Thanks to our clients we've had a fantastic year at Framework Design, with many new clients both in Ireland and abroad. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued custom and support and we look forward to working on new projects with you in the new year.

It has been an crazy busy year, but we've enjoyed every bit of it.

However, now it's time to take a well earned break, so we will be shutting up shop from 12:00pm, Friday December 21st and will reopen on Monday January 7th.

This year in lieu of sending Christmas cards and gifts to our clients we have made a donation to the Focus Ireland, who work tirelessly to help Ireland's homeless. We're in awe of their work and hope that in our small way we can help someone to have a better Christmas.

You can also help by donating or getting involved.

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

The FWD Team

Not only are they a great client to work with, but Insomnia have always pushed boudries when it comes to design. This is once again exemplified with their choice of artist for their Christmas cups. At the forefront of Irish illustraion, Fuschia MacAree's work is becoming recognisable as a brand in its own right. 

Her new designs for the Insomnia Christmas cups are beautifully executed and fatasitcally whimsical. Look out for the little dog pashing on a new friend!

The cups are now available in-store for the Christmas season, so make sure and see them in the flesh, so to speak. They're also fully biodegradable...a nice touch!

Launched to coincide with the new Insomnia Christmas menu, you can view the Christmas treats on offer here. Or pop over to Fuschia's website and get lost in work for a while.

Pictured are: Cameron Ross (FWD), Susan O'Dwyer (CEO - Make-A-Wish), Ciaran McDonnell (FWD).

We are delighted to announce that Make-A-Wish Ireland awarded Framework Design with a Wish Star for our support in the development of the https://www.makeawish.ie website.

Hosted by the Sandymount Hotel, who have just opened 17 new bedrooms, the event comprised of a drinks reception, BBQ, etnertainment, all of which was followed by the Wish Star Awards.

We're delighted to be involved with Make-A-Wish Ireland and support their work, granting wish to children with life-threatening illnesses, and hope that you can too. 

To make a donation to volunteer your time, to view events or just to read more about their work, click here.

Framework Design continue to stay at the forefront of Magento development with the launch of four additional client eCommerce websites.

Each of these websites included fully-responsive design and development and included elements such as EPOS integrations, loyalty system integrations, API development for the integrations of Microsoft RMS and Agility Software, and multi-site managers.

To read more information on the development of the four sites, click on the links below:

1. Yon-Ka Skincare
2. Bella Baby
3. Equipet
4. Image Skincare

To read more about why Magento is the number one eCommerce platform and to arrange a free consultation, click here.

Provincial, who provide bespoke, turn-key security and support services to a wide range of clients throughout Ireland, approached us to help them rebrand and provide a complete suite of marketing materials.

In business for over 50 years, their brand had become slightly dated as was not representing the modern, progressive company, working for some of the largest digital industry giants, that they had become. They needed an overhaul and asked Framework to guide them through the process. We worked with them to identify how they wished to be perceived and developed a strong, modern brand mark and logo to convey this.

We then designed and developed their new website on the ExpressionEngine CMS platform, making sure it was fully responsive and provided clear service channels, calls to action and marketing information.

We have since worked on a suite of other marketing materials and merchandise including company stationery, pull-ups, water bottles and tote bags.

To read more about the project click here or view the site directly. 

Learn about the General Data Protection Regulation and the requirements for GDPR compliance in Data Protection 101, our series on the fundamentals of information security.

A DEFINITION OF GDPR (GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION)

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), agreed upon by the European Parliament and Council in April 2016, will replace the Data Protection Directive 95/46/ec in Spring 2018 as the primary law regulating how companies protect EU citizens' personal data. Companies that are already in compliance with the Directive must ensure that they’re compliant with the new requirements of the GDPR before it becomes effective on May 25, 2018. Companies that fail to achieve GDPR compliance before the deadline will be subject to stiff penalties and fines.

GDPR requirements apply to each member state of the European Union, aiming to create more consistent protection of consumer and personal data across EU nations. Some of the key privacy and data protection requirements of the GDPR include:

Requiring the consent of subjects for data processing
Anonymizing collected data to protect privacy
Providing data breach notifications
Safely handling the transfer of data across borders
Requiring certain companies to appoint a data protection officer to oversee GDPR compliance

Simply put, the GDPR mandates a baseline set of standards for companies that handle EU citizens’ data to better safeguard the processing and movement of citizens’ personal data.

WHO IS SUBJECT TO GDPR COMPLIANCE?

The purpose of the GDPR is to impose a uniform data security law on all EU members, so that each member state no longer needs to write its own data protection laws and laws are consistent across the entire EU. In addition to EU members, it is important to note that any company that markets goods or services to EU residents, regardless of its location, is subject to the regulation. As a result, GDPR will have an impact on data protection requirements globally.

REQUIREMENTS OF GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION 2018

The GDPR itself contains 11 chapters and 91 articles. The following are some of the chapters and articles that have the greatest potential impact on security operations:

Articles 17 & 18 – Articles 17 and 18 of the GDPR give data subjects more control over personal data that is processed automatically. The result is that data subjects may transfer their personal data between service providers more easily (also called the “right to portability”), and they may direct a controller to erase their personal data under certain circumstances (also called the “right to erasure”).
Articles 23 & 30 – Articles 23 and 30 require companies to implement reasonable data protection measures to protect consumers’ personal data and privacy against loss or exposure.
Articles 31 & 32 – Data breach notifications play a large role in the GDPR text. Article 31 specifies requirements for single data breaches: controllers must notify SAs of a personal data breach within 72 hours of learning of the breach and must provide specific details of the breach such as the nature of it and the approximate number of data subjects affected. Article 32 requires data controllers to notify data subjects as quickly as possible of breaches when the breaches place their rights and freedoms at high risk.
Articles 33 & 33a – Articles 33 and 33a require companies to perform Data Protection Impact Assessments to identify risks to consumer data and Data Protection Compliance Reviews to ensure those risks are addressed.
Article 35 – Article 35 requires that certain companies appoint data protection officers. Specifically, any company that processes data revealing a subject’s genetic data, health, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, etc. must designate a data protection officer; these officers serve to advise companies about compliance with the regulation and act as a point of contact with Supervising Authorities (SAs). Some companies may be subjected to this aspect of the GDPR simply because they collect personal information about their employees as part of human resources processes.
Articles 36 & 37 – Articles 36 and 37 outline the data protection officer position and its responsibilities in ensuring GDPR compliance as well as reporting to Supervisory Authorities and data subjects.
Article 45 – Article 45 extends data protection requirements to international companies that collect or process EU citizens’ personal data, subjecting them to the same requirements and penalties as EU-based companies.
Article 79 – Article 79 outlines the penalties for GDPR non-compliance, which can be up to 4% of the violating company’s global annual revenue depending on the nature of the violation.

GDPR ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE

In comparison to the former Data Protection Directive, the GDPR has increased penalties for non-compliance. SAs have more authority than in the previous legislation because the GDPR sets a standard across the EU for all companies that handle EU citizens’ personal data. SAs hold investigative and corrective powers and may issue warnings for non-compliance, perform audits to ensure compliance, require companies to make specified improvements by prescribed deadlines, order data to be erased, and block companies from transferring data to other countries. Data controllers and processors are subject to the SAs’ powers and penalties.

The GDPR also allows SAs to issue larger fines than the Data Protection Directive; fines are determined based on the circumstances of each case and the SA may choose whether to impose their corrective powers with or without fines. For companies that fail to comply with certain GDPR requirements, fines may be up to 2% or 4% of total global annual turnover or €10m or €20m, whichever is greater.

BEST PRACTICES FOR GDPR: AN IMPORTANT EU DATA PROTECTION LAW

All organizations, including small to medium-sized companies and large enterprises, must be aware of all GDPR requirements and be prepared to comply by May 2018. By beginning to implement data protection policies and solutions now, companies will be in a much better position to achieve GDPR compliance when it takes effect. For many of these companies, the first step in complying with GDPR is to designate a data protection officer to build a data protection program that meets the GDPR requirements.

The General Data Protection Regulation not only applies to businesses in the EU; all businesses marketing services or goods to EU citizens should be preparing to comply with GDPR as well. By complying with GDPR requirements, businesses will benefit from avoiding costly penalties while improving customer data protection and trust.

Article taken from Digital Guardian

The rules for registering dot ie domain names are changing, following an extensive consultation process. From March 2018, the need to explain why you want a particular name (also called ‘claim to the name’) when registering a dot ie domain name will be removed. This is a big change to how dot ie registrations work. 

It will make it faster and easier for businesses to get a dot ie. It means that anybody with a connection to Ireland will be able to register any available dot ie domain name they want. 

In the meantime, businesses may believe that their brand name and online identity are being protected by IE Domain Registry. However, this is not the case. They must act now and register the domain names that are valuable to them.

What’s not changing? 

What does this mean?  

• If you are running a business, you currently have an advantage as you have a ‘claim to the name’ which allows you to secure your available domain names today.
• From March 2018, anyone with a connection to Ireland can register any domain name without proving a ‘claim to the name’.
• Safeguard your hard-won identity and reputation online - don’t let a competitor take your dot ie domain names.
• Secure your available dot ie domains today at [url=http://www.iedr.ie/finalcall ]http://www.iedr.ie/finalcall [/url];

Further information is available at www.iedr.ie/liberalisation 

A history that spans 6 generations, with skills being passed from father to son, means that the Freeney's Graphics team have a keen eye for detail and had high expectations for their new site.

It needed to be a quality showacase for their excellent portfolio of work, whilst aslo showing their broad range of services and enviable client list. Working on projects for diverse clients such as Aer Lingus, Dell, Coca Cola, Guinness and RTÉ, their skilset includes graphics, signage, outdoor advertising, vehicle branding and display solutions to name a few.

We have provided them with a market-focused, eBusiness site that is fully reponsive and SEO ready.

Click here to read more about the project, or visit their new website here.

We have just launched a new website for the fantastic Make-A-Wish Ireland. They have one simple aim – to grant the wishes of children aged between 3 and 17 years living with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. We love what they do so were every excited to work on this project.

The new website is packed full of features including online donations, an eCommerce store selling branded and other goodies and an event listing outlining all upcoming events. The site also gives information on granted wishes and enables volunteers to sign-up, corporate partners and shools/colleges to get involved, and most importantly for seriously ill children to apply for a wish.

You can read more on the project here or visit the site at www.makeawish.ie

Christmas is the time for giving...why not send a beautiful floral arrangement, bouquet or wreath to your loved ones or better yet...buy one for yourself.

