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A Breath of Fresh Air for Torquay B&B Website

Kethla House is a Bed and Breakfast in Torquay, which was taken over by owners Andrew and Lisa just over five years ago. An attractive 4 Star hotel in a popular holiday destination, friendly character and good service sets Kethla House apart from the many other accommodation providers in the area.

The hotel's existing website's look was out-dated and with very limited functionality, hence their online presence struggled to successfully portray both the South Devon Coast and Kethla House as an attractive holiday destination. Andrew and Lisa were desperate for an eye-catching and functional new website to help them to better promote their business to holidaymakers.

Formoda designed a brand new logo, which reflects the B&B's 4 Star rating; with a prestigious feel, the new logo design helps to inspire trust in the holiday accommodation. Based on this we created a website design, which maximises the use of imagery from the area while maintaining a clean but inviting look.

The new Kethla House website is another one of Formoda's new FormodaLite websites, which combine great design and functionality at a much lower up-front cost. The easy-to-use FormodaLite CMS comes packed with features giving Andrew and Lisa all the flexibility they need to keep all areas of their website up-to-date.

For a peak at the brand new look. please visit the new Kethla House website!

Leading Back Care Company Revamps Ecommerce Website With Impressive Results

Putnams is a family-run UK manufacturing company, which has been specialising in superior back support and back care products since the 1970s. The company has had a website for many years but their online presence was very dated and limited in functionality and so did not convey Putnams' quality reputation as leaders in British back care for over 30 years.

The brief was clear: to develop and design a fresh, modern and functional ecommerce website to help them attract even more retail and wholesale clients while making it easy to upload new content.

The Putnams logo is well established, so we used their existing brand and colour scheme as the basis for a new website design. The new look is still clearly Putnams but with a modern twist, while also reinforcing the brand as an experienced and established business manufacturing their products in the UK.

With an easy-to-use Content Management System, we have created an excellent ecommerce solution, which makes product and order management really easy for Putnams. Product attributes, discount codes and a one-page checkout process are just a few of the other exciting website features.

The new ecommerce website was launched with great success: Within just a few hours of going live, Putnams already had their first orders coming through and, since the launch at the end of November, the orders haven't stopped coming! The new website's layout has made all of Putnams' products much more visible, which has led to shoppers ordering products that were previously never purchased online.

To view the new website and perhaps have a browse through the quality range of back support products, please visit the new Putnams website!

Good Vibrations with New Website Design for Phi Parties

Phi Parties is a new Devon venture set up to advertise phi energyDOTs, a range of bio-energetic support products. The five phi energyDOTs are designed to protect our health and well being in a world of high tech and high stress. A new website providing information about fun and informal parties where people can find out more about the benefits of the energyDOTs was needed to help advertise the new business.

The new website design caters to a predominantly female target audience with its girly and feminine look while organising the information in a clean, intuitive way. Lifestyle images help to create a fun and energetic feel for the website, making Phi Parties a desirable experience to be a part of.

With an easy-to-use Content Management System Phi Parties are able to quickly update all areas of their new website, meaning they have full control over the information shown.

The new Phi Parties website development is another one of Formoda's new FormodaLite websites, which provide a professionally designed and built website from our experienced design and development teams at a lower up-front cost. Our Project and Social Media Manager Toni Berning said "FormodaLite is a great concept for new businesses like Phi Parties: creative designs and lots of functionality with SEO capabilities at lower rates."

To find out more, please have a look at the new Phi Parties website!

New logo design and website development for EcoPlanet Bamboo Central America

Formoda are pleased to announce the re-branding of EcoPlanet Bamboo Central America and we have also designed a new website with this new branding.

The new website was launched just before Christmas and enables the successful Central American arm of the global EcoPlanet Bamboo group to communicate with existing and potential investors about their Bamboo plantations in Nicaragua.

The website gives information about the social and environmental policy of the company showing that this is ethical investment, which is benefiting the local population and economy rather than exploiting it.

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "EcoPlanet Bamboo Central America are achieving their aims so well for the local population and investors, therefore this website is just the first of many, as they aim to work with similar organistions in other regions of the world. Formoda are proud to be working with them."

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new EcoPlanet Bamboo Central America website design.

RadioCentre launches new website - the place to go for commercial radio

RadioCentre, the trade body for UK commercial radio, have launched a new website designed and built by Devon-based web designers, Formoda. The website, www.radiocentre.org, will act as a showcase for commercial radio, with a strong focus on industry news and events, as well as providing a gateway into RadioCentre's policy and public affairs work.

RadioCentre works on behalf of its members to create a more competitive, diverse and creative industry, helping to build the success, strength and diversity of commercial radio. Its members range from household name such as Capital FM, Heart FM, Kiss and Magic, to regional stations such as Real Radio, Palm FM and Jack FM.

Central to Formoda's brief was to design a website that would become the go-to place for the latest news, events and developments across the industry, creating a dynamic, easily updated site that was visually appealing and drew upon the rich resources of its members.

The new RadioCentre website features include:

Regularly updated industry news stories
Daily press summary - a daily digest of national and trade press coverage of commercial radio in the headlines
Station Guide - integrating the data supplied by MediaUK to show the up-to-date contact and coverage details for UK commercial radio
Radio Player - integrates with the system to play random or specific commercial radio stations
Airplay Chart - shows the latest most popular songs on commercial radio stations (data provided by RadioMonitor)
The Board and Staff - find out more about some of the main movers and shakers in Commercial Radio
Key facts - did you know that radio accounts for one quarter of your media day?
Featured Station - allows RadioCentre to highlight the achievements of a specific commercial radio station
Gallery - features station events, celebrity visits, awards ceremonies - all integrated from RadioCentre's Flickr gallery
Publications and Press Releases - RadioCentre.org is the main repository for information on commercial radio's dealings with the BBC, Ofcom, Copyright issues and other local and national requirements
Twitter feed

Lucy Goodwin, Head of Press at RadioCentre said: "We were impressed by Formoda's portfolio of work and how they interpreted our brief. But more importantly, we were also looking for an agency who could translate our needs into a website that is reflective of the industry we represent. Formoda understood our requirements perfectly and hit the creative nail on the head first time. They worked with a constantly evolving brief, incorporating some complex areas into the site, but always keeping in mind our requirement to have user friendly CMS."

Simon Dolley, Director of Formoda said : "RadioCentre have been a delight to work with and this is definitely going to be one of our most active websites, as the information is changing every day and the way the team are going, this will definitely achieve the goal of becoming the website to visit for the most up to date news and information on Commercial Radio in the UK."

Formoda Christmas and New Year Opening Times

It's that time of year when we all need a bit of a break and we thought we'd keep you up to date with our opening times during the festive season.

We're closed from Christmas Eve until the start of the new working year, so please don't try and call the office or expect to find us there as we'll most probably be sitting in front of a fire, eating too much, drinking too much or getting stuck in the snow.

Open up until 4pm on Friday 23rd December
Closed Saturday 24th December to Monday 2nd January 2012
3rd January onwards - normal office hours - 8:30 - 17:30 Monday to Friday

If you need to get hold of us duing this period - please email us@formoda.co.uk and we'll reply as soon as we can. We hope everyone enjoys their festive holidays

Hampers from Devon this Christmas with new Deli website design

The Wild Fig Deli is a new addition to the unique shopping landscape of Totnes town centre. Offering a mixture of home-made, local and international foods, the Wild Fig Deli has gone down very well with locals and visitors.

Formoda created the new branding for the Devon-based company and had already worked on stationery, advertising and signage for the Wild Fig but there was always a plan to create a website, which could be easily updated by the team.

The website has received rave reviews from shoppers who have been searching for products to add to their Christmas Hampers and to buy as Xmas gifts. The website was built using Formoda's new FormodaLite service for creating value websites, with its user-friendly content management system.

Lisa Hosking from the Wild Fig Deli said "We had already worked with Formoda before and knew we would receive a great website but we were delighted with the how flexible FormodaLite turned out to be for updating the website."

To view the new website design and development for this new Deli in Devon, please visit the new Wild Fig Deli website design.

Southern African corporate branding extends Formoda's clients to a new continent

EcoPlanet Bamboo - Southern Africa is part of the global EcoPlanet Bamboo group of companies and Formoda were delighted to be asked to create the new company logo, corporate branding and website - which is due to be launched in January 2012.

Formoda's client base already extended over Europe, Asia, North America and Central America and with EcoPlanet Bamboo Southern Africa (and also a new client from Ethiopia in the spring), we were pleased to have added another continent to our portfolio. South America and Australasia shouldn't be that hard to crack but does anyone know any clients in Antarctica needing graphic design or website development?

The new brand is designed to mimic colours of the savannah and is also soon to be seen on plantations in South Africa, as Formoda create signage and other design elements for the African company.

Simon Dolley, Director of Formoda said "Every time we gain a new client in a new country we are so pleased that a small company like ours from the Westcountry can be so successful Internationally. It is also brilliant that whenever we create a new brand or website for an International client we get so many enquiries from others in those regions who have seen what we have done, like what they see and asking if we would like to work with them too!"

New Property Consultants' Website Leads The Way!

I W Property Consulting are RICS accredited Chartered Surveyors based in the South West. After working on a new brand identity for the company, we were asked to develop a new online presence for the business as well.

Following initial discussions with owner Andrew Ireland, we created a website design based on the new branding for I W Property Consulting. Ireland Weller is an established name in the Devon estate agents business, so a big part of the website's objective was to convey it as the successful and experienced local company it is.

The new look website makes good use of the brand's colour scheme and modern look while re-iterating feelings of trust, experience and professionalism. Imagery from the South West create a local feeling while also clearly defining the area in which the company operates.

Built using our new website framework developed by Formoda, the I W Property Consulting website has an incredibly flexible, easy-to-update content management system, allowing the company to update all areas of the website and promote themselves to potential and existing clients alike.

What's more, all tweets from a company Twitter account are automatically fed through to the site. The tweets provide commentary and advice on the residential property sector, thus reinforcing the company's modern outlook with over 20 years experience.

Andrew expressed his delight at the website design and development produced by Formoda: "I am so pleased with the website, it's better than I expected. THANK YOU."

To find out what all the fuss is about, please visit the new I W Property Consulting website!

Protect and Survive! Content managed website helps Firemaster to help businesses in Devon

Firemaster are a company of accredited Fire Risk Assessors based in South Devon who needed a new content managed website design to enable them to promote themselves to potential clients throughout the South West of England.

The website is primarily aimed at business owners, landlords, letting agents and building conveyancers who all regularly require the services of Firemaster, who are registered with the Institute of Fire Engineers.

The website is intended to be a useful addition to the marketing strategy of Firemaster who found that some of the "cheap" website solutions available from some larger suppliers leave a lot to be desired. Updating news, case studies and information about their services needs to be easy and quick.

Mark Evans from Firemaster said "I am delighted with the new image Formoda created for my company logo and website. A professional service with friendly and informative backup - I'd recommend them to any business."

To view the new website, please visit the Firemaster Devon content management website design.

Motorbike parts zoom onto new ecommerce website for Devon company

Have you ever wanted parts for a vintage Husqvarna motorcycle? The chances are that you said no to that question but if you said yes, then the new HVA Factory website is one for you.

Andy Elliott started making a few parts for friends and what started as a hobby has now turned into major worldwide business. The team at HVA source parts from Sweden and if they are not available, manufacturer the Husky parts themselves in their engineering works in South Devon.

The new e-commerce website has to be easy to update by the team and it also helps them by allocating stock areas to each product, making the fulfilment quick and easy. The website has a sophisticated VAT calculation system for different parts of the world, as well as advanced shipping and insurance options.

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "I've known Adny Elliott for quite a few years and was delighted when he asked us to help his business move forward with and help increase their global sales of Husqvarna parts. It is great to see a business achieving so much through some excellent marketing and good old fashioned hard work."

To view the new ecommerce website design for this Devon company, please visit the new HVA-Factory website design.

New Look Logo & Branding for Gloucestershire Lettings Agency

Lifestyle Lets is a small, independent lettings agency in Gloucestershire, which has recently changed ownership. The new owners have a lot of enthusiasm and exciting plans for the company and wanted to create a new look and feel to move the business forward.

We were initially approached to create a new logo for Lifestyle Lets as the existing brand was very dated and no longer representative of the business and its services. We completely overhauled the company's look by scrapping the existing logo and colour scheme and starting from scratch to create a fresh and modern branding. The new logo allows Lifestyle Lets to stand out from the competition as an agency offering a personable approach while exuding the professionalism needed to support plans for future growth.

As a next step, we updated the company's stationery materials by creating new look business cards, letterheads and comp slips. The design of these printed materials allowed the company to begin rolling out the new corporate branding and was the first step in creating visual continuity amongst their marketing material.

As a lettings business an Internet presence is key. Lifestyle Lets had an existing company website created by another web agency, which offers information for Tenants and Landlords and of course lists all available properties to let. Brand recognition is incredibly important so we updated the website with a fresh coat of paint: the new logo and branding were applied throughout. Due to the website's limited flexibility, Lifestyle Lets also asked us to update the website's copy to further emphasise the company's new direction.

Please visit the revamped Lifestyle Lets website to view the new logo design and corporate branding applied on their existing website!

Yes we know it is only October but...

...now is the time to start thinking about your Christmas Cards and Christmas E-cards. Sorry we don't like to be bringing it up this early either.

However now is the time to plan your Christmas cards and also some printers have half price Christmas cards on offer if you order soon.

So if you are considering having your own Christmas cards designed or are thinking about sending out a personalised e-card and helping to save the planet (and postage), please give us a call and we can discuss the options. Just call 01803 840898 and we'll be happy to chat about what works best for you.

Talking about Christmas in October...Bah Humbug!

New website design for Central American plantations

EcoPlanet Bamboo is part of the International EcoPlanet Group and concentrates on the Central American operations with two plantations in Nicaragua and more underway in Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Formoda were already working for the EcoPlanet Group (having developed the main group website, corporate branding and promotional material) and had created the EcoPlanet Bamboo branding (which had been used on plantation signage and investment information) before we were asked to develop the EcoPlanet Bamboo website design for Central America.

The primary goals of the new website are to provide information on the plantations with photos and up to date details on the growing cycle, yield and success of this year's crop. Another key element was to highlight EcoPlanet Bamboo's strong environmental and social awareness and the strategies they have put in place to improve the situation for the people in the countries they operate in.

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "It is a real pleasure working with EcoPlanet Bamboo because they are making a real difference to the lives of people in Nicaragua and other Central American countries. Their goal is to make money for investors in the bamboo they grow but also benefit the local population and not to have any detrimental effect on the local environment."

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new EcoPlanet Bamboo Central America website design.

Keep Safe in Devon with new Firemaster logo design

Firemaster SW is a new company with a lot of experience. Offering fire risk assessments, fire safety training and other services for landlords, companies and home-owners in Devon and the South West of England, Firemaster approached Formoda to create a new logo design and corporate branding.

You need to have confidence in any company providing fire safety services and the Firemaster's team have a lot of experience and skills which Formoda wanted to articulate in the brand but also make it a striking and memorable logo which hopefully will become well know in the future.

After consultation between the client and our team, we created initial logo designs which went down really well. The Firemaster team chose one logo to develop and we made little tweaks and changes to get it right. Once the logo was designed we started the development of the corporate brand to establish how the logo will be used, how colours would be incorporated into marketing material and also what fonts, styles, images, etc should be used.

The new logo is already being used and we are also currently working on:

A brand new website design and development
Stationery and other uses of the logo

Keep an eye out for a news story with the launch of the new website, coming soon!

All-British Corporate Branding for Manhole Covers

Manhole Covers is an established British business based in Buckinghamshire serving construction clients both locally and internationally. The company approached us to liven up their brand identity and create a new look which better reflects their history and business.

As the name says, Manhole Covers provide all sorts of manhole covers, frames, gully gratings, access covers and other associated products. In operation since 1992, the company battled through the early-nineties recession and has grown from strength to strength to becoming one of the UK's leading trade suppliers to the construction industry, serving contractors, builders merchants and architects.

The company wanted to create a clean and professional new look, which truly showcased their identity as a whole. Manhole Covers took the plunge and chose a brand new logo, which has a modern look with a strong impact while successfully conveying a sense of tradition and expertise. The round shape is reminiscent of their primary products while the mark made up of Union Jack and English flag make the company's heritage very clear.

The new logo has been well received and is only the beginning of a re-design process, which sees us also working on:

A brand new website design and development
A re-design of the company's product brochure

We're excited to be working with Manhole Covers on this project at such an exciting time in their company history and are looking forward to the next steps!

Our Bespoke Online Marketing Service Delivers Impressive Results

The success of our clients' websites is our priority and an innovative, functional website with beautiful design is just the first step to an effective online presence. Following the success of our Online Marketing Training, we also offer a bespoke service where we create and execute an effective Online Marketing strategy on your behalf.

