Was Brands In Public Run Out Of Town?

• Those with a keen interest in online reputation management will have detected the stir caused by Brands in Public – Seth Godin’s Squidoo spin-off. You might also have heard that a tide of criticism caused a bit of a rethink and change of approach.
• In essence there was a mis-match in perceptions. The Big Idea behind Brands in Public was to bring together all the online conversations about big brands into one place – then for a monthly fee allow brands to engage with those conversations.
• On the face of it, this seems like a fairly low-controversy idea. The conversations are happening anyway; on Twitter, Facebook and countless forums. Tracking these is incredibly difficult and time consuming. Brands in Public charges a not inconsiderable fee but offers a ready-made solution. All the big brands need to do is engage and, hopefully, enhance their reputation and standing with their customers. They can also quickly get ahead of any negative stuff that might, otherwise, snowball before it even comes to their attention.
• To illustrate the point, Brands in Public created a range of big-brand pages all ready to go. But since the brands in question didn’t get to engage with their own feedback unless they signed up, it seems they took exception to this. Words like “extortion” and “Brand Hijacking” have appeared in various reports and so these pages were taken down.
• Which is fine. If there’s one thing the Squidoo management understand and embrace it’s receiving and acting upon feedback. The perception of their Big Idea was in danger of being seriously undermined with the very people they were wanting to pay for the service. Rapid adaptation therefore was in order.
• But for those of us sitting back and watching, what does this tell us about the wider picture for online Reputation Management?
• I looked at several of the Brand pages before they were taken down. There WAS some negative feedback included for a balanced picture, but for the most part feedback was positive. The list of initial pages read as a “who’s who” among the big brands – to be on that initial list would, I’d have thought, been cause for some satisfaction for the various marketing departments; a validation of their brand status.
• Instead, though it seems there was a gut reaction “we don’t control this – and we’re not about to pay for the privilege”. It seems they recognised that this was big enough to pay attention to, but only insofar as they wanted it shut down RIGHT NOW – and this despite generally positive feedback and being in some pretty lofty company.
• Which all seems to suggest that Seth Godin still has some work to do on the attitude front. If Reputation Management means controlling EVERY mention of a brand online and monopolising the discussion of the brand then marketing departments across the globe are placing their fingers in the proverbial dyke.
• What reputation Management will have to ultimately become is ENGAGEMENT with the discussions; a balanced approach to the good and bad feedback any company will get over time. And whether or not Brands in Public becomes the main forum for this, the basic idea behind it will surely be at the heart of this approach; draw the conversations into one place, then engage with them efficiently. Oh, and by the by, in doing this promote the brand itself!

Website Design and Joined Up Thinking

• One of the harshest put-downs I’ve heard is the sarcastic riposte “Oh, very impressive! Joined-up talking!” Let's face it, though, joined-up anything is usually a good thing. Linking things together logically is almost always a key factor to success and this is particularly true when applied to business website design.
• The process of designing a new website is just one example where joined-up thinking doesn't just make good sense – it’s practically essential. But what is “Joined-up thinking?”
• Put another way it is “Thinking things all the way through” and whilst a good web design company can undoubtedly help with this, it is really more successful when a client does most of it by themself.
• The starting point in the thought process should be what you want from the site – and that’s not as dumb a question as it might seem. Is the site there to inform? Generate enquiries & leads? Generate direct sales and thus revenue? OR might you want it to do several or all of these things?
• It’s important to be clear on this point from the outset – and it will help if you can communicate clearly to your designers “I would like my site to…..”
• Immediately after this, though, needs to come the question “What will my customers/clients want to use the site for?” Hopefully the answer to this question will tie into the previous answer. For example: “They will visit the site to check availability of my products, place an order and make payment” ties in with “I’d like my site to generate revenue through sales”.
• But in addition, clients may wish to track the progress of their order. They may also wish to contact you with a query, make a return, or to ask about a product they’d like but cannot find.
• You the site owner, in the meantime, will need a site where you can fully manage your stock, track orders, add, change, delete listings and probably send out mailshots to customers periodically to boost sales.
• The trick to joined-up thinking is not to stop with the first, obvious answer to the two key questions but to explore them all the way through – until you have a detailed idea of what you want/need from the site and what your customers or clients want/need. Armed with this information, you are then in a position to give your web design company a clear brief which, when met, will leave you with a site that perfectly fits everyone’s needs.

