Disruptive Technology Often Forces Companies To Change The Way They Approach Their Businesses A disruptive technology is an innovation to a technology that currently exists which leads to the development of new value networks and markets. “However, these new technologies will eventually disru

The “Maker Movement” Is Reshaping How Products Are Manufactured Before we begin, perhaps we should examine the “Maker Movement”. What is it? And how has it come to be a “movement”? The maker movement is best described by writer Kai Goerlich, author of “The

Mobile phones are the most highly used devices on the planet. Companies that utilize the power of mobile phones are the ones that are succeeding the most. And, by power, I mean apps. Now, you may be thinking, “Mobile apps are for big name companies only.” Well, my friend, you would be

Choosing a web browser is like choosing a pair of shoes. You have to find something that fits; you have to find something that’s comfortable. And much like shoes, there’re all sorts of styles to choose from. What fits you? You may ask. How do you measure the quality of a browser? I&rsq

Social media feeds are like an inescapable, entropic labyrinth. And though you may have something important to say, you’re drowned by billions of voices screaming and shouting at once. So, how do we pass through the labyrinth to reach the audience? How can we be heard through the noise? In jus

You may ask yourself. “How do i generate new leads to my website and inform my target audience about  my product and services without confusing them in the process?”.   One of the main reasons a lot of businesses might encounter missed opportunities is that their communicati

If you have not incorporated Social Media into your business by now, then you’re missing the boat. Social Media is more relevant in everybody’s life in the year of 2014, due to the high percentage of people owning a smartphone device. With over 70% of adults using social media outlets

The dinosaur media outlets which you've become accustomed to throughout your life such as newspapers, radio and television are not only enormously expensive to use as a promotional tool, but costly to create as well. So even though at times they may be beneficial for big established brands, you need

In a time where just having the best product or the least expensive product is not the single most important factor in a product purchase anymore, businesses need to find ways to set themselves apart. We’re at a time in which brands need to create an image to capture the hearts of consumers, f

Do the passwords, password123 or 123456 look familiar? Well even if they don't, you should truly think about the importance of having multiple intricate passwords for not only your personal, social media and email accounts, but for your businesses social media and email accounts. Nothing looks wo

While surfing the internet, reading the newspaper or just watching the television you maybe have come across the buzz term “the cloud”, but you may not know just how vast the universe of cloud computing has become. The cloud is quickly becoming the predominant access and data storage rou

What is Web Accessibility? Those with disabilities can have difficulty interpreting websites. Although disabled visitors have tools to make accessing the internet easier, those tools can be inhibited by websites built outside of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), defined in the Access

A few weeks ago Google announced new Terms of Service which will allow advertisers to gain more access to user’s personal information.  Some of which includes their display user names, images and comments made about on any of Google’s sites.  This includes Google+ and YouTube.

Google has partnered with Nestle to use KitKat’s name for their latest Android 4.4. update. Surprisingly no money was exchanged. Instead, Nestle (and also Hershey, which controls the Kit-Kat branding in the U.S) has agreed to slap Android branding (the little robot dude) on it’s KitKat p

In early June a Hamilton man resident was staying at a well-known hotel in Ontario when he discovered a bed bug on the pillow three inches from his head. Distressed and angry, he calmly captured the bug and brought it down to the reception desk for further examination, explanation admission, and

This past week Google announced on their Webmaster’s blog they will be supporting a schema.org markup for organization logos. Simply put, updating the small line of web code which displays your logo will help you gain a competitive edge against the competition. Improved Click-Through-Rate &

Do ever you wonder about how much business you lose simply because of a bad first impression?  Or how much your website influences a new customer’s perspective of your company.  Afterall, your website is quite often your business’s first impression to your market.  Updatin

Business intelligence technology solutions can help companies become more efficient, while seeking new business and cost reduction opportunities. Having relevant business information at your fingertips can provide significant advantages over your competition, especially if this information was previ

Imagine a world where your smartphone is not connected to your emails, calendars or contacts. For many people, myself included, it would create a sudden disruption to how we do business. Having this information available to us through our mobile devices is an important component to how we handle our

Keeping up with online marketing can be challenging, it’s constantly changing. Below are a few important online marketing tactics to consider in 2013.   Content MarketingThe popularity of content marketing has increased significantly as a result of social, search and email channels beco

Surprisingly many business owners have never (yes, never) even checked their website traffic. Even if you don’t sell your products or services directly through your website, it’s likely the place which prospective customers go to learn about your company. That being said, website traffic

Do you know how your website is performing? Or how much revenue it’s attributing to your company? Don’t feel embarrassed if you don’t know the answers to these questions—many business professionals and CEOs are in the same boat. But don’t wait any longer—start opt

As a business professional, when it comes down to your website you likely care more about the end result than fancy graphs, tables, and powerpoint presentations. The actual returns you’ve received from past efforts, what to do now, and projected results. Listed below are four site metrics whi

Whether you're a small business or an independent agent, optimizing your operations is critical for success. Focusing on consistency and quality is very important for effective growth and scalability. As a business leader, I believe that you should be designing your business around the premise that

How would you feel if you owned a business where 50% of visitors turned around and left after taking 1 step in your front door?  Pretty poorly I’d imagine.  Hopefully this isn’t also happening on your website. From an online perspective,  the percentage of visitors who le

