The Admin Site Version 2
Jan 5th
Many of you have been users of our content management system, The Admin Site, for some time now. In fact, The Admin Site is approaching it’s second birthday. However, unlike most two year olds, we are sure The Admin Site will not be experiencing any of the terrible two’s.
Through a combination of experience, feedback and new technologies we have continued to strive for a better product. Something that can offer more to you, the client, but at the same time become easier and more intuitive to use. We have also looked to incorporate new modules and functionality to add to the library of tasks The Admin Site can help you with.
Behind the scenes there have been many changes to help make The Admin Site run faster and smoother than the older version, however, what we’re excited about are some of the great new plug-ins we have available in version 2.0.
Some of the great new features available are… Read the rest of this entry »
2010 New Year’s Resolutions: Getting a Website
Dec 27th
We are once again at that time of year where we all promise to lose weight, stop smoking and to be more positive. Along with all of these personal New Year’s resolutions often comes a raft of business resolutions, goals or targets.
“I really need a website”.
“I must get that shopping cart so I can sell my products online”.
“I’ll update my website in the New Year”.
Resolutions and thoughts like this are common ones, especially amongst business owners. However, as the New Year starts and all that comes with it means that your current website, or ambitions of finally getting a website, get swept under the carpet. Read the rest of this entry »
Sydney Ballet School Tiny Toes Ballet
Dec 17th
We have just completed a new website for MWC Media (Melbourne advertising agency) called Tiny Toes Ballet.
Tiny Toes Ballet is a Sydney ballet school specialising in Children’s ballet and Dance for Kids. Due to being a children’s dance school and wanting to position themselves in the ‘ballet for kids’ market, Tiny Toes Ballet and MWC Media decided there should be a playful feel to the website. They wanted some moving elements that would make the page interesting without taking away from the main content or making the overall user experience complicated. Read the rest of this entry »
Specs For Less Website Launch
Dec 8th
The latest Spike WebDesign website to be launched is the new discount online store for glasses and frames, Specs For Less.
Specs For Less required a website that would allow them to showcase their huge range of Designer Frames, Fashion Frames, Standard Frames and Budget Frames as well as allow customers to customise their purchases and decide whether they required just the frames or also wanted to purchase lenses. Read the rest of this entry »
Ray White – North West Homes Website
Dec 8th
Spike WebDesign has launched their first independent foray into New Zealand with their website for Ray White: North West Homes.
The agents at North West Homes, James Abell and Angela Denny, wanted a web presence that would allow them to communicate with the clientele and provide easy access to their information.
Two important briefs for their website was that it was first clean and easy to view and secondly that it matched their reputation for quality and service. Read the rest of this entry »
Ensuring you get the best website quote
Dec 6th
Many people live in fear of getting ripped off by a dodgy web design company or paying more than they should for a website. While there are quite a number of overpriced, underperforming operators out there, there are also many great web design business’ whose main goal is to make you happy.
We have written previously about question you should be asking yourself before you approach a website designer, but they were more focused on the general stuff. We often receive quote requests from potential clients saying something like this:
“We want a website exactly like the one at www.websitename.com. How much?”
Now to you that might sound like a reasonable question, however, I would bet a lot that there has been a series of assumptions you have made, or an understanding or your requirements which are not automatically clear to someone outside of your business. Read the rest of this entry »
The Admin Site – Origins
Dec 6th
Yes you guessed it, I just saw X-Men Origins – Wolverine. Unlike that, this article has no special effects or mutants, however, The Admin Site does have rippling apps and razor sharp functionality… Ok I promise not to make any other Wolverine fuelled nerd jokes.
There are so many Content Management Systems out there, many of them really good. Some of the better known CMS’ are Joomla and Mambo, both of which are built using the same programming language as The Admin Site, PHP.
It was these very Content Management Systems which fuelled our desire to build our own CMS. Many average punters are given content management systems, like Joomla or Mambo, to manage their websites, however, these systems are not user friendly for your average business owner who knows little or nothing about websites and the internet. We wanted to create a content management system which would revolve around ease of use and would not confuse it’s users by bombarding them with dozens of links or with using terminology which would only serve to confuse them. Read the rest of this entry »
Is Someone Stealing My Business Name?
Dec 6th
Recently a lot of our clients (and us too) have been receiving curious emails from Asian countries, mainly China. These emails are from seemingly legitimate companies who are stating that they have blocked another company’s attempt to register a domain name similar to yours. For example, they told us that someone was trying to register spikewebdesign.asia, .hk, etc.
They say that they have done their research and found that you are the holder of the trademark, which they are currently protecting on your behalf. At first this seems legit and a number of my clients have been concerned. One particular case we had just purchased a .ASIA domain for a client, then they receive an email telling them that they do not own this and it is being blocked. Then the company kindly offered to secure the domain on our client’s behalf. Read the rest of this entry »
Search Engine Optimisation
Dec 6th
Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is possibly the greatest buzzword on the internet at the moment. Everyone who has a website or wants a website is concerned with how well their site performs in Google (sorry Yahoo and the rest, but you just aren’t brought up in conversation).
Over the last year or two it is a regular occurrence that a client, who we are designing a website for, will come to us saying that they’ve been contacted by a Search Engine Optimisation company who is promising big things. This frequently occurring situation is the instigator for the writing of this article. Hopefully this article will save us (Spike WebDesign) time in phone calls explaining what the SEO companies are really offering, and be informative to the general punter who doesn’t have the expertise or understanding.
Firstly, let me start by saying that there are a number of really great SEO companies around who achieve really solid results. However, I have yet to encounter a SEO company which tells ‘the whole story’. I would like to relay two recent encounters to you. Read the rest of this entry »
Choosing A Website Design Company
Dec 6th
There are literally hundreds of great website designers and companies out there and choosing the right one for you can be like a game of ‘pin the tail on the donkey’. Website design companies range from one person part-time operations to large studios with hundreds of employees.
The first thing a lot of people would do when in search of a web design company is search for something like ‘Website Design Company’ in Google. This on the surface sounds like a completely logical idea and you will find website design companies. However, whether or not they are going to be right for your needs is another thing all together.
When you break it down to its most basic level there are only two types of websites – off-the-shelf template websites and custom built original sites. This often translates into cheap versus expensive, but not always. Read the rest of this entry »
