Redirecting your content using 301 redirects
Posted by Stuart on February 12th, 2010 - Cornwall office  

There will often be times when you want to redirect users from one page to another page on a permanent basis. Especially when the original page shows up in search results. The last thing you want is for users to click onto your content, and be presented with an ugly 'Sorry, page not found'.

Using .htaccess

To redirect users to the new page from the old page, we can use 301 redirects in an .htaccess file. This file should be located at the root of your public website. If you want to redirect the user from /my_old_page to /my_new_page, put the following in your.htaccess file.

redirect 301 /my_old_page /my_new_page

Redirecting to other sites

This isn't just limited to redirecting within your own site. You can redirect to other sites too:

redirect 301 /my_old_page http://www.newdomain.com/my_new_page

A 301 redirect is the most search engine friendly way to redirect the page, as it means the page has moved permanently.

Website Templates
Posted by Andy on March 5th, 2009   

We’re passionate about web design.

At Foundry Labs our websites are designed and coded in house.  A way to bring down the cost of your project is to either use a free website template or buy one (www.oswd.org is a good site).  Choosing a template removes the need for a graphic designer and so negates the need to have us then turn the design into a template.  However we will customise the template to your requirements, where possible, and if required.

There are generally two types of template, exclusive and non-exclusive templates.  I will deal with the latter first.  Non-exclusive templates are, as the name suggests, a template that is not exclusive to you or your business.  This means that the template will be in use on other websites, but non-exclusive templates offer excellent value for money if you don’t mind someone else having that design.

Exclusive templates are exclusive to you, normally.  Some designers will offer exclusive templates that may have been used previously.  But because you have paid a much higher price for the template to make it ‘exclusive’ they then remove it from download.  Another option is to source a designer to make a template for you.  This way you know it’s exclusive.  But the cost of this will be similar to a custom designed site.

You also need to decide whether to go for a Flash template or a HTML template.  Flash looks great, but cannot be read easily by search engines, so reducing your search ranking.  If your customers don’t have broadband internet then flash sites can be very slow to load.  Another important item to note is that many flash sites are not suitable for people who have a sight impairment.  So if your customer uses a Screen Reader then it is very unlikely it can read a flash website – thus making your online business completely inaccessible to sight impaired people.  A way round this is to have a HTML site as well – but this increases the cost!

HTML templates are very quick to load and are easily read by search engines.  They are also great if you would like to do some updating of the site yourself.

So how do you choose a template to meet your requirements?

• Choose a template carefully and don’t pick one that has fancy graphics just for the sake of it.

• Remember a website is an extension of your corporate image.

• Don’t worry so much about images that are on a template – these can be changed.

• Think about what you would like/need your site to do.  Select a template that fulfils all or most of your requirements – we can add/modify templates to suit your requirements.

• Select a template that has a layout that you require – it is far and easier and cheaper this way.

So, a template is a great way to save money when you need a website.  However if you need a unique look and feel to your site then the two options are choose an exclusive template or a custom designed site, for which there is very little difference in cost.

Ultimately we want you to have the best site possible that meets your budget.  So we can offer custom designed sites right down to having a non-exclusive template that we then modify for you.

Awesome Resources for Web Designers
Posted by Stuart on February 20th, 2009   

As web designers and developers, we are always on the look out for inspiration for our designs, or free stuff that helps us develop a project more quickly.

Here are couple of resources from Smashing Magazine that might help you out.

50 Free High Quality Icon Sets

These sets are of the highest quality, and can really give a website that professional edge.

100 Free High Quality html/css templates

A great source of inspiration for designs, and handy for those clients on a budget that don't want a full design service, they just want a template tweaked.

I hope those have been useful. Happy designing!