Last week we launched the new 1st Class Window Films website. That site has been created to showcase the range of films that 1st Class can provide. The site also contains important information about the benefits of installing a window film system.
We worked closely with John deBraber of 1st Class Window Films to create the final site. The testimonial below highlights the great working relationship we developed during the process.
“Bad Robot came to our rescue after experiencing lets say an unprofessional web design company, they visited my company and listened to what I needed, within two weeks they had my now fantastic website up and running. I would recommend Bad Robot to anybody who wants to get things done professionally, one of their many skills is their ability to listen and understand what you want. 10/10 John den-Braber 1st Class window Films Ltd”.
http://www.1stclasswindowfilms.com
Chris U’Dell has launched his own business blog entitled shaking up insurance. MD of Business & Domestic Insurance Services Ltd, Chris sees his blog as communication tools designed to provide relevant insurance information to collegues, clients and clients; both current and potential.
www.chrisudell.co.uk
If you’re looking for property in Egypt, then Jood Investments have more fantastic offers. These two developments are based in Hurghada, Egypt.
We have developed micro-sites to showcase these developments for them
www.coral-sea-hurghada.co.uk
www.pearl-vista-hurghada.co.uk
If you’re looking for property in Turkey then consider Dalaman Gardens, offered by one of our clients Jood Investments. We have developed a micro-site to showcase this development for them www.dalaman-gardens.info
Nadine Loxham have just launched their new website http://www.nadineloxham.co.uk.
I would heartily recommend Bad Robot. They have done a fantastic job at building my new website and were very good at advising on content and layout of the site. I am very happy with the outcome.
Nadine Loxham, Owner
Posted on April 11th, 2008 by Alex in
WWW Web 2.0 is a term becoming frequently more common among web users. So what does it actually mean?
Web 2.0 is a term used to define the state of the World Wide Web today and how we as the user have progressed. Websites in the last 5 or 6 years have become more interactive, allowing the user to get more out of websites and even allowing them to own their own piece of the web. The explosion of sites such as Facebook, Bebo, MySpace and YouTube allow the public to control what they are seeing on the Internet. This explosion has to be taken very seriously. With the record breaking sale of Youtube to Google and the endless amount of stars MySpace has created has changed the way we interact with the Internet.
The Internet is arguably the most important medium ever created, with children turning their backs on television in favour of the net - were they have the control over what they see and can interact with it in totally new ways. Don’t be fooled in thinking that television is dead. Over the last year we have seen what it is capable of with TV-on-demand and intelligent TVs which records your favourite programmes regardless of whether you are viewing them or not.
I believe new forms of television will emerge to counter Web2.0 but I don’t think its ever going to be a serious threat. If you really want to express yourself, voting for the new Joseph or some fat celebrity is never going to suffice, not when you have the ability to rant to the world.
If you believe Web 2.0 is just a clever marketing phrase coined to drive sales - stop there. It takes a few clicks to create a blog entry and allow me to voice my opinions to the world.
This is just a little blog I have put together listing my favourite pieces of open source software, which are available for free to download over the internet.
Mozilla FireFox
FireFox is an award winning web browser and is currently the second most popular web browser used on the internet behind internet explorer.
There are many reasons why I love FireFox, I love the way I can really personalise it. I can make it look the way I want it to; I can add or take away features and tools. Its integration with the Google search engine is very clever, it is not as intrusive as the Google tool bar and the predictive search really speeds up the search process.
My personal favourite thing about FireFox is the add-on ‘Developers toolbar’. This add-on is perfect for web developers and budding developers. It allows you to view website’s CSS and HTML code; it also allows you to validate HTML and CSS code at the click of a button. What I find most useful about this tool is that it allows you to see how sites are constructed and put together. This is a great learning tool as you can recreate aspects into your own sites.
Download from:
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/
PHP
PHP is a server-side scripting language used within websites to make them dynamic. What this means is that a user can input information into a website and a result or output is produced. PHP is used to calculate the result.
