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 In today’s digital-first world, a small business’s website isn’t just a brochure—it’s a vital asset for brand visibility, customer engagement, and revenue generation. Choosing the right website hosting is a fundamental step toward building an online presence that is fast, secure, and scalable. But with countless hosting options available, which one is best suited to help your small business thrive?

For small businesses in the UK, having a well-designed, functional website is a vital part of building brand visibility, engaging customers, and driving sales. A professional website helps establish credibility and allows customers to interact with your business anytime, anywhere. However, many small business owners face the challenge of finding a website builder that’s affordable, easy to use, and offers the right features for their business needs.

Choosing the best framework for web development is crucial as it shapes the efficiency, scalability, and future success of a web project. Frameworks provide tools and pre-built modules that enable developers to focus on unique, value-added components rather than repetitive tasks. But with so many options available, the best choice often depends on project goals, team expertise, and the nature of the application itself.

Choosing the right PHP framework for your web development project is crucial, as it impacts the efficiency, scalability, and long-term maintenance of your application. Two popular choices in the PHP ecosystem are CodeIgniter and Laravel. While both frameworks have their strengths, they differ significantly in terms of features, structure, and philosophy. Let's look into the similarities, differences, and unique advantages of CodeIgniter and Laravel to help you make an informed decision.

When choosing a web development framework, one of the first questions to ask is how well it can handle large, complex projects. With its strong reputation, ease of use, and robust set of features, Laravel has gained popularity among developers, especially for medium-sized applications. But is it suitable for large-scale projects with complex requirements, high traffic, and the need for long-term scalability? In this article, our bespoke website design and development agency in London explores Laravel’s capabilities, strengths, and limitation

For developers and businesses alike, choosing the right framework for web development can have a huge impact on a project’s success. Laravel is a popular PHP framework that has been gaining significant traction over the years, known for its elegance, scalability, and developer-friendly features. Whether you’re a newcomer to web development or an experienced developer looking to explore Laravel’s advantages, this guide from our bespoke web design agency in London will explain what Laravel is, why it’s popular, and how it can benefit you

For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, launching an ecommerce site is often the key to unlocking growth, expanding reach, and increasing revenue. However, choosing the right platform is crucial, as each one offers distinct features, pricing, and limitations. Selecting the ideal ecommerce platform can simplify operations, streamline the customer experience, and support long-term scalability.

In the UK’s competitive ecommerce market, a reliable and secure payment gateway is essential to building trust with customers and driving conversions on your ecommerce website. The right payment gateway doesn’t just enable smooth transactions; it provides multiple payment options, robust security, and enhances the overall customer experience. With so many options to choose from, selecting the best payment gateway for your UK-based ecommerce site can be overwhelming.

As ecommerce technology continues to evolve, businesses are seeking flexible, efficient solutions to build online stores that offer an exceptional customer experience. For brands looking to stay ahead in this competitive space, headless ecommerce platforms offer a game-changing approach. By decoupling the front end (what customers see) from the back end (where data is managed), headless ecommerce allows for unparalleled flexibility and customisation, enabling brands to deliver a consistent, high-quality experience across any device.

Deciding on what hosting solution to use is a decision that can make or break your website’s success. In this article, we discuss the top managed WordPress hosting solutions, factors to consider when choosing a hosting solution, and answer some frequently asked questions.

Ecommerce is a dynamic and competitive world, and growth isn’t just a goal—it’s a must. Whether you’re kicking off a new online venture or managing an established store, there’s always an opportunity to unlock new potential, scale up, and set your brand apart. But with so many moving parts, where do you start? How do you build a thriving ecommerce business that stands out, draws in loyal customers, and drives consistent sales? Let’s explore proven strategies that can help you turn your ecommerce store into a powerhouse brand.

In this article, we have analysed the highest ranking articles, and paired this with our industry expertise to select five of the best WordPress membership plugins. We have selected plugins that will work for a variety of use cases. 

In the world of ecommerce, your success hinges not just on the quality of your products, but on the quality of your customer experience. Creating a memorable, seamless, and enjoyable customer experience is essential to building brand loyalty, driving sales, and encouraging repeat business.

When it comes to ecommerce, conversion rate is one of the most important metrics you need to keep an eye on. It’s not just a number—it’s a reflection of how well your online store is doing its job. But what exactly is a good ecommerce conversion rate, and how can you improve yours?

The choice between a headless CMS (Content Management System) or WordPress largely depends on your business’ specific requirements and development support available. This article will break down the benefits of each approach, to help you decide which may be the better option for you.