Many businesses are too busy with the running of their daily operations to make full use of all the great resources the internet has to offer - that's where we come in! Initially, we will get together and have a chat to assess your current situation and find out what your objectives are. Based on this, we will formulate a strategy to ensure you get maximum exposure and the right people find your website.

From the initial Search Engine Optimisation to the on-going Online Marketing work - we've got it all covered! Monthly progress reports allow you to track your website's performance and we will also suggest and discuss additional ideas which can help you reach your objectives.

We tailor our bespoke service to each individual clients' needs but often it will include the following:

Keyword Research and On-site Optimisation
Search Engine Submission and Verification
Performance Monitoring
Website Updates and Link Building
Effective Use of Social Media

We're currently providing a bespoke Online Marketing service to two of our existing clients - nanoShell and Eco Environmental Services. In less than three months, these two sites have seen a combined increase in search engine rankings by over 2,600 positions - no mean feat!

If you'd like to learn more about Formoda's Online Marketing services, please click here or give us a call on 08450 510 366 to discuss what we can do for you.

The new website that points future managers in the right direction

Acacia HR is part of a very successful management training group based in South London, who offer a variety of Chartered Management Institute courses through their highly experienced team of leadership trainers.

They approached Formoda to create a simple website design which made it easy for users to find the right Chartered Management Institute course for them.

Easy updating of the website was the key and Formoda's new FormodaLite website content management system was perfect for the job. Making it easy to update page content, images, course information and file downloads.

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "Acacia HR are a fast growing business and the website needs to be able to change and adapt quickly to cater for this, they are already making changes and updating it regularly, which is perfect."

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new Acacia HR website design.

1st Scaffolding Website Expertly Remodelled

1st Scaffolding (UK) Ltd is the premier scaffolding firm in the South West. Specialising in commercial and industrial contracts, the company has developed a reputation for consistent first class service amongst its well-known clients in the construction industry.

A company website has existed for many years now but their online presence was outdated and not successful in portraying the expertise and professionalism with which the business is associated today. Hence, the brief was clear: 1st Scaffolding wanted a new website design to match their reputation with the flexibility to easily update their online presence.

Formoda created a modern design based on the existing brand colours of 1st Scaffolding but we also introduced additional colours to complement and accentuate these. With an easy-to-use Content Management System the new website is simple and quick to update, which allows the company to continue to reinforce its reputation for expert and quality service by highlighting new projects.

The new 1st Scaffolding website is another one of Formoda's new FormodaLite websites and our client was impressed with the quick and easy turn-around time for this project: "Everyone is really pleased with the design; we are all really happy with it. Thank you for all your help on this."

To view the new and improved website design, please visit the new 1st Scaffolding website.

Logo Design for Devon's Latest Deli

The Wild Fig Deli is so new, it hasn't even opened yet. Formoda were asked to create a stylish new brand for this latest addition to the eclectic mix of shops in Totnes, Devon.

The Wild Fig Deli is looking to provide good quality and specialist foods to locals, visitors to the town and also to the wider community through their website. They wanted a logo and brand to help them to illustrate the quality of food and service they will be providing.

The logo is already being used in signage, clothing and bags - which are all in development. Plus Formoda have designed business cards and a new website which will be launching in conjunction with the shop opening in September.

See if you can spot the hidden figs...

Looking for student accommodation? Head to the new CRM Students website

Launched just in time for the A Level results and the all important rush for accommodation after clearing, the new CRM Students website design is light years ahead of its predecessor.

CRM Limited is based in Oxford and they are the largest independent student accommodation management company in the UK, with over 10,000 beds in 35 properties in 21 cities.

The new CRM website is built using Formoda's new framework making it so easy to update and creating really flexible formats and pages. Never has it been so easy to move content around the page, add images and animations and create content to appear in lightboxes.

Laura Shuckburgh, Marketing Manager Student Services, said "Without exception, when our team saw the new content management system that Formoda had created for us they went WOW! So simple, so flexible and we're really pleased that all our hard work has been carried forward by Formoda."

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "CRM are a great company to work for and are really upping the game with promoting student accommodation online for their clients."

Rebecca Williams, Lettings Marketing Manager, said "It was key to make the booking system even more effective in time for clearing and to increase our web traffic at this important time. The recent results have proven that we have achieved this - thanks Formoda."

To view the new website design and development, please visit the CRM Students new website design.

Salcombe Yawl - Is it a boat? No, it is a sandwich shop!

The Salcombe Yawl is a highly successful sandwich shop and deli in the heart of Salcombe, Devon and they came to Formoda for a new website design.

Good design and excellent photography were the key to pulling this one off. Formoda created a modern design which allowed The Salcombe Yawl to showcase their photos and help get across their message of good quality food.

The website is simple and easy to update and is the first of Formoda's new FormodaLite websites to be launched - more of which to follow soon.

Pam Bennett, from the Salcombe Yawl posted on Facebook "Hurrah! The Salcombe Yawl website is on line- well done Simon and the Formoda team - we are delighted."

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "The Salcombe Yawl was a great project to work on, everyone comments about how great their food is and their photos reflect this. We think it is essential that even the smaller, simpler websites benefit from great design, high end programming and easy to use content management systems."

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new Salcombe Yawl website design.

Fresh, modern branding for Devon Tree Services

Devon Tree Services is an established local business with a long-standing history in the area. Set up in 1978, the company has been going from strength to strength over the years, adding more services and high-profile case studies to their portfolio.

We were very excited and flattered when Devon Tree Services approached us earlier in the year to help them re-vamp their brand identity and marketing efforts. A big part of the brief was to create a modern, fresh and clean new logo and feel, which wasn't a complete departure from their previous branding.

We worked with the look and colours of the existing Devon Tree Services logo but created a looser, leafier theme and look. The brand colours of dark green and brown were kept but enriched with additional shades of green to create a friendlier, flowing brand identity. The newly created brand salutes the previous logo while representing Devon Tree Services as a professional, approachable and expert company with a view to the future.

So far, Devon Tree Services have already launched the new logo to the online world via their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The reactions have been altogether positive, with some very interesting and engaging comments from active social network users.

This new logo design is only the first step in the company's re-branding and Formoda are currently also working on:

Print Adverts for local directories
A brand new website design and development

With this in mind, we will closely work together with Devon Tree Services to roll out the re-branding across all of their branded material. It's important to ensure the new look and feel is followed throughout and so establish a visual continuity that is recognised throughout the Devon area.

Rupert Brasier from Devon Tree Services expressed his delight at the graphic design work so far produced by Formoda: "Really happy with the work you guys do for us. We really did pick a winning team."

Watch this space to find out more about the other projects we're working on for Devon Tree Services!

Midlands medical software company launch new website design

Medical Evaluation Data Systems (MEDS) is part of the Enhanced Healthcare group of companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands and offering medical software in the primary care sector.

Following on from the branding that Formoda had created for them, MEDS asked us to create a website to help promote their software to GPs and practice managers at surgeries throughout the UK.

The new website is easy to update and following on from our recent online marketing training will co-ordinate with their Facebook and Twitter accounts to ensure that the website reaches their target audience.

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new Medical Evaluation Data Systems website.

New logo design for Central American company

Who would have believed, when Formoda started 4 years or so ago, that we would be working for clients in Hong Kong, Thailand, the USA, the Caribbean and now Nicaragua?

Far from being the war torn country of the 1980's, Nicaragua is now seen as one of the safest and fastest growing democracies in Latin America and NicaBamboo are one of the companies helping the country to move forward into a prosperous new era and hence why Formoda are delighted to be involved.

NicaBamboo are part of the EcoPlanet Group and are investing time and money in developing two key plantations in Nicaragua, already with over 3000 acres of land. Prior to planting, a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is carried out and a Forest Management Plan (FMP) compiled. Analysis of social and environmental impacts is also being carried out by local specialists.

Formoda were asked to create a new logo for the company, which already is being used for other graphic design such as site signage, vehicle signage and staff clothing and will soon be used on stationery, business cards and other design for print. It's amazing to think that a logo created in South Devon is being seen by people many thousands of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean.

New branding for established Devon company

Ireland Weller is an established name in the Devon estate agents business. Following a newly formed partnership with estate agency group Mansbridge & Balment, owner Andrew Ireland decided to move his business into new waters by offering chartered surveyor services.

Andrew contacted Formoda to help develop a new brand identity for Ireland Weller; it was important for the company to be easily recognised as the successful and experienced local company it is while also signalling change and a move into new disciplines.

We used the existing Ireland Weller colour scheme and freshened it up by introducing an additional, muted colour and creating a more modern look. The newly created logo and mark are simple, clean and bold and clearly reflect Ireland Weller's full-circle market analysis and building surveyor service with city know-how.

The new logo is just a first step in the re-branding and Formoda are currently also working on developing...

A new brochure design
The main Ireland Weller website

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "This is really good news. Richard, David and I worked with Andrew some years ago when we were at another agency so we were delighted when he tracked us down at Formoda and asked us to work with him again. We wish Andy the best of luck with his new venture and we'll be helping him all the way."

Watch this space to find out more about the other exciting projects we're working on for Ireland Weller!

10 years of working together as a website design team

10 years ago today our three Directors, David Gurney, Richard Rawlings and Simon Dolley first teamed up to create design solutions while working for a website design company in Totnes, Devon. There can be few design teams around where the key members have worked together for so long.

David was the Senior Graphic Designer in the team, Richard was the Senior Website Developer and Simon was initially brought in as sales manager but quickly migrated into utilising his marketing and communication skills to become a Project Manager and therefore bring our team together producing graphic design and website development solutions.

Just under six years later, in March 2007, we decided that we had a really good combination of skills to provide an excellent graphic design and website development service to our clients and therefore set up Formoda.

Four years on we've added James, Kerry, Olly, Sam the Collie, Sue, Tom and Toni to the team and we'd like to thank each of them and all of our clients who have helped Formoda to be what it is today, namely a successful Devon Website Design team with clients locally, nationally and all over the world.

If you'd like to learn more about David, Richard and Simon and the rest of the Formoda team - please click here.

West Ham United International Academy launched in the USA

The West Ham United Academy coached World Cup winners such as Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, as well as current England players Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Jermaine Defoe, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry. So when Formoda were asked to create some marketing material to help them take their coaching over to the USA, we were delighted to say yes!

We updated their logo to include the "Technical Soccer Coaching Centers" (note the American spelling) and we have also created promotional material, business cards and a website will be following soon.

Formoda are now working closely with Technical Soccer Coaching in association with West Ham United in helping kids in the South East learn the West Ham Way and this has lead to us teaming up with the West Ham United International Academy, initially in the USA but with other regions of the world to follow.

Website launch for International group of companies based in the US

EcoPlanet Group is a group of international companies based in Illinois, USA. In the words of their CEO, Troy Wiseman, "Generating wealth through sustainable investments is our purpose but creating positive social and environmental impact is our passion."

The new EcoPlanet Group website was launched this week by Formoda and it needed to be an umbrella for the various operations of the EcoPlanet Group companies in different sectors and countries of the world. Other websites will follow and the main website will change and evolve to reflect this.

The new website is easy to update and includes a variety of features including plantation maps, team sections, plus the ability to add images, panels, videos and new pages.

Camille Rebello, Executive Vice-President, said "Formoda provided EcoPlanet Group with exceptional client service and responsiveness, quickly understanding our business needs and adjusting ideas and creativity accordingly."

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "We are continually delighted to be commissioned by large multi-nationals like the EcoPlanet Group and it goes to show that Devon and the South West of England can be a leader in design and online marketing and succeed in winning contracts all over the world."

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new EcoPlanet Group website.

The Borrowers Amongst Best New Websites

Formoda were thrilled to find out that The Borrowers website - designed and developed by us - has been reviewed by Web User Magazine in their "Best New Websites" feature, racking up an impressive 4 Star rating!

The Borrowers is an online marketplace born out of an original concept: Users can save and make a bit of extra cash by borrowing and lending garden or land space, property, items or services. And as if that wasn't enough, the business has a strong ethical background, encouraging its users to "reduce, re-use, recycle" and spearheading other charitable and environmental causes.

The new website was launched 9 months ago and has since received many positive reviews. Web User Magazine's independent review of the website was a surprise to us and The Borrowers, and all parties have been delighted with the result!

Web User looks at hundreds of websites for their Best New Websites feature every fortnight so it has been a real honour for The Borrowers website to be included and achieve a 4 Star rating:

"Very good. Combines a smart design with appealing content. Definitely worth a visit."

We at Formoda are very happy to have created such a well-recognised and successful website for one of our clients and will continue to regularly review our work to make sure our clients' websites are the best online solution for their business and deliver positive browsing experiences for site visitors.

If you'd like to start borrowing or lending, please check out The Borrowers website!

Web User is a specialist magazine providing practical internet advice to its readers. Websites and products are independently reviewed by their own experts and as such are not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships. For more information, please visit the Web User website.

Formoda's Online Marketing Training Proves Popular

While we're all about creating beautifully designed and functioning websites, we want to make sure our clients benefit from their online presence by driving the right people to it. The competition out there is huge and businesses are keen to make their mark online - this is why Online Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation are becoming increasingly important to our clients. After all, what good is your website if nobody sees it?

Formoda's online marketing training and service has become a popular success with our clients. We've recently completed training days with several of our clients, including SwitchFox and EHS Technologies, who have all been very impressed with our service. We have further training lined up with a number of other clients such as WBW Solicitors.

We like to break down the barriers of search engines and social media to give our clients the tools to help themselves. So while we undertake some work in the background to make these sites even more attractive to the search engines, we then get together to equip our clients with the knowledge and confidence to make the most of their presence online. From keywords to social media networks - we've got it all covered! And of course, if there are questions afterwards, we're happy to talk things through because we're nice like that.

If you'd like to find out more about Formoda's Online Marketing Training and Search Engine Optimisation services - please click here.

Formoda add to our website design team in Devon

This week Formoda have added a new website designer to our team in Berry Pomeroy, South Devon. Tom Wotton had been working successfully for another local website design agency for three and half years when he saw that we were looking for people to join our growing team of graphic designers and website developers.

Straight away we could see that not only could Tom add graphic and website design skills to our team but he could also add online marketing expertise which is becoming an essential part of the Formoda website development strategy. What is the use of a great looking and working website if no-one ever gets to see it?

Tom's key skills and roles at Formoda will include:

helping the graphic design team, with his extensive experience of logo design, website design and brochure design
website development - Tom has extensive experience of developing content managed and seo-friendly websites and is looking forward to working with the new Formoda framework
online marketing - Tom adds to our online marketing and search engine optimisation skills, as we seek to help our clients make the most of their Internet and email usage

If you'd like to learn more about Tom and the rest of the Formoda team - please click here.

EcoPlanet Group refresh their branding with Formoda

The EcoPlanet Group is a US company based in Barrington, Illinois. EcoPlanet is a developer and manager of sustainable forestry, agro-forestry ecoplantations and carbon assets. EPG acts as the "principle investor" but provides both private and institutional clients, such as financial investors and wood product users, with the ability to participate through a unique turnkey structure.

They are currently expanding their operations into more countries globally and therefore approached Formoda to help them with their branding and website development.

Formoda could see that the EcoPlanet Group needed a brand which reflected their green credentials and commerical successes and could also be adapted for the different branches of the group which include:

EcoPlanet Advisors - who offer short and long term consultation and development
EcoPlanet Bamboo - a specialist company working in the high growth Bamboo forestry and investment markets
Other similar development projects in other resources
Regional development projects

As part of the re-branding, the Formoda work for the EcoPlanet Group includes:

The new EcoPlanet Group logo (pictured)
Logos for all the sub-brands and subsidiary companies
Three websites and counting
Re-designing all of the EcoPlanet Group literature and paperwork

EcoPlanet Group Chairman, Troy Wiseman said "We were introduced to Formoda through a UK company we have worked with and have been delighted with the quick turnaround and the way they have understood our needs implicitly."

"EcoPlanet Group are an excellent company to work for, not only are they providing incredible returns for their investors but they are doing so while giving something back to the local communities and with an environmental awareness which is amazing. We are looking forward to a long term relationship as EcoPlanet have a number of projects they wish to develop in 2011." Simon Dolley, Managing Director of Formoda.

MEDS gets a Formoda makeover

EHS Technologies is a medical software development company based in Birmingham and London and they approached Formoda to refresh the brand of their latest software "MEDS" and to design a new website and brochure.

MEDS is medical evaluation software which transforms how doctors in primary care operate. It increases efficiency, reduces hospital admissions and clinical incidents and is already widely used throughout UK primary care surgeries and clinics.

EHS felt that the software needed a fresh design to properly reflect the high level of effectiveness it provides and therefore brought in Formoda to refresh the brand, re-design the software screens and also to develop a new website which should be launched in May.

Steve Riley from EHS Technologies said "We had already seen what Formoda had created for clients in London and we felt that we could do with their help too. We love the new logo and unlike other agencies, Formoda have understood our needs and made excellent suggestions right from the start."

