Our Web Design and Development Blog

26th Jul 2022

13th May 2022

28th Apr 2022

Google

31st Jan 2020

Your website’s CMS, or Content Management System, is a fundamental part of how your business operates online.

5th Dec 2019

For many small businesses, the top priority is obtaining leads and turning them into paying customers, but before it’s even possible to obtain sales and journey towards growth, startups face some tough challenges

29th Nov 2019

PHP have rolled out their latest offering PHP 7.4 this week inline with their original estimated release date of November 28, 2019. As well as offering outstanding performance enhancements over PHP 5.6, PHP 7+ brought with it exciting new features. Keeping in with this trend PHP 7.4 does not disappoint, offering syntactical additions, new features and bug fixes.

20th Aug 2019

Having recently watched a BBC Horizon program exploring Facebook, from the inside of the organisation, what I found particularly interesting was not their assessment of the challenges they face, but the BIG issues that were not touched on at all or very minimally, either by the program makers or Facebook itself. 

19th May 2014

Websites are constantly evolving and there will always come a time when you need to consider whether or not to have it updated. This is especially the case for businesses that want to advance and continue meeting the requirements of their target audience.

7th May 2014

Websites change and evolve over time and for many businesses its not just a case of creating a website and leaving it be.

30th Apr 2014

Infinite scrolling (also known as endless or continuous scrolling) is a trend that’s becoming more popular on the internet but that does not always mean it can work effectively for business websites.

26th Apr 2014

Design trends are changing constantly and it can be beneficial to have a contemporary website that follows the latest developments, just as long as the aspects of the design are relevant to your target audience.

23rd Apr 2014

Different people will use different mobile phones to browse the internet on-the-go; which makes reaching a mobile audience fundamental for businesses looking to increase their enquiries, conversions and sales.

18th Dec 2013

A phased approach to website development can be beneficial for businesses looking to grow steadily over time, potentially meaning they can use any feedback from customers to make informed decisions on improvement.

16th Dec 2013

When a website is created, it should ideally be as easy-to-use as it possibly can be, because every business should have full control over their website content.

13th Dec 2013

There are various channels that allow your business to sell their products and services, and selling through eBay can potentially help increase sales and enhance your brand awareness.

For businesses who sell using various channels, it is important to be instantly recognisable and consistent across online channels, especially your ecommerce channels. Because eBay is such a competitive marketplace, it is important to do all you can to stay ahead of your competition.

A design that’s consistent with your own website can potentially instil confidence to customers and convince them to make a purchase. Freetimers has designed a range of eBay shops for our clients to help them increase sales, maintain strong relationships with customers and maximise return on investment (ROI).

We also have our own multi-channel web management system that allows our clients to manage their products from various ecommerce channels within a single admin system and database to help streamline their business processes. Our system can ensure that your product prices and descriptions can be changed in one place for all of your ecommerce channels to help save you time and focus on the running of your business.

To find out more about how your business can improve its brand awareness and sales with an eBay shop design get in touch with Freetimers today on 01604 638421.

12th Dec 2013

Professional website design is important, especially for businesses looking to increase their enquiries, but the importance of website development should not be dismissed.

10th Dec 2013

PHP is a powerful server-side scripting language that’s installed on around 250 million websites across the world, and one of its main strengths is its compatibility across various operating systems.

29th Nov 2013

Websites, for many businesses, are practically shop fronts and they’re open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That’s why it’s important for businesses to have full control over their website, and a content management system (CMS) can allow them to do this.

27th Nov 2013

Website development can continuously improve a website’s performance, functionality and ultimately user experience (UX). Without effective website development, a business may be unable to meet the needs of their target audience, which can potentially reduce enquiries and sales.

8th Nov 2013

Domain names can be a lot more important than some may think. They do not only represent your internet identity and affect how people view your website; they also appear in the search engines when a potential customer searches for your products or services.

