Spike WebDesign was the only Australian website design studio featured in the world renowned magazine and the team at Spike couldn’t be happier the recognition.

The article says;

“SPIKE WEBDESIGN (SWD) is a relatively new development agency, formed in late 2007 by Josh Lawrence and Ben Newton. The creation of SWD was driven by a common goal of creating better website experiences for users, both from a visual and functional point of view. Not long after SWD opened its doors for business it launched the first version of The Admin Site, its custom-built CMS. SWD specialises in CMS driven websites that not only controls the website content but also runs a broad range of complex administrative tasks such as running sporting events or automating customer communications. “We are still a relatively young agency and are continually striving to reach great heights, our main motivation is to offer great customer service,” said Newton. “We are constantly hearing horror stories about rogue website designers who are doing terrible things to their clients. In
an unregulated industry we feel it is important to differentiate ourselves from the masses. It seems simple, but good customer service and the willingness to speak to a client will win you jobs.”

The article also highlights some Spike WebDesign’s more recent and varied jobs which display Spike’s which help to display Spike broad skillset.

The two main components that we suggested changing was firstly to implement a complete visual overhaul of the blog and the second change being to migrate the blog over to the more user friendly blogging platform, Wordpress.

The new design that we presented was a totally customised Wordpress template, design by Spike Webdesign, which combined a clean, simple appearance with images of Mark playing basketball. Also, based on Mark’s requests, we included some custom Wordpress widgets including a photo gallery and Google Analytics.

Everyone know the answer to that question, right? Surprisingly, no. In fact, the majority of people I ask this question to don’t know. At best the answer is something like;

“Ummm. .. I have Outlook Express?”

Those who do know nine out of ten times say that a browser is Internet Explorer, rather than Internet Explorer is the browser I use. Terrific branding Microsoft!

For those who don’t know what an internet browser is, it is a piece of software that enables you to “browse” the internet and all the sites and pages it offers. Internet Explorer is a browser, but it is not your only choice, and many would argue that it is not your best option, myself included.

The main browsers available to you (for free) are Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari (Apple’s browser), Chrome (Google’s browser) and Opera. While there are heaps more, these are the main ones. If you are interested in seeing which browsers are the most widely used you go to http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp.

If you followed the above link you will see that there are three versions of IE, or Internet Explorer, listed and soon there will probably be a fourth, Internet Explorer 9. The three versions are listed firstly because nearly 40% of internet users are on IE, so it is an important browser. But the reason the three latest releases are listed for IE, and not the three latest versions of the others, is because IE’s browsers differ so wildly and are often the bain of the web designer’s life.

I won’t take this opportunity to vent about Internet Explorer and their terrible record of being compliant with the rest of the internet, but I will explain why you, as the user and owner of a website, should know and care about the difference between browsers.

Every browser is slightly different in the way it interprets a website and in turn displays the content. I’m sure many of you have called your web design company wanting to know why an image is suddenly a lot higher or why something funky is going on with the text. As a website designer, the first question I ask the client is what browser they are using and what version of the browser is it.

Note: To find out what browser you are using and the version of that browser, in most cases you can go to the “Help” menu, when browsing the internet, and there will be an option entitled “About Internet Explorer” or “About Firefox” etc, depending on the browser you are using.

Browsers are gradually falling in line with one another in terms of how they display content, Internet Explorer included; however there are still often significant differences in display.  You as the client have to then make the decision on whether this is a big problem or not.  If the display error only occurs in Safari or Opera you may choose to let it go because only 6% of internet users may see the glitch. However, if the error occurs in Firefox which serves nearly 50% of internet users then you may want to do something about it.

If you do want to do something what are your options? Well the first and cheapest is to fix the problem in the browser which is displaying the error, but this doesn’t always mean that the error is fixed in the other browsers. So then your option is to get you web design company to produce a style sheet for each browser. A style sheet is a set of rules which determines how your website will look. Having multiple style sheets is your best option here, but will add to the development costs. So again it comes down to a decision at your end. Is the display error a big enough problem to warrant the extra spend?

