Australia’s National Centre for Asia Capability at the University of Melbourne says countries like Thailand are more than just a holiday destinations. These countries should be on the radar of small businesses looking for export markets and capitalising on fast-growing economies.

Chief Executive of Asia Link Business, Leigh Howard says while thawing relations with Beijing have put China back on the agenda, large consumer markets closer to home have caught the attention of Australian businesses looking for the next wave of opportunities. 

From a thriving new fintech sector in Vietnam to Indonesia’s emerging global powerhouse with a thirst for services and innovation, Australian businesses need to double down and gain understanding of these markets or risk missing out on opportunities with our nearest neighbours.

“Several economies in Southeast Asia are forecast to grow faster than China, as their growing consumer class draws business into the region,” Mr Howard says.

“With a population approaching 700 million people and an economy more than twice the size of our own, Southeast Asia offers Australian businesses many new avenues of growth. It’s a good time to explore these opportunities with fresh eyes.”

Here are the top five countries worth looking into for business export opportunities in 2023.

Vietnam: Flourishing fintech sector with the untapped potential of 100 million consumers

Vietnam is a star on the rise. Since opening up its economy, Vietnam has experienced one of the highest GDP growth rates globally. It’s also been one of the big beneficiaries of regional diversification and the “China Plus” strategy adopted by many international businesses. As a result, investment into the country has surged, making conditions ripe for innovation and fuelling a booming tech ecosystem.

As Vietnam’s government continues to make the country an easier place to do business, Prime Minister, Minh Chinh, is prioritising “acceleration of the updating, connecting, and sharing of digital platforms and databases, including connecting national and specialised databases with the government’s information and governance centre”.

With a young, upwardly mobile population, rapid economic growth, and over 100 million (increasingly tech-savvy) consumers who readily accept new tech products, Vietnam is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s most exciting digital and tech markets. 

Vietnam’s fintech sector is flourishing. The low uptake of traditional banking means many consumers are ‘leapfrogging’ technologies and heading directly to e-wallet and payment apps.  We’re also seeing vibrant, new sectors strengthening across the tech ecosystem, including AgTech, HealthTech, and EdTech. These will continue to attract an increasing amount of interest and investment for new entrants, including start-ups.

Malaysia: A familiar-feeling testing ground for expansion

With its strategic location, multilingual workforce, and cost-competitive business environment, Malaysia is an attractive destination for many Australian business travellers. Due to its Commonwealth heritage, Malaysia has legal and regulatory systems that will feel familiar to new entrants from Australia, despite the country’s rich and diverse culture. It’s also an easy place to do business in terms of establishing a presence and accessing resources, including human capital.

Malaysia is often the ideal springboard for Australian companies considering regional expansion in Southeast Asia.

This may explain why a greater number of Australian companies export to Malaysia than to India, Japan, or Indonesia. More than 3,800 Australian businesses trade with Malaysia – most of which are small and medium enterprises.

Many Malaysian consumers know Australia well and have a strong appreciation of our high-quality goods and services, which include food, education, healthcare, and professional services.

Indonesia: An emerging global powerhouse

With the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the fourth largest population on earth, Indonesia is an emerging powerhouse. In recent years, Indonesia’s GDP has been growing at more than 5% annually on the back of a rapidly expanding middle class, stable democratic government, open trade, and investment policies, increasing domestic consumption, abundant natural resources, and a growing skilled workforce. 

While the trade relationship between Australia and Indonesia is trending upward, two-way trade still sits at less than $20 billion per annum, which is low given that both countries have trillion-dollar economies, respectively. 

Historically that had a lot to do with a lack of complementarity as both were resource-based economies competing for industrialised markets. But that paradigm is out of date. A fast-changing Indonesian economy with a thirst for services and innovation is an entirely different proposition from what’s gone before. While the business culture and governance issues often present challenges which need to be navigated, the breadth and scale of Indonesia’s growth trajectory are compelling. 

Our combined GDP and populations indicate the potential for a significant uplift in our trading relationship, and Australian businesses will be able to play a big role in this future growth.

Singapore: A $4 trillion hub

Singapore is well-known as one of the most dynamic and business-orientated nations in the world. A small island with limited natural resources, this city-state offers excellent connectivity, world-class infrastructure, high-quality human capital, and a trusted regulatory environment. While Australian businesses will be welcomed, they should appreciate the important role of government, the cost of doing business, and the highly competitive commercial environment they will be entering.

