It’s been a little while since we posted an article on the website but we always feel it’s part of our job to give you handy hints and tips that may make your adventure into the world wide web that little bit easier.

Today’s topic is going to be based around website specifications. These documents form a vital piece of puzzle when it comes to creating a quote for any of our clients. They contain details about the client and the project that they would like to carry out.

The interesting thing about website specifications are that they can be created both by the client themselves, or by the web design company.

We have a “client worksheet” which includes a list of questions that the client can fill in to give more information about the project that will help us gain the full picture of what it is they’re trying to create.

We also do have clients that bring their own specifications along to meetings with us and we find this really helps the client think about all the relevant areas of the website.

As part of this post, I’m going to include some of the key questions we ask our prospective clients in the first initial meetings. Hopefully they will help you to think about the process of having a website created for you, and also help the developers know exactly what you’re looking for.

Client Details

We start off by taking a few details off the client so we can get in touch with them regarding the proposed project. We then ask for a little bit of an overview of what the client does and what they aim to get out of the project.

Ideas to include:

• Company Name

• Email Address

• Phone Number

• What is the current web address or domain name you require?

• Describe the company/organisation and the service your site will provide or promote

• Why do you want to have a new website, or have your current site redesigned? What’s not working?

Customers

It’s also important to think about the possible target market for the website. This helps gauge who you are aiming the website for and helps the developers create something suitable for purpose.

Ideas to include:

• Describe your potential customers. Their interests, gender, age, even type of media they use for example tablets, desktop pc’s and laptops

Competitors

One of the main reason people decide they need a website is to compete with other similar companies who have a presence on the World Wide Web. It’s a good idea to have a look around and see who they are and the approach they’ve taken in their online marketing.

Ideas to include:

• Have you researched your online competition so you have an idea of what you do and don’t want on your site?

• Name two or three of your competitions sites and their web addresses

Desired Looks

The first thing people will notice about your website is how it looks. They will make an initial decision on whether the website looks well made, easy to use, and suitable for purpose and therefore it’s important to think about the required particular style of the website.

Ideas to include:

• Describe the new site’s look and feel by using short phrases

• Is there anything you don’t want to appear on the site?

Branding

If you’re an established company, chances are you probably have a form of branding for the company. One of the key things to think about here is how to bring across this branding to your online marketing. It’s important to try and create one branded image that is represented across all of your media so possible clients can identify with the brand for that company.

Ideas to include:

• Do you have a logo for your company? Are you looking to be rebranded?

• Do you have a current styles / branding guidelines that need to be followed in terms of colour, typography and tone?

Site Structure

If you’ve started to think about what pages you want on your website, why not create a small list that will help the developers understand the scale of the project you have in mind.

Ideas to include:

• Do you have a sitemap / structure prepared – even if it’s provisional? Potential Page Categories?

Content Management

There are many systems out there that manage the content of your website. Some of the popular ones are WordPress, Joomla and Magento. We can also offer a custom in-house built solution, so it’s important to have a think about which content you need to be editable.

Ideas to include:

• Do you need a content management system? If so please describe the features you would like to see included.

Prepared Content

Preparing content before a website is made does sound a bit premature, but it’s also a great way to start thinking about what you want the visitors to see when they visit the website. This includes gathering together photographs, writing sections of text and coming up with simple call to action messages for the visitor.

Ideas to include:

• Is the content already created for this site?

E-Commerce

E-commerce is still quite a buzz word in the world of website design. The price of a website that sells items or services can be a lot more expensive than a 5 page brochure design website. It’s worth considering if adding this element into the website will be adding value to the project.

Ideas to include:

• Are you planning to do online sales? If so, what are the products, and how many items do you want to sell online?

• If you’re planning to sell online, are you set up to accept credit cards? Merchant Accounts?

