I have been hearing a lot of buzz recently about all these wonderful new web browsers. People around me have full blown arguments about their preference of web browser, and it mostly ends up in shouting with no result. So like the little explorer that I am, I decided to look into it and maybe take someone's side. I checked out Google's infant Chrome, Microsofts's upgraded Internet Explorer 8, and Mozilla's new Firefox 3.

The most wonderful thing I found is that they are all FREE for download. Score! Firefox is open source to begin with, and it's good to see that Microsoft (not so much Google) finally catching on.

I'm a huge fan of Javascript and Google's Chrome marvels itself on being primarily Javascript orientated, which racks up the points on my list. Chrome also apparently makes web browsing faster, more fun and open. More open..? That raises questions in my mind about it's security. When I browse I'm rather open but there is a certain level of security that I like to maintain online.

Keeping to the norm, most people use Internet Explorer. Now apparently the new IE 8 is compatible with websites that were designed for older browsers, which as a web developer I think is really awesome. I surf old sites and new ones, and I really enjoy having the comfort of doing so without being prompted for upgrades to my browser so it can handle web content. On a more broad perspective, IE 8 makes web experiences faster, easier and safer. Safety is excellent from my point of view, as I don't like to be probed unexpectadly and unknowingly while browsing.

Jumping to Firefox 3; it is the latest upgrade to Mozilla's very popular Firefox web browser. The latest installment brags about being faster, safer and smarter. Smarter is a plus as I like my browser to do some of my work for me. The one aspect I have come to enjoy about Firefox is that is is highly customisable, allowing for a browsing experience on your terms. I dug further and came to realise that Firefox 3 has infact got the FASTEST response times out of all of the web browsers.

Overall, each browser has it's ups and downs; but they are all upgrades of their predecessors; and it obviously comes down to the kind of person you are. Personally, I would only use Google's Chrome late at night, to test it, seeing as it's still in it's infant stages and has a long way to go. For those of you who are accustomed to mainstream products and surf the web down a similar wave every day, then IE 8 will offer a slightly better surfboard and free wax. Yet for the indulgent person who engulfs in the new things on the Internet, and loves online exploration their own way, then Firefox 3 is your browser for the ultimate online experience.

Download them for free, check them out for yourself. Me... I'll stick to my customised Firefox browser.

Get Chrome 

Get Firefox 3

Get Internet Explorer 8

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Run a content subscription program from your website. Create subscriptions for individual Users, for particular articles, website sections, categories or functional areas within your site. The possabilities are endless.

With our content subscription tool you can even generate reports on subscription progress, cash flow, average activity, subscription relations, and much more. This information can help you to analyze your business and make a right decision and plan your business more efficiently.

So you want to know where you stand with your website? That is a very good start. Here is a short list of what you can do to see how well you are doing. These things combined, not individually, will give you an indication of how you are doing on the internet compared to others or your competition. You will need to install some free software (it is safe). Also it is suggested that you use the FireFox web browser (strongly suggested), clickhere to get: FireFox (it is safer than IE and used by millions of people).

1.    Alexa Rankings

Go to www.Alexa.com. There you will find a search field. Then under Site Info type in your website address and press Go. You will see some statistics. Check your "Reach" and "Page Views" on the tabs. This won’t tell you much, unless you can compare to something.

Then enter below a website that you can compare with. Your competitor or maybe just a website you know. If you are not in the first 100,000 you still have a lot of work to do. If you find you are several millions away from the first 100,000 do not despair, we can fix this with search engine optimization and other techniques.

You can also download the Alexa tool bar which will give you indication of ranking of all sites you visit as it will be on your browser at the bottom right hand side. As you browse this will get you more accustomed to what is going on and what other sites are doing, like your competitors. If you need help improving your ranking and beating your competition contact us to see how we can help you.

2.    Google Tool Bar

Download the Google tool bar (www.toolbar.google.com) and install it on your browser. When you install it allow it to show you Page Rank. This is a small green bar. When you hover over it, it will give you a number from 1 to 10. Once you installed it you will see what your Google Page Rank is. If you are not ranked yet, it can be fixed. If you are on 4 you are in a very good condition. Below 4 you have some work to do and above 4 you are heading in the right direction to successful on the internet. If you need help increasing your ranking contact us to see how we can help you.

3.    Check your Google Key word search

Go to Google search, type in a keyword that your potential customer would type when searching for a business like yours (e.g. car parts, tile cleaning, prepaid meters, jewellery, etc.), then see if you can find your website in the first page of results. If yes, you are in a very good direction. Continue until you are first on the search page.

If you are not on the first page carry on searching a few pages down to see where you are located. The further away you find your website in the search engine the more work you have to do to get to the top. It is not hard it just requires consistency and the correct knowledge applied.  We can help you reach the first page in Google with your keywords, we can also help you select the best keywords that you should rank, contact us to see how we can help you.

4.    Link Reputation

Your Page Rank is directly related to your link reputation. You want to find out what this is. Go to www.submitexpress.com and click on Free Tools tab, then select Link Popularity Check. Type in your web address and some competitors if you wish then click Submit.

This will give you an indication of how many back links you have. So, how do you know how many you should have? The answer is: many more than your competitors. Also, if your page rank is below 4 obviously you have a way to go, because as you increase your back links you will increase your Page Rank also, which means you will also show up closer to the top on google search. We can help you build you link reputation to increase both your page rank and Google rankings to get more customers to your website.

Not necessarily. You would do SEO to get more people to your website. To get more sales you need to work on your conversions. Conversions work is highly dependent on: usability, site design and a lot of testing.

In short, you need SEO to get people to your website and then you need to work on your conversions to get people to buy. If you have no visitors to your website you have no means to test your conversions.

This means that you would first need SEO, then testing for conversions. This also gives you some time to tweak the website. A very good website that is built by professionals with real world experience would give you a website with usability built-in. Thereafter you would only need tweaking for your unique business requirements to increase conversions, rather than worry about how many sales you lost in the first place.