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Why The Customer Experience Of Your Website Is Vital

/ Insights      / Why The Customer Experience Of Your Website Is Vital

Why The Customer Experience Of Your Website Is Vital

The experience your customers have when they visit your website and how easy it is for them to use is vital to the success of your online presence.

If your website is unprofessional or does not meet expectations from a design perspective then your audience may not trust your company, if it is slow and difficult to find what they want they may leave before getting in contact or completing their order.

This means, between a well-designed website that a customer finds easy to use and a poorly designed one can be the difference between success and failure online.

Importance Of Design

The design expectations of your website will vary depending on the type of business and the expectations of quality that your potential customers have.

Whilst a local mini-cab firm won’t be expected to have state of the art graphics, customers may expect something clean, simple and easy to make bookings from.

What Is Customer Experience

Contact Information – We thought we would highlight this one at the top of the user experience as to find where your contact details and location is one of the top reasons people may visit your website. Make sure they are on every page where practical.

At Aspiring Panda, we think of the customer experience as the journey that current and potential customers take through your website. If a customer comes onto your site they should be able to find what they want quickly and act.

This means your site should make the purchasing or enquiry process as seamless and easy to understand as possible.

Another aspect to this is to make sure that your site loads quickly, so that users do not leave your site frustrated at being unable to use your site properly. You can test how quickly your site loads here.

If you would like to speak to an expert about your customer experience call us on +44 (0)20 8861 0115.

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Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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Our Work Support Education Reporting In Uganda

/ Insights      / Our Work Support Education Reporting In Uganda

Our Work Support Education Reporting In Uganda

Excitingly for the last 12 months Aspiring Panda have been working on and are now starting to deliver an educational software project in Uganda.

The project revolves around the implementation of our School Reporting Suite as part of the Sustainable Communities Initiative for Bunyoro Kingdom of Uganda.

This has been adapted as part of the CDMS (Community Development Management System) where the ability to set tasks, track productivity and report out are being used to roll out and monitor the projects.

The advantage of having a highly talented multi-disciplined technical team is that we are able to design digital solutions that fit the needs of our clients rather than pitch a solution solely because it fits within our technical capabilities.

This has been important on this project as we work with a large number of stakeholders, so there is a need to be flexible and find innovative solutions to complex challenges unique to the project.

We have enjoyed working with the key stakeholders in the project to identify the requirements of the project and overcome the challenges in implementing a system that is cost effective and meets the project needs.

Our team will be providing ongoing support to the project and we would like to share a little bit more about the software we have adapted to implement this.

Background On The School Reporting Suite

One of the cloud based technologies that showcases our ability to solve complex business challenges in our School Reporting Suite. This educational software is designed to allow schools to accurately assess, track and report pupil performance for curriculum’s all over the world.

The School Reporting Suite has been designed to work in multiple languages and can be adapted for any curriculum that is being taught. In the UK this has already seen implementation in Jewish schools using the Kodesh curriculum as well as the national curriculum.

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Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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Three Things To Do When Getting A Web Design Quote

/ Insights      / Three Things To Do When Getting A Web Design Quote

Three Things To Do When Getting A Web Design Quote

The dominance of the internet as a connector between businesses and their customers mean that a website is a must have for almost every type of business.

This has created the paradox that web design is a commodity where simply building a site will generate results. A web design quote can vary drastically with the same brief from company to company.

For a loosely defined project some companies web design quote may be a couple of hundred pounds, whereas for the same project a quote of tens of thousands of pounds may come back from a competitor.

This makes it difficult to work out which company is providing value and offering the service you need as part of your web design quote.

We have put together three things to do when getting a web design quote that will increase your chances of success.

Work Out The Scope Before Getting Quotes

Although you may not know the technical aspects of how a website works, by looking at other websites and those of competitors you can build a picture in your head of the functionality and design level that you will want to incorporate into your site.

When getting highly variable quotes it is often because the functionality that the web designer has included is different from one provider to another.

By working out what you want your site to do, it puts you in a better position to compare quotes from different providers on a like for like basis.

Look At A Company’s Portfolio

A web design company’s portfolio is its living and breathing CV, you can see sites the company has built out there working on the web.

Understanding the portfolio of a business allows you to see what kind of websites they have built before and whether that fits with the cost of their quote and what they can realistically deliver.

Speak To Other Businesses

At Aspiring Panda a large portion of our business comes from referral, this is because by speaking to your business contacts you can draw on their experience to find a company that has a good track record and can deliver the website that you need.

anu_panesar

Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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Building A Charity Website For Phoebe Research Fund

/ Insights      / Building A Charity Website For Phoebe Research Fund

Building A Charity Website For Phoebe Research Fund

Building a charity website is a balance between adding the vital components to create a visually appealing site that appeals to the audience and keeping a handle on the budget.

Marketing a charity sees a pressure to gain maximum exposure when every pound spent is one less that can go to the primary focus of the charity.

