Your design decisions will depend on the type of site you’re publishing. Personal sites, entertainment sites, and corporate e-commerce sites all have different priorities and abide by different guidelines, both in terms of content and how that content is presented. And, as you might have already guessed, it depends a lot on your audience, their reason for visiting your site, etc. Good and bad design decisions are always relative. There are no “nevers”— there’s always a site out there for which a web design “don’t” makes perfect sense and is really the best solution.

The following dos and don’ts apply to the formatting and structure of the whole page

DO…

Keep all file sizes as small as possible for quick downloads. - Quick downloads are crucial for a successful user experience. If your pages take forever to download, your visitors may grow impatient and go surf elsewhere. At the very least, they’ll get cranky. Google have also recently announced that websites with a faster download time are more likely to get ranked higher than those which are slow, click here for more information.

DO…

Design for a screen size of 800 X 600 pixels unless you are certain that your audience will be viewing your pages with a different configuration. - When you design larger page sizes, you risk parts not being visible for users with older, smaller monitors.

DO…

Put your most important messages (who you are, what you do, etc in the first screenful (the top 350 pixels of the page). - Most users make judgements about a site based on that first impression, without taking the time to scroll down for more information.

DO…

Limit the length of your pages to two or three “screenfuls.” - Longer pages that require a lot of scrolling are unmanageable for online reading and make it more difficult for readers to find their place. For some reason, users do not like to scroll; they’d rather keep moving forward. It is better to break long flows of text into a few separate pages and link them together.

DON’T…

Design specifically for one browser or platform, unless you are 100% certain your audience will be viewing your pages under that configuration. - You never want to alienate your visitors. Nothing is more off-putting than arriving at a site only to find a sign that says, “You must have X browser running on X platform with X, Y, Z plug-ins to use this site.” The only thing worse is to find that nothing works.

DON’T…

Use too many animations, especially on pages with content you want people to read. - While animations are effective in drawing attention, users find them annoying and distracting when they are trying to read the text on the page. Even one looping animation can be an annoyance to some people. A whole page of spinning and flashing is a disaster.

If you would like more information on website design or would like us to take a look at your current design then why not get in touch. We love to talk with businesses and discuss what they currently have digitally as well as looking at what options are available for them to move forward.

June 30th saw us present yet another of our locally renowned seminars at the beautiful Donnington Grove Country Club, this time in the Kennet suite. Around fifty delegates from companies spanning a whole variety of industries attended, including people from CSC, Hyperbole, Verbatim and many, many more. We kicked off the seminar with some light refreshments and networking and with the excellent weather, the mood was fantastic. Once much of the coffee had disappeared, our attendees were ushered into our very own Mr Joe Baily’s introduction and presentation. Joe discussed the way in which we here at Generate UK operate and work with clients, as well as discussing the underlying foundations and technologies that should support a business’ online marketing activity. Will your CMS grow with your company, or will it stop working as soon as your growth explodes? Does your marketing roadmap include the latest social media platforms? Are you missing out on any key marketing activities, like e-mail marketing for example? This helped open some eyes and hopefully encouraged our attendees to look at the road ahead, why update your strategy now… When the wheels of the underlying vehicle will fall off in the near future? You might as well get both right now to save a lot of heart ache and expense in the long term!

Michael Robinson then took the reigns and went on to explain some of the jargon and terms commonly used in the Internet marketing industry. Many questions were asked and many were thusly enlightened on the subjects of ‘Black hat’ vs ‘White hat’ SEO techniques and ‘Google Bombing’ among many others. This demonstrated that in having knowledge of all the different SEO and Internet marketing approaches, we can better advise and improve upon our client s online activity. This put to rest many of the doubts our delegates had regarding things like Google AdSense, Pay Per Click, Keywords and link-building where they had bad experiences in the past when working with less experienced or ‘black hat’ agencies.

The seminar was then adjourned for another round of tea and coffee so that we could make our way around and speak to many of those who attended as possible. We found that our delegates had differing reasons for attending, but many were surprised by the planned scope of the event and were very much looking forward to seeing the rest of what we had to offer.

