The projects I have worked on have been as varied as complex ecommerce sites to small business developments, you can read more about this on my about us page here and my Linked In Profile is here http://www.linkedin.com/in/alistairg

“…Alistair enables us to put our ideas into reality on the website by his forward and innovative thinking. He is down to earth and very easy to work with. He has the natural ability to explain the most technical point, relating to websites or social media, in an easy to understand way”

Sarah Burden, PR Manager, Devon Air Ambulance

So how does the service I offer work and why should you use me?

Well to START with my service begins with a free no obligation chat and review of what you are looking to accomplish and why, seeing what your budgets and aspirations are both for the website and the promoting and online marketing of it when it is built. This initial meeting is free, I am based in Exeter so if geography plays a part then we can always use Skype.

Following this I can then put together a draft of what I see you are trying to achieve and how I can help you achieve this.  This will include cost outlines both of my service and target budgets for the web development and online marketing.

The key difference between an Independent Internet Project Manager (myself) and a web company’s own account manager is how they prioritise your business needs. I work exclusively for the YOU the customer, whereas a web company’s own account manager works for that Internet Development Company.

When I am hired to work for YOU I follow a 3 stage process. FIRST this sees a full web specification created that uses all my experience of web development and your knowledge of your business. This ensures that any web company called on to quote will have all the information they need. This is agreed and signed off with you.

As touched on already, the Full Build & Development service is my speciality. As your adviser, carrying out full due diligence and negotiating the best possible terms for YOU is my primary interest.

SECOND I then visit up to three web companies using my experience who I feel have the best skills to complete the work required of them and invite them to quote. These are then summarised in my comprehensive report.

When you are happy to go ahead I’ll negotiate on your behalf, using my expertise to ensure YOU are getting the best solution. I then continue to monitor every step to your successful website build, working closely with your chosen providers and any other advisers to help resolve any issues that may arise.

The final part for YOU is getting a website built that is delivered on time, within budget and exceeding your expectation, removing all the pain and hassle from dealing with technology company’s covering stuff you may not understand or being sold stuff you just dont need or even simply have time to deal with – I remove the hassle, manage the trouble and deliver what you want.

To contact me to discuss further either email me at alistair@gleavemedia.co.uk or complete my contact form on this site.

With over a decade of Internet and web development experience I know the tricks of the trade, I have worked with clients as varied as Big Brother 2 to a small Exeter Hotel, a National Franchise and a ecommerce site turning over a £1million pounds – a fair bit of experience I am sure you agree?

So what does this mean for you? Well why approach a web company and not clearly understanding what you need and then be sold what they want to sell you – as they dont clearly understand your business requirements.  

Wouldnt it be better to know what your business needs and requirements are first?  We can then approach web companies that can best meet those needs and offer your business the best solution – surely this is a better way?

I see the service I offer as a win/win – let me explain, you get the best site that works as a tool for your business, all for the best budget AND the web company can work with a client that has a clear understanding of what they envisage as the outcome and the confidence in that client/businesses expectations.

To enquire how i can bring your web needs to fruition why not contact me for a free no obligation chat – click to visit the contact form on my site.

If this is you, then the chances are you already need someone who knows the ropes surely engaging a web professional for your company’s website build and development surely is just good common sense?

First a little about me – i have been in the web industry since 1999 I pretty much know all the tricks of the trade having working for two leading Exeter Web Design Companies, KMS Internet and Optix Solutions. I have worked with all sorts of projects; from complex ecommerce sites to small business developments, you can read more about this on my about us page here and my Linked In Profile is here http://www.linkedin.com/in/alistairg

“…Alistair enables us to put our ideas into reality on the website by his forward and innovative thinking. He is down to earth and very easy to work with. He has the natural ability to explain the most technical point, relating to websites or social media, in an easy to understand way”

Sarah Burden, PR Manager, Devon Air Ambulance

The key difference between an Website Project Manager (myself) and an in house web account manager is who they represent. I work exclusively for the YOU the customer, whereas the web companies own account manager works for that web company.

To contact me to discuss further either email me at me at alistairgleave.co.uk or complete my contact form on this site.

In an increasingly busy and competitive world, hiring an independent web professional for your company’s website build and development surely is just good common sense.

