YouTube is now 10 years old

YouTube is now 10 years old

Apr 23, 2015 | News

YouTube has become a household name and yet, before April 23rd, 2000, it did not exist.

Its growth in 10 years has been nothing short of phenomonal and, considering it’s just a “platform” for others to place content on, no one would have predicted its potential.

However, it is the very fact that it is a “platform” that has been the real base of its success. It’s not just the quantity and quality of video content available, it is about opening to the masses (us!) the ability to upload our own video content and share it with the world.

What is the first video on YouTube?


From the humble, short, first video upload on YouTube, “Me at the zoo” (now sporting over 19 million views), to Janet Jackson’s Superbowl incident in 2006 (which meant worldwide publicity for YouTube on TV networks and print media) to the ultimate endorsement with the President Obama interview.

The impact of YouTube

In between, YouTube has caused a major shakeup of the music industry, including allowing unknown artists get noticed.

YouTube also recorded history in the making, brought major issues to the public attention, and was controversial at times. It is praised for having the best content and the worst content available at the same time.

But isn’t that what a great platform is for? Easy to add content, easy to use and affording the users to vote with clicks and likes on the number of views to indicate the level of interest, and give feedback via comments.

Online video has come of age, and for website owners is a great opportunity to include short video promoting your business, explaining your business or services and turning a 1000 words into a short video that converts.

Check this list of the Most Viewed Videos on YouTube on Wikipedia. Not all of them are music videos.

You may also find out that something else that YouTube does exceptionally well is to make people laugh by watching “other peoples stupidity”. People like me get such a kick out of watching videos that are so funny I cry with laughter!

That said, Happy 10th Birthday YouTube!

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Google: Mobile Friendly Websites to rank higher on Mobile SERP

Google: Mobile Friendly Websites to rank higher on Mobile SERP

Apr 20, 2015 | News, Responsive Design

The so-called Google “Mobilegeddon” Algorithm Update will roll out on April, 21 2015.

Google is going to penalise those websites who are not Mobile Friendly by making them rank lower on Mobile Search Engine Results Page. Mobile Browsing will very much likely grow more and more, therefore having a presence in Search Engine Results Page on Mobile can be very important.

Keep in mind that, as written on the Google Webmaster Central Blog itself:

  • Affects only search rankings on mobile devices
  • Affects search results in all languages globally
  • Applies to individual pages, not entire websites

We at Handyweb.ie can deliver Mobile Friendly websites by applying the so called Responsive Design. With these design content acts very much like water does: it adapts itself to fit on any screen, no matter the width and resolution.

This is the first step to get the best possible User Experience for your mobile visitors and customers and, ultimately, this is what Google is trying to achieve by rolling out this Algorithm Update.

Have a look at a selection of Responsive Websites in our Portfolio

Not sure whether your website is Mobile Friendly or not? Take the Smartphone Friendly Test for your website here!

Don’t be left behind talk to us today!

Brought to you by Handyweb.ie 

Website: www.handyweb.ie
Phone: +353 (0) 44 93 45145
Email: info@handyweb.ie
Services: Web and App Consultants, e-Commerce, Responsive Web Design, Search Engine Optimisation, Digital Marketing, Social Media, App Development, Online Payments, Online Business Automation
Speed up Payments from Clients

Speed up Payments from Clients

Apr 7, 2015 | News

All businesses need to make it easier for clients to make payments to them. This does not necessitate you having a full online shop for your business to get maximum value from making it easy for clients to pay you.  And we all want to get paid quickly and handyweb.ie provide a very effective solution.

Think of it – a new client rings, agrees a price with you and asks how they can pay and you tell them, you will send them an invoice by email and they can pay straight away online. Yes, its that simple.  They can pay by credit card or debit card and you have your payment as quickly as they respond to your email .  If they have a smartphone they can respond straight away, without having to wait to get back to the office or home.   Your email simply needs to tell them the amount to pay and gives them an invoice number to enter ( you can attach the invoice to the email  if you like). As soon as the payment is received you get an automated  confirmation email telling you that payment has arrived.

See example here  

Its so simple for them , they input he amount and the invoice number and click to go straight to the payment system. It really is  that  simple .

If you register with Paypal ( and we can assist you in this area) – you can quickly have a Pay Now option on your website ( either hidden from general view or linked from your homepage – whichever you prefer.

Its a great way of getting your money quickly, and a great way of cutting out the excuses from “slow payers”.

All payments are transacted in a highly secure manner off your site by the worlds most trusted payment system – Paypal.