Therefore, when we met Zoe from the Phoebe Research Fund and she asked for help upgrading her website, we knew that a modified WordPress template would give her and her small team the best of both worlds.

Introducing The Phoebe Research Fund

Phoebe is a typical six-year-old from Stamford in the United Kingdom with just one exception, she suffers from an extremely rare skin condition Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa. So rare that there are only 1,000 sufferers in the UK with the type that Phoebe has.

Her mother Zoe has set up the Phoebe Research Fund to research a cure as there is currently no UK government funding in place.

What We Did

The Phoebe Research Fund had an existing website that needed updating and some additional functionality added. We proposed the following:

  • WordPress Website
  • Virgin Money integration to accept donations
  • Hosting set up by Aspiring Panda but controlled by Phoebe Research
  • Training on how to manage and update the site

We chose WordPress as we could adapt a theme (template) for the website that we could then adapt to Phoebe’s needs. The template allowed us to keep costs down whilst giving the charity all the functionality they need and the ability to make edits to key information.

We worked with the Phoebe Research Fund to agree on the design and branding of the website and the structure of the website.

This included a blog, a page for events, a way to accept donations and allow sponsors and fundraisers to download branding materials such as logos.

We were able to build this site for Phoebe relatively quickly and train the Phoebe Research Fund team on how to update the website.

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Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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Simple Steps To Keep Your Online Presence Safe

/ Insights      / Simple Steps To Keep Your Online Presence Safe

Simple Steps To Keep Your Online Presence Safe

The internet is a huge opportunity for businesses from both a customer facing and internal perspective as apps, cloud based technologies and websites allow us to do more than ever online.

It is vital we use the internet in a way that protects important information and minimises the risk of being compromised by hackers and online attacks.

The threats facing businesses are continuously evolving, from having a website hacked due to an out of date WordPress site, hacks of private customer information or phishing scams designed to defraud the business.

Update Your Software/Website Regularly

One of the best ways of staying ahead of online fraud is to make sure you are always using the most up to date version of the software you use daily. Updates to your smartphone, PC and web platform often contain updates to fix security issues.

This is particularly true for WordPress where regular updates are the key to keeping the site and the plugin software that add functionality safe to use.

So by keeping up to date and having a schedule for running checks you can stay one step ahead.

Be Suspicious Of Emails Asking For Information Or With A Link

Email is at the heart of most businesses, but always be sceptical if someone you know (even within your own company) emails asking you do to something out of character.

Increasingly there are scams being reported of fraudsters pretending to be them to get you to send money or click a link or download an attachment that contains malicious software.

This could be to review an attached invoice you were not expecting or click a link to something strange. If in doubt ring the person or message them as email scams commonly known as “phishing” are getting more elaborate and professional.

Remember that banks and other professional bodies will not ask for personal information over email.

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Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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Three Technical Aspects That Are Vital To Your Website

/ Insights      / Three Technical Aspects That Are Vital To Your Website

Three Technical Aspects That Are Vital To Your Website

A website is more than what can be seen when you type the URL into the browser bar. To be an effective representation of your business there are a number of important technical aspects that must be in place.

These include aspects that affect the speed, visibility and usability of your website that whilst mainly controlled in the background can have a huge impact on the success of your website.

Looking at some of the projects we have worked on recently we have put together three technical aspects that are vital to your website that often get overlooked.

Page Load Times

The speed at which your website loads is a vital technical aspect.

A lack of patience for sites to load and mobile usage means that if your site does not load in a matter of seconds then users may decide to go elsewhere for the information or product they need.

If your site is slow to load this could be caused by a number of different factors ranging from poor hosting performance to the size and bulk of the content on your website.

SEO SiteMap

A sitemap is what you load onto your website so that Google knows what is on your website so that it can rank it in its search engines accordingly.

This is a small file that can be created using different plugins or third party software and can be managed by using Google Search Console (Google Webmaster Tools)

Mobile Responsive UX

As more than half of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, we recommend that businesses check their site is mobile friendly.

We have spoken about the importance of mobile friendly websites a lot over the last two years but many older websites are still not compliant with this requirement by Google.

 

If you are unsure if your website has any of these elements or would like to review call us on + 44 (0)2088610115

anu_panesar

Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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5 Simple Elements That Give Your Homepage Maximum Impact

/ Insights      / 5 Simple Elements That Give Your Homepage Maximum Impact

5 Simple Elements That Give Your Homepage Maximum Impact

This means that your homepage must deliver the right impact for your business.

Whilst there is an almost endless combination of ways and techniques to configure your homepage, here are 5 simple elements that we believe every homepage should contain to generate the maximum impact.

Easy To Use Navigation

Making your website easy to navigate for visitors is vital and can be easily achieved with a navigation menu. A search box can make it even easier to connect visitors with the information they need.

