mor solutions - Award Winning Web Design Agency

Your online identity - own it!

2009-07-10T12:14:00.006+01:00

Your brand is your image, your face to the world. The simple symbol or graphic that makes up your logo can convey a world of information. It tells your customer what you're about, your ethos, what they can expect from your company, what you have to offer.

A good businessperson will put their logo and name everywhere - ads, literature, shopfront, vans. The very same should apply to your website and your presence on the internet in general.
Below is a quick guide to branding yourself on the internet.

Own It
Make your site yours - make sure your logo is as clear and in as prominent a position as possible. Hit the user in the eye with your logo and name, so they are in no doubt where they are. This conveys confidence and professionalism and will build up trust in the user.

Repeat, repeat, repeat...
Keep the branding consistent and in the same place throughout the site.
Provide a seamless experience for the user as they browse deeper into the site. You will build up a relationship with your brand, and make a much bigger impact on the user's memory.

Reinforce
Use your branding colours throughout the site to support your brand. This includes links, text colour, background colour, and so on.

Many modern businesses exploit the vast array of networking opportunities open to them on the internet, such as LinkdIn, Twitter, forums, blogs, online business groups.

All these sites allow a certain amount of customisation - even if it's simply allowing you to upload your logo. Many dedicated Twitter and Facebook users not only have their logo prominently on the page, but also change background, text colours to compliment and reinforce their brand and their website.

Case Study:
The popular parental networking site, mumstown.ie are skilful promoters of their brand through clever association and sponsorship, and their site design reinforces this.
The distinctive logo appears in the top left on a complimentary coloured banner throughout the site. The two main branding colours are evident and consistent throughout the site, in the graphics and text, and the funky floral motif is also featured subtly here and there. Nothing too overpowering, but we are in no doubt as to where we are.

Branding your company's internet presence is just one facet of how your company presents itself to the world, but is an increasingly important one. Keep the above guidelines in mind and you will be well on your way!

3 Must Dos When Undertaking a Pay Per Click Campaign

2009-06-17T11:17:00.005+01:00

Most people run headlong into advertising on the internet without thinking about their offering, relevant call to action or the basic details of the offer/product or pricing. What a missed opportunity after spending money and time to get a customer to your website!

Denise Fay of Achieve Marketing has outlined her top three tips which we concur with wholeheartedly! ...

1 Like all strategic marketing initiatives, determine your USP. Know why people should buy from you.

2 Undertake keyword research. Don’t leave it to assumptions that your client and you think the same way.

3 Test your landing page. Content, layout and structure, all key elements to copy-writing should be tested regularly.

Brilliantly and simply put Denise.

Source: http://www.achievemarketing.ie/blog/2009/06/3-must-dos-when-undertaking-a-pay-per-click-campaign/

morsolutions are an award winning full service web design agency that also offer Content Management, Web Development, Search Engine Optimisation, Search Engine Marketing and Internet Consultancy.

Achieve Marketing is a strategic marketing and copy-writing agency. We want to set you on a path to marketing success and help you craft compelling sales messages.

Come for the golf- stay for the craic

2009-05-11T10:49:00.005+01:00

I got this notice from Drogheda on the Boyne Tourism please do support both the Open at Baltray and the Drogheda Festival...

Drogheda is the place to be next weekend with the 3 Irish Open Golf Championships at Baltray attracting some of the world's top golfers with some top class entertainment lined up in town to coincide with the golf.

Some of Ireland’s best known entertainers will be performing in town from Thursday May 14th to Sunday May 17th, including Dickie Rock, Jack L, Finbar Furey, Aslan, Robert Mizzell, Jon Kenny, Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones and Gerry Fish and the Mudbug Club.

There will be entertainment in over 20 local pubs, traditional set dancing, traditional music sessions, heritage tours , street entertainments , food promotions, art exhibitions and the Louth derby football match Drogheda Utd v Dundalk etc, Details of all the events and details of accommodation offers can be viewed on www.drogheda.ie
Please spread the news that Drogheda is the place next week!

Explore E-Commerce

2009-04-30T14:07:00.017+01:00

In these challenging times having an online shop can provide you with a low-overhead 24/7 sales outlet worldwide, and the points below are key when considering adding an online shop to your website.

