Open platforms have many benefits to small and large businesses alike, but many decision makers fear the concept of open source.

In this interesting article on Six Revisions, they discuss ways in which current open platforms can meet the business objectives of your clients and allow their project to stand on the shoulders of these giants.

We use open source for our rich media like video and photos. Also Wordpress and Magento ecommerce which are both widely adopted open source platforms. Read more about our web development services.

We are finding that a wide range of clients are asking for Wordpress as they have heard about the flexibility and scalability of the platform. Something which has never happened with any other web software or products we use for our client projects.

It is certainly easier to support the quality of a product with the vast number of online tutorials and showcases for an open source product.

The main reason why we use open source applications are that they are generally more robust and scalable, than licenced ‘closed’ source software. Open source allows an active community of web designers, developers, thinkers, etc to contribute their own code for others to use for their own projects. Take a look at the library of extensions at Wordpress.

Recent examples of the pro-active open source communities include suggesting features for future updates to Magento’s roadmap, beta testing for new features to Wordpress 3.0, and pin-pointing security holes in desktop application that an in-house team may have missed.

A Short Recommended List of Open Platforms

Video

• Youtube
• Vimeo

Pictures

• Flickr
• Picasa

Audio

• Houndbite

Open Website platforms

• Drupal
• Wordpress.com, and Wordpress.org
• Django – a web framework in Python
• Ruby on Rails – a web framework in Ruby
• CakePHP – PHP framework

We have been writing our free eguides, one every month for the last 6 months.

These have proved to be popular with colleagues and clients alike. Why? Perhaps as we are sharing what we think is the latest trends, advice and best web services and applications out there.

We aim to continue to write guides about topics which affect how we work and make web sites work harder for you on the web. If you have any questions, or have a suggestion about one you would like to see get in touch.

Feel free to share the PDF eguides with your contacts and clients, they are published using a creative commons licence.

See for yourself at our eguides page, or download them directly here:

Download ‘Top five tips to stay secure online’ (PDF 6MB)

Download ‘Top tips for your ecommerce web site’ (PDF 2MB)

Download’ client eguide to social media’ (PDF 2MB)

Download client eguide to online image editors (PDF 1MB)

Download ‘What is Link Building?’ (PDF 3MB)

Download ‘What makes good Copy?’ (PDF 420KB)

Download ‘What is Pagerank?’ (PDF 1MB)

Wow, another year over.. And an almighty decade of web technology that has changed the way we all live and work on the web.

2009 completed a decade on a downturn, which for some companies was their first recession. It has been a learning time for all of us, with forecasters simply not knowing how far reaching or long the downturn would last for.

At this time of year we like to do a review to tell you all about our business practices and successes this year. Here’s our reviews from 2007 and 2008.

Needless to say, it’s been a interesting ride for all businesses this year, some leading agencies in London were closing on a weekly basis, with others in Brighton unfortunately doing the same due to lack of new and existing client work.

Here’s what we have been doing this year with a month by month review

• January – Web development work for Clearleft
• February – Start producing Magento web sites
• March – Attend National Hack Day andSouth by Southwest in Austin, Texas
• April – New American clients on board and web design for OgilvyPR
• June – Attend iPhone developers meetup in Brighton
• July – Attend Wordcamp UK in Cardiff. Start work on NHS trust project.
• August – Lead International conservation volunteer project in the States. Continue build of Wordpress sites
• September – Attend Burning Man in the Nevada desert
• October – Open office in London, for networking, client meetings and collaboration with colleagues
• November – Provide advice and insight for graduates at Wired Sussex portfolio clinic
• December – Wrap up warm. and prepare new strategic plans for 2010

Here’s how we got new leads, and work in 2009

• Our free eguides
• Our London Office – for meeting clients and colleagues in the heart of Soho
• Networking at Open Coffee and Brighton and Hove chamber of commerce events
• International conferences SxSw, FOWD and exposure to new communities with Wired Sussex
• Increased coverage on new online digital communities, such as Linkedin
• Customer awareness of our Magento and Wordpress projects
• Email marketing campaigns
• Writing articles for Allaboutiphone, FreelanceUK, RealCider and netmag

Our biggest achievement in 2009

To move and respond quickly to clients needs and requirements, embracing new technology, whilst keeping costs low – one of the main benefits of being a small web design and development agency.