PHP is a very sophisticated and powerful programming language, and the best thing is its totally free to download and install on your server. Its main advantages are allowing you to create these dynamic pages allowing the user to interact with your site, weather it is just for a simple email subscription or more complex e-commerce website PHP can take care of it.
The reason I like PHP as it is nearly limitless with what you can do with it and your skill and imagination are the only boundaries. As far as programming languages go PHP seems to be easier than others to learn and to grasp hold of the basics, but like all languages it will takes years to master.
Download from: http://www.php.net/downloads.php
VLC Player
The VLC player is quite unique from most media players as it will play virtually any format; from Windows wmv formats to Apple’s mov, the VLC player is truly multiplatform. The player is jam packed with features which will allow you to manipulate the media, it will allow you to split, rotate crop and add images.
The VLC player has one final trick up its sleeve as it can also be used as a server side multimedia streaming media server. When used as a streaming media server it can stream all compatible formats so as a developer you are no restricted to what format to use, also the VLC player can steam live video ideal for gigs or sporting events.
The VLC player is really the only player you will need. It will play most video formats including DVD without the addition of installing any extra codec packs. All this along with the ability of also being installed on a server to become a streaming media server makes this one hell of a bargain at the price of ooh erm let me think, oh that’s right it’s free.
Download from: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
An inbound or back link is a hyperlink link from an external website to a page on your site.
So why the fuss?
Google and many other search engines use backlinks as part of their ranking calculation (part of how they determine the order to display search results). Inbound links from sites which already rank highly and which are relevant to your site will improve your rankings.
Getting listed in search engines can take some time. Having a single link from a highly ranked site is usually the fasted way of getting listed.
Tips for increasing inbound links
- Press Releases - always include your website URL
- Relevant Anchor Text - provide people with the text you want them to use to link to your site. Always include keywords
- Web Directories - An important source but be carefull not to waste time and money listing in every directory you can find.
Sound can be used in a several ways on your website. Firstly it can be used as background music so when the page loads a theme will play automatically. This can be useful if you have a theme or jingle instantly recognisable or synonymous with your company, think Coronation Street.
Secondly and probably the most popular use of sound on a website is using sound bites. A Sound bite is normally a small piece of sound which is attached to a player or button so when the user clicks it the sound bite plays. This is used mostly on sites such as www.amazon.com and www.hmv.co.uk were the user can actually listen to clips of tracks before they buy them.
Although not as common in use sound can also be used as a navigation tool within your website. By including a tiny sound clip behind your sites navigational links or buttons it will confirm to the user that a link has been clicked reassuring them.
Have you read Alison’s post about putting your real-world address on your Contact page? I was so pleased to find out that it’s a legal requirement because I’ve been trying to get people to do just that for ages. It’s such an easy way to build up trust with the visitors to your site. And being trusted is crucial when you’re operating online, in a virtual world.
People do business with people. And that’s why its wise to let personality shine through on your site. Slick, shiny and glossy is fine. But people will trust you far more if they know there’s a face behind the machine. So ask yourself these simple questions:
- Do we know who you are? Tell us a little bit about the people behind your business. You don’t have to write too much — just make your people come alive.
- Are there any photos of you and your staff? You wouldn’t believe the difference it makes when visitors can see real human beings. And I don’t mean stock photos of models. I mean good quality photos of you and your people.
- Is the tone-of-voice of your copy conversational? People really like to feel they’re being talked to personally rather than talked at. Avoid hard-sell, in-your-face copy. Better to offer solutions rather than quick fixes in a loud voice.
- Are there contact details on every page? And I mean, every page, not just the Contact Us page. If people can’t get hold of you easily they’ll start by being irritated and end up wondering if you’ve got something to hide. (Personal pet peeve showing its colours, there!)
Remember — you need to give visitors to your site reasons to trust you before you can convert them into customers. Adding that personal touch to your website is a powerful first step.
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