• You can usually tell when a site has benefited from a joined-up thought process. It tends to be easy to use and to offer that little bit more – like a formal ladies wear website that offers a downloadable prom planning sheet and budget guide or a town council website that offers full minutes of all its meetings for public reference.
• So, to summarise, take that little bit extra thinking time because if you do, your design brief will be that much more focused and, ultimately, your website will be more successful.

Fresh accommodation on the Cotswold Way

• The Cotswold Way Accommodation Directory has seen the welcome addition of two new accommodation providers this month.
• The first new listing appears in the Guesthouses and B and B section of the directory. Needlehole Forge is the quintessential “secluded rural retreat”. It is tucked away close to seven Springs and provides a great overnight stopover point between Winchcombe and Painswick within reasonable distance of the iconic “Devil’s Chimney”.
• Needlehole offers twin and double accommodation with private shower and WC facilities for all guests. In addition to a delicious breakfast Needlehole Forge caters for evening meals, meaning that once you arrive you can completely relax.
• The second new listing can be found in the Hotels section of the directory. Charlton Kings HotelCotswold Way National Trail close to Cheltenham. It provides an ideal place to stop and relax, with spacious comfortable grounds, excellent food and a choice of single and double en suite rooms.
• Walkers find Charlton Kings Hotel convenient as it is less than a mile from the National Trail route. The hotel welcomes well behaved dogs.

These new listings are a further boost to this Connexions directory, which has 98 top 5 search term positions across the major search engines. With additional site upgrades due very shortly, we are confident that the Cotswold Way Accommodation Directory will continue to go from strength to strength and provide a very useful resource for walkers and visitors to the area.

How Social Networking can bring your business to life.

• When considering marketing through the medium of social networking, the initial reaction of many companies is lukewarm at best. Typical responses include:
• “Facebook is something you do at home – or try your best to stop your employees doing during work hours!”
• “Twitter is a faddy site inhabited by Stephen Fry and possibly one or two other celebrities.”
• “No-one can decide whether Twitter will be gone next week or will be the biggest thing in marketing since someone decided to sell bread pre-sliced.”
• Perhaps MY biggest “concern” was who on earth would find a business profile on a social media site worth joining? Who cares enough to want to receive a twitter about a business?
• But in asking - and answering - that question lies the secret of success. There ARE aspects of any business that are interesting. We all work (well, most of us!) and so we all share some common ground in terms of shared experiences. Also, there will be aspects of just about any business that are unique enough or interesting enough to be twitter-worthy or worth posting on a blog.
• For example, one of our clients who wanted to give social networking a go but was initially unsure about it has discovered that there are any number of aspects of a rural holiday park that lend themselves to social networking. This includes the challenge of bringing a new caravan onto a site (filmed and uploaded to youtube), local theatre performances and festivals (events posted to Facebook page) and the ever-changing local wildlife with new arrivals of birds and marinelife to the area, as well as some spectacular sea conditions sparked by high winds (the park blog and photo album on facebook).
• This same client has actively encouraged all their staff onto Facebook to post about the business, comment on the new flower beds as well as promote the page through their main website so guests can keep in touch with their favourite holiday destination all year round.
• Another client uses twitter to keep former guests updated with late availability offers at their hotels – and they have followers by the hundred. They promote Twitter through their regular newsletter as being the best way to be informed about the latest, best deals. They can also throw in the surfing conditions on Cornwall’s north coast for those considering a short weekend break for that purpose.
• So, alien and strange though it may seem at the start, promoting your business through Social networks is really just about sharing anything “fun, quirky, useful or interesting” from your day. The actual marketing (late offers, new products etc) happens by itself as part of this process once you become comfortable with sharing this type of information as news. It’s actually more fun than a lot of “work” and could lead to you booting your kids off Facebook or Blogger rather more frequently then they would wish!

SEO on a new website – Why make life hard?

