zero8 web design & build

I really enjoyed building Watt & Pew's website. They have some really cool pieces of furniture and items for sale which when the imagery is strong it always makes my life easier.

The general web site design was to try and mix a modern look and feel to contrast the retro vintage pieces that Watt & Pew sell.

Lots of social integration was added via Tweets and Facebook likes as well as a 'follow us on' for both.

It was also decided to operate the site as a catalogue initially as opposed to a fully featured shopping cart.

I'm really looking forward to seeing all the new stuff being added to the site as they make room for stock...

Wowzer, this was a biggie. This site's been in development since February this year and finally went live in November.

The site's foundation is built on a community based engine combining many functions and features. Think Facebook meets LinkedIn meets Monster.co.uk and you're half way there.

The site has an advanced custom built search engine, a subscription manager, job listings, an events manager, group creation, discussion boards, onsite personal messaging, social adverts (which are very slick - members can choose who sees their paid-for adverts), and the list goes on...

The guys at CCS have an extraordinary vision for the future of their business model and we are challenged on a weekly basis. The site's continually being developed and who knows where it may end up.

This site's currently under development and may see the light of day.  (To be honest, I'm building it for the Mrs as a little project.)

It'll primarily be a blogging site with some nice little features. The look and feel is very clean, contemporary and easy to navigate.

The site will have social sharing functionality built in with email capture via the newsletter registration. Watch this space for updates.

Talking Points Interiors isn't actually a fully featured shopping cart. Instead it's a catalogue and order system where potential clients can call the ladies at TPI and place their orders. This makes for a more personal experience, as opposed to purchasing online. And it gives TPI an opportunity to talk to their customers and really get to know them. That said, TPI may go online in the new year.

One of the key successes in getting the site noticed and out there is clever use of social networking. It's all about spreading the word and creating that buzz.

Since we took it over, the i gigi website has grown considerably over the last couple of years. It's recently been updated with a fully featured shopping cart for online purchases, virtual tours of the shops, portfolios of their interior design work, new imagery and a blogging page.

The site's proven to be very popular, with numerous bloggers writing about the beautiful pieces sold in the four shops that make up i gigi . One of the owners, Zoe Ellison, was heavily involved in the whole process of developing the site - in particular the look and feel which had to reflect their unique style.

This was one of the very first websites we built and it's great to see it go through the second phase. And to get some great feedback - not only from the owners themselves but also from visitors to the site. To hear from loyal followers of the brand and know we've stayed true to its spirit and identity through the website is a massive compliment. We look forward to phase three.

After the successful launch of their boutique opticians in the iconic South Lanes in Brighton, the girls at Frames in the Lanes wanted an online presence. So framesinthelanesonline.com was born.

The challenge here was to add an ordering system for their customers' prescriptions - something you don't get with a standard shopping cart module. They deliver worldwide so we had to make sure the postage and packaging process worked for all scenarios.

The site's now ready for it's first update with new brand colours and logo. At the same time we'll be adding a blog page and some social integration with the usual suspects Twitter and Facebook,  and many more. Plus of course, we'll be adding some new and very cool glasses and shades ready for the 2011 collections.

PS. Check out my Booth & Bruce frames on our homepage, bought from Frames in the Lanes.

Creating two sites for Jeff in a different look and feel for primary and secondary schools means teachers can send their pupils to the right information about upcoming events.

The idea we had for this site was to base it on a well known music magazine giving it a more grown up and edgy feel than the juniors. We also took the opportunity to add some video content to both sites using clips of Jeff drumming in some well known places. Take a look at the junior site to see the contrast between the two.

Jeff spent 16 years drumming with the world famous band Status Quo and now travels around the UK visiting schools presenting his drum workshop. His previous site was created for head teachers and teachers of schools, but we discovered they were also using it to show the kids what Jeff was all about.

We felt this was a golden opportunity to split the site into two and have a totally separate look and feel for the juniors and the seniors. So we built two sites.

The idea with the juniors was to use bright, colourful, simple designs. Yet still deliver the message Jeff wanted to get across, and keep an easy to navigate and informative website for the teachers to use. Check out the senior site here.

On this project the first thing we discovered was the high prices their previous web developer was charging to make the smallest of changes. We felt this was unreasonable and suggested using CMS - a Content Management System.

The beauty of CMS is that our clients can log into their own website and amend web pages whenever they want. This is great for making small changes to a site that come up from time to time, particularly in service industries. But for those bigger jobs, we're always able to step in when needed.

The brief was to present a clean, professional looking site with an emphasis on linking to their professional bodies, testimonials and certificates. Also a lot of hours have been put into the SEO - Search Engine Optimisation. Try a key phrase in Google like 'plumbers brighton' to see how well they perform.