News from 18a Productions

Can we already get too much "on demand"?

2nd October 2009 08:36 by lisa

Tom just had a call from BT, trying to sell him BT Vision - their TV service where you buy a box for £15 and then for a small amount a month (the prices all sounded OK to be honest) you can get lots of channels, and as well the… Read more

MuchBetterAdventures.com nearly ready for launch.... including new banner pallette

2nd October 2009 03:35 by lisa

We're getting very excited here at 18a Towers, as the new adventure sports travel website muchbetteradventures.com is nearly ready to go live! We met with Alex and Ed on Tuesday to run through the first working version of the site and now we're just finishing off some of the wealth… Read more

Example of a good email newsletter by firebox.

2nd October 2009 03:24 by lisa

For a while now I've thought Firebox newsletters have been good, with eye catching designs that perform well, such as the one below. Even if you're using an email client that can't display the background image, the centre area is still very smart. But I was particularly impressed by their… Read more

HTML email template for UKForex

28th September 2009 04:14 by lisa

Foreign Exchange company UKForex came to us for an HTML template to be designed and built so that the emails they send to their private and corporate clients were more attractive than just plain text. They will be sending it using their inhouse email system, and it may be rolled… Read more

18a Orchard bears fruit!

21st September 2009 07:59 by lisa

I really thought Tom's Dad, who very kindly let us plant the 18a Orchard on his farm, was playing a joke on me by sticking an apple on to one of our tiny little saplings when I walked across the field to check out the orchard the other day. But… Read more

New collection of Halloween banners for AQuarterOf

21st September 2009 07:02 by lisa

This morning I've been busy making a new pallette of creative for one of our Affiliate Management clients, AQuarterOf. The retro sweet shop are of course very popular at this time of year, what with Trick or Treat being the topic of the next 6 weeks! So I wanted to… Read more

Update your browser

17th September 2009 14:42 by lisa

Hurrah! We are all behind this campaign from updateyourbrowser.net - not only are old browsers slow, they just don't let you experience the cool stuff the web has to offer now a days! And the longer web developers and designers have to support rubbish IE6 and others, the longer jobs… Read more

LovelyTart.com - updates to new client's site

17th September 2009 04:37 by lisa

I've loved the style of Tart on Gloucester Road ever since before they even opened last year - our old offices were practically next door so we could see the interior design coming together every day and couldn't wait to get inside. By the time we introduced ourselves to our… Read more

VivienMallock.co.uk - updates to sculptor's website

15th September 2009 04:38 by lisa

I had seen the remarkable work of Vivien Mallock a few months ago, and it didn't cross my mind that we would get a call asking us to host and maintain her site. It seems the site was originally made with software (I think Dreamweaver, but I'm a hand-coded kinda… Read more

AQuarterOf feature in the Sunday Times

7th September 2009 06:23 by lisa

My my, it really was a busy day yesterday for our clients getting great media coverage! AQuarterOf, the old fashioned online sweet shop for whom we do affiliate management, had a feature in the Sunday Times yesterday; an interview with their founder Michael Parker about how he made AQuarterOf the… Read more

UKPropertyClub.co.uk feature in the Observer

7th September 2009 04:44 by lisa

We're very excited for our client ukpropertyclub.co.uk, as they were featured in the Observer yesterday, in a half page article complete with a photo of one of their members! ukpropertyclub helps like minded co-renters, co-buyers and co-letters find each other and work together to get the properties they want. The… Read more

CompetitionsandGiveaways.co.uk launches.

6th September 2009 14:17 by lisa

Yey! Finally a spare weekend so I can put together my designs for my new hobby site. I've had the domain and PSDs sitting around for months - and now I finally have a working site to show for it. CompetitionsandGiveaways.co.uk lists prizes and freebies up for grabs across the… Read more

Google Maps API geo locating

4th September 2009 14:33 by lisa

It was a late night last night, as Tom was keen to get his new site live. HallsHire.com is a site of Tom's that he made ages ago (2004 I think...) that was in certain need of a revamp. It was written in Perl, and whilst it worked fine, it… Read more

And a new home page for nbs...

