More and more people are browsing websites on their mobile devices. Performance is crucial in this context.1. Set the order for the dataLet's stick with the example of elements changing as the page loads and accidentally clicking the wrong link. This problem can be solved quickly and easily: Don't let all the files on the page load at the same time! Set a specific order. First, the Page Layout, which defines the structure of the content. This allows users to understand the page’s layout and know where content will appear—even if text and images aren’t yet visible. It also prevents elements from jumping from one page to another. Now come the Text Content It's their turn. Users can now access all content. The site is already fully functional at this stage—even though the Pictures and Graphics are still missing. The latter load at the very end, in the third step. By following this order—layout, text, image—you give your visitors the impression that the page loads faster than it actually does. Users no longer have to wait as long in front of a blank page.2. Eliminate large files  Now, regarding speed: Don’t just adjust the size of large files—get rid of them altogether! For many years, we’ve been hearing about the crucial role that user-friendliness plays in web design. According to conventional wisdom, it’s important for the images on our websites to automatically adapt to mobile screens. Really? This perspective often overlooks the fact that this negatively impacts the speed of mobile pages. Just because a page can adapt to the screen size doesn’t mean it’s optimally suited for mobile performance. A typical problem: A large image file may adjust to the smartphone display, but the original desktop-quality file remains huge. The file size still results in a long load time. That’s why it doesn’t make sense to simply resize desktop images for mobile devices. Instead, offer different versions on your server—one with high-quality images for desktop devices and a lighter version with lower-resolution images for mobile devices.3. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)To further speed up loading times, it’s worth using a Content Delivery Network (CDN). For example: When a user in the U.S. visits a mobile website hosted in France, the data has to travel a long way.The user’s mobile browser must retrieve data from the server in France, which then sends the data all the way to the U.S.—this slows down the process. A Content Delivery Network shortens the journey and thus reduces wait times—every millisecond counts when it comes to mobile web experiences. With a CDN, a website’s content can be copied and stored on various servers worldwide. The content is then delivered from a server located near the user.4. Make greater use of the cache Use the cache as often as possible to store data on your server or in users' browsers. This speeds up subsequent visits.Server cache: Data records that have already been calculated are stored on your server so that the next user who retrieves the same information can access the pre-calculated results in no time.Browser cache: Some static elements of your mobile site may look the same on multiple subpages, such as the company logo or the footer. These can be stored in the cache of the user’s browser. When the user visits another subpage of your mobile website, these elements are loaded directly from the cache because they are stored in the user’s browser.5. Simplify tags Another factor affects your website’s speed: the number of requests required to load each page—such as tags for ads and widgets. Since each request increases the load time, you should carefully consider which tools are useful on your website and which are not. Do you really need ten different ad servers? Keep only those that the analysis shows are truly helpful. By simplifying tags and requests, you can significantly improve the performance of your mobile site.About the author As Regional Director for DACH & CEE, Adrien Günther is responsible for AT Internet’s overall business in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. With relevant experience in key account consulting gained over the past four years as Head of Business Intelligence at Plan.net, he returns to AT Internet well-prepared. Prior to that, he had already worked at AT Internet for nearly three years as a strategic web analytics consultant. He has also held positions in the areas of SEO, search engine development, and web development.

The Igloo Villages come up with a new theme every year.In the midst of beautiful mountain scenery, they are built anew every winter: the impressive snow palaces in Davos Klosters, Engelberg, Gstaad, Stockhorn, Zermatt, on the Zugspitze and in Andorra. They are each built from over 2000 tons of snow. Not only the outside temperatures of up to minus 20 degrees, but also the physical exertion pose a special challenge for the igloo builders and the ice artists: over 600 square meters of snow hotel space, connected with corridors, artistically decorated walls, ice figures, romantic igloos and even an island igloo are created.The topics are fixedNext winter, too, various themes will run through the villages. The Igloo Village in Davos Klosters is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the theme "Road Trip". Guests can look forward to wonderful landscapes formed from snow and ice. The opening date is December 25, 2016. Water" is the art theme in the Igloo Village Engelberg. Among other things, a large ice waterfall awaits the guests. An exciting contrast is on the program in the Igloo Village in Gstaad: the snow and ice art is completely under the hot motto "Desert". Opening is December 25, 2016.The igloo village at Hinterstockensee with the unique island igloo will be officially expanded into a small, fine snow hotel for the first time this year. Guests will be transported to the Middle Ages to knights and castles. It will open on December 25, 2016. "A world of wonders" awaits visitors to Zermatt. This igloo village welcomes its guests as early as December 9, 2016.The igloo village on Zugspitze surprises visitors with its "flower meadow" theme. With plants in all shapes, mainly in bright white, not only botanists will get their money's worth. Opening is December 31, 2016.

