Focal Strategy are dead pleased to launch a new website for Shawfix Autos of Whinfield Road, Dibden Purlieu…Packed full of useful material, the site is designed to be friendly and informative for Shawfix customers.

At the beginning of the project we photographed the brand new MOT bay and Shawfix team at work. Special attention was paid to the colour of cars in shot, and any clothing worn, so that everything toned in with the company colours on the website. This kind of attention to detail ensures the photographs continue to be useful for offline marketing campaigns such as articles in the Focus Magazine which is delivered quarterly in the local area (look out for Shawfix on the front cover.)

Things we love about the website includes the subtle sliding blue gradient, highlighting the navbar of services on the left, the friendly, yet stylish speech bubbles, and the cool team photo!  Why not take a look now? 

Focal Strategy are local, friendly, helpful website designers. We are based in Dibden Purlieu, handy for Hythe based businesses, though we also work with a wide range businesses from much farther afield!

Look out for our ad in the new Focus magazine coming through your doors in the Waterside area of Hampshire soon!

Heard of the social network Pinterest?

According to Wikipedia: ‘In December 2011 it entered the social networking top 10 with 11 million visits per week. In January it drove more referal traffic to retailers than LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+’ so we’re talking something big. It’s a social network that’s a great hit with women, apparently most of the site’s users are female, and 97% of the site’s Facebook ‘likes’ are from women.

So what is it and how does it work?

It’s a social network that is largely visual; users create themed boards, which are groups of images/media the user has found online and ‘pinned’ using the ‘pin it’ button. (This handy tool can sit on your bookmarks bar ready for the next time you want to ‘pin’ something!) Each image has a link back to the original website on which it was found, so it is easy to relocate it at source if you are interested in following the item or product up.

Above…the ‘Pin Feed’

The ‘pinned’ images then appear in the Pinterest stream or ‘Pin Feed’, where other users can comment on the item, ‘repin’ it to their own board, ‘like’ it, or ‘follow’ the board or user it was originally posted from. In this way information is rapidly shared around :O)

What’s the point?

I’ve only been using it for a day, but from what I can see it’s a great place to gather together visual ideas for creative projects whether work or home based.

It is also a brilliant way to pick up and share new ideas. People are regularly sharing a wide range of media from products they like to info on cars, art, books, gardening, music and beauty to technology, design, and holidays etc. All with links back to the original website source, so it is a new way to share interesting products, services and ideas.

Right now I have set up a few boards where I have grouped together websites we have designed by colour, if you would like to take a look, or follow me click here http://pinterest.com/suebradshaw2012/blue-website-designs-by-focalstrategy-com/

Above…Blue Website Designs by Focal Strategy Board

To use Pinterest you must receive an invite or request an invitation directly from the site

Want to know how your website is performing online?

Would you like to find out stuff like, how many people visited your website yesterday, last week, last month, for the whole of last year, since your website was launched?

How long do visitors stay on your website, and which keywords do website visitors use in search engines to find your site?

Which pages do visitors enter your website on….a blog post? A particular blog post? A particular page?

Which websites are linking to yours, and which area of the UK or World are your website visitors coming from?

Don’t pay for monthly website reports, use Google Analytics  it can answer all of the above questions and many, many more…and it is completely free!

We set up Google Analytics for every one of our website customers, so that they can analyse their website’s performance, and use this information to assist in their marketing plans going forwards.

Want to find out more? Give Focal Strategy a call to discuss your new website design on 02380 844982 or click here / info@focalstrategy.com

Focal Strategy Ltd are very pleased to have been asked to design a new website for Dawkins and Lodge Opticians of Hythe, Hampshire.

We have been briefed to create a website that more readily reflects the ethos and offering of their practice at the centre of the village. The new website will include information about the different types of designer frames they provide, and give an overview of the wide range of services they offer from sight tests to retinal photography and beyond.

We are always thrilled to receive feedback from our website customers, here are a few great comments we have received in the past couple of weeks…

“I love you guys and the website is awesome!”  Sarah from Roynon Dance, Southampton

“Great work, Thank you very much…you’re my favourite website company!’ Steve from Higher Class DJ and Events, Slough

‘Truly excellent, thank you very much!” Nev from Neville Stanikk Photography, North Devon

“Thanks for doing such a fantastic and speedy job on our website, everybody loves it!” Helen from DBT Vets, New Forest & Dorchester Area

“Thanks for all your technical support” Dean from Chapmans the Building Company, Romsey

Focal Strategy are friendly, helpful, knowledgable website designers. We are based in the Hythe and Dibden area, near Southampton, Hampshire, and are happy to work with you to design your website wherever you are based so do feel free to get in touch, info@focalstrategy.com / 02380 844982.

Proof that a blog works!

We launched a new website for Hi-Q Building Services in March last year, since then they have regularly made entries on their blog.

Hi-Q Building Services based in the Hythe and Dibden area of Hampshire,  install kitchens and bathrooms, offer annual boiler checks, along with gas central heating installation and servicing. They can also undertake house refurbishment projects.

A few quick searches on Google shows the HiQ blog entries come up on page 1 for a variety of phrases and words on the Google search engine, here are just a small selection of them:

Page 1 for Kitchens Bathrooms Hythe (coming ahead of checkatrade!)

Page 1 for Heating Dibden

Page 1 for House refurbishment Hampshire

Page 1 for Unvented hot water cylinder installation Hampshire

Page 1 for Gas Boiler Service Hythe

Page 1 for Underfloor heating Dibden

Page 1 for Kitchens Bathrooms Southampton

Page 1 for Plumbing and Heating Hampshire

Page 1 for Bathroom Installation Hythe

All this without making any monthly payments to an SEO company!

It goes to show the power of a blog, and that making regular entries to your blog definitely assists with search engine optimisation (SEO). It’s an extremely cost effective SEO tool, so perfect for small businesses!

If you need a hand, want some advice, or you would like a website with a blog on it – give Sue a call on 02380 844982 or email sue@focalstrategy.com

Focal Strategy offer a blog writing service, sign up to get the idea or use us long term!

Very pleased that Angel Beauty of Slough have asked us to create a website for them. Initially this will be simple and temporary site, which they would like to develop and add to later on :O)

Need a website? Large, Small, Simple or All-Singing and Dancing…give Focal Strategy a call on 02380 844982 / 07946 427553 or get in touch info@focalstrategy.com

We are based at the edge of the New Forest in Hythe/Dibden area near Southampton, and can develop your website wherever you happen to be based ;O)

Focal Strategy are very pleased to have been chosen to design a new website for the Post House at Chewton Mendip in Somerset, who provide luxury Bed and Breakfast and Self Catering accommodation.

We recently met Karen the owner, when we stayed with her for a wonderful weekend away,  now we are looking forwards to another stay in order to discuss the brief for her new website! This will include a bespoke online booking system, and easy to use admin interface, along with the ever important blog for marketing purposes.

We always love to get feedback on our work, Helen has just got in touch from de Boer and Taylor equine veterinary surgery  to say

“Thank you for doing such a fantastic and speedy job on the website.  Everybody loves it!”

We redesigned the whole look and feel of their website and included a new registration form and offers in just a week!