If you run a blog and get a lot of comments submitted to your blog that are spam or links to malicious software, don’t worry, your not alone. According to WebSense 95% of blog comments are spam.

There are steps you can take to limit the amount of spam you get but the methods to combat spam vary depending on the blogging software you use (e.g. Blogger, WordPress, etc).

You could also take the drastic measure of turning off comments completely so that nobody can submit comments but then this doesn’t encourage a community and might make regular blog readers who like to leave a comment stop reading your blog.

Contact us if you would like to learn more.

I have just today made a new website that I have designed, developed, and hosted live. The website is for Traumatic Cleanup Ltd and you can see it at: www.traumatic-cleanup.co.uk. We also designed and created the logo.

PanoConsulting had already designed and developed the Hideaway Beds website earlier this year and it had strong bold colours and was a bit more cutting-edge that your average healthcare website.

As the recession in Britain continued I was contacted by Hideaway Beds again to redesign the Hideaway Beds website. The website still has the same functionality but Hideaway Beds wanted the design to be changed to make it less flashly and more like a DIY website.

So… thats what we did and the feedback I have been given by Hideaway Beds is that it is working…

Take a look at the new-look website at: www.hideaway.co.uk

Here at PanoConsulting we have a diverse range of skills and are not limited to purely web design and web hosting for example. That is why when we were approached by a Startup company and asked if we could develop a branding package for them that included a colour scheme,  logo, business cards, website, and web hosting we immediately informed them that they were in safe hands if they chose us to work alongside them to give their new business an identity.

A few weeks down the line and the end result is another happy client for PanoConsulting, Fast Lane Fitness, run by Nick Lane a recent University graduate. Have a look at there website for yourself at www.fastlane-fitness.co.uk.

How do we know that Fast Lane Fitness are a happy client? Simple… the level of service and skill we provide ensures that our clients are always happy.

Below is the testimonial that we have just received from the client:

I was given Nicks number after speaking to a friend who had recently had a website made by Nick. After the initial consultation I was pleased to know that Nick catered not only for websites, but business cards and logos as well.

Nick developed a great brand image, which reflects my business and style. Being a personal trainer, I had to have the website looking inviting and friendly, whilst getting across all my information. Nick picked a great format for the site, which is easy to navigate for potential clients, and a neat little blog for me to update whenever I need to.

The logo, business cards and website were done quickly and at a great price. Nick has a rare creative style and I would recommend him to anyone.

Nick Lane – Fast Lane Fitness

Below are some tips to help you choose a domain name:

1. Keep it short and simple

You need to do what you can to help people find your website so a memorable website address is imperative. Give some thought to the shortest name that your target market will associate with your website.

2. Register similar domain names

The most popular domain name extensions are “.co.uk”, “.com”, “.eu”, and “.net”. Ideally you should have all of these registered at least. By registering all of them you can help to prevent cyber squatters and losing traffic.

3. Consider common typos

Do you have a domain name that can be misspelt or has a few ways of spelling it? If so, consider registering those as well to stop your potential website traffic not being able to find your website or even going elsewhere.

4. Act NOW

Ensure you register your domain name as soon as possible. The longer you leave it the more you risk somebody else registering it before you. Contact us on 0800 756 9999 if you require assistance and we will be happy to help you.

“A good-looking website that has been hand-coded and built to the latest web-standards with usability in mind will reap dividends and could mean the different between success and failure for your online adventure.”

The above is a quote from my blog post entitled “Choosing a Website Designer - Ten Tips” that I posted a couple of days ago. Today, I am going to give an explanation as to why websites should be hand-coded.

To the untrained eye, they will not know whether their website has been hand-coded or whether it was a template website or made in WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) software. So what’s the fuss you might ask. The fuss is that Search Engines (like Google, Yahoo, etc) don’t care what your website looks like. They don’t care about the fancy use of colour or the stunning photos you have on your website. They care about the “construction” of the website, how the website was built. After all, if a search engine doesn’t “rate” your website then nobody will be able to find it.

Hand-coded websites are suited to companies that want a top quality website and value their investment in a professional image. Hand coding does not rely on pre-built templates or WYSIWYG software, so the website designer/developer has ultimate control over the code that structures the website. The layout of the website is constructed with CSS and HTML rather than tables, which allows for a much more flexible design.

Website design updates and changes are quick and easy in CSS layouts because design attributes are shared across pages and controlled from style sheets. Also, pages are much more search engine friendly because there is no extraneous HTML code for the search engine spider to sort through in front of the web page content. This increases the chances of having your website ranking highly for your targeted keywords on the search engines.

Reduced HTML mark-up also provides much faster download times for all users, but especially those that are using dial-up internet connections or mobile devices to browse the Internet.

Hand-coded websites also provide improved accessibility for people using assistive technologies to browse the internet by adding elements such as link titles and “alt” attributes to images. The reduced mark-up also makes navigating much easier for this group of users.

If you need a website developed and are sourcing quotes, ask each website designer if they hand-code the websites they make. This brings another dimension to when you are comparing quotes.

For example, just say you have two quotes from two different website designers and you have been quoted £500 by both of the website designers. Now imagine that one says they hand-code websites and the other says they use WYSIWYG software. Well, when you think about the benefits of hand-coded websites over template and WYSIWYG software made websites, you will realise that the quote for £500 from the website designer who does hand-code websites is a lot better VALUE. You get a lot more bang for your buck both now and in the future.