After countless hours* of planning meetings, documentation, design, further meetings, website development, programming, head scratching, more programming, more meetings, systems integration, data migration, database querying, head scratching, training, more meetings, and several rounds of testing including alpha, beta, gamma, and several other Greek types of testing, we are finally in a go-live Defcon 1 position with the new Business Answers website. Oh yes.

Indeed, the time this has taken has almost rivalled the amount of time we spend drinking tea and talking about our favourite films of all time so this was quite some project, but we’re delighted that we’re there, and we’re delighted that our our client is delighted, so everyone’s a winner. More to the point, you’re likely to find this site incredibly useful, so we’re even more delighted about that as well.

Project Objective

Business Answers is the new portal to replace the Business Link for Cornwall, Devon and Somerset website, and we’re rather hoping that the rest of the country will sit up and take notice at what we’ve done here. Indeed, every year the regional version of the Business Link site receives over 200,000 unique visitors, and we’re anticipating that with the new functionality at least this number of people will be using this site to find the latest in business advice and information that, in an unprecedented development, will be uniquely tailored to each individual.

Website Design & Development

Through the Ask An Expert system developed by Slightly Different and integrated with the existing Business Link knowledgebase, a site user can ask a question and have the most relevant answers displayed to them based on an automated intelligent analysis of the question. The more accurate the question, the more precise the answer, and the system is self learning, so new answers will be added to the existing knowledgebase which, over time, will create a significant resource for all sizes of companies and organisations.

In addition to this, the Ask An Expert system will also flag questions up to a network of over 80 Business Link advisers who can add their unique knowledge and experience to the answer thus providing the most comprehensive answers to any business questions. With high levels of knowledge in general business, but also with specialist knowledge in a diverse range of subjects including finance, law, marketing, and e-business, this new resource, available for free as part of the Government’s new initiative to support UK businesses, will make a significant difference to the business community throughout the South West.

Why not visit the site at www.businessanswers.info and Ask An Expert today. We hope you enjoy the Slightly Different experience!

* I have been advised to point out that the phrase “countless hours” has been used for editorial effect, and we know exactly how many hours the project took to do, which was delivered on time and on budget. Thanks for that, Andrew.

The UK Trade and Investment, Export Cornwall Project is a Convergence funded programme designed to improve the international performance of small and medium sized businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The project has been designed to  ‘supercharge’ the impact of the services to businesses available through UK Trade & Investment. This is being achieved through a combination of additional support from specialist trade advisers, workshops and various innovations, including the creation of the new Export Cornwall branding and website.

Project Objectives:

• Position Export Cornwall as the hub of resource and information surrounding exporting overseas from Cornwall
• Increase the awareness and online presence of the Export Cornwall brand
• Increase collaboration and communication between businesses in Cornwall

Brand design:

The first stage of this project was to design a new logo to represent the Export Cornwall brand, this logo has been integrated into the website as well as offline stationary, event flyers and exhibition stands.

Export Cornwall wanted a colour scheme that complitmented the UKTI branding but did not imbue any characteristics that would be deemed cliche of Cornwall. We chose a deep red and grey colour scheme to create a universal brand that was accessible to all. In our initial design meetings with the client, it was also agreed that a sans-serif type would create a friendly and approachable feel.

Website Design and Development:

The new website needed to meet several objectives, to inspire business people to find out more about exporting, to highlight real stories by Cornish businesses already exporting,  to encourage networking online and offline, either within the community or at events and to encourage membership take-up.

The website has a powerful content management system behind it that gives the team at UKTI flexible control over the site.  We hooked up with a currency converter widget to enable users to work out exchange rates on the site without the need to leave. Regular events are promoted via a calender and the news is both added via the UKTI team and pulled in automatically from the UKTI site.

One of the key features of the site is the case studies focussing on real local businesses who have and are exporting. These success stories are invaluable to new visitors to the site who can find out about the real life experiences that businesses similar to their own have had, obstacles they overcame etc.

Export Cornwall send out regular communications via their email marketing system and users can sign up to receive these emails easily on the site.   Users are able  to request membership to Export Cornwall and this can be done on the site as well, a simple form is in place to facilitate this.

As with all our websites, analytics is in place to make sure that our clients have regular updates on how the site is performing.

If you are interested in becoming a member, check out the website, don’t be put off by the idea because it seems out of your reach, read the information on the site and see if your business could benefit!

