This was a great project to work on, not least because we worked with a very nice people at the Oakman Inn Group. The company has spent a lot of time and effort refurbishing this pub, turning it into a very desirable destination, as you can see from the photos on the site, and they wanted to update their website to match this feel.

Our web and graphic designers created a smart, fresh-feeling business website that is easy to navigate and shows off everything about the bar and restaurant that makes it that little bit special. Visitors to the website can get an immediate flavour of the pub and what it offers.

Social media optimisation was another part of the project and we integrated Facebook and Twitter accounts into the website, which also features a blog and a gallery that enables the pub to keep regulars and newcomers (and everyone in between) up to date with what’s going on. In addition, the Old Post Office’s Trip Advisor profile is integrated into the site, with a link on the homepage.

The Oakman Inn Group comprises a number of other bars and restaurants and we’re working on those at the moment as well. I’ll post an update when those go live at a later date. But right now, it’s cheers to the Old Post Office in Wallingford.

To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Michelle on +44 (0) 1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.

With Google Analytics Real-Time plugged into a business website, the impact of any piece of digital marketing, whether it’s the uploading of a business blog or a web video, social media activity, or the hosting of a live event, such as a webinar, can be instantly tracked.

I think this immediate tracking capacity will be used most, initially at least, to measure the impact of social media. Not only will
businesses be able to instantly see how blog posts or posts on Facebook or Twitter are performing, but when the same information is put out across different media, they will also be able to see which one is driving the most traffic to their website.

In addition, by being able to instantly measure the performance of social media activity in terms of depth and duration, a business will also be able to see more accurately when it needs to re-engage with its customers (a benefit that also applies to general digital marketing campaigns). Businesses will be able to better apply social media optimisation and better plan the use of web videos, webinars, etc., creating more efficient and effective overall online marketing strategies.

The data generated by Google Analytics Real-Time is incredibly valuable for businesses as the supervision it allows provides a
previously unattainable capacity for making improvements in a short time frame. I think that Google Analytics Real-Time permits the kind of fine tuning that is vital to sales growth.

To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Michelle on +44 (0) 1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.

Facebook’s subscribe button is a clever response to Google+ Circle and a shot across the bow of Twitter – it allows a user to follow anybody’s or any company’s public updates regardless of whether they are Facebook friends. I think this opens another social media optimisation opportunity for businesses.

Companies already use Facebook local business pages and targeted advertising to market to the 750 million plus people that use the social network and the subscribe button presents a new avenue of development. Expect subscribe-related marketing
campaigns to spring up soon.

Mentioning Zuckerberg’s latest update also lets me demonstrate the power of social media for businesses. We build and run social media marketing campaigns at Chichester Design and the tweeting by Lily Allen of a recipe by our client The British Larder caused a huge spike in attention for the foodie company and has helped increase the number of visitors that their
website receives.

Getting more visitors to your website is a sure-fire way to generate business, which is what social media optimisation is all about. We’re able to track all this information thanks to a tool called Tynt Insight – I talked about it in a post last year. It’s ingenious and, when attached to a site, helps to increase web traffic, achieve stronger search engine optimisation, measure visitor engagement and improve online brand profile.
To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Michelle on +44 (0) 1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.

The design and build of a new website has been the focal point of the project and a highlight for me of this part of our work is the 3D wire-frame graphics we’ve used to demonstrate the company’s work with Formula 1 companies and elite automotive manufacturers.

The work that Formaplex carries out is very technical and one of the key challenges for us has been creating a new website that found the right balance of illustration and copy to clearly showcase what the company does. As well as the graphics we used, our photographer was busy on site getting a wide range of images.

We have also provided Formaplex with new branding, including a new logo, which can be seen across its online presence, in its
offices and factories, and on the road. We’ve created new signage, stationery, van livery and a wide range of customised workwear for the company.

Going back to the website, it is fully search engine optimised and social media optimised. Formaplex now has a presence on Twitter and Facebook, and its own blog. Our copywriter works with the company to create their posts.

This has been a great project to work on, and not just because I got to see some Formula 1 car parts up close.

To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Michelle on +44 (0) 1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.

In recent weeks, I’ve mentioned a number of new website design projects, including live website moderation company disc.cuss.it,  domestic and commercial fencing firm Knight Fencing and engineering company Formaplex, and social
media optimisation is at the heart of all of them.

Get the social media marketing strategy correct and it will reap many benefits for a company. Just ask another of our clients, The British Larder. One of their recipes was re-Tweeted by Lily Allen and the traffic to their website went through the roof. Facebook, LinkedIn and the rest can have the same impact.

Of course, a social media strategy for a big brand will differ from that for a SME. For starters, a smaller company will have fewer
resources, both in terms of money and time, but using Twitter, Facebook, etc. can be just as successful for a small business as for a larger one. As I’ve said before, interaction is vital. Here are some other tips for businesses on using social media.

Going back to the football, Football League sponsor Npower has launched Club 72, a Foursquare-esque social media game for fans. The game is centred on fans collecting virtual badges and showing off their love of the sport. It will also help build
awareness of the Npower brand among a huge demographic. Very clever.