Using a headless WordPress may be a good option for you if you need increased flexibility on your site. This article will delve into everything you need to know about using headless WordPress, including:

Deciding on what CMS to use is a decision that can significantly affect your website creation and maintenance experience. So you’ve narrowed the choice down to Umbraco vs. WordPress, but which one is right for you? In this article, we discuss:

There are several reasons why you may choose to migrate your WordPress website to a new domain. Perhaps you’re looking to revitalise your brand, or are changing hosting provider to scale up your website. Whatever the reason, there are certain steps you need to take to ensure the process goes smoothly, and your website doesn’t experience any downtime. 

Deciding on what CMS to use is a decision that can make or break your website creation and maintenance experience. So you’ve narrowed the choice down to HubSpot vs. WordPress, but which one is right for you? In this article, we discuss:

Deciding on what CMS to use is a tricky decision that can help or hinder your website creation and maintenance experience. So you’ve narrowed the choice down to Joomla vs. WordPress, but which one is right for you? In this article, we discuss:

Choosing the right CMS can make all the difference in how easy or tricky it is to build and maintain your website. Drupal and WordPress are both popular content management systems (CMSs). But which will work best for your project?  In this article, we discuss:

Deciding on what CMS to use is a decision that can make or break your website creation and maintenance experience. So you’ve narrowed the choice down to Webflow vs. WordPress, but which one is right for you? In this article, we discuss:

How can landing pages increase conversion rates, and why should we optimise landing pages? Marketers and business owners alike who have reaped the benefits understand that optimising landing pages has the potential to turn casual visitors into loyal customers.

Choosing between responsive web design vs. adaptive web design can be a tricky decision. This article aims to make it easier for you to choose the right design style for your business. 

In this article, you will discover:

Optimising your website for SEO is a key component in driving traffic to and increasing the success of your site. But where should you get started to improve SEO on your WordPress site? 

This article will focus on: 

How to increase conversion rate: Quick tipsProvide easily accessible contact info Use high quality imagery Design for mobile Use in line CTAs Simplify your forms Consider social proof Try a live chat Add videos Consider microinteractions Consider using AI powered toolsWhat does website conversion mean? I am sure you have heard the phrase ‘website conversion rate’ being bounced around the office or at networking events, but what does it actually mean? Essentially it is the measure of how good your website is at getting your users to do w

Just like a physical store or office space, remodelling and updating your website is an important part of keeping your business an up-to-date and appealing space. However, there’s much more to a website redesign than a fresh, new look. By rebuilding the site from the ground up, the redesign process upgrades your website for improved functionality, better content quality, and faster performance, creating the best possible user experience and customer journey – and becoming the foundation of successful digital marketing strategies. What is a

Microinteractions are often overlooked features when you’re busy designing and building a website. When searching for “Key factors to consider when building a website”, none of the searches returned results on the first page of the SERPs even mentioned Microinteractions. This is despite the fact that they’re one of the key pieces of functionality. They provide useful feedback to users when they interact with (and become initially involved with) your business online.  What are Microinteractions?  Microinteractions (MIs) are small, inst

Creating a website can be exciting, but it's important to understand the intricacies of the process. In this article, we answer questions, such as what is a web design process?

In this article, we'll explore how to craft an effective website design brief and provide a sample template to streamline the process.

When it comes to eCommerce, having the right set of features on your website can make all the difference as they can help to attract and retain customers. So what are the key features of an eCommerce website and best practices to follow?

Are you looking to generate more leads for your business? In this article, we explore how to create a lead capture form and page to help you do just that. A lead capture page is a powerful tool for collecting valuable contact information from potential customers in exchange for something of value.

Terminology helps people to sum up complex ideas in a word, a few words, or an acronym. But if you're just getting used to a new field, it can be baffling. Your CMS will be very important to your business’s website - and for many businesses, that website is among their top ways of informing the public about what they do and gaining new customers. So, what is a content management system? Once you’ve read this article, you’ll be ready to use the term “CMS” with confidence. Here are the basics. 

Interested in responsive web design? Let’s begin at the beginning by looking at what responsive web design is before getting into some of the basics you’ll need to achieve a responsive website. 

You decided it was time your business had its own website. After all, everyone wants to take a look at one’s website nowadays, and websites are also a great way to attract customers who might not otherwise have found your business. You might even attract customers from around the world instead of just your hometown. And, if you’re a local business, a website can help people in your area discover you by searching terms like “electricians in Notting Hill” and the like. 

