We’re all in the same boat – a million and one things to get done, and seemingly never enough hours in the day to fit them all in. But technology can come to your aid and, by using the best productivity tools you can find, you’ll add valuable minutes and hours to your workday. That all adds up, and you’ll quickly discover there’s more time to squeeze in the strategic tasks that so often fall by the wayside, but which are so crucial to defining the future direction of your business. Here are four tools to start using if you’re not already.

Google Alerts

Every business wants to keep track of what others are saying about it and, in this modern age where the likes of blogs and social media rule the roost, it’s more important than ever before. In an ideal world you’ll pick up on positive references to your company, and will be able to share these to enhance your good name further. But of course, every so often even the world’s best companies suffer a blip, and in those scenarios reputation management becomes a question of damage limitation, proactively responding to negative feedback, and putting right what harm has already been caused.

Yet doing all that manually is a real time-drain, if not next to impossible to do effectively – just think of all the websites you would have to scroll through to check for mentions of your company’s name, all the while knowing you’ve not even really scratched the surface. Thankfully Google Alerts relieves the pain of this crucial task; the tool allows you to set up alerts for specific terms, and receive an email notification when something crops up that you ought to know about. It can save you hours and enable you to do more justice to your reputation management efforts than you considered feasible.

Chrome to Mobile

If you’re like the vast majority of modern business people, you’re never sat at your desk for very long. That means you’re not always able to use your desktop computer, and probably have to do what you can to make the most of time spent traveling, between meetings and so on. Yet truly being productive during those down periods necessitates having access to the same materials you have when you’re in the office; that way, you’re actually contributing to clearing your overall to-do list rather than just picking a random task to work on so that you’re at least getting something done.

The Chrome to Mobile extension for Google’s signature web browser allows you to quickly transmit to your phone all the web pages you’re currently viewing on your desktop or laptop. When you’re away from your desk, you can pick up right where you left off without any interruption – no more emailing yourself links to everything you’re working on, and then having to open it all afresh on your phone or tablet. If you know you’re going to be away from a reliable internet connection for a while, you can even opt to send an offline version of those pages, so you can continue working regardless. You just need to have a mobile device that runs Android 4.0 or later, or have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch that has Chrome installed.

Pocket

The inclination to keep too many tabs open in your web browser is practically a chronic condition among business professionals, symptomatic of us trying to get too much done in too little time, and never really finishing one task before moving onto the next. Whatever the cause, it’s something lots of us have to deal with every day; we all stumble across news articles, blogs and other online resources that are infinitely useful to us, but which we don’t have the time to stop and act on there and then.

Pocket solves that problem – this simple tool allows you to save content that you find online to one central place, so that you can go back to it with ease when the time is right. It will save you from needing to keep those hundreds of tabs open until you have a spare moment to go back and plough through your reading list (or more likely until you decide is enough is enough, and close all the tabs to stop them slowing down your computer any further – and in the process you lose all that valuable information without keeping a copy).

Rescue Time

If you’ve ever wondered how much time you waste between tasks while you’re reading your email, updating your social media, checking the news and so forth, then Rescue Time could be the answer to your curiosity – even if you might not actually want to know the truth! Once you activate Rescue Time on your devices, it will track how long you spend not only on different websites but also in the various computer software applications that you use on a day-to-day basis – whether that’s Microsoft Word, Photoshop or Sage.

This helpful little program sends you a regular email report detailing how many hours you’ve logged in total – discovering how long you routinely sit at your computer can be revealing in itself – along with a breakdown of the percentage of time spent on various work- and non-work-related tasks, and an overall ranking for your productivity. It even sets you goals, for example to spend less than two hours a day on what it classes as non-productive activities (which you can customize to suit your line of work, since it’s hardly fair to penalize yourself for being on Facebook if that’s a key part of your job).

Are you ready to use these tools, and other intelligent technology, to streamline your workflow and get more out of your day? Give us a call and see how we can help you put IT at the forefront of a more efficient approach to business.

Another week buzzes by and half the items on your to-do list are still sitting there untouched. It’s a familiar feeling for many of us, and life – both in and out of the office – only seems to get busier and faster-paced. If you’re struggling to keep on top of your routine tasks, let alone find time for the strategic thinking that will help guide the direction of your business, then more intelligent use of IT might be the answer. Productivity tools can help you make the most of your time and quite simply get more done. Here are a few you need to know about.

