Latest Digital Media Articles

How to Promote Good Customer Service Online

With the explosion of social networking sites, there are now far more opportunities online for customers to let you and potentially hundreds of others know if they approve or disapprove of your service, so it's now even more important to deliver.

How Abandon Basket Email Campaigns Can Improve Your E-Commerce Site

Whilst traditional high street sales may be suffering a decline, online sales are booming. An E-commerce website allows you to sell your products online.

5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Website Domain Name

A lot of care and consideration needs to be given when choosing a name for your website. If your new web address is particularly long or contains punctuation, it will be hard for your customers to remember and...

How an Ecommerce Website can Protect and Boost a Retail Business

We've all witnessed the sad decline of many high street stores such as HMV, Jessops, Comet and Blockbuster.

What is a Static Brochure Website and What Are the Benefits?

If you are just starting out in business and do not have a website in place, a static brochure website could be the perfect place to start.

How Businesses Can Benefit from Mobile Apps

With more consumers now using their mobile phones or tablet devices to conduct research and make purchases online, it makes sense to have your own mobile app for your business.

Things to Consider When Copywriting Online

Your website may look attractive and professionally designed, but it needs clear compelling messages to sell your products or services. Copywriting for the web requires a different approach to writing for print.

The Benefits of Using a Training Video

Whilst traditional personalised training courses are often expensive and time consuming, training manuals are sometimes rejected because they are so impersonal. Training staff through online videos provides a good alternative and has become increasingly popular.

Why Corporate Identity is Important

Corporate identity is what makes up the physical look of your brand. It usually includes your logo and the supporting devices such as your website, letterhead and business card as well as your social media platforms and the 'tone of voice' of your business.

Email Marketing – How to Get it Right

A well-developed email marketing campaign can bring great results, however it's a good idea to make sure you have all the bases covered before you begin. Here is some advice on ensuring good communications for your email campaigns.

Cookie Update: What’s Happening Post-Regulations?

New regulations for website owners regarding the use of cookies came into effect on the 26th May 2012 (see our previous post about Cookie laws for more information). If you're still wondering about your website's compliance with the latest rules, there are plenty of ways that your web designer can ensure you’re up to date.

New Google Analytics: Five Great New Features

In Version Five of Google Analytics, website owners can find an array of new features designed to analyse their traffic. It's very important to make sure you have updated to the new reports as soon as possible, as the old ones stopped in June 2012.

Use your Website to Maximise Seasonal Sales

Part of having an effective business website is learning how to use it as a proactive marketing tool. While you may not have important news to announce every week, each season brings with it new opportunities to create offers and promotions.

Aim for Success by Setting Goals for Your Website

Planning a new website for your business is a great start, but have you considered the aims and objectives of the site? A website that looks impressive may well entice visitors, but it won't serve you well if you haven't thought about what you want it to do.

How to Turn Your Blog into a Business

If you've been blogging for a while now, you will probably have built up a good following: a loyal audience. Hopefully you'll also be ranking well in the search engines too.

The Importance of Cross Browser Compatibility in Web Design

Whether your visitors are using Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari (as well as other mobile or non-mobile browsers), they'll need to be able to gain the same information and experience from your site.

Start Spreading the News!

So you've started your blog, created a striking design, written some clever and engaging content ... but how do you get people to read it and subscribe?

Blogging Brings Big Benefits!

Everyone is on the blogging scene so it seems nowadays, but why? What benefits is blogging bringing the business owner? And is it worthwhile writing a blog for your own company? Well, in this day and age of digital technologies and social media domination, it most certainly is worth blogging! Here’s why blogging brings big benefits.

Why a Regular Website Review is Vital to Maintain a Competitive Edge

It’s easy to think that once your website’s up and running, that’s it; it will work for you, job done, and you can sit back and relax. But times and trends change, as does the information being delivered by your website, and therefore it’s vital you keep it fresh and up to date. Just like a home needs a fresh coat of paint every so often to keep it spruced up and tip-top, a revamp of your website will also guarantee that you’ll have a competitive edge!

The Changing Face of Marketing

In this digital age, marketing budgets are increasingly being re-focused by high-profile companies towards online campaigns, and it’s easy to see why: digital technologies offer such a wide range of possibilities for promoting your business which traditional advertising via print media cannot compete with on budget or audience scope.

Scrutinise your Web Stats and Gain the Competitive Edge

You’ve invested in setting up a good quality website and you are doing the right thing by blogging, publishing articles and backing up your online strategy with a social media campaign to help boost your online presence.

Why a Mobile Friendly Website is the Latest Must-Have

It is very likely that you, like countless others, access the internet on your mobile phone on a regular basis. And so this means that your customers must be doing the very same thing.

Google Panda: How to Avoid a Devastating Downgrade

Some people make it their life’s work to get their website to the top of Google. If that’s you, and you were, up until recently, winning the battle, but then all of a sudden disappeared off the search engine radar, you could have been downgraded in the latest Google cull.

