Courageous.

Excited for the start of the talks at in Turin, Italy.

We’re here to learn about the future of , find out some new features in and open source software as a whole.

We've really excited to be heading to WordCamp Europe 2024 in Turin.

Wordpress is an important part of our agency, so the team are looking forward to sharing and learning over a couple of days in Italy.

More info on our website here: https://loom.ly/WXgDI7U

And with that, we left Oldham!

We're very excited to be in our new home in Ancoats where our hearts never left.

See you soon for a cuppa?

More info in the comments below...

If you could spare a donation, no matter how small we are sure that PAWS would be very grateful.

Great News this morning from PAWS HQ. The rubbish from the Flytip has been cleared! The total cost was £523 but a £100 donation from Darren at Courageous. has helped a lot.
Kieran Walton and the lads from Ecolaat Ltd cleared the site this morning of 1665kgs of rubbish that had been dumped there. Ecolaat are based in Bolton but they cover Oldham and one of lads lives nearby. Thanks again lads.
Security at the site will be enhanced with cameras and signage.

We are pretty annoyed to see that PAWS have been left with the cost of clearing up this fly tipping on their land.

We love animals, so we will make a donation to help with the unfair cost of clearing this up.

Can you help too?

Is it time to freshen up your bedding? Do you know what a coverless duvet is? Do you know there's a pillow for EVERY type of sleeper.

It might be time to head over to https://courageous.co.uk/project/shopify-website-design-agency-partner-fbc/ and check out the site we build, manage and help market for The Fine Bedding Company.

If you know, you know. We’ve saved this all day, just for you.

Happy Valentines Day.

We had a meeting with one of our and Shopify clients yesterday to discuss the formulation of their new product with their manufacturer.

What better place to do it than where Rolls met Royce 120 years ago, and went on to create great things together.

We had a meeting with a new client yesterday and helped them take the very first step in creating a new brand. It is SO EXCITING to be there at the very creation of something new. ⁠
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We used their ethos, mission and values to come up with a GREAT name.⁠
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In a month or so we’ll be able to introduce you to it, but in the meantime, here’s some we have created before.⁠
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And we're back! 😎

Invest in your ecommerce website and digital marketing now for a strong 2024.

👇 Let's chat!

Is your Christmas marketing plan in place? Have you started to think about 2024 yet?

If you haven't we're here to help!

We have pulled together a list of the key holidays and dates and taken a look at how Black Friday has been for retail. Once again it's been a mammoth week.

You can even download a free strategic planner with all the key dates on to help you along the way.

Read Key calendar dates for eCommerce and Amazon sellers in 2024 about eCommerce by Courageous I think you'd like to read Key calendar dates for eCommerce and Amazon sellers in 2024. One of the articles in our eCommerce category amongst more expert content and updates.

We’ve ended our week with a visit to see our wonderful clients Kingfisher Trust in their new home in Ram Mill.

We’re fans of the place - it’s lovely!

We’ve ended our week with a visit to see our wonderful clients Kingfisher Trust in their new home at Ram Mill.

We’re fans of the place - it’s lovely!

Yesterday one of our customers asked us if they should pay £35 to be included in a business directory. It's not a lot of money, but we were glad that they asked us.

When considering if you should do this - here's the key things to ask:

Relevance and Authority: Is the directory well-regarded in your industry?
A listing on a reputable, niche-specific directory can work really well for you.

Traffic and Engagement: How much traffic does the directory get?
More importantly, what's the engagement level? A high-traffic site with engaged users is a sign of a healthy directory.

SEO Benefits: Look for directories that offer 'follow' links.
But remember, a good link profile is diverse; too many directory links can seem unnatural... and what is the domain authority of the directory?

Be smart and investigate before you invest. They can be great for link building and for traffic to your site but you need to be strategic.

For this instance, the answer was no. It wasn't worth the money.

Who's having dinner at Clean Plate Kitchen Oldham today?

Us!

(We're going to pre-order soon!)

We've had a great kick off session with a new client today who are having a redesign of their new website.

Their new site will be simple but elegant for a better customer experience, and we're going to use subtle animations to bring the pages to life.

When we design and build new websites we do a few things:

⚡ Make the site as FAST as possible
🧑 Good user experience, no matter what device
🔎 Good structure and markup for search engines
📈 Visibility of success with Google Analytics
🔥 Tracking of user journeys with Microsoft Clarity
👷 Have flexible page builders so sites can adapt and grow
💰 Design for increase leads or sales

To me, they are part and parcel of a good website and not added extras that should be charged at a premium. So we don't charge for them.

