Need help with your website?  Design4Usability have launched their new client support ticket service. This service will provide clients with the ability to post support questions and requests via an online ticketing application. This application provides a ticket submission, monitoring and reporting functionality. This service is available on a pay-as-you-go or inlcusive maintenance agreement basis. Telephone 08456801079 or email support@design4usability.co.uk for more details.

This service is currently available to existing Design4Usability clients but will soon be available to anyone needing expert advice to specific problems regarding their websites, particularly those using open source software applications such as Joomla or DotNetNuke.

We like writing blogs that we know will help you save time and money.  There are of course, many more precise ways of measuring your websites SEO effectiveness however, we know that you don’t necessarily have the time, budget or the inclination to invest in on-going SEO analysis – you just want to see whether your SEO is improving and to obtain some helpful pointers moving forward.

This online tool will take just a minute or so to set up and will give you a simple grade out of 100 plus a helpful summary providing you with elements of your site to improve.  What’s more – it’s FREE!

Go to http://websitegrader.com/ - all you need to do is submit your website url (address), an email address and if you really want to be nosey – add your competitors website url’s too to compare the results.  You will then see the results online.

Let us know how you get on with this!

This is a blog that most website developers would not write.  You’ve got to read on…

You’re a ‘wanabee’ entrepreneur.  You know what you want and you’re going for it.  You’re business ideas are clear but your budget is sadly lacking.  What next?  You need a website but don’t have much more than £50 in your wallet (or purse).  What options do you have?

This blog will show you step-by-step, how to get online in less than a day for less than £100.  No ongoing costs, no developer costs every time you have a new idea and want to update your website and no technical ability required!

You don’t want to know about the ins-and-outs of what technology is being used, how it is delivered and all the technical aspects – you simply want to get online for as cheap as possible.  So, this blog is not going to go into detail in any way, it’s a quick and simple option that you might not have come across.

1. Open a Hobersoft hosting account (in 5 easy steps) on the following link: http://www.hobersoft.net/web-hosting.html  (12 months hosting, a domain name (www.yourbusiness.com), eMail, 24/7 support, 99.9% uptime plus a whole load of other features).
2. Once you get your confirmation eMail through, log in to your Control Panel for example, www.yourbusiness.com/cpanel
3. Click on the ‘Fantastico De Luxe’ button under the ‘Software/Services’ section.
4. Click on Joomla 1.5 under the ‘Content Management’ section and then ‘New Installation’
5. Follow the instructions; don’t enter a folder name (you want your site in the root folder).
6. Your site is now live and you can administer it on www.yourbusiness.com/administrator

Now you probably won’t want to use the standard template provided.  Here are some links where you might find a free template to suit your needs:

www.siteground.com , www.joomla24.com , www.joomlashack.com

If you want to have a dabble at your own website design I would recommend Artisteer, for only $129.95 you can easily create your own design (you will need the ‘Export as Joomla 1.5 Template’ option).  http://www.artisteer.com

You may even want to install some additional functionality such as online booking, eCommerce, property for sale, classified ads, community portal, recruitment agency, directory and the list goes on.  You will find loads of free ‘extensions’ on http://extensions.joomla.org/  This may sound quite daunting but it is generally quite an easy process and the extensions usually come with instructions and support.

This blog in no way recommends any of the companies, websites or services described, and is in no way stating that this is the best way to get online, it is simply a cheap and cheerful option that I think you should be able to add to the mix when considering your options.

At this point we would have to say that as a professional website design and development company, I would always recommend the services of a professional, such as Design4Usability if you can afford it – professional help can save you time in the long run and will of course give your website greater impact and more effective search engine results.

At Design4Usability we use open-source software to enable us to deliver professionally designed websites (content management systems) at affordable prices.  Open source solutions opens up so many opportunities for small and medium sized businesses that want to utilise open source software solutions as a means of embracing the latest that technology has to offer and the vast functionality that it provides whilst keeping costs to a minimum.  

Design4Usability’s range of open source services have been designed to meet almost every client’s requirements from those that wish to Do-It-Themselves and just need a little help getting started to those that need a comprehensive design and development service.  In addition, we also provide ongoing support and training.

If you have any questions relating to any of the information contained in this blog please do not hesitate to contact us on admin@design4usability.co.uk .  You can check out our training, design and development services on the Design4Usability website, www.design4usability.co.uk

We can help you get started by installing your open-source content managed website – click here

We can help you get started with open-source training – click here

We can help by providing a comprehensive website design and development package – click here

To find out more about Design4Usability’s affordable website design options, click here

Prices as at time of writing – 8^th November 2009

Design4Usability have just launched their first DotNetNuke (DNN) training course. Click on this link to find out more: http://www.design4usability.co.uk/b2b-services/training-and-development/135-dotnetnuke-training-getting-started.html

The DotNetNuke framework is growing in popularity and is now the leading web content management system (CMS) and application development platform for Microsoft .NET. This is an affordable CMS website suitable for small and medium business owners that require versatility, an easy-to-use system and a solution that will grow quickly and affordably with their requirements. There is also a version for mission critical websites however; this is a more costly option.

With regards to training, an area of particular interest for us is the non-technical user and this is where we are focusing our training at the moment. For example, our ‘DotNetNuke Training – Getting Started’ course on the following link:
http://www.design4usability.co.uk/b2b-services/training-and-development/135-dotnetnuke-training-getting-started.html

This is a very basic course and one that would not suit anyone with technical ability. It has been designed to enable the non-technical user to utilise open source software solutions as a means of embracing the latest that technology has to offer and the vast functionality that it provides whilst keeping costs to a minimum.

This is an area that we are currently expanding, and eventually will be providing DotNetNuke courses for technical users also.

Let us know if you have any questions relating to our DotNetNuke training services.

Christmas is coming. Start thinking about your Christmas email marketing campaigns or add a bit of sparkle to your Christmas newsletter.  Click here to view more about Christmas emails and newsletters.

Prices start at only £59.00 – distribution services also available.