29th August 2009 14:24 by lisa

Ok, so I couldn't leave it at new landing pages. Once the nbs bug got me again, I was hooked! So the site now has a much cooler (we think) home page, allowing us to feature competitions and features, and link to shopping and delivery guides. Plus with a section… Read more

New naturalbornshopper.co.uk shopping landing pages

25th August 2009 12:07 by lisa

It's always your own projects that get neglected when you've got lots of client work on (which we're not complaining about!) but I finally had some evenings to put together the magazine pages for naturalbornshopper.co.uk that I've been planning for months! I hope you like them! Shown below are the… Read more

The importance of a good meta description

21st August 2009 04:30 by lisa

Whilst debate still rages as to whether Google takes any notice of meta keywords anymore (keywords you put in the head of your webpage, that you and your visitors don't see, but that Google and all other search engines do), it's still vital to have strong title tags and, I… Read more

Clarke Willmott internal HTML email newsletter templates

19th August 2009 09:28 by lisa

Clarke Willmott's PR company, JBP, asked us to build their HTML email newsletter templates from designs done by Stuff. We really like the designs and they suit emails really well, as there are several things to be wary of when designing good HTML emails. The main thing is that they… Read more

New Hop Pocket Wine Co site goes live

18th August 2009 12:20 by lisa

Yey! We're all very excited about the launch of the new Hop Pocket Wine Co website. The site is built around oscommerce, as the specialist wine shop already had an online shop using the software, and so wanted to quickly and easily be able to refill their database of hundreds… Read more

3 new instructions for 18a

18th August 2009 04:10 by lisa

We are delighted to be working on new projects for 3 new clients over the next couple of months. Orchard Osteopaths unfortunately had a rough ride with their last web development team and the site never launched, so we're picking up the baton and have the designs under the way… Read more

Website planning - muchbetteradventures.com

10th August 2009 04:58 by lisa

We're always telling our clients that planning a website before the build begins is vital. And never has this been more true than with the planning of muchbetteradventures.com. The guys behind the site, Alex and Ed, have loads of great ideas and so it's been a detailed process to wire… Read more

Stressed Eric build for Aardman

30th July 2009 04:23 by lisa

It's not every day you step into work and are greeted by an Oscar! But I was this morning when I arrived at the Gas Ferry Road Aardman studios. I was there to build their design for the new Stressed Eric website, and after all Tom had said about the… Read more

New blueCRM site goes live

22nd July 2009 07:43 by lisa

The new blue CRM site has gone live, for which we designed and built the front end, and planned and wireframed the back end/member area for their in-house team to build in .net. They produced the video on the home page in-house, and we included checking scripts so that if… Read more

HTML Aardman email

11th July 2009 04:12 by lisa

Tom got called into Aardman's HQ this week to build an HTML email for the Oscar Winning animation and digital company. The newsletter was designed inhouse, but needed to be coded into suitable HTML to be mailed out using an HTML email service to their thousands of newsletter subscribers. This… Read more

We've moved! New premises for 18a Productions

1st July 2009 07:29 by lisa

Exciting times for 18a Productions, as we've just moved from 18a Gloucester Road (sob! a special place in our hearts!) to our new offices near the top of White Ladies Road, Bristol. Our new phone number is: 01179 680989. Email addresses and our web address stay the same. Below is… Read more

UK Property Club site launches

25th June 2009 05:25 by lisa

We were very excited to set ukpropertyclub.co.uk live - we built the site a while ago, but the company decided to pause the launch until a more suitable time in the economic climate. So now it's live - and if you're looking to co-invest, co-buy, or co-let a property, hop over… Read more

HTML email builds for Matrix Group

1st June 2009 05:08 by lisa

I've been busy this month building a variety of email templates for the Matrix Group and all their divisions from the designs they've had done. The templates have to suit their HTML email newsletter system and be easy for their team to update quickly - in some cases everyday. I… Read more

Pet shopping section for mypettrade.co.uk

21st May 2009 04:37 by lisa

Tom's just finished adding the great new features to the mypettrade.co.uk shopping section, so you can now choose from over 22,000 products for your pet shopping. Cron Jobs mean the feeds are updated from top pet retailers every night, and mypettrade can choose "featured products" for the scroller on the… Read more

SecondLook photo marathon exhibition on Friday night.

20th May 2009 08:44 by lisa

At the weekend 18a Productions took part in the SecondLook Bristol Photo Marathon. At precisely 10.30am all 120 participants were allowed to open an envelope containing a list of photo subjects. We then had to run away and take the listed photos on a disposable camera - just 1 pic… Read more

Working remotely - from Italian mountains!