1. Build the shop around your customer

Focus on who your core demographic is and tailor the shop to them, making sure the design you go with and the functionality used is appropriate for them and works the way they'd expect. There's a huge difference between the kind of user experience expected by 20-something techno-geeks looking for laptops and by senior citizens purchasing golf packages...

2. Make your shop a pleasure to use

If your customers have a positive experience with your online shop, odds are they'll be back. They'll also be more forgiving if there's a problem either with a purchase or with the site in general at some point in the future. Find features that excite you in other sites and see if they'd be appropriate for your site.

3. Attention to detail makes the experience

Spend time getting the details right, like making sure the sections most used work intuitively so the user experience is really great. On an online shop this would mean the product information page, and the whole checkout process once the customer has actually chosen their items. Attention to detail is also crucial when making sure the high level of security when purchasing on your site is apparent to the customer, and that web pages load in good time so customers aren't waiting around - because they wont!

4. Make social media work for you

Customers engage more with an online shop they can interact with. The amount of purchasers online who use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Stumbleupon etc. is huge, and online retailers that give the customer a way to share what they find with their social media circle directly from the online shop are adding value to the user's experience. You can also engage customers with interactive features like allowing them to add a photo of themselves wearing your t-shirt to your product details page, enhance their user experience by letting them customise their homepage on your online shop, or simply by running a poll or keeping a blog about interesting new products they can comment on.

5. It's what you say AND the way that you say it

Elements of the online shop like colours, fonts, typography and the language you use in your website content can make the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity. Pinpoint the type of people who will use your online shop, and ensure your message comes across clearly by using wording and images that are appropriate to them - corporate business-speak won't engage teens looking for the next hot product online. Colours and branding should be carefully considered when designing the online shop especially when fitting in with an existing website style for consistency across the board.

The message to take away from all this?

As long as you keep your content appropriate to your customer, focus on attention to detail as well as the overall impression, and encourage interaction for an extra-sticky site, you're on track for a great e-commerce website. And remember - adding an online shop to your website might be the smartest thing you do this year. Contact us now if you'd like to discuss the possibilities!
(This Explore E-Commerce article for website owners was inspired by a Smashing Magazine article which is more targeted at web designers.)

Drogheda Arts Festival Adopts Twitter and goes Mobile!

2009-04-20T17:05:00.004+01:00

If you are on Twitter why not follow the Drogheda Arts Festival http://twitter.com/drogartsfest

Please do spread the word to promote the festival and also to document reviews, thoughts and public comment on the festival?

Please spread the message far and wide ...

Also as part of the strategy to embrace new media the festival today launched it's mobile website.

So don't miss out on 6 days of the most eclectic line up of theatre, dance, visual art, music, comedy and family entertainment in Ireland this year!

TV Celeb launches low cost online insurance website

2009-04-15T10:35:00.003+01:00

John Maguire (of 'Celebrity Bainisteoir' fame ) has teamed up with insurance broker, Pembroke Insurances, to offer cheap insurance via www.QuoteDevil.ie.

See the Irish Independent article.

morsolutions are proud to say we developed the website! :)

Web browsers without tabs?

2009-04-15T09:22:00.001+01:00

FireFox's designers are currently thinking about a complete redesign of the way the browser looks and feels, in order to keep up with changing usage patterns. The most radical proposal we have seen so far would do away with the standard browser tabs, and replace them with an interface that looks more like iTunes than Firefox...

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_future_of_firefox_no_tabs_built_in_ubiquity.php

Make more of your Irish with TalkIrish.com

2009-04-14T09:31:00.005+01:00

Ever wanted to make more of your Irish? TalkIrish.com is a new website set up by e-learning veteran Michelle Gallen to pass on her passion for the teanga and create some great resources whether you're a beginner, improver, or just haven't spoken Irish in years and would like to get back into it a bit.

Some of TalkIrish.com's features include Irish word a day, e-learning via online games (signup required), forum for social networking (where there's a lively word game going on at the moment), and links for further exploration.

If you want to get a blas without going full Des Bishop, give TalkIrish.com a go =)

Bloggers and Tweeters wanted for Drogheda Arts Festival!

