Pictured at the new dawn of the Dot IE Net Visionary Awards 2017 are Cathy McGovern, Chair of the Irish Internet Association (IIA) and David Curtin, Chief Executive, IE Domain Registry (IEDR). The Dot IE Net Visionary Awards 2017, one of the most hotly contested awards for digital businesses in Ireland, are officially open for entries. In partnership with the IIA and IEDR, the awards recognise best practice across four main pillars of digital excellence: technology, entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation. The awards are open to all businesses to enter. Alternatively, anybody can nominate a company or project that they believe…

A Content Management System (CMS) allows you to manage your website on a day-to-day basis.  A CMS is a software system that lets you edit your website.  You can use a CMS to add new content, edit existing pages, add imagery, upload videos, share documents on your site and change the menus via an online portal that links to your website.  Adding content via a CMS can be as simple as copying and pasting. You can also assign members of your team as admins to help you carry out these tasks. When it comes to selecting a CMS, there are…

We’ve seen many products going online over recent years and we’re all used to buying everything from our mobile phone to our grocery shopping to booking our holidays. In fact, our latest research into the value of a website showed that 83% of Irish consumers believe that every business should at least have a basic website.  However, there are some products that we just probably never thought we would see online. What is different about your business or website? With this in mind, we started to think about how some dot ie websites are trying to change the game. We…

We know that the Irish share of the digital marketplace is worth almost €9 billion*. Irish consumers have embraced digital technology and made it part of their daily lives. This has led to a change in their expectations and the ability to browse, buy and transact online is now the accepted norm. However, according to our last dot ie Digital Health Index, we also know that 1 in 5 Irish SMEs still has no online presence. We decided to conduct a survey to find out the value of a website to Irish businesses. We asked 500 Irish SMEs** if they…

It is always a good idea to keep an eye on your competitors. When it comes to their online presence, checking what your rivals do can show you what works well for them. This process is known as benchmarking and it works by observing your peers and putting yourself in the shoes of a customer that is using their website.  The idea is not to copy what your rival is doing but to pick up tips and tactics that you might apply to your own online business. So how do I benchmark my online presence against my competitors? When benchmarking…

You would not leave your shop unlocked overnight. You should treat your website the same way. A domain name is effectively your online shop window. It is your place of business and it is how people find and trade with you online. In order for them to do business with you, they need to trust you. As a customer, you would be less likely to walk into a shop with a broken window or an alarm going off constantly. The same principle applies to your online presence. It is important that your online shop window is as secure as any bricks…