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]

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 many … [Read More]

If you can contact your recipient by the click of a mouse, why would you bother to phone or, heaven forbid, arrange a meeting? Offering users the opportunity to avoid face to face interaction, social media channels are at risk of breeding an anti-social generation.

Participation in social activity, in real time, is key to human development – it helps us judge characters and form relationships. No app or hashtag is powerful enough to simulate this experience.

Facial expression and vocal intonation are all lost through social media channels, and to some extent, so is your right of reply. Would you ever just get up and leave a meeting without explanation or hang up the phone because you don’t want … [Read More]

If you’re looking for a way to visually tease potential customers – there’s no better social media platform. With approximately 20 million users to date, Pinterest’s power and pinfluence (I couldn’t resist) is growing.

How does Pinterest work?

Rather than words, users share images. The network allows you to create different boards under different subject headings. For example, you might have a board entitled ‘My Dream Homes’ or ‘Places I’d like to visit’. If you see an image pinned by another user that relates to your boards, Pinterest allows you to ‘repin’ that image into your own collections. The overall idea is to create a fluid vision of your interests or company branding.

Top Tips for … [Read More]

The world first tax will be applied to all products on the Kogan.com website when accessed through IE7. “Internet Explorer 7 has long since passed its use-by date. It’s a constant source of frustration for our web guys and we’re sick of burning cash on a browser that hit the market nearly six years ago. It goes against everything Kogan stands for,” said Ruslan Kogan, Kogan founder and CEO, in a statement.

Customers visiting the website using Internet Explorer 7 are met with a message saying,

‘It appears you or your system administrator has been in a coma for over 5 years and you are still using IE7. To help make the Internet a better place, you will be charged a 6.8% tax on your purchase from Kogan.com. This … [Read More]

The Alexa toolbar is available for free download. It enables users to measure their own traffic and check out competitors. This sounds like the most ideal and simple way to measure your websites traffic, however after looking a little deeper several problems are quickly unearthed. Alexa has been accused by many bloggers of being biased. Alexa even states websites associated with it such as amazon.com are overrepresented.

One thing they are keen not to mention … [Read More]

Take this weekend’s Jubilee celebrations for instance. I was swayed into purchasing some royally themed biscuits, purely because they were named ‘queen for a day’ and packaged in all the necessary patriotic paraphernalia. I was drawn in, by the not-so-subtle marketing message. Striking an accordance with your audience is an important avenue to explore when marketing your services. The most successful way to do this is to present an interest in shared topics, opinions and current ideas.

Generating a conversation with potential clients or customers is an effective self promotion tactic. It also makes for the beginnings of an accurate and current advertising campaign. Whether you work for a door handle manufacturers or a handbag retailer, it’s important to contribute and interact … [Read More]

The new cookie law which is to be implemented from the 26th of May states that websites must provide information to site visitors where users will have to give their consent to the placing of cookies. This law technically came into force last May from the EU directive, but the ICO gave UK sites a year before taking enforcement action. (Information taken from www.pcpro.co.uk).

Cookies are a small text file that is stored on your computer or device when you visit a website. A common cookie is traffic log cookies which help identify which pages are being used. This helps to analyse data about webpage traffic and improve a website in order to tailor it to customer needs. The information is used for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is … [Read More]

In May 2011 a law was passed stating that all websites dropping non-essential cookies on visitors’ devices have to declare it publicly and visitors should agree to let the cookies be used. The most important thing to know is that if your website doesn’t comply with the new law, you can potentially be fined up to £500,000.

Recent reports suggest that 95% of UK internet companies are yet to comply with the new law [1] with less than a month to go before the deadline. Time is running out.

If you or your business resides within the EU, you have until the 26th May 2012 to implement your solution on your website(s).

Besides from being a nice tasty snack, Cookies are the name given to a very small file that … [Read More]