Welcome to the latest NorthStar New Media Ltd newsletter, the first of 2011. This year we have already made a number of improvements to site control systems, administration systems and have launched four brand new sites for local businesses.

This document has been censored, with the full version being available to our maintenance
customers.

Why not take a look at our latest projects;

• Pentland Ferries – A website development aimed at public promotion and information presentation for Pentland Ferries.
• Orkney Fishermen’s Society – A website development aimed at public promotion and information presentation, with an administration control system permitting the instant update of site content and management of the registered users’ document management system.
• Shearers Orkney – A website development for John G Shearer and Sons aimed at promotion and information presentation of the Car rental, sales, servicing and service station sides of the business.
• European Jet Ski Challenge – A website supporting the European Jet Ski Challenge (in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and Make a Wish Foundation). The site features links with a donation management system, sponsor advertising, challenge countdown timer, social networking integration and areas of ongoing development and update.

Introduction

In this newsletter we will be discussing and providing some useful information about;

• Spam – What is Spam, how does it come about, and what can be done to stop it.
• Web browsers – Which one should you be using, and what difference does it make?

In this Newsletter we’ll concentrate on letting you know a bit more about what Spam is, where it comes from, what you can do in the short-term, and what we recommend as a long-term treatment.

Spam is a nuisance which is by definition difficult to treat as it is so broad in application. Similarly, the struggle against virus attacks and other security related issues is a matter which needs consideration, especially where your computer forms a vital component of your business, whether for communication, accounts or administration. Your internet browser is the first “front”, and it is of critical importance to keep up to date. We will be suggesting ways you can easily improve your security, without needing to learn all over again, as well as ways to build a brand new approach.

Spam

This document has been censored, with the full version being available to our maintenance
customers.

Introduction

Everyone experiences Spam on some level, whether it be through web systems, email systems, telephone (cold-calling for example) or normal post (junk mail and leaflets which are liberally sprinkled through the day’s mail). Email spam can be the most frustrating as it can become a big problem very quickly, and as with all forms of Spam – there is no silver bullet.
For the remainder of this analysis we will be considering only the Email form of Spam.

Where does it come from?

Spammers (those who create Spam) generally tend to use two methods of creating their recipient lists;

• Email collection
• Automated email generation

It is incredibly difficult to stay off a Spammers’ list forever. The likelihood is that through some method (potentially one of the above) they will eventually come across your email address, and once they have it, it becomes practically impossible to either trace the method by which they came across your address, or to get your address removed. It is big business.

What should I do?

The golden rules on fighting Spam are;

• Do Not reply to Spam.
• Do Not choose to opt-out.
• Do Not click any links in the email.
• Carefully check any forms.

What can be done?

Anyone who promises to remove all your Spam issues is almost certainly marketing a scam, or will offer a ludicrously expensive service reserved for large companies and industry level communication systems. There is no Silver Bullet for spam, but we can help treat it.

Identification

If your Spam filter is too tight you’ll need to spend time going through your filtered messages to make sure nothing genuine is in there, and if it’s too loose you’ll spend time manually deleting messages. It’s a case of finding a suitable balance which improves the situation for you.

Our solution

Our solution is installed and managed on your NorthStar recommended hosting package, so you don’t need to install or configure it to start seeing the benefits. All you need to do is check the daily digests to make sure everything is running correctly – the rest is done for you.

How does it work?

Our solution uses a scoring system to rate each email for its Spam likelihood level, and then assigns an appropriate treatment for each email.

So, you have a spam filtering solution installed – is that it? Many Spam filtering solutions need to be continually taught new lessons as spam evolves, much in the same way that methods of fighting crime need to evolve as criminals get smarter. Our solution however is self-learning, and it should be very rare that you need to ask us to make any manual adjustments.

Reviews

Since the early days of NorthStar offering web services, we have used the recommended Spam filtering solution, and while we have tested many other systems, we find this the best solution. It’s ease of use means that we spend very little time initially sorting emails through the day, and checking the daily digests become second-nature very quickly.
Simply put, we would only recommend solutions which we know through long experience provide good value for money. This is no exception.

Microsoft has previously suggested that over 97% of the email sent in the world is Spam, and with our recommended solution you can help prevent it from becoming a major problem for your business.

How do I get it?

Drop us an email, letting us know your email address, the type and volume of Spam you’re getting on a daily basis, and we’ll get back to you with some further details on a solution which should help you.

Browsers

This document has been censored, with the full version being available to our maintenance
customers.

Introduction

If you are running a good anti-virus package on your computer you may not be as protected as you thought – you should also consider your browser carefully when accessing the internet.