SEO & Social Media

Search engine optimisation is the process of making your website as well equipped to rank you as high as possible for keyword searches. There are many tricks and techniques for doing this, so it’s worthwhile asking about the process to get a clearer idea of how this can be achieved. It’s also important to think about the Social Media that you would like integrated into the project.

Ideas to include:

• If you were using a search engine, what words or phrases would you use to find your site? Pick a list of 5 keywords to associate with the site

• Do you have active accounts on any social networks?

Budget / Time

The cost of a project is probably one of the first ideas that needs to be taken into consideration by the client. We always ask our clients if they have a budget in mind so we can quote within their budget. One of the biggest pitfalls for a project is quoting a client way out of their budget and therefore you have wasted both parties time. It’s also important to think about important dates for projects, as developers will already have work planned and you need to know if both parties can agree on a schedule.

Ideas to include:

• What is your budget for this project? Your budget determines how much time is spent on the project. Please provide an upper and lower range

• What is your deadline for completing the site?

Final Thoughts

 The final piece of the worksheet is to get any final thoughts from the client to what they want out of the website that hasn’t fit into any of the previous categories.

 Ideas to include:

• Are there any other features or ideas you would like us to take into account when creating the quote?

Well hopefully that’s given you a brief overview of some of the key questions to take into account in a website specification. If you would like any help with a project or perhaps would like to discuss any ideas you’ve come up with, please just get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.

It’s been a little while since we’ve last posted, so I thought I’d give you a small update to the activity over at Wubbleyou in North Shields. We’ve been working hard with new clients, and with existing clients over the last few months and we’ve managed to get some great websites up and running.

We’ve also been creating our new website which has been in development for the past year, but client work has always meant it’s been delayed. We hope to launch our new website before the beginning of June 2013 which will be exciting times for the company.

We’ll also be updating our portfolio with some our latest work, so you will be able to see some more of work for our great clients.

Stay tuned for further updates in the coming month!

I’d personally just recommend disabled the JAVA plug in for web browsers all together (as well as updating to the new version here), it greatly reduces the attack surface as chances are these exploits are only ever going to be triggered whilst you’re browsing the internet.  There is also a good chance you don’t use the JAVA web browser plug-in, and if you do you can always re-enable it.

So how can you disable it?

Disable Java in Internet Explorer

Open Internet Explorer, press Alt + T to open tools, open Manage Add-ons.  In that window click on the add on type Toolbars and Extensions in the left hand pane then below set the dropdown box to select ‘All add-ons’. In the right hand pane disable plug ins named Java.  They will be listed under the heading Sun Microsystems or Oracle.

Disable Java in Firefox

Open Firefox, navigate to Tools > Add-ons and within the new window opened select plug-ins.  From here you should disable any plug-ins with Java in the name.

Disable Java in Chrome

Open Chrome and paste chrome://plugins/ into the address bar.  From here disable all plug-ins named Java.

Disable Java in Safari

Now Safari may have Java disabled by default, but it’s worth checking.  Open Safari, click the cog on the right hand side of the tool bar and click Preferences.  In the popup click the security tag and untick Java (Not JavaScript you can leave that ticked!).

Disable Java in Opera

Open Opera and paste opera:plugins into your address bar. From here disable all plugins named Java.

From the team here at Wubbleyou, we’d like to wish you all a happy new year!

After a well-deserved festive break, we’re back in the office and straight back into work. We continued to work with some of our great clients over the past 12 months, and we were also able to meet some new clients and work on some exciting projects.

We’re hoping the success of 2012 will roll over to this year and look forward to working on some more new projects this year. If you have a project you would like us to help you with, feel free to get in touch and see what we can do for you.

Daily deal websites have been flooding the market over the previous 12 months. Providing bargain gifts for friends and family, all the way through to big savings for meals at restaurants, it’s not difficult to see why they’ve become a huge success. With Christmas fast approaching, these websites have started their big marketing campaigns to attract in customers over the festive period.

Today we’re going to talk about some of the daily deal websites that are on the market which will hopefully help you save some money this Christmas.

