Selling Online Is More Than Just Having an eCommerce Website
Every so often, I get a call that starts with, “We’d like an eCommerce website.” It’s a familiar line for any web developer — but whenever I…
Why Your Website Needs Regular TLC (and How We Can Help)
Let’s be honest — most of us set up our websites, tick it off the to-do list, and then move on to running the business. I get it. You’ve got…
Will Your Website Win Awards… or Win Business?
Let’s be honest — we all like a good-looking website. It feels great to have something sleek and modern that makes your business look professional….
The Beginners’ Guide to Website Development Costs
These days, an online shop is a must for any business involved in selling goods and services to customers.
How to Make Sure Your Website Works Brilliantly on Mobile Phones
If you’re a small business owner thinking about getting a new website – or you’ve already got one – there’s one thing you really can’t ignore – users on smartphones.
Responsive Website Design
Explore expert tips on responsive website design to enhance mobile user experience. Learn how to optimize your site for all devices with Day10’s guide on mobile-friendly design, faster load times, and improved SEO for better engagement and rankings.
Backup Strategy Fiasco: A Near Miss
The following is a true story about a company that almost went bankrupt due to a disaster that obliterated their website and, even worse, customer data gathered by the site over a number of years.
How to Optimize Your Website for Search Engines
Want your website to be found by more people? Discover our expert tips on optimizing for search engines and take your online presence to the next level.
How to Create a Website Design Brief: A Step-by-Step Guide
If you are a business owner, a sole trader, or a marketing executive and ever had the task of getting a website designed and built for your business, it is not one to be taken lightly.
8 Need-to-Knows About eCommerce Websites
These days, an online shop is a must for any business involved in selling goods and services to customers.
Why it’s Wrong to Focus on SEO Alone
I’m often asked, by customers with websites, if I can do some optimization to increase the traffic they are getting from search engines because they…
How Do Websites Work?
Have you ever wondered how websites work? This is the first in a series of posts aimed at explaining what’s involved in designing, building, and…
Five Myths About Selling Online
Businesses that were smart and had already started to sell online through an eCommerce website before the lockdowns, were able to offset some of their losses by continuing to trade online.
White Label Website Services
This article explains what white label website services are and how, as a professional who deals directly with business clients, you can benefit…
Website Design – Facts and Fiction
You’ve decided that you need a website for your business, or you’ve already got one that’s looking decidedly long in the tooth. You approach a web…
The best way to build a WordPress website
These days, most website developers use WordPress as a platform upon which to build their sites. The main reason for this is that WordPress is free…
Is your website protected?
In recent years, WordPress has gradually become the ubiquitous website development platform for small to medium businesses. But along with its rise…
How to start selling online
You’ve got an established website that seems to be bringing in a reasonable amount of leads for you and now you would like to start selling some of…
How much should you be paying for a website?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question for websites. It all depends on what you want and what you want the website to achieve for…
Two things to consider before commissioning a website
If you are thinking of commissioning a web designer to build you a website here is some critical advice that may save you a lot of money. Before you…
Does your website design win awards? Or does it win business?
It’s tempting to thing that both these two statements can be true and that could be so. But in many cases so-called award winning designed websites…
Website Maintenance & Security
In this article explains I explain why maintenance and security are critical for your website. It explains our approach to addressing this problem…
Keyboard Shortcuts
I posted this article a couple of years ago but I thought it would be a good idea to post it again since there are some extremely useful tips it….
Vision
Do you have a vision for your business? Most people don’t even though they may tell you that they do. So what do I mean by a vision? My definition…
Google and secure websites
Google is about to introduce changes to its Chrome browser that will affect every website. Since Chrome is the most widely used web browser, every…
Should you sell online?
This is a question that is frequently arises when a small business owner decides to get a new website or get an existing website revamped. My answer…
How to create blog posts that people will read
The first thing to remember, when creating a blog post, is that people don’t read. You have to capture their attention and persuade them to read….
