One of our long established local customers asked us to look at moving their existing website to a new content managed version. After a meeting we choose a system that would suit the clients needs and budget and in this day and age a customers budget will often dictate the final product. Before we set about changing anything we had to look at the sites stats, as their is no point removing one of their most popular pages!

We backed up the old site, installed the new content management system with the various needed plugins such as Contact Form, Mapping and Gallery system. We then did the data migration and populated the site with the data from the old site.

We then logged into the hosting system and created forwarding URL’s from the old site to the new site pages. This means that any of the old pages that were listed in search engines will now be pointed to the new pages. This is a part of the process that other web designers may leave out but I personally believe is an important part of search engine optimisation and maintaining the sites position in search engines.

This ability to manage the sites content and layout will also mean that Bryanna and her team at the Old Deanery selfcatering cottages can now keep the site fresh with the new gallery system and also the things to do section has changed a lot in the South East and now she can update this from her own kitchen. No need to contact the web guy any more and ask him to update the site and then be billed for it ! DIY is King in 2012

Best of luck with the new site guys.

www.theolddeanery.com

Business is tough today and companies need to make use of technology if they are to reduce costs whilst also offering something new to their customers.

Hook & Hoist do it !

Ken Murphy is just one of those business people, Ken approached us to design a solution that would give them the capabilities they needed to provide their customers with an online facility to manage documents. The solution also happens to be a website !

At Cada Media we specialise in this type of solution and we jumped at the opportunity to show off our expertise.  So we set about working with Ken and his team to create a website that allows him to manage his documentation online in a cloud computing solution, right here in Wexford !

With the domain name secured, we setup the hosting for ken and then set about the design of the site using their existing logo. The sites structure reflects their products and services. With hundreds of products ken wanted a straight forward site that would allow the customers to easily navigate to the product they wish to view. We did this to kens specification and when he sat beside me in the office and smiled I knew it was right.

Document Management System.

We then set to work on the new Document Management System for Hook & Hoist and using the right products we were able to create a solution that would allow this very mobile business to work well both in the office and out on the road. The system in a nut shell allows them to create users and associate them to documents using a secure online portal via a username and password system. Each customer can then store their Certificates online in the new “Certificate Bank”

We would like to wish Ken, Karen and the rest of the team at Hook & Hoist the very best of luck with the new site.
Services provided include

• Domain Management
• Web Hosting
• Website Design
• Cloud Computing
• Document Management
• Training

Web: www.hookandhoist.ie

We are delighted to announce the launch of a revamped site for a secondary school in Co. Kildare. Scoil Mhuire Clane is one of the largest schools in the area and they approached up to take care of their website needs. We created a new site based upon a open source structure that is also fully content managed.

The new site lists all the information that parents and pupils alike will need to be up-to-date with the school. All their policies are listed as well as the board of management and school calendar. The school have also invested heavily in cloud Computing and are taking advantage of online data storage, email hosting. They also have a school online portal for students to login and get notes and generally communicate electronically with the teachers etc

We would like to wish Padraig Nolan and the staff of Scoil Mhuire Clane with the new site.

www.scoilmhuireclane.ie

We were happy to be approached by an Arklow based charity to help her get her website back after the domain name and hosting had expired. With over 13 years experience and contacts in the industry we were able to get everything within two weeks after been contacted. We managed to track down the previous domain name registrant, renew her domain name. Then move onto the website itself and get back the pages, images and then finally the database.

We did it !

With in a matter to 10 working days we had everything back online and up and running. If you find yourself in the same situation then we might be able to help you out too. But my advice for this customer was to make sure that then they get a renewal notice from the company taking care of the domain and hosting to make it top priority as often now a days, when their is no response the services are often removed and deleted!

We would like to wish Patricia and family the very best and continued success with the fundraising.

www.krystlesmith.org

Well, we think they are.

Martins Jewellers in Wexford town have been one of our customers for many years and we have seen their business change over the years and so too have their on-line presence. From being a brochure static HTML site Kevin and his team have progressed the site with us to a full content managed site giving them the capability to update it easily.

New for 2011/2012.

Going social is what it’s all about these days in terms of word of mouth marketing and what better way to take advantage of this new medium using social media site such as Facebook.com and YouTube. The site has been upgraded to the latest version of everything ! Its similar in style as the design brief instructed, but it now allows even more feedback and user participation. The live Facebook feeds will show how Martins Jewellers are being interacted with on-line and how you can see for yourself the genuine testimonials that people out there are saying about their products and their professional service.

