GoDaddy, Happy Fox Introduce New Tools for Online Businesses

When building a business website, there are so many different things you have to consider. You’ll need to consider your design, mobile friendliness, help chat features and more.

This week, businesses got a few new tools to help build those websites and other digital features from companies like GoDaddy and HappyFox. You can read about these updates and more below in this week’s Small Business Trends news and information roundup.

Technology Trends

GoDaddy Launches GoCentral for Web Design on Mobile

GoDaddy has launched GoCentral — a new service that combines a mobile friendly website builder with what they are calling “an integrated set of marketing and ecommerce tools” that will ideally help you to create an audience for your business. Interestingly, the new service allows you to design a professional website in under an hour from a variety of devices including mobile phones.

HappyFox Introduces Help Desk and Chat Software for Your Business Website

Digital technology has changed the way customer service is being delivered. Customers have access to your website 24/7 and often expect your customer service respond on that same timetable. HappyFox help desk software works to make this possible with what the company says are affordable solutions.

Bad News For Online Businesses: Trump May Reverse Net Neutrality Rules

President Donald Trump’s new administration has allegedly signed off on a policy approach that could completely remake the Federal Communications Commission and reverse net neutrality rules for online businesses. Last February, the FCC produced a landmark ruling that declared the Internet was a utility, and that access consequently could not be prioritized to favor certain web content.

Amazon,  WordPress Most Trusted Brands with Small Businesses, Alignable Reports

Amazon and WordPress are among the most trusted brands among small businesses. And Yelp and Web,com are among the least. At least that’s the conclusion of Alignable Inc., an online networking site for small and local business owners. The company recently released its kickoff 2017 list of most trusted brands by small and local businesses in North America.

This  New Routing Solution is Helping Transform Fleet Management for Small Business

Have you ever made three or four errands in a row, traveling from place-to-place, meticulously crossing the errands off your list? If you have, chances are good you didn’t input all of your stops into a smart routing system that used advanced algorithms to determine the best order, and most efficient routes for your errands.

What Was the Real Cause of Samsung’s Issues With the Galaxy Note 7? (Watch)

Samsung has concluded its investigation into the cause of its overheating (and sometimes even exploding or fire catching) Galaxy Note 7 devices. The company blamed its battery suppliers, saying that there were flaws in the designs for the original and replacement batteries. But Samsung didn’t deflect all of the blame.

Economy

7 Reasons Linda McMahon Is a Great Pick for SBA Administrator

Linda McMahon was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration back in December. She answered questions before the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on January 24, 2017. A final confirmation vote will most likely be held next week.

Will Trump Trade Rules Hurt Small Ecommerce Sellers?

In the run up to November’s hotly contested presidential election, Donald Trump emerged as a clear favorite among small business owners. Trump touted a wide range of trade policies on the campaign trail that he claimed would benefit American businesses — and no policy gained quite as much traction as a pledge to implement a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports.

Green Business

Why Did This CEO Strap Himself to a Windmill? (Watch)

Would you ever consider strapping yourself to a windmill? A CEO recently did just that. Roger van Boxtel of Dutch Railways took a trip around a windmill as a way of celebrating the fact that all of the company’s electric trains are now powered completely by wind energy. Wind energy is getting a huge push  in the Netherlands. Holland alone has more than 1,000 standing windmills.

What Can Elon Musk Teach Your Business About Repurposing (Watch)

Space travel is about to get a whole lot cheaper. After SpaceX’s next rocket launch, CEO Elon Musk says that the company will switch from using expendable rockets to reusable ones. Since each Falcon 9 rocket costs about $62 million, according to the company, the ability to reuse them could be a pretty big asset.

Marketing Tips

70 Percent of Small Businesses Plan to Increase Digital Marketing Spend

Seventy percent of small to medium sized businesses polled said they will increase their digital/web-based marketing budgets in the new year. That’s according to GetResponse, an email marketing software solution serving over 350,000 small businesses, marketers and brands.

Retail Trends

Illinois Soda Tax Will Impact All Retailers Selling Sugary Drinks

Officials in Illinois will attempt a Philadelphia-style soda tax implemented on retailers statewide, which critics argue will only lead to higher prices and angry shoppers. The proposed legislation will place a large beverage tax on sugary products in the name of improving public health and curbing obesity.

Abandoned Shopping Cart Rates Are Soaring – And It’s All Our Fault!

I shop for everything online: clothes, jewelry, tires, travel, and furniture. I don’t just shop — I buy too! Recently, I was shopping for a mattress; mine is in need of replacing. I decided to buy online because the ones I have tried in the stores did not turn out all that great, whereas the last one I purchased online was much better and is still used in my guest bedroom.

Small Biz Spotlight

Spotlight: AzureDesk Offers Affordable Help Desk Software

Customer service is an essential function for any business. But it’s not always easy to manage. You need to have an actual system for helping your customers solve a wide variety of issues and concerns. That’s exactly the problem that AzureDesk aims to help small businesses solve.

Social Media

LinkedIn Gets New Look on Desktop — and Bots to Fine Tune Your Feed

LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) last week unveiled its largest desktop redesign since the professional social network’s inception in 2002. The new desktop design was reportedly built from the ground up with the social network’s new mobile app in mind.

Startup

Most Financial Institutions Still Hesitant to Serve Cannabis Businesses

Few things in business are more devastating than your bank telling you they’re closing your accounts, especially when you’ve done nothing wrong. In the U.S., the growing marijuana industry knows this feeling all too well. Small Business Trends spoke with an ancillary business owner who had nightmarish problems with two major financial companies.

32 College Startups Compete in Madness Style Tournament

Startups from colleges around the country are about to compete for a major honor and opportunity. Taking place at South By Southwest in March, the Student Startup Madness tournament is a nationwide competition that focuses on digital media startups founded by college students.

Small  Clothing Brands Benefit Most From Evolving Retail and Consumer Landscape

Design is a challenging profession and there are plenty of designers who start their careers only to quickly give up. Most designers join a large, corporate brand to keep designing without the stress of being an entrepreneur or the small paychecks that smaller companies offer.

Meet Instantprint’s New Startup Hub for Small Businesses

If you’re thinking about starting a small business, a company specializing in printing services for businesses of all sizes may have one solution. InstantPrint recently launched Instantprint’s Startup Hub for startup businesses.

Taxes

Top 10 Tax Deductions for Small Businesses (Video)

If you’re like many small business owners, your thoughts are already turning towards preparing for tax season. And an important part of that preparation should be looking for ways to potentially save your business a lot of money: namely deductions! Need a refresher on what’s deductible? Then watching the video above on the top 10 tax deductions for small businesses should help.

Image: HappyFox

This article, "GoDaddy, Happy Fox Introduce New Tools for Online Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends