Andrea Cards Select Website Design Company in Stafford

Vicky Andrea has selected Rake Mark Solutions, a Website Design Company in Stafford, for the re-design of her Andrea Cards and Andrea Craft websites. This is the second Website Design project that Rake Mark and Andrea Cards have carried out. Vicky said, "Sarah is so easy to talk to, she really listens to what I want and then advises me on the best way to get it."

Dynamic Website Content

Vicky wanted to be able to update some of the pages so she could add dates for her craft classes and give her customers information about new products and workshops and upcoming shows she would be attending. Rake Mark offer 4 main options for customers who want to be able to update their own information on their websites.

RM Simple CMS – This is great for quick changes but is limited once the design has been agreed and is not ideal for customers who want to add new content or pages to their website
WordPress – Although WordPress is mainly used for blogging it can be used for a number of different scenarios and is a great low cost option for many customers.
RM Portal Software – RM Portal is Rake Mark’s own software which is adapting and growing all the time in accordance with our customers’ needs. The whole ethos of RM Portal is that it is easy to use, so you can be flexible and have control of your site. If you can use a word processing package like Microsoft Word, then you can use RM Portal.
Enterprise CMS Solutions - There are many larger systems like Joomla and DotNetNuke are available but these are not always very easy to use and if they are difficult to use then this takes the control away from the user. Often in these projects, the training cost can be higher than the cost of the development.

Vicky chose to use WordPress and explained her choice by saying, "They went through some different options with me. I wanted to be able to change the information on some of the pages and I wanted a blog. I only had a small budget so I asked Sarah to use WordPress."

The website is due to be launched later in 2010.

About Rake Mark Solutions

Rake Mark is a Website Design and Online Marketing Company based in Stafford and serves the whole of the West Midlands. Rake Mark has been commissioned for projects involving a diverse range of clients from smaller local businesses to Premier League Football Clubs.
Sarah Brassington is the Managing Director of Rake Mark Solutions. Sarah established her own website design company in Stafford in 2006. Her first office was in her dining room, which she quickly outgrew. Sarah juggles her busy web business around a husband, three children and a rabbit called Flopsy.

Website Developer’s Friday Fun: Interesting Qualifications

Cricket Fun

Well we’ve been busy working on Website Design Projects all week at the offices in Stafford, so I think for my Friday blog its time for some fun. Now I know this doesn’t really relate to a blog from a Website Design Company, but I thought a fun post would be a good to unwind ready for the weekend (and make a change from the Friday Rant!)

I’m a big cricket fan but rarely get chance to watch games on TV, due to work and family commitments, but I do follow the live text and commentary on the BBC more often. On most days a really juvenile discussion breaks out from nowhere and during yesterdays live text commentary someone mentioned that Geoffrey Boycott had received an honorary degree and this lead to a spate of degree related gags, the best of which are below.

“I studied washing machines at university – came out with 30 degrees.”

“Re: Washing machine degrees – many years ago when I studied Washing Machines it was 40 degrees. How standards have dropped.”

“Re. washing machine degrees – I’ve got a PhD in them, I’m a spin doctor.”

A guy called Charlie said, “I graduated with a washing machine degree last year, but with the credit crunch and lack of graduate jobs, I feel like I’ve been hung out to dry a bit.”

To which someone replied, “Sorry to hear about that Charlie, but don’t worry, I hear these things go in cycles…”

Incidentally, I hear he [Morgan – an England Batsman] did his degree in ballet, but he only got a tutu.”

I did my degree in lift engineering, not a bad three years, had its ups and downs…”

And finally, my personal favourite,
I’ve just finished my MSc in Sandpaper Studies. Big subject that – after a whole year I’d only really scratched the surface.”

Have a good Weekend,
Phil

US Consumer Survey Gives Facebook the Thumbs Down

It’s the most popular website in the US but according to the results of the recently released American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), our cousins across the Atlantic are not happy with the social networking giant. Is this a case of ‘cake and eat it’ or are consumers having genuine issues with Facebook?

