She demonstrated the way in which vocal feedback guided her finger to the desired part of the screen and how, with just a little guidance, it was possible to perform any task us lucky enough to have the gift of sight take for granted. What’s more, there was only a marginal amount of additional effort required. It didn’t seem complicated or frustrating. It just worked.

What is more amazing is that this was achieved on a piece of non-tactile glass. No clever haptic feedback or vibrating – just glass and great software.

It is therefore no wonder that, along with the rise of mobile web browsing, another increasing trend has also been witnessed: those with disabilities using the web on mobile devices.

We’ll assume your business website is already responsive (if not – it’s time to think mobile!), but how accessible is it to those with visual impairments?

Zoom!

For those with mild or moderate visual problems, it’s important that they can still zoom into your responsive website. It is all too common to see mobile sites which prevent the user from zooming in. Avoiding a simple piece of code (setting the ‘maximumscale’ to 1) is the first step. Don’t rely on browsers having text resizing options, either – iOS Safari, for example, doesn’t currently have that ability. Instead, follow the accessibility guideline and allow zooming up to a maximum of 200%.

White space

Apple created a bit of a stir recently with their ‘flat’ redesign of iOS. Lots of white space featured throughout and, as attractive and minimalist as this can be, it can also disorientate visually impaired users on mobile websites – particularly if they’re not responsive. Zooming in and out of websites flanked by fields of white can result in a frustrating experience for anyone, but especially someone who needs clear guidance to touch points.

Positioning

Lastly, and perhaps most obviously, convenient placement of messages and calls to action is absolutely crucial for an accessible mobile website. The EU cookie law hasn’t helped with this, but there’s nothing worse than hunting around for a tiny X button. Worse still, such controls can disappear entirely from the screen when zoomed in on. Pay attention to these small details and test, test, test!

Create Content Regularly

It’s extremely important to add new, original content to your web page on a regular basis. Unique content is what gets picked up by search engines. When you add fresh content regularly, you will begin to move up the page rankings, helping to attract new visitors. Writing a blog, producing how to guides or posting regular news are all ways you can achieve this.

Use the Right Keywords

The original content that you post on your website will be made all the more effective if you include the correct keywords within it. Think about the words and phrases that people will search for when looking for a site like yours, and include them in your content, meta tags and page titles. However, don’t overload your content with keywords as search engines could view this as spam.

Analyse Your Statistics

By looking at the traffic that is currently coming to your website, you will be able to see which elements of your strategy are succeeding, and which areas need more work. You will see which keywords people are using to find your site, along with where your traffic is coming from. This can be used to inform the content you put on your site and prioritise what you show your visitors when they arrive.

The new look is quite a departure from the iOS iPhone and iPad users are used to. Ditching ‘skeuomorphic’ design (where on screen imagery mimics real life objects – for example a paper based diary), the team led by Brit Jony Ive have opted instead for a much flatter design, focussing on clean lines, great use of colour and, refreshingly, not being at all afraid of white space. The result is modern and very pleasing on the eye but, crucially, it also manages to retain the usability and approachable nature which has made the operating system such a hit with users of all ages.

Where Apple goes, others will follow – it is a fact in technology which is difficult to look past, no matter what side of the PC/Mac fence you sit on. They are masters at perfecting elements of design and it is likely you’ll start to see similar flat designs begin to appear elsewhere. The obvious crossover is into that of web design and development.

It could be argued that flat, simple design on the web beat iOS to it, and that is doubtless one of the reasons Apple took such a lead with their new mobile OS. So, while they’re technically following others to a certain extent, the way in which they appear to have focussed iOS7’s design and the sheer public reach it will enjoy (over 90% of iOS users are running the latest version of the operating system), means those web designers who haven’t simplified their approach may well be forced to do so. And that isn’t a bad thing.

The same goes for parallax scrolling, which also features in iOS7. This neat effect adds depth to 2D web pages by altering the rate at which page elements move when a user scrolls. On the iPhone, it means you can tilt the device to view the image behind the app icons, whereas in web design, it can be used to fantastic effect on product websites, where a single page is all that is required in order to deliver real depth of information to the user.

Maybe it’s time to revisit your business website. How complicated is the design? Is it too fussy? Have you opted for skeuomorphic-type interaction on page elements which could in fact be replaced with simple menus and nice, clean, vibrant buttons with which to interact?

