Custom post types.

Three simple words, but a whole heap of functionality. We’ve already begun development of new sites using WordPress 3 betas but custom post types will really help speed development and more importantly make easier to use and more powerful sites for our clients.

No longer will we be fairly limited with just posts and pages. Anything we can think of could be developed. I’ve already got my eye on a property type. I suspect that quite a few plugins that currently use separate database tables will refactor to use custom post types instead.

Custom menus

Up to now menus on WordPress sites have been limited to either pages, or categories or some complex custom code to create something else. Now we can have an easy to edit menu with anything, pages, links, categories etc. Again helping the most important people, our clients.

With these and everything else that the team and contributers behind WordPress have done as they say, the future is looking quite rosy, it’s going to be an exciting time.

To finish off, I’ve got to mention the WordPress app on the iPhone. Even though I may be in the middle of nowhere being able to write this is brilliant. If you have an iPhone and a WordPress powered site, this free app is a must.

Updated: If you want to view a video tour of WordPress 3 just view it below.

We would like to start by announcing our involvement with ‘The Shropshire Hills Mountain Bike & Outdoor Pursuit Centre ’, who are currently working incredibly hard to launch their new centre in Marshbrook, Church Stretton. After many setbacks, the fantastic camp site and pod like accommodation will be open to guests at the start of August.

We have recently developed Richard & Lesley (landlord & lady of The Station Inn Pub) a website for the whole centre www.mtb-shropshire.co.uk , where you can find details of all the activities they will be providing. Another website, devoted to the fabulous accommodation – www.camping-shropshire.co.uk and we are just in the process of building the third; a super online store for Blazing Bikes…. watch this space.

In no chronological order, our most recent site to launch is www.philippagee.co.uk , Philippa is local to Church Stretton and offers many quality financial services, including; investment planning, financial planning and retirement planning for clients. It has been a pleasure to work with Philippa.

We have also created a unique website for BLUE www.bluesauces.com , to compliment their unique dressings & sauces. It is always fantastic to work with people so enthusiastic about their product and for good reason I might add. Why not take a peek, for some very inventive recipe ideas.

Having worked with Sunderland & Thompsons for some years now, we are pleased to announce their new & improved website – www.st-hereford.co.uk . Sunderland & Thompsons have not only had a revamp, but also opened a brand new office in Hay on Wye in, a lovely areas of the country.

In addition, we have revamped yet another estate agents website www.barbers-rural.co.uk and I must say what a fantastic example of a well used Blog. Well done guys!

Anyone interested in joining Pilates? Selena Liebrecht is your lady – www.come2pilates.co.uk .
To quote Joseph Pilates “In ten sessions you’ll feel the difference, in twenty you’ll see the difference and in thirty you’ll have a new body” Why not put her to the test…

If you are looking for luxury accommodation in Scotland, look no further, we are happy to have just provided LHH Scotland with an exciting revamp – www.lhhscotland.com .

Lastly, but by no means least www.celtictshirts.co.uk is a new retail site. For original design, quality   t-shirts, check it out….

Microsoft has been seen by some in recent years, to have dragged their feet, when it came to embracing the internet. The handling of applications online has put pressure on the company’s traditional software business.

But Microsoft took a calculated bet that it could extend the life of its current, highly profitable business model without losing out on future opportunities online.

This is all part of the wide industry move towards “cloud computing” .  With the free, advertising supported version of Office, together with options that let companies buy some of its capabilities as online services, Microsoft has shown its full engagement with the cloud.

The aim of the company will now be to convert online users to paying customers. Only about 20% of Office revenues come from customers, and industry analysts expect only a small proportion to be lost as some users give up software to use the service.

Adoption of Google’s online applications have accelerated in the past year;  with new paying customers added at a rate three times faster than a year ago.

So that got Google thinking…what if they helped people experience the best of TV and the best of the web in one seamless experience? Imagine turning on the TV and getting all the channels and shows you normally watch and all of the websites you browse all day — including your favorite video, music and photo sites. Google have just announced that they have done just that.