Privacy Issues and Interface Changes

Well publicised privacy issues are sure to have had an impact on Facebook’s very low satisfaction index of 63 (scored out of 100), which is the lowest of the social media sites that were scored and even lower that another poorly performing industry, the airline industry.

Frequent changes to the user interface has also been a regular gripe of Facebook users, along with increased, in your face commercialisation, with annoying adverts that are supposedly targeted to the user. These issues have seen Facebook score a customer satisfaction score lower than other social media websites like MySpace and well below the score of 77 for the ever consistent Wikipedia.

Social Media – User Generated Content

Social Media websites are composed primarily of user generated content, with the website owner creating the framework within which the subscribers’ community can flourish. While its true you can’t please all the people all the time so some dissatisfaction is always going to be present, Facebook and others must begin to take note of their subscribers concerns or the next big thing could swoop in a very short space of time. Currently there is no heir apparent to take Facebook’s crown, but that socially aware organisation must be there, waiting in the wings. It took Facebook about five years to go from 1 Million active users to 500 Million active users leaving MySpace eating their dust, so once the next big thing emerges, it’ll only takes a few clicks and a few months for a thriving community to jump ship and take up residence in a new Social Media location.

How to Create and Run a poll with Facebook

We had a question emailed to us from a client recently on the subject of Social Media Marketing and how to setup, run and create a survey or poll using the Social Media Giant Facebook Polling Application. With the overall aim to ‘home in’ on a specific range of their website users.
So thought I would share the answer with all:
Creating a Facebook Poll

Ok, assuming that you have a Facebook account-

  • Open a browser window and go to Facebook Poll Creater
  • Select the page (If you have multiple pages) that you with to publish your poll too
  • Enter your poll Question (don’t forget to make it really clear what you are asking)
  • Enter you option
  • Leave all check boxes unchecked
  • Click ‘create poll’

That’s It! Poll created.

Post to your wall, copy & post the URL onto your website, blogs, twitter and any other sounding board you may have. All you have to do now is monitor your results, analyse and draw your conclusions.

Great job done and all at completely no cost other than the time it took you to create and manage the poll.

Want more?

As you would expect with any online business upgrading to a ‘Paid’ version gives you greater control benefits.

With the ‘Paid ’option:

  • Facebook allows us Target our Audience – send it to say all 24–29yr olds who live in Stafford, Staffordshire
  • You can cap your responses to say 100 voters
Social Media Marketing

This is a great way to get a very quick feeling about any given topic.

Facebook provides full and detailed demographics of your poll so that you can turn clicks, votes and options into user’s needs and a way in which to fill those needs.

Facebook Polls are a great way to encourage interaction with your clients (and potential client).

More Questions (I will keep this updated as more arrive)

Q. Can I add a question when I have already launched the poll?
A. NO
Word Count – 305

Google makes websites with news, blog and forum articles top dog

google_caffeine




Ok so we all know about online marketing, SEO, SEF, keywords, Meta data and numerous other acronyms that if you are anything like me drive me totally insane, but are we (that being the royal we) taking full advantage of the tools and platforms that we have readily available to us already.

Long gone are the days where Search Engine Optimization is a “Black Art” and only specific companies charging equally mysterious amounts in fees can help with your search engine optimization, search engine positioning and page rank.

Google has to be one of the most recognized search engines in the world, to such a degree that we actually use the term “Google It” instead of what we really mean which is to search the internet so I will base my comments and thoughts around them.

Google inc make no secret on how you can achieve good website position and page ranking in their search engine, they obviously don’t tell all but provide some great tips on what they see as important. They describe one of the most important steps to improving your website’s ranking is “Relevant Content”.
Google’s newest release “Caffeine” highlights the importance of marketing techniques such as blog articles, news articles and even forums posts. Caffeine web indexing means that new content will now be indexed faster and your website updates will appear in a more “real time” way.

So I guess what I am saying is Google just made the Social Web, Business Blogging, Forums and articles on our websites an even more effective way to promote your business.

