Jake Hithersay, one of Soak Digital founding directors is urging small businesses to have the confidence to say 'NO' to a new website unless they are positive it will offer a good return on investment and make a real difference to the company's profitability.

"These days you don't actually need to have a website to run a modern and well-connected business," says Jake. "Depending on the sector that you work in and what your business objectives are, you could realistically operate in the digital world using a variety of social media tools, online business networks and third-party blogging platforms."

Jake continues; "That's not to say that a great website can't be a fantastic tool for many businesses and not for profit organisations. But if you commissioned your site ten, five or even three years ago and haven't touched it since, the chances are that it is virtually value-less. Unless you are committed to keeping your site fresh, newsworthy, interesting and optimised to encourage search engines to find it, you basically have a very expensive, and probably out of date, online brochure that only a very few people will bother to look at."

"The majority of organisations in Norfolk have spent money on building a website at some point. However because most of them cannot afford a dedicated website or online manager, the site gets left to its own devices or is updated on a very occasional basis," continues Jake. "We spoke to one business owner who was disappointed that her company wasn't coming up in Google searches; it turned out that she hasn't updated her site for three years!"

Soak is hosting a free Digital Surgery on Thursday 15 July at The Cube, in Norwich's Forum. From 12noon - 7pm, businesses, charities, schools and not for profit organisations of any size can obtain free advice on any aspect of their web design, site development and digital marketing activity.

"From the recent conversations we've had with businesses, we're expecting to cover a wide range of technical and creative issues on 15 July; from pay per click advertising and search engine optimisation, to content management, e-commerce and social media," says Jake. "Our team is hugely experienced, knowledgeable and creative and our aim is for visitors to leave the surgery with practical tips that will help their business succeed without costing them a fortune."

Everyone who attends the Digital Surgery will leave with a copy of the Soak guide to avoiding 'Digital Disasters'; a list of top tips to make sure that your online activity works for you and doesn't fall foul of regulations.

The Digital Surgery starts at 12noon on 15 July and there's no need to book. To find out more please visit www.soak.co.uk/surgery or call 01603 630631. For further information about The Forum, directions and parking information, please visit www.theforumnorwich.co.uk.

Quentor Ltd are the UK's leading manufacturer of lightweight flight cases and transport solutions. They have achieved an enviable reputation by supplying top quality products and a first class service to their customers for over 30 years.

Users of Quentor cases can be found in many fields, including offshore oil and gas, instrumentation, audio visual, the military, police forces and all levels of motorsport from Karts to Formula One.

Soak's Jim Havers Comments:
We are really pleased to be working with Quentor. We are confident the new website will not only reflect the exceptional quality of their products and manufacturing processes but also generate the company a far higher degree of market presence moving forward.

From its humble beginnings in 1843, when The Economist newspaper was founded by a Scottish hat manufacturer to further the cause of free trade, The Economist Group has evolved into a global media company and are now one of the world's leading sources of analysis on international business and world affairs.

Soak will be working closely with 'The Economist Intelligence Unit' on a new research based website along with supporting media and marketing collateral.

The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world's foremost provider of country, industry and management analysis. Its extensive international reach and unfettered independence make it the most trusted and valuable resource for international business throughout the world.

Soak's Jake Hithersay comments:
We are extremely pleased to be working with such a respected worldwide brand. The project will make use of a number of different technologies and media channels so all the team are really looking forward to getting started.

Immerse Image Manager is being used to manage and organise their digital assets.

SEEDA selected the Immerse system after a five way pitch with other software providers.

The new system will allow SEEDA to consolidate and easily manage 1000's of digital files across the whole organisation. Assets can be easily categorised, shared and tracked with their internal workforce, agencies and partners alike - ensuring better brand consistency and improved workflow.

Soaks Jim Havers comments:

It's pleasing that our Immerse system stands up to such thorough scrutiny. We are really looking forward to working with SEEDA on this project.

They will add more valuable skills and resource to an already experienced team.

Eugene joins us from May Gurney where he worked as a Senior Applications Developer. He was pivotal to the ongoing development of May Gurney's work order management systems which is used nationally to track and expedite May Gurney's workflow.

