Most websites nowadays have an accompanying mobile app. A significant amount of user traffic is generated through these apps. Even if your WordPress website is very responsive on mobile devices and is doing well on small screens, However, consumers prefer getting apps instead of navigating a website.
Moreover, you can instantly publish your app to your own Google Play or App Store account and even charge for downloads. you cannot rely on it by leaving a play store or app store application in place. A mobile app has its own smooth experience. The only problem with it is it is very expensive to make from scratch.
We have many solutions and plugins that can convert a website into mobile apps which are beautiful and responsive with almost half the cost you would pay to make an application on your own.
In this post, we will give you a brief introduction about some of the plugins that convert websites directly to an application but first, we will understand whether you really need to do so. Do you really need a mobile application for your operations or business? Let us understand.
Do you Need a Mobile App?
The customized interaction and great user experience that applications offer are unparalleled. It has increased the traffic manifold. While some people are satisfied by having a website which works on all kind of platforms efficiently, some need an application. If you are a B2C company, then it is recommended that you have a mobile application in order to get more customers.
Now if you have made up your mind to build an application, make sure your website is mobile friendly on WordPress. This will help the WordPress plugin to understand which parts are important and which are not. Which parts are to be shown and what are the parts that users interact with. Also, take a look at the Google analytics of your website. This will help you understand the kind of people visiting your website- what phones and what operating systems your current audience is using, what device they use to access your website. This can help you a lot with many decisions regarding the application.
Now finally here are our suggestions of plugins you can use in designing an android app –
1. Wapppress :
It is lightweight and simple. It does not support e-commerce websites but it allows you to send auto updates to users and allows push notifications. Some notable features of this are -• It’s simple and has only 3 steps to create an app
i. Allows third-party scripts ii. Custom functionality possible iii. This will cost you 19 USD
This WordPress site-to-mobile app plugin gives you an app in minutes. It is an ideal premium plugin to present your website in the form of an app! There is no need to customize existing content or worry about how your app looks.
Bloggers and non-profit entrepreneurs find it easy to establish themselves in the Android app store with Wappress at their fingertips. Get the benefits of push notifications and Admob monetization with only a few app-type add-ons.
2. Web2app :
it has analytics, pulls to refresh like android, auto update and a large list of features to choose from. It also has video tutorials to learn from and help with the process.
i. Push notifications ii. Hundreds of customized templates iii. Allow pop-ups and splash screens iv. Will set you back 19 USD.
You want to save hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to build a professional app. You can make a most suitable but easily affordable replacement full native app for your responsive website with Web2app. You will get required customization capabilities.
Moreover, you can add ‘Rate my app to get customer reviews for Google Play’ and ‘Social sharing’ for monitoring use and making future changes. Make the best use of the tutorials.
3. Apppresser :
It offers both Android and iOS apps. Developer friendly as it has a lot of customizable features.
i. Push notifications ii. Comes with Facebook and camera extension by default iii. Google maps and social sharing iv. Customize any page content from your website into your app v. Offers Visual Navigation with pull-out menus on plenty of tabs vi. Basic Price starts at 19 USD per month and Billed AnnuallyAppPresser is more the developer’s choice with extensive customization to build a professional app from scratch in the true sense of the application. It is also called ‘Reactor’ because it integrates beautifully with WordPress. Exploit both Android and iOS environment.
It is a compromise when a free WordPress plugin will not do, but you cannot pay for mobile app ‘services’.
4. Mobiloud :
It can convert all types of content, e-commerce and other websites into an application. Offers a wide range of services for both Android and iOS. It has Mobiloud news and Mobiloud Canvas.MobiLoud News gives you a chance to distribute completely local portable applications that refresh naturally with your substance, run quick on iOS and Android and offer offline support, local picture gallery, sharing, versatile publicizing and propelled push notification.It offers the best mobile application design service. Some of its features are –
i. Allows you to send customized push notifications ii. Can make native Android or iOS apps iii. Customize the design with your logo and favicon iv. Provide app updates and maintenance v. Compatible with almost every service vi. Price starts at 69 USD per month.
An affordable mobile app service to get a mobile app from your website. You can choose one or both products. i. Converts blog or news site into an app ii. Helps high-traffic sites to switch over to apps Your MobiLoud payments will give you benefits of ongoing services. Upgrade if you want to set up analytics, monetization and more.
Even if you are a small businessman and cannot invest much to get a mobile app, you can use these affordable plugins to make a mobile app for your WordPress website and explore the ever growing digital industry. So with all the information, you can now make an informed decision about what you should and shouldn’t do regarding mobile application development.
In choosing WordPress as your SEO platform, you have made a wise and great step to successfully marketing your website. WordPress has several in-built features that enhance the SEO capabilities that even those with no technical background can implement to optimize their website. In this blog, we’ll uncover WordPress SEO tips that include some features within WordPress that you may not have noticed that could help enhance your search engine rankings.
1. Setting your url structure within WordPress:
A url that is more understandable with the right keywords from the content on your webpage will have higher value than one containing the date and number of the post on your page.
Set your url structure here:
Log into your WordPress admin panel and go to Settings>Permalinks (what does permalink mean? Permalinks are urls that do not (and should not change)
2. Categories and Tags:
WordPress allows you to classify your content by placing it in categories and assigning tags to each post. This helps readers find the right content they want to read, easily and quickly and helps search engines determine the structure and content of your website.
3. Headings:
Our 3rd WordPress SEO tip is about ‘headings’. The right heading tag is critical for search engines to know what the main content on your page is about. WordPress lets you easily add the right heading and subheading sizes to your content in its editor.
4. Post Comments:
Comments to posts on your website (if the content section is one that accepts comments) is an indication of an engaging website. However, if spam is passed through your comment section, it can have negative implications for your search authority. A popular WordPress plugin to prevent spam is Akismet Anti-Spam.
5. Plugins:
By far the best SEO plugin for WordPress is the one by Yoast. Used by over 5 million people around the world and with a huge 5 star review, you can safely trust this plugin to do its job. It offers a range of useful functions to cover the search engine optimization of your website such as;
i. Keyword optimization
ii. Setting canonical tags to avoid duplicate content
iii. Suggestions for internal links to other parts of your website
iv. Advanced XML sitemaps
v. Integration with the Google Search Console that enables you to see how your website performs and to fix any crawl errors
Apart from Yoast, there are a ton of other helpful WordPress plugins to optimize the performance of your website.
6. Images:
Images that are not optimized can considerably slow down your website. Use Google’s page speed tool to analyse your website. The tool also offers optimized versions of your images, CSS and Javascript for you to download and use.
7. Prevent malware:
This WordPress SEO tip focuses on security. Google blacklists websites that are infected with malware. Secure your website with anti-malware tools such as SiteLock which scans websites daily and eliminates any form of malware it detects.
8. Install SSL certificates:
Users actively look for a sign of a secure website before transacting. Not having the green padlock in your browser search bar or a https web address can have negative consequences. Plus, Google actively displays a warning message to users who try and access your website if it does not have a SSL certificate installed. This will lead to a drop and website traffic and consequently search engine rankings.
9. Ensure website Accessibility:
What do we mean by an accessible website? An accessible website is one that is designed and developed for EVERY kind of user- those perfectly and differently abled, those who have aged and have decreased visual, auditory, cognitive and motor abilities, those in areas with poor internet coverage and also those who are temporarily disabled/injured. What is the connection between websites that are accessible and SEO? Websites that are designed and developed to be accessible are also simultaneously SE0-optimized.
10. Website speed and performance – uptime:
Our last but important WordPress SEO tip is about improving website performance. How fast your website loads has a direct impact on your search results. Users expect websites to load within 3 seconds and are very likely to abandon the site for another if it doesn’t. While speed can depend on a host of factors such as images, videos, etc., your web hosting company has a large part to play there. We, at Webzworld, offer advanced caching tools and a CDN with our WordPress Hosting package to help better serve your WordPress website.
We hope our list of WordPress SEO tips helped you uncover newer insights into how best to optimize your website for search engines.
In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, effective communication and collaboration are vital components of any successful business. Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, offers a suite of tools designed to enhance productivity and streamline communication. In this blog, we’ll explore the significance of Google Workspace emails and why they are essential for businesses of all sizes.
1. Seamless Integration
Google Workspace emails are not just standalone email accounts; they seamlessly integrate with a wide range of productivity tools, including Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Google Docs, and more. This integration fosters collaboration by allowing users to access and share documents, schedule meetings, and conduct video conferences directly from their email interface. This unified experience enhances efficiency and reduces the need to switch between different applications.
2. Cloud-Based Accessibility
Google Workspace email services are hosted in the cloud, which means users can access their emails, calendar, and documents from anywhere with an internet connection. Whether you’re in the office, at home, or on the go, your email and work-related data are always at your fingertips. This level of accessibility promotes remote work, flexibility, and uninterrupted communication.
3. Scalability
Google Workspace offers scalability that accommodates businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, you can easily add or remove user licenses as your organization grows or changes. This flexibility ensures that your email and collaboration tools can adapt to your evolving needs without requiring substantial investments in infrastructure.
4. Enhanced Security
Email security is a top priority for businesses, and Google Workspace takes this seriously. It provides robust security features, including advanced threat protection, spam filters, and data loss prevention tools. Google’s infrastructure is designed with security in mind, and regular updates and patches are applied automatically to protect against emerging threats. Additionally, two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to user accounts.
5. Collaboration and Real-Time Editing
Google Workspace’s suite of tools promotes real-time collaboration. With Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, multiple users can work on the same document simultaneously, making edits and suggestions in real-time. This collaborative environment enhances teamwork, reduces version control issues, and speeds up project completion.
6. Cost-Efficiency
Google Workspace operates on a subscription-based model, which can be more cost-effective than managing on-premises email servers and software. It eliminates the need for costly hardware and software maintenance, as Google takes care of infrastructure management, updates, and maintenance tasks. This cost predictability allows businesses to allocate resources more efficiently.
7. Reliable Uptime
Google boasts a high level of uptime for its services. With redundant data centers and a robust infrastructure, Google Workspace offers reliability that ensures minimal disruptions to your email and collaboration tools. This high availability keeps your business running smoothly and minimizes downtime-related losses.
8. Centralized Management
Google Workspace provides centralized management through an admin console, allowing IT administrators to manage user accounts, security settings, and device policies from a single interface. This simplifies the management of user access and security, ensuring that your organization’s data remains secure.
In conclusion, Google Workspace emails are an indispensable tool for modern businesses. Their seamless integration, cloud-based accessibility, scalability, enhanced security, collaboration features, cost-efficiency, reliability, and centralized management make them an essential component of any organization’s digital toolkit. By adopting Google Workspace, businesses can empower their teams to communicate and collaborate more effectively, ultimately driving productivity and success in today’s fast-paced business environment. If you haven’t already, consider making the switch to Google Workspace and unlock the full potential of your email and collaboration tools.
In today’s digital age, communication lies at the heart of every successful business. Whether you’re a small startup or a multinational corporation, effective communication is essential for collaboration, decision-making, and customer interaction. Microsoft Office 365, particularly its email services, plays a pivotal role in ensuring seamless and efficient communication within organizations. In this blog, we’ll explore why Office 365 emails are crucial for businesses of all sizes.
1. Accessibility Anytime, Anywhere
One of the key advantages of Office 365 emails is their cloud-based nature. Unlike traditional email systems that rely on on-premises servers, Office 365 emails are hosted in the cloud. This means you can access your emails, calendar, and contacts from anywhere with an internet connection. Whether you’re at the office, working from home, traveling, or on a mobile device, you can stay connected and productive.
2. Scalability
Office 365 offers scalability that can accommodate businesses of all sizes. Whether your company has ten employees or thousands, Office 365 can be tailored to your needs. You can easily add or remove user licenses, storage space, and services as your organization grows or evolves. This scalability ensures that your email infrastructure can grow with your business without the need for significant capital investments.
3. Security and Compliance
Email security is a paramount concern for any organization. Office 365 incorporates robust security features to protect your emails and data. It includes advanced threat protection, encryption, and data loss prevention tools to safeguard against cyber threats and unauthorized access. Moreover, Office 365 assists in compliance with industry regulations, helping you meet legal and industry-specific requirements related to data protection and privacy.
