Hello. We Are ShoeBox

building effective, affordable web design, ecommerce and online marketing solutions in Cumbria

The Green Deal

Logic asked us to design a mini website that would help promote the Green Deal and give people easy digestible information on the Green Deal. The main area of focus is to push the Green Deal within Cumbria and increase the call to action for the website.

For this site we decided to go with a one page design built upon Drupal CMS to help them manage content this way we could present the information a neat and easy to digest way.

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Kirkstile Inn

Nestling between Loweswater and Crummock Water in the English Lake District, the Kirkstile Inn has been providing food and shelter for some four hundred years.

Kirkstile Inn needed a new website that was easy to use and reflected their business, the site was built using the Drupal CMS to allow easy management of the site.

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Cumbria 24

Cumbria 24 is a new one stop shop for local news for people in Cumbria and the surrounding areas. The site is a combination of EdenValleyMessenger.com and LakeDistrictMessenger.com which have been beautifully packaged to form Cumbria 24 website. The site features a Content Management System, user management and online newsletters.

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Logic Group

Logic came to us wanting a new website and a fresh new look to revitalise their online and local presence. So we set about redesigning their logo and stationary from this we then created the website and migrating the content from the old one to the new one.

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Arragons Cycles

Arragon's Cycle Centre has traded for over 40 years, with Sarah and Phil taking over the business in October 2003. It is now one of Cumbria's leading retailers of cycles and accessories.

Since its launch, the site's traffic has increased by over 25%, and online and in-store sales have likewise increased.

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J2 Connection

Based in Cumbria, J2 Connection are a leadership and management development team who work with some the UK's top businesses.

We were approached by J2 Connection to help design a website and email marketing campaign to help increase their online presence. We created a design based around their existing logo which would also appeal to current and future clients.

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Pringle and Fairweather

Pringle and Fairweather Natural Skincare make hand creams, body butters, soaps, bath products and much more - all made by hand using ingredients from nature and all from their small cottage on the doorstep to the English Lake District.

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Plug 'N' Play

With Plug ‘N’ Play been voluntarily run and not for profit organisation, we made them a deal and we made the website for free and they paid for the hosting. We are big on supporting local venues, artists and charities, and love giving back to the community.

We designed and built them a website that would help them promote their events, we also created a way for the audience to interact with the site and use there Facebook account to log into the site.

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services

From assessment and concept to design, delivery and happiness.
Our range of services are here to help, rather than baffle. We offer core platforms that we can always deliver on time and to budget plus additional services that really add value. Put simply, we design it, we build it, we launch and promote it.

Self Service

Self-Service Websites from £15pm
Register online to use friendly tools to build your site.
Ideal for startups, individuals and those on a tight budget.

Customised

Customised Websites from £750
A website you can update yourself, built for you.
Ideal for small business and organisations needing a brochure site with professional design.

Bespoke Sites

Bespoke Websites from £1500
For those with more advanced requirements we can setup your website the way you want it.
Ideal for those with specific requirements, existing sites or wishing to extend other packages.

About Us

We are focused on building effective and affordable design, e-commerce and online marketing and like keeping it simple.

The worlds most inspiring office....

Based on the edge of the English Lake District, for Shoebox Web Design Cumbria it’s no secret that our location is an inspirational member of our team.

A young and ambitious company we are now part of Hydrant Ltd. This uniquely allows our service to grow with your requirements however large they become.

We've got the skills and the technology to deliver quickly and effectively to meet your budget. With the added bonus of having Cumbria and the Lake District on our doorstep to inspire and refresh us we're never short of ideas.

Ultimately we're here to make your life simpler, so once underway you can leave us to it. Our unique fast-build system allows us to deliver sites quickly and cost effectively, making use of a world leading content management system to provide all the features you require to keep your website fresh and up to date. When teamed with our SEO and e-marketing services we can help propel your online activity to new heights.

Our tools, efficiency and the ability to grow our services with your business make us the ideal choice for start-ups, organisations, charities and small business with ambitious plans.

News

23rd Mar: Go Go Cumbria24!

ShoeBox Design are pleased to announce Cumbria24 has been shortlisted for the How Do 2012 Awards.

