web design and development
"We've had so many compliments on the site and that's all down to you." Paella & Tapas Company
professional web development
Equitas IT Solutions have years of experience in developing professionally for the web and some of the projects we've developed for have gone on to win awards.
Whether it's customising or creating a CMS module or developing a complex multi-user Intranet application we have the skills to help. Technologies we have skills and experience in developing for include:
- MySQL
- PHP (incl. OOP)
- Perl
- JavaScript & AJAX (particularly the ExtJS library)
- (X)HTML & XML
- CSS
- Content Management Systems (our favourites are Drupal, Wordpress & CMS Made Simple)
- Mailing lists (PHPList, Mailman, Mailchimp etc.)
examples of web development
Ad-hoc and contract work
Some of the ad-hoc and contract work recently completed includes:
- AJAX front-end (and associated back-end PHP work) on large-company web-based internal systems such as HR and resource tracking
- Perl scripting for e-mail management, archiving and spam prevention systems
- Drupal-based websites for international charities
- Websites for smaller VCS orgs and SMEs based on Wordpress and CMS Made Simple
- Theming and styling for Blogger and Worpdress blogs
Simple Intranet groupware
Our two groupware products RyansIOB and RyansEDS are designed to help staff at smaller organisations keep abreast of each other's whereabouts.
The former replicates a typical in/out board on an Intranet, staff can simply indicate whether they are in or out and add return times and comments. Searching, departments and one-click status changes are standard features.
The latter provides simple calendaring for smaller offices and teams. In negates the requirement for complex desktop-side clients and shared calendars but allowing each staff member to quickly indicate where they are in the coming days and weeks. Additional details, departmental displays and searching are standard features.
Both are written in Perl, are fully sutomisable in terms of appearance, require no back-end database software and easily slot into corporate Intranets. See the relevant pages under the products section or click the links below for more details. Of course both are free software as well.
web site design
Accompanying web development comes design experience that goes back to the mid-1990s. This means we can offer expertise in delivering websites that work into unique, niche situations. Whether it's a simple web-presence (although our experience tells us that such things rarely stay that way) or a complex multi-user social networking site, Equitas IT Solutions can help you.
web design case studies
The Paella & Tapas company
This catering company specialises in high quality Spanish cuisine. They had been steadily growing as a small business for some time but needed to move things to the next level. We designed, developed and host their website for them. We also advised on the structure and style for the site. They wanted a clean and stylish look which was professional but not corporate and reflected their passion for Spanish food.
We used CMS Made Simple to provide content management for the site. This is both powerful and simple to use meaning they can keep their site up-to-date as and when they need to. The site is fully accessible and adheres to open web standards meaning it's available to the widest possible audience.
Since the site launch, orders have steadily come in and they like being able to point enquirers at the site for things like menu choice.
Keswalls Angling Centre
Keswalls are an established and successful fishing tackle shop in east London. They recently revolutionised their online presence with a new eCommerce site through Equitas IT Solutions.
The site has been built using the popular (and excellent) Zen Cart free software e-commerce solution. A customised version of one of the many free designs has been deploted to give it a fresh and modern look. The rollout to the new site involved integration with online payment gateways, migrating two sites (with varying function) into a single one, relocating the whole thing to a new server (including the mailserver) and handling all the associated DNS migration to ensure customers could always use the site and orders were not lost.
It was important that the site permitted the Keswalls team to manage online orders efficiently without sacrificing the friendly and knowledgeable reputation they have rightly earned over the years.
All of the above was achieved with the minimum of fuss and no downtime. The orders are now rolling in!
If you are into (or looking to get into) angling, have a look at Keswalls.
the church mouse blog
The Church Mouse blog is a popular Christian blog housed on Blogger. Initially it used a fairly typical blogger theme but the Church Mouse wanted something a little more personal.
We designed a new unique theme with custom graphics and crisp, clean styling. The result is a theme which draws your eye to the right place quickly and fits in perfectly with Blogger.
The new look was well received by Mouse (who described it as "fab") and visitors alike with comments such as "loving the redesign" and "now that's what I call clean!".
gmphotographs
GM Photographs are a husband and wife team who are "passionate about photography, family and life."
Their website needed something striking with a mix of a contemporary and professional styling. Based upon Wordpress using a custom-made theme combined with custom javascript and Imageflow plugins the site is designed to show off the amazing photographs without getting in the way.
The site also gives them private client areas which enable them to continue client relationships well after the photoshoots have finished.
Gospel Printing Mission (GB)
This small charity in East London has been producing free Christian literature for missionaries around the globe since the 1960s. Recently they felt the need to add a website to their toolkit but were concerned that it didn't herald a move away from the traditional processes of their day-to-day work. Much of their "client-base" do not have access to the Internet and so any site would need to complement not replace their existing distribution and publicity methods. They also didn't want to spend a lot of hours keeping it up-to-date.
We worked with them to design a site, using the ExponentCMS open source CMS, which is as functional as it is informative and which sits along-side their existing work whilst opening up possibilities for things like e-mail newsletters for their supporters.
Since the site launch they found both their supporters and the missionaries are using it in higher numbers than anticipated. The site of course copes well and they are fidning it a useful tool in allowing missionaries to find them.
Freedom and openness
We use and develop free software within web design development because it gives everyone the fairest deal. You're not shelling out for costly software licences each time you add a new staff member and your end-users can take advantage of the latest technologies. You also get the source code (recipe) for software we develop and you have the freedom to change or have it changed as your needs grow. You can even distribute it if you wish. You'll get honest quotes with realistic deadlines and no hidden extras. The software will be made to measure (one size does not fit all), efficient and of the highest quality.
Of course accessibility and open standards go hand-in-hand with web development. Years of developing for the voluntary sector gives expertise that goes way beyond alt tags on images. Multi-lingual and multi-character set websites are just two of the fields we excel in.
Hosting
For some people a design is all they need and they're happy to continue with their existing hosting arrangements. We're not about to insist you host with us if you are happy (but we'll provide a quote for hosting if you want).
For others they want the peace of mind that a complete solution brings. So you not only get a quality site designed and developed, we'll host it too. If you have a site that you want to move to us we'll work with your existing hosts to make the transition as smooth as possible.
With hosting, one size definitelty does not fit all so you won't find us offering "off the shelf" hosting packages. What we offer is a personal, tailored service but at a cost you'll be amazed at. Contact us if you want to know more.
- This website will be blacked out 18 Jan 2012
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17 Jan 2012
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Category: General
As part of the protest against SOPA this website will be blacked out tomorrow ( 18 Jan 2012 ) GMT. Full details of why i am taking this step can be foun din my personal blog here Read on...
- Encouraging the next generation of hackers
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19 Dec 2011
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Category: Free software magazine
My latest article is now available at Free Software magazine. This is about the need to encourage the next generation of computer hackers (by which I mean programmers not criminals).
Read on... - New client website - Keswalls
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12 Dec 2011
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Category: General
I'm pleased to announce a new client website has just gone live. Keswalls are an established fishing tackle shop who have revitalised their online presence with a brand new store. Read on...
