Database Upgrade coming in August

During August we will be upgrading your MySQL database from 5.0 to 5.1 as support for 5.0 will no longer be available from September onwards.

This will involve having to take your site down for short period (depending on the size of your database) whilst we migrate your database across.

For those customers where we manage your sites there is nothing you need to do. We will place a temporary holding page up informing your customers that your site is undergoing maintenance and asking them to come back later. If you have any promotions going on in August and wish us to avoid particular dates for doing this then please email the details to gary@rogueinteractive.co.uk and will do our very best to accommodate you.

For those customers who manage their own sites please contact gary@rogueinteractive.co.uk to arrange a specific time for migration and to be given the new MySQL server details.

We apologise for the required migrations, but we are happy to offer the additional functionality that these updates bring.

To keep up to date with the latest status regarding the migrations and updates follow @phodetheus on twitter

Rogue Interactive relaunch new car leasing website

Rogue were tasked to create an SEO efficient site for Luna Lease, a business and personal contract hire and car leasing company in Kent - to help them stand out from the crowded online car leasing market.

We redesigned and re-branded the company as well as creating a modular website capable of delivering super-fast results from URL addressing, utlising vehicles’ make, model and details plus an efficient search system allowing customers to locate their vehicle of choice by price, value and carbon levels. Luna Lease can now add homepage specials, display their best business and personal deals by make and model and feed 3rd party leasing portals with their best leasing offers.

Soon after launch the client reported a massive increase in website traffic and enquiries, and this is only set to increase further as more of the search engines discover the new website.

Visit www.lunalease.co.uk

kmfm extra - launch new digital brand

Rogue Interactive worked closely with kmfm, a Kent based radio station, to re-launch their DAB Digital service - kmfm Extra at 7.00am on the 27th January 2011.

Given only a few days to design an online brand with only a colour reference and a logo, we created a young, funky and in-your-face design which met the brief perfectly.

The kmfm extra website was one of a series of 7 websites within the Core3 content management system, and it was an easy job to re-style and integrate the new design into the existing framework.

The new website had a strong social networking focus, so we installed the Meebo bar, allowing direct access to their Facebook page and fans, as well as their Twitter feed and tools for their listeners to chat via Facebook, AIM and others without navigating away from the new website.

The client is over the moon with the new design and all of us at Rogue wish them every success with their new venture, you can visit the website and listen online at http://www.kmfmextra.co.uk.

Kent School Closures

The KM Group, have for several years, provided a service to the people and schools of Kent in the form of their School Closure system. Rogue Interactive we’re asked to further develop the concept with a potential return on investment through both localised sponsorship opportunities and premium rate messaging through SMS technology.

We develop a standalone system that can be either a website in its own right, or plug-in to the KM Group’s KentOnline website or their group of KMFM websites. The system uses the latest in Javascript / ajax technology to provide instant searching, live Googlemap updates and an account management system for both parents and schools.

For Parents

Parents can register for updates for any of their chosen schools by registering with Kent School Closures. They have the choice of a FREE email update which is broadcast every time one of their chosen schools updates their status, or they can opt for one of two SMS/Text message services. The first is a pre-payment service for parents to purchase credit upfront via our Secure Trading payment gateway. The second is a reverse bill system, where parents are charged a fee to their mobile phone when a SMS message is received. Both services are integrated into the PIRI messaging platform.

For Schools

Schools, once registered for the free service, can update their status by logging into the system. They have the option of OPEN or CLOSED with a message that will be sent via email, SMS or both to registered parents. They can also add staff members so that chosen teachers can update the school status. The mobile phone number of the school administrator and registered teachers is also stored to allow them to update their school status via a simple text message and not require an internet connection or PC.

For the DJ’s

We have also developed an application (Mac OSX and Windows PC) for kmfm’s DJ’s which sits on their desktops while they are on-air. The application chronologically collects a feed for their region/station and displays the school updates as they come in, rather than waiting for teachers to phone in or send them emails to notify them.