4. Collaborative Tools Integration
Office 365 is more than just email; it’s a comprehensive suite of productivity tools. With services like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive seamlessly integrated with your email, collaboration becomes effortless. You can share files, conduct virtual meetings, and work on documents in real-time, fostering teamwork and boosting productivity.
5. Reliability and Uptime
Downtime can be disastrous for business operations. Office 365 boasts a high level of reliability and uptime, with Microsoft managing the infrastructure and ensuring constant availability. This means you can trust that your emails will be accessible when you need them, minimizing disruptions and ensuring business continuity.
6. Cost-Efficiency
Office 365 operates on a subscription-based model, which can be more cost-effective than traditional email systems with upfront hardware and software costs. You pay only for what you use on a per-user basis, making it easier to manage your IT budget. Plus, you eliminate the need for on-premises hardware maintenance and reduce energy costs.
7. Automatic Updates and Maintenance
Microsoft takes care of all the updates and maintenance tasks, ensuring that your email system is up to date with the latest features and security patches. This not only saves your IT team valuable time but also keeps your email infrastructure secure and efficient.
In conclusion, Microsoft Office 365 emails are not just a convenience; they are a strategic necessity for businesses in today’s fast-paced, digital world. Their accessibility, scalability, security, collaboration capabilities, and cost-efficiency make them a valuable asset to any organization. By adopting Office 365, businesses can streamline their communication, boost productivity, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape. If you haven’t already, it’s time to consider making the switch to Office 365 and harnessing the power of modern email communication.
Crafting Digital Success: The Art of Website Design Services In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, a strong online presence is essential for businesses to thrive. Your website is often the first point of contact with potential customers, making it a critical asset for success. At Webzworld, we understand the importance of making a lasting impression in the virtual world. Join us as we explore the world of website design services and discover how our expertise can elevate your online presence.
The Power of a Well-Designed Website:
Your website is your digital storefront, your 24/7 sales representative, and the face of your brand online. Here’s why investing in a well-designed website is crucial:
1. First Impressions Matter: A visually appealing website immediately grabs the attention of visitors and creates a positive impression.
2. User Experience is Key: An intuitive, user-friendly design enhances the overall experience, leading to longer visits and increased engagement.
3. Credibility and Trust: A professional website design establishes trust and credibility, encouraging visitors to explore your products or services.
4. Search Engine Visibility: Search engines prefer well-structured websites, which can lead to higher search rankings and increased organic traffic.
Our Website Design Process:
At Webzworld, we take a comprehensive and collaborative approach to website design. Here’s a glimpse into our process:
1. Consultation: We start by understanding your business goals, target audience, and unique selling points to tailor our services accordingly.
2. Design Concept: Our talented designers create custom design concepts that align with your brand identity, ensuring your website stands out from the crowd.
3. Development: Our skilled developers bring these concepts to life using the latest web technologies to create a functional and responsive website.
4. Testing: Rigorous testing ensures that your website functions seamlessly across various devices and browsers, guaranteeing a positive user experience.
5. Launch: Once everything is perfected, we launch your website, making it accessible to your audience.
Our Comprehensive Services:
1. Custom Website Design: We believe in delivering unique solutions for every client, ensuring your website is tailored to your brand and objectives.
2. E-commerce Solutions: Our expertise extends to creating engaging and efficient e-commerce websites, designed to boost sales and customer satisfaction.
3. Responsive Design: With mobile devices dominating web traffic, we prioritize responsive design to ensure your website looks and works flawlessly on all screens.
4. Content Management Systems (CMS): We offer seamless CMS integration, enabling you to easily manage and update your website’s content.
5. SEO Optimization: Our team specializes in optimizing websites for search engines, increasing your visibility and driving organic traffic.
Website Maintenance: Beyond launch, we provide ongoing support and maintenance to keep your website current, secure, and performing at its best.
Conclusion:
In today’s digital era, a well-designed website is a non-negotiable asset for businesses of all sizes. At Webzworld, we are passionate about crafting websites that not only impress but also deliver results. Whether you’re looking to establish your online presence, revamp your existing site, or venture into e-commerce, our website design services are your gateway to digital success. Dive into the world of excellence with Webzworld, and let’s make your online dreams a reality.
Boost E-Commerce Sales With An Effective Website Design. The way we do business today has changed. With the internet becoming the one-stop solution for all our needs, our customers expect us to be able to serve them digitally. Business-customer interactions have gone completely digital and while this has made it a seamless process without complete thought and consideration this can be a big challenge.
Look at it this way if you own a physical store and customers walk in you are physically there to help locate it, talk about it and even offer suggestions and recommendations. However, when you own an e-commerce store your customers are on their own in that sense. You may have a search option or even a chat window to help them but nothing compares to the experience of shopping online when your design and website interface makes it easy for customers to move around on their own.
Thus, your website design greatly impacts your customer experience and has a direct impact on your e-commerce sales.
You must consider the complete customer journey from the time they land on your e-commerce store to the point they checkout to be able to create an optimized user-flow and a seamless buying experience for them.
Design Tips to Boost E-commerce Sales
When designing your new e-commerce store, or revamping an existing one, it’s critical to think of all the design elements that make it easy, enjoyable and effective for your customers to make purchases. Let’s look at some crucial design elements that need your attention.
White Space
One cannot emphasize enough on how important it is to have adequate white space between different sections, elements and images on your website. White space refers to space you leave between the images, text and different sections so it clearly separates each of them from the other. This makes it easy for customers to give individual attention to each, makes it easy-on-the-eye and at the same time highlights all the necessary information. Without adequate white space, a website looks crammed for space and valuable information may get lost in the crowd.
Clear Call-To-Actions
A call-to-action or CTA helps your customer know exactly what they are expected to do and adds to their shopping experience. ‘Buy Now’, ‘Add to Cart’, ‘Head to Checkout’, ‘Make Payment’ etc are all direct CTAs that simplify the buying experience and make it easy for a customer to fulfil the seamless buying process you have created for them. Lack of CTAs can lead to confusions and may even force the customer to abandon your cart or website without completing the journey. Also, ensure you pick a bold colour from your defined brand colours, to design better buttons so they stand out and draw attention.
Simplify Checkout
While some customers may want to browse around and maybe looking at different products on your e-commerce website, most know what they want and will expect a quick checkout process. You can add a quick checkout solution by reducing the number of steps or pages a customer needs to go through before they can complete the purchase. This will also help you reduce the number of customers who quit the process mid-way or worse, abandon shopping carts.
Images Vs. Text
Both impactful imagery and effective landing copy play a critical role in influencing buying decisions. However, the key is in striking the right balance between the two. For an e-commerce website, it is important to invest in professional photography for your own products so customers can see what they look like as well as creative text like product name and product description to understand the products use, benefits, and other important information. You could also use free stock photos that are available online. Do not rely on either one to help customers make a decision. Use these as ways to help customers know what they can expect when they buy your products.
Product Descriptions & Website Copy
Coming to the product descriptions and website copy, keep it concise yet informative. Do not write long paragraphs, instead use bullet points, one-liners and keep a ‘Read More’ option wherever necessary to keep the text minimal. You must also consider the text for vital information like shipping or returns policy, terms and conditions, FAQs and other critical information. It’s best to create a separate page for these or add it to the bottom of the page so it doesn’t crowd or overwhelm the shopping experience.
Minimal is Effective
When you think website design; think minimal. Stick to a few basic colours, 2-3 different fonts, and strike a minimal yet effective image to text ratio. The idea is to give your e-commerce website a neat and minimal look, highlighting the necessary information and making the buying process as easy as possible. Avoid crowding your product pages with too many products stacked right next to one another white space between different products makes each stand out. Don’t write long blogs or essays to describe your products. Only highlight the necessary information.
Think Simple; Boost Sales
If you want to create an e-commerce website that boosts sales and maximises conversions, you need to focus on just one design aspect Simplicity.
Yes, the simpler your website is in terms of design, buying experience and understanding of your products the more likely you are to boost your sales.
When a potential customer lands on your e-commerce store it must be easy-on-the-eye, self-explanatory and hassle-free when it comes to buying your products. After all, like we said before it’s not a physical store where you can hand-hold and support the buying process in-person. But you can use design to support and help your customers.
You have great products and you know there’s a large customer base that would benefit from your products don’t let a poorly designed website come in the way of that. Instead, use design to enhance and amplify your sales and customer base.
Email is an integral part of our daily lives, whether it’s for work, personal communication, or staying informed. For many, Gmail is the go-to platform for managing emails efficiently. However, to truly master your email and make the most of Gmail’s features, it’s essential to know some tips and tricks. In this blog, we’ll explore valuable Gmail tips that can help you optimize your inbox, boost productivity, and stay organized.
1. Organize with Labels and Filters
Gmail allows you to create labels and filters to categorize and organize your emails automatically. Labels work like folders, but an email can have multiple labels, making it easier to find and sort messages. Filters let you automate actions like archiving, labeling, or forwarding emails based on criteria you set.
2. Use Keyboard Shortcuts
Gmail offers a variety of keyboard shortcuts that can significantly speed up your email management. For example, by pressing ‘C,’ you can compose a new email, and ‘R’ allows you to reply to the selected message. To see a list of available shortcuts, press ‘Shift’ + ‘/’ while in Gmail.
3. Enable Priority Inbox
Priority Inbox automatically categorizes your emails into three sections: Important and Unread, Starred, and Everything Else. This feature helps you focus on the most crucial messages first, making your inbox less overwhelming.
4. Undo Send
Ever hit the send button only to realize you made a mistake? Gmail’s “Undo Send” feature comes to the rescue. You can set a delay (e.g., 10 seconds) during which you can undo sending an email and make any necessary corrections.
5. Schedule Emails
If you want to send an email later, you can use Gmail’s email scheduling feature. Click the arrow next to the “Send” button and choose a specific date and time for delivery.
6. Customize Swipe Actions (Mobile)
On the Gmail mobile app, you can customize swipe actions to perform various actions like archiving, deleting, or marking as unread with a simple swipe. Go to Settings > General settings > Swipe actions to configure them according to your preference.
7. Explore Add-ons and Extensions
Gmail offers a range of add-ons and extensions that can enhance your email experience. Whether you need to track emails, schedule meetings, or improve email content, there’s likely an extension to help.
8. Use Templates
If you frequently send similar emails, you can create and use email templates in Gmail. This saves time and ensures consistency in your messages.
9. Search Like a Pro
Gmail’s search capabilities are robust. You can use operators like “from,” “to,” “subject,” and “has:” to refine your search.
10. Stay Informed with Notifications
Customize your notification settings in Gmail to receive alerts for essential emails. You can choose to be notified for all emails, only important ones, or none at all to minimize distractions.
By mastering these Gmail tips and incorporating them into your email management routine, you can optimize your inbox
Phishing attacks continue to grow in their scale and sophistication by taking advantage of security weaknesses in passwords. Beyond the password: Google Workspace brings a major security innovation to customers with passkeys For example:
1. Over 60% of data breaches in 2021 involved stolen credentials or phishing
2. Data breaches caused by phishing cost organizations $4.91 million on average in 2022
3. Phishing attacks grew 61% in 2022, reaching 255 million in a six-month period
Over the past decade Google has been at the forefront of the battle against phishing and password-related threats, including with our automated defenses powered by Google AI. We championed the development of physical security keys and their standardization under the FIDO Alliance. As a generally simpler and more secure alternative to passwords, passkeys represent the culmination of this work to bring phishing-resistant technology to billions of people worldwide. In early May, we made passkeys available as an additional sign-in option for personal Google Accounts. Starting today, in an open Beta, more than 9 million organizations can allow their users to sign in to Google Workspace and Google Cloud accounts using passkeys instead of passwords.
Passkeys introduce meaningful security and usability benefits to users, and we’re thrill to be the first major public cloud provider to bring this technology to our customers — from small businesses and large enterprises to schools and governments. While users can still continue using passwords to sign in to their work and personal Google Accounts, passkeys can offer a simpler and more secure alternative and can reduce the impact of phishing and other social engineering attacks.
What are passkeys?
