Category: Web Design

Choosing a domain name may seem like the easiest thing in the world to do but after a recent joke domain backfiring on us we thought we would share our experience and offer a few points to consider before anyone else makes an equally daft mistake.

So what are these simple things to consider before committing to a domain name?

1) Is it likely to offend?
PoLR were recently commissioned to design a website for 2 young folk singers. Over our initial meeting (which involved the odd drink or two) the domain name was decided upon. Now, we thought, who wants to use the obvious solution? (their names). So it was decided that www.folkmesenseless.co.uk was the far funkier and fun option! It was funky and fun for all of a few weeks until it was pointed out that humour varies from country to country and the American market for instance, may not find it quite so witty. Ah well, back to the obvious solution then! *sulk*

2) Can it be misread?
We’ve all seen the blog posts with (unintentionally) humorous domains. Who can forget the ‘Pen Island’ company who went for penisland.net or the equally unforgettable PR company,’Who Represents’ with the domain whorepresents.com? This is good for humorous emails between friends but it may not be the way you want your company to be represented online, especially if your company can absolutely not afford being misread for a slightly rude term. An example a while back being Mole Station Nursery having to change their domain completely as it used to read molestationnursery.com.

3) Can it be read and remembered?
Short and sweet is the name of the game here. Say you have a domain name such as www.thisismymassivedomain.com, maybe it’s memorable, maybe it describes what you do but how does it look on a business card and more importantly…will it even fit?

4) Will it belong to you?
Remember, no matter what name you choose make sure the domain registration is in your name and stop any cyber squatters from holding you to ransom for something that should be yours.

And finally, it’s a long shot but should anyone have a use for www.folkmesenseless.co.uk it’s now up for sale!

Registering a domain name is something that a lot of people leave up to their web designer or hosting company. PoLR have recently come across a practice that, although slightly unscrupulous, is something that cannot be easily policed as not everyone is aware of the problem. So what is this practice we are referring to?

It is the registering domain names on your behalf but not under you or your company’s name.*

So what does this mean to you?

Well, firstly, think of it this way. You set up your company, work hard to make it work and decide to get a website. The domain is bought on your behalf, website built and then maybe you spend years building your online presence. So what happens if after all this hard work you then decide to then transfer your hosting or site design etc to someone else? If the domain is not registered under your details your previous host could quite easily refuse to pass the domain to you. If this happens and you cannot resolve this through Nominets Dispute Resolution then there is not much you can do short of starting afresh with a new domain. As much of an annoyance this would be it is far preferable to being forceably tied to a company who have effectively held you to ransom for your company’s online identity.

In an attempt to stop anyone else falling foul of this we have a few tips for anyone thinking of registering a domain name through a third party.

1) Ensure that your potential domain registering company does not make a habit of registering domains in their own name by looking up their company using domain name tools If they have hundreds of domain names registered to them alarm bells should ring. Bear in mind though that this is not 100% accurate for example a search for Polr brings back over 100 results whereas PoLR.co.uk actually only have four at the moment (all our own!), make sure you are using the correct companys details in your search 🙂

2) Have it written into the contract that the domain MUST be registered under your details so you have some documentation should it come to dispute resolution. Do not fall into the trap of simply assuming that ‘It goes without saying’ that you would own the domain.

3) Research may take a little time but will be priceless if it stops you from getting into a dispute. Look at their current clients and look up their details in the whoisdatabase. If their clients’ domain names are not registered to each individual client then it may be best to steer clear.

4) If in doubt, but you still want other services from the company such as hosting, register your domain yourself. You can do this easily from any number of sources although names.co.uk are our preference due to their excellent customer service. Any web company can work with a pre-bought name and question the skills of any that suggest otherwise!

Domain registration is not something that should be taken lightly.

Would you let someone register your company name under their address and details? Then why take the chance with your online address?

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* What Nominet say: A small number of Registrars routinely register domain names in their own name without the knowledge or permission of their customer. This breaks the terms of the contract, because it can cause major problems for the intended Registrant. Read More >>

Having a content management system (CMS) built into your website design is one of the most commonly requested requirements from our customers. But what are the benefits of a CMS and why would your business need one?

1) Manage the content yourself
A CMS enables you to update your site’s content as and when you need to. You are in complete control of updates and do not have to wait for your turn in the development queue for your changes to be implemented – changes are instant too. With our CMS your website can be updated from any where and on any computer using a simple administration area and an internet connection of course!

2) Cost free updates!
Along the same lines as point one but worthy of it’s own point is cost free updates. As you manage the content yourself you do not need to pay a third party to do the changes for you. For instance, say your developer had a minimum charge of £35 you could end up paying at least £35 every time you request a change no matter how small. With a CMS you can eliminate these charges and save yourself money.

3) Keeping it fresh and up-to-date
Updating your content on a regular basis shows customers that you company is evolving and will keep them coming back to visit. For example, a news area will allow you to publish all your company’s news and let customers keep up to date with your company’s developments.

4) No technical knowledge required
PoLR’s CMS is so simple to use that you need no technical knowledge at all to update your website. You log in to a secure admin area and navigate to the area you want to update. You are then shown a text area with Word like icons, type in your changes and hit update and that’s it, you updates are immediately viewable on your live website. If you can use Word you can use our PoLR’s CMS.

5) Spread the responsibility
As there is no technical knowledge required and a secure admin area it is possible for you to grant access to whoever you want in your company and allow them to update the content.

