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Ten minute guide to Google's SEO changes
May 16, 2012
Guess what? Google’s tweaking how it ranks websites yet again. And these changes will have a big impact on some websites, because the search giant has old skool search engine optimisation techniques in its sites.
Google will soon be paying extra attention to over-optimised websites. If you’ve stuffed your pages full of keywords, linked like crazy when it’s not appropriate, filled your footers with keyword links or weird text, you’d better pay attention.
Optimisation experts SEOmoz have taken a look at what’s changing and explained what you need to do with your website. If you rely on Google to bring you business, watching their video will be ten minutes well spent:
- Keeping up with Google’s changing search algorithms
- Building links to boost your website ranking
- Top ten link building tips
Mick Dickinson runs online marketing and PR agency BuzzedUp.
Donut 12 for 2012 survey infographic
March 02, 2012
Thanks to the 672 people that completed our 12 for 2012 survey. The results were incredibly interesting, so interesting we wanted to share them in an infographic. It seems SME’s are looking into 2012 with a very positive attitude, despite all the doom and gloom going on in the world.
Please feel free to share this infographic, all we ask is that you credit us when you share it with a link back to this blog post. We also hope you’ll support us when we publish our next survey later this year.
Friday Donut tip: Google search tips
February 24, 2012
Every Friday afternoon we're going to bring you a great business IT tip. From nuggets of information that make repetitive tasks easier to simple ways to banish business technology annoyances, we’re here to help.
If there’s something you’d like help with, send an email to info@itdonut.co.uk or leave a comment on this post. We’ll try and cover it in a future IT Donut tip.
Google search tips to find what you need
There’s a reason Google is the world’s biggest search engine. And that’s because it’s pretty good at doing what it does. Most times, you can tap a few words into the Google homepage and it comes up trumps – no matter whether you want a dog on a skateboard or the UK’s population growth rate.
But sometimes, Google doesn’t perform. And that’s when knowing some Google search tips can reveal what you’re looking for.
Google search tips: use operators
One of the best ways to home in on the results you need is to start using operators. Entering these special codes into the Google search box tells Google how to restrict its search results. Here are some key operators:
- Putting quotation marks (“”) around a phrase means Google will only show results containing that exact phrase. This is a good way to find remove similar but irrelevant phrases from your results, or when you’re looking for something very specific, like a particular product.
Try it: search for “Illy espresso medium roast” to find a particular type of Illy coffee.
- Putting a minus sign (-) before a word means Google will only show results that don’t contain that word. This is useful when the term you’re searching for has several different meanings.
Try it: search for Illy -coffee to find about Illy the place or Illy the rapper.
- Putting a tilde (~) before a word means Google will also search for related terms. For instance, ~school might also search for pages containing words like college or university. This is really helpful when you need to broaden your search, but you don’t quite know which words to use.
Try it: look at the difference between results for coffee and ~coffee.
- Using site: lets you restrict search results to a particular website. Just enter site: followed by the address of the website, then enter your search terms. Google will only search pages on that particular website. It’s a lifesaver if you can’t find what you need on a website, but you know it’s there.
For instance, a search for income tax bands 2011-2012 using the HMRC website’s own search box returns no results (yes, really). But if you put the same search term into Google and restrict it to pages on the HMRC website, you can find exactly what you’re looking for.
(The exact phrase to enter into Google is: income tax bands 2011-2012 site:hmrc.gov.uk)
There are lots of other Google search operators you can experiment with. Read about them on Google’s help pages, or see this handy infographic. You can also use the advanced search page to access similar Google search tips without having to remember specific operators.
Leave a comment to share your favourite Google search tips or let us know if we’ve helped you.
Here's what happens in an internet minute
February 15, 2012
It’s a mistake to stop and think about the internet for too long. You’ll struggle to grasp the sheer size of the thing, its mind-boggling complexity and the rate at which it changes.
Still, it the internet is fascinating. And that’s why this infographic from Intel caught our eye. It gives you some idea of what happens online in a single minute.
While you’ve been reading this, a score of people have had their identities stolen, hundreds have signed up to social network LinkedIn and there have been 100,000 new Tweets. Bonkers.
Alt text: Infographic – what happens in an internet minute
Just to put some of that into context:
- The 639,800GB of data transferred is equivalent to sending about 135,000 full-length DVD films across the internet.
- Those 6 million Facebook views sound like an awful lot – but then you have to remember that worldwide, one in every nine people has a Facebook account.
- The number of internet-connected devices is set to soar over the next few years as cars, TVs and even kitchen appliances all get their own connections.
While there perhaps aren’t any hard and fast conclusions for your business to draw from this, it certainly highlights some of the opportunities out there. With 1,300 new mobile internet users every minute, having a mobile website makes sense. And with 1.3 million videos watched, perhaps your business should have a YouTube channel.
You know, I reckon this internet thing might just be here to stay...
- Social media – not as new as you think?
- Internet speed checker – test your connection
- Tech trends to watch in 2012
Firms embrace the cloud, but are they leaving IT support to chance?
February 09, 2012
A recent IT Donut survey suggests that although 2012 could be the year smaller firms show real enthusiasm for cloud computing and mobile working, many businesses are neglecting an altogether more essential part of their business IT.
The business technology survey ran across the five Donut websites and was completed by 672 businesses, 82% of which classed themselves as ‘small’. Out of all respondents, 60% said they planned to invest in technology in 2012.
The cloud takes hold
The survey shows that the gradual shift of IT services to the internet via cloud computing will accelerate in 2012.Of the companies that said they plan to invest in technology, half said they’d be looking to adopt cloud technologies in some way.
Companies attracted by the cloud’s low up-front costs and innate flexibility face a growing choice of cloud computing options. Many are opting to shift applications like their accounting system to the cloud. Others have chosen to replace ageing in-house servers with internet-based cloud hosting.
Mobility breeds efficiency
Mobile working is set to be the other big winner of 2012. Of the companies planning to invest in technology, 49% said mobile working would be one of their priorities.
There may be a number of factors behind this. The continued growth in smart phone use, the adoption of tablet computers and the emergence of super-slim, light laptops (sometimes called ‘ultrabooks’) have certainly made mobile working more feasible.
But the benefits of mobile working feel particularly compelling this year. Going mobile can boost efficiency, a key aim for many firms in the current economic climate. What’s more, the Olympics have put flexible working in the news, with the government suggesting it could ease pressure on the capital’s transport network this summer.
What about business IT support?
Perhaps the survey’s most surprising finding is that just 8% of companies said they’re planning to invest in outsourced IT support. For firms which lack in-house IT expertise, a trusted IT support company can be a valuable asset, providing expert advice to ensure investments in new technologies - like the cloud – are made wisely.
What’s more, a good IT support company helps preserve business continuity, performing maintenance and fixing problems to prevent downtime which can cost thousands.
In a world where business IT is ever-changing and more vital than ever, having a trusted IT support company can give smaller firms a real competitive edge.
Related links from the IT Donut:
Social media isn't as new as you think
February 02, 2012
You can’t move round here for social media experts and social marketing agencies. Facebook, Twitter and their ilk are big business, because companies see them as vital new marketing channels.