Having set high expectations with the first half of the event, it was then down to our guest speaker Mr Ian Summerfield from Optim IP to continue the trend. Ian presented on the subject of Cloud Computing, a technology that has been around for quite sometime, but is only just entering the mainstream. Ian certainly delivered; his presentation roused many questions as some of our attendees could not believe that they could compute with incredible power, on inexpensive devices through a service provided from half way across the globe. Ian illustrated that the use of Cloud Computing is not a question of if, but when. Microsoft is giving the cloud their full backing, and more and more charities rely on cloud computing as a cheaper, more flexible alternative to maintaining their own infrastructure. Not only this, but many other platforms will migrate to the cloud from film rental, to console gaming which will dramatically change the way businesses utilise their marketing channels and the way in which they manage their customer engagement. This gave our audience much to think about as they were about to be instructed on the use of design in marketing.

Matt Lewin and I presented on a number of related subjects that determine whether or not your website design is current. I began by introducing on-page SEO, navigation and web standards as well as their affects on accessibility and design. Many people do not give these points the consideration that they deserve and to illustrate their significance I showed how many larger organisations have been sued for ignoring these points. After all, in not adhering to these guidelines, you could be damaging your user experience for up to 48% of your audience.

I then handed the talk over to Matt so he could talk our audience through the importance of designing a website with their key marketing activity and priorities in mind as well as demonstrating how a company web page could be better built for user interaction through portals and social platforms.  The reason being that marketing is moving to a more integrated and interactive paradigm and some smaller companies are falling behind the trend and could potentially be losing business as a result. Matt also talked our delegates through the process of determining their site sizing and layout so that it engages the user in all the right ways, ultimately delivering better returns and conversions which should be a part of every businesses marketing strategy.

To top off an already brilliant event, our very own social media guru Mr Ian Fergusson began to convert our audience into becoming more social media savvy. Ian shocked our audience with impressive facts and creative figures on the sheer volume of social media users and then went on to tell us that if Facebook was a country, it would be the 4th biggest country in the world behind the US based on registered users alone! If that was not shocking enough, Facebook itself has seen a dramatic shift in demographic from 16-18 year olds to mainly 45-54 year olds! So it is certainly no longer a ‘kid’s thing’ which makes it a marketing tool to be considered much more seriously as part of an integrated marketing arsenal. This talk was well received all round with many delegates asking for training and tips on how to leverage these platforms properly themselves.

After the presentation, we took questions from the floor and explained some of our fields in more depth. We were then locked into deep marketing conversations with many of our delegates 1-on-1 to advise them on some of the marketing issues they had stumbled across quite recently. We talked these through with them and suggested ways they could perhaps revisit these activities and tweak their approach to better their results.

We love to help people and businesses with their online marketing and the feedback we received on the number of free tools we gave away and the advice we included in our seminar was astounding. So much so that we are currently planning another event to invite you all back to! If you would like to request access to the presentations from our great speakers, then please click here.
I look forward to seeing you all again in the future!

Kind regards,
John King.

The travel industry however has diversified and the way people find and choose their holiday each year has become very different. More and more people are turning to the Internet to research their destination, their accommodation, decide upon their itinerary and then find the best possible price.

Fare Wise Travel has built an amazing reputation for providing quality service and fantastic adventures. However they needed a way to effectively communicate their services and experience to those potential clients and to proactively target those that search the internet out of office hours. They understood they too had to embrace Internet marketing to succeed in this swift changing business environment and so they turned to Generate UK.

A website was agreed to be an essential part of their business moving forward, acting as Fare Wise Travel’s shop window out of hours and proactively generating inbound enquiries and leads.

Following an initial meeting to understand Fare Wise Travel’s website requirements it was clear that the business required an easy to operate content management system (CMS) so that Fare Wise themselves could update products, create promotions and new travel destinations as and when needed. Generate UK was chosen as the partner of choice due to their online experience in delivering stunning websites using the correct technologies for the appropriate business requirements.

From a design perspective it was vital that the new site represented the great travel destinations Fare Wise offered including communicating the fact that they were not a typical travel agents trying to find and sell the cheapest package available.

Using Generate UK’s proven project methodology; the process to launch was exceptionally efficient and completely visible throughout. The website now provides Fare Wise with a platform to continually build business through. The website design includes stunning imagery from around the world and the content is synonymous with the great service Fare Wise offers.

Veronica Bailey, Director of Fare Wise Travel stated “I wanted to work with a company that understood our business and what we were looking to achieve. Our old site was completely out of date and we needed a dynamic looking site which represented the unique service we offer. Generate UK were excellent and I now have a website of which I’m exceptionally proud. It has already provided enquiries and I’m looking forward to developing the site moving forward to generate more business. Generate UK really did encapsulate exactly what we’re all about, our style, personality, great experiences and quality service. I look forward to working with them again.”

www.farewise.com

Here at Generate UK we believe in leveraging the best technologies and methods to suit the specific needs of your business. This successful, tailored approach has delivered business and opportunity to our clients time and again. If you too would like to find out more on our stunning web design and user-friendly CMS solutions, please visit us at www.generateuk.co.uk

PROJECT AIM:

The Accessory Queen approached Generate UK to help build a new ecommerce website which would help expand the company’s operations and provide the business with a future proof website ecommerce platform to grow as the business develops.

