Local Lizard Development Blog

New Site Design LAUNCHED!

2010-08-26T15:13:00.001+01:00

We have finally completed the process of modernising and simplifying our site design. We've introduced a new tool bar for simple navigation and improved the search facility to make it easier to find what you're looking for.

Here's a screen shot of the new home page.

Feel free to send us your comments on the new design either here on the blog or to admin@locallizard.co.uk.

New Site Design Almost Ready

2010-08-25T17:10:00.000+01:00

Our development team have been working hard to produce our new improved user interface, which we have developed in line with comments we have received from our users.

The new design is clean and modern and provides an easier to understand interface which should make it easier and quicker to find the business you are looking for.

We are currently testing the new design to ensure it is working hoe we expect it to... and are looking at the possibility of a few 'upgrades' before the new site goes live.

We expect the new site to be ready by Monday and in time for the East Midlands Franchise Show which we will be attending on 4th September.

If you have any suggestions for our site, particularly suggestions which might improve the speed of finding an advert, please comment here and we'll consider all options for our next update.

Search Upgrade and MyLizard Improvements

2010-08-18T14:23:00.000+01:00

Today we started work on some major site updates including:

Improved Search Facility - The new search will allow users to select their nearest county/district to ensure they receive results local to them, rather than showing results from across the country (as it is currently doing). Work on this feature has been swift and should be running relatively quickly.

New Look MyLizard Section - We are improving the look and feel of the MyLizard login section to provide better functionality and easier use for our signed up customers. The new updates will allow greater control over advert content and clearer/more detailed statistics for page hits etc.

New Rep Login Section - For our sales representatives and County/District managers we are improving their login section to allow them better control, easier access and use and access to our new online order processing feature.

We are also considering some general upgrades to improve the look and feel of the site as a whole, but these are still very much in the preliminary stages and may be some time coming to fruition.

If you have any comments or suggestions for future developments, please contact the usual email address: admin@locallizard.co.uk.

Your Vote Counts

2010-07-20T13:24:00.000+01:00

As promised, our new star rating system is now active! Visitors to our site can now register and log in to leave feedback on our advertisers, which will help us to ensure that we are providing our visitors with high quality, recommended business connections.

For full details, see our previous post 'Coming Soon - Star Ratings' or contact admin@locallizard.co.uk

Coming Soon - Star Ratings

2010-07-14T19:04:00.000+01:00

Today the development team have started work on our new star rating feature.

When complete, users will be able to log in and leave feedback on any of the companies they have used on the Local Lizard network. The feedback will include a 5 star rating system and a brief comment, which will be visible to the public when they view the advert.

The average of all the ratings and the number of votes received will be displayed on the advert page with a link to the voting system for visitors to read others' reviews and to leave their own.

Our advertisers who have access to the MyLizard system will be able to see the rating for their adverts and the comments left when they log in. Any unfair or slanderous comments can be reported for mediation and possible removal. Users who continually leave unfair reviews will be banned to avoid unnecessary disruption to the service and the network.

We hope that this system will encourage more advertisers to take an interest in our directory and in turn give users a better quality service through customer vetted reviews.

We expect the new system to go live within a few days (one we have worked out all the kinks and sorted out the moderation procedure).

Watch This Space > www.locallizard.co.uk

Things to Come AKA Give the Customer Control

2010-07-13T09:12:00.000+01:00

I have been reading an interesting book on the history of a certain widely used search engine which offered some interesting insights into the future of business.

The basis of the books theory is 'Give the Customer Control', or make sure you know what your customers (and site visitors) want and give it to them. However, the suggested method used to achieve this aim is NOT spending millions on market research... it's blogging, and reading blogs, and commenting on blogs. Simply put, go to the customer and see what they say about you, see their complaints and comment on them... then do something about them. So that's what I, Creative Manager of Local Lizard, intend to do, starting here.

From this blog I invite all to take a look at our site (www.locallizard.co.uk). Use it, break it, but importantly, tell us what you think and where you broke it. We want to know because we want to fix it. Comment here or email me directly to elliott.bristow@locallizard.co.uk. I promise I will read it and we will do everything we can to implement any (constructive) suggestions we receive.

If you prefer, Follow us on Twitter, or Become a Fan on Facebook. Either way, and however you want to do it, let us know. We are giving you a voice, please use it.

New Ad Layout for Page Sponsors

2010-07-12T15:22:00.000+01:00

To day we've launched a new advert layout for anyone who buys a Sponsored advert.

The new layout gives the sponsored adverts some distinction and allows us the space to add a Google map, as well as space for future 'widget' additions which are yet to be announced.

Also, because the new ad layout takes the form of a seperate page on the site, advertisers can make use of the 'Link to Local Lizard' and 'Share/Save' buttons available on other pages.

We hope that this new update gives our advertisers the confidence that a sponsored advert is worth the additional investment, and the Local Lizard is the right directory for them to be advertising with.

The First Post

2010-07-09T14:34:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the first Local Lizard Development Blog Post
(posted by Elliott Bristow - Creative Manager)

Now that our new improved website has been launched we thought we would keep you up to date with all the minor and major changes we make as they happen (or maybe before). Let's kick it off with the new features we launched in the big update.

Improved Search Facility
Our new simplified search facility makes it easier to find the business you are looking for by providing you with a choice of categories and locations, rather than the old system of showing a long list of possible businesses which were often irrelevant.

Simplified and Quicker Browsing
Now our home page has been updated so you don't need to wait for animations to load before you can start selecting what you need. All you need to do is select your County, then District, then Category and voila! you are directed to the category you need.

Sharing and Linking
We have now added buttons for our visitors to link to any page on our site, or share it on facebook, twitter or virtually any other social networking/bookmarking site.

I think that will do for now. Keep an eye on this blog for future updates... and support the site at www.locallizard.co.uk. Facebook users can 'Like' the site with our new 'Like' button on the home page.