NEWS: April 2008

New Client: Clarence Smith Flooring of Halifax have commissioned Rockmill to create their first website for their company. Clarence Smith are a long established quality flooring company based at Stump Cross in Halifax. The new site is due to be launched by in May.

The new website for hc solicitors was launched at the start of April. The site has a full CMS behind it written in PHP + MySQL. This gives them complete control over all of the content of the site.

Rockmill have been commissioned to create an online event booking portal by a large pharmaceutical company. The system will allow online booking for events, online management of bookings and automatic communication with the company's sales team.

March 2008

New Client: A new website was launched at the start of March for The Clerk's - a group of singers who specialise in singing early music from 11th to 16th centuries.

New Client: Rockmill won the tender to produce a CMS driven website for New Horizons Snorkel & Dive Centre.

The new website for startup firm Tony Roe Family Law Solicitors was launched this month. Rockmill wish Tony every success with his new adventure.

February 2008

A month for lots of pitches and tenders.

Plus many existing clients returning for updates to their sites: TDA Interiors, Matrix Multimedia, The Studio, MyCouncillor and Mono Industries.

January 2008

New Client: A new website for 'A Positive Choice' went live during January. APC provide personalised training and coaching.

The new website for Brighouse based playground equipment design firm, Outdoor & Play, was launched in January.

A new showreel video was added to Punam Verma's website to promote her abilities as a TV presenter. The showreel contained extracts from a programme called 'Out & About' that is shown on Dubai One TV.

Happy New Year!!

December 2007

Rockmill produced a website for a media awards event to enable the submission of entry forms online. This new website is built on a MySQL database and uses PHP scripting. Forms are saved online - as they are time consuming to fill in - and this enables word counts to be enforced for particular fields. Something that is not possible with a paper based entry form.

ALDC requested further enhancements to the MyCouncillor blog management system; new themes, the ability to add news feeds, a graph module and individual hit counters. The system now supports over 150 Councillor websites.

November 2007

New Client: Woolshed Designs have asked Rockmill to create their website for them. Woolshed Designs are a new start up and will be selling cowhide and sheepskin bean bags, amongst other things.

New Client: Lupins School of Motoring is a new driving school based in Halifax. All the driving instructors are female.

Rockmill joined the ethicalbiz, The Ethical Business Network, which meets in Hebden Bridge on the first Thursday of the each month.

October 2007

The new website for Callum Kenmuir (musician/composer/author) was launched during October. The show case allows the online purchasing of Scores downloadable as PDF's. Parts for orchestral and chamber works can be supplied as hard copies or can be emailed as Sibelius files for self-printing. MP3's can also be bought and downloaded. All payments are taken through PayPal.

Rockmill rescued a small business when their website went down due to a problem with their hosting. Within 24 hours Smart Escalator Cleaning Services's website and email was up and running again.

The Junction in Cambridge were having problems with an aged CMS. Rockmill worked closely with Mono Industries to resolve the situation and get The Junction's website updating again.

Several old clients required their sites to be updated: David Jowett - Architect, Choose2Reuse, The Studio - London and Hebden Royd Town Council.

September 2007

ALDC launched the new MyCouncillor blog system at the LibDem Party National Conference and it received a very positive reaction. The system is based on WordPress µ.

The new Smiles Caterers website has been launched. Fair Trade catering for West Yorkshire. Business and Private clients welcome!

The new website for ADP Safety Supplies is up and running. ADP are Blåkläder workware suppliers.

Rockmill was asked to improve YB Components website so that it would perform better within Search Engine Results. The site was reviewed and then a process of changing the site's copy has now been started.

Working with long time partner firm Mono Industries, Rockmill has created a CMS for a new startup firm called Lomonaco International Artists.

Rockmill has also carried out design work for Freedom Digital Networks. The design will be used for one of their college wireless internet provision installations.

After going through a Tender process, Rockmill has won a contract with playground equipment design and build firm Outdoor & Play.

August 2007

Rockmill will close down for summer from Friday 10th August and reopen on Tuesday 28th August.

hc solicitors instructed Rockmill to build two more modules to extend the capabilities of their website, both are aimed at the housing market. The new modules are for online conveyancing quotations and for the ordering of HIPs.

Regular clients also required updates to their websites during August; Matrix Multimedia, Steve Martineau Consulting, ECORRN, Les Jincheres, The Studio, Muir Hewitt and tda.

July 2007

Work on the WordPress µ system for ALDC is proceeding. ALDC will be able to use RSS feeds to provide area and ward news to each councillor.

During July, all Rockmill hosting clients were upgraded to a new faster server based in the UK. This replaced an old slow US based server. Clients will see their websites appear much more quickly than before and SMTP emails will be sent quicker too.

Rockmill has completed work on another bolt-on module for hc solicitors. The new Risk Management module gives companies that have fleets instant access to up to date legal documents.

adamsgautier have instructed Rockmill to redesign their website.