As a result the ecommerce system was critical to the project. It was important that the backend system was exceptionally easy to operate, to process the orders whilst automatically keeping customers informed throughout the ordering process. It would also allow The Accessory Queen to easily manage products, pricing, content and promotions. Just as important was the systems front end allowing the ordering process to be efficient, without a lengthy account sign-up procedure, ensuring that the whole process was as simple as possible.

Design was essential, developing a site design which represented the traditional retail shop, the quality products and service on offer, whilst showcasing the products through easy navigation was critically important.

SOLUTION:

Generate UK’s Shopping Cart, providing The Accessory Queen with an ecommerce solution which met the immediate and future requirements of the business. The shopping cart allows an easy buying process for the consumer and enables the business to easily manage their products and promotions online.  Through a powerful backend ordering system

A design was created utilising soft colour palettes and a clean structure which represented the business and allowed for customers to easily locate products and brands of choice.

RESULT:

• A website that encapsulates the essence of what The Accessory Queen offers to the market
• A website design which showcases the plethora of beautiful products available through the site
• A website which allows users to easily locate and purchase products
• An  online vehicle to increase sales and expand operations

“We’re exceptionally happy with the end product and results; it’s allowed us to start targeting new opportunities through new products and different markets reaching a far bigger audience. We were really impressed with how Generate UK approached the project, they made it really simple to for us to understand and provided fresh and new ideas. The design really does encapsulate what we’re all about and the excellent communication throughout the project allowed us to understand what was expected of us and schedule time where appropriate, which is always a challenge!” Sarah Lovell , The Accessory Queen Proprietor.

Visit The Accessory Queen

Senspa was in need of a new website as its existing site not only failed to represent their brand and the experience Senspa offered, it also lacked the required functionality to move the business forward.

The design was out of date and hard to navigate so after producing a website project brief, Senspa proceeded to review suppliers and following a comprehensive tender process Generate UK was chosen.

Senspa’s business development plan was to increase website traffic, improve how they interacted with their online community whilst striving to increase online sales and business.  They were confident that once a person had experienced the luxurious hydrotherapy pool, soothing thermal rooms, revitalising sensory showers, indulgent treatments and exquisite Thai food they would certainly come back to embrace their unique experience again.

Part of the overall process was to seek a new platform that provided stability and an online marketing agency to deliver their online vision.  Generate UK was chosen due to their design, project management, online marketing expertise and experience in delivering successful online solutions within the leisure market.

Sitekit content management platform was chosen based on its ease of use, excellent publishing process and management tools. This would allow Senspa to market their website, embrace online technology and build a business upon a future proof and powerful web platform.

On top of designing and integrating a new website Senspa also required a bespoke online booking system and package chooser which would allow the user to interact with the website, book packages spa breaks and day experiences whilst collaborating with their internal business processes.

Lina Lotto Senspa Director commented, Generate UK have exceeded what was originally asked of them, taking an idea on paper and developing it right through to a beautiful website which now represents all that Senspa is about. We are now working with Generate UK to help support and market the site moving forward. Our website traffic has already increased by 50% month on month since we launched in January.

The result: With their proven project methodology Generate UK used their online knowledge, design and development expertise to produce a website which not only represents the experience Senspa offers but developed a website that provides Senspa with a platform for future business growth.

Generate UK, a dynamic and commercial thinking digital marketing company based in Newbury, Berkshire offer professional web services and a number of other related online marketing services that would add value to any commercial and public sector organisation.

Thatcham Jewellers, near Newbury in Berkshire is an independent retail jewellers, set up by Penny Morgan in 1983. As a business Thatcham Jewellers has built a fantastic reputation locally and is the perfect place to locate that special gift or item of jewellery.   Since its formation Thatcham Jewellers has successfully built a reputation for quality and expertise.  This joined with the choice of stock, service and value for money is a powerful combination.
With the growth of the internet and the amount of potential business available Thatcham Jewellers felt that it was essential that they moved with the times and created a brand new website.

Thatcham Jewellers met Generate UK through a seminar attended by Penny and from the word go were able to give Penny the confidence that Generate UK could build her a fantastic and reputable new website.

