Web Design, Web App. development and Internet Marketing

Cookies Directive

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:53:00 +0000

What you need to know about the EU cookies Directive

Any website storing information on a users computing equipment (computer, smartphone etc) using a "cookie" must provide appropriate information to the user and collect their consent except in limited circumstances where the cookie is strictly necessary for the provision of the service in question AND is deleted at the end of the session. In practice this means that websites placing cookies on user equipment that are not deleted when the user leaves their website must incorporate a means of obtaining user consent before allowing the user to proceed.
Directive was adopted in May 2011!

What to do

Unless you are a techie you may not be aware if you comply or not. You will need to have a technical quick technical audit carried out to establish what cookies are being set for site visitors. Where cookies do not expire at the end of session (one example would be if you are you are using Google Analytics on your website) you will need to do one of two things to ensure compliance:>

(1) write/add some additional code to your website to remove (timeout=0) any cookies set by your third party or your own applications when users leave or session over OR
(2) add code (on page load) to Inform the user when they arrive at your website for the first time that you use persistent cookies and get their consent before allowing them to proceed.

Wait and see

You could do nothing and adopt a "Wait-and-see" approach. Like a lot of "minor" corporate compliance legislation, enforcement of this cookie directive will not I think be a priority for Government. Take for example the requirement for all websites, outgoing emails etc to have full disclosure of corporate registration number, details of directors, registered address etc listed, very few websites and outgoing email is in compliance (In Ireland). Either owners and company directors are unaware in huge numbers (which I don't believe) or the apathy level is very high due to lack of any enforcement or will to do so. I believe we will have wait until the first test case before an legal clarification becomes available.

However...

If you are about to get a website or mobile app designed, refreshed or developed make sure that provision for compliance is addressed such that you can enable it easily at a later date, or have it as design requirement from the start.

references
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....... the appropriate section of the directive for reference

6. Storing and Accessing information on terminal equipment e.g. “Cookies”

Information – not just personal data - may not be stored on or retrieved from a person’s terminal equipment (computer, smartphone, mobile phone or other equipment used by an individual to access electronic communications networks) unless the individual: (a) has been given clear and comprehensive information about why this is being done and (b) has given her/his consent. This Regulation covers the use of “cookies”(2) by websites but can also cover other situations where information is placed on, or retrieved from, terminal equipment. An example of this may be via an “app.”

Information that is necessary to facilitate the transmission of a communication, or information that is strictly necessary to provide an information society service explicitly requested by the user, is not subject to this requirement. If a cookie is strictly necessary to facilitate a transaction requested by the user - for example, storage of items in a shopping cart on an online website - advance consent will not be required. This will be the case where the cookie is stored only for as long as the “session” is live and will be deleted at the end of the session. Information on such use should be readily available to the user of a website.

In all other cases, the requirement for clear and comprehensive information that is prominently displayed and easily accessible will apply, as well as the requirement for user consent.

The Regulations do not prescribe how the information is to be provided or consent is to be obtained, other than this should be as user friendly as possible. They envisage that, where it is technically possible and effective, such consent could be given by the use of appropriate browser settings. In order to meet the legal requirements, such settings would require, as a minimum, clear communication to the user as to what s/he was being asked to consent to and a means of giving or refusing consent to any information being stored or retrieved. It is particularly important that the requirements are met where so called “third party” or “tracking” cookies are involved – such as when advertising networks collect information about websites visited by users in order to better target advertising (“behavioural advertising”). The Article 29 Working Party in its Opinion 2/2010 has provided advice on how the requirements might be met.

The obligation to meet the requirements for providing comprehensive information to users and obtaining their consent for the placement of cookies rests with the service providers who place cookies on users' equipment. The settings currently available on the main browsers do not appear to be sufficient in themselves to meet the obligation.

Web Design - High Standard

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:55:00 +0000

Web Design for Financial Services Marketing

ALTREE FINANCIAL SERVICES

We get a lot of recurring business from our existing clients and past clients, which we put down to obsessive commitment to our customers business and marketing strategies as well as our design flair for graphics and software (web application development).

We now regularly combine business intelligence software with our clients websites to streamline integration of information into back-office systems as well as building bespoke business applications under the hood.