How to set up email on your PC and smartphone
I use my laptop, most of the time, to send and receive email. I also use my smartphone to keep an eye on new emails when I’m out and about. If you…
Beautiful looking websites are not always the best
In my opinion, many small businesses, and even many larger businesses, waste money on their websites. They do that because they get their priorities…
All About Leads
Following on from my recent post about the importance of email list, I want to talk a bit about the concept of leads, The terms leads is used widely…
Why You Should Build Up An Email List
One of the biggest secrets that online marketers have is their email lists. Have you ever looked at those businesses that seem to do so well at…
Online Marketing – Think Ahead and Set Goals
One of the reasons that businesses fail to make a success of their online marketing is that they don’t have a clear idea of what they are trying to…
Online vs Offline Marketing: The Process is The Same
Over the past 15 years or so, online marketing has come a long way. Initially, online marketing meant a simple website for your business. Nowadays…
Know How: How to check if your website is listed on Google
Is my site listed in Google? That’s a question that I often get asked by clients after their websites have recently gone live. Take the following…
Does Your Website Look Good on Hand-Held Devices?
Well it might do on this guy’s monster but for most of us, if you haven’t updated your website in the last couple of years, then…
Ten Computer Tips to Save You Time and Money
Does IT drive you crazy? Do find yourself wanting throw your laptop out of the window? I certainly do from time to time but, unfortunately, we have…
Three questions that can determine the success of your website
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently about the things that can determine success or failure for a business. So I thought I would share…
Evernote for all your administrative functions
A client recently mentioned that he needed a CRM application to manage his business, because as a small business owner, having to work both on and…
10 Things to do Before You Approach a Website Developer
When I’m approached by clients for a website, I’m often shocked by some people’s lack of thought or planning.. After all, if you’re looking to buy a…
Computer Keyboard Shortcuts
I’ve blogged about this previously, but I thought it would be a good idea to recap and consolidate the tips I previously gave, into a single post….
The Secret to Success Online
Most websites don’t work. Or at least, they don’t achieve what the site owners originally intended them to do, which is to bring in more business….
Email Systems Explained
What type of email do you use? Web-based or Client-based? Confused already? Then read on… Many people, whom I encounter in my business, are confused…
How to Set Up and Grow a Website on a Limited Budget
Many of my clients are small businesses, micro businesses and sole traders. One of the characteristics of such businesses, especially at start-up…
Brochure Websites vs Lead Generation Sites
In a recent post, I introduced the concept of Lead Generation Websites as opposed to Brochure Sites. In this post I’m going to explore this…
What’s the Purpose of Your Website?
So you’ve decided that you want a website? What’s the first thing you’re going to do? Look at the websites of similar companies to…
How to Set Up an “Undo Send” Facility in Outlook
You’ve just written your email, pressed the “Send” button, and then you realize, with horror, that you shouldn’t have done….
Search Engine Optimized vs User Optimized Websites
One of the things I’m frequently asked by clients when developing websites is to optimize the pages for search engine ranking. Unfortunately, whilst…
How to Write a Blog
I’ve written in this blog, many times, espousing the benefits of blogging. But I find that whilst many people are open to the idea, when it comes to…
Why you shouldn’t put all your effort into social media
I thought I would post my views on the relationship between search engines, specifically Google, and social media platforms, such Facebook and…
Why Your Website Should Be Responsive Now
Urgent, for all businesses that currently have websites. “Starting April 21, we [Google] will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a…
Why You Shouldn’t Send Out of Office Replies
I run email services for my website clients. Despite my recommendations against setting Out of Office Replies on email accounts, some still do so….
How to Set Up and Grow a Website on a Limited Budget
Many of my clients are small businesses, micro businesses and sole traders. One of the characteristics of such businesses, especially at start-up…
Email Lists – The Lifeblood of Online Businesses
Why do you have a website? Is it just to look good? Is it just to make you feel good? Or perhaps you’ve never given that question much…
How Much Does a Website Cost?
In my opinion, most small business’ websites don’t work, or at least, don’t work anything like the business owner was led to believe by the web…
What Type of Website do You Want?
Is this the first question a prospective website developer should ask you? No. The first question should be “what do you want a website to do…
Content Marketing – What Can It Do For Your Business?
