Jobs in the IT sector have grown at almost twice the rate of jobs in other industries in the UK. Access Training Academies, a long-time client of ours, is passionate about helping people to retrain and pursue exciting new careers, and they recently asked us to create a website dedicated to promoting a new selection of IT training courses.

Access IT Careers aims to give each student a comprehensive introduction to their chosen profession and set them up for a long, successful career. They offer courses in the following disciplines:

  • Network Engineering
  • Cyber Security Engineering
  • Infrastructure Engineering

Why did Access Training Academies come to us?

We have worked with Access Training Academies before – their main website, which was also created by Designer Websites, offers training courses in trades such as plumbing and plastering. We were thrilled when they asked us to work with them again on their latest exciting venture.

We made Access Training Academies’ IT site mobile friendly so that users can check out these exciting IT courses with ease even when they’re on the go. In addition to the design and development of the site, we also optimised the website to rank well on search engines like Google and Bing.

If you need a professional website for your business, please get in touch with the Designer Websites Team. Request a free, no-obligation quote for your project here.

Amsvest Ltd (owned by Lord Alan Sugar) are looking to invest in promising start-ups and other businesses who sell/manufacture a product or offer a specific service. The experts at Amsvest provide funding and support while also taking care of finances, HR and IT for their partner businesses, allowing successful applicants to focus on what really matters: taking their business to the next level

Several companies have already benefited greatly from Amsvest’s investment, including:

How Did We Help?

Amsvest needed a website that not only looked the part but was also easy for all visitors to use. The company contacted Designer Websites and asked us to create a brochure website befitting Lord Sugar's high standards - it would need to be both professional-looking and extremely simple for potential business partners to navigate.

One of the key parts of this brief was ensuring that all users would be able to access and experience the same professional design and complete the investment application form on any device, including smartphones and tablets. As a result, the new Amsvest website possesses a fully responsive design that looks great on screens of all sizes.

We’re pleased to announce that the new Amsvest website is now live - visit www.amsvest.co.uk to take a look!

If you’re looking for a bespoke, professional-looking website for your business, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the team here at Designer Websites for a free, no-obligation web design quote.

Alana Spencer has been a client of ours ever since she won BBC's The Apprentice in 2016 and asked us to design a new website for her handmade cake business, Ridiculously Rich by Alana.

Ridiculously Rich has been going from strength to strength since Lord Sugar invested in the company two years ago, and earlier this week, he and Alana announced their new Cakepreneur initiative, which promises to drive even greater growth as we head into autumn.

Here's an introduction from Alana and Lord Sugar themselves:

Building the new Cakepreneur system

The Designer Websites team have been hard at work over the last couple of weeks, striving to ensure that the website's new Cakepreneur system would be ready for its big launch.

We were asked to build an add-on for Alana's existing Ambassador system to accommodate a new type of reseller: Cakepreneurs. This was conceived as a more affordable way to join the Ridiculously Rich family - it costs £1,000 to become the Ridiculously Rich Ambassador for your region, whereas Cakepreneurs pay a one-off setup fee of just £150.

Cakepreneur Starter Kit

A Ridiculously Rich Cakepreneur starter kit.

Our skilled web developers created a sign-up area that makes it easy for would-be Cakepreneurs to get the ball rolling. Once the user has filled in their details, the website shows them an introductory video, then prompts them to take a quick online test. Those who pass this test can then pay the setup fee and order their starter kit (pictured above).

What do Cakepreneurs do?

Cakepreneurs earn commission by selling Ridiculously Rich cakes to...

  • Cafés
  • Delicatessens
  • Farm shops
  • Corporate clients

...and so on. Each Cakepreneur is given a unique discount code that entitles their customers to 5% off all online orders.

The system that we have designed and developed makes it easy for Alana's Cakepreneurs to sign in and manage everything. Each Cakepreneur can create their own Ridiculously Rich profile, add meetings to their own personal calendar, and sign up clients who will earn them commission with each order placed. The system also allows the Ridiculously Rich administrators to see how active each Cakepreneur is.

Additional development

In addition to the new Cakepreneur system, Designer Websites also built...

  • A new downloads section that allows Ridiculously Rich to share documents, videos, and other downloadable resources with their Ambassadors and Cakepreneurs all over the country.

  • 'Stockists' page (view here) that makes it easy for users to find nearby shops that sell Ridiculously Rich cakes.

