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Red Ant Design and Build enables businesses to fully realise their digital brand vision through a combination of creativity, intelligence and a strong strategic approach for long-term results.
We work with you to ensure that we provide high-quality, leading-edge content which fulfils your business requirements – from page layout to form design to full eCommerce functionality. We are skilled at ensuring each element of your online presence delivers measurable results.
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Two of the UK's largets public bodies have launched revamped websites this week, stimulating a great deal of user feedback - Red Ant's UX expert gives his considered opinion.
Posted: 02/02/2012
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Scalextric was looking for a way to rejuvenate its brand and reintroduce the product range to a new, younger audience, increasing revenue while maintaining its iconic status. Red Ant developed a comprehensive online strategy which included a fully integrated and bespoke community website with an eCommerce function. The site received 11 million page views in just 9 months, was a New Media Age site of the week and has recently won an IMA Outstanding Achievement award.
Posted: 18/01/2012
Back in February 2011, we discussed the Advertising Standards Authority’s plans to extend its remit to cover company websites and business content on social networks. Almost a year on, here’s another look at the legislation and how, if at all, it has affected the development and management of websites and online promotional material.
Posted: 17/01/2012
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Iceland is one of Britain’s fastest-growing and most innovative retailers, recognised as one of the best companies to work for in the UK.
Posted: 17/01/2012
Google is making changes which will reset the boundaries for a private web. Our search expert looks at what this means for the SEO community.
Posted: 01/11/2011
MCA4climate is a major initiative designed to help governments, particularly in developing countries, identify climate policies and measures that are low cost, environmentally effective and consistent with national development goals.
Posted: 03/10/2011
It's the end of the website as we know it - we take a look at what that means and how it will affect businesses in the future.
Posted: 01/09/2011
They say a picture paints a thousand words - and the stories told at the photography event of the year were fascinating, touching, moving and inspiring.
Posted: 09/05/2011
We feel privileged to have been invited to the photography event of the year - it's a key feature of the World Photography Festival which comes to London from 26th April, and is open to everyone with a love for this evocative and expressive art form.
Posted: 21/04/2011
Red Ant developer Mike Rodda is always up for a challenge - and the Exmoor 30-30 is definitely that...
Posted: 04/04/2011
Red Ant are delighted to announce that another of our long standing clients, Mayflex have been nominated for two network computing awards.
Posted: 22/02/2011
Search Ant Sarah Theodorou recently attended the NMA Live Developments in Search event - this is her overview of what was getting everyone talking. UPDATE - response from Microsoft's Cedric Chambaz at the end of this insight.
Posted: 07/02/2011
At the end of 2010, we looked at emerging consumer trends and how they might affect brands in 2011. In the first of a series of articles, we take a closer look at one of them – online status symbols.
Posted: 05/01/2011
Random Acts of Kindness, Urbanomics, Planned Spontaneity - we look at some of the most interesting predicted consumer trends for 2011
Posted: 21/12/2010
‘The Connected Kingdom’, Google’s in-depth report on the UK’s internet economy, has made headline news. And it only takes a quick glance at the figures to understand why.
Posted: 05/11/2010
L&Q wanted to refresh its existing online presence and enhance the customer service experience. Red Ant developed a site with a new, improved identity, with full search functionality and a geo-targeted PPC campaign.
Posted: 19/09/2010
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American Express worked with Red Ant to support its Top Treats campaign, run in partnership with toptable.com. Red Ant built the Top Treats website, giving cardmembers easy access to restaurant searches and bookings, plus double reward points for using their card. Originally designed to be a one-off, the campaign was so successful that Amex decided to continue working with Red Ant to run it throughout the year.
Posted: 17/09/2010
Mayflex wanted to enhance its website to improve client experience and increase revenues. Red Ant delivered a complete online strategy, including a refreshed web presence, SEO and a secure intranet for employees, as well as a quote function and full integration into Mayflex’ stock and order management system.
Posted: 15/09/2010
Letts and Lonsdale wanted to reposition their digital brand to increase online revenue. Red Ant designed and built a full eCommerce site to maximise revenue, engage with the target audience and create a community feel to enhance loyalty.
