Drop Down Navigation Menus

We generally don't advocate these kind of drop-down / fly-out type menus - not great for browser compatibility/web standards/SEO etc - but if the client demands it, despite your advice to the contrary, they've got to have it.

This is a good one we've found. Very simple, making more prominent use of CSS as opposed to Javascript, easily customisable...

We've seen a few full CSS versions around, which are better in theory, but lack some of the sort of features demanded, due to the inherent limitations of CSS in this sort of application. Anyone found a decent full-CSS drop-down/fly-out menu, let us know.

Hosting Provider - Host-it Internet Solutions

This post is about: Hosting company recommendation

As a web design company with a couple of hundred websites on our books, we were outgrowing our previous hosting provider and needed a new dedicated server and associated hosting services.


Hosting is obviously a vital part of a web agency's business - and it took a good three months research of a variety of different solutions before we eventually found what I think is the right one. We looked at a variety of different options including Rackspace, who were ultimately too costly and offered limited support on the software side of things. We're only a small company and needed a partner who we could rely on to support software and hardware on our servers, rather than just pure hardware configuration.

We tried a company called Flinthosts, who re-sell dedicated hosting - and who, crucially for us, offer full ColdFusion 8 support. Unfortunately their technical support left a lot to be desired with simple requests going un-answered for several days - and no response by telephone. We swiftly cancelled the account with them during our test period.

Eventually we came across Host-it Internet Solutions, who offer a rare mix of fully dedicated servers with 'managed' support (i.e. they will assist with software issues, configurations, installations, etc. as well as just hardware support). They are also reasonably priced (not cheap, but certainly competitive on pricing considering the service they provide).

Having spent a month trialling a fully dedicated server with them we have been immensely impressed with the level of support from them. They have even assisted with coding-related issues which go way beyond the call of duty for server maintenance and support. Support requests are responded to within minutes rather than hours - and they have been completely flexible and reliable so far.

What's also important, is that the company is a 'legitimate' and established one (it's easy to set up a hosting company from your own bedroom these days - which is not great if you decide to jack it in one day and leave all your clients in the lurch). These guys are well-staffed, have their own datacentres and appear, so far, to offer an awesome service. We're impressed - and anyone looking for a serious hosting parter with support for all the languages - including Coldfusion (hard to find in the UK) should give them a try.