I just read an article called “Why are restaurant websites so horrifically bad?”. It’s about the number of restaurant websites that have useless flash introductions, automatic music playing etc. These sites don’t deliver what people are looking for – or if they do, it’s done in such a way that it takes ages to find and requires a degree in navigational skills. (more…)
Has your web designer done a runner?
I was recently contacted by a local hairdresser whose website had gone offline. It transpired the web design company she had used to build the website had vanished. The web design company’s own website was offline and they couldn’t be contacted by phone or email.
On further investigation I found the hairdresser’s domain name had been registered in the web design company’s name. This meant she had no ownership rights or control over the domain and the company that hosted the domain wasn’t able to give her access to it so that another website could be built. (more…)
Facebook Company Pages
Facebook is fast becoming the new marketing medium for businesses.
You’ve probably noticed on a lot of TV and print advertising they now include a link to the company’s Facebook page front and centre!
Did you know each Facebook user has an average of 130 friends and with more than 750 million active users spending over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook you can see the potential!
If you have a company page you may just have the standard wall where people arrive along with the tab for info if they want to find out more. It’s now possible to create a landing page for new visitors to your page which has a lot more style and creativity. It can look very similar to your website with links to your website for more info or it could be laid out as an advert.
Whichever option you choose you will be able to give a lot more information to the visitor and hopefully get them to your website to engage your services or buy your products.
When someone “likes” your page their friends will see this on the newsfeed. They in turn may visit and “like” your page and then it becomes viral!
We can provide you with a Facebook landing page and if you don’t have a company page we can also set this up on your behalf. Visit our Facebook Company Fan pages for more info. Or get in touch right now if you want to get started.
Photographer Website Design
Yet another website off the assembly line this week!
A creative effort to promote a photographer’s pictures. The site has been designed with simplicity in mind to show the photos in their true glory!
The website has a Content Management System (CMS) so the photographer will be able to add more galleries and more pictures to the site – there are many more photos to come, we have just set the site up with a few pictures to get it started.
We have special prices for artist websites so take a look at our offer and let’s see how we can help you.
Arbitraries, Oddities & Google
We are currently doing some SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) work on a website for a company based in Tunbridge Wells.
The website in question is www.treestransformed.co.uk. We are taking various actions to get the website higher in the search results when someone searches for Tree Surgery in Tunbridge Wells and surrounding areas.
The first thing that’s done is to find out where the website comes in the rankings before any work is done. But… there are some oddities within Google’s search results.
Did you know you can change the number of results per page? The default number is 10 but you can change this to up to a 100 (the reason being so you don’t have to keep clicking through pages of results!).
The following oddity in the results was found:
Search term: tree surgery Tunbridge Wells
10 results per page: checked the first 7 pages of results and the website is not listed
100 results per page: page 1, position 8
Search term: tree surgeon Tunbridge Wells
10 results per page: page 1, position 5
100 results per page: page 1, position 10
It seems odd that for the first search term the website doesn’t appear at all when the default setting of 10 results per page is used! And in the 2nd example how the position changes from 5 to 10.
You would think that regardless of how many listings there are per page the website would be displayed in the same position!
And… another variable is in Google search preferences. When you’re signed into your Google account you can use the following:
“Signed-in users can remove personalized predictions from their Web History”which means:
“Your Web History includes searches you’ve done on Google and pages you’ve clicked in search results. Web History allows you to:- See personalized search predictions as you type.
- Get results and recommendations that are tailored to your preferences.
- Search the full content of pages you’ve already seen.”
What this means for the person who wants their website found in the search engines is…. unpredictability of results!! But we will overcome. We did some SEO work on another website and got it moved from position 130 to position 8 – no wait – that’s position 8 with 100 results but position 5 with 10 results!!
If you’d like to us to take a look at your website to see how well it’s optimised please get in touch.
New website design
A new website for Blackstar Entertainment has just gone live.
The website promotes the services of Blackstar Entertainment which is a full service independent record label and PR company.
The site is built using a Content Management System so it can be updated by the owner. This is very useful for keeping the news, gallery and videos up-to-date. It also has an online shop to purchase related merchandise – which can also be managed by the owner.
If you would like something similar, let us know!
What is Website Hosting?
In the Webster’s dictionary one of the definitions of host is:
” a country or area that provides place and services for a competition or event [the city will be host to the Olympics].”
In the world of the internet a Website Host is “the activity or business of providing storage space and access for websites”.
Websites consist of pages and pictures and these are stored on a computer which is part of an INTER-connected NETwork of computers. Every website needs a Host – a space for the pages and pictures to reside.
At Artisan Websites we use a very reliable hosting company to look after our clients’ websites. We offer free hosting for one year with all our website design packages.
If you are interested in just using our hosting service please visit www.artisanhosting.co.uk where you can purchase web hosting and manage it through a control panel.
FREE website – for one day only!
For one day only we are offering to build your website for FREE!
The way it works is you buy a template from Template Monster and then we build it for nothing (usual cost £250 minimum). We only charge for the hosting and domain name (£58 +VAT).
This offer will only be available for ONE DAY – the day will be announced on our website so keep checking here for news.
For more information click here.
New Website for Osteopathy Clinic
We have just completed a website design for the Silver Health Osteopathy & Acupuncture Clinic in East Grinstead.
The clinic recently changed its name from the Silver Grey Clinic and acquired a new logo and thus needed a new website. The website is designed to promote the clinic and make their services and practitioners widely known as well as giving useful information in answer to questions people may have about Osteopathy and Acupuncture.
Click on the picture to view the website
If you are interested in getting a website designed please contact us for a Free quotation.
All web design packages include email, free hosting for 1 year and a free UK domain name.
Let the Wedding season begin!
The wedding season started off with the Royals at Westminster Abbey!
There are many more couples to marry this summer. Are you one of them? Do you know someone who is?
From dresses to flowers, venues to photographers, so much to plan! Where does a Bride start? Well, we have a suggestion… Set up a Blog so all the Bride and Groom’s family/ friends can stay in the loop throughout the wedding stages. Distance is no longer an issue, everyone can feel part of planning the big day. The Bride and Groom have full control over the wedding site so dates, stag/hen details, photos, venue etc can be uploaded.
Artisan Websites offers the set-up and hosting of wedding blogs. Simply choose the template and away we go! For more information, go to http://www.artisanwebsites.co.uk/wed/index.htm