Simon Dolley of Formoda said "It is fantastic to be associated with this excellent and successful software. EHS had a fairly good idea of what they wanted but just needed someone to take it that bit further and realise their dreams. We're looking forward to a long and successful partnership together."

First logo for retailer of Rare books, art and toys

First editions of Ian Fleming, Agatha Christie or HG Wells? Vintage toys? Original artwork? Or even an annotated copy of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf? First and Rare have the lot.

This was an excellent challenge for Formoda to create a logo and brand which strongly reflected the quality and specialist nature of the items that First and Rare offer.

First and Rare are a new company based in South Devon but with an excellent track record and a portfolio of items which is second to none. The new branding therefore had to reflect this but also create a look that will work well on the Internet, as online trading will be a key part of the marketing strategy for First and Rare.

The new brand has already been used on:

Business cards
Stationery
A new e-commerce website due to be launched later this year

James Rawlings from First and Rare said "We approached Formoda because of their very impressive design portfolio and excellent local reputation. We were thoroughly looked after throughout the whole design process which was fast and efficient and we were bowled-over with the final results."

Simon Dolley of Formoda said "Every time I see the inventory of items that First and Rare have to offer I am astounded. I might have to borrow a few quid to add some of them to my own library."

Formoda team growing and landing new projects

We are delighted to announce that we will have a new member joining the team in May, following another successful week or two of being asked to start new projects for a wide variety of existing and new clients.

Our new website designer will join the web design team in our offices in Devon and will add to our graphic design, website development and online marketing skills.

In the last couple of weeks we have been asked to start a wide variety of new projects including:

new brochures for a luxury property development in the Caribbean
brand development and multiple website design for a group of blue chip US companies
branding, screen designs and website design for a Birmingham based software development company
multi-language website development for a successful Devon-based industrial manufacturer
logo design and a new ecommerce website for an industrial retailer based in Buckinghamshire
brochure design and website development for a blue chip company based in Oxford
website design for a new start up business also in Oxford
online marketing training for a website design company in Devon
as well as a wide range of services for our existing clients

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "We are getting so many referrals at the moment through word of mouth, which is fantastic as they already know about us and the successes we are having with our clients. We feel that our work speaks for itself and it is great to be adding to the team when some other companies are struggling."

Formoda's brand development, graphic design and website design portfolio can be found at www.formoda.co.uk/portfolio/.

Formoda land job to re-build Facebook

Formoda are fairly happy to have been given the job of re-building the Facebook website.

Californian based Facebook have been doing reasonably well over the past couple of years but feel they could do better and therefore turned to Devon-based website design company Formoda.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg said "While we've done okay recently we felt we needed to turn to the expertise of the West Country to help us Californians to fully understand the potential of the Internet."

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "It's not a bad job to get but we really want to make sure we put together a wire frame to ensure that they don't move the goal posts."

If you are also a major global social network and would like to talk about a new website, please give us call.

Formoda's Facebbok page can be found at www.facebook.com/formoda.

Greenlife nominated for Natural and Organic Awards

We were delighted to hear that Formoda client Greenlife has been nominated for two awards at the upcoming Natural and Organic Awards. Greenlife are a retailer of natural and organic products with large retail premises in Totnes and a successful website which was developed by Formoda in 2008 but has been evolving ever since to effectively market their products all over the world.

Hosted in association with the Soil Association and Natural Products Magazine, the Natural and Organic Awards, over the last fifteen years, have become a benchmark for excellence and set a standard for innovation, quality and commitment in the natural and organic sector.

Greenlife have been nominated in the following two categories:

Best Independent Store
Best National Association of Health Stores Retailer of the Year

Derek Hore from Greenlife said "We are really proud to be nominated in these two categories and the recent developments with the shop re-location and the excellent website have definitely played an important part in this development."

To learn more about Greenlife and their products, please visit the Greenlife website.

National group launch new architectural website

Architectural Services UK is a national company with a network of architectural designers around the country. They needed a new website which was easy to update by both the head office and for each individual surveyor practice, so they approached Formoda to design and develop a new content managed website.

It was key that the website had a fresh and contemporary feel, with good use of images (which Architectural Services can update) but also providing more text and documentation for those who want and need more information.

Probably the most important section is the separate microsites for each office where they can post information and case studies for their own practice and location but also enjoy the supporting information of the rest of the company. The beauty of the system is that it is easy to find a specific office for your location (where there is one) using the interactive map and side navigation but also each of the locations have their own URL (website address) which they can promote and use for their own clients and contacts.

The new website is a great new starting point for Architectural Services and they are keen to press on with utilising the Internet for their marketing and communication. Formoda will be providing advanced training to all of the surveyors at their annual conference in order to enable them to optimise their updating of the website and increase the effectiveness of their microsites.

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new Architectural Services' website.

Online Marketing Training and Search Engine Optimisation in Devon

We have recently been inundated with clients asking us for help with their online marketing. This is partly because they have been hearing about the success of our online marketing training service based here in Devon but also as more and more people begin to realise the need for good search engine optimisation.

Formoda's online marketing training service has been a great success with our clients in Devon and all over the world. We like to break down the barriers of the search engines and social media networks to help our clients to help themselves. With the right information, a bit of effort and a little confidence, our clients are reaping great rewards.

If you'd like to learn more about Formoda's Online Marketing Training and Search Engine Optimsation service - please click here.

South West Solicitors lead the way with new website design

WBW (formally Woollcombe Beer Watts) Solicitors are one of the leading legal practices in the South West of England and have four offices all located in Devon.

The WBW website hadn't been a primary resource for communication for a little while but they identified there was a great opportunity to spread the word with existing and potential clients. They approached Formoda as a good local provider of the services they required and the two companies have worked closely together to achieve some fantastiic results with the new website.

The new website has a few features to make it work well for WBW:

detailed information on all of WBW's services for those who want to read more
supporting information such as FAQs, key team members, printable documents, etc
a full team section, with photos and profiles - so that people can get to know their solictors a bit better and trust them with their legal needs
fully content managed news, pages and team members

WBW Managing Partner Steve Bulman said: "Our new website provides more comprehensive information about the services we offer and the people who provide them."

Formoda Director Simon Dolley said: "It was a pleasure to work with WBW Solicitors on their new website. It was key to reflect the depth of skills and experience their team has and also to engage their website visitors and make it easy to find and contact the right person for their needs."

Steve Bulman said of Formoda: "Formoda have achieved our wish to showcase our expertise and professionalism while establishing a personal connection with visitors."

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new WBW Solicitors' website.

Happy 4th Birthday to Formoda

We are delighted to announce that Formoda is 4 years old today and we'd like to thank everyone who has helped us achieve so much in those four years. We're all looking forward to a slice of birthday cake with our cuppas today!

Although David, Richard and Simon have been working together since 2001 and we'd decided to set up a new company a few weeks earlier, it was only on the 3rd March 2007 that Formoda was created and started to create website designs and graphic work under that name.

Since those early days we've worked with clients locally, nationally and now include clients in Hong Kong, the US, Thailand and the Caribbean. We've also moved to lovely offices in Berry Pomeroy and added to the team until we have the eight of us working for Formoda today.

Let's just hope the next four years are as exciting for us and you and remember we'd love to have you pop by sometime for a chat and a cuppa, so just drop us a line.

Sue Coghlan joins the Formoda team

We are delighted to announce the latest addition to the Formoda team. Sue Coghlan (pictured front right) joined the Graphic Design team this week.

Sue has a wealth of graphic design experience and will be able to add the knowledge and skills she has gained in this time to the Formoda team. Sue's key roles will be with corporate branding, design for print and website design and her experience means that she is able to step straight into this role with confidence.

Formoda were delighted to receive so many CVs and applications to our recent request for a new graphic designer and this enabled us to select the very cream of the crop to meet and interview. We'd like to thank everyone who sent in their details and wish them good luck in their careers.

If you'd like to learn more about Sue and the rest of the Formoda team - please click here.

Home (page) is where the heart is

Launched in time for Valentine's Day and the coming of Spring with Easter and Christenings, The Heart Store website designed and developed by Formoda went live last week. The idea is simple, everything is heart related to make it easy for you to find those special gifts for your loved ones.

Formoda created the new branding for The Heart Store in 2010 and the website was always planned for launch in January to coincide with a range of PR hitting the airwaves.

The new website has a very diverse range of heart related products including:

a frying pan to create a heart shaped fried egg
a quality handmade leather satchel
connect 4 with a heart shaped twist
a heart shaped sterling siliver necklace

So if you are looking for that perfect gift for Valentine's, a birthday, a wedding, a Christening or just for that special person, just visit the new website and have a look.

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new The Heart Store website.

Firefox overtakes Internet Explorer on formoda.co.uk

We always keep an eye on our website statistics and it was interesting to spot that in 2010 Firefox overtook Internet Explorer as the most popular browser for visitors to www.formoda.co.uk

Internet Explorer has long been the dominant player in the Internet browser stakes and we are always hearing that "everyone uses IE", well hopefully this will start to dispel that myth.

These are the latest visitor figures for January 2011

Firefox 37.5%
Internet Explorer 33.6%
Google Chrome 15.9%
Safari 7.3%

Compare that with Formoda's first full month back in March 2007 and you can see the real shift away from Internet Explorer.

Firefox 32.6%
Internet Explorer 60.2%
Google Chrome 1.8%
Safari 4.4%

Now we know these statistics are just for visitors to our website and we know that they/you are a pretty enlightened bunch and therefore more likely to use more improved browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari and this might not be the same across the whole Internet but we can but hope it is a step in the right direction.

It is also worth noting that although Formoda test and make our websites work in the most widely used versions of Internet Explorer, it often causes us problems as they just don't work as well as all the other Internet browsers.

If you are still on Internet Explorer and would like to explore other options, why not visit the websites of Firefox, Google Chrome or Safari

Vets website is talking to the animals and their owners

Market Veterinary Centre is a modern and forward looking veterinary practice in North Devon and they realised that a new website would be an excellent way to communicate with their existing and potential customers. Market Vets offer a full range of veterinary services in South Molton and Barnstaple to familiar pets (such as cats, dogs and rabbits), exotic pets and also farm animals.

It was key that the new website was easy to update by Market Vets using Formoda's user friendly content management system.

There is a lot more that website visitors can do on the new website including:

book an appointment at Barnstaple or South Molton
order repeat prescriptions
register their pet or horse
enter competitions
join in the fun in the Kids corner

Market Vets have already made a splash in North Devon over recent years and we at Formoda hope the new website will help this even further.

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new Market Vets website.

Graphic Designers - we need you!

Formoda are looking for an experienced graphic designer to join our team. Ideally you will be skilled, with experience in both design for print and web and enthusiastic to push the boundaries with design and using new technologies.

2011 is already proving to be a bumper year and therefore we are still looking to grow the team and continue to offer the high level of service to our clients that we have become known for.

If you feel that you fit the bill, please send your cv to us@formoda.co.uk - we're waiting to hear from the best!

Happy New Year from Formoda

So another year is over and now we are moving forward to 2011. The Formoda team would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and thank everyone who has helped us make 2010 so exciting.

So what's coming up in 2011? Our 4th birthday, new members joining our team and more great clients, design and websites. So enjoy your bubbly and let's make 2011 another great year!

Facebook and YouTube working for TSC

We at Formoda are very keen on helping our clients achieve their goals through the Internet. One of the most important factors nowadays is Social Media.

Technical Soccer Coaching have recently had a new website developed by Formoda and we agreed that a joint scoial media campaign would drive more traffic and interest to the website.

We therefore set up a Facebook profile and created a YouTube account for Technical Soccer Coaching and started to spread the word. The new YouTube video was filmed at West Ham United's academy training centre and includes comments from Hammers legend John Moncur. The video has already proved to be a hit.

On Facebook, we helped to set up the profile and start getting friends on board and quickly TSC have found it to be an easy way to communicate with their young players and their parents.

To view the Technical Soccer Coaching YouTube video, please visit their YouTube profile.

Merry Christmas from everyone at Formoda

Everyone at Formoda would like to wish all our clients, friends and anyone else who reads this, a very Happy Christmas.

2010 has been a really exciting year for us, as it's been our first full year in our new offices and also has seen us grow from the 3 original directors to a team of 8 by the end of 2010.

Also we've found and helped new clients throughout the UK but also very excitingly has been the addition of two large multi-nationals with head offices in Silicon Valley, California and Hong Kong. It's fantastic to hear and read the positive stories and feedback from all our clients and how we have made a real difference to their businesses.

We hope that 2010 has been as good for all of you and we also wish that 2011 will be as exciting. Let's keep thinking positively and see if we can generate some positive news stories for the press in 2011!

Formoda Christmas and New Year Opening Times

It's that time of year when we all need a bit of a break and we thought we'd keep you up to date with our opening times during the festive season.

Open up until 4pm on Friday 24th December
Closed Saturday 25th December to 3rd January 2011
4th January onwards - normal office hours - 8:30 - 17:30 Monday to Friday

If you need to get hold of us duing this period - please email us@formoda.co.uk and we'll reply as soon as we can. We hope everyone enjoys their festive holidays

Formoda Email Marketing gets thumbs up from Torquay United

Formoda provide an email marketing service for Torquay United in order to help communicate with their supporters and release details of new products and special offers in the club shop.

The enewsletters have been particularly useful in increasing traffic to the club shop website and for increasing online sales. Each time an email marketing campaign is sent out there is a massive spike in sales and it has been very effective in promoting new products such as the 2011 Club Calendar.

Sales are up over 50% on 2009 but the email newsletters are also used to help promote other club events and to keep in touch with supporters.

The email marketing campaign is very effective in promoting:

upcoming matches
other Torquay United events, such as the recent sportman's dinner
sponsorship opportunities
the matchday experience

If you'd like to chat to Formoda about how we can help increase your sales too, just give us a call on 01803 840898.

New website for future West Ham United footballers?

Technical Soccer Coaching is a new organisation set up in East London in association with West Ham United, to coach youngsters to improve their footballing technique.

Their programme has been endorsed by current and past players (see details on their website) and is already successfully coaching individual and small team football techniques throughout East London and Essex. They also plan to expand their schools to other areas in the future.

Formoda created the new branding for Technical Soccer Coaching and were pleased to be asked to create the new website. As this is a fast growing and developing organisation, it is key that the website is easy to update with staff profiles, endorsements, latest news and also a news feed of up to date West Ham United news for all those junior Hammers.

The new website has received rave reviews from Technical Soccer Coaching, their associates including West Ham United and kit manufacturer Macron as well as (probably most importantly) the kids and their parents.

To view the new website design and development, please visit the new Technical Soccer Coaching website.

Aromatika Website Sales up by 50%

Formoda were delighted to launch the new Aromatika website towards the end of October and they have already seen an excellent growth in Internet sales. They have recorded a 50% increase in sales for November 2010 compared with November 2009.

In times when people are saving the pennies and many high street retailers are feeling the pinch, it is excellent to see someone working hard and doing well and Formoda are pleased to help make a difference.

Formoda have worked closely with Aromatika over the past few months to understand their market, to identify successful ways of improving their ways of communicating their message and driving people to their website. By doing this we were able to formulate a strategy that not only included the development of a new website but also how to increase traffic and ultimately sales.

The increase in the Aromatika sales are mainly due to the three online elements that Formoda have helped them with:

The new ecommerce website development
Online marketing training to help Aromatika use Facebook and Twitter to drive people to their website
Formoda's email marketing system which has enabled us to set up templates so that Aromatika can update and send emails themselves

If you'd like to chat to Formoda about how we can help increase your sales too, just give us a call on 01803 840898.

Please feel free to visit the Aromatika website.

Join Formoda on Facebook

Formoda have had a page on Facebook for a couple of years now, helping to keep clients and friends up to date with all our latest news and information.

We've now added a Formoda profile so you can now be friends with Formoda as well. The profile helps us to provide an improved social media experience when setting our clients up on Facebook.

Facebook is an excellent way of communicating with your clients, customers and potential customers. Remember that if any of your friends or contacts like or comment on something you have added to Facebook all of their friends and contacts can see it too! Such an excellent and easy way of spreading your word.

If you'd like to chat to Formoda about how to use Social Media to drive more traffic to your website and calls to your phone, just give us a call on 01803 840898.

To join us on Facebook, please visit the Formoda Facebook profile.

New website helps GARNet Community grow

Initially established in 2000, GARNet is a network funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which has been set up to support the research of the small flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Having undergone a re-branding exercise this summer, a new website was needed to reflect GARNet's new brand identity, cater for the changing needs of the community as well as reflect GARNet's growth of importance within a wider national community of plant scientists.

The new website was created to showcase and share the latest developments in the Arabidopsis and wider plant community and to facilitate direct community input to the successful running of GARNet.