If you want to have a chat about your website strategy in 2024, pop us a message.

We recently completed a project with on and it's a project that has ran for almost a year. It's great to get it over the line and start to see the impact the site will have on the business.

(I'll share the details in the next week or so)

One of the things that is really important is support. Making sure that as we deploy changes and updates we act as an extension of the clients team to make sure that things run smoothly.

Despite being over 4000 miles away from the UK we did the planning session for how we implement RockSolid support for the client, and we'll complete the planning this week.

It's important that we're flexible and adaptable in how we work with our clients - and we can do the same for you too.

I'd love to talk through how we can help your business too - why not book on for a call and we can have a chat? No catches, I'm happy to help.

https://calendly.com/webdarren/websitestrategy?back=1&month=2023-11

One of the trends we've seen this year from our customers is a desire to launch in the US. It makes lots of sense:

No confusion over Brexit and trade barriers
They speak the same language and culturally similar
They want to buy British products
It's easy to get stock into the country

We were really excited to have worked with Glorious Creative who developed a fantastic brand for the Manchester-based bedding company and we built them a custom-designed Shopify website with the ability to fulfil orders through Amazon.

Trading with the US is easy, but not without its own complications - you have to be aware of:

Customs and duties
Inter-state tax
Difference in language
Differences in law
Company setup

(We can help you with all these things)

Give the site a check, we're really proud of it - and they are really nice people to work with too!

➡️ https://nightlark.com

Are you wondering whether Google can scan the content on your site? 🔍

WordPress and certain sneaky settings can hinder your site's indexing, potentially affecting your sales.

But no need to worry!

Our lead developer, Javed, has crafted a FREE plugin to tackle this issue. Install it on your WordPress site to monitor crawlability 🕷️

Interested? Send us a message and we'll send it your way, and help you with setup if needed.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀?

This is a rough transcript of a conversation Darren had with a client last week. We have been doing some page-speed optimisation for them ahead of to make sure their sales are as strong as they possibly could do.

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟵𝟲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲.

The work isn’t over yet (It never is) but the team have worked hard to put into place some really smart work to help take a sluggish site and make it pretty quick - Ankit has done a great job for them.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁?

User Experience: 🌐
Faster load times improve user satisfaction and browsing duration.

SEO Rankings: 🔍
Page speed affects search engine rankings, enhancing online visibility.

Mobile Shopping: 📱
Fast mobile performance is essential for the increasing number of mobile shoppers.

Bounce Rate: ⏱
Speed optimisation reduces early site exits.

Conversion Rates: 💰
Quick loading increases sales conversions.

It doesn’t matter if you are an e-commerce website or you’re just a business - page speed is VITAL for your website.

If you don’t know how quick your website is, pop Darren Ratcliffe - eCommerce and website design expert a message and I will run you a free report and let you know what you need to do to get your website running quicker.

Speak to you soon! 🚀

Darren:

This afternoon has been a learning session for me. I've never used flat file uploads to add products to Amazon, but I have now and it's not easy but as you make now, lots easier than using Seller Central.

Though I did help get the biggest Amazon Sellers Conference and have learned a LOT about Amazon over the years, it was very rare that I've got hands-on with things.

If you're looking for help with Amazon, from getting signed up through to a growth strategy give us a shout and we can have a chat.

Do you make or import authentic Italian products?

Did you know that Amazon has it’s own “Made In Italy” store that is available for such products? You even get a special "Made In Italy" badge on your listings that will help you stand out when people are searching for goods.

You can browse the goods here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=7165873031

It’s easier said than done if you would like to be listed, but get in touch if you are interested.

I’ve spoken to so many brands over the years who want an authentic brand, or a genuine feel for their business and go a long way to manufacture it.

It’s without a doubt the wrong way to go about it in so many cases.

You are who you are. Be proud of it.

The Carding Shed in is a great example of this.

Their cafe is adorned with bunting, motoring memorabilia, you get a cup of tea in a proper tea pot with a china cup and all the produce is local. Just like it would have been back in the day.

You go through a small door and you are met with a selection of vintage and classic cars - some of them are for sale.

I’l a huge fan of the place (and the food) and will be back.

Could you learn something from the place?

Sometimes you just need 20 minutes quiet. Popped into the old Brazen offices for a cuppa.

Now the home of Social Refuge, a coffee shop and which is looking very nice in its new home!

Good luck to the new residents!