Our Latest Web Design Project for Altree Financial Services demonstrates a our capability in Brand definition, Clean graphic Design for the Web, Optimized website infrastructure, Integrated CMS setting out Marketing priorities and efficient navigation (UI) design.

When a client engages Active Online we respond and deliver offering multiple deployment package options to meet restricted online marketing budgets.

For more about integrated website multiples deals.......Give us a call and we will share our web design experience and methods with you.

ALTREE CLUSTER CURRENTLY INCLUDES:

www.altreecustody.com, www.altreeservices.com, ww.altreewealth.com, www.altreefinancial.com, www.altreefundservices.com, www.altreetrust.com
...with another two in development

Cosmetic Surgery Website Design

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:44:00 +0000

Award Winning Website Design

We are proud to announce the launch of WWW.BEACONFACEANDDERMATOLOGY.IE today. A great looking design incorporating best practice SEO techniques within a fully integrated Website/Content Management System to allow ease of administration and to facilitate good search engine ranking performance.

Highlights of this Website Design include:-
- atmospheric background slideshow (featured procedure)
- cleanly executed special offer carousel (automated slide show)
- expansive pop-up navigation with two routes to product/service
- dynamic photo/video gallery on each page
- good use of colour, element layout and white space
- optimised for good search engine relevancy and ranking
- enquiry management back-office system

Our Design and Internet Marketing Consultants worked closely together with this client to identify key website layout objectives and create a refined look-and-feel appropriate with the professional ethos of the clinic and it's target audience. An Internet Promotion campaign is now underway to assist the BFD clinic to achieve a page one ranking in Google over the medium to long term.

Active Online is a full service Internet Agency. We consult in advance to establish marketing strategy, establish market segments and targeting, we propose appropriate functional layouts, produce original designs and branding, build and engineer back-office applications, architect infrastructure and hosting and deploy. In addition we provide the necessary follow-on services (Search Engine Optimization and Promotion and Internet Marketing) to ensure that our clients are delivered a successful outcome for their Internet project.

Link Building Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:44:00 +0000

Link building is an important part of any Internet Promotion campaign where you are attempting to improve your overall "PageRank" within the top search engines.

Ever since Google discovered that using inbound links was a usable metric for gauging website importance ans started using it within ranking algorithm, and other search engines have adopted it. Inbound links count remains a contributing factor to search engine ranking success.

Link building is a time-intensive, and relatively boring activity, however it is still the most important core activity of anyone engaging in Search Engine Promotion to ensure improved rankings.

However, not all links or link-building activities are equal in value.

Here are some worthwhile guidelines for your link building campaign:

Secure "unidirectional" (One-way) Incoming only (non-reciprocal) links
Links with relevant "Keywords" in the Anchor Text are more valuable
Links from industry-relevant pages are of a high value.
Links from industry specific article pages are of a high value
Links from high authority websites are generally of greater value (industry specific only)
Link to your site should not be via a "redirect" script
JavaScript links are of little value and may not be detected.
links from "framed" pages are to be avoided
"flash" embedded links are worthless.
Beware of paid or time-bound links
Don't use email spamming techniques to solicit links.
Absolutely no links from Link Farms (can damage your ranking)
links from FFA (Free-For-All) link networks are of no value (can damage your ranking)
links from pornographic, casino, Viagra and other sites containing offensive content are damaging
Keep a full data sheet of links created at the end of each month
Check against this list to establish the existence of links after a month
check source of link code to ensure there are no "no follow" links
No more than 75 outgoing links from any single resource
Check that all the links will be Google cached and from indexed pages.

Irish Government to pass law to prevent citizens from accessing Facebook, twitter among other websites

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:17:00 +0000

Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Sean Sherlock, is pushing through a new law to prevent access by those living in Ireland to websites that the judiciary and government decide contain illegal content, without a vote in the Oireachtas.

Your civil rights and free access to the Internet are under threat. Minister Sherlock and the Government should be prevented from deciding what website you can or cannot visit.

In a prior article I wrote about SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, piece of US legislation, recently proposed in the US. It caused an Internet-wide outcry due to its far-reaching implications; way beyond simply closing access to outlaw file sharing websites, it would have (may still) enabled law enforcement to block access to entire internet domains due to infringing material posted on a single blog or webpage.