Google Alerts

Every business wants to keep track of what others are saying about it and, in this modern age where the likes of blogs and social media rule the roost, it’s more important than ever before. In an ideal world you’ll pick up on positive references to your company, and will be able to share these to enhance your good name further. But of course, every so often even the world’s best companies suffer a blip, and in those scenarios reputation management becomes a question of damage limitation, proactively responding to negative feedback, and putting right what harm has already been caused.

Yet doing all that manually is a real time-drain, if not next to impossible to do effectively – just think of all the websites you would have to scroll through to check for mentions of your company’s name, all the while knowing you’ve not even really scratched the surface. Thankfully Google Alerts relieves the pain of this crucial task; the tool allows you to set up alerts for specific terms, and receive an email notification when something crops up that you ought to know about. It can save you hours and enable you to do more justice to your reputation management efforts than you considered feasible.

Chrome to Mobile

If you’re like the vast majority of modern business people, you’re never sat at your desk for very long. That means you’re not always able to use your desktop computer, and probably have to do what you can to make the most of time spent traveling, between meetings and so on. Yet truly being productive during those down periods necessitates having access to the same materials you have when you’re in the office; that way, you’re actually contributing to clearing your overall to-do list rather than just picking a random task to work on so that you’re at least getting something done.

The Chrome to Mobile extension for Google’s signature web browser allows you to quickly transmit to your phone all the web pages you’re currently viewing on your desktop or laptop. When you’re away from your desk, you can pick up right where you left off without any interruption – no more emailing yourself links to everything you’re working on, and then having to open it all afresh on your phone or tablet. If you know you’re going to be away from a reliable internet connection for a while, you can even opt to send an offline version of those pages, so you can continue working regardless. You just need to have a mobile device that runs Android 4.0 or later, or have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch that has Chrome installed.

Pocket

The inclination to keep too many tabs open in your web browser is practically a chronic condition among business professionals, symptomatic of us trying to get too much done in too little time, and never really finishing one task before moving onto the next. Whatever the cause, it’s something lots of us have to deal with every day; we all stumble across news articles, blogs and other online resources that are infinitely useful to us, but which we don’t have the time to stop and act on there and then.

Pocket solves that problem – this simple tool allows you to save content that you find online to one central place, so that you can go back to it with ease when the time is right. It will save you from needing to keep those hundreds of tabs open until you have a spare moment to go back and plough through your reading list (or more likely until you decide is enough is enough, and close all the tabs to stop them slowing down your computer any further – and in the process you lose all that valuable information without keeping a copy).

Rescue Time

If you’ve ever wondered how much time you waste between tasks while you’re reading your email, updating your social media, checking the news and so forth, then Rescue Time could be the answer to your curiosity – even if you might not actually want to know the truth! Once you activate Rescue Time on your devices, it will track how long you spend not only on different websites but also in the various computer software applications that you use on a day-to-day basis – whether that’s Microsoft Word, Photoshop or Sage.

This helpful little program sends you a regular email report detailing how many hours you’ve logged in total – discovering how long you routinely sit at your computer can be revealing in itself – along with a breakdown of the percentage of time spent on various work- and non-work-related tasks, and an overall ranking for your productivity. It even sets you goals, for example to spend less than two hours a day on what it classes as non-productive activities (which you can customize to suit your line of work, since it’s hardly fair to penalize yourself for being on Facebook if that’s a key part of your job).

Are you ready to use these tools, and other intelligent technology, to streamline your workflow and get more out of your day? Give us a call and see how we can help you put IT at the forefront of a more efficient approach to business.

Ever get the feeling that you’re never going to catch up on all the tasks on your to-do list; that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to truly be on top of things? It’s common among busy entrepreneurs and executives, and of course the constant drowning sensation itself isn’t exactly conducive to doing your best work. But efficient use of IT can be your savior – using the right productivity tools can help you streamline the way you work and win back valuable hours. If you’re not using them already, these are the tools to implement now.

Google Alerts

Every business wants to keep track of what others are saying about it and, in this modern age where the likes of blogs and social media rule the roost, it’s more important than ever before. In an ideal world you’ll pick up on positive references to your company, and will be able to share these to enhance your good name further. But of course, every so often even the world’s best companies suffer a blip, and in those scenarios reputation management becomes a question of damage limitation, proactively responding to negative feedback, and putting right what harm has already been caused.