From everyone at Slightly Different, we wish the Export Cornwall project all the best and that goes for all the Cornish businesses that go for it too!

Carl Warner modestly just has the word photographer on his website, but take a look at the website and you’ll see that this doesn’t describe his work in any way. An apparent master of understatement, one aspect of his work is to create landscapes from food and then film them.

I won’t do his work justice by describing it as, in this case, the visuals really do say it all.

Visit www.carlwarner.com, and see what you think.

The Interactive Media Awards are run by The Interactive Media Council.

The Awards are designed to elevate the standards of excellence on the Internet and to recognize the highest standards of excellence in website design and development and honor individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievement.

The Best in Class award is the highest award you can achieve and we are incredibly proud to have earned such an accolade for our work.

Cornwall and Devon media asked us to develop this site to help their business advertisers to find the information they required easily and avoiding as much of the in-house print language often involved when discussing advertising spaces in publications. The entire project was developed around the end user experience, and we worked closely with the team at Cornwall and Devon Media to ensure we got this right, holding real user testing sessions throughout the development stages. 

One of the most important aspects of the project for our clients was that they needed full control over the content on the site, this was to be changing very regularly and it was imperative that they be able to do this quickly and simply.

Another important element of the project was to develop a system that allowed for CDM to have several versions of the site for their many different regional offices but updateable using one system, have a look at the North Devon Example

We thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, and the team at CDM made this a really enjoyable project, Katie Atkins, Catherine Bicknell and Ed Rowe to name but a few of the CDM team.

Since the advertising site has launched, CDM have seen a rapid increase in online enquiries for advertising space, and feedback from these customers shows that the site and content has been incredibly useful and informative, mission accomplished then!

Although everything we do here at Slightly Different  is always of course,  a big team effort, a big mention has to go out to our own Rob Suckley who designed the site, managed the project and ensured that the end result was indeed award winning!

Well done Rob, we salute you!

Are you interested in an award winning solution for your business ?

Give me a call or drop me an email

t: 01326 372416

e: saira@ slightlydifferent.co.uk

Living down here in Cornwall, it’s easy to forget that some people go away for their holidays.  When you have countless beaches, great countryside and fantastic towns and villages to visit I wonder why people would go anywhere else.  Then I remember that not everyone is this lucky, and indeed some people live in an area they would love to escape from!  I was chatting to someone at a meeting this morning who works for a local transport hub.  I was asking him how the current flights situation was affecting his business, and he stated that he felt it was having serious implications, that may well result in some companies closing down.  Obviously this is not good, but there have been some definite advantages, especially in this neck of the woods and especially if you are in a business related to the tourist industry.  It would appear that peoples buying habits have changed and there is a lot more last minute activity occurring.  This is due to people having booked holidays abroad that they now can’t take so quickly look for an alternative.  A hotel manager I was talking to said that he was recently at 100 per cent occupancy during a period he would normally be only half full.  He said, if he had a bigger hotel, he could have filled that too.

The south west, especially Devon and Cornwall are in a great position to take advantage of this situation.  I have noticed recently the increase in people and cars on the road, and even the usually sleepy village where I live seems to be bustling at the moment.  All the holiday lets are full, and I’m sure if more were available they would be full too.

If you had a foreign holiday booked and now can’t go, I wouldn’t hang around.  Get your holiday in the south west booked quickly, as my analysis of the numbers indicates another bumper year.  If you don’t book your holiday cottage in Devon soon, you’ll miss out.

So for those of you looking for holiday cottages, here are a few that might take your fancy.

Holiday Cottages in Devon

Tree House, Doddiscombsleigh

Tree House, Doddiscombsleigh

As its name suggests this beautifully constructed Green Oak timber framed house built in 2007 oozes immense character and appeal. Vaulted ceilings, exposed beams and trusses in every room, together with a bespoke hand crafted oak kitchen, granite work tops and oak floors enhance the natural rustic style of this lovely light and spacious property. The open plan design of the living space creates a relaxing atmosphere, where guests will enjoy family or social occasions around the large oak dining table.

Swallows Nest, Luppitt

Swallows Nest, Luppitt

Luxury 5 star, ‘Eco’ barn conversion, situated in the heart of Devon’s most beautiful countryside.  Wild swimming, unpolluted night skies, excellent local food and summer festivals are just a taste of what awaits you at this luxury 5 star ‘eco’ retreat. Swallows Nest, once a derelict milking parlour has been transformed into a stylish holiday cottage with zero carbon footprint.