Our fantasically talented clients, Floral Art, can add some seasonal Christmas cheer and colour to your home and bring that festive atmosphere indoors. The Floral Art team are experts at creating a unique festive atmosphere and understand the importance of creating a warm, fragrant atmosphere in your home,

They also know that floral arrangements, bouquets or Christmas wreaths can be the perfect gift when visiting a friend or relative, and can even say "I wish I was there..." if you're unable to make it home. It's a simple way to show your affection and how much you care. Spread the cheer this festive season by sending one of our bouquets, arrangements or Christmas wreaths...view the full range on their website http://www.floralart.ie

Backed by a team with over 50 year’s experience in Sanitary and Clinical waste services, KeyHygiene offer a full range of Hygiene services including Washroom Services, Clinical and Hazardous Waste Disposal and Management, Creative Scenting for your washrooms and commercial premises, Entrance, Advertising and Promotional Mats and a full range of Hand Drying solutions. 

Founded in 2017 by Mark Butler and Neville O’Boyle, the team behind the hugely successful KeyWaste Group, KeyHygiene aims to provide our customers with the highest standard of service and in-depth market knowledge, whilst focusing on full traceability.

Their new fully-responsive website, designed and developed by Framework Design utilises the latest technology and is built on the Expression Engine CMS. For more details on the project click here or or view the website now at https://www.keyhygiene.ie/

Founded by the Pau family in 1981, Asia Market has grown steadily to become the #1 supplier of authentic Asian ingredients in Ireland. With the launch of their new Magento2 eCommerce website they are bringing their Asian retail and supermarket experience to the masses, delivering to all 26 counties throughout the ROI.

The website not only sells authentic Asias ingredients and products from countries such as China, Japan, the Philipines, Thailand, Malaysia and Korea to name a few, but is also packed full of features such as recipes, news and events. It also provides functionality to enable re-ordering, a loyalty programme, store details and special monthly offers.

Visit the Asia Market website now, view the Project or read more details in our Case Study.

The change

From January 2018, you won’t need to provide a claim to register your .ie domain name. This means that anybody with a connection to Ireland can register any dot ie domain name they want.

This is a big change to how dot ie registrations work. IEDR currently check every dot ie domain registration to ensure that the applicant has a valid claim to the domain name and a connection to the island of Ireland. With this policy change it effectively means that any dot ie domain name is available on a first come, first served basis, to anybody with a connection to the island of Ireland.

What’s not changing?

.ie domains will still be:

• Reserved only for people and businesses with a connection to Ireland
• As safe as ever
• Checked to verify that the people registering them are who they say they are
• Checked to ensure that the people registering them have a connection to Ireland

The ask?

We'd like you to inform our customers, especially brand managers, IP experts and marketing personnel, about this change to give you a chance to register, and protect, any dot ie domains that you would not want to fall into a competitor’s hands. We are aware that some Irish businesses do not register the dot ie version of their business name, believing that the name cannot be registered by anyone else. This is an important message that you should be informed about to protect your IP, brand, trading names and online presence.

You can view a short informational flyer or participate in a public consultation on the proposed policy change is currently underway and will close on 30 September 2017. You  can have your say at www.iedr.ie/public-consultation. An an FAQ is also available on the IEDR website.

The details

We have prepared a short informational flyer that we would encourage you to share with your customers via all of your communication channels.

A public consultation on the proposed policy change is currently underway and will close on 30 September 2017. You and your customers can have your say at [url=http://www.iedr.ie/public-consultation]http://www.iedr.ie/public-consultation[/url].

We will have an informational video shortly on how it could affect your customers. In the meantime, an FAQ is available on our website. Again, we would encourage you to share this with your network.  

We’re here to work with you and your customers to make sure that this change is a positive one for all Irish businesses and consumers. Please contact us at public-consultation@iedr.ie if you have any questions or if you would like any more information about this.

Congratulations to us! We are delighted to have been shortlisted in two Award categories at this year's DOT IE Net Visionary Awards: 

• Best Use of Technology for Social Good
• Best Innovation for Agri/Food Services 

In both cases the website shortlisted is for our client EUFIC (The European Food Information Council), a non-profit organisation, established in 1995, which stands up for science-based information on food and health.

The Awards night will be held in the RDS on September 15th, 2017. Wish us luck!

With retail assets throughout the country Sigma Retail Parthers are without doubt Ireland's Retail Asset Specialists.

They recently approached Framework Design with a proposition to design and develop a series of six websites for retail parks in Bray, Drogheda, Galway, Naas, Navan and Waterford. Our contemporary design not only showcases the stores of each location, but also provides a unique identity through colour schemes and imagery.

To read more about the project click here. The retail park websites can be viewed at the following links:

http://www.brayretailpark.ie/
http://www.droghedaretailpark.ie/
http://www.gatewayretailpark.ie/
http://www.naasretailpark.ie/
http://www.navanretailpark.ie/
http://www.waterfordretailpark.ie/

With a client list that includes the President of Ireland, Eirgrid, Dublin Zoo, Energia and RTÉ, it's clear to see that Coopers Marquees it's easy to see why Coopers Marquees are Ireland’s premier supplier of quality marquees for hire, with a proud 25 year tradition of excellence.

We are delighted to have worked with them to design and develop a website that promotes and showcases the quality of their service and product. We have also custom built a unique quote caluclator, which can provide online quotes for all marquee and accessory hire.

The website was built using the ExpressionEngine content management system.

To read more about the project or visit the website www.coopersmarquees.com

We are delighted that the website we designed and developed for EUFIC - The European Food Information Council has been shortlisted in the Best Use of Technology for Social Good category at the DOT IE Net Visionary Awards 2017.

EUFIC is a non-profit organisation, established in 1995, which stands up for science-based information on food and health. Their mission is to offer accessible, appealing and actionable science based information on food and health to inspire and empower people to make better decisions about diet and lifestyle.

It's an important website that offers unbiased information for the general public throughout the world. We're thrilled with the nomination, but need your help. As it's a public vote we would appreciate it if you would vote for us.

To vote, simply follow these steps:

1. Click on this link - VOTE HERE

2. Enter your email address

3. Select Framework Design - www.eufic.org from the list

4. Tick the box and SUBMIT

That's it - you're all done! Thanks in advance.

The FWD Team

As with any design, trends come and go, but here are our predicitons for trends that seem to be here to stay.

Responsiveness Rules

Before responsiveness we had desktop designs and supporting mobile device designs. This  was thankfully replaced with responsive technology which now dominates due to its excellent UX capabilities.

CSS media queries offer websites flexibility and allow them to adjust according to the different devices the site is being accessed on.

Google changed its ranking algorithm in April 2016, to prioritize websites which have optimized content and throughout the next year, we’ll see companies hurrying to re-boost their Google ranks.

Design is king

Previously design was was an afterthought. Now it’s importance has been proven, it is an early stage process for any successful project. Whether its UX, functionality or graphic design, they’re all important factors in the success of a project.

Data visualization

Data and analytics are more important than ever and now big brands are offering their users a chance to see the stats for themselves.

Presenting data in visual ways increases user interaction with this information. Particularly useful when it comes to understanding user representation, colorful charts such as the ones you can create using Tableau, are eye-catching and draw user’s attention.

The future is bright

Brighter, bolder colours are everywhere. With page layouts simplifying, colours are being utilised to bring personality to the design.

Go easy on the stock!

Users are getting tired of the same old images appearing on site after site. it’s time to get authentic with your imagery. Or maybe pitch for a more graphic led design? Either way, a more bespoke approach will always set you apart from your competitors.

Images of your team are becoming more popular as users want to put a face to your brand.

Large scale typography

This trend is not going anywhere soon. Typography is getting bigger and bolder.

Seen as an eye-catching design trend, it certainly works on home pages or as page headers, but be careful not to overuse it as it can lose its potency.

We have worked with the III for several years now, having previously completed two CPD microsites for the Institute, and a previous iteration of their corporate website. They recently requested that we revisit their online presence, to design and build an informational and interactive hub that would both inform potential members of the benefits of joining their organisation and also to act as a portal where current members could interact, get informed and develop a community where professional excellence and the highest ethical standards provide career and personal fulfilment, supporting the success of the financial services sector and protecting the public interest.

We worked closely with them to develop a user-friendly, fully-responsive website, built on the Expression Engine CMS, that meets all of their user’s needs, utilising a clean and modern interface through clear content channels and ‘calls to action’.

Click here to visit their new website or read more about the project here.

Lolliprop's clients include Event Management companies, Film Production companies, Advertising Agencies, PR companies, Photographers, Stylists, Venues, Theatres and Hotels. Having provided props for events at Google, Facebook, Dropbox and Linkedin to name a few, the quality of their product and service levels was never in doubt.

However they needed a website that matched this quality, and that was user-friendly, easily searchable and portrayed both the serious aspect of the business without losing the playful element they are known for.

Their new site, built using the Expression Engine CMS, utilises bright bold colour-schemes to promote the joyous nature of their business, whilst the functionality of the site clearly makes it easy for their clients to find what they're looking for.

You can visit the new Lolliprops website or to read more about the project click here.

Each week until 19th August 2017 our client irish Pride will give away one fabulous Calor Mini BBQ (RRP €169), a 400g gas cylinder, a barbeque utensil set and a super Bunsters hamper.

Entering the competition is easy. All you have to do is send in your favourite barbeque recipe using ANY Irish Pride product, the more creative the better - your entry might even get shared on their website.

Each week one winner and three runners-up will be selected, each of whom will receive a fabulous Irish Pride Bunsters Buns Hamper and a barbeque utensil set.

So head over to Irish Pride and get entering - it's a great prize!

This is a time to enjoy your family, pig out on chocolate and to have an 'eggs-cellent' (groan) time!

Here's hoping the great weather we've been having lately holds up. We will be closed for the bank holiday on Easter Monday, but will re-open on Tuesday April 18th.

If you need to get in touch over the weekend, contact us now and leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

EUFIC is a non-profit organisation that provides the general public and health professionals with clear and practical information on nutrition, food safety and health, based on research which is scientifically verified.

They provide information based on research evidence, which has been endorsed by the wider scientific community. A Scientific Advisory Board of independent experts in food and nutrition oversee and verify the information provided. They work with all stakeholders in food and nutrition – including nutritionists and health professionals, universities, government and NGOs and food and drink producers. Their funding is provided by the European Commission and individual food and drink producers.

We have recently completed their new search-based website, which provides over 10,000 articels in 13 language variants. The site incoporates webinars, podcasts, video data, infographics and written data.

For full project details click here. To view the new EUFIC website click here.

It's that time of year again - when you get to honour your partner with a symbol of your love.

Our client Floral Art have curated a stunning range of Valentine's Flowers that will out a smile on your loved one's face. With several designed spefically for the 2017 season, these bouquets are luxurious, beautiful and lucious.

