We’re an award winning digital agency, formed in July 2008 and based in Manchester. We work with companies and organisations who need a little help in communicating better with their audience online. We do this by using the latest techniques and innovations to build websites that are functional, usable, and really nice to look at. This means that our clients are able to work more closely with their customers, which not only helps to build a better dialogue, but also stimulate engagement and ultimately, sales.
To help deliver our vision, we work across four areas: Design, Development, Marketing and Social.
This means that we deliver our work with an in-house team, who can not only can make the web look like a nicer place to be, but can also build the infrastructure ork better. With a background in the wider online marketing services, we can also help research and promote your online products to position them better in the online marketplace.
Our skills in all things social on the web also help us form community based projects, whether that be a blog, or an idea-sourcing platform to generate new innovations. This all means that we understand the web, and how to use it to help you communicate better.
We love designing websites. But design doesn't just mean making a website look pretty, there's actually several steps to take before your final design is complete. Requirements analysis, positional and usability design (wireframing), and functionality styling all form the beginning parts of the process, closely followed by the final designs. With a clear sign off at each point, our clients are completely in control at all stages of the process. Or put more simply, you don't end up with a website you can't stand the sight of. That wouldn't be cool.
There's two sides to the development we do: "Front" and "Back" end. While we usually take on projects involving both, we're just as happy doing one or the other. All of our front ends are done in perfectly compliant and attractive CSS and XHTML, with the interactive elements brought to life with JQuery and Flash, and when programming websites, we use languages such as PHP, Ruby on Rails and MySQL. The websites are then hosted on our own servers at Manchester Science Park hard-wired into the very backbone of the internet itself, meaning they rarely (if ever) go down.
In today's day and age, there's no excuse for any agency to supply you a "flat" website you're unable to update. This leads to potentially costly and time consuming updates, which neither we as an agency or you as a client want to engage with. So, we make it easy. All of websites come with a Content Management System, which could be either something easy like our own, something familiar like WordPress, or something more complex like Expression Engine. We're not scared of others though, so if you have a specific requirement, let us know.
Websites should look as good on a smartphone as they do on a computer. If not, the website is less effective, impacting on a potentially massive user base and overall sales (one of our clients receive 10% of their sales through their website accessed on an iPhone). Thankfully, we're really good at making websites perform well on them. We've also a massive amount of experience building native iPhone applications, so if your brand needs to be in the palm of someones hand, we can help.
For many, the internet is all about bringing home the Benjamins (or in other terms, making loads of cash). However, entering the world e-commerce can be a somewhat scary prospect. We make it easy. By bringing together old-school merchandising techniques with web sensibilities, we've been able to help monetise many of our clients websites. Whether it be to sell more CDs, or one-click purchasing, or advertising sales, we've used the best analytics tools to help understand how your clients can spend more with you. And you know what, it's not as difficult as it looks.
We've built a number of tools which allow users to collaborate online. Whether it's to organise a flashmob, apply for a bursary, or work out what the best single of the noughties has been, we have idea-sourcing tools which can help better manage the creativity of your customers or employees. And from another perspective, we're totally fine with collaborating with other agencies or people within your business. In fact, we really like working with other creative and technical sorts, so don't be afraid to ask.
Getting your message into the inboxes of past and potential customers is still one of the most potent ways of communicating online. By utilising the best in email marketing solutions, we're able to help you better send, segment, and monitor what your receivership think of your content. We're also able to make sure that emails actually get delivered, something that can't always be guaranteed in todays spam free world.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the top of most Marketing Managers list. Without a high search ranking, many feel that the web is a waste of time. While this is partially true, there's also no hard and fast rule to better placing. To help you from the word go, all of our websites come with intelligent features to make them more visible on popular search engines. While we can't guarantee you the much favoured top placing, we'll do everything we can to push you up there. We can also help you plan your PPC campaigns too. And to monitor this all, of our websites come with Google Analytics as standard. It's just not cricket to do anything else.
We love designing websites. But design doesn't just mean making a website look pretty, there's actually several steps to take before your final design is complete. Requirements analysis, positional and usability design (wireframing), and functionality styling all form the beginning parts of the process, closely followed by the final designs. With a clear sign off at each point, our clients are completely in control at all stages of the process. Or put more simply, you don't end up with a website you can't stand the sight of. That wouldn't be cool.
We love designing websites. But design doesn't just mean making a website look pretty, there's actually several steps to take before your final design is complete. Requirements analysis, positional and usability design (wireframing), and functionality styling all form the beginning parts of the process, closely followed by the final designs. With a clear sign off at each point, our clients are completely in control at all stages of the process. Or put more simply, you don't end up with a website you can't stand the sight of. That wouldn't be cool.
Social Media
The web today is a more social place to be. If it's through established social networks like Twitter or Facebook, collaborative tools like Basecamp, or bookmarking sites like Stumbleupon or Delicious, brands are becoming more interested in what their customers think of them and how better to communicate. That's where we step in. With a strong track record in custom community building and social media planning, we can help you interact with your customers better online. Remember though, it's about talking and insight, not selling and marketing.