The result is outstanding: A clean, green and friendly website design highlights the professional academic nature of plant science research while introducing the GARNet community and advisory committee as a helpful and knowledgeable mix of people. Sections for Latest News, Newsletters and Reports allow the GARNet collective to update the wider community on all the latest events while an Arabidopsis directory provides useful tools and resources for researchers.

The GARNet collective are very enthusiastic about the launch of the new website and are excited about making an even greater impact on the wider national plant science community.

To view the new design and development, please visit the new GARNet website.

Result! New logo & badge in association with West Ham United

Technical Soccer Coaching is a new venture set up in association with West Ham United who coach a dedicated technical soccer programme to promising young kids in football skills in East London and Essex.

Formoda were delighted to be asked to design the new branding and badge for the TSC Academy and also the new website which is to follow soon.

This needed to be a brand for Technical Soccer Coaching but also show the association with West Ham, to help the development of soccer skills around London.

The new badge and logo is being used on:

Players shirts
Hats, bags and other accessories
A new website

Ian Yuill, Technical Soccer Coaching and West Ham United youth coach said "The Formoda team have come up trumps. The new badge is exactly what we wanted and the new website design is spot on. Everyone at West Ham can't wait for it to go live."

New Touchwood website launched globally

The Touchwood Group started in 1999 in Sri Lanka and now the group holding company is based in Hong Kong with a head office based in Bangkok in Thailand. As one of the most widely known and respected investment companies in Asia, and as one of the stock exchange top 100 in Sri Lanka, Touchwood needed a brand and website to reflect this.

Touchwood approached Formoda to re-design their corporate branding, which is now being rolled out across the globe on all of their marketing material - designed in multiple language formats by Formoda.

The re-development of the website, was the key to aiding the reflection of Touchwood as the Global Investment company it is, with offices and plantations in seven countries, planned expansions in another four countries and a reputable presence in another twenty countries worldwide.

The website is currently being translated in Thai (which will replace the temporary link to the Thai version of the old website) and Japanese using Formoda's easy to use content management system. More languages can and will follow in the future to aid Touchwood's global expansion. The new website design has already received universal acclaim and is fundamental to Touchwood's development and aim to be one of the top 1000 global companies in the next decade.

To view the new website please visit the new Touchwood website design.

New website for property management and apartments for sale

Millstream Management Services Ltd is a property sales and management company based in Hampshire.

Formoda and Summerhouse Design have already been working with their sister company Churchill Retirement Living and were asked to create a website which was as successful as the Churchill one.

Summerhouse - based in Dorset - designed the original layout with feedback from Formoda to fit in with the printed collateral they have been creating for Millstream. Formoda then developed the new website and created the comprehensive content management system to make the website easy to update.

The new website has also incorporated property sales for the first time as Millstream also sell retirement apartments, so the website has an easy to use portfolio of available properties.

To view the new website please visit the new Millstream Management website.

Organic, natural and now with a fab new website design

Aromatika is an organic and natural skincare company which has been based in Devon since 2004.

The past couple of years has seen them expand their sales and wholesaling throughout the UK and they needed a new website to reflect this and to help them to attract even more retail and wholesale clients for their high quality skincare products.

Formoda have created an excellent ecommerce solution, which makes product, page and order administration really easy for Aromatika. Plus we have created lots of new and exciting features such as vouchers, attributes and social media integration.

The new website has been launched to coincide with national trade shows which Aromatika take part in and also for the start of the Christmas shopping boom.

Lisa Hosking, of Aromatika said "I can't stop saying Wow! Everyone who has seen the website is really impressed, plus it is so easy to use and update, thanks guys."

To view the new website and perhaps find a quality gift for that special gift this Christmas please visit the new Aromatika website

Sowing the seeds of success

Plant Science is a new website which aims to achieve greatness over the next few years by becoming the main portal for information and communication between the UK community of plant scientists.

Set up by the Genomic Arabidposis Resource Network (GARNet) the new UK Plant Science website aims to keep users up to date with news, events, funding opportunities and research by a wide variety of scientists.

This has already worked successfully for smaller communities of plant scientists but they quickly realised a lot of the information and research was of interest and applicable to the wider plant science community.

The site has been in soft testing for the last few weeks and has had a very positive response leading the team to expand it out.

Simon Dolley, of Formoda said "The new UK Plant Science website is such an exciting and forward looking venture that we are proud to be involved. It is already growing before it has even been launched to the wider community and it is bound to become self-sustaining, so we wish them all success."

To view the new website and to learn more about our successful UK plant research teams please visit the new Plant Science website

Corporate Style Guide points Property Frontiers in the right direction

Property Frontiers are a leading overseas and UK investment company based in Oxford.

Formoda revised their brand earlier this year and as part of their brand development we have created a corporate style guide for them.

A style guide is standard practice for larger companies but surprisingly under-used by many SMEs. Anyone using your brand will need to follow the guidelines and therefore the style guide ensures that wherever your logo or design is used it looks the same.

The style guide will include details of how the logo can and cannot be used, what fonts should be used, what colours should be used and in what proportions, how and where images should be used, etc. Therefore it doesn't matter whether your local paper is going to print an article about you or you are about to get some t-shirts printed - it will all follow the same theme and style.

The style guide is never finished as it is added to and amended all the time, as new items are created and the brand develops. It will also include any files that anyone will ever want to use - such as the logo in various formats and file type, your corporate fonts and stationery originals.

So if you have ever wondered how the corporate big boys do it, just give us a call and we can ensure that your brand is used in the same way without breaking the bank.

Our email hosting service blocks more than 5 million spam, unwanted and malicious emails in a week

We all know that spam emails are the bane of the current email system but are you aware of how many spam emails there are floating around?

We like to help to keep our clients safe from malicious and unwanted emails and the spam filter on our server is definitely doing its job at the moment. Last week our email server blocked a record 5195375 spam emails (yes that is 5 million) destined to infect or annoy our email hosting clients. This was an incredible 97.4% of all emails being sent to our email hosting clients.

However we would still recommend that all of clients use excellent spam filter software on their email client and computer, because spam emails can still get through. Plus there are so many other ways of getting your computer infected by visiting a website or inserting a disc or flash drive.

So the message is to use Formoda's comprehensive email hosting system to help keep yourselves safe and free of all those annoying emails.

First website for established Wiltshire Guesthouse

Courtleigh House has been run as a successful Bed & Breakfast business for 15 years and Formoda were delighted when owners Ruth and Rupert Hibberd approached us to design their first website.

The aim of the new website was to showcase Courtleigh House B&B to potential clients and emphasise the beauty of the property and surrounding area as well as the great service provided. Formoda wanted to create a website that was as easy to use for visitors to the website as for the owners to update content.

The result is a clean but friendly website design which highlights the attention to detail with which Ruth and Rupert run Courtleigh House Bed & Breakfast. Website visitors can quickly and easily find out about the accommodation, facilities and local area, see what previous guests have said about their stay at Courtleigh House and get in touch with the owners. A clever map tool even lets users get directions from their home straight to Courtleigh House.

Ruth and Rupert are really pleased with their new website and look forward to welcoming new guests to Courtleigh House Bed & Breakfast.

You can find the new website at www.courtleighhouse.co.uk.

Formoda design bi-lingual fact sheets for Hong Kong based client

Hong Kong based Touchwood are a leading forestry investment company, with plantations and offices in 10 countries worldwide.

Formoda are currently re-designing all of their marketing material including their company website.

All of the new designs from promotional brochures to powerpoint presentations are following the new corporate guidelines developed by Formoda. Formoda are creating a Corporate Style Guide which is to be used by Touchwood offices all over the globe.

Formoda have just designed 4 fact sheets for the company in English and Japanese in order to help promote Touchwood in Western Europe, the US and the Far East.

Simon Dolley, of Formoda said "We had to check the Japanese versions before they were sent to print and that's where the translators are so useful, as none of us in the office speak Japanese! It's tremendous to see that an agency like ours in South Devon can work for a global company like Touchwood and the results of our designs get used in so many different countries and languages."

Formoda continue to work with Touchwood launching new marketing material and the new website is due to be launched in October.

Borrowers and lenders beating the recession with new website design from Formoda

The Borrowers is a new concept from an experienced team and Formoda were delighted to be involved in the website design and development.

The concept is simple. The Borrowers provides a portal for users to share items that other people might want to "borrow" for a short period and receive a small fee.

The website development was quite complex in order to ensure that the registration and adding of adverts is easy for all users and also to provide a simple system for users to borrow items and communicate with the lenders.

Lynn Bunniss of The Borrowers said "We're launching this in Somerset initially but I hope it will soon become a national website serving all regions. With the 2012 Olympics fast looming this will be the ideal forum for those wishing to rent out their driveways or even a spare room in their homes."

Lynn added: "The website was created by Devon firm Formoda who have played a significant role in advising and recommending ideas and features for the site. The team at Formoda are consummate professionals and great fun to work with and I'd like to particularly thank Toni, Richard and Will for all their hard work and getting the site ready on time - they've been very patient with me!"

Simon Dolley, of Formoda added "Formoda were delighted to be approached to work on The Borrowers, not only because of the commercial dynamism of Lynn but also because this is such a great project. We get a lot of people coming to us with 'great ideas' for Internet businesses which are doomed to failure but this is a fantastic concept which has been thoroughly thought through and investigated before we got involved. Lynn has been a delight to work with and we wish her all the best in making a success out of the Borrowers.

To view the new website design for the Borrowers please click here, there is an opportunity for the first 100 users to post an advert free of charge (please check the website for full details), so get advertising!

Lynn is pictured above with Richard Rawlings, Toni Berning and Will Hibberd who were the key Formoda team members involved with the development of new website for The Borrowers. Also pictured is Formoda favourite Sam the Dog!

Email marketing drives more traffic to website

Darren Heath has been one of the most well known faces on the Formula 1 scene for over a decade and is considered by many to be the best photographer on the circuit.

He has incredible access to a world only dreamed about by many and therefore his post race blogs have become legendary. They are read by Formula 1 fans, drivers and team members as well as other leading luminaries in the motor sport and media industries. His blogs don't pull any punches and sometimes he is able to bring to light things that others don't see - therefore making compelling reading for many.

Formoda are pleased to help Darren to send these email blogs to his diverse and interesting email database, by using the Formoda Email Marketing system, Darren is ensured of:

white listed servers to help with spam filters
full graphical reporting on who opens the email and clicks through to the website
easy to manage email lists and campaigns
great design from Formoda

Darren has found that his blogs have been really effective in generating more interest for his website and his photography and his email database continues to grow.

To read Darren's latest blog or to subscribe visit his website.

For details of Formoda's emarketing services just give us a call on 01803 840898 or email us@formoda.co.uk

Experienced PHP Developer required in South Devon

Formoda are currently looking for an experienced PHP and website developer to join our expanding team. We already have a strong in-house development team and are looking for a dynamic person who is looking to further their career and join us as we continue to grow.

Senior Developer - ideally you will already be working in a similar role and have experience of :

First class PHP/MySQL programming skills
Considerable experience working within a LAMP development environment
Experience using version control (Subversion) and disciplined software development methodologies
Excellent sever/DBA skills and experience
Solid awareness of browser compatibility issues and accessibility guidelines
Ability to employ code documentation/commenting practices

Knowlegde of some / all of the following would also be a bonus:

Drupal / CCK / Views
MVC frameworks
Smarty

We'd love to hear from you so just give us a call on 01803 840898 or email your CV to us@formoda.co.uk

Aromatika attract new customers with exhibition material

Aromatika is an organic and natural skin care company based in Devon but wholesaling to shops and spas all over the UK. September is a busy time of the year with some of the biggest retail shows taking place, such as the Autumn Fair at the NEC in Birmingham and Top Drawer at Olympia in London.

As Formoda are the brand guardians for Aromatika, we were asked to design some new material to help support their marketing activities to attract new wholesale customers, including small shops, large tourist attractions, retail chains and health & beauty spas.

In addition to other design work previously carried out for Aromatika, Formoda have recently worked on:

a new autumn/winter brochure
new exhibition stands and banners
promotional posters and leaflets

Lisa Hosking from Aromatika said "Having a good product and service is just half the battle, you need to be able to convey the right appearance and message too. We are in a very competitive market and our image is extremely important. Formoda have been vital in helping us to attract some really prestigious clients."

GARNet receive a gem of a new branding

GARNet is the short name of the Genomic Arabidopsis Resource Network, which (as I am sure you are all aware) is an association of plant scientists who use the ubiquitous plant genus - Arabidopsis - to further their research.

They asked Formoda to re-brand their organisation as part of their growth in importance within a wider national community of plant scientists.

The brand needed to sit in well with the cross academic and commercial worlds that plant scientist inhabit. Formoda have also created or are working on:

Business cards
Letterheads
A new website

The new website is due to be launched in September, so keep an eye on our latest news.

The Formoda web design team is growing

When you hear stories about the recession and companies downsizing, it is always nice to hear a positive story. Well we are pleased to oblige and show you the evidence.

The Formoda team has been growing gradually in 2010 so that we can continue to offer the high level of service and quality output we have become known for. We have taken time to find the right people and are pleased to have an excellent blend of young and more experienced designers and developers, all of whom are dynamic and experts in their fields.

This blend has already enabled us to challenge some older maxims and create solutions which are cutting edge and pushing back the boundaries of website development, while utilising the wide breadth of experience the team has.

We'd just like to thank all our clients, old and new, for making this happen - as it is largely due to word of mouth recommendations that we have such a healthy workload on at the moment which have necessitated the growth in the Formoda team.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

It's great when we get compliments about our site and we're flattered that this happens frequently. After all, it's nice to know that what we do is appreciated. However, ever since we launched the latest Formoda site, some people have been taking their appreciation a bit too far...

In the past 12 months, we have become aware of at least five "so-called" design agencies who have literally lifted our design and just inserted their own content. The cheek of it!

Yes, okay, maybe we should be flattered but, while we appreciate the compliment, we don't really appreciate other "agencies" stealing the designs which came at the end of lots of hard work and many years of experience.

At the moment, we are aware of rip-off websites in Brazil, Russia, Australia, the US and here in the UK. No doubt there's more we haven't noticed.

So far, everyone we have contacted has taken down or changed the offending website but we hope that this annoying (yet oddly flattering) trend stops soon!

If you spot one we've missed, we'd love to hear about it! No reward offered.

New website launched with a Pop!

Pop Recruitment was established in 2005 and are a specialist PR and marketing recruitment consultancy who provide PR and marketing professionals to companies and communication agencies.

The Formoda team created their brand originally and were asked to design a new style for the website in order to follow the slight changes to Pop over the last five years.

The new website was more of an evolution rather than a complete change. It was key that the website had a fresh new feel and took Pop Recruitment forward, while maintaining the confidence existing clients had with the brand and how the website operated.

"I've worked with Formoda for several years across a number of projects. The experienced team, take the time to listen to my requirements and always deliver on my brief. Formoda's design service is second to none, while the digital support puts others to shame. Whether my digital request is a large web project or quick IT question, they provide instant answers and guidance. I have, and will continue to recommend Formoda." says, Melanie Lawn, MD at Pop Recruitment.

To view the new Pop Recruitment website design please click here..

A new website to make your living distinct...

Distinctly Living was a new venture launched in the South West of England in 2008 with a vision to create a shop that offered unique, beautiful and useful products.

Having approached a number of design agencies, they selected Formoda to revise their logo and brand and also to develop a new e-commerce website.

Formoda wanted to create a website which properly promoted their extensive range of products for the home and also was easy to use for both Distinctly Living and visitors to the website. A stylish and professional design was also important to fit in with the style of Distinctly Living and their customers.

Distinctly Living are really excited about the launch of the new website, which they have decided to coincide with one of their busiest times of the year - the start of the school summer holidays. Let us hope they can cope with all the extra orders they receive!

You can find the new website at www.distinctlyliving.co.uk.

A Borrower or a lender be...

The Borrowers is a new venture from an experienced team and Formoda were asked to create a new branding and website.

The full details of the new website are still a closely guarded secret but Formoda were asked to create a brand which closely matched the environmental but innovative approach of The Borrowers.

The new logo is just a small part in the re-branding for The Borrowers. When we create a new brand we ensure that everything the company uses to communicate with others or to market themselves follows the brand guidelines. Therefore Formoda have also created or working on:

Business cards and stationery
Email signatures
Bumper stickers

The new website will probably be launched in August so keep an eye on our latest news.

Putting the heart into The Heart Store

The Heart Store, based in Totnes, is a young, up-and-coming business specialising in all things heart. An exciting new re-brand differentiating the Heart Store as a quality business with long retail experience was a challenge Formoda were happy to accept.

Our research focused on their target audience and core values; as such it was important to create a brand which both reflected the nature of the business and the quality of the products on offer. The newly created brand reflects both sophistication and quality, with the heart shape acting as a subtle reminder of the products on offer.

The new logo is just the first step in the re-branding and Formoda are currently working on:

Business cards and stationery
The main website including a webshop for The Heart Store

Watch this space to find out more about the website development for The Heart Store!

