our collection of useful GDPR resources for UK small businesses.
