We're very proud to announce the completion of one of our most recent projects, the total revamp of fair trade clothing website Arkadash. Owned by dazzling duo Chantelle and Vik, Arkadash sells fair trade, sweatshop-free, organic clothes from their dinky shop in Chorlton. Their site is based on our awesome Lava eCommerce platform, styled by Sizzle's awesome in-house designers, and hosted on our awesome professional-grade servers for maximum reliability and uptime. And, of course, they're on our awesome support package so they get friendly help whenever they need a hand getting to grips with their new system.

We hope it does the job all Sizzle sites are designed for - encouraging enquiries and orders. With that in mind, stop reading this and go and check out their site and buy some lovely organic socks!

Web design is an interesting industry, not only must we demonstrate our web design skills and demonstrate an uncanny ability to predict market trends, but we must also demonstrate tangible ability in the form of visible results. Just like any other business fighting for Google's attentions to generate new business – we must also do some pretty intense flag waving. However our challenge is constant as we are competing with the Manchester, Oldham and Bury’s finest web designers and search engine optimisation companies, whilst trying to maintain a vibrant web presence.

It's no surprise then that Sizzle Media's strategy has begun to show the fruits of our labour. We now regularly feature amongst the top 5 in Google for the search term ‘web design Manchester’, which may not sound like much but when you look at some of the stats, you will see that this is a very credible position to be in. Only other Manchester, Oldham or Bury based web design studios can express the importance such keywords.

However web design Manchester is just one of many search terms we focus our attention on, other search terms are web design Bury, web design Oldham, web design Bolton and a clutch of non location terms. These are the locations we cover on a daily basis and in particular, we are now seeing an increasing number of clients finding us for the search terms web design bury which is fantastic news.

If you require help formulating and executing an effective online marketing and web design strategy then call today on 0808 1433300 or email info@sizzlemedia.co.uk

As a Manchester based ecommerce web design specialist, Sizzle Media, like any corporate web design studio, conducts background research on our clients and their target markets.

One such tool that web design studios use daily to conduct market analysis is Google's keyword tool. This web based free market research tool presents you with valuable information such as how many people are looking for your product, how many people are searching for your target keyword and what the average 'Cost Per Click' is for your chosen keywords, all highly useful information when developing your marketing strategy.

Corporate web design studios utilize these powerful tools to assess the market and suggest solutions for your business, based on your budget and timescale. Most companies have the ambition to target very high level keywords such as web design. To try and appear number one on Google for this term would take significant ability, resource and time. However more targeted search terms such as web design Manchester, web design bury or web design Oldham account for much less traffic but are very targeted to our area of business, and will result in more relevant web design enquiries.

For advice on corporate web design and marketing strategy contact Sizzle Media on 0808 14 333 00 or email info@sizzlemedia.co.uk today.

As a Manchester based web design studio, we have recently experienced an increase of businesses approaching us to complete website projects that were started by a cousin, friend, or neighbor, and inevitably came to halt.

Building effective and competitive ecommerce websites requires more than just knowing how to make a website. If you wanted to build a house, you wouldn't ask your nephew with a level 1 NVQ in Construction to prepare your plans, would you? Maximising the opportunities presented by the Internet with a targeted, well-built, well-designed website requires not just technical ability, but strong business skills and marketing experience. Just like any business decision, you must take it seriously, seeking the advice of industry experts that are best suited to your requirement. Part-time web designers are just that - part time and bedroom-based. The financial savings may sound great, but it really is a false economy. The downsides of lack of access, technical support and amendments when required far outweigh any initial cost savings.

A professional web design service and advice brings with it industry experience and a quick return on investment. If you are a retailer thinking about an ecommerce website for your business, or have a half finished project that hasn’t gone right, then call Sizzle Media web design Manchester today on 0808 14333 00.

Sizzle Media web design Manchester were initially approached by Blacksheep, Manchester’s leading skateboard shop and skate park, to design a 'skin' for an EKM Powershop system enabling them to trade their skate wares online. It soon became apparent that cheap is not always cheerful. Whilst you would be forgiven wanting to find a quick solution, as Blacksheep discovered, a 'quick' setup does not equate to a functioning website that is ready to trade.

