Christmas is just around the corner so now is the perfect time to sort out your Christmas cards, Christmas emailers and Christmas graphics for your website. We call it ‘Christmasification’…

Right now, if you place an order before the 29th October 2010 you’ll get 10% off. Coupled with an already low cost and award winning design we think it’s an offer you won’t want to miss out on!

Find out more here.

Twitter finally gets a creative and usability upgrade that might just make it a little more useful and ‘sticky’… The designers have a done a great job of keeping the design very much like the old Twitter, the tweet stream works in the same way we’re all accustomed to, but now you can quickly view embedded media like pictures and videos. As well as see more relevant information in mini profiles. It defintely has the feel of Facebook and its wall – but whilst the constant design refreshes of Facebook actually complicate simple processes the Twitter refresh has taken a very simple solution and added usability in an incredibly elegant way.

Find out more at the Twitter Blog.

Web design for e-commerce is just like any other retail concept – where presentation is everything. Focus on the top line and the bottom line will follow.

Because we get to know you, your business and how you want to sell up front – we ensure the system is perfectly tuned to you. By asking the right questions up front we can also ensure fewer ‘surprises’ (of the worst kind!) in the project cycle when it comes to costs. We understand the fundamentals of selling online; multiple unique buying options, bulk purchasing, tiered pricing and delivery, user accounts, stock control etc etc. We know that from the get go you want to know you can log in to the system and start to update and grow your store without worrying about whether a piece of functionality is going to be there or not.

We know all about effective web design and web design for e-commerce. Our clients have enjoyed a huge amount of success by launching websites we’ve both designed and built. There are a world of e-Commerce systems out there, all have their own pros and cons – but the one we’ve found to be the most robust is Magento.

We don’t throw the kitchen sink at you, nor do we take away the basics (and then charge you to put them back in!). We offer a well thought out tailored solution that does everything you want it to do from day one. And we constantly work with you after launch – overseeing the store and making sure that as you confidently take full ownership over it we’re with you every step of the way to make sure it’s selling your products. We’re proactive in coming forward with new ideas and ways of helping you sell.

Magento is used by some of the largest online retailers in the world. We’ve been using Magento since it was called ‘osCommerce’ – we don’t just know the system, we grew up with it! And we’re proud of our achievements with Magento. Just ask Pineapple Shoes, who got a store that ticked all the boxes when it came to the fundamentals and client expectations of online retailing, but who also got an online store that looked like nothing else in their market and directly targeted their core audience through design and planning. The bespoke adaptation of Magento and the design we delivered means Pineapple Shoes will stand head and shoulders above their competition for a long time to come.

Having a beautiful e-commerce web design is one thing, but having one that is secure, functions as expected and integrates into your own internal stock / CRM systems is quite another. Your web design needs to build trust and faith in your customers, after all, they’re about to hand over credit card details to you and no one will do that on a website they feel they can’t trust. We work with you and your bank to ensure the highest level of data security transfer – building trust in your customers through clearly labelled shopping processes and understanding their needs as a consumer.

We can also integrate your online business with your offline business. If you’re currently running an internal system we’ll work closely with you to make sure that your workload doesn’t double when you launch your website. Stock control, customer management, sales reports etc etc – we’ve got it covered. We’ve found that our clients will start using their online system that we’ve designed and built more and more to manage both aspects of their business.

View our ‘e-Commerce To The Power of M’ e-mailer here.

Read more about e-commerce design and web design.

Out with the old, and in with the new. 2010 is already proving to be a pretty exciting year. In an email last year I described how 2009 had it’s fair share of ups and downs for all of us. There was also a lot of moving on from old pastures, leaving the weight of some bad situations behind and looking forward to being able to provide an honest, creative, professional and successful service to clients who truly deserve the best.

With the launch of the new site you’ll get a better idea of the type of work my team and I are capable of. Hopefully the portfolio will show you the breadth of work thats achievable. If I’ve already worked with you in the past – you might find your work featured in the portfolio and I’m looking forward to the future where I can add more of your work to the website!

So what can you find on the site?…

The website has a more detailed services section. Although to be honest it’s quite impossible to cover all the different types of work we might be able to do together. Instead you’ll find the most popular services most clients ask for.

Some of the services might surprise you – hopefully in a good way! It’s going to be a productive year bringing together all of the services to bring you a more robust creative / marketing solution.

The blog will also feature the best of design and creativity on the web as well as regular articles about work, about the industry, about search engine optimisation (hot topic!) etc. Articles being written right now include:

• How The Parb Johal Holding Page Was Created (because you all loved it so much!)
• The Truth About SEO

So be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed or sign up to the periodical e-newsletter ‘The Wrap‘ to stay up to date with the blog.

With that said, I can’t wait to start talking about the work we’ll be doing together this year and into the future.

Thanks, Parb Johal