Thursday 20 December 2012

Single Page Websites (Capturing Specific Searches)

There are a number of cases where single page websites are suitable for a business.

For example, where you want to target a specific Google search for a service or product or where there isn't much you need to say about your business and / or you just want the site as a reference to point potential customers to that you have gained elsewhere.

It is all depends on the number of keywords and phrases you want to appear in a Google search for. The more products or services you offer and the greater the competition in your target area, the more web pages you will need.

Specific Keyword Sites


The following three stand-alone sites are examples of capturing very specific searches with links to direct potential customers to the main website:


Holding Websites


A single page website featuring your logo, business name, address and telephone numbers can also be useful as a holding page for an email address or domain registration where you want to reserve a domain name, but aren't ready to create a website yet.

Friday 14 December 2012

Code Tip #2 - Rounded borders on images in CSS3 without putting them in background (or using overflow:hidden;)

It's been a long time coming, but this is our second coding offering. It was discovered after trawling through the internet and not finding quite the right solution for a problem.

The scenario is a familiar one. You want to add a rounded border and perhaps a drop shadow to an image, but the required CSS3 isn't supported in all browsers.

There are a number of solutions out there that put the image in the background to solve the problem, but our images were part of the page content and we wanted them to be easily available for printing. Another solution uses overflow:hidden;, but we found that was not reliable across all browsers.

The Problem


Just to recap, this is the code that we would expect to be supported, but isn't:

    .image_rounded_shadow {
        margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px;
        padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px;
        border: solid 1px #BDBED9;
        background-color:#F5F5F8;
        box-shadow: 1px 1px 6px #888888;
        -webkit-box-shadow: 1px 1px 6px #888888;
        -moz-box-shadow: 1px 1px 6px #888888;
        border-radius:10px;
        -moz-border-radius:10px;
        -webkit-border-radius:10px;

    }
  


    <img class="image_rounded_shadow" src="[Your Image]"/>

Which produces the following result:


The Solution



After trying a number of solutions suggested on-line, we hit upon using a span and effectively applying the border-radius twice, which seemed to work nicely.

    .image_rounded_shadow {
        display: inline-block;
        margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px;
        padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px;
        border: solid 1px #BDBED9;
        background-color:#F5F5F8;
        box-shadow: 1px 1px 6px #888888;
        -webkit-box-shadow: 1px 1px 6px #888888;
        -moz-box-shadow: 1px 1px 6px #888888;
        border-radius:10px;
        -moz-border-radius:10px;
        -webkit-border-radius:10px;
    }

    .image_rounded_shadow img {
        margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
        padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
        border-radius:6px;
        -moz-border-radius:6px;
        -webkit-border-radius:6px;
    }

    <span class="image_rounded_shadow"><img src="[Your Image]"/></span>

Which produces the desired result:

Notes


Take note that the border-radius for the img tag is smaller in relation to the border-radius being applied to the span. You will need to experiment if you wish to use a different radius.

No doubt, this post will not be relevant forever as browsers catch up, but for now this appears to work in IE, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari and all the mobile browsers we tried.

Questions


If it works for you, spread the word and perhaps add a link somewhere back to this page.

If you have any questions, submit them below, but please make sure you've read the whole post before asking for assistance.

For Interest


The building pictured is Angkor Wat (minus scaffolding) in Cambodia, probably one of the most impressive driveways in the world.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Blog Authoring

As well as web design, EasierThan Website Design also offer blog authoring and other social media management services, for example for Facebook and Twitter.

These can be provided as a stand-alone service or as part of a wider search engine optimisation package.

Example Blogs


Take a look at the following blogs for examples of our work:


Improved Google Rankings


A well maintained blog with interesting articles can help to improve your Google rankings.

If you would like to maintain a blog for your business, but don't have the time or inclination to do it yourself, why not give us a call?

Website Revamps

EasierThan Website Design can revamp your exisiting website to attract a wider audience and take advantage of newer web technologies (such as CSS3).