18th May 2009 03:00 by lisa

Everyone's always telling us "the great thing about your job is that you can do it from anywhere". So we thought we'd test it. And went on our first holiday for 18 months (since the birth of 18a) to a teleworking village in the mountains in Italy. As you can… Read more

Have a Digital Spring Clean and Clear out your Old Websites

30th April 2009 09:11 by tom

If you're anything like me, you'll probably have dozens or even hundreds of old websites hanging around your hard drive, gathering virtual dust, that never quite developed into the world dominating websites you first intended them to be. Maybe they bring in a few quid now and then, but lets… Read more

Finishing touches to GetStuckIn.org

21st April 2009 09:54 by lisa

Today I've been doing the finishing touches to GetStuckIn.org - a website portal for vinvolved North Somerset, helping young people find volunteereing opportunities in the South West. The initiative is a national programme run by vinvolved, with regional organisers - in this case, Changemakers and 2qab Community Interest Company. The… Read more

A Beginner Merchant’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing

15th April 2009 03:39 by lisa

Yesterday I wrote an Affiliate's Guide to Affiliate Marketing - so today I'm doing the same but from the point of view of a Merchant - a retailer or shop owner. As yesterday, there's far too much to it for one blog post, but I'll give an overview… Read more

A Beginner Affiliate's Guide to Affiliate Marketing

14th April 2009 03:00 by lisa

We often get asked to explain what Affiliate Marketing is - and whilst there's far too much too it for one blog post, I can at least give an over view here.

If you're considering entering into the Affiliate Marketing world though, give us a shout as we provide consultancy… Read more

On a screen near you...

6th April 2009 09:08 by lisa

We were very excited today to see one of our latest designs on BBC 2's Working Lunch. The great new website Stuff2Send.com which we've been working on since it's launch, adding new features and giving it a fresh look, was featured as part of Money Saving Monday. The feature clearly… Read more

Designing Cross Browser.

20th March 2009 12:06 by lisa

Neat, well put together code can often avoid major browser compatibility issues. But can still be the odd few problems - especially when a design calls for a certain amount of words on one line etc etc. There are some web services out there they check compatibility for you by… Read more

StreetChance supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports new CMS goes live.

17th March 2009 13:08 by lisa

We were very pleased last year to be asked to build a microsite for StreetChance, a partnership between the English Cricket Board/Chance to shine, Barclays Spaces for Sports, Cricket for Change, Positive Futures and the Metropolitan Police Service. Now, as the initiative to engage young people across London boroughs with cricket… Read more

Happy Birthday to the World Wide Web!

17th March 2009 12:51 by lisa

20 years ago, when I was already older than I care to remember, Tim Berners-Lee, and later his chum Robert Cailliau, were busy writing a proposal for an idea called "WorldWideWeb". You can read it at w3.org - a very nicely put together doc. The idea was to be able to browse large quantities of information, using… Read more

Noel Gallagher and Wired Strings news sent from 18amail.co.uk

13th March 2009 06:16 by lisa

Buy The Sunday Times this weekend! I've just built and sent an email in 18amail telling Wired Strings fans about a CD that they have worked on with Noel Gallagher in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, that's free this weekend with The Sunday Times. The Album, entitled ‘The Dreams We Have As Children’,… Read more

BBC World Record dreams dashed!

12th March 2009 07:24 by lisa

Tom and I were delighted to be invited by the BBC to witness a World Record Attempt last night in Bristol. Kev F Sutherland entertained us for 1 hour with 470+ jokes, both written by himself and submitted by the public. As pointed out by the Official Guiness World Record Adjudicator, the… Read more

Working on a shoestring...

10th March 2009 10:30 by lisa

I am! Literally! Shoestring.org.uk to be precise! Shoestring is a collaboration between several London based companies who all have experience of working together and are now offering their services to Museums - at a good price (hence the name!). 3D designers, graphic designers, writers and content developers have all joined forces to help… Read more

New blog category - what we're up to!

10th March 2009 10:24 by lisa

We've decided we should share the word about some of the exciting projects we're a part of every day! So welcome to our new category, to keep you up to date with what we're up to! Read more

18amail soft launch - send and monitor HTML emails to your mailing list.

11th February 2009 18:52 by lisa

We are extremely excited to annouce the soft-launch of 18amail.co.uk. After many clients asked us for an affordable system which would allow them to create and manage mailing lists, as well as send and schedule HTML emails, we created a system to give any one all the functionality they could dream… Read more

A tree for every website.

