Website Design Aberystwyth, Wales

It seems to be the season for re-branding at the moment as I’ve been hard at work re-branding websites.

BBT Website Rebranding

One of the sites that has had a complete rebranding is a site promoting businesses and activities in the Brecon Beacons. I built this site several years ago when the Brecon Beacons Tourism group was newly formed and finding its feet. At the time, the site was a farily complex mix of tools for the group, and a way for businesses to promote themselves and their events whilst providing information on things to do, areas to visit and places to stay for visitors to the Brecon Beacons.

The site had performed well and the Brecon Beacons Tourism Group has gone from strength to strength. Fashions change though as does the focus of new start up businesses so I’ve recently been working on an overhaul of their website.

In addition to a whole new look with clean lines and more subdued colours, the emphasis of the site has changed from that of a website for visitors to the Brecon Beacons to a directory of businesses aimed more at the business owners themselves. Several keys organisational changes were made to the working of the site behind the scenes and much of the content was re-written too. I’m just glad that my initial coding was clean and well-commented as it certainly helped when it came to some of the more fundamental changes with the way the site worked. The site now also has Facebook integration and a more prominent weblog based latest news section.

The re-branded website has now gone live and initial reports on the new look are all very positive.

Website Re-Branding

A smaller, brochure style website that I built for R.J Little Engineering a few years ago has also undergone a revamp. Jon has registered a new business name – Trailer Tech UK – and wanted the website rebranded to reflect this. Rather than putting an emphasis on his engineering services and credentials he is now trying to create a brand name for the trailers and event catering products that he offers. I registered and set up new domain names and e-mail accounts for him and rebranded the site to reflect these changes to his business.

It’s good to see people keeping their websites up to date with changes happening in their businesses. Far too many people have sites built and them leave them to gather cobwebs. Updates cost very little and really do make a big difference. A website is probably the most important promotional tool for your business or organisation and it deserves some TLC now and then.

Pixelwave Web Design has recently started work on a new project for Wames, the The Welsh Association of ME & CFS Support charity.

Their website is intended as an information point for people looking for info about ME in Wales. It is aimed at adults, children, patients, cares, friends, professionals and the media. Many of the target audience are ME sufferers and have vision and concentration problems so one of the primary concerns of the site is that it has to be easy to read with straight forward navigation and conform to various accessibility guidelines. In addition the site is to b bilingual and built around a Content Management System so that the charity administrators can update is whenever they wish.

I’ve already started working on an overall layout and have been discussing information architecture issue with my clients to ensure that the site is well organised and as easy to use as possible. They intend to present a huge amount of information through the website so arranging that within a sensible site hierarchy is going to be one of the main challenges.

I’m pleased with the look and feel so far and will hopefully start adding some real live content soon. I tend to concentrate on aspects of accessibility and SEO when building website rather than adding unnecessary flourishes that tend to impede access so it’s nice to be working on a project where these aspects are also of prime importance to the client.

Thought I should post here to let people know what Pixelwave Web Design has been up to lately.

There hasn’t been much in the way of new projects or huge updates to any website to talk about, although I have released a couple of sites over the past month or so. I have been working away in the background on updates and tweaks to a number of clients sites. Many clients these days have sites built around Content Management Systems so they are able to update them themselves. I barely hear from such clients from one year to the next, although now and then though they need a little hand-holding or want something a little different added to their website so I am called on to do that.

Other clients who rarely update their sites call on me to do their updates for them too. I’ve been working on various updates to the Isle of Man DFAS website that I built last year. The owners of this site won’t mind me saying that they aren’t that tech-savvy and much prefer being able to give me a call, talk to me in person and get me to update their site with their latest developments and news. To be honest, many smaller businesses and organisations would be better off doing this too. I usually get such updates done within 24 hours, I’m able to offer them advice and maybe better ways of doing things thanks to my experience with using and building websites and by the time they’ve battled with updating their websites themselves it usually works out more cost-effective to get me to do it anyway. Of course, those of you updating your website much more regularly are better served with a CMS.

Here’s some recent feedback from the Isle of Man DFAS:

Thanks for sorting out my bit of our website yesterday.  Lots of people have commented on how good our website is now and the Committee are unanimous that your input has been excellent value.

I’ve also recently fixed a few issues that had cropped up on the Celtic Spirit Journeys website that I built last year. After building it I handed over control to the client who updates it from time to time. They don’t have a CMS so now and then the owner of the site does something she didn’t want to do and breaks things here and there. I of course am always here to help get them fixed. Here’s some recent feedback from them

Thank you, Alan, for untangling my amateurish attempts at web editing!

I’m also working on a redesign on another site that I built several years ago  (I can’t say which one yet though) and I’m working on a new bilingual CMS based website for WAMES. I’m not run off my feet at the moment but things do seem to come in waves so no doubt I’ll have loads to do next week.

Meanwhile I guess I should use any downtime to update my portfolio and such like here.