Following a scoping meeting to understand Thatcham Jewellers website requirements it was clear that the business required an easy to operate content management system (CMS) so that Penny and her team could update products and create seasonal promotions as and when needed.   Generate CMS was chosen as the system of choice due to its ease of use and flexible platform that allows anyone with a non technical background to manage and develop their own website within in a secure working environment. This would provide Thatcham Jewellers with the control needed and ability to continually develop a professional website.

From a design perspective it was important that the new site represented the style of products on offer which were traditional, fashionable and contemporary. As well as the importance of design it was equally important to allow the user to navigate easily throughout the site, showcasing the products through eight identifiable categories and encourage enquiries. After a number of design concepts Generate UK used the favoured design and integrated it upon Generate CMS and worked with Thatcham Jewellers over the project period to optimise and format the content which they provided. 

Since the launch of the website Thatcham Jewellers have now opened the doors and business to a far greater audience, the World Wide Web and they have already experienced a significant increase in enquiries.
Penny Morgan, Owner of Thatcham Jewellers stated “I was seeking a reputable web company to work with on this new venture as the website represented a substantial investment for the business. It was essential that we invested into a web platform that allowed us to easily manage the site moving forward and allow us to quickly update and build upon the fantastic site we now have. Generate UK really did encapsulate our style and personality as a business and I look forward to working with them again.”  To visit the new website please click here.

If you would like to learn more about this project or to arrange a demo of the Generate UK Content Management System, please call us on 01635 550431.

Part of their continued development plan is to forge closer ties through effective partnerships with organisations and local people. Part of that process is to bring more health services closer to local people by effectively communicating them through an interactive and informative website.

NHS South Gloucestershire required a new website after their previous one became out of date and hard to navigate so after producing a website project brief, they proceeded to tender for a new public facing website and following a comprehensive tender process Generate UK won the project.

“We chose Generate UK because of their obvious enthusiasm and commitment to service.  This project demonstrates a significant investment by NHS South Gloucestershire to help increase communications within the local community and it is imperative that we get it right.  After a rigorous tender process we believed that Generate UK’s partnership approach to their clients gave us the comfort we required to take that next step” Sue Pratt - Communication Manager, NHS South Gloucestershire.

The project involved building a new public facing website which complied with W3C web content accessibility standards and conformed to priority level 2 AA. The site was to be built upon Sitekit content management system and the design was to take on a clean, concise and attractive look and be compliant with NHS guidelines and colour scheme. Overall the design, structure of the site and information was to enhance the end user experience and be reflective of the South Gloucestershire population.

The Generate UK project team worked with the PCT’s communication team and through detailed project scoping were able to understand the exact requirements. This was fully documented and used as the base for the project to move forward to the design phase. Through the production of wire frames this enabled the designs to be structured in a clean and precise fashion taken into account all sections of the website’s navigation, usability and accessibility.

The result: Generate UK used their online project experience and proven methodology to produce and deliver and excellent new public facing website for the PCT. http://www.sglos-pct.nhs.uk/

Generate UK, a dynamic and commercial thinking digital marketing company based in Newbury, Berkshire offer professional web services and a number of other related online marketing services that would add value to any commercial and public sector organisation.

We are exceptionally happy with our new site, Generate UK have excelled during the project through excellent communication, creativity, online knowledge and overall project management. We now have a website that is easy to navigate, is far more interactive and presents NHS South Gloucestershire’s information and services to the local community which is easy to assimilate thereby forging closer relations. The next step is to create a staff area for the site to help increase the levels of communications with our employees - Fiona Reid – Head of Communications, NHS South Gloucestershire

When brainstorming for that ‘perfect marketing idea’ what is more important, strategy or imagination? In most cases, the answer depends on the personality type of the responder. In our world of digital marketing, we get different responses depending on whether the individual is a design type or a technical type.
  
There’s no real right or wrong answer, they both co-exist very well together. Imagination without strategy means that your ideas aren’t targeted. These ideas are usually very pure and very exciting. They can sometimes be recognised as more ‘art’ than ‘design’. 

Strategy and knowledge without any imagination doesn’t get you very far. It makes thinking of new ideas almost impossible, when the brainstorming process happens, you have to fall back on experiences you or somebody else has already had. You end up just recycling ideas that have already worked in the past. 
 
It’s at these times when strategy will get in the way of anything new.
Looking closely though, I believe there is a third facet, without which both imagination and strategy are useless - it’s the ability to translate ideas into action. That is, making an idea become reality.
 