The key difference between an Independent Internet Project Manager (myself) and a web company’s own account manager is how they prioritise your business needs. I work exclusively for the YOU the customer, whereas a web company’s own account manager works for that Internet Development Company.

I am delighted to offer a service where i can work for your business using all my experience to ensure you get a website built that is delivered on time, within budget and exceeding your expectation, removing all the pain and hassle from dealing with technology company’s covering stuff you may not understand or being sold stuff you just dont need or even simply have time to deal with – I remove the hassle, manage the trouble and deliver what you want.

As for experience well I have been in the web industry since 1999 and I pretty much know all the tricks of the trade, having worked in my time for two leading Exeter Web Design Companies, KMS Internet and Optix Solutions.

You can find my LinkedIn Profile here http://www.linkedin.com/in/alistairg and a couple of quote from satisfied customers are taken from this profile.

“I can sum this up in very few words: “Alistair REALLY knows his stuff.” You want a few more? OK – He’s a focused and realistic marketing professional. If you want a no-nonsense, down-to-earth and plain English approach, you really should be speaking with Alistair.”

Sue Haswell – Big Results Marketing

“Al is a very detail processed individual which has managed the business link between our two companies for the last 3 years. He has at all times provided excellent support and direction in difficult times. His ability to see through the issues and resolve the route has always been an inspiration to me.”

Aboo Cattran – Sportsman Gun Centre.

You can find our more on my blog here http://www.alistairgleave.co.uk/website-project-management/ or contact me here .

VR images can be grouped together into Virtual Tours providing a great tool for showing people around establishments online from the comfort of their home, office or now even mobile devices. Virtual tours can also be displayed on interactive screens, kiosks, television panel’s etc…

A virtual tour can add a lot of value to online marketing and become a worthwhile investment. The average time spent viewing VR images is between 2 – 3 minutes, a virtual tour of 10 images can keep someone’s attention for up to 30 minutes. People enjoy interacting with virtual tours and often share them with friends and family.

These tours are a great tool when marketing property for sale or rental. Peter Stephens, a photographer based in Devon produces many of these images for estate agents, holiday homes, hotels etc… and they have proved to be of great benefit to his clients.

Good examples of virtual tours can be found here;

Looking back at the most read stories on my blog this year, it seems readers have been concentrating on local issues, with Christmas worryingly popular even in September. A review of the Charity Social Media Seminar also proved very popular.

July: Twitter Case Study – Westfield Shopping Centre London
If you haven’t been you need to, this is a new and simply massive shopping centre in West London, also with a dedicated social media presence I can highly recommend a visit.

August: Dawlish Airshow 2009 – The Devon Air Ambulance
The Airshow in Dawlish is one of my highlights of the summer, and when the Devon Air Ambulance popped in to say hello we weren’t disappointed.

September: The three signs you know Christmas is coming to Exeter
One of my favourites I have to say, the question to be asked is September to early, well I think so don’t you?

October: Debenhams outlet on eBay and Amazon
As a keen ‘eBayer’ this is something I have watched with interest, they aren’t the first big store onto eBay and Amazon and I don’t think they will be the last.

November: Charity Social Media Seminar in Exeter
A great event that certainly got lots of feedback and comments, it’s good to work with the charitable sector and this was certainly no exception.

December: Should I buy Life Insurance, do I need Life Insurance?
Boring yes I know, but if you have a family you need some, well I think so anyway so why not blog about it.

Other Favourites

Vulcan to the Sky XH558

The Victoria and Albert Museum

Hello there! If you are new here why not subscribe to my RSS feed for updates on this and other topics.
Surely the internet has proved to be a great place for anyone and everybody to remember someone and build some kind of profile to that, take the eternal moonwalk a place where you to can be like Michael Jackson and upload your 10 second tribute for all to see. Or maybe we should remember on these cold days back to the sunny Dawlish Airshow and the Devon Air Ambulance as well as the simply amazing Vulcan surely an awesome machine.

So my top posts of the year are;

Online food delivery, progress or a killer of the local village shop? a really important question for the community we live in that surely really needs us all to support these village amenities so they dont disappear for good.

