[Source: Smallbiztechnology.com

Lyn Nielsen of web development company Desktop Solutions sent me these great tips in how and why to consider making your web site “mobile friendly” so that it more easily displays on web sites of cell phone browsers and I’d thought to share them with you.

As more and more users use their smartphones to communicate on the road, having your web site fully or partially accessible through a cell phone browser is crucial. Lyn writes:

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[Source: Posts from the Econsultancy blog

Shopping cart abandonment rates for US online retailers have risen over the past 12 months, with 60% of US seeing abandonment rates of over 20%
this year.

This information comes from a survey by the etailing group, so why are so many customers abandoning the process, and what can they do about it?

Another study of US online shoppers by PayPal and comScore found that 45% had abandoned carts more than once over a three week period, leaving behind baskets worth an average of $109.

So what are the reasons for abandonment and what can etailers do to minimise this?

Delivery costs

Not surprisingly, high delivery charges was given by 46% of shoppers as a reason for abandonment. This is something that retailers can solve by offering free shipping where possible (at least over a certain threshold), or by making charges as low as possible, especially in comparison to rivals in their sector.

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[Source: TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends

(TrendHunter.com) These anatomical ‘Haute Charcuterie’ Nike Air Force Ones by BlackYard are made to look like a diagram of beef. With lines and captions to demarcate one cut from another–like tongue, loin, round, plate,…

(click here for original article)

[Source: Smallbiztechnology.com

Installing an online form on your web site is one of the easiest ways to enable customers (and others) to contact you. They input their contact information and a message and press submit. A few seconds later, you receive their message.

While forms are nice, what’s even better, for some types of customers, is the ability to connect with you on the phone through a “click to call” feature, wherein customers input their number onto a form on your web site and seconds later you are speaking to them on the phone.

Amazon.com uses this type of feature to support their video on demand service.

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[Source: Computerworld Retail News

The group that administers the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard wants feedback about how the current version of the standard, released last October, is working.

(click here for original article)

[Source: Posts from the Econsultancy blog

Should CEOs tweet, poke and generally ‘get social‘ online? It’s a good question.

One that Fortune 100 CEOs are apparently answering ‘no‘ to. That’s according to ÃœBERCEO, which looked at how Fortune 100 CEOs are using social media. The result: they’re not.

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[Source: Yahoo! Finance: Textile - Apparel Footwear & Accessories Industry News

PICKERINGTON, Ohio, June 25 /PRNewswire/ — R.G. Barry Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Tunney has been named a winner in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition for south central Ohio and Kentucky.

The award is presented to senior-level business leaders who inspire others, have a track record of achievement and continue to build, lead and grow dynamic privately held or publicly traded businesses. Mr. Tunney was selected from among 23 regional finalists and accepted his award Wednesday evening during ceremonies at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati.

(click here for original article)

[Source: Yahoo! Finance: Textile - Apparel Footwear & Accessories Industry News

STRATHAM, N.H.—-In a conscious effort to reduce both material use and waste, The Timberland Company unveiled today its Earthkeepers 2.0 boot – the first footwear the company has designed to be disassembled and recycled, rather than discarded, at the end of its product life.

(click here for original article)

[Source: Posts from the Econsultancy blog

True or false: today’s teens are prolific multitaskers and you’re more likely to find them texting away and social networking than you are to find them watching television or listening to the radio.

Chances are that if you’ve been paying attention to the media and analysts, you’re answering ‘true‘. Unfortunately you’d be wrong according to a new report issued by Nielsen called ‘How Teens Use Media‘.

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[Source: Posts from the Econsultancy blog

While it may be a common security feature, masking passwords as users type them in may be causing login problems and lost business for websites, according to Jakob Nielsen.

Nielsen also argues that this isn’t even necessary as a security feature, since users aren’t normally overlooked when typing in passwords, while a determined snooper can simply watch your keystrokes anyway. I have my doubts though…

The drawbacks of password masking as outlined by Nielsen are:

Greater risk of user errors: without the visual feedback of seeing the characters on the screen as they type, users are more likely to make data-entry mistakes which could leave to them giving up altogether and leaving the site, thus leading to lost sales.

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