Content marketing – the latest buzzword in Internet marketing. This article is going to explain what it is, what it is not, how you can use it…
Your Website Is Live. What Next?
Interestingly that is a question that I rarely get asked after I’ve completed a website for a small business. But it is a question that…
The Best Email System for You?
What type of email do you use? Web-based or Client-based? Confused already? Then read on… Many people, whom I encounter in my business, are confused…
More Quotations
Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many. A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the…
Is Technology Affecting Your Productivity at Work?
A recent article in the Daily Telegraph “Internet ‘fuels procrastination and lowers productivity‘” started me thinking about my own…
Ten Things to Consider When Setting Up an eCommerce Website
“We’d like an eCommerce website”. That is a familiar sentence that most website developers have heard from time to time. But when you ask me that…
Blog Writing Tip – Correct Grammar
One essential component of any good blog is to use correct language. Bad spelling or grammar will make your blog look cheap. Here’s a tip that…
How Not to Lose Money in Your Business
“Britain’s small businesses could be losing more than £800m of sales a year by not taking credit and debit card payments”. So says a news story that…
Know How – Solve Windows Problems With System Restore
Recently I realized that my notebook, which I use for email, stopped automatically going into sleep mode. Not a catastrophic problem, I know, but…
Six Dos and Don’ts on Writing Blog Posts
Clients often ask me what they should write about in their blogs. It’s easier to answer this question by turning it around to say what they…
How To Make Web Links Look Pretty In MS Word Documents
A client recently called me to ask how he could put shortened versions of links to specific web pages into documents. His specific problem was this….
Understanding Computer Jargon – Part 1
Are you bewildered by some of the terminology that computer geeks like me use? If so, read on. As someone who has been in the IT industry for many…
Have You Updated Your Website Design Recently?
Do you wear the same things that you wore 10 years ago? The answer is probably not because, the fact is, that fashions change. Not just in clothes…
How Websites Work
In this article I’m going to explain what a website is and how it works. The article is aimed at people who view websites but have little or no…
Ten Computer Shortcuts To Make You More Efficient
Do you find yourself getting frustrated by technology – computers, the Internet, mobile phones for example? These simple tips, in the video…
All About Domain Names
Are you baffled when you hear people talk about domain names? What are they? Do you need one? How do you get one? This article will give you the…
How to Kill Your Blog Stone Dead
What do you write in your blog? The worst thing you can do is to use your blog as a sales mouthpiece where you continually write posts promoting…
Know How: To Get Things Done
A client calls you to ask why he hasn’t received the quote he requested last week. You pause, try to remember and then think “Oh…
How to Format and Distribute Bulk Email
I’m often asked what is the best way to send out bulk email – e.g. email newsletters – to distribution lists. Many businesses I know…
Make your website stand out in the crowd
Here’s a website you’ be crazy not to look at – http://theoatmeal.com/ What’s the best way to get your points over to your…
Decide on Your USP Before You Do Anything Else
What’s your USP? On of the first things to decide before you even think about putting your business online is to decide what your USP is. Your USP…
Know How: Note Taking
A client calls you with a query about a phone conversation you had last week. You can’t remember all the details so you start rummaging…
The Importance of Social Media in Search Engine Optimization
Ignore social media and, one day soon, Google will ignore you. I recently had a call from a customer asking me if I could look at her site to see if…
Know How: Never Forget a Password
How do you remember your passwords? I don’t and I have dozens of them. I don’t remember mine because I use a password management…
8 Things to Consider When Setting up an Online Shop
I’m often asked by clients in the retail business how much it would cost to add an online shopping facility to their websites. The answer is not as…
Subcontracting
I often receive calls from other developers, particularly from the Indian subcontinent, asking if I want to subcontract work to them. So I would…
The 3 Mistakes That Will Make a Website Useless
I’m often asked by my clients what major mistakes they should avoid with their websites. These are my top 3: 1. Failing to decide the purpose…
Canutes, Conduits and Gurus
A light hearted look at some management styles …. …. that I have come across in my time previously working in the IT industry. Of course…
Three Essentials for an Effective Website
In this article I’m going to give you some advice about to get a website that will generate business for you. To be effective a website needs to…
Six Essentials for an Effective Website
Do the following statements apply to your website? If not perhaps this explains why your site isn’t effective. An elegant, clean looking design….