Passkeys are a new, passwordless sign-in method that can offer a convenient and secure authentication experience across websites and apps, allowing users to sign in with a fingerprint, face recognition, or other screen-lock mechanism across phones, laptops, or desktops. Passkeys are based on an industry standard and available across popular browsers and operating systems that people use every day, including Android, ChromeOS, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Unlike passwords, passkeys don’t need to remember or type and cannot be written down or accidentally given to an adversary. Passkeys are simply easier to use.
Passkeys are based on the same public key cryptographic protocols that underpin physical security keys, such as the Titan Security Key, and therefore can be resistant to phishing and other online attacks. In fact, Google research has shown that security keys provide a stronger protection against automated bots, bulk phishing attacks, and targeted attacks than SMS, app-based one-time passwords.
Snap Inc. has already leveraged passkeys to help reduce the burden of password management and strengthen security for their employees: “Partnering with the Google Workspace team to move from passwords to passkeys reduces the risk of password leakage and account takeovers of our employees,” said Jim Higgins, CISO, Snap Inc. “Our Corporate Security team is deepening our security partnership with Google and is excited to expand the adoption of passkeys across our company to provide a more secure and convenient sign-in experience.”
Passkeys have also been design with user privacy in mind. When a user signs in with a passkey to their Workspace apps, such as a Gmail or Google Drive, the passkey can confirm that a user has access to their device and can unlock it with a fingerprint, face recognition, or other screen-lock mechanism. The user’s biometric data is never sent to Google’s servers or other websites and apps.
In today’s fast-paced world, technology stands as an unstoppable force, continually pushing boundaries and reshaping traditional industries. From the way we work and communicate to how we access goods and services, the impact of technology is evident everywhere.
1. The Power of Digital Transformation:
One of the most profound effects of technology is its role in driving digital transformation. Companies across various sectors are embracing digital technologies to enhance efficiency, improve customer experiences, and stay competitive. From cloud computing and data analytics to artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, these innovations are revolutionizing industries such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.
2. The Rise of E-Commerce:
E-commerce has fundamentally changed the way we shop and do business. With the convenience of online platforms, consumers can browse, purchase, and receive products from the comfort of their homes. Traditional retail is facing unprecedented challenges, forcing businesses to adapt or face obsolescence.
3. Remote Work and Connectivity:
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work, showcasing the significance of technology in maintaining business operations. Video conferencing, collaboration tools, and cloud-based services have become essential for companies worldwide. This shift towards remote work is likely to persist, impacting office real estate and commuting patterns.
4. Healthcare Revolution:
Technology is transforming healthcare, making it more accessible and efficient. Telemedicine, wearable devices, and health apps empower individuals to take charge of their well-being. Additionally, AI-driven diagnostics and personalized treatment plans are advancing patient care and research.
5. Transportation and Mobility:
The transportation industry is undergoing a significant overhaul with the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous driving technologies. EVs promise cleaner and more sustainable transportation, while autonomous vehicles have the potential to revolutionize urban mobility and logistics.
6. Sustainable Solutions:
Technology is also driving sustainability efforts across industries. From renewable energy solutions to smart grids and eco-friendly manufacturing processes, innovation is crucial in addressing environmental challenges.
7. Education and Online Learning:
The education sector has embraced online learning platforms and digital resources. With the internet as a vast repository of knowledge, individuals can access quality education and upskill regardless of their location.
In conclusion, technology’s relentless evolution is disrupting traditional industries, challenging the status quo, and opening up new possibilities. Embracing these innovations and adapting to change are essential for businesses and individuals alike. As we navigate this tech-driven era, the key to success lies in our ability to harness the power of technology for positive transformation.
In recent years, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has witnessed a remarkable breakthrough known as Generative AI. This groundbreaking technology has the power to create convincing videos, images, and even voice simulations, opening up a world of possibilities and sparking creativity and innovation across various industries.
1. Understanding Generative AI:
Generative AI is a subset of artificial intelligence that focuses on the creation of content that appears to be generated by humans. Unlike traditional AI, which follows preset rules and instructions, generative AI has the ability to learn from data and produce original, human-like content. This technology is powered by neural networks, particularly Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), and recurrent neural networks (RNNs).
2. Creative Content Generation:
One of the most exciting applications of Generative AI is in the realm of creative content generation. Whether it’s generating realistic artwork, composing music, or producing compelling narratives, AI-driven creativity knows no bounds. Artists and creators can collaborate with these AI models to explore new artistic horizons and experiment with novel ideas.
3. Video Production and Special Effects:
Generative AI is revolutionizing the film and entertainment industry. It can generate stunning visual effects, create lifelike CGI characters, and even assist in automating video editing. This technology accelerates the post-production process and reduces costs, making it an invaluable tool for filmmakers and content creators.
4. Voice and Speech Synthesis:
Voice simulations produced by Generative AI are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from real human voices. This has far-reaching implications, from personalized voice assistants and audiobooks to dubbing and accessibility solutions for those with speech disabilities.
5. Healthcare Advancements:
Generative AI is making significant contributions to the healthcare sector. It aids in medical image analysis, generating detailed medical reports, and even simulating the effects of drugs on the human body. This technology enhances diagnosis accuracy, accelerates drug discovery, and improves patient care.
6. Enhancing Virtual and Augmented Reality:
Generative AI plays a pivotal role in enhancing virtual and augmented reality experiences. It generates realistic 3D models, textures, and environments, providing users with immersive and lifelike simulations.
7. Personalization and Marketing:
In the world of e-commerce and digital marketing, Generative AI is employed to personalize product recommendations, create tailored marketing campaigns, and even generate content for websites and social media platforms. This enhances user engagement and drives conversions.
8. Ethical Considerations:
While Generative AI offers numerous benefits, it also raises ethical concerns. The potential for misuse, including deep fake videos and misinformation, underscores the importance of responsible AI development and regulation.
In conclusion, Generative AI is a transformative technology that is reshaping industries and unlocking new avenues for creativity and innovation. As this field continues to evolve, it is imperative to strike a balance between harnessing its potential and addressing ethical challenges. The future promises exciting possibilities as Generative AI becomes an integral part of our increasingly AI-driven world.
Geoffrey Hinton, one of the most prominent figures in the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has recently announced his resignation from Google. Often referred to as the “Godfather of AI”, Hinton is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of deep learning and neural networks, which are essential components of modern AI. Hinton’s resignation has caused quite a stir in the tech industry, given his influence and contributions to the development of AI. He was instrumental in developing the backpropagation algorithm, which is a key component of training neural networks. He also co-developed the Capsule Neural Network, which is a new type of deep learning architecture.
Hinton has been with Google for the past five years, where he was working on developing AI algorithms and applications for Google products such as Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Google Translate. During his time at Google, Hinton also helped establish the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Toronto, which is one of the world’s leading centers for AI research.
While Hinton’s resignation from Google is certainly a loss for the company, it’s worth noting that he is not retiring from the field of AI altogether. Instead, he plans to focus on his work at the University of Toronto, where he is a professor emeritus. He also plans to continue his research in AI and explore new avenues for developing AI algorithms and applications.
Overall, Hinton’s contributions to the field of AI have been immense, and his resignation from Google is a reminder of the importance of fostering an environment that supports and encourages innovation and research. As AI continues to evolve and shape our world, it’s clear that Hinton’s legacy will continue to influence the field for many years to come.
In today’s digital age, it’s essential to keep your online accounts secure. One way to do this is by using a passkey to sign in to your Google account. A passkey is a secure and easy way to sign in to your Google account without having to remember a password.
To set up a passkey for your Google account, follow these steps:
1) Sign in to your Google account and go to the “Security” section of your account settings.
2) Click on “2-Step Verification” and follow the instructions to enable two-factor authentication for your account.
3) Once two-factor authentication is enabled, click on “Add a security key” and follow the instructions to set up a passkey.
Once you have set up a passkey, you can use it to sign in to your Google account on any device. To sign in using your passkey, simply connect your security key to the USB port on your device and follow the prompts on the screen.
Using a passkey provides an added layer of security for your Google account, as it’s much more difficult for hackers to gain access to your account without the physical key. Plus, it’s more convenient than having to remember a complicated password.
If you’re concerned about the security of your online accounts, consider using a passkey to sign in to your Google account. It’s an easy and effective way to keep your account secure and protect your personal information from cyber threats. Article by – Jitendra B . Desai.
As more and more businesses transition to remote work, employee monitoring systems have become increasingly important. Employee monitoring systems are software applications that allow employers to track and monitor employee activity and productivity.
Here are some of the best employee monitoring systems available and their advantages:
1) Toggl Track:
Toggl Track is a time tracking and productivity monitoring tool that allows employers to track how much time employees spend on specific tasks and projects. It also provides reports on employee productivity and allows managers to set goals and deadlines for their teams.
Advantages: Toggl Track is easy to use and provides detailed reports on employee activity and productivity. It also integrates with other tools such as Asana and Trello, making it a great option for businesses that use multiple productivity tools.
2) Time Doctor:
Time Doctor is a comprehensive employee monitoring system that tracks employee time, productivity, and attendance. It also offers features such as website and application monitoring, screenshot capture, and activity tracking.
Advantages: Time Doctor offers a range of features that make it a great option for businesses that want comprehensive employee monitoring. It also integrates with other tools such as Slack and Asana, making it easy to manage employee activity across multiple platforms.
3) DeskTime:
DeskTime is a productivity and time tracking tool that allows employers to track employee time and productivity. It also provides reports on employee attendance, breaks, and time spent on specific tasks and projects.
Advantages: DeskTime offers a user-friendly interface and provides detailed reports on employee activity and productivity. It also offers features such as project tracking and employee scheduling, making it a versatile option for businesses that want a range of productivity tools in one platform.
Overall, employee monitoring systems can be a valuable tool for businesses that want to improve productivity, manage remote teams, and track employee activity. Each of these systems offers unique advantages, so it’s important to consider your specific needs and choose the system that best meets your requirements.
With the increasing prevalence of data breaches and cyber threats, it’s more important than ever to take steps to protect your online privacy.
Here are some tips on how to remove your personal information from the internet:
1) Google yourself:
The first step in removing your personal information from the internet is to conduct a search for your name and see what information is out there. Look for websites, social media profiles, and other online platforms that have your personal information.
2) Request removal:
Once you have identified the websites or platforms that have your personal information, you can request that the information be removed. Most websites have a process for requesting the removal of personal information.
3) Opt-out of data brokers:
Data brokers are companies that collect and sell personal information. To safeguard your privacy, you can opt-out of data brokers by visiting their websites and following their instructions.
4) Protect your social media profiles:
Make sure that your social media profiles are set to private and that you are only sharing personal information with people you trust.
5) Use a VPN:
A virtual private network (VPN) can help protect your online privacy by encrypting your internet connection and masking your IP address.
By following these tips, you can take steps to remove your personal information from the internet and protect your online privacy. Remember, it’s always important to stay vigilant and be aware of the information you are sharing online.
The right project management tools can help you streamline your workflows, collaborate more efficiently, and improve your team’s overall productivity. Here are five project management tools that you should consider:
1) Trello:
Trello is a popular project management tool that uses a visual approach to organizing tasks and projects. It allows you to create boards, lists, and cards that can be used to track progress, assign tasks, and collaborate with team members.
2) Asana:
Asana is a comprehensive project management tool that offers a wide range of features and integrations. It allows you to create tasks, assign them to team members, and track progress in real-time. It also has a user-friendly interface and integrates with other popular tools such as Slack and Google Drive.
3) Monday (.com):
Monday is a versatile project management tool that allows you to create custom workflows, automate tasks, and track progress. It also offers features such as time tracking and budget management, making it a great option for businesses that need to manage complex projects.
4) Basecamp:
Basecamp is a popular project management tool that offers a range of features such as task management, file sharing, and messaging. It also has a user-friendly interface and is great for teams that need to collaborate on multiple projects simultaneously.
5) Wrike:
Wrike is a cloud-based project management tool that offers a range of features such as task management, time tracking, and reporting. It also integrates with other popular tools such as Slack and Salesforce, making it a great option for businesses that use multiple productivity tools.
By using these project management tools, you can streamline your workflows, improve collaboration, and boost your team’s productivity. Each tool offers unique features and advantages, so it’s important to consider your specific needs and choose the tool that best meets your requirements.
