NetSecrets Blog : Web Design and SEO

Server Colocation

It's been true for a long time that the data centres in London Docklands are the place to house your web servers. We have always kept our kit in either Telehouse Europe and Globalswitch and it's a policy that has served us well.

But space is running out! Or more accurately power is running out. Without massive investment in power provision in the Docklands area the availability of electrical power is going to put a stop to expansion. This is already making it difficult to source rack spave for servers and is driving prices higher and higher.

Our solution to this is to build our own data centre, outside of Docklands, but go as far as possible in replicating the benefits of being in Docklands without the problems of cost and scarcity.

Watch this space for a major announcement in a few weeks time!

http://www.netsecrets.co.uk/colo-and-servers.html

Testimonials On Websites

I think it's pretty well accepted that websites are pretty impersonal and that it's a good idea to try to introduce more personal content to counter this.

One way to do it is to work hard on the Company Profile / About Us page, effectively introducing the people the potential client will be dealing with using photos and even videos, but more on that another day.

A very effective way of adding personal content is to include client testimonials. Often your business will be a new name to your visitors and they will probably not be local to you so word of mouth won't be a factor in establishing your credibility. However good third party testimonials will enhance your reputation and generate trust in visitors.

We at NetSecrets are members of BNI, a business referral organisation (www.bni-blackpear.co.uk), and receive written testimonials from satisfied clients on a regular basis through BNI. We have evolved a very specific way of using these on our website, as follows:

http://www.netsecrets.co.uk/testimonials.html

We include an image of the letter received from the client which links to a pdf of the same letter. This is to make it clear we didn't make up the testimonial. The client's full contact details are there so the potential client can call them to check out their views.

Secondly we include the text from the testimonial since invariably they include good keywords and so make the page attractive to search engines.

It takes a little bit of time to maintain the testimonials page but it's worth it for the benfits it brings.

ProjExc Project Management Consultancy

Just wanted to post a thank you to John Williams of ProjExc. Over the past few months he has helped NetSecrets enormously in developing better procedures and systems for delivering web design and development projects on time and within budget.

It's easy to think that you only need good project management if you are building a power station or designing a new car but in reality every task undertaken in a business is a project and so benefits from the application of professional project management techniques.

It's hard to generalise but we reckon that a website design and build that took 10 weeks in the past is live in 5 or 6 now. that makes the client happier but also has a major effect on our profitability and cash flow. It particualrly helps in that we can now take on more work with the same resource.

If anyone wants more detail get in touch and I'll gladly elaborate or visit John's website: www.projexc.com or email him on john@projexc.com.