It’s true that social media has had a huge impact on how companies communicate and interact with new and existing customers. If your business isn’t already on Facebook, there’s a good chance you’re thinking about it.
Social business is nothing new
But something’s got lost in the in the rush to claim this new, technological territory. Caught up in all the excitement of becoming a ‘social business’, many companies seem to have forgotten that there’s always been a social element to running a company.
Luckily, Global Dawn (who say they’ve created the first comprehensive ‘social business engine’, whatever that is) have put together an infographic showing how social business has grown and changed through the years.
Click the image below to expand and let us know what you think of it in the comments – and give us your examples of social businesses from before Facebook existed.
The £100 online shop
January 19, 2012
The beauty of ecommerce is that it’s suited to just about anyone and achieving success is not just about how much money you throw at it.
The costs of starting an online shop are much lower than most alternatives, particularly if you are prepared to invest your own time and effort in getting things up and running. Here are ten practical tips to help you get going for less than £100:
- Start small. Work on your shop part-time or even view it as a hobby. That’ll allow you to test your idea before deciding whether to commit further time and expense to it.
- Don’t worry about premises. You can start your operation from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection. There’s no need to find and pay for premises.
- Buy a domain name. Research and purchase a domain name for your website through a reliable domain name company like 123-reg, Easily or Heart Internet.
- Choose good ecommerce software. This is the system that lets you create an online shop. If you’re on a limited budget, look for a server-based package. These packages include web hosting, so you get everything you need to get started and can access it all through your web browser. Packages are available from Actinic (the company I work for) and ekmPowershop. Read more on choosing ecommerce software.
- Sell on a marketplace. If you don’t want to bother with ecommerce software, set up a shop on a marketplace like eBay or Amazon. You’ll have to stick to their policies, but they’ll bring customers right to your door. Costs generally depend on how many products you want to sell. A basic eBay shop costs £14.99 a month – on top of that you have to pay listing fees and a commission on the sale value of each item.
- Develop the site yourself. If you’re using good ecommerce software, you don’t necessarily need any technical knowledge or design flair to get your site up and running. You should be able to get a good looking, fully functional site together without requiring a professional web designer.
- Find an easy way to accept payments. The easiest way – at least to start with – is usually to use a payment service such as PayPal. It is reasonably priced, easy to set up and ideal for new and small businesses. There’s no minimum monthly fee – you just pay a fixed fee per transaction, plus a percentage of the transaction fee.
- Use a drop shipper. You might be fortunate to find a supplier who can drop ship (deliver direct) to your customers. This means you don’t need to hold any stock and can simply integrate the shipping service costs into your pricing.
- Experiment with pay-per-click advertising. Keep a little cash in reserve to run some small-scale marketing activity. A good way to start is to use pay-per-click advertising to show adverts on search engines like Google. The cost will depend on how much it costs to bid on keywords relevant to your site, but you should be able to test it without spending much. You can get free Google advertising when you sign up to the IT Donut.
- Communicate with your customers. It’s easier and cheaper to get repeat sales. Try to build a mailing list of customers – services like MailChimp are free for small email lists.
Nick Kington is managing director at ecommerce provider Actinic.
Read more about running an online shop:
The holes in Wikipedia's blackout
January 18, 2012
Wikipedia's blacked out page
News corporations, newspapers and social media sites have been aflutter with news of the temporary blackout across the English pages of Wikipedia. As of 5am today, if you visit Wikipedia you’ll see a black screen explaining that the site is inaccessible for 24 hours in protest of the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) bills currently being debated in the US.
The only English pages of Wikipedia that you can view are those explaining the reasons for the blackout. These argue that the enforcement of these bills ‘actually infringes free expression while harming the internet’, rather than preventing copyright infringement as intended.
This high-profile protest is a big step for a site generally considered neutral, but a move that they feel necessary if the Internet is to remain ‘free and open, everywhere, for everyone’.
It’s not a proper blackout
However, the blackout isn’t quite as all encompassing as it seems. If you read Wikipedia’s statement of intent in full, you will discover that is still possible to access the site on ‘mobile devices and smart phones’. In a society where an ever-increasing number of people own mobile devices, this exception somewhat undermines Wikipedia’s bold stance.
Forgive me for being a little cynical, but I can’t help but feel that a 24 hour Wikipedia blackout will be less effective than the media whirlwind surrounding it suggests.
If the blackout was implemented by Google, Twitter or Facebook, it would really make people sit up and listen. As it is, who will really be affected by the Wikipedia blackout? A few students trying to do a bit of last minute revision?
Why isn’t it worldwide?
Perhaps I’m being a little unfair. I commend Wikipedia for taking a stance. Whilst Google and Facebook have offered their support, neither is likely to take similar action as they have too many shareholders and advertisers to keep content.
I just feel Wikipedia could have been a bit more assertive – perhaps through a worldwide blackout or one spanning a greater period of time. It remains to be seen how many other sites will follow suit and what effect the protest will have on the progress of the bills, but as blackouts go, I wonder if this has too many holes in to be truly effective.
10 cloud apps to help you work anywhere
January 12, 2012
Photo credit: Camdiluv
Cassette tapes. Floppy disks. CD-ROMs. Is your hard drive heading the same way? Not yet... But you don't have to wait for your hard drive to die to imagine it in storage heaven. Businesses are already looking to the skies to store critical data and run applications, using what's called the cloud.
cloud com·put·ing: working with files and software on the Internet, rather than on your hard drive
Not only does working in the cloud keep your files and apps backed up and on the internet, it allows you to work anywhere. You don't have to be at your desk or even be at a desk at all.
Here are 10 cloud-based apps that can help you work wherever you like:
- Dropbox. Dropbox is a cloud app with wow-factor: for people new to working in the cloud especially, it's very impressive. It's a folder that sits on your computer, like any other folder, but the difference is its contents are stored remotely and synced across other computers and devices that are signed into your Dropbox account or sharing folders with you.
In summary, it could do to the USB stick what the MP3 did to the MiniDisc.
Because it looks like any other folder on your computer, it can also turn regular apps into cloud apps by hosting files and settings. For example, I use typing shortcut utility TextExpander. I put its settings file in my Dropbox so that my shortcuts sync across my desktop computer at home and my laptop when I'm on the move.Dropbox Basic is free and includes 2GB of storage; other account types are available.
- Evernote. Evernote is sort of like Dropbox for your brain. It helps you ‘remember everything’ by allowing you to capture notes and ideas, photos and screen grabs, sounds and links, sync them automatically to the cloud and access them from practically anywhere.
Evernote is available through your web browser, Windows and Mac desktop apps and mobile apps for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry and Web OS.
Evernote is free; Evernote Premium is $5 per month or $45 per year.
- Google Docs. Google Docs might not be ready to take over Microsoft Office just yet, but it's edging ever closer. It includes apps for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings and forms.
You can upload files from your desktop to get started, access documents from connected computers and smart phones and collaborate in real-time with colleagues.
Google Docs is free.
- Gmail and Google Calendar. More from Google now, and I include them really as a reminder that if you work on the move it is essential to have hosted email and calendar that you can access from anywhere. In particular, mobile email is the lynchpin of any cloud computing system.
Google's solution is a good one, and it'll sync with your Android phone, of course, and with your BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows and Nokia phone using Google Sync.