• Whether you are re-launching an existing website or starting from scratch, the chances are that at some point in the evolution of any “new” website you are going to think about search engine visibility. The finest, most user-friendly, visually stunning website ever created still needs people to find it after all!
• From my experience, though, the “some point” that a lot of people consider this is several months after the site has gone live when the expected traffic and income hasn’t materialised.
• This can occur even when clients have been strongly advised at an early stage to consider SEO as part of the project. The problem, I think, is that when looking at a reasonably large and important project, which is not cheap, spending more money on something as “ethereal” as SEO doesn’t always seem attractive.
• But here’s the thing: If SEO is front and center of the design process from day one you get better and more sustained results – and so the return on your investment is much improved. There are some very good reasons for this.

1. In considering keywords at an early stage you also think in detail about target audience, the purpose of your site and from that you create relevant, keyword rich content.
2. The design team can integrate this into the site with relevant, intuitive navigation that draws the target audience into the site towards the desired conversion point (be that a sale or enquiry).
3. From this process comes a website that from day one is fully focused and relevant to the search terms for the business. Titles, tags and text seamlessly match to create a website with a clear, search engine friendly identity that also meets the exact needs of the target audience.

• The result is a site that is visible AND that performs. Linking to such a site is much easier then for one with little clear identity or, worse, a site that is attempting to be visible for one set of search terms when the content is geared to another.
• A well-thought-through website, with a clear identity ATTRACTS links. It attracts traffic, it ranks well because it is relevant, it is friendly to social media because people know what the site is about and, in turn, can market it for you by sharing with their friends.
• SEO isn’t just about traffic volumes, therefore, but something that can enhance the DESIGN outcomes of the project by generating a better end result. The fact that it also has a direct correlation to traffic volumes and so income generation (whether through leads or actual on-site sales) is just one more very good reason to think about it early on.
• So, why make it hard? Thinking about SEO from day one will pay dividends – leave it until later and you have a much harder task.

New Eden Project Accommodation Listings

• We are delighted that our Eden Project Accommodation website has seen a surge in popularity this month. We have added a collection of new listings on the directory in the last couple of weeks. These listings appear in both the B&B and self catering sections with several businesses taking advantage of the new £99 lifetime listing offer.

(Porthtowan Beach)

• The first addition to the Eden Accommodation site can be found in the self catering section of the website. Beachside Stone’s Throw is a fantastic holiday apartment overlooking Porthtowan beach. Sleeping up to 5, the apartment enjoys a private balcony, parking and a truly stunning location on Cornwall’s north coast. Beachside Stone’s Throw is within easy travelling distance of the Eden Project being close to the A30. In addition to Eden, staying at this apartment allows guests to explore much of southwest Cornwall including Penwith, Penzance, St Ives, Newquay, Helston and The Lizard.

• The first of the new B&B accommodation providers to appear on the directory was Arches Guesthouse in St Austell. The Arches offers a high standard of en suite accommodation to guests including the indulgence and comfort of a four poster bed in the Green Room. Being located on the new cycleway to Eden, Arches B&B is very conveniently located for the Eden Project and is popular with walkers and cyclists visiting the attraction.

(Green Room at Arches B&B)

• Also to be found in the Guesthouses and B&Bs listings is Rosemoor B&B. Rosemoor offers guests comfort, freedom and privacy. The guest accommodation is in a separate annexe to the main house with a guest entrance adjacent to the car parking area. Rosemoor B&B is close to bus routes to the Eden Project and is ideally located for St Austell’s amenities and The Lost Gardens of Heligan.

• For further information on advertising, why not visit the Eden Project Accommodation website?

• Other advertising websites offered by Cnx include Cornish Connexions and the Cotswold Way Accommodation Directory.