June 2007

Working with Mono Industries, Rockmill has provided two more bespoke CMS websites that have gone live during June: NIE Theatre and Tandem Coaching.

Plus it has been a busy month for maintenance on our existing clients websites. ECORRN, Hebden Royd Town Council, Teenyboppers Dance Parties and hc solicitors have all been updated.

May 2007

Rockmill is continuing its longstanding relationship with Mono Industries and providing a bespoke CMS for the new GetFood website.

J.A. Parker's new website went live during May.

Muir Hewitt of Art Deco Originals approached Rockmill to rescue his website. It was stuck with an unresponsive host and designer. Within 24 hours, Rockmill had his website up and running again with complete control. In the coming months, Rockmill will build a CMS to allow Muir to keep his own website up to date.

April 2007

Rockmill is proud to announce that the ALDC has commissioned a system that can centrally create websites for each of their local councillors. The system is based around WordPress µ (MultiUser) but will be extensively customised to allow RSS dissemination of information at a Council Ward level. Plus the integration of news from the National Liberal Democrat Party.

Anna Lambert's side of the Junction Workshop website is now fully up and running. For you it shows Anna's amazing ceramics work. For our client, Rockmill has provided her with a customised CMS so that she can edit every page of her website using a proper WYSIWYG online editor, plus the ability to upload photographs of her work. During the upload of these photographs, thumbnails are automatically produced.

The Matrix Multimedia website has been upgraded to allow full searching of the entire website and the product PDF datasheets. Re-indexing of these documents occurs automatically when ever new documents are added, saving Matrix time and effort.

Smiles Caterers have commissioned Rockmill to produce their first website. This catering firm have been in business since 1984 and operate through out the West Yorkshire region.

March 2007

Work has started on a new website for Anna Lambert and David Thomas who work under the joint banner of Junction Workshop. Anna Lambert is a ceramicist and David Thomas a painter. The new website will have a database backend and a CMS that enables them to upload photographs and copy. The website will display the photographs at various sizes but only the largest size needs to be uploaded. All other sizes are created as part of the upload process.

J.A. Parker has commissioned Rockmill to produce a website for their plant hire business. This will be the company's first website. The company covers Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

February 2007

The new look Matrix Multimedia website has now been launched. This is a database driven site with over 380 products. Matrix produce electronic building blocks for the rapid development or prototyping of new electronic products.

hc solicitors LLP asked Rockmill to produce a standalone website to accommodate the restricted access to up to date risk management documents pertinent to any organisation that manages a fleet of vehicles. This new website has a database to hold and manage all of the user accounts. Plus a simple management interface.

January 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

The new Mono Industries website has now been launched. The CMS behind it is simple and straight forward to use.

New Year = New Regulations
For UK Limited companies, January sees new legislation come into effect. They must include certain regulatory information on their websites, it is now no longer sufficient to have a Contact Us form. The following information must now be clearly show: Company Registration Number, Registered Address, VAT Number, email address and the name of the company.

If you are unsure whether this applies to your organisation please check out the full details and requirements at www.hcsolicitors.co.uk/news_ltd_websites.html.

December 2006

The redesigned iBooknet website was launched on the 1st December. phpWebsite was used to provide an off-the-shelve CMS solution that will give the website many new features in the future.

CCORRN has been extended again to give the Directors area an online Calendar. Now they will all know where Nikki is working!

The year draws to a close with office parties and days out shopping. Christmas - Ba Humbug!

November 2006

Work has carried on behind-the-scenes on a Content Management System (CMS) that will be easy for any client to update the copy of their own website. An increasingly popular request! This work is being done in conjunction with Nick from Mono Industries.

If you feel your organisation could benefit from an online database, then please get in contact with Patrick Gordon here at Rockmill. Here are some examples:

• Bird spotters recording their sightings - even rare bird sightings can be recorded as there is no way to see this information by the public. This database will really ease the work of the club secretary at the end of each year as reports can be generated automatically.
• People who work in many places or offices. Give yourself access to all your own contact information, stock list, documents, manuals, etc. Password protection will ensure that only you can gain access to this information.
• League tables: do you need to update a league table for your football, snooker, badminton, fishing, tennis, cricket, netball, squash, rugby, motor racing, cycling, hockey or paint balling team. An online database can make this so much simpler and give all club members immediate access to the information.

Clients have also been coming back to Rockmill for updates to their existing websites: hc solicitors, Tom Palmer, Les Jincheres, Equivital, tda interiors, CCORRN and ECORRN.

October 2006

Still looking for that elusive 'right person' to come on board and join rockmill. See August's News.

The Celtic Charm website has now been launched and is now open for trading. The website sells Celtic jewellery; broches, crosses, rings, cuff-links in gold and silver.