Combining the traditional red roses with complimentary blooms there is something for everyone. They're also providing an Orchid Presentation Box as a less traditional option and a Valentine's balloon, or you can simply choose from their Floral Bouquet Range or their Floral Arrangements Range.

Click here to visit their Valentine's Range now.

Based in Greystones in County Wicklow they deliver to all of the Dublin, Wicklow and surrounding areas.

We have had a fantastic year at Framework Design, once again enjoying working with our existing clients on many varied and exciting projects. We have also welcomed many more and look forward to continuing to work with you in 2017!

It has been an extremely busy year, but we've enjoyed every bit of it.

However, now it's time to take a well earned rest, so we will be shutting up shop from 12:00pm today, Friday December 23rd, and will reopen on Tuesday January 2nd.

This year in lieu of sending Christmas cards and gifts to our clients we have made a donation to the Simon Community, who work tirelessly to help Ireland's homeless. We're in awe of their work and hope that in our small way we can help someone to have a better Christmas.

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

The FWD Team

 

It's not very often that a client comes to us looking to completely drift away from the tried and tested style of website that their industry has adopted, but Tomkins are established enough to buck the trend and to set themselves apart.

A forward-thinking patent law firm based in Dublin 4, they work for Irish, European and international clients such as Sky, Pepsi Co., Boots and Nestle. They sought a website that would distinguish them from the crowd and that had a story behind it (rather than just your standard brochure site).

As their sole purpose is to support and promote the greatness in their client's work, we conceived the idea that their site should also support and promote individuals that have achieved greatness in their chosen fields. The first of a series, the initial offering features three great athletes that have surpassed all goals and ambitions to master their game and reach beyond it.

The site still functions as any site should, providing all the necessary information, as well eBusiness features such as enabling online payments for clients and providing access to their online client portal, Bellamy.

We're delighted to launch this new, unique website for Tomkins.

To read more about this project click here, or go to the Tomkins website to see for yourself.

Make Strange, the monicker for Dublin based Swedish designer Michelle Hedberg, approached us to design and develop her online portfolio.

Showcasing her range of private and professional work in both illustration and design, the website focuses on her breadth of skills and demonstrates her ability to find the unique in all projects.

With a range of work including a visual identity project for an Irish Museum of Ethnography (ME) to poster design promoting a Swedish Street Photography event, there is a fascinating selection of world-class design to explore.

Framework Design have secured the contract to redesign and develop a search based website for Belgian based organisation EFUFIC. 

EUFIC is a non-profit organisation that provides the general public and health professionals with clear and practical information on nutrition, food safety and health, based on research that is scientifically verified.

A Scientific Advisory Board of independent experts in food and nutrition oversee and verify the information provided. Their funding is provided by the European Commission and individual food and drink producers.

With over 100,00 pages of content the size of the project is considerable, however Framework Design are delighted to have won the contract to redevelop this site and to ensure the continued success of EUFIC.

Equipet Stores, who this year celebrate their 10th Anniversary, have just achieved Top 30 Stores status in the Retail Excellence Ireland ratings. We are delighted to have been working with the Equipet team for some years now having designed and developed their online store.

The REI Awards recognise and celebrate outstanding performance and vision by stores, places, people, websites and suppliers throughout the Irish retail industry.

 

 

 

A relatively new addition to the floral market, having opened in 2014, Floral Art have quickly established themselves as one of Ireland's premier florists. Working for private clients, corporate accounts and weddings, the Floral Art team have proven they can compete at the top of their game. Continuously upskilling with masterclasses from master florists throughout the world, they design and produce innovative and beautiful floral arrangements and displays.

To ensure that the quality of their work was represented properly online, they contacted us to design and develop their new eCommerce website. They were looking to achieve a style that was reflective of their innovative approach and we believe we've achieved that. The site is built using the Magento eCommcerce CMS and enables online purchasing of both floral arrangements and their giftware.

To read more about the project click here.

To visit the Floral Art website click here.

Four websites designed and developed by Framework Design have been shortlisted for the 'Most Beautiful Website' at the 2016 Realex Web Awards.

The sites shortlisted are:

• Framework Design 
• Insomnia Coffee Company 
• NTR plc 
• Caterhire 

We're delighted with the nominations and hopeful that we'll make it through to the next round.

To see the full list of nominations click here.

#RealexWebs16

Strategising and managing your eCommerce processes is no mean feat if the foundation of your online store is not robust. Today's online business owners are constantly seeking out better platforms to ensure the best user experience possible. Catering to your customers' needs in a faster, efficient and productive way is vital to the success of your store.

This can be a significant challenge, one that is easily achieved by developing your site using the Magento eCommerce platform. As it's open source you're at an advantage from the outset, with a large, fast-growing and talented community of developers continuously improving the system and providing thousands of extensions that will meet any online store's requirements.

We have extensive Magento eCommerce development experience and have used Magento to deliver many onlines stores including custom integrations to a number of ePOS and accounting systems, so we're sure of it's capabilities. However, if you've ever needed evidence as to why Magento is the leading eCommerce platform with 40% marketshare and trusted by over 240,000 leading merchants world-wide, here are a sample of advantages:

1. It's packed full of useful features

Magneto facilitates layered navigation, advanced search, wish lists, favorites, product comparisons, multi store feature, email list, grouped products and content management system for static pages as well as SEO performance. Features of an e-commerce website are the foundations delivering user experience and customer satisfaction and Magento is currently excelling.

2. It's a flexible solution

Irrespective of the size, requirements and budget of any business, the flexibility of Magento can be utilised to get the best solution for you. Whilst ‘Magento Go’ will suit small businesses, ‘Magento Enterprise’ serves medium and large businesses perfectly.

3. It has a keen SEO edge

‘Magento SEO’ has solved multiple issues by facilitating better optimisation of an eCommerce site. Page traffic, duplicate content, landing page, indexing, etc are all efficiently managed if a website is developed on Magento.

4. Carting

Magento shopping cart development helps customers to follow the step-by-step process for purchasing the desired product. Moreover to offer customers multiple options, a business can choose from almost fifty payment gateways to integrate with its Magento ecommerce website.

5. Multiple store management

Before Magento, managing multiple stores from a single administrative panel was either cumbersome or inconvenient. However, now with Magento, each store can be set up distinctly with its unique product catalogue. Running and managing an online business 24-7 has become stress-free.

6. Mobile integration made easy

In our mobile era, Magento Mobile will establish a fulfilling brand experience for consumers who use their smart phones and mobile devices to connect anytime and anywhere.

7. In-depth reporting

Administration of websites is easier with Magento as compared to other eCommerce platforms due to its excellent reporting. Business owners can access in-depth reports on the performance of their websites outlining detail such as what is on demand, what has gone out of stock, new items in market, etc. The current situation of their ecommerce businesses can be instantly analysed, allowing for better strategising.

8. No Geographical Constraints

Language and currency are two considerable factors when an eCommerce website caters to a wide geographical audience. Magento, with its unique features, can blur these boundaries and can enable shopping from almost any corner of world.

9. Order Management

One of the most useful facilities Magento offers online store owners is the ability to take care of orders in a hassle-free way. The admin panel can create, view, edit and fulfill orders, raise invoices (single or multiple), print packing slips, create email notifications and RSS feeds for new orders, and also the creation of re-order. All extremely useful tools when running an online store.

10. Additional Extensions

All Magento versions need one or the other plugins and add-ons to inculcate every need of a business while developing an eCommerce website. Adding extensions is easily facilitated as the platform continues to grow and mature without disrupting the current settings. This also helps in introducing timely changes in the website.

To read more about the benefits of Magento click here.

We'd be happy to discuss how Magento could benefit your business. Click here to arrange a meeting with one of our team.

The previous NTR plc website was built over 5 years ago, and with advances in technology and changes within the NTR plc organisation, it was time to revisit their web presence and reflect those changes.

With almost 40 years of experience in investing in and managing infrastructure assets, NTR now applies that expertise on behalf of investors who wish to avail of the attractive, reliable cash flows that quality sustainable infrastructure assets can provide.

Framework Design helped NTR plc to identify their core offerings and set about to replicate the professionalism and expertise through a modern and visually appealing website. Highlighting the principals of what it is that NTR plc do, we utilised large scale imagery to convey their inherent commitment to renewable energy.

The website is built using Expression Engine, an enterprise level content management system and is fully responsive for viewing on all devices.

"Framework were excellent as per usual. They made the task of building a new website effortless for us. They worked to and further enhanced our brief, giving us a new fresh and modern website.  We would highly recommend them at any opportunity".

– Rosheen McGuckian, CEO, NTR plc

To view more project details click here.

To view the website click here.

As Ireland’s leading Event & Party Hire company, Caterhire have provided a uniquely high quality service to the Hospitality and Event industry for over 30 years. 

With that in mind, they asked Framework Design to develop their new responsive website to provide both a showcase for their innovative event services and products and an eBusiness solution to simplify the ordering process.

It's not often we come across a website that requires the functionality of two major content management systems, but this was one of them. We utilised the eCommerce capabilities of Magento and custom-combined these with the image and content editing facilities of Expression Engine to provide the perfect solution for an innovative and progressive website.

To view full project details click here.

To view the website click here.

Pitcured: Fiona Shirley & Filip Spevak from Insomnia, being presented the award by Paul Cooke, Chief Executive of The Sunday Business Post

Insomnia Coffee Company have won the Best Indigenous Irish Franchise award at the 21st annual Irish Franchise Awards, sposored by the Sunday Business Post.

Recognising excellence in franchising and outstanding achievements of businesses and individuals in the franchise industry, they were shortlisted for this award against Sherry Fitzgerald Countrywide, Supermacs & AIL Group.

Held on Friday 22nd April, at the Radisson St Helen’s Hotel in Dublin the Irish Franchise Awards are celebrating 21 years this year - one of the longest running business award ceremonies in Ireland. 

Attended by 230 guests, the black-tie gala event hosted by Newstalk’s Jonathan Healy.

Congratulations once again to a well deserving team!

Having previously invested in their continuing growth potential with world class IT systems, training for their people and a constantly improving organisational capability, the next step for North Cork Creameries was to develop a world class website to market them internationally. That's where Framework Design came in.

Through development workshops we devised a plan on how best to represent NCC to their target markets and how best to serve their customers. We built them a clean, concise and responsive website using the Expression Engine CMS to best portray their progressive and modern approach to providing the highest quality dairy products to the ever changing global marketplace.

They supply international markets with world class dairy products, and are a flexible organisation which can respond quickly to the bespoke needs of our customers. The business is now supported by state of the art information technology – including the use of GPS technology in the field and a client self-service website.   