In today’s digital world, it’s crucial to stay vigilant and protect ourselves from online scams. One such scam that has been circulating is the WhatsApp Miss Call Scam, which can potentially put your personal information and security at risk.
Here’s what you need to know to stay safe:
How the scam works: 1️⃣ You receive a missed call from an unknown number on WhatsApp. 2️⃣ Curiosity kicks in, and you decide to call back to find out who it was. 3️⃣ Little do you know, the scammer’s number is a premium-rate or international number, resulting in exorbitant call charges. 4️⃣ The longer the call duration, the more money the scammer makes at your expense. 5️⃣ Additionally, scammers may attempt to extract personal information or persuade you to share sensitive data.
How to protect yourself: 1️⃣ Be cautious of unknown numbers: Avoid calling back missed calls from unfamiliar numbers, especially if you don’t recognize the country code. 2️⃣ Verify before you act: If you receive a missed call, conduct a quick online search to see if it’s a reported scam number. There are websites and forums where users share scam numbers to help others stay informed. 3️⃣ Check your phone bill: Regularly review your phone bill for any suspicious or unusual charges. If you notice anything suspicious, contact your service provider immediately. 4️⃣ Guard your personal information: Never share sensitive information, such as banking details or passwords, over the phone or via WhatsApp, unless you have verified the legitimacy of the request.
Remember, scammers are constantly finding new ways to deceive people, so it’s crucial to stay informed and cautious. Spread awareness among your family and friends to protect them from falling victim to these scams.
If you encounter a WhatsApp Miss Call Scam or any suspicious activity, report it to WhatsApp and your local authorities. Stay alert, stay safe!
We all know the struggle of crafting the perfect email—finding the right words, striking the right tone, and ensuring clarity. Well, get ready to say goodbye to those email-writing woes because Gmail’s new AI feature is here to revolutionize the way we communicate via email!
With the power of artificial intelligence, Gmail now offers a remarkable feature that can actually write emails for you. How does it work, you ask?
Let’s dive in:
1) Smart Compose:
Powered by advanced machine learning algorithms, Smart Compose suggests complete sentences as you type, helping you draft emails faster and more efficiently. It predicts what you’re likely to write next based on the context of your message, allowing you to compose emails with lightning speed.
2) Personalized Suggestions:
Not only does Gmail’s AI help with sentence completion, but it also provides personalized suggestions tailored to your writing style. It learns from your previous email compositions, adapting to your preferences and making suggestions that align with your unique voice.
3) Contextual Awareness:
Gmail’s AI is design to understand the content of your email and offer relevant suggestions accordingly.
Whether it’s suggesting an appropriate subject line, proposing a follow-up question, or even recommending attachments, the AI analyzes the context and assists you in creating more effective and impactful emails.
But wait, what about maintaining your personal touch? Rest assured, Gmail’s AI is design to enhance your writing, not replace it. You still have full control over the content and can modify or discard the suggestions as you see fit. It’s like having an intelligent writing assistant right at your fingertips!
This groundbreaking AI-powered email writing feature is a game-changer for busy professionals, entrepreneurs, and anyone who wants to save time and streamline their communication. It helps you draft emails more efficiently, reduces the chance of typos, and empowers you to send well-crafted messages with ease.
So, get ready to experience a new level of productivity and efficiency with Gmail’s AI-powered email writing. Say goodbye to writer’s block and hello to streamlined, impactful communication. Try it out and see the magic of AI unfold right in your inbox!
Note: Gmail’s AI-powered email writing feature may be gradually roll out, so keep an eye out for updates in your Gmail settings.
In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, small businesses are leveraging the power of AI to gain a competitive edge and propel their growth. Artificial intelligence is no longer exclusive to large corporations; it has become a game-changer for businesses of all sizes. Here’s how small businesses are utilizing AI to get ahead:
1) Enhanced Customer Experience:
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are revolutionizing customer service. Small businesses are using AI to provide 24/7 support, answer customer queries, and offer personalized recommendations. By automating these interactions, businesses can deliver exceptional customer experiences while reducing response times and costs.
2) Data-Driven Insights:
AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data quickly and accurately. Small businesses are using AI-powered analytics tools to gain valuable insights into customer behavior, market trends, and operational efficiencies. By making data-driven decisions, businesses can optimize their strategies, identify new opportunities, and better understand their target audience.
3) Streamlined Operations:
AI streamlines repetitive and time-consuming tasks, freeing up resources for small businesses. From automating inventory management to optimizing supply chain logistics, AI-driven systems are increasing operational efficiency and reducing errors. This allows businesses to focus on core activities, improve productivity, and save valuable time and money.
4) Personalized Marketing:
AI algorithms analyze customer data to create personalized marketing campaigns. Small businesses can leverage AI-powered tools to segment their audience, target specific demographics, and deliver customized content. By tailoring their marketing efforts, businesses can enhance engagement, drive conversions, and build long-term customer relationships.
5) Smarter Financial Management:
AI-powered financial tools help small businesses with tasks like expense tracking, invoicing, and cash flow management. These intelligent systems provide real-time insights into financial health, automate processes, and offer proactive recommendations. By optimizing financial management, businesses can make informed decisions and ensure financial stability.
By embracing AI, small businesses are unlocking a world of possibilities. The scalable and cost-effective nature of AI technologies levels the playing field, enabling them to compete with larger enterprises.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella firmly believes that now is not the time to stop the progress of AI. In fact, he recognizes the immense potential that artificial intelligence holds for shaping the future and driving innovation across various industries. Here are some key reasons why Nadella advocates for continued AI development:
1. Limitless Possibilities:
Nadella understands that AI has the power to transform our world in unprecedented ways. From revolutionizing healthcare and education to improving business operations and advancing scientific research, the potential applications of AI are limitless. Nadella recognizes the need to explore and harness this potential to drive positive change.
2. Enabling Human Capabilities:
According to Nadella, AI is not meant to replace humans but to augment their capabilities. He sees AI as a tool that can amplify human productivity, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. By offloading mundane tasks to AI systems, humans can focus on higher-value work that requires critical thinking and emotional intelligence.
3. Addressing Societal Challenges:
Nadella believes that AI can play a vital role in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Whether it’s climate change, healthcare accessibility, or economic disparity, AI has the potential to provide innovative solutions and drive positive social impact. Nadella encourages the responsible development of AI that is aligned with ethical and inclusive principles.
4. Responsible AI Development:
While recognizing the potential benefits of AI, Nadella also acknowledges the importance of responsible AI development. He emphasizes the need for transparency, accountability, and fairness in AI systems to ensure they are use ethically and do not perpetuate biases or harm individuals. Microsoft is commit to developing AI technologies that prioritize privacy, security, and ethical considerations.
5. Continuous Learning and Adaptation:
Nadella views AI as an evolving field that requires ongoing learning and adaptation. He advocates for collaboration between industry, academia, and policymakers to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by AI. By fostering a culture of continuous learning, organizations can ensure that AI technologies evolve in ways that align with human values and aspirations.
Satya Nadella’s perspective on AI reflects a visionary and responsible approach to its development. He believes that embracing and advancing AI technology can lead to positive transformations in society, empower individuals, and enable businesses to thrive. With a focus on ethical considerations and human augmentation, Nadella encourages the ongoing exploration and utilization of AI to unlock its full potential for the benefit of all.
The role of AI in cybersecurity has become increasingly prominent in recent years, but the question of trust in AI decision-making is a valid and important concern. Here are some key points to consider:
1. AI Advantages:
AI has the potential to greatly enhance cybersecurity by analyzing vast amounts of data, detecting patterns, and identifying anomalies or potential threats. It can automate tasks, respond in real-time, and augment human capabilities. AI algorithms can learn from past incidents and adapt to new threats, making them valuable tools in defending against cyber attacks.
2. Limitations and Risks:
While AI brings numerous benefits, it is not without limitations. AI systems rely on data for training, and if the training data is biased or incomplete, it may lead to erroneous decisions. Adversarial attacks can exploit vulnerabilities in AI algorithms. Moreover, AI systems can exhibit unintended behavior or make incorrect judgments if they encounter situations that differ significantly from the training data.
3. Human-AI Collaboration:
Trusting AI decision-making in cybersecurity is about striking a balance between automation and human oversight. Human experts should work in collaboration with AI systems, monitoring their outputs, interpreting results, and providing context. This human-AI partnership helps mitigate the risks associated with relying solely on AI decision-making and ensures human judgment is still a crucial part of the process.
4. Transparency and Explain ability:
To build trust in AI decision-making, it is important to focus on transparency and explain ability. AI systems should provide clear explanations of their decisions and enable human operators to understand the reasoning behind them. Transparent AI models and algorithms help build confidence in their reliability and enable cybersecurity professionals to verify and validate the outputs.
5. Continuous Learning and Improvement:
AI in cybersecurity should be a continuous learning process. Regular updates and improvements to AI systems are necessary to address emerging threats and adapt to evolving attack techniques. Feedback loops and human input are essential in training and fine-tuning AI models to ensure they align with changing cybersecurity requirements.
Ultimately, while AI can be a valuable asset in cybersecurity, it should be approached with caution and a critical mindset. Trust in AI decision-making can be built through transparency, explainability, human collaboration, and ongoing evaluation and improvement of AI systems. By leveraging the strengths of AI while maintaining human oversight, we can harness its potential to bolster cybersecurity defenses effectively.
Technology consulting can help propel your organization to new heights. technology is transforming the business landscape at an unprecedented pace. To navigate this rapidly evolving environment and stay ahead of the curve, leveraging the expertise of technology consulting services can be a game-changer for your business. Here’s how technology consulting can help propel your organization to new heights:
1) Strategic Technology Roadmap:
Technology consultants work closely with you to understand your business goals and align them with the right technological solutions. They help create a strategic roadmap that outlines the optimal use of technology to drive growth, improve efficiency, and enhance customer experiences. By leveraging their expertise, you can make informed decisions and prioritize technology investments that align with your business objective.
2) Expertise and Industry Insights:
Technology consultants bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from working with a diverse range of clients across various industries. They stay up-to-date with the latest technology trends, emerging tools, and best practices. By tapping into their expertise, you gain valuable insights into industry-specific challenges and opportunities, ensuring that you make informed technology-related decisions that give you a competitive edge.
3) Tailored Solutions and Implementation:
Every business has unique needs and requirements. Technology consultants provide customized solutions tailored to your specific business challenges and objectives. They help you select and implement the right technologies, whether it’s implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, adopting cloud computing, or enhancing cybersecurity measures. Their guidance ensures a smooth transition and maximizes the value you derive from technology investments.
4) Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity:
Technology consultants help streamline your business processes, automate repetitive tasks, and optimize workflows. By leveraging the right technology tools and systems, you can improve operational efficiency, boost productivity, and reduce costs. Consultants analyze your existing processes, identify bottlenecks, and recommend solutions that enable you to work smarter, not harder.
5) Scalability and Adaptability:
As your business grows, technology needs to scale accordingly. Technology consultants help future-proof your IT infrastructure by recommending scalable solutions that can accommodate your evolving needs.
By partnering with technology consultants, you gain a competitive advantage by harnessing the power of technology strategically. They bring the expertise, industry insights, and tailored solutions to drive your business forward, improve operational efficiency, and capitalize on new opportunities. Embrace the potential of technology consulting and unlock new avenues of success for your business!
Are you ready to unleash your creative potential without any design skills or software? Microsoft’s latest AI tool is here to revolutionize the way you bring your ideas to life! Introducing the incredible capability to create stunning designs from simple text inputs.
Here’s how you can use this AI-powered tool to design like a pro:
1) Access the Tool:
Microsoft’s AI tool is easily accessible and user-friendly. Simply visit their website or platform where the tool is available – designer.microsoft dot com. Look for the designated area where you can input text to generate designs.
2) Craft Your Text:
Start by entering the text that you want to transform into a captivating design. It could be a quote, a tagline, a message, or anything that you want to visually represent. Experiment with different fonts, styles, and variations to capture the essence of your message.
3) Choose Design Options:
Once you’ve entered your text, explore the various design options available. Microsoft’s AI tool offers a range of styles, layouts, color schemes, and graphical elements to choose from. Browse through the options and select the ones that resonate with your vision.