Our sister site, mailingmanager.co.uk, has recently undergone a significant redesign of its own. It showcases just what is possible with web development in a modern world which requires information quickly, yet in as engaging a way as possible. Some would say we beat Apple to it…

Featured Products

Even though you might be keen to show off the wide range of products you sell, an abundance of information can put users off when they first visit a website. By having a few featured products on your home page, you can draw attention to sale items or new additions to your stock. This will add impact to your home page and stop it from looking too cluttered.

Product Images

One of the disadvantages ecommerce sites have over ‘bricks and mortar’ stores is that shoppers can’t see and feel products in the flesh. You can overcome this by offering a wide variety of product images. Show your products from a number of different angles, show every variation (e.g. colour, size etc.) and have the option to zoom in on the images so visitors can see every detail.

Product Sorting and Filtering

Search results that are pages and pages long can seem incredibly daunting to a website user. If you give your visitors the ability to filter and sort search results, they will be much more likely to find what they are looking for (and, therefore, much more likely to make a purchase on your site).

Rumours had persisted for months leading up to the event that a significant redesign of the mapping stalwart was in the works and, on Wednesday 15th May, Google Maps product management director, Bernhard Seefeld, lifted the covers off what he described as, “…the biggest change to Google Maps since Google Maps originally launched”.

He appears to be right, too. The redesign aims to personalise the service, rather than offering just one big map for everyone. The new version will decide what to display and label on the map, based on the user’s interests. This looked technically impressive during the demonstration, but could also offer a significant opportunity for businesses.

If you run a business, it is likely you focus your online advertising on Google’s (and its competitors’) main search pages. In the current version of Google Maps, if your business operates a pay-per-click campaign, the only thing differentiating you from those not paying Google is a blue pin highlighting your location on the map, rather than red. Users subsequently have to cross reference a key on the side of the screen to see which pin represents each organisation.

The new Google Maps fixes this problem by displaying the name of businesses and the first few lines of their descriptions in a box superimposed over their location. Also, if they’re running a special offer, a blue shopping tag icon appears next to their name.

Google will also do a lot of the advertising leg work for you on the new Maps. The redevelopment was motivated by a desire to personalise the system and make it more relevant for users. For example, names of locations previously searched for will be prioritised and restaurants and other local businesses highlighted based on users’ activity on other Google services. Too Big Brother like? Possibly, but the likelihood is most users will benefit greatly from a more personalised service, as will the businesses they inevitably come into contact with as a result.

The new version will, of course, continue to be available as an API for web developers, therefore your website will also benefit from it’s sleek new design and features when embedded into your web pages – something we heartily recommend for any business website.

‘Gifs’, as they were commonly abbreviated, were also incredibly light in file size and enabled what were very slow connections at the time to load complex image files quickly. Technically, they were impressive and particularly efficient at tackling images containing large areas of uniform colour; gif creators could reference a palette of up to 256 distinct colours and do so for each frame of the animation.

Unfortunately, they were also chronically overused. In the dawn of self build websites from platforms such as Geocities, gifs were an ever-present and sometimes overwhelming addition to web pages. They were also – and continue to be – particular popular on forums, where members would use them to animate their profile picture.

Video, Flash and, more recently, HTML5 programming techniques, have since replaced gif usage in modern web design, but do they still have a place in Web 2.0? Some people believe that they can still inject some much needed life into website imagery and still grab users’ attention in the same way they did back in the early days of the web. Their relatively small file size can still be considered a benefit over ‘heavier’ content such as video, particularly now so many people rely on often poor mobile connections while browsing.

The key is to get creative. Can gifs enhance your product imagery or add some personality and vibrancy to content-heavy business-to-business websites? The gif may not be dead just yet…
And, lastly, how do you pronounce gif? Well, if you go by the Oxford English Dictionary, it can be pronounced with either a ‘g’ or ‘j’. Not so, said Whilhite, who recently expressed his annoyance at the fact people still vehemently debate the issue.

He set the record straight during The Webby Awards where, upon being awarded a lifetime achievement award, a large image appeared on the screen, written by Whilhite himself and explaining, quite clearly, that “It’s pronounced ‘jif’”.