To view more project details click here.

To view the website click here.

Having previously designed and built the FK International website, Framework Design worked with the FK team on a new concept - to develop a responsive website portal specifically to assist recently qualified accountants and their clients with the recruitment process. 

Built on Expression Engine and run by FK International, a leading specialist financial and legal recruitment consultancy with a highly successful track record built up since foundation in 1998, they are uniquely placed to assist candidates in the process, with four of their staff being qualified accountants, and one a qualified tax consultant. 

The portal provides valuable advice on interview techniques, CV development and career mapping as well as providing a full job listing and application process.

To view the FK Recently Qualified website click here.

Providing interior spaces that are well planned, pleasant, enjoyable places to work and live in, is what EKD do. Providing exciting, beautiful portfolio sites is what Framework Design do.

With a similar ethos between the two firms, EKD selected Framework Design to design and develop their new responsive website, using the Expression Engine CMS, to showcase their superior interior design and architecture.

Utilising large scale imagery of their project work, we kept the content to a minimum, letting the work speak for itself.

To view more details on the project click here.

To view the website click here.

FK International is Ireland's leading specialist financial and legal recruitment consultancy with a highly successful track record built up since their foundation in 1998. 

They place candidates on a permanent, temporary or contract basis into roles within the financial and legal sectors.

Framework Design worked closely with the FK team to develop a careers search engine that would enable users to easily locate the position best suited to their qualifications and experience. 

With job listings updated hourly, it truly is the leading hub for financial and legal professionals.

To read more about the project click here.

To view the FK International website click here.

Insomnia Coffee Company are passionate about every detail of their business, from their specially selected Fairtrade beans to their skillfully trained baristas and their dedication in doing their bit to helping the environment. Because of this they required a website for their Irish and UK markets that conveyed this dedication to perfection.

Framework Design have designed and developed fully-responsive eBusiness websites for both markets, providing menus, location search facilities, infomation on their Treats loyalty scheme and a blog amongst other customer focused sections.

To view full product details click here.

To link through to their new websites click on the links below:

Irish Website: http://www.insomnia.ie
UK Website: http://www.insomniacoffee.co.uk

Established in June 2015, the Certified Investment Fund Director (CIFD) Institute is a global, not-for-profit community of investment fund directors. Offering the world-leading, specialist qualification in investment fund governance, there was an immediate requirement for a premium website to promote, market and advocate the fund. 

Having previously worked with the IOB on several other programme microsites, they asked us to develop their CIFD website. Developed and built using the Expression Engine content management system the website is fully responsive for viewing on all devices and platforms.

To view the new CIFD website click here.

We all know how difficult it is to build your digital customer base, especially with increased international competition and aggressive marketing and sales campaigns. Equally important is maintaining business to ensure continued success with established customers. A successful company typically sees 80 percent of its business come from 20 percent of its customers. The fact that the cost of attracting new customers is significantly more than that of maintaining a relationship with existing ones, and you have a powerful incentive to keep that core group of customers satisfied. Following these simple steps will ensure that you retain custom through brand loyalty.

1. Generate Great Relationships

It seems obvious, but keeping your customers happy is vital to the success of any business. Providing great products or services is essential, but so is relationship building. This means, at base level, ensuring you and your staff are pleasant to deal with, reply promptly to requests, actively enquire as to how you can help and deliver on promises. Most customers are understanding when it comes to delays as long as they are kept in the loop and constant communication is now expected.

2. Keep In Touch

There are now so many ways to communicate directly with your customers that by not doing so you are neglecting a simple channel to customer loyalty. Whether it’s an email newsletter, engaging through social media or simply calling or emailing once a month, set up a system for reaching out to the customers you already have. Dedicate time to creating and maintaining a database of contact information, including phone, email, and snail mail addresses. If there’s a social media element to your business, invite people to your page or website and keep that online element fresh.

3. Reward Loyalty

Good customer service means going the extra mile to meet customer needs. Often businesses are too focussed on rewarding new customers, when the real trick is to reward your existing customers for their continued business. Loyalty schemes and points, discounts to existing customers, gift cards, advance notice of sales and promotional offers are just some examples of how you can provide regular benefits to loyal customers. Coordinate your incentive program with your marketing efforts and make sure the incentive is appropriate for your target audience. You can use the incentive program to boost business during slow seasons and to promote new products.

4. Deal With Issues Immediately

Pay attention to customer concerns and complaints. By letting you know when they’re dissatisfied, your customers are providing an opportunity to resolve their issue and to improve your service. Make sure that there’s a clear and accessible way for customers to communicate with you, whether it’s in person, by phone, or by email, and that you have someone assigned to customer service on an ongoing basis. Remember to maintain an upbeat and positive attitude toward your customers; the reputation of your business is at stake. Your company’s reputation is closely related to the reliability of your products and service. The more reliable these are, the more likely your company is to have a favorable reputation.

5. Build Employee Loyalty

Loyalty starts at the top and works its way throughout the company. If you’re competent, you’ll earn your employees’ respect. If you have integrity in all of your dealings, your employees will be proud to work for and with you. If you’re consistent in your decisions and actions and display a willingness to protect your employees, you’ll earn their trust. All of these qualities will build your employees’ loyalty to you and the business. And if you’re loyal to your employees, they’ll feel good about their jobs and pass that loyalty along to your customers.

6. Get Your Customer’s Opinions

There is no better way to asses your product or service than to ask your customers. They are already engaging with your brand, have chosen you over competitors and will have ready feedback on what they think is working or not. Provide feedback forms on your site, conduct customer surveys, ask questions on your social media platforms. Whatever their opinions, ensure they are accepted, thanked and addressed. Very quickly you’ll establish what is working and what needs to be worked on. Including your employees in this process enables them to quickly identify the problems and assist in resolving the issues.

7. Be Available

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to find a way to communicate with a supplier. By not providing access to a company employee, you’re creating a barrier between your company and your customer. Email and online forms are certainly useful at times, but more often than not a customer wants the reassurance of being able to talk to a human. Technology is not always the answer!

Click here to contact us to discuss how we can help you establish loyalty programmes to increase your sales.

When you’re looking at making improvements to your home, it’s imperative that you choose a company that gives you factual information to start with and has a solid track record of doing quality work with back up service when you need it.

Global Home Improvements have the proven history of delivering quality products to their customers on time, every time. To celebrate their 35th anniversary in business, Global asked Framework Design to design and develop a new website that would mirror the quality of product and service for which they have become renowned.

Focussing on the user experience, the website provides clear channels to product and supporting information, whilst also presenting their product range stylishly and intuitively.

To read more about the project click here or view the site here.

It's sometimes difficult to get a handle on accurate internet statistics, but thankfully we are social have done just that. Their 376 pages of data provides a very detailed report on worldwide Internet, mobile and social media trends. As we all knew, social media usage on mobile was increasing, but the following slide details by just how much on a regional basis:

Data shows that social media usage on mobile grew 23% in 2014, with an incredible amount of users in East Asia compared to other regions. If you've got some spare time you can view the full report below. It truly provides some detailed statistics that may be pertinent to your online plan.

Staggeringly the Sunday Business Post reports that 90 per cent of the websites of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cannot process sales online.

The survey of around 500 SMEs found 63 per cent of SMEs have a website but 91 per cent cannot process sales online while 62 per cent cannot take sales orders online. It also found that 68 per cent cannot process payments online, 51 per cent cannot interact directly with customers through social media or web chat while 54 per cent don't have website designs for tablet or smartphone.

IEDR chief executive David Curtin said,

“In an ever more global economy, the absence of an online sales presence puts Irish businesses at a huge disadvantage to competitors. It acts as a major disincentive to attracting customers, for whom buying online is now the norm”

To read the full article, click here. To contact us to see how we can assist you in moving your business forward, and to enable online payments, please contact us now.

We're happy to provide a free consultation and will find the best solution for your business. We specialise in Magento ecommerce development, but can provide alternative solutions also.

Some examples of ecommerce sites we have developed are:

• http://www.obrienswine.ie/
• http://www.butlerschocolates.com/
• http://www.chtralee.com/
• http://parisapartmentsplus.com/
• http://www.llrg5.com/
• http://www.jackmurphy.eu/

See also:

• Selling Sand to the Arabs
• Ecommerce Development with Brilliant Retail
• Mobile Web Search & Sales
• How to Build an Online Customer Base & Retain It

We were delighted to work with Maria and her team to design and develop their new, fully-responsive company website. Working with other great designers is a treat, allowing us to collaborate on ideas and styles to produce a site that best displays their work.

Having such beautiful imagery to work with also influenced the design, making them the priority of the design an obvious choice. The site also incorporates their client testimonials, services, press coverage, contact details and company story. Clear links to their social media pages are also a permanent fixture in the footer. To read more about the project click here or to view the site and browse their work click here.

We were delighted to be approached by Liam and Orla Lenehan to work on their unique apartments booking website. Their priority has always been to ensure that their clients got more from their Paris experience than they would through the usual booking websites.

Offering an extremely bespoke service, their customers return again and again. Having both visited Paris on countless occasions, they have established an insider knowledge usually only found in locals. They can organise any or all activities through their incredible network of contacts from day trips in the Loire Valley to airport transfers.

Designed and developed by Framework Design, their new website not only offers extremely user-friendly booking facilities for the 300+ Paris apartments, but also a plethora of detail from neighbourhood guides to events, landmarks and tours. We challenge you to find a more in-depth source of content with which to plan your Parisienne getaway!

To view more details on this project click here. Or click here to visit their site.

We have just launched a fully-responsive, multilingual e-Commerce Magento website for LLR-G5. Manufactured exclusively by LLR-G5 since 1999, as per the original formula of Norbert Duffaut (1959) Organic Silicon G5® is distributed all over the world from the company’s headquarters in Castlebar, Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland. Combining eCommcerce facilities (selling the LLR-G5 range of products online) the website also showcases the benefits of using Organic Silicon G5® in your daily routine such as:

1. Naturally maintains and restores skin vitality by maximising the health of collagen and elastin production.

2. Penetrates deep into the dermis, providing essential nutrition and hydration.

3. Ensures skin is firm and supple, that it is softer and less wrinkled.

4. Slows the ageing process and maintains the youth of skin.

5. Keeps skin smooth, elastic and springy

6. Renews skin’s connective tissue

7. Retains skin moisture

To read more about this project click here or to view the site and shop the LLR-G5 range, click here.

Committed to the professional development of over 12,500 members, The Insurance Institute of Ireland (III) designs and delivers qualifications, training, executive education and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) through a fully supported framework to members of the general insurance industry in Ireland.