A presence on the Internet is a must for the vast majority of companies today. Many companies can no longer ignore the rapidly growing online trade. The shipping giant Amazon has paved the way for online sales to private customers, the so-called B2C market, and has secured itself lucrative market dominance in the process. It is therefore only understandable that many companies have followed suit - or would like to do so. But be careful: The Internet is by no means a legal vacuum. Companies that want to do business online on a permanent basis have to comply with a large number of consumer, data protection and competition regulations, which is why the risk of legal pitfalls is high, as Martin Rätze points out in Die häufigsten Rechtsfehler in Websites. He names the most common mistakes that companies make - usually more out of ignorance than malicious intent. In the age of copy-and-paste, copyright infringements in particular are regularly committed - from copied general terms and conditions and data protection declarations to disregarded trademark rights. getAbstract recommends this thin little book as a valuable guide that could easily include more practical examples for the sake of compactness.getAbstract rating: 8Feasibility: 10Degree of innovation: 7Style: 6Publisher: BusinessVillage GmbHYear of Publication: 2015Pages: 46ISBN: 9783869803616

Unsurprisingly, the respondents rated the content of a website as the most important. On a scale of one (insignificant) to five (very important), this point was rated on average with 4.75 points. Also of great importance: user guidance (4.72). Layout (4.40), responsive design (4.33), search engine optimization (4.18) and performance (4.01) also scored an average of over four points, while support and service (3.69), the CMS (3.60), the URL (3.59) and interactivity (3.49) were rated as less important.

In a second part, survey participants were asked to name a maximum of three particularly successful Swiss websites. Here are the results:Stier Manuela, Stier Communications AG1. www.kmsk.ch"Brand Children with Rare Diseases was nationally anchored within just 2 years."Aybet Ahmet, Alesta1. www.bosch.com"Simple clear guide. Quickly find the info you need."2. www.geberit.ch"Cool design and interesting animation."3. google.ch"Simple search"Küchler Clarissa, Liip AG1. https://www.on-running.com/de-ch/"The products are extremely attractive and appealingly staged and make excellent use of the spectrum of digital possibilities." 2. https://www.swiss.com"Very good combination of functionality that enables easy usability and emotional appeal. The architecture of the site is designed along the customer journey. This makes it easy for the user to navigate."3. https://www.graubuenden.chThe site stages the region of Graubünden in a very inspiring way with beautiful imagery. At the same time, it is easy to search and find specific offers according to individual interests.Trachsel Michael, Code Design1. https://www.rast.ch"Great design and technically very well implemented."2. https://www.homm.ch"The use of video and the presentation of the content. For a KU already very nice."Istrice Luca, relate gmbh1. https://storesandgoods.com"Very responsive, very good loading speeds despite animations. Good user experience." Studer Markus, Entlebuch Media House1. www.css.ch"Responsive, good layout, intuitive"2. www.swiss.ch"top design, simple user guidance"3. www.lukb.ch"new redesign incl ebanking, simple, reduced to the minimum".Martin good Laura1. www.post.ch"Visually appealing, huge portal very clearly summarized. The only drawback: Certain functions bitch in Firefox..."2. www.casinotheater.ch"Not everyday menu navigation, visually very appealing. Always up to date."3. www.goutmieux.ch"Relatively complex content (restaurant directory, supply source database, separation into content for end customers and restaurateurs) is presented here in a very clear yet visually appealing manner."Sigrist Stephanie, Farner Consulting AG1. www.farner.ch"- clear- exciting content- high quality of images used- good performance"2. www.snowflake.ch"-appealing design- good performance- was responsive early on"3. www.sunrise.ch"- responsive design- intuitive navigation- was responsive early on."Ramic Eljub, news aktuell (Switzerland) AG1. www.swiss.com"-All target groups are served with information- Responsive design- Most important target group, (flyers) picked up at a glance and very prominently.- Stylish and eye pleasing color choice."2. www.ringier.ch"- Lots of information on all topics packaged in an interesting way- responsive design- "airy and casual" design"3. www.baloise.ch"- Beautiful imagery- responsive design- website search prominently featured"Yaacoub Jana, Rosenstar, Agency for Values and Design1. www.rosenstar.ch"- Rich-media-content website- Little text- Intuitive navigation- Blog / Facebook- Unique design" 2. www.victorinox.com/ch"- Clear- Good introduction through image teaser- Comprehensive presentation Service- Classic -> fits the image- Active Facebook account."3. www.mammut.ch"- Rich-media-content website- Clear presentation of product diversity- Attractive Facebook- Unique imagery."Tondeur Noé, tondeur consult1. https://www.bernina.com/de-CH/Home-Schweiz"- Storytelling impressively implemented- In relation to the target group useful content- Blog intelligently integrated- CTA (call-to-action) realized user-friendly- In relation to design convincing overall impression." 