The Browsers

There are many browsers available, but we will be concentrating on Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome in this document since they are the most significant according to market share.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Microsoft’s default browser has long been the bane of the web developer and IT support person’s life, but recent upgraded versions are turning one of the worst performing internet browsers into something more respectable. However, you absolutely need to be using the latest version. Old versions of Internet Explorer are known to have significant security risks associated with them.

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is one of the better all-round browsers. We use Firefox as one of our main browsers at NorthStar and it is one of the favourites among those “in the know”. It has always surpassed Microsoft’s security level, and continues to be a browser which is compliant with all web standards and embraces all new technology.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a relative newcomer, packing great performance and security protection. Google do a lot of things right, and Chrome is fast becoming one of the leaders of the browser market. This tends to be the chosen browser for designers and is set to take the lead from Mozilla Firefox in the industry market share statistics.

Which one should I have?

Our recommendation is to get the latest Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome browser. NorthStar New Media developed websites are designed to function correctly on all up to date web browsers, and are tested at launch to ensure this.

SAVE UP TO 28% ON WEB SOLUTIONS THIS SUMMER
See details below

Is it time to update your website design or do you need a new website? Why not take advantage of the offers now available on NorthStar’s web solutions.

At NorthStar we continue to develop our products and services to offer a more comprehensive range of options to our customers.  This includes everything from web and email hosting, through design and bespoke administration system development to post launch support and promotional services – everything you need to get setup and to keep things running smoothly, and all under one roof.

We have recently reviewed our design products and are able to provide improved rates on our packages throughout the range, targeted towards small businesses with limited budgets.  For a limited time now we are offering further discounts – meaning you can maximise the bang you get for your buck.

We hope the supplied specifications and budgets are of use.  If you have any questions, would like to discuss any details or would like to get started please give us a call or drop an email to us.

Design packages

NorthStar offer services ranging from budget web design packages (suited to the small business or service provider) to fully bespoke web design solutions for higher level situations.

The range of our design services can be summarised by (but is not limited to) the following.

Bronze package – A budget, template-based solution

This solution is intended for situations where a professionally designed web presence is required, but where budget available is low.

By basing this package around an established design template, a professional looking web solution can be created for applications where budgets are tight, but a professional look is essential.  Being based around a template means you can make use of already established designs, so you don’t have to pay for the commissioning of fresh design work.

As the customer you will have a choice of which of our recommended templates are used to create your web solution.  Once selected we simply require some pictures and text to populate the site with – we can take care of everything else.

If you have existing promotional material such as letterheads, logo design work or colour schemes that you work to as your business identity, we can usually incorporate elements of these in the template to achieve a harmony between promotional media.  If you wish the link to be stronger between promotional media, we recommend our Silver or Gold packages.

Under the Bronze package you will get;

• Domain registration* (we’ll discuss this with you to ensure we get a domain which suits your business and works to your advantage on a promotional basis).
• Email address setup – As standard you’ll get 2 email addresses @yourdomain.co.uk and we’ll send you guidance notes that will allow you to configure your computer to send and receive email using these accounts.
• Web design – Working from the template selected and materials supplied by you we’ll adjust the design to optimise the integration with your business.
• Web construction and launch – We take the final design forward, professionally building up the site and populating with the text and pictures you provide (we can also offer advice on creating this, and do offer an additional copy writing and photography service should you require) and optimising the site to present your business professionally on the Web.  Once completed (and on your approval) the site will be launched.
• Free Promotional work – A website isn’t much good without visitors, so we provide a promotional service that will ensure Google get all the information they need to see, review and rank your site appropriately under web searches.  We can also provide additional ongoing promotional services as part of our maintenance packages (additional to this package).
• Free Site updates** – You may find after seeing your site Live for a few weeks that you want to adjust some of the wording, or change some pictures for some more sunny ones you’ve recently taken.  No problem – send us the updates and we’ll do them for you for no additional charge.

*Domain registration – If you have a domain already and just want to do something with that domain we can help with the transfer process under this package too.

**Site updates – Free updates are available during the first 6 months of launch of the website, and are limited to a reasonable volume of updates reflecting update tweaks and adjustments.  Should the work requests received exceed what we consider to represent “a reasonable volume” we would notify you prior to any work commencing and would discuss the options available.

Web design templates

To see a slideshow of the recommended templates we offer as options under this package, please go to the following web address;

http://www.northstar-newmedia.co.uk/templates

All the presented templates are approved by NorthStar.  Some templates are presented in the slideshow with images which suggest they may only be suitable for a specific business sector (for example by use of a food related image) but images can be replaced as required to tailor the site to your business.  Similarly some templates presented show the front-end of features such as News routines or Search systems – these may not be included in a standard template solution, but can be offered as additional services.

