If you’re experiencing difficulties with regards to domain name ownership or transfer you should contact either Nominet (for .co.uk domains) or Network Solutions (for .com, .net & .org domains) for assistance. For further information you can try Domain Magistrate and ICANN and for details of domain ownership and status search Internic’s database.

What if the domain you want is already taken?

Domain names and trademarks have completely separate registration systems. However, domain names can acquire trademark significance if they are used to identify the source of products or services. Having a trademark does not give you a right to a .com, .org, .net or .co.uk. Surprisingly, in the case of .co.uk domains, the owner doesn’t even have to be a business based in the UK.

How do domains work?

HTTP [Hyper Text Transfer Protocol]

Your web browser (typically Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) asks the central US database (which holds all domains) to locate a domain, e.g. domain.co.uk, the database then tells your browser which domain name server (DNS) holds the relevant information for that particular domain, in this case, domain.co.uk. Your browser then contacts the DNS, which returns the IP address for domain.co.uk, which will be a series of numbers looking something like 255.134.323.43, identifying the location of the web server that stores your site’s internet files. The browser then requests the required file or files from the server, and the server delivers it to your browser for you to view as a page.

SMTP [Simple Mail Transfer Protocol]

Similar to HTTP, when you send an email to for example someone@domain.com, the central DNS server will transfer your message to the correct server where your email for the domain name will be handled.  Differing from HTTP, SMTP works via a separate port on the web server so the two requests are kept separate and depending on what email software is handling mail, messages are then stored in the appropriate folder for collection later.

However, if you take orders online for offline payment processing you must be aware of the security risks. Fears that a customer’s credit card details might be stolen en route from Web browser to merchant site are a red herring.

All information, an order for example, carried on the Internet is divided into many small packets of data which may or may not travel sequentially and may even use different routes to the destination. It is extremely unlikely that anyone would succeed (or even attempt), to garner individual transactions by monitoring traffic.

Additionally, all electronic transactions should be protected by encryption, scrambling the data so that it can only be deciphered by authorised systems. Secure Socket Layers (SSL) has become the de facto standard for encryption. SSL produces the padlock or key symbol in the status line of browsers, indicating that the current operation is being made over a secure connection. But, SSL only encrypts data in transit from customer browser to merchant Web site and decrypts the data upon arrival at the Web server or other server to which it is redirected for storage or online transmission. Since multiple orders are likely to be aggregated at these points this does constitute an attraction to fraudsters and a security risk.

Encryption worries
The risk doesn’t disappear once the data arrives at your system. Gene Spafford, the author of several definitive works on Internet and e-commerce security, says, “Using encryption on the Internet is the equivalent of arranging an armoured car to deliver credit-card information from someone living in a cardboard box to someone living on a park bench.”

Physical theft from systems is not the only risk. Data can be lost through hardware failure, software errors, virus attacks, or human error. If you don’t have an up-to-date backup your entire business could be in big trouble.

The Merchant Service Providers term MSP refers to banks, Independent Sales Organisations, or other institutions that offer financial transaction processing, usually related to credit card sales. Many MSPs provide merchant accounts; others require customers to establish them independently.

Banks

When you’re ready to open a merchant account, the best place to start is with your local bank. If your business is less than 2 years old, you still should be able to establish a merchant account, provided you have a history, either business or personal, with that institution.

Generally, banks are viewed as the most secure and reliable option, but they also are more selective. Their rules often require that they limit the number of merchant accounts given to high-risk businesses. Since e-commerce businesses are generally considered high-risk by the card associations and by banks, some banks do not offer Internet merchant accounts. If they do, they may charge higher fees. Shop around to give yourself some leveraging power. If you locate lower fees elsewhere and present the discovery to your bank, your bank might agree to lower its charges just to keep your business.

Banks tend to shut down merchant accounts as a result of chargebacks without first working with the merchant to reduce the chargebacks. ISOs usually will offer advice and customer support to the merchant before they terminate an account.