7th Nov 2013

More and more people are using and considering pay per click (PPC) marketing to improve their business’s online performance, and if it is set up and managed correctly, it can be an extremely successful web marketing method.

5th Nov 2013

Many businesses know they require a website, perhaps they know that they need a design as well as web marketing, yet one thing which should always be acknowledged is the need for bespoke website programming.

13th Oct 2013

Cloud computing services that work to organise files and documents between various devices are fast rising to become a major market force. Dropbox is the first major market leader of the sector. Since 2010, when its users numbered a reasonably impressive 5m, the industry has boomed, and Dropbox now has 175m users.

11th Oct 2013

‘Omni-channel’ retailers perform best when they put their customers in control of shaping their e-commerce operations, according to a report from Aberdeen Group.

9th Oct 2013

Google’s Chrome browser – which turns 5 years old as of next month – has captured a substantial share of the market from its older competitors. It can now lay claim to 43% of the internet traffic generated by desktop computers worldwide. When Chrome was , Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) was the market leader with a share of 68%—it is has now fallen to only 25%.

7th Oct 2013

Behind every successful website, whether it’s a basic website or a complicated interactive website, high-quality web programming is fundamental.

4th Oct 2013

Ecommerce and selling products online can bring numerous advantages.

30th Sep 2013

To make sure your competitors do not get the better of you, overlook off-the-shelf ecommerce systems and opt for a true multi-channel online management system, one that is tailored to suit your business needs and deliver enormous efficiencies to your operations.

19th Sep 2013

With Ebay and Amazon battling it out for top spot when it comes to ecommerce, you can understand why so many retailers have decided to create Ebay and Amazon shops, and if you want to follow suit and expand your business, Freetimers can help.

11th Mar 2013

The article below is repeated from WWB Online magazine.

Keeping your website mobile friendly
Greg Poulson on how fashion retailers can adapt their websites to keep up with the latest technology.

Greg Poulson, MD of web developer and SEO specialist Freetimers,  explains how fashion retailers can adapt their websites to keep up with the latest technology.

27th Feb 2013

One of our Directors recently found this write up by the Information Technology Telecommunications and
Electronics Association on their website

26th Feb 2013

The following article was recently published in Business Matters online magazine.

15th Feb 2013

Apple is being forced to pay compensation to eight writers and two publishing companies in China.

5th Feb 2013

There used to many ways for people to have their 15
minutes of fame, but the days of tabloid kiss and tells or an embarrassing  X Factor style audition are over as we are
introduced to new internet stars daily.

25th Jan 2013

The number of music, film and game downloads reached £1bn last year, making 2012 the most profitable year for the digital entertainment industry.

24th Dec 2012

Coinciding with the end of the world (21/12/12), we launched our all new Freetimers.co.uk website, focusing specifically on website design.  It’s a lovely site, with a great portfolio that really shows the quality of the work we do.  Starting initially on web design Northampton Milton Keynes and Bedford, our intention is to position the site to rank for web design nationally.  So watch this space!

28th Nov 2012

Global information services company Experian predicts that Monday 3rd December 2012 will be the busiest online shopping day pre-Christmas.
UK consumers are likely to spend 375 million hours shopping online in December 2012.  Furthermore, Experian predict that Christmas 2012 will be the biggest and busiest ever for online retailers in the UK.

22nd Nov 2012

A meeting of the International Telecommunication Union on 3rd December has motivated Google to create its ‘Take Action’ microsite www.google.com/takeaction to protest against and educate web users about the dangers of a government-regulated web.

15th Nov 2012

Nearly a year after initial plans were submitted for a £530m project to bring faster internet to the UK countryside, the European Commission has finally approved the scheme. The plan to improve rural connections was part of the coalition government’s goal to give the UK the best broadband network in Europe.

10th Nov 2012

The annual festive holiday survey by Nielsen has revealed that the iPad has risen in popularity by 17% since 2010, allowing Apple to claim four out of the top five most wanted Christmas presents.

