E-commerce web design 'must consider security'
30th June 2009
Online retailers may need to ramp up their website security efforts to attract more sales, new research has indicated.A poll conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of McAfee found that almost three-quarters of consumers are not changing their online shopping habits in spite of the...
Mobile marketing tipped to grow
30th June 2009
Mobile advertising will account for between five and ten per cent of global marketing spending by 2014, it has been predicted.Scott Howe of Microsoft told Reuters after the Cannes Lions 2009 festival last week that more companies will seek to take advantage of the medium over the next five years.He...
Flash plug-in announced for Android
30th June 2009
A software developer has announced that it has finished a new browser plug-in aimed at enabling Flash content on Android devices.The plug-in from Bsquare is aimed at ARM-based handsets running on Android 1.5, otherwise known as the Cupcake release of the operating system.Larry Stapleton,...
Google recommends mobile Analytics apps
29th June 2009
Google has pointed out some of the mobile apps available for those who want to view their Google Analytics data on the go.The search engine launched its Analytics Data Export application programming interface (API) in April this year with the aim of allowing website owners to have read-only access...
Retailers urged to operate across several channels
29th June 2009
Retailers would do well to integrate their selling operations over several different channels rather than run their e-commerce business separately, it has been advised.A number of US retailers have suffered as a result of placing their e-commerce operations in a silo in this way and others should...
Mozilla unveils new Fennec releases
29th June 2009
A number of new releases of the mobile version of the Firefox browser have been announced by Mozilla.Developers and web users can now download the Fennec 1.0 beta 2 for Maemo, Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile and desktop builds for the Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.Writing in a blog post,...
YouTube mobile uploads soar after iPhone 3GS launch
26th June 2009
YouTube has revealed that uploads made to its pages with mobile phones have soared by 400 per cent a day since the iPhone 3GS was launched last week.Released on June 19th, the new iPhone features a long-awaited video recording capability, as well as a compass and parental controls for apps, films...
DFS tops e-commerce rankings
26th June 2009
DFS has been ranked as having the best e-commerce website out of the top 50 UK retail sites.The June edition of the monthly study, which was conducted by Sitemorse for Retail Bulletin, saw DFS receive a score of 9.54 out of 10, nearly two points ahead of Net-a-Porter, which came second with...
New Android native development kit launched
26th June 2009
A new native development kit (NDK) for the Android platform has been launched to let developers call into native code from their apps.Android apps run in the Dalvik virtual machine and parts of these apps can now be implemented using native code languages, including C and C++.The NDK includes tools...
Usability expert criticises password masking
25th June 2009
The practice of masking passwords as users type them into websites damages online usability, it has been claimed.According to web design expert Jakob Nielsen, using asterisks or bullet points instead of the real text that users enter when typing out passwords does little to boost security, as...
Mobile search 'becoming more popular'
25th June 2009
Usage of mobile web search services is rising globally, according to a new report.The latest State of the Mobile Web study by Opera reveals that Google is the most popular search engine among users of its Mini mobile browser, although local players in Russia and China outperform the search giant in...
AdSense beta for mobile apps unveiled
25th June 2009
Mobile app developers signing up to a new AdSense beta launched by Google this week can now monetise their creations by placing ads within them.The AdSense service for mobile apps allows developers to put image and text ads into their apps, benefiting only from the highest-paying ads while also...
New HTC Android phone confirmed for UK
24th June 2009
The HTC Hero is to become the latest Android-powered mobile phone to be made available in the UK and Europe, it has been announced.At a London press conference today (June 24th), HTC confirmed that the handset will be launched in July in Europe and later in the summer in Asia. A...
Web designers 'can help to speed up the internet'
24th June 2009
Web developers can play a significant part in making the internet run faster, according to Google.In a blog post, Urs Hoelzle and Bill Coughran of Google explain the ways in which the web could be enhanced to make sites quicker to load and called on web designers to use a "little effort"...
E-commerce sites 'should be clearer about delivery costs'
24th June 2009
Online retailers may be able to reduce shopping cart abandonment rates by displaying delivery costs upfront, it has been suggested.A new study conducted by comScore for PayPal found that 45 per cent of American online shoppers have abandoned their shopping baskets more than once in the past three...
