So why choose a local company such as us?

The benefits of going with a local web design company in the UK in my opinion outweigh against getting it done cheap abroad.

When it comes to coding and the technical side, someone in India or China may have the same technical knowledge but they are unlikely to have the local knowledge and experience of UK markets and practices over here.

Time Zones and other restrictions

Dealing with a local company allows you to have better contact, you will be in the same time zone and be able to pick up the phone knowing your web designers will be there waiting to pick it up and hopefully they are not likely to be asleep. If your designer across the globe is not fluent in english, getting your point across could be a small problem. Where a lower hourly rate might seem to be of benefit, if more hours are spent getting it right then it might not be as cost effective as you first thought.

Can it really beat face to face?

With some clients we have no need to meet, we can do a large proportion of design and development work over the phone and email. Thanks to the speed of modern communication. However at ADD Creative we like to meet our clients if we can, it helps build a business relationship and sometimes communication can be better and more rewarding face to face. Interaction like that you cannot get from a budget web designer halfway across the globe.

Is it worth paying more for a local designer in the long run?

We certainly think so! Your web site is the portal to your customers, it has to be as good as it possibly can be. Shoddy work through miscommunication and cutting corners will tell your give your customers the same impression of your business. Yes our design services are a premium in comparison to other designers, but we are totally committed to our clients and feel we give the best service possible when it comes to web design.

Nobody does it better…. we hope!

We pride ourselves on one to one meetings discussions and ideas. We like to involve the client as much as they like from the design right through till the site goes live. We maintain good customer contact. We don’t add huge charges and add ons at the end of the project, we make sure we get it all first time. And if we don’t get things right first time. We try again till your project shines above the rest.

read our testimonials page for a bit of info on what our clients say.

Each business is different in many ways. Sometimes you have two companies in the same industry but they want to target two different sets of clients. Occasionally even the companie’s approach to their clients differs and this makes our job just that little bit harder when it comes to getting the web site right.

We do not create two web sites that are the same, we do not believe in templates and cutting corners. Research shows that tailor made sites produce much better results in the short and long term, mainly because the web site represents the company in extra depth and in a finely tuned way.

Some companies require an online store, others just want to take orders over the phone, some do not need an online store, but just a simple online presence, possibilities and avenues with business web sites are vast.

When we first started, most of our sites were simple static sites but as time has gone, content management has become very popular and now is a mainstay on most of our sites.

How would a CMS (Content Management System) work for you?

If you feel your site requires content being changed on a regular basis, or if you like to have control on changing your text and images then a CMS is likely to be for you. ADD Creative can modify content for you at a really competitive price, but of course over time it would be more cost effective for you to have a content management system installed.

A CMS will not give you a advanced design tool, you won’t be able to drag and drop elements on your site like you would be able to do in a desktop publishing program such as publisher or word. It will just give you access to text, pictures and database driven content (price lists, menus, gallerys). Changing graphical content and layouts will require expert interference from ADD Creative.

I have something really unique i need to display on my web site?

A web site can be a powerful tool these days, there is not much we cannot do in terms of design and functionality. To create custom functions does take longer in development time than normal static web sites, so expect the cost to be higher. We try to keep our prices as competitive as possible especially when it comes to quoting for unique programming code. The more in depth the specification the more accurate we can quote, it could be that your project might be easier then when first briefed.

What should i think about when doing a brief for my web site?

• Try to think of how many pages you think you will have on the site
• Do I have images I can use and do I own the rights to these images
• Will I need anything unique such as a database or anything special
• Will I need to update my content on a regular basis
• What kind of colour scheme do I have in mind

The more details we have the better understanding we have of your project, this means we can produce the best possible result for you and your business.

For web you do not need high resolution images, so istockphoto can be a affordable resource, 1 credit per image is a good price.

We find that images with people in always seem to work well, it must be because as humans we are curious creatures and relate to faces and people more so than objects. This is why big advertising campaigns always use a face. Even for your brochure web site, a face popping up here and there is not such a bad thing, engaging your visitors is always reccomended.

Why not have a look at istockphoto and see if there are any ‘killer’ images that reflect your business and what you are trying to portray?

If i need pictures for my website where do i go?

You have two options, pay for stock photography, for a small fee, sometimes as small as 50p you can have unlimited use of a professionally taken photograph. Of course like with every industry you get what you pay for. The better the quality (not just in terms of technical quality) the more expensive the image will be to buy. However, be careful, read the terms and conditions of your agreement for the image carefully, some specify that images cannot be used in certain ways or be modified from their original state.

Always be careful to check the terms and conditions when you buy your imagery, most online stock photo sites have their terms and conditions specific for each photo. As everyone is different make sure if its for your business web site that you can use the image for commercial purposes. Its aiding you sell your product which is why you need to read the small print.

Of course there are other ways to get the right imagery for your web site, take the pictures yourself. At ADD Creative we have the facilities to take good quality images and using photo manipulation software turn them into vibrant exciting imagery. Professional photographers are needed for exclusive shots that you will need, you will find prices vary, but anything around £600 a day for a good photographer is what to be expected.

Good, well thought out imagery is very important, it can be the difference between a inquiry and a sale, bring some brilliant photography to your site and wow your visitors. Strong brand identity mixed in with clear colourful photography is a winning combination.

If you have any questions about imagery for your site, why not get in touch?

As a consumer yourself, you need to be in the mindset of your customers, its very rare that customers will just look at one place when choosing where to spend their money, look, functionality are  important because we all know, impressions last.

How does a new website or reworked website make me more money?

Quite simply, we can design sites that engage the customer in intuitive ways that will hopefully lead them to contact you. Style, presentation are key but also how your content is managed, placed and written play big parts. In the current days of the browser wars, sites sometimes display ever so slightly different, in some cases the difference is dramatic, maybe causing the pages not to display as intended, how do you think a customer reacts when they go to your site but it doesnt show images or boxes correctly, or even text?

We make sure we do the very best to get websites working cross platform in all browsers on PCs and Macs. some designers only worry about the big share browsers. We know that every browser has its quirks and we try to iron out any problems, can you say your website works perfectly on all browsers? You might be suprised. It can be a clincher for getting a customer.

What goes into a web page?

If you think about all the little boxes, areas, images, backgrounds and textual content, it all amounts to a complex layout which might take someone 30 minutes in paint (although we prefer Photoshop ) to create. The magic is slicing, styling and profiling the page in the code.

Curved boxes, lists, placing of text are sometimes not simple three click procedures like it is in flat graphical design. In some respects the web page has dimensions, layers, and interaction. These take time… and time really is the key factor.

Most web design companies who offer the common, Bronze, Silver and Gold packages that you see with set number of pages are usually using templates, with bespoke website design pricing is done based on what the client needs, not done to a strict code and stretching or squeezing content just to fill a page quota.

Although these can serve  a purpose to some extent, is it really how you want to reflect your business? That you settle for templates? It might not show you have invested time and effort into communicating to your brand to your customers.

How much work comes though my website?

Of course it depends if you are selling directly or selling a service, but you would be suprised if you have a good clean working brand driven website, it will generate revenue in time. The web is everywhere these days, you cant really escape it, information is key and if people find your business, like what you do and you give them every reason to use you, you should find things pick up nicely. Its all about ROI (Return on Investment), think carefully about your budget but don’t tighten it too much or it could backfire.

We generally price on h0w many man hours the project takes, the more complex the greater the price. We do offer work-arounds and other ideas to try to keep costs down and simplify your ideas to make things easier.

Please keep reading the BLOGS and checking back for more insight into what goes into this interesting industry and what twists and turns await us.