Independent Sales Organisations

Most Independent Sales Organisations (ISOs) offer merchant accounts and the ability to process online credit card transactions in exchange for a transaction fee and a percentage of sales. Unlike banks, ISOs are generally more tolerant of high-risk accounts because they are not monitored or as tightly regulated. In fact, much of their business comes from companies that cannot obtain merchant accounts from banks directly.

Some ISOs are very reputable; some are not. Be especially wary of ISOs that do not require you to open a merchant account. This may be a sign of factoring – also known as laundering – in which you process your orders through a merchant account in the ISO’s name rather than your own, usually for an exorbitant fee.

Look out for suspicious rates. Complaints regarding ISO practices are on the rise. Some ISOs advertise extremely low discount rates in order to get your business then tack on undisclosed fees or increase rates without warning. Be wary when you see very low rates. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is!

Check for a seal of approval. Look for sites that carry the Better Business Bureau Reliability Seal. ISOs must meet specific standards to use this seal. While sites that don’t carry it aren’t necessarily fraudulent, its presence can be a good way to determine whether a company is legitimate.

Credit Card Processors

These companies are responsible for processing the credit card transactions – verifying, approving then transferring funds securely from one bank to another. They are not considered Merchant Account Providers per se, as they do not provide merchant accounts. Instead, they form relationships with banks and ISOs to integrate payment processing with merchant accounts.

Pitfalls – The Reserve

One of the most important points to cover is the reserve. The reserve is a fee which the processor will keep back as ‘insurance’ against chargebacks and other problems. You will either have to pay the reserve (similar to a deposit) directly, or you will have a share of your transactions taken, on top of your commission.

Remember to ask your potential provider how they deal with the reserve issue. It’s important to ask, since after taking their commission, their reserve, and possibly their international handling charges as well as their monthly processing fee, you may end up with only 50% of every transaction! It’s important that you get all the facts and know what to expect. This can then help you price your goods and services more reasonably.

You may also find that if you take in more sales than you expected for the first few months after becoming a merchant, the bank may want to keep back some of your funds, so be optimistic about your projected income, and try to discover what you and your processor can do in varying scenarios, from good to bad.

Below is a description of typical terms found within a web report and a brief overview of how it can be used.

Hits

A hit is accumulated for every page and individual page element that a visitor requests. Therefore a web page with text and two graphics and three images will accumulate six hits.

This figure is largely irrelevant as a web site with a large amount of images and graphics will result in a large hits figure that although indicative of the number of visitors, is not directly related.

Visits

This figure typically shows the number of visitors your site received. Some software will count the same person who visits on separate occasions as two visitors other software will only count unique visitors. This figure, in particular the unique visitor figure, is one of the most important. This will allow you to set your objectives and measure the success of campaigns around the number of increased monthly visitors.

Requested pages

These figures show the most and least popular web pages of your web site. Analysing which web pages were requested the most might indicate that you have a particular product or service that is more popular than you originally thought. Less popular areas may indicate accessibility, usability or navigational issues with your site.

Entry and exit pages

These show the first and last web pages viewed. A number of top entry pages will indicate good search engine placement. Visitors leaving half way through a process, i.e. completing a form, could indicate usability issues.

Referring sites

The ‘referrer’ data shows where your visitors are coming from.’No referrer’ indicates users that came directly to your site, by either typing in your web site address or choosing your site from their bookmarks. This information is very important and will able you to evaluate the performance of your promotional campaigns.

Search keywords and phrases

These are the keywords and phrases users have keyed into search engines in order to find your web site. This will show whether your search engine campaigns are effective.

For this reason, the majority of sites we build contain some form of content management system element, plus we’re fairly unique in being able to offer a solution for all businesses and budgets.

Providing you have internet access, our content management systems enable live updating from any computer with a web browser, with the changes made appearing instantly. The systems are carefully designed to enable even the less technologically experienced to manage and control their entire website; there’s absolutely no need for extra software or complicated downloads.