Multi-national Website Launch for ePlanet Ventures

Established in 1999, ePlanet Ventures pioneered the development of a truly global venture and growth capital business model. Their vastly experienced and skilled team of investors have helped develop some of the largest companies in the world such as Skype and the Chinese search engine giant Baidu.

Formoda were therefore thrilled to be selected to work on the new website for this US based global company, against some stiff opposition from the US, UK and India.

The brief was quite clear, to accurately portray the experience, achievements and global nature of ePlanet Ventures and also to make the finding of information and contact details easy for website users.

"Working with Formoda has been a real pleasure. Their professionalism made them stand out from the start and the communication throughout the process has been excellent. Everyone is extremely pleased and proud of our new website." Sofie Hamilton, Vice President, Investor Relations, ePlanet Ventures

"ePlanet are just one of a number of multi-national companies that Formoda are currently working with for corporate branding and website design and shows how a dynamic company based in South Devon can work with anyone in the world." Simon Dolley, Director, Formoda

You can find the new website at www.eplanetventures.com.

CRM and Coventry University open up student accommodation in London

CRM London Students is the new website for students of the new Coventry University London Campus. It is based on the existing CRM Students website which Formoda developed in 2008 but with new features and content management just for this development.

CRM and Coventry University have teamed up to help their students find good and affordable accommodation in the capital and Formoda were pleased to be asked to develop the new website.

The new website has lots of functionality such as location maps, directions, photos, FAQs and details on facilities and features so the students can find the right accommodation for them in London.

The content management system makes it easy to add new properties, prices and locations to the website as and when they become available or their details change.

You can find the new website at www.crm-londonstudents.com.

Re-brand for award winning, International investors

Property Frontiers, based in Oxford, have established themselves as one of the leading International Investment companies. Their projects have recently won some top awards and the media have lauded them as leaders in their field, so Formoda were delighted to be chosen to carry out their exciting new re-brand.

Our reviews and research found that their existing brand wasn't too far away from being right and also the fact they had established themselves strongly in their market, meant that a complete change would probably be counter productive. Therefore we looked at evolving the brand by tightening up the font usage and bringing in a new graphical element whilst retaining the fundamental colour scheme.

The new logo is just the first step in the re-branding and Formoda are currently working on:

A new Investment Prospectus, starting with Natal in Brazil which will be completed shortly and then other investment opportunities will follow
New micro-sites for each investment opportunity
Eshots for each opportunity
Business cards and stationery
The main Property Frontiers website

"We really like the way Formoda took time to fully understand our business, our values and what we wanted to portray and then revamped our logo and marketing material to better reflect this. Our investment prospectus has been a leap forward in how the investments are illustrated and ways in which to generate interest from our investors." Ray Withers, Director Property Frontiers

Simon Dolley from Formoda said, "Working with Property Frontiers has been excellent, they are such a professional company who are delighted with the work we are producing to take them forward. We are also delighted to be working with another International Investment company following on from ePlanet Ventures in Silicon Valley and Touchwood in Hong Kong."

The existing Property Frontiers website can be found at www.propertyfrontiers.com.

Formoda welcome Toni to the team

We are really pleased to announce another new face at Formoda. Toni Berning has joined us as our new Sales and Project Manager.

Originally from Germany, Toni has also lived for some time in Australia and the UK and therefore her English is better than most English people we meet! Although she is currently living just over the border in Cornwall...so that might change!

Toni has a strong background in marketing and project management and has already taken control of a few of our projects and clients and is settling in quickly.

We are keen that the addition of Toni and other team members will help us to continue the high level of customer service we have become known for and which has lead so many of our clients to recommend us to their friends and associates.

Formoda and WBW Solicitors to work together

WBW Solicitors is one of the leading law firms in Devon and have recently selected Formoda to help them with their new website development. Formoda has been gaining some excellent clients nationally and internationally but are pleased to be working with professional, local companies such as WBW.

WBW are one of the longest established firms in the region and are looking to develop their website to provide even better communication with their potential and existing clients. With offices in Newton Abbot, Exeter, Torquay and Bovey Tracey, WBW Solicitors offers a full range of legal solutions to businesses and individuals.

Formoda Director Simon Dolley said "It is refreshing to see a law firm like WBW not only looking to redevelop their website but reviewing how they can best service their clients through embracing new technologies. It is also very positive for Formoda to be working with such a well known, established local firm such as WBW."

WBW Managing Partner, Steve Bulman said "We are delighted to be working with Formoda. They stood out from the applications we received because of their understanding of our needs and attention to detail. We are excited by the potential opportunities that Formoda and the new website can deliver to WBW."

Formoda and WBW are currently working through the fine detail of the website with a plan to launch in the summer. The existing website can be found at www.wbw.co.uk.

New Faces at Formoda

Anyone popping in to see us over the next few weeks will notice that the team is growing. The team is expanding so that we can continue to offer the high level of service that we have become well known for.

Lynn Bunniss - has joined Formoda to help spread the word to Somerset and beyond. Lynn will be providing freelance sales and project management services to potential and existing Formoda clients.

David Hendy - is providing Formoda with additional website development skills (most notably .asp). David has already started to work with some Formoda clients.

William Hibberd - is the new Designer at Formoda. Will has been working with his colleagues at the Just Us Design Collective ever since University but has seen the opportunities in joining Formoda at this exciting time.

James Draper - has relocated from Kent to join Formoda as our new Developer. James has been working for a development company in Kent but has been looking forward to returning to South Devon as he went to University here.

We are all excited by the continuing growth here at Formoda and please feel free to pop in some time to meet the new team members and even say hello to some of us older faces...

Got a bird problem? Then call Eco Environmental

Eco Environmental is one of the UK's leading specialists in Bird Control and Formoda have just launched their new website.

Eco Environmental are delighted with their new website and are looking forward to their training next week where they will learn how easy it is to update their website. Formoda will also be giving them training to ensure that when they add case studies, articles and other information, not only do they target their audience but they understand how to include key words and phrases for search engines. This will help more users to find their website and increase their already successful marketing.

The website is fully content managed, so that website you see today will be updated regularly and will evolve as the Eco Environmental staff add new content and pages and update sections as their business continues to grow and change.

To view the new website design, please visit the new Eco Environmental Services website!

Online Marketing Training - making it work for you

Social Media Training

Monday 17th May or Tuesday 25th May

5:30pm-9:00pm

Formoda Offices, Berry Pomeroy, Near Totnes

Only £149+vat per person

Provided by Formoda and SGA Marketing

Train2Gain funding may be available to companies of 5 or more employees to pay for this training, please contact us or Business Link for details. Spaces are limited to 6-8 people per course so that we can ensure that your questions and needs are answered, so please book early. This course is being run in conjunction with Sam Gilson from SGA Marketing.

Social Media and how to drive more customers to your website

Our Social Media course is designed for those who are familiar with the internet but need help in "piecing it all together" in order to drive traffic and work on improving conversion rates. We will cover key areas including:

Planning - Key techniques to drafting and implementing a successful Social Media Programme. In this section of the course, we will focus on campaign management and proactive planning vs time management (cost)
Platforms - social media is amongst the fastest growing media but is also one that is driven by "fads". In this section we will take a detailed look at what companies are using which platforms and why.
Group Discussion : What platforms have you used to date? Why have you used them and successes?
How to identify the right platforms for you : based on previous Group Discussion we will put together two programmes 1) for a retailer 2) for a B2B proposition.
Engaging Users : The Golden Rules of communicating your messages without talking "at" your customer base.
Campaign Examples - 1) The Good 2) The Bad 3) The Ugly - those who chose to ignore it!
Tracking : key techniques in tracking the success of your social media activities (how to convert to ROI)
Conclusions and feedback from the course

Please contact us for more details or to book.

New Baby - Congratulations to Helen and David Gurney

We are absolutely delighted to announce that on Saturday evening at 9:20pm, Helen Gurney (wife of our Creative Director David Gurney). gave birth to a little baby girl.

Evelyn "Evie" Frances Gurney, weighed in at 6 pounds 6 ounces and is the first child of the proud new parents.

David is grateful for all the well wishers who have been in touch already and promises to be fully back in the loop soon. In the meantime, all of his colleagues at Formoda wish him, Helen and little Evie all the best.

Website Development Vacancies at Formoda

2010 is proving to be an exciting year for Formoda and because of the growth we are looking to add to the current Formoda team. We feel that these will provide an excellent opportunity for the right candidates to join a successful team at a great time.

Opportunities have arisen for the following full time staff but we are also interested in anyone who has recently worked or currently working in a website development environment, even if their CVs don't exactly match the following.

Senior Developer - ideally you will already be working in a similar role and have experience of :

First class PHP/MySQL programming skills
Considerable experience working within a LAMP development environment
Experience using version control (Subversion) and disciplined software development methodologies
Excellent sever/DBA skills and experience
Solid awareness of browser compatibility issues and accessibility guidelines
Ability to employ code documentation/commenting practices

Knowlegde of some / all of the following would also be a bonus:

Drupal / CCK / Views
MVC frameworks
Smarty

Website Designer - ideally you will be a graphic designer with experience of designing for the Internet and possibly also have CSS and XHTML skills, to enable you to get involved in some elements of the actual website development.

Sales / Project Manager - would be responsible for developing new markets, meeting potential new clients and also project managing these and other existing Formoda clients. Experience of working in a design and/or Internet agency would be preferred.

We would also consider two or more people, already working together, joining the team as a package. We'd love to hear from you so just give us a call on 08450 510 366 or email your CV to us@formoda.co.uk

Silicon Valley, Mayfair, collect £200 as you pass Go!

Formoda are delighted to announce that they have been selected by ePlanet Ventures to create their new website and also to develop their corporate branding and other marketing collateral.

ePlanet Ventures are a leading Venture Capital company based in Silicon Valley in California and currently with another 7 offices worldwide including Bangalore, Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai and Mayfair in London. ePlanet approached a number of agencies in different countries and were really impressed with Formoda's approach and track record.

ePlanet Ventures was one of the first venture capitalist companies to create a global fund and were the most successful of the many funds during the 1999 .com boom. They have been a leader in emerging markets and their most notable successes include an investment in an embryonic Skype back in 2003 and also Baidu a Chinese search engine which has become one of the top ten ranked websites in the world (according To Alexa).

Formoda beat off competition from other agencies in the US, UK and India to land the opportunity to re-create the ePlanet Ventures website. Formoda Director, Simon Dolley, said "This is a really exciting project for Formoda as not only are we working with another multi-national company but also that an agency like ours in the South West of England is competing well with agencies in London, the USA and India. Both ePlanet and Formoda see this as relationship which will benefit both parties."

Formoda are currently working on revising the branding slightly before moving forward with the website development with a plan to launch in the early summer.

CRM use Facebook to communicate

CRM is the leading manager of independent student accommodation in the UK and use Formoda for their online promotion and website development.

One of their most important developments in the last 12 months has been the Facebook and Twitter pages set up for them by Formoda. Enabling them to communicate in new ways with their existing and potential tenants.

Formoda set up these pages on behalf of CRM and then they are maintained and updated by the CRM managers in each location and each uses them in different ways. CRM Dundee post pictures and events to engage their tenants and to get feedback and information they require. CRM Bristol are promoting their new state of the art accommodation and encouraging visitors for their show flat which is now open. The recently renamed Urbanest London are using Facebook and Twitter to drive potential tenants to the CRM website to use the online booking system.

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "While we may not all use social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, I think we need to realise the potential they can offer in the business world. They can drive people to your website, help you to communicate with your clients and people they know and even re-establish contacts. I recently had contact via LinkedIn from a client I used to work with at a previous company, they felt they were no longer receiving the service they needed and could we help them at Formoda. That would not have happened without them finding me via LinkedIn."

If you would like to discuss how social media could work for your business please contact us and we would be happy to chat.

The CRM Students website can be found at www.crm-students.com.

Formula 1 comes to Formoda

Darren Heath is one of the leading Formula 1 photographers as featured by the BBC and is this year working with McLaren and their two British World Champion drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

The key for the new website for Darren was twofold. The first was to place greater emphasis on his Formula One photography with impactive, large scale imagery. The second element was to make the image galleries and blogs easy for Darren to update when travelling around the world.

Darren is absolutely delighted with the new website "...I can't believe what Formoda have done for me, the image gallery and content management system are so much better than anything I have had before...".

Darren is currently in Bahrain taking photographs in the run up to the first practice session and the race itself which starts on Sunday 14th March.

You can find the new website at www.darrenheath.com.

Vacancies at Formoda

Things are going really well for Formoda and therefore we would like to add to our team in order to prepare for some exciting times ahead.

We are particularly looking for the following types of people but the skills of the individual will probably determine the role:

Website programmer
Junior website designer

Do you like a challenge? Do you take pride in your work and always meet deadlines? Then we'd like to hear from you. We're looking for enthusiasm and attention to detail above all else, although we do have some specific skill requirements:

PHP5 (OOP)
MySQL
Drupal / CCK / Views
XHTML / CSS / Usability
jQuery

The following would also be a bonus:

YUI
ExtJs

Immediate start. Please provide samples of your work including your specific involvement in each project.

UK residents only please - you'll be required to attend an initial meet & greet as well as occasional project meetings. Freelancers are welcome to apply - an excellent full time position will be available to the right person.

We'd love to hear from you so just give us a call on 08450 510 366 or email your CV to us@formoda.co.uk

Microsoft offering alternative browsers to Internet Explorer

The BBC website is reporting that Microsoft are to offer Internet users in Europe an alternative to their existing Internet browser. We at Formoda have had experience of this with one of our computers being offered up to 12 new Internet browsers instead of the installed Internet Explorer.

As Internet Explorer comes pre-installed on most users computers, they often know no different and are still using Internet Explorer 6 and 7 even though they have now been superceded by Internet Explorer 8.

Most importantly it will introduce millions of users to other browsers including Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Opera - which can only be a good thing.

Everyone has their browser of choice but we would encourage users to try some of these excellent browsers as and alternative to IE.

The full story can be found at the BBC Technology website.

Smart website

Formoda have launched a new website for Smart Bookkeepers.

A simple but effective website was the brief and getting across the character of the client through their cartoon images.

You can find the new website at www.smartbookkeepers.co.uk.

Formoda featured in local press

Formoda have been featured in the Herald Express a local paper which covers South Devon. They contacted us after hearing about some of our latest news.

Although we are excited about the launch of every new website or corporate branding that we create, their story concentrated on 3 key elements which are very positive about Formoda, particularly given the current economic climate:

Formoda lands multi-national company based in Hong Kong - Touchwood are one of the leading forestry investment companies in Asia, with offices in 10 countries worldwide and have chosen Formoda for their brand development and website design.
New staff : Formoda have recently taken on Andy Mantell as our new Senior Developer, Andy has re-located from Bristol to join Formoda's website development team. Kerry Marot has joined Formoda as our new Accounts Manager, Kerry used to handle the accounts at Dartmouth Golf and Country Club before the advent of children changed her circumstances.
New premises : our new design studio and offices in Berry Pomeroy have been an instant hit with clients, visitors and staff. Everybody is really impressed and anyone who is not lucky enough to work here in this fantastic environment is a bit jealous!

2010 promises to be a really exciting year for Formoda so keep your eye out for more exciting news stories.

If you missed the Herald Express story it can be found here.

5 Star website for luxury self catering cottages

West Charleton Grange is a group of 5 star self-catering cottages near Kingsbridge in South Devon. Formoda have been working with them for a few years refreshing their brand and marketing material before moving on to the website.

West Charleton has a fabulous location and the high quality of their cottages have earned them the Enjoy England Gold Award. Formoda's task was to convert this into a website which illustrated this on the computer screens of their potential holiday visitors.

Use of good photography was essential as was creating a website that was easy for visitors and West Charleton to use. West Charleton can keep the website up to date using Formoda's simple but clever content management system Also the new website will work on many more browsers and computers than ever before and therefore be accessible to many more potential vistors.

Hazel and John Bustin from West Charleton Grange were always happy with their existing website and got many good comments but they felt that it was time for a change.

Often you need to see what is possible before you actually see the benefits that a new website can have for your business. So if you are reading this and wondering whether a new website could change your business, then please get in touch.

Some quotes about the new website from West Charleton Grange:

John Bustin said "Just a quick note to say that we are absolutely delighted with the website.. it looks very stylish..and really does the place justice,... whilst still remaining understated."
A current visitor said "Wow the new website is faaaaabulous and amaaaaazing"
A potential visitor said "Btw, have just seen your new website - congrats, looks awesome!"

You can find the new website at www.westcharletongrange.com.

BBC reports on phasing out of IE6

The BBC website is reporting that British Government departments are being encouraged to phase out Microsoft's Web Browser IE6.

IE6 has been superceded twice by Microsoft with new versions of Internet Explorer, namely IE7 and IE8. Therefore many of the 'bugs' or problems inherent in the browser are no longer supported or likely to be sorted. This has lead Internet giant Google to announce that it is phasing out support for the out of date Internet browser.