Silver package – Customised design solution

A large number of the websites NorthStar produce and continue to support are either Customised or Bespoke designs.  The customised solutions are intended for situations where budget remains a major consideration for web development, but where there is a greater requirement for the finalised web solution to “stand out” as a more unique presentation than may be achieved with a Bronze solution.

This customised design solution package allows you to pick a foundation design on which to base your website (either by referring to our recommended templates from our Bronze package, or by referencing another web design you’ve seen) and using this as the basis for a custom design.  We’ll take your guidance at the starting point and prepare a couple of optional draft designs to choose from.  The selected design can then be refined as required during the “trimming out” stage before your final approval allows us to begin constructing the site.

In the Silver package you get;

• Domain registration* (we’ll discuss this with you to ensure we get a domain which suits your business and works to your advantage on a promotional basis)
• Email address setup – As standard you’ll get 2 email addresses @yourdomain.co.uk and we’ll send you guidance notes that will allow you to configure your computer to receive these emails.
• Web design – Working from your initial guidance and reference site selection, we’ll work together to create a professional web design that offers a unique design to help set your business apart from the competition.
• Web construction and launch – We take the final approved design forward, professionally building up the site and populating with the text and pictures you provide (we can also offer advice on creating this, and do offer an additional copy writing and photography service should you require) and optimising the site to present you professionally on the Web.  Once completed, and on your approval, the site will be launched.
• Free Promotional work – A website isn’t much good without visitors, so we provide a promotional service that will ensure Google get all the information they need to see, review and rank your site appropriately under web searches.  We can also provide additional ongoing promotional services as part of our maintenance packages.
• Free Site updates** – You may find after seeing your site Live for a few weeks that you want to adjust some of the wording, or change some pictures for some more sunny ones you’ve recently taken.  No problem – send us the updates and we’ll do them for you for no additional charge.
• Free web statistics – You will have access to Google Analytics, a service that will allow you to find out all sorts of things about the people visiting your site, such as where on the web they came from to get to you, how long they spent on the site, what keywords they used to find you in Google and what pages are viewed most by your visitors.

*Domain registration – If you have a domain already and just want to do something with that domain we can help with the transfer under this package too.

**Site updates – Free updates are available during the first 6 months of launch of the website, and are limited to a reasonable volume of updates reflecting update tweaks and adjustment.  Should the work requests received exceed what we consider to represent “a reasonable volume” we would notify you prior to any work commencing and would discuss the options available.

Gold packages – Fully bespoke solutions

NorthStar has significant experience in fully bespoke web design and systems development and offers a service which can be tailored to your specific needs, whether a small, medium or large scale business.

The Gold package is intended for situations where the identity of the business is crucial, and can cover logo, leaflet and website design under one roof.  Additionally, our bespoke solutions often incorporate bespoke systems within the site structure, adding features such as information databases, administration tools and booking engines.

The experience NorthStar has had with fully bespoke solutions over the years ranges from clients coming to us with a rough sketch of the kind of look they’re after, to clients who know precisely what they want and have prepared presentations to illustrate the look, structure and design features they want to establish.

We couldn’t list all the options which are available (as there are certainly too many), so if you’re interested in talking to us about a project you require assistance with, please drop us an email at info@northstar-newmedia.co.uk and let us know a bit about what you’re after.  We always aim to get back to enquiries swiftly, and will provide as much feedback as we can to ensure you know we’re up to the challenge

Special Offers and costs

***   Special offer – up to 28% off   ***
***   Available until 23^rd September 2010   ***

Indicated costs are based on a straight 5 page site in each case, using standard or stock systems and features provided for the respective solutions.  If you require additional features or controls (such as a news update system, gallery or availability calendar for example) please contact us and we can prepare a quote including these features in the package.

Save a further 10% on your invoice if you refer someone else** to us who approves commencement of a Bronze, Silver of Gold web solution prior to the final launch of your solution.

*indicated renewal cost does not include domain name or email account renewal, which will usually be £35 annually with a recommended hosting provider, covering domain and email renewals.

**You should ensure that this person alerts us that you recommended them upon first contact, otherwise we may not be able to apply the offer.

For further details of what is provided please refer to the package specifications within this document, and feel free to contact us if you have any question.

