What we do
We believe that design really makes a difference. We use images and maps, colour and space so that your web project looks attractive and your message comes across clearly.
Our approach is to put the end-users first – what do they want to know? Are they experts or browsers?
We spend time getting the navigation structure right so that users can find what they want quickly - and we design attractive user interfaces that make the experience intuitive and enjoyable.
We enable you to manage your knowledge effectively and put it across in a clear and engaging way.
All our websites are written in a Content Management System so you, the owner of the website, can take control of your content, changing and adding to it when you want.
"I'm not a web expert but as a user I loved it! There's loads of interest to read and explore and it makes you want to come and visit. It would make me check the website before I visited to see what plants were out.".
Feedback on the Botanic Garden website
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Our tried and tested Stride Guides are downloadable audio trails that allow you to see a place in your own time, switching on and off your iPod or MP3 player as you go. You can print off a map too. We research and write the text, conduct interviews and commission professional scriptwriters and voice-over artists. We record, mix and engineer the audio using mobile studio facilities. www.strideguides.com Our DIY trail builder software allows you to position your own markers on an interactive map and link them to content that you have created. |
Coming from an architectural background, we have a strong interest in architecture and the natural environment. Our community projects help people to connect with their local neighbourhoods and our heritage interpretation brings places to life. We are members of the Association for Heritage Interpretation and have a great deal of experience of gathering oral histories and face to face interviewing. | Our community-based web resources help people connect with their local environment, coming together to upload their own content with a sense of purpose and commitment. We run workshops and community outreach to teach people how to create content and manage their own web resources. We work with all ages – from school children to older people. | Stride pioneered the use of the downloadable podcast/MP3 files accessible from a website. We still consider that this is a good solution for many of our clients. A mobile phone app has its drawbacks - at time of writing, each platform – iPhone, Android, windows etc - needs to be developed separately, with its own associated costs and its own dangers of imminent obsolescence. Stride consider that a web based app, downloadable to a mobile device or viewable on the go, has distinct advantages for the present, until a distinct winner has emerged from the App wars. | We are experts in constructing complex databases tailored to your data requirements. We design back-end web interfaces to allow input of information easily via the internet from anywhere in the world. We can also extract data from databases written in obsolete technologies, so you can utilize old data that you thought was lost for ever. | We can design your database and help you organise your information in the best way to so that it can be shared with your target audience. | We take a long, hard look at your data and we design user interfaces that allow the visitor to your site to access information quickly and effectively. We often recommend visual ways of explaining information, using maps, photos and graphics. | We design the 'look and feel' of all our web projects and the graphic layout of the individual pages - every web site is different. We listen closely to our clients at the briefing stage, make creative suggestions and present working mock-ups for approval. We formulate the underlying navigation structure, perfecting the site architecture and user interfaces. For many of our web projects you will be in control of making and uploading your own content. When you commission a Stride Guide we will make the content for you and we keep you involved to check and sign off creative work as we go along. | Content management systems allow you to upload your own content into your own web resource simply and easily. You can do this via any computer in the world as long as you can connect to the internet. This makes the whole task of managing content much more immediate and cost effective. The Stride CMS is a modular system particularly designed to work with multi-media material such as audio clips, images and maps. It runs under Windows ASP NET and SQL Server 2008. Our Stride Guides and DIY trail builder are developed in the Stride CMS. We also develop websites in Drupal 7, if you prefer an open source solution. | We test your site on our bank of computers on the latest and earlier versions of common browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. Where possible our websites comply with the latest accessibility guidelines and security procedures. | Websites built in Stride CMS and Drupal CMS can benefit from our on-going support, which includes telephone helpline, Stride CMS user manual, user training, automatic updating and patching of software, optional hosting and a special “downing” switch for you to switch off your site if required. We back up your website regularly and provide you with a Client Release Pack when your website goes live. | We design all our web sites to maximise potential of being found quickly via a search engine and will give you tips about how to improve your rankings when your website is up and running. If requested, we will set up analytics accounts for you and train you to use them. |
