Here are some of the services I provide with examples of the
sites they have been used on.
To discuss any web site services you may require please
contact me here.
Ecommerce Websites
I currently use an ecommerce template system for clients who wish to sell products online. These templates are fully customisable and integrate flawlessly into any design.
This gives me the freedom to create bespoke websites for clients, and integrate
the ecommerce system into that web design. An example of a website that
I have implemented this sytem into is the Paul
Jenkins Sculpture website. This website has all the basic features
of an online shopping cart and is linked to Paypal as a payment provider.
An example of another website using this system is the Perfect Secrets Lingerie website. Some of the scripts were modified by a local PHP developer to include
extra features, such as the rollover zoom on the product page. However, the main PHP engine behind the website is the fully customisable ecommerce template.
Search Engine Optimisation
I always make sure websites I build conform to W3C web standards, which makes them accesible and search engine friendly.
From here on SEO is an ongoing process involving multiple techniques such
as link building, keyword optimisation and content managment. Establishing
which techniques are most appropriate for your website is also ongoing
and may be subject to change as we assess search engine performance.
Search engine optimisation is now an essential part of web design and is
almost more important than the design itself. There is no point having
a great looking site if no one can find it!
I have written a few tips in the blog section below that may help you understand
better how search engine optimisation works.
Content Management
Some businesses require the ability to manage their own website content.
This can be done by implementing a client side content
management system (CMS), whereby 'managers' of the website can login to the back of the website
and add/edit/delete content without having to contact me. For example on
the First Time
Flyers website, the owners of this business wanted a 'car sales' page,
which would need to be regularly updated. Subsequently, I implemented
a CMS that was only applicable to the car sales page and this works very
well.
However, in cases where clients require the ability to update large
sections of their website regularly, a more comprehensive CMS is more
appropriate. An example of a website in which I have implemented such
a system is the Swindon Crime Partnership website. I also have experience
with Joomla, which is a well established and powerful CMS system whic
can be used for a variety of functions.
News/Blog...
Google indexes relevant forum posts in results
(01/10/09)
Google has added another feature to the way it displays results.
Now, relevant forum posts will be displayed as links, for example if you
are searching for directions to somewhere then relevant discussions about
this subject will be displayed as links. This feature should make it easier
to locate relevant forum discussions, which can often lead to the most useful
solution.
This is the second feature that displays yet more links on the Google search
results. Currently search results for pages with clearly defined sections
will be displayed as links to these different sections.
New lingerie site launched
(29/09/09)
Perfect Secrets is a UK based high end lingerie retailer with which
I am the lead designer for the website. The site has now been fully launched
and is already trading! The site will be advertised on a local
radio station and initially aimed at regional market with an eye for becoming
more nationwide throughout the year.
Google doesn't recognise certain meta tags
(20/09/09)
It has been apparent for a while that Google doesn't recognise certain
meta tags when indexing website, such as 'keywords'. However, Google has
just announced this publicly. Meta tags like 'description' are still indexed
for some search results but Google has made it clear that these are not
influencing rankings.
This comes as no surprise for most webmasters as anyone who keeps
in touch with Google search ranking critieria will know that inbound links
and content are treated as the most valuable.
...back to top
Google to change ranking algorithm (15/09/09)
Due to an ever increasing number of spammer like websites that appear
in Google search results for specific keyword searches, Google have made
it known that they will be introducing measures to counteract this.
There are many so called 'black hat' techniques being used in order to place malicious websites upon the first page of Google for certain popular keyword searches. These websites target specific keyword searches that can often be relatively long and therefore not exist in full on a genuine website. These malicious websites threaten the validity of Google search results and therefore the trust people may have in Goolge. It is for this reason that Google will attempt to change their search engine algorithms in order to prevent these types of websites from entering the results.
Directories discredited by Google (10/09/09)
Google recently removed directories as a factor affecting their Page Rank
system. This has caused a minor stir amongst the webmaster community which
have for years understood that links from directories such as Yahoo and
DMOZ have counted as Google backlinks and therefore had a positive effect
on Page Rank. It is now apparent that Google does not credit these links
as valuable incoming links.
Search engine critieria (06/09/09)
Ever changing criteria for popular search engines means web
designers
have to keep up to date with the latest trends. It is important for webmasters
to keep in touch with search engine trends and try to understand how systems
such as the Google 'Page Rank' system affect traffic volume to clients
websites.
One easy way to improve or maintain high rankings within search engines such as Google is having regularly updated content. This can be important for search engine optimisation, if a site has a 'latest news' page or automatic RSS feeds this can have positive effects on search engine rankings.
Search Engine Optimisation Tips
1. Establish the main search term you wish to promote. Identify
the key phrase or word that you feel people will type in to a search engine
in order to find your site. For example I am currently trying to promote
the term web design Cornwall as I feel this is the most relevant search
term to the content on this site. Due to this, the terms Web
Design and
Cornwall are placed frequently throughout the site and are contained within
header tags within the index page.
2. Make sure title, description and keyword tags are content specific and not too lengthy. A few years ago it was possible to achieve improved rankings by using a large quantity of keywords with many repitions of words in different phrases. Nowadays more advanced search engines like Google only use meta tags and keywords for cross referencing but it is still a very important factor affecting rankings.
3. Due to Google 'Page Rank' system, inbound links remain one of the most crucial ways of improving rankings. Google will rank sites using a system of 'votes' and the more votes your site has the higher your page will be ranked. Votes can be translated as a link to another site, so if your site has a number of links from content related sites then Google will consider it more important.
4. Regularly updated content. This ensures Google and other search engines
don't become used to the same old content and therefore become 'bored'
of your site. Popular ways of achieving updated content can be news bulletins,
blogs or forums.
We can provide client side content management systems whereby users of
the site can login to a background admin system and add, edit or delete
data that is displayed on the site.