Following an online report undertaken on behalf of Climate UK; I was asked by the London Climate Change Partnership to implement some changes to their WordPress site. The requested changes were drawn from recommendations I’d made as part of the original audit. So far so straight forward. The trouble began when I opened the siteRead more about London Climate Change Partnership[…]
And now, for the fourth year running, I am pleased to announce the unveiling of Unison’s prospectus. To be honest, my role in this annual project is quite minor, a little light touch project management just about covers me. As ever it is always a pleasure to meet with Unison and discuss what is newRead more about Unison Brochure 2016[…]
I am often asked about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to which my reply is always to follow good governance. Keep adding new relevant content regularly and search engines will note this accordingly. Recently I went to a Google event in Birmingham where amongst other things their Digital Garage learning platform was announced. I did theRead more about Google’s Digital Garage[…]
Flight Medic UK Director, James Buck, approached me with a view to rebuilding their website after talking to Vale First Responders, a team of community first responders in the Vale of Belvoir. Flight Medic UK is a small company that specialise in medical repatriation. James was specific about his requirements for the site. It mustRead more about Flight Medic UK goes live[…]
“Enabling social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical development for adults and children in Romanian care institutions” I have been working with Muzika Charitable Trust for a few years now. They first approached me through a mutual friend to quickly resurrect a dormant site they ran in readiness for a conference they were hosting in Bucharest.Read more about Muzika Charitable Trust[…]
Recently I have prepared several crib sheets for clients on how upload and publish a picture in WordPress, which got me to thinking maybe it was about time I shared wider. With no apology, I’ll begin at the log on step and work through. Many readers will note that this may differ in process fromRead more about Uploading a picture to WordPress[…]
Recently I had the honor to to be invited to speak at Rushcliffe’s Town and Parish Conference. The subject was to be “The Use of I.T. and Social Media in Engaging the Community”. This was, I felt, a tall order. Parish and Town Councils in general do not have a strong track record of community engagement throughRead more about Rushcliffe Town and Parish Conference[…]
Yesterday I spent a happy day with members of the RideWise team. RideWise are a Nottingham based charity committed to providing practical solutions that make cycling an enjoyable and safe form of everyday transport. Our day was focused on exploring WordPress in both it’s forms. The .com and .org. (wordpress.com provides a WordPress website/blog that isRead more about RideWise and the eclipse[…]
UPDATE: Random Haddock has been decommissioned after a year in service. He was fun but he’s had his time. 22/3/2016 The links and other things down the sides of a WordPress website are usually controlled by widgets. A widget is a small block that does a specific task. This could be almost anything from addingRead more about Random Haddock[…]
Icon are a premium hair and beauty salon based in Nottingham’s prestigious Cornerhouse. They have had a website for years but recently this has been difficult to update. Not a small problem when you need to add opening times or change stylist details. There were some interesting challenges to this rebuild. The salon needed to gain controlRead more about Icon Hair and Beauty, a cornerstone of Nottingham’s Cornerhouse[…]
A mutual friend recommended me to Creative Landscapes recently to work with them to move hosting companies and refresh their website. Creative Landscapes are a flourishing landscape gardening firm based in Aslockton and working across Nottinghamshire. Preparation is key A few weeks before our scheduled work time I met with the office manager, Donna. She would beRead more about Happy days with Creative Landscapes[…]
I recently taught a “WordPress for developers” group for the WEA. As this was a returning group of students following on from the “Setting up a WordPress website” course and there was the opportunity to ask in advance what was needed to be covered. Luxury. Most of the group asked mechanical questions. “How do IRead more about How to write a better blog post[…]
Update Session for Parish and Town Councils Thursday 27th November 2014 This is an update meeting report following on from the first meeting report I made on 29th January 2014. (To see these notes please visit http://www.carter-davies.com/better-broadband-for-nottinghamshire/) The programme is reported to be running well. 13,625 premises of the proposed 52,100 have been connectedRead more about Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire Update[…]
“Rosie” is off on an African adventure. In fact at the time of writing she has departed. Rosie is travelling and working in Africa for the next five months on a project. The project has it’s own grown up website as I am sure you can imagine. The official site isn’t the place for wryRead more about African Secret Squirrel[…]
Roo and Steve have built a fantastic holiday cottage conveniently located opposite the busy country house hotel Langar Hall. The cottage needed a website capable of showcasing the cottage and its environs, taking bookings and sharing reviews. Once Roo had defined what we needed to achieve we set to work. Across a series of FridayRead more about Langar Near The Hall Wins Gold Award[…]
I’ve rather neglected this site of late. Busy is as busy does as they say. Notwithstanding this I discovered a fabulous photo library today that I’d like to share. Upsplash offer 10 new photos every 10 days. The pictures are help under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication, which essentially means that anyone can useRead more about Upsplash is a winner[…]
Neil is a respected Health & Safety consultant, providing his services to both the private and public sectors. His organisation has had a website for many years and felt it was time for an update. The website needed to showcase Neil’s expertise, be responsive for viewing on mobile devices, integrate with Linked In, be boldRead more about Effective Health & Safety Management[…]
Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire Parish Council Update Session 29th January 2014 – Newark Showground The question is: When will we get fast and stable broadband connection in Nottinghamshire. The answer seems to be sometime soon. For anyone following this hotly contested issue this answer will come as no surprise. I attended the update session atRead more about Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire[…]
With 2014 well underway it’s time to take stock of all of those business resolutions so glibly promised a mere two weeks ago. I promise to update this website at least once a week I promise to stay on top of my accounts I promise to network more I promise to be more Alan SugarRead more about Promises, Promises[…]
I first met Liz when she attended a short course that I was running for the Workers’ Educational Association. The course was called Websites for Voluntary and Community Groups; and Liz was gearing up to make a website for Riseholme Parish Council. The site that Liz made and maintained using WordPress worked well for theRead more about Riseholme Parish Council[…]
Spent the morning making this video catalog for my good friend John over at Turners Bakery in Cropwell Bishop. Sit back and enjoy the magnificence of his craft. Desmond Dekker is a true legend. When he sang ”Get up in the morning slaving for bread, sir. So that every mouth can be fed” in April ofRead more about New Bread Video[…]
And then there was the BBC Micro ~ set to change the world, or at least the UK. It did. By 1985 a million and a half of them had been sold with 85% of schools having a “Beeb” as their learning computer. The thing with it was that one had to work out howRead more about DI & I[…]
Here we are sitting looking at Tony’s existing website. He is contemplating a rebuild so we are also looking at other sites he likes. When considering a rebuild, one of the first things to check is who owns the existing web address. In Tony’s case it isn’t Tony. Not surprisingly he isn’t too pleased aboutRead more about Who owns you?[…]
Langar cum Barnstone is a small parish in England’s East Midlands. Boasting around a thousand souls; the council decided to overhaul their existing site to better server the community. The site I built for Langar cum Barnstone Parish Council links with twitter and Facebook as well as sending mail alerts to subscribers. It covers aRead more about Langar cum Barnstone Parish Council[…]
A poem about archery and getting older was pasted inside a birthday card I recently received. It made me smile so I am sharing. As children, health and safety rules Conspire to narrow our vista: “Don’t play at surgeons, use real knives Or practice on your sister”. It’s therefore no surprise when we, In mid-lifeRead more about Poetry Please[…]
Update: Saddened to hear of the passing of Paul Daniels today. The world is a poorer place. 17/3/16 A bit of a coup for Stage4Stars today. The world famous magician Paul Daniels tweeted the site address out to his 50,000 followers. Mr Daniels has been testing the stage and exploring its capabilities. Within 8 hoursRead more about A bit of magic…[…]
With a new product and a launch date looming Stage4Stars got in touch to talk about overhauling their WordPress site. The original had been designed by a family friend and looked great; however it didn’t quite pack the punch needed to promote the one and only Instant Stage & Theatre for all ages. The debateRead more about Stage4Stars ~ setting the stage[…]
Yesterday I received emails from three different server companies informing me of a global DoS attack. Luckily for me and the people I make website for I only host sites with reputable companies. This paid dividends as each of the companies we have sites hosted with each sent through both the warning and each sentRead more about DoS Attack[…]
UPDATE: This site has now been closed as the campaign has ended. For more information on the national Haiti campaign please visit http://www.oxfam.org.uk/ I was approached through a mutual acquaintance to develop a website in a hurry in support of an emergency fundraising initiative to benefit Haiti, a country in the grips of a cholera epidemicRead more about Help for Haiti ~ Design, Build and Maintain[…]
ÜPSTAGING Ltd supply stages and crew for events both here in the UK and wider into Europe. They have an existing website that has stood still for a while. With new tours across Europe booked for the coming months ÜPSTAGING Ltd have decided to take the plunge and redevelop their old site into a livingRead more about Work begins on ÜPSTAGING Ltd[…]
I’ve worked with Ellen Carroll for years on and off. Her company, Nellie PR, were early adopters of social media and blogging. They saw the potential and are benefiting from understanding what social media is and how it can be best used in a business to business environment. Yesterday I completed www.nelliepr.co.uk This is theRead more about Exeter based PR company remodel[…]
Having lunch at home in Langar with a family friend talking about websites. Trudy is a small business owner and her experiences of having a website for her business seem all too familiar. A website that is difficult to update, pay for hosting, pay for development, pay for adding content, pay, pay, pay. Always onRead more about Write it once and automate syndication[…]
This short film was made by our good friends over at Donkey Stone Films. It shows artist Chris Lewis Jones making two works in the style of Jackson Pollock. The abstract expressionist style and heavy use of jazz is indicative of Pollock’s practice, however unlike Pollock, Chris was sober when he went to work. ThisRead more about Nevermind the Pollocks[…]
Although not a terribly good shot, I love this photo. It was snapped on one of my many trips to Amsterdam and sums up the place for me. I can’t imagine a similar sign in Dutch being so prominently displayed in a UK news agents. Recently I recycled a whole bunch of conference bags as partRead more about Amsterdam[…]
Originally published February 1996 The genre is dead. As a compartmentalisation it is no longer a force. We can no longer be interested by a single strain without hybrid interference from another. Throughout all walks of life diversity is BOSS. Take an idea, put it in a blender, add a spoonful of another, mix well,Read more about A Manifesto For Culture Surfers[…]