Ordering

Once you have decided upon the solution that meets your requirements, please drop us an email, letting us know the following;

1. Your name, your business name, a brief description of your business and the services you provide.
2. Do you require a Bronze, Silver or Gold package?
3. Quote promotional code NS1003a to receive discounted rates.
4. If a Bronze package, which template would you like to proceed with?  If Silver or Gold, what site currently online do you feel represents the direction you would like to take with the web design?
5. How many pages are you looking to include on the website (as a minimum we suggest 4 – Homepage, Information, Contact and Links)?
6. Do you have existing promotional materials for your business (such as a logo, fonts, colour-scheme or letter head)?  Please attach this to the email you send us.
7. Do you have a deadline in mind for the web solution to be launched?

This information will allow us to build up a project file and get the ball rolling straight away.

Terms and Conditions

Where a template solution is used, there is an allowance for straight-forward customisation of graphics and colours at the discretion of NorthStar to help the website form a coherent link with any existing promotional materials.  We will always attempt to use this budget with focus on efficiency and end-result to help create the most coherent match between promotional materials given the materials and direction we are provided with, with respect to the assigned allowance for customisation.

For all web design situations where we make allowance for adjustments or customisations to designs prior to final sign-off, there will be a limited budget made available.  Therefore if you have a clear vision of how you wish a site to look, you should let us know prior to work commencing.  Our packages generally assume (unless otherwise stated) that the initial design ground-work will be at the discretion of NorthStar and that the customisation budget will allow limited tweaks to this.

Any promotional codes or discount codes should be submitted to NorthStar prior the first approval stage of a project.  Codes submitted after this time cannot be guaranteed to be accepted as discount on the final invoice.  Discount codes will only be applicable to single invoices raised for completion of projects exceeding £250 + VAT prior to discount.  Discount codes may not be used in conjunction with other offers unless otherwise stated.

These offers are valid for from  the 26th of August 2010 to the 23rd of September 2010.

All prices quoted are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate and are for guidance as to the savings available.  For an accurate cost analysis we would require to know the specific solution you require and can then prepare a final budget for the work as appropriate to your site.  Any updates required of NorthStar to the systems (such as where administration options are not installed) and where intervention is required for updates or management, then this requires use of maintenance allowance or additional billing if not covered by the offered package.  For our full Terms and Conditions, please see http://www.northstar-newmedia.co.uk/terms_and_conditions.pdf

This document has been censored, with the full version being available to our maintenance customers.

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 are able to offer advice on a range of topics regarding your website and can provide services to attend to the majority of these considerations.  The experience we have in web development ensures that we are able to deploy solutions that meet requirements and fit with all other services and systems relating to the overall web package.

This newsletter is aimed at letting you know a bit more about;

• Site updates and how they can be used to help your online profile
• What part your updates play in your Search Engine performance
• What Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is
• And what services we provide and recommend to help keep you moving in the right direction

Advertising is the primary role of most websites, and this advertising effort relies on two major factors;

1. Initial advertising power (including visibility/exposure)
2. Quality of service (including user and visitor satisfaction)

By attending to these items, your online presence can be optimised to both your users and to Search Engines, ensuring both that people can find you, and that when they do they like what they see.

We hope the supplied information is of use.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the points presented within the document further, please give us a call or drop an email to us at info@northstar-newmedia.co.uk.

Site updates

There are 3 main areas we will discuss within your advertising strategy which are affected by the update of your website information.

Accuracy of information

It is crucial that information presented on a website be kept up to date, and refreshed, in a similar way that you would insist upon updating other aspects of your business to ensure you present a clean and professional impression to your customers.

Further information relating to this element is available to NorthStar’s maintenance customers.

Returning user experience

To a degree this is linked to the previous item, in that they are both targeting users who have found your site and are looking for the information they required.  In this case we consider that users who are returning to your site should be able to see the business or services moving forward.

Further information relating to this element is available to NorthStar’s maintenance customers.

A good way of drawing users’ attention to updates, especially if your site has been visually unchanged for a while, is to consider a design development or redevelopment.  We’ll be looking at the redesign and development process in later newsletters, but if you’d like to discuss this in the meantime, please email us at info@northstar-newmedia.co.uk.

Search Engine performance

This is often considered to be the main factor in online advertising, but there is much more to Search Engine Optimisation than meets the eye.  NorthStar provide Search Engine promotional services as a component in most of our maintenance packages, further details of which will be discussed later in this document.

Further information relating to this element is available to NorthStar’s maintenance customers.

Recommended action

There is a lot that can be done “behind the scenes” with a regularly updated website with regard to the promotional effort and services provided by NorthStar.  The tools and procedures NorthStar New Media uses to optimise websites and promotional devices are enhanced by an updated site, and depending upon the level of your maintenance support contract you will be entitled to have these updates implemented without additional billing.

