MotleyPenguin Web Design

Today, most small businesses need an online presence as much as they need other forms of communication.

Customers and clients, current and potential, expect you to have a business website, with many beginning their search for a product or service online via an online search engine such as Google, Yahoo, Bing etc.

For many small businesses, their website has become their primary marketing tool via ecommerce solutions such as an online shop or storefront.

Having a website, especially a web site that is designed to be an effective Internet marketing tool, can be very valuable for small businesses. Without the right web site, people will not be able to find your business.

Options range from a simple one to three page 'brochure' style site, through to a full ecommerce site.

Designs can be bespoke, with a particular emphasis on reflecting your existing corporate styling in the look and feel, or we can assist in creating a brand identity for you, including logo design.

Simple one page brochure sites will  start at around £99, depending on content, £150 for three pages and so on. Hosting, Email Accounts, Contact forms, Google maps etc are dependent on required complexity.

If you have a specific budget, then do talk to us and we will aim to work within that where possible. Some clients start with a small budget and a simple site and then pay for additional features and pages as they go along.

Hosting and email accounts are charged additionally at very competitive rates.

We can design your site as a CMS which means you can make amendments and additions to content yourself. This can be useful if you want to alter tariffs, news articles, special offers and so on.

We are also happy to make all updates and additions for your if your prefer. We currently have clients choosing both these options.

A domain name, or 'URL' is a web address for your website. For example bbc.co.uk for the BBC, or motleywebdesign.com for this site (the www prefix is added onto the domain name, so you would actually search for www.bbc.co.uk or www.motleywebdesign.com, it is not part of the domain name).

We are happy to advise you and help you to choose a suitable domain name for your business, if you dont already have one. We have a service available via this website, if you would like to experiment with some names and see if they are available.

• The shorter the better. The longer the domain name, the easier it is for people to mistype your domain name and not find your website.
• Combine your company name with your locality
• Add another word to your company name: "buy" "shop" "think" or other words may work
• Many registrar services will suggest alternative domain names if the one you want is taken.
• Choosing a domain name is very important because it remains constant. Domain names are sometimes referred to as "real estate" on the web. You might change your sites design many times, it's not as easy to change the name.
• You can direct different domains to your website, you don't have to only have one.
• Consider using common keywords in your domain. Having these words in your domain makes it more likely people will find your business online.
• Avoid using hyphens, as people tend not to pass these on by word of mouth. (This one is debatable, as search engines do find it easier to distinguish individual words in hyphenated names). Generally, perhaps no more than one hyphen if possible.

These are just some suggestions, and we are always happy to help advise clients.

We offer a choice of inexpensive POP3 email, such as offered by many Internet service providers, or IMAP email which allows you to mirror email accounts on more than one computer and webmail (like hotmail or gmail) to enable you to access your email via any web browser, from any Internet connected computer anywhere. This latter, useful when travelling and away from your usual computer.