ABOUT US      data center      network center SERVICES      web design      web hosting      e-marketing      compare plans      FAQ SOLUTIONS PORTFOLIO      web-sites      logotypes      flash      graphics      3D CONTACT      quick quote      order hosting NEWS Web growing faster than ever November 22, 2005 The Internet stock bubble may have burst, and certainly no one is going to put it back together again, but the interest and involvement of people and businesses in all things online is at an all-time high. The Netcraft “October 2005 Survey” found 74,409,971 sites, an increase of 2.68 million sites from its September survey. The gain makes 2005 the strongest year ever for Internet growth, with the Web adding 17.5 million sites, easily surpassing the previous annual mark of 16 million during the height of the dot-com boom in 2000. The measure passed the 70 million mark for the first time in August, as the Netcraft survey marked its 10th anniversary. The August gain of 2.8 million hostnames, together with the July’s increase of 2.7 million sites, marked the biggest two-month increase in the history of the survey and came just five months after the survey crossed the 60 million mark in March 2005 Internet to surpass newspapers for shopping November 17, 2005 According to a new study by The Kelsey Group and ConStat, Inc., 70 percent of U.S. households now use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally for products and services - an increase of 16 percent since October 2003. This puts the Internet on par with newspapers as a local shopping information resource, with the Internet likely to surpass the impact of newspapers in the very near future. “Use of the Internet as a shopping resource is already changing the face of local advertising,” said Neal Polachek, senior vice president, The Kelsey Group. “Traditional local advertising media must find ways to evolve or risk losing dollars to the new advertising options available to local and small businesses.” “Most of the Internet’s growth for shopping research can be attributed to large search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Ask Jeeves, the usage of which increased significantly, from 47 percent in 2003 to 55 percent in 2005,” said Tim Trickett, vice president of business development at ConStat. “Further, the research shows that the increase in usage of the major search engines has been powered by broadband users exclusively.” The Kelsey Group will present additional findings from this survey at its upcoming local search conference, “Drilling Down on Local: The Online-Offline Opportunity,” taking place April 18-20, 2005, at the Santa Clara Marriott, Santa Clara, California. source: Kelsey Group Ten reasons to redesign your website November 12, 2005 Long gone are the days of simply building a website and expecting visitors to come and use it. Like all promotional tools, a website needs some tender loving care to get the most from it. If your website was built one or two years ago the following ten reasons might help get it back on track. 1. Stay ahead of the competition The power of the web allows people to find information at the drop of a hat. It is possible for new customers to find your website from anywhere in the world. The down side is that they can also find your competitors just as easily. It is important to make a good first impression and stay ahead of the competition. Failure to do so could lose you valuable customers. If your website is comparable to your competitors’ consider a timely redesign to make sure you are leading the pack rather than following. 2. Align with current/future market position Organisations need to evolve to ensure they can deliver what customers need today. If your website was designed a couple of years ago and has not been updated since, it is possible that it does not reflect your organisation’s current market position. A website redesign is a great opportunity to evaluate where you are today and where you want to be in the future. 3. Out-dated content Websites date. It is an unfortunate fact for organisations that websites show their age if left unattended. Considerable damage can be done to your reputation if customers discover that information or products on your website are out of date. Worse still, incorrect. If your website is out of date consider using some kind of content management system, appropriate for the job, to keep it fresh. 4. Manage the content yourself and keep the site fresh The beauty of the web is its immediacy. You don’t have to wait for the current batch of printed brochures to run out. With a website a quick update can get the latest product information out to a global audience. The theory is great but in practice many websites forget about their content and it soon becomes out of date. There are a few reasons why this might be but often it is because the website can only be updated by one person, probably the original designer. If you struggle to keep your website content fresh it might be time to consider a redesign, allowing people within your organisation to keep it up to date. 5. Make the site more usable and give the client what they want How many times have you visited a site and not been able to find what you needed or tried to buy something online only to find that it is out of stock? Problems like these can be avoided with some thought in what your customers are trying to do on your website. Resolving the problem might be as simple as improving the the signposts to key sections or pages but a redesign allows you to listen to your customers and create something that will be easier to use. 6. Attract more visitors Just because you have a website doesn’t mean people will automatically find it. Competition for the top slot in search results is fierce. Making your website ‘search engine friendly’ will improve the chances of it being found. Building a ‘search engine friendly’ website, that conforms to web standards, from scratch is more effective than trying to adapt an existing one. In doing so you can insure that it appeals to both customers and search engines alike. 7. Increase your online sales The Holy grail for all websites. Websites are often designed with no thought on how organisations can harness the power of the web effectively. The wrong message in the wrong place can result in a website failing to meet your organisation’s expectations. Developing a web presence is relatively straight forward but developing one that meets your organisations expectations and goals is a little more complex. Are visitors being channelled to the right sections or the site to make a purchase? Does the design promote your current brand? Are people signing up to your newsletter? Is the copy right for the site? If you suspect they may not be then it is time to get your website to work a little harder for your organisation. 8. Create appropriate content for the web Web content is different to print content. With the immediacy of the internet it is not appropriate to use the same copy as your print material. When reading web pages users scan for information relevant to them. If your content is not presented in a way that delivers that information swiftly you run the risk of losing customers to your competition. 9. Promote an event or product launch The launch of a new product or event might be the catalyst to consider a website redesign. If your current website fails to do an event or product launch justice you could damage its success. A website tailored to the needs of the event/product launch is far more effective than trying to shoehorn it into your website. 10. Communicate with your customers What better way to raise your organisations profile than by announcing a new improved website delivering what your customers want in a clear usable fashion. The launch of a new website is a great excuse to contact your customers and strenghten your relationship with them source: Nick Tatt, HotelMarketing Internet Marketing: Design matters November 4, 2005 Does design really matter from a business perspective? The answer, according to a study by the U.K.-based Design Council, is a resounding YES. In a study published in February 2004, the Design Council took a look at the Financial Times and London Stock Exchange (FTSE) stock market performance of companies that placed an emphasis on design. It then tracked the performance of these stocks from 1994 to 2003. The results are astounding. After weeding out companies that were delisted during that period, the Design Council discovered 166 “design-lead” companies that outperformed the market by 200 percent during the study’s span. Even 2000-2003’s bear market, companies that emphasized design (and won design awards) performed better than those that didn’t. They lost less value when times were tough and recovered more when things got better. There’s more detail available in the study. source: clickZ About Us   |   Services   |   Solutions   |   Portfolio   |   Contact