Posted: 09/09/2010
Changeboard was looking for an online experience which would position it as the leading global industry job board, and create and increase engagement with its target audience. Red Ant developed a site which created lifestyle touchpoints, individual brand advocates and a full SEO and social strategy. Changeboard now has the highest unique users, page impressions and job numbers of all specialist HR job sites.
Posted: 09/09/2010
Websters aimed to improve conversions and increase its overall online turnover. Red Ant redesigned and rebuilt its website to simplify the user experience and improve usability, as well as setting up a robust SEO strategy.
Posted: 01/09/2010
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Internet World provided the perfect platform to Richard, our chief geek (also known as Technical Director), to get down and dirty with some research and development.
Posted: 31/08/2010
Filofax wanted an innovative way to promote its beauty gift box campaign. Red Ant developed an animated microsite aimed at a female audience and seeded the campaign through blogger networks and affiliates. The product became the fastest selling product of all time through a purely digital channel.
Posted: 30/08/2010
Volkswagen wanted to improve communications between franchise dealers across each of its brands. Red Ant created five secure extranets with a single administration point, plus downloadable documents and forums. Research time has been reduced by 20% so far.
Posted: 30/08/2010
The ECA wanted to improve its online presence to encourage and increase professional membership. Red Ant developed a complete digital strategy which reflects the integrity and credibility of the brand, engages with visitors through a personalised members area and entices membership using professional networking sites.
Posted: 24/08/2010
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Designers Guild wanted to enhance its brand and reputation with a best-in-class online store. Red Ant created a clean, user-friendly eCommerce site which increased revenue by 100%, developed and managed a client acquisition programme which resulted in a 150% increase in their database of email addresses, and the site itself was awarded ‘Freshest Online Retailer’ at the Fresh Digital Awards.
Posted: 12/08/2010
MHRA wanted a web-based application which would allow patients and healthcare professionals to report on suspected side effects and adverse reactions to medication. Red Ant created an easy to use reporting system which integrates directly into the MHRA’s analysis systems. This has increased the level of reporting while saving time by eliminating the need for rekeying.
Posted: 08/08/2010
Toolroom records wanted to develop an online presence which reflected its brand values as well as encouraging visitors to download and purchase music. Red Ant designed and built a full eCommerce website with an integrated audio player which allows visitors to create their own track listing.
Posted: 01/08/2010
SEAT wanted a web-based way to incentivise and reward vehicle sales at its 700 dealerships across the UK. Red Ant created an interactive game with restricted access which not only rewarded staff but also provided full reporting and sales analysis.
Posted: 21/07/2010
Relentless wanted to generate online interest in its first self-published game. Red Ant created a teaser campaign with an eye-catching design, multiple areas for audience engagement and user communities on social platforms.
Posted: 16/07/2010
Osborne & Little wanted a web presence which would accurately reflect the fact that it is a luxury brand with a global distribution network. Red Ant created a site which displays the prestige and stature of the Osborne & Little brand, and a state of the art online catalogue which is both creative and useable.
Posted: 10/07/2010
Dairy Crest’s aim was to refresh Foodservice – its online B2B catering brand - and maximise business opportunities. Red Ant designed a site with user-friendly navigation, providing visitors with a valuable information resource and multiple opportunities to make purchases.
Posted: 10/07/2010
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Clarion Retail wanted to encourage businesses to exhibit at its events and to increase visitor numbers. Red Ant created multiple websites to support the events, with a bespoke content management system and strong calls to action. Registrations increased and client employees are able to manage their own content quickly and easily.
Posted: 17/06/2010
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In this article, I'm looking at website membership and how user experience can be adversely affected by poor design. By way of examples, I will be referring to two fictional (at the time of writing) websites; 'Flip Flop Fitz', an online shop selling fashionable flip flop footwear to customers in the UK and 'Bobblebook', a worldwide social-networking site for fans of bobble hats, beanies and berets.
Posted: 27/05/2010
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At Red Ant we pride ourselves on standards adoption, I also do so personally – if a job is worth doing then it is worth doing right. To that end there are a number of proponents at Red Ant that look at web standards and best practice including accessibility, usability and user experience.
