CREATIVE-I-DESIGN SERVICES

"Web design" covers a huge range of different disciplines, and there are so many different types of website that it's almost impossible to cover all the bases. From a simple, static set of pages, through to interactive sites, eCommerce and large directories. There's even something called Web 2.0.

Nobody's an expert in every technical discipline, so Creative-i-Design's team members specialise in different areas. We've got Flash gurus, eCommerce guys, database nerds, integration geeks and one freelancer who just sits in a dark room writing code all day.

We've also created our own top-down structured development process, ensuring everything's transparent, measurable and trackable.

What all that means is that our clients get the best skills, combined with effective project management and quality control. So their sites are delivered on time and to budget. And our clients are invariably thrilled with the results. Not only that, but we aim to deliver a fast return on investment.

So talk to us about what you want, challenge us to give you a winning proposal, and see what we come up with.

Graphic design services from Creative-i-Design

Getting everything just right doesn't just mean bunging a few images onto a screen and sticking a phone number at the bottom. It's vital that your website communicates a professional image and reflects you and your organisation.

The layout, images and text need to balance out. If you've ever looked at a site that's been thrown together by an amateur, you'll know exactly what we mean.

Creative-i-Design works with our clients to create the right design for the right requirements. Page layouts are just the start, and if you've got a corporate brochure and brand identity, we'll create a graphic design that works on-screen, not just on paper.

Our graphic design team will work alongside your marketing staff (if you've got them) to create the right design for your new site. And if you don't have a marketing team, we'll do it all for you.

Take a look at our portfolio to see the sites we've already created for clients, and you'll get an idea of our abilities. Then put us to the test.

What are you selling?

Whether it's widgets, soft toys, cars, light bulbs, pet supplies, party accessories, books or boats, Creative-i-Design can create the ideal eCommerce application for your needs.

Your online shop can be as simple or complex as your requirements - if you have only a few products, we can build you a simple website in a matter of a week or so. If you need a full-blown shop, we can do that too, although it might take a little longer. Our record is eight days, but we'd prefer to take our time!

Creative-i-Design's eCommerce sites integrate seamlessly with all the leading online payment systems, such as WorldPay for larger users, and PayPal or Google Checkout for smaller users. We also provide a full interface with your own stock control, order management and distribution systems. If you don't have your own, we can build them in for you.

 Sounds complicated? It is, but that's our problem, not yours.

Just tell us exactly what you want and leave us to do the rest.

Getting your message across doesn't stop when your web site goes live - nowadays people access information about you from Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, blogs, news stories and dozens more specialist social media sources.

Which one you should use depends on your tastes, your business and your constituents.

We'll advise you on a social media strategy which will maximise your reach, at the same time showing you how you can integrate the different elements into a cohesive policy which communicates what you want to say to the people who you want to hear it. We've put together social media stragegies for clients big and small, so the chances are that we can help you.

For those clients who wish to go further, we partner with a a specialist social media company, brimming with experience.

Tell us your plans and we'll advise you how you can deliver.

Keeping your website up to date

So, you've got the perfect website. It reflects you and your organisation exactly as you want it, but what about tomorrow, next week, or next month?

It's vital to keep your site up to date, not just with the latest product or service information, but also pricing and news. With a regularly updated website, visitors will keep coming back (it's called "stickiness") and your business grows. Creative-i-Design gives you the choice of updating the site yourself or our doing it for you.

It doesn't take too much work: a Content Management System (CMS for short) offers a simple way to get all the updates you need online quickly and without fuss. You don't need to be a technical wizard, either: if you can use Microsoft Word, you can use Adobe Contribute, a straightforward updating package.

And for more complex sites, we build a menu-driven CMS into the site itself, so all you need to do is log in to the administrator's area and make your own selections. CMS is a core part of all the sites that Creative-i-Design builds: it empowers you and your staff to take control over your own website and drive your business forward.

Tell us your plans and let us come up with a winning proposal for you.

"I want my site on page one of Google"

If you've invested time and money in your new website, it would be a real shame if nobody saw it. Of course you're going to tell your customers and prospects about it, but what about all the people you haven't met yet?

Search Engine Optimisation (we call it SEO) means making your site as visible as possible to the likes of Google. It's a complex process of coding, visibility and keyword matching. We know most of the variables that Google uses to rank a site, but they don't tell anyone the weighting they give to each element, so it can sometimes get complicated.

Creative-i-Design has SEO specialists who work alongside our coders before, during and after your site goes live to make sure that you have the best possible chance to hit that top spot on Google. Nobody can guarantee a top ranking (if they do, don't trust them), but we've got a great track record of delivering excellent results. And yes, some of our clients are on page one of Google - ask us and we'll show you.

Our SEO specialists can advise you on the most effective way to allocate your advertising budget. We can set up a Google AdWords campaign and give you control over your daily, weekly or monthly spend as you see fit, so it won't break the bank.

Whatever your business and whatever the marketplace you're working in, let us know and we'll support you to maximise your marketing objectives.

Database-driven websites from Creative-i-Design

Complex websites require deeper thinking, and Creative-i-Design has some very big brains. When your business requirements call for something that's a little more than just a few static pages, we're here to help.

