Web Design by Gaynor Tilley

Simple brochure website just launched

2008-05-02T11:53:00.002+01:00

Sue Uwins is setting up business as a Lifestyle Trainer. She has written a book which gives handy tips on fitness, exercise, managing stress, personal development and weight management - it is called A-Z Healthy Lifestyle Choices.

The brochure website launched this week advertises her business and her book.

Follow this link to view the site www.a-zhealthylifestylechoices.co.uk

New Website for a start-up business

2008-04-22T11:14:00.002+01:00

Launching this week is www.potterypainters.co.uk. This is an e-commerce solution using ZenCart open source software which I have configured and set up allowing this business to sell bespoke celebration plates online and offer a mobile pottery party service which can also be booked online.

If you would like a website for your business, please contact me.

Small business websites

2008-03-14T09:43:00.003Z

"Did you know that half of all small businesses do not have a Web site? That is an amazing and sad statistic. If this describes you, the first thing you must do NOW is go get a Web site."

If this applies to you, have a look at the pricing for my web design and development, prices start from just £125.

The above quote comes from a recent article written by Steve Strauss, who writes online advice for small businesses. He goes on to stress that if you do have a website, you need to market it.

How effective is your website?

Do you know how well it ranks in the search engines against your top keywords?

Do you know how many hits you get each day/week/month? And by that I mean unique users not just the spider bots that trawl the internet looking for information.

Contact me now for a free, no obligation appraisal of your website.

Step by Step

2008-03-10T06:29:00.002Z

If you are setting up a new business you may already know that you want a website, but you're not quite ready to launch into working with the web designer just yet. If you contact me, we take things at a pace that suits your business. You may want to set up an online business and so the sooner the better. Or maybe you just want to register your domain name and then work on other parts of your businesss before you focus on the website.

One client currently setting up a private jet hire business is taking things one step at a time.

He intially called me to ask for a quote so that he could plan the costs into his budget. Next, on his behalf, I registered the domain name he wanted on the same day that he registered with companies house. A week later we set up the email addresses for the business. Currently they are working on a printed brochure for their business and when that is finished they will be ready to look at establishing the website. Initially this client only wants a brochure website, but there is scope to develop this further once the business is well established.

So my advice is that you take things step by step, at a pace which suits your business, but I am happy to work with you from the start.

Call now for a free quote.

WHY do you want a website?

2008-02-13T11:30:00.002Z

Think carefully about what you want your website to achieve for your business. Will you be selling products online? Do you want to keep your customers up to date with news and information? Is it part of your advertising campaign for your business or latest product?

Websites should be an integral part of the business, not just an online booklet that is left to gather dust on the shelves of the world wide web.

There are so many pieces to put together when considering a website for your business; domain names, web hosts, search engine optimisation, pay per click campaigns, content managed systems, accessiblity.....it is a confusing technical jigsaw - but that should not be your problem, it is my job as a web designer to pull those pieces together into a coherent solution for your business.

Contact me and I will help you define your business requirements, help you to understand what pieces of that jigsaw add benefit to your business and which will add cost and to help you understand what will work well for your business both in the short- and long-term.

Do you ever test you own website?

2008-02-05T10:34:00.000Z

Taking a little time to do so could prove to be very valuable.

One of my clients recently tested the contact form on his website only to find that he received only 1 in 6 of the test enquiries - the others were classed as "spam mail" by his web host. A few tweaks to the script soon ensured all enquiries were forwarded to him directly.

I hasten to add this was not a site I originally built, but rather one that I regularly update for the client.

The oringal site was built 7 years ago and the contact form has not been changed since then. However, the increase of spam mail in recent years meant that the web host had changed the parameters by which they determined what was considered spam mail and should be ignored. Unfortunately some of the enquiries coming through my clients website started to fall into this category....and so we have no real way of measuring how much business he may have lost nor over what period of time.

Finding hidden resources

2008-01-24T12:49:00.000Z

I have recently been working on a revamp of a website for a carpet and flooring retailer. One of the easiest ways to breathe new life into this site is to change the photos and graphics.

I contacted several of his key suppliers asking for promotional photos of their products which I could use on the site and they have been most obliging. I now have hundreds of professional photos and it has cost nothing but a little time sending the emails. In return I will simply link back to the supplier's website.

Here's a sneak preview!

Photograph courtesy of Amtico

New Year - New Look

2008-01-16T10:33:00.000Z

Does your current website look a bit dated?
Has your business changed over the last 12 months and yet your website hasn't?
Did you build your own site to get you started, but now you want a professional look?

YES....read on. This a common problem for many businesses, but before you worry about the cost of having your website revamped, think about how much revenue you could be losing when people click away from your site to find something fresher and more exciting.