Gmail and Google Calendar are free.
- Hootsuite. Power users will tell you that TweetDeck is the only way to manage your social media presence, but I disagree. I find its interface a bit grim, to be honest.
HootSuite, on the other hand, runs in your browser, on your smart phone and tablet device, does everything TweetDeck does and more, and it's better looking. Oh, and The White House (@whitehouse) uses it too.
HootSuite Basic is free; HootSuite Pro is $5.99 per month.
- Delicious. It looked like it was all over for Delicious when Yahoo dropped it, but fans and YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen bought it and have kept it going. What is it worth it? Yes!
Delicious is a bookmarking service that keeps all of your important links in the cloud, so you can get to them from any computer.
Delicious is free.
- Instapaper. Ever get sent a link to an article that you don't have time to read right now? 'Read later' with Instapaper by clicking a bookmarklet in your web browser. Instapaper reformats the article so it’s easy to read on your chosen device.
And then it syncs up so the article is ready to read on its website or offline on your iPhone, iPad or Kindle - perfect for when you do have time to read, like when you're travelling.
Instapaper is free.
- Toodledo. It's not the best-looking to-do app, but it works really well. Get tasks out of your inbox by forwarding them to your Toodledo email address, organise them by folders, tags, context and subtasks, and sync them with your iPhone, Android or BlackBerry device.
Better-looking alternatives include Flow and Wunderlist.
Toodledo is free; Toodledo Pro is $14.95 per year; Toodledo Pro Plus is $29.95 per year.
- Salesforce. Salesforce is CRM software that sits in the cloud, allowing you to take your customers' details with you on the move.
Salesforce starts at $2 per month and can cost up to $250 per month, depending on what you need.
- Basecamp. Basecamp is project management software that's perfect for remote teams, allowing you to share files, deliver projects on time and - crucially - keep communication organised and out of your inbox (no-one needs more email, right?).
There's a free version of Basecamp; other plans can cost up to $149 per month, depending what you need.
- Cloud computing: a new horizon for small firms
- Online tools every freelancer should try
- Is IT the fifth utility?
All prices shown are in US dollars - you'll pay the equivalent in pounds charged by your credit card issuer.
San Sharma (@WorkSnugSan) is Community Manager at WorkSnug (@WorkSnug), a free mobile app and website that helps you find laptop-friendly workspaces, like coffee shops with Wi-Fi.
When Cyber Monday isn't Cyber Monday
December 12, 2011
Online retailers often take on temporary warehouse staff at Christmas
‘Cyber Monday sees Brits spend £19m AN HOUR on the biggest online shopping day of the year’ screams the rarely subtle Daily Mail. You’ve probably encountered the hype over the last couple of weeks: in the lead-up to Christmas, a flurry of media outlets have proclaimed the first Monday in December as the busiest online shopping day of the year, giving it the moniker of ‘Cyber Monday’.
But does Cyber Monday really exist? Or is it an invention of PR firms and retailers, designed to generate coverage and give their sales a boost at the start of the Christmas shopping period?
Cyber Monday is different in different places
According to Mobile Fun, its busiest day of the year isn’t the first Monday in December at all. It’s the second. And that means for them, today is Cyber Monday.
What’s more, the online retailer reckons peak online shopping days vary across Europe. Going by orders placed on its website, The Netherlands has its Cyber Monday on 29 November (but then their main day for giving gifts is 6 December), while online orders don’t peak in Spain until 2 January.
“For many online retailers, peak online shopping days pre-Christmas vary across Europe and don’t all fall on 5 December,” explained Mark Riley, Mobile Fun’s head of marketing. ”We find that if a retailer offers late ordering and reasonably priced next day delivery, shoppers are happy to order up to the last minute.”
Ignore the Cyber Monday hype – it’s about your customers
If you’re running an online business and currently dealing with the Christmas rush, perhaps the key point is to remember that even if Cyber Monday does exist for most retailers (and that’s certainly questionable, given the selective sales data that many release), it might not hold true for yours.
Sales trends vary by country, industry and quite possibly by individual business. So if you want this to be a bumper Christmas for your online shop, forget about Cyber Monday and focus on keeping items in stock, providing great service and not letting your online shop crash. And keep going right until your last delivery date, because there are always people who leave it late.
How did our 2011 tech predictions turn out?
December 08, 2011
We gazed into our crystal ball this time last year. (Image: Frogman! on Flickr.)
Regular readers might remember that about a year ago we asked some of our IT Donut experts what trends we'd see in small business IT in 2011.
Twelve months on and we figured it would only be right to tot up the scores and see how accurate our experts' predictions were. So, how did they do?
Prediction one: it'll be easier to run your business using free services
Paul Lewis from Moo told us he thought we'd see more useful 'freemium' tools appearing in 2011. These are services like Dropbox and Huddle which offer useful, basic features for free and then charge if you want to access additional functions.
Even a year ago freemium services were fairly common. The idea has been around for a good few years, ever since the term was popularised by author and Wired magazine editor-in-chief, Chris Anderson.
Freemium services go hand-in-hand with cloud computing, because many cloud services follow the freemium model. As cloud computing has grown in 2011, so have the number of useful, free tools available. We rounded up five of the best a couple of months ago.
Verdict: there's a greater choice of freemium services than ever before, but most businesses are a way off being able to do everything for free. 8/10.
Prediction two: Quora to be the social media star of 2011
Tech and PR blogger Phil Szomsor reckoned question and answer social network Quora would prove its worth to businesses as a PR and customer service tool.
But after an initial burst of publicity, Quora seems to have faded somewhat from view, even though it does have an active community of users. In particular, questions about starting and running a company seem to attract a lot of answers - suggesting Quora can be a valuable source of advice for business owners.
But the site also attracts more trivial questions. That's no bad thing, but suggests perhaps Quora will find a niche as a kind of giant Notes & Queries.
Verdict: Quora has become a good place to go for business advice, but it's nowhere near as widely used by companies as other networks like Facebook and Twitter. 5/10.
Prediction three: potential customers will expect an instant response
David Hill from Cloudnet Telecommunications said he thought potential customers would get more impatient in 2011. Driven by the growing use of smartphones and expecting immediate responses through social media, he reckoned businesses would have to get better at providing the right information to customers at the right time.
He's certainly right in that a growing proportion of people are using smartphones while out shopping to look up information, compare prices and research products. A recent survey found that 24% of consumers have used a smartphone while shopping - often to check product details or competitor prices.
And email guru Monica Seeley confirms that we've become accustomed to getting near-instant replies when we send emails - which makes David's prediction look fairly accurate.
Verdict: better mobile internet access means more people expect they should be able to look up the information they need, immediately. 7/10.
Prediction four: you won't pay for software in one lump sum
This prediction had a clear connection to cloud computing too. Ciaran Kenny, from IT support firm Macnamara, told us that the traditional model of paying for business software all in one go would become less popular. Instead, companies would start to pay for software on a subscription basis.
Certainly, subscription software has gained ground since Kenny's prediction. Most notably, Microsoft launched Office 365 in June. It's a version of Microsoft Office that you pay for by the month and access over the internet.
