Latest news

There is no denying that the rapid growth of social media has impacted on the way we communicate.  Sites such as Twitter and Facebook are reaping the benefits of being easily accessible for all generations. All you need is internet access and away you go. It is also relatively inexpensive, when I say inexpensive I mean free.

It’s vital that organisations really make the most of these free and easy to use online resources, but before opening an account consider the following:

1. Who are you trying to reach?
2. Which online networks will help you reach them?
3. Do you have time every week for social media marketing?
4. Do you enjoy technology?

It’s easy to get distracted by all of the platforms available from which to start tweeting, posting, likeing and sharing. It is however important to choose the right one to start with.

The benefits of choosing the right social media are immediately apparent; increased communication fosters brand awareness and often, improved customer service.

Here at Alberon we recognise that social media is the way forward. That’s why when we build websites we build them with that in mind. We are on hand to offer expert advice every step of the way, so why not get in touch today and see how we can help you get started!

Mean Streets Crime Blog

Alberon designed and built a crime fiction blog for Writer’s workshop. Please have a look at their website.

If you are interested in a custom designed blog for your business please get in touch.

Symm website

We are delighted to announce the brand new website for Symm has now been launched!

Please have a look and if you like what you see get in touch: www.symm.co.uk

Department of Physics

We are pleased to announce the launch of the brand new website for the University of Oxford, Department of Physics.

Please see: http://www.physics.ox.ac.uk

So you can continue getting to know us better we thought it might be time for another ‘Meet the team’ question and answer session with a member of our team. This month we are featuring Jessica, who is our sales and marketing co-ordinator as well as project manager. She has worked for Alberon since November 2010 and has certainly rolled up her sleeves and got stuck in. Here’s what she’s doing right now:

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on the April newsletter for Alberon so watch this space. I’m also helping with phase 2 of Earth Trust’s website s plenty more to keep us busy, and managing another website project which is due to be completed very soon.

Are you enjoying it?

I certainly am! I have plenty of things to keep me busy, which I like and get to spend my time speaking to some fantastic clients.

What are you finding challenging?

Sometimes it can be difficult juggling the wide range of tasks I need to get on with, so this is a real test for my prioritisation skills.

What are you finding easy?

I’m finding it easy to manage a very smooth running project where the client likes pretty much everything we do for them. This works quite well for me.

What are your next steps?

Well I need to be getting on with more marketing activities, prepare for a conference happening in May and get the newsletter finalised and sent so people can find out even more about how we can help.

Thanks for your time and keep up the good work!

Microsoft have created a website to try and encourage people to stop using Internet Explorer 6. This is because it is now unbelievably 10 years old, and it simply cannot keep up in today’s fast paced internet environment. We are now onto Internet Explorer 9 so plenty of improvements have been made to help your browsing experience.

For further details about how you can get involved please see Microsoft’s site www.ie6countdown.com

Earth Trust

We are delighted to announce the new website for Earth Trust, previously Northmoor Trust, launched today.

Have a look and let us know what you think: www.earthtrust.org.uk

As technology evolves steadily and revolutionises the way we communicate we find ourselves caught in the rush to get the next best thing and stick it straight onto our website – anything from joining social networking sites to incorporating flash and moving graphics.

It’s always good to keep up with these advances in communication and technology, but you really need to take a step back and think if this is really right for your organisation. How would having a Facebook page really benefit your clients? What exactly would you “tweet” on Twitter? Joining these communities can be beneficial for some companies, usually the very large ones, but certainly not all.

Moving graphics and using Flash based design is also popular with small to medium business, however whilst these may impress some visitors they could also put others off. Flash based design has proved to be sometimes confusing for users, and difficult to view for the visually impaired. You may also find that people simply can’t find you on the web as search engines can’t always index Flash sites. Moving graphics and interactive features can really engage visitors, but are they appropriate for your target market?

Here at Alberon we are honest and will tell you if these sorts of features are not appropriate for your website. We try not to overcrowd websites with moving graphics as too many of these can often distract visitors from your message.

Remember your website is your shop front and we are here to help you make the most of it!

We wanted to give you a little insight into what our busy developers get up to here at Alberon, so with that in mind our newest feature for 2011 will be a quick Q&A session with a hard working member of our team. So hard-working in fact that it was difficult to get him to answer these questions, luckily he has to stop to eat!

The first victim, sorry I mean staff member, for 2011 is Dave, one of our developers who specialises in PHP and MySQL databases. He has helped customise a variety of content management systems for some of our highest profile clients. Here’s what he’s doing right now:

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on Cockpit Arts phase 2 – adding additional functionality to the existing Cockpit Arts website, making it easier for the owners to administrate it, and allowing designers to advertise their wares a little easier.

Are you enjoying it?

It’s a little tricky, but it allows me to expand my knowledge of this popular Content Management System, which is always a good thing.

What are you finding challenging?

I’m finding it a little difficult to get some plugins working with each other correctly.

What are you finding easy?

I’m finding it easy to use the WordPress interface to do the administration and testing – WordPress’ admin interface is probably one of the best of any of the Content Management Systems out there.

What are your next steps?

Probably the next thing I will do is work on the CSS for a news bubble graphic that will be shown on each page. I enjoy a bit of CSS work every so often, it lets me be creative and isn’t deep enough that I need to consider how it will affect other parts of the system.

When will this project be finished?

Hopefully it should be finished this week.

Thanks for your time Dave, and keep up the good work!

Here at Alberon we celebrate Christmas in style… by working hard of course!

We know that at this time of year a lot of plans are put on hold or left outstanding until the New Year, and we all know what happens then!

If you want to make sure that your project is ready on time, on budget and by a team passionate about getting things right then get in touch now on 01865 794009 or send us an email.