
The world of tech is full to the brim with programs and devices designed to make life as easy as possible. But how much of it is really essential?
Here are six IT tools we know you need:
1 – The cloud
Cloud storage has launched itself into everyday IT. With the major brands such as Apple, Microsoft and Google all offering variations on a theme, there is an abundance of options out there for the business IT user. We recommend the cloud to business owners as it really streamlines operations, processes and documents. Employees in businesses are able to edit the most up-date-versions on documents, to avoid duplication. It’s also secure, and if your computer system crashes, you haven’t lost all your important data.
2 – Social media
Social media is a large part of online success for many businesses. It helps with your SEO as well as building your brand reputation and recognition online. Using social media is a great way to position yourself online and establish yourself as an experienced and up-to-date business to your audience. Using social media can be invaluable to your online success and should be used by businesses who want to drive more traffic to their website, for PR, competitions or people reading your blogs.
3 – Up-to-date and responsive websites
Social media is great for driving traffic to your website; but if your website isn’t up to scratch, people are unlikely to make that last push to buy from you. Having an up-to-date, relevant, branded and responsive website is crucial to the overall perception of your brand/business and, as a result, your online success. Having a responsive design makes your website more user friendly and accessible to users to access it from a device other than a PC (e.g. a smartphone or tablet).
4 – Enable online buying
Having a website that visitors are able to purchase straight from gives you an automatic advantage over some of your possible competitors. The ease of being able to purchase one of your products from home makes it far more likely for your sales to increase. Today, listing your products and their prices online isn’t quite enough to generate sales, as you will lose custom if people can’t buy there and then. Make online buying as easy as you can for your audience.
5 – Payment gateways
Relating to online purchasing, there is a range companies that are known globally and trusted by people to transfer money and pay for goods or services securely online. The largest and most well-known is PayPal, along with Worldpay and Stripe. There are lots of options, all of which feature easy-to-install payment buttons.
6 – Google Analytics
Almost every website owner will know about Google Analytics (or should, anyway!) It is a free service that businesses can sign up to that will show you, in depth, all about the traffic that is flowing through your website. It’ll also tell you where the person came from, how long they spent on the website, as well as numerous other things.
If you’d like to talk more about our very own Cloud service, give us a call on 01858 414217.






