So easy even computer numpties can handle it

Jan 29 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A FAMILY web development firm has produced an e-commerce tool it says even computer numpties can get to grips with.

Father-and-son team Chris and David King came up with the idea for COG e-commerce after analysing the online needs of businesses.

They already run North Tyneside-based Digitalized, which produces bespoke websites and training modules using video and animation for clients including Siemens and the NHS.

But the team is convinced that COG has the potential to become the bigger enterprise.

Chris said: “We started just over a year ago. My son and I were having a conversation about business in general. We thought about a product as opposed to websites where everything is bespoke, because a lot of the time we were doing the same sort of stuff.

“E-commerce costs thousands and we thought if we can come up with a generic thing, we can do it in a much more cost-effective way and generate a regular income. It took about a year to develop the software.”

Chris has been working with David, 24, on various projects for the last decade. He said: “It started off as a hobby and it grew from there to the extent that he started working for me full time. Then we went into partnership on this project.”

He provided funding from Digitalized to allow David to lock himself away in a darkened room for a year to develop the product. And Chris says the lengthy development period has been worth the wait.

“Our early adopters we don’t hear from, so that’s great because it means they are not having any problems,” he said.

“We’d like to get COG to take off bigger, so that’s where we intend to focus our attentions.” COG’s unique selling point is its built-in search engine optimisation element, which has helped to raise client websites up the Google rankings.

Chris said: “It does really well with Google. We did a lot of research on how Google works . . . what bits does it pick out that are relevant? We built COG so that every website we build fits that model.

“We make sure the description of their goods are in the right place. Customers are getting an extra service with the full search engine optimisation built in.

“We were shocked at how well it works. We put up a demo website so people can have a play around. Every 24 hours it sets itself back to the template.

“David picked these designer toys called Smorkin Labbits – a play on smoking rabbits – and our demo shop comes up in the top 10, higher than some of the people who are actually selling them! It was completely accidental.” The idea behind COG is that it is easy to understand for both end- users and web designers who do not have the time to carry out the complex programming involved in setting up an e-commerce site for each website they put together.

It provides the tools to upload pictures, edit product descriptions, set prices and postage and track orders without users having to contact their web-hosting company to make changes to their site.

It is so simple that self-confessed computer numpties can fathom it out, according to Chris, who has also recruited his elder son Paul, 25, to the COG sales team.