"Dynamic" sites build individual pages from a common source - a database - and deliver the information to the user in an attractive, attention-grabbing format. Creative-i-Design's specialists are experts at bringing information to the screen in the best way possible, and can provide you with login-protected content if your business demands it.

Our database team just does databases. Nothing else.

They can work alongside your own IT team to integrate your systems with the website, ensuring that the website delivers accurate, up-to-date, useful information to you, when and where you need it. So as your customers and prospects interact with the website, you're gathering valuable information. That reduces your cost of sale, saves your time and delivers results.

Whether it's an online directory or an interactive customer experience, an information delivery system or information gathering, talk to us about your requirements and Creative-i-Design will put together a solution that meets your needs and your budget.

You are now required by law to add a cookie policy to your site and, at the same time, advise visitors to your site that you use cookies.  You also have to obtain their consent.

• WHAT IS THIS LAW?
  The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations.  It's an EU-wide law that's designed to allow web site visitors to control what information is stored about them.  It relates to commercial AND non-commercial sites.

• WHAT'S A COOKIE?
  It's a small text file that does different things, depending on what the web site designer has set up.  See our cookie policy, which includes a simple explanation of what cookies do.

• DOES MY SITE USE COOKIES?
  Probably!  If you operate any form of statistics (including Google Analytics or web server analysis), if you have a shop or a log-in section, if you run adverts, have social media buttons or content, you use cookies.

• HOW CAN I FIX THIS?
  We need to add a simple cookie approval system to your website. 

• HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
  Depending on your site, we should be able to implement a fixed-fee solution that's competitive, but we'd need to have a look at your site first to understand what's involved.

• WHAT'S INVOLVED?
  It'll take us a few days to grab a backup of the site, make the necessary code changes so your site is fully compliant and upload them to your web server.  We also need to add a page with a cookie policy for you.

• WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T DO ANYTHING?
  In theory, you'll be breaking the law.  In practice, you're not alone: a lot of companies and individuals haven't yet done anything.  However, we don't really have an option here – to comply with the law, you MUST have a cookie policy on your site.
  The Information Commissioner's Office could get heavy – the largest possible fine is £500,000, but that would only apply to huge websites (which yours isn't) that are operated my multinationals (which you're not) that consistently ignore their requests for action (which you won't).

• WHAT DO I NEED TO DO NEXT?
  Call us or drop us an email and we'll talk you through your options.

Maintaining and refreshing your website

Keeping your website up to date doesn't just involve adding news stories from time to time. You need to keep the look and feel up to date as well.

As times change, so do designs and trends. Your website needs to reflect those changes - there's nothing worse than looking at a website that has the latest information on-screen, but displays it in a dated format.

At Creative-i-Design we keep tabs on the very latest trends so you don't have to. We schedule regular review meetings with our clients to advise them on changes to designs and layouts, and whether they're necessary. And if you're thinking of re-branding, talk to us at the same time.

If you plan on introducing a new logo, corporate colour scheme or identity, then let us know and we'll incorporate them into the site for you, meaning your site stays sharp.

"What are my options?"

It's tough to get a clear picture of what you can do online and what your options are. People in our industry tend to fill conversations with jargon and abbreviations, and it can be hard to make sense of what they're telling you. Creative-i-Design has a proven track record in working with clients to help them maximise their options, even if they're using alternative design teams. And we speak plain English, not gobbledygook.

For our consultancy clients, we work as their own experts - on their side and batting their corner - to act as an interface with the development team. We can recommend, advise or simply ask the right questions.

We're flexible, adaptable and challenging - if you're looking for a negotiator to get the best deal possible, we've done that; if you need to re-evaluate your online strategy, we've done that too. If you want to step up a gear or challenge your competitors, Creative-i-Design can advise you of the options that will open new doors for your organisation.

The best option is to sit down and talk to us. We promise you straight talking and no jargon.

Web hosting from Creative-i-Design

Once your site has been completed, we need to put it somewhere so it's visible to other users. That's where web hosting comes in. We don't host sites ourselves, but leave it to the professionals, getting you the best, most appropriate deal at the time.

Creative-i-Design doesn't resell these services. To be honest, we'd probably make about £1 from an annual hosting deal and it's not really worth it. So instead we just manage the whole process for you and pass on any direct costs.

We'll always spell out exactly what's involved and what the costs will be - a relatively straightforward site isn't particularly expensive.

We only use the largest hosting companies which have an experienced, knowledgeable technical support team in case anything goes pear-shaped. So you can be assured of a high-quality, high-speed service.

If you'd like to talk to us about hosting your site, give us a call and we'll give you the good news.

Domain names from Creative-i-Design

Buying a domain name is one of the cheapest aspects of getting your website established. The costs aren't high (around £25 for a .com), so if you can afford it, we usually suggest you get both teh .com and .co.uk.

If you do, they can both point to the same website.

There are domains for individual countries (.co.uk for the UK, .fr for France, .it for Italy, etc) and domains that are international (.com for companies, .gov for government, .org for non-profit organisations, etc).

Realistically, most of us are only interested in the generic and UK ones, but if you need something specific or you have a world-wide project and need to protect your brand identity across many borders, Creative-i-Design can help you.

To get a full run-down of your domain options, ask us.