Groupon – http://www.groupon.co.uk/

This website is seen by some as the father of daily deal websites. It features a system where the customer buys a discounted gift certificate which is redeemable at both local and national stores. Having started the company in America, this service is now available globally and the variety of certificates offered, means it’s a great way to save money on a range of activities and goods.

HotUKDeals – http://www.hotukdeals.com/

“HUKD” was established in 2004 as a daily deal website where users have the opportunity to share great deals they find in stores, and can vote on how “hot” the deal is. The website has grown in size significantly over the past few years and is a quick and simple way to find a bargain online.

DealZippy – http://www.dealzippy.co.uk

Because of the emergence of the daily deal site, it was inevitable people would start creating websites that brought all these websites together in a single website. “DealZippy” is a great example of this and they see themselves as a “Daily Deal Search Engine”. This website brings together some of the biggest daily deal competitors for example “GroupOn” and “Living Social” and showcases the deals to customer.

AmazonLocal – http://local.amazon.co.uk

This is certainly one of the websites to watch out for in the future. With Amazons strong position in the retail market, we believe that this is an area they’ll really target over the coming year. With the success of their own marketplace, by adding a local feature, they’re going to be able to capture current customers and will be hoping to bring in new online shoppers too!

There are hundreds of daily deal websites now out there on the World Wide Web, but hopefully these sites will help you save a bundle of money this Christmas. Happy Holidays!

So I was walking into work this morning feeling a little delicate after a few pints from the night before, when I noticed the recently merged Orange and T-Mobile network, EE, had put their new logo up on the shop front in North Shields.  This is the first time I’ve seen their new logo, two adjoined circles with a series of smaller circles in each making up the letter E.  As I looked at it I thought it looks like a pair of atoms, one element instantly came to mind.  Standing in the street I started to count up the number of circles making up each E.  Well there are 16 in each, the approximate atomic mass of Oxygen.  Are these circles meant to represent the protons and neutrons inside an atom?

This left me to wonder, is this subtle parody of their competitor O2, or simply a coincidence.  Maybe I’ve read a few too many conspiracy theories who knows…

The PC has changed radically in the past 15 years, moving away from its luxury item status to a must have for the modern family. Whether it’s used to help with the kid’s homework, or used to keep track of your finances, they’ve become an important part of our lives and this looks set to continue with the increasing popularity of smart phones and tablets.

We have created a list of free software applications that we use on a daily basis to help us to complete our day to day tasks, this could possibly also help you too.

Web Browsing:

Google Chrome – Chrome is now the most popular web browser in the world, primarily because it’s secure and very easy to use. With its seamless integration with mobile and tablet devices, it allows for users to sync all their devices together and make their data available wherever they need it. www.google.com/chrome

File Sharing:

Dropbox – One of the up and coming pieces of software we like to use is called Dropbox. This is a free service that allows anyone to have access to their files on computers, phones and tablets that are synced. You can even login to the website and get access to your files anywhere around the world. www.dropbox.com/

Anti-virus Software:

Avast Internet Security – With over 150 million users, Avast is one of the largest free anti-virus packages available on the market today. It’s been designed to be as simple as possible to use, catering for a wide range of technical abilities. It’s certainly worth considering over other products on the market and with a free personal version for home use, it’s a great way to protect your PC. www.avast.com/

Media / Video Files:

VLC Media Player – One of the most versatile multimedia players available on the market today. The best way to describe VLC is that it’s great at playing that media file that other popular players can’t play. For free, it’s certainly a piece of software that’s handy to have available when playing DVD’s and CD’s on you PC.  www.videolan.org

Documents:

Apache OpenOffice – This software package has been downloaded by over 20 million users over the past 20 years. If you choose not to purchase a Microsoft Office package this is a great free alternative to create written documents, spreadsheets and presentations. One of its biggest perks is that it is able to open files that were created in Office, and also save files that can be opened in Office too.  www.openoffice.org/

Have you ever had a spare 5-10 minutes in the office during your lunch break and wondered what is out there on the internet to fill you time? We thought as much! We’ve managed to compile a short list of some great websites that you can visit to both fill the time and provide some fun in the workplace.

