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Accessible web design for private sector businesses

Here are a couple of reasons why all companies should have a Website DDA Compliance Check done on their website: 1) If a person with disabilities has difficulty using your website they could pursue litigation against your company under the DDA 2005 2) You want to reach the whole of your target market....

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Website Redesign – why do you need one?

Posted by The Geek | Posted in Accessible Web Design, Business, internet marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Usability Consultancy, Usability Consultation, Usability design, User Centred Design, web design, web design barnsley, Web Design in Yorkshire, Web Design Usability, web design yorkshire, Website Usability Testing, Website User Testing | Posted on 06-09-2010

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Ok so if you’ve found this post the chances are that you’ve either got an old website which needs updating or you’ve only recently had a new one created for your business but think it may be lacking a little something.

Let’s begin by looking at a few simple indicators that your website needs a complete revamp or maybe just a few little tweaks here and there. A professional web designer should have the experience and expertise to redesign or tweak a website solution to your requirements. But it isn’t always that simple. What if your requirements were wrong in the first place or your website are been built on an unsuitable solution to grow with your business.

So let’s look at a couple of typical fixes to common website problems. Unfortunately not all problems are straightforward so it’s always best to look at the website in the context of the business requirements before undertaking any potentially expensive remedies. The following the meant as a guide only as multiple variables could have compounded the problem.

Problem: Website slow.

Potential Issues: Server speed, image size, code quality.

Solutions: Change server, optimise images, optimise code.

Problem: Poor organic SEO conversion rates.

Potential Issues: Poor website copy, inaccessible web design, usability issues.

Solutions: Enlist the help of a professional copywriter, perform an Accessibility Audit, undertake Usability testing.

It is worth noting that the accessibility testing and its remedial actions should always precede usability testing. The design recommendations of the accessibility testing should be incorporated into the website before usability testing is carried out by people with disabilities.

In my opinion a complete redesign is only required if the original design’s fundamental design is wrong. The decision of whether to redesign, revamp or tweak should be made during the Analysis phase but it must be noted that a website should be a constantly changing entity anyway.

Websites in Barnsley

Posted by The Geek | Posted in Accessible Web Design, Business, internet marketing, Other interests, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Usability design, web design, web design barnsley, Web Design in Yorkshire, web design yorkshire, Website Usability Testing | Posted on 19-05-2010

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Just been looking through a few Barnsley business websites today. There’s some pretty good ones out there but there’s always room for improvement. I tend to always view a website from a user’s pont of view rather than from a designer’s perspective. Ultimately your end users is the one who will be visiting and revisting your company website again and again. Come on business owners, start listening to what your website’s visitors require from your website and get a redesign done to accommodate your users needs.

Websites in Barnsley come in all shapes and sizes but most of them could be improved in some way.

Get a Website Audit today from Computer Coders Ltd to help identify key areas for improvement.

Internet Marketing Barnsley – Social Media Marketing

Posted by The Geek | Posted in internet marketing | Posted on 08-08-2009

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Internet Marketing Barnsley

Internet Marketing Barnsley – why do we need it. Well, if you’re in business you need Internet Marketing Barnsley because it is a cost effective form to reaching your prospects and generating those oh so important leads.

Your prospects are online searching for you

In the current UK recession, consumers and business decision makers are looking for value. Purchase are made much more warily. People use search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing to check out products and services before they purchase them. They read reviews and gather opinions before going for it. Long gone are the days when consumers go into a shop and buy items speculatively. People trust other buyer’s opinions. Honesty in enforced when people get together. Community. Online communities are now growing. Communities of people with niche interests are forming online and have been growing for some time. This trend looks set to continue with the advent of Social Media.

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing – what is it? Communities online such as Facebook, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Why is Social Media Marketing useful to your business? All businesses have their ups and downs and all business owners make mistakes every now and again. Afterall, humans run businesses and humans have flaws. If we make a mistake in business and our product or service we get bad PR. It is how we respond to this that differentiates us from a good business or a bad business. It is hw we sort out the problem. If a printing company sends 250 business cards which are cut incorrectly we expect to have another 250 cards hand delivered and money off our next purchase right? We expect to have the problem solved and a little extra to show that we truly are valued customers. Oh and, the quality control is tightened up for next time right?

Social Media highlights problems about our company

So consider the above scenario then think about the unhappy customers who don’t phone us to complain and just go elsewhere next time. We don’t find out about our quality control issue until it’s potentially too late and another 500 customers have received the same faulty business cards. I know, I know, our quality control should also be subject to quality control but this is just an example. But how do we find out about this problem? Google yourself. Check social media sites. If someone wants to complain these days they can reach a wide audience online for free.

Social Media helps you keep more customers

So continuing from the above scenario – what do we do next. Well, Dell famously started to reply to their unhappy customers and sort out what was wrong. They entered dialog, got to the route of the problems and provided resolutions, proactively. Rather than reactively.
That’s fantastic right? So how does your company start using this? Just sign up to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace. Also, have a blog created for your website. Your website will probably be updated less frequently than your blog. So direct your social media visitors to your blog rather than your homepage. That’s it in a nutshell but you’ll probably need an Internet Marketing expert who knows about Social Media Marketing to aid at some point to get the most out of it.

Social Media isn’t just for proactively dealing with problems

Social Media Marketing also allows you to develop a relationship with your prospects online. As I said early about people in a recession looking for value and trusting less. Well, people are more likely to trust their friends and colleagues. If I want to go to a new restaurant I ask for referrals. Word of mouth works very well online too. So how does this all work? Well, as you develop connections and followers using social media people get to know you. People tend not to trust the usually marketing spiel on websites. Then when you need to impart information about a new product or services, or an event that you are involved in then they get to know about it straight away. Whether it’s via RSS, Twitter, Facebook, Facebook or LinkedIn. Updates and messages can go directly to your email. Also, imagine being able to speak to decision makers who you wouldn’t normally be able to get to using telesales because of gatekeepers.