View the School Closure System at: http://www.kentschoolclosures.co.uk

Adoptaword.com - a complete makeover

Rogue Interactive developed the original Adopt a Word website two years ago
with Remedy Creative, a design agency based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent
for I CAN the Childrens Charity and we’ve just given it a makeover.

Recently launched, the brand new adoptaword.com is a showcase for current
technologies. The site has been redesigned with a fresh new look and feel to
align with the design of the new I CAN website, which is launching in January
2011.

Rebuilt from the ground-up, we stripped away most of the Flash content making
it even more accessible, which was a requirement from the client. We’ve
added new sections and navigation, streamlined the search and thesaurus functions
and introduced an SEO friendly blog and twitter feed. We have also substantially
upgraded the hosting for the site on a powerful cloud server,
ensuring higher resilience, faster access and maximum flexibility which will
comfortably cope with the high demands made on this site when certain celebrities
decide to tweet to their hundreds of thousands of followers.

The site features a revised and improved Wordiverse, built with Flash technology,
allowing for users to visually search through a universe of words to find a
word to adopt. The rest if the website is built using HTML, CSS and Javascript
and is both W3C XHTML compliant and CSS compliant, and every effort has been
made to ensure that it meets WAI acessibility compliance levels.

Visit www.adoptaword.com to take a look, or maybe even adopt a word
for Christmas.

Polygon Group – embrace Core3 globally

Polygon, formerly Munters MCS have recently re-built their global network of websites within Rogue Interactive’s Core3 content management system in conjunction with their creative agency Realia, based in Folkestone, Kent.

Core3 was recently upgraded to feature CK Editor, a multi-lingual HTML editor as well as having specific be-spoke systems written for Polygon‘s display and multi-lingual requirements. Their Core3 system features the ability to completely duplicate an entire website which has been invaluable in creating all of the country site versions within a very tight deadline – we’re currently considering adding this as a Core3 feature in the next round of Core3 upgrades for our customers.

The new group of websites, currently consists of 19 separate sites, in over 12 different languages, all running within one Core3 system, and will be expanding very soon to feature other countries / languages and multiple brand micro-sites.

There are plans in place to develop a complete intranet framework within their Core3 system to manage wordwide, internal HR and communication functions.

You can view the Polygon Group global website at: www.polygongroup.com

A selection of other Polygon Group country sites can be viewed at:

www.polygongroup.uk.com | www.polygongroup.us | www.polygongroup.fr | www.polygongroup.de | www.polygongroup.no | www.polygongroup.fi | www.polygongroep.nl | www.polygongroup.ca | www.polygongroup.sg

Kent Motors – super fast and slick used car search engine

KentMotors.co.uk has had a complete re-build from the ground up within Rogue Interactive’s Core3 Content Management System.

KentMotors.co.uk features the new horizontal navigation system which was upgraded for its sister website kmfm, both of which are apart of the Kent Messenger group.

The new used car search engine allows customers to search by brand, model, price and distance from their postcode as well as offering searches for pre-set criteria’s such as all cars under £2K and £5K.

There is an advanced search system that automatically filters the results by seller type, fuel, colour, age, mileage and transmission type.

You can save multiple search profiles for one-click searching, with the added benefit of setting one of your profiles as an automated email alert, sending you your top 20 car results, straight to your inbox.

The used car search results are displayed immediately due to a clever use of flash and javascript, and can be sorted instantly by distance and price. There is also an option to show all vehicles available by dealer.

Customers can place their own car adverts online, with the payment gateway provided by Rogue’s partner Secure Trading. Up to ten images of their vehicle can be uploaded into an advert and featured for 2 weeks, for £9.99.

There are nearly 20,000 used cars available on Kent Motors, featuring dealerships from around Kent and neighbouring counties – and this number is growing everyday!

Visit the website at www.kentmotors.co.uk