In the last 2 years, mobile email use has increased from 4% to 20%.  At the end of the day, if your email marketing isn't optmized for mobile, you're likely missing out on opportunitiesImproving your regular email design to be mobile-friendly is the simplest solution.  Keeping your emails

As mobile phones become more advanced yet easier to use, typical computer use is migrating from the desk to the smart phone. Accessing the information you’re looking for from your phone is often times more convenient and comfortable. Almost everywhere you look online, there are research studi

Follow these easy steps to create a business Page on Google Plus in less than 5 minutes: 1. Sign into your Google account and then go to: http://www.google.com/+/business/. You can watch the video or skip to the setup page like a pro. 2. Now select a category that best fits your busi

The answer to this question is simple - YES. You can answer it with questions like “Do I want an effective website?” or “Do I want to increase my revenue?”.  Mobile sites offer an improved user experience and are in pace with social media as an online initiative that all

Business communication is exponentially faster now than it was even just a few years ago. Gone are the days of waiting to receive a paper catalogue or a fifty page fax.  Instead, email has revolutionized how we operate and communicate in a business environment. Imagine then, if your day to day

“Having fun, being interactive and keeping the attention of your user is pivotal in the success of a small business website.”First impressions can make or break a website. It is essential to the success of a website that the homepage not only grabs, but keeps the attention of the visitor

  Facebook is launching one of the largest privacy overhauls in its history. The change will make it clearer with whom you’re sharing photos, status updates and locations with. The changes, more than a dozen in all, fall into two key areas: privacy changes to user profiles and changes to

In June 2011, Google account users received an email from Google entitled: "Google Webmaster Central: The +1 button code is ready for your site." So what is Google 1+? How do you use it? And why does it sound so familiar? All of these questions will be explored and you can decide if Google +1 is rig

2010 set the stage for many of the web design trends we see this year including simple design, interesting typography and the introduction and integration of social media services. In 2011 however, the lines between web development and design are being blurred offering a completely new experience fo

2010 saw a staggering growth in mobile usage with more then 70% of the world’s population owning a mobile phone, not including mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. The use of mobile device browsers has exponentially increased over the last few years as the demand for instant informatio

Google is always on the move when it comes to improving their search results. The majority of the changes occur behind the scenes in their ranking formula which determines the order for sites to appear within result. Coming soon to Canadians is Google Instant: a new search feature which displays sea

Taking on a website is no easy task. Whether you're a new business owner or a veteran in the industry you’re in; you know you need a website and that’s usually where your expertise with the web ends. There are so many hidden complexities to consider before you get to the stage where you&

Facebook Connect was actually released back in 2008 but is definitely worthy knowledge.  Facebook Connect allows users to "connect" the website they are currently on to their Facebook identity.  How does this help?  Well Facebook Connect has 4 major features. Trusted Authentication &

Apple released the public beta for Safari 4 on Tuesday; this is a major revision of their web browser. Safari 4 has had some great key features added.   They have introduced a tool similar to Opera’s Speed Dial, where your most visited or user selected pages are displayed as thumbna

Aesthetic DesignAesthetic design is all about getting the look right. If you are good at this it means you will be able to design sites that not only look good but are appropriately designed. Different designs convey different messages to an end user, so it's important that a design matches the site

Success in the Toronto web design industry relies on many different factors.  With design being one of them, here are five important points to remember when creating a new design for a web site.Do your researchI research new and old artists, designers, sites, magazines and books.  Keep up

Search engine optimization (SEO), these days is changing to utilize different tools for better results. One of them is business blogs; this may sound alarming to both small and large companies. The truth is business blogs are one of the latest tools available to improve any website’s SEO. Wha

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is probably one easiest and most effective ways to keep customers, investors and the media up to date with your organization’s latest news.  Information that you normally may not have gone out of the way to publish to all different recipients can easily be

Keeping your website profitable and generating new traffic can be a daunting task, especially with all the buzz words floating these days. One term I often hear clients asking about is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is a fast growing industry despite the fact that most people have very litt

Keeping your website design ahead of your competition may seem like a daunting task, but in many cases it’s essential to a company’s online success.  Whether your website is for the purpose of implementing new features, refreshing the design or simply improving its effectiveness, it

Having a website is only the first step to generating new leads or processing impressive amounts of orders online. Most business owners track how many “hits” or views that their website receives, but how many of these become customers or potential client? Wikipedia defines a website conv

The internet has opened a whole new wealth of information to the average consumer with a just a few clicks of a button. How, then, can you get your web site to stand out amongst the rest? One part of the formula is to increase your website content with quality information for your target audience. B

Overview There is a lot of talk these days with regard to proper development practices and accessible web design. If you don't think any of this applies to you or your website, you probably don't understand exactly what this is all about. Web Accessibility refers to the practice of creating website

Here's the LinxSmart Toronto web design top ten list of reasons why: 10. It's free. Completely, utterly free. You don't have to pay a penny to download it. Firefox is a product of the Mozilla foundation, a tax exempt non-profit foundation, which was established to create innovative open-source soft

This is a question asked by both clients and web designers / developers who are yet to dip their feet in the depths of web standards. Lets take a look at this from both sides. First we need to get clear what web standards actually are. To explain what web standards are we need to take a look back a