Singapore is Australia’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia and one of our strongest economic partners. Exporters in service-related industries, advanced engineering and manufacturing, healthcare and MedTech, energy, and technology will benefit from our two nations’ strong relationship.

Singapore standing as a global financial hub cannot be understated. It draws banks, insurance, wealth management, and investment companies from around the world.  Both institutional and individual investors bring their capital to Singapore. The asset management industry currently oversees approximately $4 trillion in investments.

Thailand: More than just a holiday destination

It’s often overlooked that Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia. It’s also heavily industrialised, with the industrial sector comprising one-third of the economy. Thailand is a hub for international car brands and manufacturers of electrical appliances, computers, furniture, and plastic products. It’s also witnessing an infrastructure boom as the government invests in megaprojects across rail, roads, and ports to boost connectivity. 

This is further enhanced by Thailand 4.0, a government initiative to achieve industrial, economic, and digital transformation across the nation. This in turn, is drawing in expertise from across the region, providing Australian service providers with an opportunity to participate in this modernisation push.

Thailand’s economy was hard-hit by the pandemic due to the significant role that contact-intensive sectors play in the Thai economy, namely tourism, travel and hospitality. Tourism traditionally accounts for 20% of GDP and 20% of employment. Covid-related travel restrictions resulted in significant job losses. The revival of the tourism sector is set to improve in 2023 and beyond, increasing Thailand’s demand for high-quality Australian food and beverage exports. This is further strengthened by a domestic population paying more attention to what they consume and a large food manufacturing sector which sources ingredients globally, including from Australia.

This year’s strong demand for domestic and international travel has also seen a resurgence in the accumulation of rewards points. As the cost of living and doing business continues to increase, many exciting travel perks are linked to rewards credit cards that might motivate business travellers to take advantage of them.

Tom Walley, Global Managing Director at Corporate Traveller – Flight Centre Travel Group’s flagship travel management division for SMEs – says: “The domestic and international travel perks offered by rewards credit cards can save businesses and their travellers hundreds of dollars each year, while allowing them to get a little luxury into their trips without the cost. These perks include free flights and airport lounge access, restaurant credit and hotel rooms, travel insurance, and even concierge services.

“However, travellers should determine the offers that will be of most value to them – and crunch the numbers to work out whether these offers still provide value against sometimes higher interest rates or high annual fees.”

Below, Corporate Traveller has carried out research to reveal eight perks for credit card holders looking to maximise their travel and destination experiences:

