How to configure php-fpm, Apache and HTTP/2 on AMI2 (Amazon Linux 2)

I had a real battle getting HTTP/2 to work on my new AMI2 Lamp webserver this week. The Apache http2 module was installed but it didn't work alongside mod_mpm_prefork, so I needed to switch to the mod_mpm_event module. However this wouldn't start unless the server was using php-fpm. So what…

We are hiring: full stack developer

We're looking for an experienced PHP developer to join our highly effective team. We're problem solvers, with clients depending on us - some of them for over a decade - to help them with great ideas and solutions to their technical challenges. We've got clients all over the world, across…

OPC Markets Launch

We've been  busy helping our client OilPrice.com with the launch of their new trading platform. Made in conjunction with FTSE 250 company owned Markets.com, OPCMarkets is a new way to trade oil, gas, energy and much more, as it lets you buy and sell over 2200 instruments. Whilst markets.com is…

Video heros: the order of the day

We recently had 3 clients - within the space of a few days - ask us for video heros on their home page. We do a lot of jobs for a lot of clients every week, but it stood out a bit that 3 were asking us for exactly the…

Create Health rebrand

Our lovely friends over at Create Health have unveiled their beautiful new brand, and we were thrilled to be involved. WordPress developer Jon built their WordPress site for them a while ago and their creative team gave us some new designs that called for a deep cosmetic overhaul, without changing the…

Shopify website for Mahi Naturals

We built Mahi Natural's first website 10 years ago, and it was time for a refresh! When we originally built the site in 2011 we did so using OpenCart, and it's served them well for the last decade. However, there were a few upgrades we'd been recommending, and a few…

New sales tool for Chris Pye, Master Woodcarver

A hobby can become a problem when you run out of room for your creations. This was exactly the problem our client, Chris Pye was facing. Woodcarving is his passion as well as his profession and not having anywhere to store the work he does for himself alongside his commissions…

Last orders for Christmas 2020

It's been a crazy year for the world, but we've been very fortunate at 18a that we've kept busy. As it's been such a busy time, we're all looking forward to a well earned rest over Christmas! We'll be closing at 5:30pm on Wednesday 23rd December, and re-opening at 9am on…

New brand and new website for Beyond The Bean

We were flattered to be amongst the very few who got a sneaky peak at Beyond The Bean's exciting new branding earlier this year so that we could design and build their new website around it. Our friends at Carruthers Tanner transformed their brand, which as well as featuring a very clever…

How a Bake Off led to .HEIC and .WEBP support

This week we had an 18a Bake Off! We can't have our usual Christmas Party so we're going to try to do a few Christmassy things via Zoom - and we started with everyone needing to bake something on the theme of a "Snowman". My son was our judge -…

New UCN security features for Bank Security Printing

Our long standing client Bank Security Printing came to us recently for assistance with implementing a UCN (Unique Coded Number) system for their cheque printing procedures. A UCN is an ISF (Image Survivable Feature) which adds a powerful layer of fraud prevention to cheques, which may not be used by as…

5 ways we’ve used the web to combat the challenges of 2020

2020 has certainly been a very different sort of year. We've been thankful that for us - despite the team all working from home - it's been business as usual. But it hasn't been for our clients - so we've been helping them in various ways to navigate through the…