Monoface – http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/

This site has been described as the “Mr Potato Head” of the World Wide Web. Choose from a range of facial characteristics and make some weird and wonderful faces.

Awkward Family Photos – http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

This is a collection of family photos that might just make you think twice before taking your next official family shot. If you thought your family photos were bad, you’ve seen nothing yet!

Clients From Hell – http://clientsfromhell.net

If you work in the world of design, then this website is for you. It contains a collection of horror stories from designers, recalling conversations with clients they’ve had over the years. I’m sure there will be a story or two that you can relate to on the website, but it’s all put online anonymously and you won’t believe some of the conversations people have with their clients.

Passive Aggressive Notes – http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com

Another good way to fill your time on a lunch break is to read a few quick notes that people have left. It’s all fairly light hearted fun and some of the notes are in fact a genius way to reply to certain situations. Maybe it’ll inspire you to write your next note in a similar fashion!

Online Colour Challenge – http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77

Not the easiest web address to type in, but definitely worth a visit. X-Rite has created an online colour challenge that is designed to show how accurate your eyes are able to determine certain colours. Challenge your friends and colleagues to see who can get the lowest score and claim the crown of colour-vision champion of the office!

Hopefully these ideas will keep you entertained at work, and if you’re having so much fun, go back and find them again at home!

Websites today are much more than 5 page static sites that advertise a company’s services. It’s become vital for websites to be updated regularly and be full of interesting articles to keep potential clients returning to your site. Well thanks to the open source communities, there are tools out there that are available for free that will let you keep your website up to date with a few simple clicks of the mouse.

One of the most popular of these tools is known as WordPress. Originally, this tool was developed for the blogging community, and its roots are still orientated towards online social blogging but their tools now feature many more plugins allowing them to power websites of a range of sizes.

We have used WordPress for a range of our sites, and we find that it is flexible enough to be used in a variety of situations and with great ease by the client.

5 Benefits of using WordPress as a CMS 

• Simple Admin Area – One of the main reasons that this tool has become so popular is how simple they’ve made it to update pages and posts on a users website. With a simple login screen, you’re then taken to a dashboard that is laid out with ease of use in mind and intuitively guides you through setting up your site. The tool automatically creates a set few pages for the user and creates a sample post to help give the user a basic idea of what types of text you could write on the site. The admin area allows for the creation of as many pages or posts as you like, and lets you create categories for each of your sections.
• Active Development Team – WordPress is constantly being updated and improved by the developers that created the tool. With an active forum and community, this means that bugs that are discovered are quickly fixed, and it also helps when you run into trouble using the tool.
• Plug-in Availability – One of the reasons WordPress has been as successful as it has, is due to the wide range of plugins that have been developed for the system. These allow for some amazing websites to be created using the latest technologies available. These plugins are also maintained by developers to make sure they work with the latest releases of WordPress, which helps keep the software moving forward as the technologies change.
• Themes – WordPress has been around for several years now and many themes have been developed for the tool. The sandbox theme developed by WordPress that is applied to every site when first installed, has some great features straight out of the box including interactive sliders and galleries. With developers releasing full website themes for as little as £25, it’s a great option for users looking to create sites on a budget.
• SEO – Another great benefit of using WordPress as CMS, is its structure and design of the actual website itself. This includes features such as a providing the option to include the website in search engines, and by creating readable links for each of its pages making them search engine friendly. By using only a few simple WordPress plug-ins, you can have a great looking site that is SEO friendly and also provide the wow factor to the user.

If you’re interested in trying out wordpress for your website or would like to find out more information, you can visit their site over at http://www.wordpress.org.