1. Complimentary return flights. With airfares likely to remain high in 2023 before capacity returns to pre-COVID levels, some frequent flyers might be attracted to cards with offerings such as up to $450 in travel credit with major airlines or complimentary flights each year. However, cardholders should be aware of any higher-than-average costs associated with those cards. The American Express Velocity Platinum credit card includes one free return domestic flight with Virgin Australia every year and 21.99% interest^[1] compared with the average credit card interest rate of 19.94%.^[2] The American Express Platinum charge card offers $450 in yearly travel credit to spend on eligible flights, hotels, or car hire, ^[3] and comes with a $1,450 annual fee.
2. Uncapped points. Many rewards cards cap cardholders’ points each month or year. Businesses with multiple travellers or high-spending directors might consider switching to a rewards card offering uncapped points once they crunch the numbers and understand how many points they could accumulate. An example is the NAB Rewards Business Signature Credit Card.[4] Rather than linking to a frequent flyer program, however, this card earns NAB Rewards, which can be redeemed for flights online.
3. Dining credit. Another reward perk is credit with overseas and domestic restaurant partners, which might appeal to travellers with a tight personal budget while travelling. For instance, the American Express Platinum charge card offers up to $400 in restaurant credit at participating restaurants in Australia and overseas but does come with an eye-watering $1,450 annual fee. [5]
4. Earning points on taxes. Some credit cards offer points for tax payments – albeit at a lower awards rate. Businesses should weigh up the redemption value of those rewards with the credit card surcharge for tax office payments. For instance, the American Express Business Explorer card reduces its usual two points for every dollar spent, offering to one point with the ATO and against a 1.45 per cent surcharge for tax office payments.[6]
5. Access to airport lounges. Airport lounges offer opportunities to relax or work productively while in transit, and many rewards credit cards offer access to lounges across Australia and internationally. For instance, the HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card allows members to earn points across 26 airline rewards programs, providing access to more than 1,000 airport lounges worldwide.[7] However, cardholders earn one Star Alliance point per $1 spent up to $3,000 per statement period and just 0.5 points for every $1 spent thereafter. The Qantas Premier Titanium card offers new cardholders two complimentary Qantas First Class lounge passes at selected airports in Sydney, LA, and Melbourne annually[8] – but cardholders need to consider the $1,200 annual fee. The American Express Velocity Platinum cardholders receive two Virgin Australia lounge passes at selected domestic airports each year [9] – but it comes with 21.99% interest rate and does not allow balance transfers.
6. Travel Insurance. Some rewards credit cards allow cardholders to save on travel insurance by offering a level of complimentary insurance. However, keep in mind that a card’s insurance policy has limitations. Businesses should determine whether they require more comprehensive cover to protect employees and business belongings. For instance, ANZ Rewards Platinum[10] credit cardholders can access unlimited overseas emergency medical. It caps other cover at $50 for meals and $250 for accommodation in the event of travel delays; $4,000 for lost, stolen or damaged computers, cameras, and video cameras; and up to $1,000 for any other item. However, cover for rental vehicle damage is capped at $5,000. 
7. Complimentary accommodation. High-earning travellers who frequent a preferred hotel or want to tack a personal trip onto a business trip might find value in complimentary accommodation. The Citi Prestige Credit Card[11] allows cardholders to get a fourth night free at a participating hotel, limited to four stays a year, keeping in mind there is a $700 annual fee from the second year and cardholders need to have a minimum $150,000 annual income.  
8. No-fee frequent flyer membership. Some rewards credit cards waive rewards membership fees. For instance, the HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card waives the $99.50 Qantas Frequent Flyer membership fee; however, cardholders are limited to earning 0.5 Qantas Points for every $1 spent after spending $1,000 in a statement period.^[12]

Logitec has unveiled its Brio 300 webcam, a compact, plug-and-play webcam with Full-HD 1080p resolution, auto light correction and a noise-reducing mic, for more natural and productive video call experiences at an attractive price.

“We surveyed more than 3,000 remote workers* and found that most non-webcam users struggle with poor lighting conditions, unflattering camera angles, and low-quality sound from their laptop speakers. Brio 300 webcam is perfect for those who want to make the easy but substantial jump to significantly improve their video meeting experiences with an external webcam,” said Scott Wharton, general manager of Logitech B2B.

The Brio 300 series are Full-HD 1080p webcams with high dynamic contrast, auto light correction, and a single digital microphone with noise reduction, so users are seen and heard clearly despite poor lighting and background noise. With a reliable meeting experience every time, users can join video calls feeling confident and engaged.

The webcams connect to computers through a USB-C port, making it simple to join video meetings. Afterward, a quick spin of the built-in privacy shutter gives users assurance the camera lens is blocked and no longer showing their workspace.

The webcam connects to computers through a USB-C port, making it simple to join video meetings. Afterward, a quick spin of the built-in privacy shutter gives users assurance the camera lens is blocked and no longer showing their workspace.

The unconventional cone shape design adds personality to every workspace. Available in off-white, graphite and rose colours, the webcams pair harmoniously with Logitech mice and keyboards for a stylish and coordinated setup.

Brio 300 is the latest offering in Logitech’s portfolio of webcam products to support the New Logic of Work, where personal workspaces are individualised, easy to set up and use, and consciously designed for a positive future.

IT Management

For IT teams equipping employee workstations and home offices, Brio 300 webcams are compatible with most video conferencing platforms and certified for use with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet.

Approach to Sustainability

Logitech is committed to creating a more equitable and climate positive world by actively working to reduce our carbon impact. The plastic parts in Brio 300 include certified post-consumer recycled plastic* to give a second life to end-of-use plastic from old consumer electronics: 62% for graphite and 48% for off-white and rose. The paper packaging comes from FSC™-certified forests and other controlled sources. By choosing this product, you are supporting responsible management of the world’s forests.

All Logitech products are certified carbon neutral and use renewable energy where possible. The carbon footprint of all Logitech products, including Brio 300, have been reduced to zero by supporting forestry, renewables and climate-impacted communities that reduce carbon.

