raindust internet

Web Design

The internet has become a vitally important method of communication. Increasingly, people turn to the web to find the information, products and services they need. Business and other organisations without a web presence risk losing an ever growing number of potential customers to competitors who have made use of the web. Even many clubs and societies have made use of the web to build up support, and provide current information to their members. More recently, there has been a tremendous surge in personal websites, many featuring weblogs or 'blogs' which allow their owners to add new entries to their website quickly and easily without any knowledge of the underlying code.

At Raindust Internet we can create all kinds of website, ranging from informational web sites for small businesses, clubs and societies to complete e-commerce systems. We can include full content management systems, allowing you to edit your site, add blog entries and many other features quickly and easily without any programming knowledge.

If you order a Raindust Internet design solution, we will maintain constant contact throughout the design process. Initial prototype designs are produced with your input and including any business artwork or colours you wish to feature. A design is produced taking in to account your feedback, comments and wishes throughout the process until the finished website has been developed to your specifications. As with any website design, the client is expected to supply the content for the web pages (i.e. the text of hte web pages along with any pictures/photographs you wish to be included).

Your web site will require a web hosting package, which does not have to be with Raindust Internet although we are confident that you will find our range of high quality hosting accounts very competitive. As a special offer, we are including free hosting for a year with any Raindust Internet hosting account when ordered with a design solution.

Please request a free, no obligation quotation, contact us to discuss your requirements.

Styles of Websites

Most of the websites we design fall in to three broad styles:

Informational Websites

Sometimes called 'brochure-style' sites, these are static in nature and provide several pages of information about the company or organisation, and the products or services they offer, as well as contact details. They are the most common type of website and are typically used by small businesses (particularly professional, service-based businesses) and clubs, societies and other organisations.

From a business perspective, their principal aim is to provide a 'shop front', allowing people to find information about the company and its products and services, and to provide contact information so that interested potential customers can contact you by e-mail, telephone or other means to discuss their exact requirements. For clubs, societies and other organisations, their function is very similar, providing an information portal through which interested individuals and current members can find information and contact details.

Informational websites can include an online form through which potential customers can easily contact you for further information.

Features of a Raindust Internet informational website design include:

We provide guide prices for informational website design solutions for sites of up to 15 pages. However, please note that these are guide prices only, please discuss your requirements with us by requesting a free, no obligation quotation. Our guide prices are as follows:

PagesPrice
1-5£249.00
6-10£339.00
11-15£399.00
more than 15Please request a free quote

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Database-driven Websites

Database-driven websites feature a database storage solution. This allows information to be stored in a fast, searchable, editable space creating a wide variety of possibilities. A common use for databases is for 'blogs' or content management systems (CMS). CMS software allows the user to edit their web site, add entries to blogs, add and remove pages and many other administration features, all from a simple web interface. This means the website owner can update their website easily and quickly and does not need to know anything about the underlying code.

Clearly, this provides a very powerful feature that is becoming increasingly popular with the recent explosion of 'blogging' websites.

Other uses for database systems include the storage of a catalogue of items, such as in online stores (e-commerce websites). However, this need not feature a full e-commerce system and there are many instances of when a searchable catalogue of items is used on a website without e-commerce facilities. A common example is on many estate agents' websites where the catalogue of houses for sale is stored in a database which can be updated easily by the estage agent staff without any knowledge of the underlying code. The web user can search the database from the website to find relevant properties, and can contact the estate agents for further information.

Features of a Raindust Internet database-driven website design include:

A database-driven website requires a hosting package with MySQL (or other) database facilities, such as the Raindust Internet standard or professional hosting accounts.

Due to wildy varying size and complexity of database-driven website designs, it is not possible to provide detailed guide prices for such work. Please discuss your requirements with us by requesting a free, no obligation quotation.
 

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E-commerce Websites

The principal feature of e-commerce websites is the software that provides the functionality that is familiar to online shoppers. The site features a browsable database of products, from which the user can add items to a 'shopping basket' facility. The user can then continue to a 'checkout' where they can purchase the contents of their shopping basket. This functionality, along with others such as account management and order tracking make up the customer's experience of the software.

From an administrator's perspective, the e-commerce software allows them to manage the database of products, receive orders, and manage invoices and customer contacts. The system can seamlessly and securely integrate with a payment gateway. We can provide advice on arranging to accept credit cards online and setting up a payment gateway.

Features of a Raindust Internet e-commerce website design include:

With a payment gateway customers' credit card details are transmitted securely by the gateway provider, however if you wish to accept other sensitive information you would be advised to use a hosting package with a secure SSL facility, such as any Raindust Internet hosting account. The e-commerce system will require the use of databases to store the product catalogue and web site content, so you will need a hosting account with MySQL (or similar) database facilities. Raindust Internet standard and professional hosting accounts have MySQL database facilities.

If you are interested in an e-commerce website design, please discuss your requirements with us by requesting a free, no obligation quotation.

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