Yet doing all that manually is a real time-drain, if not next to impossible to do effectively – just think of all the websites you would have to scroll through to check for mentions of your company’s name, all the while knowing you’ve not even really scratched the surface. Thankfully Google Alerts relieves the pain of this crucial task; the tool allows you to set up alerts for specific terms, and receive an email notification when something crops up that you ought to know about. It can save you hours and enable you to do more justice to your reputation management efforts than you considered feasible.

Chrome to Mobile

If you’re like the vast majority of modern business people, you’re never sat at your desk for very long. That means you’re not always able to use your desktop computer, and probably have to do what you can to make the most of time spent traveling, between meetings and so on. Yet truly being productive during those down periods necessitates having access to the same materials you have when you’re in the office; that way, you’re actually contributing to clearing your overall to-do list rather than just picking a random task to work on so that you’re at least getting something done.

The Chrome to Mobile extension for Google’s signature web browser allows you to quickly transmit to your phone all the web pages you’re currently viewing on your desktop or laptop. When you’re away from your desk, you can pick up right where you left off without any interruption – no more emailing yourself links to everything you’re working on, and then having to open it all afresh on your phone or tablet. If you know you’re going to be away from a reliable internet connection for a while, you can even opt to send an offline version of those pages, so you can continue working regardless. You just need to have a mobile device that runs Android 4.0 or later, or have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch that has Chrome installed.

Pocket

The inclination to keep too many tabs open in your web browser is practically a chronic condition among business professionals, symptomatic of us trying to get too much done in too little time, and never really finishing one task before moving onto the next. Whatever the cause, it’s something lots of us have to deal with every day; we all stumble across news articles, blogs and other online resources that are infinitely useful to us, but which we don’t have the time to stop and act on there and then.

Pocket solves that problem – this simple tool allows you to save content that you find online to one central place, so that you can go back to it with ease when the time is right. It will save you from needing to keep those hundreds of tabs open until you have a spare moment to go back and plough through your reading list (or more likely until you decide is enough is enough, and close all the tabs to stop them slowing down your computer any further – and in the process you lose all that valuable information without keeping a copy).

Rescue Time

If you’ve ever wondered how much time you waste between tasks while you’re reading your email, updating your social media, checking the news and so forth, then Rescue Time could be the answer to your curiosity – even if you might not actually want to know the truth! Once you activate Rescue Time on your devices, it will track how long you spend not only on different websites but also in the various computer software applications that you use on a day-to-day basis – whether that’s Microsoft Word, Photoshop or Sage.

This helpful little program sends you a regular email report detailing how many hours you’ve logged in total – discovering how long you routinely sit at your computer can be revealing in itself – along with a breakdown of the percentage of time spent on various work- and non-work-related tasks, and an overall ranking for your productivity. It even sets you goals, for example to spend less than two hours a day on what it classes as non-productive activities (which you can customize to suit your line of work, since it’s hardly fair to penalize yourself for being on Facebook if that’s a key part of your job).

Are you ready to use these tools, and other intelligent technology, to streamline your workflow and get more out of your day? Give us a call and see how we can help you put IT at the forefront of a more efficient approach to business.

Wearables, mobile apps and other mobile health (mHealth) devices are the latest technologies entering the healthcare industry. Some hospitals may have held off adopting mHealth, believing they won’t benefit much from it. Others remain concerned their patients won’t have much interest in these tools, or technical the knowledge required for them. But recent research shows a growing interest for patients when it comes to using mHealth, due to its cost-effectiveness and convenience. If you’re wondering what mHealth is, or are considering implementing it into your practice, here’s what you need to know.

mHealth defined

mHealth, also known as mobile health, refers to medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants, and other wireless devices.

How is mHealth used?

Medical institutions across the globe have applied mHealth to deliver healthcare and healthcare information to patients, with satisfying results. Some of the most common uses of mHealth include:

• Remote data collection and monitoring
• Diagnostic and treatment support
• Telehealth and telemedicine
• Patient safety systems
• Emergency response systems
• Healthcare staff telecommunications and training

Advantages of mHealth

There are many advantages of adopting mHealth, including its versatility across all aspects of health care and its potential to improve the monitoring of patients. Let’s take a closer look at the top three benefits of mHealth.

