Wow Creative & Performing Arts Directory

Overview: We were asked to design, and develop a unique portfolio directory website so our client could allow creative people to list a personal online portfolio, as well as obtain a listing in the site directory. The site had to have a client messaging system, so the creative people listed did not have to display full contact details on site (but still be contactable), a members area, free listings right through to premium.

Details: From the brief, we knew that members would need full and easy account access, so they could personally upload ther own portfolio (including images), members needed to be able to receive message via the sites secure messaging system and we would need to implement a full e-commerce solution, together with a boolean directory section, to display listings. Plus functionality for Jobs and casting calls to be listed.

Solution: We built a hybrid directory/e-commerce/news and information websites, together with a secure messaging system to facilitate contacts and personal user account facilities, where a user could upgrade from a free account to premium as desired. We also trained out client so they can fully administer the site themselves. Our client was bowled over and thanked us for all our hard work on this project.

You Can View Our Portfolio Here

Details: From this initial simple brief, it became clear that this would not be a ‘run of the mill’ website. The website would need a members area where users could view previous orders, articles, information and a fully integrated booking and payments system. The order and payment system had to be both fast and easy.

Solution: We built an ultra easy to navigate site, with nothing more than 2 clicks away from the home page. This has ensured that the site is super fast no navigate and easy to use. The target age group made it imperative that the site was built to work perfectly on iPhones, iPads, PDA’s and on Android which has been achieved. Unlike other sites in this genre that require you clicking, clicking and clicking some more…to get through to the order form, we have achieved an easy ‘one page’ checkout for users. The clients is extremely pleased with the results.

You Can View Our Portfolio Here

Many people go to great lengths to assure that they find the right web designer/developer for their project and rightly so. However have you ever as a business owner and client, stopped to wonder ‘if you are a good client or the client from hell?’ In many years as a web design/developer, I’m more used to new clients contacting me as their previous web designer had let them down than fielding a complaint (the first one ever) about myself and services!

As a client, it’s important that you are as up front and as detailed as possible about your project and expectations and that you are clear and realistic about your budget when you approach a web design/developer initially. In other words, think things through carefully and take on board everything that your web designer explains to you during the planning, discussion and quotation phase. If for any reason you feel unhappy about the way your project is panning out as the project unfolds, you need to run through a quick check list to determine why you are unhappy. Think very carefully about your project and ask yourself  ‘am I being reasonable here?’, before condemning your web designer out of hand.

In 2010 I had a client approach me who had no web design/development knowledge, even less knowledge of the Internet or about SEO (which is not unusual or a problem as a good web developer can inform and guide you), a very low budget but very big plans & dreams, which I admired at the time! The client showed me several top industry websites in the field that were interested in, very complicated and feature rich powerful and complex websites. These sites would have cost the companies a minimum of £20k to have built, would need to employ at the very least part-time developer to keep them running, and require a team of admins to take care of the site on a daily basis. The websites shown also made extensive use of third party services supplied by an SMS company, made use of the Royal Mail DB (at a license fee of some £5k per year just to name a few extras the sites employed.

The client informed me that they didn’t have that kind of budget and also had no need for the excessive (in their view) extra expensive functionality, bells and whistles on the example sites. They explained that they simply wanted a simplified website ‘along the lines’ of the example sites shown, that was easy for one person to run in a max of 20/3- minutes per day  (needing the site as automated as possible) and knew that with their budget of just £1k, that they would not get an ‘identical site‘ in any form or anything close to the same functionality but would dearly love a site in the same genre – just scaled back to what was for them, a realistic level.

Now what this client requested is not an unusual request, I get similar requests on a regular basis, take on the project after lengthy discussions and agreements have taken place and end up with a very happy client at the end of the project in every case until now. The client, when asked about colour schemes and the exact functionality required was very relaxed about the whole thing and exclaimed that I was the expert, they knew nothing about all that and were quite happy for me to run with ‘whatever I felt was best‘ and declared that they would be happy with the outcome! Now as much as it is nice to be given such a free reign, I did not feel completely comfortable without having some more detailed direction, preference expressed and ‘must have’ functionality clearly stated by the client, so extensive discussions were entered into for the next two weeks by phone and email to try to determine this, even though the client was reluctant to take this time and pressed the point that they were short of time and happy to go with ‘whatever’ I thought best.

