Spring 2008 saw the launch of the new look www.k-international.com, the fourth version of the site since its original launch in 1997. The new version brings a whole raft of new features and content, which will massively improve the site's usefulness for our customers, translators, and the general public.

Design

Our in-house studio has been turning out beautiful, well-coded sites for years - but, as is so often the case, our own site was starting to show its age a little. That's now been fixed, however – the new site has been redesigned from the ground up to provide a consistently useful experience for our visitors. Designed and built entirely in-house, it is based on a custom CMS which allows us to concentrate entirely on publishing useful, interesting material, rather than on site maintenance. The front-end design is clean and functional – providing a search field on each page to allow you to quickly locate whatever it is you're looking for, and suggestions for related content to help you find your way around the site.

Content

When we first sat down to discuss the new site, we all agreed that we wanted version four to be a vehicle for useful, interesting writing that people would really want to read! With this in mind, we've totally simplified our site's structure – there are the five main content areas at the top of each page to give easy access to the general sections, and a search field and well-structured links to let you easily find more specific content. And to help you keep your bearings as you navigate the site, you'll find the different sections are clearly colour coded throughout.

As for the content itself, we've tried to make sure that this site isn't just an online brochure – you can still easily find information on all our products and services, but there is also a wealth of other material on offer. For instance, in our resources section, you can find links, downloads, and even knowledge bases – collections of articles on subjects such as print or web design techniques.

A two-way system

Another thing we really wanted to make sure with the new site was that it really reflected the way we work, as a company. We pride ourselves on providing a personal service – every job we take on is handled by a dedicated project manager, meaning you can always find out exactly what's happening with your project. To reflect this, you'll find that every page contains the contact details of the person who wrote it – so whether you agree, disagree, or would just like some more information on the subject, you can always get right in touch with the right person. In addition to this, all contact details are marked up as hcards – a type of electronic business card which can be embedded in the page (for more information, see our knowledge base article on microformats). And if you use a VoIP service like Skype, you can call that person direct by clicking on their contact number – or just find out more about the author by visiting their profile page.