Focal Strategy are delighted to have launched an elegant website for The Post House B&B and Self Catering in Somerset.

Our brief was to design a site using the Farrow and Ball colours which are found within the property, and which made it easy for visitors to navigate around the various options the Post House offer. The owners also requested we design a bespoke online booking and payment system for them, and wanted a blog to help them to market and grow the business online.

13,000 lines of code later, here it is:

As well as creating a logical navigation route through the site, we drew a up a range of floor plans to illustrate each booking option, from bedroom, apartment and self catering. Paired with photographs of each room it is now much easier for customers to clearly see where they will stay. A luscious image gallery enables visitors to fully explore the venue.

Our neat responsive design (an option we have just brought our for newer websites) ensures the whole site resizes and presents itself in a suitable layout for iPhone, iPad and Android users, making it simpler for those using mobile devices to book online whilst on the move. A particular benefit for B&B and hotel owners looking for last minute bookings.

The online booking and payment system was designed from scratch by our resident coding wizard Rich specifically for The Post House and their individual business requirements. This neat system is easy for them to update and manage online, is flexible and totally within their control.

If you are looking for a new website to promote your bed and breakfast, hotel or self catering holiday let, why not get in touch with Focal Strategy today? 02380 844982 / info@focalstrategy.com

Focal Strategy have been selected to design a brand new website for Cliff Cottage in Brixham.  This self catering cottage sits right above the harbour and has truly spectacular views from the lounge and bedroom right across the bay!

The owners showed us around the newly renovated property this morning, and we were very surprised to find it is a cute triangular shape which makes for fabulous rooms inside!

The new website will include a blog to promote Cliff Cottage holidays, local news and events, plenty of pictures and information for holiday makers, plus a secure contact form.

Looking for a new website, or website redesign? We are able to design anything from a simple website to one which includes dynamic galleries or bespoke online booking systems. Whatever your website requirements why not get in touch with Sue or Pete on 02380 844982 / info@focalstrategy.com

Focal Strategy are very pleased to have been chosen to design and launch a new website for a bed and breakfast in South Devon.

The owners are looking for a more up to date fresh looking website design, which is easy for their customers to navigate around. They are also looking forwards to starting a blog to help to market their business online, and get their B&B in Brixham noticed. The new website from us will work on all devices including iPhones and iPads, which will be a great improvement for them. The site will incorporate their own photographs and videos of their lovely holiday home.

Does your website need updating? Why not get in touch with us on 02380 844982 / info@focalstrategy.com - we are based at the edge of Southampton and the New Forest, and can design your website wherever you are based.

Choosing the right fonts to represent your business is a key part of your branding, both online and offline. For leaflets, business cards, posters or any other offline material, it's easy — pick a font, print it and you are done. Online, things can be more complex, and it is worth ensuring your fonts will work online before you finalise your font choices.

It is also important to choose fonts that match the feel of your business — are you aiming to portray a fresh and modern persona, a well established and formal look or something else? Picking the right fonts is a large part of how your business is perceived by others.

Read more…

Focal Strategy are very pleased to have received feedback from several of our website customers this week, regarding an increase in online enquiries from their websites.

GR Care Consultancy  recently commissioned us to revamp their website, we launched the new version a couple of weeks ago. The new website has a news blog, which GR Care are actively using to keep their clients up dated with information about their products and services, and updates regarding healthcare regulations. As a result they are very pleased to see an increase in enquiries.

Hi-Q Building Services came to us for a website in 2010, and have consistently used their blog ever since to promote the kinds of work and services they are able to undertake. We met up with them this week over a coffee, and they are very pleased with the amount of enquiries their website is generating for them.

We have very recently created a brand new website for a Bed and Breakfast in Somerset, the site has been up and running for about a week, again the owner is using her blog to get her business noticed online. The owner has just emailed saying: 'Getting lots of enquiries through the website - very exciting'. This site is so new, we have not yet announced it's launch on our own blog, so it is fantastic to hear it is performing well for the business!

If you would like to have a chat with us about your website, are looking for a website redesign or a brand new site why not get in touch with Pete or Sue on 02380 844982 / info@focalstrategy.com. We are based near Hythe, at the edge of the New Forest, Hampshire

Here at Focal Strategy we like to take the mystery out of website design and the internet wherever possible.

Lots of people know that you can search Google by clicking on the 'Images' tab, and we often meet people who are not sure where the images come from, what they are for and if they can be used by them. So here goes with a quick overview...

Google Images is a way of searching the internet, which allows you to quickly find the image content of websites.

So if you enter a search term...let's say 'google pictures' and then hit 'Images', you will get a return of thumbnails of all the images which have a file name, or link pointing to the image, or text near to the image in relation to your search term.

Click on one of the thumbnail images, and you will see the image displayed in a box over the original website that the picture came from. You can then click to close the box and explore the website where the image was found, so it is a really useful way to explore the internet, and find what you are looking for in a visual way.

It seems that lots of people are under the impression that the Google Image Search facility returns images which are available to be used by any one, for any purpose, and this is not the case. Images returned are simply the images found on people's websites, and so fall under the normal copyright laws for artwork, logos and photographs :O)

There's loads of info on image copyright online, some easier to get your head round than others, wiki might be a good starting place!

Keep an eye out for our ad in the Waterside Focus magazine which you should see over the next few days...our full page ad is hard to miss - why not give us a call?

Focal Strategy are very proud to have been chosen to design a new website for a photo and electrical shop in Hythe, Hampshire.

Stephenson's are looking to replace their existing site for a fresh, clean looking website to help them to market their photo reprint and electricals business.

The new website will be more user friendly, include up to the minute website coding to assist with on page search engine optimsation, and will have an active blog with links into Facebook and Twitter, to maximise their marketing potential. 

If you are looking for a website upgrade, or are looking for a brand new site, why not get in touch on 02380 844982? 

Focal Strategy have just launched a new website service for Warner Goodman LLP Solicitors of Southampton.

The website entitled 'I want to see my children' is aimed at helping people through the legal system, and has 10 low cost fact sheets explaining the court process, the laws about child contact and tips on how to succeed. These are easily purchased and supplied through the online shop we have designed.

The whole site has been developed to be very accessible and user friendly, and enable people to quickly get the information they need.

Calm colours, easy to read text and simple navigation are purposefully used in this informative website.

If you are looking for a website that works hard for your business, give Sue or Pete a call on 02380 844982, we look forward to hearing from you.

Focal Strategy have always advocated keeping your blog updated with news to improve website interactions, create and retain customer interest, and assist with search engine optimisation. This week we have had several of our website clients contact us to say that their blog has noticeably increased the number of new business enquiries they are receiving which is fantastic news.

Writing a blog to promote your business online is a great way to grow your business and complement your offline marketing strategies.  It can also be fun (well we think so!)  

If you can't find the time to keep your blog up to date, or don't find it as fun to do as we do, we offer a blog writing service:

• We will contact you once a month or once a week to gather information
• We will research & copy write each blog post and include a variety of keywords and search terms which are relevant to the subject and your business
• We will use the images you provide if needed and will optimise them for the web, including labelling with alt text to help Google find them in web searches
• We will add relevant links within the blog post as necessary, to pages on your own website to encourage further exploration or to relevant associated information - this will often be linked to a call to action.

Focal Strategy are website designers based in Hythe, Hampshire - we are able to offer our blog writing service wherever you are based. 

If you don't currently have a blog on your website, and would like a website that does, or you want to find out more about websites, marketing and blogging why not give us a call on 02380 844982 or drop sue@focalstrategy.com a line today?