Word Count – 263

Facebook Hits 500 Million Active Users

On his blog today, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook has reached the 500 million user mark. He said,”500 million people all around the world are actively using Facebook to stay connected with their friends and the people around them. This is an important milestone for all of you who have helped spread Facebook around the world. Now a lot more people have the opportunity to stay connected with the people they care about.”

This is a staggering achievement considering that Facebook had about 1 million users at the start of 2005 and that Facebook’s popularity has spread mostly via word of mouth. In the face of protests over interface changes, worldwide controversy over privacy and threats of a boycott from thousands of users in May this year, Facebook still added 100 million new users in the last 6 months alone.

One Billion Facebook Users, ‘Guaranteed’

Mr Zuckerberg recently said that the site was “almost guaranteed” to reach one billion users. And while Facebook grows without pause, Facebook’s social media rivals shrink to the sidelines. MySpace has about 65 million users, which only appears insignificant when compared to Facebook. Another rival of days gone by, Bebo, was sold earlier this year by AOL just 2 years after it was bought for $850 million.

With 500 Million active Facebook users around the globe and with Facebook’s founder as much as ‘guaranteeing’ an additional 500 million active users in the not to distant future, is ignoring this fabulous free resource something that any business, big or small, local, national or international can ignore any longer.

Social Media Support for Businesses in the Stafford Area

Rake Mark Web Solutions is a Stafford based website design and online marketing company helping local businesses make the most of Facebook and Twitter and they could help you tap into this amazing resource. Call Sarah on 01785 256 222 for further details.

Are You A Website Copy Writer?

Website Copy Writer

Copywriters are talented people don’t get me wrong, but writing copy for the web is different than writing copy for print and using copy in your web page that has been design specifically for print could spell disaster for your online effectiveness.

In the cyber world it may seem like the programmers and designers have the ultimate control and power of either the success or the failure of our website, yet if you look closer it is the words, and placement of those words that drive user interaction. The specifically designed logo or the clever section of code that work seamlessly behind the scenes are all major parts of a successful website but it is the words that bear the weight of how we influence our users, convey our marketing messages and convert the sale.

5 Tips to Improve Your Website Copy

  • Use Effective Headings
  • Your headings should be eight words or less.
  • Don’t use vague headings – remember you have only a few sections to grab your user’s attention before they move on.
  • Include keywords in your heading text.
  • Remember you can use your headings as links to more information within your website.
  • Title, Title, Title
  • Don’t under estimate the power of the title tag of your web page – this is another area that you should be looking to use keyword rich phrases.
  • Use different titles, don’t just copy and paste, this is another opportunity to shine brighter than you competitors.
  • Drive, Guide & Help Your User
  • Drive your user to take the steps that you want them to take.
  • Breadcrumb incentives are a great way in influence activity on your website.
  • A clearly labelled activity path will increase activity along you “Customer Experience Path”.
  • Stay Connected
  • Make your pages and content naturally progressive, use links to expand on information and products
  • Linking to relevant content or being linked to as the source of relevant content will be beneficial to your page rank.
  • Know what you’re Selling
  • DON’T babble on about what your widget is capable of by providing a huge list of features, it’s probably of little interest and is a poor way to fill what is prime Real Estate space on your page.
  • DO tell your user how the widget will benefit them, how it will make them look or feel, be brutal and tap into the users “needy” side – we all have one.

This is by no means all there is to writing web copy, but maybe a few pointers in the right direction.

Word Count – 448

Rake Mark Release New Website Portal Application

Today Rake Mark Solutions, a website design company in Stafford have announced that they are releasing a new version of their Web Portal Software, RMPortal. The new version will include two new components, one for listing company contacts and one displaying testimonials on your website, and also an upgrade of the existing News Portal Application.
 
Sarah Brassington, Rake Mark Web Solutions Managing Director, said ‘The new components will follow on from the RM News web application. They will follow the ‘Simple-CMS’ philosophy, making updating your own website easy and hassle free for non-technical users.’ Sarah went on to say that ‘Existing customers should receive an email later this week offering a free upgrade to the new version of RMPortal, but they can call us in advance if they want to get upgraded faster!"