A similar proposal is about to become law in Ireland. And while over seven million US citizens contacted their representatives to say No to SOPA in the US, Irish citizens will not get that chance because the new law in Ireland is not being voted on in the Oireachtas. Instead, the law is being enacted by ministerial order.

That will this new law mean for people living in Ireland?

This new law will give music and movie companies the legal leverage to force Irish ISPs like UPC, Eircom and mobile operators to block access to web sites "suspected" of having copyrighted material on them. It also means judges can order ISPs to block access to sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter where an individual user from anywhere in the world has shared infringing material.

TAKE ACTION TODAY...

Contact the ministers office and express your disatisfaction
Write a letter to the minister
Write a letter to your local TD
sign the online petition at http://stopsopaireland.com

-----------------------------------------letter-Minister-Sample-----------------------------------

Dear Minister Sherlock:

As a citizen of this country I request that you respectfully abandon your proposed enactment of “S.I. No. of 2011 European Communities (Copyright and Related Rights) Regulations 2011.”

This legislation subverts the democratic process, favouring the special interests of corporations over the rights of individual citizens, will destroy the largest growth sector in the Irish economy, and will subject the citizens of Ireland to unwarranted, un-wished for and unintended censorship.

Sincerely,

---------------------------------------end-letter-sample---------------------------------

-----------------------------------------letter-TD-Sample-----------------------------------

Dear TD:

I have recently learned of the intent of Minister Sherlock to enact “S.I. No. of 2011 European Communities (Copyright and Related Rights) Regulations 2011.”

I respectfully request that you make formal representation to the Minister expressing in stron terms an objection to this inappropriate legislation

Sincerely,

---------------------------------------end-letter-sample---------------------------------

"Ready-to-Go" Conference Booking Website

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:18:00 +0000

Running a Conference or Event and need a booking website designed?

Example:- www.ispaconference.info

Active Online have a "Ready-to-Go" conference booking and support website product that is easily customisable to meet your needs in less than a day.

Having built a reusable website for a number of clients, Active Online have a nice white-label template website product that you can buy outright as a re-usable conference booking and event management website or lease from them for the duration of your event.

You can also hire Active Online to redesign the coloring and design to align it with your existing branding if needed.

Example:- www.psychologicalsociety.ie/conference

Highlights include:-

Ready to go gateway options:- Realex Payments (UK & Ireland) and PayPal (world)
Multi-user booking (Register any number of delegates and make a single payment at the end)
Early Bird rate handling
Paper submission handling
Automatic shut-off
Easy Document upload
Google Mapping embedded
Sponsor logo addition
customization slide show
fast set-up customization and turn around service included (2-days)*
Lease option available *

* dependent upon the level of customization required.

Costs

Lease for three months (minor customization) .............................€1,200.00

Purchase re-use licence outright ...................................................€2,750.00

>>more details on Active Online's Ready to go Conference & Event Booking website

SOPA and PIPA - Black Out

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:55:00 +0000

Black Out - solidarity in opposition to authoritarian despotic US 'anti-piracy' legislation.

All across the web today, websites have gone dark in solidarity with protests in the US against the impending SOPA and PIPA legislation.

Having recently learned of the idiotic situation in Belarus where the government (dictator) of that country has outlawed access to ANY foreign website and since January of this year does not allow any citizen business or entrepreneur to register/use any domain but .bk domain names, I thought to my self , are we not lucky to be living in a more enlightened country and part of a greater free and enlightened Internet community.

But wait..... the founding community of the Internet, the land of the free, the US is about to pass legislation to effectively demolish the Internet as we know it and to enact the exact even more draconian policies to Belarus and other "similarly enlightened" states like China.

In case you have been wondering what all the fuss is about... It's about freedom of access to information, freedom of speech and opposition of big business copyright lobbying masquerading as anti-piracy legislation. It all sound nice and logical on paper, however scratch under the surface and you can see where this is going.

Similar laws and agreements are being drafted all over the world. The story is always the same: the business interests of Big Media etc are being written into law, using excuses such as fraud, counterfeiting, child pornography, and more to hide their business strategy to remove free access to media of any sort and restore their control of same to the determent of individual artists. Today right now media is cheap, distribution is nearly free, and individual artists are thriving. It's not a landscape that Big media organisation want.

Unfortunately the controls proposed in the new legislation in the US will be applied eventually to all areas of the internet, and will impact the world, basically allowing governments/dictators to decide and set-policy who should have access to what website and for how much.

