All good websites have a news section but not all news sections are good.

Of course we are proud of our achievements and wish to share that with our customers.

We hope that in doing this, they will be able to gain confidence in our abilities and will be able to see that we are a company with whom they will enjoy working.

November 2007

Working with Gloucestershire College (formerly known as GLOSCAT), and the 'Learning and Skills Council', has enabled CBN to provide a ‘Level Three, ABC’ certified course in effective copywriting for the Internet.

Funded through the 'European Social Fund, this course was primarily designed for clients and prospective clients with e-business or ‘shopping cart’ websites.’.

The venue was at Cheltenham College, Princess Elizabeth Way, Cheltenham, in the ‘Microsoft Academy Suite’.

Through a variety of presentation styles using PowerPoint, live Internet, video, brainstorming, lecture and debate, candidates learned the importance of each of three stages of their website; ‘Acquisition’, ‘Conversion’, and ‘Retention’.

Whether candidates managed their own website or are managed by CBN (or other third party), the lessons provided a solid understanding of their market on the Internet and helped establish a credible strategy for the development and effectivness of their website.

A second course, anicipated in April 2008, will be targeted at businesses who wish to increase the effectiveness of their existing or proposed websites.

June 2007

SOME of the most influential figures in the county's e-business industry gathered last week to launch the Web Group, a new trade association for web developers and designers.

Although primarily a county not-for-profit group, membership is expected to grow rapidly.

Dave Mullins, Web Group chief executive said members would be carefully vetted with a code of conduct to ensure clients get the best possible service.

It is planned to run training seminars for members and there will be a complaints procedure.

"Clients will know they are getting a bona-fide and proper service that is backed by us," said Mr Mullins, himself a web designer who will now work for the group full time.
Charlie Bray, project manager with connect.glos which is backed by Gloucestershire First to encourage greater use of broadband technology, welcomed the new association.

It will provide local companies with access to a choice of accredited web developers and others involved in the industry.

Ben White, who founded MessageLabs, the world-leading internet filtering service, with his brother Jos, is fully supporting the new Web Group.

Mr White, who recently bought-out business-to-business internet services provider Star Technology from the main group, said the web association would help maintain quality in the industry.

Click here to visit their website

June 2007
CBN's Managing Director Roger H. Nuttall has been working on the steering committee for the formation of a new trade association who's mission is to provide a credible kitemark for web design companies.  He has now been appointed a Director of the association.

The idea to form a trade association was first put to the Accredited Suppliers of the Catalyst Project in July 2006 and warmly received. In August a steering group was formed with representatives from 8 of the Accredited Suppliers and work began on a business plan.

The launch date is June 12th 2007.

The membership eligibility criteria, Code of Conduct and Rules and Regulations will identify the trade association as a quality organization. Its primary aim will be to establish the company and its logo as a ‘kite mark’ for quality in this sector. This will offer comfort to businesses wanting to invest in web-based technologies.

The trade association has been registered as a not for profit company, limited by guarantee with the name West E-Business Group Limited. It will trade as the Web Group.

The company has 5 directors:

• Charlie Bray - Connect Glos
• Roger Nuttall - County Business Net
• Simon Musgrove-Wethey - 310k Internet Solutions
• Rom Ryndziewicz - ELOQUEX
• Andrew Allen - Webbenefit

The Chief Executive and Company Secretary is:

• Dave Mullins - Bewebbed 

Click here to visit their website

February 2007
This interesting website has been built almost entirely, though not quite, in monochrome; a technique that rarely works. 

This is the exception that tests the rule.

Whether you are an inventor, designer, entrepreneur or business, Albright Patents can help you stay ahead of your competitors by protecting your new designs, products and trade names in a thorough, proactive and cost effective way. 

Click here to visit their website

November 2006
The World Rythm Percussion website is a "Brochureware site that presents their range of products pimarily to it's wholesale clients.

The sites demonstrate how a clean, uncluttered approach can have good impact.

World Rhythm Percussion offers high quality and fairly traded ethnic musical instruments from global sources.

Click here to visit their website

November 2006
If we wanted to show the perfect example of the success of our policy of client involvement, of continual revision and tuning and fine-tuning throughout the development, then this Actinic v8 website is it.

Our client's photography worked well and was important because of the unique nature of the products. These are constantly changing, often on a weekly basis due to their almost unique nature, often with only one or two in existance.

Perhaps most exciting of all was that the website took it's first order exactly one hour after going live.  Not only that, but it sold out of two lines within three hours.  All of the orders coming from Japan.

Since then, the client has ordered a complete translation into Japanese of the "Brochure" level of the website.

Click here to visit their website

October 2006
Anglo Welsh Meats was established in 1997 and originally had only 2 employees. Now, 9 years on, they employ 20 staff who are all fully committed to ensuring their customers take home only the very finest cuts of meat at the most competitive prices in the UK.

This website was a first in many respects for CBN.

• It was the first Actinic v8 e-business website for us, an one of the first in the UK.
• It was the first website using our new template developed in-house.
• It was the first website to use product photography produced entirely by ourselves.  This was the result of a full day's shoot at our client's premises.
• Finally, the site enjoyed its first sale within two days and is now providing a steady flow of orders for the client.

Excellent meat too!

Click here to visit their website

June 2006
Always on the ball, SMP, have just completed, with CBN, the third makeover of their website in four years.