• Improved data accuracy – entering medical data into mobile devices such as mobile workstations, laptops, and tablets helps eliminate the data entry errors that often occur when information is first recorded on paper and entered at a later time in electronic medical record (EMR) systems.
• More data access – implementation of mHealth enables healthcare staff to not only enter, but also access, critical patient data from anywhere, at any time. In a scenario when you want to download, view, or transmit a patient’s health records online, you can easily do so with mHealth.
• Better patient care – the ultimate goal of any healthcare technology is to improve patient care, and mHealth can definitely deliver on that promise. For instance, doctors can refer to their mobile devices for a list of viable diagnoses that they may not have otherwise considered, in order to ensure that patients get the best possible treatment plans.

Current market for mHealth

The number of mobile device users is increasing every day. The expansion of wireless network coverage also provides digital health systems with new possibilities to address even the most complex healthcare challenges. This leads to an increasing acceptance of mHealth in the medical industry. PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the largest professional services firms in the world, has estimated that the mHealth market will expand to $23 billion by 2017.

mHealth allows physicians to keep a close watch on their chronically ill patients without having to see them in the office. What’s more, they can collect health metrics such as weight, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels remotely, allowing for more convenience and cost-savings.

If you want to learn how implementing healthcare technology can benefit your business, get in touch with our experts today.

After much speculation as to when it would finally rear its head, Google has finally announced the imminent arrival of the Android 6.0 M operating system, which goes by the name of Marshmallow. It follows in the footsteps of previous foodstuff-inspired Android operating system releases, including its predecessor Lollipop. Though the Developer Preview of Marshmallow is now available, there’s no confirmed release date as of yet for the full version of the system for use on devices – but here’s what to expect when it does come.

Marshmallow was first announced at the Google I/O conference earlier this year, but it’s taken a while for a version to come through that’s ready for developers to get their hands on. However, that’s now happened, and the first publicly available release of the operating system is expected to be on the new Nexus 5 and 6 mobile devices in the coming weeks. Sadly, the rest of us are unlikely to have a crack at Marshmallow until the end of 2015 at the earliest. But when that time does come around, it’s packed with these developments.

Visual voicemail

No more dialing voicemail and listening for long-winded prompts – Marshmallow is set to offer visual voicemail functionality from right within the main phone app. That means you can see at a glance who has left you a message, listen to each voicemail, and quickly hit a button to get more information or call or text back – all without needing to wait for a long list of options to play out first. Since this feature requires work at the carrier’s end to enable compatibility, it’s expected to be available only on a handful of networks to begin with – but the list should grow as time goes on.

Screen rotation

Here’s something that competitor Apple has offered its users since even the earliest iterations of its devices – the simple ability to rotate the screen and use it in landscape as well as portrait view. It’s a wonder it’s taken Google this long to realize this was a big and frustrating gap in the Android’s functionality, but at least the wait is over. You’ll now be able to rotate the screen whether you’re on the home screen or deep in an app.

Improved app drawer

Previous releases of the Android operating system have switched up Apple’s conventional single-level, horizontal-scrolling app drawer – used for accessing apps that are already open – with a bigger and vertical-scrolling drawer. But until now this has been plagued by bugs and apparently poorly-thought-out design, with out-of-place alphabetical organization and an ineffective use of space. Marshmallow sees these fixed, with space for more icons on screen – meaning faster and simpler scrolling – and floating alphabetical icons that both save space and look cleaner.

When it’s finally released in full, Marshmallow will also pack in a range of other smaller updates. If you want to learn more about how to integrate Android devices into your business and optimize productivity in the process, just give us a call.

Marshmallows might be something you only associated with campfires and mugs of hot chocolate but, in much the same way as Apples and Blackberries will never again be mere fruit, so the humble gelatin-filled marshmallow is giving its name to the latest iteration of the Android operating system – also known as Android 6.0 M. There’s no confirmed date yet for release to the public, but with the Developer Preview doing the rounds we finally know what the Google platform’s latest update has in store for us.

Marshmallow was first announced at the Google I/O conference earlier this year, but it’s taken a while for a version to come through that’s ready for developers to get their hands on. However, that’s now happened, and the first publicly available release of the operating system is expected to be on the new Nexus 5 and 6 mobile devices in the coming weeks. Sadly, the rest of us are unlikely to have a crack at Marshmallow until the end of 2015 at the earliest. But when that time does come around, it’s packed with these developments.

