EFrame scales hosting solution to keep up with demand

"The promise of my call being answered within three rings is what first attracted me to UKFast as this was a vast improvement from our previous provider - who would answer the phone in three hours," says the eFrame managing director.

The number of shoppers using broadband connections has more than trebled in recent years and as companies improve the quality of their online offerings, internet shopping in the UK is continuing to boom.

The history of eFrame

EFrame was formed in 2003 as a traditional picture framer. The company is now an online picture frame, mount and mirror manufacturer trading through an interactive website that allows people to design these products online.

At present, eFrame's entire product range is made at their dedicated, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in South Cambridgeshire by a team of approximately 20 skilled staff. The new site was launched March 2006 and now serves over 1 million pages per month to some 22,000 customers across the UK.

"To succeed online we knew we couldn't hold back on our web presence - choosing the right provider was crucial," says eFrame's managing director.

Personal approach with a scalable solution

When eFrame first signed up to UKFast, they were assigned a dedicated account manager. This personal approach means that 2 years later eFrame still has the same account manager. "This is fantastic for us as we don't have to explain our situation to a different person each time we get in touch", says the MD.

Through utilising an effective business strategy and increasing advertising spend the site was getting a massive amount of traffic. Therefore eFrame's account manager recommended that the company upgrade and scale their solution to a dedicated server.

By having their own dedicated server eFrame are able to enhance their scalability. Most importantly the support eFrame has received from UKFast with a dedicated web hosting solution is unsurpassed. UKFast does not operate any automated services - when eFrame want technical support they get it, instantly.

Exploiting Web 2.0

EFrame is using advanced technology and successfully exploiting Web 2.0, by providing the facility to design frames and mounts online. Users enter the size they want, choose a frame and/or mount and the screen is immediately updated to show what the finished frame will look like. The items are delivered after a customer makes an order, avoiding two trips to the high street - once to order and once to collect.

These dynamically generated frames enhance user experience and functionality. eFrame's Web 2.0 website allows users to do more than just retrieve information, it encourages users to add value to the application as they us it. This is in contrast to traditional websites whereby visitors are limited to just viewing the content.

The growing world of ecommerce

"E-commerce is rapidly becoming the best way to do business today," says eFrame's managing director. "It is quick and easy, and saves a lot of time, travel and parking expenses. UKFast ensures that our online framing facility is always available, allowing customers to order 24/7 at their convenience."

By putting in place this effective business strategy, eFrame has experienced phenomenal online growth. Eighteen months after launching their website the company is now turning over more than £1million a year.

Realising the internet's potential

Lawrence Jones, managing director of UKFast is not at all surprised by the company's success. He said: "More and more industries are realising the web's potential to bring in revenue and it's great to see that eFrame is taking advantage of this growing trend.

"EFrame mirrors our professional and passionate ethos, with a dedicated team of experts focused on achieving the highest quality products and using flexibility to meet customers' needs. Speed and reliability are absolutely crucial here and we're thrilled to be a part of eFrame's new found online success."

Future plans for eFrame

EFrame's growth plan is ambitious. The company aim to double the revenue of the business by end of 2009. A comprehensive marketing plan is in place that will see them adding new products, increasing marketing activity, improving the website with new and enhanced functionality, and expanding their geographical coverage into Europe.

EFrame's MD is thrilled with the relationship, he emphasises "Without the help of UKFast and their ability to give us scalable solutions to meet our targets we wouldn't have the online presence we have now."

Visit the eFrame website today.