But have we seen the death of traditional software that's paid for in one go? Not a bit of it. Microsoft still sells this version of Office too - and the shelves of PC World aren't likely to be empty of software anytime soon.
Verdict: there are more subscription-based packages available than ever, but businesses are only slowly starting to embrace them. 6/10.
Do you agree with our assessment? And what technology has made a real difference to you this year? Leave a comment to let us know.
eBuyer shows how the wrong web hosting can damage your business
December 02, 2011
Could your web hosting be a roadblock for your website? (Image: williac on Flickr.)
If there's a piece of business IT that's a commodity, surely it's web hosting. There are countless providers, yet what you get is basically the same, right? It's space to get your website on the internet - how much difference can there possibly be between packages?
Well, when you're trying to find reliable web hosting for your business, you might want to learn from the recent experience of eBuyer. Earlier this week the online electronics retailer demonstrated that the ability of your web hosting to handle sudden surges in visitor numbers can hugely affect customer opinions.
How a £1 sale went wrong
Perhaps in an effort to jump on the 'black Friday' and 'cyber Monday' sales which have crossed the Atlantic in recent years, the company announced its exciting £1 clearance sale: 'Every product £1 - updated hourly.' Promising items such as flatscreen monitors for just a quid, it attracted lots of attention on Facebook, Twitter and deal websites.
Unfortunately, things didn't quite go to plan. Demand from customers crashed the eBuyer website even before the sale had started, taking it offline for several hours.
Inevitably, disappointed customers vented their frustration on the company's own Facebook page, and on other sites like MoneySavingExpert.com and HotUKDeals. News stories on The Register and other tech sites followed.
It turned what should have been an attention-grabbing sale into a damage limitation exercise. Check out the apology the company posted on its website.
Was the web hosting to blame?
Let's not be too harsh on eBuyer. They're by no means the first online retailer to fall into this trap and they won't be the last. It's a classic mistake: generating massive demand for your products or services, while failing to ensure your website can cope.
Problems like this are commonly caused by poor internal communication (the marketing department sets up a promotion without briefing the technical team properly), or simply underestimating the level of demand.
The type of web hosting and the way it's set up has a crucial role to play too. Large companies like eBuyer have complex hosting systems, probably with lots of servers spread around different locations. Getting these geared up for a traffic spike can be a complex job.
Talk to the tech guys
For smaller businesses, things are usually more straightforward. You might have cheap shared hosting, some sort of cloud hosting, or maybe your own dedicated hosting.
Whatever your set up, it's important to speak to whoever manages your hosting well before you launch a promotion or start a project with the potential to create a huge increase in website traffic.
Indeed, when you first choose your web hosting, ask yourself whether this is an important requirement. Some types of hosting - notably cloud hosting - are inherently better suited to managing big spikes in demand.
One-off flash sales are a great way to gain PR and boost your customer base - but only if your website is up to the task of serving all those customers. A failure during a traffic spike is incredibly frustrating, because it takes your website down when you have most potential customers trying to view it. Just ask eBuyer.
- Learn about the main types of web hosting
- Expert Q&A: finding the right web hosting for your business
The internet is running out of room
November 02, 2011
The internet is going to run out of room soon (Image: James Cridland on Flickr.)
It has long been accepted that the internet is vital to business operations. Even the smallest firms now rely on a web presence to attract custom and convert interest into sales.
Such exponential growth has been flagged as an issue for many years. As far back as the early 90s, the Internet Engineering Task Force realised that a way needed to be found to conserve address space. It was inevitable that the web would eventually reach its capacity.
More space for everyone
The problem lies with IP (internet protocol) addresses. Each device on the internet is allocated an IP address. These unique numbers allow those devices to communicate with each other.
The first publicly used version of IP addresses was IPv4, which allowed a capacity for 4.3 billion addresses. At the time, that figure probably seemed more than adequate. However, as internet use has exploded with servers, phones and other devices all requiring their own IP addresses, it’s become clear that 4.3 billion is not enough.
Are you ready for IPv6?
Twenty years on and the answer to this predicament has arrived in the form of IPv6, a new version of the internet protocol system. This theoretically offers a further 340 trillion, trillion, trillion addresses. It’s an impressive and welcome addition, but one that presents a challenge to every small business in the world.
We’re now entering a period of transition between IPv4 and IPv6. During this time, IPv4 will be phased out. New enterprises will automatically be set up in IPv6 and many businesses will migrate to the new protocol. In fact, since the late 1990s many products have been built with IPv6 capabilities - including widely-used operating systems and mobile phones.
As most businesses see the internet as critical to their operations, migrating to IPv6 is a sensible move. There will come a time when IPv4 public addresses no longer exist, so it would be wise to cater for partners and customers with both versions now. This will ensure that no issues arise further down the line.
Getting started with IPv6
It will be much more cost-effective for businesses to start implementing IPv6 now, if only gradually at first. Carrying out a mass overhaul when IPv4 disappears could be time-consuming and disruptive. But how do you get started?
Well, some companies may be already running on IPv6 without knowing it. New operating systems and applications will be IPv6-enabled, so you might simply need to update your firewall or router. Larger firms may require a more complex reconfiguration. It’s also important to check that service providers (like your web hosting company) are IPv6 ready.
As each business is different, individual implementation plans will need to be drawn up. If you rely on an external IT supplier, speaking to them is a good place to start.
By being proactive and planning ahead to make IPv6 fully operational, companies can steal a march on competitors who are sitting back to assess what happens.
SynergyPlus provides telephony and technology solutions for businesses.
Domain names: a sexy business?
October 26, 2011
You might have heard about the new adult industry orientated sponsored top-level domain names (sTLD).
These are domain names ending in .xxx, which were finally given approval in March this year.
As part of this, the domain registry managing the .xxx domain names, ICM Registry, is implementing a phased launch.
This will let those with intellectual property trademarks and existing domain names either secure their .xxx equivalent domain, or to block on their intellectual property being used as an .xxx domain.
The people over at ICM Registry have produced a pretty reasonable flow chart to guide you through the process. The key thing to note is that the sunrise period – during which you can apply to have domain names blocked – ends in just a couple of days, on 28 October.
What does this mean for you?
In essence it comes down to this:
If your business operates in the adult industry and you want a .xxx domain, you can register a .xxx domain matching one you already own right now (as a .com or .net etc). Manufacturers of adult products can register their trademarks too. This is known as Sunrise A, and this period ends on 28 October.
If, like most of us, you are not involved in the adult industry, then you are probably looking at Sunrise B. Here you can protect your domains and trademarks from becoming .xxx domains.
For example, a fictional Bob’s Widget Co making an aftermarket add-on product, Widget2000 with a site on the domain bobs-widgets.com, could secure bobs-widgets.xxx (their equivalent domain) and widget2000.xxx (a trademark) and this would prevent any other entity registering these as .xxx domains.
If you apply to have domains blocked in this way, the block lasts for ten years - and is non-refundable and non-reversible. Sunrise B runs in parallel with Sunrise A, so also ends on 28 October.
Blocking domain names sounds well and good, but there are a couple of things to watch for:
- Blocking a domain is not the same as registering one. Importantly, you can’t redirect visitors to your blocked .xxx domain name to your main website.