The client remained very relaxed about everything and very jovial about the project throughout this time and they did eventually state half a dozen ‘must have functions‘ and stated that any other functionality that I could add as an addition, would simply be a bonus. The client seemed very reasonable and easy going. The client paid a deposit and the project got under way. I offered them a years free web hosting and free training in the admin area of their site so they could administer their highly interactive website once finished. To keep their cost down the client stated and it was agreed that they would be providing all their own content, text etc. The client also told me that they had applied for their Paypal merchant services account (which the site would need to take payments) and details would be given to me in a day or two.

As I always want to see my client businesses do well, I have to admit that I worked hard and spent many extra unpaid hours adding free additions and extra functionality to the site for them. Work that I had not quoted for, and would not be charging the client for either. Why? Simple because I wanted to help them! The website was finished in due course and revealed to the client for approval. The client loved the website and at the time were very grateful for all the free extras that I had included and the client approved the site wholeheartedly, so we were both happy. I had included free sample text, a Privacy Policy etc too. The client loved the free logo, site design, layout, colours and functions. Training was booked in for two day later (when the client had time and they had given me the Paypal merchant details to add on site which I was still waiting for) and all was going swimmingly. The client agreed to pay the balance after the training as previously agreed and all was well. The client was so pleased that they immediately started to talk about getting me to build them other websites in addition right away.

Two days later, I was contacted by a ‘third person’ that I had never heard of until that point. This person was in ‘some way‘ connected to the client and launched straight into a diatribe of what they considered to be ‘wrong with the site‘. They did not approve of the colour, they had compared the website to the £20k websites that were used as an example and concluded that the site didn’t have all the exact same features etc and sent me a 4 pages long list of ‘pointers’ demanding I add extra functions, content, and lots of bells and whistles never previously discussed or charged for. Their manner and tone left a lot to be desired. To say I was floored is not descriptive enough. Whilst it is not unusual to have a round of small revisions once a client first sees a site it is outlandish for a third party to contact me, demand the whole project is redone and start demanding identical features and functionality to that of a £20k site be added to a £1k site free of charge by me and ‘immediately‘!

I contacted the ‘actual client’ who was kind of sheepish now and said I should ‘now’ take direction from their ‘partner’ over the project! Two weeks of emails, nasty phone and text messages followed from ‘the pair’ making ridiculous demands and threats. They had now decided that they were going to have a ‘£20-30k websites, provided by me for “1k” (they conceded to paying a mere £500 extra for the £10k of extras” and extra months of work that this would take because if the sheer amount of extra include at their ‘new’ demands. Such as ‘free addition of a third party SMS services, the £5k Royal Mail DB services (without them having to pay the license fee for it to Royal Mail), free site content etc. All in all they were insisting on having some £30k worth of website and services for “£1.5k” Their demands were clearly ridiculous and impossible to meet. They then claimed that the website payment system was faulty, leading me to spend many additional hours trying to find out why it was not now working as it had previously during my testing phase, only to find out that the website payment system was in fact working and that the issue lay with the client ‘failing‘ to activate their Paypal Merchant Account (which they swore that they had done) I applied all reasonable changes requested and painstakingly explained why their demands could not be met. At this point, they conceded and paid the balance for the website to me, I fully handed over their website to them but that was not to be the end of the matter.

They then contacted me again, informed me that they were going to hire ‘someone else‘ who was going to ‘rip down and steal‘ a copy of one of the example websites that they had shown me (which they started to reefer to as a donor site) and simply slap their business name on it and that they were also going to spam people and give out their websites clients private data to people for a fee. They also wanted to ‘keep’ the website they I had made for them (as they decided and informed me that it was now their intellectual property right) ‘and’ obtain a full refund from me. On top of this, they would be keeping the free web hosting I had given them as a gesture and would be doing all of the above on and from my web hosting!

I have not counted just how many laws the above actions would brake…clearly I could and would not allow this on/or happening from my web hosting. All of the actions stated are against every law abiding web hosts terms and conditions. I informed them that because of their news plans, I was withdrawing my offer of free/or/paid web hosting and that I was happy to send them a zipped copy of their website that they could move to other hosting as they now had 7 days to remove their website. I refused to ‘fully refund them’ as the agreed work and more had been completed as agreed previously and they had confirmed that they were happy with what I had done and every single aspect pf the website was in good working order.

They got ‘someone else’ to take their website from the hosting for safe keeping and then proceeded to make all manner of threats citing the goods and services act, telling me that I had broken my contract with them by revoking the free web hosting etc. They threatened to take me to court also. To which I had to reply that it was their right to do so. I would not hesitate to provide the same response again under these circumstances. As I truly believe bullies should be stood up to – every time.