  • A new 'Find My Nearest' page (view here) - simply enter your postcode to see a full list of Ridiculously Rich Ambassadors and Cakepreneurs in your area.

Alana explains why she chose to work with Designer Websites

Visit Ridiculously Rich > Get a Web Design Quote >

RJ Funerals Website

Robert D. Johnson Funeral Directors are an independent funeral service based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. This family-run business specialises in bespoke, flexible funeral services for families who are looking to make arrangements after the passing of a loved one. With extensive experience in funeral care, they ensure every family receives the service they’ve envisioned for their dearly departed – while alleviating them of the stress of organising the funeral arrangements during their period of grief.

Robert D. Johnson Funeral Directors offer the following funeral packages:

As an independent business, Robert D. Johnson offer a caring, personal service that large chains are sometimes unable to provide. Staff are selected on the basis of their professionalism and caring approach to their work.

How Did We Help Them?

We have created a user-friendly brochure website for Robert D. Johnson Funeral Directors. The new design is professional and befitting of the industry in which this client operates, and the website interface is very easy for users to navigate. Visit www.rjfunerals.co.uk to take a look at our work.

We provided:

  • Responsive Website Design – The RJ Funerals website functions well across all screen sizes whilst maintaining its sophisticated look. Regardless of the device used to access the website, the pages of the website maintain their look and ease of navigation.

  • Search Engine Optimisation – Every page on the new RJ Funerals website features high-quality content which is relevant to the user, effective in communicating the services offered, and carefully optimised for high Google rankings.

Do you need a bespoke, professional website to showcase your business and the services you offer? If so, get in touch with Designer Websites for a free, no-obligation quote.

Get a Web Design Quote >

google

What’s happening?

Google are officially rebranding Google AdWords – it’s been a long time in the coming, and after more than 17 years, Google are consolidating their Ad products to fall under one umbrella name & service. Henceforth, Google Ads will be the catch-all title for the vast majority of Google’s Ad tools. Other related products will fall into the categories of Google Marketing Platform and Google Ad Manager.

Why?

After nearly 20 years of AdWords, what has triggered this rebrand, I hear you ask? Well, to answer that question we have to consider a few different strands. The official word from Google has come mostly in the form of comments from Sridhar Ramaswamy – Vice President of Ads & Commerce at Google.

Ramaswamy stated that the rebrand is at least partially a response to “consistent feedback” that the duplicity of Ad products offered by Google can lead to a confusing experience for the user.

Many have also predicted that the removal of the term ‘word’ from the brand name indicates an incoming departure from keyword driven advertising. Ramaswamy himself has been quoted saying the brand change “is indicative of where we have been directing the product” – but exactly how this new direction will play out remains to be seen.

When?

The AdWord rebrand was first announced at the end of June, but the official changeover is scheduled to take full effect on 24/07/18. From this point on, all users who wish to continue using AdWords will have to do so using the rebranded Google Ads platform.

Out with the old, in with the new

At a glance, we’ve considered some of the pros & cons of the new Google Ads interface.

Listed below are some of the ostensible & more significant differences produced by the rebrand:

  • Pro: advancement in reporting style – in the new Google Ads interface there is a greater level of detail afforded to the way data is displayed; including the ability to create graphs to visually display data from Ads.
  • Con: The major change in layout has meant those familiar with AdWords have had to learn how to navigate the new layout to find what they’re looking for; the new look is akin to the dashboard style used across other Google services. For the time being this change is making things a little frustrating for marketers.
  • Pro: Showcase Ads – this new Ad product allows advertisers to display a group of products (rather than just one) along with a small amount of text so that brands can more comprehensively introduce their business to a new prospect.
  • Con: Columns in the new Ad interface have been reset meaning specified information is no longer displayed when accessing Google Ads – the upshot of this is more time is spent  seeking out information, when you could already be processing it.
  • Pro: Promotion extensions – this new feature gives advertisers the ability to show and link to specific offers within Ad text. This new addition should result in far greater click through rates, which is always music to marketers’ ears…

 The bottom line

As with anything new, Google Ads has been met with a certain amount of reluctance; infamously, people don’t tend to like change, but we’re sure that brands and businesses will begin to adapt to the features of Google’s Ad rebrand – just as Google’s Ad products will continue to evolve based on feedback from users.