5th Nov 2012

Microsoft’s latest foray into the smartphone market begins as the Windows Phone 8 goes on sale. Whilst reviewers and the relative few who bought the Windows Phone 7 praised the product, sales were slow despite the fast-growing market.  Even with more features and improvements on the original, it would seem that many people are reluctant to stray from their iPhone or Android counterparts.

30th Oct 2012

The long awaited new 4G service has gone live in cities across the country including London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow with Southampton to have access to network EE’s 4G from next week. Belfast, Derby, Hull, Newcastle and Nottingham will be active by Christmas.

15th Oct 2012

Despite 4G mobile technology, only just being launched in the UK (on Tuesday 30th October) experts at Surrey University are already working towards developing 5G, which they believe will be available in 2020.

12th Oct 2012

The OFT has found that more than a third of UK online retailers could be breaking consumer laws by adding unexpected charges to orders. They have warned retailers to change their websites before Christmas.

10th Oct 2012

The BBC has launched a separate iPlayer app for radio; using audio content from the existing BBC iPlayer to offer a separate service from its TV service.

5th Oct 2012

Hackers have targeted the online adventure game, World of Warcraft (WoW) this month. The hackers were able to create a character that could destroy all other characters- including those controlled by the game.

24th Sep 2012

Economic development in rural communities cannot happen without proper access to the Internet the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) warned recently. Currently 1/5 of people in rural areas do not have access to broadband which is adequate for business needs.

19th Sep 2012

Following recommendations from the Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland, facebook has suspended the facial recognition feature on the website.  The feature recognised faces in the background of images and allowed people to be tagged.

15th Sep 2012

The xx, who became a word of mouth phenomenon when they produced their first album in 2009, recreated their past viral triumph by releasing a stream to their second album Coexist to one superfan on Facebook days before its official release date.

12th Sep 2012

Investigations into Conservative chairman Grant Shapps’ Twitter account reveals that he regularly follows large numbers of accounts and unfollows them if they do not follow back in order to have a perceived large following.

5th Sep 2012

From October-December 2010, 31% of UK internet users caught a computer virus figures from Eurostat reveal.  Disturbingly, 7% of those suffered a financial loss due to the virus. This is despite 88% of users stating that they had security software in place.

15th Aug 2012

A new virtual grocery store has ‘opened’ in Gatwick airport this month.

19th Jul 2012

The founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, has said that he will be willing to ‘’turn off’’ the website again in future to protect the Internet from policies that will affect everyday users.

26th Jun 2012

Microsoft has launched its own t6ablet device in a bid to compete with Apple’s iPad. The tablet, named the Surface, works on the new Windows 8 operating system.

30th Apr 2012

Advertisers are planning on using social media websites such as Facebook to raise their brand’s profile this summer.  Not content with people simply buying their products,  advertisers are hoping that social media will help them to communicate with their customers – and more importantly, get their customers talking about them too.

28th Jan 2012

Being able to compete on the Internet is tough and increasingly costly.  In the history of the internet and ecommerce it used to be that having a reasonable price, a good looking site (not always the rule!), and being found on the search engines was enough to generate considerable success.  Businesses who had deep pockets but were failing at search engine optimisation were able to get around the ‘getting found’ issue by using pay per click services like Google Adwords (at considerable extra cost I might add).

5th Sep 2011

Freetimers Internet, Northampton’s largest web developer, also offers a wide range of new media design services, including first-class presentations blending video, sound, Flash, 3d and virtual reality, for web, pc, television, cinema, mobile phone or video delivery, and at rates lower than most design agencies.

5th Sep 2011

Here are some really important tips for making the most of your website.  Valuable stuff! 

18th Apr 2011

After a long time at Adnitt Road, from August 8th, Freetimers is now at new premises at 78-90 Clarke Road, NN1 4PW