Lee previously ran his own web agency where he took on a variety of key roles - the main of which was lead server-side developer. Lee also has an excellent knowledge of SEO and has already helped make a number of improvements to our existing SEO offering.

James Thomson head of server side development at Soak comments: "The growth of the server-side team allows us to continue to respond and react quickly to our client's requests. Eugene and Lee both bring unique skills to the team which only help to grow the wealth of knowledge that already exists within the team."

Park Resorts offers UK family holidays at a choice of 37 Holiday Parks on the UK coast, providing holidays for over 500,000 guests a year.

The new image management system will allow Park Resorts staff to efficiently manage and distribute thousands of images to supporting agencies and affiliates, for use across the groups on/off-line publications.
The custom built solution will be tailored to the clients exact business requirements, ensuring their is no wasted functionality and unnecessary licence fees.

Soaks Jim Havers comments: "It's another great account win and we are pleased Park Resorts selected our system from a list of strong contenders - It continues our steady progress into the tourism and leisure sector".

The new site is being produced in partnership with Archant Dialogue who design, publish and distribute the printed HOG magazine to more than 100,000 members across Europe.

As well as including all the latest Images and Video from European events and members across the region, the new content managed site will also feature a number of innovative social media modules; including an interactive ride planner and that will allow users to submit, share and download their favourite riding routes using a custom built Google Maps application.

Soak’s Jim Havers comments: "It's fantastic to be working with such an iconic and well respected company. The new site will provide users with a rich, interactive experience, allowing them to participate with the brand in a new and exiting way - the team can't wait to get started!"

The new site will launch in August in preparation for European Bike Week which takes place in Austria 8th-12th September.

The good news is that one month later the new site has launched and is generating record levels of business!

5 DAY operations manager Richard Minkler comments "Working with Soak has been painless and all work has been delivered on time, on budget with minimum fuss. The new site is already generating more visitors and enquires have increased by over 30% - not bad in a recession".

Following the success of the new site, Soak will be working with 5 DAY on all their online marketing activity moving forward.

See the site at: www.5day.co.uk

An appreciation of Object Oriented programming is advantageous, along with a knowledge of programming design patterns. A reasonable knowledge of HTML would be beneficial too.

Although commercial experience is an advantage, it is not essential if you can demonstrate your PHP skills through examples you've developed in your own time. Above all we're looking for someone who has a passion for programming.

You'd be working on a variety of projects from small website builds taking only a few days to larger more complex sites lasting several months. You'd be working with a team of highly skilled coders who will act as mentors in order to develop your skills and ensure you're exposed to a wide range of related technologies.

Salary dependent on experience (no agencies)

In the first instance please send your CV and examples of your work to info@soak.co.uk

Alan brings with him expertise across a broad range of digital media. After a number of new account  wins he will certainly be kept busy and is looking forward to the challenge.

Soaks Jim Havers comments:
We had been on the lookout for a talented designer for some time, so we were naturally pleased when Alan's CV came through the door. He has impressed everyone with his energy and enthusiasm and I am sure he will be a valuable addition to the team.

The company behind brands such as Littlewoods, Ben Sherman, Kays and now Woolworths.

Shop Direct Home Shopping Limited is the UK’s leading online and home shopping retailer, with annual sales of around £1.5 billion and five million customers. The re-development is a part of the company's objective to shift to 70% online sales by 2010.

The new platform will be based on ATG's state-of-the-art ecommerce technology. The ATG Commerce application suite is the top-rated platform by industry analysts for powering highly personalized, efficient and effective e-commerce sites.

Soak's James Thomson comments:
"Having worked with EMC Conchango in the past it's extremely pleasing to have been asked to join their team on such an enormous project. I have the utmost confidence that we'll deliver our requirements on time and to the same high standard as all our other projects."

5 Day are one the UK's leading driving schools and offer intensive driving courses to people from all walks of life. They have even had a few celebrity clients through the doors including Jamelia, and more recently Big Brother winner Brian Belo.

