A Shop Window to the World

from EssentialsMAG April 2023 – South Wrexham Magazine

Legal Advice

By JULIE GREGORY

It does not matter how large or small a business is, it needs a website. A website is the business’s opportunity to promote its products or services in the way it wants to present itself; to share information and even sell its products online. A website is the perfect tool to establish the credibility of, and gain trust for, the business.

As with social media, some businesses are ﬁlled with trepidation knowing that they need to have a website but not knowing where to start – or how much it will cost. Free platforms such as Go Daddy, Wix, SquareSpace etc, can be a simple solution to get a small, or start up business online quickly and cheaply using pre-prepared templates for pages and layouts. But they are limited in terms of functionality, ie. how many pages a site can have.

Creating a website can be fun as it allows the business to create its own worldwide shopfront! It is the chance for a business to tell everybody about the people involved in the business – where their experience lies, what they do and how they do it (hence, establishing credibility and building trust).

Visiting a website is the first step most people take when looking for a specific product or service, whether that be within their local area if applicable, or further afield if shopping online and geography is not as critical.

That all important ﬁrst impression becomes even more relevant if the business is competing in the larger arena such as nationally or internationally where a brand really does have to work hard to stand out from its competition.

More people than ever are used to visiting websites to research their subject. That could be anything from keeping up with the latest breaking news to choosing a new bathroom. In fact, more than 80% of the UK population buy at least some purchases online. However, we haven’t stopped visiting shops yet, with 88% of us researching a product online before heading to the shop to actually make the purchase.

Ultimately, every business should promote itself online and the ﬁrst step is to make sure its website promotes the brand in the right way, in an ever increasing competitive world.

What is ChatGPT?

By EssentialsMAG tech contributor DAVID HUGHES

David types: “Explain ChatGPT to someone who isn’t technical”

ChatGPT responds: “Sure! I'd be happy to explain what ChatGPT is in a way that is easy to understand for someone who isn't technical. ChatGPT is an artiﬁcial intelligence (AI) program that is designed to chat with people like you and me, just like a human would. It's called "GPT" because it's built on a type of AI algorithm called a "Generative Pre-trained Transformer," which basically means that it's really good at understanding and generating human-like language. The more people talk to ChatGPT, the more it learns and the better it gets at understanding and generating language. So, it's kind of like having a conversation with a friend who is always learning and improving!”

David types: Why is it important?

ChatGPT responds: “Firstly, it allows for more efﬁcient communication between humans and machines. With ChatGPT, people can communicate with computers and other digital devices using natural language, which makes it easier for them to get the information and assistance they need. Secondly, ChatGPT has the potential to help people in many different areas, from customer service to healthcare. For example, businesses can use ChatGPT to provide 24/7 customer support, and healthcare providers can use it to answer patient questions and provide information about medical conditions and treatments.”

David types: Could it be dangerous?

ChatGPT responds: “Like any technology, ChatGPT could potentially be dangerous if used inappropriately or if it falls into the wrong hands. However, it's important to note that ChatGPT is designed to be used in a safe and ethical manner, and there are measures in place to prevent it from being used for malicious purposes.”

David actually writes a paragraph in his own article: The above is snippets from an exchange I had with ChatGPT. You can try it for yourself at chat.openai.com. Some are seeing ChatGPT, and other products like it, as the start of the next generation of the internet; a step towards a more intelligent web, focused on human communication and interaction. It has Google a little shaken, as it also has the potential to take the place of standard search engines and disrupt the highly-lucrative online advertising market.

There can be no doubt that AI is making waves at the moment. There are still many questions to answer with this technology becoming mainstream. ChatGPT passed 100 million users in just two months; a feat that took Facebook over four years. The thing is, it seems very capable of answering them.