Taunton Deane MP Jeremy Browne says being smart and fast is the way forward for local businesses!

He was commenting during the launch by Somerset company Mediatopia of a new free support programme to help lift South West companies into the forefront of mobile selling.

 Duncan Maund, managing director of Taunton digital media company Mediatopia, said the speed and ingenuity of the smart phone has already far surpassed that of a pc

“A simple website is no longer enough for the marketing needs of a modern business,” he said. “Billions of searches and indeed purchases are being performed every day on mobiles and tablets, and this means companies who have not specifically optimised their websites for smart phones and tablets will increasingly be sidelined.”

Mediatopia is now launching Smart and Fast, a free 20 minute session for South West companies to update them fully on modern developments.

“We realize that for any business, where so much time is taken up in running day-to-day operations, it can be almost impossible to keep up with today’s fast changing technology,” said Duncan.

“We have devised Smart and Fast as a free 30 minute fast track programme that is intended to quickly update companies on the new technology that is taking over, all presented in simple easy-to-understand language,” he said.

“Instead of more online information, we are offering businesses in the South West a free visit so we can quickly update them face to face and answer individual questions they might have. Smart phone and tablet brochure presentation, product overview, smart phone browsing and shopping, incorporating blog feeds, all the basics are covered so that local businesses at least understand what their competitors might be up to.

“After the course, companies should be able to make properly informed decisions on how to take their business forward.”

Jeremy Browne MP said he was impressed with the number of businesses in the south west who were taking the time to get on top of modern technology.

“Our location here in the south west is no longer an obstacle to successful business,” he said. “Ecommerce is especially appropriate in this region, and with the skills and knowledge now available there is no reason why local companies can’t be at the forefront of new technology. It really is a very exciting time for South West businesses.”

Any company wishing to book the free Mediatopia Smart and Fast programme can call 01823 429080  or visit www.mediatopia.co.uk for more information.

From left, Jeremy Browne, MP for Taunton Deane, Alison Bradford, Mediatopia’s Financial Controller and Duncan Maund, Managing Director of Mediatopia, at the launch of the new Smart and Fast programme for local businesses.

ENDS.

More information from:

Duncan Maund 01823 429080 duncan@mediatopia.co.uk

Parallax scrolling is a type of web design where different elements of a website move at different speeds. As a user navigates through parallax websites, images will float on top of other images in several layers. Parallax scrolling sites can be used in many different ways to create a variety of captivating effects which have the potential to keep viewers on your site for a great deal of time.

Parallax websites are known for their instant appeal: they stand out from other websites and engage several senses all at once. The slick interlocking elements in parallax scrolling sites flow naturally up and down the page and provide a user-experience improvement that has not been seen since the beginnings of the Web 2.0 revolution. Not only will a viewer be able to scroll up and down on parallax websites, but with mouse gestures or intuitive hand gestures on touch-screen devices, a full range of directions can be explored in the second and even third dimensions.

Read on to find out more about the benefits of parallax websites, as well as some of their disadvantages and how to overcome them!

Beauty is in the Details

Parallax scrolling sites have the potential to be literally stunning and make a great addition to any website. Parallax websites can also be used as a front page for your business if you want to showcase your vision right from the beginning; this is a good way to immediately introduce visitors to your concepts. Parallax scrolling sites can also be linked to from a standard website as a promotional page for one of your products or services.

Parallax websites also give the user much more freedom to explore. Many parallax scrolling sites on the Internet allow mouse gestures combined with clicks to navigate around the main area of the site. This type of user-interaction can be used on parallax websites to create the illusion of movement and dynamics, which will keep a user engaged and potentially interested in your products or services.

The interactive elements of parallax scrolling sites are heavily influenced by design from touch-screen and mobile devices. As Internet users worldwide become more proficient and adept at using this type of natural gesture-interaction with their machines, parallax websites are likely to increase in number.

Parallax Scrolling Used to Tell a Story

Parallax scrolling sites can be constructed in a way to provide the user with an interactive story. If your content is of a creative nature, then this will give you a perfect reason to choose parallax websites for your next project! Well-known contemporary authors in a variety of genres frequently explore the merits of parallax scrolling sites to promote their latest works. Parallax websites seem to fit naturally with many of the visual arts as well and as such, they can be used to showcase any artist’s work in a very appealing way. Because parallax scrolling can also be combined with audio elements, telling a story with your website will also give you the option of including a sound component. Musicians will therefore find a natural ally in parallax websites when they are presenting their portfolio on-line.

Parallax scrolling sites can also be used to create many layers in a website, which can then be revealed as needed to tell the unique story that you want your viewers to see. Parallax websites make a natural vessel to carry the arts to people all over the world.

