First we had the web, and websites.  Then we had social media, and social media websites.  Now – we’re going full-circle, back to TV, and social media TV.  Do I want to be chatting online while I’m watching Jack Bauer turn around an impossible situation again?  I don’t know…..

Theories abound on how to use language best for a given situation.  There are many different approaches and schools of thought, from etiquette, manners and social graces, formal letter writing, article writing.  The list goes on and on, and the field of vocabulary is itself a huge one.

I personally like to go with what feels right.  I don’t like to write copy that comes across as a pushy sales letter.  I don’t like to write copy that promises my clients they’ll get rich quick.  What I do like to write is copy that I hope conveys my feelings about a topic, and write in a way that contains at least a little of my personality.

There are as many different writing styles out there as there are writers I’d guess.  The people I seem to identify with the most in terms of reading their posts online would be the ones that aren’t afraid to say something funny for fear of seeming stupid.  Of course, the information within the post needs to be relevant to what I want to know.  And vocabulary plays a much bigger part than I gave it credit for in years gone by.  If you like words, then the visual thesaurus may appeal. It’s a little like the Google Wonder Wheel, or a brainstorming session online!

With the right vocabulary, meaning can be conveyed with less ‘waffle’.  Succinct, to the point and accurate.  Maybe I should put this line at the start of my post…..

E deli shop is an online food retailer, who instructed 123 Web design to create their online web presence, combining a Joomla customised content management system, and Virtuemart e-commerce solution.

Follow the link to see more details about our latest addition to the web design portfolio – Edeli , content management system website.

Visitors to the website can now request a call back from us, with the intention of making it more convenient if they’re in a hurry.

The Business

New Forest Tree Surgery is a new business trying to shoot it’s roots offering arboricultural and tree surgery services in the New Forest Area.  Offering a friendly, customer centred service by conscientious fully trained and insured tree surgeons they really are living the motto – “from small acorns….”.

The Project Requirement

New Forest Tree Surgery was a completely new business, requiring help with the complete range of web design and business start up services in Bournemouth that Pure and Simple Web Design offer.

The Custom Solution

From choosing a business name, through to a concept for branding and logo, on to web design, web hosting and of course business cards and paper-based business stationery.  Pure and Simple Web Design have been involved at every stage from concept to launch of the business.

The concept for the business website was to give a clean, fresh image – one that also conveyed the trustworthy nature of the business itself and inspired confidence in the the brand.  The navigability of the website was key, to enable visitors to find information about services with ease.  The big goal of the site is to encourage visitors to contact New Forest Tree Surgery with any questions or information requests that they may have, so contact details are prominent on every page, with a contact form for visitors to use should they not wish to use their own email or phone (for example they may be searching while having lunch at work).

The End Game

Hitting the target with the initial design requirements makes this website feel clean and fresh, and simple for visitors to use.  The flash video is set at a gentle pace, adding some depth to the website without overly distracting visitors.  Of course, we love our web design, as do New Forest Tree Surgery – and we are sure that visitors to the site will feel the same way too!

And all at a highly competitive costing, giving new local businesses the power to have a professional website and business brand – all under one roof.

• Stage Payment Plan
• Graphic Design
• Logo Creation
• Web Design (including Flash, xhtml, css)
• Website Validation
• Company Web Address
• Web Hosting
• Copywriting
• SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
• Letterhead design & Headed paper template
• Business Cards – graphic design double sided full colour

After using a mouse for so long on a PC, I wasn’t sure how this would go.  Installation turned out to be as simple as most other plug n play installations these days.  Even with Vista gettting involved.  A couple of discs to whizz through and you’re off.

My first impressions were along the lines of “This is weird….where’s my cursor gone…..why isn’t my hand working properly?…..and so on”, but after about 30 minutes, I suppose the 30+ years of using a ‘normal’ pen translated itself though my fingertips to the pen tablet, and bingo – it feels natural.  Pressure sensititvity and Adobe Illustrator’s (CS3) Paintbrush tool settings allow the creation of very smooth, curved vector lines and shapes.  Double-click on the Paintbrush icon in the Tools palette and up pop some nice options which aid the smoothness of the curves.   Something my hand would not be able to do naturally!

If you’re a left hander, the pen tablet could be even better than for ‘righties’ if you use your mouse in one hand and the pen in the other.  I love it.  An absolutely great tool for the creation of web and print graphics.  It’s going to be well used indeed during the website design process.  Josh Scruggs over at 26 Symbols talks a bit about the Bamboo too – follow this link to check out the 26 Symbols review of the Wacom bamboo.

The guys over at Design Reviver have put together an informative little piece on the most common types of xhtml error.  A good starting place to peruse the most common offences, before going deeper into the rabbit hole!  This all ties in with the general principles of (World Wide Web Consortium) W3C compliant web design, discussed on the main website briefly.

This brand new page to our website  contains all sorts of information about website startup offers in Bournemouth,  just follow the link to see the info.

Adios, D

I’ve become more attuned to the language used on web-pages by web designers themselves -  the spelling, punctuation and grammar, tone and structure of the wording, and also the vocabulary and terminology which is sometimes specific to a given field of expertise or business.

Spelling, punctuation and grammar, you would think are all perfect these days due to the advent of spell-checkers.  If anything, I think it’s getting worse – spend a few minutes taking a cursory glance at any newspaper, be it a broadsheet or a tabloid, and you’re sure to find mistakes-a-plenty.  You wouldn’t have to look too far through this blog to find the odd error…

An explosion of texting culture combined with the falling importance of the Queen’s English, rising importance and celebration of urban culture and regional dialects, all club together with the ability of anyone near a computer to publish live online and give us the situation we’re in now.  That situation is a society which publishes more than at any other time in history.  Never have so many words been written and published by so many.  The power of huge publishers has started to give way to the billions of words written online by the general public.

And surely the important thing isn’t the perfection of spelling for spelling’s sake, but the ability to use the letters and words of the language to convey meaning, emotion and communicate with others.

The above information and more concerning our Bournemouth website design services can be found at the Pure and Simple Web Design homepage.  Part 2 of this post here.