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.

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.

Browse the web or pick up a paper and you can read about the details of Google+, its services and its features, and I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on it in the coming months to see if it sinks, like predecessors Buzz and Orkut, or swims.  But apart from its success or failure, the fact that Google has had another go underlines just how important social networks and social media are.

If we’re looking at this from a business perspective, just look at how Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have developed in recent years, with company pages and adverts on Facebook, corporate profiles on LinkedIn, the wildfire-like spread of businesses on Twitter and the rising popularity of sponsored accounts. Social media optimisation has become de rigueur for businesses and an integral part of website design. Go without it and a company would be accused of living in the dark ages.

Setting up Twitter accounts and Facebook pages, building blog pages, writing blogs – there aren’t many website development projects at Chichester Design that don’t feature some, if not all of these components nowadays.

For a company that dominates the online world, with its search engine and the likes of Google AdWords, Gmail, Google Places, Google Wallet, etc., you can see why it has been so keen to add a social network to its empire. The opportunities are quite mind blowing. Google+ is the outcome of Google’s Operation Emerald Sea; it’s still being trialled but a full launch can’t be far way. At the helm is CEO Larry Page. Let’s see if he turns out be Captain Ahab.

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

It was a really interesting day, opened by SCDF chairman Wayne Hemingway, who got stuck straight in to the importance of design in today’s marketplace. One of his main points was that the design industry as a whole needs to emphasise that design adds value. He also argued for greater focus on creative education in schools.

These ethics are at the heart of the SCDF, which Chichester Design has been involved with since its launch in 2006 – it is celebrating its fifth anniversary in early May with a number of events, including an exhibition at the Oxmarket Arts Centre in Chichester. We helped create the SCDF website and are currently working on some updates to it.

Other speakers included Johnny Grey, who talked about the evolution of kitchen design, Barry Jenkins, who spoke about the history of the work space, and Oliver Heath, formerly of the BBC’s Changing Rooms and ITV’s Front of House.

Oliver Heath gave a great overview of sustainable design for homes, including a showcase of his own house, which he has completely remodelled to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. In discussing strategies to save water around the home, he mentioned the astonishing statistic that we use, on average, 150 litres of drinking-quality water every day, mostly in the bathroom!

All in all there was plenty to mull over from the day and it was great to meet professionals from other design disciplines.

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.

I worked for a large publishing firm which was, let’s say, a little backwards about coming forwards when it came to the deadly importance of online content. As I had experience of Search Engine Optimisation I taught my team what I knew, some of them embraced the knowledge and some of them ignored it but I took the stance that only time would tell…And did you know that for Christmas 2009 the sale of ebooks was greater than the sale of traditional material?  Yes, times are most certainly changing!

I’ve just read an article that debates whether marketing magazines are soon to be superfluous. I must admit that I read this particular article in a paper format magazine and that I do like to read magazines on occasion although my daily thoughts are inspired by what I read online. I will read articles by the same people, or recommended by the same people, time and again because I have come to trust their opinions. The magazine I was reading highlighted some key points as times change about the ever increasing importance of becoming known as an authority in your field to maintain interest when it comes to online content and the possibility of charging for this content.

Becoming known as an industry expert is something that I stress to my clients time and again. The way to get people to read your content is to build your brand around being the forefront expert in your industry so that readers come to trust and respect what you have to say. It doesn’t matter whether you’re sharing recipes, fitting windows or selling used cars, if you can convince people that you know what you’re talking about then you are more likely to gain and retain readers.

This is where blogging becomes imperative. It’s a quick and easy way to talk about your business and related industries while naturally including keywords relevant to your business and introducing more fresh content to your website. Not only that, but the more regular your posts become, and the more comments and discussions they provoke, the more of a trusted source of information you are likely to become and people may begin to spend the money that they would have spent on a magazine subscription on a subscription to your blog.

Food for thought…

Would you pay for online content if it was high quality and from a trusted source or are you determined to stick to reading the books and magazines designed for your industry?

Surely, you’re going to consider creating a blog and becoming the specialist in your industry though, just in case offline content can’t compete? Come on; introduce yourself to Joe Blogger, he’s a useful kind of chap…

Chichester Design can incorporate a blog into your website design and development and their professional copywriter is more than happy to get you started writing search engine friendly blog posts. Contact us today.