Further information relating to this element is available to NorthStar’s maintenance customers.

Search Engine Optimisation

NorthStar New Media has significant experience with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) gained from many years of promoting some of Orkney’s top sites.  These include the Visit Orkney site, which ranks top in Google for searches for “Orkney” and EMEC who score top for “marine energy” and position 4 for “marine renewable energy”.

The web industry changes fast, and to reflect the changes in information available, the search engines change fast too, modifying their algorithms to ensure they act more efficiently at identifying the websites which provide information relevant to users’ searches.

NorthStar will only provide or recommend SEO services which are considered to be legal by search engine terms and conditions and which/who have a proven track record.

Further information relating to this element is available to NorthStar’s maintenance customers.

NorthStar SEO services

As reported in our last newsletter, we are continually monitoring the search engine market and continue to develop the services which are provided on this front to help keep and improve your positioning on the Search Engines.

For situations where you have specific keywords or phrases you want to target, with an aim for your site gaining more preferential ranking in results for those searches, please contact us and we will be able to offer advice on the best way to move forward with this.

Further information relating to this element is available to NorthStar’s maintenance customers.

Sponsored links

Of the “paid-for” advertising systems available through the search engines, the most popular is the Google Adwords system.  When you do a search on Google for something like “Orkney accommodation”, you’ll see the adverts as links to the right and above the main search listings.

NorthStar can help with the preparation for, installation, and monitoring of an Adwords campaign.  The campaign would be targeted to help your users find you early on in the results of a Google search.

Further information relating to this element is available to NorthStar’s maintenance customers.

Advanced SEO service

While NorthStar continues to develop the range of promotional services which are provided as a standard component of maintenance, some situations require a strategy which is more advanced.  Such situations could include websites that require a high ranking position for a popular key phrase such as “scotland property”, “holiday accommodation” or “architect services”.   In these type of cases, the search phrases are quite sought after and the more competition there is, the more advanced the level of service is required.

NorthStar have been working with a professional and dedicated SEO specialist to prepare materials which allow us to offer professional level SEO services to our customers.  Our recommended SEO specialist is dedicated to providing a professional and measurable response to your requirements for online promotional strategy, and has a proven track record with a range of high profile national customers with key phrase targets.

Dedicated SEO is a new service that NorthStar is offering now, so if you have a requirement to drive increased traffic towards your website, and have a budget to assign to this activity, please let us know and we’ll be able to get the ball rolling with a cost analysis of your requirements.

Further information relating to this element is available to NorthStar’s maintenance customers.

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.

Discounted & Updated Products

Among the products we’ve recently updated or added to our catalogue and are able to offer discounted rates on are;

Site Update Panels (Content Management)

Our update routines have been popular right from the word go a number of years ago, and there have been many updates in administration and public display systems designed to optimise both sides of the system.

The update routine is a device allowing you to update content and/or images on your website, without needing to either learn HTML (and other coding methods) or to send a request for the update through to us for scheduling. The idea is that you can keep areas of your site refreshed, polished and updated, improving the promotional effort of your site on a number of fronts, not least that your site users will feel that a regularly updated site is a good indicator of the level of service they can expect.

Update panels are often deployed for publishing Latest News, Special Offers alerts, Product and service information, Work portfolios and other site page content. All update routines are easy to use and receive excellent feedback from our customers.

There are a number of additional options available for the update routines, including;

Alert panels and scrollers – a method of presenting latest update titles in prominent positions on your website, allowing the site user to click to read more (for example see www.dreverandheddle.co.uk or www.lowsorkney.co.uk and their respective News Headlines and New Properties homepage sections.

User contribution – a new system which we can now offer allowing your published items to be followed by a link for your site users to “ask a question, or add comment”. This can be a great way of getting communication going with your site users, for example when combined with a News update, portfolio items, or other itemised page content. For an example of this in action see http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/haveyoursay/2010/05/whats_more_important_a_deal_no.html

RSS Feeds – an additional system allowing your site users to add your update routine to their RSS feeds. This allows them to keep a direct connection to your site, meaning when you update it, they’ll be the first to know – Again, a great addition for News or Offers, as can be seen on many sites, including the BBC and Orkney Today, although this feature is by no means limited to application on News publishing systems.

Image Upload – a key component allowing you to not only manage text, but images presented within your posts.

Budget

Services

The services we’ve recently updated or added to our catalogue include;

Online promotional services

Server performance

Product and service update alerts

Details of these services are available to customers of NorthStar New Media Ltd

Terms and Conditions

Please ask for our full terms and conditions.