11th February 2009 18:44 by lisa

We promised to plant a tree for every website we make. So at the end of 2008, we got busy planting our own little 18a Orchard in a beautiful part of Worcestershire. We planted a selection of Apple trees (inc. Bramleys and Cox Orange Pippen), some Cherry trees, and -… Read more

BBC TV ad error spotted!

6th January 2009 14:25 by lisa

Ok, so this is about as geeky as it gets... but on a rather nice animation for BBC 3 (you know - the kind they play whilst the voice over says what's coming next etc - know they've got a name but can't think what it is...) there was a… Read more

Stephen Fry is now following you on Twitter!

24th November 2008 08:04 by tom

This totally made my morning! The Dancer, couturier, superheavyweight boxer and rapper Stephen Fry is now following us on Twitter! (Ok along with another 19,372 people) but still really made my morning! Thanks Stephen, thoroughly decent of you! :) Read more

Retailers who currently don't submit feeds to comparison engines may be missing out!

14th November 2008 12:56 by tom

According to an online shopping survey conducted by e-consultancy, retailers who currently don't submit feeds to comparison engines may be missing out on the growth of online shopping. With 56% of consumers claiming their online spending will not be effected by the 'credit crunch' and 62% claiming they are now… Read more

Web Design Time Breakdown

21st October 2008 10:31 by tom

Sometimes it's really hard to know where all the time has gone, suddenly you look up, and it's time for lunch, then before you know it, it's getting dark! This pie-chart breaking down the time spent in modern web design amused me, hehe, how true! Except it doesn't count for… Read more

18a in the Guardian!

10th October 2008 11:36 by lisa

Jemima Kiss, a blogger for The Guardian, interviewed Tom a little while ago (and requested some photos - eek!) about our site PriceCheck.at. Pricecheck.at is a quick and easy to use tool for checking the price of items when you are out and about on your mobile phone. So next… Read more

Happy birthday to us!

23rd September 2008 10:44 by lisa

This week marks the first birthday of 18a productions! And so to celebrate, we had a little party with our friends and work colleagues on Saturday, complete with birthday cake and party bags. Unfortunately the cake, along with the BBQ, disappeared before we had chance to take any photos...! We'd… Read more

Making Payments with your Mobile

8th September 2008 07:19 by tom

Apparently according to a report by O2, 9 out of 10 people who took part in their six-month trial were happy to pay for stuff using their mobile phone, instead of the traditional credit card. The technology, called field communications technology or NFC for short, works by… Read more

Google launch their new browser - Google Chrome

2nd September 2008 05:27 by lisa

So the inevitable has happened - Google have built their first browser, set to take on Microsoft and leave Internet Explorer as a distant memory.News of today's launch was 'leaked' to Google Blog-oscoped (the blog by Philipp Lenssen - which is currently down, probably due to having been visited just… Read more

The importance of telephone support.

29th August 2008 08:55 by lisa

I have 2 clients at the moment who both have .com domains registered with budget - and in one instance, extremely well known - hosting companies / domain registrars. All each of them need is that .com redirected to their website that is running on the .co.uk. I do not… Read more

From India with Love...

27th August 2008 10:52 by tom

Outsourcing to India is nothing new. But today alone we've been cold called by 3 companies, all based in India, wanting us to outsource technical development. I'm not sure if this is good news or not really, but I do know it's very annoying to have the same conversation over… Read more

Hunt for the Perfect CMS

15th August 2008 05:13 by tom

Probably the most commonly requested requirement for a website is the ability for the client to add and edit pages. It sounds such a simple requirement, but in reality it's really tricky to get the balance right between functionality, flexibility and the level of technical skills required. There are literally… Read more

How to Let your Users Create Desktop Shortcuts to your Website

12th August 2008 04:25 by tom

Bookmarks are very handy for remembering sites you like, but wouldn't it be really neat to let your users create a proper icon on their desktop that links directly through to your website? Or even a link in the Quick Launch bar right next to the start button. Using Gears… Read more

Count down for press launch!

11th August 2008 03:09 by lisa

We were extremely proud to be commissioned to build the website for the StreetChance supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports campaign recently; a partnership between Chance to shine, Barclays Spaces for Sports, Cricket for Change, Positive Futures and the Metropolitan Police Service. The initiative is a three year project, initially… Read more

Round the coast of Ireland on a bike! They Must be Nuts!