Brio 300 Pricing and Availability

Brio 300 will be available in January 2023 on logitech.com and at other major retailers. The suggested retail price is $129.95

Mastercard’s launches its latest research which explores how Australian consumers are demanding more from businesses in 2023, with new research from Mastercard indicating that customers are more likely to spend with businesses that prioritise diversity and accessibility. 

Most Australians (75%) agree all Australian businesses should be accessible to people with a physical, mental, sensory or intellectual disability, with more (76%) believing that organisations could do more when it comes to work and career opportunities for people with physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities. 

The research revealed a gap when it comes to small businesses’ performance in these areas when compared to other sized businesses.

As it stands,  only 42% of small businesses say that their work premises are completely accessible for workers with a disability, compared to 72% of medium and 62% of large companies, indicating there is still significant work to be done to match consumer expectations.

In addition, less than one in three (31%) of small companies say that they have made major changes to their work premises in the past 12 months to make it more accessible to people with a disability, compared to 67% of medium and 56% of large businesses. 

Overall, the benefits of diversity and accessibility in an organisation are well recognised, with 92% of business leaders believing that increasing their diversity and inclusion in the workplace will have positive benefits for the whole company, including improving innovation and profitability. However, when breaking this down, only four in five (80%) small companies believe that increasing diversity and inclusion in the workplace will have positive benefits on their businesses, compared to 98% of medium and 97% of large organisations.

“Ensuring an accessible society for everyone is growing in importance as we hear from more diverse voices in our media and at incredible sporting events like the Australian Open. Technology and the digital environments we all interact with now have made the world more accessible than ever, and businesses must make the most of the opportunity. Creating touch-accessible products or sonic-accessible experiences must be on the agenda for 2023 and beyond,” said Richard Wormald, Division President, Australasia, Mastercard.

“The past year has been challenging for businesses, emerging from the pandemic environment to heightened customer expectations and a changing economic environment. There’s been incredible resilience in the landscape, with 85% of business leaders saying they are optimistic about the success of their business in 2023, but the message is clear that 2023 will be a year where businesses are rewarded for prioritising the things that are priceless for their customers and employees,” he added.

“Mastercard has introduced Touch Cards globally, simple notched cards to help blind and low-vision Mastercard cardholders distinguish their debit, credit and prepaid cards. In addition, our Sonic Brand adds peace of mind that a transaction is safe and secure, even when a customer cannot see the iconic Mastercard logo.”

In Australia, Mastercard expects to launch Touch Cards by mid-2023

Key findings from the report on small businesses include:

• Only a third (33%) of small businesses say that they currently have a diversity and accessibility strategy in place, compared to two thirds (67%) of medium businesses and three quarters (74%) of large corporations.
• Only 42% of small businesses say that their work premises are completely accessible for workers with a disability, compared to 72% of medium and 62% of large companies. 
• Less than one in three (31%) of small companies say that they have made major changes to their work premises in the past 12 months to make it more accessible to people with a disability, compared to 67% of medium and 56% of large businesses. 
• Only four in five (80%) small companies believe that increasing diversity and inclusion in the workplace will have positive benefits on their businesses, compared to 98% of medium and 97% of large organisations.
• One in five (19%) small businesses say that they do not even have data retention policies. 

Inflation figures released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics has confirmed rising cost pressures in housing with urgent policy action needed says Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn.

Inflation accelerated to 7.3 per cent during November, meaning that prices are now rising at their fastest pace since 1990.

“However, while monetary policy using interest rate rises is starting to show fruits in putting downward pressure on the demand side, more needs to be done to tackle the supply side bottlenecks relating to material, labour and housing supply.

“We acknowledge that the RBA has a difficult balancing approach to take in curbing inflation but at the same time not getting too ahead of the realised impact of their decisions.

“However, the most sustainable solution to the inflationary problem lies on the supply side, through bringing down the cost of doing business. The requires issues like labour shortages, materials costs and the regulatory burden to be dealt with in a focussed and urgent manner,” said Ms Wawn.

Over the year to November, the cost of buying a newly-built home rose by 17.9 per cent.

“Housing continues to be the inflationary canary in the coal mine with figures reflecting huge increases in the cost of building materials, as well as continued shortages of key construction trade workers,” said Ms Wawn.

Rents are also accelerating and are up to 3.6 per cent over the past year.