4) Customize and Refine:
Tailor the design to your liking by customizing elements such as font sizes, colors, alignments, and more. Experiment with different combinations until you achieve the desired look and feel. Don’t be afraid to get creative and make it truly unique!
5) Download and Share:
Once you’re satisfied with your design, it’s time to bring it to life. Download the final design in your preferred format, such as JPEG or PNG. From there, you can share it across your social media platforms, incorporate it into presentations, use it for marketing materials, or even print it for physical displays.
Pro Tips: > Keep it concise: To ensure the text fits well within the design, opt for short and impactful phrases. > Experiment with variations: Explore different design options and try out various combinations until you find the perfect match for your message. > Iterate and refine: Don’t be afraid to iterate and make adjustments to your design. It’s all about finding the right balance and capturing the essence of your text.
So, whether you’re a business owner, a social media enthusiast, or simply looking to express yourself creatively, Microsoft’s AI-powered design tool is your gateway to stunning visuals without the hassle. Start exploring the possibilities, and let your imagination take flight!
Adjusting your website for search engine optimization (SEO) is necessary for today’s competitive online environment. Around 68% of online experiences begin with a query on search engines like Google.
As a result, having your web pages appear on the top search result grants many benefits, from increasing organic traffic to boosting your site’s credibility.
In this article, we will cover the importance of applying SEO strategies to your website. Additionally, we’ll look at 14 ways to make your site work well with Google and other search engines.
Why Having an SEO-Friendly Website Is Important
Applying SEO strategies when starting a website will have such positive effects as:
Increased credibility –an SEO-friendly website will help build the brand’s credibility, as users typically see the top search result as the authority in the niche.
Improved user experience – Google and other search engines see user experience as one of the most important ranking factors. As a result, an SEO-friendly web design improves overall user satisfaction.
Reduced costs – SEO is a cost-effective way to generate leads and sales. It can help save you money in the long run by reducing your need for paid ads or other marketing tactics.
Increased traffic – SEO-friendly websites have the potential to rank higher in search engine results and drive more traffic, as the top result typically gets around 32% of all clicks.
Neglecting SEO means you’re missing out on the potential to make your website a more valuable asset. For this reason, we recommend prioritizing search engine optimization for your online marketing strategy.
How to Make SEO Friendly Website
Creating an SEO-friendly website requires constant work due to frequent algorithm updates. Furthermore, it might take some time to improve your rankings.
Here, we will look at 14 methods to help you take the first step in getting your website to appear at the top of the first search engine result page.
1. Use Keywords Throughout Your Content
Using SEO-friendly keywords is critical to improving your website’s position on search engine result pages (SERPs).
When writing content, incorporate relevant keywords to help search engines recognize what your website is about. You can get them by conducting keyword research.
2. Use Header Tags
Another way to create an SEO friendly website is by utilizing header tags properly. They are HTML elements that give structure and meaning to a web page’s content, helping search engines understand its contents.
Header tags consist of <h1> to <h6> HTML elements. Focus on your <h1> and <h2> tags since they are commonly used for the content’s title and headings. List your keywords and include them in these tags accordingly.
Try to also include relevant SEO keywords to other headers once you optimize all the <h1> tags. Apply this method consistently whenever you publish content to improve your SEO rankings.
As a result, search engine crawlers will know that this page contains content related to those terms and be able to accurately index your site for relevant content. This will improve your page ranking on the SERPs, enabling you to reach the right audience.
3. Have a Clean URL Structure
A clean URL structure is essential to creating an SEO-friendly website. An SEO-friendly URL should be easy to read, simple to understand, and related to the page’s context.
Search engines use URLs to crawl and index websites, so having SEO-friendly URLs helps them understand what content is on each page. Do this by including the target keyword on the URL.
For example, a URL for a page about an SEO-friendly website design could look like this: www.examplewebsite.com/seo-web-design.
Avoid using long query strings with numbers, like /top-23-seo-web-design-practises-in-2023-for-top-professionals – this can make them hard to read and less SEO-friendly.
With SEO-friendly URLs, search engines can crawl your website more efficiently and accurately, increasing your site’s position in relevant search results.
4. Include Keyword-Rich Anchor Text in Your Links
Anchor texts are clickable words that take users to another page or section of the website when clicked. Adding SEO-friendly anchor texts allows search engines to understand the content better and rank it higher.
When creating an SEO-friendly anchor text, you should focus on the keywords that relate to your website.
Think of words or phrases relevant to the content and best explain what it links to. For example, if you’re linking to a page about SEO tips, use anchor text such as Learn SEO tips or SEO strategies.
Remember, SEO-friendly anchor texts should be relevant to the linked page and give search engines an idea of what the content is about. It’s also important to avoid keyword stuffing in your anchor text, as this could negatively impact the website’s SEO score.
5. Make Sure the Website Is Mobile-Friendly
Making an SEO-friendly website involves more than optimizing the content – it also includes building a mobile-friendly website.
In fact, mobile users contributed nearly 59% of the global website traffic in the second quarter of 2022. As a result, Google and other search engines consider a website’s mobile-friendliness as an important factor in ranking search results.
Because of that, your website should be able to load quickly on mobile devices. Ensure your website’s design is responsive, which means it can adjust to different screen sizes.
Fortunately, most ready-to-use themes for WordPress or other website platforms come with a mobile version.
Don’t forget to use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check if your site is up to the current standards.
6. Optimize Images
Optimizing images for SEO is a great way to improve the visibility of your website in search engines. You can take several steps to ensure that your images are SEO-friendly and help boost your SEO performance.
Make sure that you give each image an appropriate file name. It should include keywords related to the content of the image. This will help search engines identify the image’s content, which can lead to better visibility on the SERPs.
Reduce the size of your images before you upload them to your website. Larger file sizes can slow your page down, negatively affecting SEO performance.
Consider compressing your images to reduce their size while maintaining their quality. WordPress users can use tools like Smush and EWWW Image Optimizer to optimize image size for their websites.
7. Make Sure Your Web Pages Load Fast
Search engines prioritize websites that load quickly and can provide an optimal user experience. A slow website will hurt your SEO effort, reduce customer satisfaction, and make it harder for search engines to crawl your content.
Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to optimize your website, including:
Reduce server response time by optimizing HTTP requests.
Compress images and other media files, reducing their size while maintaining quality.
Leverage browser caching to store frequently accessed files locally in each user’s browser instead of downloading them every time.
Use a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute the load of hosting images, videos, and other static content across multiple servers worldwide.
Get a better web hosting plan with higher bandwidth.
8. Use Social Media to Promote Your Content
Promoting your content on social media is one of the best ways to create an SEO-friendly website. Your content can reach a wider audience, resulting in more backlinks that search engines will index and consider when ranking your website.
Growing your brand through social media requires some knowledge and several skills. It is also critical to understand which social media platforms can drive valuable traffic based on your niche so that you can focus your effort on the relevant channels.
For example, Pinterest and Instagram might drive the least external website visit in general, but they can be effective for specific topics like fashion and food-related content.
Last but not least, don’t forget to add referral links and calls to action (CTAs) to your profile and posts. Creating attractive CTAs with clear messages can help drive more traffic to your website.
9. Use Google Tools
Another important aspect of creating an SEO-friendly website is analyzing its core metrics. Website owners can get this information through various analytics tools, including Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
Don’t worry if you have a limited budget, as many of these tools are free.
Google Search Console can help website owners see how their sites are performing in Google search results.
The data can help you understand how Google views your content and which queries audiences use to find it. It gives you an overview of how much organic traffic you have generated and guides you on improving your website’s visibility based on Google’s guidelines.
This tool also provides detailed reports on any errors found in your website’s content and helps you identify various issues that might affect your search engine rankings. This includes problems like duplicate content, incorrect meta tags, or broken links.
10. Clean Up and Organize the Site Code
Your website consists of numerous lines of code that run various functions. These lines of code can become unorganized and hinder one another as you grow your website. To prevent this, we recommend cleaning them up when necessary.
This process can also help the search engine indexing process and make your site load faster. These two factors are the key elements that highly affect your website’s SEO performance.
Website code may cover different types of programming languages. The three most common ones are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Each of these languages is organized differently.
11. Add Internal Links
Internal linking is a process of adding hyperlinks within your content to other pages or posts on your website. This creates a web of interlinked content and helps search engines recognize the structure and relevance of each page.
You can add an internal link to elements like text, images, or buttons.
Consider the relevancy of each page and post you want to connect to ensure your internal links are effective. Put links on anchor texts that fit the appropriate context of the target pages to help smoothen the indexing process.
Strategic internal linking can also help reduce bounce rates. Visitors can find the right content and navigate the site more easily. Linking related other content on your blog posts also encourages visitors to explore and engage with your website more.
12. Optimize the Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are HTML elements that give context to a page’s content. A title tag appears on the search engine result as clickable headlines, while a meta description offers short snippets about what readers can expect to find on the page.
While working on a title tag, ensure it includes the content’s focus keyword. Typically, it should align with the target audience’s search intent, helping your content appear on the right search result.
Keep your title tag between 50-60 characters. This will ensure they appear properly on the search results and have a higher chance of attracting readers.
13. Use Images and Videos to Enhance the Content
Visual elements like images and videos can enrich your content and make it more appealing. Some visuals like graphs and charts also allow you to present data and communicate messages more effectively.
In addition to those benefits, adding images and videos to your content can also boost its SEO-friendliness. Media files allow your content to appear on the image and video tab of Google search results, improving its chances of getting clicks.
Your content can also appear as a rich snippet which shows more information and is more likely to appear at the top of the search results.
Remember to add optimized images and videos to maintain a fast-loading website. Optimizing images and videos involves compressing their size and adding the appropriate alt text.
14. Update Your Content Regularly
Creating new content regularly is a great SEO strategy. However, sometimes it may be difficult to come up with fresh content ideas. In these cases, you can update older content to improve your website’s SEO.
Changing between updating old content and creating new ones will keep people coming back to the site and also attract new visitors. Make sure you create content that fits the current issue to keep your target audience interested.
Don’t forget that implementing good SEO strategies is not enough if you don’t provide useful information to your visitors. Make sure to write good website content that brings value to your audience and helps build your brand reputation.
Digital marketing is the practice of promoting products or services through digital channels, such as the internet, social media, search engines, email, mobile apps, and other digital technologies.
The primary goal of digital marketing is to reach and engage with target audiences where they spend their time online and to encourage them to take specific actions, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, subscribing to a newsletter, or sharing content on social media.
Digital marketing encompasses a wide range of tactics, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing, and other forms of digital advertising.
Effective digital marketing strategies rely on data analysis and testing to continually optimize campaigns for maximum impact and return on investment.
Here are some of the main types of digital marketing:
1. Website Design:
This involves designing and developing a website that is visually appealing, user-friendly, and optimized for search engines, with the goal of providing a positive user experience and driving conversions.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
This involves optimizing your website’s content and structure to improve its ranking on search engine results pages, with the goal of driving more organic traffic to your site.
3. UI/UX Design:
This involves designing the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of digital products (such as websites, mobile apps, and software), with the goal of creating a seamless, intuitive, and engaging user experience that meets the needs of the target audience.
4. Email Marketing:
This involves sending promotional messages or newsletters to a list of subscribers, with the goal of nurturing leads, building relationships, and driving sales.
5. Social Media Marketing:
This involves using social media platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram) to promote your brand, engage with your audience, and drive traffic to your website.
6. Content Marketing:
This involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and engaging content (such as blog posts, videos, whitepapers, and infographics) to attract and retain a clearly defined audience, with the goal of driving profitable customer action.
7. Mobile Marketing:
This involves targeting users on mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets) through mobile apps, SMS messaging, and other mobile-specific channels.
Each of these types of digital marketing has its own unique benefits and challenges, and businesses may use a combination of tactics to achieve their marketing goals.
Here are some key points to highlight in digital marketing:
A. Wide range of tactics:
Digital marketing encompasses a variety of tactics and techniques, including SEO, PPC, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing, and more.
B. Targeted reach:
Digital marketing allows businesses to target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and other factors.
C. Cost-effective:
Digital marketing can be more cost-effective than traditional marketing channels, and it allows businesses to reach a larger audience with a smaller budget.
D. Measurable results:
Digital marketing campaigns can be tracked and analyzed in real-time, allowing businesses to measure their results and make data-driven decisions.
