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// fathom news
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// Kent office
It's exciting times here at Fathom. Further bucking the economic trend, we have expanded our operations by opening an additional office in Caterbury, Kent.
Set among the rolling fields of the University of Kent campus, our new Fathom office at the Canterbury Innovation Centre will enable us to better service our growing Kent client base.
We look forward to increasing our exposure and reach all across the South East of England and to better serve all our clients – new and old in the coming year.
Address for our Canterbury Office:
Canterbury Innovation Centre
University Road
Canterbury
Kent, CT2 8HJ
More info on the our new home in Canterbury.
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// Christmas Hours
The holiday season is fully upon us. With that in mind, here's Fathom's hours over the Christmas break:
- 24/12/09 Open 9.00 – 17.30
- 25/12/09 Closed
- 26/12/09 Closed
- 27/12/09 Closed
- 28/12/09 Closed
- 29/12/09 On call*
- 30/12/09 On call*
- 31/12/09 On call*
- 1/1/10 Closed
- 2/1/10 Closed
- 3/1/10 Closed
- 4/1/10 Open 9.00 – 17.30
*For emergency support, please email our support address.
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// What to Twitter About
You might wonder why anyone is interested in whether you are having a cup of tea. You're right. They probably won't be. So you don't want to use Twitter to make that kind of announcement.
But you might want to use it to tell people when you've won a new client, updated your website or posted a new blog.
You can use it to promote instant special offers or for customer research prior to new product development.
You should definitely use it to pass on useful links you've found, and to enter into public or private dialogue with other Twitter members.
And it's great for asking and answering questions.
All of this activity is a soft-sell way to raise your profile, demonstrate your expertise and win more business.
Stephen Fry famously tweeted when he was stuck in a lift, and was rescued in just 20 minutes. Boris Johnson tweeted when he cancelled the congestion charge due to snow, and the news spread faster than the mainstream media.
Closer to home, we here at Fathom know a local business-woman who has used Twitter to sell tickets to events and win direct business by being referred by her followers.
Why not give Twitter a try? It doesn't take a lot of time. It's fun. And it's free!
Twitter jargon-buster
- Tweet = Broadcast of up to 140 characters
- Follower = Anyone who chooses to read all your tweets
- Unfollow = Click if you don't want to follow someone any more
- ReTweet = When a Tweet is passed on
- @Name = Precede any Twitter name by @ to make it a link
- # hashtag = Precede any keywords with # to make them searchable on the main Twitter website
- TweetDeck = One of many free downloads that makes it easier to organise your Twitter stream
Follow Fathom on Twitter.
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// We're website of the week!
One of our websites has been chosen as 'website of the week' by the Daily Mail.
ChristmasMarkets.com is a project we have managed since 2006. As you can probably guess from the name, the site tells market visitors everything they need to know about Christmas markets, by featuring over 400 markets in 22 countries, together with holiday deals and travel information.
We've used our search engine optimisation (SEO) skills to get the site listed at number one in Google, Yahoo, Ask and Bing. The Media Area has led to coverage in national media including the Daily Mail, BBC (online and radio), Evening Standard, the Daily Telegraph and the Times. And we're proud to have attracted brand name advertisers such as BMI, Eurostar and Easyjet.
As you may know, we don't just design pretty websites or make sure they are technically adept. We also get involved at a business level. For ChristmasMarkets, we have built back office systems to handle site content, trip payments and advertiser management.
This approach is proving successful at many levels. The website attracts over 1.5 million page views a year, and we're thrilled the site has been recognised by the Daily Mail. |
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// things to avoid in web development
Here's our failsafe guide to the WRONG way to go about developing websites and applications.
