Archive for October, 2009

2 hour (!) website revamp for Pinnacle

We have been working with Pinnacle for a number of years, their original website was designed quite a few years ago and was in need of some updating.

The website was quite difficult to read due to the color selection but the main issue for our client was that they wanted to add some extra pages, and using a horizontal navigation (menu) at the top meant that they were restricted. They did not want to reduce the size of the menu title since they have been selected to ensure they included keywords for SEO (read more about SEO). This is their old website

Old Website

So we were challenged to see what we could do in just a few hours. That right – just a few hours.

Technical note (not for the faint hearted!) – This website was already written in HTML and CSS. Which meant that the design only needed to be applied to the CSS which saved lots of time.

Practical note – if you are looking to buy a website for the first time then make sure you ask your designer to also use HTML/CSS combination.

So in just the two hours we were able to make the following changes

Added some extra pages.
Moved to the left hand side to allow for space for the extra pages.
Applied a nice design to the menu, including a page indicator.
Updated the home page look and feel
Added a breadcrumb (you are here) to help users find information, its also great for SEO as links could towards your keywords.
Changed the colors! This was the biggest and most simplest improvement. By changing the text to black on white the website looks so much more grown up and easier to read.
Increased the text size – just a little.
Added a new image to the home page, similar in concept to the original but I thought that a change would be nice.
Added a new “Job of the week” section on the Home page – to help promote recent jobs.

And here is the (almost) final product. Just a few tweaks and we are done.

Website Revamp

The changes were completed directly in the HTML/CSS so when our client is ready it can go live straight away and no waiting for a developer to implement the graphic design changes.

So to recap

If you want a website redesign it might not be a huge task
If you are getting a website written now or are thinking about it, please make sure it is written in HTML/CSS which will enable quick changes like this by any developer in the future.

If your website needs a bit of a re-think. Why not ask us for a free website review? We’d be happy to chat with you.

Website Examples | 19.10.2009 21:00 | No Comments

Are you serious about your business?

I was surprised yesterday to meet so many business owners at Woking Means Business Exhibition, who openly admitted that they had either made their website themselves or had a brother/friend/niece/nephew make it for them. Others confessed that their website was not really want they wanted or not quite right but that they didn’t have the budget for a fancy new one.

Well, for most the first impression lasts. Perhaps you spend time and effort in driving the right car, using the correct telephone voice, honing your business skills and wearing the right suit and shoes – so why leave your website festering, getting more and more out of date?

Does this frustrate me?

You bet it does! When you meet someone in person you can interact with them and help sell your services to them by tailoring and adjusting the conversation that you have with them. If somehow you managed to get off on the wrong foot then you still have a chance to gradulaly win people over with your charm and knowledge of your products and services. Your website does not have this chance! It sits there 24 hours a day every day. You do not have the opportunity to talk to each visitor and adjust their view of your website (and hence your business). You have to get it spot on – straight away.

These are some of the things I was told yesterday

“I have a website that I designed myself and it was easy.”
Well yes, it is easy to get a website up on the internet but it is not easy to get it right. We use at least three different experts to get our websites right. We have the project manager who investigates competitor websites, does market research and gathers your requirements. A graphic designer creates all the fancy graphics and then finally the developer who converts everything into a fully functional website.

“I don’t need a website because all my work is from referrals or from word of mouth.”
Well would you like some more work? And perhaps when you leave your business card on a referrals table would it be nice to include a professional email address myname@mycompanyname.co.uk and the www.mycompany.co.uk address so that your potential client could find out more information about you and your services?

‘”I do plan on getting a website once I have drummed up some more business.”
Ok – great and it should be at the top of your list. I agree that this is a bit like chicken and the egg – but given that you could invest as little as £250 to get a professional and fully functional website from our www.budgetwebsites.co.uk service there really is no excuse.

“My clients are older so I don’t need one.”
Have you heard of the silver surfer? Computers are cheap, easy to use and accessible to most. For such a small investment why take the risk and assume that your clients won’t expect to be able to find you on the internet? Plus many older people do take advice on making purchases from their family and perhaps their son might have checked out your competitors’ websites and recommended that his Dad use them instead of you because they look more professional.

“I am sharing a website with my friend.”
Well this is just plain crazy! A website should be dedicated to one business. You simply can’t share a website with another business – it will confuse your visitors and also confuse Google.

If you have an old, diy or out of date website then please consider just doing me one favour?

Please add Google analytics to your website – www.google.com/analytics. If you need help doing this then I will be more than happy to help. By installing this tool you will find out some information about your website visitors.

If you have any of the following issues