- The cost of a block is quite high. Depending on who you register for, it can cost over £100 a year. That’s a lot more than the cost of registering a .com domain for ten years.
Protecting your domain name
I think it needs to be said that protecting domain names shouldn't be a concern for local businesses.
Is someone really going to register your trademark as a domain name for up to £150 a year? Because this is what a full .xxx registrations appear to cost. Sony.xxx might be targeted by domain name squatters, but locallawfirm.xxx? I hardly think so.
Then there’s the question of whether .xxx domain names will last. With the adult entertainment industry’s trade association, the Free Speech Coalition, campaigning for a boycott of .xxx domain names, any domain registration or block could be a short-lived investment.
I guess the Free Speech Coalition is upset that a third party will profit by charging disproportionately high fees for .xxx domains.
And perhaps they have a point: the cost is magnified when a single company needs to register multiple domains. For instance, the adult site kink.com reportedly has about 10,000 domain names and simple maths shows it could cost them around £1.5M to secure their .xxx related domains. I don’t think that would be a profitable move for them - after all, they’re still likely to be kink.com instead of kink.xxx.
I hate to tell of impending doom, but I just can’t see mileage in this domain name extension.
Are you bothering to register any .xxx domain names for your business? Leave a comment and let us know.
This is a guest post from Phil Stott, who works for I-COM, a full-service online marketing firm. This post originally appeared on the I-COM blog.
Designing your website, don't forget your users!
October 19, 2011
Designing a new website or revamping your existing one is an exercise that most organisations should really be looking to undertake every two to three years. Trends and styles on the web change year-on-year and, in the case of a revamp, if you wait much longer than that, your website can end up looking dated and stale.
So how do you set about achieving a new design? Most people will take a look around at existing sites, especially those of their competitors or peers, and pick the bits they like best. The resulting new design ends up being a mishmash of different concepts put together in an attempt to be the best in the industry or sector. This is all great except one critical thing has been forgotten, the user!
Considering the different types of users of the website and what they would be expecting from it, is critical to delivering a successful customer experience.
One way to ensure the customer is considered is to use user-centred design (UCD). UCD is a process which considers the requirements, expectations and skills of end users at each stage in the design process. Getting your users to provide input into each step can help avoid rework, overruns and additional costs. This approach doesn't have to discount the elements found during analysis of other web sites, it merely means that these are evaluated with the end user in mind.
Analysis of user needs will produce a list of functional and content elements for the new site. The next stage is to start considering the layout and basic functional design of the website. Developing wireframes at this point is a very useful visualisation tool.
The wireframes should consider how users will navigate the site, using the concept of user journeys can help to embellish the detail and quantity of wireframes. If you are planning on delivering to other devices such as mobiles or tablets now is a good time to look at this, rather than making it an afterthought.
Whilst agreeing wireframes, careful consideration should be given to content, and more specifically to the information architecture. This in its simplest form is the categorisation of content into a coherent structure, and most importantly, one which most people are going to understand quickly. Many organisations make the mistake when organising their content to use internal structures and terminology. On a public website such content may not make sense to the average external user; however internally in an intranet environment it may be perfectly valid.
Information architecture leads naturally onto the design of navigation, bearing in mind that information architecture isn’t solely about a how the overall content is structured in terms of navigation – it is also about defining structured content including meta-data which may be utilised by features such as the site search.
Basic usability considerations should be employed when considering navigation including avoiding long lists of links - stick to five or six maximum - and users will be able to scan quickly for what they are looking for. Breaking navigation into sub menus and context-sensitive navigation may help make this manageable on a large website.
By this stage you can finally start thinking about the graphic design bit, often the starting point for many sites, but hopefully not yours. You may want to start off with some simple aesthetics and do some user testing on your concepts, user journeys, information architecture and navigation before you go headlong into polishing a design, ideally this will be with real target users.
If you take that approach you will save yourself time when you get the dreaded feedback that something isn't quite right and you need to start again. Developing a prototype at this stage is advisable as users will find the tactility of a clickable (or indeed touchable in the case of tablet devices) site much more informative and rewarding than looking at a PowerPoint of what the website may look like. Prototyping doesn't need to be massively complicated, it only has to simulate functionality but it must be sufficiently developed to allow the important elements to be part of the test users’ experience.
After the feedback from your user testing you can finally apply the gloss to your design, taking care not to undo all the good work achieved up to this point. Think carefully at this stage about accessibility in terms of colours, contrast and font sizes or you run the risk of alienating a portion of your audience, in some cases without even realising it.
Overall this approach, if taken seriously, will result in a better website than the cut and paste of design by competitor analysis. We're only skimming the surface here of UCD and the related concept of user journeys but it doesn't need to be rocket science to end up with an attractive website that you can explain why it looks the way it does. Critically, it should deliver even better results for the organisation.
And remember you're not quite finished yet, as your website should continue to evolve through user feedback gathered from commenting systems, ratings or a simple feedback form. User centred design is not just a process you undertake at the start of a project, you should never stop.
Kirk Potter, C2 Software’s Research and Development Director
Why doesn't your business have a mobile website?
October 12, 2011
Have you used the internet on your mobile phone this week? Apparently 60% of all mobile phones sold are smart phones, capable of accessing the internet, and mobile internet traffic grew by 4,000% between September 2009 and January 2011 (albeit from a small base).
Just in case you hadn’t noticed, the mobile internet is here to stay. Walk down any street in any town and you’ll see people accessing the internet – as they shop, as they wait for a bus ... even as they talk to their friends.
Why you need a mobile website
You can create a mobile version of your website, designed to be easy to use on a smaller screen. But should you bother? Just in case the statistics haven’t convinced you, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Here’s why:
- Lots of business websites just don’t work on mobiles. Smart phones are different to computers. They have small screens and rely on the touch of a finger rather than the click of a mouse, so it’s impossible to move the mouse over menus to reveal their contents. If it’s tricky to use your website on a mobile phone, people will go elsewhere.
- Creating a mobile-friendly website doesn’t have to be hard. It depends how your website was built in the first place, but building a mobile website doesn’t usually mean starting from scratch. You can usually restructure your existing content and add the functionality you need quite easily. Or if you are redesigning your site completely, ask your web designer about responsive web design, where the website adapts to whatever size of screen it’s being viewed on.
- Mobile web users want different things. People use the internet on their phones differently. Often – but not always –they’re out and about. They may have little time, and be very focused on finding a specific piece of information. You need to design your mobile site to cater for those needs.
- It’s more important than having an app. Many businesses have focused their efforts on creating their own mobile application that people can run on their phones. These can be useful, but they take more effort, because you have to create a different version of your app for each type of phone. It’s better to start with a mobile website, then consider an app.
- We’re only at the start of the mobile internet. At the moment, the mobile internet basically means people accessing websites on their phones. But we’ll start to see all kinds of new devices in the coming months and years, enabling people to use the internet when and where they want. Do you want to miss out on those visitors to your website?
Some experts are predicting that, in a couple of years’ time, more people will be accessing the internet on their phones than on computers. If that’s true, can you afford to not be seen by those people?
20 inspiring and insightful Steve Jobs quotes
October 07, 2011
1 “What made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world”
2 “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
3 It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.”
4 “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
5 “Things don’t have to change the world to be important.”