Trying to combat Piracy on the Internet is one thing.... but at what price?

For more information, visit Google's page on the subject More about SOPA and PIPA

Shopping Cart Web Design

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:45:00 +0000

Building a shopping Website

Having your own online shop or e-commerce enabled website allows you to improve the efficiency of your retail business and create an online sales channel by enabling site visitors to buy products and/or services using their credit or debit cards on a 24×7x365 basis.
(recent project: www.vis24.de)

Shopping Cart Web Design

By implementing an integrated solution, shopping cart systems connected to your website can also significantly decrease administration and fulfilment support costs as well as building in accounting efficiencies within your back office.

(recent project: www.thebluedoor.ie)

Active Online can help you:

to generate new online sales and expand the reach and market of your business
to set-up an easy to use shopping cart system that allows your visitors to purchase products and/or services online with the minimum of effort.
to provide secure e-commerce checkout (a secure checkout area) using encryption and SSL certification such that your visitors will feel confident to purchase from your website.
We can advise and recommend the most reliable and cost effective Payment Gateway providers and work with them on your behalf to ensure a seamless PCI Compliant e-commerce integration.
to build an online administration area that allows your staff to quickly and easily update product information, prices, delivery options and access your ordering transaction information without the requirement for technical computing skills
to promote your online business effectively by ensuring good search engine ranking performance in the top search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN)
to assist you to build an online database of visitors to whom you can issue regular newsletters and special offers to stimulate sales.

Why choose Active Online?

We have over 10 years experience in Internet business development.
We have built over 40 successful online shops and e-commerce enabled websites
We understand and focus on the needs of start-ups and established retail businesses
We provide you with all licensing, design files and source code of your shopping website.
We optimise your website for good ranking performance in search engines for key-phrases relating to your industry/products/services.
We don't limit the number of products (SKU's) or product categories a customers can put into their online shopping website.
We have experience of many different markets, product types, styles, currencies and delivery mechanisms.
We can engineer for user selectable multilingual, multi currency online shops
We can provide a seamless shopping experience for the user with an efficient checkout process that reduces barriers to making that sale.
We can custom design any look-and-feel, any custom functional requirement.
We can connect your online shop with any existing back-office systems you have in place (e.g. accounting packages, stock control systems, order management systems or other online third party service provider you currently use)
We ensure that you can maintain your online shop and website yourself.

Give us a call today to discuss your online shopping requirement T: 01 8666 116
or visit our website for more information at http://www.activeonline.ie

Mobile Application design (Mobile Apps)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:12:00 +0000

MYOT.IE - a mini-web application designed for mobile context

It's been an interesting few weeks for Active Online running up to Christmas and in first week of 2012, preparing for the launch of the MYOT.IE application. Our first 'high-profile' venture into "mobile only" as the context for a web application, brought to bear all our resources to meet a very tight timeline to deploy a code efficient, fast and unique solution.

When people refer to mobile apps they generally mean downloadable apps for either the iPhone or Android mobile phones. However mobile apps can also refer to web based mobile apps which are designed to run an a standard web server but which are designed with the mobile user the priority.

These mobile apps are accessed over the internet by mobile phones with browsers and therefore are not tied to one technology. That is, in theory any mobile phone with a browser can access the application, i.e. Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, RIM Blackberry, etc. This provides a number of key advantages: Greater potential end-user reach, greatly reduces the cost of code maintenance and deployment of new features, no licence fees or manufacturer imposed restrictions, accessible via standard PC and more importantly a considerably more cost effective solution for mobile app development and deployment.

With ever increasing adoption of smart-phones the mobile context is becoming more important for consideration when re-designing your website.

From a simple strategy such as providing a simplified version of your website to assist mobile visitors to access your contact information to deploying e-business solutions, thinking "mobile" should be a priority for any marketing manager.

In the case of the mini-web app MYOT.IE it made perfect sense to go mobile from the outset in order to give the application the best chance of take-up and access by busy people. MYOT is a small web application that allows fans of the popular RTE programme "Operation Transformation" to track their own progress (Weight & Waist measurement) against the "Leader" that they are following. Recipe, Food Shopping lists, exercise program for the day and videos are also available for review.