7th August 2008 07:06 by tom

Our friends over at Wibfilm are leaving this Saturday to start their ambitious cycle ride round the coast of Ireland and in the process no doubt testing the theory that you can live off Guinness for 2 weeks! ;) The trip will be starting on the 11th of August 2008… Read more

DELL gets pretty

5th August 2008 12:14 by lisa

Wow! I absolutely love these new DELL computers! And I defy anyone not to think they look stunning and crave one for their desk! Dell claim it's their greenest, most "power-efficient consumer desktop", as it uses 70% less power than a regular desktop and has an 87% efficient power supply.… Read more

Friends Reunited TV advertising campaign

30th July 2008 04:51 by lisa

A few weeks ago I wrote about how Friends Reunited had announced their site is now free for users - in an attempt to catch up with Facebook I presumed. Well I've just seen a TV ad for the 'new Friends Reunited' website on ITV! Correct me if I'm wrong,… Read more

Firefox Guinness World Record Download Attempt

21st June 2008 12:18 by tom

Has Firefox Set the Guinness Record for the most downloads in a 24 hour period? That was the aim for the latest release of their ever popular browser; Firefox 3. Millions of people logged into the official site to grab a copy of the browser, infact according to the Download… Read more

Friends Reunited playing catch up

12th June 2008 03:15 by lisa

Who else found an email in their inbox this morning, announcing FriendsReunited has gone completely free? The email says "[w]ith over 19 million members, we're still the best place to find your old friends". Hint of desperation there? Trying to remind us that there was a world before Facebook? What… Read more

18a client BOLTS hair and body on Channel 4

11th June 2008 11:15 by lisa

Axminster based salon BOLTS hair and body came to us for a website to match their new image. The company, formerly BOLTS hair design, added a beauty salon to pamper the senses, with holistic treatments such as Hot Stones Therapy, Indian Head Massage and Reflexology, along side more traditional body… Read more

Brains work best when they're hydrated. We have the proof.

28th May 2008 10:37 by tom

You don't have to be a fan of the thunderbirds to appreciate how brilliant this ad campaign is. Using a combination of highly skilled puppeteers following choreography and clever computer work converting a digitally scanned real dancer into the image of Brains. I really love this ad; it makes me… Read more

Pricecheck.at - The Mobile Price Checking Service

13th May 2008 08:48 by tom

We've touched on mobile web development in the past couple of posts. It's an exciting new area which offers a huge potential for growth as more people get online with their mobile phones. Well rather than just talk about it, we thought we'd give it a go, and Pricecheck.at is… Read more

Keep Up With Promotions!

13th May 2008 08:32 by lisa

We've all done it - well, those of us who have accounts with affiliate marketing networks. Set up an account, put a few banners on a site, and then get tied down with the next project, forget exactly who we joined/what we linked to and just delete each merchant email… Read more

Is the Mobile Web Dead?

16th April 2008 11:35 by tom

This might seem a strange thing to ask considering my previous 2 blog entries, but it's a view shared by a couple of long standing mobile web entrepreneurs, and highlighted in an article I've just read. Personally I think this is a prime example of link baiting! By stating something… Read more

Basic Guidelines for Developing a Mobile Friendly Website

15th April 2008 08:14 by tom

There are a few basic things to consider when building a site that's mobile friendly. It's all pretty common sense when you think about it, and infact I've found most of these rules simply apply as good 'general' rules anyway. I.e. Use of good quality well-formed code, css based design… Read more

The Mobile Internet is Now

14th April 2008 12:41 by tom

I've been reading a fair bit lately into what many people suspect will be the 'next big thing' on the Internet; the final 'coming of age' of the mobile Internet. There are a lot of people doing a lot of things in the mobile web world, I feel like I've… Read more

Number 1 in Google...

10th April 2008 11:58 by tom

That's where everyone wants their site to be. Some people, incredibly naively, think that as soon as they make a website, their site will magically appear above the millions of other existing pages in the search results. I've often heard stories from other developers of clients calling them up in… Read more

Navigation Trends and Ideas

2nd April 2008 04:20 by tom

A websites navigation is one of the most important aspects in it's design. Making a site easy to navigate and intuitive to the user, while at the same time interesting and original is always something to aspire to. This article by smashing magazine gives a nice little overview of some… Read more

DreamAds - Taking Adsense to the Next Level

1st April 2008 09:17 by tom

Stumbled upon this post on ReadWriteWeb this morning which I found particularly interesting and had me going for a minute! I particularly like the new CPD (cost per Desire) trading model, sounds like they are onto a winner if they manage to get this project up and running! :) Read more

The day Google turned the lights out.