Phone Number and Email Contact

Your phone number and email are key ways for customers to get in touch so having them in a standard place on every page (preferably in the top banner) ensures that however people find you and whatever page they visit they can get in touch quickly.

Social Proof

What others say about you is a powerful way to build trust with your potential customers. Having these reviews and information on the homepage can build rapport quickly and increase conversion rates. This can include accreditations, awards and reviews from third parties.

Call To Action

Your homepage should make it clear what you want the potential customer to do next, whether that be to fill out a form to request more information, give you a call or even buy now.

Compelling Images/Video

The job of your homepage is to capture attention and get the visitor to want to learn more about your business.

Images and video are a great way to do this so we recommend that when designing your website, you come up with compelling images and video that support the branding and message of your website.

If you are unsure if your website has any of these elements or would like to review call us on + 44 (0)2088610115

anu_panesar

Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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How An Event App Can Enhance Experience

/ Insights      / How An Event App Can Enhance Experience

How An Event App Can Enhance Experience

Due to the demands of clients, visitors and the hundreds of different factors that control the success or failure of an event, the profession of events coordination is ranked as one of the most stressful you can have.

An event app can enhance events and take away some of the stresses of strains of organising an event as well as enhancing the event marketing lifecycle before, during and after an event.

Events, exhibitions and seminars are an important marketing tool for professionals in a wide range of different industries, therefore maximising their effectiveness is key.

How An Event App Can Enhance Events

Before The Event

An event app can build buzz about an event before it happens. It can be used to book people into individual seminars as well as remind attendees of key event information and remind them to attend as the big day approaches.

During The Event

An events app can be used to book in visitors and direct visitors to certain parts of the events. It can also be used to remind them about seminars they have booked onto and give them all the information they need such as maps etc at their fingertips.

Apps can also be configured to allow exhibitors to capture visitor information that can be used post event to generate leads.

After The Event

Once an event is over, the important thing is to ensure that whether it is business or leisure that there is follow up. Utilising the information collected during the event to follow up with attendees and invite them to go to more events.

For exhibitors the key is the data collected during the event and using it to follow up to grow your business.

If you run events and think that an app may improve your attendees experience and reduce your stress call Aspiring Panda on (+44) 020 8861 0115

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Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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Small Business Saturday Supporting Local Businesses

/ Insights      / Small Business Saturday Supporting Local Businesses

Small Business Saturday Supporting Local Businesses

Small community focussed businesses are the backbone of the British economy. There are more than 5.4m small businesses in the UK employing 25.9m people across almost every sector of British business.

Life as a small business can be tough, competing against large national and even international businesses for the attention of potential customers. Therefore where possible we think communities should do what they can to support businesses locally.

Research on spending by local authorities shows that for every £1 spent with a small or medium-sized business 63p stayed in the local economy, meaning that when we invest locally everybody wins.

In recent years a grassroots movement has emerged to encourage customers to support small businesses in their communities during the busiest time of the year has emerged. Founded in 2010 Small Business Saturday is growing in stature year on year.

“Small Business Saturday UK is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities.” – Small Business Saturday website.

The day itself takes place on the first shopping Saturday in December each year, but the campaign aims to have a lasting impact on small businesses. In 2015 Small Business Saturday will take place on Saturday, December 5th. All you need to do to take part is to make an effort to shop locally where you can on December 5th.

As a small business that works with other small businesses across a number of different sectors Small Business Saturday is something that we passionately support.

We ask that on the December the 5th you do your part to take part in Small Business Saturday.

As a business why not look locally for the resources for your business, whether that be a graphic designer or printer for your marketing efforts, or a locally owned restaurant or hotel to hold your next business meeting or buy something from a local shop on your way home.

Taking part is simple and the benefits to our towns and cities make it well worth the small effort of changing the way you think about local businesses.

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Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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Aspiring Panda Organizes Diwali & Bandhi Chorr Event

/ Insights      / Aspiring Panda Organizes Diwali & Bandhi Chorr Event

Aspiring Panda Organizes Diwali & Bandhi Chorr Event

This year Aspiring Panda got the opportunity to work alongside Harrow Council, Third Sector Potential and other community groups, helping to plan and execute one of the biggest cultural events in the Asian community – Diwali.

On the 14th November 2015, Harrow’s town centre was filled with joy as local community and shoppers came together to celebrate Diwali and Bandhi Chorr Diwas.

Music filled St. Anns centre as spectators watched in awe at the Bollywood dancers, as they swayed on stage in their stunning Indian outfits. Not only was there dancing but a fashion show. Models held lit diyas (a small cup-shaped oil lamp made of baked clay) as they strutted down the catwalk, their gowns twinkling from the light of their lamps. It was an evening filled with much entertainment as people of all races joined together to celebrate the triumph of good over evil and the beginning of a new business year.

 Happy Diwali to all from everyone at Aspiring Panda!

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Anoop Panesar

Business Development Manager

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.

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