After demoing our Lava Ecommerce Platform to Blacksheep it was apparent that our ecommerce system, customer service and web design capabilities were far more tailored to their requirements and flexible business ethos. Sizzle Media were able to clearly demonstrate the many benefits of our affordable ecommerce solutions and our flexibility in making sure that Blacksheep received the quality of service expected from a quality Manchester web design studio.

The payment integration proved to be a challenge as Blacksheep had already chosen the infamously tricky HSBC gateway, which a short amount research on the web will tell you is a pain in the a**e to work with. However Ben our Technical manager overcame the challenge with his web fu and will be releasing instructions as to how we can save you a few handfuls of hair.

Blacksheep are now taking orders and join the growing number of vibrant ecommerce projects in our web design portfolio. If your business has chosen a cheap off the shelf solution like EKM Powershop in haste, then feel free to contact us today on freephone 0808 14 333 00 and we will do our best to show you a more tailored and focused business service by Manchester’s most affordable web design studio.

Not actually Google Chrome OS, but it may look something like this :)

"Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS,"

That is how Google broke the news that they are developing a brand new OS. Surprised? Well yes actually I am. It's a bold move for starters, diversifying into a market where Microsoft has had such a monopoly for many years. But then again Google have never shied away from bold moves, maybe at long last we can have a truly competitive OS market.

"Re-think what operating systems should be."

So what is it going to be/do? Well initial reports and speculation seem to point towards some sort of browser that sits above a cut down Linux kernel. So I wouldn't expect tons of propriety PC apps to work on it, Microsoft Office for example, but it's designed for a netbook/notebook not a desktop PC. That's not to say it wouldn't work well for some people on a Desktop and I'm sure Google will produce their own apps, they've shown in the past there pretty good at that (Google Docs/Gmail anybody?). Google Chrome OS is definitely aimed at targeting users who just want to boot up and logon to the net and interestingly Google are talking of boot up times in seconds not minutes.

Being web designers and developers what does this mean for us? Well in the grand scheme of web design and development, sat in Rochdale on a rainy day, not much, certainly not until we can get hold of it, but I would say it's safe bet that the chrome browser framework will be used extensively in the OS as well, so as long as we keep catering for Google Chrome all will be well.

Sizzle is proud to announce the completion of its most recent project - the new website for Astra Signs! As one of the UK's premier signage agencies, Astra have created impressive displays for clients as influential as the University of Manchester, Manchester City Football Club, H&M, and Manchester Arndale.

The new website reflects the business's public image - sleek, refined, and contemporary. Fancy Javascript effects courtesy of the incredible MooTools library make navigating the site a visual treat, while slick XHTML and CSS (backed up by ASP.Net wonderfulness) ensure the site displays consistently across a wide range of end-user devices. The site features a host of dynamic features, including a Content Management System, gallery and portfolio functionality, and an on-site price calculator.

The site was completed as part of Astra Signs' total rebranding initiative, and was built around their specific corporate identity. Here at Sizzle we don't try and force our clients to change their style to suit our websites - your website should reflect your brand, not the other way round!

We've recently been pretty chuffed to discover that one of this blog's first posts, "xHTML and CSS Web Design" has been copied and shamelessly re-appropriated by a reasonable number of other web design firms. "But Sizzle, why would this make you happy?" we hear you cry. Well, people only nick stuff of value - like our content!

We admit it's a teensy bit annoying to know that should Google get the wrong end of the stick, we could theoretically be penalised for having our unique, well-written content duplicated on other sites (although it's pretty unlikely this would happen). But in the most part, we feel good. It's nice knowing we don't have to rely on content theft to get by, and it's nice knowing we've got the skills to succeed in this industry while behaving in a totally ethical, creative way.

Besides, every decent creative company encounters this kind of thing all the time. It would be ridiculous to keep getting upset. In any creative industry, it seems only a small proportion of participants actually create anything new, and normally it's the little guys like us. Big advertising agencies regularly 'borrow' ideas, without credit, from the Internet (see this pesto advert vs this Youtube classic, or this Pot Noodle advert vs the Flight of the Conchords, or this Sugar Puffs Advert vs The Mighty Boosh's 'crimping')

Is there anything that can be done about content theft and outright plagiarism? Not really, no. People who steal content don't feel any qualms about it, and getting them to change it will probably be met with a spam attack. In our case, we're legally in the right but it's obviously not worth getting upset over, and taking legal action would be... Ridiculous.