6 “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying ‘we've done something wonderful’, that's what matters to me.”
7 “We don’t do market research. We don’t hire consultants. We just want to make great products.”
8 “The most compelling reason for most people to buy a computer for the home will be to link it into a nationwide communications network. We're just in the beginning stages of what will be a truly remarkable breakthrough for most people – as remarkable as the telephone.” (speaking in 1985)
9 “Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple, but it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
10 “My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each other's negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are not done by one person, they are done by a team of people.”
11 “What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”
12 “I'm the only person I know that's lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year. It's very character-building.”
13 “You can’t just ask the customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”
14 “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.”
15 “You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
16 “When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You'll know it's there, so you're going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”
17 “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.”
18 “Innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we've been thinking about a problem. It's ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea.”
19 "I don't think I've ever worked so hard on something, but working on Macintosh was the neatest experience of my life. Almost everyone who worked on it will say that. None of us wanted to release it at the end. It was as though we knew that once it was out of our hands, it wouldn't be ours anymore. When we finally presented it at the shareholders' meeting, everyone in the auditorium stood up and gave it a five-minute ovation. What was incredible to me was that I could see the Mac team in the first few rows. It was as though none of us could believe that we'd actually finished it. Everyone started crying.''
20 “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
Do you want your website to travel second class?
August 23, 2011
Shouldn’t we all have fast fibre optic connections? (Image: James Laurence Stewart on Flickr.)
If you pay attention to the business or technology press, you may have noticed the term ‘net neutrality’ popping up in articles. But what does it actually mean? And why should it matter to you and your business?
Net neutrality (or network neutrality) is the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally. It’s how the internet works at the moment: no matter whether internet traffic is from the BBC iPlayer, your business blog, a video-conferencing service or any other source, it isn’t discriminated against.
Network providers can’t charge more to transfer it, or prioritise certain types of internet traffic over others.
Net neutrality also prevents internet service providers (ISPs) and governments from restricting what you choose to access. It gives you the freedom to view whichever sites or content you want, using any equipment you choose.
See a great visual representation of net neutrality >
The threat to net neutrality
To some extent, ISPs already restrict internet connectivity to their customers. Some perform ‘traffic shaping’ to limit the use of file sharing services. Others give voice and video traffic priority to make sure calls don’t break up.
So what’s the problem? Well, thankfully not much at the moment, but internet traffic is growing and broadband providers are doing everything they can to keep costs low and stay competitive.
Currently businesses pay their ISP for the internet connection they require (depending on what’s available in that location). Whether it’s broadband over a standard phone line or a fast fibre optic connection, the speed is only restricted by the type of connection and the package they choose.
But the end of net neutrality could see broadband providers signing lucrative contracts and exclusive agreements with favoured customers such as search engines. This would mean that your choice of ISP could determine the quality of your connection to certain websites, forcing you to choose them over other options.
What about your business?
One of the best things about the internet is how it has put small businesses on an equal footing with bigger competitors. The website for a local greengrocer will load just as fast as a supermarket’s website.
But without net neutrality, that could change. With its deep pockets, the supermarket could pay broadband providers to deliver its website faster, forcing its competitors backwards. The greatest rewards would only be available to those with the most to spend.
Today, many small businesses exist only online. So changes to the way the network is regulated will directly affect their success and even their livelihood.
Net neutrality in law
Last month the Netherlands became the first country in Europe to write the concept of network neutrality into national law. Mobile phone operators in particular are now banned from blocking or charging consumers extra for using internet-based communications services like Skype.
In the UK, things aren’t quite so advanced. Ofcom published a paper last year designed to promote debate on network traffic management. And the telecoms regulator is expect to clarify its stance on net neutrality sometime in this year. We’ll keep our eyes peeled, but I wouldn’t hold your breath!
We have also conducted our own Powernet research that shows UK businesses overwhelmingly support net neutrality. Only 19% believe that ISPs should be allowed to treat different types of traffic in different ways, and just 17% would be willing to pay for a top tier service.
So who chooses what your business does online? Well at the moment, you do, but in the future, things might not be so easy. That’s why we need government backing for net neutrality.
- How to choose an internet service provider
- Check internet speed with our online speed test
Is Apple's iCloud any good for business?
August 19, 2011
Apple’s hyped-up iCloud service will store all your ‘content’ - including files, music, emails, apps and so on – in the cloud.
This means you should be able to log in over the internet and access all that information from any device. Mobile, laptop computer, desktop ... it won’t matter.
iCloud is due to launch in mid-September, and could be of real benefit to anyone who’s always forgetting to copy files across to their laptop or never has the music they want on their iPod. But does it have any business potential?
It’s just Apple’s take on the cloud
The iCloud offers nothing really new. The whole idea of cloud storage has existed for a while now, and services like Dropbox already help you keep copies of all your files on different computers and in different places.
The difference is that this time it’s Apple doing the cloud. This, remember, is a company which doesn’t always bring things to the market first, but does tend to make existing technologies easier to use.
Take the iPod. There were plenty of MP3 players around when it launched, but it took Apple to push them into the mainstream and make them really easy to use. Some analysts will be wondering if iCloud do the same for cloud computing.
Using iCloud for business
Just like other cloud services, iCloud will let you access files and data anywhere. It could be useful for people who tend to work when they’re out and about, because they’ll have their files on hand no matter if they’re on the office PC or their smart phone.
iCloud may even be a good way to back up files. If it’s as effortless to use as other Apple products, it could be a straightforward way to supplement on-site backups.
But hold on! Great as that sounds, iCloud has some disadvantages for business use. The most significant is that it looks impossible to have multiple users on a single account. That’ll make sharing and working on files together a challenge. Providers like Box.net and Dropbox are likely to offer far more flexibility in this area.
There’s also been no word from Apple about any kind of service guarantee or service level agreement. That’s going to be a real stumbling block. If you’re going to entrust critical data to iCloud, you need a contract that guarantees you’ll be able to access it when you need it.
For businesses that already use Apple
Although iCloud will work on Windows PCs too, these limitations make me think it will be most popular with companies that already use Mac computers and iPhones. If you’ve bought into the Apple way of doing things then iCloud might be a natural next step. In fact, if iCloud is tightly integrated into other Apple software then it might be hard to avoid.
But let’s not write off iCloud for the rest of us just yet. The cloud computing market is growing, and surely Apple will want a slice of that business. Look out – it probably still has some tricks up its sleeve.
- Learn more about cloud computing
- Is it time to start treating business IT as a utility?
- Cloud computing security Q&A
This is a guest post from Integral IT, a Yorkshire IT support company.
Is cloud computing green computing?
August 17, 2011
Can cloud computing reduce carbon emissions? (Image: Aske Holst on Flickr.)
More businesses than ever are moving some of their IT to the cloud. In fact Microsoft’s SMB Cloud Adoption Study 2011, which surveyed more than 3,000 businesses worldwide, showed that 39% expect to use at least one cloud computing service by 2013.
As concerns over global warming increase, cloud computing is being hailed as green computing too. But can this really be true? Is the cloud the easiest way to move to green computing?
What is green computing?
Green computing is computing which uses electricity efficiently.