“Just another WordPress website?” It’s a statement you’re unlikely to hear, and in this article we’ll explain the benefits of using WordPress and why it can be as unique as you and your business are. And, once we’ve covered the many benefits of WordPress, we’re confident you’ll see why it’s the choice of professional website developers and businesses around the world. Let’s dive in!

Looking to build a website? You'll be in good company if you choose WordPress. Over 43 percent of websites are WordPress sites and there are very good reasons why this platform is so popular. But if you’re new to all this, you’ll want to understand what WordPress is and get an introduction to a few bits of terminology you’re bound to encounter along the way. So, without further ado, let’s get started. 

You have your own online store. But unless you promote it so that people are made aware of it and visit it, you won’t make any sales. Getting visitors is only the first step. Once they’re there, you still need to entice them with your products, convert them into customers, and provide experiences that will encourage them to come back for more. Ecommerce marketing is a set of practices that covers everything from promotion to customer retention and all the steps in between.

You’re ready to sell your products to the world and that means having a highly attractive “storefront” on the information superhighway. That’s what an ecommerce website is and you want the best “real estate” you can secure in the world’s virtual business district. 

When you launched your website, you had big dreams and ideas. Presumably, you didn’t get a website just for the sake of having one. You wanted to use it to persuade visitors to take some kind of action. The percentage of visitors who took that action represents your website conversion rate and it’s much more than just another number. It tells you whether you were successful in achieving the goal you set out to reach. 

If you’re about to design and launch your own website for the first time or are hoping to create an updated version that matches the best in modern website design, you’ll be looking out for website design ideas. You’d like your website to be unique, but there are many design pitfalls lurking in wait for the unwary. These website design tips cover general principles that every website designer should apply. Use them to guide your decision-making as you work towards creating a website that matches the needs of the most important stakeholde

You’re inspired and ready to get started on creating a new website. But before all the exciting design activities kick in, you need to get a few basics sorted out. Specifically, you need a domain name and a host. Most of us know that the domain name is the special address a website uses, for example: “yourbusiness.com.” But what is hosting, why do we need it, and what are your options? 

In the beginning, website hosting services were a niche offering… and then, the internet exploded. Now, the number of web hosting services is in the hundreds of thousands, each promising better client features than the next. So where should you be hosting your WordPress website? And what should you do if you need to migrate your website to a new host?  Here’s why migrating your WordPress website to a new host may be the best strategic move for your organisation’s online presence.

Every business needs a solid marketing strategy, especially when you don’t have access to the resources and budget that bigger organisations tend to have. Fortunately, there’s no reason why a smaller budget should hold your business back – these days, success is all about marketing strategically and intelligently rather than simply having the biggest billboard or the most expensive prime time ad slot.  To make your marketing work for your business, it’s essential to get to grips with the fundamentals, which is why our marketing team in

If you are running a business and want a solid online presence, you’ve probably heard of WordPress, along with competitors like Drupal and Wix. Choosing the right content management system (CMS) for your business website is a critical decision because it will determine how your website works, how it is managed on an everyday basis, its security, how easy it is to modify, and much more. We’ve developed a useful guide to the WordPress CMS to help guide this decision, showing the features, pros and cons of this market-leading CMS. What is Word

Most businesses today realise that creating a website a website is a basic business need, especially with consumers increasingly using the internet for everything from researching their next holiday, getting design inspiration for their home’s interior, and online shopping. The next step is deciding whether you want a custom website design or to use a template design – and that can be a slightly more difficult decision, especially when your expertise isn’t digital marketing. So, here’s some insight into the pros and cons of each option,

If you are considering running a business from home, you’re not alone! The events of 2020 were a catalyst for many people when it comes to working. With the onset of remote working, businesses unable to run, and other challenges, running your own business became a much more viable and popular solution than it had been in past years. To help you out, we’ve put together a quick guide on running an online business from home, including the legalities and some tips on how an expertly designed website can help your business succeed.

While every aspect of your business’s online presence is important, the ultimate goal of your online presence is to attract potential customers and sell through your website, making it the foundation of your digital operations. Just as with a physical store, your beautiful website design needs ongoing maintenance to keep it running smoothly and drawing in new customers. Our beginner’s guide will cover all the basics of why website maintenance is necessary, what it should include on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, and how to

Our team of website and graphic design team has put together a guide to what makes a good website, looking at the design principles that make a website truly effective as a digital brand platform.