Top tips for call to action buttons on e-commerce sites
23rd June 2009
There are a number of factors e-commerce web designers should bear in mind when it comes to call to action buttons, according to one expert.Graham Charlton of Econsultancy called on web developers to ensure their buttons are coloured in such a way that they stand out well from the background and...
Google explores the world of computer vision
23rd June 2009
Google has released a new research paper exploring the possibilities posed by computers that are able to recognise pictures of landmarks.Presented at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition conference yesterday (June 22nd), the paper describes a technology that allows computers to identify...
Flash Player 10 coming to Android
23rd June 2009
Adobe has revealed that it is preparing a beta version of Flash Player 10 for smartphones - including the Android platform.Shantanu Naraye, chief executive of Adobe, said in a recent earnings call that the player will be launched this October and will also be available for the Windows Mobile,...
Orange updates GlastoNav mobile app
22nd June 2009
Orange has released a new version of its GlastoNav mobile application for those attending the Glastonbury festival this year.Developed in association with the Guardian Guide, the free app includes a full customisable performance timetable and an interactive map.The app also delivers the latest...
E-commerce firms 'relying on discounts to drive sales'
22nd June 2009
Online retailers are increasingly offering discounts to consumers in an attempt to drive custom, it has been suggested.According to MyVoucherCodes managing director Mark Pearson, the recession is forcing consumers to be savvier with their money by researching products and comparing prices before...
Firefox 3.5 release candidate launched
22nd June 2009
Mozilla has announced the launch of the release candidate for Firefox 3.5.The newest version of the open source web browser includes a private browsing mode, HTML 5 support, a new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine and provisions for location-aware browsing.Other improvements include native support for...
Google enhances Flash indexing
19th June 2009
Search engine giant Google has announced a new addition to its Flash indexing system that is designed to improve functionality for website users.The company has revealed that it has added external resource loading to its Flash indexing capabilities, meaning when a SWF file loads content from some...
E-commerce sales see slowdown in growth
19th June 2009
Good web design for e-commerce websites appears to be more crucial than ever, as the latest industry figures demonstrate a slowdown in the sector's growth.Research published by Capgemini UK has found that May's e-commerce growth fell by 3.5 per cent compared to the previous month, as the sunny...
Apple iPhone beats Nokia N97 in web searches
19th June 2009
Apple's latest version of the iPhone has got a head start over rival 3G touchscreen phone the Nokia N97 thanks to the internet, it has been reported.The iPhone's website was the most sought out of all mobile phones last week, with searches online for the iPhone considerably outflanking Nokia's...
SEO-unfriendly Flash belief 'is a myth'
18th June 2009
It is a "myth" that Flash content cannot be indexed at all by search engines, according to one publication.Computer Arts magazine says that there are a number of ways in which web designers can get around the limitations of Flash when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO) to make...
Small e-commerce firms express confidence during recession
18th June 2009
Most small and medium-sized online retailers in the UK feel confident for the next three months, a new poll has revealed.According to eBay's latest Online Business Index, nearly 70 per cent of these e-commerce retailers say they are confident in the prospects for their operations over the next...
Facebook now third most popular UK website
18th June 2009
Facebook is now the third most visited website in the UK, according to new figures.Data revealed by comScore to new media age showed that Facebook had 23.4 million unique users in April, up 63 per cent compared with the same month last year.Yahoo! had 23.1 million unique users by comparison. Google...
IBM unveils Wimbledon Android app
17th June 2009
IBM has announced a mobile app for the Android platform aimed at those attending this year's Wimbledon tournament.The Seer Android app is currently in beta and offers a real-time guide to the IBM-sponsored tennis event, as well as providing an interactive map and displaying the latest scores.It...
Big brands to dominate e-commerce, poll says
17th June 2009
A new survey has suggested that most online retailers believe big brands will continue to dominate the e-commerce sector over the next five years.Undertaken by Practical eCommerce, the poll found that 68.7 per cent of respondents believe that smaller online retailers will become more specialist in...
Room for growth in mobile social networking, expert says
16th June 2009
The mobile social networking sector still has ample room for further growth, an expert has suggested.According to chief executive of the GSM Association Robert Conway, mobile social networking has boomed in recent times as a result of the launch of increasing numbers of high-powered smartphones...
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