Google TV is a new experience for television that combines the TV that you already know with the freedom and power of the Internet. With Google Chrome built in, you can access all of your favorite websites and easily move between television and the web. This opens up your TV from a few hundred channels to millions of channels of entertainment across TV and the web. Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV — it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more.

Google TV uses search to give you an easy and fast way to navigate to television channels, websites, apps, shows and movies. For example, already know the channel or program you want to watch? Just type in the name and you’re there. Want to check out that funny YouTube video on your 48” flat screen? It’s just a quick search away. If you know what you want to watch, but you’re not sure where to find it, just type in what you’re looking for and Google TV will help you find it on the web or on one of your many TV channels. If you’d rather browse than search, you can use your standard program guide, your DVR or the Google TV home screen, which provides quick access to all of your favorite entertainment so you’re always within reach of the content you love most.

Because Google TV is built on open platforms like Android and Google Chrome, these features are just a fraction of what Google TV can do. In their announcement yesterday at Google I/O, Google challenged web developers to start coming up with the next great web and Android apps designed specifically for the TV experience. Developers can start optimizing their websites for Google TV today. Soon after launch, Google will release the Google TV SDK and web APIs for TV so that developers can build even richer applications and distribute them through Android Market. They have already started building strategic alliances with a number of companies — like Jinni.com and Rovi — at the leading edge of innovation in TV technology. Jinni.com is a next-generation TV application working to provide semantic search, personalized recommendation and social features for Google TV across all sources of premium content available to the user. Rovi is one of the world’s leading guide applications. It will be interesting to observe all the ways developers will use this new platform.

Google are also working together with Sony and Logitech to put Google TV inside of televisions, Blu-ray players and companion boxes. These devices will go on sale this Autumn in the USA, and will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide. You can sign up here to get updates on Google TV availability.

This is an incredibly exciting time — for TV watchers, for developers and for the entire TV ecosystem. By giving people the power to experience what they love on TV and on the web on a single screen, Google TV turns the living room into a new platform for innovation.

We’re excited about what’s coming.

Introducing Google TV – A short video

Intel says it’s chips and software will enable not just internet video streaming but could also allow operators to turn set-top boxes into video game consoles with games served over their connection.

Grid-style TV guides will be replaced by interfaces blending broadcast TV with internet content.

Samsung, Sony, LG, Vizio, Sharp and Panasonic are all releasing internet-enabled TVs this year with features such as Skype video calls, Netflix movie streaming and on-screen widgets that offer news, weather, financial quotes, social networking and internet radio.

With TV’s, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes rapidly adding wired or wireless internet connectivity to their features, a host of companies are tailoring and integrating web-based content for living room entertainment.

Apple has yet to mount a serious challenge to. It’s Apple TV box allow users to buy and rent movies from its iTunes Store to play on their TVs. But apart from YouTube videos and Flickr photos, it’s access to the wider web is limited.

Intel Chief Executive, Paul Otellini, told analysts last week that “The revolution we’re about to go through is the biggest single change in television since it went colour”. It already has a backlog of 1m units for its latest Atom Chip; which offers better audio and video performance, wider and open software support and is cheaper than the competition.

For it’s part, Google is expected to call on its Android developer community this week to create applications for TVs and its software could prove popular if it also promises advertising revenue for TV manufacturers.

Target and Walmart are also in the throes of an extensive investment programme into this area. Why?

In part, the enthusiasm reflects the lure of online sales growth – which continues to outstrip conventional sales – at a time when few retailers are investing in new store growth. But retailers are also responding to the second stage of the online revolution that began a decade ago.

In the first stage, many retailers ran their online e-commerce businesses as separate units. But three years after the first iPhone, the advent of “mobile connectivity” is profoundly shaking up the way retailers do business, not only online, but in their stores.

People are now making decisions on what to buy in the store with their mobile phones. As a result, the store experience is going to change.

Much of the initial attention has been focused on retailers embracing new digital marketing techniques aimed at mobile users, such as sending text messages, and using digital money-off coupons, and on steps to make their existing websites function on mobile browsers.

So retailers are now asking how do I manage my brand across all the channels that affect the consumer? Customers will expect to see the store merchandise also available online, at the same prices, and merchandised in similar ways.

