What is an Internet Browser? And for that matter, what difference does it make?

For the uninitiated, the Internet Browser is a program used to access web pages, and if you’re not familiar with this term then chances are you’ve just been using the default Windows Internet Explorer which comes pre-loaded on all Windows PCs. This browser has been the dominant standard for the past 5 years.

It seems that only a short while ago, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) had won the browser wars and the corpse of Netscape was finally laid to rest, however, there are now a number of new challenges to IE.

Firstly is Firefox, an alternative browser which has made massive gains in the last couple of years. Firefox is our browser of choice due to it’s speed and a number of pioneering innovations which were lacking on IE.

Secondly is the resurgent Apple Safari . Apple uses it’s own Safari browser in it’s computers and it’s recent success in laptop sales in particular has seen a marked increase in it’s browser share. The browser is also available on the PC.

Thirdly is the manner in which websites are accessed. Increasingly mobile devices are being used instead of home PCs and these use a number of different browsers to access the web. These in themselves are re-defining how the internet is viewed and used, and the iPhone / iPod touch in particular is a growing figure on website statistics.

Later this week I’ll be discussing why this matters, and how your website can benefit from these changes, but for the moment I’ll leave you with the statistics from our own website. As our site is technology-focused, one would expect a higher usage of alternative browsers from the mainstream but it is still an interesting change from the 80%+ dominance we used to see for IE.

Internet Explorer 60%
Firefox 29%
Safari 6%
iPhone 0.39%
Others ~4%

Remember why you got a website? Of course you do! A couple of years ago, the company across the road set up a new website and you thought that you should get one also. Or maybe a customer politely enquired what your URL was and you tasked someone to go get one.. But did you get a website for the right reasons, and does it currently fulfil it’s true potential?

Commercial websites are designed to sell and all viewers are potential customers.

Either you’re selling your products directly, or you’re selling your services, or maybe ( however abstractly ) you are selling your brand. If you have an e-commerce site then you’re probably well-briefed on this; it is, after all, your lifeblood. However, if you are not directly selling a product then how do you quantify the success of your website?

Sometimes, it is enough to know the number of people visiting your site and this is no different to a billboard advertisement for instance. But this can be frustrating not knowing how many people were looking at your site that could be customers, what their views on the site or your company were and all the other unknowns.

In Marketing Terms, one of the most effective ways of monitoring this success is to implement what is known as a Call to Action. This can be a simple feedback form, a comments system, a voucher offer – just anything that gets the customer’s attention and you’d be suprised at the amount of useful information this can yield .. least of all the fact that customers are actually engaging with your site.  Here at WebCreation UK, we can advise on some of these methods and how to measure them to ensure that you are getting a Return On Investment (ROI).

You’ve put enough effort into getting visitors to you site, now you just need to reach out and engage with them…

“Ecommerce will buck retail trends,” said David J Smith of the IMRG at a conference earlier in the year, “and continue to grow. When the going gets tough, consumers go online.” WebCreation UK are keen to assist in helping all businesses looking to sell online via our fantastic ecommerce solutions.

Did you know?

- IMRG Index shows that, between April 2000 and end of 2007 British ecommerce has grown 5213%. The total UK spend in 2007 was £46.6bn.

- 15p in the consumer pound is spent online. Despite economic worries, Q108 saw the biggest total spend online of any quarter since inception: £13bn (or £213 per head of population).

- The IMRG forceasts that British online spending will increase every year to 2012.

Demographics

-The gender breakdown of British online shoppers is (give or take less than 1%): 50/50 Male/Female.

- 21% of online spending comes from women 18-34. 50% of women over 25 buy clothing online.

- The fast growing group of online shoppers are the Over 55s. Over 55s will soon surpass the 35-44 year olds soon as the biggest group of online shoppers.

If you would like to discuss how we can help your business through the credit crunch or are simply looking for a new website design, please contact us.