One off designs and unique concept jewellery are how Martins Jewellers have carved themselves a niche as the best jewellers in Ireland . . . . . . . in my eyes, of course.

More more info get in touch with Kevin Martin at www.martinsjewellers.ie

Around this time of year we get asked what is the most popular website to buy from or what would be a unique items to buy on-line. Ironically people also wish it to be unusual or unique, something that isn’t in every stocking, well why not get a Christmas voucher for a Discover Scuba Diving Course.

Ok, these vouchers don’t have to be used on Stephen’s Day, but when its thawed out a bit more it would be a great way to get back outdoors and see a different side of Ireland.

Scubadive West in Connemara run Discover Scuba courses and they have a perfect sheltered cove  as you can see from this aerial photo of the Dive Centre here.

This shallow bay is where I learned to dive nearly 20 years ago and in fact I snorkeled there many times before I took the plunge and learned to use Scuba.

This Irish owned family business have generations of experience in teaching and without realizing it, you learn from Cillian or Breff in a very easy going approach. But in fact , it’s structured, methodical and safe.

A good teacher make all the difference and it doesn’t matter if you’re learning woodwork or learning how to use a breathing regulator in 5 foot of water, being able to understand someone giving you instructions easily makes learning all the bit easier.

6mm dry suits also help !

With good equipment that is maintained and updated each season the guys at Scubadive west know that having these high standards makes it a joy to be introduced to this unique sport. We really have no idea of the wonders that are just a matter of feet from the surface and when you dive in the sheltered cove for the first time you hear the murmur of excitement coming through the regulator as the others in the group all start to see the fish, star fish, crabs and the amount of life down there.

David Attenborough would be jealous of this!

Now I could start to go on about how the weightlessness of being under the water and feeling yourself move with the ebb and flow of the tide make you feel like one with nature, but that’s getting a bit to deep !

For a Christmas present that is unique and will put a smile on that persons face this year, I would highly recommend getting them a Discover Scuba voucher from these guys.

www.scubadivewest.com

Just a little reminder that if you are looking for Santa in Wexford this year and searching online for a place to bring the kids then look no further than Kia Ora ini Farm.

They are a family run mini farm that specialise in putting on a good how for seasonal themes. They ran a great Halloween show and now have revamped the entire Mini Farm to a Winter wonderland. They are based between Gorey and Courtown just off the M11 at exit 23.

Directions to Kia Ora, click here.

We created their site a while back and it still works and brings in the visitors!

Website : www.kiaoraminifarm.com

We recently had a meeting with a new business starting out here in the Southeast. We met, discussed their intension’s and objectives etc. At this point they had not even registered their business name with the companies office So they registered as a Sole Trader and used the name that they wished to trade under.

So they were set . . . . or so they thought, so day they came back to us with the idea of securing the domain name, but in the weeks that passed somebody else registered the domain name for a website.

It’s gone.

If you want to register a domain name I would suggest getting the name as soon as you can, if you leave it on your list of things to do it can be snapped up by another business of a similar name. Domain names are very important and if you are starting a new brand or business get your name as soon as you can. They do not have a registered Trademark or established brand and so it will be a real battle to get the name back from the IEDR and prove that you have a right to it first.

Call Cada Media if you are starting a business and want to get online and we can run through what you need and how we can help

Just thought I’d throw it out there and let businesses with online shops know that depending on the software used to build your site and the way that it was built etc, you might be in for a surprise when you look at your bank account and find that the monies paid in were actually paid to someone else’s account !!!

Security Patches and Fixes

If your site is not fully up-to-date and by up-to-date, I mean yesterday or today and not in the past 3 or 4 months then I would strongly recommend that you login and install any patches or updates that are available. Each day new robots trawl the net to find open doors at the back of ecommerce website to see if they can hack the site. This is not only in Open Source, but most online shop software and hosting. (For you techy guys out there it could be a folder left at 777 permissions.)

They get into the back of the site and replace your bank details with their own!!

Christmas shopping is an ideal time for these viruses and bots to travel around the net and change your site so they will get all the funds transferred to them !

Be aware, Be safe, install the latest updates available.

If I got a Euro for every call I get to the office asking can we help companies track down their web designer as their domain name has expired and he has apparently moved aboard.

Emails lost, website lost, google position lost, orders lost, credibility lost.

In some instances we can help them as we have good contacts in the trade etc and other times we have to tell them all their work is gone!

If this has happened to you, call us.