Browsers can be a right royal pain if you fall fowl of their inconsistencies, but it all comes with the territory of having a website. Hopefully now you will be a little better armed when it comes to knowing your website and the way people view it. Send us an email if you have any questions about your website or the way browsers are displaying it.

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…

New Online Store
Spike has developed their own online store which can quickly and easily be customised to your businesses requirements. The store can connect to a variety of payment gateways including the world renowned PayPal or Camtech gateways. Ask us how our store can be tailored to your businesses.

HTML Newsletter Management Version 4
Many of you have a version of the HTML email / newsletter on your system. Each version of the HTML email / newsletter comes with increased filtering options, record keeping and reporting.

Brand New Photos Galleries
Our new photo galleries make use of the funky new jQuery technology which allows your website’s visitors to easily view hundreds of photos at terrific resolution while navigating easily between the photos.

The Admin Site Version 2.0 allows you to easily upload multiple photos, add comments as well as edit, hide or delete individual or groups of images. You are also able to categorise all of your images into albums and galleries.

You can view an example of the galleries at http://au.blueseptember.org/blue_september_photo_albums.php.

Product Image Zoom
This is a terrific little application which allows your clients to easily zoom in on smaller images in order to see the detail of the product. All you need to do is upload a small image and a large image via The Admin Site and the rest is done for you.

You can view an example of the Product Image Zoom at http://www.pca.org.au/results09/sx/awards/Best-of-Show-Award-3.php

New Video Galleries
Many of you have had the need for video on your website over time, now we have a great application which allows you to either upload your own videos, or grab a video from YouTube and put it into you website. You can have as many videos as you like, listed in a play list which is easy for your website’s visitors to click and view.

We’ve made use of this technology in our new video tutorials which many of you would already be using. We can of course ‘skin’ the player and playlist so that it fits perfectly into your website’s look and feel.

Video Tutorials
With the latest version of The Admin Site comes video tutorials. The video tutorials are never longer than five minutes in duration are aimed at showing your how to quickly and easily use The Admin Site. You are also able to request the creation of a video should you require it.

Improved Search Engine Optimisation
With version 2 of The Admin Site comes the ability for you to control even more aspects of your website which effect your performance in search engines such as Google.

On top of these great new additions to The Admin Site, Spike WebDesign has also been doing a lot of work developing software which helps to streamline our clients’ workflow. If you have tasks which are taking up a lot of your time or repeatedly costing you money, talk to us about how we can automate these tasks and free up your time to focus on more important areas of your business.

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.

Each page of the website features a fading photo gallery depicting shots of children from the school. The photos communicate brilliantly how engaged the children are and are clearly having a terrific time.

The Tiny Toes Ballet website was built using a combination of HTML, Flash, xml, jQuery and tradition JavaScript. You can view the site at http://www.tinytoesballet.com.au/.

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.

The Specs For Less website is powered by Spike WebDesign’s proprietary content management system, The Admin Site. Through the use of The Admin Site Specs For Less have control over:

• Frame and lens management
• Postage pricing management
• HTML Emails to a database of subscribed members
• Member management
• Gift Voucher Creation and Management
• Control over all page content

The shopping cart for Specs For Less is integrated with PayPayl. As a world leader in online payment gateways it was decided that PayPal was the best option for when the site first launched.

We also needed to allow for the entry of customer prescriptions. Lenses are very specific and personalised; therefore, if a customer chooses to buy a frame with lenses they will not be able to complete the purchasing process without filling out their prescription form. Specs For Less is dedicated to ensuring their customers get the best possible lens for their eyes.

Finally, we installed our search engine optimisation strategies and backend software to ensure Specs For Less got off to the right start by performing well in search engines such as Google.

If you have any questions about the new Specs For Less website or would like an online store or a similar website please send us an email. You can reach us through our contact page, http://www.spikewebdesign.com.au/contact-us.php.

The first question that needs to be asked is a simple one but the most important. Why do I need a website and what do I want it to do? Many people will answer straight away; “Well I would like an ‘About Us’ page, maybe a ‘Contact Us’ page and a few other pages like other sites have… you know.” This response is akin to telling a builder that you’d like a house with walls and a couple of doors scattered throughout the house.