Some people still use the system and for this reason, Formoda spend a great deal of time ensuring that the websites we develop work in IE6. However in addition to the time this takes, it often means that we have to re-create (or even break) systems to make them work in the out of date Internet browser.

In France and Germany the Governments have encouraged their citizens to switch to (allegedly) more secure browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Formoda would like to encourage our clients to do the same or upgrade to Microsoft's latest version IE8. We will then all be able to move forward together with Internet Browsers which work properly and do what they were supposed to do.

The full story can be found at the BBC Technology website.

Formoda land biggest client to date

Touchwood are an international investment company based in Hong Kong, with offices in ten countries worldwide.

They have over 600 staff directly plus thousands more in the plantations they operate in many countries. Touchwood have been operating successfully for 16 years and aim to be a "Global 1000" (one of the most successful companies in the world) by the end of the decade.

With so many offices and staff in different countries worldwide it is imperative that everything Touchwood produce has the same look and feel irrespective of where it is designed and printed. Touchwood therefore turned to Formoda to discuss their existing brand and create a Corporate Style Guide which will ensure that the new brand is reproduced consistently across all marketing material.

Touchwood's Marketing Executive, Coran Maloney said "We first became aware of Formoda through a mutual client of ours in the UK. We noticed how everything from this company was professionally designed and followed the corporate branding exactly and we decided that Formoda could help us to do the same."

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley said "This shows the global nature of our industry and how it is possible for a design agency in South Devon to work with clients anywhere in the world. We have clients all over the UK and have worked with organisations in many different countries but to work with such a large organisation in the Far East is really a coup for us."

Formoda are currently working on the brand itself and stationery before completing the Corporate Style Guide. We will then be looking at Touchwood's other marketing material and re-designing the company website.

The current Touchwood website can be found at www.touchwood.com.

Formoda in the community

We currently have two new faces in our lovely offices in Berry Pomeroy, as we have two work placements from South Devon College. Konrad Abramczuk and Jason Hellier are fulfilling their work placement as part of their National Certificate in Business - Level 3. They are interested in learning about the design and Internet industries and we are pleased to help them.

Formoda have a long involvement in working with local schools and educational establishments. We had a young lad from Paignton college over in December and he enjoyed it so much that he asked to stay for an extra week. By giving them some tasks to do and working in the same office as us, they not only find the time interesting (we hope!) but also educational. We also feel that our new offices in Berry Pomeroy provide an excellent working environment for everybody.

As well as work placements, Formoda Director Simon Dolley has also worked with local schools and colleges giving talks and advice to students to help them understand the needs and skills they will require when moving into the working community.

New national website for Churchill

Churchill Retirement Living are a leading provider of retirement developments and currently have more than 50 developments throughout the UK. Based in Ringwood in Hampshire, they have been using Summerhouse Design in Dorset for their design for print material and Summerhouse turned to Formoda to develop a new website to co-ordinate with the rest of their marketing material.

The Internet is a growing way of getting information out to potential tenants and it is therefore imperative that Churchill are able to update their information easily and regularly. Formoda have developed a bespoke content management system to enable Churchill to update developments, news, vacancies and their work in the community.

The resulting website can be found at www.churchillretirement.co.uk.

Formoda are really pleased that another joint effort with a design agency has worked so well. Summerhouse Design were able to put their faith in Formoda that the new website would complement other material they were producing and the results have strengthened their relationship with Churchill further still. Summerhouse Design

Andy Mantell joins Formoda team

Andy Mantell joined the Formoda team on Monday 4th January in what promises to be an exciting year for Formoda.

Andy has been working for a top agency in Bristol as a website developer for 2 years but he could see the prospect of joining Formoda offered such excellent opportunities, that he handed his notice in immediately.

Some of our clients may already have got to know Andy as he has been thrown straight into our busy work schedule, helping to develop new and existing websites.

We'd like to welcome Andy to the Formoda team and we are already working on some new and exciting projects together.

Nationwide car sales website goes live

Chief Rentals are one of the leading vehicle rental companies in the UK, providing vehicles for casual purposes and also for commercial and domestic insurance claimants. In order to provide the highest quality service they change their vehicles every year and therefore have a large number of one year old vehicles to sell.

They had been selling a lot of these vehicles through car auctions and existing car sales websites and magazines but realised that the high quality of their vehicles (each one is regularly cleaned and serviced and goes through a 150 point check before being sold) meant they had the potential to sell these vehicles themselves.

The result was that they approached DNA Advertising, Formoda and SGA Marketing to create a new Internet solution for them. DNA Advertising have handled the corporate branding and design for print solutions, Formoda have built and developed a content managed e-commerce website and SGA Marketing are helping with the optimisation of the website and online marketing. The resulting website can be found at www.usedcars2u.com.

Usedcars2u.com is a revolutionary idea where users can buy vehicles outright online without seeing them first. The 14 day money back guarantee gives the user the confidence to make the purchase backed by well known company profile of Chief Rentals. Formoda have created three websites in one with the options to seek for and purchase usedvans and usedtaxis and the extensive content management system enables Chief Rentals to properly display the vehicles details to potential purchasers.

Not only are Chief Rentals delighted with the resulting website, Formoda are really pleased how the three agencies working together has provided an excellent solution for the client and we look forward to similar projects working with DNA Advertising and SGA Marketing in the future.

Aromatika gets a facelift!

Aromatika have just opened their new shop in Totnes and needed shop signage with that 'wow' factor, so they turned to Formoda.

We took their existing branding and developed it with a new style which has gone down really well with existing and new clients. Aromatika are now carrying this new brand forward into all their marketing material.

Aromatika make organic and natural skincare products, which are not tested on animals, all hand made in Devon and SLS and Parabens free.

Corporate branding and graphic design services provided to Aromatika include:

Shop signage
New marketing brochure
Enewsletter design and sending
Posters and other promotional material
Business cards and stationery

Lisa Hosking from Aromatika said, "The response to the new shop signage and marketing material has been amazing it has really helped us in the run up to Christmas. David got it just right, everyone comments on the flowers and the professional design."

Fantastic new offices for Formoda!

Exciting times for Formoda, we will shortly be launching details of a great new website we have been developing and news of some exciting new projects coming in but immediately is the exciting news of the new offices we are moving into tomorrow.

Set in the beautiful and historic Devon village of Berry Pomeroy, the Byre is part of the Duke of Somerset's estate and we are really pleased that the Duke feels we are a welcome addition to the estate.

Everyone who has seen the new offices has the same reaction "Wow!". Set in beautiful countryside, this converted barn has been decorated to a very high standard and has exactly the right feel for a creative agency like Formoda. We feel that this will aid our creativity and take our graphic design and website development to new heights.

We'd love to invite all our friends and business associates to come to our new offices and will be arranging an open evening as soon as we have sorted out all the little bits and pieces with setting up a new office and also when we have a lull in our busy workload.

Opportunity for web developer / programmer

It's exciting times for Formoda, not only are we soon to be going into new offices but we've got some really good projects in the pipeline. Because of this we need to add to our in-house team and associates.

PHP5 (OOP)
MySQL
Smarty
XHTML / CSS / Usability
jQuery

The following would also be a bonus:

YUI
ExtJs

Immediate start. Please provide samples of your work including your specific involvement in each project.

We'd love to hear from you so just give us a call on 08450 510 366 or email your CV to us@formoda.co.uk

BBC reports on phishing threat to computers

The BBC website is reporting that Internet users needs to be cautious of a new batch of Scareware (or phishing) flooding users computers.

Criminals are scaring users into thinking that their computers are infected and that they need to download a patch to repair the problem. Obviously as soon as they do perform the download they are actually infecting their computer and opening it up for the criminals to use your personal information (including secure passwords and card details) for financial gain.

We at Formoda have had a couple of clients contact us saying they are worried about something like this and we have advised them not to click anything unless they are 100%. Our email spam filters will aid the protection of your computer but you can easily pick up something like this from visiting websites. Our advice is to be careful on what you sign up for online, be careful who you share your details with and to get your own good virus protection on your computer.

The full story can be found at the BBC Technology website.

Animal Travel Insurance Website Development

Anyone who has ever bought insurance online knows that it is a very detailed process and everything has to be just right. Well that is exactly what Formoda have just created for Animal Travel Insurance an online quoting and booking system which is just right.

Many people insure themselves when they travel abroad but what about their pets? This is exactly what Suffolk-based Animal Travel Insurance address with their new online system, giving their customers the peace of mind when they travel abroad.

The new system developed by Formoda had to comply with strict insurance regulations and was checked regularly by Lloyds of London. It also had to ensure that whatever combination of pets or circumstances it delivered the correct quote and certificate.

Animal Travel Insurance are really pleased with the results and are looking to extend the system to other fields in the near future.

The new website can be found at www.lrms-secure.co.uk

Up to 2 years web and email hosting for the price of 1

Formoda have been inundated recently with companies worried about their existing web and email hosting and looking to change.

As many of these companies are part way through an existing website or email hosting account they are concerned that if they move now they will be losing out on the rest of year's hosting for which they have already paid.

Formoda are therefore offering up to 2 years hosting for the price of 1 year. Basically you will set up a hosting account now and pay for 1 year but you will get 1 year's hosting + the rest of the year until your domain renewal date (any date between 1st October 2009 and 30th September 2010). Therefore your next bill won't be due until 12 months after your renewal date.

For some clients this may only be a week or two and for others could be up to 12 months of free hosting.

This is not a gimmick, just a way of making sure that companies don't lose out just because they feel that it is time they moved their email or web hosting.

If you would like to talk through it more we are happy to chat, just call 08450 510 366

Wow! Great new website from Formoda

Well we think so and we are sure after a little perusing you will too.

This is the first re-design of the Formoda website since we first launched it in March 2007 and we are delighted with the results. As our clients work takes priority, it has meant a few long nights and weekends working and finally a few scheduled days in to deliver a website design which properly showcases our work and internet development skills.

Some of the new features include a changing home page, just go back there and click refresh and you will see what we mean. Isn't that clever?

We have refined our portfolio - this is so it easier for people to see the potential of what we can do for our clients, sometimes with so many portfolio projects you can see the wood for the tree. We will keep the portfolio fresh by adding and changing projects from time to time.

We will also keep you up to date with all our projects via our latest news - which will also update our Twitter and Facebook pages - please feel free to follow us there. You will also see our constantly changing tag cloud, please feel free to ask us about this.

As with all our clients websites we build them the right way to ensure that they work on as many browsers as possible, meet W3C validation criteria, adhere to the disability discrimination act, aid search engine optimisation and mean that the website is available to as many potential clients as we can.

Eco-investment website doesn't cost the earth

Following a successful brand development by Formoda, EcoInvestments were ready to develop their new website design.

Because EcoInvestments are providers of environmental financial investment opportunities, it was fundamental that the site had a professional banking feel to inspire confidence and that it worked in conjunction with the newly created brand.

Special attention was given to Search Engine Optimisation in the initial concept and a comprehensive content management system now allows the EcoInvestments team to steal a march on the competition and to add the latest opportunities in an instant.

The new website can be found at www.ecoinvestments.co.uk

Online marketing specialists turn to Formoda

SGA Marketing are specialists in Online Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation, so you can be sure they would be very careful when selecting who would be best to build their new website.

We at Formoda are pleased to announce that they choose us and that they are very pleased about the results. It was imperative that the new website was built the right way and provided the information they needed to promote themselves to some of the leading blue chip companies in the country who make up their clientele.

Sam Gilson of SGA Marketing said "We chose to work Formoda as their work to date clearly shows that they understand how to develop strategic brand development campaigns. Since the launch of our new website and re-branding we have been inundated with new leads and enquires which believe are entirely down to their understanding of our target audience and their touch points. We would strongly recommend Formoda and its team to any company looking to invest in developing a brand to reflect their values across the board - excellent job!"

Clothing and toys for twins and triplets

Kiki and Bree of London are delighted with their new website from Formoda. Featuring the new corporate branding also designed by Formoda. The website is aimed particularly at mothers of twins and triplets offering them specialist clothing and products.

A user friendly content management system makes it easy for Kiki and Bree to update their products and other pages. The website has many features including a gift list where mothers of twins can help their friends and family find the right gifts for their children.

The new Kiki and Bree website includes

New website design
User-friendly content management
Easy to use e-commerce
Gift list feature
Link to Google Products

SGA Marketing take their first steps with their new brand

SGA Marketing are a new online marketing company and when they needed a new corporate branding they looked no further than Formoda.

As a new media company they needed a brand which not only looked professional but illustrated that here is a company who knows what they are doing. SGA Marketing are one of the leading providers of online marketing in the South West with some very high profile customers.

Corporate branding and graphic design services provided to SGA Marketing include:

New company logo
New website design (coming soon)
Email signatures
Business cards and stationery

Formoda bring Kiki and Bree to life

When Kiki and Bree were looking for a new design for their business promoting products for twins, they were recommended that they speak to Formoda.

It was important that the new branding set the right tone for their business, attracting new mothers of twins and relatives looking to buy gifts.

Corporate branding and graphic design services provided to Kiki and Bree include:

New company logo
New website design (coming soon)
Packaging
Business cards and stationery

Harbour World - new website portal

Harbour World is a brand new website portal for everything to do with boats. On the website you can:

Post and look for crewing positions
Buy and sell boats
Promote your sailing club
and much, much more

As all the listings are being populated by individuals and companies, the user interface has to be really user-friendly. Easy to use text editors and even a simple plot-your-location-on-the-map feature, have made it simple for users to add thier listings already.

Harbour World has already attracted dozens of new members in its first few days and new features will be added throughout the summer, so why not check it out and even add yourselves before the rush?

Look at this! New website design

Look At This are a unique promotional company based in Berkshire, who needed an eye catching new website design and Formoda were happy to help.

On-car advertising has been around for a while but the added zest of the "carvers" has given Look at This an added bonus at top promotional events.

Formoda have created an attractive website and through the use of flash animation have easily illustrated the method and use for the advertising of Look at This. How do you think the Formoda car looks?

New Website for National Association

The Association of Professionals in Services for Adolescents (APSA) came to Formoda when they were looking for a new content managed website design, because of a recommendation from another professional association who had already had a website designed and developed by Formoda.

They needed an easy to update website for members and staff. It was also important that the website provided a good source of communication with members and potential members.

The main goals of the new website were:

New fresh website design
Easy to update by association members
Aid communication with members
Attract new members

Greenlife featured in Vogue magazine

Formoda are proud to announce that our client Greenlife have been featured in the latest edition of Vogue thanks to their website.

Vogue magazine found Greenlife via their website (which was designed and developed by Formoda) and chose to feature them based on what they saw. In the April Edition of Vogue they say "...Greenlife is reaching out to customers globally via www.greenlife.co.uk. Take a cyber trip around this amazing online shop, you won't be disappointed."

If you'd like to see more about Greenlife, please visit their website or read more about them in Vogue's "Natural Selection" in the April Edition.

New website design for Devon company

Formoda have launched a new website design for Devon based Energy Assessors, Southernhay Living.

Southernhay Living are energy assessors based in Devon but providing Energy Performance Certificates all over the South West.

Southernhay are specialists in Commercial Energy Performance Certificates so a key element of the new website design was to showcase the variety of types of clients they work with.

Southernhay's Director, David Fletcher said "I have worked with the Formoda team for a number of years and as always their work is exactly what we wanted and needed."

The services for Southernhay Living include:

New website design
Corporate branding
Stationery design

CRM Limited Website and Extranet

Formoda are pleased to announce the new website design and extranet development for CRM Limited in Oxford.

CRM is one of the main commercial property managers in the UK and is the largest manager of student accommodation in the country.

The new website is aimed to showcase their variety of services and case studies to other potential clients and also to show their growing portfolio.

An essential part of the new development was the new online "Extranet" which has enabled CRM to keep in touch with all their people at all of their sites across the UK. They are able to search for people, download files, view details of latest news and vacancies.

CRM's Director of Student Services, Heriberto Cuanalo said "The website and extranet are absolutely marvellous, communication within the company has never been better. Thank you to all the Formoda team for another excellent job."

The services for CRM include:

New company website
Content managed news and vacancies
New company extranet
Content managed people database
Company document download facility

Torquay United Fans Survey

Formoda have helped Torquay United to run a fans survey.

The survey is available in to ways, one is an online version and another is a A5 postcard which can be filled in at the matches.

The online version developed by Formoda is quick and easy to use and also adds all the details to a database so that they can effectively be used for market research by the club.

The A5 postcard was also designed by Formoda and has been handed out to fans at recent matches for their feedback. Fans have the added incentive of 2 season tickets on offer to the winners.