Swiss Post's private customer campaign is entering its third round this year. More than 100 different advertising materials were produced to meet the needs of customers in a customized manner. In the online campaign, each ad is appropriately targeted in terms of content. For example, there is a gaming spot that is shown before game play tutorials and thus appeals to users interested in gaming. "We have to find the right way to address customers, especially on mobile devices. To do this, the advertising message and format must be perfectly tailored to the user's usage situation. We can achieve this by adapting the message to contextual targeting and a format such as bumper ads," says Roger Renfer (Head of Marketing Communications at Swiss Post), adding that the new bumper ads offered by Google on YouTube, which are particularly tailored to the mobile usage behavior of users at six seconds, are ideal for this campaign logic. Swiss Post and Jung von Matt/impact are now using this form of snackable ad for the first time in Switzerland. The booking logic and content were designed for the new advertising format. Patrick Warnking, Country Director Google Switzerland, welcomes the intelligent use of the new YouTube advertising medium in the Swiss Post campaign: "We are delighted that Swiss Post and Jung von Matt/impact are using the new YouTube advertising format of 6-second bumper ads for their brand positioning on YouTube and that we are all very positive about its success." The success is also reflected in the branding metrics, which are evaluated in real time using online surveys. Advertising recall and brand likeability increase disproportionately compared to campaign benchmarks for these values.

When Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, it drew a lot of criticism. There was even talk of shutting down the app. Today, the photo-sharing social network has around 500 million monthly active users. From that point on, at the very latest, Instagram has become a platform of interest to anyone looking to engage in digital marketing. However, few marketing professionals are yet aware of how to strategically position themselves on the platform. A white paper by the Facelift brand building technologies GmbH highlights the potential Instagram offers businesses and how they can attract more followers.

Instagram has become one of the most successful social networks and offers great potential for businesses.The white paper outlines two ways to generate leads: first, by publishing content on your own channel, and second, through user-generated content. While the first approach has limited reach and potential, it gives the administrator full control. Although user-generated content reaches more people, it cannot be planned or controlled—including its design. A prerequisite for this content is a product or service that can be visually represented. In addition, Instagram’s user base consists primarily of a young demographic that uses the platform for personal purposes. Consequently, this channel poses a challenge for B2B service providers and audiences over the age of 40.

On Instagram, Red Bull doesn't focus primarily on showcasing its product; instead, it connects with its audience through emotional stories.Pictures without a story are uselessOnce a company is aware of these principles, nothing stands in the way of its Instagram account. Thanks to its visual nature, the platform has the advantage of optimizing and sharpening brand perception—and it does so in no time at all. Users process both individual posts and the overall impression of the account. As with the entire marketing mix, one thing is even more important here: storytelling. Traditional promotional photos or informational texts do little to strengthen the brand. Instagram is the ideal tool for evoking emotion, and that’s exactly how the images should be. The individual posts must work together as a cohesive whole.Retain customers and attract new onesInstagram is also a good tool for building customer loyalty. For example, if you promote your Instagram page through other channels—such as Facebook, your company website, or newsletters—your existing community will follow the brand on this platform as well—provided the company presents itself as authentic and relatable. Attracting new customers, on the other hand, isn’t quite as easy.

If you use hashtags skillfully, you'll attract new followers. Zalando shows how it's done with the new Marni collection.It's the content that countsThe biggest challenge is creating content. And it has to be consistent. That means posting not just every two weeks, but every day. Brands like Nike and Victoria’s Secret lead the way. Stylized product photos are popular—not the kind that are cropped or used as stock images. Photos featuring people, quotes, and graphics, as well as artistic and nature shots, are always well-received. However, these posts must also offer added value to followers—whether that’s entertainment, information, or interaction in the form of a contest. To drive users to the page, it’s essential to use hashtags.Building CredibilityIn addition to creating your own content, there’s another key to success: influencer marketing. The advantage here is credibility. When an influencer with a genuine following recommends a post, it’s worth its weight in gold. To make this work, however, you need to partner with someone who knows the brand and is active in that community. Good influencers also spark discussions. (meg)

