With many reports last year confirming the rise of mobile internet use (just one example here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14731757) - the really important statistic is that almost 50% of internet access is now achieved via mobile devices.

What this means for you as a "Drupalista" is that you must now be addressing Responsive Web Design/Mobile-First approaches - as this figure will continue to grow rapidly through 2012 and beyond.

With the new year I am happy to announce a new course is available - PHP Skills For Drupal.

Having been asked to provide PHP training for "Drupalistas" on a number of occasions last year - it was obvious there was a demand for a PHP skills course - targeted specifically at Drupal.

The IT recruitment industry, and IT managers along with them, still fail to understand Drupal and the key roles required for a successful Drupal project.

I have talked with a number of IT recruitment agency consultants recently and have been concerned by their obvious lack of understanding of Drupal - yet they are attempting to recruit the right people for their clients in this space.

This misunderstanding is negating the primary value-proposition for Drupal - i.e. "configure first - then - and only then - code".

Over the past few years I have helped a number of clients build their new websites using the awesome Drupal as the platform. Most recently a couple of clients wanted me to train them in Drupal - as a builder - not just as an end user/administrator of their new website.

After some long days and a couple of lost weekends - I have - at last - finished what I am sure will be one of my favorite training courses. My new "Drupal E-commerce with Ubercart" is all ready to hit the streets.

Like all my courses - there is a version ready to go for either Drupal version 7 or version 6. You just need to ask for the version you would like and if necessary I will schedule a new date for you (by default it will run on Drupal version 7).

I am very pleased to announce the release of my latest Drupal course - "Drupal Module Development".

Whereas, Drupal is designed to allow a Drupaler to build quite sophisticated websites without any coding whatsoever, it is true that for many projects a custom module is required. That's when the Drupaler needs to use their PHP coding skills (if any) to build their own custom module/s.

Drupal 7 has been out now (as a full major release) since January 2011. As I write 7.7 is available for download meaning it has already had 7 minor version releases since the major 7 release in January. So - Drupal 7 core is, without doubt, as stable and robust as we would wish it to be.

I have just introduced two new Drupal training courses: "Drupal Theming" and "Introduction to Drupal" (a high level introduction - not hands on).

The "Introduction" course is suitable for anyone new to Drupal - whether they are developers, designers, project managers, business owners or other key decision makers.

The "theming" course is very much for designers/developers who are technically minded and want to be able to implement custom front-ends to their clients' Drupal websites.

For more information - see here.

So, you have your new shiny website to show the world what you are all about and attract, secure and retain more business. Congratulations.

But, how do you know how well it is performing for you? How many unique visitors are you getting to your website? How long do they stay? What do they find interesting and what do they never look at?

To answer these questions for any website owner - the best option out there is FREE and very powerful. It is, in my opinion, Google Analytics.

I have just built a very interesting property related website. This business is offering the private seller and landlord the opportunity to get their property listed alongside the major agents properties on the new Google Maps - Property Search. You can check out the new website here: www.map2property.co.uk.