Twitter case study – Westfield Shopping Centre this has to be one of the most amazing shopping centres i have been to. Indeed i dont think the words ‘shopping centre’ does it justice, and with a fab social media strategy they are definately one to follow.

The Importance of Quality Photography for your websiteand this is my business, helping people get the most from their website and imagery i think is so important and quite often overlooked.

And finally worthy of mention is the post five ways for a business to get its social networking right, a fact so often overlooked.

So Merry Christmas to all my readers from 2009 and heres to 2010 if you’ve liked what i’ve written or even hated it please leave a comment i dont mind.

Alistair
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Even after 10 years in the internet industry I still get asked about the domain suffixes and what is best for my business, ‘should I buy the .biz or .com or .co.uk’ etc etc. The answer to this isn’t always simple as the choice of a domain suffix that you think you like the sound of, yes I still get them; ‘my business sounds better as xyz.com’. I think you should ask the simple question of who are you aiming to communicate your message to?

Summary
If your goal is to communicate, sell your products or even just connect with people in different parts of the world then you need a non country specific suffix on your domain, for example .com or .net.

If on the other hand like me you are after the UK only then a .co.uk domain will be fine.

The only reason after buying the .co.uk to then buy the .com is to protect your brand, maybe from competitors or growth your feel the business may enjoy in the coming years.

Photographs and graphics are often the first thing the eye is drawn to. Text is rarely read unless the viewer has an interest in it. People’s attention span can be very short, a matter of seconds while viewing web pages. To overcome this the use of professional photography and well designed layout will capture the viewer’s attention resulting in them spending more time on the site. When their attention is captured they are more likely to read into the site and hopefully take the next step of placing that all-important order with you.

See the two examples above to see the difference between good and well just not up to the job, far to much light and doesnt give the room justice in anyway shape or form.

A skilled photographer will be able to accurately capture the environment he is shooting, creating high quality images that will pay for themselves over time. The images will be well composed, correctly lit and undistorted.

Now that Internet speeds are much higher and more readily available, newer technologies are worth considering. Photography has come a long way since the days of film. An environment can now be re-created as a photographic virtual reality scene, which users can interact with. Interaction means spending more time on the website and taking in more information.

Another fairly new technology is to be able to rotate an object [tag]360 degrees [/tag] around – interacting with the whole object rather than just viewing the front.

These newer forms of photography are really good at grabbing the users attention and keeping them engaged for an average of 3 minutes. With careful design the power of these new techniques can be harnessed and used with great effect.

Many thanks to Pete Stephens for supplying the ‘before and after’ shots, to see examples of his work please visit his website.

I like it when a customer can produce a number of documents and help you help them, it may be you both site down and ‘thrash’ it out, I have seen layouts on post if notes, A3 pads – basically whatever helps clarify what you require will help a web company.


So i have summarised my 3 top tips below.

• What do you do, business wise, products youmay sell, and how do you achieve this currently?

This is your opportunity to ‘sell’ you business, you are approaching web companies so they can help you, and the best way for them to help you is to understand what it is you do.

• What do you want the website to achieve, is it lower costs, selling into new markets or simply getting new sales leads.

There may be opportunities here to have demonstrated new ways of doing something; email marketing for instance is very cost effective compared with print. A company I worked for recently just wanted to reduce their reliance on mail order so I helped them go online and in 2 years their site has turned over £1 million, and from a standing start this is very good.

• What system have you in place to develop and manage this site through the build stages to launch, in terms of in house contact through to PR an ongoing budget when the site is launched.

I believe this is one of the most important aspects of a [tag]web development[/tag] and often overlooked, just who will provide the copy? Who is going to sign off the design? Etc etc. Then when the site is due to go live, any pre PR planned even if a holding page to collect data upto the launch date itself all needs to be planned and budgeted for, you shouldn’t just rely on the site going live and there you go, let’s sit back and watch the leads/sales roll on in – IT WONT HAPPEN.

Any web company worth their salt will take you through the whole process from start to finish and guide you through the opportunities – some of which you may never have heard off or thought off – it’s their job.

And finally we always like to know a timescale and budget as realistically the only thing that constrains a site is the client brief and budget, you may now want to give one but it doesn’t half help.