According to a 2001 study (PDF link), an office of 10 typical PCs, storing data locally and saving documents on a server, consumes an average of 215 kWh of electricity per working week. Those PCs also produce a lot of heat, which may mean you need air-conditioning, using even more power.
In its most extreme form, cloud computing replaces your business PCs with ‘thin clients’ which contain no software, no disk and no moving parts. They connect to a remote server which stores data and does the actual work. Everything you need, you access remotely.
This can significantly cut the amount of energy you use in your office. On average, the same size office would consume 133 kWh per working week. That’s a big difference: in terms of carbon emissions, it’s like driving 9.000 fewer miles in a new car. Even allowing for improvements in PC efficiency since that 2001 study, you’re still likely to see a saving.
So it might mean you have green computing on your premises. But are you just shifting the environmental impact elsewhere?
Green computing doubts
Some environmental organisations have questioned how green the cloud really is. After all, cloud computing requires lots of servers, kept in vast datacentres which consume huge amounts of power.
Greenpeace has been particularly vocal in dampening the cloud’s green computing credentials. Their supporting report suggests IT energy consumption will triple by 2020. But could this just be down to the growing use of technology rather than the cloud?
After all, the use of home computers has been on the rise for years and 35% of homes now have more than just one computer.
The Greenpeace report does recognise that IT companies look to locate their datacentres in places that minimise the environmental impact. For instance, HP put a datacentre in Newcastle because then they could use the sea air to cool servers naturally. And Yahoo uses hydroelectric power in its New York datacentre.
The cloud and green computing conclusions
The environmental performance of cloud computing really depends on how you use it and which equipment you choose.
Older computers were not built to be environmentally friendly, so if you’re simply hooking a cloud computing service up to a five-year-old PC then you’re not doing a lot to move to green computing.
In contrast, combining the cloud with a modern, more energy efficient computer can almost certainly reduce the amount of energy your IT uses.
Check out the Google Chromebook. Almost nothing is stored on this laptop. All you have is a web browser, through which you have to do everything. This is perhaps green computing in its purest form, showing how cloud computing can help to create a greener technological future.
At SpiderGroup, we say cloud computing is green computing, and as it seems the cloud is here to stay, we think it can only get greener.
Does green computing matter to your business? Do you even care about being environmentally friendly? Let us know by leaving a comment.
- See common ways businesses use cloud computing
- How to tell if you're ready for the cloud
- Looking for space in the cloud? Get reliable web hosting
This guest post was written by Kerry Hale from SpiderGroup.
How to make infographics with impact
August 12, 2011
Infographics are a fantastic tool for any business looking to engage people through quality content and visual insight. As they become ever more popular, here's our advice on how to make infographics. (Here are three reasons to use infographics.)
Get the right data visualisation idea
Well-designed and well-executed infographics will raise your profile, show you as an expert and can even go viral, meaning you get a great return on your investment. But this potential can only be reached if you create something truly useful and genuinely engaging.
Typically, infographics work well where the information to be communicated is statistical and number based or where complex relationships are to be shown. Infographics are generally about data visualisation, but that doesn't mean you can’t communicate something else.
Perhaps you want a visual way of showing the structure of your business or simply want to explain a subject in one clear image. Whatever the idea, make your infographic useful, relevant and worth sharing.
The 'Infographic of Infographics' shows all you need to know about infographics in one engaging image. Source and full-size version: www.zabisco.com
Get the right infographic brief
Creating a brief is a key step on the journey to data visualisation and infographic success. Even if you plan to create the infographic yourself, it's well worth putting together a document to clarify your ideas and refine your messaging.
This means understanding what the intent of your infographic will be and what effect you hope it to have on your business. It may be for branding – infographics are great at showing your brand and helping people to understand what you’re all about. Or it could be for a more specific purpose, such as increasing traffic to your website.
More specifically, you need to be clear on the message you want to convey, both in terms of the individual facts and figures and the overall picture you want to paint.
Your brief for creating an infographic should be as comprehensive as possible. Once it is written, consider whether it could be handed to a designer who could then create the infographic without asking you any questions.
If they would be able to do this, then you have written a good brief – if not, then think about what you need to add.
Get creative with data visualisation
Infographics are an extremely creative mode of communication – that’s what makes them so engaging. The majority of your content should be visual. You can use graphs, illustrations and metaphorical representations for data visualisation and to get your ideas across.
Sketch out your ideas to flesh out how you want your infographic to look. You can’t do too much experimenting with pen and paper before you start; it’s not productive to be trying things on screen without mapping them out on paper to begin with.
Sketch out ideas and give yourself different options to choose from. Source: www.zabisco.com
Your brand personality can really shine here, too. The style you choose when you make an infographic will say a lot about your business.
You may want to use a linear layout with straight lines and simple illustrations to portray a formal image. Or a fluid, colourful layout can show your company as a little more fun.
Make an infographic - it's a great way to showcase your business. Source and full-size version: www.zabisco.com
Consider any brand logos or images you are using. Do you have them in the format you need? Are there alternative versions for a light or dark background?
Most designers will want images to be supplied in TIF or PNG format with a transparent background. This means they can be dropped onto any colour without having to be cut out manually.
Execute your infographic
Ok, now it's time to sit down and actually make an infographic. Here are the key elements to consider:
Layout
The layout of your infographic and its orientation will depend very much on what you are trying to achieve and how your infographic will be used.
If the infographic is for use online only, a portrait orientation works best and looks great within blog posts or as part of a web page.
Alternatively, a landscape format may be better, as with this infographic from the Blackberry website about how businesses can grow using mobile technology:
The Blackberry infographic. Source and full-size version: www.uk.blackberry.com
This takes a whole web page and uses a magnifying tool so you can zoom into it. This meant the designer was able to use a smaller point font and fit in more information.
Programs to use
There’s no right or wrong approach when it comes to what program you use to make an infographic. Typically, infographics which use a lot of illustration will be created with Adobe Illustrator, while photo-based graphics would benefit from Adobe Photoshop.
However, both of these are professional design tools, so if you're not a designer you may find it hard to use.
Although it's hard to make a really polished, professional infographic without some design skills, there are lots of simpler tools. For instance:
- Hohli is an online chart building system. You can also use tools in Microsoft Excel to create charts and graphs.
- IBM's Many Eyes lets you view data visualiations that other people have created, and create your own.
- Creately is a drag-and-drop tool that's very versatile and can help you create all sorts of data visualisations.
- Visual.ly is a relative newcomer, pitching itself as a place to see other people's data visualisations and share your own - and promising infographic creation tools soon.
Delivery
When delivering your infographic you need to think carefully about what format best suits your purpose. For example, the Blackberry infographic shown above was created in a format ready for a website because it had to include links and clickable features.
If you plan to use your infographic in print, you'll need a high-resolution version. If it's just for other websites, you will probably need to create a smaller image - probably in JPG format.
This guest blog post was written by user experience agency Zabisco. For more infographic ideas, check out the Zabisco blog or contact the company about its infographic services.
Website error pages: don't 404get them!
August 04, 2011
In an ideal world, every page on a website would work and nobody would ever see a website error page. But we don't live in an ideal world and website error pages are very much a part of the online experience – so why not make the most of them?