SMP hire affordable, metal and modular portable buildings across the South Midlands, Severn Vale, Cotswolds and the M4 Thames Valley corridor. New services, new products and new markets are all addressed in this major makeover of their website.

The project was managed by Damien Battle, SMP's new marketing consultant who worked closely with Roger Nuttall, CBN's MD. A close eye on the branding was kept by Mike Weaver together with SMP's Managing Director, Roger Grimshaw.

The result is a website that is highly polished and reflects the high regard that SMP enjoys in the marketplace.

Click here to visit their website

June 2006
When we were asked by The Famous of Cheltenham to produce a new Shopping Cart for them we were very pleased, but when we were invited to provide makeovers for their whole group, "The Famous of Cheltenham", "Intersport" and "Pinder & Tuckwell of Exeter", we were over the moon.

The challenge was to take the different business identities of each and without changing them, produce a new identity that we could use to link them as a group. In addition, the new shopping cart must serve all three businesses and again, provide a seamless integation.

The two elements that links all three businesses is the commitment to personal service and the high standards that they all work to. The result is four sites that share a common feel and are wrapped in a distinct identity that complements rather than replaces their individuallity.

Click the images above to visit their respective websites

Even if we say so ourselves, this is a seriously sexy looking website.  It was essential that we reflected the core values of providing very high quality beauty treatments and products to clients who wished to be "Pampered".

Aura's client base range from the rich and the famous to the ordinary lady, the housewife or the business lady. 

Worth mentioning is the excellent working relationship between CBN and our client that enables us to say with complete honesty that this was a joint venture between us. 

Aura had complete visibility and input throughout the whole development and it carries much of their own creativity.

Click here to visit their website

January 2006

Not too long ago, a website content management system or a shopping cart solution would have cost many thousands of pounds.  Today, with reductions in costs and with the benefit of this one-to-one match funding initiative from Catalyst4Growth, not only is it cost effective but it is positively a bargain!  By requiring that work is conducted by accredited web designers, they have also ensured that the scheme is quality assured and accessible.

Managing Director of County Business Net Ltd, (CBN), Roger Nuttall, MBA, MBCS explains, “It is the aim of the Catalyst4Growth scheme to place the content management and updating of e-commerce websites in the hands of businesses that make this so exciting for us”.

CBN have been providers of internet business solutions to over 140 clients since 1998.  As a former Vice Chairman of the British Internet Developers Association, Roger is a leading authority on the provision of Internet services to both Sole Trader and International Organisations, both of which he stresses require a strong businesslike approach. 

Nonetheless, he insists it is the relationship between the designer and the client that sets CBN out from the crowd.  “The person best able to describe the needs, to define the approach and to describe the products are the client, not the web designer.  It therefore makes common sense to allow the client to drive the content of the website, taking guidance for its presentation from the designer.  The Catalyst4Growth scheme will facilitate all this”

We are pleased to announce that following a tendering process we have been selected to design a new website for the "Oriel Collections" branch of this successful financial services company.

The website is expected to be released at the end of January 2006.

February 2005

This is one very classy looking site. Minimal verbosity together with very stylised imagery come together well in this site whose objective is to strengthen brand values and business identity.

Working with a customer who knows what they want, is always a pleasure; working to the very high standards and ideals required by Hama made this one of the most pleasurable challenges that we have met for a long time.

Click here to visit their website

April 2004

CBN were pleased to sponsor the Gloucestershire Business Breakfast Club at this year's Business Connections Exhibition

The first Business Connections exhibition took place on 21st & 22nd April at the Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse and was deemed a great success by exhibitors and visitors alike. The show had over 130 exhibitors, more than 35 seminars, a Business Cinema and a very successful Meet the Buyer area.

This business to business exhibition provides one of the largest networking opportunities in the South West. Martyn Johns of Business Link said of the 2004 show 'This has been a great networking event, it is in a fantastic facility and is something that Gloucestershire, as a business community, really needs. Hopefully we will build on it for years to come.'

The GBBC stand was sponsored and manned by staff of CBN with other members of the GBBC adding support over the two day event. As a direct result of the show, the GBBC pushed its membership through the 1,000 members barrier for the first time in its 13 year history.

Left to right: Nigel Griffiths MP, Minister for Small Business Services, Roger Nuttall MD CBN. Clive Haynes, Chairman GBBC, Councillor Brian Chaplin, Deputy Mayor for Cheltenham, Edward Gillespie, MD of Cheltenham Racecourse.

June 2003

CBN are again proud to be Sponsors of the 2nd Interactive Virtual Reality Education Exhibition, together with joint sponsors "Technology in Education" and "S+B".

Created by Viper, the CD displays a range of suppliers of products and services to the world of Education, with particular interest for those trading in Design & Technology, ICT and Science.

The CD features a complete education show with stands, revolving pillars and poster sites.

May 2003

CBN's recent partnering with Charlton Networks Ltd of Winchcombe saw its first joint venture at the recent 'IT Secret's show' at the Cheltenham Racecourse. Whilst the number of visitors at the show was a disappointment, CBN enjoyed good attendance at both days. At the show, the partnership were offering 'FREE' network and communication 'healthchecks'. A number of visitors have taken up the offer and were highly delighted with the results.

Roger Nuttall (MD CBN) and Richard Perry (MD Charlton Networks) discuss the finer points of the show.