Who do you think has the fastest Internet connections in the world? It may surprise you to see some of the countries way ahead of the USA. I’m sure we all suspected Japan South Korea and Hong Kong to have the speediest connections but would you have guessed Latvia, Czech Republic and the Netherlands? See the interactive infographic below:
HTML5 and Native Web is Amazing
Photo by Magnus D / Flickr
If you’re old enough, you might remember the very early days of the Internet – which was text only in the very beginning. With the invention of hypertext markup language – aka HTML – the wonderful world wide web exploded with colors, images, and flashing text.
Over the years, the good was built on while the bad (the flashing text) went away. Along the way, as HTML evolved, other solutions were introduced to play content – like Adobe’s Flash. On top of that, mobile companies allowed people to design native apps for mobile devices.
The problem with having so many standards and solutions is that it’s difficult to try to take care of every situation when you’re a designer or a developer. It’s much easier to design once and have it look perfect on every single device in existence – no matter the size.
This is where HTML5 comes in. The latest incarnation of HTML is full of features that make many cool things possible – without the need for plugins or downloads. David Walsh, a web developer, has put together nine demos showing the power of HTML5.
Walsh and many others want HTML5 to become a standard to make it easier for everyone involved – designers and viewers. In an article from earlier this summer over at The Verge, they showcased some of the cool power of HTML5 and native web technology.
In a world where designing for multiple operating systems and mobile devices can be a pain, many people believe that HTML5 is a viable solution for a design once for all platforms mentality.
The mobile world is currently divided between iOS, Android OS, and Windows 8 OS, but as more developers and designers begin to harness the true power of HTML5, this is going to change.
Then again, back in 2010, TechCrunch was heralding HTML5. That was a long time ago in Internet years. Adobe has managed to fix some snafus with their Flash platform on mobile devices, but many find it easier (and cheaper) to use HTML5.
Here’s a quick rundown of why HTML5 is so important for the future of the web.
Standards – HTML5 is quickly becoming a standard across many devices because developers love being able to code once and run on different platforms.
Faster – In many cases, native HTML5 “apps” are going to run a lot faster than other types of mobile or web apps.
Cheaper – Instead of investing in software to create Flash files, using HTML5 – which is free – makes a lot of sense.
Mobile – Because HTML5 paid close attention to mobile devices, it’s going to remain important and continue to improve and become more of a standard.
If you’re a web or mobile designer or developer, the time to embrace HTML5 fully is now. All it takes is a little research to see the true power of the latest incarnation of the language that’s been around since the very beginning of the world wide web.
Written By:
Aaron Agius has been a blogger since the very early days of the Internet. He’s seen many changes over the years and is really excited about what’s to come.
Photo: bamwebdesign
Communications companies are in the business of enabling others to communicate. How do they do their own communication? Among other things, their website is the readily available location from where a potential customer gets all his information about the communications company. And, it is this location that people are increasingly turning to.
The ease at which they can utilize a website is miles ahead of other means they can employ. Therein lies the importance of designing a website to beat the competition. Having a vision is very important but many designers forget the very purpose of building a website. We have three good ideas you can put to use in designing a website.
1. Functionality first
Photo: abrition
A website’s primary purpose is efficient network management. The present is the via medium to future. In designing a website, there are pitfalls that had better be avoided. A website’s first appeal lies in its being functional. Other factors like aesthetics, though very much desirable, cannot be allowed to overshadow the functionality of a website. The visually attractive features like the pictures of the communication equipment or maps of coverage of a communication company can be classified only as an augmentation. They cannot be taken to represent the business in themselves.
A communication company should assume that a visitor is a rookie and needs to be taken by hand and led through the relevant content in the pages of the website. He should be able to learn about the products or services with minimum possible maneuvers within the website. At the same time, you should take the possible wavering mind of a visitor into account and provide for alternatives without him being aware of being manipulated.
2. Follow the trend
Over the years, it has been proved that a 3-click rule works best in not letting the visitor lose interest. Before he even realizes that he had clicked his mouse three times, he should be there at the intended destination. A designer’s aim should always be to keep the visitor’s interest intact. If he cannot achieve this feat, the visitor will wander off to search engines to look for another communications company.
Speak to the customers instead of informing them with a stiff upper lip. You are not running a philosophical class. You are in the business of selling your ware and so you should make every effort to make the visitor feel that he is in good hands in the department of communication. Not all visitors can be expected to stay on the pages for a length of time. Offering free downloads of a brochure that has all the details that he may wish for is one way of procuring his continued attention.
3. Every Picture tells a Story
We had emphatically recorded above the need for the function of the website to be put forward as the first requirement but have also said a design pleasing to the eye is important too. Without giving a cluttered look, the website can be designed in such a way that an orderly placing of pictures and descriptions is perceived by the visitor. Remember a picture can speak a thousand words. Instead of meandering and pompous texts, a strategically shot and placed picture is to be desired. Endorsements from general populace are good but the same from celebrities and well-known figures inculcate a sense of credibility in the viewers.
When using Twitter, you want to get as many quality followers as you can and the best way to do that is through interaction. You can’t create a business account, post a few tweets and expect people to follow you automatically. There are too many people using this social networking site for that to happen.
Instead, you have to put time and effort into it before you’ll see results. Here are three ways that you can interact with others on Twitter to help you build a loyal fan base.
Many people go through the effort of starting an account and then, for whatever reason, they don’t bother to post regular tweets. It could be that they don’t see immediate results so they lose interest quickly or it might be due to lack of time. Whatever the reason is for not staying active on your site the results are always the same. The followers that you do have will lose interest and they will look for someone else to follow.
If you’re slacking in this department, make some changes. Post several tweets every day, answer questions left by your fans and comment on important issues that are relevant to your business. Staying active will help you gain more followers.
When you see tweets from others that you find interesting and they are relevant to your business in some way, retweet them. When you retweet on Twitter, it can help to increase your fan base because the followers of the person you retweeted will see you and any comments that you leave.
It also encourages the person to retweet some of your posts. This makes retweeting a great way to interact with your followers and other professionals within your niche. When tweeting, keep your posts as brief as possible and it will be easy for others to retweet the messages they find interesting.
When you follow people in your niche, many of them will follow you back. This actually has two benefits. One is that you’ll increase your fan base with quality followers. You’ll also have the opportunity to create a good business relationship with other professionals and that’s always good for business.
Do choose who you follow carefully because you don’t want to waste your time following someone that has absolutely nothing to do with your niche. Even if they follow you back they wouldn’t have anything to discuss that would be beneficial to your business, so read the bio’s and learn a little something about the person or company before you follow them and it will help you generate more quality followers.
If you’re having a hard time getting started, you can always invest in fake twitter fans. This will help generate an interest in your company from real users because people have a tendency of following businesses that already have a lot of followers.
Increasing your fan base will help build up your social media presence and interacting with your fans and other professionals in your niche, will help you increase the number of followers you have.
Author Bio: Judy Collins has years of experience using Twitter that she would like to share with you to help your business attract more quality fans.
