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We manage over 600 domains for a wide variety of clients - from one-person businesses to relatively large companies. We believe each client's web site should be individual and the following small selection of sites has been picked simply to offer some start-points to help you think about your own online presence, and to illustrate a variety of approaches to creating a web site. Click a name to find out more:
Like many of our customers, Pietersen Fine Kitchens and Furniture have been with us for several years and this is the second site we have created for them. This time around, as well as taking advantage of some of the new possibilities with web browsers, the site provides a more comprehensive show-case for the client's work. The key thing is that the breadth of work on display is handled in an easy to understand and use format - the user is never going to be lost on the site or frustrated by slow load times.
» visit pietersen.co.uk
We design and manage many of the shop sites for Ligne Roset in Britain. This example for their longest-running UK store incorporates a lot of product information in a tight design that's easy to keep up to date. There is an increasingly strong antipathy in Western consumer markets towards 'corporate' branding - seen as synonymous for impersonal and uncaring. Thus, sites like the Westend one need to strike the right balance between being part of the global brand on the one hand and an individual shop that cares about its customers on the other.
» visit ligne-roset-westend.co.uk
Parlane International are a company with a strong identity. Their web site was created in close conjunction with their own creative team to ensure a tight fit between all their branded material - print and online - and to illustrate the strength of their range through the images, animations and 3D tours used. Another issue that informed the design brief was keeping the site up to date - we have ensured keeping the month-to-month news current is a simple task that Parlane are able to do in-house without any great specialist knowledge or expensive training.
» visit parlaneinternational.co.uk
We have worked with award-winning photographer Neil Horne for several years and these are his two current sites. These are always going to be 'image-heavy' and this is the major factor determining how his sites are put together. However, this doesn't mean slow-to-load. For the Neil Horne site, the design and navigation reflect the modern style Neil brings to his work. For the Eye Imagine site, minimalism is the key, with as little as possible to distract from the strength of his work.
» visit neilhornephotography.co.uk
» visit eyeimagine.co.uk
On the whole we're not great fans of the web development/animation tool 'Flash', but used judiciously it can work nicely. With the Rough House site, the Flash elements are there but without hampering download speed at all significantly. However, we would always advocate extreme caution in deploying Flash - whatever people say, there are good reasons why many of your users will not be able to see your site if it relies on it.
» visit roughhouse.co.uk
Climate Change is a huge topic and this site is shaping up to be similarly sizable. It contains a lot of words but they're accessibly presented and laid-out so they're easy to read. It also includes a shop, designed to work within the overall site's framework rather than as an adjunct. This is very much a close collaboration between us and the client - with most of the copy origination and overall design being done by us as well.
» visit combatclimatechange.co.uk
The second iteration of this client's site ... this version taking good advantage of the changes in browsers and connectivity over the years since the first one, so it's now bigger, better and more colourful! As with a lot of customers, there's a lot of information here that has to be organised and presented attractively and clearly - so both first-time and regular visitors can get the most out of the site.
» visit shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/
This is a large site with a vast amount of information on it, and so a lot of work has been done on keeping it as easy to use as possible. Another innovation in this, the 3rd evolution, is the addition of on-line payment-taking for their various products, memberships and subscriptions. A 'behind-the-scenes' feature of the site is the way it has been fundamentally put together - this design allows for maximum ease of updating by the client, meaning the site can be constantly being added-to at no great expense.
» visit better-business.co.uk
By way of contrast to Better Business, this site for Active Information (Better Business' parent company) offers a wholly different approach - both to design and content. Here, it is all about being as quick as possible to load, pithy, direct, straight-forward and easy to navigate - as befits a site aimed at customers who want solutions to their requirements, fast!
» visit activeinfo.co.uk
The Angus Ross site saw us performing a slightly different role than often is the case in that here the client very much knew what he wanted and our job was to interpret his "on paper" wishes. It's gratifying to be able to say that we're pleased with the result and so is the client! As a furniture maker this site was always going to need a lot of images, and as is the case with many sites, the issue that required the most care and discussion was how to offer visitors a good selection of images without making a site that's too slow to be enjoyable to use.
» visit angusross.co.uk
In contrast to the Angus Ross, this site is an example of another kind of relationship with have with some clients. Here, all the design elements were created by a design company commissioned by the site owner and our role was to work with that design company, to make the brand image work on the web. We are more than happy to work with third-party designers who perhaps have limited experience of web-related technologies and, frequently, this can be a very rewarding way of getting the client just what they want.