“Growing pressures in the rental market are being exacerbated by persistently low building volumes in the higher density part of the housing market.

“Labour shortages can best be addressed over the short and medium term by making it easier for migrants to work in Australia. The bottlenecks in our migration system need to be addressed as a matter of priority.

“The continued ramping up of the regulatory burden on our industry is making it much more costly for building businesses to do their work, contributing to housing inflation,” said Ms Wawn.

Synology has announced the new 2-bay Synology DiskStation DS723+, the smallest expandable option in its lineup of all-in-one solutions for home offices and small businesses.

Powered by the versatile Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system, the DS723+ offers comprehensive solutions to protect and manage business data, easily collaborate on documents, access files remotely, and monitor physical assets, all within a compact desktop format. 

“This new unit delivers impressive performance and capability for its size,” said Michael Wang, Product Manager at Synology. “With its extremely compact form factor, it will certainly appeal to those that have smaller storage requirements but don’t want to give up on the convenience of centralized storage and the possibility to scale in the future.”

Storage platform with expandability options

Ideal for teams of professionals, small businesses looking to step into the world of centralized storage, or as an edge node in distributed deployments, the DS723+ can scale up to 7 drive bays with a DX517 expansion unit when more capacity is needed.

Users can also upgrade performance thanks to the option to add 10GbE connectivity and M.2 NVMe SSD drives through the built-in PCIe slot to enable fast caching or create additional all-flash storage pools.

On-premises storage with cloud integration

The DS723+ delivers intuitive file management and sharing with Synology Drive, which combines cross-platform file access with the privacy offered by on-premises storage. For teams working remotely and businesses operating across multiple locations, site-to-site file syncing is also available to mirror content between Synology devices.

Hybrid cloud capabilities provided by Synology Hybrid Share allow users to merge the benefits of on-premises and cloud by storing cold data in the cloud while keeping frequently accessed files cached on the local device for access at LAN speeds.

Learn more about file management

Backup hub for multi-tier data protection

Windows and Linux systems, Hyper-V/VMware VMs, and Microsoft 365/Google Workspace accounts can be backed up onto the DS723+ using Synology’s Active Backup Suite, protecting critical or sensitive data against ransomware and other cyberthreats.

For an increased level of protection, users can also create backups and point-in-time snapshots of the data stored on the NAS, which can then be secured offsite on another server or in the cloud.

Learn more about data protection

Versatile and intuitive surveillance solution

With support for more than 8,300 validated IP cameras and ONVIF devices, the powerful Synology Surveillance Station VMS can turn the DS723+ into a full-fledged video management system that privately stores the footage on-site.

Users can quickly set up and manage up to 40 cameras through a modern and customizable interface, and even overlay floor plans or Google Maps/OpenStreetMap maps when monitoring larger or multiple building environments. Simple and effective failover between recording servers, multi-device management, and the option to simultaneously record footage to the Synology C2 cloud boost resiliency and availability of important recordings.

Learn more about Surveillance Station

Availability

The Synology DS723+ is available starting today through Synology partners and resellers worldwide. For detailed information, please check the product page.

Zebra Technologies Corporation , an innovator at the front line of business with solutions and partners that deliver a performance edge, today announced Officeworks has successfully introduced an advanced mobile payment solution using Zebra mobile computers at its physical retail stores.   

Officeworks is Australia’s largest supplier of office and stationery products. It operates 167 physical retail stores across Australia, a website that features more than 40,000 products, a national call centre, and a business team that helps micro, small, and medium-sized businesses start, run, and grow.

Using a Soft Point-of-Sale (POS) payment solution called Airpay TAP from Quest Payment Systems, Zebra’s TC52x mobile computers accept payments without the need for additional hardware to be installed. This effectively turns the TC52x mobile computers deployed at Officeworks’ physical retail stores into mobile POS terminals that accept major cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Australia’s domestic debit scheme – eftpos.

“At Officeworks, we’re always looking at innovative ways to help our team members provide an exceptional customer experience,” said Andy Barker, Head of Team Member Experience Applications, Officeworks. “By introducing contactless payment with Zebra’s mobile devices and Airpay TAP, team members can deliver a fast and personalised shopping experience – providing expert advice and allowing customers to make payment easily without the need to queue at a traditional register. We are also seeing significant efficiency and productivity gains with enhanced scanning and stock take accuracy, and reduced repair costs through the ruggedness of the TC52x compared to our previous consumer grade devices.”