Website design is an area that’s creative and constantly evolving, bringing new and interesting ways to showcase a business online. In 2011, parallax scrolling was an emerging design trend, but by 2021, it’s become a well-established and popular way to enhance the visual impact of a website. Here’s some insight into how the parallax scrolling effect works and some stand-out examples of this visually engaging graphic design technique.

A website gives your business a valuable online presence – unfortunately, this visibility not only attracts clients and customers, but it can also attract cybercriminals. If you have a website for your business, it’s important to ensure its properly secured against. Security breach to keep your records and data safe, securing your business and your reputation.

No matter how useful your services, how innovative your product, or how unique your business is, it’s not going to succeed unless you have one thing: happy customers. Like every industry, marketing and advertising constantly changes and evolves, from newspaper and radio ads to TV ads and billboards. Today, marketing is digital. And as with all things digital, the options are endless – to the point of becoming overwhelming. Here’s how to evolve your marketing strategy for a digital world, cutting through the flash and fervour to talk abou

One of the most recent trends in the web design industry is a one-page website. In this design, rather than having different pages for different products and services, visitors can see everything they need to know about your brand and business on, well, one page. It’s a simple and elegant solution that’s understandably appealing to many small business owners, but it’s important to understand both the advantages and disadvantages of this web design option before you take the plunge. That way, you’ll be able to choose the option that work

This article will focus on how to create a website for a small business, including a step-by-step guide.

Once a business website is live and running it needs to be actively managed and maintained to keep it operating effectively. Leaving a site up with no management plan is a bit like running a new car without any maintenance – things are likely to go wrong down the line. You’ve invested a lot to get the website your business deserves, and regular website management including design edits, server management, performance improvements, analytics and security updates are critical both for your cybersecurity and online customer service. Here are

Your organisation’s website is the keystone of your digital marketing strategy; it’s the virtual storefront where you want all your clients, customers and interested parties ending up when they look for the kinds of products and services you are. It takes just 0.05 seconds for a user to form an opinion of your website that determines whether they say or go, so making a good impression online is critical. As a foundational piece of infrastructure, your website marketing strategy must be powerful, effective, and goal-orientated if you want t

To recap we’ve now explored how to prep both teams for the scoping project and also covered the main structure of how to scope a website. Before we move on to using a SoW during the project we just wanted to pump the brakes slightly. As we’ve mentioned before, we can’t just focus on the development side of life so running with that piece of advice we’ve split this article into web design and development. We’re going to be looking at some of the larger items that you will want to cover in your scope and also some common pitfalls to loo

In this article, we’ll be discussing how to scope a website project effectively. We’ll be covering the following main points:

It’s a wonder how there are so many digital agencies. Yes, it’s a service that isn’t sector specific and as such the demand is high. But it’s not an easy sell. A lot of businesses and individuals have had bad experiences with SEO agencies and just about everyone knows/has experienced a nightmare website project. The designing and building of websites has become somewhat of a natural lifecycle. It’s something that we all have to do (some of us more than others), so let’s look at how and why scoping a website project can prevent the b

On 3rd of September 2019, our Head of Design and Managing Director held a talk at AutumnFair 2019 in regards to “Building an E-Commerce Website that Works for You and Your Customers”. Having had such a positive response from those at the talk, we thought we’d transcribe the talk to share with the world. Without further adieu, here’s a number of useful tips for e-commerce sites, from improving an existing site, all the way through to designing and building a website bespoke, from scratch.  

Have you ever designed an interface or website and spent hours selecting the perfect font for your UI to find that as soon as your XD or Sketch designs are developed into a coded website, your ever so carefully selected font now looks a lot different on a web browser? Often the main issue as web designers we find is the font increases in weight. This can be a very frustrating realisation and can result in a website that you’re not completely happy with or more time spent finding a compatible font. Why do fonts render differently inside a brow

Setting foot into the world of opening your own Shopify shop is an exciting time for any new entrepreneur. However, it’s important to make sure that it’s the right thing for you and that you have all of the facts and information before diving into your new business venture. So without further adieu, let’s get down to brass tacks. Pros Usability Shopify’s ease of use for businesses and consumers alike makes it an attractive solution to an often complicated problem – eCommerce. When setting up an online store the more that can be au

A picture’s a picture, right? Not when it comes to web design and SEO. Believe it or not, image optimisation has a dramatic effect on your website’s SEO. So dramatic, in fact that we wrote an entire blog on it! Each file type has its own benefits, drawbacks and have their purpose. So, what’s the difference between PNG and JPEG? GIF and SVG? What are the best image file formats for your website?