New Listings on Cotswold Way

• The Cotswold Way Accommodation Directory has seen two new listings added so far this month, adding to the variety of available accommodation on the site. The directory, which is one of our in-house projects, is continuing to perform very strongly in the search engines and the new businesses choosing to advertise on the site are a positive sign of the growing popularity and profile of the site.
• California Farm is located between Winchcombe and Leckhampton. As this is a particularly stunning section of the route, walkers may well be attracted to the idea of breaking their journey here to take time to enjoy it. In addition to delicious breakfasts, California Farm’s owners offer evening meals to their guests by prior arrangement. The farm owners also operate a small riding stable. Guests who might be interested in riding should enquire at the time they make their booking. Accommodation offered includes a choice of double and twin en-suite rooms.
• As well as being well suited for walkers, California Farm is ideally placed for accommodation for race meetings at nearby Cheltenham racecourse. From California Farm a short car drive provides access to the county city of Gloucester and the Roman town of Cirencester.
• At the “top” end of the Cotswold Way, is The Old Manor at Paxford. The Cotswold village of Paxford is close to Chipping Campden and the owners of this lovely B&B will collect guests by car from a convenient local location if required. The Old Manor typifies local Cotswold manor houses with butter yellow sandstone and mullioned windows. Guests can explore the local area on foot or by car (a taxi service is available for guests for tours and visits) including Stratford-upon-Avon and Bourton-on-the-Water.
• Like many friendly B&Bs along the Cotswold Way National Trail, The Old Manor offers freshly prepared home-cooked evening meals by arrangement for the convenience of guests. Accommodation is double en-suite with a bed-settee for children to share with parents.
• Visit the Cotswold Way accommodation Directory at: www.cotswold-way-accommodation-directory.co.uk

Eden Project Accommodation

• This is an in-house directory of accommodation designed to cater for visitors looking for easy access to the Eden Project. In addition to offering a comprehensive accommodation database, this website provides a great deal of general information on the Eden Project itself and an extensive photo gallery of this popular and world famous attraction.
• This website has recently been given a “makeover” by the design team here at Connexions Web Solutions. The new look website is fresh and up to date with crisp, pastel shades and integrated imagery of the Eden Project itself. Although this site is not part of the official Eden Project’s web presence, the Connexions Eden Project Accommodation website maintains a standard of presentation and content in keeping with the status of Cornwall’s most famous attraction.
• The layout of the website has been kept simple by the designers in order to maintain focus on the two primary areas the website is concerned with; Accommodation and information about the Eden Project. Accessing the accommodation sectionis easily achieved through one of several navigation links.|The accommodation index page provides visitors with the option to narrow their search to the type of accommodation they are looking for, whether that is a hotel or guesthouse, self catering accommodation, B&B or camping. Again, selecting an option can be achieved through one of several easy to use navigation links. If preferred, the entire list of accommodationcan be viewed to evaluate all options.
• The directory layout is clear and easy to use. The options run in a list down the page, clearly demarked by shading. Each entry has a picture and brief description. Clicking anywhere on the text takes the visitor to a page dedicated to that accommodation provider. Again, the layout of this section is standardised for ease of use and comparison.
• Information on each provider can be found in the same location on every individual page. Examples of the information provided include price range, full contact details and a link to the accommodation provider’s own website. Each individual page on the Eden Project Accommodation Directorycontains an online enquiry form making it easy for potential guests to get in touch with their holiday accommodation requirements.
• Imagery is an important element of any website but is particularly so for holiday accommodation. Guests prefer to be given a clear idea of what’s on offer, both in terms of surrounding location and the internal facilities. The website provides three photographs of each entry on the individual page in addition to the picture in the main listing section. This gives guests a good starting point from which to make their choice. The ability to link to the individual accommodation provider’s website and to effortlessly request a brochure mean that additional information is easy to obtain.
• A significant proportion of the website is dedicated to information about the Eden Project itself. There are sections on how the Biomes were constructed, the project’s plans for the future and information on the project’s aims and objectives. This section of the website is rich in Eden imagery and contains an extensive photo gallery to allow visitors to get a taste of what the project has to offer. Overall, this website succeeds in providing a high quality holiday accommodation search service with specific links to a main holiday attraction.
• Visit this website at www.eden-project-accommodation.com|For more case studies view our portfolio at www.cnx-solutions.com

