Produce other material to cement the substance of the business. . . . → Read More: Make your business look impressive]]> There are basic steps you can take to give the company a professional appearance. Opt for a limited company or limited liability partnership (LLP) structure to lend authority to the business, or, if you are a sole trader, consider having a trading name.

Produce other material to cement the substance of the business. This may include a formal letterhead, brochure, customer agreement and business logo. An online presence is also essential.  Avoid using a mobile phone number as the number for customers to call, as this suggests the business does not extend beyond you. Having a business phone number with an answering service is an affordable way to add credibility to the business.

Choose a tailored email address (based on your website domain name) for the business rather than using an obviously personal account.

Business emails for companies and LLPs must, by law, contain certain statutory information, so include these in your email signature.   These details are the company name and number, place of registration and registered office, and should also be available on the company’s website. It is not good enough to provide this information in a link within emails.  Other indicators of substance will depend on the business you are in, but may include: getting a business address, being VAT registered, appointing another director, and getting coverage in the press.

Now we can be contacted at:

1simple Limited 8 Shoplatch Shrewsbury SY1 1HF

All other contact details remain the same.

Check out http://www.walesvalleyswalking.co.uk

We were given a design brief and asked to mimic the printed brochure, which we did. We also designed the site to be as functional as possible, offering a variety of ways to search for walks.

Check out . . . → Read More: Wales Valleys Walking Festival 2012]]> 1simple are proud to have designed the new website for the Wales Valleys Walking Festival.

We were given a design brief and asked to mimic the printed brochure, which we did. We also designed the site to be as functional as possible, offering a variety of ways to search for walks.

Check out http://www.walesvalleyswalking.co.uk

Cookies can be cleared from your browser at any . . . → Read More: Cookies]]> Cookies monitor your browsing and these small pieces of code are downloaded and stored by your browser when you visit certain websites. Cookies are responsible for the spooky effect where an advert for an e-commerce site you’ve visited subsequently appears on a totally different site.

Cookies can be cleared from your browser at any time: look for options such as Clear History or Clear Browser Data in the settings. And thanks to new European Union rules, websites now have to ask your permission to send a cookie. Don’t be too hard on cookies, though: they also do useful tasks such as remembering your preferences and sign-ins for sites.

So instead of .com or .co.uk, in future you’ll likely see .hotel, .bank, .beer as well as company brands like . . . → Read More: The end of .com?]]> On Monday (20/06/11) the governing body for Internet domain names, ICANN, is expected to approve the final rules to allow organisations to register their own names at the top of the Internet name hierarchy.

So instead of .com or .co.uk, in future you’ll likely see .hotel, .bank, .beer as well as company brands like .canon, .deloitte or .hitachi. Organisations may register keywords that relate to their products, such as .camera or .printer. Cities are considering their own Internet name – for example .london.

For marketers, the creative possibilities are exciting. Think justdoit.nike, enjoy.coke, or getwings.redbull. They’ll all be possible.

Catchy domain names like these will be perfect for boosting advertising recall. If you want to buy an iPad, instead of typing in www.apple.com/ipad you could potentially in future just go to ipad.apple.

They’ll also convey brand trust and security. If a brand secures their name as a .brand domain, they control it – meaning a fraudster can’t set up a site using that domain, and as a consumer you know it’s legit. If you’re a HSBC customer and do your online banking through a .hsbc address, you’re assured you’re at the right place – and ICANN is unlikely to allow a .hzbc or .hcbs address for you to accidentally type in and be taken somewhere malicious.

There are many more benefits to be had. However, there are some things to consider before diving in for a .brand.

Firstly, the cost. The application fee alone will be £115,000. Secondly, human behaviour. We’ve grown used to .com and .co.uk, and most of us just type those in automatically when guessing a company’s web address. Is that behaviour going to change? And will these new names just confuse customers rather than make the online experience easier to navigate?

This explosion in new domain names is likely to create some confusion for consumers at first as we all get used to the new names (“No dad, you don’t need to put .com at the end!”).

Do internet domain name changes spell the end for .com?  Organisations will still most definitely need to maintain their .com and .co.uk presence because consumers are not going to switch to the new .brand overnight. And from a brand protection perspective, you don’t want anyone else to take your existing names.

This award is only given to those few establishments that get consistent 5-star ratings from their guests on Trip Advisor.

Well done to Jen and Kevin.