Parallax scrolling sites will provide the viewer with a slick, stylish and elegant experience that they will not forget. Because the popularity of parallax websites is just taking off, this is a perfect business opportunity for a tech-savvy entrepreneur who wants to harness the power of the latest technologies to showcase their offerings.

According to recent research, almost 100 per cent of human beings own mobile phones. They carry around these gadgets everywhere that they go, and use them to research on almost everything that they do. As a marketer, this should tell you that this is an audience that is too large to ignore. Additionally, smartphones sell more than computers, and the average time spent researching about products on a mobile device is 4 minutes compared to the 1 minute average time spent online on a PC. This should tell you that whatever goods or services you are selling, you are likely to sell more if you include mobile Web design in your strategy. Mobile Web design is the next big thing for businesses!

Why get a mobile website design expert?

There are very many reasons why mobile website design will help your business grow as compared to the online experience. To start with, when you hire a mobile website design expert, you will reach a larger audience than apps. Apps are a smart marketing strategy. However, the fact that you have to make an app for every platform that you are targeting makes apps too much work to deal with. People use mobile Web more regularly than they use mobile apps, hence the need to consider mobile Web design. The sooner you, as a marketer, learn to improve and optimise your site for mobile, not forgetting to hire a mobile website design expert, the faster you will get more clients.

Secondly, smartphone traffic will increase the overall traffic that leads to your site. A new research has shown that on average 4000 new smartphone gadgets are activated every passing day. When you consider mobile website design, you will be tapping into this expanding smartphone market. As a result, traffic to your website will increase. Remember, you must only hire an expert in mobile website design.

Thirdly, everyone is going mobile. By 2010, use of mobile phones to surf the Internet and get reviews on products had more than doubled. The number has been increasing every year since then. Consumers love the convenience of carrying their source of information about their favourite products wherever they go. It was projected that mobile Web would actually outdo desktop Web by 2014. This projection is coming to pass because by 2012, 34 per cent of people used the desktop to research on their favourite products, while over 80 per cent used a mobile device. So, what’s more important than a well done mobile Web design?

The next and most important reason why you should consider mobile website design is that even if you do not go mobile, your competitors will most definitely do. This means that they will have an edge over you, and your profitability will lessen. After all, mobile Web design is not a costly affair.

All these factors are an indication that if you are still using the conventional website, you are locking out a lot of business. There is nothing that all consumers hate more than getting pages that are not adaptable to the mobile phone when trying to access their favourite online shop, or product comparison site. An attractive, working mobile Web design process is, therefore, essential.

Selecting the right people to design your mobile website

We have already established the fact that going mobile is a hot trend right now, and that you should do it as soon as possible so that your company can start making gains from it. You are now mumbling, "I need to design my mobile website now". Let’s be realistic, not many people can design their mobile website alone. Only an expert can design your mobile website. However, you should be careful about who you give the design work. Companies such as Mediatopia can design your mobile website easily. They know what it takes to design that mobile website that works as part of your marketing strategy. They are committed towards ensuring that you get the best of mobile website design that suits all your e-commerce needs. All you need to do is contact them and give them a rough idea for them to design your mobile website. When it comes to mobile Web design, Mediatopia is your best choice. So, contact the experts today, and design your mobile website if you want to stay ahead of your competitors!

Asbestos Surveys & Inspections Ltd are based in Devon. They carry out Asbestos Surveys nationwide for all types of businesses, from large multi-corporates to small and medium sized businesses   They also have another branch of their business which is called Fire Surveys – this side of their business care out fire risk assessment also across the UK for small, medium and large businesses.

Solution:

Duncan (MD) Mediatopia contacted Richard as he was already an existing customer of Mediatopia as Duncan thought that the old Asbestos Surveys web design was a little dated as it had been designed about 6 years before and was looking a little worse for wear. Richard agreed that the website was tired looking and that it was about time that the website had an overhaul. So Mediatopia set about bringing the design up to date and also adding more content and sections so that visiting clientele could understand more about the Asbestos Surveys business, from their clientele to more testimonial information.

Result:

Richard is over the moon with new look and feel and loves the imagery that Mediatopia have chosen to depict the business. Mediatopia also do a lot of Search Engine Optimisation for Richards companies and if you type into Google ‘Asbestos Surveys’ or ‘Asbestos Survey’ you will see that we have his website - http://asbestos-surveys-uk.co.uk riding high in 7th position!