We had previously completed two CPD microsites for the Institute, both of which have proven to be hugely successful, both internally and with member users. On the back of this the institute requested that we design and build an informational and interactive hub that would both inform potential members of the benefits of joining their organisation and also act as a portal where current members could interact, get informed and develop a community where professional excellence and the highest ethical standards provide career and personal fulfilment, supporting the success of the financial services sector and protecting the public interest.

We worked closely with the III to develop a user-friendly, fully-responsive website that meets all of their user’s needs, utilising a clean and modern interface through clear content channels and ‘calls to action’.

To view the project details and to visit the site click here.

Lakeland Dairies is one of the largest dairy processors in Ireland. With a heritage of excellence spanning over 100 years, they process up to 1 Billion litres of farm produced milk into a wide range of dairy foodservice products and dairy food ingredients which they export to over 70 countries across the globe.

We have recently designed and developed the new Lakeland Dairies website to act as an informational and marketing portal for their various user groupds nationally and internationally. Fully responsive, the site is designed and developed using HTML5 to ensure maximum viewing experience on all devices including desktop, tablet and mobile.

The branding is highlighted by the use of the Lakeland Dairies green, augmented with the strong blue. Targeted at farmers, members and graduates it hosts a wide range of content and functionality including product detail, divisions, farmers notes, news and corporate information. High quality imagery and video supports excellent content housed in an attractive and intuitive site design.

To view more project details click here.

To view the Lakeland Dairies website click here.

We have just launched a fully-responsive, Magento website for CH Tralee that evokes a very modern, progressive and inclusive brand personality.

Along with the eCommcerce facilities, selling the stores full range of products online, the website also provides Online Prescription Ordering, CH Opticians, Aura Beauty Salon booking, Digital Image ordering as well as fun features such as the CH Blog and Hot New Trends section.

To view more details on this project click here.

To view the site and shop the CH Tralee range, click here.

We've done it again! We’re thrilled to have been shortlisted for this years awards. It shows that Framework Design is considered a leader in designing and developing eCommerce solutions with another of our client websites being shortlisted in the Digital Retail Excellence category.

Our new responsive eCommerce website for Jack Murphy Outdoors was successfully selected in this category for 2014. We're also thrilled to have been shortlisted in the Web Design and Development Agency category for our overall portfolio of work.

The Eircom Spider awards are considered an important benchmark for distinction and excellence in web-based business strategies. The event will be held on November 20th at the Convention Centre, Dublin. To read more about the awards, click here.

Our good friends over at Campaign Monitor have written an insightful article on how companies that use design as a competitive advantage are seriously outperforming their competitors.

According to research from DMI, design-led companies outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 – a stock market index of 500 large publicly traded companies – by 228%.

To discover more and to read their thought provoking articles, please click here.

Jack Murphy's dedicated design team in Dublin are truly passionate about elevating classic, timeless country style with a contemporary aesthetic, striving to enhance each and every piece with thoughtful and luxurious finishing touches.

With this in mind we have designed and developed a fully-responsive website for the country clothing brand that evokes a very definite personality, adding finishing touches of our own to clearly represent the brand online.

Along with the eCommcerce facilities, selling the brands full range online, the website also gives some insight into what inspires the designers in the Behind the Brand section, enables online viewing and download of the Autumn/Winter 2014 brochure and a handy Find a Stockist facility.

To read more about this project click here.

To view the site and shop the Jack Murphy range, click here.

We have just completed a revamp of the MAOLIOSA website. MAOLIOSA is the luxe interior design consultancy and retail boutique, created by designer and tastemaker Maoliosa Murray.

The site is packed full of must-have items from globally renowned design brands that she retails exclusively in Ireland including the The Rug Company, Jonathan Adler, Bethan Gray, Linley, Sasha Sykes.

She is also offering a 10% discount on your first purchase when you subscribe to her newsletter.

Contact details:

Maoliosa Murray | +353 (0) 87 911 4946 /+44 (0) 798 005 4247 | Email maoliosa@maoliosa.com

Anne Murray | +353 (0) 86 820 9373 | Email anne@maoliosa.com

Make sure and make your way to the Royal College of Physicians, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 on May 9th and 10th to attend the O'Briens Spring Wine Fair 2014.

Consumers will have the opportunity to meet the winemakers from some of the world’s best wineries, which include visitors from Man O'War in New Zealand, Torbreck in Australia, Rizzardi from Italy, Chateau Kirwan from France and Tandem from Spain.

There will be over 200 wines to taste on the day, so this is set to be Ireland’s biggest spring wine tasting event in 2014!

Do not miss this opportunity, buy your tickets now.

The style icon has done it again. Supermodel and blisteringly cool girl-about-town Kate Moss is returning with her long awaited new collection for Topshop. Following the huge success of her last foray into Topshop retailing, it's no surprise that Sir Philip Green has once again called on the effortless style know-how and taste of his fashion collaborator and friend, Kate. To celebrate the launch of the new collection at BT2 stores on April 30th, they are running a competition with a limited edition signed poster and a €200 voucher up for grabs. The question is a simple one, with a quick Google search throwing up the answer, so don't miss out. Click here to enter.

Where do you stand currently? Firstly, do you know how your customers are currently interacting with your site? Have you been studying your analytics on a weekly basis? Have you asked your customers what they want? Market research, Google analytics and usability studies are all very simple ways of determining what’s working on your site and what’s not. Often internal opinions can cloud judgement on what the best solutions are. Your customers make that choice, quickly and brutally, either by continuing to purchase on your site or by leaving to shop elsewhere. Two other good sources for establishing browser usage on your site are: http://whatusersdo.com - you can set tasks and have real users analyse the process on your site and provide feedback. https://www.attentionwizard.com - work out what sections of web pages customers are drawn to through heat maps, etc. For a small investment you will get an extraordinary amount of insight into customer usage and habits on your site and will establish errors, omissions and problems that can all be resolved to increase user experience. Customers (usually 30-40%) will happily provide this information if it’s kept simple for them. Adding a survey to your site, even on the order confirmation page, can quickly provide feedback directly from your customers. You can use survey sites such as https://www.surveymonkey.com to create your online questionnaire. Keep it short and sweet. Do not ask more than three questions, but make these questions count. By following these options, you will constantly be on top of what your customers want, when they want it and how much they want to pay. Building your customer base Newsletter marketing is the simplest, most cost effective and best way of building your customer base. These are people who already know your brand, who have subscribed to receive updates from you, and are already predisposed to buying your product or service. How hard can the sale be? Incentive led, informative weekly newsletters can significantly increase your traffic and convert these visits to sales. Make sure your SEO is up to date, correct and targeted. Spend time on your meta data, getting your page titling, targeted keywords and sitemap correct. Keep it updated to coincide with content changes and ensure the body content includes your keywords. But most importantly, get busy on link building. This is without doubt the most important factor in SEO. The more links you have directed to your site, the higher the organic listings you’ll climb. The following are examples of how you can achieve this: 1. Directory submissions. 2. See who is linking to your competitor sites and approach them. 3. Offer discounts to large groups (schools, universities, institutes, large companies, etc) and request that a link to your site be provided on their site and any newsletters, etc that are sent out. 4. Blog posting. 5. Write targeted articles for publication websites in exchange for a byline and link to your site. 6. Press releases - let everyone know when you’ve got something interesting to say. 7. Social Media - get active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, etc and constantly link back to your site. 8. Write testimonials for suppliers and ask them to return the favour (including a link of course). Engaging customers Study where your customers are coming your site and track where they’re going to next. Users will not always land on your homepage, but could be directed to an internal page from a search engine or external link (25-50% of user enter on a category page) and need to be able to gauge quickly where they are and how they should proceed. Language usage is very important. Do not use industry jargon or company titling. Go for simple words or statements that are easily understood. New, Products, Sale, etc are all good terms to use as the customer can quickly ascertain where they want to go. Regularly use promotions to shift product. All customers love an incentive led campaign and this is a very profitable method of clearing end of line or seasonal items. Promotions should vary to continually engage and entice user to buy into them. If it’s always a 105 discount, it will not intrigue a customer to buy into it. Photography is an absolutely vital element to the success of any eCommerce website. Good product shots, taken at various angles, will encourage users to buy. Make sure images are large and that zoom options are provided. The internet is a very visual medium and imagery is often more important that written content as users will make an instant decision on a product based on the imagery. Equate it to in-store merchandising in a bricks and mortar store - there’s a reason why shops spend so much time and money on displays. Navigation and category classification should be intuitive, simple and obvious. Make sure the terms you’re using match the search terms that customers are using. Main navigation should include detailed multi-layered drop downs where possible, providing instant access to required product. There should also be more than one route to all products and cross-promotion and up-sell should be used liberally to promote increased sales. Encourage them to make a purchase Make sure your site is aspirational for your target market. They either already like your brand and want to continue to purchase your goods or they’ve come across your site and you’ve got seconds to ensure they buy into your site, your brand and your product. Provide adequate product detail. Companies often assume that users do not read content, but if they’re parting with their hard earned cash, they’ll often want to know exactly what they’re buying. Matched with great photography that can be zoomed into for detailed views and product reviews, you’re beginning to create an emotional, aspirational response in your customer that is directing them towards a purchase. Fulfilment is vital to repeat purchasing. Clearly stating your procedures on your site will encourage purchasing from new customers. Delivery, returns, packaging, time scales, reviews, customer service, etc instantly install a sense of security in a website. The one-to-one experience a customer receives in a shop cannot be replicated online, but can be equalled by ensuring that all of these steps are best practice and designed with customer satisfaction in mind. Making transactions simple From site entry to payment the user should find the purchasing process simple and straightforward. They should have access to their basket at all times to review their selections. Large buttons and clear calls-to-action should lead them easily to the next step. Delivery costs should be displayed obviously. Security procedures should be communicated instantly to establish trust. Undeniably obvious steps these may be, but you’d be surprised how many online stores get it wrong. Integrate your payment process so that your customer is not led to an external site. Try to make the checkout process a one-page only step, as this will increase conversion rates. Get the language and tone right - it’s important to build trust early. Getting them to come back It’s all related to the experience they had in the steps above. If you’ve got these right, they’ll absolutely come back for repeat purchasing. not only that but they will become a brand advocate and promote your brand/product through word of mouth - and we all know how important that is to the success of any company. If you would like to discuss how Framework Design can help you to increase your online sales, contact us now to arrange a meeting.

