Month: January 2021

Building a Better Mobile Website

Posted by menyok on in Internet, Internet Marketing

According to research conducted by Ipsos, a research think-tank, on behalf of search engine giant Google, over 69 percent of American smartphone owners access the Internet on a daily basis from their phone. As noted by Pew, another research outlet, over 56 percent of adults own smartphones. Combining these figures shows just how powerful the mobile marketplace is in everyday life. For businesses looking to expand into online sales, getting the basics of mobile design right could lead to a highly lucrative venture into this burgeoning field.

Say No to Image Clutter

To start, consider the constraints of mobile technology. Every phone relies on signal strength and potential bandwidth limitations. Therefore, a mobile site heavy on images and graphics can bog down a phone’s processing power in a major way, leading to disenfranchised viewers and a site that doesn’t load properly on weaker connections. To avoid this dilemma, start by limiting images to only the essentials. The fewer images your mobile site has, the easier it can load. In some cases, a text and link only site can be highly successful due to its ability to utilize easy navigation tools and faster loading capabilities.

Touch Screen Functionality

Another cornerstone of mobile website development is touch screen functionality. The vast majority of smartphones offer the usage of this platform, so ensuring that your website lines up with this design style is crucial. Consider adding touch buttons and touch links to speed up the navigation process for your mobile viewers. Entry fields and other user inputs are also prime spots for the touch and type design. Incorporating base phone features, like GPS navigation, text messaging, and call capabilities, into touch buttons also adds expanded utility for your users.

Redirect Capabilities

Sometimes, mobile users try to use the desktop version of your website. Whether this is intentional or accidental, having a redirect option is vital. While advanced users know workarounds to being stuck on the full-scale page, like clearing the mobile cache, everyday viewers are easily flustered when faced with a page that is clunky and not designed for a smartphone. Automatic redirection, or a redirect option on the page itself, help alleviate this issue and keep your mobile viewers and shoppers happy.

Browser Recognition

Windows, Apple, and Android users all use different standard browsers. Adding in third-party browsers can create a multitude of capability issues. To help avoid this issue, test your mobile site on several platforms to ensure that scaling, orientation, and visuals all line up properly. While this process is potentially time consuming, the end result of expanded coverage and exposure among a variety of users is well worth the effort.

Tapping into Social Media

The social media giant is one of the strongest assets for Internet-based businesses. As a low-cost and high exposure marketing platform, running strong social media campaign can create impressive sales results. As part of this process, consider adding social media tie-ins to your mobile site. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other services are all prime candidates for integration tools.

To incorporate links to these social media outlets, consider how viewers use these sites. For Facebook and Google+ users, consider adding in “like” and “share” buttons on your content. This functionality allows visitors to your site to expose your content to friends and family members with a single press of an on-screen button. Similarly, “re-tweet” options for Twitter users pushes your site and pages to the forefront of feeds that can have a substantial amount of followers. With each social media referral, your sales and viewership bases can grow, creating a powerful and low-cost solution to gaining exposure for your mobile website.

How to Lose Your Belly, Butt & Thighs

Posted by menyok on in Fashion, Health, Health and Beauty, Health and Fitness

It’s common to want to trim a few pounds off a specific area of the body — or two, or three. But finding a method to blast that fat off for good isn’t easy. Your body’s metabolism is stubborn, as it wants to maintain status quo and keep that layer of fat right where it is on your belly, butt or thighs. Combat the body’s tendency for stasis by making lifestyle changes and committing to a lifelong healthy eating and exercise strategy to lose the fat and keep it off.

Instructions

  1. Start and maintain a healthy eating strategy that will help you lose weight and reduce fat. Read nutrition labels and avoid foods that contain saturated fats and refined carbohydrates. Don’t eliminate fat from your diet altogether, as some fat is necessary for the body to function, but consume healthy polyunsaturated fats such as those found in nuts, seeds, olives and fish. Swap white, refined carbohydrates for hearty whole grains that will fill you up in less time. Follow serving sizes to consume sensible portions, and reduce your calorie intake, but you don’t need to do anything drastic. Consuming 100 fewer calories a day is all that’s necessary to reduce belly fat.
  2. Tone the abs. Strength training can’t reduce fat in a specific area, but can tone the muscles underneath the body fat to flatten the stomach. Lie on an exercise mat and do crunches, first with your knees bent and then with your legs straight for an additional challenge. Perform pelvic tilts and leg lifts, which also work the butt and thighs. Do crunches or sit-ups for the abs. Perform pelvic tilts and lifts for the lower abs, butt, and thighs. Firm and tone the thighs and core with squats, using a set of dumbbells.
  3. Tone the butt and thighs to help make it look sculpted and lean. Most exercises will work the butt and thighs together. With a set of dumbbells and an exercise mat, do sets of squats and lunges. Do sets of variations on leg lifts while on all fours on an exercise mat. Work one leg at a time. Do three sets on each leg of lifting it straight out at a 45-degree angle, bending at the knee and lifting out to the side, and kicking up and back with the knee bent.
  4. Incorporate cardio or aerobic exercise into your daily routine to lose weight and body fat. You won’t be able to dictate where the pounds come off, but consistency and dedication will result in losing fat in the belly, butt and thighs as well as other parts of the body. Daily, moderate exercise is the best way to lose body fat. Take brisk walks of at least 30 minutes, or do a dance routine or go for a run or jog. Anything that elevates your heart rate for at least 30 minutes, every day, will help you lose weight and burn fat.
  5. Measure your progress. Use a measuring tape to keep track of the circumference of your waistline, hips and thighs. Gradually, you should see the numbers go down as you lose fat from these areas and tone the muscles underneath.

Win a VIP experience at the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Posted by menyok on in Fashion

Starting today, Visit Fort Wayne announced a contest offering a coveted VIP experience at the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale, located in Fort Wayne, IN. The contest runs through Monday, March 24 and features a Fort Wayne Girlfriend Getaway and VIP experience at the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale.

Every year the Vera Bradley Outlet stages a gigantic sale where savvy shoppers can save 40-60% off retail prices on Vera Bradley’s great handbags, luggage, and accessories. It is expected that over 60,000 women will be checking out the sale running from April 9-12, 2014.

So what are you waiting for? Grand prize winner receives four VIP tickets to the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale for Friday, April 11. In addition, winners will enter the sale prior to the official door opening and will receive VIP check out as well. Prize package includes a grand cargo bag, grand cosmetic, all-in-one cross body tote, umbrella, and ditty bag. Guests of the winner receive a grand tote, cross body tote, and umbrella. Plus, the lucky winner and her three guests will receive an over night stay at the Courthouse Marriott for April 10.