Are you in breach of the Companies Act?

January 2007

Companies in the UK must include certain regulatory information on their websites and in their email footers before 1 January 2007 or they will breach the Companies Act and risk a fine.

Every company should list its company registration number, place of registration, and registered office address on its website as a result of an update to the legislation of 1985. The information, which must be in legible characters, should also appear on order forms and in emails. Such information is already required on "business letters" but the duty is being extended to websites, order forms and electronic documents.

Source: OUT-LAW.COM, 2006. Companies to update websites and email footers before 2007 [online]. Available from: www.theregister.co.uk
[Accessed 21 December 2006].

Do search engines spell the end for ad-speak?

June 2006

Does the growth of search engine marketing spell the end for "marketing-speak"?

It's no surprise that more and more consumers are buying online. But with internet volumes growing at more than 50% year on year (according to NetRatings) some marketers have yet to realise what effect the revolution in retailing and online search will have on their copywriting efforts.

Source: Brown, R., 2006. Do search engines spell the end for ad-speak? [online]. Available from: www.marketingweek.co.uk
[Accessed 22 June 2006].

Usability still tends to be a design afterthought

May 2006

Given the recent coverage surrounding Web site accessibility and usability, and now Usability Week (21-26 May), it's likely that design agencies will find themselves having to justify their expertise on these issues. The fact that most Web sites don't adhere to even the most basic requirements clearly shows that many organisations still don't understand the relationship between creativity and usability...

Source: Norris, s., 2006. Usability still tends to be a design afterthought [online]. Available from: http://technologyweekly.mad.co.uk
[Accessed 22 June 2006].