Digital Presence Index for the Examination of Small and Medium-sized Businesses

With the spreading of the infocommunication technologies (ICT), the use thereof is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the competitiveness of businesses. With the deeper integration of these technologies, the corporate processes can be extended outside the boundaries of the given business [10]. The entry level of this process is the realization of online presence, the most obvious manifestation of which is the maintenance of a company website. Through the analysis thereof, the measurement of the competitiveness of the given business can be supported [13]. The analysis can be performed through technology and content-based approaches, but in both cases the identification and then the analysis of the websites requires significant human labour, which can be automatized with IT support [3] [15]. The technology-based approach places the emphasis on the examination of measurable values related to the website (e.g. the number, type of objects), thus it does not deal with the issues of design and usability [2]. In the course of our research we created a model for the examination of the online presence of small and medium-sized businesses. Through the technology-based, automated analysis of the websites we created a complex index (WebIX) consisting of three components which are also complex in themselves (speed, complexity, connection). In the research, we calculated the WebIX indicator through the automated, technical analysis of the hundreds of businesses included in Szerb’s HSMB database. Our aim, through the examination of a connection between the location of the businesses and the WebIX value, is the demonstration of a possible use of the WebIX, and the connection between physical environment and digital presence.