Author: Gemma

Responsive design – a necessity for moving with the times

Internet by Gemma0 comments
Infographic from StatCounter showing mobile web usage worldwide

According to online sources mobile phones account for 17% of global web usage and this doesn’t even include tablets. This shows the growing need for websites to adapt to the different platforms in which users are viewing their content.

Responsive design is an approach aimed at crafting sites at development stage to provide an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices. It in essence re-structures/re-sizes the information on a website dependant on the size of device. If done correctly this can produce an extremely versatile website which will be a pleasure for users no matter what device they may use.

We have now provided this service for many of our clients, one company that we have recently completed this for is the CPSA. The Concrete Pipeline Systems Association provides information to its market place through marketing materials including its website.… [Read More]

The silver lining of “Not provided”

Internet by Gemma0 comments

Google analytics has for many years supplied website owners and SEO companies with in-depth information about the performance of their websites. Recently however Google has changed the way they collate the information and for anyone who is logged into a Google account they no longer record the keyword data. What this means is that we can tell that these people have come to a site via search engines however we cannot tell what keyword they have typed in to get there. The number of “not provided” visits has risen gradually and now means on average over 70% of the search engine visits that a website receives will be “not provided”.

So the question is how do we now find out which keywords are producing traffic to websites?

Well, we feel that although we can now not access the exact keyword lists, it will actually mean a much fuller picture for … [Read More]

Google Hummingbird – How will it affect you?

Internet by Gemma0 comments

On 26th September 2013 Google came clean and admitted that the new algorithm (Hummingbird) had been up and had been running for the past month. As with any algorithm change that Google make many people who have presence on the web will be asking the question, how does this affect me?

Well Social media today summed up Hummingbird changes as the following:

 

Google Hummingbird At A Glance

Many of the existing rules and weightings still apply, so don’t stop doing what you are doing if your activities are based on Penguin pleasing, sustainable and ethical content focused techniques Known as Semantic search, more naturalistic or ‘conversational’ search terms (which tend to be long-tail in their nature) are now more important than ever Google still wants to return the most relevant, accurate and useful search results to its users, Hummingbird provides a more sophisticated means for Google to deliver this… [Read More]

Has Google sparked a trend which spells the end for left hand navigation?

Internet by Gemma0 comments

It may seem like a trivial change to some, but the recent update to Google’s navigation bar has, for many, signalled the end of an era when it comes to web design.

The acclaimed search engine has unveiled a subtle upgrade to it’s navigation in recent weeks – as opposed to being displayed on the left of the page, navigation now takes pride of place at the top and centre. Being a big name when it comes to the web, this may well set a trend for web developers to take note of. The reasons behind the change have not been officially cited, but we at The Studio 4 have our own theories.

Left hand navigation used to be accepted as the standard, mainly due to the way we tend to read and take in information (ie: In western cultures, from left to right). Not only this, but it provided … [Read More]

Facebook – is it worth paying for popularity?

Internet by Gemma0 comments

There’s no denying that Facebook holds a distinct presence in social networking, which is more than likely due to it’s constant reinvention and steady stream of new features. These new features serve a purpose. They help keep it fresh, newsworthy and at the forefront of our minds – which is exactly what a social networking site should strive to be.

But with constant change also comes constant upheaval (and occasional backlash). The 2011 introduction of the timeline, for example, was the cause of many a disgruntled outburst from dis-satisfied users who immediately missed the familiarity and comfort of the tried and true, old-school “wall”. Outraged that a free service had changed without consulting them first, presumably.

Since founding the site in 2004, Zuckerberg and his team have reportedly built up it’s worth to over $1 billion, and their increasing efforts to monetise have become less and less subtle. In … [Read More]

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