» visit absoluteproductsltd.com
This is a text-led site with a very specific 'look and feel', in keeping with the client's existing (print) image and, indeed, his profession. There are different ways to handle the 'problem' of being text-led - one option is to be succinct with the wording, and sensitive to the text layout - and this is a good example of that. Although there's just one small image on this site, it's not ponderous or hard-going for the visitor.
» visit rilan.co.uk
This site was designed in close cooperation with the owner to achieve the right blend between their existing literature and what works on the web. From the outset, the owner knew that the site was going to grow, as the business grew and became more established, and this possibility was designed-in from the start. In practical terms what that has meant is that subsequent expansion of the site has been possible at a very low cost.
» visit pilateswellbeing.com
The Saxonica site is an example of another type of working relationship. Here we worked very closely with the client who himself is very technologically proficient, blending his skills and ours so that jointly we produced what is proving to be a very successful software sales and support web site with online shopping facilities. Regarding the shopping side of things, the important thing, always, is to make sure the buyer feels comfortable, safe and reassured.
» visit saxonica.com
The French Roset Hotels & Contracts company is one of the world's foremost suppliers of contemporary furniture to high class hotels, restaurants etc, and we're pleased to be able to say that they have chosen to work with us for many years now. This, the second site we have created for them, is designed to clearly demonstrate the strength of their portfolio through an uncomplicated, easy-to-use but visually strong web site.
» visit rosetcontracts.com
Davis Associates are long-standing customers of ours and this is their second web site. Quite simply, web sites get out of date and their first one dated from back when the web was young (and we were a lot younger too!). This new incarnation is a nice example of presenting relatively dry text information effectively. Amongst everything else, we can also help with copy-writing, and we worked in this capacity for Davis Associates too.
» visit davisassociates.co.uk
Central Furniture is a company that is very strong on design and image. Obviously, their Web site had to live up to expectations! Longstanding customers of ours, this site features a far greater range of stock than formerly. This approach was decided on after close consultation with the client. In a nutshell, there is no point in going to the trouble and expense of having lots of stock on show, a news page and other time-sensitive material, unless you, the client, is able to devote the ongoing effort required to keep it up to date.
» visit central-furniture.co.uk
The Chiltern College site was very much designed 'from scratch' with relatively little source material. Their original site (not by us!) was really a web version of their printed material and our brief was to get away from that. The result, we're pleased to say, has been a resounding success - both with the client and, more importantly, with the target audience too.
» visit chilterncollege.com
We can never stress enough that a web site must be designed first and foremost with the target audience in mind. For this, the second Mallinson site we have made, we knew from earlier user feedback that the typical visitor was interested purely in easy-to-access relevant information about the courses on offer and associated details: the venue, accommodation and so on. They were not the kind of people to visit a site for entertainment or cutting-edge design features. We're pleased to say that since this site's launch the feedback indicates we've achieved the brief!
» visit mallinson.co.uk
A site for an investigative journalist and best-selling author that demonstrates how far the web has come on in terms of text-handling. There is an awful lot of text on this site, but it never feels it! Rather than 'slabs' of off-putting prose, the content is broken down and organised in a far more user-friendly way than was once possible.
» visit michaelsmithwriter.com
This is a good example of how a site can still have a modern and interesting design without compromising accessibility and adherence to W3C standards. You'll see W3C (the governing body of the web) badges on many of our web sites, demonstrating that a site has been built to strict technical standards, and thus ensuring cross-compatibility with different users, browsers and platforms - an issue of ever-increasing importance.
» visit richesconsulting.com
Artist and designer Benjamin Shine is a fast-rising talent and we're pleased to have worked with him on three web sites - a product site for his 'Skoody' jacket, his first 'portfolio' site and now this one - the second version of his portfolio. Very much a collaboration between us and the client, and very much a reflection of the client's personal style and preferences, this is a satisfying, often very effective and frequently very rewarding way to work - for both parties.
» visit benjaminshine.com
Occasionally, a client can be too hard-pushed to contribute much to their own site. This London charity is a case in point. It's fair to say that almost everything about these two sites is 'by Siserone' - design, logo, copy ... etc. Our input was based on the available literature and one lunch meeting with the charity's head. Yes, we have to charge more for this level of input, but in the long-run it can prove cost-effective to get the job done in this way. Otherwise it might never get done.
» visit thrifthandy.org.uk
The McEvoy Consulting network is a longstanding customer of Siserone's and has a variety of web sites. A very common 'problem' with sites for consultants and similar service providers is that they are text-heavy and, potentially, very 'samey'. However, with some imagination, the mould can be broken without sacrificing usability. We hope these examples, for McEvoy Consulting and a related company, demonstrate how well-organised information can be made attractive and interesting.
» visit mcevoyconsulting.co.uk
» visit orgchange.com