Living with your first website design can be like living with that familiar and safe pair of curtains you’ve had hanging in your house for years. They looked fantastic when they first graced your windows and at first you couldn’t resist having the odd sneaky peak to congratulate yourself on your good taste. With something so familiar and comforting, how do you get a fresh pair of eyes to review said curtains and realise you need a spanking new pair!

The web moves at such a remarkable rate that designs and trends are changing on almost a weekly basis. Take for example the Sun Microsystems website, as one of the oldest domains out there we thought it was the obvious choice to demonstrate our point. The first screenshot was the first version of the site I could find (circa 1996) and the second is from today (2008). What if Sun had never renewed their site? What would it have done to their popularity if they had kept the original, basic design? The new incarnation of the site is fresh, interesting, informative, easy to navigate and modern looking. It can easily hold its own against its competitors.

So, to go back to the original point…how do you know that your site needs a facelift and where can you go for help.

An unbiased public opinion

Forums such as the Web Designer Forum allow you to submit your site for review by other forum members. Advice is normally very helpful and will give you unbiased opinions on design and layout. Forums such as SEO Refugee are invaluable sources of honest feedback on the SEO viability of your website and is also well worth a look.

Evaluate the competition

Comparing your website to the competition’s is another way to get a feel for the state of your current site. How does your navigation fare? Is the user directed to where you want them to be? What about the colours and images? Are they fresh and clean? Treat the Sun images above as if they were two different companies. You can tell with a very quick look that the second screenshot is more modern, fresh and more likely to hold the users attention. Put yourself in the browser’s shoes, if you had the option of both sites above, which would you be more likely to stay on?

Family and Friends

I’ve found in the past that family and friends are usually too loyal to offer contructive criticism! I have managed to get round this by starting my opinion request with “I don’t like X about my site, what do you think?” rather than “do you like my site”. Starting by showing you are unsure of the design usually gives those close to you the go ahead to say what they really think!

Get the professional view

Bear in mind though that nothing will beat a professional viewpoint. PoLR provide a free website healthcheck to all potential clients and will give you a straightforward, easy to read report covering all aspects of your website from web design and general feeling of the site to SEO, usability and potential money making avenues to explore.

If you want to make sure your website is fit-for-purpose, please contact us to request your free website healthcheck and see what we can do for you.

PoLR employ a simple but effective development process for web application development.

Stage 1: Requirements Gathering
The initial stage is requirements gathering which may involve:

1. Discussion with clients to distinguish between needs and desires
2. Investigation of applicable laws and standards
3. Analysis of existing systems for replacement or integration
4. Interviews with key stakeholders such as management and the employees who will use the system
5. Observation of existing business processes

The main deliverable of the requirements gathering stage is a System Requirements Specification (SRS) document which is based on the IEEE 830 standard. In short the SRS details the functions the web application should provide and any constraints such as specific software components it should use.

The SRS will be delivered along with a schedule of cost and time estimations for the project.

Stage 2: Iterations
Depending on the scale and complexity of the individual web application a number of iterations will be devised. An iteration is a set of steps that produce a partial working functionality specified in the SRS. A typical iteration would involve:

1. Architecture: A design of how the specific part of the application will function and integrate with the system as a whole.
2. Test Specification: All tests required to validate the functionality within the iteration will be defined.
3. Implementation: Creation of relevant software modules, database elements and integration with existing software elements.
4. Testing: The test specifications will be used to test the implementation to ensure it is functionally correct.

Stage 3: Testing
When iterations are complete the software as a whole is tested both at the module level and as a complete system. With web applications it is typical to simulate users carrying out common tasks to ensure that the system functions as expected.

Stage 4 Delivery & Training
Delivery of web applications most often involves sourcing suitable hosting, installation and a repeat of testing procedures to ensure that the hosting environment has not introduced any unexpected behaviours due to changes in system configuration. PoLR can advise on hosting requirements and providers from very simple shared hosting to complex load balanced clusters for large applications.

Together with the working application installed and functioning PoLR will supply a backup of all software, databases and materials on permanent media.

PoLR can provide training and manuals on the use of web applications from day to day tasks to how to perform backups.

Stage 5: Maintenance
Depending upon the specific project the amount of maintenance advised can vary significantly. However, most clients are advised to schedule maintenance time for the first three months after delivery.

What is scheduled maintenance time? In short, we schedule a set number of hours per month specifically for your applications maintenance and will rearrange daily schedules where possible. This ensures that we can respond to issues promptly.

Unscheduled maintenance can not receive the same level of priority due to the number of development projects managed. However, we are proactive in managing all maintenance requests and tracking waiting times.

Types of Maintenance
There are three main types of maintenance: corrective, adaptive and perfective.

Corrective maintenance is when a bug or malfunction is discovered in the software after delivery and must be fixed. This is perhaps what most individuals think of as maintenance.

Adaptive maintenance is when an application must be partially re-engineered due to changes in your business environment. A typical example would be wishing to expand payment processing options to include a new system or integration with new stock control systems.

Perfective maintenance is often requested by clients after a medium period of using their application and usually involves changing the flow of existing modules are the addition of new modules to make the system easier to use or more maintainable. Typical examples include realising that a common task requires entering on screen to check some details then entering them manually in another screen, perfective maintenance would be changing the application to remove the need to navigate multiple screens for the common task.

PoLR are committed to the ongoing maintenance and development of delivered applications and can help grow your software with your company.