Truth or Fiction?
Some light hearted definitions: Consensus A consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one believes individually! Management…
Forget the Bull
Following on from my previous post about simplicity and clarity in writing, I often come across websites that try to baffle the reader with jargon…
Don’t Let the Fog Obscure Your Writing
When you’re writing content for your website the golden rule is to keep it simple. So how do define simple? It’s all about readability. The simpler…
Tantalizing Trueisms – 2
It takes about 2 weeks to prepare an impromptu speech. Most project plans are out of date before they’re finished. The number of bugs in a…
Tantalizing Trueisms
If a project is going well, you’re probably blind to the problems. Always assume that people never read anything. You get what you inspect not…
What Does Your Company Offer It's Customers?
Are you marketing the nuts and bolts that make up the solution when you should really be marketing the solution?
The Search Engine Money Pit
A client called me the other day to ask if I could review the SEO of his site because he was concerned about his ”position in Google”. This is not…
6 Facts About Search Engines and Search Engine Optimization
If you optimize your site for the wrong keywords you’ll get the wrong visitors. If your landing pages are poor or don’t match the…
Don't spend money on SEO until….
Some less costly (than SEO) things you can do to increase business from your website.
Search Engines – Facts & Myths – Updated
This is an update of an article I originally wrote in 2009. Since then, whilst many of the core components affecting search engine positioning have…
Your Website Looks Fantastic But it’s Useless
Spend 5 minutes randomly surfing the net and you will find dozens of fantastic looking websites. But how many of these are great websites? I’ll lay…
10 Ways to Kill a Website Stone Dead
Getting a first class website developed can be an expensive business so you need to make sure that the site is as effective as possible. Below is a…
Know How – Copying Screen Images
Quite often you see an image on the screen that you may want to copy to include in a document, email to someone or include in a blog post….
Laptop Resurrection
You’ve got an urgent article to write. Or you need to read some critical emails. Or you just want to go online and check the latest share…
I Don't Understand!
The Economy When governments start to go broke banks lend them money. But then the banks start to go broke, governments lend them money and bail…
Writing Tips
Many people find writing difficult. Here are a few tips that you may find useful if you’re writing for the Internet, whether it’s a long…
The Apprentice – The Future of UK Business or Just Entertainment?
Yes we’re now in that part of the year where every week people tune into their TV’s to watch this year’s batch of budding “entrepreneurs” being put…
Useful Tip for Outlook Email
You’ve written the email message and just as you hit the the Send button you spot a spelling mistake. You click on the Outbox to try and retrieve…
How Much Should You Pay for a Website?
Silly question? In a way, yes. It’s a bit like asking how much should you pay for a car. The answer of course is, it depends on exactly what you…
How to set up and send formatted HTML emails from Outlook
A client recently asked me how to set up and send HTML emails from Outlook with a pre-formatted template. He wanted to use it to send out email…
Know How – Shortcut Keys 2
Following on from my previous article on shortcut keys, here are some more: Ctrl + A – Selects all the text in a document, or webpage. Also select…
Know How – Shortcut Keys
This is the first in a series of simple hints and tips for users who are relatively new to computers. This description probably applies to a…
What's your email address?
How many small businesses do you come across that don’t have proper email addresses? By not proper email addresses, I mean ones that…
Attack of the Clones
In my business I continually come across cases where businesses try to get websites developed on the cheap. The following true story shows what can…
You Get What You Pay For
It’s the 1890’s in Paris. A woman is walking down the street. Suddenly she spots a short man walking towards her and realizes that…
What Does Your Home Page Say About You?
Do you wonder why your getting plenty of visitors to your website but very few enquiries or sales. If so read on. When people arrive at your home…
What Does Your Home Page Say About You?
When people arrive at your home page what’s the first thing they see? A splash page with a flash movie and a button saying “Click to skip into”? Or…
Twice Zero is Zero
I’m often asked, by people who have websites, if I can do anything to improve their search engine rankings because the site isn’t…