Website error pages are shown when something goes wrong with your website. Typically, this will be a 'page not found' - a '404 error' - where a link has moved, although it could be that the user has simply mistyped the address. Different types of errors have different codes - common ones include the 403 'forbidden' error or the 500 'server error'.
Errors are regrettable, but certainly not unsalvageable. A well written error page can actually benefit your brand and help instil trust, proving that you take ownership of mistakes and do your best to rectify them.
You can also be creative in the design, using your website error pages as places to show off your fun side or promote your artistic talents.
And it's not only your users who will benefit from a custom error page. Search engines will reach error pages as they explore your site. Again, providing they are well written and well-designed, they can be portals to new content rather than dead ends.
Here are our top tips for creating the ideal error page:
1. Be honest
Honesty is very much the best policy on an error page. Accept that something has gone wrong and explain why it has. That way, users will be more accepting that sometimes things do go wrong and far less likely to leave your site.
This example uses honesty and apology to help lost users. The use of 'I' shows the brand as one which takes responsibility for mistakes:
Smashed eggs from Deliciously Creative.
2. Be helpful
Allowing users to become stranded on your error page will ruin their experience and probably cause them to leave. Give them somewhere to go by offering useful or popular links.
Here, users are given possible solutions to the problem, along with useful links which mean the page is not a dead end:
From Lastminute.com.
3. Be yourself
Showing your personality is a good thing. Whether your website represents a corporate brand or a one-person shop, giving your error page an (appropriate) feel will welcome the user and help them feel comfortable staying on your site, despite the error.
This page follows HootSuite's owl-based branding and adds a bit of humour to the situation:
From HootSuite.
4. Be creative
Don’t be afraid to let your creative juices flow! Just because your error page won’t appear often doesn’t mean it shouldn’t look great. Plus, error pages don’t need a lot of content, so you really can go bold with the visuals. Here are some of our favourite creative error pages:
The BBC uses the old-skool testcard to great effect.
Brandstack have a whimsical pencil drawing.
Frye / Wiles have gone with some birds on a wire.
You have to love this great use of the iconic Heinz tomato ketchup bottle.
Laura Hampton works for Zabisco. Read the Zabisco blog.
Cloud computing legal dos and don'ts
August 02, 2011
Justice in the clouds? (Image: Ariaski on Flickr.)
When businesses use cloud computing, it often means they don't need to buy or install software, or run their own servers. The benefits can be compelling, but cloud computing also presents some interesting legal issues.
Contracts, data protection and copyright
Because cloud computing services involve storing data outside your business, usually on servers operated by another company, there are some contractual, data protection and copyright issues to be aware of:
- The risk of concluding contracts inadvertently. For example, if one of your employees signs up to a cloud-computing service using a computer at work for a purpose related to their employment, then your company could be bound by the terms of that cloud computing service - even if the employee acted without consulting anyone.
- The risk of data protection compliance. If your employees input personal data held by your business into the cloud, your company must comply with its data protection obligations - including those relating to the transfer of data.
- The risk of intellectual property infringement. Your business could be liable if staff post defamatory or copyright-infringing content into the public areas of cloud-computing services. Appropriate policies, procedures and training must be given to employees.
Licensing and software use
A software licence is the set of terms and conditions you agree to before you start using a piece of software or a cloud computing service. Software licensing can be confusing at the best of times, and there are some specific things to remember when you're choosing and using cloud computing services:
- You must have appropriate licences. Some cloud computing services are only licensed to be used at certain computers. So if any of your staff use them at computers without a licence, they commit copyright infringement.
Also, licence terms can be narrow and may limit you to using the service only for your company's own purposes - so check your sub-contractors and business partners can use it too, if they need to. - Using open source software. Many cloud computing services are built on open source software. However, some open source software requires software based upon it to be distributed under the same terms - i.e. made freely available. This could have consequences for your business, if you want to retain the software just for your use.
- Intellectual property indemnity. A cloud computing operator may not always own the intellectual property rights in the software used by their service. If that's the case, that operator has to sub-licence the software to its customers, or arrange a direct licence between its customers and the relevant software company. Check this has been taken care of, or your business could be liable for using unlicensed software.
International implications
It can be hard to tell where cloud computing services actually operate from. Even those that price their services in pounds may be based outside the UK. And if you are dealing with a UK company, they may still store your data on servers in other countries.
In most cases this isn't a problem, but it's wise to aware of the issues that can arise:
- Unexpected obligations. You need to make sure that foreign law does not result in unexpected and binding non-contractual obligations for your business. For example, in some countries you may have duties of good faith in negotiations which do not exist under English law.
- What happens if things go wrong? A cloud computing provider based in the EU can be sued in all the jurisdictions in which it provides services to its customers.
But when a cloud computing provider is based outside the EU, it can be harder to enforce court orders against the company. It's usually best if the governing law of the contract is the local law of the cloud computing provider.
This article is for general purposes and guidance only and does not constitute legal or professional advice.
Why the website X Factor effect is killing small businesses
July 28, 2011
Avoid the X Factor effect with your website. (Image: Loren Javier on Flickr.)
Creating a website could be the worst thing you do for your business.
In an age where it seems any business without a website is destined for the rubbish heap, the title of this article seems somewhat ridiculous. But it isn't.
Don't get it totally wrong
In 2010 there were 48,000 new start ups, and its assumed at least 50% of these will have a website built. Job done ... or is it?
Many firms get it totally wrong when it comes to their website, not realising that just having one isn't enough. What's the point if your site is never going to be found, or if it puts people off because it has a day-glo green and pink design, with pixelated product photos?
While the old adage 'never judge a book by its cover' sounds great, the truth is people do. Many new businesses lack the funds to have a great-looking website designed, never mind promote it so people can actually find it. For those companies, there isn't a choice. It's straight to Google:
"How to build my own website"
After three weeks of painstaking effort and late nights, their masterpiece is complete and looks 'great'. Well, actually it might or might not look great, but it will almost certainly look like a cheap or free website.
What does that say about your business?
If people do judge books by their covers (and remember, they do!), then what does free or cheap say about your business?
It certainly doesn't say 'here's a well organised company that I feel comfortable dealing with'.
Does it encourage people to move a step forward to purchase from you, or do they go back to Google and find your competitor's warm, snug website they feel they can trust? Probably, it's the latter - so you've alienated a potential customer.
And don’t think it will all be OK later when you've sorted your site out. Your competitor already has a relationship with that customer. To them, you're just the cheap company with the awful website.
Do it properly
So to use another adage: if you're going to do a job, do it properly or not at all.
Sure, self-built websites can really work for you, but you have to decide if you have the ability to really make a professional looking website.
Whatever happens, you want to avoid the X Factor syndrome. By this, I mean if your family and friends say: "wow! what a great website, it looks brilliant," don't go out on stage and show the world unless you're really sure it is. If you get it wrong, you can't simply disappear once you hear the boos. You're stuffed.
On the other hand, there are plenty of companies that offer lower cost sites. Just remember that it's not just about the website. You'll need promotion (like search engine optimisation) and that usually means an ongoing payment.
Do not make the mistake of paying for a website and assuming that's enough, because in most cases, it isn't. You will need to pay for it to be promoted.
Brett Dixon is co-founder of Rent a Web.
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