What you need to consider are questions like these:

What would you like your website to look like?
The first step we always suggest to clients is to look around at other sites you like and take note what it is you like about them. We suggest you look at sites both within and outside of your industry. Once you do find a few appealing sites, ask yourself: Is it the color scheme, the menu, the horizontal or vertical layout etc that appeals.

Other areas to look at are any materials, logos or corporate colors you already have and use for your business.

A lot of money can be saved if you are clear about the look you want rather than wanting to make significant changes later when the development of your new website is well underway. Building a website is not dissimilar to designing a house. It is easy for an architect to add a new room to their plans while they are in the conceptual stage, but once the house is built and the structure laid down, adding a new room is a big and costly problem. The same goes for websites, large structural changes are easily done in the initial design process but become costly if requested when all the foundations have been laid.

Do you want to attract new customers with your website?
This is a must if you will be marketing your business/website. When potential clients hit your website for the first time you’ll want your website, and more importantly, your homepage set out in a way that presents important information about why your business is different to your competitors as well as a few well placed ‘Calls to Action’.

Treat your homepage the same way you would speed dating. You only have limited time and space to communicate your best features as well as why you are more attractive than the next competitor.

Is your website purely an online information source for current clients?
This is often seen as the opposite of the first question, however, they often work hand in hand on well built websites. Many businesses have a lot of information or new products that can be helpful to both existing clients and new ones. However, if you believe many visitors will be coming to your website searching for information rather than a service you provide, then it is important to know prior to their arrival what they’ll be wanting and then, secondly, have a great navigation system that allows users to easily find what they are looking for.

Do you want your website to be interactive?
Some websites are purely for the user to absorb information while others have interactive components, be it survey’s, games, filtering of content to customise their experience etc. Do you want your website to offer interactive components?

Will you need a Content Management System (CMS)?
Many sites have the requirement to frequently update their content. Be it information, sporting results, news releases or otherwise it can be very expensive to employ a company or contractor to continually make these updates for you at their hourly rate. A better option in this scenario is to have a content management system tailored to your requirements that allows you to maintain your own site..

Think about sections that you would like to be able to update regularly or processes that currently take you a lot of time that might be able to be automated or made easier via the use of a CMS.

Not every site requires a CMS. Consider at length whether you have the time and resources to continually update the content on your site. If the answer is no then you shouldn’t waste your hard earned on a CMS.

Will you have a need for video?
A lot of websites these days feature video. There are many different ways video can be delivered through your website and in order for the best strategy to be implemented you need to decide the nature of your video requirements. Will your videos be continually changing, will they be lengthy, or short and punchy? Do you want them to be readily available to the world or available only to registered members?

Will you be selling products through your website?
While many websites have the purpose of creating more business and income, not all sites require or want their products to be sold online. Selling through your website can be as simple as having a downloadable order form or it could be as complex as an online store complete with a shopping cart, dozens of products with purchasing and delivery options.

Do you want your website to collect, organise and analyse data for you?
It is very important these days to monitor your website’s performance and then in turn tweak various elements based on the statistics to help achieve the various goals you have. This is a double edged sword though. There are so many different statistics which can be gathered from a website that it can become daunting and confusing. The key is to identify goals for your website, such as selling products, and then gear your statistics analysis so that you can focus on ways to achieve those specific goals.

Now just because you know about a lot of functionality now, such as shopping carts or video, it doesn’t mean that your site should have them. In most cases the old saying of ‘less is more’ is also applicable to websites. Because something might be cool doesn’t mean it will make your clients’ experience better or faster. The focus should always be “how can I help the client find what they are looking for and intersect that with the goals for my website as quickly and efficiently as possible”.

In short, a web designer can help you plan your website but it is you that needs to have a strong idea of what you want to achieve with your website if you want to have a successful internet presence.

Future articles will go into a bit more depth about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), choosing a website design company, content management systems and more.
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