Yesterday we looked at a top London design agency’s quarterly newsletter. The design is OK and the strategy easy to understand - it’s a collection of stories written by different members of the business.  

The difference is that the ideas are realised without any compromises - raw ideas. Reading the newsletter, it made us laugh out loud, some of their ideas that stood out are some of the best and most original I have seen. The funny thing was that that these were creative ideas that were not accepted by their customers. 

There are probably hundreds of design agencies that produce ideas of the same quality, but because their ability to translate ideas into action isn’t good enough they may never have that sort of impact. 
 
My younger brother is a Graphic Designer, he gets annoyed when he shows me his portfolio and so many of the original ideas are no longer visible because the client or account manager demanded so many changes. His ideas start as fresh and raw but then become increasingly strategy led as the evaluation process goes on. 

As a designer myself, I hate seeing my original ideas become watered down. That’s why it is important to have a well balanced team where everyone understands their strengths and roles in the ideas process. 

I do not think that there are many marketers or designers who have the perfect balance of imagination and strategy but the difference will always be the in the ability to translate ideas into reality. 

Generate UK can help you find original ideas that communicate exactly what you want to your customers. We draw on experience from our knowledge of marketing strategy and our tuned imaginations. Additionally, we can show you how to take your internet marketing to the next level, making it more targeted.  Call us now on 01635 550431 involve us in your next marketing campaign.

And yet, as we conduct our daily lives we find business after business with no real internet presence. In fact, 44% of small businesses still do not have a web site. This is a staggering percentage given the advantages a web site can bring to your business and the relatively low cost of delivering a new site! 

For example, how else could a retail business sell their products to a global market or trade 24 hours a day, seven day a week without significantly increasing overheads? 

The anonymous nature of the Internet provides a huge opportunity for small and medium enterprises to close the e-business gap by competing at the same level as large organisations. The home-based office has become as important as a million-pound business park location. And of course, this has had a positive effect on the market for the customer by increasing competition and driving down prices. 

The message from the consumer market is very clear; the Internet is a necessity. In a recent survey completed by Plusnet, 92% of those questioned said they would keep their internet connection despite the current economic slowdown. In fact, 30% of UK broadband users would rather give up their magazine subscriptions, cigarettes and alcohol than their broadband connection. 

The availability of the internet across the UK is also set to improve with the governments Digital Britain report. Communications minister Stephen Carter laid out the government’s vision for the future of technology by pledging that every home in the UK will have access to broadband at speeds of 2Mbps or more by 2012. 

Consumer expectation has also had a major role to play. On the whole, if a business has a web site the consumer perceives increased confidence in that company. In fact, the opposite is potentially true. A web site is a much cheaper option than a retail premises with a high street shop front. 

When was the last time you made a medium (or large) purchase without thoroughly researching your product options on the Internet first? The research opportunities are almost endless: from consumer testing to forums, professional reviews to comparison sites, and that’s before you consider the manufacturers own web site. 

As more and more consumers research their purchases from the comfort of their home, I ask again; can your business afford not to have a web site? 

Can Generate UK deliver your new web site? If you would like to talk about our services and what we could do for your business, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01635 550431. Please feel free to post your comments.

To support their continued success, Momentum decided that they would look to identify new channels to showcase their work; particularly on the Internet where they did not have a web site. It was expected that the website would support new business initiatives and help drive new sales enquiries.

The brief was to deliver a website on a limited budget. The web site had to also support continued growth and therefore needed to be flexible in terms of adding and editing content.

Generate UK consulted with Momentum in order to understand their exact business needs, web requirements and what they saw as the role of the web site.  Both parties worked through the Generate Web Development Checklist which ensured that all success factors were logged and agreed in advance.

During this stage it was established that Momentum wanted a simple web site that showed new and existing customers details of their projects. The site should not be too many pages and encourage visitors to contact Momentum.

The project lasted six weeks from sign off to completion and is evidence that you can produce a professional website on a small budget. During these tough economic times the Internet represents a very effective opportunity to grow a business. Generate UK are delighted to be working with Momentum as they begin their online adventure.

Aidan Dear, A Director of Momentum stated “Generate UK understood our business needs from day one, our budget was restrictive however Generate UK delivered a fantastic site and the service first class” 

Click to view the Momentum Sash Window site.

If you’re interested to discover what Generate UK can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01635 550431 or via our site. If you’re quick, you can still take part in our New Design for 2009 promotion.