If you work with technology you know how important updates are. You wouldn’t let your computer fall behind a week on updates, so you shouldn’t let yourself fall behind.
Never fear The BBS Agency is here, with the top 4 news updates of the past 2 weeks that you may have missed.
1: The Interstitial is dead
Even if the word interstitial is new to you it is very likely you have been inconvenienced by one before. An interstitial is a big pop up, usually that blocks the whole page, that appears before you are able to view the contents of a website. As the internet has become more about mobile these full page pop-ups have become even more annoying. While these can be important for things like age verification or private site logins, a large percentage of them are ads or overly intrusive. Google has announced that sites with these ads will be penalized in search rankings, which is a serious win for mobile browsers. You can find more information in Google’s blog here.
2: AMP is gaining traction
Last year we were all aboard the AMP train and it is not slowing down this year. AMP (or Accelerated Mobile Pages) allows you to have a special mobile only version of your website posts that load instantly, regardless of your internet connection. While it is essentially a stripped down version of your current website it allows your information to be broadcast faster and further than ever before. The goal of AMP is simple: distribute information to everywhere in the world in a flash. Even if you were not one of the first people on AMP it is not too late to be a trailblazer in your industry. Should you implement AMP as a small business? Hear the answer from one of the best SEO companies in the world, although if you publish at least 1 blog post a week, we feel it is essential. We have implemented it for several customers with HUGE results. Contact us to learn more about how AMP can help and how quickly we can implement it for you.
3: WooCommerce was big last year and it is only getting bigger
As of the end of 2016 WooCommerce powered nearly 40% of online stores. That means if you visit two online stores, odds are, one of them is WooCommerce. Those kind of numbers do not come from nothing, they have worked tirelessly to put all the tools to run a successful Ecommerce site right in the users hands. If you have not considered WooCommerce for you online store we highly recommend you do. They have great plans for 2017 including a new shipping tool and a new partnership with WordPress.com. For a full look at their year or future plans check out their blog here.
4: Losing your passwords is a thing of the past
As we become more and more reliant on online services our passwords become more and more important. Some people use the same password for everything or have a notebook where they keep track of everything. While these work for some, it can be clunky or even dangerous for your online security. There is a new chrome extension that will store all your passwords and enter them for you, all while being so secure that they can’t even see them. LastPass generates you a unique complex password for any site at the click of a button, or allows you to store your current ones. They even let you add family members to your account so in a worst case scenario your important information is not lost forever. For more information about what it can do for you check out this blog post by Chris Hershberger-Esh.