Posted: 01/05/2010
Motability was looking for an online presence which would encourage visitors to its events across the UK. Red Ant reviewed and redeveloped its events site with a fresh new look which is also accessible and compliant, giving dealers access to a new marketing channel and improving the experience for visitors and potential event attendees.
Posted: 01/05/2010
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Quite often we web designers tend to jump straight to the technicalities of website design when talking about the nuts and bolts our industry. The rest of this rather long post (taken from our upcoming digital strategy white paper) will hopefully explain some of the areas we talk about from a slightly higher level
Posted: 13/04/2010
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Firstly, sorry for my terrible pun, secondly; what a turn up for the books? Or maybe Yahoo & Bing setting a 10 year search deal is just a surprise that wasn't really. I’ll be keeping a very close eye on the news on this one, but for now, a few of my thoughts.
Posted: 09/04/2010
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Colour can say a lot about your business and it is important to recognise the impact it has upon your brand.
Posted: 02/04/2010
Andrex wanted to educate parents and nurseries about its ‘Kids’ initiative, as well as provide games, competitions and information about new products. Red Ant developed a bold, colourful, informative website which resulted in more than 40,000 clicks through to the games link and nearly 8,000 competition entries.
Posted: 30/03/2010
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This is an extract from Red Ant's white paper 'Planning and creating a digital strategy'.
Posted: 29/03/2010
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As digital experiences and technologies become a larger part of our everyday lives, consumer expectations are gradually becoming bigger, faster, richer and more and more personalised. Within this morphing landscape no digital technique is ever set in stone and in order to keep up with these expectations, companies and brands need to adapt.
Posted: 13/03/2010
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The Climate Group’s aim was to increase traffic to its site, give visitors easy access to its resources and engage a global audience of high-profile, influential individuals. Red Ant developed an online experience which includes blogs, interviews, reports and publications, social engagement through all core networks and the ability to quickly set up branded microsites to promote key initiatives.
Posted: 10/03/2010
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From Wikipedia: A desire path (or desire line) is a path developed by erosion caused by animal or human footfall. The path usually represents the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination.
Posted: 07/03/2010
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Keep it simple. It sounds so easy, yet in an age where the face of business shows over many mediums, it is much easier said than done. Your brand is the face of your business and, ultimately, it is important that whenever your brand is seen, a connection is made between the style and the name. This is essentially the theory, but how do you put this into practice?
Posted: 03/03/2010
Usability is not an exact science. Nor is it a magic formula that can be applied in minutes to transform your website into a money making machine, sending conversion rates through the roof. It is, as Steve Krug writes, "a matter of common sense". Observing this basic common sense approach can ensure your site is communicating its purpose effectively.
Posted: 01/03/2010
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When I first started working as a print designer some 9 years ago, print work was the focus of design agencies, and web departments within these firms consisted of one or two people at most. As my career has gone on, I worked through a faze where seemingly out of nowhere, the web departments started to spiral and outweigh the print teams, to where we are now, which is an industry that boasts specific agencies for online and digital work.
Posted: 19/02/2010
CALA Homes wanted to improve its paid search account to drive relevant traffic to its website and increase its exposure across search as a whole. Red Ant restructured its PPC account, used unique page titles and meta descriptions to increase conversions by 223%.
Posted: 10/02/2010
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Usability is about the functional and practical success of a product, such as a website, from the perspective of its user. A website with good usability is easy to learn, efficient at its job and doesn't present the user with more of a challenge than is necessary. Usability doesn't always mean simplicity; sometimes detail and complex interaction is exactly what the user needs. Usability is an important consideration in any project but it is ultimately just one small part of a user's experience.
Posted: 09/02/2010
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So you employ the best web designers and programmers to build you the biggest and the best, all singing all dancing, with bells and whistles on, website that can possibly be built. You launch it, sit back and wait for the visitors to come, and they don't!
Posted: 04/02/2010
Red Ant has designed and developed a market-leading iPhone app for Topshop, with a unique featureset which engages with customers in-store, at home and online. In just 4 weeks it has been downloaded 280,000 times and has an average 4.5 star rating in the App Store.
Posted: 30/01/2012As part of Red Ant’s ongoing commitment to sharing digital knowledge and expertise, Elisa Harca will be presenting to students from a range of disciplines on Tuesday 31st January.
Posted: 30/01/2012
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