(The first episode aired on Wednesday, RTE1 @ 8:00pm ... and will run weekly until the end of February. For more information on Operation Transformation got to the RTE website at www.rte.ie/ot5 )

To read more on mobile web design or mobile web apps visit us at www.activeonline.ie

Google Re-marketing - Adwords Audience Feature

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Google Re Marketing... what is it?

You've recently noticed that the same adverts keep popping up in front of you (on YouTube or other websites that serve Google's display adverts) from a website you may (or may not) remember visiting while doing some retail research?

Intrusive or otherwise, it would seem that it is an effective marketing strategy delivering good incremental convertions for advertisers. The "ReMarketing" concept is being delivered by Google as an advertising innovation within its Adwords Display advertising Service.

How does it work?

Firstly you must have the new "Audience" feature enabled and set-up within your Google Adwords account. Then, when a visitor lands on your website, Google writes a cookie onto that person’s machine, tagging it as a visitor to your website. When the same machine is used to visit another website that is signed up to the Google display advertising network, your advert appears, "reminding" the visitor about your great service or offering them a special offer which might entice them back.

The effectiveness of this strategy leverages the knowledge that your tagged "Audience" is a pool of more qualified potential customers and also the obvious psychological benefits of repeat exposure and allows the manipulation of semi-consious decision making influences.

Notes on Google's "Audience" or "Re Marketing" feature

The Re Marketing capability is geared at higher traffic websites in that at least 500 unique visitors need to be tagged with the re-marketing cookie before Google will show your re-marketing adverts.
As Google allows you to set visit time frames, you can adjust your bidding appropriately. Prior visitors who visited your website in a more recent time frame may be worth bidding more for than those who are up to 180 days since their last visit. (180 days is the current highest time frame within which "Remarketing" is activated)
Re-marketing Adverts should be brand consistant to remind the visitor of your brand/ website instantly and can also be tailired as a special offer or further inducement to the prior visitor to close that conversion. (Ensure an appropriate landing page is prepared.)
Segmenting your re-marketing advertising is advisable if you have a lot of product. Only show adverts for relevant products/services to those viewed by the visitor on their previous visit to your website.
Because re-marketing targets recent visitors, your adverts will potentially be shown on websites sites that your user may use regularly for other reasons, such as entertainment, family etc. It might be worth considering using the exclusions feature to remove those sites that do not align closely with your brand/product/service to avoid over exposure and claims of intrusion and annoyance to a potential customer.

web design - what you should ask for

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:52:00 +0000

Important items to cover when embarking on your web design project

1. Setting Marketing Goals
It's well and good leaving the layout and design of your website home page to a web designer to create on your behalf if all you want is something that looks good. However it is vital that some consultation occurs with an experienced Internet Marketing person in advance of any draft design process such that your corporate marketing objectives can be embedded in the design. Every small piece of space on your home page should be defined for function and tie-in with clearly considered marketing goals. When this is done properly you end up with with a website that performs for you.

2. Content Preparation & Production
Not alone does your content represent you, your experience and expertise it also must be focussed and above all relevant to your business services, products and marketing objectives. Website content has the greatest impact on search engine ranking performance and therefore the overall performance of your website. Don't rush content. Write it carefully and professionally.

3. Web Design (Graphic Design)
Well finished graphics, colour choices and branding to suit your business is important. Just like the tie at an interview, if it's missing it becomes a factor (concern) with respect to representing the credibility of your business online.

4. Usability and Seamless Navigation
All navigation schemes should be intuitive (not requiring any learning curve) to website visitors. You have control of how and where they move about your website. Use this control to achieve marketing goals in a simple and easy manner.

5. Build Quality and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Good graphic design has to be married with W3C compliant HTML and CSS production to ensure your website renders as required across all common browsers and is future proofed as much as possible. At this time it is important to ensure that your engineering also takes into account best practice SEO techniques. There is no substitute. It cost nothing to optimise a website at build time and it is a vital component of the overall potential of the website to perform well in search engine rankings.

5. Deployment & Web Site Hosting issues
Often overlooked, but critical to search engine performance is where you host your website. Simple rule to follow:- Select a hosting company who can provide you with local IP addresses for your website. If your target market is Ireland, then ensure you select a locally hosted web hosting service. Most search engines (in particular Google) biases search results to local search. Google looks to your browser IP address to ascertain where you are and will serve up what it believes is relevant results to you and it take IP address of the relevant websites into account.

