Category Archives: Planning

Web design prices

Quick update.

Useful for planning and budgeting.

Please contact Tusler Design for a price for your project.

All prices are worked out on an hourly basis.

Some jobs cost a few hundred pounds and some cost several thousand pounds.

We know the top-line is important but the bottom-line is just as vital to success.

As a budgeting guide plan to spend £1,000 on a WordPress or similar site. Upwards of £2,000 for an e-commerce site.

Contact us about your website.

Is your site working for you?

Using analytics data for your decision making

Is your site working for you?Owners of websites can make huge improvements to the effectiveness of their sites by learning to understand their analytics user data.

Google’s own tracking tool ‘Google Analytics‘ is a fantastic piece of software that anyone can use to their advantage.

Adding Google’s Webmaster Tools to Google Analytics gives website owners and developers a broad and highly informative set of data tools.

All this data is there to help decision makers choose where to focus energy and investment to foster growth and expand reach and sales.

Since 2006 Tusler Design use Google Analytics along with Webmaster Tools to understand website users and how sites are attracting traffic from searches and keywords and phrases.

Web site designers and developers at your serviceTusler Design provide bespoke services in this regard to our clients. Services include full SEO and content creation based on keyword analysis and competitor analysis.

We provide training too

Tusler-Design’s services include training for business owners in using Google’s data tracking tools to their advantage. This includes using adwords to improve your site performance for both organic and paid searches.

Community success involves co-operation and collaboration.

Community, co-operation, collaboration and the Internet

Let’s get real here.

We all have to live in the real world – right?

The media and politicians present us with their own view of things but our lives go on whether we listen to them or not.

As members of society and of the world family we can be responsible for our own lives and our own actions.

Modern life involves using the web to buy things, sell things, learn things, exchange ideas, play games, meet new people and keep in touch with friends and family.

All of us can tell our story, give our ‘testimony’ online.

Community success involves co-operation and collaboration.

Community success involves co-operation and collaboration in order for everyone to be happy.

Community is essential

In real life ‘community’ is an essential part of a successful, harmonious, productive society.

‘No man is an island’ and all that. Surely its obvious that we are all benefited by making the effort to co-operate.

Another trite but wise saying; ‘Together everyone achieves more’.

On Mother Earth everything is provided, all we have to do is learn what our purpose is and make the most of our time here.

When we get isolated we can easily succumb to mental health issues, depression and general ill-health.

When we are able to be an active part of a community we function much better. We have support around us for getting through hard times.

Those of us who can help others, could and should help because all communities need active members to make them sustainable and ultimately to flourish.

Co-operation and collaboration are strengths

Through co-operation and collaboration individuals and small groups of people can use the Internet to achieve great things for their communities.

Often new groups go through a process of forming, storming, norming and then performing. So we should expect some listening on all sides before our communities can flourish.

And the basis of it all of course is mutual  respect, trust and ultimately transcendental love. But this is not the place for discussions on the more esoteric aspect of life as humans!

Tusler Design have been involved in communities since the late 1980s, Thatcher’s Britain.

Since the Internet revolution of the 1990s Tusler Design have worked with a consistent emphasis on developing community through working together using the Internet. This is with large, medium and small businesses, organisations and individuals. All our work is aimed at utilising joined-up thinking to help our clients.

“We’ve lots of experience in helping turn ideas into reality!”

So contact us today to talk about your community and your project. We’re happy to have the opportunity to work with you and your group no matter what the cause or subject.

signs are useful to help guide your visitors

Websites as communication tools

Each website has a voice.

And the visitors listen to the voice. They do this by reading, or hearing, your text. They are influenced in this hearing, by the colour scheme, layout, type-set, and graphics of your website.

So use your unique voice

At all times keep in mind the idea of who you are talking to when writing your content. Imagine you are speaking to just one person; the reader.

Images are a powerful means of communicating

Your choice of images tell a story because, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” So, ask yourself, ‘What are you trying to say with these thousand-word images?’

signs are useful to help guide your visitors

Signs are useful to help guide your visitors but there is more to finding your voice and communicating effectively

Email enables direct communication and interaction without having to use the telephone or meet in person. You still have to remember your voice in your email communication.

And of course video telephony is available via Skype and other similar systems. These are an effective means of communication. Often Tusler-Design will communicate with clients over Skype. One advantage being it is instant and thus avoids long distance travel to attend meetings and briefings.

Social networks, (i.e. Facebook) are a great place to promote your messages and to interact with your ‘community’ as there is a balanced audience of male and female users. Twitter is mostly male (though not entirely) and has a different feel and emphasis to Facebook.

And lastly, it’s a personal thing

Your visitors will almost always be alone with you. Websites communicate with individuals and though you might have many visitors, few of them will be with someone else when they’re on your site.

So, why not make the most of the opportunity given us through technology and use the Internet to speak and communicate to your audience and the world at large?

A collection of websites

Planning your website

Start-out in the right way on the Internet and you’ll achieve success much faster.

Here’s a simple tried and tested step-by-step guide to help you plan your website.

A collection of websites

The Basics

Every website is a combination of:

  • content
  • design
  • technology
  • and (much more subtle) credibility

Balance and synergy of these four elements gives your site a head start on the competition.

Know your Audience

Right from the start think about your visitors, your people, your tribe.

Who are they? Ages? Genders? How are you going to offer them something they want?

Have a Clear Theme

Your website needs to flow from your mission. At least it should have a clear theme or subject.

Be Credible

Most websites (yours included) require certain pages in order to be credible. These pages include:

  • home – a welcome message, introduction, links to products and services, call to action
  • about – aims and mission, history, who’s-who, principles and values statements
  • contact – all the ways your customers can contact you; telephone, email, postal mail
  • terms of use – includes the copyright statements and disclaimers notices
  • privacy policy – a statement about your commitment to keeping personal information confidential.

Of course, the above list does not apply to a one-page CV or PR site.

Your products, services, messages, articles, insights, testimonials, picture galleries, video sections, feedback forms, shopping carts etc. will also need pages too.

Talk to Search Engines

Keep on-topic and make your pages relevant to your main subject. Use deep-links to connect articles and pages together.

Search engines like it if you also have a sitemap and special ‘robots.txt’ file.

Think Community

Over recent years ‘Community‘ has become an increasingly important and relevant factor to consider. Particularly this aspect is covered by having a Facebook and Twitter presence.

Keep it Simple!

Remember to follow the 10 principles of online success. The primary one being, ‘keep it simple‘.

Make a Plan

Plan your content, your messages and how you want your visitors, followers, clients, customers, fans and friends to interact with you.

Keep it Fresh

Keep adding and expanding your offering. Don’t let it become stale.

Think Long-term

Maintain a long-term vision for your website. Allow it to grow for at least five to ten years. Longevity is a powerful influence on credibility.

Keep Focused

Remain confident and determined. Just keep building your website and it will grow and develop it’s own character.

Share the Story

Tell others about your website, your services, your blog, your offers. That way they will know to keep checking the site for new content.

Review Regularly

Regularly review your visitor statistics and the pages they are looking at and using. What number of contacts come via the site? Try to create content to increase the traffic, click-throughs, contacts, sales, newsletter sign-ups, etc.

The above is a quick guide to help you in thinking through your site.

Contact Tusler Design to get your website designed and online working for you.