Services | bSpoke Web Design and Development

Web Site Development

Innovation. That's the key; pushing the code to produce new effects and business for you.

It all starts with questions, however. Asking questions and listening to the answers to find out what you want to achieve, and how the internet can help you do it.

Then we can set about designing an internet marketing strategy and a web site to be the centrepiece.

All our websites are bespoke - original and crafted for you. We don't use WordPress, Joomla or any other frameworks (unless you really insist). So you won't see your page on someone else's site, ever. But you will get a unique site that does what you want it to do, reliably and well.

Web Apps

All bSpoke web sites are fully responsive; work well across browsers and devices.

The current expectation is that web sites must be usable on mobile phone and tablet screens..

In the future, however, as the internet and entertainment become more entwined, the challenge will be to ensure web sites also work well on plasma TV screens and similar.

If your business or organisation currently has a need, however, for mobile phone specific interfaces, then bSpoke can build a web app to your requirements.

Maintenance

All web systems need maintenance: to ensure they work well on new technology and as your needs and requirements develop.

bSpoke web sites are built to be as maintenance free as possible, however. The code used is as "future-proof" as we can make in. And, as we avoid third party frameworks (e.g. WordPress and Joomla) you won't be troubled by new versions being released (and your web site suddenly no longer working!).

What we do, however, is use our own, custom, micro Content Management Systems (CMS), so you and your staff can carry out much of the required maintenance - without knowing or using code. We build sites that allow the client to upload this month's special, for example, input copy, select graphics and upload images. All just by filling in a form. Too easy and cutting the cost down for you.

For maintenance needs that do require coding skills, however, bSpoke is available on either an "as needs", casual basis, or on a regular, contracted cycle; whichever best suits your requirements.

Content Creation

One of the biggest problems facing a business setting up a web presence is the creation of the content that will appear on that site or app.

Chances are you aren't an author or a photographer...that's not what you do!

That's where bSpoke comes in. Experience in newspaper, magazine and literary publication has provided bSpoke with communication skills you can harness to get your message across.

As well as generating professional, concise copy pitched at your target audience, we can also take, enhance and manipulate images as required.

bSpoke will create the content you need for your site - while you get on with doing what you do best. This is what we do.

SEO

As you read this, Google is sending "crawlers" or "spiders" through every page of every web site and web app on the internet.

It's not just a one-off visit either. The spiders crawl through the web constantly, visiting sites regularly, checking updated content, keeping the Google search algorithm (called PageRank) as well informed as possible.

As the spiders crawl, they check each page for spelling errors, pick out key words to categorise content, look for a "semantic" or logical layout and presentation, check for links to other pages - and much more.

In fact, the Google spiders carry out over 200 checks on each web page they crawl.

This inquisition is not motivated by idle curiosity. It is, in fact, the core of Google's vast business empire.

Google have based their position as current Masters of the Internet on a pact with users - that when you do a search, Google will deliver you the best, most informative pages relevant to the question you asked.

To achieve this, they do their level best to weed out spammers and crooks playing percentage games - the people who try and lure you to their site even though you aren't interested in what they are selling.

The history of Search Engine Optimisation is the story of this contest between Google and the spammers (or "black hats" as they call them).

But SEO isn't necessarily just about sending endless streams of traffic to your site. The local butcher shop, for example, will gain little from people in Moscow and Paris visiting their site, whereas a mail order t-shirt supplier might do very well from the same interest.

It's all about understanding who your customers are and the role the internet plays in your relationship with them.

That, and making sure they can find you when they want to.

bSpoke can help. It's what we do.

Reputation Management

It's not the first thing you think about when building a web site or designing an internet marketing strategy. But it needs to be the last.

Reputation Management is the one thing that can make or break your whole effort - the last piece of the puzzle that can make your internet presence a success, or, if you leave it out, a disaster.

And when they finish painting the Harbour Bridge, well that's when you can stop worrying about Reputation Management as well. Until then, however, it's still a vital part of your marketing - and all too often ignored until it goes wrong.

Reputation management is all about monitoring the way your organisation is perceived by others and ensuring that your internet marketing helps generate and maintain a positive view.

Everyone knows how important customer service is, and how important it is to respond positively to customer concerns.

Reputation management is the extension of these basic principles into the e-sphere.

It starts with looking at how you use the internet, and how you can use the internet to gather information about what your customers are saying about you.

You can't control that, but you can use it as an opportunity to display your commitment to customer service.

And then there's the question of what to do in the event of malicious and unfair attacks. What can you do about those?

Well, there are ways you can use the internet to protect your organisation from the impact of such attacks.

That's where bSpoke can help.

Database Construction and Management

Computers are great at some things - not so good at others.

For example, computers are very bad at talking to customers, making plans and setting goals.

They are, however, great for storing data and performing repetitive tasks quickly and accurately.

They can also serve as an interface between your organisation and its customers that is available anywhere, any time.

This is where databases come in. They can store all the data you need. And programs can process that data, automating repetative processes and freeing up you and your staff to do what they do best.

bSpoke has in-house experience totalling many years in database construction and management, including both MS Access and MYSQL databases.

You can put these skills and experience to work for you, designing and implementing a system in which:

Information is only entered once
Queries provide the information you actually want; and
The structure is scalable and flexible - to accommodate your future needs

bSpoke can design and implement a database and system that will put things in their proper order; free you up to run your business, rather than your business running you.