6. Operation & Maintenance
Just like a potted plant, your website needs constant attention if you want to reap long-term rewards for your investment in your new web design. Having a great website designed and launched to great acclaim is not the end of the process but the beginning.

Every new website launched will effectively be "sandboxed" by the more popular search engines, i.e. not appear for searches relating to product or services detailed on the website. It will take upwards of six months of active search engine promotion and Internet Marketing to achieve a page one listing for searches relating to exact content on your website and longer for more popular generic terms.

The efforts to achieve search engine presence includes constant updating and addition of relevant content to the website, link building (inbound) and search engine and directory submission. Engaging in the process even on a small scale will reward you with increased traffic and more enquiries/sales for your business.

Free remotely Hosted Anti-Spam Service

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:08:00 +0000

Free remotely Hosted Anti-Spam Service

Everybody is looking for ways to reduce IT costs in the current climate and one common cost these days is remotely hosted anti-spam and anti-virus services. Due to the huge increase in SPAM and email borne viruses, email servers (whether dedicated SMTP or shared POP3) are under severe strain to cope. Deploying and maintaining onsite filtering is expensive, resulting in many IT departments outsourcing and employing the services of specialist externally hosted ANTI-Spam services to first clean incoming mail before it hits their servers (or POP3 accounts).

Overall these externally hosted anti-spam services while excellent are expensive, with charges of €8 per seat (email account) per month for bigger companies up to €14 per month for companies with lower seat counts. Remember also that you still have to log in to your remotley hosted service facilities to check on your SPAM folders to ensure no legitimate mail has been stopped or to release mail that has.

Q: So how can you get first class externally hosted anti-spam and anti-virus services for Free?

A: Google Apps Gmail

Google Apps GMail service is a remotely hosted email server with very efficient Anti-Spam filtering built in. If you set-up a Free Google Apps account and set-up appropriate MX records to send your mail your Gmail Google apps server, when you download your email (using your desktop email client) 98% of your spam is gone!.

If you elect to clear off email from the server as you download it then you will never have to worry about storage space (gmail provides for 7GB storage per email account!) or having to upgrade to a paid account.

You can of course elect to retain your email on the Google Apps Gmail servers (for backup reasons) you will eventually have to convert your Google Apps account to a paid service, however this will only cost $30 per annum per seat! At this point you might even consider ditching your old deskbound email client and use your Google Apps gmail account from your browser, further reducing IT overhead of maintaining local email servers and client software and systems.... a potential huge saving.!

If you want more information on this or need assistance to implement a Google Apps solution for your business please call us for a chat. Note: Active Online offers full Google Apps Gmail integration with all our Website hosting accounts is required.

Web Hosting With Google Apps Integration

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:39:00 +0000

Active Online now offers Website Hosting Packages that include Standard and Premium Google Apps Gmail, Calendar and Document sharing integration.

Active Online is an authorised Google Apps Reseller.

For our customers who have outgrown spam-infested POP3 Email solutions offered as a complementary service on standard hosting packages we now offer fully integrated Google Apps deployment for your domain as part of your web hosting package.

Active Online provide a full service deployment and data migration service helping to provide the power of Cloud Computing across your enterprise with no fuss and without any downtime.

Google Apps Premier Edition offers a simple, powerful set of enterprise Messaging, Collaboration, Security and Compliance services, enabling Active Online to deliver a broad set of cloud computing products and services bundled with expert data migration and system integration services with professional on-site training and responsive first-level application support.

As a deployment specialist of Google Apps, Active Online works with small, medium and large customers to leverage tools such as Gmail™ webmail service, Google Talk™ voice, video and instant messaging service, Google Calendar™, Google Docs™ productivity suite, and Google Sites™ to produce more productive and collaborative environments within the workplace.

Contact us on 01 8666 116 today to discuss how we can help you deploy Google Apps to quickly and efficiently to give you the technological advantage and infrastructure cost savings that will help you drive you business forward in 2010.

Google, Google Enterprise Partner, Google Apps, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Google Sites are trademarks of Google Inc.

