The Day 10 Blog

Future-Proofed Websites For Start-Up Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:38:00 +0000

Day 10 Solutions has today announced the availability of Pre-packaged websites designed for small businesses and, in particularly, for start-up businesses.

The Problem for Start-ups

Start up costs for new businesses these days can be daunting. Logo and stationery design, advertising costs, premises, telephones, computers. The list can go on and on, not forgetting, of course, a website.

Websites can cost anything from a few hundred pound for a very basic website to thousands of pounds for more comprehensive sites. For most start-ups it would be foolish to spend thousands on a website until the business is established and starts making a profit. To this end many start-ups and small businesses spend the absolute minimum getting a site developed the result of which is an amateurish-looking site. After a year or two, as the business grows they then realize that they need something a bit more professional and the website, which they've spent start-up money getting developed is completely replaced.

The Problem Solved

Recognizing this fact we have designed our Pre-packaged websites to provide, "out-of-the-box", a professionally designed, 3-page, fully functioning website for £300. Customers can have the choice of letting us host the site, for a small additional cost, or hosting it on a server of their choice. In this latter case, we provide the site on an installable CD.

However, the customer gets much more that a 3-page website. All Pre-packaged sites are built using a Content Management System (Joomla). Customers have access to all the functionality of this system which allows them to edit pages, add new pages, restructure the site and much, much more.

And It's Future-Proofed

This means that the 3-page site that we provide for the customer is completely future-proofed. There is no need to throw it away and start again after a year or two. It can be modified and expanded to reflect the growth of the business.

The customer has the facilities to make these changes himself as and when he chooses. Alternatively he could get friends or colleagues to do it. Or, he could contract with us to make the changes which will cost much less that if we had to make changes to a basic static website of the form that most start-ups have developed.

For details of Pre-packaged sites call Mike Brogan on 0800 542 9622 or email mike@day10.com or visit http://www.day10.com./

New Website for Hartley Wintney Business

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:08:00 +0000

Day 10 has just completed a new website for Hart Cartpets of Hartley Wintney, Hampshire. Hart Carpets wanted a website that would showcase the unique combination of carpet and flooring products that they sell and install.

In order to achieve this goal we designed a site that is loaded with images showing the various manufacturers' products in stunning settings. We also photographed various interior and exterior aspects of Hart Carpet's showroon on Hartley Wintney High Street.

You can see the new website at http://www.hartcarpets.co.uk/.

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam.....

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:03:00 +0000

Ever wondered where all that spam in your inbox comes from? The penis enlargement pills, viagra and claims to enhance your sexual performance. Ever wondered whether anyone responds to spam? If so, ever wondered who responds and whether anyone buys this junk?

An interesting article on the BBC website gives a good insight into this. And you will be surprised when you read it.

Read the full article here.

Do small firms really need a website?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:14:00 +0000

An interesting fact from the Federation of Small Businesses - no more than half of Britain's small to medium-sized businesses have a web presence.

This article, published on the BBC's website argues that a presence in cyberspace will become increasingly essential, even for small businesses who appear to be doing OK at present without a website.

The article cites the case of Wiggly Wigglers, a local Herefordshire-based company who established a website in 1995 and started trading online in 1999. The firm's turnover has grown from £6000 in 1995 to £2.5M today with customers from all over Western Europe largely due to its presence in cyberspace.

Read the full article here....

Email Spoofing

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Fri, 25 May 2007 08:20:00 +0000

"I found out from returned "undelivered" email that those address does not exist in my lists--in the first place, I have never sent them".

Does this sound familiar?

If so then you have been a victim of "Email Spoofing".

These deceptive emails are called "Spoof Emails" because they fake the appearance of a popular Web site or company in an attempt to commit identity theft. Also known as "hoax" or "phishing" emails, this practice is occurring more and more frequently throughout the online world.

To find out more about email spoofing and the potential effects of it on you read this article from Deb Shinder.

Search Engine Optimised or Search Engine Friendly

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:23:00 +0000

The term "Search Engine Optimisation" tends to get used indiscriminately these days. Many web developers will say they have optimised a site when all they've done is to add a few keywords to the content and meta tags. What they've actually done is make the site search engine friendly.

So what does "Search Engine Optimisation" really mean?

A recent article on the Search Engine Watch website neatly describes the difference between "Search Engine Optimised" and "Search Engine Friendly".

Read the article here....

