Steadfast Software is a small business offering a range of services to those needing help to make their presence felt on the internet. Whatever your requirements, you can be sure of personal, friendly assistance with work carried out speedily and efficiently. Please have a read of the following sections to get some idea of what makes us different from the crowd.
Whatever the subject of a site, it is always our goal to present the content in the simplest, clearest, and fastest way possible. We make correct use of XHTML, style sheets, JavaScript, and PHP to achieve maximum functionality and speed.
XHTML is a version of HTML which has been 'upgraded' to XML. By using the stricter rules imposed by XHTML, we are able to provide a web page which is not only compatible with the widest range of browsers, but is also proof against likely future developments in web scripting.
Style sheets provide a way of specifying the layout and style of a web page from an external file. This file is temporarily stored on the user's computer, and can be used by all the pages that make up a website, saving a considerable amount of download time. Future changes to the style of a site can be implemented simply by changing the style sheet.
JavaScript is a widely used scripting language that runs on the user's computer. Use of this enables a wide variety of simple functions to be performed without any intervention by the web server. This greatly enhances the functionality of a site whilst being very fast. We use Javascript extensively for our e-commerce system as well as for validation of form data. As you would expect from us, we only use standard JavaScript functions that are cross-browser compatible, steering well clear of the numerous browser-specific variants.
PHP is another scripting language, but this one runs on the web server. Use of PHP enables pages to be generated dynamically, so that different elements can be brought together to produce the desired page. This can be used to display global elements on a page such as a common header, footer, and navigation, but it can also be used to fetch and display relevant information from a database. We make good use of PHP in our e-commerce soloutions.
The end result of our painstaking attention to both detail and standards is a web site which will work on any suitable device or browser, giving the widest possible audience to your content. The speed of our sites ensures that visitors using slow connections are not driven away, and our general adherance to level-A accessibilty guidelines helps provide access for all.
Of some considerable importance to any web site is its listing on the search engines. By not using 'frames' and keeping to text-based navigation, in conjunction with our exacting, standards-compliant coding, all of our sites achieve rapid and complete listing by Google.
If your business serves a wider client base, we can provide translation of any material, including your web site, into French or German. Real people will research and translate your work accurately and correctly, to ensure that readability is preserved.
We can host your web site at www.sshost.co.uk from as little as £10 per year, or we can host your own domain from just £60 per year, all on our highly reliable Linux/Apache web server. Depending on the type of hosting, we can provide detailed visitor statistics, multiple email accounts, web-mail and ftp.
It is a considerable advantage to have your own unique domain name and we can research this for you and arrange registration very quickly and economically. Or you can arrange it yourself: then, if you want to host the domain with us you simply give the relevant IP address to the company through whom you registered. Whichever way, you're always free to take your domain hosting elsewhere without charge, if you wish.
If your site handles sensitive information, we can provide secure hosting for all or part of your site. This is particularly important when credit card, and other personal details are being collected from the user. We utilise 128-bit SSL encryption provided through a GeoTrust secure certificate which also enables us to provide secure webmail facilities (see below).
If we host your domain on our server, you'll be able to access your email by pop3 or webmail, as you wish. In addition, our clients are given the option of a free ssMail.co.uk email address, also with pop3 and webmail access, whether or not we host a domain for them. Webmail access is via our ssl secure server which means that you can send and receive secure emails to and from anyone else who has their email account on our server. For example, by setting up your employees each with their own email address, you will be able to share sensitive information via the secure webmail interface, regardless of where everyone is located at the time.
All our services come with free on-line consultation and support.
