Category Archives: Websites

This category discusses websites, some websites are built by IT Pie and other websites are those that IT Pie have chosen to comment on.

Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA) Website Redesign

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Great news! The WRPA have engaged us to redesign and develop their new website and e-marketing campaigns.

homepage v2

Following on form their corporate rebranding, we have attended several meetings with the executives to discuss design and functionality.  They seem to be impressed with our proposals, to the extent that we have been instructed to build the new website.

It is going to feature lots of interactivity including offers, promotions, news, articles, members login as well as an e-marketing portal.

Let us know what you think of the design?

Christmas Present Ideas – let IT Pie help you

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So Christmas is upon us once again, last night I was in Winter Wonderland in Cardiff enjoying a glass of mulled wine after successfully avoiding falling over on the ice-rink and I thought, it’s probably about time I began some Christmas shopping, but what do I get for people?gift

Luckily we’ve worked with a wide variety of companies over the years and many of them may just provide the answer to my shopping query, so if you’re like me (disorganised and in need of some Christmas present ideas) below are some ideas.

  • BillBandit – Do you know anyone who is disorganised with their paper (receipts, lists etc) then this clever little gem might be the answer to their problems!
  • The Cardiff Devils – Know a sports fan out there who has or hasn’t seen the Devils play? Why not head to the rink for a match and discover the excitement of Ice Hockey.
  • The Culinary Cottage – Know of any budding chefs? Why not visit the Culinary Cottage and learn how to cook some fantastic cuisine. With a wide range of courses available there’s something for every chef.
  • Chocolate House – We all love chocolate, so why not pick some award winning chocolates for a loved one from the Chocolate House?
  • Listhendig – Do you know someone who just hasn’t got enough bags? Well visit Listhendig and help them expand their collection further.
  • Washington Gallery – Why not visit the Washington Gallery for some art or jewellery? You might even pick up a collectors piece by our own designers who regularly show their work at the Gallery.
  • Penarth Yacht Club – Ever fancied taking to the high seas? How about joining the Penarth Yacht Club who provide sail training courses as well as sailing competitively and leisurely all year round.

All of the above are clients of IT Pie and hopefully will be able to provide you with some gifts this Christmas. To see a full range of our work please head over to the website (www.itpie.co.uk) and we hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

Happy 1st of December – want some Christmas fun?

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So it’s the 1st of December and in the IT Pie office we thought we’d ensure you have a chance of a white Christmas with this cheeky little script.

Simple right click and save one of the following images to your images folder on your website:   snow3 snow

Then copy and paste the below script into you web page after the <body> tag:

<script type=”text/javascript”>

/******************************************
* Snow Effect Script- By Altan d.o.o. (http://www.altan.hr/snow/index.html)
* Visit Dynamic Drive DHTML code library (http://www.dynamicdrive.com/) for full source code
* Last updated Nov 9th, 05′ by DD. This notice must stay intact for use
******************************************/

//Configure below to change URL path to the snow image
var snowsrc=”images/snow.gif”
// Configure below to change number of snow to render
var no = 10;
// Configure whether snow should disappear after x seconds (0=never):
var hidesnowtime = 0;
// Configure how much snow should drop down before fading (“windowheight” or “pageheight”)
var snowdistance = “pageheight”;

///////////Stop Config//////////////////////////////////

var ie4up = (document.all) ? 1 : 0;
var ns6up = (document.getElementById&&!document.all) ? 1 : 0;

function iecompattest(){
return (document.compatMode && document.compatMode!=”BackCompat”)? document.documentElement : document.body
}

var dx, xp, yp;    // coordinate and position variables
var am, stx, sty;  // amplitude and step variables
var i, doc_width = 800, doc_height = 600;

if (ns6up) {
doc_width = self.innerWidth;
doc_height = self.innerHeight;
} else if (ie4up) {
doc_width = iecompattest().clientWidth;
doc_height = iecompattest().clientHeight;
}

dx = new Array();
xp = new Array();
yp = new Array();
am = new Array();
stx = new Array();
sty = new Array();
snowsrc=(snowsrc.indexOf(“dynamicdrive.com”)!=-1)? “snow.gif” : snowsrc
for (i = 0; i < no; ++ i) {
dx[i] = 0;                        // set coordinate variables
xp[i] = Math.random()*(doc_width-50);  // set position variables
yp[i] = Math.random()*doc_height;
am[i] = Math.random()*20;         // set amplitude variables
stx[i] = 0.02 + Math.random()/10; // set step variables
sty[i] = 0.7 + Math.random();     // set step variables
if (ie4up||ns6up) {
if (i == 0) {
document.write(“<div id=\”dot”+ i +”\” style=\”POSITION: absolute; Z-INDEX: “+ i +”; VISIBILITY: visible; TOP: 15px; LEFT: 15px;\”><a href=\”http://dynamicdrive.com\”><img src=’”+snowsrc+”‘ border=\”0\”><\/a><\/div>”);
} else {
document.write(“<div id=\”dot”+ i +”\” style=\”POSITION: absolute; Z-INDEX: “+ i +”; VISIBILITY: visible; TOP: 15px; LEFT: 15px;\”><img src=’”+snowsrc+”‘ border=\”0\”><\/div>”);
}
}
}

