Iworks Web

Iworks web is aimed at new and small businesses in need of a bespoke website or online presence, but not aiming to outlay huge sums of money at a time when it could be better used.  We offer individually tailored websites worked around either your own ideas, visuals or corporate identity, or we can handle the entire design element for you at no extra cost. While in the design stages, your site will be kept on a holding page within the iworks site, which will allow you to check how the design is going, without your customers ever seeing a half-finished website.
We can register domain names, set up email accounts,and get your site live on the web with the minimum fuss. The hosting can be organised by us if you wish, or alternatively we can supply your site directly to you on disk. You will always have the same point of contact at iworks, meaning greater continuity. See the costs tab to get an idea of some of our guideline prices. If you are interested in having a website created, click on our advice tab to get some pointers on how to get started, or call or email us.

Iworks Print

The printing arm of iworks is set up to make a complete marketing package that is simple and effective for the customer. We use the latest industry-standard software to design and create print artwork exactly how you want it, while keeping seamless integration into the systems used by commercial printers.
We have direct connections with commercial lithographic and digital printers in the Midlands, as well as strong links with many other areas of the trade such as large format print and promotional item suppliers. If you need a company logo creating, we can help there too, as design work is included within the cost of the artwork. This price will be quoted at the start in writing, so you always know where you stand, with no nasty surprises.
Whether you are looking for 50 letterheads, or 10,000 full colour brochures, we have the knowledge and technical ability to create it for you at a very competitive price. Call Neil on 07922 285050 or email us for a quote on your requirements.

File Conversion for Print

Many people know exactly how they want their print job to look, and go to great lengths to create their publication on their home or works PC – much of the time in programs such as Microsoft Word, Publisher or various of the online free or shareware programs that are available.
These applications will usually work very well with your own desktop printer, but when these files are taken to a commercial printing company, will cause untold trouble for which you will usually be charged a conversion fee. Office and DTP programs do not have the required compatibility with commercial printing systems, and without professional conversion can render very differently on your final print (i.e. lost transparencies and fonts, incorrect text flow and positioning, etc)
Our software at iworks gives us the capacity to convert many formats into print-ready files for print either by us, or to hand back to yourselves for your usual  suppliers use. An average cost for an A4 Publisher file, converted to a print-ready commercial printer file would cost about £25. Exact costs can be supplied on sight of copy.

Guideline Costs

Our artwork and web costs are based around this table. We can design your initial website with as much or as little input from yourself as you wish. You can supply visuals, sketches, hardcopy, text files and images, or we can source image-library photos for you. We can organise your domain name and email addresses - domain costs begin at £15.00 for a 2 year period, after which you will be asked if you wish to renew. Hosting packages range from a free package (100mb/month) to £79.99 per year, giving you 30,000mb per month.
All you pay for up front is a minimal deposit of £30.00 to get the work started, which comes off your final invoice. A written quote will be given.
Printing is obviously very individual, and so prices and terms will be quoted specifically on your requirements. However, we use trade printers for many things and can guarantee a very competitive price for a quality job. For more details, contact Neil on 07922 285050 or email us.

If you are interested in having your own website and domain name, use this simple tool to check if your chosen name is available.

Domain name		.	All org.uk co.uk me.uk org net com biz info name info name eu mobi uk.com uk.net eu.com eu.net gb.com gb.net

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Sample sites
Have a look at some of the sites we have created in the past

	Millstone Bed & Breakfast
	Countryside discovery
	Spider School of motoring
	Forest Glade Holiday Park
	Lightnights Limited
	Wheelers School of Motoring

 







 

Planning your site
Even if you are not creating the final design of your website, there is a certain amount of planning which you will need to do yourself - as only you know your own company. One of the main issues when I am approached by a new client is site content. There needs to be some kind of text to explain what you do or how you work. Even if it is just a few lines or a paragraph (this can be padded out where needed), people need to know what they will get from looking at your site or from choosing your company over others.
Another requirement is image content. If you have photos of what you do or images pertaining to your business that you think would help get the message over, then let us use them. Even if they are not to be used in the final website, it all helps towards giving us an impression of your business direction, and so helps us with the creative process. Keep copies of your corporate image or logo if you have one. Digital files are usually best for most images, but we can handle photos, prints and visuals too. If you do have a specific idea in your head of how you would like your website to look, make a sketch – no matter how basic. Even just getting an idea of colours that you may like - or even colours that you don't like - It all points us in the right direction to achieving a site you are happy with.  

Domain Names
Use the domain name checker on this site to check if the domain address you would like is available. We would recommend that once you have checked for availability, that you let us handle the buying of the domain name. Some domains can be bought very cheaply, but will lock you into the hosting of it for at least a month. This means you cannot transfer it in that time and you lose valuable web time, or alternatively you end up tying into a hosting package that does not suit you and will not handle your website requirements. Call us for more details on this. Domains like '.com' tend to be very popular, but remember that some people will be put off viewing these as they can be based anywhere in the world. I would usually only recommend '.com' to people who aim to sell or be viewed internationally. The '.co.uk' domains are usually slightly cheaper, have more flexibility on hosting issues, and give prospective customers an clue that you are in the UK from the outset.

Hosting
This is a very important and frequently understated part of your site. It relates to where your site actually sits on the web, and consequently its performance on the customers computer. The difference between a good hosting company or package and a bad one can make a big difference to how well customers can view your site.
We don’t pretend to be a hosting company – but we do organise and manage hosting if you want us to. We outsource our clients to an award-winning multinational company running Dell equipment for reliability. This means there is an on-going maintenance of servers ensuring minimum downtime and maximum performance. In the event of a problem, their technical team will address it straight away. This company also gives access to many web scripts which some other hosting companies do not – such as Formmail (a script which allows customers to fill in an online form on your website which is then emailed to a nominated address) and Statistical displays. We have used this hosting company since iworks began.