Cookie Laws have Changed – Does your Website Comply?

The latest round of web related legislation changes are all about ‘cookies’ - the small files placed in on a computer that track visitor behaviour.

Ready-Made Website Solutions

In any area of business, finding something that is affordable yet effective can be difficult. Websites are no different. Whilst in an ideal world everyone would prefer to start out with a website that has all the trimmings, the simple fact is, not everybody can afford a large outlay at such an early stage in their business.

Email Communication Regulations Every Business Must Know

Keeping in touch with customers is a vital part of any promotional campaign and using email marketing has become the preferred method thanks to it being economical and traceable. However, embarking on an email marketing campaign is not as straightforward as many people believe; the area is heavily regulated and serious fines can be handed out to businesses that ignore the warnings.

How to be seen as an Expert: Online

For most people in business, being recognised as a leading authority and voice in a particular sector is a major goal. To become that person who people turn to for advice and guidance will mean business and interest in you will pick up: significantly.

Advertising Standards Authority: Be Aware of the Changes to Online Marketing Rules

Changes are afoot to the scope of the remit covered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). These changes affect any business that has a website, blog or utilises social media platforms as part of their marketing strategy.

Things to Consider when Setting up your Website

To gain the edge over competitors, an online presence is an essential step forward. But as with anything in the online world, if you are a novice, things can seem very complicated indeed.

Corporate Solutions for Online Demands

Whilst all corporate organisations differ, if they have an online presence then one thing remains the same: the need for consistent and tailor made solutions to online issues and problems. This could mean finding a way to improve the business-client relationship, designing a better content management system or helping to improve the way a business presents itself online.

Bring your Website to Life with Flash Animation

Have you ever visited a website and been blown away by its visual effects? If so, the chances are Flash animation has been used to make the site more visually stimulating and interactive. But apart from looking impressive, what are the benefits of incorporating Flash animation into your website?

Protect your Business from Copyright Infringement

Copyright is a complicated area and riddled with misunderstandings, especially in the case of internet copyright where strangely, many people tend to believe that if it´s on the web, anyone can use it. However, this could not be further from the truth, as a host of lawsuits has proved.

Cheap Website Design; DIY or Favour from a Friend. Why you need to say NO!

Working on a website? If you are going down the DIY route, or a friend who knows a friend has said they’ll do it for you, or you have Googled ‘cheap web design’ and made your selection from the myriad companies that appeared, then read on for some worthwhile advice because you could run into serious problems otherwise!

The Web Design Process: Explained

Web designers are numerous in amount and most make some sort of claim as to why you should choose their services. From offering the lowest cost website package to presenting a long list of past clients, web design teams all will have something on offer that is designed to draw the customer in. Whilst these factors are important to consider, perhaps the most important aspect when choosing a web design team is finding how they as a company actually work...

Medium Sized Business Solutions – They do Exist

Do you sometimes feel that your business is stuck between a rock and a hard place? Is your business too large for small business solutions that are increasingly on offer but also out of the budget range of large corporate packages?

The Database and how it benefits the Small Businesses

The shift from performing tasks manually to placing the strain on IT systems in business continues to advance. Whether it is the introduction of chip and PIN machines in small High Street shops or the introduction of e-commerce websites for retail businesses, it is clear that technology is playing an ever increasing role in a range of businesses, whether large or small.

Starting up in Business? Need a Low Budget Online Presence? Static Brochure Websites are the Solution

Static brochure websites from Core Media Design; quality website design on a budget especially designed for start ups and small businesses. Get an online presence: a small business website without a large business investment.

How to Get a Premium Quality Website without Breaking the Bank

A poorly designed and hard to navigate website that does not showcase a company’s services and products can become an expensive mistake. When it comes to online business, going for the cheaper option nearly always works out more expensive in terms of lack of driven sales, the eventual need for redesign and loss of previous time. Here we discuss the importance of having a superior quality website, and how you might go about funding that all important investment.

Promoting your Business Online: Why you Need to employ Social Networking

Are you on Facebook? Do you Tweet, or blog? If you answer 'No' because you think you're too busy running your business to bother with online social networking, perhaps you should reconsider.

Search Engine Copy writing: Don't go too far - remember your visitors!

You've set up an attractive website. You've done your research and compiled a list of keywords and phrases that should ensure it gets top search engine ranking. All you have to do now is insert those keywords into your web content wherever possible, right? Wrong! It needs much more thought...

Corporate Branding: Why you need to match your Online Profile with your Offline Profile

Does image matter? In the competitive world of corporate business the answer is a definite Yes! Having a strong and instantly recognisable identity shows the world a reliable company that is serious about itself...

How Online PR can Boost your Search Engine Ranking

Designing a fantastic website is just the beginning. To attract the maximum number of potential customers, your website needs to not only show up in the search engines but also appear at the top of the results. Use online PR resources to boost your search engine rankings.

