Posted At : October 15, 2009 8:54 AM
Related Categories: Web Development

Understanding a client web site design brief and turning the objectives into a reality can lead to really creative and complex, but simple to use solutions. Understanding the process and making it happen is part of the fun of 'making things work'.

There are a number of solutions available today for managing websites. These range from bespoke implementations performing specific tasks to extensions to existing open source content management systems and blogging tools like Joomla and WordPress. These tools allow you the additional flexibility of using 'plugins' to enhance their functionality that are either written specifically to meet the needs of a brief or are made available freely through the open source community of developers.

After searching long and hard for a component that would enable us to display the latest post from a WordPress blog on the homepage of a Joolma driven website we decided to develop our own. There was nothing freely available and the few 'paid for' solutions where hugely over complicated for what we needed.

For those reasons we've decided to make this component freely available to anyone who wants it. Your Joomla and WordPress installations need to be running on the same sever. WordPress also needs a plugin enabled named Get My Link (just to get a post's permalink) which is included in the .zip file. The download includes the Joomla module & WordPress plugin. Within the module you are able to display the excerpt content, the number of words and the database connection can be set in the advance configuration parameters of the module. Enjoy! If you download it and like it please leave a comment :)

The downside is that this is not an ongoing project and unfortunately we are unable to provide support for it. As such you download it for free, install and use at your own risk.

Posted At : January 30, 2009 2:05 PM
Related Categories: Web Development

Posted At : October 4, 2007 12:54 PM
Related Categories: Web Development

As a business we've invested lots of time and money in extremely comprehensive enterprise web applications - an excellent coldfusion content management system, document management systems and e-learning engines. They look great and work even better and we're at a point now where we're considering the future of one of the technologies that we use. There's no doubt that ColdFusion is an excellent application development environment but its biggest downfall is the cost. Given the choice, clients will opt for 'value for money' products and when you consider that competitive application servers are open source or free - whether it's ASP.NET or PHP, it's hard to understand why Adobe insisted on increasing the price of ColdFusion for the latest release.

Strategically their thinking makes no sense unless they are trying to kill the product off. The developer community is shrinking and it would seem more sensible to open source the application server and offer suites of well supported add-ons for sale. As ever the developer community would rise to the challenge and a range of well crafted and supported applications would be available for free but this is where Adobe would have the edge with their brand adding consumer confidence to any purchase. Who knows what the future holds for Adobe's application server but I know that I'm getting to a point where I'm tired of having to remind clients that they need to buy ColdFusion in order to use some of our products.

Posted At : June 25, 2007 4:41 PM
Related Categories: Web Development

Updating your website doesn’t have to be painful. We provide content management solutions that put you in control of maintaining and changing your website to best reflect your company’s evolving image. Content management systems are quite a straight forward idea, giving you control of your website and letting you change things when they need to be changed without relying on third party intervention to do it.

Whether you need to regularly update price lists, post new articles to an employee newsletter or make changes to technical documents, a good content management system will make it easy. We design websites and content management systems that help you and your employees do their jobs by providing:

• An intuitive user interface that’s easy to understand and use
• A streamlined workflow so that each document is passed along to those that need to sign it off
• Layers of security so that each employee only has the access and authority that they need to do their job properly
• Databases to manage all of your documents securely and efficiently

Originally developed as a way to easily allow non-technical users to publish information to a website, content management systems have evolved into robust business solutions that allow you to monitor and manage changes to all sorts of documents. They also allow you to distribute the workload by managing and updating documents among the departments and employees that are creating them, as well as providing a true collaborative environment for your employees to create new content and material.

Contact us for information on how a bespoke content management solution can help your firm accomplish its online marketing and advertising goals.

Posted At : June 22, 2007 4:37 PM
Related Categories: Web Development

We understand that website design is about more than how your company looks on the web. A pretty website is only part of the equation, and we aim to deliver a total solution. Our designers are experts at creating eye-catching, innovative websites that suit your business and its image – but we also deliver far more than that.

A design that takes your online marketing strategy into account is vital to the success of any online business. We provide effective and stylish website design services that put your online goals in the forefront. We focus on building sites that meet high usability standards, are technically excellent and offer real value and benefit to both your firm and its customers. Whether you require a few pages for informational purposes or a full-fledged content management system, our team of  specialists can provide you with the perfect solution.

Our website design services include:

• Full website design
• Update and redesign your existing website
• Provide content management solutions
• Branding and brand recognition services
• Search engine optimisation services
• Custom website graphics
• Custom programming including Cold Fusion,PHP and .NET
  
• Website design consultancy
• Content management solutions
• Shopping carts, catalogs and ecommerce design
• Ongoing website maintenance

If you’re in the market for an upgrade or a new website design, contact us to see how our website design services can benefit you.

We offer SEO and Web Design Services in Buckinghamshire, High Wycombe, Maidenhead, Marlow, Slough, Reading, Oxford, Windsor, Hemel Hempstead, Berkshire

Posted At : June 20, 2007 4:32 PM
Related Categories: Web Development

Your website is more than what your customers see. A well designed site also makes it easier for you and your employees to do business by providing a secure space for exchanging information, updating content, communicating with each other and streamlining procedures. Intranets and extranets are ways to securely share a central body of information and tools with all of your employees.

What's the difference between intranet and extranet?

An intranet is a private network that uses internet protocols and connectivity to share information among employees of a firm or business. It's rather like a website that only your employees can access. You can use it to host databases, content management systems, staff information, time clocks and bookkeeping applications. Intranets may be used to offer training modules, facilitate communication with discussion boards and serve as a central calendar for the entire company.

An extranet is a private network that uses internet protocols and connectivity to securely share information with partners, vendors, suppliers, customers and affiliates. An extranet might be used to host price lists that can be easily updated, take orders from customers, maintain technical documents and facilitate collaborations among multiple firms without giving any one of them access to the others' entire secure network.

Why intranet and extranet applications are important to your business

Applications that are shared on intranet and extranet applications allow firms and employees to share information and collaborate with each other on projects. They may be as simple as a shared pool of documents, like order forms and catalogs or as complex as whiteboards, chat spaces, discussion forums and development environments. Intranet and extranet spaces are invaluable for streamlining the flow of information and avoiding duplication of work.

Posted At : June 18, 2007 4:28 PM
Related Categories: Web Development

Is your website accessible?

Most people would be stumped by that question. Few outside the industry have any concept what web accessibility is, let alone how to accomplish it. Yet, accessibility and usability are two very important concepts of web design today. An accessible website is one that conforms to standards that are designed to allow everyone, regardless of disability or technological limitation, to access the information it contains. Accessibility includes making your website viewable to all browsers, as well as conforming to design standards that make it easy for those with impared vision and hearing to access your content. An accessible website invites everyone to enjoy, not just those who can meet a certain standard of technical ability.

Why address accessibility and usability issues on your web site?

Ethical considerations aside, making your website accessible to all means increasing your audience. The more people who are able to view your site, the larger your potential audience becomes.

Whereas accessibility focuses on the ability of all types of browsers (including voice browsers for the visually impaired) to read your content, usability focuses on how easy it is for your visitors to navigate your website and find what they need. Both accessibility and usability can be built into your website from the start. Good website design makes your site accessible to all, and easy to use for everyone. Excellent website design goes beyond accessibility and usability standards and uses the principles of accessible website design to steer your visitors into using your website in the way that you want them to use it.

We specialise in creating accessible and highly usable websites by design. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help you increase your website’s accessibility and usability, contact us for a chat.