Take a look at our recent work done for Centurion Blast Cleaning Ltd of Leyand.

Before


After


Whether you're an existing customer or a new one, give us a call to review your website.

Sunday 11 November 2012

Complex Website Forms, No Problem!

Looking for a website with complicated forms? How about a five page (or more) job application form?

We've just added such as thing to a customer's website.

Giz a job!


Having received a number of enquiries from people looking for work in the scaffolding industry, the director of Apex Scaffolders asked us to add a form to the site so that prospective employees could send details of their scaffolding experience, etc..

The form was added as a link from the websites site map so that it is available to the public, but not an integral part of the site.

Apex Scaffolders are scaffolding contractors based in Fleetwood, near Blackpool in Lancashire offering scaffolding services throughout the North West of England.

Website Design


If you're looking for a website for your business, why not contact EasierThan Website Design?

Sunday 14 October 2012

Nearly All The Trades

EasierThan Website Design has now been up and running for nearly three years and in that time, we have nearly got a full set of Trades Websites.

The services our websites have helped to promote now include:


Looking at the state of our own driveway though, I think perhaps we ought to employ some of these services ourselves? A phone call to Driveways specialists, Northern Cobblestone might be in order!

Trades Websites


Whether you're a local leader in your field and hoping for first page Google rankings or just looking for a showcase website to demonstrate your standards of work to potential clients, EasierThan Website Design can help to make sure a website works for you.

Call us now for Website Design and Search Engine Optimisation services in Blackpool, Preston, Lancaster and surrounding areas.

Customer Focus (Accountants, Garstang)

Fiona Wills Accounting Services Ltd is an accountant with a difference. She comes to see you!

Providing Accountants services throughout much of Lancashire and Cumbria, her services include:

Mobile Accountant


If you ever get tired off shutting up your business for a few hours whilst you go and see your accountant, then why not give Fiona Wills Accounting Services Ltd a try?

Unlike most accountants, she is a Mobile Accountant and comes to you to collect paperwork, discuss your tax options and more, meaning that you don't have to leave your business unattended.

Throughout Lancashire and Cumbria


From her home in Garstang, she operates throughout much of Lancashire and Cumbria with clients in Lancaster and Preston, and as far north as Penrith and as far south as Chorley.

Sunday 29 July 2012

Badminton Website Template (Special Offer)

We're keen for our BaddersWeb badminton association website template software to get a foothold in the market and as such we're currently offering a significant discount.

Half Price

Associations that sign up before the end of 2012 will benefit from a half price Year 1 cost of just £250 (including domain and set-up) and a low ongoing annual cost of £100.

An Absolute Bargain!

The product is highly specced with a public facing front-end and admin back-end, which are rich in features to handle club, league, cup, tournament, inter-league (town teams), news, association history, downloads, officers, committee information and more. 
If you represent a badminton association or league, which doesn't have a website or which has one that isn't quite up to scratch, then BaddersWeb could be for you.
Visit the website for more details: www.baddersweb.co.uk 

Monday 28 May 2012

Customer Focus (Temporary Kitchens)

On-Site Kitchen Rentals Ltd are specialists in the supply of  Temporary Portable Kitchens to prefessional caterers across all business sectors, including:
Whether you need to Rent a Kitchen following an emergency, as a replacement during refurbishments, for a building site or to cater an event, On-Site Kitchen Rentals Ltd will design a bespoke solution to meet your exact requirements - from a replacement kitchen for a small pub through to catering for a conference of thousands.

Catering Equipment Hire


All kitchens can be tailored to suit your needs from their large range of Catering Equipment for Hire and further equipment can be sourced where necessary, along with meeting any special requirements you may have including branding and legal obligations.

Throughout the UK and Europe


On-Site Kitchen Rentals Ltd operate nationwide, with satisfied customers throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

They also supply temporary kitchens to Ireland and mainland Europe, including: Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland and beyond.

Sunday 13 May 2012

Looking for a Business Website?