The Tregorran

• This medium sized hotel uses its website to shamelessly “show off” its facilities and commanding elevated position above Carbis Bay. To ensure that potential guests are in no doubt as to what is on offer, the Tregorran website provides several 360 degree views of the hotel and its facilities.
• The site is welcoming and easy to navigate with potential guests able to access details about rooms, facilities and local tourist information quickly.
• The imagery on the website is stunning, matching the Mediterranean style of the hotel itself with views of the sun-drenched landscape. The website proudly flaunts the hotel’s accreditations with Cornish accommodation organisations and the AA.
• A page is dedicated to the hotel’s prime asset, the outdoor heated pool, but the website boasts generous links to a variety of holiday attractions which would be of use to guests with & without children who might be planning a break.
• A detailed booking enquiry form has been integrated into the site whilst full contact details are prominent on the hotel’s home page.
• The overall feel of the site is one of a welcoming atmosphere and high standard of care. Thought has gone into making the site user friendly and helpful, which bodes well for the reception guests would receive when they visit.
• The website makes it very clear that the venue is both suitable and welcoming for children which is an important factor for many people thinking of booking somewhere to stay.
• The Tregorran Hotel is an eighteen bedroom hotel above Carbis Bay. With a terrace, heated pool and direct access to the beach it has a great deal to offer holidaymakers visiting Cornwall.

Successful E Commerce

• E Commerce websites are particularly demanding sites to design. There is as much design work “behind the scenes” as on the pages the public gets to see and the sites need to carry out quite complicated functions in a way that feels intuitive to the user.
• Cnx Web Solutions have designed a variety of e commerce websites on a bespoke design basis. Businesses, their products and their customers are all different. Creating bespoke E Commerce solutions is the best way to ensure that the website fits the needs of a client rather than the other way about!
• Key features we have found essential to a successful e commerce website include:

• Clear navigation
• Easily accessible product images
• Logical structure to the product database
• Easy to use and edit “basket”
• Easy to maintain/update/amend product database
• Easy to access contact details for queries
• Web pages that are attractive but uncluttered
• Secure SSL payment

• These are just the main features of a good site – there are many more! A few examples might include Coopers Ladieswear which is a highly specialised E Commerce site. In addition to the products the site includes features to select size and product colour, reducing a great number of permutations to a simple “select button” action by the customer.
• The site is fully controlled by the client who can add stock, descriptions, images etc as needed.

• A smaller but still very successful e commerce website is the Seachest Nautical Bookshop. Meeting this client’s needs involved a less grand approach, visually speaking, but functionality remains important with stock sub-divided into sections to quickly narrow down the search and images of most products available once that product has been selected.
• The “human faces” behind the e store are highlighted in the About Us section which offers some store history and some information on the people who run it.
• In addition to marine books, Seachest’s online store also has sections for sea charts as well as instructional media and software.

• Different again is the Fairtrade Giftshop  retail website. A vast stock range is cleverly sub divided and all product and section navigation is accompanied by product images which combine to make this a visually rich website that really encourages browsing. Some subtle yet eye-catching flash animation has been worked into the header image as a nice visual touch.
• E Commerce is an increasingly lucrative and popular field. The public is turning to website purchasing in ever increasing numbers and though a good e commerce website is not the cheapest to create (compared to a static site) the on going costs are very low, meaning that on-going revenue can provide a very good return on that initial investment.

Absolute Software

• Absolute Software is a Cornish specialist embedded software developer that is looking to the future with considerable confidence. The launch of their new website very much asserts this positive outlook with a crisp, fresh layout that is professional looking and easy to navigate.
• The company has an impressive project portfolio covering a range of technologies and applications including clients within the automotive, scientific, consumer and industrial sectors.
• The new website details the skills the company offers along with the specific languages, chips and applications the firm has expertise in.
• This website acts as much more then an information site though. It is a practical tool for both Absolute Software and its clients, with online bug tracker and project tracker applications to ease communication between client and service provider.
• The site also includes a news section which the client has full control over and some very positive testimonials from satisfied clients.
• This website achieves all that a good business site should, serving the client, informing new customers about the company and providing a useful means of communication between clients and their project team.
• To view the website click here.

Spiraclimb extends it reach

• Spiraclimb has been successfully selling via the website for quite some time now. The recent addition of the ability to make card payments on the site has done it no harm at all, but the latest innovation is quite bold.
• We have added an "Oversees order" section to the website, allowing orders of the product to be placed from anywhere. As with domestic UK orders, these are despatched on the same working day as the order is received.
• This was an interesting move for Spiraclimb, if only because it was not clear how high the product's profile is overseas (though the site consistently performs well in google keyword searches which must help).
• However in a very short time, we have received orders from both the US and Australia proving that in the World Wide Web if your website crosses boarders so too can the product you sell!