Visual Hierarchy (VH) is the design principle that outlines the order in which a user of any given website interacts with and processes information on a page. By manipulating elements of a website to have a clearer hierarchy and designing a site effectively around this principle, designers can influence the importance that users perceive information across the website to have. You can guide your user’s eyes around through your website, focusing on CTAs and integral pieces of information.

No, you haven’t hit your head and ended up back in 2007. Custom cursors are back like they never left and they’re the latest accoutrement to website UI/UX worldwide. These aren’t the gimmicky space invaders and sparkling unicorns of yester-year. The latest generation of custom cursors are sleek, sexy and designed with the user in mind… for the most part. 

There are 3 main options to consider when building a website from scratch, including:Free website builders Bringing in a designer to amend a template Bespoke website designDiscover more about these three options and the advantages and disadvantages of each choice in this article. You might have a website, but either now or in the future it’s going to need a new lick of paint. Or it might be that your business is wanting to rebrand and you need a website to suit its new look. Or the management are in agreement that a new website is imp

UX and UI are both terms that are bandied around a lot, but there is often confusion as to what the difference is. There are important differences between the two, but they are becoming increasingly inter-mingled, as it is very tricky to have one without the other. This guide will outline the key differences and some of the history and theory of UX and UI design. The Basics   UI (USER INTERFACE) UI, or User Interface, is the surface look of a website and UI designers aim to maximise the usability and efficiency of a website. They will take

As web interfaces continue to evolve, it is becoming increasingly important not to get distracted from the main purpose of a site: to deliver a message. In order for this message to successfully reach your audience, the website needs to be easy to use – intuitive, with good information architecture and (preferably) beautiful. As the web has evolved, it has become an alternative world – a new “dimension” where we while away hours upon hours. Crucially, the web is all-inclusive and accessible. Therefore one factor we must not forg

A beautifully designed website with well-constructed copy will be undermined if the accompanying imagery is not high quality. Impressive imagery will engage the user, instigating authenticity and professionalism.

Minimalist design is everywhere. As a trend, it has been around for a long time with varying levels of popularity. While there are plenty of examples of early minimalism, its current form dates from the post-war era especially, such as Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s infamous “Less is more” quote. It is characterised by a complete focus on what is valuable and essential to the user, minimising or stripping away any unnecessary distractions.

Branding is one of the most fundamental aspects of your business to get right. It is the appearance of your business, it is your reputation and it is the beating heart of your organisation. Yet so many companies fall short of seeing the importance of a strong brand, or how to go about creating one. ‘Branding’ is a word that’s thrown about a lot, but what does it actually mean and what does it encompass?

Information Architecture (IA) is the method of structuring and organising content. The term is used in a variety of industries but as you might expect we are referring to it in the context of websites. Just like the foundations of a building, information architecture is the essential building blocks of a website. Without it, the rest of the site could fall apart. Despite this, IA can be an underestimated part of the web design process. Furthermore, often it is wrongly based on opinion alone, as opposed to careful research and planning. The aim

User experience (UX) is used to describe the way a person feels when interacting with a system. In a modern context, the term is most commonly applied with regards to a person’s experience with a website, web application or digital software. The aim of UX is to provide a high level of usability and satisfaction in order to establish an overall refined and exemplary experience for the user. The aim of this blog series is to consider the various factors that play into the broad topic of UX design. In this first post of the series, we will discu

Yellowball have successfully planned, designed, developed and launched hundreds of successful web projects in the last few years. This experience has given us a unique insight into the best and most effective ways to manage and oversee the successful delivery of projects for our clients. To achieve this, we deploy a range of project management methodologies for website design and development, depending on the requirements, complexity and time scale of each project. One methodology that is becoming increasingly successful is agile.

How users perceive a website is paramount to its success; does it give them value? Is it easy to use? Is it enjoyable to use? These questions run through their subconscious as they interact with the web. If the answers are positive to these then it is likely that they’ll be converted into a regular user. Here we want to share with you some expert tips to User Experience (UX) driven design. You have probably guessed that User Experience (UX) is essentially how a person feels when interacting with a website, application or piece of software. Th

The new Google update, dubbed #mobilegeddon has turbocharged conversations around the need to be ‘mobile friendly’. Although we would certainly not argue against the importance of being mobile friendly in order to appear on mobile Google searches (it is very, very important), in actual fact only the top 5-8 results on Google get any meaningful traffic from the search engine.  So if your website does not rank on Google’s mobile search results, do you need to invest in a mobile friendly site?  Let’s weigh up the pros and cons, as well a