1&1 Internet Inc., the worldwide Web hosting company, announced this week two new feature upgrades for their successful 1&1 MyWebsite product.
MyWebsite offers users industry-specific templates for well over 200 types of businesses and is, according to 1&1, ideal for small businesses that have an outdated website, or none at all. Each template comes adorned with individual text, picture and design modules that make it easy for computer users of any skill level to create a professional-looking website in just a couple of minutes.
Now, this helpful product has been made even better with a pair of new, useful upgrades.
The first is that every MyWebsite site can now be optimized to display on smartphones. As you probably know, smartphones are rapidly gaining in popularity, with 40 percent of current mobile users over 18 in the U.S. now operating them. And now, MyWebsite site owners can make their pages easily viewable on these nifty handheld devices. This new feature identifies the mobile device being used when the page is accessed and will automatically customize it for display, which means that potential customers can now access your content on-the-go, increasing the chance of sales for the owner.
It should be noted that in addition to the growing number of consumers using smartphones, recent IDC research shows that in the fourth quarter of 2010, smartphones surpassed global PC shipments for the first time ever, which may be an indicator that mobile devices are becoming the primary method for accessing the Internet for many users. The second hot, new feature is a social media interface that will automatically and seamlessly connect your business with Facebook and Twitter. This will allow owners to inform visitors about new offers or news easily through both their primary website and their social media presence. This interface also gives users a lot of flexibility, such as making it possible for companies to include recommendations from other social platforms in their website and/or add a "Follow" or "Like" button.
In the end, these upgrades will allow SMBs using MyWebsite to benefit from the popular and important trends of mobile Web and social media in a way they were never able to before.Users interested in trying out 1&1's MyWebsite can try a risk-free 30-day trial. After that, users can move up to the entry-level, Plus or Premium packages, the lowest of which starts at just $9.99 a month. The smartphone optimization is only available in Plus and Premium packages ($19.99 and $29.99 a month, respectively), but the social media interface is available with all of them. (Note: Current customers can now use both features for no additional fee.) Also, 1&1 also rolled out 30 new layouts for their Plus and Premium packages, increasing the flexibility and customization of website creation for users.
