Web Development Live

After 12 years of experience on their own website development and marketing solutions, GHO has expanded their services in the form of the Big Agency which offers a complete solution for independent hoteliers to be competitive on and offline.

The Big Agency will help independent luxury hotels improve visibility and achieve growing online sales, by offering tailored web strategies comprising website development, internet marketing and offline solutions.

Lilou Mace, Managing Director of the Big Agency comments “Independent hotels have not yet utilised the power of the Internet. Moving forward with innovative and comprehensive strategies, at this period in time, will help hotels transform their sales approach. There is a tremendous opportunity for them to grow online. The timing couldn’t be any better and we are here to help.”

One of the two cornerstones of the Big Agency’s search engine marketing strategies is Pay Per Click (PPC).

The Big Agency will help independent hotels create effective, structured PPC campaigns based on key phrases that the targeted audience will enter during their travel search.

The Big Agency also offers Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), which focuses on organic search listings and enables websites to be featured high on search engines listings.

The Big Agency will help hoteliers understand their website’s current search engine ranking, as well how to improve and optimise it.

The website development team can also work with independent hoteliers to create an aesthetically appealing website which integrates web 2.0 features to encourage interaction between hoteliers and guests.

Online reservations are one of the most profitable and valuable booking options for independent luxury hotels.

Social networking sites review management, email and newsletter campaign management, video presentation and long-term website linking strategies are also part of the Big Agency’s online services.

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This is an exciting opportunity to take control of a significant project for a growing Australian company. You will head up a range of tasks from the initial design to development and delivery of the organisations corporate intranet.

This role will require an outgoing person who can liaise with users and stakeholders within the business on requirements for the project as well as manage the web design process from concept to final product delivery. You will also be responsible for testing, documenting and supporting the intranet.

You will be degree qualified with experience designing and implementing intranet or internet portals from start to finish in an autonomous environment. You will have strong experience in all aspects of web development including front end graphic design, HTML and Style Sheets etc.

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Federal government and U.S. industry scientists say they are forging ahead with plans for an international, online collaboration to speed up creation of critically needed nanotechnology standards, including the underpinning reference materials and tests that support development of nanotech products while minimizing potential risks.

Combining efforts of materials scientists and measurement laboratories with those of biological and medical researchers, the new Internet-linked “community of interest” will exploit Web 2.0-style social networking technologies to enable creating and sharing information, as well as deliberating over technical details of in-process standards. The initial focus will be standards for characterizing the structure and properties of engineered nanoscale materials.

The idea for the Web-based collaboration was strongly endorsed during a recent international workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). A prototype wiki or collaborative Web site was demonstrated by representatives of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Advanced Biomedical Computing Center.

Now undergoing further development at NCI, the nanotechnology standards wiki will enable instantaneous dissemination of drafts, discussions, votes and supporting materials. Wiki-related tools will help in organizing discussions, and standards developing organizations (SDOs) will be able to tap this resource to expedite drafting and validating protocols before they enter the formal approval process.

SDOs are developing standards in the fast-moving technology area, but scientists at the workshop said the overall response is not as effective or as coherent as the global challenge requires.

NCI and its partners expect the site to be up and running by early 2009. For more information, see “NCI and NIST Propose Online Community To Speed Up Development of Nanotech Standards”.

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Microsoft Thursday unveiled a revamped Live Search API that developers can use to embed search on Web sites with more support for frequently used Web-development technologies and less restrictions on how third parties use the technology on their Web sites.

Microsoft also is releasing third parties from previous restrictions on how they use the API, he said. There are no limits to the amount of queries sites can make and site developers can rank content how they want. Developers also can syndicate Microsoft’s image search, news search and phone-book search and have “complete control within their site,” Norton said.

Third parties using the Silkroad API also aren’t required to run Microsoft Live Search ads on their sites, he said. However, if they do, they will receive revenue from a standard revenue-sharing agreement Microsoft has with search partners.

Microsoft’s Live Search is third behind Google and Yahoo, and the new API is aimed at getting more third parties to use Microsoft’s search engine to power their Web sites, Norton said, acknowledging that “there aren’t many” sites using Live Search now.

He called Microsoft’s decision to open its API and release restrictions a way of “democratizing the [search] platform” in the same way it has allowed developers successfully use Windows and other Microsoft software as foundational technologies in the past.

In other search news, Microsoft also Thursday provided an update on its Cashback program, another way the company is trying to get more people to use Live Search. Microsoft launched the program in May as a way to give consumers discounts for products purchased online if they discover those products using Live Search.

Microsoft has added Macy’s and Nordstrom to the list of 20 U.S. online retailers participating in Cashback, Norton said. Retailers also said the program is gaining a lot of traction among people purchasing from their sites, he said.

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Barry-Wehmiller International Resources (BWIR), pioneers in the creation and development of solutions integrating the key elements of Enterprise Consulting, Engineering and Information Technology, have recently achieved the Gold Certified Partner status within the Microsoft Partner Program with core competencies in Custom Solutions and SOA / Business Process Solutions.

Commenting on this highest level of competence and expertise certification, Mr. Senthil Kumar, Vice President and Partner of India Operations for BWIR said, “This reflects our commitment to deliver end-to-end web based business solutions to our customers across the world. The certification reflects the people capability faith we repose in our employees and help us raise the delivery standards and meet customer expectations”.