Holiday Park website design

• Cnx Web Solutions has provided two full website redesigns for holiday parks in the last few months and the success of these two projects has seen us joining the British Holiday & Home Parks Asociation (BH&HPA) as a national associate member.
• Both designs were very much client-led and so though they have a common purpose on the face of it, the two websites appear quite different. Appearances are a bit deceptive however as these sites in fact share the same design philosophy.
• Mother Iveys Bay is an exclusive and tranquil holiday park near Padstow on Cornwall's north coast. The site offers a selection of self catering Rose Award caravans as well as touring pitches for caravans, tents and motorhomes.
• The first task in designing the website was to ensure that the navigation made it very easy to access the relavant information. For this reason the hire caravans and touring sections are organised separately, with a navigation button for each section. Within the caravans & camping/touring sections sub level navigation makes it easy to obtain all the relevant information needed for booking.
• Clarity of navigation sounds like a simple concept but it never ceases to amaze me how frequently I come across websites that are an absolute nightmare to navigate. Its like walking into an unfamiliar supermarket that has taken all the aisle signs down "for a laugh". With the Mother Iveys Bay site we prioritised the order of the navigation buttons, made them very easy to spot and utilised sub navigation within sections to keep the primary navigation uncluttered.

• A similar organisational task was required to design the website for Ayr Holiday Park. The difference here was that within the overall company/organisation there are two park sites plus a holiday home letting business. the previous website design failed to distinguish between these facets of the business which was costing the client bookings when we inherited it.

• We first split The sitemap into three sections, one for Ayr , one for Trevalgan and the holiday homes . Selecting one of these sections is easily accomplished from the home page but internal navigation throughout the entire website makes moving between sections asy at any time.
• The simple expedient of colour coding the sections helps the organisation and makes the site much clearer to use. within each section we employed the same nav principles as for Mother Iveys Bay - resulting in a functioning website that is easy to use, easy to navigate and makes booking straightforward.
• The goal of each website is to create a resource that meets the vision of the client, serves the needs of the site user and generates income through booking. Both clients were very pleased with their websites and their assistance in helping us to become HP&HPA a member is very much appreciated.

Blowing your own trumpet successfully!

• A successful website sells your company, its products, and celebrates the strengths of your company. Many of our clients include a section within their website for case studies/successful contracts. It might feel like shamelessly blowing one's own trumpet but actually such information has an important function
• It's no different, really, to us including a portfolio of our designs on our own website. If you are proud of something your company has achieved, you should not be shy about advertising the fact and your website is an ideal place to do it for a number of reasons.
• Firstly, it sells your business by establishing your successful track record, not with general sales slogans but through concrete examples. This method is far more convincing then fine words which we are increasingly skeptical of in any case. It allows potential clients to see examples of your work and which other companies have entrusted work to you.
• Secondly, it is a productive way to add regular new content to your website. A case study/portfolio page, in combination with a company news page, means that you can generate relevant content onto your website quite easily. It shows visitors that your company is self assured and proud of its achievements, moving forward constantly.
• Of course regular fresh content is also something the search engines reward, particularly if you flag up the articles using Digg, redit, stumble, twitter or similar Web 2.0 applications. There really is no downside to be honest!
• In the case of Naston, this self assured positive attitude has paid off in a huge way as they have recently become part of the SEMCAN group. SEMCAN look for precisely the qualities Naston have long proudly announced on their website; innovative products, specialist knowledge and expertise, a loyal and expanding client base and a healthy order book!
• For a good example of the case study approach, take a look at Naston's project reference list list, whilst our own company news page serves to show just how much content, along with useful links, can be generateed by celebrating the regular achievements of your company.

Case Study St Ives Hotel & Guesthouse Assoc.