Some of the standard features include:

• secure log in from any web enabled PC
• user access permissions, controlling who can edit what
• easy content browsing with a built-in content search
• WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) HTML editor
• the ability to upload and manage a library of images, PDFs, Word documents and other downloadable documents
• the ability to add, edit and delete sub section menus
• website visitor statistics
• web-mail
• email list harvesting tools

We’re also able to integrate any bespoke programming you require to integrate our system with your back-office systems thereby offering your business the most comprehensive and complete solution possible.

For further content management system information please click the link to contact us, we’ll be delighted to help you find the best solution for your needs.

A custom e-commerce website designed by us will conform fully to our high standards of website usability, ensuring the maximum conversion rate of visitor to customer. Standard templates offered with many off-the-shelf solutions may not offer an exact fit with the customer profile and products, and so may not create the right impression – all of which can lead to a lost sale. A fully customised e-commerce website will resolve these issues and allow absolutely the maximum return on investment.

One of the most common flaws we’ve found with some ready-made solutions is the lack of attention given to search engine compatibility. To be sure of securing relevant site traffic, our custom designed e-commerce sites are designed for maximum compatibility with search engine spiders, meaning that all your products details are found, and effectively optimised.

For further information on our custom e-commerce website design please click the link to contact us, we’ll be very happy to help you find the best solution for your needs.

Off-the-shelf e-commerce

For the simpler set-up or more limited budget, we offer WordPress, the excellent and full featured off-the-shelf e-commerce content management package that’s attractive and functional for the user, and versatile and very easy to manage and update for the client. If you have a business you think would work well on-line but you’re just not sure if you can risk the investment of a customised solution, this is an extremely cost effective and quickly set-up solution that fully caters for the needs of the majority of businesses.

Our good web design methodology

At Wightfield Interactive, we believe in, and are passionate about our craft. Good web design is at the heart of our ethic. But – unlike some other agencies, we firmly believe there’s more to good web design than just pretty images on a web page – keep reading, and you’ll see why we’re different…

With each new challenge and assignment, we start with an analysis of need. What should we build, and why? Finding the correct answer to this question can be the hardest part of the design process and is best achieved by a meeting with the client’s marketing and IT staff, and ourselves. We’d expect this initial meeting to cover the following:

Client business goals

Establishing goals means asking questions. How do you make money? Even in the case of not-for-profit organisations, the answer to this question will help determine business objectives and specific functionality requirements.

Who are your most formidable competitors?

Answering this entails thorough research of the online marketplace and competitors’ offerings. Reviewing what they are (as well as what they’re not) doing can help define your own goals. Keeping up with the Joneses can be a pitfall – just because a competitor has chosen a particular route doesn’t mean it’ll suit your business.

How will success be measured?

It’s important to decide how the site’s success will be assessed. Establishing realistic targets and the methodology for monitoring them will help justify the investment and be an invaluable source of information for future developments.

Brand integrity

Ahead of the design stage, rationalisation of your brand values is an essential first step to ensure that site design is consistent with these values, and enhances them. Brand values include:

• Brand promise – the primary benefit provided to customers that will separate what you offer from the competition
• brand attributes – the benefits that your customer receives from your products or services
• brand personality – how the brand is communicated to customers. For example, logo, identity, colours and design style.

The user’s goals

Good web design will incorporate a thorough understanding of user goals – this is crucial to ensuring that the site achieves its objectives. If you’re unsure of the answers to the following questions, performing a customer survey or consulting a focus group could be invaluable.

• What are your clients’ expectations when visiting your web site?
• What degree of technical skill do they have?
• How do you currently interact with your clients and how can the web site be used to enhance this interaction?

Conclusion

To conclude, we firmly believe and advise that good web design involves far more than just the layout of aesthetically pleasing images and text on a page. A full understanding of the market, the competitors, the customer, the product or service offered, along with the business goals and objectives and the design vision and corporate identity is wholly necessary in order to determine a clear and complete brief at the start of the project development.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for further good web design advice or more information on any of our services, or a free appraisal of your existing site – we’ll be delighted to help in any way we can.

