Pragmatic Design's Blog

Using Google Analytics? You could soon be fined up to £500,000!

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:32:40 +0100

An EU Directive covering the use of cookies becomes part of UK law in May 2012, and unless your website complies with it, you could be hit with a huge fine!

5 Web Design Trends in 2012

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:12:38 +0000

As another year starts, we look at 5 up-and-coming website design trends which we think you'll be seeing more of through 2012.

5 Quick Tips to Increase eCommerce Conversion

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:57:28 +0000

Five simple solutions that can help you to get better sales conversions from your existing website.

5 Cheap Ways to get your Business Card Noticed

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:11:42 +0100

There are lots of funky ways to be different with your business cards: strange shapes, unusual materials, spot UV varnishes... but these can dramatically increase your costs. So we're going to look at affordable (and in some cases, free) ways to get your business cards in the hands of prospective clients.

Ten Top Tips for Free SEO

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:11:15 +0100

Search Engine Optimisation is promoted as a dark, mysterious and expensive art to coax Google nirvana. In reality, there are lots of simple steps you can take for free to increase your ranking position. Here's our Top 10 List to easy SEO.

Free Google SEO Starter Guide

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:10:18 +0100

We read a huge amount of stuff about SEO- some useful, interesting, informative and some, erm, not so useful, interesting or informative. Well, here's the low-down straight from the horse's mouth: Google themselves. You can download Google's free 32 page PDF "Google Search Engine Optimisation Starter Guide" by following the steps below.

Twitter: 10 top tricks to increase followers for free

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:38:10 +0000

We hear two stories from our clients about Twitter:

We get loads of business from Twitter
We don't understand Twitter

If you're in group number 1, congratulations. If you're in group number 2, read on and we'll tell you how to get more organic followers on Twitter- for free!

Design tips for new business startups

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:38:01 +0000

We're noticing an increase in the number of new business startups who are asking for advice on their corporate identity, website, stationery design, marketing and promotion. We guess this is due to the current economic climate, and despite these problems, it's great to see so many entrepreneurs taking their first bold steps.

It's likely that the use of design for your business is likely to be way down the priority list, and yet it is very important to get off to the right start- especially given the potential to waste money on unnecessary items.

With these new businessmen and women in mind, here are our top tips for design for startup businesses:

Promote your Business Offline

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:34:22 +0000

Putting all of your marketing on the web is like putting all of your eggs in one basket. Print should play an important part of your strategy too.

Many years after the fall of the print industry was predicted, printed marketing material is still widely used. The reason for that is quite simple: it works!

The Benefits of a Content Management System (CMS)

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:32:02 +0000

For a business, large or small, to really make the most of their web presence, they need a Content Management System. They can increase business, whilst saving you money.

Time to reconsider our opinion on Flash?

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:29:43 +0000

With the announcement that Flash files will be better indexed by search engines, is it now time to reconsider our opinion on their use?

Adobe Systems, makers of Flash, recently provided Google and Yahoo! with the technology to access the content stored within the media files. Prior to this, much of the text within Flash based websites was invisible to search engines. Invisible content = an invisible website.

Newsletters get your Business Noticed

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:26:59 +0000

We're currently being kept very busy designing newsletters, both eNewsletters and traditional printed mailers. We'll share the secrets of a successful campaign with you, helping you to increase sales enquiries.

Newsletters come in two distinct forms: electronic newsletters, sent via email, and printed newsletters through the post. We'll discuss them both below.

Writing a Successful Newsletter

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:23:12 +0000

Newsletters are a great way to get new business and keep in touch with existing customers. But just what makes a newsletter campaign successful? We're talking about content here, not design (that's a whole different subject!) We list the top half-dozen points to consider.

We've already spent a bit of time talking about newsletters in our blog, but we thought it time to offer a guide to actually writing one. This guide deals with email newsletters only- we may cover printed ones in the future- let us know what you think.

Bookmark your website with the world

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:19:34 +0000

With the increasing popularity of "Web 2.0" sites comes the opportunity for businesses to boost the number of visitors to their websites using bookmarks. How does it work? Take a look at the bottom of the page of an increasing number of websites (including this one- go on, scroll down and take a look), you'll find icons for Facebook and Twitter.

Special Offer- Buy cheap, pay twice!

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:08:27 +0000

Under pressure to save? There's an important difference between getting value and cutting corners. We take a look at four actual instances....

Good websites gone bad

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:47:18 +0100

AKA: The pitfalls of a content management system.

Designing A Logo

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:53:26 +0000

We've just designed a new logo and corporate ID for ourselves, but creating a logo is about more than just drawing a pretty picture- it should also show your businesses purpose and values from it. We'll take you through the process of designing a logo.