St Michaels's Hospice - Hereford

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:10:00 +0000

Since entering my 60’s (yes my 60’s), I have taken on a new lease of life, Fitness has become my main hobby and to celebrate this new era I am taking part in a local Half marathon in deepest Herefordshire on the 20th March 2007. This half marathon is special to the area as all the money raised will be donated towards the local Hospice.

I met my sponsor down in Herefordshire 18 months ago. Sue Gardner is a fitness instructor who makes exercise fun and easy for all levels, she is passionate about getting anyone to enjoy exercise within the constraints of their lifestyle through classes, personal training or training from home.

Her company Fit for Life UK has encouraged 25 runners to take part in this run. Most of us have never taken part before. This I think is an achievement and through her expertise and encouragement we are all going to give it a go for charity - a charity that hopefully none of us will have to use.

So I am asking you to dip your hands into your pocket and donate as I will be running, or walking, or a bit of both. Please look online at www.fitforlifeuk.co.uk and meet this fun woman. You can donate online there or at www.justgiving.com/fitforlife.

As a collective group we hope to raise £10,000 so anything no matter how small would be gratefully received.

Mike Brogan

Day 10 Solutions Has Moved

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:41:00 +0000

Day 10 has now moved development to a new office near Leominster in Herefordshire. Mike Brogan, Director says that "This move will allow us to take advantage of lower costs which will allow us to keep our prices at levels that SME's can afford".

Whilst all development will be done in the new office, Day 10 will still retain a local office in Basingstoke to service clients in the Hampshire/Surrey/Berkshire area.

The new address is The Studio, Leysters, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 0HT. Tel: 0845 071 2223.

Google Product to Help Retailers

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 10:15:00 +0000

Google is set to roll out an online service for retailers to promote their products. In thime this is likely to have a major impact on the online retailing business.

Article here on the BBC website.

I'm Back

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 10:05:00 +0000

It's been a little while since my last posting. Various personal events have conspired to occupy my energies and emotions but, hopefully, all that is behind me and I shall start regular postings again to the Day 10 Blog.

Thank you for being patient.

Article: Zen and the art of web design

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 06:43:00 +0000

(How to make your business go backwards)

A few years ago, I had a motorcycle. It was only a small one – 175cc – and I used it for commuting. One day, it broke down. In fact it was always breaking down, but this particular breakdown was big time. It required a major engine rebuild.

Now, you need to understand that I was a bit of a budding mechanic. I did all my servicing – probably why it broke down! And this time was no exception. Using my collection of cheap spanners and other miscellaneous tools, most of which had seen better days, I duly stripped the engine and found that a re-bore was needed.

Always the one for a challenge, I took the engine to a machine shop that completed the re-bore and supplied all the parts I needed, and then proceeded to reassemble the engine. So far so good!

With the entire bike back in one piece I fired it up. The engine ran like a dream. No rattles, no banging from the big ends. In fact, it sounded just like it did when the bike was new.

Not being able to contain my excitement at having achieved what I regarded as a bit of a coupe, completing such a major job as this, I swung my leg over the saddle, snicked it into first gear, let out the throttle and the bike took off….

Unfortunately, it took of in the wrong direction – backwards! Yes I was in first gear and the bike was going backwards.

Now, if you’ve ever been on a motorbike with no crash helmet, flying down your street backwards, you’ll realise that you have to do something PDQ or disaster will happen. As it turned out I did manage to stop without too much trouble.

But how could it happen? I’d assembled everything correctly. In fact it would be pretty difficult to get anything so wrong wouldn’t it? Actually no. It was simple. The engine was a 2-stroke and these engines are very simple. No valves, no camshaft, just a piston that goes up and down and turns a crankshaft. And it can turn the crankshaft just as easily one was as the other. The thing that determines which way the engine turns is the ignition timing and I’d got that wrong. That’s why I ended up looking like a circus clown in front of my neighbours.

So, what’s the moral of this story? A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Or if you want something doing, leave it to the experts.

This applies to web design just as much as motorcycle maintenance (Zen apart J). In our business, we come across them all the time – the homemade websites. Bizarre colours, a mixture of strange fonts and images that are slightly out of focus.

The point the owners of these websites don’t get is that they are doing themselves no favours. In fact, I would go as far as saying they’re doing their businesses actual harm. They’d be better off not bothering.

So, if you’re thinking that you can design your website yourself, or get a friend or relative to do it, think twice. Your business could end up going backwards because of it.

Edit Your Own Website Online

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 14:24:00 +0000

Spending a fortune every time you need your website updating? At last we've found the ideal service to allow you to update your own website.