How much will it cost though? Well, if you plan to keep the same structure of your website and just want new colours, pictures and layout - budget £20 per page. If you want to add a new page to your site - budget £50 per new page. If you want to change the content - save yourself some money by writing a draft of the web copy yourself, ask your Web Designer to ensure the content works well for the search engines and budget around £100 for a 6 page website.

These costs will give you a starting point when considering a whole new look for your website, but contact me to discuss your requirements and I will give you a fixed price for the whole project.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Distance Selling

2008-01-03T14:47:00.000Z

Thinking of setting up your own online shop? I can help you set up a website to sell products online from just £600. Contact me now for a free, no obligation quote.

There are also other options available to you which I would be happy to discuss in more detail, such as selling via eBay or accepting payments online.

My advice is that you should also read the attached article to ensure you understand distance selling regulations.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/distance-selling-regulations/

Merry Christmas

2007-12-21T14:56:00.000Z

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous year in 2008.

[picture drawn on the PC by Laura Tilley at the age of 6]

Photo Galleries

2007-12-17T12:19:00.000Z

If you want to display a range of photographs on your website it is a good idea to use a photo gallery page such as this test one which I developed for a local photographer. You should also use a watermark on your photographs to prevent others from copying them.

Click here to view sample photo gallery

Using images on your website

2007-12-06T10:19:00.000Z

Images are very important to the look and feel of a website. They help to break up the text and make the pages look more interesting. They can also convey their own message, e.g. a company slogan.

I enjoy choosing pictures for a website. Mind you, when I was working on the website for a lady supplying chocolate fountains the pictures were so good I just couldn't stop thinking about food.

There are millions of pictures "out there" on the internet, but make sure you have permission to use them before you include them in your site, otherwise you are infringing copyright laws. Some sites offer clipart and photographs which are free to use, others only require a link back to their site crediting them with the photograph. There are many professional sites too, e.g. Fotolia, where you can buy permission to use a photograph. The prices can start from just 50p.

Of course, with digital cameras it is now very easy to take your own photographs to use on your website. Think about the composition of your picture and keep the background plain.

The software I use allows me to work with the photographs so I can crop them, recolour them, add special effects etc but most importantly I need to resize and optimize the images so they are suitable for the internet. Large, detailed images can be so slow to load on a web page that you can lose your customer before the page is even loaded, they simply get fed up of waiting and click to go to another site.

If you have images which you would like to use on your website that is great, if not then I can help you choose some - it's one of the fun elements of designing a website.

Happy Birthday to me!

2007-12-04T16:51:00.000Z

Web Site Accessibility

2007-11-28T12:27:00.000Z

Under the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995, it is a legal requirement for your website to be accessible to people regardless of ability or disability. From your point of view, an accessible website will increase your potential audience.

I can help you - let's start by making your most popular web pages accessible as soon as possible and then we can agree a timeframe and budget to ensure your website complies with the UK Disability Discrimination Act.

Contact me now for a free, no obligation quote.
www.gtilley.co.uk

Use blogging as a marketing tool

2007-11-26T14:24:00.000Z

You can use a blog as a marketing tool to raise the profile of your business on the internet, but think about your customers first...is it really the best way to spend your time and effort. This article highlights some interesting points on this topic.
http://www.mycustomer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=133348&d=101&h=817&f=816

Blogging works for me and if you want to add it to your website, give me a call.

BBC Article - Do small firms really need a website?

2007-11-21T09:25:00.000Z

Read this article from the BBC.

"...it comes as a shock to many to discover that no more than half of Britain's small to medium-sized businesses have a web presence..."

Click for full article.

I believe there is a perception that websites cost a lot of money. Also if you're busy running your own small business you might worry that setting up a website would be time-consuming or maybe you're concerned that all the technical talk from a web designer could get too confusing. NOT TRUE! - call me now for a free, no obligation quote.

Together we can make sure that your business DOES have a web presence.

New Website launched this week

2007-11-16T12:25:00.001Z

The website for Tanner & Tilley was launched this week. Yes, there is a family connection - Roger Tilley is my father-in-law. His business is a town planning and development consultancy based in Bournemouth.

Visit www.tanner-tilley.co.uk

2007-11-16T09:53:00.000Z

Thursday 15th November was a girle party where Vicky from TRENDS was selling her funky jewellery and Charlotte from LA DOLCE VITA was offering taster sessions - the Thai Foot Massage proved to be very popular.

Wednesday 14th November was Women in Business day. Heather from BORN TO WEAR and I went to talk to pupils in Year 12 at Bournemouth Grammar School for Girls about setting up your own business.