A couple of DesignKarma websites have popped up on Show-EE.com, a new website dedicated to showcasing good ExpressionEngine websites from around the world. Both Riviera Travel and The Kirsty Club have been listed so far, and hopefully lots more in the future.

Late last year Microsoft revealed a glimpse of their Internet Explorer 9. This month they released what Microsoft calls a “Platform Preview”, so developers and users can test drive IE 9 for themselves.

DesignKarma is now listed on the Recommended Agency Register (RAR) as a recommended digital supplier. RAR helps companies source, select and engage suppliers. Through knowledge sharing and consultancy they provide key data on potential new suppliers, helping companies create short-lists and manage the selection process.

One shortcoming in ExpressionEngine 1.6.x was the fact you couldn’t do recurring Paypal payments (using the Simple Commerce Module). However, the new 2.0 release supports Paypal subscriptions and recurring payments. Using recurring payments, you can offer your users automatically recurring subscriptions.

The DesignKarma redesign of http://www.rivieratravel.co.uk is having a significant impact, already showing a 280% increase in visitors on last month. Bounce rates are down and average visit time is up. At the heart of the redesign was putting a major focus on clean “web standards” code, simple user interface, and page performance.