JF Dunne Insurance asked us to develop their new responsive website, offering highly competitive motor insurance, home insurance, health insurance and travel insurance for the over-45 age group. Having previously designed and developed their main JF Dunne Insurance Ltd group website, they now wanted a site that targeted the maturer market specifically. This fully responsive eCommerce website for Caoga Insurance is managed by J.F. Dunne Insurances, Ireland’s leading insurance specialists since 1977. We firstly developed their brand to inject a sense of targeted playfulness, celebrating maturer years as a time of freedom, enjoyment and the peace of mind that can be offered by Caoga insurance products. The site design is light, modern, intuitive and uses positive imagery to instil trust and empathy for the target market. It is a fully eCommerce enabled website, allowing customers to pay and renew their policies online. Click here to read more about the project, or visit the site at www.caoga.com

Our client LA College of Creative Arts are offering massive discounts on courses booked before March 31st. If you're thinking about a new career, they have many courses that will satisfy your creative urges. Bridal & Editorial First up is €100 off all Bridal and Editorial Courses. Bridal and Editorial is one of the most popular courses at LA College, due to the graduate opportunities emerging from it. With just over 20,000 weddings occurring on our Irish shores each year, the demand for artists far outweighs the supply. With Irish Tatler, Stellar, Image and U Magazine now competing with UK and American magazines in the sales stakes, Irish editorials are raising their game and looking for the most up to date techniques, and highly skilled editorial artists. LA produces trendsetters not followers - a must for any editorial artist. COURSE DATES: Dublin: Full Time: 28th April 2014 Part Time: 31st March 2014 Limerick: 10 Sundays | 6th April 2014 Galway: 10 Sundays | 6th April 2014 Donegal: 10 Sundays | April 6th 2014 Cork: 10 Sundays | April 6th 2014 With more announced this May. The Professional Course Secondly you have an opportunity to secure €200 off The Professional Course. This course was designed by professional makeup artists to train and subsequently establish the next generation of professional make-up artists in this ever growing industry. With a focus on practical learning, the Professional Course will be conducted on-site using state-of-the-art studio facilities. Students who have completed this course have gone on to work with the likes of Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model, Calvin Klein, MAC and motion pictures including 2013's 'Dracula'. Visit the course pages for more details or contact LA College of Creative Arts on 01 6751999

Despite the continued increase in tablet and mobile browsing, very few existing websites have been updated to be responsive. So what is responsiveness? It’s simply the automatic adjustment of the website layout to fit desktop, tablet and mobile screens so that they appear in their best format. With indicators showing that mobile browsing is set to overtake fixed internet access in 2014, and with mobile traffic up to15% of global internet traffic in May 2013 (up 5% from 2012), it would be foolish not to ensure your website is prepared for this new trend. But what if your competitors’ websites are not already responsive? Even more reason to get in ahead of the game. We’re all aware how frustrating it is to try and view a website that was designed for desktop viewing on a mobile screen. It involves constant zooming in and out to read content and to select links. With a responsive site this action is not necessary as the site will automatically adjust to desktop, tablet or mobile depending on what device you have accessed the website through. Sometimes you’ll find that not many mobile users are accessing your site, in which case you may not need to upgrade. A good indicator of whether responsiveness is necessary is to view your website analytics and see how the figures add up. If a percentage of your users are accessing your site via tablet and mobile and dropping off early, chances are they’ve become frustrated with the browsing experience and have left to view a competitor site.

Irish Pride manufactures and distributes a diverse range of bakery products from sliced breads, seeded breads, burger buns, sodas, confectionery, ciabattas and paninis to our newest range of freshly baked pittas and wraps. We have just designed and developed their new responsive website to showcase their full range of baked products. Also included are a multitude of user-focused features such as the Food Pyramid, Ask the Dietition, Competitions, the Baking Process and a full range of recipes. To read more about the project click here or view their website here.

Framework client, the ever stylish BT2, are running a poll on their website to find out who your favourite style icon is. With favourites from past and present including Audrey Hepburn, Alexa Chung, Kate Moss and Sarah Jessica Parker, there's a choice for every sartorial taste. Once you've voted you're in with a chance to win a Gift Card to the value of €200, which you can spend on improving your own style status. So get voting now!

Spruce it up. A user's first impression of your site is usually a visual based one. Before they've looked at your content or services, or browsed your products, they've either engaged with your site design or have been turned off and are already moving on. Your homepage needs to be instantly welcoming, encouraging the user to browse deeper and to commit to your brand. Clear channels to required information should be provided and regularly requested content should be to the fore. Your navigation should be well formatted and should provide instant access to deep-drill areas of the site. It is not always necessary to execute a major overhaul. Simply updating your imagery, tweaking your content or changing colours can vastly improve your overall site appearance and draw users into your site. Ensuring your proposed updates align with your overall business plan and marketing strategy will guarantee successful results. Just apply consistency to all aspects of your message. Regularly checking your analytics can give a clear set of objectives and can highlight areas that warrant updates. You do not want to change something that is already working well. Breathe new life into your site. Dated content that has rarely been amended can sometimes lead users to assume that the site is not progressive, and that it is not being updated regularly. Looking into developments in your field, stripping out incorrect data, removing broken links and stripping out old information, products or service offerings can improve your SEO standing. Auditing your site with a fresh eye and being critical of what's in place will help you determine the impression that users are getting when reading through your online content. Often just rephrasing content (if it is still relevant) will give the impression that a site is constantly updated, but in most areas of business there are constant developments being introduced and you are responsible for passing these on to your customer base. Stay educated and active and commit to sharing this data with your users. Again, checking your analytics will help you determine what sections of the site are achieving high traffic levels - try to discover why these pages are attracting visitors and replicate this across other sections. If a section, service or product is not getting any traffic at all, perhaps it's time this was updated, removed or adjusted to better suit your customers' needs? Clear out the dust & spring forward. With constant updates to browsers, new devices being used to browse sites and regular updates to software, sometimes what used to work perfectly has now begun to cause problems. We're all guilty of putting a regular site health-check on the back burner, but now is the time to make sure it's performing to its maximum capabilities. Most browsers update themselves automatically, but it's worthwhile checking your site on all available options such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari to make sure that it's performing properly. More and more users are now browsing sites on their tablets and mobile devices. Is your site responsive? Does it amend it's layout to ensure a great browsing experience for your users, irrespective of what device they're browsing on? If not it should be. 89% of Irish smartphone users browse devices while watching TV with an increasing number of customers using mobile devices as their soul source for browsing. With the spread of 4G throughout the country this is only going to increase. Finally, how easy is it to use your site? Are there clear calls to actions on all pages? Are there dead ends on pages where user's are not encouraged to browse to additional pages? Is it easy to contact a company representative or book a meeting? How easy is it to purchase a product or service? Browsing your site with the mind-set of a user will flag any problems and help you to determine what needs to be addressed immediately, in the near future or down the line. Development can be staged and monitored to assess success rates. We're always happy to work with our clients to assess any changes that may be necessary on their site. If you would like us to audit your site or meet with you to discuss options, please contact us here.

Equipet are one of Ireland's leading Pet & Equine supply stores and were looking for an eCommerce solution that replicated the level of service found at all of their stores. We have designed and developed a new eCommerce website for them that mirrors the quality of service experienced in-store, where staff are extremely knowledgeable and can offer expert assistance in selecting your product. With a complete range of over 3,000 products online, clear, intuitive navigation and user-focussed usability the site has proven to be a huge success. Hosting a multitude of user-focused features the site also integrates with their in-store loyalty system (Agility) to ensure seamless communication between online and offline loyalty programs. To read more about the project click here or visit the site here.

We've recently overhauled the www.giveirishcraft.com website to include many new Makers and Stockists as well as adding more imagery, banners and Maker information to aid you in your selection of fine Irish crafts at all budget ranges. With selections of Jewellery, Pottery & Ceramics, Home & Gifts and Fashion & Accessories, you'll certainly find that perfect gift. Visit the Give Irish Craft website now...it's time to get into the Christmas spirit!

We're thrilled to have been shortlisted for this years awards. It shows that Framework Design is considered a leader in developing eCommerce solutions. With two of our client websites being shortlisted in the Retail Excellence category, we're hoping that either www.wine.ie or Butlers Chocolates will bring home the award in a very strong list. Happily we've also been shortlisted in the Web Design and Development Agency category for our overall portfolio of work. The eircom Spider awards are considered an important benchmark for distinction and excellence in web-based business strategies. Neil Delamere will host the event on November 28th at the convention centre. To read more about the awards, click here.

We are delighted to have 2 of our websites shortlisted for the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Awards. The O'Briens Wine website and the Butlers Chocolates website have been shortlisted in the Website Design: E-commerce section, as selected by the judges last weekend from the 220 entries received. The shortlist reflects all those entries that have been selected to be part of this year’s exhibition, to be opened by the Lord Mayor of Dublin at 7pm on 7th November at the Harry Clarke Gallery, NCAD, 100 Thomas Street, Dublin 8. The exhibition will run until the 22nd November so be sure to get all your family and friends to check it out! Those shortlisted are contenders for either or ’Commended’, ‘Highly Commended’ or ‘Winner’ to be announced at the Awards Ceremony on the 14th November in Vicar Street. To view the full shortlist for all categories, click here.

The O'Briens Wine website has been selected as a Finalist in the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards - eCommerce Website of the Year. According to the organisers the standard of entry was extremely high, so we're very proud of the achievement in designing and developing a website for one of the Top5 Finalists in Ireland. The website was built using the Magento eCommerce platform and includes user-focussed features such as the Quick Buy Tool, Interactive Store Locator, Predictive Search Tool, Loyalty integration, Wines We Love and a one-step-checkout. The website also features many community focussed areas such as the informative Wine Blog, Discover Our Wineries, Try Before You Buy and Free Delivery. We have also just launched their mobile specific site, which offers full site content and purchasing facilities. Fingers crossed for a celebratory bottle of fizz!

The numbers are large and what is apparent is that the evolution of mobile platforms is impacting when, where and how often we access our social networks of choice. Facebook’s big drive since going public last year was to increase its mobile advertising. It has achieved that goal with 41% of its revenue now coming from mobile. Google is lagging in this space and is in catchup mode. Twitter continues to grow as it looks to float in the next 12 months. Twitter has been scrambling to monetize its platform and now has self service advertising that is accelerating its revenue. It is predicted that in 2014 it will reach $1 billion in advertising income. So here are some social media numbers to chew on...click here to read rest of article.

A lot of charities rely on voluntary funding. This funding is carefully distributed and there are often more important things ahead of a generous budget for the website. With this in mind, we offered our services free of charge to Value Added in Africa to help them develop a website for their Proudly Made in Africa brand. With a cause that is so important it was imperative that their online presence was professional, modern and used up to date technologies. Communicating the purpose of the brand was key and we feel their new website clearly outlines what VAA are trying to achieve and the importance of their goals. To read more about this project and to view the site, click here.