Conference Web Site Design

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:02:00 +0000

Designing a re-useable website for conferences has been an interesting experience and caused us to look further into extending our content management system to provide a set of reusable templates for user registration form design as well as looking to designing a defined web 'product' for conference organisers. If you are organising a conference and need a web site (that includes online registration & online payment collection) that you can use again and again then I think we have a solution that you might be interested in.

example implementation http://www.psychologicalsociety.ie/conference

web design strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:26:00 +0000

Before even considering look and feel, graphic design, styling, web 2.o design features and other niceties, it is important that some basic marketing led thinking takes place to set-out your primary marketing goals.

Simply put, define your target audience and if possible break these down into primary groups or segments. The closer your website design focuses on it's primary target audience the more effective it will be in generating higher quality inquires and more profitable business. By separating out individual groups, specific marketing panels can be created on the home page design to attract /guide visitors into appropriate areas where the language used and the information provided is tailored specifically to the niche segment.

When you have them there, maximise the impact of this landing page by providing access to as much relevant information at that point as possible. This page should have a re-reinforcing image either relevant to the market segment or the actual service. A short precisely written introductory paragraph outlining key value prospects. In the margins, reference to relevant case studies, supporting down-loadable information, contact details of the sales person and even a short inquiry form such that as many opportunities are provided at that point for the prospect to make contact or at least move to your next planned marketing step. (e.g. clicking to more information, reading a case study, requesting a call-back or downloading a document.

Each niche segment should be treated differently (appropriately) and customised to provide the key information need by that group.

Build up specific landing pages as required, remembering to leave the home (index) page design and layout to the very last. During the build phase things change new priorities are realised and will need to be reflected back just before launch.

If you want to discuss or learm more please don't hesitate to call in for an informal chat about your project.

Imagine the Potential of your Website:

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:43:00 +0000

We all imagine the potential of what our website can deliver to our business, however translating that into a reality requires considerable effort. Assuming you have just had an "all-bells-and-whistles" redesign completed and your new website is still stuck in the doldrums of a Googles natural search index for generic searches relating to your business, products and/or services . What can you do?

Search Engine Optimisation (Optimization) or SEO in combination with good Search Engine Promotion (SEP) activity is the key to achieving your goals. But like all things worth achieving hard work and time are involved. There is no magic bullet, however there is professional help, which can shorten the time and improve your effiency.

What is SEO or Search Engine Optimisation?

SEO is often misquoted as the process of website optimisation and promotion that ensures good ranking in Search Engines. SEO is actually the technical adjustments that are made to a website to enhance it's relevancy for better performance for key search terms. SEO involves good CSS & XHTML/HTML design as well as other influencing factors such as URL names, Page Titles, MEta TAgs, Alt tagginfg and relevancy auditing on content and anchor links. Having a well optimised website does not in itself guarantee page 1 rankings.

What is Search Engine Promotion?

Search Engine Promotion (SEP) is any activity which promotes your website and it's service on the Internet. It may includes such things as Search Engine Advertising, Link building, Directory Submission, article writing and posting, direct submission to search engines etc.

SEO & SEP Activities undertaken by a professional on your behalf might include:-
Website Analysis & research, Semantic analysis, Keyword analysis, Website analysis, Competitive analysis, PAge adjustment, Creation of robots.txt files, Sitemap creation & optimization, Navigation and file structure analysis, Html validation & checking, Browser compatibility checking, Page size checking, Website load time checking, Extensive log file analysis, Duplicate content checking, Broken link checking, Spider simulation, Page optimization, Content fixing, SEO copywriting, Image optimization, Manual Search Engine submission, Manual Directory submission, Link popularity reporting, Link Building, Ranking reports, Link popularity reports, website activity reports

Professional Blog Design

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:49:00 +0000

With the increased adoption of blogging as a more direct communication channel in the mainstream commercial environment, it is increasingly important to pay attention to the design aspects and useability. While the content of any blog is the single most important aspect of the initiative, attention should be also paid to good layout and design. Aside from helping you to differentiate yourself from the blogging masses, a custom 'theme' (graphic design & layout) is necessary to maintain a consistant online brand, as well as to ensure that you meet the needs of your target audience more efficiently.

Being active bloggers ourselves and having experienced web application development staff, Active Online offers a professional blog design service to the commercial blogging comunity focussing on providing custom blog design and support services.

