After last year where we launched a new look for our airsoft client, SS Airsoft, and new design and updated web coding for Storm-Lake, we are now on our third gun-based website!  This time we were approached by barrel mamanufacturing company, RFour, Inc, to design and  develop a website for their target rifle barrels.

The design process began with the development of a logo that represented the new line of 10/22 magnum and rifle barrels. Our client was thrilled with the initial concept and with a few tweaks we were soon on to the web design.

We presented a website design that was both modern and sleek, tying in with the product itself and target shooting audience.  Rfour were pleased with the design and ready to move forward immediately.  We took photos of the 3 main barrels they sell, showcasing their features so potential buyers could see the craftsmanship as well as various barrel features.

Working with Rfour to develop fresh and SEO-designed content, we fleshed out the information pages and laid out the buy page displaying the various barrels and associated options.  The customer then follows a step by step check out process with a clear guide advising them through the process and what steps are left.

The site launched today after a final run-through to verify the site worked across all browsers, including IE (7-9), Firefox, Safari and Chrome.

Check out the site and let us know what you think! 10/22 Rifle Barrels.

SS Airsoft, with their 8000+ followers on Facebook and huge airsoft fan base in the Atlanta area, launched their indoor airsoft arena just 2 years ago and have had such an amazing response from airsoft followers they needed to update their website to better show off their arena and to enable them to update and revise their own content on a regular update to reflect upcoming events and specials.

We worked with the owners to develop a custom background web image that uses elements from their own uniquely designed arena, including skull designs, bullet holes and spray paint effects.  The website header design also incorporates some of the amazing detail work they have developed in their facility that receive accolades from reviewers and players alike, such as their abandoned army jeep, skull with USA flag graffiti, zombie-filled crashing car and decrepit walls.

With the new look website launched, within a week of design completion, we created editable templates for the arena staff to upload information about upcoming events, add new photos, and edit opening hours and regular features.

When our client, Xtreme, said they wanted to revamp their website, I don’t think any of us really had in mind the complete revamp we would end up doing.

The new website, launched this weekend, has a bold new modern look that impresses on the site’s visitors just how much care and attention Xtreme puts into everything they do. we have re-taken the product photography, re-written every page of content, and designed a site to appeal to all different types of visitors.

As well as adding new features to help potential buyers get to the level of information they need to make an informed decision, we have created a smooth, seamless cart and check out system, completely customized to suit all our client’s wishes. Xtreme website visitors can add accessories to their cart when they add his main product, as well as get details of special offers available to them, in case they missed them at an earlier stage. We have hooked up the final purchase invoice into Xtreme’s own accounting system so they don’t have to waste time plugging in information from the website and they can tie that information directly into their shipping software. And of course its all database-driven, so can be easily updated when prices and discounts change, as well as new products being launched!

From a website visitor perspective, they can view the Xtreme Heater in a 3D photo rotation, as well as take a useful interactive overview tour of the many features of the star product. On the left side of every page, we have a 5-step program to help people learn everything they need to know about the heater and how it will help them, from choosing the right model for their boat to a thorough installation guides, detailed on a boat -by-boat basis. For happy customers, they can submit their testimonial to Xtreme for the chance to win free gear and show their heater installation in the testimonial showcase section.

Our support area goes way beyond a regular FAQ page, allowing customers to search the questions and answers by their choice of keyword as well as see the most popular searches other visitors have asked. The page is sourced by a regular database so Xtreme can update the information whenever they like.

Xtreme launched their site with an email flyer to all their past customers offering a 20% discount as well as new information and products available, all developed and designed by the Documentopia team.

Let us know what you think of our slick new website for Xtreme Heaters – a site that’s cross-browser compatible (tested in Chrome, Safari, Firefox and IE 7-9), as well as tested on all manner of devices from ipad2 to android phones and macs/pcs. Did we mention we did a bunch of new product photography as well? Can you tell we’re very proud of this latest achievement? Not too shabby!

Since we are about to retire one of our last DT Framework sites I thought I would try to share a few of the extensions we are using for CodeIgniter

This Controller extension solves the problem of not being able to call the index with parameters, it looks for a controller method with the same name as the parameter and if there isn’t one it just passes the parameters to index.

Lets assume we have a method named load.  And we call /controller/load – then the load method gets called, but if we go to /controller/1 – then index gets called with index(1).   – Only thing you have to worry about is namespace collisions but otherwise it can simplify your url structure.

class Remap_Controller extends CI_Controller {
 
    function _remap($method, $params) {
 
        // Remap all the functions but allow for params to index
        if (method_exists($this, $method)) {
            return call_user_func_array(array($this, $method), $params);
        } else {
            array_unshift($params, $method);
            return call_user_func_array(array($this, "index"), $params);
        }
    }
 
}

So just drop that in your applications/core directory and then when you define your controller

class Remap_Controller extends CI_Controller

And you have a fancy new controller, I am sure things could be done to improve this but it works for my purposes.

