businesses - Tag Archive

Should You Create a Mobile Version of Your Website?

8 Replies Jonathan

Chances are if you walk through your local town centre today, you’ll see somebody accessing the internet on their smart phone. It’s almost become a second nature.

Gone are the days of simple WAP access, people are now using their phones to browse their favourite websites and even shop online. In fact, it’s reported that netbook sales are down 40% so is this a sign that smartphones and tablets are overtaking PC’s as peoples preferred browsing method?

So should you create a mobile version of your website? In short, yes, and here’s some reasons why.

Mobile internet use is growing rapidly

According to some figures mobile internet access is now at 8.09% of all UK website traffic (up from 0.02% in 2009) so whether you like it or not, people are going to access your website from a mobile browser.

It’s not that difficult to create a mobile version

Of course it depends on how your website was built in the first place, but if it’s not archaic then usually incorporating what’s needed to make your website mobile friendly isn’t too difficult and doesn’t require starting from scratch.

Most websites don’t work well on mobiles

The fact is, the majority of websites don’t well on mobiles, in fact some of them are impossible to use, so it’s a great way to steal a competitive advantage and get in early ahead of others in your industry. That said, if you run WordPress or another blogging platform, there are plugins that can make your site ‘mobile friendly’.
Google's mobile website being used on an iPhone

Mobile users have different intent

When people use the internet on their phones, they usually have a different intent to a user sat at a PC. It’s usually on the move, and they don’t have much time, meaning they’re looking for something to solve a problem fast. If you do a quick search on mobile conversion rates for ecommerce you’ll find they’re very high. So if you design your site to cater for those needs you’re onto a winner.

It’s way more important than having an app

Since mobile apps became the latest novelty, many businesses have wasted good time and money on developing their own mobile application, of course these apps have their uses, but for the majority of businesses they are a waste of money and wallow at the bottom of the app store.

A mobile website doesn’t require separate development for Android, iPhone, Blackberry and doesn’t need promoting via an app store so is clearly a better choice for getting a return on investment.

Mobile browsing is still very new

Even though lot’s of people are browsing the internet via mobiles, it’s still a relatively new concept, and one that realistically can only every grow upwards due to how technology is advancing. Historically early adopters are the ones that reap the reward, so why wait till everyone else is a step ahead of you?

What about you?

How many of you have optimised your site for mobiles or considered it? Do you think it’s more important for blogs to or ecommerce sites to opimise for mobile? Or is it equally important for both?

Conference calling has never been so easy!

5 Replies Christopher Roberts

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When you think of conference calling, you think (of I do) of complicated systems where big businesses get in contact with each other, or where employees within big businesses contact each other.

Then along came the likes of Skype and Google Talk introduced VoIP, and the whole thing became much simpler, opening it up to a much bigger market, not just big businesses.

Recently I came across a site called Powwownow, which is a voice conferencing site. Powwownow uses both VoIP (for its web and video conferencing) and telephone conferencing.Powwownow LogoThis means that you can use its conference call services via the phone, rather than having to do it over the internet. Now many people prefer the internet, I understand that, however telephone conference calling also has its merits.

With VoIP you are subject to drop-out if you don’t have a very stable internet connection. Say you are calling across time zones, meaning that you are calling someone at 8:30pm, then half an hour into your call, when peak time internet usage starts, you could experience slower internet speeds and ultimately drop-out – a logistical nightmare! Telephones don’t really experience this issue.

Furthermore, with VoIP it can often be hard to understand people due to poor microphones being used by whoever you are calling, now telephones don’t offer the clearest quality possible, but it’s usually pretty easy to understand someone using one!

Powwownow’s system is dead easy, all you need do is enter your email address and you will be given a pin. You then contact whoever you want to be in the call and tell them when you want the call to be, what the pin is and the dial in number. Finally, ring up their dial in number, enter your pin and start conferencing!

This all makes conferencing easy, quick, secure, and thanks to low international rates, cheap too!

Do you conference call others as part of your job, or do you do conference style calls to get in contact with friends or relatives? Why not try a free conference call courtesy of Powwownow and let us know how you get on!

Stream Yourself into More Customers – With Little Buffering!

4 Replies Christopher Roberts

This is a sponsored post. To find out more about sponsored content on Technology Bloggers, please visit our Privacy Policy.

When starting a business like a restaurant or a speciality retail clothing outlet, the main goal of the owner is to entertain customers in order to get repeat business. While retaining customers is the goal, how to attract them in the first place is a goal of all aspiring business owners. Once the events and activities at your location have become old news, customers can always go down the street to get a beer. Using websites and other technology to make your business more interactive will attract more customers and keep your location fresh and alive.

By placing a webcam in the kitchen, visitors to the website can watch cooks chop, dice, fry, and set on fire the food being prepared in real time. If you have a staff of flamboyant bartenders, visitors to your website can watch them craft cocktails, set tequila on fire, and entertain guests.

A Webcam

The Boatyard in Panama City, Florida has live cams on both their bar and the ship dock so website visitors can see what kind of seadogs are pulling up to get their grog. If a potential customer visits your website and sees a vibrant and lively atmosphere on your stream, they will be more prone to check out your physical location.

An event such as a concert is a sure way to draw customers into your building while naturally increasing sales. The same theory will hold true if you post a video or stream of your concert to your website. By marketing through social media, visitors will visit your website for the video and stick around to find out about your business. In order to guarantee maximum stream quality, your business can use a cloud gpu to ensure your event has a seamless broadcast.

Offering live streaming video of your business on your website will help you gain ground in search engine results. Instead of relying solely on word of mouth and reviews from other websites, your page will rank higher in search results even when people use generic terms like “best local seafood” or “high-end retail.”

Streaming video can also be used in reverse to keep customers who are already at your business entertained. While waiting for friends to arrive customers can watch streaming content on television while enjoying a drink at the bar. In a high end fashion boutique you can stream video about how your products provide more benefits than the competitor’s. By using cloud hosting services you can ensure that your streaming video network operating system doesn’t interfere with the day-to-day operation applications you use for business.

There is no doubt that everyone you want to visit your business is on the internet. Instead of sitting idly by, make sure you catch more customers by making your online location as cool as your physical.