CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
by
WEBSITE DESIGN
INTRODUCTION
There hasn't been as much interest in new communications technology since John Logie Baird sent the first flickering TV images down a piece of wire. But is it a case of 'this year's craze' like laserdiscs or Betamax VCR's? Or could the internet really be a new, dynamic and inexpensive way to get your message across to a huge and truly global base of potential customers?
The answer is a two-parter!
There IS inevitably a huge amount of hype from the numerous vested interests in the technology - from the telephone companies and service providers to the computer manufacturers and software giants - but the internet is of massive importance, and it is growing at an unprecedented rate. That's not just a personal view - it's a fact.
The real problem at the moment is that current telecommunications systems don't have sufficient 'bandwidth' to allow everyone with a telephone line to even talk at the same time - so the internet (which uses bandwidth 'sharing' protocols) can sometimes slow to a crawl - especially when America wakes up and logs on! Over the next couple of years this should improve and allow some of the really exciting internet features - like audio and video on demand and videoconferencing - to be available to every computer user.
The internet is a vast international resource. It contains intelligent search 'engines' to help you find and filter the information you're looking for. It's interactive, and because the world wide web uses standardised protocols it allows any business to publicise its services or products just as impressively as the major multi-nationals. Unlike print or broadcast media, they can't impress your customers with glossier brochures or blanket TV campaigns. They can't buy colour display ads while your budget only allows classified lineage!
The other great benefit of having an internet connection is that it enables you to send and receive email (electronic mail) and attach computer files (graphics, documents, spreadsheets etc.) to those messages. This feature alone makes telecommuting - or homeworking- a valid option to many companies.
HISTORY
The story goes that the internet grew out of a clever method to decentralise the U.S. strategic defence response in case the ordure ever hit the cooler blades, and post-Cold War the same technology was embraced by academics as a new and more efficient way to share information. Sounds a reasonable explanation - and certainly a more palatable thought than that of Ronnie Reagan having ANY buttons to press!
The 'world wide web' is just a part of the internet that utilises common computer communication protocols like HTML (hyper text markup language) - in other words a web page created in the Isle of Man can be viewed by anybody in the world with a standard web browser (like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer).
Early internet services were quite expensive and charged by the hour for connection, although nowadays you can get a private unlimited access account for less than £10 per month (plus the cost of your telephone calls - usually at cheap local rates). Commercial accounts are usually a little more expensive - but careful shopping will get you a good business service with inclusive webspace (for your own pages) and email facilities for less than £20 per month. So assuming you have a computer and a modem, apart from the costs of designing and maintaining the site, a fiver a week is all it costs to have your business on the 'net!
Because
it's so cost effective, there are plenty of cowboy operators selling web advertising and
entry into spurious web directories. Others are trying to corner a particular market -
like car or house sales. Our advice is to ignore them all and establish your own site!
ABOUT THIS SITE
You're viewing a cut-down version of our main site. All the graphics on the main site were created from scratch using Adobe PhotoShop and CorelXara. The featured Java applet and midi (music) files were sourced from freeware sites. The site was assembled using Microsoft Front Page - not because it's an easy programme to use (it's actually extremely frustrating!) but because - like most MS software - it is likely to become the industry standard.
The thing to remember about web design in HTML (as opposed to traditional print design) is that the pages you publish are 'dynamic' - in that YOUR browser assembles the components to fit whatever display mode you're using. To prove this to yourself, alter the size of your browser window and you'll see how the text re-flows to fit the smaller area. If you make it too narrow you'll get horizontal scroll bars when the browser can't display the full width of the top graphic.
When we design for the web, we really just set up a list of preferences (the style and size of type, whether it's coloured, centred or ranged left or right) and list the components to use. By re-using graphics across the site (you only have to upload one copy of each file) we can save precious webspace and ensure quicker downloads.
To give you an idea of how efficient the system is, this page comprises around 15Kb of information, and uses shared components from other pages totalling around 20Kb. A typical webspace allocation of 5Mb would therefore allow us to create over 250 pages using shared components. Not bad for a cost of less than a fiver a week!
The other thing to remember is that there are numerous different browsers available - from Netscape and Microsoft predominantly, but there are others - and various versions from each software house. That's why the first page you saw on this site gave you this 'no frills option' - older browsers can't cope with Java applets (the glowing buttons and rippling logo) or frames (the 'main site' version of this page is comprised of three 'frames'), although the hope is that standards will gradually become commonplace.
OUR SERVICE
If you are already connected to an ISP (internet service provider) the chances are that you will be entitled to upload web pages to the web space already reserved for you as part of your monthly or annual subscription. If you are happy with your current service we can design and upload (or supply on disk) a site for you comprising as many pages, graphics and other components as you like - subject to sufficient space and budget of course!
All that we ask is that you confirm with your ISP that commercial content is allowed - many only allow personal home pages.
If you don't have an existing connection, we will find and recommend an ISP that best suits your requirements, and can make all the arrangements for you. At this point, it's probably also worth considering registering your own 'domain name', and we can provide advice on that too.
At the moment the internet/world wide web is seen as an exciting new technology - and we believe that almost every business should have at least a basic presence, if only to prove that you're able and willing to adapt to a changing world. More and more people are searching the web for products and services - and unless you're there they simply won't find you!
We can design anything, from the simplest site comprising perhaps a couple of pages and some pictures from your brochure, to a huge site full of information, resources, feedback forms and questionnaires - all linked into a company intranet so that your staff can share material and pool resources, and where external and internal email is integrated, sorted and can even be responded to automatically.
And it doesn't stop there - the part of internet marketing that many
people miss is the bit where you let people know about your site!
We can provide everything from stickers for your existing stationery to a sophisticated
computerised site submission service.
PRODUCTION BUDGETS
Like anything, the cost of creating a corporate web presence depends entirely on the amount of time it will take to complete the project, and the complexity of the components used. A simple, straightforward site can cost as little as just a hundred pounds or so - whereas one like this with lots of original graphics and animation effects would probably cost more like a thousand.
You should also consider a budget for regular updates - especially if you are marketing specific products (like an estate agent or maybe a restaurant offering seasonal menus). We can do this for you on a retained basis, or in certain cases we could possibly train your own staff to do it.
If your company is planning to use the internet as a marketing tool, discuss with us at the earliest opportunity what communication problem you expect this new technology to solve. HOW will it be used? Do you have the resources and systems in place to manage the medium properly.
If we think that a brochure, audio cassette or CD-ROM presentation will do the same job for less money, we will be able to discuss this with you right at the start and advise you accordingly.
For
further information, please call
Stuart Peters
on
621769 (from the Isle of Man)
or
01624 621769 (from the UK)
or
++ 44 1624 621769 (from overseas)
Or click below to send an email:-
Or back to general communications page
Or on to video production page
Or on to event production page
Or view production credits page
Last updated 25/11/03