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1. Ignore the client's needs
Develop what YOU want and not what the client wants. Don't worry about whether they are happy with every aspect in advance. Don't bother getting a full understanding of the requirements. Don't take possible future considerations into account. Just get started without talking to the client. |
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Of course, we at Fathom put our clients first |
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2. Underestimate the project size
Jump in without understanding the full scope upfront. Forget about the nitty-gritty detail. Any additional components that become necessary can be dealt with when the time comes, can't they? |
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With our years of experience, we are skilled at estimating the project scope accurately |
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3. Gloss over the planning phase
That statement about 'failing to plan means planning to fail' is ridiculous, right? It doesn't matter if the client, the designers and the developers all have different opinions about what's expected; it will probably work out OK in the end. Who cares if it doesn't 'tick all the boxes'? |
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Because of our emphasis on planning, we achieve more successful results |
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4. Allow 'feature creep'
Don't wait for a signed-off spec. When additional ideas surface during the project, just extend the timescale and stretch the budget (without telling the client, of course). |
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Here at Fathom, we understand that things change, and will always advise in advance if there is an impact on the timescale or budget, or build it into a future version |
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5. Accept it's OK if it works in Internet Explorer
You don't have to build the site to work across all browsers. Mac-users can't use Internet Explorer, and Firefox commands nearly 20% of the market, but they're still a minority, aren't they? |
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Our websites are tested for compatibility across all common browsers |
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6. Don't validate the data
If the data provided is not perfect, and 'breaks' the application or the website when it goes live, that's the client's problem, not yours, isn't it? |
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Data validation is an intrinsic part of our process |
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7. Don't test the load
Decide if it's OK in a beta test now it will be OK forever. It's not your concern if the site becomes popular and can't handle future traffic. |
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Load testing is important, so we allow for future growth |
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8. Forget about search engine optimisation
Just upload the website without optimising it. Better yet, don't offer an ongoing SEO service to ensure SEO changes are accounted for. |
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We use our search engine expertise to ensure your site is found now, and in future |
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9. Ignore 'page not found' errors
Don't worry that Google points people to old or non-existent pages when you make updates or change content. |
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We use techniques to ensure people are presented with relevant content, no matter what |
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10. Let developers manage the project
Assume you can let developers do it all; they like being distracted from what they're good at – developing. And clients can learn Geek-speak. |
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We use project managers with a top-level view, who can keep in touch with all parties and departments involved |
When you work with Fathom, you can be confident that our applications and websites fit your requirements and result in a successful project.
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// hosting move
At Fathom, our goal is to deliver reliable and secure applications to our clients. Part of this delivery is using a hosting environment we can trust.
Over the last couple of months, Fathom have undertaken a massive upgrade of our hosting services, which is now complete.
Our new hosting solution's data centre is state of the art, air-flow managed and temperature-controlled to provide our clients with uninterrupted service and less downtime. Add to this a bank of dedicated Windows servers, low carbon footprint, 24-7 reliability and automated backups and you have a fail-safe hosting solution for your website.
Fathom - your secure, reliable solution for the future. |
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// website launch
The new Fathom website has launched. Collating all the products and services we provide across our three main verticals - design, web and database - the new site is a showcase for everything we offer.
If you see something we do, or a combination of things, that you think would benefit your business, get in touch today. |
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// new online / offline digital printing solution
At Fathom, we don't sit still and our new innovative approach to digital printing is proof of that. Whether you're printing a brochure, catalogue or leaflet, our new digital printing service allows you to print the number of copies you require, so you don't have unwanted boxes of paper sitting under your desk.
You can also tweak your message to target various market sectors, and print the number of copies you need.
It doesn't stop there. With our new Online Brochure product, you can now publish your printed material to the web in an interactive format. Simply email, IM, Facebook share or Twitter the link and everyone can interact with your message.
Making changes is as simple are replacing the page you want to change. |
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// staff additions
Fathom recently welcomed onboard two new staff members - Richard John and Steve Stovold.
Rich, with over 14 years of international online experience, is our new project manager, and also dabbles in SEO, copywriting, web 2.0 evangelising, real coffee making and verbally abusing his old, slow PC.
Steve, owner of the big mug, is part of our development team bringing 10 years of experience on high-level projects into the office with him every day.
These additions allow Fathom to serve their clients - new and old - better. |
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// on the web
With our website going live this month, we've embarked on a renewed mission to ensure we are represented around the web. You can now find Fathom at these web hotspots:
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