Within a month of going live, our revamped website for the already Multi-Award-Winning Indian Ocean Restaurant has scooped its first ICT innovation award, having already won the same award for the original Indian website and online ordering system we built back in 2006!

Adding to recent successes, the new website has been awarded the winner of the “eTameside awards 2008 - Most innovative use of ICT in a Local Business”

The Indian Ocean and Sizzle Media partnership stretches way beyond just web design. Over the last four years Sizzle’s branding and marketing teams have helped the restaurant win no less than 15 industry awards, including the much-coveted ‘Best in the North’ at the ‘Best in Britain’ awards 2008.

Owner Nahim Aslam comments “Sizzle Media have been an amazing organisation to work with. They have helped us focus our brand and marketing over the last 4 years, helping us deliver on our commitment to providing our existing and future customers with the best possible service. We’re proud to announce the launch of our brand new website, and proud of the recognition it has received so quickly. The new site was developed ‘from the ground up’, focusing on expandability and user friendliness. We don’t just want to be known as ‘that Indian restaurant with amazing food’, but also as ‘the Indian restaurant which created its own online community’.”

Sizzle’s creative director Aftab Ali said “the Indian Ocean team has been great to work with. They have taken on board our expertise, allowing us the freedom to apply our web design and branding skills in moving their organisation into an industry-leading position. We’re very proud of this particular project, and it makes a great addition to our growing portfolio of top-notch websites”.

Check out the new site at www.indianocean.co.uk

We're full-time nerds at Sizzle, so it's essential that we're able to keep up-to-date on the latest goings-on in the exciting world of geekdom (when we're not busy being Manchester's best web designers, of course). And what better way to do so than via the medium of blogs? This post is going to serve as a little introduction to some of our favourite blogs and news sites, and might help introduce you to a whole new and exciting web community!

One of the best blogs on the Internet, Engadget provides the brand-spanking newest updates on technology-related news and product launches, keeping everyone informed about the latest gadgets they're not going to be able to afford. They're in close competition with very-similar-but-not-totally-the-same Gizmodo, but we prefer Engadget's spaced-out, airier design. Although they're very similar in terms of content, really.

Next up are the SEO blogs. There are two resources we love here at Sizzle, SEOmoz and SEOBook, although both suffer somewhat as a result of their totally anti-Google opinions. We like Google - their existence has been great for the Internet! There's also a fair bit of competition between these two, with regular articles 'calling out' one another. But they're invaluable resources which do great jobs of discussing sleazy SEO tactics and providing impartial, sensible advice about site development and usability issues. SEOmoz also has the brilliant YOUmoz blog, providing user-created articles for even more search engine reading.

Speaking of google , every good nerd should keep up to date on the official Google Blog, as well as the blog of their public-facing 'Search Quality' guy Matt Cutts. These provide platforms for Google to announce their latest developments, while providing an insight into the inner workings of The Big G. Very interesting stuff.

.net magazine is a great (if a little simplistic) resource for budding web developers, hindered only by the fact that transcribing code from a paper-based magazine is awfully hard work. But this isn't an issue for their web-based version, which compiles the latest goings-on in the worlds of web design and technology news, with regular featurettes on popular sites. It's a little less jargon-driven than the other sites discussed so far, but is still a fab web design resource.

Design-wise, we're big fans of Smashing Magazine's blog. Lots of links to really cool-looking sites, handy CSS design tips and tricks, and some really stunning bits of graphical design. Phwoar.

For video game news, you can't beat VoodooExtreme, aka VE3D. There are many sites like it, but something about VE3D's design and writing style just grabs us. And you can't beat high-definition gaming trailers without having to link out to some external, advert-ridden site.

And finally, there's Fluid Creativity's blog. While they're technically our 'competition', they're also very cool dudes. Problem is, we can't find the 'Older' button anywhere on the page, so are limited to only reading the newest posts! But a grand blog regardless, with links to Fluid's recent media design goodies.