This is just a quick post to other designers who upon completion of a website are asked to provide other materials for their clients, and in this case – a letterhead template in Word.

In the past I have noticed taking logo and other line-art elements from Illustrator into Word creates ugly images when the final Word doc is sent to PDF (e.g., bit-mappy and rough).  So, I decided to go with the Windows Metafile.  I exported my artwork from Illustrator, set up the Template and even tested it in 2007 and 2003 Word.  It was looking fab.

Then I sent it to the client.

I got this weird email back about the address text not fitting in the line art.  I was surprised as this text was created IN Illustrator and formed part of the Windows Metafile image. 

See screen cap left from a scan.

<— Not right at all!

So the lesson: Apparently in some versions of Word, the Windows Metafile actually retains the type and line art elements so if the end user doesn't have the font you used, they get some weird results.

The answer: convert your line art text to outlines before you export to Metafile.  The Word document file size stays nice and low using the metafile and the artwork in PDF format stays crisp but you need to make sure there are no text elements in the illustration before you export!

<— How it should look

This month in Documentopia-land has been one of the busiest to date.  We just hope this doesn’t mean that next month we’ll be twiddling our thumbs!!

Well yesterday amid the turmoil of the day, we launched a cool, fresh website for a new start-up in the UK: Move4Ward.  The owner, Zoe, is a professional coach who helps teams and individuals through changing times in their life with critical and challenging coaching. 

We provided a website in a short timeframe to help Move4Ward quickly develop their online presence, as well as logo design, business cards and letterhead.

Custom Web-Based Application for Customer Check in/out and Inventory Control

Using barcode scanner

One of our clients, the owner of a game-based entertainment arena, was having difficulty tracking its customers from initial payment through to rental gear check in and out, as well as with continued inventory discrepancies.

Documentopia spent some time at the facility observing the existing method and flow. Together with the owner and staff we devised a streamlined process with an easy-to-use touch screen application interface.

Using the touch screen

Our web-based application allows the arena staff to verify payment by connecting directly to the QuickBooks point of sale system, and check in customers using a bar code scanner, assign rental gear to each player and track returns. The touch screen interface ensures a quick check in process when a number of customers arrive at one time.

Choosing options on the touch screen monitor

The system also provides the staff with realtime stats on arena activity (e.g., number of players on the field, rental gear available and out of action) as well as having a countdown system which flags players who are close to expiration on their rental package.

Being a web-based application, it doesn’t require any local or customized installation and it allows access to the application from any terminal around the arena, or over the internet.

When a company’s goals and strategy change, so too can their website!

Over the past month, we have worked with Snap Prepaid to develop their website beyond its original goal.   We set their website up in 2009 to serve their existing clients as a portal to securely purchase additional handsets and cellular devices from their trusted supplier.

Snap Prepaid, in reviewing their website and overall company strategy, is opening their doors to more dealers and companies in the refurbished device field.  They didn’t need to change the overall website functionality as they were happy with the existing e-commerce site structure and back-end management interface, but wanted to add a new look and feel on the home page that then continued throughout the site.

We designed a new home page that highlighted Snap’s key characteristics in a more visual manner, while also showcasing some of the best deals on the site (which can be edited any time via the content management system).

Re-theming a website like this plus re-writing and editing existing content shows your customers that you are always changing and moving forwards, while adding new content stops the site from stagnating at the bottom of Google search rankings.

Check out their new web design.

Some help for all our favourite & loyal Clients & Friends

The information included in this blog post answers one of the most frequently asked questions I receive when I help a client develop their online presence with a website: “How do I get to the top of a Google search?”

Getting high rankings on search engines (the process of search engine optimization [SEO]) is not a speedy process with immediate and obvious results.  But with time, an ongoing effort, and a clear strategy, you can do a lot of work yourself and guide your website’s Google ranking destiny in the upward direction.

DO understand that any site changes you make to enhance your Google ranking (except paid advertising) can take up to 10 months to start showing positive results.  These things take time but are a worthwhile endeavor.

Please read through my hopefully helpful guide of things you can do, and, as always, let us know if you need any help.

1. Have you set up your Google Places listing?

This is free, easy and one of the best ways to get your name and information on the first page of a Google search when users type in a location (e.g., “fishing, York, England”). Your business will appear on the Google Places map, and if you have created a listing, people can click on the map location marker to learn more about your company.  This isn’t a website, but more like a detailed yellow pages listing.

To set up your Google Places listing, go to: http://www.google.com/support/places/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=28247&from=28247&rd=1

If you really like your Places listing, you can pay to promote your listing in a new Google feature called Boost.