Adding to this, Mr. Vasant Bennett, President and Managing Partner of BWIR said, “The Gold Partner Certification is a mark of excellence and recognition of BWIR’s commitment to providing leading-edge solutions and assuring the highest levels of quality and service to all our clients; and forms part of our core strategy to set the benchmark as a leading global player in the engineering and business software solutions domain”

This status has boosted our business plan; the current business trend requires companies to be both solution providers and expert advisers.

BWIR has achieved Web Development specialization in Custom Solutions Competency which is primarily for partners who develop with Visual Studio 2008, Visual Studio Tools for Office, Microsoft SQL Server, Windows Server 2008, Microsoft BizTalk Server, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Web Development focuses on delivering Web-enabled deployment solutions required in organizations that wish to operate and transact through the Internet using Visual Studio, ASP.NET, IIS, Windows Server 2003, and SQL Server. The Business Process and Integration Competency is designed for technology partners with proven expertise in deploying business to business solutions, Enterprise Application Integration(EAI), business process integration and management.

Established in 2003, The Microsoft Partner Program recognizes the expertise and rewards for the impact the partners create in the technology marketplace, and delivers tools and resources to help businesses become profitable regardless of its size or focus.

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The small business marketing company, today announced the availability of professional Website design services, as well as expanded features for its do-it-yourself Website offering. Website design integrates VistaPrint’s renowned creative and copywriting services with the company’s first electronic product. Customers can use newly available features to increase the customer appeal and impact of their Websites.

As consumers increasingly turn to the Web to find goods and services, small businesses need a professional and eye-catching online presence. VistaPrint’s professional designers help small businesses coordinate their brand both online and off to attract customers. The Web development team will create the entire site for a one-time fee, even creating a unique new look for the company. VistaPrint customers who already have a Website can take advantage of this service without changing their subscription or can upgrade as part of the process. The Web development team can also integrate key search terms to drive traffic and potential customers to the site.

“We have already seen success in offering assistance with mailing and creative services for off-line marketing campaigns. Offering a simple do-it-yourself Website option was groundbreaking, but we believe that our customers can get even more out of their site with assistance from our talented design team,” said Chad Burgess, product marketing associate at VistaPrint. “Our Website design packages are perfect for the busy small business owner who might not have the tools and skill set to do it themselves. Our professional, in-house designers have a great deal of experience and know exactly how to draw customers to a Website.”

Even for someone with very little online experience, the Website design process is very simple. Customers can call (866) 811-8445 to speak with a creative services team member and answer a few questions regarding their business and the type of image they wish to convey. Designers are able to incorporate any photos, logos and text into the Website and can match the site to existing marketing materials. This can all be done within one week and the cost includes two complimentary rounds of revisions to perfect the design.

VistaPrint Websites have also been recently enhanced with several new features. Customers now have the option to create a photo gallery with four different layouts, including filmstrip and photo grid. In addition, for those using the standard and professional packages, customers can not only integrate VistaPrint documents into their site, but also include documents for visitors to download. This can include anything from a restaurant menu to a pricing list for services. Email addresses have also been added to a number of the packages and songs can also be uploaded to sites for an extra personal touch.

In addition to Websites, VistaPrint offers small businesses peace of mind by providing everything they need to market their business. Products include high-quality and low-cost printed products such as holiday cards, brochures, address labels, and make your own business cards; promotional apparel including hats and T-shirts; and marketing services such as copywriting, Websites, design and postcard mailing. The company also offers a number of helpful videos and articles on marketing their small business in their virtual Learning Center.

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As a result of completing a fairly in depth look at accessibility issues for web designers I am rounding out my work on the subject by mentioning the fact that today is World Usability Day. Alright, this year’s theme is transportation, but there’s a strong technology flavour throughout this subject.

A key theme appears to be that if you make your site more accessible to disabled users, then you naturally improve usability for ALL users. Tesco recently revamped its online offering from an accessibility perspective and found that sales increased across its entire user/customer base.

One of the companies I didn’t get to mention in my original report describe themselves as ‘digital interactive design consultants’and like a lot of other socially aware consultancies they work on accessibility and usability as inter-related terms that should always stand side by side.

Wilson Fletcher is working closely with the British Dyslexia Association to develop a set of best practices to help these users get the most from the Internet. The company says that, “The web accessibility issue has, to date, tended to focus around those with partial sight. However, improving web standards for other groups such as those with dyslexia for example has been largely ignored.”

Looking back one last time to Microsoft’s ReMIX web designer’s event in Brighton last month, one accessibility presentation featured demonstrations of ‘what dyslexia looks like to a sufferer’. Well, as you can imagine, the audience was pretty fascinated to see blurry, fuzzy, moving and doubled-up text and try for just a moment to imagine what it must be like to harbour this condition.

Anyway, one last call from a journalist with very few morals, scruples or political correctness to boast about. I think I’ve been woken up to the need for more social conscience when it comes to web development and design. If you need a wake up call, the take a look at the worst web design ever and put yourself in a blind person’s shoes trying to use a screen reader on this car crash of a home page for a second.

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