Are you thinking about a website for your business? EasierThan Website Design provide reasonably priced web development services with the emphasis on functionality and end results.

From Introductory Websites and Photo Gallery Websites which allow you to showcase your work, through to On-line Shopping Websites (also known as eCommerce Sites) and Content Management System Websites which feature a user friendly back-end admin area, we can help to make the internet work for you.

All of our Website Design solutions include Domain Name Registration, website hosting and Email Addresses as standard, which are charged on an annual basis.

And unlike some web developers, we provide a complete service, both developing your website and then promoting it. After all, unless anyone knows it is there, you're unlikely to get any new customers from it.

Our Search Engine Optimisation services will help to ensure it gets found on Google and other search engines for relevant phrases and keywords.

Plus, we'll also give you advice on other ways to promote your website on-line including Yell.com and Social Media Websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

So, thinking about a website for your business? Why not give EasierThan a call...

Saturday 12 May 2012

Fresh Website Design for EasierThan Site

Whilst working hard on your client's websites, it is perhaps too easy to forget your own and leave it to stagnate, omitting to update content as you tackle new and bigger projects.

So, with a little free time, we set to work creating a fresh new Website Design for the EasierThan Website Design main site, which will also be replicated on holding sites whilst they are under development or their domain name is up for sale.

The new site is also set to benefit from some extra efforts at Search Engine Optimisation in order to push it up in Google and other search engines.

And to help potential customers in their decision making, we've added lots of screenshots of our previous works, along with significant extra text describing the various types of website available and why you might want each of them.

We've remained true to form though in not making it too technical. After all, the reason for asking us to develop a website for you is that you don't want to have to learn how to do it yourself.

Right, I guess we'd better to get back to working on some customers' websites now!

Searching For Driveways

As any business that has had a website for any length of time will know, there is one thing above all else that is most important when it comes to Website Design.

It isn't what the website looks like, nor how fast it loads, how often it is updated or even how many visitors it receives. It is whether or not they get any enquiries from it.

True, all of the above may affect that outcome to some degree, but the one thing that will guarantee a website doesn't produce customers is if they don't know it is there in the first place.

If your website doesn't appear in the first two pages of Google results for relevant search terms, then unless you're doing a lot of self promoting by other methods, the chances of getting any new customers from it are zero.

The act of ensuring such all important search engine rankings is known as Search Engine Optimisation, the cost of which depends on the products or services a business is offering and the level of competition in their target area for those products and services. For example, a hotel in Blackpool will require much more effort than a farrier in Lancaster.

As part of the Web Development process, EasierThan Website Design will work hard with your available budget to ensure the best search results, giving you an honest evaluation of what is possible and what isn't.

For an example of our work, take a look at one of our recent customers, Northern Cobblestone of Poulton-le-Fylde, who offer pattern imprinted concrete driveways, patios, paths, steps and more throughout Blackpool, Preston, Lancaster and the wider Lancashire and North West area.

Thanks to a successful campaign, they're now receiving calls from all over Lancashire. A search for the terms 'Driveways Blackpool', 'Stamped Concrete Driveways Preston' or 'Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveways Lancaster' or any combination of the three all now feature their website in the first or second page results.

So, if you have a website that isn't getting you the results you'd hoped for, get in touch via our main website and give us a try.

Sunday 1 January 2012

New Year's Resolutions

Another year for EasierThan Website Design and things are looking good. Business is picking up nicely and we've got work on the books for the foreseeable future *.

So, with 2011 behind us, a few resolution's for the new year::
  • Revamp the EasierThan Website Design website. Its starting to look a bit worn now and could definitely be presented with a clearer layout for the customer (and Google!).
  • Start work on promoting the BaddersWeb badminton website template software for take-up in the 2012/2013 season.
  • Implement brief exercise breaks during the day to allow for stretching and other physical exertion. No, not that!
  • Banish dreadful (yet distracting) daytime television from the office. Background music or radio only for 2012.

Happy New Year!!

* Note, if you're reading this and you want a website, more is always welcome!