From simple 'look-and-Feel' customisation to full blog software installation, functional customisation and support; Active Online can provide you with blogging solutions to get you up and running and fully enabled to take advantage of this new publishing phenomenon and make the maximum impact.

Two recent blog projects include:-

Advanced Blog Design
The creation of a Rate-My-Broker function for mortgagesandloans.ie. This project invovled the installation of WordPress, Custom blog theme creation to maintain consistant brand to their main website, seemless integration with their website and the installation and integration of several plugins to enhace function.
(visit mortgage website)

Simple Blog Set-up & Customisation
Similar to this blog, we set-up and customised a free blogger.com account to enable a private client access the blogging scene quickly and economically. The intent here, aside from providing a quick and easy blog solution, is also to allow this client the possibility of enhancing the profile of his business by connecting with the wider social community as well as contributing directly to the promotion of their business and primarywebsite.
(Visit Cosmetic Surgery Blog)
(Visit About Face Cosmetic Facial Surgery website)

Google Politically Incorrect

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:41:00 +0000

Nice one Google! ...and another issue... users looking for assistance deciphering malformed (anti-spam) letters may not like being classed as disabled (wheelchair person symbol) suggest a universal 'Help, Information, or ?' symbol might be a positive?

BookMeetingRoom.com a Saas Application

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:38:00 +0000

Yep.. we have got our feet wet! our first toe-dip into Saas application development and deployment can be seen at

http://www.bookmeetingroom.com/

What is BookMeetingRoom.com all about?

It's a simple meeting room managment application developed using 'Web 2.0' technology to maximise user experience and speed of execution. It take only a few minutes to get set-up. Throw away the meeting room booking diary and let your staff check meeting room availability in real-time and book time-slots from their desk. Reporting options available so you can track utilisation and department costs. No downloads, no installation, no maintenance; just use a standard browser to access the service.

there's a 30-day free trial so you can check it out in advance. Our customers seem to like it.. we hope you do to.
www.bookmeetingroom.com/free-software-trial

UPDATE
BookMeetingRoom.com has been short-listed in the Best New Web Application category. We are shocked and stunned...!

Anti-spam filtering for your email account(Hosted)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:50:00 +0000

We get lots of enquiries regarding anti-spam filtering on email accounts. In general for business users whose organisation has their own mail server, there are many very effective service providers that will take on ANTI-SPAM filtering on your behalf and are very effective. They won't however deal with users with one or two POP3 email account on a shared server. However Google has recently purchased 'Postini' and these guys offer an excellent externally hosted service to pop3 users.

FREEBEE SUGGESTION for POP3 EMAIL ANTISAPAM

Failing that, there is an 'on-the-cheap'(freebee) method that can be explored by users on a budget and with lower technical requirements; -

Cost: FREE
Maintenance: Low
Effectiveness: Filtering excellent

==================================================
Step1. Set-up a free GMAIL account

Step2. Setup the default outgoing email address on your GMAIL account to your business email address and complete the verification process. (GMAIL: settings, accounts)

Step3. Delete your normal POP3 account in your local mail application (MSOutlook, thunderbird, Eudora) {to stop downloading mail directly from your POP3 account}

Step4. configure your GMAIL account to download your email from your POP3 account instead. (GMAIL: settings, accounts)

Step5. Now Enable POP email functionality on your GMAIL account (GMAIL: Forwarding & POP)

Step6. Create a new POP3 account on your local mail application to download your anti-spam filtered email from your new GMAIL account.

ISSUES:
==========
Gmail checks for new messages (in your POP3 account) at different frequencies for individual accounts, depending on previous mail fetch attempts. You can't customize the default frequency of mail fetches, so some delays may be experienced in receiving new email.

FREE Image/Photo Editing Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremiah Ryan) — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:17:00 +0000

Customers often ask our advice in regard to the simplest image /photo editing software they should use to perform routine maintenance or creation of website images in e-commerce databases etc., (i.e. inserting a new product image into an online catalog or shopping cart database).

Where the task is simple, i.e. taking a photo image captured via a digital camera and optimising it for the web (i.e. scaling it down and reducing the file size) we always recommend 'Picasa' from Google. (http://picasa.google.ie)

Pros: Easy to use, low learning curve, easy to download and totally FREE. Also a useful application for managing your image and photo portfolio.

Cons: restricted photo editing functionality.