function snowIE_NS6() {  // IE and NS6 main animation function
doc_width = ns6up?window.innerWidth-10 : iecompattest().clientWidth-10;
doc_height=(window.innerHeight && snowdistance==”windowheight”)? window.innerHeight : (ie4up && snowdistance==”windowheight”)?  iecompattest().clientHeight : (ie4up && !window.opera && snowdistance==”pageheight”)? iecompattest().scrollHeight : iecompattest().offsetHeight;
for (i = 0; i < no; ++ i) {  // iterate for every dot
yp[i] += sty[i];
if (yp[i] > doc_height-50) {
xp[i] = Math.random()*(doc_width-am[i]-30);
yp[i] = 0;
stx[i] = 0.02 + Math.random()/10;
sty[i] = 0.7 + Math.random();
}
dx[i] += stx[i];
document.getElementById(“dot”+i).style.top=yp[i]+”px”;
document.getElementById(“dot”+i).style.left=xp[i] + am[i]*Math.sin(dx[i])+”px”;
}
snowtimer=setTimeout(“snowIE_NS6()”, 10);
}

function hidesnow(){
if (window.snowtimer) clearTimeout(snowtimer)
for (i=0; i<no; i++) document.getElementById(“dot”+i).style.visibility=”hidden”
}

if (ie4up||ns6up){
snowIE_NS6();
if (hidesnowtime>0)
setTimeout(“hidesnow()”, hidesnowtime*1000)
}

</script>

Ensure that the ‘var snowsrc=”images/snow.gif”‘ points at the image you have just saved (you may need to rename the file) and there you go. A White Christmas on your website.

Hope you enjoy

The IT Pie team

Thanks to Dynamic Drive and the author Sasa Skevin for the script.

Is your graphic design helping or hurting your business?

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Take a look at your website and ask yourself the question “Do I want to continue navigating through this site? If not, why am I leaving this website?”

More often than not, the answer will be:

“The site seemed kind of amateurish. There was a feeling that the company did not take the website seriously.”

“In general, I think the home page needs a refresh to make it more attractive – it is now more like a virtual storefront rather than a dynamic organisation.”

“It was unprofessional and amateur looking and hard to find the correct link to use.”

Regardless of what size company you may be, a website can make you look as though you are the largest company in the UK…in any industry.”

Comments like the above are surprisingly common—we see them regularly.

In response to similar feedback, we have carried out a very simple page re-design for several of our clients. We did not change a word of copy, but just redesigned a few of the critical visual aesthetics, to give the page a more consistent design.

So the questions remains, is your graphic design helping or hurting your business?

And our message is simple, “If your visitors are concerned about the appearance or professionalism of your site, you should be concerned about the effect this has on your business. You could get a serious measurable improvement by simply redesigning it.”

new website launched – www.billbandit.com

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Bill BanditIT Pie has launched a new website, the website belongs to The Original Bill Bandit.

Bill Bandit Ltd creates order where there is chaos!

They solve a universal problem by providing beautifully simple and practical solutions for managing receipts, ATM slips and all those other little bits of paper you need to keep for expense claims, accounting and budgeting purposes.

BillBandit was created to take away the pain – and cost – of ‘out-of-control’ money management. As BillBandit Ltd CEO Chris Ogle  says,

For years I’ve been messing around with receipts and credit card vouchers. I tried operating folder systems, envelope systems, the old spike-on-a-wooden-block system – you name it, I tried it – but none of them worked.  It was during a typical moment of frustration about the state of my expenses that I came up with the idea for the BillBandit – and the more I thought about it, and shared the idea with colleagues, the more I realised I was onto something big.  It’s such a simple idea and yet, it’s totally transformed the way I look at and manage my expenses.

Ready to use in minutes the original BillBandit will sort out your expenses… GUARANTEED !!

We think its an amazing idea and recommend you get your hands on one asap!!

Web Domain Changes – get your company as a domain extension

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wo thirds of businesses are unaware they will be able to use their own name in place of domain extensions such as .com, .org, or .net when Internet domains are liberalized next year, according to a survey. domain-name-registration

The change would let the likes of Nike or Microsoft control their own domain and better exploit their brands, and also counter cyber-squatters who use variations of brands on the 280 or so existing domain extensions.

“If you have ‘.nike’, for example, you can create real and specific branded Websites, like ‘running.nike’ or ‘runlondon.nike’,” Joe White, chief operating officer of domain registrar Gandi.net, told Reuters in an interview.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees domain names, is expected to start taking applications for new top-level domains early next year, said Future Laboratory, which conducted the research.

But the move is not on the radar of a majority of companies, the survey for Gandi.net found.

“(Companies) are generally completely unaware of this change coming down the line,” said White. “This change has not yet permeated into the mainstream for businesses or consumers.”

“However, those businesses which are aware actually see the prospect as being quite exciting,” he said.

The price of $185,000 will initially limit applications to the largest corporations and organizations, said Tom Savigar, Strategy and Insight Director at The Future Laboratory.

