Jamie is now looking forward to gaining more practical experience and developing his web design skills further.

Read the full Evening Post article here

Browser Usage Statistics – Source W3 Schools

So why are users choosing Chrome and what does this mean for website owners and operators. Well users seem to prefer the Chrome because it seems faster than the competition and also less problematic, as issues on one tab don’t affect the others. For site owners they need to be sure that their site works well with Chrome and all of the browsers identified in the chart. That way they will be sure that 99.2% of all visitors will see their website as they intended.

At Purpose Media we test all of our sites to ensure they are compatible with the most common browsers and only use technology that can be viewed equally well on smartphones, tablets, laptops & PCs. To find out more call Matt Wheatcroft on 01623 600694

The world wide web means that everyone with a website has the capability to export. By typing a couple of keywords into our browser we can find ourselves communicating with companies from Australia to Antigua, and everywhere in between. The world wide web means that, to coin a phrase, ‘the world is your oyster’ or ‘le monde est à toi’ as the French would have it.

But is it? Although in theory the internet makes trading overseas simple, having an English only website means that potential customers overseas who speak a different language are less likely to find you. And, if they do happen to stumble across you, they are unlikely to work their way through a website full of words they don’t understand.

Consider these surprising statistics:

• only 6% of the world’s population speak English as their mother tongue;
• latest estimates suggest that around 27% of the world’s population speak English in some form

So, according to my rudimentary maths, 73% of the world’s population can’t understand your website and therefore, can’t/won’t buy what you have to offer.

Companies are put off ‘internationalising’ their websites for several reasons; here are some of them:

• they don’t know where to start;
• they think it will be expensive;
• they are lacking good advice.

The solution is to undertake an Export Communications Review (ECR). Offered by UK Trade & Investment, the government department tasked with helping companies to export successfully, the ECR is delivered on-site by impartial consultants, all of whom have experience in exporting and international marketing, are linguists and have lived and worked abroad. It will provide any company in any sector with a practical international communication plan. For an SME the review costs just £250 or is free to those companies who are working with UKTI on our Passport to Export programme.

Here’s what one company said recently about their ECR:

‘Four years ago this was a business operating out of a garden shed. Now we are an international company. The support we have had from many sources and specifically the (Export Communications) Review, were critical in making that happen.’

So what are you waiting for? ‘Dépêchez-vous!’ Enquire about an ECR today: 01332 826432

Putting these numbers in context, the UK is experiencing the fastest rate of increase in online sales in the G20 group of developed economies, at about twice the rate of the US (UK -> 11% compared to US at 5.4%).

So what does this tell us? First it proves that online is the preferred option for an ever growing number of buyers. The convenience and competitive pricing makes it a compelling proposition when compared to traditional ways of buying.

Many businesses are now operating the 2^nd or 3^rd generation of their website. This means they have a much better understanding of the challenges of selling online and insight into the behaviour of their target audience. The end result is a much better online experience for their customers, which then delivers further growth of their online sales.

How to be successful online

Here at Purpose Media we are producing bespoke websites and helping merchants to get the most from their site. Our technical knowledge and multi-sector experience means that we are ideally placed to supply our clients with online marketing advice and support. We are very confident that we can work with clients to achieve a significant improvement of their return on investment. To find out how we can help you, to grow your business online, call Matt Wheatcroft on 01623 600694.

Recent reports have showed that the fastest growing markets in the EU were found to be the UK (38%), France (22%) and Germany (16%). It might come as a surprise that the UK still has such a high growth rate as it has not been an easy couple of years economically. However the level of investment in e-commerce innovation has continued to drive growth, but it is possible this growth will slow over the next few years.

Multi Lingual Websites

To offset these risks and open up even more opportunities to sell across a range of international countries we are finding that many businesses are now ensuring their website can be read in a number of multi-lingual versions.  We have been able to structure our websites so that they can be managed from a single control panel and have developed a strategy for translating site content that removes the amount of manual work and re-keying that has previously been unavoidable. We have also refined techniques to ensure that the international websites perform well in the target overseas markets and are also highly ranked in the search engine results of the respective country.

The falling price of smartphones* and other mobile devices also makes it increasingly likely that internet users, in the developing and developed countries, will choose this type of device as their way of interacting with the web. So with a medium term view it becomes ever more important for businesses to consider how they can give the best mobile experience to their online audience.

Mobile Optimised Websites

To deliver a rewarding mobile experience website operators will need to address issues related to the use of devices with smaller screen sizes. While it is possible to view websites that are not optimised for mobile devices, using pinch and zoom to read content, very few people would argue that this delivers a satisfactory experience.

At a recent Google Engage conference we discussed mobile web design and Google used the mobile version of on-line ticketing agent Seatwave (shown right) as an example of best practice.

In their opinion, Seatwave have made very good use of the reduced space that is available on the mobile device screen. They had also given the right priority to the elements they had chosen to be included on their mobile version and, very importantly, had followed Google’s golden rule of ensuring that every link on the site can be activated by two thumbs!

At Purpose Media we are happy to help you plan your mobile site to ensure your business is ahead of the competition in this area. If you would like to explore how a “mobile optimised” version of your website would benefit your business please call Matt Wheatcroft on 01623 600694.

*Google defines a smartphone as a mobile phone with an inbuilt web browser. They do not consider phones without browsers, no matter how sophistically powerful they are, to be smartphones.

“It’s a globally recognized stamp of approval which showcases knowledge of the latest AdWords tools and best practice techniques and will enable you to effectively manage AdWords campaigns.”

But most importantly what does this mean for you – our customer? Well firstly it has allowed us to make some very useful contacts within Google’s organisation. We have people to talk to when we need help getting the bests return from your AdWords advertising. We are also more up to date with the latest techniques and facilities that are available on the AdWords network. These are facilities like Enhanced CPC, that allows us to maximise conversions by automatically bidding more for clicks with a higher probability of conversion.

If you are considering using Google AdWords or if you would like to review your existing Adwords strategy to increase its effectiveness please contact Rob Marshall on 01623 600694.

Our intention is to become a Nominet tag holder so that we can use their systems to manage our customer’s domain names and deliver a better level of service. This also means that we will have direct contacts with Nominet and will be better informed about all issues relating to .uk domain names. This in turn will allow us to improve the advice we provide to our customers and gain an advance understanding of any impending issues that may affect their domains so we can resolve them more quickly.

While domain name registration is a small part of our business it is a crucial element in the management of any website and as always we are looking to deliver better services to our clients.

Now domain owners will be able to register their domains for much longer periods, up to a maximum of 10 years. This change is intended to provide greater security of tenure and a longer period between renewals.

All Purpose media clients will be given the option to register for a longer period if their renewal occurs after the 1^st May 2012. This change will not affect domain names that do not end .uk as many of these domains already have the option to be renewed for extended periods.

Jamie has now finished his training and been awarded an EDI Level 3 Diploma in IT User Skills, along with an E-Skills UK Advanced Level Apprenticeship for IT Users. Throughout his time at Purpose Media Jamie has continued to broaden his skill set and has now become a productive member of our team. He has been rewarded with a permanent contract at the start of 2012.

At Purpose Media we are committed to employing local people and developing our local economy. We do not outsource work and everything is done by our in-house team.