Well they did in fact take me to court! A three hour hearing was set (which went to four hours on the day) and I had no choice but to defend myself. The ‘clients’ came into court armed with every emails and communication that had taken place etc which was not a problem at all and helped my case and not theirs. It was clear that they were very comfortable in court and had probably done similar many times before in my opinion…

Long story short, the judge found that I had been ‘very reasonable’ and amenable throughout’ showing patients, good business practice and tolerance. He found that I had explained everything fully to the clients throughout and had acted correctly. He also determined that the clients were trying to ‘bully out of me’ out of at least £20k plus worth of work for a mere £1.500 and he dismissed their ‘case’ and I of course won.

It is hard to say if this client set out to defraud me or if they simply got ‘carried away’, in the very worst possible sense. However, it is worth bearing in mind as a client that when you contact, receive a detailed quote and start a project with a web designer and developer that you agreed to a quote and a ‘certain specified‘ amount of work performed for your project and that is all that you are entitled to from the web designer.

If the web designer decides to throw in some extra free bonuses gratis – fantastic. Accept them with good grace and move on. What you should not do as a client is demand thousands of pounds worth of extras and free work, bully, threaten and generally be unreasonable towards your web designer for no good reason as this kind of behaviour will get you no where with your project – or in front of a judge in court, should you decide to take things to that extreme! Before anything reaches this unpleasant pitch, check that you are being reasonable and not just getting carried away and becoming the client from hell yourself.

Details: The websites/audio books store’s were out of date, most functions were not working any longer if at all or correctly and the designs simply did not reflect Tony’s creative products.
Tony wanted to be able to add/remove products and add new content when he wanted too – without the need to train as a web designer or developer!

Solution: We built the ‘new improved’ sites on our hosting to solve the hosting problems that had been experienced. We assisted Tony in getting full and rightful control of his domains, sites and email. We totally re-built the sites from the ground up, salvaging only the content. Which included: redesign of both sites to reflect Tony;s creative nature and products. Adding a working store for downloads and physical products. We built his sites into a CMS framework that would be easy for him to manage, gave the sites all ‘mod cons; including but not exclusively: RSS feeds, translation and sitemaps. We moved and improved all the written content, layout and errors, fixed broken inks, changed the entire site navigation, sorted, sharpened and thumb-nailed his new site images to be crystal clear, improved and added extra site functionality, added some nice new ‘state of the art’ features, applied on site SEO, added legal pages such as ‘Privacy & Terms of Service pages, vastly improved his website speed etc. and the result can be clearly seen. Tony’s first reaction when he first saw the sites was “Wow” so you can take it from us, that he likes his new websites. See images for Sapphire Audio Books and Charlie Horse Publishing.

Old Website & New Websites

You Can View Our Portfolio Here

Details: Whilst Philippa had some strong ideas about what ‘The Counsel Of Grandmothers’ function should be – she was unsure of how to achieve the desired user friendly website she wanted. We talked to Philippa in depth and found that she wanted a social area where the over 50′s could meet online, interact and share their knowledge, learn about modern technology and share a few laughs along the way! She also need a website that she could fully manage herself.

Solution: We realised quite quickly that the best solution for ‘The Counsel of Grandmothers’ would be a very user friendly forum framework. We applied our knowledge of the end user needs with larger text and a classic easy on the eyes colour pallet. We also trained Philippa on how to administer her site and she is doing very well. We also think she should be very proud of how much she has learned in a short space of time.

Philippa is extremely satisfied with her website and has provided a very nice testimonial which you can view here.

You Can View Our Portfolio Here

Overview: Kwik Claims 4u came to us wanting a rather special lead capture business website design.

Details: They needed a professional and informative website that would have a conservative ‘wow factor’.

Solution: We have provided a full and informative website, with a very fancy image splicer display gallery.

For a UK commercial website to prosper in the search engines in the UK, the website has to basically be “developed” to be discovered and well-received by the search engine algorithm. This process of preparation is called Search engine optimization (SEO). We provide effective website design in the UK as well as SEO.

As the amount of websites grows exponentially, website design UK must improve on it’s quality. Search engines will play a vital role in keeping order on the net. This has encouraged increasing numbers of people looking for specific information to rely on SE’s to a greater extent. It’s a fact that you can find information faster if you use a search engine.