EditYourWeb is an editor with a an MS Word-like interface that is simple enough that a child could use it. It allows almost anyone to edit their own website safely and easily, without the need to install any scripts or software, learn new skills, or change web hosts!

With EditYourWeb you can; Edit text, font, size, and color; make or change links; insert, delete or move images; add pages; upload files .....and much more.

Because you do all this in your browser you're getting the ability to update your website from anywhere you choose. And without learning HTML.

On the website, there's a video tour, a live demo of the editor and, when you sign up, you automatically get a 7-day free trial.

ARTICLE: Differences between Adwords and Yahoo SM (aka Overture)

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 06:38:00 +0000

As you may know, on of the services we provide for customers
is managing pay-per-click campaigns for them. Usually, when potential customers
approach me about a campaign they ask about Google Adwords. But, as some of you
may be aware, Google is not the only player in town.

The other major pay-per-click engine is Overture, or Yahoo
Search Marketing (SM) to give it it's now, since Overture was bought out by
Yahoo, correct title..

"So what's the difference between the two?" I'm usually asked
next. It's not easy to answer that question quickly but I came across an
excellent article today that gives a very clear picture of the differences.

Read the full article here ....

NEWS: Cory Rudl Dies

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 06:59:00 +0000

News broke on Friday that Corey Rudl, one of the pioneers of Internet Marketing, has died in a car crash (see report in the San Deigo Union Tribune).

Corey was one of an elite group of Internet Marketing "gurus" and one of the people who first got me interested in the subject. One of the things that attracted me to Corey as a mentor was the fact that he practiced what he preached. As such he was able to build large personal wealth.

Corey will be greatly missed, not only by his family and friends, the employees of The Internet Marketing Center - the company that he founded, but also by the many people who have learned and benefited from his work.

Our condolences go out to Corey's family.

ARTICLE: The Website Game

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Tue, 17 May 2005 07:27:00 +0000

A few days ago, I gave a presentation to our local BRE group. The topic was based around, what I call the website game. I use this term because I believe that doing business from your website is like a game. Just like a game of chess, for example, where every move counts and takes you to a winning conclusion, so getting your website to do business for you requires a number of moves.

Consider the moves:

Move 1 - Getting people to see your site - Unless your site is visible, no one will see it and you'll get no visitors. You have to advertise it. On search engines, through pay-per-click, banners or simply a yellow pages ad.

Move 2 - Getting people to stay and read your site - It's no use getting visitors to you site if the take one look and click away from it. You need to make the site appealing to capture your visitors' attention. You have about 5-10 seconds to do that before they lose interest and click away. Make the site appealing with, firstly, a professional look and then, secondly, a headline that will capture their attention. "Welcome to my website" won't do that. How many people have that headline on their home page??

Move 3 - Getting visitors to take action - Your website has a purpose - or it should have! That could be to make an enquiry by phone or by filling in an enquiry form. Or it might be to buy a product or products from an online shop. Whatever it is, your site needs to be worded and structured so that the visitors will be steered through to taking that action. Similar to the way that supermarkets steer people through the store using special offers along the way. That is the job of the web copy and the navigation.

Get these 3 moves right and you win the game - or win the customer! The key to this is, however, that these 3 moves have to work together. It's no use spending a fortune on bringing visitors to your site if the site is so bad that they immediately click away. Similarly, it's no use spending a fortune getting a site developed that the dog's whatsits if your not prepared to spend money and effort to get visitors to the site.

And, my final point, which relates to site design. Site design is much more than the look of the site. As I said above, you need a professional design. But more importantly you need headlines that will attract people's attention and compel them to read the copy. And then you need good copy that will drive them to take action and ultimately do business with you.

Happy gaming.

ARTICLE: Search Engine Optimisation – White Paper

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Mon, 16 May 2005 09:46:00 +0000

In order to attract visitors to your website, they must first be able to find it on the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL etc. There are only about 6-10 major search engines that you need to worry about. Getting listed in these will cover over 90% of user searches.

Getting your site listed and visible involves a number of things........

Read the full article here.....

Bad e-mail habits sustains spam

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Brogan) — Mon, 16 May 2005 06:57:00 +0000

"One in ten e-mail users are buying spam offers and many more are clicking on links in junk mail a survey finds. [BBC News Technology World Edition]"

Opinion - Found this article on the BBC News website. This confirms my theory that the only reason Spam proliferates is because it works. Idiots read it, reply to it and even subscribe to the junk that's advertised.