2009-04-06T18:37:00.002+01:00

morsolutions are delighted to have bee re-appointed as the web providers for the Drogheda Arts Festival. 2009 promises to be an eclectic line up of theatre, dance, visual art, music, comedy and family entertainment.   

But to make the festival a real success given the very tight budgets available this year Graham O'Rourke of morsolutions is looking for volunteers to join him in spreading the word by setting up Facebook, Twitter and blogs to promote and document the build up and happenings at this years festival.   

If you have any spare time and are good with email, a camera, blogs, twitter, etc why not volunteer to contribute and add to online PR for the Arts Festival.   Please pass to people of all ages and disciplines, not technical knowledge required - just a commitment to make a difference and tell the world about our incredible Arts Festival!   

See www.droghedaartsfestival.ie for information on the festival.   

If you can help contact Graham: graham[dot]orourke[at]morsolutions[dot]com or http://twitter.com/morsolutions

iPhone OS 3.0 Announced by Apple

2009-03-18T08:42:00.004Z

Apple have announced a new iPhone operating system and it looks like they are listening to what their users really want..

Features that we moaned about such as cut'n'paste, SMS forwarding, MMS, MAPs API, etc all seem to be addressed. Still no flash but there are some other quite neat features that will open the iPhone up to even more mobile internet applications and make it the defacto standard to reach for others (again!).

See http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/17/live-from-apples-iphone-os-3-0-preview-event/

Should be available in the shops in the Summer and 3G iPhone users will get free upgrades.

morsolutions also deliver a number of mobile internet solutions - why not contact us if you think your business or idea would benefit from users using the web on their mobile phone.

Easter Gifts from GiftsAndVouchers.ie

2009-03-17T19:00:00.001Z

morsolutions client giftsandvouchers.ie have launched a seasonal offerings to make shopping for gifts for your loved ones even easier!

For Easter Eggs and Easter Gifts why not check them out the Seasonal Gifts section.

You really find something for everyone for example a Mother's Day Gift Box, Handmade Easter Eggs, or why not try a Gift Voucher for the person that has everything!

Announcing the 2009 Drogheda Arts Festival

2009-03-17T10:12:00.010Z

Drogheda Borough Council have just announcing the 5th Annual Drogheda Arts Festival. The 2009 festival will take place from 29th April to 4th May.

This year the festival highlights include Des Bishop, Fionn Regan, Lunfardia, Fair on Fair Street ... lots to do for all!

The full programme of events is coming soon but a taster of the festival is available on the Drogheda Arts Festival website.

Also you will find all the information you need for travel, accommodation and eating out on the Drogheda Tourism website, www.drogheda.ie.

Irish Open Golf , Baltray near Drogheda, Co Louth

2009-03-17T10:07:00.003Z

The 2009 Irish Open Golf Championship will be held at County Louth Golf Club, Baltray, near Drogheda, Louth.

This year sees an increased prize fund of 3 million euro provided by sponsor 3 (three.ie).

Drogheda is set to come alive with thousands of national and international visitors for the 4 day event to be held at County Louth Golf Club, Baltray, Drogheda, from May 14-17, 2009.

For mor information see the official Drogheda Tourism Website.

Search Engine Optimisation: Links, Links and more Links...

2009-02-23T10:41:00.001Z

Linking between pages is an important part of SEO. It also hugely improves the navigation of your website, keeping visitors on your websites for longer.

While linking is important, adding random and useless links will simply frustrate both visitors and search engines. A link on a page should be relevant to its original page and the one that it links to. It should also use a relevant word or phrase as the actual link.

A well formed link from a fashion website might look like this:

"We stock a large range of shoes, jewellery and scarves on our accessories page."

Be warned though - poor link quality, irrelevant phrases or over linking may also indirectly and negatively impact on your rankings for that term. They will also confuse and turn away visitors. So... you have been warned, always link wisely!

If you would like more advice, or to discuss search engine optimisation, Google AdWords or other online marketing techniques with us, don't hesitate to contact mor solutions.

mumstown.ie faces the dragons!