ICANN is expecting 300-500 applications when it opens its doors in the first quarter of next year, he said.

“You’ll see the big global corporations getting there early to own more of their online space,” he said.

“(Owning their domain) could secure a higher level of credibility and recognition.”

Smaller businesses will be able to use more specific extensions to match their business sector or geography such as “.london” or “.paris,” he said.

So the question is, will you be buying your company name as a domain extension at the earliest chance or will you consider changing your domain to reflect your businesses georgaphical location?

Firefox downloads pass the 1,000,000,000 mark

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On 31st July 2009 Mozilla FireFox was downloaded 1,000,000,000 times and counting! As the milestone mark approached a twitter account was created with regular tweets of the latest download count, to view the latest figure click here

Firefox downloads pass 1 billion

Firefox downloads pass 1 billion

So as Windows 7 is being released without any Internet Browser being pre-installed in Europe the question one must ask is, is this a sign of Firefoxs market dominance as user numbers continue to grow? As I have mentioned on this blog, I have always been a supporter of Microsoft, but sadly IE8 was just to slow on my machine and I converted to Firefox and have never looked back!

new website launched – www.yourmotive.com

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IT Pie has launched a new website, the website belongs to YourMotive.com, a company who specialise in motivation, offering team building events, working with students on the edge of mainstream education and providing fitness coaching to teams of all ages and abilities, the YourMotive.com team have the experience and enthusiasm to help its clients achieve their goals.

YourMotive.com Website screenshot

YourMotive.com Website screenshot

Director Gareth Fish says “We all have aims, for education, for business, for sport, for life. Structuring these aims into achievable goals, and gaining the skills & self belief to achieve them is key to helping us reach our full potential. At YourMotive.com our passion is in helping you get there! A dedicated team working alongside and engaging your school, organisation or sports team, to bring expertise, ideas and structured programmes that will ensure you achieve your objectives”

Click here to visit the YourMotive.com website

5 Reasons to use a professional website developer

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Today I want to discuss the importance of using a professional website developer, I have encountered many businesses who either use a family member or friend, someone they know (maybe a student studying IT or Website development), attempt to build the website themselves or use what we call an ‘off the shelf’ package. None of these methods will produce a website that will be technically or visually as good as one made by a professional website developer.

1. The first and most obvious reason is Expertise – A good web developer should build a cleanly coded website and include a minimum amount of essential SEO on the website. As they work in the industry they will have knowledge of and understand the latest technologies and trends that are happening (i.e. Twitter, Blogs etc) and be able to advise you on how they could benefit your business.

2. The next reason is that a professionally designed website is virtually always much better visually than a non professionally designed website (though obviously some people do have a good creative eye and will be able to design a beautiful website). It is important to remember that your website is a window on your business, many people will visit your website and form an opinion of your business based on your website: amature website = amature business. No matter how good an impression you make when you meet this person they will review your website and this will partly form their opinion of your business.

3. As mentioned, some people will opt for an off the shelf/Out of a box packages which will require the website to conform to set features or a set frame work that has been pre-built into the package, no matter how much freedom these packages claim to offer the user you will still have to work within some form of frame work, where as using a website developer means complete freedom of design and functionality.

4. Another issue faced when not using a professional website developer is that little or no support is available. If a friend or someone you know has built your website in their spare time, then when something needs updating or maintenance is required it will be done when this person has the time. A professional website developer has an invested interest in making sure your website is live and up-to-date as it reflects their work and will probably be in their portfolio so potential clients could be looking at any one of the websites they have built. Worse still, if you have bought an ‘off the shelf’ solution there will certainly be no invested interest in you or your business as you are just another anonymous user, through using a professional website developer you can develop a personal relationship with them and a good developer will inform you of any business opportunities they see for you and other clients, either through networking and collaboration or through adding additional or the newest, latest features to your website.

5. The final reason is it will ultimately be cheaper, amature a website can cost your business money through missing out on business. If you are lucky enough to have the ability to build your own website, your time would surely be better invested in running your own business and potentially earning money. Also if you have an off the shelf package, although it may be cheaper in the 1st year, over 2 or more years it likely to cost more: Off the shelf packages usually range from £10 – £30 a month or more.

A final thought, imagine someone informing you that they were going to do what your business offers themselves, do you believe that they would be able to do the work to the same standard that a company specialising in that industry would be able to offer?

new website launched – www.lapider.co.uk

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IT Pie has launched a new website, the website belongs to Lapider who are Chartered Building Surveyors and Architects based in Penarth. Click here to visit the Lapider website

Lapider Website Screen Shot

Lapider Website Screen Shot

For further information on Lapider please read below:

“Lapider is a firm of Chartered Building Surveyors and Architects based in Penarth near Cardiff, providing a broad range of design and construction expertise.

The professional collaboration between Building Surveyors and Architects is a fusion of the visionary and practical that transforms clients’ aspirations into reality.

Lapider believe good client relationships are key to unlocking creativity. We are approachable, working closely with our clients to understand their needs and requirements, to provide a quality, cost effective and efficient service.”