Form & Function The effective combination of creative and technical skills. Software & Systems Design Our back-end work in eCommerce, databases, scripting and other server-side operations. Graphic & Interface Design Bringing classical graphic design skills to new media. Multimedia & Interactive Design Enhancing the web with audio, video, Flash animation and interactive entertainment. Content Management Keeping your web site up to date: a focused approach. Unifying Web & Print Beyond the web: harmonised design in print and on-screen. Designing for Search Engines How HomePage optimises site designs to gain search-engine hits.

We can't remember the last time we built a site that did not involve a substantial amount of server-side software design, and so the chances are that if you're planning a site of any complexity, then server-side design skills are an important ingredient in the mix.

HomePage's experience covers all the main bases in web site technology (along with a few exotic items in which we've gained expertise), including:

eCommerce HomePage has extensive experience with online processing of transactions, order processing, payment gateways, dispatch and delivery systems, and all the paraphernalia of eCommerce. We are obsessive maniacs when it comes to security, we've assessed and operated with a variety of banking systems and credit-card providers, and we are ready to hit the ground running if you need to expand your current sales operation onto the web, whether for a handful of products or a 20,000-line catalogue.

Databases Most of our projects involve substantial database back-ends, and we pride ourselves on producing efficient data navigation, searching and storage routines so that relevant information can be fed to your site visitors at high speed. A particular area of expertise is in marrying an online database to our clients' internal database systems, so that the data held within a company can be securely extended to the web, and information gained via the web can be introduced securely into your internal systems. Our technical team is able to unite a wide variety of database technologies, including Access, SQL Server and Oracle.

Site Administration Hand in hand with competent database production is the design of easy-to-use and comprehensive database administration services, so that our clients can modify their web site content via a web-based interface, no matter where they may be. HomePage is adept at creating the admin systems that give clients this direct control over important elements of site content.

Email A key part of most web projects is an ability to capture the email addresses of site visitors and keep in touch with them on a regular basis. HomePage has worked on a variety of projects where sensitive, well-formatted and personalised email messages need to be combined with bulk delivery systems, and we see this service as a core part of the service for many of our customers.

Scripting Server-side scripting is an essential skill when it comes to things like web-page "flavouring" for different types of user, or simply remembering who the user is and making the site behave accordingly. At HomePage, we invest a lot of time in building scripted sites so that the site can be easily modified and the user experience is more personalised. We also produce effective client-side JavaScript routines which help our sites to behave more quickly and provide relevant information to each user.

Live Graphics HomePage has key skills in Macromedia Generator, which allows the production of graphics (such as charts, graphs, scores, weather data and textual information) based on live data feeds. For more information, see our Multimedia & Interactive Design page.

Data for Print We have useful expertise in feeding context-sensitive data into PDF documents, so that your site users can receive printable materials which reflect activities that they have performed on the site - such as customised reports, official contracts, terms-and-conditions statements, and more. For more information, see our page on Unifying Web & Print.

Development Environment

Our sites are developed using Active Server Pages served by Microsoft's IIS web server. Programming in the main is in Visual Basic Script and SQL, although for performance reasons some of these may be pre-compiled to server-side objects using Visual Basic. All database activity is based around Microsoft SQL Server. Stored procedures may be developed if required.

If you have a project in mind where technical design is a key requirement, why not drop us a line for a free assessment of how we may be able to help?