PDA Sheets opened a pre-registration phase so that any interested business people can register and receive a 20% discount on their first years membership. In the new year, business software for PDAs will be available via annual subscription.

September 2006

September has been a very busy month for updating current client websites. CCORRN are having a complete website redesign and as part of that process are moving over to a bespoke content management system (CMS) written in PHP using a MySQL database. The launch of the new website will be during October.

Two new shopping websites are also under development. Celtic Charm will be offering a huge range of gold and silver celtic jewellery. PDA Sheets will be providing business PDA software via annual subscription.

August 2006

Looking for a job? Trying to get back into work? After 5 years of sole trading, Rockmill is expanding. I am looking for somebody to add new skills to the company. So if you at ease working with PHP/MySQL then get in touch.

You will be living in the Upper Calder Valley, already have your own PC, have good PHP/MySQL skills, have an interest in CMS, understand HTML and CSS, be able to take direction but equally keen to add your ideas.

Most important of all, is your personality and outlook on life. In a micro company, it is vital that people get on. An interest in the environment and recycling will help you more than your ability to program Flash ActionScript.

Core office working hours will be Monday to Friday 9:30am - 3:00pm and could be term time only for the right person. Salary will be an hourly rate applicable to the successful applicant. Interviews will be in the evening.

All applications must be electronic and, where possible, show your PHP skills. No standard letters, please take the time to write an email telling me about you. No Agencies!

July 2006

Rockmill has worked closely with The Studio - London to produce the Oba Wood Toys website. A new range of toys from Halsall.

The new website for tda interiors went live during July. tda are an office design and refurbishment firm based in the South of England and Sydney, Australia.

Rockmill is pleased to support the Luddenden Conservation Society by providing free web hosting. The society has been running for over 30 years and takes great pride in the village.

June 2006

The website for Towers Business Park was launched during June. A redevelopment in Didsbury, South Manchester.

Working with Mono Industries, Rockmill redeveloped the website for the insurance broker La Playa. This continued a working relationship that has now spanned 4 years.

May 2006

May finished strongly with new business working for 90 Degrees, the independent booksellers network iBooknet and redesign work for long standing client The Studio - London.

Rockmill has continued it's involvement with reuze.co.uk - a recycling and reuse information website - and has sponsored a new web server with more facilities so that the site can grow and grow.

Equivital - a new biometric measuring and recording device dreamt up by the team from Hidalgo has now been spun off as a separate company. Rockmill were approached to design their new website.

April 2006

The FTSE 100 firms are being criticised today for not doing enough to make their websites more accessible. According to the internet company Nomensa, 75% of the FTSE 100 companies it tested did not meet the minimum requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.

BBC NEWS | Business | FTSE firms' websites criticised

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (the DDA), was introduced with the intention of comprehensively tackling the discrimination which many disabled people face. The part of the DDA that states websites must be made accessible came into force on 1 October 1999 and the Code of Practice for this section of the Act was published on 27 May 2002.

The DDA was updated on 1 October 2007 as follows:

• small employer exemption removed. All employers are now legally obliged to make all their services accessible including websites, intranets and extranets accessible.
• police and fire services are now also legally obliged to make their websites, intranets and extranets accessible. Previously they were exempt. The only area of employment still specifically excluded is the armed forces.
• service providers will have to make physical adjustments to their premises where these features make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use the service they provide.

March 2006

The new website for Automotive Interior Styling has now been launched.

New client: Choose2Reuse in Luton, the third website to have sprung out of the Choose2Reuse project has now been commissioned.

February 2006

New client: tda interiors are a office design, build and fitout company with offices in London, Guildford and Syndey, Australia. Rockmill was asked to write an assessment of their website and on the strength of this assessment, Rockmill have now been commissioned to rebuild their website to W3C standards.

New client: Rockmill is proud to announce that we will be building a new eCommerce website for a local start-up company. Zest Visual will be springing into life in March.

January 2006

The 3 Dimensions website is launched! Congratulations to Justin, Lesley and the rest of the team.

Howard Guest Photographer approached Rockmill to have the Gallery module integrated into his website. Gallery is an excellent open source web based photo album organiser. It provides an intuitive way to blend photo management seamlessly into your own website.

Rockmill is now being hosted by nativespace. The features they offer as standard are outstanding.

It's always nice to renew old aquaintances! January has been a great month for returning clients wanting updates: CCORRN, ECORRN, Steve Martineau, The Old Treehouse, Hunt & Coombs and MA Healthcare.

Rockmill can guide you through the mine field of the Internet, email, domain names, hosting, search engines, Flash, and much more. It may all seem like complete gobbledegook to you but with our help you can have your own website up and running in no time.

Rockmill also provides its technical expertise to designers who have no technical staff of their own. This enables them to provide a broader range of products to their existing client base. Put simply, as well as designing and printing a clients brochure or annual report, you can now also offer to design and build their website too - with our help!