The benefits of the Torquay United Fans Survey are:

Greater knowledge about the TUFC fanbase
Fans from all over the world can feedback
Adding email addresses to the TUFC database
More intuitive details on people for targeted emailing
More positive feeling for the fans who are being asked for their opinion

Bluetooth Interactive Website

Formoda have launched the brand new Bluetooth Interactive website.

Bluetooth Interactive are a proximity marketing company based in Central London. Proximity Marketing is when companies send promotional messages to user's phones via bluetooth technology.

Bluetooth Interactive needed a new website to showcase their service, product and previous work to potential clients.

Internet Services provided to Bluetooth Interactive include:

Content managed website
New website design
Email signatures
Home page flash animation
Website hosting and email hosting

Corporate Branding for London Agency

Formoda were asked to create a new brand for a London based proximity marketing agency..

Bluetooth Interactive are a proximity marketing company based in Central London. Proximity Marketing is when companies send promotional messages to user's phones via bluetooth technology.

It is very important to pitch a branding at the correct target market. It was therefore essential to create a brand that was fresh and modern to fit in with their market place but also had a professional aspect to give credibility to their company.

Corporate branding and graphic design services provided to Bluetooth Interactive include:

New company logo
New website design
Email signatures
Business cards and staionery
Company order forms

Happy New Year

David, Richard and Simon would like to wish all our clients and business associates a happy new year.

We hope you didn't over indulge during the festive season and hopefully (like us) you are raring to go in 2009.

We believe that if we all pull together we will all come out stronger following the current financial situation, so please do not hesitate to ask if you need any help or would just like some advice.

Season's Greetings & Xmas Opening Hours

Formoda are closing down for Christmas at 12pm on Christmas Eve and will be back in the office on Monday 5th January 2009 from 8:30am.

If you have any urgent enquiries during this period, please email us@formoda.co.uk (other email addresses may not be checked over the holiday period)and we will endeavour to respond when we can and according to the urgency of the request.

So we wish you a Merry Christmas and look forward to speaking again in 2009.

Sending too many Christmas Cards this Xmas?

Formoda would like to wish you all a Merry Xmas and also show some samples of the e-cards we have been sending out for clients this year. An ecard is a quick and environmentally friendly way of keeping in touch with your clients and business associates.

They can also be used, like the one for Torquay United AFC below, to promote your products or upcoming events. Formoda can send them out for you and track how many people open them and click through to certain pages in your website from the email. An email doesn't just have to be for Xmas either, they can be an excellent way of keeping in touch (but not pestering) your clients all year round.

To find out more please contact us.

South Devon Business Club Website

Formoda have launched the brand new South Devon Business Club website. The website is designed to handle much of the administration for the club.

The Business Club has approximately 100 members throughout South Devon and holds 12 diverse meetings each year. The website provides a central point for members to share information, they can post news and offers - which can also be viewed by all visitors to the website.

The new website is fully content managed and handles all the membership applications and renewals, including sending reminder emails to users. Reminder emails are also sent out for each meeting and members and guests will book meetings via the website.

South Devon Business Club officers are able to add in meetings automatically and users can view details, search for the location on a map, get directions and book the meeting online. Members of the South Devon Business Club can also update their information.

The key features of the new website design are:

Content managed meetings
Members information, news and offers
Automated meeting emails
Automated membership renewals
Content managed members information

Executive Recruitment Agency in Central London

Fenton Clark are an experienced team of executive recruitment specialists based in Central London who needed a fresh new branding.

Formoda were commissioned because of our experience in the recruitment field and because they liked what they had seen us do for other companies requiring new corporate branding.

Formoda have been commissioned to design and develop

A new logo and brand
A series of business cards
Company stationery
Promotional material
A content managed website (currently under development)

The new website is fully content managed with an easy to use Job Search to ensure that candidates can find the right vacancy for them.

Fenton Clark's key services are

Executive Recruitment
Interim Management
Business Analysis
Turnaround Solutions
Leadership Coaching
Training and Mentoring

Up "Pops" a new website for London Recruitment Agency

Pop Recruitment are specialist in the PR and Marketing recruitment fields and they therefore like to make a splash with their advertising and website.

The brief was to make a "pop art" website which targeted candidates and clients for both permanent and freelance vacancies. While the design might not be everyone's favourite, we truly believe that it will help Pop stand out and continue to succeed in a very competitive London recruitment market.

The new website is fully content managed with an easy to use Job Search to ensure that candidates can find the right vacancy for them

Pop Recruitment's MD Melanie Lawn said "As a team you have made this whole process a pleasurable one...as trying to run a business, be an active recruitment consultant, and get a new site live - all in one go - could have been difficult but you made it far easier than I expected. We love it! Our clients love it! As do our candidates! - so everyone is happy."

The key features of the new website design are.

Unique "Pop Art" design
Content management system
Updateable jobs database
AJAX based hide/unhide features
Automated email alerts

Green and environmental jobs all over the country

Green Roles is a new name in the environmental and green recruitment sector in the UK and are part of the larger Roles Group.

Formoda are proud to be involved in their new development and have just helped launch the new Green Roles website..

Formoda created the main branding for Roles Group as well as the sub-branding for Green Roles and other sub-brands. The new Green Roles website has been designed and laid out by Formoda and is the first of the Roles Group websites to hit the market place.

If you look at the new Green Roles website designed by Formoda you will recognise many household names and also jobs throughout the country..

New Branding for London Recruitment Agency

Roles is a new face on the recruitment block in London and will soon be launching a new recruitment portal website. Formoda were entrusted with the crucial branding process to set Roles in the right position in the market place.

Formoda have created or are currently working on

a new logo
a new corporate font
letterheads
business cards
a new website design

Get your vitamins and minerals 'ere!

Greenlife Direct are moving forward in the promotion of vitamins, minerals and other health products through their new website designed and developed by Formoda.

They have been trading online for a few years now and realised it was time to improve their website.They specialise in the sale of natural products and remedies for you and your family including vitamins and minerals, natural health supplements, natural skin care, bath and shower products and organic herbal teas.

Although Greenlife are already successful trading with many people in Devon and online, they want to reach a wider market. So they have employed Formoda and E-Strategy (a search engine optimisation company) to ensure that their website is easier to find, targets the right markets, is easier to update and actually makes them money.

An integral part of the new website is not only to sell to users online but also to promote the, already successful, Totnes town store and the events they hold there. The website links in with Greenlife's EPOS system to keep product information up to date and then Greenlife are able to update other information for the website.

The key features of the new website design are.

Linking with Greenlife's EPOS system
Content management system
Updateable products and database
Ecommerce developed by Formoda with link to Secure Trading checkout
Updateable information on the Totnes Town Store
Bespoke VAT reporting plus order management and selection system

Total Employment website evolving

Just Accounts Recruitment have been doing really well but their name has been a little restrictive since they have branched out into Office and Industrial job vacancies. So a re-brand into Total Employment UK, has meant that they are able to tackle more recruitment fields and Formoda have re-developed the website to use the new branding.

It was important that the new website didn't change too much as existing customers should know that they are still getting the high level of service, so Formoda evolved the design and used some new colours for the different sections.

Total Employment have a whole new "Industrial" section and the website mirrors this and has a subtle new colour for the "accounts" section.

Total Employment is an excellent example of how a well built and designed website need not be binned entirely even when a company re-brands and changes its name.

Maker Coating make a splash

Maker Coating have just launched their new website.

The website utilises the new corporate branding and logo (also designed by Formoda) and coincides with Maker's move to new and improved premises in Exeter.

The website is content managed enabling Maker to add and change all the products for sale themselves, all they need now is the time to do this, as the new brand, move and website are already making them busier than ever!

The new website has lots of key features but two of te main ones are the ability to choose your own colour from teh swatch under special colours (where applicable) and the special online quoting system for existing trade customers who may be able to get special discounts for regular and bulk orders.

The key features of the new website design are.

Fresh new design to tie in with new corporate branding
Content management system
Updateable producs and database
Ecommerce developed by Formoda with link to Secure Trading checkout
Special colours and swatches
Special trade and direct login and quoting system

Estate Agent Website helps Helmores

We hear so much at the moment about the credit crunch, how the property market is in trouble and that estate agents are going bust. Well I'm pleased to say that one of clients is bucking the trend and they say that is partly due to the website designed by Formoda.

Rob Stoyle from Helmores Estate Agents in Crediton said "Just some feedback to you guys: We are receiving so many positive comments all the time regarding the new site, many people tell us that its by far the best one out of our competitors and we've secured many new instructions off the back of it! So money very well spent and many thanks to you all for putting together such a brill site!!"

The website is easy to update and also easy for users to find and hear about the properties they are looking for. It also features a changing header, showing a different graphic each week. Currently you can see the first of two special Beijing Olympics Headers.

Welsh camping and caravan park reap rewards

Gower Villa Touring Park had a new website designed and developed by Formoda in the summer of 2007.

The website was a new venture and key to increasing their numbers. Despite the terrible weather we have experienced so far this year, the owners of Gower Villa were pleased to tell Formoda how well the website design was working for you.

Nigel and Gareth Featherstone said "Just to let you know that the site is full now until the end of August and we can put most of it down to the web site." They continued "We keep getting comments on how well designed the site is. A big thank you to you and your team on that."

Fresh Move Letting Agency Website

Fresh Move is a letting agency based in South Devon and, due to the increased number of people wanting to let property at the moment, needed to make their website more user friendly and easier to update.

It was extremely important that anyone at Fresh Move was able to update their website easily, as lettings agents need to be able to add, update and remove properties extremely quickly.

It was also important that the new website was more user friendly to help people to find the right property for them. One of the key new features is the email alerts which sends out emails as soon as a property is added which meets their criteria.

The new website has already had a remarkable reception. Fiona Loud from Fresh Move said "I have already had more enquiries from the new website in the first day than I normally have in a week, I hope that continues!"

The key features of the new website design are.

fresh new design to tie in with offline material
content management system
updateable properties and database
property email alert system
Google maps and directions

Student Accommodation throughout the UK

CRM Students is the leading independent manager of student accommodation in the UK and Formoda are proud to launch their new website for 2008.

The website is easily updateable via the specially created content management system enabling CRM Students to keep all their locations up to date.

With 20 sites throughout the UK the Internet is proving an extremely effective way of marketing student accommodation for CRM and a comprehensive but easy to update website was very important for them

The website has a variety of features to bring the accommodation to life and an easy to use navigation to help you find the right location for you and the relevant information when you get there.

The key features of the new website design are.

fresh new design
content management system
updateable photos and room plans
walk throughs and videos
flash location maps
content managed prices, faqs, features, etc

Formoda take part in Charity Golf Event

Formoda were proud to take part in a charity golf event last week raising money for Cancer Research UK. Pictured in the Formoda team above are Simon Dolley, Pat Duke, Matt Bettesworth (from Bettesworths Commercial Estate Agents) and Jim Green from DNA Advertising.

The event was organised by Loughtons Independent Financial Advisers and Lameys Accountants. Last year's event raised over £4000 for Cancer Research UK and they are hoping to raise even more this year.

A great day was had by all and our team managed to represent ourselves well and even manage a net eagle or two. If you would like to donate any money to the Cancer Research UK feel free to follow the web link below.

Formoda Launch New Servers

Formoda completed the smooth mirgation to new website and email hosting servers over the weekend.

The upgrade means that we will be able to carry on our extremely high level of service. We still guarantee 99.9% level of uptime but our previous servers enjoyed an unblemished 100% service.

Thanks to our communication with our clients and preparations, hopefully the disruption should have been non-existent. However as discussed it is worth our clients checking mail on the old server via WebMail, in case any emails were directed there during propagation. Just go to "My Account" using the link below, choose "WebMail (Old server)" and enter your email username and password.

I you have any questions about our server migration please do not hesitate to ask.

Happy 70th Birthday HPI

HPI celebrates 70 years of vehicle history checks this year and to celebrate they are offering the motor trade the chance to win some fabulous prizes.

Formoda have set up a simple website which allows the motor trade to enter the Platinum Prize Draw. Entrants are compiled, stored and details sent through to HPI to manage the prize draw.

Do you need to freshen up your house?

penelopetom a new interior design and homeware gifts company based in Devon launched their new website this week.

Using the new corporate branding, also designed by Formoda, the website has already been wowing potential customers, so why not have a look yourself?

The bespoke shopping cart and content management system developed by Formoda for penelopetom, enable them to keep their website up to date and also process orders securely.

There are a wide range of homeware gifts and products to improve your interior design and the unique photography brings the website to life.

The key features of the new website design are.

new Corporate Branding
content managed products, interior design news
bespoke product photography
secure checkout and transactions

Bristol Urban Design Consultancy

Hamilton Baillie, an Urban Design Consultancy based in Bristol got their new website design today.

The new website design has been developed to help Hamilton Baillie showcase their past and upcoming projects and keep them up to date via the user friendly content management system.

It should be nice and easy for users to find projects via the interactive google map or using the search facility. The map uses UK and Global co-ordinates to pinpoint the locations accurately.

The key features of the new website design are.

interactive google map
content managed projects, news and publications
cartoon gallery
enlargeable images

Fabulous new website for Mayrose

Today we have launched the new website for Mayrose Farm Cottages in Cornwall.

We have developed a new design and style for Mayrose for the website and the use of excellent photography has brought the website to life.

The other key element of the new website is the ability for Mayrose to keep the website up to date with the bespoke content management system developed by Formoda, check out the cottage availability section.

The key features of the new website design are.

interactive google map
content managed cottage availability, prices and offers
updateable cottage information
new website design and photography
embedded Flickr gallery
latest news and guestbook

Need to know about Schwarzkopf hair products?

Formoda, in conjunction with GM Design, are pleased to announce the fresh launch of the new Ask Schwarzkopf Professional hair products site.

Originally an intranet, the upgraded site now available to the general public for the first time. It contains up to date information on the full Schwarzkopf Professional portfolio and helpful application tips that can be referenced by hairdressers and their clients all over the world.

GM Design, global marketing consultants for Schwarzkopf Professional, created the new design and are able to maintain the website in conjunction with their client in Germany by using the user-friendly content management system developed by Formoda. The site is also available in 11 different language options with the ability to add more.

Lucy Clare Robarts-Arnold, Director of GM Design said "...we're delighted with the project outcome. Your team spirited, 'can-do' approach greatly appreciated again."

Nice design for Penelope Tom

Penelope Tom is a new name on the interior design map in Devon.

They wanted a fresh design for the new interior design shop which will be opening soon in South Devon and also for the new e-commerce website, which is currently being developed by Formoda.

Formoda have created the new branding which will shortly be used on

promotional cards
shop signage
a new e-commerce website

World Wide Web comes to an end

It was announced this morning that the Internet is to be shut down with immediate effect. The announcement came following calls to get people to start talking together in person once more rather than virtually.

Simon Dolley from the Devon website design agency Formoda said "It is shame because we make our living out of the Internet. Oh well, I think I'll go and live on an island somewhere."

Reports suggest Simon's colleagues Richard and David have decided to respectively start up a sanctuary for mad border collies and a cheesy chips outlet.

Government officials were unavailable for comment but Bill Gates was heard to say "Damn".

Maker get a new lick of paint

Maker Coating provide specialist coatings to protect surfaces.

Their brand and logo was looking a bit old fashioned and as they were planning to move premises in 2008, it seemed a great time to refresh their image and produce some new stationery and marketing material.

Formoda developed their existing logo and brand so that it had a fresh appeal and more professional appearance, but not too far removed from the original in order to maintain existing customer confidence.

Formoda have created or are currently working on

a new logo
a new corporate font
letterheads and continuation sheets
business cards
a new corporate folder design
a new e-commerce website

Formoda hold Internet and Design courses

Formoda director, Simon Dolley, has been holding Internet and design courses on behalf of Enterprise South Devon.

The courses have government backing to provide local businesses with useful information to help their marketing, so Enterprise South Devon turned to local business experts in this field. Simon's courses have been aimed at helping businesses to utilise graphic and website design to move their businesses forward.

Some courses have already been completed (details below)

Search Engine Optimisation - 20/02/08
Branding and Image - 03/03/08
Websites, where do I start? - 05/03/08
Selling using the Internet - 06/03/08
Marketing Using the Internet - 19/03/08

For more details of these and other courses, please contact Enterprise South Devon - 01626 837000

New Website for Crediton Estate Agents

Formoda are proud to announce the launch of a brand new website for Helmores Estate Agents in Crediton

With a fresh new design and much increased functionality the Helmores website aims to maintain their position as the leading agent in the area.

There are so many great features on the new website, that we'll just explain some of them here, the rest you can see for yourself by visiting the website.

interactive google maps
similar properties nearby, with distances
find properties by area or find nearest to a postcode
content managed, ask the expert, helmores team, etc
vendor section - to keep updates on how many people are viewing and interested in your property
email to a friend, get a mortgage quote, etc

Formoda Business Link Presentation

Formoda Director, Simon Dolley has been asked to make a number of presentations for Business Link and the Enterprise South Devon.