Because of this fact, business websites looking to attract more traffic to their sites will pay for valuable ad space within search results sent by the search engines to browsers. Because browsers are more often than not set on getting information about something, placing an ad that totally dovetails with what they”re looking for makes it easy for the advertiser to make a sale. Local search is also becoming ever more important to many business websites as SEs such as Google are trying to force the display of local search by geo targeting our web browsers and returning the relevant local information. There are mant benefits to having your website design UK based, as well as web hosting.

It’s further believed by many that a business website can increase it ranking in it’s home country (in this example the UK) by having a .co.uk domain and being hosted in the UK also. These ranking factors are however disputed by some but seem logical to others.

What search engine optimisers do then, is to make every effort to make the site reasoned to be highly relevant and show up in the top ten listing of their respective search strings for their keywords. The usual method of SEO is to improve content, and dynamically expand the site with even additional relevant data.

Unfortunately, unprincipled SEO’s have also formulated ways to cheat the algorithms of search engine to keep themselves on top with poor quality and even deceptive or ‘scraped’ content. Google, Yahoo and other search engines such as Bing have opposed this treand by applying more complex algorithms to filter out the junk and refuse out of their engines. The practice of ‘bad seo’ may now get you temporary high rankings – ultimately your rankings will be short lived and often now leading to a search engine ban or delisting. It’s never a good idea therefor to engage in bad SEO practices.

To properly optimise a web page and website, follow the these steps:

1. Optimisation should be part of the design not an second thought. To properly optimise a business website or page, it should be conceived as part of the design process. It shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought. This leads to shoddy workmanship and creates gratuitous strain in the browser looking for relevant data.

2. Each web page must be optimised. Namely, each web page must be unique, with their own content, titles and tags.

3. It’s not a good idea to go over board with SEO either. Don’t create a site specifically for search engines neglecting your site visitors. Most people who kickoff this route create a site that’s ungainly and has bad grammar. Most browsers simply pass over unprofessional sites with poor copy.

4. Keywords. Make certain you’ve a list of keyword terms you want placed in the page and to form part of your over all business website. Also consider that the keywords relevant to page 1 stays in page 1 while page 2 keywords stay in page 2. This is to make certain each page is specific in its offering, avoiding redundant or duplicate content on your business website.

Website design UK

must become high quality if it is to rank highly globally.

If you have your website design UK and SEO attended to by us, we believe that you will have the edge on the competition.

Look what the nice people at website grader said about us today! We don’t like to boast but….here is our website grade.

“The website www.localwebsiteseo.co.uk has a website grade of 62,866 of the 2,522,980 websites that have been ranked so far.

A website grade of 97.5/100 for www.localwebsiteseo.co.uk means that of the millions of websites that have previously been evaluated, our algorithm has calculated that this site scores higher than 97.5% of them in terms of its marketing effectiveness. The algorithm uses a proprietary blend of over 50 different variables, including search engine data , website structure, approximate traffic, site performance, and others.”

Domain Tools still only ranks us with an : SEO Score:94%

website grade

Website Grade

The reason we have not been awarded a 100% website grade? Only because they both judge us to have far too many images on site!
Their testing metrics are not set up fully to account for images rich sites like us.

You wouldn’t want us to leave off the client case studies of design example now would you? So we will keep them and take the 2.5% hit to our ratings!

Our site is just two months or so old at this point….Think about what we could do for your website and business?

Sarah came to us as although she felt her site was ‘OK’, it wasn’t performing in the search engines. We performed an in-depth keyword and market research analysis and we found the problems.  A whole new CMS (content management system) was installed and we re-designed the website in close consultation with Sarah. We applied full SEO and gave extensive free marketing advise also.

This is what the Children’s Playhouse Company website used to look like before we got to work on it and gave it a website makeover!

The improvements are self evident. With a new CMS, navigation, correct keywords, SEO and lots of added functionality, the new site is set to soar through the search engines. The Children’s Playhouse Company are thrilled with the results of their website makeover and said:

“I did not realise how much I needed the help and advice of Dee from SEO.  I thought I was doing okay with the website I had – I was very much mistaken.  They were great, worked round the clock and the outcome was I have a fantastic website and I have been given great marketing help and expert advice and most importantly advice that I felt I could trust.  I would like to say thank you to you and your team for all your hard work and the help you gave to the Children’s Playhouse Company. I love the

website makeover

”

We are delighted to have helped. We love to work with companies who make quality British products.
We enjoy a good

website makeover!