We’re glad that’s been cleared up.

The deal, reported to be worth close to $1.1bn in cash, will make an instant multi-millionaire of Tumblr founder David Karp. Like so many tech entrepreneurs, he’s young (just 26), enthusiastic and, apparently, not ready to put his feet up in the Bahamas just yet; as part of the deal, he’ll be staying on as CEO.

In comparison to its hefty price tag, Tumblr’s annual revenues are relatively small, amounting to ‘only’ $13m last year. That said, it has an incredibly loyal user base, who take advantage of its no frills take on blogging. 85% of Tumblr users post twenty or more times per month and industry experts believe the addition of the service to Yahoo!’s growing acquisition portfolio could grow the internet giant’s audience by 50%.

Tumblr could easily be described as purely a micro blogging site but, in reality, it is both as light on its feet as Twitter, yet not restrictive enough to prevent celebrities and businesses from using it to market themselves with longer posts and embedded media. It’s a very popular combination and one whose true potential is yet to be realised by many industries.

We think tweeting and blogging are intrinsically linked, and Yahoo!’s purchase of Tumblr demonstrates the power a neat combination of the two can hold. That’s why in.house.media has just launched its own Twitter management service.

By combining tweeting and blogging, your website will benefit from regular, unique and engaging content and the posts themselves will drive your social media strategy, building advocacy amongst your growing list of followers by delivering relevant articles directly to them, wherever they are.

To find out more about our new Twitter management service and to take advantage of a special introductory offer, click here.

Product Navigation

A logical and easy to use navigation system is one of the most important elements of an ecommerce site. Your visitors should be able to browse different product categories quickly using an intuitive system. If they can’t find what they’re looking for within a few seconds, the visitor will simply abandon your site. Investing in a well-designed navigation system could be crucial to your site’s success.

Search Box

As well as being able to easily browse the navigation system, your visitors should also have the option of searching for something specific on your site. Your search box should be in a prominent position (they are often placed at the top right) to encourage the user to search for what they want. This will greatly improve your site’s navigability.

Shopping Cart

On most ecommerce sites, the shopping cart is the first screen in the checkout process. They usually display the items the user has decided to purchase on a table. The shopping cart gives a chance to review their purchases and make any necessary amends. A good shopping cart should display the product name and price, a short description of it along with a thumbnail image, a modifiable quantity box and the total cost of the order.

In my next piece, I’ll talk about more features that are vital to the success of ecommerce sites.

This week, a Soyuz space capsule carrying a three-man crew from the International Space Station (ISS) returned to earth. Among them was Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut who has harnessed the power of the web to propel himself into the social media stratosphere.

Nearing 900,000 followers on Twitter and having created one of Reddit’s top ‘ask me anything’ threads of all time, Commander Hadfield has successfully used the web to focus the spotlight squarely on life as a NASA employee.

Hadfield’s achievements are numerous and incredibly impressive; he was the first Canadian to walk in space and has tested some of the U.S. Air Force’s most advanced fighter jets. It is therefore curious that most people know him for his zero gravity rendition of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’.

Having enlisted the help of his web-savvy sons Evan and Kyle, his reworking of a Bowie classic has been watched by nearly 5m people. Indeed, many argue that he has become the most famous astronaut since Neil Armstrong and Yuri Gagarin, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Far from wanting to become an overnight social media sensation, however, Hadfield’s harnessing of web technology is actually for a very admirable cause. He is keen to answer critics who think the ISS has passed its use by date.

“We will go to the Moon and we will go to Mars. But we’re not going to do it tomorrow and we’re not going to do it because it titillates the nerve endings,” he told BBC news in a recent interview. “We’re going to do it because it’s a natural human progression.”

Hadfield has shown that, by utilising web technology, it is possible to reach out to a far greater audience than would otherwise be possible. That may sound obvious, but when you consider the way in which he has done it; by focussing his audience’s attention on something far removed from the actual goal, but equally as engaging (ever wondered if you can cry in space?), it has a stroke of genius about it.

Businesses can employ the same tactic. Draw your followers and customers in with something exciting and don’t be afraid to do something unusual. If you can capture their attention with something witty, interesting or downright funny, you’re likely to engage them for the duration of their stay in your digital world.