We offer fairly comprehensive Web Design and Development services. We'll do pretty much anything - from a few, static, HTML pages, to a large database-driven site with more bells and whistles than your average bell and whistle shop. In all our designs, we follow certain 'zen' rules. Take a look:
User Interface
Usability
From your point of view, the most important thing about your site is the users. So we make our sites as easy to use and navigate as possible. Our general rule of thumb is that from the front page of the site, the user should be able to get to where they want in 3 clicks or less (the '3-click rule').The Right Thing in the Right Place
OK, so it's possible to create a clock on the user's page using Javascript. It's also possible to change the background color of the page as the user moves over an image, and have the navigation bar explode whenever you move the mouse over it. But just because those things are possible, doesn't mean they should be on your site - if you're trying to search an archive, but have to wait for a java applet to load each page just to display an animated logo, you won't be impressed. We know what sort of thing is suitable to be added in a given place, and the best ways to achieve a goal in a given situation.Standards Compliance
The thing about standards is that they are.. well, standards. They don't tend to change. They're pretty clear about how things should be done. If you make something that is compliant to web standards, then 99.99% of the time it'll look exactly how you intended in any given browser on any given computer. Aesthetics
Lastly (but by no means least), we can make it look nice! We have experience with a wide range of styles and design formats. Do you run a flower shop? Perhaps this faded watercolour style for your site. Something more in the digital age? How about something more geometric, clean shapes in an ice blue or 'telnet' green?
Back-end
Security
Security is a key concern for many sites; when the web is accessable to everyone, you need to ensure that you allow in the right people and keep out the wrong ones. We use security techniques ranging from IP checks to password hashing to secure servers; we're constantly looking for new web security solutions, to make sure your information stays protected as well as possible. Speed
While condensed HTML covers the speed with which your web site can be sent to the user, have you considered the speed of the server-side scripts? Every database query or line of CGI code keeps the user waiting. We always optimise our code - combining database queries, keeping clean backend architecture, and so on - which can be of vital importance to high-traffic servers. Because every second wasted on one request is a second not spent processing another... Stability
Your website shouldn't crash, should it? Either at your server's end, or at the client's end, software is vulnerable to bugs. We test our site on as many browsers as possible (particularly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla, two of the most popular browsers around), and with different server configurations (both Apache and Microsoft's IIS server), so when you get it you shouldn't have any problems. And worried about a failure causing loss of data? We can provide tools to backup and restore your database and other site-specific data.
Administration
Flexibility
When you come to us with a job to do, even you may have forgotten things; so we make sure that throughout development, and indeed after the site is complete, that it's always in a state where things can be altered or updated - be it by us or someone else. Our sites won't break if you add a new component; they'll expose a simple interface for integrating the new section. Efficiency
Bandwidth costs you money. You want to cut down on the amount of data that needs to be transferred - every character that makes up your pages can count against you. We can keep the page sizes small, to squeeze every last drop out of your data pipeline. It also means that users get their pages faster - so they can find what they want more quickly. Design and Document
We always, always work from a design. That way, you know that what you had in mind and what we had in mind are the same thing - the thing that's detailed by the design document. It means that everything's be planned out in advance; the site won't feel as if bits have been 'stuck on.' While we're working, we document the site fully - so if you want to change it, or if something isn't quite working right, you can work out what needs to be done without even looking at the code.
We are also a WorldPay Affiliate Partner:
We can work with WorldPay on your behalf, to integrate top-notch eCommerce and online shopping systems into your site.
Contact us if you're interested. Pricing details are available on request, but we'll need details of the project you want us to undertake if you want an accurate quote.
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