Peppercorn Blog
Archive for the ‘Web Designers’ Category
Google Website Optimizer
January 15th, 2010
Google has a tool that will allow web designers to try different designs, versions or content of their website to gain a solid idea of what is most effective. Website designers can create different designs for pages and add them to Google Website Optimizer which will automatically distribute users to the differently designed pages. Google will then offer statistics on which pages were successful and how many ‘goals’ converted.
Secondly, once you have established which design layout works the best, you can experiment with various text content and images in the same way to see which variation gains the most of what you want to achieve. This will really help web designers isolate the message for the sites they create and help you realise what your users want from your site.
This is valuable information for website designers as it gives real data as to what works and what doesn’t. Click here to see for yourself.
Peppercorn to Prototype Websites
December 22nd, 2009
Peppercorn is now using a new prototyping tool to develop front-end and CMS areas of websites it is developing. By developing sites in a usable, clickable format for our clients to view, feedback, amend and approve we are sure this will make the development process easier for us as web designers and our clients as they will be able to see exactly what is to be delivered in a working model before its coded.
Peppercorn always strives to ensure customer satisfaction and is always looking for new ways to improve our service. Any feedback is appreciated!
Peppercorn’s 10th Birthday
December 5th, 2009
2009 was the year to celebrate Peppercorns’ 10th birthday. A new site was launched this week at www.peppercorn.co.uk to celebrate the occasion with a new portfolio page showcasing our latest and best work over the last 10 years.
Its been a long road as web designers that has seen us develop hundreds of websites, big and small, online games and many other online applications. We’ve meet many people, heard many ideas and made many of these ideas reality.
For the next ten years we look forward to meeting more new people and pushing the limits of the Internet to make more ideas reality.
Who Owns Your Code?
November 13th, 2009
Choosing web designers is a major decision to make as you will likely have a relationship with them for months, possibly years to come. When website designers pitch for work, they can often show you a great design portfolio and talk about the functionalility of the site and what they can do for you and your business but there can be hidden pitfalls in the small print of any contract that should be looked for.
One of the main problems many people approach Peppercorn Web Design with is the fact that they are unable to gain access to the files of their own website. Many web designers will not allow FTP access or give the website files their clients for various reasons. Even though they have paid for the website in full and perhaps just want to change hosts or have another company perform some seo work, they are unable to do this as they cannot access the files to their site.
This is most frustrating and many times, peoples hands are tied and their only option is to stay with those web designers or start again. This can be a waste of time and money. The lesson to be learned here when choosing a website designer is to ask them upfront, “Who will own the website files and code once final payment has been made?”. Any reply that is not “You”, should leave you to consider whether this company is worth doing business with.
Ensure that you have it in writing, or even better, in the contract that on final payment the website files and code will belong to you and you are free to take the site elsewhere should you need to. This is the only way you can protect yourself from being ransomed by other website designers.
Choosing a Web Designer
November 9th, 2009
Peppercorn recently had a client that went to a specialist SEO company to carry out their SEO work. Unfortunaly, the client paid a large sum of money upfront and just a few months later, the company went out of business taking the money with it. To protect yourself from this happening to you, there are some key things to research as you decide on web designers or SEO company.
Check their portfolio:
Start is by looking at the designers portfolio. This should give you a good idea of their graphic design skills and on looking more closely at the sites within the portfolio, you will be able to test the sites and the functionality. Do the graphics stand up to your expectations and has the agency completed similar projects to yours in size, functionality and complexity? If so, this may be a good agency to approach for a quote.
Send your brief:
Contact the website design company and send them a brief. The brief should have enough detail in it so the agency can really understand what your project is about but not so much detail that they can’t get back to you with their own ideas and vision. A good agency will give you ideas and suggestions on what you can do with the site and how it can impact your business. Don’t necessarily do all the hard work for them as this will give you a chance to test their creativity and understanding of the project.
Check copyrights:
Once the company has come back to you with their proposal and cost it is absoloutly vital that you ask on completion and payment for the website, who owns the copyright and the code to the site? Many website designers will not tell you but write it into the contract that they own the copyright and the code, in effect ransoming you to that company for the life of the website. You will never own the website even after you have paid for it. If you decide to move the site to another host or perhaps want to carry out some additional work to the site with another company, if your web design agency refuse to give you the site files, code or access to the site and this is written into the contract you will be unable to do anything about and either have to continue to use that company or start again.
Face to face
If the costs, portfolio and copyrights are agreeable to you, the next step will be to meet face to face. It is always wise to visit the web design agency’s’ office to ensure they are not a one man band working out of a bedroom. Check the office exists and meet the team personally that will be working on your website.
Check references and history of the agency
Find out how long the company has been trading as if it is a new company or company that has not been trading for long, you may run the risk of the company failing and taking your website with it. Ask the agency for a list of current and past clients and contact these people and ask them what their experience was with that website designer.
Once these steps have been carried out for each company, you should be in a good position to make an informed decision as to which web designers to award your project to.