E. Continuous optimization:
Digital marketing campaigns can be continually optimized for better results, through data analysis, testing, and tweaking.
F. Increased engagement:
Digital marketing allows businesses to engage with their audience through various channels, such as social media, email, and website content.
G. Flexibility:
Digital marketing allows businesses to quickly adapt their strategies and tactics to changing market conditions or consumer behavior.
H. Brand building:
Digital marketing can help businesses build brand awareness, establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry, and cultivate long-term relationships with their customers.
Overall, digital marketing is a powerful tool that can help businesses reach their target audience, generate leads and sales, and build their brand in today’s digital landscape.
Here are some general steps you can take to use digital marketing for your business:
Set goals: Determine what you want to achieve through your digital marketing efforts. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, or boost sales?
Define your target audience: Identify your ideal customer and create buyer personas to guide your marketing efforts.
Develop a strategy: Choose the digital marketing channels and tactics that are best suited to your business and target audience, and create a plan for executing your campaigns.
Create content: Develop content that is valuable, relevant, and engaging to your target audience. This may include blog posts, videos, infographics, social media posts, and more.
Implement campaigns: Launch your digital marketing campaigns and track their performance using analytics tools.
Measure results: Monitor your campaigns and analyze your results to identify what’s working and what’s not. Use this data to make informed decisions about how to optimize your campaigns for better results.
Continually optimize: Use the insights you gain from monitoring and analyzing your campaigns to continuously optimize your digital marketing efforts for better results.
Remember that digital marketing is an ongoing process, and it takes time and effort to see results. However, by following these steps and staying commit to your digital marketing efforts, you can create a strong online presence for your business and achieve your marketing goals.
Gmail automatically keeps your inbox clean from spam and unwanted emails thanks to AI smarts. Gmail protects users from nearly 15 billion unwanted messages a day, blocking more than 99.9% of spam, phishing and malware. But if a message pops up that makes it past the filters, you can report it as spam by checking the box near your message, then clicking the Report Spam icon. (If you’re already in the message, it’s just one click on the Report Spam button and you’re all set.) And if it’s not quite spam, but it’s annoying anyway, you can set up a filter to block the sender’s messages from ever reaching your inbox.
2. Archive emails in bulk.
It can be overwhelming to look at a crowded post-holiday inbox. Where do you even start? One way is to minimize the number of emails you’re looking at by archiving in bulk. Let’s say you have a lot of emails from your child’s teacher that you don’t need to take action on. On desktop, search for the email address of the teacher, then look at the check box on the top left of your computer screen, below the “From” search filter. You can check that box to select all the emails, or click the arrow to select only read, unread, starred or unstarred emails. Once you’ve done that, hit Archive to remove them from your inbox view without deleting them entirely.
3. Mute email threads that get out of hand.
If you’re planning a group gathering or family reunion for 2023, chances are your email discussion is going to get long. Can’t deal with your friend’s cousin’s constant opinions on bachelorette party planning? You can mute the thread so you don’t see every update pop into your inbox, and instead these emails are sent to the “All Mail” label. On desktop, check the box to the left of your message in your inbox, click the three-dot menu near the top of the page and select Mute. On mobile, tap the message, click the three-dot menu on the top right of your screen and select Mute. Now the emails will be ready for you to read later, when you search for them or visit your “All Mail” label, but you won’t see every single update at the top of your inbox. Phew.
4. Separate incoming emails by creating multiple email addresses with a plus sign.
You use your Gmail address for lots of things: making plans with friends and family, tackling professional projects and keeping track of online shopping, just to name a few. Basically, lots of activities that ramp back up after the holiday-season lull. When all those updates end up in your inbox, though, it can leave you feeling overwhelmed. An easy way to tackle this is by signing up for things using different forms of your email address with a simple plus sign. Try it with online shopping, or even social media sites, to keep things clear of clutter.
5. Keep your messages safe.
Bringing peace to your inbox doesn’t just include cutting clutter. It also includes keeping your emails private and secure. Take action to protect your entire Google account by taking a Security Checkup and a Privacy Checkup, then take the recommended actions like choosing a secure password, enabling 2-factor authentication and adding in Account Recovery information so you never get locked out. That way you can start your year safely, too.
Microsoft Intune securely manages identities, manages apps, and manages devices As organizations move to support hybrid and remote workforces, they’re challenged with managing the different devices that access organization resources. Employees and students need to collaborate, work from anywhere, and securely access and connect to these resources. Admins need to protect organization data, manage end user access, and support users from wherever they work.
Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based endpoint management solution. It manages user access and simplifies app and device management across your many devices, including mobile devices, desktop computers, and virtual endpoints.
Key features and benefits
Some key features and benefits of Intune include:
1. You can manage users and devices, including devices owned by your organization and personally owned devices. Microsoft Intune supports Android, Android Open Source Project (AOSP), iOS/iPadOS, macOS, and Windows client devices. With Intune, you can use these devices to securely access organization resources with policies you create.
2. Intune simplifies app management with a built-in app experience, including app deployment, updates, and removal. You can connect to and distribute apps from your private app stores, enable Microsoft 365 apps, deploy Win32 apps, create app protection policies, and manage access to apps and their data.
3. Intune automates policy deployment for apps, security, device configuration, compliance, conditional access, and more. When the policies are ready, you can deploy these policies to your user groups and device groups. To receive these policies, the devices only need internet access.
4. Employees and students can use the self-service features in the Company Portal app to reset a PIN/password, install apps, join groups, and more. You can customize the Company Portal app to help reduce support calls.
5. Intune integrates with mobile threat defense services, including Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and third party partner services. With these services, the focus is on endpoint security and you can create policies that respond to threats, do real-time risk analysis, and automate remediation.
Integrates with other Microsoft services and apps
Microsoft Intune integrates with other Microsoft products and services that focus on endpoint management, including:
1. Configuration Manager for on-premises endpoint management and Windows Server, including deploying software updates and managing data centers You can use Intune and Configuration Manager together in a co-management scenario, use tenant attach, or use both. With these options, you get the benefits of the web-based admin center and can use other cloud-based features available in Intune.
2. Windows Autopilot for modern OS deployment and provisioning With Windows Autopilot, you can provision new devices and send these devices directly to users from an OEM or device provider. For existing devices, you can reimage these devices to use Windows Autopilot and deploy the latest Windows version.
3. Endpoint analytics for visibility and reporting on end user experiences, including device performance and reliability You can use Endpoint analytics to help identify policies or hardware issues that slow down devices. It also provides guidance that can help you proactively improve end user experiences and reduce help desk tickets.
4. Microsoft 365 for end user productivity Office apps, including Outlook, Teams, Sharepoint, OneDrive, and more Using Intune, you can deploy Microsoft 365 apps to users and devices in your organization. You can also deploy these apps when users sign in for the first time.
5. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to help enterprises prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to threats In Intune, you can create a service-to-service connection between Intune and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. When they’re connected, you can create policies that scan files, detect threats, and report threat levels to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. You can also create compliance policies that set an allowable level of risk. When combined with conditional access, you can block access to organization resources for devices that are noncompliant.
Integrates with third party partner devices and apps
The Endpoint Manager admin center makes it easy to connect to different partner services, including:
1. Managed Google Play: When you connect to your Managed Google Play account, admins can access your organization’s private store for Android apps, and deploy these apps to your devices.
2. Apple tokens and certificates: When they’re added, your iOS/iPadOS and macOS devices can enroll in Intune and receive policies from Intune. Admins can access your volume purchased iOS/iPad and macOS app licenses, and deploy these apps to your devices.
3. TeamViewer: When you connect to your TeamViewer account, you can use TeamViewer to remotely assist devices.
With these services, Intune:
Gives admins simplified access to third party partner app services.
Can manage hundreds of third party partner apps.
Supports public retail store apps, line of business (LOB) apps, private apps not available in the public store, custom apps, and more.
Enroll in device management, application management, or both
Organization-owned devices are enrolled in Intune for mobile device management (MDM). MDM is device centric, so device features are configured based on who needs them. For example, you can configure a device to allow access to Wi-Fi, but only if the signed-in user is an organization account.
In Intune, you create policies that configure features & settings and provide security & protection. The devices are fully managed by your organization, including the user identities that sign in, the apps that are installed, and the data that’s accessed.
When devices enroll, you can deploy your policies during the enrollment process. When enrollment completes, the device is ready to use.
For personal devices in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scenarios, you can use Intune for mobile application management (MAM). MAM is user centric, so the app data is protected regardless of the device used to access this data. There’s a focus on apps, including securely accessing apps and protecting data within the apps.
Protect data on any device
With Intune, you can protect data on managed devices (enrolled in Intune) and protect data on unmanaged devices (not enrolled in Intune). Intune can isolate organization data from personal data. The idea is to protect your company information by controlling the way users access and share information.
For organization-owned devices, you want full control over the devices, especially security. When devices enroll, they receive your security rules and settings.
On devices enrolled in Intune, you can:
Create and deploy policies that configure security settings, set password requirements, deploy certificates, and more.
Use mobile threat defense services to scan devices, detect threats, and remediate threats.
View data and reports that measure compliance with your security settings and rules.
Use conditional access to only allow managed and compliant devices access to organization resources, apps, and data.
Remove organization data if a device is lost or stolen.
Simplify access
Intune helps organizations support employees who can work from anywhere. There are features you can configure that allow users to connect to an organization, wherever they might be.
This section includes some common features that you can configure in Intune.
Use Windows Hello for Business instead of passwords
Windows Hello for Business helps protect against phishing attacks and other security threats. It also helps users sign in to their devices and apps more quickly and easily.
Windows Hello for Business replaces passwords using a PIN or biometrics, such as fingerprint, facial recognition. This biometric information is stored locally on the devices and is never sent to external devices or servers.
If someone time travels from the past to 2020, he would be awestruck with 180-degree evolution in the mobile UX design process.
They might feel amazed with Voice-based UX or would go overwhelmed with the scope of Artificial Intelligence in the domain. But, there’s one thing that they will find the same.
Any guesses what is it?
It’s nothing but the UX design principles.
Over the years, various functionalities, technologies, and tools have been replaced or at the verge of extinction. But, the basic UX design principles have remained just the same as before.
Now knowing this, if you are someone who is planning to step into the UX domain this year, it is no wonder that getting acquainted with these principles is vital.
So, keeping the same into consideration, we will be covering the same below.
8 Principles To Guide You in Mobile App UX Design
1. Clutter-free Interface
Every application comes with a primary goal. The one where they target a particular pain point of end-users and provide a solution for the same.
But, because of the increasing competition, designers often introduce many other features and functionalities into their plan.
However, at times the app designers introduce multiple functionalities into the same app screen. This confuses the end-users, resulting in more clicks on the secondary (less important feature) compared to the primary one.
To combat this situation, the best way is to make a clutter-free interface. Meaning, introduce a limited number of actionable things in a single screen. A clear view of which you can take from the image shared below.
2. Personalization
We all love things that give us a personalized and special feel. There’s no denying it. The same psychology applies in the case of UX design too.
When you design a user experience that enables users to perform an action in a quick and effortless manner, they fall in love with your application. On the contrary, if it is cumbersome they exit the platform and share negative feedback.
As you can see in the screenshot of the Netflix app above, it informs and encourages users to continue their app interaction right from where they left. Or better say, continue watching the series they left in between.
3. Don’t Rush For Registration
You would encounter many mobile apps that straightaway ask for registration, without giving users a chance to explore the application. Does that leave a good impression of the app in the users mind?
Personally, I immediately leave such applications.
Why would any user register in vain before knowing what are the features that the app offers and whether it’s all worth it or not?
This is why it is again imperative for UX designers to follow the principle of keeping the registration process optional.
When you give some time to the new users to explore your mobile app and get familiar with it, they show more interest in your app. This reduces your app uninstallation rate and increases the chances of user conversion.
4. Avoid Nagging Permissions
It’s true that permissions to access user data open a new door to understanding the user and deliver a personalized experience.
In such a scenario, an ideal way to keep a balance of the two is to ask for relevant permissions only.
Let’s take another example.
VSCO, a photo-editing app asks for camera access only, whenever users wish to click a picture. It does not ask permission for accessing contacts, or other built-in device apps. This gives users an assurance that the rest of the information is secure.