As a website designer in an ever evolving world of technology, it’s crucial to stay up to date with the latest tools available to make the sites that you see on the web today. One of the biggest advancements over the past few years is the evolution of jQuery. This is an ever expanding JavaScript library that allows for amazing amounts of interactivity between the end user and the website they’re on.

One of the great features of jQuery is how simple it is to incorporate plugins into websites. You’ve probably been on hundreds of sites that use jQuery without you realising. It can be seen to be taking over Adobe Flash as the tool to use for interactivity in sites which is a good thing for the World Wide Web. Flash sites are quite static in their nature and are difficult to optimise for SEO. By using JavaScript instead, all of the content on the page is readable for search engines and should help boost your natural search listings.

Today I am going to write a short article on some of our favourite jQuery plugins that we use our client’s sites. They range from tooltips to front page image sliders, but each of them plays an important part in building a site with enhanced usability features.

Cycle Plugin

The first plugin that I am going to talk about today is the Cycle plugin. The name tells you pretty much all you need to know about the plugin, as it allows you to cycle through a range of text or images on a web page. The developers of the cycle plugin kindly provide a wide range of examples and documentation making the plugin simple to install and configure. It’s lightweight in its design and can be rolled out in a variety of animation styles. It’s definitely worth looking into if you need a sliding plugin for your site.

JSTree

This is a plugin that replicates a folder explorer by creating a tree structure of a hierarchical system. This plugin is great when used in projects involving file management or sites with complicated site maps. They’re currently developing a tree structure plugin that is part of the jQuery UI which allows for the use of a range of handy pre-styled plugins so that’ll be one to watch out for in the near future. I’d definitely take a look at this plugin in the meantime as its flexibility can lead to some great looking work.

MB YT Player

If you spend as much time browsing sites as we do, you may have noticed one of the new trends that are becoming ever more popular for music artists. Developers have discovered that a good way to get a user into a website is to use a full screen video as the background for the page. It’s only been due to the advancement in technology that this has become possible and some of the variations available on the web today are quite outstanding. This plugin is also quite versatile as it allows a developer to include videos that are fully expanded to the size of the browser. This means that the video will be able to be played on a range of devices and stretch to 100% of the size of the screen.

Coda Bubble

One of the oldest elements of a browser that still appears quite dated is the title attribute of an image or link. In the recent past, people have created plugins to bring these handy tool tips to life and they have a positive effect on bringing helpful hints to the user. We use two different tooltips, with the first being qTip. Using this plugin you’re able to replace the browsers standard tool tip with a funky modern alternative. If you’re after a more substantial alternative, take a look at the coda bubble plugin. What this plugin is able to do is bring up a bubble when a link is rolled over. It’s quite a common technique used to guide a user through a site but this plugin is simple to install and use.

Supersized

Supersized is a great tool for creating websites that want to make use of a full screen background. The best examples of these types of websites are normally presented as portfolios. They’re usually seen being used by photographers or directors of films as it allows them to showcase their work in a large high definition environment.

Moleskin Notebook

This is one of my favourite plugins available today that I haven’t had the chance to use yet. It’s basically a page scroller that gives the illusion that you’re reading a book and you have to turn the page to read the next section. This is ideal for a wide range of websites and there are a few alternatives available. A couple of ideas that spring straight to mind are to transfer long PDF documents into easily readable pages or to advertise short stories and illustrations for aspiring artists.

Page Scroller

Web design is not all about creating sites with huge amounts of interactivity. It’s sometimes the simplest of touches that can be used to bring a site to life. One of the best examples of this is shown by using the pagescroller plugin. This a really simple plugin that allows a user to scroll up and down a website by using large overlay buttons on the side of the screen. This is great to use on sites with a varying age range of users, as it makes scrolling the page seem effortless and simple.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of Wubbleyou’s favourite JavaScript plugins. From a professional point of view, we can see jQuery going from strength to strength in the near future and hopefully becoming incorporated into browsers in the near future.