A simple and sensible online value for all businesses   – no waiting for payment, no trips to the bank to put the money in your account, no cash to be counted and a very reliable record of payments received.  You could even cut out having one of these merchant card machines on your premises which cost you monthly rentals, which can be expensive -particularly so if you don’t have that many transactions a month) Believe it our not – you don’t even have to want to have a website for us to facilitate this for you.

Talk to Handyweb.ie today and find out how we can help your business make the most of online transactions.  You will be surprised how cost effective this is for all businesses.

 

Google: Mobile Friendly Websites to rank higher on Mobile SERP

Why update your software?

Apr 2, 2015 | News, Technology, Websites, Websites News

Everything seems to be working fine on your computer and you get a notification from one of the pieces of software you use ( maybe  by email or popup notification) – so why should you bother updating of everything appears to be working well?

Whilst is does not apply only to browsers ( Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc) – it is not uncommon for computer owners not to have updated their browser software – even for a number of years!. Apart from the obvious issues of “websites don’t look right on my browser” issues because you have not updated, you are at risk of putting your computer and its contents at risk , and possibly being the cause of infecting computers of people you contact from your computer ( something as simple as an  email from you could carry that virus or bug)…. Simple solution – ensure you have the latest browser version of your browser.
Ever wonder why Microsoft, Apple and most software providers regularly provide updates…. Having recently watched a short video on how hackers get into websites and onto individuals computers – apart from the most basic step of ensuring you have a good password ( see this article) – it is because hackers have found vulnerabilities in older versions of software that effectively allows them a “backdoor” onto your computer or website. As software developers ( including the big names like microsoft, apple and wordpress ) – all become aware of these issues – they “patch” the issue with software updates. The software update may contain a number of patches to stop hackers and may also include updates to make your software work better or make it compatible with other software or hardware such as new versions of browsers.
This is why you should set your computer and software to automatically allow software updates and where this is not possible or where you receive a message to update from the software provider – then these software providers are telling you – it is in your best interests to do the update.
Get more information on checking if your software is up to date here

Top 10 Worst Passwords of 2014

Top 10 Worst Passwords of 2014

Mar 31, 2015 | News

Yes, we all know that many people use the word “password” as their password and we all now how secure that is (NOT!).

If you are using any of these Top 10 Worst Passwords, then, right now, is a good time to change.

SplashData every year publishes a list of the Worst Passwords that people use online. The Top 10 Worst Passwords of 2014 are:

  1. 123456
  2. password
  3. 12345
  4. 12345678
  5. qwerty
  6. 123456789
  7. 1234 Up 9
  8. baseball
  9. dragon
  10. football

A bigger list is also available: Check the Top 25 Worst Passwords from SplashData here

Our advise for a strong password

  • Use passwords of 8 characters or more. Mix lowercase and uppercase letters, include numbers and special characters. try a password generator to give you a strong password.
  • Avoid using the same password multiple times. Consider using a password manager that will automatically login for you and make keeping passwords safe – a breeze.

Brought to you by Handyweb.ie

Website: www.handyweb.ie
Phone: +353 (0) 44 93 45145
Email: info@handyweb.ie
Services: Web and App Consultants, e-Commerce, Responsive Web Design, Search Engine Optimisation, Digital Marketing, Social Media, App Development, Online Payments, Online Business Automation
Mobile Friendly Websites to rank higher in google

Mobile Friendly Websites to rank higher in google

Mar 2, 2015 | News

You know you can now sit back and relax because you know your mobile friendly website will be included for higher ranking by Google when this new ranking feature kicks in in April 2015.
If your website is not mobile friendly then we can help. Handyweb.ie have been to the forefront in promoting “responsive” website design ( which means our finished responsive websites are very “mobile friendly). The team at handyweb.ie have prioritised responsive design so that websites work exceptionally well across all screen sizes including mobile.  Now google are adding another powerful reason for you to ensure your website is mobile friendly.  Read more in this google blog

Whether you wish to upgrade your existing website or whether your are considering your first website talk to Handyweb.ie and be sure your website is built to reach out to all screen sizes as well as rank highly with search engines.

View a selection of recently completed websites by clicking on the “responsive” tab  here  ( and do try viewing these websites on a smartphone to get the best experience of how well our responsive websites work across all smart media.
You can view our short video of what responsive/ mobile friendly websites are  here

Talk to us today – as google plan to introduce this feature from April 21st 2015.

Handyweb.ie – making  online work harder for you.