Category: Latest News

Recent Reverb Studios Developments, New Services and News.

Migrate to Google Apps for Business

I switched to Google Business Apps a couple of years back for better management of my Email in particular. I was a bit worried that I didn’t have my Email account setup correctly on my VPS hosting as more and more of my emails seemed to be ending up in people’s spam bins which meant things like invoices went missing and jobs were lost. I reckoned if the Google servers didn’t know the best email setup then no one would! At only about €50 per year, I reckoned it was worth the switch.

Google Business Apps

Anyway, 2 years on and it’s all working well for me. I have my main Reverb Studios email routed through Google which means I’m totally in the cloud and can access email from anywhere on anything that has an internet connection. I don’t have to worry about backup or crappy email clients like Outlook throwing a wobbly and losing all my data. As well as email, my calenders, documents and drive space are all synced across multiple devices.

Unfortunately there’s quite a bit involved in migrating your business email and stuff to Google Apps which is why I’m now offering this as a service to clients who have hosting and a website of their own.

Get in touch for a quote.

Leon

UPC Ireland Website Contract

I was recently part of a 5 man team of contractors/consultants hired to move the contents and functionality of the existing UPC.ie and Business.UPC.ie sites to a new design and Content Management System, Adobe CQ5/Experience Manager. Work included editing HTML & CSS to make older content fit the new design, building forms and also some re-working/creation of website graphics.

Live January 2014 – www.UPC.ie & Business.UPC.ie

UPC.ie

UPC.ie

Business.UPC.ie

Business.UPC.ie

Take Secure Credit Card Payments on your WordPress Website

I’ve been able to take Credit Card/Visa payments via Paypal for a while now and more recently via Stripe in conjunction with my invoicing system Zoho but over the last week or so I’ve properly and fully implemented credit card payments on this WordPress based website. On my payment page below you’ll notice a full credit card payment system that processes your payment immediately on this site. The payment page also has a an SSL cert for increased security.

ReverbStudios.ie/Payments

What you’ll need to achieve the same is:

* Stripe requires an SSL cert/Secure payment page to work.

So my Stripe Payment page takes credit card details, processes them on submission and returns the user to a thank you page. Both Gravity forms and Stripe can be configured to send an acknowledgement email/receipt to the user and site owner.

No more paying a pile of money to bank merchant or credit card processing companies!

Here’s some details on Stripe transaction fees.

I can help install the system on your own WordPress based website if you need. A standalone Payment Page/Virtual Terminal like mine here can also be installed on any non WordPress based site also..

Get in touch. Or alternatively ask a question in the comments below.

Leon

Pay for Reverb Studios Services Via STRIPE

Stripe, the new’ish, Irish Credit Card payment processor has recently gone live in Ireland and has today been added to my invoicing system Zoho for clients to use. You will now have a choice of whether to pay using a credit card via Paypal or Stripe on checkout. Simply click the “Pay Now” link in my invoice email and you’ll see the following screen:

Stripe

To pay with Stripe choose the “Credit Card Payment” option as above then click “Proceed”. You will then see this:

Stripe

All fields in the credit card form need to be filled in so if you don’t have a Zip/Postal Code then just put in something like n/a. Click “Pay” then you’re done!

Stripe also has a virtual terminal of sorts which allows me to take manual credit card payments over the phone etc if clients would prefer that..

Leon

20% Discount On All Design Services!

To celebrate…well nothing in particular really…summer and good weather maybe, I’d like to offer a 20% discount on all invoices for new design services ordered from now until August 10th 2013.

Simply add the coupon code below on either my Contact Form or my Paypal Payment page*:

SUMMER13

*Your payment amount will automatically be reduced by 20% before hitting Paypal on my payment page or I will discount your quote manually if entered via my contact form. The discount is limited to the first 10 clients only.

My standard prices are available HERE.

Please spread the word!

Leon

Bartering and Service Swapping: Swap Your Service/Product for Web & Graphic Design!?

Quite regularly over the last few years I’ve done work for people in exchange for services or goods and was happy to do so. While good hard cash is always nice and a bit necessary to pay bills etc, swapping services can sometimes get me and my clients out of a hole. To date I’ve done Web and Graphic design work in exchange for Teeth Whitening, Legal Services, Tax & Accounting, Surveying, Cakes, Gadgets, a few Pints, Vet visits  and sometimes just for a shout out or recommendation on the likes of Facebook or Twitter!

At the min I’m open to swapping for the following services/products, mostly house related as there’s a lot of stuff needs doing in our new house:

  • Wooden Decking,
  • Paving,
  • Gravel,
  • Building,
  • Woodworking,
  • Outdoor Roofing,
  • Cleaning,
  • Stoves,

Feel free to suggest your service or product and I’ll see if I need it!

Leon

Reverb Studios Chrome Extension

I read up a little bit on how to build your own Chrome Extension then borrowed a few code snippets and the result is my very own Extension, built and published to the Chrome Webstore all in under an hour or so!

My extension simply adds a button on your Chrome toolbar that shows the last 10 posts from My Blog along with a search function at the top. Here’s how it looks in action:

Chrome Extension

You can get the extension from the official Chrome Webstore here.

Download the files that make up the extension here if you want to play around yourself.

Chrome Extensions and Apps can be published through your Webstore Developer Dashboard here.

Leon

Web Design Partnership with GoodSeedPR

I’m pleased to announce a wee partnership with a long standing music public relations client of mine, GoodSeedPR whereby I will be their Website Design and Photo Editing/Graphic Design ‘wing’!

We hope to work together to bring affordable design services and complete internet marketing packages to up and coming musical acts and others.

Leon

Reverb-Goodseed

New Smart Phone Credit Card Payment Facility

Just announcing a new method of payment for client invoices using your smart phone and credit card. I take credit card payments via Paypal already but if you’re one of the people who doesn’t like using Paypal for some reason then you can now pay me via credit card using your smart or web enabled phone, ie – iPhone, Android, Blackberry etc..any phone that allows you to open and view a web page basically.

Usage is simple, either send me your mobile number and ask to pay via Credit Card (Smart Phone) when you receive an invoice or input it on my payment screen here – ReverbStudios.ie/Payments. You will receive an SMS with a secure link to enter your credit card details for the invoice total. Receipts can be issued via email and phone after successful payment.

Payment SMS:

Payment SMS

Payment Screen:

Payment Screen

Credit card payments are handled by SumUp.ie

WordPress Upgrade Service Contract

WordPress is an ever evolving system with new and updated functionality being added on a  regular basis. While it’s not strictly necessary to constantly keep your core WordPress installation and additional plugins up to date, it’s advisable to do so. Here are the benefits:

  • Keep your version of WordPress Secure,
  • Overwrite potentially corrupt or attacked files in old installs,
  • Benefit from newly added Functionality,
  • Speed up your site,
  • Benefit from plugin improvments.

The latest versions of WordPress include the ability to quickly update itself and related plugins from the admin but in my experience, this doesn’t always work smoothly. Some Hosting servers can’t handle the auto upgrade functionality at all and if upgrading breaks half way through and the process doesn’t complete, you can be left with a badly broken site.

Also, plugin versions and WordPress versions sometimes need to match and you might find that if you upgrade one, it breaks the other. The cost of having your site fixed by a web developer might be much more expensive than just preventing the problem in the first place.

My Yearly *Wordpress Service contract at just €50 per year includes the following:

  • Twice yearly upgrade of the core WordPress system,
  • Regular upgrading of installed Plugins,
  • Compatability Testing on all upgrades.

Order a service contract now.

* I say ‘contract’ but there’s no actual contract or signing of anything so you’re not tied in!

Leon