Asbestos Surveys & Inspections

Description

Asbestos Surveys & Inspections

Type of Website: CMS Brochure

Project Components

• IBranding Strategy
• Content Management System
• Information Architecture
• Website Design & Development
• Scope, Approach & Methodology
• Call to Action
• Search Engine Marketing
• Marketing Analytics

Lauries Furniture are an independent furniture outlet based in Bridgwater, Somerset. Starting off as a supplier of beds and mattresses over 10 years ago, expansion into the exciting areas of upholstery and solid wood furniture soon followed. Now Lauries Furniture are in the position to offer some of their quality products for you to purchase on-line. If you spot items on their website that are not available to buy over their internet payment facility, please call them and they will be happy to discuss your requirements.

Solution:

Lauries Furniture had been visited by numerous specialists to help them get a better online website, however Lauries Furniture decided to let Mediatopia re-design and re-develop their website. The idea was to make the website clearer and easier to use for the clientele of Lauries Furniture. They also wanted a simple ordering system for purchases made online.

Result:

The result is a clean, nicely designed and layed out website, with a simple clean product layout.

Lauries Furniture

Description

Independent Furniture Outlet

Type of Website: CMS Ecommerce

Project Component

• Branding Strategy
• Content Management System
• Website Design & Development
• Information Architecture
• Scope, Approach & Methodology
• Interactive JavaScript Banners
• Call to Action
• Search Engie Marketing
• Marketing Analytics

Split Second Imports are Multi-Brand Distributors of BMX & Extreme Sport Products and operate from their headquarters Cheddar, Somerset. Ruption & Blank Bikes are the products distributed by Split Second Imports who also own and manufacture these 2 well known street BMX brands.

Solution:

Rob and Andy were originally interested with the re-design and re-development of Ruption & Blank Bikes. After Duncan Maund from Mediatopia met with them, the proposal was to create a high-end Trade/Wholesale Ecommerce website integrated into their Sage 50 plus the re-design and development of both Ruption and Blank Bikes.

Results:

Ruption was launched first, followed by Blank Bikes.

The Split Second Imports website took a lot longer to produce but this is par for the course, as a Magento Ecommerce solution is the best ecommerce platform currently in the market place and a lot of bespoke development and integrating is needed. However, the result is excellent.

Split Second Imports

Description

Distributor

Type of Website: Magento & Sage

Project Components

• Branding Strategy
• Content Management System
• Website Design & Development
• Information Architecture
• Scope, Approach & Methodology
• Interactive Flash Banners
• Call to Action
• Synchronised Sage updates

About

On the 26 May 2012 it was released internationally that there are still thousands of websites across the UK who have not yet adhered to the new cookie law. This is now a vital requirement of all business websites!

What are Cookies?

A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is usually a small piece of data sent from a website and stored in a user’s web browser while a user is browsing a website. When the user browses the same website in the future, the data stored in the cookie can be retrieved by the website to notify the website of the user’s previous activity. Cookies were designed to be a reliable mechanism for websites to remember the state of the website or activity the user had taken in the past. This can include clicking particular buttons, logging in, or a record of which pages were visited by the user even months or years ago. – Taken from Wikepedia

Does the new cookie law affect my website?

In short yes, all business websites will need to give internet traffic the option of accepting cookies when they first land on your website, this can be implemented by the use of a pop-up box or a drop down menu from the top of the page.  You will not be singled out yet by the government but all websites will need to have this prompt in the future.

To get a better understanding of the new cookie law, take a look at the 2 videos below which explain the ‘New EU Cookie Law’ in more detail:-

[youtube height="315" width="560"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arWJA0jVPAc[/youtube]

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[youtube height="315" width="560"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0M8MYiGkQw[/youtube]

Mediatopia

If you are a current client of Mediatopia you will need to get your website updated with a new drop down menu which we will implement on your website. Mediatopia will be circulating a newsletter that will have the process of our intentions regarding the new EU Cookie law.

I believe there are a lot of businesses in the United Kingdom who are struggling to come to terms with all the new ways and methods of marketing, whether it is social media and the enigma of using it or keeping up with all of the latest mobile website design – moving from a paper based environment to an online, cloud based virtual network is going to be tough for most businesses.

Mediatopia have the experience and the knowledge to nurture and guide businesses through the headache of digital media and marketing. We want to show businesses that there are affordable solutions to marketing and keeping your business up to date with the latest marketing ploys and tools.

Mobile Websites

With the whole world now going seriously mobile the need to have a compatible mobile browser safe website is becoming of paramount importance, not only for attracting people to your brand but also delivering quick and simple touch screen activated functionality to the end user. The speed of the page that loads on your mobile device and the quick progression through pages make mobile websites a definite plus for all online businesses.

Mobile websites are like micro sites, they deliver short and punchy snippets of information that takes the user to specified content. Unlike conventional websites that are made up of thousands of files and usually take forever to load up on your mobile device, a mobile website is specially crafted to load up very quickly.