Pixelwave Web Design is pleased to announce the release of a brand new website for a B&B in Wales.

The website for the Old Rectory on The Lake showcases the quality accommodation available in a converted rectory on the shores of Tal-y-Llyn. Set in idyllic surroundings it really is the place to unwind and get away from it all.

The owner John approached me to build him a new website recently and I’ve been working in close collaboration with him since to deliver the site he wanted. It’s been great working with someone who also has a vision for the website and really wants to develop the site and use it to his advantage. All too many sites get built and rarely updated but John has plans to update his regularly.

The site is built using a Content Management System that allows John to add and edit the pages of the site whenever he wishes at no cost. This allows him to keep the content up to date and engage with his potential and existing clients. The site also has a ‘Latest News’ section where John can post any news about the B&B, news about recent otter sitings in the lake or anything else that he wants to share.

The home page also has a live webcam feed overlooking the lake from the B&B.

B&B Website Design Wales

Pixelwave Web Design is pleased to announce the launch of the brand new Bird Control Solutions website for Safety Net Services.

Their website is a simple, easy to use brochure style site outlining the services they offer.  Safety Net Services are delighted with the website and I wish them all the best with their latest venture.

Bird Control Website

Pixelwave Web Design has recently started work on a new project for an existing client.

I’ve been working on a couple of their sites for a number of years now having been requested to take over websites originally built by a third party. Such maintenance work is fine, and they have been good clients, but working with old-fashioned, legacy code is never ideal so it is nice to be able to get stuck into a new, modern website for them.

Their new website is for bird control solutions that they are beginning to offer and will be a simple, brochure style website outlining the services they offer and how they can help with any bird infestation or control problems that you may have.

It’s always nice to start on new projects, but especially so when it is for existing clients as the whole process is a little easier and it is nice to know that they’ve been pleased with previous work you’ve done for them. A vote of confidence now and then is always appreciated.

Some friends of mine (and possibly me) are doing a coast to coast ride to raise money for the The Mid Wales Colo-rectal Cancer Fund, The ITU Department and A&E Departments of Bronglais General Hospital.

As well as maybe doing the ride I’ve been helping them with their IT requirements and online presence to help promote the event and spent some time with Sylvia yesterday setting up a free WordPress based website for the event. As well as setting the site up I gave Sylvia a crash course on using the CMS aspects of WordPress and helped with a few other things too.

She’ll be getting to grips with the system and adding content over the next few days so hopefully soon the site will go live for everyone to see No doubt there will be a few tweaks needed by me before it is ready for public consumption but it shouldn’t be too long before it is ready.

Doing work for charity like this doesn’t pay the bills but hopefully it results in good Karma for Pixelwave Web Design and makes me feel good about myself too. Besides, me or someone close is bound to need one of the departments at the local hospital one day (hopefully not too soon) so anything I can do to help is worthwhile.

I’ll let you know when the site is live and ready to see.

I’m pleased to announce that Pixelwave Web  Design has just released a new website for Bedminster Road Garage in Bristol.

It is actually a garage part owned by my brother. They provide servicing and MOT’s for all makes and models of car (including mine when it needs it!). The garage are pleased with the results and hopefully the website will develop over time.

At the moment it is a fairly basic, brochure style website outlining what they do and how to contact them. Getting information for the website from my brother is almost impossible but I’m hoping to encourage him to add more to it over the months. I’d like to see photos and small biographies of the mechanics to give it a more personal, friendly feel. But would also like to highlight the professionalism of the garage by promoting their fleet servicing capabilities and maybe mentioning some of their larger clients – with the clients permission of course.

It would also be nice to add news and information on the sports teams that they sponsor and mention any special seasonal offers that they might have.

Website Design for Bedminster Road Garage

Pixelwave Web Design is pleased to announce the release of a brand new website for Blue Island Ceramics, a Ceramics cafe near Aberystwyth in West Wales.

Blue Island Ceramics is paint-your-own ceramics studio offering a place for people of all ages to go and create something that is uniquely theirs.

Their new website is a bright, attractive brochure style website that promotes their business and provides information on the services they offer.

Website Design for Ceramics Cafe

Pixelwave Web Design has recently started work on a new website for a Ceramics Cafe here in Wales. In fact, they are just up the road from me which is nice as it makes it really easy to pop in and see them and to go through progress with them at any point. Communication is the name of the game and having your clients virtually next door certainly makes that easier.

The business is a paint-your-own ceramics studio offering a place for people of all ages to go and create something that is uniquely theirs. I had worked for the business a few years ago, but it has recently been taken over by new management and they have decided to re-brand and have a completely new website.

I’ve already started working on the design of what will be a fairly simple brochure style website explaining what they offer and how to contact them. After a few small tweaks the clients were delighted with the layout so it is now full steam ahead to produce the website itself. Hopefully the overall design will also be used on printed promotional material such as leaflets and fliers and maybe I’ll be commissioned to produce those for them as well.