Sites I visited on a daily basis in 2009

• Google apps – Calendar, Email
• Google reader
• popurls
• Facebook
• Twitter

A list of the most popular articles on Callender Creates in 2009

• What the Magento community needs
• Helping to inspire the next generation of digital talent
• Where to find 2012 contract bids
• What is Link building?
• Our new offerings for Content Management and Ecommerce

Enough about us, here’s what you have been doing in 2009!

• What You Watched and Searched for on YouTube in 2009
• The most popular topics on Twitter throughout 2009

Thank you to all our colleagues, friends, and customers for your inspiration, involvement and business over the last year. Merry Christmas and see you in 2010!

Finally, you ask what does the future hold check this out – one of the funniest geek videos of the year was an April fools video from Opera Face Gestures

We went walking yesterday on the south downs, near to where we live and found a balloon.

It had travelled from Birmingham, all the way unaided to land in a National Nature Reserve called ‘Castle Hill‘. (If I was a balloon, that’s the sort of place I would want to land in).

A school girl called Raju, had sent this up into the sky in the Midlands not knowing of whether she would hear from her balloon again,

It was this interaction if she had not done it, that would not have affected us either way, but because we did it lifted our spirits on a cold winters day and got us thinking about the smile on her face when she learns about the adventures of her balloon.

It has travelled approximately 180 miles. Some made it across the channel to France, how ever her’s decided to land on the footpath we were walking down a day or two later.

We wrote to the school to tell them that we had found the balloon, along with the two photos below of Fiona and the landing site.

Interaction with users in real life, much like social networks where people who wouldn’t normally connect have the chance to share experiences and captivate their lives as well as others around them.

This is the good side of social networking.

Map showing distance ballon travelled

Fiona holding the balloon tag

Landing site – Castle Hill nature reserve

After moving house, comes the inevitable trip to IKEA.

My wife mentioned something that she noticed from the many different types of shoppers that IKEA welcomes each day.

That not everyone is a DIY guru. However it’s very empowering that a person can pick up a IKEA instruction booklet, and by following a few steps they can get a good feeling about making their own furniture.

It allows you to be more adventurous, and creates a feeling like they have achieved something that they may not have thought they could do before.

This was also the example for a client who created the MTV2 network branding, back in the late 90’s. When an employee learnt how easy Ikea instructions were to follow – he chose to label a web interface the same way, so the visitor’s attention could be drawn to focus on specific areas of the message one part at a time.

This is the technique that some user experience designers use for web interfaces. For example, managing profiles like your Facebook, Flickr, or MySpace account, and even sending emails to friends.

Thankfully, as more web companies realise the need for user centered design – by fulfilling the needs and requirements of users when online, web sites have become more task or function orientated, and less flash splash pages – so 1990’s!

As a company our sole focus is to merge the requirements of users needs and business goals to seamlessly ‘make things work’. What is actually making the web site work is not important to users, thats just magic.. but the main goal is to empower users is creating something for themselves – This is something Ikea and the popular social networking sites do today.

We’re excited to have a second office in the heart of Soho, in central London, adding to our Brighton office.

Why expand in a downturn?

This allows us to be at the cutting edge of new developments in the capital, as well as collaborate with our friends, colleagues and other agencies on exciting digital projects.

It also allows us to attend fantastic networking events like open coffee, minibar and a wide range of regular and one-off ‘web-tech’ events that give us the opportunity to meet new colleagues and clients, talk to people about our work and look for new products to perhaps sell in the future.

As well as go after the larger range of work that is available in London.

We feel this will give us the advantage to learn, collaborate and deliver higher quality than before.

If you are based in London, or even if you are not and want to come to visit us and see the new office. Or meet up for a coffee, and an informal chat feel free to contact us.

Likewise, if you are looking for meeting roooms, permanent or hot-desking office space check out eoffice. Tell them we sent you!

Our London address is:

Callender Creates,
2 Sheraton Street,
London, W1F 8BH

Tel: 08456 524 203
Email: info@callendercreates.com

You can view a Google map and all our other contact details on our contact page.

We’re pleased to be taking part of Wired Sussex’s Digital by design event today, where we’ll be providing practical industry advice to the future creative talent of Brighton and Sussex.

We’ll be there for one-to-one advice at the Portfolio Clinic from 5 to 7pm. It’s a great opportunity for those looking to carve a career in digital design to get expert advice and feedback on their portfolio. presentations. Along with some of Brightons other leading creative agencies.

If you are coming we look forward to seeing you there, there maybe some freebies too, shh!

UPDATE:
Here’s Wired Sussex’s review of the event on their blog.