Keywords: you know you need them in your web content - but are you using the right ones?

According to new research from Hitwise, there has been a noticeable change in the way web users are inputting keywords into search engines.

Accessibility: What it is and why you need to make sure your Website has it

Website accessibility: boost your chances of online success by making sure your website is accessible to the widest audience possible. Your web designer must make your site accessible to everyone, even those with physical disabilities.

How to Stop Competitors Stealing your Customers

How often do you contact your customers? Do you keep in touch with them regularly? Do you remind them of your products or services, tell them about your special offers or keep them up to date with your news? Or not? If you don't keep your name in front of your customers, beware: someone else could catch their attention and take their business.

Boost your Small or Start up Business: Get a Website!

If you are starting a new business or running a small company and don't have a website, you could be seriously losing out on increased turnover!

Link Building: Another Good Way to improve your Search Engine Ranking

The more websites you have linking to your website, the more highly the search engines rate the importance of your site. The more important they rate it, the more highly they rank it.

Using Web Syndication to Promote your Website

Web syndication explained: why RSS feeds and Podcasts are important online promotion tools that every website should use. If you have regularly updated written or media content or announcements to make, ask your web designer to incorporate web syndication into your website.

Does your website meet the needs of your customers?

Web statistics show lots of site visitors but few sales? Improve your visitor to customer conversion rate by tailoring your website to the specific needs of your customers; think about accessibility, internet experience and language.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising versus Organic Search Listings

Starting out on the road to online promotion? Then you will no doubt be facing the same dilemma that every website owner faces: how best to achieve good results in the search engines. There are two main options: paid-for advertising campaigns and organic search engine optimisation. In this article we compare the pros and cons of both of them and make a suggestion on a strategic course of action.

How can I improve my search engine ranking? Golden rule: don't use underhand tricks!

Search engine optimisation is complex and should be left to the experts where possible. However, website owners should remember above all that Google rewards sites that earn naturally good rankings through relevant links and good quality content.

Is your Website up to Speed?

Google research says slower websites receive less traffic and is penalising advertisers with slow loading pages. Ensuring website pages load quickly is vital; images, external video, widgets, Flash and shared hosting can all make a website slow. Are your website pages fully optimised?

Christmas 2008 - it's confirmed: High Street Sales fall as Online Sales Rise

According to Experian, in comparison with December 2007 there was a 2.3% drop in people visiting shopping centres and city centre shops in December 2008 - the month labelled by the British Retail Consortium as the worst December on record.

Ecommerce Law: Is your Website and Online Activity Legal?

Ecommerce Law: Is your online activity legal? If you trade online you must take steps to ensure you comply with the Ecommerce Directive, Distance Selling Regulations and Data Protection Act.

Search Engine Users are Search Savvy: Does your Website have the right keywords to attract the right people?

The words and phrases used to search for products or services are of vital importance to an online marketing campaign. Research shows that internet users are becoming more intelligent about the way they use search engines and that they think more clearly about the key phrases they use. Expert keyword selection is crucial to attract a steady flow of quality traffic to a website.

Why Credit Crunch Cutbacks Must NOT affect your staff training programme

Cutting back on staff training to save money during the credit crunch could have long-term negative consequences. Instead of cutting out training altogether, businesses should look for ways of cutting the costs. By switching to video training a business can continue to be competitive and still save money. Training videos are versatile and nowadays can be used for any type of computer training.

Save time and money by using your website to its full potential

Businesses looking to save money should put their website at the top of their problem solving list. Providing it is backed by a well-designed database, a website can streamline manual administration and marketing processes, replace a sales force, offer an alternative to traditional promotional campaigns and provide training and customer support solutions. In a nutshell, a website can save your business time and money.

Multimedia Transforms the way we Learn

Multimedia uses images, animation, video and audio to make an impressionable impact, far advanced from the effects of static imagery and words. Anyone with an educational role to play will find great benefits from using multimedia such as increased learning success; cost savings; environmental advantages and the ability to provide multi-level and multi-sensory education.

Website Accessibility, Optimisation and Testing: Why you won't sell a thing without them

A website can make a significant difference to business turnover; providing it works. Just because you can browse your website pages easily doesn't necessarily mean everyone is having a similar online experience; or that the search engines are finding your site either.

Free Website Warranty: Peace of Mind in Highly Competitive Times

What do you do if the website you've paid good money for doesn't work properly? And what if it's got lots of useful features but you haven't been shown how to use them? With the Core Media Design Free Website Warranty and Support Service you'll never be left alone with your website.

Online Shopping: Good for the Environment; Good for the Wallet

Retailers should never assume that as long as they have an online shop, customers will find it and buy from it. They simply must offer shoppers a secure and straightforward experience with plenty of product information and innovative ways of showcasing their goods. What constitutes a happy online shopping experience?