Visual voicemail

No more dialing voicemail and listening for long-winded prompts – Marshmallow is set to offer visual voicemail functionality from right within the main phone app. That means you can see at a glance who has left you a message, listen to each voicemail, and quickly hit a button to get more information or call or text back – all without needing to wait for a long list of options to play out first. Since this feature requires work at the carrier’s end to enable compatibility, it’s expected to be available only on a handful of networks to begin with – but the list should grow as time goes on.

Screen rotation

Here’s something that competitor Apple has offered its users since even the earliest iterations of its devices – the simple ability to rotate the screen and use it in landscape as well as portrait view. It’s a wonder it’s taken Google this long to realize this was a big and frustrating gap in the Android’s functionality, but at least the wait is over. You’ll now be able to rotate the screen whether you’re on the home screen or deep in an app.

Improved app drawer

Previous releases of the Android operating system have switched up Apple’s conventional single-level, horizontal-scrolling app drawer – used for accessing apps that are already open – with a bigger and vertical-scrolling drawer. But until now this has been plagued by bugs and apparently poorly-thought-out design, with out-of-place alphabetical organization and an ineffective use of space. Marshmallow sees these fixed, with space for more icons on screen – meaning faster and simpler scrolling – and floating alphabetical icons that both save space and look cleaner.

When it’s finally released in full, Marshmallow will also pack in a range of other smaller updates. If you want to learn more about how to integrate Android devices into your business and optimize productivity in the process, just give us a call.

Following in the foodie footsteps of its predecessors comes Google’s latest operating system for Android devices – Android 6.0 M, otherwise known as Marshmallow. It’s the big sister of Lollipop, the operating system currently installed by most Android users. It’s likely to be some time before a release date is confirmed for the new operating system to be available for download to devices, but the Developer Preview has already been let out of the cage. Here’s what Google has in store for us when Marshmallow does eventually arrive.

Marshmallow was first announced at the Google I/O conference earlier this year, but it’s taken a while for a version to come through that’s ready for developers to get their hands on. However, that’s now happened, and the first publicly available release of the operating system is expected to be on the new Nexus 5 and 6 mobile devices in the coming weeks. Sadly, the rest of us are unlikely to have a crack at Marshmallow until the end of 2015 at the earliest. But when that time does come around, it’s packed with these developments.

Visual voicemail

No more dialing voicemail and listening for long-winded prompts – Marshmallow is set to offer visual voicemail functionality from right within the main phone app. That means you can see at a glance who has left you a message, listen to each voicemail, and quickly hit a button to get more information or call or text back – all without needing to wait for a long list of options to play out first. Since this feature requires work at the carrier’s end to enable compatibility, it’s expected to be available only on a handful of networks to begin with – but the list should grow as time goes on.

Screen rotation

Here’s something that competitor Apple has offered its users since even the earliest iterations of its devices – the simple ability to rotate the screen and use it in landscape as well as portrait view. It’s a wonder it’s taken Google this long to realize this was a big and frustrating gap in the Android’s functionality, but at least the wait is over. You’ll now be able to rotate the screen whether you’re on the home screen or deep in an app.

Improved app drawer

Previous releases of the Android operating system have switched up Apple’s conventional single-level, horizontal-scrolling app drawer – used for accessing apps that are already open – with a bigger and vertical-scrolling drawer. But until now this has been plagued by bugs and apparently poorly-thought-out design, with out-of-place alphabetical organization and an ineffective use of space. Marshmallow sees these fixed, with space for more icons on screen – meaning faster and simpler scrolling – and floating alphabetical icons that both save space and look cleaner.

When it’s finally released in full, Marshmallow will also pack in a range of other smaller updates. If you want to learn more about how to integrate Android devices into your business and optimize productivity in the process, just give us a call.

Creating a website that converts visitors into customers may often times feel like a complex puzzle. What worked 20, 10, or even five years ago may no longer work today. So what’s the secret to transforming your website into a modern marketing tool that converts visitors into customers? Here are five ideas that are sure to help.

Make it mobile-friendly

These days, more and more of us are surfing the web on the go – via smartphones, tablets and laptops. And if you want a piece of this traffic, you need to make your design responsive to all mobile devices.

To give your visitors an enjoyable mobile experience, make sure your design adjusts to fit the screen of any device. Additionally, all elements of your website – pages, resources, actions, and so on – should be easily accessible. If they’re not, visitors will quickly become frustrated and click away to a competitor. And really, who can blame them? You’d probably do the same.

