Please select a topic from the list at the top of the right-hand column. Topics also available as a pdf to download are listed below.
We welcome feedback – please let us know if you have found this information useful, and if there are other topics that you think we might be able to help with.
FAQs
Q. How can I get my site to the top of the Google rankings?
A. This is our No.1 FAQ – see our section on How Google works!
Q. What company information do we need to include in our website under the new rules from 1st January 2007?
A. From 1 January 2007 companies in the UK must include certain information on their Web sites and in their e-mail footers or they will breach the Companies Act and risk a fine. The minimum information needed on any business site includes the name, geographic address and e-mail address of the business and the legal name of the organisation with which the customer is contracting. Also, if the business is a company, the registered office address and the registration number. If the business is a member of a trade or professional association, membership details, including any registration number, should be provided. If the business has a VAT number, it should be stated – even if the website is not being used for e-commerce transactions. Prices on the site must be clear and unambiguous and state whether they include tax and delivery costs. Retail sites must comply with the Distance Selling Regulations, which cover requirements for businesses that sell to consumers (B2C, as opposed to B2B).
Q. How do you plan a website?
A. After a discussion and briefing with our client, we start by making a flow diagram showing the navigation between the pages and the hierarchy of the topics. This also finalises the “buttons” on each level and clarifies the way that people will access and use the site. As designers, we obviously think that the look of a site is extremely important – but a good looking site that you can’t find your way around is frustrating, so the navigation plan must be solid before any graphic design starts. Working to an agreed navigation diagram also means far less changes at later stages so will save money on author’s corrections.
Q.
Why do websites tend not to have splash pages these days?
A. There are several reasons for splash pages going out of fashion:
The web has become more resource, less entertainment: When the web was a new concept, people were keen to use every trick and effect on their websites, and viewers were prepared to wait to see them. This lead to the equivalent of small animated films greeting you every time you viewed a website – and of course as the whole system became more part of everyday life, people increasingly hit “skip intro” if there was the option!
Splash pages put people off: Especially for sites that are visited regularly, splash pages can actually work as a barrier and put people off – viewers are now familiar with all the exciting effects the web is capable of showing and want to get directly to the information they are trying to access. They certainly don’t want to see the same image time after time. Surveys show that as many as 25% of people leave a site right after the splash page.
Search engine unfriendly: Splash pages typically are made in Flash which is far less likely to be read (and indexed) by search engines. A site’s home page is the most important page for search engine searches and should be carefully constructed to maximise its ranking potential. If a site does get listed via a splash page it is likely that the only live text will be “click to enter” or “skip intro”.
Quote from the web: the only people to watch an intro/flash animation are the person who created it and the CEO of the firm that it is created for!
Q. Can you create websites that can be updated by us?
A. Certainly – we can offer a variety of systems from a fully automated database-driven site, to a simple content management system not dissimilar to using a word processor. We have also designed sites containing more than one update system where some sections need to be frequently amended by our client while other areas are on a separate schedule for update by L&B.
Q. Will you make sure that our website is accessible to people with visual impairment?
A. Yes – we work to standards from the Web Accessibility Initiative. Full details are in our topic "Making websites accessible to all ".