We all know that too many cookies are bad for your health but they’re also the subject of a new EU privacy law that comes into force this month.

Cookies are little bits of information that are stored on a user’s computer when they visit a webpage, used to remember things the next time they visit: e.g. the user’s preferences, log-ins and settings.

A new privacy law recently came into effect requiring all websites to ask visitors for consent before using cookies not deemed ‘strictly necessary’ (like those used to store ‘shopping basket’ items).

The Government will begin enforcing the law from May 2012 so now is the time to take a look at whether all those cookies are vital or whether you comply with the ‘ask before storing’ rule. Contact us if you’d like a FREE check to identify the cookies that your website uses and a quote for helping you with compliance.

Too many cookies really are bad for your (website) health. Read more

Grab your eggnog, warm up the mince pies – it’s time for Christmas Charades… and you don’t have to act even if you get it right; we’ve taken care of all that for you! Bag yourself the chance of winning a camera and watch us and our finest acting skills; guess all 10 charades that we’ve prepared for your delight and delectation and we’ll enter you into the prize draw.

… we’ve had great feedback to a recent questionnaire sent to our clients. With such a great response we’ve analysed, we’ve learned and we can now fine-tune our offer and be as proactive as we’d like to be.

Thanks to all who participated (you know who you are). Congratulations also to the winner of the iPod shuffle who has been notified.

Thanks once again one and all, good to be working with you.

Once upon a time, time itself made you money… In today’s world, time is money and now both time and money are limited.

Every industry has expert consultants who charge various amounts for the time they spend advising you on things like how best to run your business, get more clients, make more money, save your money etc. Employing these experts can be money well spent – especially if it improves you business as a whole.

Design and marketing is no exception to the rule of charging for expertise, after all, any good marketer knows that if a good marketing campaign costs you a lot, imagine what a bad campaign can cost you! However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go some way in trying to reduce the cost of marketing and it doesn’t mean looking to you’re your friend’s 14 year old who has their own Mac. No, there are simple steps you can take to eliminate incurring unnecessary charges with design and marketing agencies. Here’s a few tips:

• 1. Use your time at the beginning wisely: If your submitting a brief to an agency, make sure you’ve fully prepared it before handing it over. A golden rule – always confirm everything with the decision maker of your company before you give anything over to an Agency. There’s nothing more frustrating than you putting your heart and soul into a project, not to mention your budget, to discover that it’s not what your boss had in mind. It’ll cost you more than your sanity to hear that! So check you’re all singing from the same hymn sheet.

• 2. Advise the agency of any restrictions you know of, give clear concise instructions about your goals and what you are expecting and supply brand guidelines.

• 3. If you’re writing the copy – try and supply fully approved copy or make it clear to your agency if it’s not finalised. That will stop the agency spending time on fiddly typography that is going to change anyway.

• 4. Provide any images you want included – this saves time for an agency in searching for photo library shots, or preparing photography.

• 5. Finally, work out a schedule between both parties and stick to it. You’ll be surprised how often timetables slip and costs spiral because clients haven’t kept to their deadlines.

These five steps, will go a long way to allow an agency to do your job efficiently, effectively and succinctly and the final cost should be as you agreed before the starting the project. A good agency can save you a lot of time, a lot of money and create designs and campaigns that will seriously improve your business. But it is a joint partnership. Working together can make a massive difference to your bottom line.

Want some more tips? Read our ‘really useful stuff’

Static can be good – gimmicks are definitely bad if used for gimmicks’ sake. However, we’re big fans of websites with cool, sometimes subtle effects that make all the difference between an enjoyable exploration and a flying homepage visit.

So, we’ve compiled a library of cool image and text effects that can be used to add interest to any website:

• Show your clients more of what you do with an image rotator;
• Include lots more text without overcrowding a page by using a text accordion;
• Keep images automatically updated by bringing in photos on a theme from flickr

These are just some of the things that can make the difference between a website and an interesting, interactive, engaging website.

We’ll regularly add effects that we think you’ll like – bookmark us and check back for simple ways to add that all important interest.

View library