Make it easy for customers to contact you

That means displaying your phone number in the upper-right corner of every page, and providing a simple, easy-to-find contact form. While some people prefer not to list an email address for fear it will be picked off by spam robots, it can serve as another contact option for those who hate web forms. Whatever you choose, the two main ideas are options and ease. Give your visitors a choice, make it easy, and they will come.

Keep it simple

Have you started to notice a theme here? If you haven’t, it can be summed up in one word: easy. In today’s fast-paced world, people are busy. They don’t have time to navigate a complicated website, dig through dozens of pages to find a contact number, or try and figure out what it is that you’re selling because your mobile site doesn’t display content properly.

So when it comes to design, simplicity just makes sense. To produce the content of a simple website, every page, word, and image you create must have a singular purpose: to get visitors to contact you. Don’t waste time distracting them with excessive information, stupid games, or flashy animations. Instead, have a nice clean layout so they can understand what you’re offering quickly and can contact you with a click.

Include personal photos whenever possible

Say you have to choose between services offered by two different websites. They both sell the exact same thing, and the sites look virtually the same. The key difference is that one uses real photos of the owner and his or her staff, while the other uses generic stock images of business people. Assuming images from both sites are of the same quality, which one are you more likely to choose? Undoubtedly, you chose the real people.

So next time you have to choose between stock images and shooting real photos of you and your staff, invest some time and money in quality pictures taken at a studio – it’ll be worth every penny.

Move social media icons to the bottom of the page

Everyone loves throwing social media icons on their websites, and it’s not a bad idea to show your credibility. However, if you put these at the top of the page, your visitor is more likely to click on them immediately. Sounds cool, right? Wrong. When this happens, you just created an exit for them to leave your site and never return – we all know how easy it is to get distracted on social media. Instead, place your social media icons at the bottom of the page in the footer. Remember the goal of your website is to convert. If your visitor leaves before they get a chance to explore your services, content and offering, you’ve lost them before you ever even had them.

Want more tips and news about the web? Looking for a dependable IT provider? Get in touch with us today.

Web presence is becoming increasingly important, as we all now spend more time than ever on the Internet. And while most businesses have a website nowadays, this is simply no longer good enough. In fact, a bad website may actually do more harm than good, as it can repel customers away and ultimately damage your reputation. So, how do you create a beautiful website that will not only have your future customers singing your praises, but that also converts? Here are a few ideas to to get you started.

Make it mobile-friendly

These days, more and more of us are surfing the web on the go – via smartphones, tablets and laptops. And if you want a piece of this traffic, you need to make your design responsive to all mobile devices.

To give your visitors an enjoyable mobile experience, make sure your design adjusts to fit the screen of any device. Additionally, all elements of your website – pages, resources, actions, and so on – should be easily accessible. If they’re not, visitors will quickly become frustrated and click away to a competitor. And really, who can blame them? You’d probably do the same.

Make it easy for customers to contact you

That means displaying your phone number in the upper-right corner of every page, and providing a simple, easy-to-find contact form. While some people prefer not to list an email address for fear it will be picked off by spam robots, it can serve as another contact option for those who hate web forms. Whatever you choose, the two main ideas are options and ease. Give your visitors a choice, make it easy, and they will come.

Keep it simple

Have you started to notice a theme here? If you haven’t, it can be summed up in one word: easy. In today’s fast-paced world, people are busy. They don’t have time to navigate a complicated website, dig through dozens of pages to find a contact number, or try and figure out what it is that you’re selling because your mobile site doesn’t display content properly.

So when it comes to design, simplicity just makes sense. To produce the content of a simple website, every page, word, and image you create must have a singular purpose: to get visitors to contact you. Don’t waste time distracting them with excessive information, stupid games, or flashy animations. Instead, have a nice clean layout so they can understand what you’re offering quickly and can contact you with a click.

Include personal photos whenever possible

Say you have to choose between services offered by two different websites. They both sell the exact same thing, and the sites look virtually the same. The key difference is that one uses real photos of the owner and his or her staff, while the other uses generic stock images of business people. Assuming images from both sites are of the same quality, which one are you more likely to choose? Undoubtedly, you chose the real people.

So next time you have to choose between stock images and shooting real photos of you and your staff, invest some time and money in quality pictures taken at a studio – it’ll be worth every penny.