• This website is an excellent example of a local business sector coming together to promote a common product. St Ives is a thriving holiday destination with a huge amount to offer holiday makers of all ages and interests. The website aims to provide comprehensive information on the town, its facilities and its unique selling points.
• With Cornwall as a county firmly established as a favourite holiday destination, St Ives has taken the pioneering step of targeting those visitors directly. The website home page is bright, colourful and exciting offering links immediately to sections of interest.
• The accommodation section follows good practice in that it allows selection by preferred type of accommodation ensuring that options are relevant. Links take the user directly to the website of each accommodation provider for full details of what is on offer and the chance to make a booking enquiry.
• Visitors need to eat, so the site has a section dedicated to association approved restaurants, again with links direct to the service suppliers to aid bookings and enquiries. The site provides a sense that the businesses in St Ives are working together to provide both complimentary services (restaurants with self catering accommodation and bed and breakfast guest houses) and a common standard of quality and service across the town.
• Finally, the site provides a great deal of locality-specific information on activities and recreation opportunities in and around the town. As a resource to holiday makers, this section is certainly useful and helpful. It serves both to inform and promote; highlighting the variety of provision which includes some of Cornwall’s most popular beaches and the Tate St Ives gallery.
• Locals have something to gain from the site too, since the restaurant information is equally relevant, but specifically the site addresses the other function which tourist destinations offer all year round; that of very special venues for weddings. Information is provided on all aspects of wedding planning. You can browse venues licensed to hold wedding ceremonies, source flowers and a photographer and even order your wedding cake.
• If St Ives is your wedding venue of choice, this site can take a great deal of the hassle out of planning the big day!
• To conclude, what has been created here is a functional, informative, vibrant website reflecting the energy and enthusiasm of the businesses that have made welcoming visitors to their town a way of life. It would not be greatly surprising if other popular holiday venues follow St Ives’ lead.

Case Study; Eflo

• Eflo International commissioned a new-look website from us which was launched this month. This UK based company is a truly international concern in the field of waste water management. A fresh, accessible website is, therefore, a key asset in terms of attracting potential customers and providing them with information on products and services.
• Our web design team gave the site an uncluttered look using blue as the main colour – an obvious choice. Information on the different products and business areas can be easily accessed through more than one link on the home page.
• Individual sections provide both general and technical information whilst each has a rich selection of photographs of the company’s products in action. The inclusion of pictures of water treatment products – not the most photogenic of things one would have thought– was important as it livens up what could be a drab, technical website by offering tangible examples of the processes and equipment in action. The imagry is also an important way of quickly establishing Eflo’s expertise in their field for any potential client.
• EFLO is a well-established company which has been in business since 1970. Its expertise has never been in greater demand with environmental considerations for waste water management a significant factor now in both industrial and domestic developments. An example of this would be recycling of grey water – domestic waste water excluding toilets. Eflo’s systems can treat and recycle grey water for re-use ensuring it is free from clouding, odour and contaminants.
• EFLO’s industrial waste water systems offer significant savings to companies by pre-treating waste water to reduce levels of contamination. Further processing can produce “boiler quality” water which can be re-used.

Case Study Coastline Surveys

• The Coastline Surveys website is a good example of a corporate "information" website that introduces the services and skills of this specialist marine survey company. The site provides easy to find opportunities for visitors to contact the company directly either by email, post or telephone. Sufficient information to serve as a good introduction to the services and capabilities of the company is available on the website with a view to eliciting conatact by interested parties.
• Layout, prsentation and general attractiveness is no less important for an engineering type corporation as any other though in this case we opted for a more pastel palette. Nonetheless images and the use of sea tones create a design that is smart and professional.
• The absence of flash elements is by choice of the client. This is a static page site though with dynamic potential for the client to add new content through the company news section when they choose. What the site also offers the client is the facility to create pdf downloads, something that allows to offer detailed technical specifications to those who are interested yet still keep pages of the site easy to read and navigate.
• We have provided general navigation beneath the main image/company logo whilst also providing clear "quick links" to sections within the more general sections at the foot of each page. This enablres users to move quickly to the key sections of the website without going through more general navigation. In this way the site serves those looking both for specific service information, such as marine surveys or charter of their workboats, or those wanting to understand the breadth of expertise the company has in more general terms.
• This website serves Coastline Surveys well as their "web presence" acting as a professional first point of call for online clients both existing and potential.