The new site will provide comprehensive information on 5 Day's services, and also feature online booking and payment plus a video diary that charts a students progress through the course.

5 Day operations manager Richard Minkler says " We selected Soak to re-develop the site because they showed a great understanding of our business and came back with a range of excellent ideas that will help move the business forward."

The new site will launch at the end of this month.

NUCA is a dynamic, modern and creative community providing a wide range of art, design and media education for both national and international students.

The new website supports a complete rebrand for NUCA (formerly Norwich School of Art and Design) and coincides with the end of its first year with full degree-awarding powers.

After a detailed review of their requirements, we developed the new website using a flexible and well supported open source Content Management System (CMS) Joomla 1.5.

To ensure a smooth, cost effective and expedient delivery we made full use of the extensive range of standard modules that form a large part of the Joomla CMS - some of which we customised/extended to better suit NUCA's requirements.

NUCA's David Girling Comments:

" We asked Soak to build a 100% content managed site using 3rd party php software working with templates designed by our branding agency, hat-trick design. We have been extremely impressed with their professionalism, advice and attention to detail. They have delivered the project on time and to budget in a very short timescale. We have subsequently appointed them for online marketing support and look forward to working with them in the future."

The research house expects online sales to grow by 6% a year from its current level of £37bn as consumer spending continues to shift online.

According to the research, which is due out later today, fashion was the fastest growing area of online retail during 2008. Books, DVDs and travel were the most frequently bought items over the period.

The Forrester research, which places the UK's online spend ahead of that in France and Germany, expects the number of UK online shoppers to grow from 30m this year to 37m by 2014

(Source NMA)

The objective of the project was to improve response rates and apply a new contemporary look and feel to the emails reflecting the quality of the products and services on offer.

Bernice Willson, Marketing coordinator said "I'm so happy with the work that Soak have done and the new email has received the highest response rate recorded so far in comparison to the other divisions"

Our clients are important to us and the new suite will ensure that whoever comes to visit is kept comfortable and entertained. We are still deciding on a definitive theme.......but with our limited DIY skills it's more likely to be Jackson Pollock than Pablo Picasso.

The new suite will be ready in the next couple of weeks, so if you fancy popping in let us know and we will make sure the kettle is on!

Steve has a broad range of skills having previously worked for a number of high profile agencies on a number of key accounts. He has extensive experience in planning, building and maintaining enterprise-class web applications, web sites and content management systems and will form and integral part of our expanding development team. Steve says "I am very excited about working for Soak, and am delighted to lend my skills as a web developer to their already talented team."

Soaks Jim Havers comments "We are pleased to be in a position to hire new talent despite the economic downturn. Steve has a great deal of experience and expertise, we certainly hope he lives up to his name!"

Some 3.8m consumers spent a total of £102m - an average of £26.80 per shopper - on Christmas Day, up 21% on the same day last year.

However, the number of people shopping online on Christmas Day was 14% lower than in 2007.

James Roper, CEO at IMRG, said, "The volume of transactions was 26% higher, and the value rose by 21%, indicating that serious bargain hunting was the order of the day."

On Christmas Day etailers such as Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Play.com were running online sales.

Statistics from online digital research firm eDigital Research found online traffic increased by nearly 100% between Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Chris Russell, director at eDigital Research, said, "We noticed that most traditional retailers commenced online sales when stores closed on Christmas Eve, with pure play retailers starting after last delivery day deadlines were reached. This means that the increased purchases on Christmas Day and the huge surge in traffic on Boxing Day could have been as a result of this."

(Source NMA)

We might be a new agency but it certainly doesn't mean we're inexperienced. Our team have a proven track record delivering award winning digital solutions for some of the UK's leading brands.

Why Soak?

Quite simply we like to immerse ourselves in our clients businesses and come back with bold, sophisticated, business focussed solutions that deliver exceptional return on investment.

Creativity is our passion; it's at the heart of everything we do. It's this, combined with our excellent technical capabilities and flexible approach to business that sets us apart, and enables us to deliver above and beyond the original brief.

If you are looking for exceptional quality digital solutions at unexceptional prices, please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.