NorthStar New Media Ltd

Is it time to spruce up your website? Why not take advantage of the discounts now available on NorthStar’s web enhancement products.

At NorthStar we continue to develop our products and services to offer a more comprehensive range of options to our customers. As a maintenance customer we offer a discounted rate on these products and services.

We will endeavour to send our maintenance customers updates as these and other products and services are updated and will always offer our valued maintenance customers improved rates on work, and priority of scheduling of all work items.

If you have any questions or would like us to schedule an installation please give us a call or drop an email letting us know which system(s) you require, what site you would like them installed on, and whether you have any special requirements you would like us to consider when preparing a final confirmation of cost.

Google maps

Google have proven to be the market leaders in a number of areas, and their Google Map system is one of their most useful offerings which can enhance a website. The system allows control over an international mapping and satellite & street level image presentation for practically the whole world. As would be expected, Google commands an impressive majority of the market share for online mapping tools as they provide a service which is both easy to use and versatile and this is NorthStar’s technology of choice for online maps.

A map can be added to your website to show a range of things – Your Location, Location of areas of interest surrounding you, creation of directions to/from marked points, Location of shipping and Customer-base location marking to name a few.

The standard map package allows you to define up to 10 points on a map, which we will create for you and publish to your website. Each point can be accompanied by an information bubble which can be accessed by a simple click, and can contain text and a thumbnail image if required.

Additional options include;

Administration control – allowing you to add, edit and remove points from the map quite simply. Controls are (as usual with all our systems) designed with user-friendliness in mind, and so are easy to use and very effective in communicating the required information.

Advanced website integration – allows links from your site to activate the map, so clicking on a link in your site may load, centre and open the further information “bubble” for that point. For example see Visit Orkney Accommodation pages or http://www.lowsorkney.co.uk.

Shipping GPS position indication – allows shipping GPS positions to be indicated on a map. This works from an online database of information. For example http://www.emec.org.uk/marine_traffic.asp or http://www.aquatera.co.uk/Ops_Orkney3.asp

Directions finder – allowing users to create directions to a point or points on your map, from an entered starting location. For example see http://www.kewhouse.com/location.asp and enter your postcode.

Budget

Gallery systems

Whether you’re an accommodation provider, a service provider, an information resource or a retailer, a gallery can be a vital part of communicating with your site users. The first bite is certainly with the eye, and by using a gallery system you can provide a visual presentation to your site users of any aspect you wish.

For example, while a few images showing your accommodation, operations or products presented in-line within the content of your pages can be great for the readability and communication of that content, an image gallery of 20 images could allow you to show so much more about the business, your staff, the surrounding areas and even case studies or customer feedback images.

Gallery systems can vary widely and we do have several options available. However, one of the most popular currently is shown at http://www.skaillhouse.co.uk/gallery.asp and http://www.emec.org.uk/gallery.asp. These systems offer the user the opportunity to browse the image galleries by category by clicking to enlarge the image, and then clicking Next and Previous to scroll through.

This gallery solution comes as standard with an allowance for up to 20 images, and as with most of our products there are a range of extension options available;

Administration control – allowing you to manage the images presented on the gallery, using simple to operate controls.

Categorisation control – allowing images to be presented under categories, as per the examples provided. This may be combined with the Administration control extension for an administrable multi-room gallery presentation.

User contribution – allowing users to “submit a photo” for you to include on the gallery. This, like the user contribution control combination available for the Update panel system, offers a level of integration with customers and site users that is becoming ever more popular these days. It should represent an optimised level of service to show your users not only images you’ve taken and selected, but also to show them pictures previous customers have sent in – whether it be snaps of them relaxing in your accommodation, enjoying a sunset in the surrounding areas or just generally making the most of the service you have provided them. Of course these controls require your approval to finally publish the images, so there’s no chance of unauthorised publishing.

Slideshow presentation – sometimes used in site headers (for example http://www.dreverandheddle.co.uk or http://www.kewhouse.com/index.asp) to help bring page design “to life” and to emphasise the identity and/or location.

Budget