2009-02-19T10:36:00.002Z

morsolutions client Kelly McKenna of Mumstown.ie to the Irish Dragons on February 19th, 2009 on RTE 1 Dragons' Den.

Kelly said, "The grilling from the Dragon's was more difficult than expected. In true Canadian fashion, Kelly was more accomodating than argumentative. However, the feedback from the Dragons was invaluable.". Kelly points out, "The Penny Dropped" when the Dragons started dropping like flies and "I realised I didn't have to wait to achieve the dream of making Mumstown a National website."

Mumstown grew organically and now, in its 2.0 version, has green shoots across Ireland. A sense of community has never been more important in Ireland. Providing local family fun events, local SWAP SHOP and RECESSIONISTA's spotting local bargains, Mumstown is a great place for people to network with eachother.

Click here to see Kelly on RTE's Dragons' Den.

Accountancy Software firm launches rebranded online presence

2009-02-18T19:14:00.000Z

Accountancy Software firm Intact Business Software has been rebranded and launched their new website serving small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) requiring customised accounts software.

As an affordable leading developer of Accounting and Business Management Software, Intact's accounting and business software is known and used across a large range of industries including Wholesalers & Distributors, Retail Applications, Manufacturing Assembly, Building Supply Chain and Service Industry.

With UK Partners and offices in Louth and Cork why not find out more about Intact's flexible accounts and business software today.

2009 - The year of the Ox

2009-01-29T17:07:00.015Z

The Chinese New Year arrived on 26th January, making this the 'Year of the Ox'. According to Wikipedia, the Ox is the sign of "prosperity through fortitude and hard work" - we, like you, are not afraid of hard work and so may we wish you a very prosperous year.

Ji Zhang recently joined the team at morsolutions and at our recent company meeting we celebrated ringing in the Chinese new year with some traditional Chinese lanterns, good luck decorations and, of course, a rather large helping of Chinese take-away food ... just like home, eh Ji? ;)

Happy Christmas from morsolutions.com

2008-12-23T11:04:00.006Z

We want to say A HUGE THANK YOU to all of our customers, suppliers and friends. We really do appreciate your business.

Christmas Holiday Period
On a practical note we do close for Christmas. We are closed from noon on Christmas Eve until Monday 5th January. Should you have anything you need us to address in the new year please do email us at helpdesk@morsolutions.com and we will respond to you as soon as possible on January 5th.

Happy Christmas and a prosperous 2009 to you all!

Have Yours-ELF a Merry Christmas?!
If all the shopping is done (and the boss isn't looking!) .. At elfyourself.com you can quickly turn your own picture or that of a workmate, or family member into a cool Christmas Elf ... Go On ... 'tis the season to be jolly and all that .. give it a go! See the team at morsolutions elf'n around the Christmas tree!

Chamber Launches 'Drop the VAT' Campaign

2008-11-28T18:16:00.003Z

Drogheda Chamber is spear heading a national campaign to drop the VAT rate from 21.5% to 15% to help stimulate the economy.

This is not a call to nationalism but instead a common sense approach to level the playing field on the island and provide consumers with real choice.

Visit www.DroptheVAT.com to stay in touch with the campaign ... read the open letter to the Minster for Enterprise , Trade and Employment and the Finance Minister from the chamber and if convinced why not lend your support.

Gift Vouchers from Innovative Irish Website Launch

2008-11-13T11:24:00.016Z

GiftsAndVouchers.ie, located in Mornington, Co.Meath, provide Luxury Branded Gifts and Gift Vouchers from all your local businesses. Great gift voucher ideas for Christmas, and for something really special check out their Gifts with a Twist! catalogue where you will find various gift packages which combine a number of products and vouchers that will make the perfect gift for that someone special. Whether it is a wedding, a baby on the way, a christening, or an anniversary why not use their Free Gift List service?

Watch out for a series of advertisements in newspapers in the North East, plus a large 6 sheet banner running for 6 weeks up to Christmas at the main entrance into Scotch Hall Shopping Centre from next Monday. A Google AdWords campaign will be running as well as ads on MumsTown.ie, WeddingsOnline.ie and MeathChronicle.ie. GiftsAndVouchers.ie will also be doing some alternative forms of advertising in the run up to Christmas such as washroom advertising and beermat printing!

