November 2008: Riks Website Upgrades - Well Almost!! We've been preparing to move our website for some weeks now as a new 'back-end' system primarily controlling the shop section had become available, offering a platform for many innovations and improvements, many of which we plan to roll-out in 2009. There's never a good time to do something like this, especially when it's handled in-house by ourselves, but November was deemed to be one of the quietest times...so off we went! Regular site visitors will have noticed a few changes earlier in the month, but the full transition since hasn't all gone to plan being less automated than expected! It's also been really busy here so we have been tied up with day to day matters instead of paying full attention to the site changes! So although the site is functioning again, it is taking some time to transfer and update the content, so we'd like to apologies for any inconvenience caused by this...but hopefully you'll soon be enjoying the improvements and be sure to let us know of any priority content you'd like to see... Larger Site Layout We'd had received a few comments regarding the size (or lack of it) of our old site presentation as it was oriented a few years ago to be viewable on 800x600 screen resolutions. So now we've gone wider, brighter and more vibrant...also longer where necessary! Hopefully you'll appreciate the less cramped layout styles! Online Live Support How many times have you needed to ask a brief question whilst browsing through a website? Sure we're as quick and detailed as possible when responding to email, but often there is a need to be more reachable than that... So here it is! If you see our live support 'online' please feel free to click the link and chat to us. Multi-Currency Store Pricing As we supply so many windsurfers from all-around the world, we decided to introduce currency display options so it's easy to understand how our pricing compares to that of local markets. It's now possible to choose between Sterling, Euro or US Dollar, with that preference automatically being selected for returning customers who log-in before browsing. With Sterling going through a rough time of it at the moment, it has never been cheaper to buy from the UK, with huge savings possible even when shipping is accounted for. Feel free to get in touch for 'delivered prices' and we'd happily advise and quote accordingly. Enhanced Text Formatting & Site Wide Navigation With the larger layout style comes clearer text to make it as easy as possible to digest our site content...and there's also more straightforward navigation integrated universally around the entire site so it should be easier than ever to access the information you're looking for! Multi-Browser Support Whilst Internet Explorer remains the most commonly used browser, more and more of you are using alternatives such as Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome etc. Our shop section in particular caused many users issues with both display and functionality, so hopefully the changes made now will make all that a thing of the past... New VAT Rate The recent VAT reduction from 17.5% to 15% will be applied to our store from 1st December, so there is no need to worry about paying the exchequer more than you should! Loyalty Pricing Repeat customers will receive special log-in details, this applies special offer pricing where we can offer such, so be sure to use these details before browsing the site! For your convenience there is a log-in link on each shop page. Shop Search Although our layout aims to make it as easy as possible to find what you're looking for, we have introduced a new keyword search facility, allowing store-wide or department specific search functionality. Any Feedback? Comments (good & bad!) are always welcome as it's our intention to offer the best service we can, be that in store, on the telephone, via email or through the website! We hope that these changes that have made to the website are well received and make it an easier and more enjoyable place to visit...as if you need any encouragement to browse your favourite pastime...but it always helps! Catch you on the water soon (when i'm not webbing)!!! Rik and Becca & Benny Dog (oh we also now have adopted a cat called Misty...)