Who can believe it's been a year since the G-Mac by Kartel site was built and launched by Framework Design. To celebrate their successful partnership with Graham McDowell (and his equally successful year in golf), Kartel are giving their customers 20% off all styles purchased via the G-Mav by Kartel website for this week only. So if you want to get your hands on the stylish range, click here are buy now.

Framework Design has developed a new eBusiness website for Universal Floral, the number one provider of corporate plant décor throughout Ireland. The new site mirrors the quality of service experienced by Universal Floral customers, which is always consistently excellent. Promoting their extensive range of planters, containers, plants and floral displays, the site now also outlines their full service offering including plant maintenance and free consultancy. All customers can now place orders via the site. To read more about the project click here.

Irish Pride Bunsters has teamed up with Calor Gas to help kick start your summertime fun. Every week until week ending 13th September 2013 Irish Pride and Calor will give away one fabulous Sahara Gas Barbeque (RRP €149) and a voucher worth €22.15 for a free refill for a Calor 6kg patio gas cylinder. They will also supply a useful barbeque kit and as no barbeque would be complete without lots of Bunsters buns and rolls, freshly baked every day in Irish Pride Bakeries, they are including a super Bunsters hamper. Entering the competition is easy. All you have to do is send in your favourite barbeque recipe using Bunsters buns or rolls, the more unusual the better! Why not attach a photo of your creation and they’ll share it on their website. To enter simply click here.

Can Online Loyalty Programs Increase Repeat Purchasing? If you’re an online merchant, or if you have an online element to your overall business, you should consider a web-based loyalty program to increase your revenues through encouraging customers to make repeat purchases. It may seem simple, but it’s surprising how few online retailers actually reward their customers for repeat purchasing. Despite the fact that through registration and purchase analyses they become a vital and informative resource for future product orders/development, a repeat customer is your bread and butter business. Their individual orders may not have as high a value as one-off customers, but over time you’ll see that the yield from these committed brand ambassadors is vital. A small incentive for any purchase shows that you instill value in their custom and by providing loyalty points, the upside is that they will initially want to increase their account value in order to benefit from a discount/free gift, but they will also continue to choose you over your competitors if they feel there is a reason to do so. We all know that it’s cheaper to keep a customer than to attract a new one, so building a real and equally beneficial relationship with them is critical. Gift cards, frequent purchase programs and loyalty point systems are all proven methods of retaining happy customers. Two loyalty programs we have recently incorporated into client sites include 20-20 Insights for Butlers Chocolates and Meridian Loyalty Solutions ([url=http://www.retail-int.com/]http://www.retail-int.com/[/url]) for O’Briens’ Wines. In both cases the loyalty program on-site has been integrated with their in-store EPOS system ensuring complete communication between online and offline transactions. The 20-20 Insights loyalty catalyst system is web based and is highly configurable and flexible to suit your specific needs. Meridian uncovers drivers of purchase behavior in your customer base, developing sound strategies, and executing your plan to perfection. If you have any questions about how your eCommerce website could benefit from an online loyalty program, please contact us now to arrange a consultation.

We have designed and developed a new eCommerce website for O’Briens Wine Off License Group, Ireland’s largest family owned drinks retailer, who ship directly and exclusively from over 55 wineries worldwide. The site needed to reflect the quality of service experienced in-store, where staff are extremely knowledgeable and can offer expert assistance in selecting your product. With a complete range of over 1,000 wines and the largest beer and spirits offering in the country, clear, intuitive navigation and user-focussed usability was imperative. Hosting a multitude of user-focused features, such as a Quick Buy feature, Meet OUr Winemakers and an interactive Store Locator, the site also integrates with their in-store EPOS system (Meridian) to ensure seamless communication between online and offline loyalty programs. To read more about the project click here or visit the site here.

We have designed the new e-Commerce website for LA Creative. Primarily focussed on selling their own brand of cosmetics and accessories, they will also provide a wide range of other luxury brands. The sister site to the LA College of Creative Arts website, it was imperative that the retail site was immediately recognizable as part of the LA brand, but also had a unique feel to it’s overall look and feel. Providing excellent salon services as well as an extensive range of beauty products, the site is a one-stop-shop for beauty aficionados. Visit the site here.

Launched to co-incide with their 'Efficiency for Business' Event series, the new Digicom website is designed to showcase the breadth of experience their team have in identifying and supplying the perfect solutions for your Audio Visual and Print Management requirements. It was important that their new website included a marketing edge and represented the size and scope of the company accurately, displaying their experience in servicing top-quality clients. With an easily navigable content tree, the site gives a broad overview of Digicom's service offerings and provides clear calls to action where relevant. During the process Framework Design also undertook a complete rebranded for Digicom incorporating new logo, stationery, van livery and all associated media materials. For more information on the project click here.

We have just completed and launched a new responsive site for Greystones Harbour Marina. Designed to provide an optimal viewing experience - easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling - across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile and smart devices). Developed for BJ Marine the site is targeted at both domestic and international boat owners. Utilising both appealing imagery and the latest web technologies, the site is optimised at all levels for an exciting user experience. For more information on the site click here.

As a company, it is Toyota's goal to perfectly match their customer’s individual requirements with the most suitable Toyota model. This is even more relevant when it comes to Fleets sales. To assist Fleet Managers throughout Ireland, Toyota asked us to design and develop a website that specifically targeted their needs when making purchasing decisions and to answer these accordingly. The resulting site is not only visually striking, but is also informative, factual and helpful. Employing a clean, modern layout and structure, this user-friendly site is both appealing and informational - reflecting the standards of Toyota Ireland's Fleet offerings. To view more information on the site click here.

At the forefront of providing academic training and professional creativity across three college locations in Dublin, London and Los Angeles, LA College of Creative Arts is a serious contender in the academic and skill-based training of international creatives. With alumni working in leading roles across the globe, LA College of Creative Arts asked Framework Design to design and develop their site to provide an online presence that represented the quality of their courses and tutoring. For more information on the website click here, or visit the LA College of Creative Arts website now.

Google AdWords can be a useful and effective method of driving traffic to your website, but how do you prevent the pitfalls of generating low-quality traffic? Conversion rates are often shockingly poor when analysed properly, so are you better off investing in SEO, which generates higher organic listings instead? The fist step is to ensure you understand the 'Match Types' options available. With Google Adwords there are several available: Exact Match Your advert will only be displayed if the precise keyword you have supplied is search for (with no additional words or phrases before or after it). Phrase Match Your advert will be displayed if your keyword is contained anywhere within the search query Modified Broad Match Your advert will appear even in cases where there are misspellings, plurals and variations (e.g. large, largest, etc) and will also allow for the separation of words (e.g if you've bid on 'web design', you may appear in results for 'web design in Ireland'). Broad Match This option will allow Google to show your advert for other terms that it feels are similar (e.g. orthodontist for dentist, solicitor for lawyer, Dublin for Tallaght, etc). This can lead to very dissatisfying responses for the search user, resulting in low-quality traffic. There is also the fact that organic results are instantly more trusted, so you're immediately at a disadvantage due to the fact that you're an obvious paid-for-ad. To top this you're also competing with other paid-for-averts, all offering the same or similar services, meaning that a user could potentially click on each advert to view your site before making a decision on which to contact. This can lead to many clicks but a poor conversion rate from an ad. Three golden rules when setting up a campaign are: 1. When deciding on your bid amount, only pay what you feel the clicks are worth to you (based on experience) 2. Be extremely honest and accurate in your ad to ensure high-quality and relevant conversions. 3. Make sure your website is updated regularly, that it makes an excellent first impression and that calls to action are clear. AdWords is only effective when it is constantly monitored, amended and maintained. It is a time commitment that can have hug pay-off if handled correctly. Setting a budget and sticking to it will also prevent you from running up larger bills than anticipated and will also focus you to select keywords and phrases that are truly relevant. You will absolutely see a spike in traffic if your campaign is well planned, thought through and followed through. In short, AdWords is a shrewd move when promoting a new site. After the initial launch period though, you're probably better investing in SEO and Social Media marketing, which will have a more profound influence on traffic in the long-term and is a better way of building community and repeat business. And remember, whilst it is without doubt a very successful method of generating site traffic, this will only continue as long as you pay for the clicks. If you'd like to discuss your Google AdWords campaign with Framework Design, contact us here and we'll happily help you devise a plan.

Since the introduction of the iOS 6 upgrade on Apple products, and the subsequent shift to Apple maps, Google has seen it's market share in China reduce by close to 50% in the third quarter. It has now dropped from 2nd place in the previous quarter to sixth largest vendor in the national mobile maps sector, according to Analysys International. The obvious cause is Apple's September upgrade to its iOS operating system, which replaced Google maps with it's own mapping product for China. With popularity already on the decline since 2010, when Google decided to close its search engine at the Chinese domain google.cn following disputes with Chinese authorities over censorship issues, this will be a further blow to the global search engine's Chinese presence. With poor speeds and often blocked products, some say due to ongoing issues with Chinese authorities, Google is struggling to provide the service it is renowned for elsewhere internationally. Chinese mobile maps continue to dominate the market with China's AutoNavi coming out on top, whilst also providing the map data for Apple's iOS 6 App.

Framework Design have been shortlisted in the Digital Design - Website Design category for the www.frameworkdesign.ie website. The 14th Annual Institute of Designers in Ireland Awards will be held on November 8th at the Sugar Club in Dublin. The Awards are an occasion to celebrate the excellent standard of design achieved by designers on the island of Ireland for 2011/20012. We're delighted that our own site has cut the mustard and have our fingers and toes crossed that we'll come home with a trophy.

Framework Design have just launched an eCommerce website for Butlers Chocolates, Ireland’s favourite luxury chocolatier for over 80 years. Designed and developed to represent the quality of their product, cafés and merchandise, with multiple functions including product sales, tour bookings, café locator, loyalty management and brand marketing, it was essential that the site convey their brand ethos of 'purveying chocolate happiness'. The website utilises the Magento eCommerce CMS and is a true representation of the Butlers quality brand. Visit the Butlers Chocolate website now to purchase your chocolate treat, book one of their extensive chocolate tours or to find your local Butlers Chocolate Café.