Move social media icons to the bottom of the page

Everyone loves throwing social media icons on their websites, and it’s not a bad idea to show your credibility. However, if you put these at the top of the page, your visitor is more likely to click on them immediately. Sounds cool, right? Wrong. When this happens, you just created an exit for them to leave your site and never return – we all know how easy it is to get distracted on social media. Instead, place your social media icons at the bottom of the page in the footer. Remember the goal of your website is to convert. If your visitor leaves before they get a chance to explore your services, content and offering, you’ve lost them before you ever even had them.

Want more tips and news about the web? Looking for a dependable IT provider? Get in touch with us today.

As we all spend more and more time on the Internet, business web presence is becoming increasingly important. And having a website is not enough anymore. If you’re not converting visitors into customers, your competition is likely snatching them up instead. So how can you create a website that converts and leads to greater profits? Here are five tips to point you in the right direction.

Make it mobile-friendly

These days, more and more of us are surfing the web on the go – via smartphones, tablets and laptops. And if you want a piece of this traffic, you need to make your design responsive to all mobile devices.

To give your visitors an enjoyable mobile experience, make sure your design adjusts to fit the screen of any device. Additionally, all elements of your website – pages, resources, actions, and so on – should be easily accessible. If they’re not, visitors will quickly become frustrated and click away to a competitor. And really, who can blame them? You’d probably do the same.

Make it easy for customers to contact you

That means displaying your phone number in the upper-right corner of every page, and providing a simple, easy-to-find contact form. While some people prefer not to list an email address for fear it will be picked off by spam robots, it can serve as another contact option for those who hate web forms. Whatever you choose, the two main ideas are options and ease. Give your visitors a choice, make it easy, and they will come.

Keep it simple

Have you started to notice a theme here? If you haven’t, it can be summed up in one word: easy. In today’s fast-paced world, people are busy. They don’t have time to navigate a complicated website, dig through dozens of pages to find a contact number, or try and figure out what it is that you’re selling because your mobile site doesn’t display content properly.

So when it comes to design, simplicity just makes sense. To produce the content of a simple website, every page, word, and image you create must have a singular purpose: to get visitors to contact you. Don’t waste time distracting them with excessive information, stupid games, or flashy animations. Instead, have a nice clean layout so they can understand what you’re offering quickly and can contact you with a click.

Include personal photos whenever possible

Say you have to choose between services offered by two different websites. They both sell the exact same thing, and the sites look virtually the same. The key difference is that one uses real photos of the owner and his or her staff, while the other uses generic stock images of business people. Assuming images from both sites are of the same quality, which one are you more likely to choose? Undoubtedly, you chose the real people.

So next time you have to choose between stock images and shooting real photos of you and your staff, invest some time and money in quality pictures taken at a studio – it’ll be worth every penny.

Move social media icons to the bottom of the page

Everyone loves throwing social media icons on their websites, and it’s not a bad idea to show your credibility. However, if you put these at the top of the page, your visitor is more likely to click on them immediately. Sounds cool, right? Wrong. When this happens, you just created an exit for them to leave your site and never return – we all know how easy it is to get distracted on social media. Instead, place your social media icons at the bottom of the page in the footer. Remember the goal of your website is to convert. If your visitor leaves before they get a chance to explore your services, content and offering, you’ve lost them before you ever even had them.

Want more tips and news about the web? Looking for a dependable IT provider? Get in touch with us today.

We all know IT plays a valuable part in your company’s operations, but is it possible to quantify that value? By asking your IT guy the right questions you should be able to get an idea of what they are adding, or subtracting, from your business’s value. Whether your IT is handled in-house or through a Managed Services Provider, here is some advice on what you can do to help determine its value.

Don’t accept metrics

IT people love using metrics to show how they are contributing to your business. The problem is most of these metrics don’t show you anything. Sure, high uptimes sound great and low mean-time resolutions are probably a good thing, but how do these impact your business? Don’t arbitrarily accept these as signs IT is contributing to the value of your bottom line. Dig deeper and get an explanation as to why these metrics matter. There is a reason your IT department wants you to see these metrics, but it is important to have them explain it.

Ban “tech speak”

There was a time in the world when it was impossible to avoid “tech speak”, but that era has passed. Your modern-day IT person should be able to explain just about everything to you in plain English. Realistically, if they are doing a good job, they should want to share that information with you in a way you will understand easily. If you find your IT department relying heavily on “tech speak”, chances are there is something they don’t want you to know about.