29th March 2008 05:53 by lisa

Anyone else visit http://www.google.co.uk today and think their monitor was being screwwy? The usually white background was black, with the text in white. Apparently it was all part of Google's attempt to raise the UK public's attention to 'Earth Hour' and attempts at conserving engergy usage. Earth Hour wants people… Read more

Technorati Code

12th March 2008 04:50 by tom

Check us out on Technorati... Technorati Profile Read more

Some Innovative Ideas for Getting Inbound Links to your Website

10th March 2008 14:39 by tom

Everyone who has tried to market a website will know how hard it is getting established. Getting those first, all important inbound links to your site can feel like an uphill struggle, especially if you've built 'just another' shopping website. You might think your new site is the best thing… Read more

When is a 'bad' logo design actually 'good'?

6th March 2008 15:05 by tom

I was just stumbling through the Internet and came across this interesting article about logo design... Is there really such a thing as bad publicity!? Also anyone who thinks the original 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by Nirvana was a little grungy might appreciate this Tango version - made me smile,… Read more

Unleash the CSS - Creating Multiple Skins for your Site

6th March 2008 11:12 by tom

How easy is it to change the entire look of your site? If your site is more than 2 years old and the slightest bit complicated I would imagine it's pretty tricky... The days of table based layouts are long behind us. Over the past couple of years we've seen… Read more

Facebook and Marmite

3rd March 2008 10:37 by lisa

Two videos doing well on YouTube at the moment pretty much sum up the Facebook divide - you either love it or you hate it. I was shocked last weekend when a friend said "I've heard Facebook are going to start charging... that would annoy me, but I'd pay!". After… Read more

New Social Shopping Widgets aid Online Promotion

3rd March 2008 09:39 by tom

It's an increasingly crowded online marketplace, with everyone competing for the top spots on the search engines, beating each other up with adwords and fighting for all the traffic they can get. You might have the best products in the world, but if nobody knows you exist then it's hard… Read more

Facebook on the Decline

28th February 2008 08:57 by tom

I was just reading on the fantastic mashable.com how the readership of Facebook has apparently dipped over the past month or so, although some are putting this dip in user numbers down to 'seasonal' factors. There's no denying the impact Facebook has had over here in the UK, everyone's been… Read more

MocBook Air

26th February 2008 04:38 by lisa

The MocBook Air fits perfectly on any design conscious persons desk. The Air weighs an astonishing 0.0kg and it's sleek design gives it the illusion of being so thin it's invisible to the naked eye. It fits so well into the background you won't even notice it's there. The powerful… Read more

Social Bookmark Shopping.. What!?

25th February 2008 11:49 by tom

Hands up who's heard of social bookmarking. I expect most people reading this article will have. The concept has been around for an Internet 'eternity' now. I thought everyone in the Facebook generation would be familiar with the idea, but I was speaking to a friend of mine yesterday, happily… Read more

Facebook Style Image Grabber

22nd February 2008 11:57 by tom

I love the way Facebook works; there are so many subtly clever gizmos that just make the whole experience that little bit smoother and pleasant. One feature I particularly like is the image grabber. For those that don't know, if you enter a URL while writing a private message in… Read more

How to Generate an Image Captcha

19th February 2008 04:44 by tom

Everyone hates spammers, how they sleep at night I don't know... Maybe they are so rich they can afford to buy those special space age mattresses that mold to fit your shape, or machines that imitate the sound of the ocean! (OK I got that from a film). But one… Read more

Give your site an MOT

18th February 2008 05:12 by tom

We often have clients asking us to check out their site and see if there are any bits we'd suggest improving or changing, so I thought I'd just list my quick top things to check out for and make sure your site has. This is far from exhaustive so please… Read more

Checking your site on Safari

15th February 2008 05:10 by tom

There's an increasing number of Mac users who are impossible to ignore. I may even become one myself at some point as they do look pretty nice! If like me you've always coded websites on a PC in the past you might have been forgiven for 'over-looking' the small percentage… Read more

What are you listening to right now?