What is the difference between a Mobile Website & a Responsive Website?

Responsive Websites

• A responsive website is a website which has been designed and developed to fit compatibly into whichever screen it is being viewed by.
• A responsive website would be the next step if as a business owner you have been thinking about upgrading your website. By having a responsive design that is compatible with tablets and mobile devices you are eliminating the need to have a mobile website.
• A responsive website delivers your content seamlessly to all mobile device browsers.
• A responsive website will work for your business and will keep you at the forefront of online digital technology.

Responsive website design

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Mobile Websites

• Are the cut down version of your businesses main website on a number of efficient quick loading browser based pages which have been optimised for mobile and tablet viewing.
• Have many different uses and can deliver excellent content to users, mobile websites also have excellent search engine optimisation results, as the code used can be given specific header tag titles.
• Not only do they deliver targeted content to the end user they also bring a level of sophistication to your business. Clients and new traffic that arrive at your website via a mobile device will get a good impression of your business and will return again and again, whilst your competitors are stuck with old technology.

Mediatopia offer professional business advice about all digital services and can help businesses successfully promote and administer all online digital media. To see what online solutions Mediatopia offer for new businesses and existing clients – please visit our website at www.mediatopia.co.uk or alternatively contact us on 01823 429081.

The speed and ingenuity of the smartphone has far surpassed that of its rival the pc, some of the smartphone statistics will blow your mind:

Smartphone Statistics for 2011

491 million handsets sold worldwide
Year on year smartphone sales rose by 58%
Nielsen report that 46% of US mobile phone owners have a smartphone.
The Canadian equivalent is 45.3%
comScore put combined smartphone ownership for France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK at 44% of mobile users as of December 2011 (104 million users)
Kantar Worldpanel claim 48.9% of the British population have a smartphone.

Smartphone operating systems

Nielsen’s figures for Q4 2011 in the US show Android as the leading OS with 46.3% of all currently-owned smartphones, followed by Apple’s iPhone at 30% and the RIM OS at 14.9%:

This is why Mediatopia have invested in the right software to help business owners move their businesses to the next level, Mediatopia can now start offering smartphone and tablet websites and a variety of different iPhone applications.

Explore all of the different applications and platforms Mediatopia are developing.

M-Commerce

Shopping on mobile devices in the UK is set to increase by 53% in the next 12 months and spending will hit £4.5billion, put simply, you can no longer afford to not have a mobile store. Many people use their mobile devices – think Smartphone’s and Tablets – for all their online needs. When a customer is presented with a full scale E-Commerce store on a mobile device the experience is cumbersome and frustrating. The text is too small, they have to zoom in to see anything and you can easily touch the wrong link. When a customer is presented with an M-Commerce store, the experience is dramatically improved – the page loads faster, they can see the text clearer and often they can find what they are looking for quickly. When the customer can find what they are looking for they are far less likely to abandon the process. There are millions of customers using mobile devices, you need to tap into this market.

Cross-channel customer experience

Cross-channel customer experience has been an idea bounced around since the inception of web 2.0. Companies need to be able to interact with the customer in the way that the customer prefers. E-Commerce solutions will always remain a crucial part of this. However, this will need to complimented by M-Commerce and Social Media experiences. Customers have less and less time, you need to be able engage them across a variety of platforms. They need to be able to buy through the format they are most comfortable. This may be through a Facebook Store, an M-Commerce solution or a traditional E-Commerce solution. It may seem strange to refer to an E-Commerce solution as ‘traditional’ but with the advent of Social Media and M-Commerce – it has become the basic requirement.

Wholesale goes retail

Wholesalers have sat back and watched their customers make their own fortunes from E-Commerce – many Wholesalers even offer drop shipping, meaning the middle man doesn’t ever touch the products. This has raised the idea in many Wholesale operators mind that, If someone from home can do it, so can we. E-Commerce provide the perfect opportunity for Wholesalers to tap into the end consumer and cut out the middle man. I was speaking to one of our customers recently who sells toys wholesale and who has made the transition to selling directly to the end consumer with an E-Commerce solution. Sales are steadily growing and the solution fits in with his existing business model since he was already drop shipping for his existing clients. He has kept his existing customer base of retail clients, but is increasing his profits by being able to sell directly to the end consumer as well. If you sell Wholesale and have the ability to carry out your own fulfillment – why would you waste another day doing all the hard work for others?

Do you want to talk to anyone about what 2012 has in store? We can help you to achieve any of the above. Contact Mediatopia™ on Telephone: 01823 429081 or send an email to sales@mediatopia.co.uk.