Why not have a closer look at the GiftsAndVouchers.ie Online Store and explore the wide range of offers - just in time for Christmas!

Go go gadget hunters!

2008-11-04T10:25:00.006Z

Now that Halloween's over and we can say the C-word, we'd like to big up some great new techy and easy to use products from one of our clients, mydisgo.com, so anyone who wants to can get their gadget enthusiast something cool for Christmas.

disgo video camcorders have proved a real hit with "the YouTube generation" and anyone who likes their gadgets clean and simple, and now disgo have brought out the new disgo Video FUN, disgo Video Pro and disgo Video Live. Capture video images, move to your computer and upload to YouTube in seconds!

A real innovation is being able to store all you'll need for your computer security on disgo's different Gatekeeper USB-key-size and laptop card devices, and we love that kind of stuff at morsolutions. What disgo say: "disgo's Gatekeeper Pico Pro security mini-computer is the 'next generation of Internet Security': a powerful USB key-size Linux-based 520 MHz computer with 13 built-in security applications."

You can see all this and more at mydisgo.com, and we hope Santa brings you something nice too ;)

Knol makes it easy for you to write and share your knowledge with the world

2008-10-22T12:39:00.009+01:00

The Knol project is a site that hosts many knols — units of knowledge — written about various subjects. The authors of the knols can take credit for their writing, provide credentials, and elicit reviews and comments. Users can provide feedback, comments, and related information. So the Knol project is a platform for sharing information, with multiple cues that help you evaluate the quality and veracity of information.

Knols are indexed by the big search engines, of course. And well-written knols become popular the same as regular web pages. The Knol site allows anyone to write and manage knols through a browser on any computer.

For more information visit Google Knol and Wikipedia

Brady Hughes Consulting Engineers Launch

2008-10-09T10:36:00.005+01:00

Brady Hughes Consulting is a multidisiplinary practice with offices in Drogheda, Co. Louth offering Engineering, Architectural, Project Management and Planning Consultancy services to clients from project inception through to completion.

The company started life as a purely engineering practice, and was
established in 2000 by Brian Hughes and Yvonne Brady, both Chartered Engineers. Since that time the company has grown to encompass a wide and varied range of expertise and experience, with Engineers, Architects, Technicians, and Administration Staff employed. They are currently involved in a variety of large-scale developments, most notably Sienna Valley in the North Drogheda Environs.

They aim to deliver excellent service and value to our now very broad range
of clients who include - large residential and commercial property developers, Local Authorities, public bodies, land owners, speculators, and private individual.

Take a look at the new Brady Hughes Consulting Engineers website!

Google and T-mobile to release Android on October 22nd

2008-09-25T09:42:00.003+01:00

By all accounts the commercial release of Google's Android mobile phone platform on October 22nd will be an exciting day. Exciting as there are now two giants in the market (and neither are Microsoft).

Apple and Google will now battle it out for control of the handset and regardless of the outcome consumers and application providers will both benefit.

Both systems are now UNIX-based. Apple bring a long and proud history of innovation, usability success and the ultimate in chic and cool while Google bring simplicity, open-technology (well eventually let's hope) and vision and the financial muscle to change the planet through the Internet.

I can't wait!

For more see this infoworld comment on the press release and demonstrations.

Also the Times Online have a video review of Android here.

If you are interested in turning your business ideas into a reality for the mobile internet market talk to us today.

Judging the Irish Web Awards...

2008-09-24T11:50:00.004+01:00

The judging for the Irish Web Awards is now underway. We at morsolutions think this competition has a great future ahead of it. It is a ground up alternative to the larger awards ceremonies such as the golden spiders and the IIA Net Visionary Awards.

To that end myself and team member Doreen have both volunteered to act as judges in the competition.

It values things like good web design, form, function, web standards and usability which are the cornerstones of our industry - as such it doe not just reward big names or populist websites but instead focuses on quality.

We applaud that. As this industry is still in it's infancy we need to not get carried away with ourselves just because we've come so far in so little time but instead focus on providing the most appropriate and best solutions in the interest of users of the web.

Keep an eye on the Irish Web Awards website for more information....