Totally New Website Experience

The new release of the portal so new that the marketing copy isn’t finished yet, but the new pages for the Rake Mark website should be up early next week, highlighting the new features and benefits of the new components. More to follow

About Rake Mark

Rake Mark is a Website Design and Online Marketing Specialists based in Stafford and serving the whole of the West Midlands. Rake Mark has been commissioned for projects involving a diverse range of clients from smaller local businesses to Premier League Football Clubs. Sarah Brassington established her own website design company in 2006.

Phil’s 5 Quick Tips for Successful Blogging

Blogging is a great way to share anecdotes, information and ideas in an informal setting, but writing for your business is a slightly different task. What you write will affect your business, if it didn’t then why would you write it, so you need to make sure that the effort you put into blogging translates into a positive effect.

Blogs are designed to be written by opinionated individuals, they are by nature not simply the imparting of impartial information, so you have to walk an interesting line of being able to share information and opinions, keeping your audience engaged but not alienating them.

So here are 5 quick tips to simple blogging. 

1. Develop a Good Writing Style

Use good grammar and spelling and don’t use text abbreviations. If your writing is sloppy then this will be reflected on your organisation. If you sit at a table in a restaurant and its sticky and dirty then your opinion of the restaurant is going to go down. If the blog is haphazard or poorly written then this is going to reflect badly on your organisation. You use an informal, relaxed and laid back style, of course, it’s not going to be a marked essay, but it does need to obey the rules of good written English.

2. Be Consistent and Write Regularly

Google likes regular content. Your readers will like regular content. If you regularly write 10 posts per month and then stop for a couple of months any readers you have will drift away and Google will stop visiting as well. Blogs with big holes always look like the company concerned just had better things to do that look after their customers, like a shop with no-one at the till. So pick a number of blog posts per month you have time to write and then stick with it. If you can’t keep it up then lower the number of posts, but keep going and try to be consistent.

3. Stick to the Topic

Stay relevant and on the topic you started with. A blog’s not your life story, it’s a single idea explored in a bit of detail. If you move around different themes within a single post then you are going to lose your audience. Similarly, if you go into too much detail in a single post your audience will not finish the post. If your article is more than a couple of pages in Word (around 1000 words) then I tend to think that you may have more than one blog post there and it is worth splitting it out into a series of posts. You can list them over a few days.  

4. Link to Relevant Additional Information

Links within a blog can offer more information about something you are describing or you might want to point at a product you’re promoting. Also, since I just gave you a max of 1000 words and you need to be concise within your blog, then appropriate linking will help your readership find out more or buy that product if they want to. You can link within your own site or you can link to another (non competitor) site. It all helps demonstrate your knowledge, inform your readership and with your SEO.

5. Have a sense of Humour

When you’re writing your blog, try not to take yourself too seriously. You may cover a serious topic that requires a certain gravitas, but on other occasions, if you can submit your information with a light hearted and laid back tone then your readership will find it easier to digest. Try to bring some humanity to your writing and try to connect to your readership.

So the key to good blogging is, use good English, stick to one topic per blog and keep it short and sweet. Write regularly and write with a sense of humour. Hopefully some new bloggers will find this helpful in their early days, I sure could have done with a few pointers when I was writing my first blog.

Word Count: 755  :)

BBC Launch Their New Look Website

Yesterday was the official launch of the new look BBC website. According to Erik Huggers’ online blog, the new online website design is "…part of an ongoing process to make BBC Online feel like one coherent service, rather than a disjointed collection of websites". There is new Navigation, to give easier and faster access to the most popular sites, a new media zone, to help showcase a wider range of content on the home page and a load of new design improvements. The homepage alone has a range of design tweeks that make it load faster.

Partnership with Social Media Websites

Mr Huggers also revealed some information regarding the much talked of partnerships with Social Networking sites, like Facebook and twitter. He said "In addition we are also introducing to news the results of partnerships with social networks, improving the way users can share and recommend content on other platforms with their friends."

With the release of Google caffeine recently, it seems that the BBC, with their new website design, are also taking into account the new importance of links coming in from Social Media Websites, like Facebook and twitter.