Newquay Hotels

• These two hotels share a website; www.newquay-hotels.co.uk. The stylish and modern appearance of the site reflects the standard of accommodation on offer with both hotels looking fresh from recent interior designed refurbishment.
• The Espanade caters for a variety of guests including young families. The breadth of appeal is reflected in the accommodation section which offers a variety of room styles to suite different needs and tastes. The website is very easy to navigate with information presented clearly. Images are integrated with a visually attractive style of page formatting which presents guests with a highly favourable impression of the accommodation and holiday experience on offer.|The site also provides information on using the Esplanade for functions, such as weddings and business conferences. You can contact the hotel through an enquiry form on the contacts page which also provides phone, fax and postal address details.
• The Esplanade is a 93 bedroom hotel situated at the southern end of Fistral Beach. The hotel boasts a spacious dining room, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a ballroom, cabaret bar and childrens’ play area.
• The Bay Hotel’s website details an impressive array of business conference, function, spa and gymnasium health facilities. Maintaining the same style of layout and user navigation, the Bay Hotel’s website is both informative and visually stunning; exuding class and style. Clearly catering for the active, health conscious holidaymaker, the website offers details of facilities and services on offer in a clear context. The site succeeds in selling the hotel as a quality venue for business conference events.
• The 97 bedroom Bay Hotel is situated at the very southern tip of Fistral Beach. Linked to this hotel is the Bay Bar and Fistral Spa.

Case Study; Toms Holidays

• This is an example of a website where a vast quantity of information needed to be presented in a manner that would be easy to navigate. Toms Holidays offer self catering beach accommodation in a spacious park containing both holiday chalets and holiday bungalows. The accommodation is varied in terms of sleeping capacity, layout, appearance and location with the tariffs reflecting these differences.
• The layout and style of the homepage reflects the twin requirements of artistic/design appeal with a large volume of information. The colours, choice of background and use of pictures show the best of the Cornish holiday experience; sun drenched beaches and azure seascapes. The colour tones of the page reflect the warmth of summer and the beach-front location. To cater for the information, a clearly labelled, easy to use navigation bar is placed at the top of the home page.
• Searching out information on your choice of holiday accommodation couldn’t be easier. The accommodation link leads to a map of the holiday park. Clicking on a given location brings up a side bar containing pictures of each individual self catering chalet and bungalow, both interior and exterior shots, as well as detailed information on the facilities each holiday home has to offer. The site literally offers holiday makers the opportunity to pick out their choice of holiday accommodation and name the chalet/bungalow on the booking form giving them total control of their holiday.
• Locating the tariffs and terms is equally straightforward; clicking the link at the top of the page brings up a table of dates and chalet sizes with the varying rates in an easy to read format.
• Like all high quality holiday websites, Toms Holidays don’t limit the scope of their site to their accommodation alone. Using a photo gallery, links and information pages prospective visitors can learn about the local area around Hayle and St Ives as well as a wide variety of attractions and activities (including information for those on surfing holidays in Cornwall) to allow visitors to plan ahead and get the most from their time in Cornwall.

• Toms Holidays is a well established company whose accommodation occupies a prime location among the beach front dunes at Riviere Towans near Hayle. The investment in the website, in terms of quality and attention to detail, reflects an ethos of providing the best self-catering holiday experience possible whether for holiday makers on the active surf scene or families wanting easy access to fantastic beaches and safe communal play areas to keep the younger family members happy. If you’re looking for self catering beach accommodation in Cornwall, Tom’s Holidays should be your first port of call

Case Study Hotel St Eia

• This family-run hotel has commissioned a website which exudes style and class. The format is straightforward for ease of navigation but the hotel owners have included a wealth of information on both their hotel and the immediate area.
• The stunning location of the hotel is clearly a major selling point and the site makes good use of images to show potential customers the attractive location in which the hotel is set. The site offers an additional informative section on the more general locality with plenty of ideas to attract guests with a range of interests as well as useful links to other websites.
• Equally important to any accommodation website, is the need to give guests a good idea of the interior of the hotel. Sections on both the facilities and accommodation provide images and details which are necessary for people thinking of booking accommodation.
• The emphasis is on customer service and on a subtle level the website reinforces this strongly. Clearly much thought has gone into the content and the ease with which information can be accessed. Touches like a brief history of the building itself and the origins of the name add interest to the hotel and make it more appealing to customers.
• Contacting the hotel is easy, with the full range of methods/options clearly signposted on the site.
• Hotel St. Eia is an eighteen bedroom proprietor-operated hotel situated in a commanding position overlooking St Ives harbour and Porthminster beach. Facilities include a 36 cover restaurant, roof garden, lounge and bar as well as a great springboard location to experience the best of Cornwall.