As the premier body for Registered Tax Consultants in Ireland, the Irish Tax Institute (ITI) felt that their site had become dated and was neither intuitive nor maximising the possibilities for internal and user experience. We initially worked closely with them to devise a work-flow and navigational structure that was more user-friendly and channelled browsers to their required content. We also designed and developed a modern user interface that better represents the Institute as they stand now and introduced a colour-coded system to better define the three main user groups that access the site on a regular basis. The process has resulted in a user-focussed website that successfully embodies the forward-thinking nature of the Institute and also the accessibility of their information. To read more about this Framework design site, simply click here. To view the live website, visit http://taxinstitute.ie

With more and more online and eCommerce businesses emerging both nationally and internationally, it's no longer viable to simply set-up shop and wait for your customers to discover you. With increasing competition in the online sphere you need to be smart, efficient and regularly working on finding new custom and retaining it. Research, Research, Research There's no way around this, you have to put the time in to find who your customers are, where they're at and how you can attract them to your venture. Your first step in your research should be to identify who your industry commentators and direct competitors are. List these in order of activity and success and establish which seem to be actively engaging with their target markets. Those that are not engaging with their customers via online resources can be removed. You can then analyse what they're doing to achieve this - are they utilising social media, blogging, newsletter marketing, etc? Have they established Facebook pages and Twitter accounts? How conversational are they with their users? Are they running incentive-led campaigns? Are their users responding and interacting with the brand? Ideally you should also be looking at the topics being discussed, what they are talking about and which of these achieves high response rates and customer interaction. This will aid you in developing content that you know will be successful from the outset. Once you've established which channels you should be utilising and have identified the type of content and tone you should be achieving, you then need to apply these to the social marketing plan you've identified through your research. From Little shoots Great Trees Grow It may seem you are talking to yourself at first, but by spreading the word through existing contacts, you'll soon begin to notice your audience growing. You will need to constantly engage with your users, even if initially this is a limited number. Understand that this is your opportunity to try ideas out without a huge audience. Once your user list is established you'll have defined the correct methods to sell your product or service. Ensure your entries are topical and are interspersed with relevant keywords and phrases to establish high organic search engine rankings. Don't fluff too much about your product/service - web users have short attention spans and are used to sorting the wheat from the chaff. Just give clear, concise information that is useful to the reader. Also, giving them a voice through feedback, comments, etc on your chosen social media platforms will enable them to interact with your brand and will also provide some valuable information on how you're doing and what could be done better. Providing links to product/services you're discussing makes it easier for your customer to instantly find data or make a purchase. It also establishes linking as a trusted source, ensuring maximum cross-promotional opportunities. Providing them with options will will also establish a sense of control with the user, encouraging repeat visitations. Retaining the Numbers Your users will only become repeat business when they're established as regular customers. Making repeat visits easy is your top priority. This can be achieved through loyalty schemes where users build up points that can be used against future purchases, or even through simply enabling them to register their details, which will ensure they do not have to do so on all repeat visits. Keeping in constant touch is vital, but most of all providing an excellent service and ensuring your customer is kept happy will go a long way to reaping the rewards of a growing business. We can help you with the process of launching, growing and maximising your business. To get in touch, simply contact us here.

Renowned as the go-to destination for contemporary fashion and beauty with the very best selection of the most exclusive and sought after brands from around the world, BT2 asked us to design their new website to promote their full range of clothing, accessories and beauty products to the Irish market. Included are individual store pages, 'New in Store' Galleries, Gift Card purchasing, News & Blog, Cross-promotional opportunities, Event Diaries and Social Media integration. It also contains a ‘Playlist’ entertainment area where Users can enjoy and view BT2 videos. Showcasing their eclectic and fashion forward brands such as Diane Von Furstenberg, MSGM, MiH Jeans, Karl by Karl Lagerfeld, Victoria Beckham, COS, Diesel and 7 for all mankind the website is a vibrant platform with which to interact with the BT2 brand. To view the new BT2 website, which was recently launched by Framework Design, go to http://www.bt2.ie/

With a reputation for excellence on both sides of the pond, Helen Turkington, interior designer and purveyor of sophisticated interiors and products, asked us to design and develop her website. With the dual task of profiling her interior design services and portfolio and also as an eBusiness/eCommerce model for her product ranges including fabrics, furniture, paints, flowers and Home Collection, it needed to function well both as a brochure for this established company and also as an online store. The site design replicates Helen's ethos of sophistication combined with simplicity and refinement. To read more on this project click here. To visit the site click on http://www.helenturkington.com

With over 10 years experience in the luxury brands arena, there's no better commentator than Maoliosa Murray to provide updates on all that is fine in the world of high-end lifestyles. Reporting daily on fashion, furniture, art, design, property, travel and interiors, Maoliosa provides an insiders guide to the type of world most of us only read about. With vivid imagery and informative reports, this is sure to be a must-visit destination for your daily dose of luxury. To read more about this Framework design site, simply click here. To view her website, visit [url=http://www.maoliosa.com/]http://www.maoliosa.com/[/url]

As more and more users are accessing websites using mobile devices, we have worked with Toyota to develop a mobile specific website designed to work on all mobile devices. With content and imagery that has been optimised specifically for mobile devices, the mobile site offers the same high standard of content and functionality as their desktop site. The full Toyota model range is accessible with additional functionality including Assured Used Car search, Book a Test Drive, Galeries, Specifications, News and Promotions. To view the Toyota Mobile website (best viewed on mobile devices, visit http://m.toyota.ie/

We’ve all heard and seen the statistics - shopping cart abandonment has reached epidemic levels with some sources quoting up to 40% of checkouts ending without a conversion. Irrespective of the loss in revenue, the likelihood of a repeat purchase from these users is also slim to say the least. So how do we fix this problem? Single-page checkouts have proven again and again to work better. Online customers have little or no patience when it comes to form-filling and security procedures. Asking them to fill in several pages can lead to them getting frustrated and clicking away. Unfortunately some payment services such as Mastercard’s 3D secure insist on multi-page checkout, leaving the site developers with no option but to implement this format, but the site owners can vote with their business by choosing options that do not insist on this level of security. 3D secure can be problematic due to forgotten passwords, time taken to fill in the forms, additional fees incurred, etc. It may sell itself on customer confidence, but is it working? No, in our opinion - and that of an increasing majority on internet platforms. An A/B test carried out on the 2010 Vancouver Olympics online store showed that the simple, one-page checkout increased conversion rates by 21.8% over the multi-page version (based on a 50-50 split of users). One-page checkouts just make sense. They’re quicker, easier, appeal to the online user mentality and provide a higher conversion rate. It’s a no-brainer! This problem also applies to multi-page versus single-page forms. The single-page registration process (as in single-page payment processes) tend to be more successful as the users can see the entire form immediately, are less suspicious of the time it will take to complete and are less likely to bounce-from / leave the process half way through. They can also see all of the questions in advance, make amendments/adjustments without having to return to previous pages, and are more likely to follow through to the end. So, whilst multi-page checkout and form submissions may offer additional security and the ability to source more information, if the user is likely to abandon prior to completion, then what’s the point. If your system allows for single-page processes, then stick with it. You’ll benefit in the long run.

Minister of State for Small Business, John Perry T.D., launched the Small Business Finance website, a joint initiative by the Irish Banking Federation (IBF) and Chambers Ireland, at an event in the National Gallery, Dublin. Supported by additional content from sponsors Eversheds, Mazars and Energia, the Small Business Finance website is an open resource for small businesses of all backgrounds and at various stages of development on business planning and financial management. Speaking at the event, Minister of State for Small Business, John Perry T.D, said: “Ireland’s small business sector has thrived in the past and the Small Business Finance website is a sign of our innovative and enterprising ability for the future. Having addressed the information gap between larger business or financial organisations and the small business sector previously it is highly encouraging to see some of Ireland’s most capable businesses work together to create such a valuable resource, not just for the small businessman, but for Ireland’s overall economy. I commend those who have put such hard work into it and look forward to witnessing the rewards”.

Somewhere along the line you started treating it more like a resume. It's time to fix that. Read this excellent article from Jeff Haden at Inc.com

We have just launched the new Auris Hybrid Microsite for Toyota Ireland. Packed full of informative detail, the site also features the ten Auris Hybrid TV ads that are currently being aired. Toyota just recently delivered its 400,000th hybrid in Europe - an Auris Hybrid. It was handed over to Valentine Nkwocha in Anderlecht (Belgium) as a company car from his employer CTG, an IT-consultancy. To date, Toyota has sold more than 3.5 million hybrid vehicles worldwide, representing a reduction of more than 23 million tons of CO2. Following the recent European Commission results confirming the industry leadership of Toyota Motor Europe with the lowest fleet-wide average CO2 emissions in Europe in 2010, Toyota will offer even more choice for hybrid vehicles in 2012 when the new seven-seater Toyota Prius+ and Prius Plug-in Hybrid join the Prius to make up the Prius Family. Launched in 2011, the New Yaris will soon be offered as a full hybrid version when the Yaris Hybrid makes its market debut later this year. For more information, click here. To view the microsite, visit http://www.aurishybrid.ie

As a producer of irresistible Irish country & lifestyle clothing & accessories, Jack Murphy required a website that matched their classical product with a contemporary twist. Framework Design designed and developed a modern, classic website that made best use or their beautiful photography and clearly showcases the product range. Extremely user-friendly and with many options to interact with the brand, the site will see further development as part of Phase Two in the new year. So check back to keep abreast of the Jack Murphy online brand story. To view full project details, click here.

With an award for 'IP Firm of the Year' already in their clutches, Tomkins approached us to help them achieve an online brand presence that matched their reputation in their field. Our main challenge was to establish distinct navigational channels and provide relevant content and calls to action for their main client markets. It was also important that the site did not follow the usual design formula for Intellectual Property firms, but established Tomkins as a modern, experienced and approachable firm. You can view the project details, see the work and link to their site from here.

The newly redesigned Setanta website is now live. Established in Dublin in 1998 Setanta Asset Management Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Life Irish Holding Company Limited, is a dedicated value manager who invest clients’ money by following a ‘value’ framework laid out by Benjamin Graham. Framework Design redesigned and developed their website to provide an attractive, professional and user-intuitive interface, bringing the focus on product to the fore and introducing clear calls to action. The new site has successfully improved the navigational flow and ease of use and enhances the user experience. For more information on the project, click here.

We have just launched a new site for Patrick J Farrell & Company, Solicitors. This new website breaks the mold of your typical law firm site, incorporating interactive elements such as video, downloadable fact sheets and intuitive calls to action. High-grade photography place a personal face to this multi-disciplinary law firm based in County Kildare. We worked closely with the team to provide a site that utilises video, defines the firm’s personality and provides useful information to the site visitor. For more details click here.

The Give Irish Craft website, developed on behalf of the Crafts Council of Ireland, has had a face lift. Re-designed to incorporate the new orange colour-scheme it has also been updated with many new makers and products. This season the focus is on celebrating Irish designer makers and new work featured includes Klickity's innovative range of interior giftware and Jenny Walsh's functional art. To view the site updates and browse the new products and find stockists, visit [url=http://www.giveirishcraft.com]http://www.giveirishcraft.com[/url]