Writing a brief

A detailed brief is the best way to establish a level playing field, and enables easy comparison between the different designers’ quotes. If you’re unsure how to go about producing a brief, one option is to approach one of the design companies you are asking to tender and invite them to write a brief for you. You should pay for this otherwise they may be less thorough and you might feel obliged to give them the work.

Your budget

You may think if you keep your budget to yourself then you will get a better price. In reality you are likely to get more for your money if you state your budget in the first place. It also makes it easy to evaluate which quotation is giving you the most for your money.

Chemistry

Chemistry is extremely important in any business relationship; the ability to understand, relate to and ‘get on’ with your supplier, will facilitate open and clear communications.

Market sector experience

Experience of producing other sites in your marketing sector can reduce the suppliers learning curve to understand your business. However, you are more likely to get a similar solution from a supplier with experience in your market, if you like their work then fine! It doesn’t mean than another supplier new to your market will not also produce an excellent solution.

Approach

Try to define the type of supplier you are looking for, not all web design companies are the same. Most fit into the following categories:

• Technical – Established from a technical background, probably offer excellent technology but may be lack in design and marketing skills.
• Design – Often born out of traditional print design agencies and may not have in-depth knowledge of design for the internet and they may not have in-house technical expertise.
• Marketing – Focused on understanding your business, target audience and objectives but again may out-source production and programming.

It does of course depend on your requirements as to which supplier is most suitable. As a rule a mixture of skills in all areas will be able to provide effective solutions to most requirements.

Don’t pick on a sexy design

A pretty site with sexy intro screens and animated navigational systems is unlikely to add as much value to your business as other more business led solutions. We are certainly not against Flash content when used appropriately, but it is so often abused by designers more interested in winning awards than making you money! Don’t forget £15 million is lost each year to usability issues, make sure your site isn’t one of them!

Logos are extremely important. At the very least, they serve a practical purpose as a visual way of referring to your company on corporate documentation such as quotations, proposals, and invoices.

However, logos are clearly much more than just that. Your company’s logo is its identity, its face, the first impression on the market.

A logo is like a tiny advertisement for your company. It gives your customers and prospects an easy way of remembering who you are, and what you do.

Developing a quality logo is not a simple task. Imagine trying to boil down all of your personality traits, interests, hobbies, and activities into one sentence that describes who you are as a person.

The design of your logo should be focused on communicating the name of your company and what it does. You can add a tagline as part of your logo if the name of your company does not clearly state your business.

A logo should:

• attract attention, and then leave an impression
• create a look that is unique and distinguishable
• reflect the overall “feel” of the company it represents
• promote a feeling of authenticity and professionalism

Please do contact us via the link below to discus your corporate design needs – we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have on graphic design, web design, or any other of our services.

The relevant quotes from the 175-page code of practice are:

• 2.2 (p7): The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by “…refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public.”
• 4.7 (p39): ” From 1st October 1999 a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services.”
• 2.13 – 2.17 (p11-13): “What services are affected by the Disability Discrimination Act? An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its website. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the act.”
• 5.23 (p71): “For people with visual impairments, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”
• 5.26 (p68): “For people with hearing disabilities, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”

Can you be sued?

Well, probably. The RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) claim that they’ve considered taking up a number of legal cases against organisations in regard to their non accessible websites. When the issue was raised, the companies in questions typically made the necessary changes, rather than facing legal action.

Courts will no doubt take guidance from an Australian case in 2000, when a blind man successfully sued the Sydney olympics organising committee over accessibility issues with their website.

On a positive note…

1.7 million people in the UK are blind or partially sighted; two-thirds of these are over the age of 60, constituting a significant chunk of ‘Silver Surfers’, who form the fastest growing user group of the Internet.

Not only does making your website fully standards compliant and accessible increase your market, but it goes hand in hand with other benefits such as increased usability, quicker download speed, compatibility with new browsing technologies for PDAs, as well as improved search engine positioning.

The next steps in making your site accessible

Clear planning is the essential first step. Feel free to contact us for more information on accessible web design; we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have on this or any of our other services. Click the link for a free, no obligation web accessibility evaluation.