Make sure your IT provider understands business goals

If you want your IT working for you and adding value to your company, then those responsible for it have to know what your goals are. It is then, and only then, that they will be able to manage your technology with these goals in mind. Too often companies assume their IT provider knows what their priorities should be, founded on company principles, but the reality is that the contractor will operate on the basis of what it thinks is best. These two entities pulling in separate directions can hurt your business in many ways. By making sure your IT department – again, whether in-house or outsourced – is pulling in the same direction as everyone else, technology can add a whole lot of value to your company.

Meet with your IT provider often

It doesn’t matter if you have in-house IT or use a Managed Services Provider, you should be meeting with them on a regular basis to understand what they are doing. There is no need to banish them to some dark corner of the building, or only summon them when something breaks. By incorporating them into the operations process and maintaining open lines of communication, you are likely to see things in your office run a whole lot more smoothly. Not only will you get a better understanding of how IT is providing value to your business, they will gain a deeper appreciation of how your company operates. This will help both sides understand how the other operates, and enable you to find new ways to help each other.

Listen to IT recommendations

Chances are that whoever is handling your IT has numerous different ideas on how your company can use technology to decrease costs, increase productivity, and become more profitable. You would be foolish to not at least consider what they have to say. One of your company’s most valuable assets is technology,and your IT department should be up-to-date on what improvements can be made. There could be nothing more valuable to your company than an IT department proactively finding ways for you to get ahead of the competition using technology.

Is IT hurting your business value? Want to instead use it to drive increased bottom-line profits for your company? Contact our technology experts and find out how we can help.

Have you ever wondered what value IT is adding to your company? Chances are you’re not alone. Figuring out what, if anything, IT is doing to increase the value of your business can offer helpful insight. The main reason companies struggle to find what IT is adding or subtracting from their business is the fact that they don’t know what to look for. Here are a few things you can do to figure out how IT impacts your company’s value.

Don’t accept metrics

IT people love using metrics to show how they are contributing to your business. The problem is most of these metrics don’t show you anything. Sure, high uptimes sound great and low mean-time resolutions are probably a good thing, but how do these impact your business? Don’t arbitrarily accept these as signs IT is contributing to the value of your bottom line. Dig deeper and get an explanation as to why these metrics matter. There is a reason your IT department wants you to see these metrics, but it is important to have them explain it.

Ban “tech speak”

There was a time in the world when it was impossible to avoid “tech speak”, but that era has passed. Your modern-day IT person should be able to explain just about everything to you in plain English. Realistically, if they are doing a good job, they should want to share that information with you in a way you will understand easily. If you find your IT department relying heavily on “tech speak”, chances are there is something they don’t want you to know about.

Make sure your IT provider understands business goals

If you want your IT working for you and adding value to your company, then those responsible for it have to know what your goals are. It is then, and only then, that they will be able to manage your technology with these goals in mind. Too often companies assume their IT provider knows what their priorities should be, founded on company principles, but the reality is that the contractor will operate on the basis of what it thinks is best. These two entities pulling in separate directions can hurt your business in many ways. By making sure your IT department – again, whether in-house or outsourced – is pulling in the same direction as everyone else, technology can add a whole lot of value to your company.

Meet with your IT provider often

It doesn’t matter if you have in-house IT or use a Managed Services Provider, you should be meeting with them on a regular basis to understand what they are doing. There is no need to banish them to some dark corner of the building, or only summon them when something breaks. By incorporating them into the operations process and maintaining open lines of communication, you are likely to see things in your office run a whole lot more smoothly. Not only will you get a better understanding of how IT is providing value to your business, they will gain a deeper appreciation of how your company operates. This will help both sides understand how the other operates, and enable you to find new ways to help each other.

Listen to IT recommendations

Chances are that whoever is handling your IT has numerous different ideas on how your company can use technology to decrease costs, increase productivity, and become more profitable. You would be foolish to not at least consider what they have to say. One of your company’s most valuable assets is technology,and your IT department should be up-to-date on what improvements can be made. There could be nothing more valuable to your company than an IT department proactively finding ways for you to get ahead of the competition using technology.

Is IT hurting your business value? Want to instead use it to drive increased bottom-line profits for your company? Contact our technology experts and find out how we can help.