15th February 2008 04:21 by tom

If, like me, you get bored of the same old songs being played over and over again on commercial radio, or find Chris Moyles just a little bit too loud on the more delicate of mornings. Then you might have trawled the Internet looking for good and original radio stations.… Read more

Stuck for Inspiration?

12th February 2008 11:08 by tom

The Internet is just so big, sometimes it's hard to know where to start when you are looking for inspiration or new ideas. Google is an obvious place, but only if you know what you're looking for. It's a great tool for locating information, but what if you just want… Read more

WrongWrite.com

3rd February 2008 18:15 by tom

18a have recently acquired the site wrongwrite.com - "part education, part therapy. We uncover grammatical and spelling errors on commercial signage and advertising, and share it with our loyal readers". So hop over and check it out - and keep us in mind next time you see a shocking typo… Read more

The Original Social Network

5th January 2008 13:18 by tom

For anyone who's getting fed up of all those social networking sites out there, take a look at this brand new social network that's taking the world by storm. Check out The Original Social Network Read more

The World's 'Local' Bank

2nd January 2008 10:21 by lisa

Only a couple of months ago 18a Productions opened a business bank account with HSBC. They seemed as good as anyone else, and we'd heard good reports. And out of the 2 banks only a short walk away, they were the ones who returned our call, unlike Barclays. After a… Read more

Shocking Tesco Typo

2nd January 2008 07:16 by lisa

From working in PR and updating websites 24/7 (or so it seems sometimes!) I've developed a keen eye for typos. But I don't think it even takes a 'keen' eye to spot this striking blunder on a banner outside a Tesco store in South Somerset! A blunder that's very likely… Read more

MSN Messenger Trojan Alarm

20th November 2007 09:32 by lisa

We've just heard that a new malware (software designed to infiltrate and/or damage a computer) is spreading like wildfire through MSN Messenger. The Trojan is an IRC bot which sends itself in a .zip file, either as a file including the word 'pics' with a double extension executable (DSC00432.jpg.exe) or… Read more

Magical list generator using jquery

20th November 2007 09:02 by lisa

Just found this simple but effective javascript code, utilising the invaluable jquery library to create linked select lists. You select the first list and it magically goes off and generates the options in the 2nd and 3rd lists. This in itself isn't anything particularly ground breaking, but this code connects… Read more

The Affiliate Marketing Board Game

15th November 2007 14:10 by tom

It occurred to me the other day, just how much affiliate marketing is like playing monopoly! It's probably the reason I like it so much. Everyone trying to make it around the board, picking up as many properties as they can, in the hope that some will make decent returns.… Read more

Cool CSS Dim Effect

13th November 2007 18:01 by tom

I'm always looking for cool new effects to build into our sites. It can be tricky to balance out supporting older browsers and keeping things interesting, not only for our visitors/clients, but also for myself! I've been experimenting with a few cool CSS effects and AJAX widgetty things lately, including… Read more

Resources for Web Design (tutorials, tools, code libraries, templates and more)

7th November 2007 13:32 by tom

Some great links to resources for design tutorials, inspiration, tools, code libraries, browser bugs, galleries, templates, articles and web forums. http://www.softwaredeveloper.com Read more

Future-proof your CSS with Conditional Comments

5th November 2007 09:09 by tom

Anyone who has ever made a website, then tried to make it look the same for everyone will have come up against the nightmare that is cross-browser compatibility. Things are no doubt easier than they used to be. Back in the days of ie4/5 and Netscape you practically had to… Read more

The Internet is Illegal

29th October 2007 16:46 by tom

I've just been sent an interesting article about the, now infamous, tv-links.co.uk website. For those that don't know TV Links provided links to TV shows online and in effect gave people the opportunity to view them. From my understanding they didn't actually host anything themselves, rather just gave people one… Read more

a4uexpo Affiliate Marketing Conference 2007

29th October 2007 10:19 by tom

If Carlsberg ran conferences they would probably be something like a4uexpo! That was one of the comments I've read today about the a4uexpo affiliate marketing conference held last week at ExCeL London. It was a fantastic event although probably the most exhausting couple of days of my life! Here's a… Read more

Why Web2.0 is 90% Rubbish

22nd October 2007 06:04 by tom

Whatever happened to editorial control? Since when has every Tom, Dick or Harry been an expert on everything and anything!? Sharing information and ideas is a great thing and the internet has given everyone a voice. Web 2.0 has taken this a step further by taking control away from the… Read more

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