Cumbria24 covers the towns of Kirkby Stephen, Appleby and Penrith, Carlisle and all surrounding villages and hamlets in this part of Cumbria and the Lake District, Northwest England featuring weekly updated news, sport news - in words, pictures, video and audio clips - has a what’s on listing section to highlight local events, a Local Business Directory and a section which allows clubs and organisations to publicise their activities free.

Now in its 5th year the How Do Awards have attracted a record number of nearly 200 companies and only recently has the shortlist been announced with Cumbria24 in a prominent position.

The awards are due to take place on the 26th April 2012. ShoeBox Design designed the site for Cumbria24 and was launched in October 2011 and formed a combination of Lake District Messenger and Eden Valley Messenger to form Cumbria24, a one stop shop providing update news and local information, proving to be a valuable source to the county.

26th Feb: Google Goes Personal

Well first off Happy New Year, and what a year that was! 2011 was certainly an exciting time in the field of search with a number of updates and progressive movements in the world of search as we know it.

Towards the back end of 2011 the UK saw the Google + craze take off, although it had been available for quite a while, we Brits aren’t as great as our fellow over the ponders at shouting things out!

So we sign up for the Google + but what does it mean? What’s it all about? Many have described it as Google’s version of Facebook. Is it so? Similar in the way that you add your friends and post updates but what’s the purpose? Surely this is just adding more work to your day? Updating Facebook then Twitter now Google +?! When will it end?!

Well now Google are taking things that one step further and making things even more personal. In 2012 we are to see new things happening on Google, a new form of search only this time it’s personal. The theory behind is to simply and personalise your search results. Therefore if you search, for example ‘Florida holidays’ your search results will list any relevant information that you or your friends in your Google + account have previously discussed or have any photo’s of previous holidays to that destination.

All well and good to personalise the search and make it tailored to yourself but surely this will create SERPS (Search Engine Result Pages) that you already know about? Forgive me for being so bold, but I always presumed the purpose of a search engine was to gather information about things you’d like to know more about? This personification will surely bring results that you do already know, therefore what’s the purpose?

I tend to use a dictionary to discover the definition of words that I do not know, I also use the internet in the same manner but searching topics I would like to know more about. This personal search would mean that in order for me to gain the relevant information I require, I would have to log out of my Google account in order to access it.

Another addition to my list of things to do. So although users who regularly surf the net in a social manner would gain from the personalisation of Google results the people who wish to get fresh information will have to remember to log off to get it.

26th Feb: ShoeBox Design becomes part of the Hydrant Family

2011 was a great year in more ways than one for start-up 'ShoeBox Design' founded by Chris Archer. At the end of 2011 Chris and Shoebox Design joined Carlisle digital agency Hydrant. This relationship will allow ShoeBox Design to focus on it's software for delivering efficient, clean and simple websites for local business.

Chris Archer commented "2011 was a great year for ShoeBox Design, it marked the start of a new chapter - this venture will mean we can offer clients appropriate and sustainable solutions irrespective of their budget. Our solutions are perfect for those who need something simple and cost effective, to fit their budget. Being part of Hydrant also allows clients to upgrade if they out-grow what we offer."

Although shoebox is now part of Hydrant Limited, they remain distinct brands offering different services see www.shoeboxdesign.co.uk and www.hydrant.co.uk Hydrant works with organisations seeking a long-term development partner, increasingly focused on larger organisations nationally and internationally at the same time ShoeBox Design has developed software to help reduce the time and cost to build clean, effective websites perfect for many local business needs.

Hydrant’s founder and Director, Leo White says "I could see that ShoeBox shared Hydrant’s core values. As Hydrant has evolved over the past 8 years it's become difficult to continue helping clients with smaller budgets and less complex requirements so it seemed logical for someone with similar aspirations and passion to join us to help fill the gap."

Both founders have ambitious plans for 2012, Hydrant is currently recruiting and it is expected that new staff and apprentices may well work within the ShoeBox Design department. Meanwhile ShoeBox have a strong flow of local clients seeking websites.

Contact

01228 83 0034

10 Treasury Court
Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8RF, UK