Holiday Cottages in Cornwall

The Penthouse, Carbis Bay

Penthouse, Carbis Bay

Recently featured in the Cornwall Life magazine, The Penthouse is a very special property. Little else can rival its unique position in an elevated vantage point above Carbis Bay beach and the coastal footpath in the crescent of St Ives Bay. The vista from this top floor penthouse is unbeatable, stretching from the famous resort town of St Ives and encompassing panoramic sea views across the expansive bay to Godrevy Lighthouse.

Castle Gate, Praa Sands

Castle Gate, Praa Sands

Step back in time to the days of knights and battles where Castle Gate was once a Gate House with gun loops dating back to 13th century. Now retaining Ancient Monument status it has been painstakingly and lovingly restored by the current owners to provide accommodation of tremendous character and charm. Solid wood floors, beams and exposed granite stone feature throughout this three storey building that has been sensitively furnished to accentuate its medieval style.

Check out the new Bart site

Buy your spices online, and while your waiting for your spices to arrive, check out the video recipes and have a look at the spice guide for all you ever wanted to know about spices!

There’s an advanced recipe finder where you can decide what sort of meal you’d like to cook, how much time you have to prepare it and what you have in the fridge to do it with amongst other things..

We developed a private trade area for Bart trade clients to place orders too!

The site is completely updateable and becasue Bart is very keen to keep in touch with their customers, as you’ll know if you receive their email newsletters, we built them a blog so they can keep telling you what they’re up to.

The videos are being added to all the time, so check back for new recipes, and if you would like to downlaod a recipe book, you can do that too! or request recipe postcards to send to your friends.

Definitely worth a visit, the products are very high quality and even the packaging looks great on your shelves if you care about that sort of thing.. we know you’re out there..

Bart Pepper Gift set

A selection from the Bart Veeraswamy range

Have a look at the site, let us know what you think www.bartspices.com

Links on the right if you want some more!

The site does not promote that the domains are purchased from OFFICIAL SOURCES Nominet or GKG as we would recommend but it does tell you what’s available.

Cornish Cottage Holidays website

The site features a modern, fresh approach to design, employing carousels to highlight special offers and new products, innovative Flash based features to maintain user interest, and possibly one of the easiest booking systems of any accommodation provider, immediately responding to three key questions – When are you coming, how long will you be staying, and how many people are you bringing with you? Once these three basic questions are answered, the site displays all the accommodation that is specific to you, and then you can narrow this down further by selecting from a range of other options, all developed with the primary business focus of making it easy to book accommodation.

The site synchronises with their offline cottage booking management system, and shows a live report of what cottages are available in a highly intuitive visual calendar format. Once the visitor has found their accommodation the booking procedure is simple, with online payment options and confirmation of the booking to provide a completely professional customer experience without frustration which features in so many other holiday accommodation websites.

We also undertake all the online marketing for this client, and we’ve achieved some extremely impressive results, from a 100% occupancy rate for several months last year, to a significantly marked increase in Return On Investment when compared to traditional offline advertising returns.

Why not book your next holiday in Cornwall? It’s just like being in a different country but without the hassle. Cornwall has some superb weather, you don’t need to queue up at the border and take off your belt and your shoes, no visas to worry about, we use the same currency as the rest of the UK, we’ve got real Cornish pasties (yes, real ones – not the ones you’ve been used to), clotted cream, spectacular scenery, gardens, beaches, and on top of that we’re all friendly and won’t eat your children. I can’t say fairer than that.

Visit www.cornishcottageholidays.co.uk to experience the wonder. Oh, and another attraction for you, should you need one, is that we’re here too, so you could pop in to our offices on the banks of the River Fal estuary to discuss your company’s website while you’re here! See you soon.

One thing I did find in my online travels which is fantastic is this:

http://www.archive.org/details/feature_films

There’s a whole host of the old black and white classics on here, and now that we’re in for some rainy weekends you’ve got no excuse to not make your own popcorn, put your feet up, and have your own Saturday afternoon picture show with classics such as Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe Chapter 3 (Flash, Dale, and Zarkov return to Planet Mongo to find an antidote for the Purple Death), the Hitchcock classic The 39 Steps with Robert Donat as Richard Hannay, or if you’re looking for something a bit more modern how about the comedy western McClintock starring John Wayne, or The Snows Of Kilimanjaro with Gregory Peck.  They don’t make them like that any more.