5. Focus On Users Goals
Since desktop and mobile apps are essentially different, the goals that need to be fulfilled are also distinct. For example, what a user wants to do in a desktop app/website is not something they would want to do in a mobile app.
So refrain from making it overwhelming for users to use a mobile app with the functionality of a desktop app. They would prefer selective things, i.e., say a user is using a restaurant app- he/she would want to just view the menu, book a reservation, place an order in advance, or just get directions. All the other information is secondary and can be displayed elsewhere, not on the main screen.
6. Design for Fingers
Gone are those days when mouse pointers were the one interacting with applications. Today, with the advent of touch-screen devices, users are interacting with the platforms via their fingers.
In a situation like this, it is again imperative to understand that the human finger size varies from person to person. So, designing for different human finger size is the right practice to bring more opportunities for interactions and increasing the app conversion rate.
Likewise, investing in hand gestures while creating an app UX design is also an optimal method of getting higher results.
7. Only Relevant Notifications
As a proverb goes, “Too much of anything is bad”, misuse of push notifications can drift your future from higher conversion rate to higher uninstallation rate.
So, the next principle that every novice and experienced UX designer needs to watch out for is to discover how many push notifications are enough. And this way, prevent frustrating the users while getting their motive fulfilled.
8. Effective Offboarding
Since you have put so much effort into UX design for the whole process, it is equally important for you to end it on a positive note.
That implies, adding UX elements that impart a positive vibe to the users even when they have performed the requisite action or are deactivating/deleting their account. This will improve the chances of them revisiting your app in the future as well.
Interactive design focuses on the moments of your user’s direct and active engagement – one that involves tapping, clicking, dragging, typing, etc. – with your website. Meanwhile, user experience (UX) design has a wider perspective and considers even moments of passive use – like reading a text on your website’s page – to be interaction.
As such, interactive website design is a part of UX website design that aims at incentivizing and facilitating the moments of a user’s active engagement. Some UX professionals prefer to zero in on this aspect of UX design and hone to perfection the skills of implementing interaction patterns. At Webzworld, we always put such focused specialists on highly interactive web design projects to ensure the quality of interactive design.
Interactive design processes break every moment of interaction into 5 elements. Most of these elements apply to all types of interactions, but some can be optional at times. The user experience specialist’s job is to define what elements are necessary for each interaction instance to make it feel natural and seamless.
Here’s the list of all 5 elements:
Text – A text or a symbol that indicates the possibility of interaction and focuses on its expected results – not the action itself. Think a line ‘Play’ or a triangle symbol that signifies the same intention.
Visual Form – Some interactive elements, like buttons or fields for text input, should have distinctly visible margins to specify the interactive zone. You certainly don’t want your potential buyer to take pains in finding the input zone when they’re filling in a shipping address for their purchase, for instance.
Medium/Platform – With interactions requiring different actions on different devices, an interactive design expert should ensure that the choice of interaction-inducing actions is predictable on all platforms.
Time – Certain interactions require time for processing input data and your website should always keep users informed about the state of this data processing. Otherwise, users may consider the website unresponsive and leave without waiting for the result.
Feedback –To give a user the feeling of accomplishment, your website should present a clear result of any interaction. For instance, show the ‘Success!’ notice after a user shares an article from your website to social networks.
The roles of each of these elements seem to be evident and choosing the necessary ones to assemble a smooth interaction flow appears to be a trivial task. Still, I’m sure that just like me, you’ve encountered plenty of web designs with broken interaction flows that puzzled you at one point or another or confused you enough to make you leave.
Just like the negative consequences of bad interactive website design can be grave, the positive effects of quality interactive design can be impressive. Let’s look at just a few of them.
If users don’t experience any troubles when interacting with your website, they have fewer reasons to turn to your support, which leads to minimized support costs. Thus, by ensuring that every interaction instance on your website is properly designed, you shield your support specialists from such trivial issues, and they can focus on complex and unprecedented cases, thus enhancing support quality.
More often than turn to support, visitors who experience a confusing interaction simply bounce and never return. Professionally designed and tested interactive design minimizes the chances of users’ frustrations with your website and prevents a high bounce rate.
Whether your website’s revenue comes from clicks or purchases, it is tightly tied to the processes of interaction. By allowing users to gain a satisfying experience from engaging with your website, you motivate them to engage more often, thus bringing you more revenue.
There’s a caveat to what I said at the very start about good interactive design being natural enough to not attract any attention to itself at all. If you draw your users’ attention to interactive elements by adding some feel of freshness and creativity to them.
Benefit from the comfort of your users
A user interacting with your website is a client communicating with your business. Just as you wouldn’t want your business communication to appear confusing and unproductive, you shouldn’t let these qualities define the interactive design of your website. Whether you need to prevent interactive design issues in your future website or want to fix them in the existing one, don’t hesitate to turn to Webzworld’s team for assistance.
The majority of IT companies already favor cloud apps more than on-premises ones, while non-IT organizations start to share that feeling as well. And ScienceSoft’s software development experience proves this trend: more than 80% of our software development projects use cloud technologies.
In this article, I’d like to share the insights on options you have while developing and deploying cloud applications and what benefits you can achieve using cloud solutions in your business.
With the public cloud, a cloud service provider (such as AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform among the most popular ones) offers resources, such as storage, monitoring capabilities, and networking capacities, or virtual machines, to multiple customers on a subscription basis or a pay-per-usage model.
Sometimes, public clouds are associated with insecurity and inflexibility due to their multi-tenant nature. However, the right tenant isolation makes public clouds flexible and secure, even for the most valuable information.
The main idea of a private cloud is that it is used exclusively by one company.
One of the benefits of using a private cloud is a high security level, which is ensured by employing a secure firewall system and hosting the cloud within an isolated network.
However, if you’re a small or mid-sized business and don’t have a huge budget, creating a private cloud for deploying your solutions may be too expensive for you. The costs are definitely higher than deploying in a public cloud, as all management, maintenance, and updating of data centers, hardware and software lie on your in-house team.
Hybrid cloud offers a mix of public cloud and private cloud services. Hybrid cloud deployments allow those services that do not need to be on-premises (e.g., due to data security requirements) to be deployed in the cloud with all its advantages. Compared to the public cloud, this cloud type gives you more agility as you don’t fully depend on third-party providers. Hybrid cloud provides you with a unique approach to data security as you can both store your data in a private isolated environment and use the public cloud for data backup and recovery measures.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides companies with an infrastructure to develop their applications in the cloud. This type of cloud computing services offers you such resources as virtual machines, storage, and network services.
With IaaS, companies avoid huge capital expenditures as they pay only for the resources they use. Another strong advantage is that you can get any resources needed in just a few clicks by purchasing a required infrastructure element. Thus, by choosing IaaS, you can launch your cloud app fast.
By choosing Platform as a Service (PaaS), besides cloud storage and other resources, like operating systems, you get ready-to-use tools for developing, configuring, customizing, testing, and managing your applications. Such tools can be, for instance, database, application integration, or AI services.
The PaaS model is popular with companies as it cuts the coding time, reduces time to market, and the overall software development expenses.
The serverless model allows for quick development and easy scaling as, naturally, there is no reliance on virtual machines since the cloud executes application code without the need to install anything.
Serverless deployment is financially efficient as a cloud provider charges for the exact compute resources needed to execute your code, not for the number of the virtual machines. Maintenance costs are also pretty low.
In the SaaS (Software as a Service) model, software is used on a subscription basis and centrally hosted in the public cloud. The companies don’t need to build anything from scratch but can find a pre-built solution that can be configured and customized to meet their needs fully.
SaaS solutions cover a wide variety of business needs, such as marketing, accounting, sales, HR, and etc. Popular examples of SaaS products are Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Online, and Office 365.
One of the great options for companies going for cloud app development is autoscaling. It means that the number of cloud virtual machines automatically changes depending on the load. However, you need to be careful not to pay for the resources you never used or for using more than you actually needed.
ScienceSoft’s experience proves that autoscaling works great for businesses. Our team has developed a billing-as-a-service (BaaS) solution for international payment processing. They created a highly scalable solution that automatically scales from using 2 to 50 app servers depending on the load. This helped to make the inherently scalable, sustainable, and auditable billing system.
Cost-effectiveness
Cloud computing makes app development faster due to the use of cloud services instead of writing custom code, thus allowing fewer human and financial resources to be used. Moving to the cloud helps manage the applications more efficiently and reducing maintenance costs. There is no need to maintain hardware or buy additional equipment when the business starts to grow.
Access to advanced technologies
Besides continuously working on introducing new services to their offering, cloud service providers already deliver a wide range of services based on cutting-edge technologies such as AR/VR, blockchain, machine learning, and IoT. For example, Azure offers Machine Learning Studio (predictive analytics technology), while AWS provides Amazon SageMaker tool for quick machine learning model deployment.
Choose cloud computing for your project
Cloud computing solutions can become highly beneficial for your business. However, you shouldn’t underestimate the knowledge and competences needed to deliver and implement such a solution. Your team needs to be proficient in DevOps, know how to work with AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform, and establish ample cybersecurity measures.
Asset management is a process of tracking, organizing, and maintaining a company’s assets. It covers numerous types of assets, both tangible and intangible, depending on business type and scope. Asset management can be roughly categorize as follows:
IT asset management (ITAM) involves hardware (e.g., company-owned devices) and software, including subscriptions, licenses, patents, and network infrastructure components.
Financial asset management deals with investments, securities, loans, and more.
Infrastructure asset management is use by public organizations and large companies. It is focus on maintaining, updating, and removing physical infrastructure assets like roads, bridges, and utilities.
A common goal of asset management is to optimize the utilization of assets throughout their lifecycle, increase productivity, and reduce operational costs. Asset management software helps businesses achieve that via collecting asset data, tracking asset lifecycle, and providing automated reports for company management to analyze.
Improve accuracy of asset documentation as compared to manual document management, since human errors like typos or accidental omissions are minimize.
Better asset accounting. Asset management software help be aware of what assets are available and where, who should work on them and when. For example, the software helps identify ghost assets as well as avoid asset theft and loss.
Time and cost saving.Automated asset management workflows allow asset management teams to do more in less time.
Enhanced asset utilization. Asset management software ensures better visibility and control over assets. It provides means to analyze asset utilization patterns as well as plan asset availability and maintenance, thus helping improve asset utilization strategies.
Improved maintenance management. The preventive maintenance feature of an asset management solution help achieve stable and continuous operation of assets.
Better compliance. Keeping in mind all license entitlements and requirements of relevant laws and regulations can be challenging. An asset management system helps minimize legal risks and reduce non-compliance costs.
ManageEngine AssetExplorer is a web-based ITAM tool aim at managing IT assets and offering features for physical asset management. Its features include:
Comprehensive inventory management throughout the asset lifecycle from procurement to disposal for all hardware and software inventory.
Software license management to support compliance, identify unnecessary or underutilized licenses, detect unauthorized software installations, and more.
Contract and purchase order management to monitor contract expiry dates and get contract- or PO-related analytics by parameters like spending patterns, contractor/supplier performance, and more.
Asset reporting to generate pre-built reports or create custom reports on the key asset data in multiple formats. Reports can be schedule and automatically email to selecte recipients.
Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to track all configuration items and their details in one repository and categorize them.
Mobile app to track and manage hardware and software assets in any location.
The starting price is $995 per year for 250 IT assets.
Asset Panda is a cloud-based asset management and tracking platform that offers a range of features like barcode scanning, unlimited users, and custom reporting. Its features include:
Asset tracking, including asset assignment to users or workplaces, contract management, compliance and maintenance tracking, ticketing management, and more.
Barcode management to design and print custom barcodes and QR codes to optimize asset management.
Mobile app with built-in barcode scanning, GPS pindrop, and access to reports to manage assets on the go.
Pricing depends on the number of assets and is available upon request to AssetPanda.
GoCodes is web-base asset and inventory tracking software for companies that need to manage physical assets. Its features include:
Patented QR code tags with unique IDs show asset details like type, serial number, and assignment help eliminate duplicates, and prove ownership.
Automatic GPS tracking with a mapping feature enables managers to see and update asset location every time a barcode is scan.
Automated field service requests help review service records, schedule future repairs, and set service reminders.