The above image is from one seminar held to help businesses to make effective use of the Internet and Simon's presentation was one of four you can view by the following the link below. (the event was filmed by 2.0 Ltd)

You too might be interested in hearing more about what Formoda can do to help your business grow through effective use of the Internet, if you are please contact us.

We'll have details of upcoming presentations on this website shortly but the next one is one entitled "E-strategy" held on behalf of Enterprise South Devon with Sam Gilson from E-strategy. This event to be held on Wednesday 20th February, for more details please contact Jessica West at Enterprise South Devon 01626 837000.

New website for Edward Drummond

Edward Drummond is a high quality head hunting and recruitment company with offices in Bristol and London.

Following a highly successful re-branding exercise in 2007 with Formoda, Edward Drummond needed a new website to show off their new branding and back up their professional services.

A key element was the ability to keep the website up to date and respond to potential clients quickly and with the correct material. One element of this is the ability to create quality pdfs (example pictures above) for sending by email or in their high quality printed folder (also designed by Formoda).

The result has already been effective in helping Edward Drummond to develop their market with the top employers throughout the South of England.

Wedding Matters new website

Wedding Matters provides a variety of wedding planning options throughout the South of England.

Formoda provided a whole new corporate branding in 2007 and the next step was a content managed website to match.

From the wedding gallery pages (check out some of the incredible weddings), through to the press, blog and suppliers sections, Formoda have made it easy to keep the website up to date.

So if you're thinking of getting hitched, why not check out the website to see what the possibilities are and how you can reduce your stress.

Does your website work the same for everyone?

Would you open a new shop and only allow certain people through the door? No of course you wouldn't, so why do just that with a website?

It may surprise you to know that people aren't necessarily viewing your website on the same Internet browser as you, and if your website doesn't work on that browser you could quite easily lose that customer.

Current figures (source thecounter.com) has 48% of users on Internet Explorer 6, 33% on IE7, 13% on Firefox (though it is suggested that this is higher in the UK) and 3 % on Safari. All of these browsers (and others) will render coding errors differently and this is why websites may appear differently or not work.

It is important that the website meets W3C compliance criteria (look out for validation links at the bottom of your website) and is tested on all browsers. Formoda test their websites on IE6, IE7, Firefox, Safari (on PC, Mac and even itouch - pictured), Opera and Sea Monkey.

A client of ours recently brought my attention to a brand new website designed by another agency which didn't work in Firefox or Safari despite claiming to meet W3C validation criteria. Have a check of your website, ask your developers and give yourself the best possible chance of reaching your customers.

Happy New Year from all at Formoda

David, Richard and Simon would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year for 2008.

We hope that 2008 will be as fruitful for all our clients as 2007 was for us. A year ago we did not even exist as a company, so we are delighted with the progress we have made in such a short time.

Just have a look at our portfolio for the website design and graphic design we have carried out over the past 10 months. So if you are looking for website designers in Devon or anywhere in the UK why not "knock on our door"?

Probably even more successful has been our web and email hosting success. Since we set up our new servers 6 months ago (upgrading after only 4 months due to the delightful success we achieved early on), we have not had one second of downtime. Hopefully our clients are pleased with the success they have had and are benefiting from a simple service which works.

Just Accounts Recruitment new website

Just Accounts Recruitment Ltd is a specialist accounts and office recruiting agency based in Plymouth.

They came to Formoda to give a whole new look to their website and also make it easy for them to update.

Just Accounts can update their latest accounts and office vacancies, update their team members and also keep their clients and candidates up to date withe their Frequently Asked Questions.

Potential candidates can register their interest in new vacancies and also subscribe to receive automated emails as soon as a new vacancies added.

Formoda help out with Quail by Mail website

Based in South Devon, Quail was established to provide a range of ladies ethical fashion encompassing comfortable basics to flirty couture.

Quail had the advantage of using Jason Clark to design their new website but Jason was let down by the back end developer he was using to integrate the website with their ecommerce provider. Because they were running out of time, they decided to contact Formoda to see if we could help.

Formoda were able to build a content management system to enable Quail to maintain their website and integrate the shopping cart with the PayPal payment system.

This will hopefully be the first of many collaborations between Yellowfields and Formoda, combining our graphic design and website development skills for the benefit of our mutual clients.

Jason Clark from Yellowfields said "I took the conscious decision to commission local expertise to help me meet a very tight deadline. Formoda rose to the challenge. They were very flexible, responsive and professional. Within a very tight timescale, they integrated my design with a CMS and PayPal shopping cart. Quail's website is live, trading and working really well. I look forward to tapping in to their expertise in future projects."

New Job Shop Devon Website

Job Shop Devon is the home of permanent and temporary vacancies in Newton Abbot and Paignton. They provide jobs for people throughout Teignbridge, the South Hams and Torbay and needed a new website.

Of paramount importance was the ability for all their staff to be able to maintain their vacancy database quickly and easily. They can also print out a full list of job details for users who wish to read them offline at their leisure.

The new website makes it easy for potential candidates to register their interest in a particular vacancy and also subscribe for vacancy updates. As soon as a new vacancy is added, all users who are interested will receive details of that job.

Agricultural Economics Society

The Agricultural Economics Society has over 350 members in 65 countries worldwide, so an update of their website was an excellent way to keep in touch with their members.

Their information changes regularly so a content managed website was a must. They produce two journals which need regular updating and also hold an important annual conference and other conferences and events.

The Agricultural Economics Society are extremely pleased with their new website, finding it easy to update and it has already received a positive response from their members.

Stylish cars, stylish website

Richard Thorne Classic Cars in Berkshire have been going for over 25 years and this was their big step forward with the Internet.

The nature of their classic cars are perfect for viewing online and Formoda have enabled them to keep the website up to date themselves and promote their new and used Morgans and Lancias.

So if you're looking to add a little style to your driving experience why not log on to the new Richard Thorne website and see where your desires take you.

Quanta leap forward with...

Quanta Consulting is a new venture into the environmental and energy sectors for an experienced recruitment team. Formoda have provided their branding and are developing a new website.

The new brand had to be clean but reflect the new market they were targeting. This has already been used on their stationery, business cards and promotional brochure.

The new website is currently in development and is content managed, enabling Quanta to update jobs regularly and easily in order to keep them at the forefront of London recruitment agencies.

Car Dealer's can win with HPI

HPI are the leading provider of used car checks in the country and Dealer Exchange is an excellent system developed to aid car dealerships do a check and promote their vehicles.

The new website is part of a marketing campaign to promote Dealer Exchange. Over 55,000 car dealerships all over the UK will be receiving a mailer with a unique code. They will be asked to enter this code into the new website to see if they've won one of the excellent prizes on offer.

The website developed by Formoda, manages all the winning and losing entries, whilst providing reports to the HPI sales team with details of who is entering on a daily basis.

HPI are already delighted with their new website and hope that it will be as successful promoting Dealer Exchange as it is with data and information capture for their sales team.

Please feel free to visit the new HPI Dealer Exchange website by following the link below, though you will not be able to enter without a valid code because of the security and failsafes incorporated by Formoda to protect HPI from fraud. You can also visit the main HPI website and see for yourself how an HPI check works.

West Charleton Grange gets a refresh

West Charleton Grange is a complex of self-catering cottages and apartments in the South Hams, Devon.

They came to Formoda in order to freshen up their website with new photos and new prices. We were able to include a whole series of new photographs for each cottage, showing the individual delights of each one.

While we were doing this we suggested it might be a good idea to create some nice pdfs of each cottage for website users to print off and read at their leisure.

"FAB. I would book to stay here immediately. So pleased - wondering whether to rebrand." Hazel Bustin, West Charleton Grange

Camping or caravan in West Wales?

Gower Villa Touring Park is an established camping and caravan park in Pembrokeshire, which has enjoyed a marketing face-lift thanks to Formoda. New stationery and a new website aim to take this site forward for people looking to holiday in West Wales.

The website includes new photos of the attractive Pembrokeshire countryside and information about what to do when holidaying in the area.

A key feature is the interactive Google Map which Formoda have programmed to include local tourist attractions with website links and more details when you click on that particular venue.

Racing Morgans at Britcar, Silverstone

Formoda would like to congratulate the RTM Morgan Roadster Team on their superb showing at this weekends Britcar 24-hour endurance race at Silverstone.

Formoda were originally commissioned to build a site to showcase the capabilities of Richard Thorne Motorsport. With Formoda consequently deciding to sponsor the team themselves, the site was developed to keep visitors updated on the race via a content-managed area which would also allow visitors to see the latest images from the race. David from Formoda was particularly grateful for the comprehensive content managed system since he volunteered to join the team and update the site himself for the entirety of the race!

The team came a fantastic 17th from 61 starters and finished 4th in its class. You'll see more of the race in the new series of Top Gear as they had their own team entered in the event, their car finishing a respectable 39th. Clarkson and Hammond also made a personal appearance in the RTM garage to remonstrate with the team next door!

The event will also be televised soon so look out for the little Morgan!

Torquay United Club Shop Website

Formoda are pleased to announce the launch of the the new Torquay United Club Shop website.

The website offers the full range of club merchandise, is easy to update and also features season holder discounts and an account login facility.

Formoda designed a new flyer (pictured) to promote the new website and this was handed out to fans at a recent home game and also in the club shop.

The reaction to the new site has been 100% positive even prompting one fan to say he was tempted to buy from the website when he could just nip down to the ground and save on the postage. Hopefully the website will help the continued revival at Torquay United and lead the club back to their rightful place in the Football League.

Formoda do our bit for Charity

A team representing Formoda were pleased to take part in the recent Lameys/Loughtons charity golf day raising money for Cancer Research UK.

Over £4000 was raised by the fees paid by the golfers on the day, the various raffles, additional competitions and charity auction.

The event was organised by Lameys Accountants and Loughtons Independent Financial Advisers. Although Formoda didn't win the event (or even get close), Paul did win the longest drive competition and can be seen receiving his prize from Bruce Grobbelaar who also took part in the event.

To find out more about Cancer Research UK or to pledge any more please visit the link below.

Free Hosting for up to 6 months

So many companies are keen to swap their web and email hosting over to Formoda (because of our excellent customer service and uptime - see report, left) but may have already paid another company for up to a year's hosting. So Formoda have decided to help out and offer free hosting for up to 6 months - until your domain registration/renewal date. If you renewal date is 6 months to 12 months in the future we'll offer half price hosting. You will then be free to cancel or continue to take advantage of our excellent hosting service.

Don't take our word for it, see what some of our customers say. Pi Kerr of Pi Designs, Bristol commented, "Formoda have been especially helpful when transferring domain names over to their hosting. If you need help or advice you can talk to a human who talks in plain English and makes the process as easy as possible."

Every domain has a renewal date (even if it has been registered for more than one year at a time) and the offer is valid up until that date in the next 12 months for your domain. You will then decide whether you want to continue with our excellent service and prices (our combined web and email package is just £100+vat p.a.) or cancel.

We know that you won't want to cancel because of our excellent customer service and quality of service (see the server uptime report for July).

Please contact us for full details and to take advantage of this limited offer.

New site for London Recruitment Agency

Holland and Tisdall's new website is another step forward for this London Recruitment Agency.

Not only does the new website reflect their professionalism but it is also easy to update. This means that potential candidates can be assured that the website is right up to date.

With jobs available throughout the UK and the world, users can search by category, industry and/or location.

There will also be a Google Map making it easy to search for jobs in your area.

Home4pets - is the home for pet products

Home4Pets.com is just that, a home for pets. They have everything from pet products to articles, news, DVDs, books and even software for all your pet needs.

So whether you're looking for something for your cat, dog, horse, bunny or even that snake or spider home4pets probably have the product or information for you.

As well as the UK version of the website Home4Pets.com is also available in the USA, Canada, France and Germany.

View the source Luke

Customer 1st had a website built only a year or so ago but it was not valid W3C code which meant that it was not accessible to everyone. This was important as they deal a lot with the public sector, who know how important it is that everyone can view your website.

So they approached Formoda and we updated their website to make it W3C valid, meaning that more people can view the site irrespective of what browser they use or any disabilities they may have. We also added content management and a new news and partners section, so that they can keep their website up to date. All of this will also help their search engine results.

Stephanie Edwards of Customer 1st said "Formoda not only delivered on time an exceptional website, with the international flavour we required, but exceeded all our expectations. The customer service we received was first class, well done and thank you."

New Exeter Estate Agents

Welcome to Southernhay Estate Agents a new estate agency based in Exeter.

Because they are new they are keen to get new properties so give them a call as I'm sure you'll get an extra special service.

The new website features their new corporate branding, is easy to update and has features such as rss feeds and an integrated Google map.

Listen to what David Fletcher from Southernhay Living thinks about Formoda by clicking on link below. This service is kindly provided by Mukau Media

Is your website compliant?

Does your website conform to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Standards?

What good is a website if not everyone can see what you see?

What is validation?

Validation means that your website has met the standards set down by the W3C. More details can be found if you follow the links below.

Why does it matter?

If your website is not valid, Internet browsers will automatically do their own error checking, leading to wildly different displays of your website.

Valid websites are much easier to read for users with disabilities, who might want to make it text only, increase the size of the text or convert it into audio. You might be losing a lot of people who might otherwise want to use your website.

There is very good evidence that search engines much prefer valid websites, as the code is cleaner and easier to read. Therefore a valid website could mean better search engine results.

If you'd like to check your own website please follow the link below. If you'd like to talk to Formoda about whether we can help yo to make your site valid, please contact us on 08450 510 366

If you want to Stay in Brittany...

Set in the fantastic Brittany countryside, Le Presbytere offers a very warm welcome and excellent accommodation.

Excellent use of photography and good information were paramount in showing the benefit in staying in this part of Brittany, along with an easy to use location map.

The website is maintained by Frank and Penny Down via a user friendly control panel, enabling them to keep the information valid and up to date.

Countryheat really cooking now!

This is Countryheat's first foray into the Internet world and the key thing was to drive people towards their showroom on the edge of Dartmoor.

Clean design was necessary to showcase their range of wood burning stoves, cookers and accessories but also the ability to update the website with new or changing products. Now they've just to find the time to keep it updated.

You can listen to a podcast of what Lorraine Flood from Countryheat thought about the development process with Formoda by clicking on the feedback link below. This service is provided by 'mu@kaumedia

Priory Fisheries nets the net

Formoda are pleased to announce the launch of the new Priory Fisheries website.

The website combines excellent images with easy to update content. Priory are able to update fish species, prices, images and even keep a blog.

W3C compliant website for Formoda

W3C Sites is a collection of web sites created by designers that conform with the W3C standards.

Formoda's website has been ranked highly and conforms with the W3C compliance standards.

We like to think the websites we develop meet all the accessibility criteria to help our clients but to have it confirmed by the industry standards is even better.

100% up time on Formoda internet hosting

As part of our web and email hosting we guarantee 99.9% up time, therefore meaning that chances of your web or email hosting being down are 1 in 1,000!

So we thought we'd better test this to make sure we weren't making false claims and this is what we got back.

From: Apr 01 2007 12:00 AM (EU/Western
To : May 01 2007 12:00 AM (EU/Western)

1. Formoda site (www.formoda.co.uk) HTTP Test (Port 80)
- uptime: 100.000%
- downtime: 00min
- outage: 0

Not bad eh?

That's Living Alright

Formoda are pleased to reveal the new name and branding for Southernhay Living (a division of Southernhay Estate Agents Ltd).

Southernhay needed a fresh design which reflected the professional nature of their market but also the environmentally friendly side of their business.

The new branding has already been incorporated into letterheads, business cards, compliment slips and for sale boards. There will also be a new website appearing in the near future. Samples of the design can be found in our portfolio.

Formoda gets thumbs up from techies

When we launched our new website we decided to give it the hardest possible test and submit it to the web development community for feedback.

These people are at the cutting edge of Internet develoment and programming and are extremely difficult to please.

When we develop websites for our clients we aim to use the latest technologies and up to date coding such as CSS, XHTML & AJAX.

The results have been a resounding success, so please feel free to view our rankings.

Welcome to Formoda

We're so pleased to be able to launch our new company and our new website. Formoda was established by three individals with a wealth of experience in the design and Internet industry. We are already building strong relationships in order that we can provide the best possible service to our mutal clients.

We hope you like our new name, brand and website and we welcome feedback and enquiries from everyone so please feel free to drop us a line.

From all at the Formoda team.

Are you protected?

Fewer than half of Internet users believe that it is their responsibility to protect personal information online which may explain why 12% had experienced online fraud in the last 12 months.

So reports the BBC website in an article today based on a Government backed survey. The website suggests a series of tips on how to stay safe online:

» Use passwords made up of letters and numbers and change them regularly
» Install spam filters and if you do receive spam, delete them immediately
» Install anti-spyware and anti-virus software and keep it up to date
» Ensure home wi-fi has a password and firewall
» If you suffer an online fraud, report it to your bank, retailer & the police
» Ensure your computer's firewall is switched on