Top 3 moments with the most tweets during #debate:1. Trump and Clinton discuss the treatment of women2. Trump does not want to comment on whether he will accept the election result3. Conversation about Russia and nuclear weapons; Clinton calls Trump "puppet" of Putin

Follower growth on Twitter during #debate:1. @HillaryClinton - 13,0002. @realDonaldTrump - 6,000The most frequently mentioned topics in tweets during #debate:1. foreign affairs2. The economy3. Reproductive rights4. Terrorism5. ImmigrationDistribution of the #debate conversation on Twitter between the two presidential candidates:@realDonaldTrump - 59%@HillaryClinton - 41%

Ranking high in the Google rankings and addressing the interests of potential customers correctly at all times - this is the only way entrepreneurs can stand out from the crowd these days and achieve profitable success. The prerequisite for this is the right online marketing strategy. But this sounds easier than it is, because hardly any market is as hotly contested and at the same time as fast-moving as online retail. This makes it all the more important not to miss trends in digital marketing and to always be up to date. What developments store operators and webmasters need to be prepared for in 2017, the experts from the online marketing agency Lion Strong summarized:Mobile SEO A trend that has persisted for years is mobile - and this area will continue to grow in 2017. Therefore, an ever greater focus should be placed on mobile SEO. At the moment, everything runs via a crawler. Content that ranks well on the desktop is also ranked well by Google on mobile, as long as it is responsive.Simpler purchase process In search engine advertising (SEA), too, there is no way around mobile. After all, the first point of contact between the retailer and the potential customer is usually mobile. In the context of SEA, the entire customer journey will move more into the foreground in 2017, instead of just individual contact points. In order to specifically address the customer's wishes, the content should be adapted to the customer's interest - depending on which phase of the customer journey he is currently in and the associated goal. If, for example, a potential customer in the research phase is looking for all the models currently available from a manufacturer, then he should be offered an overview of the models and not specific individual product information that does not interest him. In addition, the information should be provided to him on all channels - PC, smartphone, tablet, social media, Google, etc. Due to the mobile trend, the development in 2017 will go towards an even simpler purchasing process, e.g. via a one-click system...Experience Design The goal of every online retailer is to differentiate their own online store from the others and to retain users in the long term. Experience design is the new 2017 trend in usability. It means telling a story during the buying process and thus actively supporting users in their decision to buy from the store. The retailer achieves this best by creating an emotional shopping world and making the user curious. A male target group, for example, is more likely to be motivated to buy if the purchase becomes a "hunt". This can be achieved by placing them in a hunting environment in the online store. This feeling can already be achieved with appropriate wording such as 'want to have', instead of 'add to cart', 'bare facts', instead of 'product information' or 'prey', instead of 'cart / products'. In this trend, more attention is paid to the target audience. In addition, personalized product streams - search filters predefined by the store operator, such as price or manufacturer - should be used for registered users. Configurators for individual products should also be offered to interested parties.One-to-one concept in email marketingThe best newsletter is useless if it ends up unseen in the spam folder. Email marketers have been able to avoid this problem by avoiding spam-catching features such as misleading text links or typical spam terms. But in the future, this alone will no longer be enough. Some email programs have already started to automatically unsubscribe unread newsletters if the recipient does not read or ignores these emails several times. Therefore, in 2017 it will be even more important to pay attention to suitable sending times and to provide content tailored to the recipient and individual offers in the newsletter. One-to-one marketing is the big keyword here. The one-to-one marketing concept focuses on the individual customer relationship, so that the customer is addressed individually. In addition, e-mail marketing is currently in the transition phase to responsive design. The major providers are currently revising their e-mail presentation. For marketers, this means always keeping an eye on and optimizing the correct and user-friendly presentation of their emails in 2017.

Promotiontools designed an OMEN stand for the trade fair.From October 6 to 9, 2016, the largest LAN party in Switzerland took place at the Suisse Toy in Bern on behalf of SwitzerLAN. OMEN by HP was there as a main partner with a major presence and presented the unique "Torture Chamber" alongside various OMEN gaming desktops and laptops that were available to try out. The game in the box was a spectacle for all the senses, with fog and sound effects. In addition, an OMEN X by HP was raffled off among all visitors to the trade fair.Promotion-Tools supported HP with the entire preparation and implementation of the trade fair. In addition to the creation and production of the trade fair stand and its assembly and dismantling, the agency was also responsible for the design and production of the hostess outfits, competition cards, posters and furniture. Trained promoters and hostesses from Promotion-Tools' own pool provided professional support for the stand throughout. In addition, Promotion-Tools arranged a cooperation with Emmi CAFFÉ LATTE, which provided visitors to the stand with free Espresso Extra shots throughout the trade fair.