To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Michelle on +44 (0) 1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.

Buying online – I’ve blogged recently about how we trust the internet more than we do the TV – but this time it’s a different aspect of e-commerce that’s on my mind. The launch of Google Wallet has got me thinking about mobile browsing and mobile payments.

Mobile payment is by no means a new format, and the technology is much more developed in the Far East, so Google is hardly a pioneer. However, it has the power to bring the technology to the masses and quickly. So, if I were an online retailer, I’d be seriously considering how my website works on a mobile phone.

How we use the internet, whether it’s using maps to get round, reading the news or striking up conversations on Facebook or Twitter, has changed remarkably in recent years: we are doing a lot more of it on our mobile phones. Nearly a year ago, Ofcom said that almost a quarter of the UK’s mobile phone owners used their handsets to access the internet and that this number was rising.

So, as consumers are increasingly doing their browsing on the go, it is important that online retailers have websites that are fully accessible in this format. And, this format means not just one smaller size, but several. From Google Android handsets and BlackBerry to iPhones and iPads, there are a lot of different screen sizes, and a website design has to be adaptable to them all. Mobile optimisation is a must, both in terms of reading and navigating content and purchasing from an e-commerce website.

I’m looking forward to the growth of mobile payments. “Wave and pay” is the future – I already use a bank card that allows me to do that. The emergence of Google Wallet will undoubtedly speed things up. Orange is working with Barclaycard and Samsung, and O2 is planning something similar this year. We are living in an ever more mobile world.

To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Ben on +44 (0) 1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.

As you might expect from a company that supplies and installs a wide range of gates and fencing, a strong visual approach to showcasing their product range was important. The new website has images of all the fencing, gates and garden products in their portfolio, each with a clear and concise description.

The fully search-engine optimised new website also features a blog, so the company can keep visitors informed of new products and other events and developments, such as new contracts.

Showcasing a project is always a good way of generating business and we set up a Knight Fencing Facebook business page and Twitter account to go with the new website. The company’s blog posts are uploaded to their accounts, giving their news wider coverage. As I’ve mentioned before, social media optimisation has fast become a must in the business world.

Our copywriter is working with Knight Fencing to produce the blogs, making sure they are well written, get over the right information and are fully search-engine optimised. He also worked on the copy for the rest of the website ensuring that, in conjunction with the design, visitors to the site receive a clear understanding of what the company offers and can easily navigate to the pages and products they’re interested in.

To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Michelle on +44 (0) 1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.

When the article says shouting and not listening, it doesn’t mean companies have an over-fondness for capitalisation (although our copywriter may like to argue that point), what it is saying is that social media marketing is being treated too much as a one-way conversation. Naturally, conversations are much better and more beneficial when there’s more than one person involved.

Big companies can throw resources at the problem, draft in consultants and develop expertise, but that approach isn’t generally open to SMEs, which have to incorporate such development on a much smaller budget. This is where the importance of a business blog comes in. Posts don’t have to be written in-house (Chichester Design offers the service), but they can serve as a central platform for in-house social media use.

Link a business blog to Twitter and Facebook accounts and the posts can be used to nurture conversation. And businesses shouldn’t worry over content – “we don’t have enough interesting stuff to talk about” is a common cry – this is where a blog-writing service (and a copywriter) comes into its own. With the application of creativity and a bit of lateral thinking, there will be something to talk about every week.

I think SME owners have to set some of their own time or that of their employees aside for social media marketing, but the process can be made easier, more professional and less time consuming by investing in a business blog-writing service. As the article says, social media marketing is a busy place nowadays and, hence, benefiting from such a strategy requires a bit of thought.

To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Ben on +44 (0) 1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.

What are sacrificial anodes? Good question! You don’t hear too much about these strips of metal, but they are vital to stopping the corrosion of important parts of boats, such as hull plates and rudders. Anodes are attached to the underside of a boat and they attract the corrosion instead of the metal components of a boat.

Anode Outlet is a brand new company and their USP is that they offer a comprehensive, single-site online anode shopping service that isn’t available anywhere else. The website features two unique anode selection tools, which we built, that allow boat owners to find the anodes that match their vessel.

The site also features an online shop, so including e-commerce functionality was part of the job spec. Thanks to the ingenuity of the Chichester Design team, once a boat owner has found their anodes, with a few simple clicks they can be through to the checkout and their anodes will be on their way.

Also on the website are product videos, links to Anode Outlet’s Facebook and Twitter pages and a business blog, all of which was set up by us. The use of social media marketing is becoming increasingly popular as more and more companies switch on to the power of marketing their products and services using social networks and we’re doing a lot more work in this area.

We are seeing more and more demand for web videos as well. Web videos not only work as part of a social media marketing strategy, but they also improve the effectiveness of a company’s online profile by augmenting website SEO. And, gratifying Google couldn’t be more important!

To find out more about Chichester Design’s web design and development services, contact Amy on +44 (0)1243 787542 or info@chichesterdesign.co.uk.