Therefore retailers must create technology systems to co-ordinate prices, inventory and other elements.  The physical and digital experience now needs to be fully aligned. The digital infrastructure must now support every customer touch point..at home, in the car, in the store.

Retailers are forecasting this is where the battle for them will be won. Customers now use multiple channels to engage with retailers ..and the survivors will be those that have put themselves in a position to respond to them.

One of our longest standing scottish clients, Scotland’s Hotels of Distinction has had their site rebuilt and relaunched. If you are looking for a quality scottish hotel then we would certainly recommend checking out their range of offers. We have stayed in a few ourself and they are all pretty good.

Burgoynes of Lyonshall recently let their transport site go live. Burgoynes Transport are part of the Pallet Track network so go ahead and contact them if you need something moved!

More to come tomorrow …..

Fresh fruit (melon, pineapple, kiwi, grapefruit, dates, figs, strawberries, grapes, bananas), several types of cereal, yogurts, homemade marmelades & jams, vegemite, honey, toast, orange juice, cranberry juice and fried breakfast (bacon, eggs, sausage, tomatoes and mushrooms)

I’ve just spent the past few days in the wonderful little village of Cromarty, Ross-Shire. I was visiting one of our clients Large Holiday Houses (LHH) who we are doing website re-development work for. It was great to touch base with them and start setting things in motion for the launch of their new site in the New Year. While in Cromarty I had the pleasure of staying in a little B&B run by one Marjorie Watson. The hospitality was outstanding with spacious rooms and very comfortable beds, but all that paled in comparison to the breakfast that was provided every morning.

As you can see from the photo every morning was a feast, and at the time I was the only one staying there, so it was all set out just for me. I look forward to the actual launch period because I’ll get to go back but this time I’ll get some elastic trousers just so I can benefit more from the breakfast.

David Harrison, MD, said “It is always unfortunate when a company has to follow this course of action but our intention is to create as seamless a transfer as possible for clients of Waypoint. As a company we pride ourselves on our customer service and trust we will be able to build long term mutually beneficial relationships with our new clients. We will be contacting all the new clients over the next couple of days with the further intention of moving sites to our own servers as fast as possible. Any Waypoint clients we have not yet spoken to who have any questions should not hesitate to contact us on 01694 724899, where we are available to assist.”

The addition of Waypoint’s clients brings the total number of sites under our control to well in excess of 200. We are able to build and market a broad range of sites from basic content managed sites through to fully bespoke builds that integrate with your in house systems. If you would like to talk to us about developing your own site please do not hesitate to contact us.

Our first full Magento based e-commerce site www.sportsgolfstores.co.uk went live recently and gives a good idea of how flexible this platform can be for e-commerce web sites. It is the home of Karl Kertess Golf and also a great place to buy golf trousers and associated products so do take a look.

The White Horse Inn at Clun have also had a new site launched. As regular readers will know, I take it upon myself to quality test any pub or restaurant we work with (!!) and I can certainly recommend Jack’s establisment. If you are looking to find a good real ale pub in Shropshire that also provides B&B and an ongoing events programme I’d give them a visit. The site also provides interaction with their various social media channels and we would recommend everyone in the same gane look at using these channels to promote their business.

In association with Hunter Bevan we also worked on the development of the new Leema Acoustics website. As a Hi-Fi buff to some extent I’d certainly suggest taking a look at some of their award winning products.

We have also launched a new site for Marc Beaumont. Marc is one of the world’s top downhill mountain bikers and the site should help his many fans keep up to date. Personally, I get frightened even hearing Mark talk about what he does! This site is built on the Wordpress platform.

Having developed the original Fabric Spray website on behalf of The Needham Group we have now set the Irish version live at www.fabricspray.ie. It’s a pretty amazing product so take a look!

We have also revamped www.fine-boxes.com for Andrew Crawford. Andrew is looking to teach more people – his work is really quite exceptional so please take a look.

Lastly, but not least, we set G Bryan Jones live. Locally based, in Bishops Castle, they are your port of call for all things farm machinery related.

I think that is it … working on a good few more at present so watch this space. The sites above give a fair idea of the range of work we do so if you need any help yourself, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.