Seven steps to creating the perfect homepage. You might have noticed that ‘the internet’, once a vast, lonely city, consisting of an ebay/Amazon high street and a couple of clunky government information noticeboards, has now become a very busy place indeed.
It is estimated that during 2013 we’ve hit the billion websites mark and this is expected to double by 2015. Competition is fierce and what that means for your business website is that it better be good. There are no second chances at first impressions, and the homepage of any website is the first, and potentially the last, view of your company a new visitor will see. With a crowded web comes impatient visitors and they’re liable to judge your particular book by its cover. What are the ingredients of a great – let’s say it – perfect, homepage? 1. Who we are;What we do; andWhat you can do here. Nike don’t need to explain who they are or what they do but, unfortunately, your business will likely have to. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Henry Lewington is MD of WebEden.co.uk Image Source. Douglas Rushkoff Makes the Digital Economy Work for You. The “always on” nature of our society has generated a variety of warnings about the dangers of staying connected all the time.
(We’ve published some warnings ourselves. See, for example, “The Offline Executive,” by Henry Mintzberg and Peter Todd, s+b, Winter 2012.) One of the most interesting comes from social theorist Douglas Rushkoff, in his new book, Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now (Current, 2013). According to Rushkoff, the real issue is the pervasive immediacy of the digital world and its effect on the way people experience time. Events no longer unfold into patterns that people can perceive naturally; instead, looking for patterns becomes a constant preoccupation, because the old, patient cues of story and structure are gone.
Rushkoff has spent his career thinking and writing about the influence of technology on how we work and live. S+B: The key message of Present Shock is that digital technology changes people’s perception of time, and that changes everything else. Amazon's fees hike for third-party traders provokes fury. Amazon is facing a revolt from small traders as the internet retailer – which describes itself as "Earth's most customer-centric" company – plans to impose a wave of fee rises on third parties who use its network to sell consumer electronics, automotive parts and other goods in the UK and across Europe.
Trader fees on millions of electronic accessories listed on Amazon – including popular items such as memory cards, headphones and printer cartridges – will jump from 7% to 12% for the busiest traders in the UK and four other major European markets from 4 April, just after the Easter weekend. The fee increases – which in some cases amount to as much as 70% – have left traders furious, although none are prepared to go on the record because they are concerned about how Amazon will respond. "We are obviously quite worried. We don't know if this will push us under," said one UK trader, who employs five people and asked not to be named.
"Is there anything we can do about it? (48) E-Commerce: Small businesses: What is the best e-commerce solution for a small business. Drop-shipping integration with your existing online e-commerce store.