2. Google Adwords – Paid advertising

If you want to quickly improve the number of people who find your site, you can pay to have an ad appear on Google’s non-organic search results (e.g., the listings at the top of the page or to the right of the regular [or organic] results).  Google Adwords lets you set up an advert listing that will be activated to appear on Google when users type in certain keywords that you have identified in your ad campaign.  You can decide your budget (e.g., $2.00/£1.50 per day).  You only pay when a user clicks on the advert and goes through to your website. You can also create a goal page on the website (e.g., the BUY page for an e-commerce site or the DIRECTIONS/MAP page for a venue/location-based website) and we will add code in that page.  Then when a person clicks through from your ad and stays on your website long enough to get to that “goal page”, this will be considered a “conversion”.  A conversion is the best form of identifying success from your Adwords endeavours.

There are a number of factors to consider but with a good understanding of your market place, your clients, and the keywords people will use to try to find you, you can do this! Documentopia has set up a number of these ads for our clients.  If you need help setting up the process, just give us a call.

3. Fresh content

Don’t let your site go stagnant. Yes, we created you a great website that says everything you wanted, at the time you set it up.  But how long ago was that?  The longer your site sits unchanged, the more likely  it is to drop in Google and other search engine rankings.  The complex algorithms that Google uses to rank your website emphasize freshness of content as Google wants to make sure its customers (the people doing the searching) always get the most relevant up-to-date information.

Documentopia has provided several clients with a content management interface where they can edit news, resources or other pages to their website using a simple-to-use editing system.

Or you can always contact us whenever you want to switch up your content if you prefer the hands-off approach.

4. Know the market and industry trends

To enhance your advertising and continue to create effective content on your website, you need to keep abreast of what is happening in the world. Check out Google insights to see what other information you can glean from Google’s vast data banks of search data to identify trends pertinent to your market.

If home foreclosures increase, you can start offering “recession deals” to your clients or as political fervor grows during election years, don’t forget to add some fresh content relating to election deals or specials in your website content.

5. Use Google Alerts

A great way to keep up with the changing world – create custom search-related alerts. As Google says,

Google Alerts is content change detection and notification service that automatically notifies users when new content from news, web, blogs, video and/or discussion groups matches a set of search terms selected by the user and stored by the Google Alerts service. Notifications can be sent by email, as a web feed or displayed on the users iGoogle page.

For example ask Google to alert you about any changes that affect the search terms that pertain to your business (e.g., “website development Atlanta”), set the volume (number of alerts per day/week/month, etc) and put in your email address to start receiving alerts.

6. Get other businesses to link to you – Relevant Linking

Why do we want to do this? The Googlebots that explore your site to scan for up-to-date content, not only scan through all your text but they also follow all the links that you have on your website as well as all the links on every website that they list including those that link TO YOUR WEBSITE.

Imagine a website that sells coolers.  They should contact companies who sell camping gear, boat supplies, and picnic items, for example, companies that have a relevant connection to that product.  They need to join a network of companies that tie together in a recreational / food field, which ties well with their product by linking to them on their site and getting links back from others.

DO try to avoid direct reciprocal linking, as this can easily be tracked by Google and seen as a simple link share (which they disapprove of, especially those long pages of links).  Look for 3 way links (e.g., can you add a link on your landscaping business website to a supplier of plants, who links to a lawn supplier who links back to you?).  Things to think about so you don’t get caught out.

Look at your competitors: Who is linking to them?  One quick way to do this is to type “Link:webaddress” in the search box of Google, e.g., “link:www.redwoodpark-york.co.uk” and you will see a list of who links to that site.   This isn’t always up to date so you can contact Documentopia for further more detailed help in who links to your site.

7. And Finally, one of the best feedback resources for a site owner:
Google Analytics

Documentopia has set up the code required to obtain Analytical information about your website’s performance.  If you want access to this information, set up a Google Analytics account then send us your email address so we can give you access to your site statistics.

The kind of information you can expect to get from Analytics:

• See the number of visits your site has received in a set time frame
• The average bounce rate (e.g., how many people click on your site link then leave immediately)
• Number of pages per visit, average time they spend on the site
• The physical location of people visiting your site (by country, by region, by town…)
  
• How they found you (search engine, website-website linking, etc) and what search terms they used.

All of this information, and more, can be used to refine your content, create an effective online ad campaign, and learn more about what your customers want.  If you have a high bounce rate (hard to quantify but its pretty high if your rate is over 65%), you can try to figure out what the problem is.  Do you sell landscaping services but somehow people are finding you when they are looking for potting soil?  Is your site content misleading somehow?  Take a real good look at your site, send it to people who don’t’ know what you do and have them see how easy it is to figure out what services / products you sell.


That’s it from me for now.  As always, never fail to contact me if you have any questions!

And don’t forget to take a break every now and then!

We just completed a new web site with logo development project in record time.

David, of DL Services, approached us for a website to accompany his Craig’s List posts (where he gets most of his web-sourced business) to add a touch of professionalism to his online look.  He and his wife Linda (The D & L of the company name) wanted to demonstrate their services and capabilities with a fresh looking website.

We designed them a logo that highlighted their key service areas (construction of pavestone walls, lawn services and tree work).

From approval of the logo, we developed a website that also incorporated the key themes of the husband-and-wife operated company.

Check out the site and let us know what you think: DL Services.