One of the five newly graduated study groups.Over the past four years, they have proven that they can combine a job related to their studies with a challenging course of study at university level. With up-to-date knowledge from the fields of business management, marketing communication and corporate communication and job-relevant general education topics, they have thus developed a solid basis for their further careers.Since 2007, around 800 graduates have now made their way into demanding and responsible positions in business, at NPOs, in public administration and as self-employed professionals with the wide-ranging Bachelor's degree program in Communication at the HWZ. During this time, the course was led by Cyril Meier (2007-2014) and Bernhard Schweizer (since 2015), both assisted by Matthias Nast.The guest speaker at the graduation ceremony in the Fraumünster Church was Dr. Karin Lenzlinger Diedenhofen, Delegate of the Board of Directors of Lenzlinger & Söhne AG, multiple Board Member and President of the Zurich Chamber of Commerce.The Baume & Mercier honorary prize for the best overall degree in communication, a luxury watch with automatic movement from the "Classima" collection of the tradition-steeped Swiss watch manufacturer, went this year to Fabio Schmuki.All freshly graduated students can find out more at the Wall of Fame, the HWZ's electronic alumni book, with a personal entry that they can share with friends and acquaintances via social media. The Wall of Fame is public.

Although companies engage in content marketing, they often lack a strategy.44 percent of the professionals and executives surveyed are already making extensive use of content marketing. Thirty-eight percent have implemented initial approaches to this, and only 14 percent have no experience in this area yet. According to the survey, more than half have not yet developed a strategy with a proven track record over the long term. In most cases, content is presented to existing contacts. Three-quarters of respondents build the reach of their content through their own channels, such as email newsletters, websites, blogs, and social media. «However, you can’t reach new customers this way,» comments Markus Scholz, Senior Consultant for Content Promotion at Ligatus. «Anyone who puts effort into creating relevant content should also use it to acquire customers. To do so, strategic placement on external channels is essential.» Many people still don’t understand exactly how an effective distribution strategy works. Fifty-three percent of respondents stated that the various content distribution channels are not used strategically or coordinated with one another.”.Focus on thematically relevant environmentsThe focus still seems to be on trying to create content that, once posted on the company’s own channels, is so engaging that users share it further, thereby making it visible beyond the company’s channels. However, 71 percent of respondents believe it is difficult to produce highly viral content. According to Scholz, however, this isn’t strictly necessary: «Of course, the content has to be good and relevant to the target audience. However, viral spread driven by users themselves rarely works. It makes more sense to distribute content in thematically relevant environments—that is, where users are actively engaged with the topic in question.».

With optimized usability, corporate websites can take off successfully.Increasing product sales, tying employees more closely to the company, positively influencing the public: The goals that companies pursue with their websites are very different. But they all have one thing in common: they can only achieve the desired success if they are user-friendly.1 Comply with the laws of design. The basis for a high level of user-friendliness is provided by the design laws of visual perception. These include, for example, the laws of proximity, similarity, coherence, simple continuation or the law of conciseness. Compliance with these laws is particularly important for the small screens of mobile devices.2 Comply with expectations. Over the years, certain expectations have become established among users: the shopping cart is always at the top right, the logo at the top left and the navigation at the top or in the left-hand column. Companies should not deviate from this, as this would confuse and irritate users.3 Ensure consistency. A website must always convey a clear and stringent image. Content and functions should therefore only appear in one place if possible. If certain functions have to be offered several times, it must be ensured that they always deliver the same results.4 Focus on the essentials. For websites, less is more. People cannot store very much information in their short-term memory and only very few of them are able to solve complex cognitive tasks in a short time. Websites must therefore not be overloaded and should be optimized through reduction.5 Provide feedback. Website visitors want to know about ongoing processes. However, if there are waiting times, it is often not clear to them whether a process is currently in progress or whether this is due to temporarily poor mobile network reception. A simple message about an ongoing process can prevent this.6 Speak the user's language. Users must be able to understand what is offered to them on a website, but they also do not want to be underchallenged. Companies should therefore analyze exactly what prior knowledge visitors come to their websites with and choose the right approach. After all, there is a huge difference between addressing a small specialist group and a large audience with no specialist background.7 Do not neglect loading times. Loading times are a usability aspect that is often forgotten. However, the speed of websites is a crucial success factor, as long loading times drive visitors away. Targeted technical optimization can significantly increase speed, as can the use of a content delivery network.