According to Zebra’s 15^th Annual Global Shopper Study, accelerated growth of e-commerce and newer technologies like contactless payment have resulted in shoppers expecting a seamless experience however they shop. Globally, 64% of surveyed shoppers prefer stores that offer contactless payment options. This is echoed by market research stating that contactless payment transactions are estimated to reach US$10 trillion globally by 2027 (from US$4.6 trillion in 2022).

“Investment in the right technology is the key to retail agility and resilience for the modern retail store,” said Tom Christodoulou, Sales Vice President, ANZ, Zebra Technologies. “Shoppers today crave convenience through technologies like contactless payment, mobile ordering, and self-checkout. Therefore, retailers must provide a seamless and memorable experience across all channels to stay relevant and competitive in the days ahead.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

·       Officeworks has successfully transformed its Zebra TC52x mobile computers into Soft Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals that accept major card schemes without the need for additional hardware installation. 

·       Officeworks has gained greater efficiency, productivity, and reduced repair costs by using Zebra’s TC52x mobile computers.

·       To learn more about Officeworks’ implementation of Zebra’s solution, please watch this video.

Bay City Labs, Stripe, AWS Startups, Cake Equity and Startup Victoria will next week host the Melbourne Startup Bootcamp bringing together leaders from Australia’s top technology, investment and high-growth business ventures for a free event aimed at early-stage and series A startup founders.

The bootcamp at Docklands’ Bay City Labs will feature industry leaders from Stripe, AWS Startups, the ASX, top startups, and venture capital firms for in-depth conversations covering raising capital, growing and scaling your startup.

Panels during the two day bootcamp taking place on January 18 and 19 will look at the current state of VC investment, strategies to build funding, going global, managing growth and cultivating a startup culture, along with how to successfully exit from a venture.

Speakers will include Jodie Imam, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Tractor Ventures; Linktree Co-Founder Anthony Zaccaria; Lauren Capelin, AWS Startups Ecosystem Manager; and Amber Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Chris Thompson.

Bay City Labs Head of Growth, Shelin David, said: “The tech startup community is facing a time of uncertainty as funding models change. When there’s uncertainty though, there’s opportunities and we’re delighted to explore the changing landscape at this great event with Stripe, AWS Startups, Cake Equity and Startup Victoria”

Over the two days expert speakers will provide valuable insights and practical advice on how to navigate these uncertain times and emerge stronger. Whether you’re looking to raise capital, exit the market, scale globally, or simply stay afloat, this event is a must-attend for tech startups weathering economic uncertainty.

In-person and virtual registrations for the two day event are open through https://stripe.events/melbournestartupbootcamp2023/startupvic.

In 2023, it will be essential for websites to be fast and mobile-responsive, not only to engage users, but to secure a favourable search engine ranking. In the past year, we have seen stronger demand for convenience and instant access to information via mobile phones. An increasingly even split between desktop and mobile browsing means businesses need to look beyond only optimising their website for the computer screen. If webpages don’t fit the screen, the menu button is hard to find, or load times are too long, businesses may suffer a loss of sales, or even worse, a damaged brand reputation.

A mobile-responsive site resizes content to adapt to different devices, whether it be desktop, tablet or mobile. Images are also scaled to reduce lag time, fit the frame, and suit the resolution of the display. Through optimising with these features, your website can be listed higher on the search results with Google rewarding mobile-responsive sites and they can help lower your bounce rate (i.e., less people leaving your site). Users demand seamless experiences so mobile-responsive sites that enable a faster and more streamlined experience encourage consumers to stay on the site for longer.

The newly released WordPress 6.1 is already helping businesses with mobile-responsive sites via fluid typography. This new feature allows text to resize seamlessly based on the display size. Although businesses previously could manually enable fluid typography via a CSS code, this new update allows businesses to improve their site without coding. This is one of many ways WordPress is supporting mobile-responsive sites. However, it is still up to companies to invest in the themes, plug-ins and designs needed to continue to engage in this increasingly competitive space.

For small businesses, outsourcing website management to an agency can be invaluable. A trusted agency takes the guesswork out of building a website, ensuring your website employs the latest features applicable to your business, without hurting website performance.

attributed to Ricky Blacker, WordPress Evangelist, WP Engine