Depreciation calculation and reporting for fixed assets based on common calculation scenarios.
Auditing financial performance and operation of assets using a fixed assets register with a possibility to review a complete audit history.
GoCodes offers five pricing plans on a monthly and annual basis, each including different number of assets, users, etc.
Make the most of your assets with asset management software
Asset management is a complicated and intensive process that plays a key role in the operation of every business dealing with assets. If you are looking for a partner who can develop a custom asset management solution to meet your company’s needs, or help you choose and customize an off-the-shelf product, just let us know.
When mobile-mageddon arrived last April, lots of businesses realized that building a mobile website wasn’t just a thing they’d have to tackle eventually, but an absolute must-have right now if they hoped to stay relevant and compete. That Google decided that mobile friendliness is going to influence search rankings is just icing on the mobile website cake.
But even though mobile search has overtaken its desktop cousin, the way people search on mobile and the way they interact with mobile websites once they’ve landed on them is different than the way they behave on desktop. And too few mobile website designers are paying attention.
You can make of that what you will, but here are some hypotheses:
➤Mobile users have a pretty clear idea of what they are looking for when they search—they are on a mission for specific information.
➤If they don’t find what they’re looking for right away on a site, they will look somewhere else.
➤They don’t have the patience to dig deep through a complicated navigation architecture; they expect to find what they’re looking for with just a few clicks.
So…what does that mean for your mobile website design? Quite a lot, actually. Too many designers approach their mobile website as just a scaled down version of their main site, which misses the point, in my opinion. Your mobile website should be an opportunity to really leverage the unique qualities of mobile devices and engage the unique behaviors of mobile users.
Your mobile website should do more than just replicate the information on your desktop, it should deliver the information a mobile customer is looking for in a way that’s optimized for a mobile device. And that means a mobile-first mentality and design principles.
1. Prioritize Performance.
Slow load speed is the biggest frustration factor for mobile web users and one of the main reasons a customer will bounce away from a site; in fact, over three-fourths of consumers will click away from a site that loads slowly or won’t display properly on their mobile device. So you need to worry about performance first or your customers won’t stay on your site long enough to see all your other fancy mobile-first elements. Here are some things to keep in mind while you’re planning your mobile pages.
Keep pages to 1 MB or smaller for fastest load times.
Think carefully about the images you need, and crop, resize, and compress them for faster loading.
”Minify” your code, especially JavaScript; JS requests increase complexity and slow page rendering.
If you want to know how your mobile site is performing, use this Google PageSpeed analyzer for concrete steps you can take if your site is loading to slowly on mobile devices.
2. Rethink Your Homepage Content.
For most small businesses, what mobile website visitors want to accomplish is probably different from what visitors to their main website want to do. All those flashy branding elements and images on your main site homepage aren’t going to interest your mobile visitors. Therefore, the information you put on your homepage should be directed at the needs of your mobile users, most likely some combination of the following:
contact info, with click to call or click to text
location/directions/hours of operation
search bar/product search
place an order/order status/order tracking
make a reservation/appointment/service request
customer login/account access
option to view main website
mobile app download
social media buttons
3. Simplify Menus and Navigation.
The “hamburger” menu is universally recognized and a very mobile-friendly solution to navigation and it also respects the generally accepted idea that mobile navigation should take, at most, three taps to arrive at the desired page. Ideally, you should have just one sub menu under each menu category for ease of use. Be sure to put your most important pages first.
The key consideration in both cases is making your navigation and menu options easy for fingers of any size to tap and touch. Too many options packed in too tightly makes fingertip navigation virtually impossible. Which brings us, logically.
4. Design for Touch.
This is actually more nuanced than doing the obvious: Making sure buttons are large enough and spaced far enough apart that anyone, even someone with fat fingers, can navigate with ease. The average finger needs at least 44 pixels in both dimensions for a good touch experience; anything smaller and user experience suffers.
But beyond that, you need to design your mobile website around the common gestures and motions mobile device users naturally use and using those gestures as much as possible to let users accomplish their objectives on your site. What does that look like?
Letting users tap a button or icon to call you, text you, email you, add an event to their calendar, use GPS to get directions, download a podcast integrating the mobile device’s native functions and apps.
5. Reform Your Forms.
For the most part, mobile users really, really hate to type on their devices, so expecting them to enter a lot of information on your website is a real turn-off that is likely to cause a lot of visitors to head for the exits. So what can you do?
➤Only collect the minimum amount of information you need for a particular transaction. For example, if someone is signing up for your newsletter, you really only need a name and an email address (and don’t forget to use the email keyboard!).
➤If you have an e-commerce site, don’t force customers to register for an account to check out, give them the option of checking out as a guest.
➤For longer, multi-page forms/transactions, give users a status bar to gauge their progress.
➤Use best practices when designing forms for your mobile website. Users have an easier time completing forms with labels above the input boxes like the one on the left.
6. Make It Easy for Them to Find the Products They Want.
Most mobile consumers have something specific in mind when they visit your site; mobile shoppers aren’t really browsers, as this chart showing Amazon’s visitors demonstrates.
A mobile visitor spends just four minutes and checks out about eight pages on average, which means he is spending about half a minute per page. That is a shopper on a mission; the desktop visitor spends twice as long on site per page.
For the mobile website designer, then, the challenge is making sure the menus and navigation makes it easy to find a specific product or narrow down the choices to meet a shopper’s particular needs that day. A mobile device user is most likely not going to spend a lot of time scrolling endlessly through products, so you have to be creative in providing menu options to help him find what he wants quickly.
Take a look at this menu from Paperchase, a UK stationery store. The menu options on the left are neatly organized with helpful submenus that will take the user to a very specific product category to help her find what she wants without a lot of searching.
7. Don’t Neglect Your Fonts and Colors.
One of the worst things you can do is design your mobile website with text too small to be easily read; your users shouldn’t have to zoom to read a single word on your site, especially your navigation text. This leads to a terrible user experience, which is something search engines pay attention to in determining page rank.
For some brands, font choice is a major part of their overall branding, so the decision to switch fonts for the mobile site needs to be made judiciously. If you market to a mainly millennial demographic, you don’t have the same font size issues as, say, a brand that markets to baby boomers.
For easier navigation, choose fonts that are taller and naturally structured to leave a bit of space between letters. Most device manufacturers recommend Arial, Helvetica, Courier, Georgia, Times New Roman, and Trebuchet MS. Pick font colors that stand out from your background colors for easy reading.
And don’t forget the effect fonts have on load times, which is extremely important for mobile websites. When you are choosing a typeface, check it for speed. And only use a limited number of typefaces to keep page loads fast.
Security testing is sometimes thought of as being hard to automate or a testing process that lacks tools and resources to help make it easier to learn.
I find most testers are not even aware of the amount of free, open-source security testing tools available to them.
This is a shame because I believe the next wave of DevOps is adding security tests to our pipelines. There’s even a name for this next wave: DevSecOps.
I thought I’d create a quick resource to point you to some security tools that you can start trying out.
Below are some of the best ones I’ve found or have heard about.
You’re probably aware that modern applications often use APIs, microservices, and containerization to deliver faster and better products and services.
This changing landscape means security folks need to step up their game. DevSlop (“Sloppy DevOps”) is an exploration of this area via several different modules consisting of pipelines, vulnerable apps, and The DevSlop Show.
If you’re looking to start learning more about adding security to your DevOps pipeline, this is a good resource to start with.
Exercise in a Box
Exercise in a Box is a free online tool from the National Cyber Security Centre in the UK. It helps organizations find out how resilient they are to cyber-attacks and practice their response in a safe environment.
The service provides exercises based on the main cyber threats that your organization can do in its own time, in a safe environment, as many times as you wish. It includes everything you need for setting up, planning, delivery, and post-exercise activity, all in one place.
Security testing is sometimes thought of as being hard to automate or a testing process that lacks tools and resources to help make it easier to learn.
I find most testers are not even aware of the amount of free, open-source security testing tools available to them.
This is a shame because I believe the next wave of DevOps is adding security tests to our pipelines. There’s even a name for this next wave: DevSecOps.
I thought I’d create a quick resource to point you to some security tools that you can start trying out.
Below are some of the best ones I’ve found or have heard about.
I recently interviewed Tanya Janaca, who told me about her project, DevSlop.
You’re probably aware that modern applications often use APIs, microservices, and containerization to deliver faster and better products and services.
This changing landscape means security folks need to step up their game. DevSlop (“Sloppy DevOps”) is an exploration of this area via several different modules consisting of pipelines, vulnerable apps, and The DevSlop Show.
If you’re looking to start learning more about adding security to your DevOps pipeline, this is a good resource to start with.
Exercise in a Box
Exercise in a Box is a free online tool from the National Cyber Security Centre in the UK. It helps organizations find out how resilient they are to cyber-attacks and practice their response in a safe environment.
The service provides exercises based on the main cyber threats that your organization can do in its own time, in a safe environment, as many times as you wish. It includes everything you need for setting up, planning, delivery, and post-exercise activity, all in one place.
To use it, you’ll need to register here first.
Mobile Security Framework
Mobile Security Framework (MobSF) describes itself as an automated, all-in-one mobile application (Android/iOS/Windows) pen-testing framework capable of performing static analysis, dynamic analysis, malware analysis, and web API testing. https://opensecurity.in
It can be used for effective and fast security analysis of Android, iOS, and Windows mobile applications and supports both binaries (APK, IPA & APPX) and zipped source code. It can also perform dynamic application testing at runtime for Android apps and has Web API fuzzing capabilities powered by CapFuzz, a Web API–specific security scanner.
Needle
Needle is the MWR’s iOS Security Testing Framework, released at Black Hat USA in August 2016. It is an open-source, modular framework, and its goal is to streamline the entire process of conducting security assessments of iOS applications. It also acts as a central point for you to perform all these security activities.
Needle was designed to be useful not only for security professionals but also for developers looking to secure their code.
Some examples of testing Needle can help you with are:
Data storage
Inter-process communication
Network communications
Static code analysis
Hooking
Binary protections.
Needle’s only requirement to run effectively is that you use a jailbroken device.
Frida
Frida is a dynamic instrumentation toolkit for developers, reverse engineers, and security researchers. I first heard about it from Jahmel Harris, an ethical hacker, security testing expert, and founder of Digital Interruption, who highly recommended it.
Frida is a framework or toolkit for instrumentation, also known as application hooking.
On the Frida website, it says to inject your scripts into a black–box process. Hook any function, spy, crypto API, or trace private application code.
No source code is needed.
Tamper
Tamper Chrome is an extension that allows you to modify HTTP requests on the fly and aid in Web security testing. Chrome works across all operating systems (including Chrome OS).
Tamper Chrome also allows you to monitor requests sent by your browser as well as the responses.
You can also modify requests as they go out and, to a limited extent, change the responses (headers, CSS, JavaScript, or XMLHttpRequest responseText).
Nishang
Is PowerShell your go-to security scripting language?
If so, you should check out the Nishang framework.
It’s a collection of scripts and payloads that enables the usage of PowerShell for offensive security, penetration testing, and red teaming.
Nishang is useful during all phases of penetration testing.
Faraday
If you’ve done any type of development in the past, you know how helpful a well-designed IDE can be to your productivity.
But what about security testing development?
Faraday calls itself an IPE (Integrated Penetration-Test Environment), which is essentially another way of saying a multi-user Penetration Test IDE.
It was designed for distributing, indexing, and analyzing the data generated during a security audit.
Faraday was developed to allow you to take advantage of the available tools in the community in a multi-user way.
They designed it with a focus on simplicity, so users should notice no difference between their terminal application and the one included in Faraday.
Developed with a specialized set of functionalities to help users improve their workflow.
InSpec
At a high level,InSpec is an auditing and software testing framework.
It’s basically an open-source testing framework for infrastructure with a human- and machine-readable language for specifying compliance, security, and policy requirements.
Pocsuite
Pocsuite is an open-source, remote vulnerability testing and proof-of-concept development framework.
It comes with a powerful proof-of-concept engine and many niche features for the ultimate penetration testers and security researchers.
Astra was made for automated security testing of REST APIs.
Their GitHub page mentions that security engineers or developers can use Astra as an integral part of their process so they can detect and patch vulnerabilities early during the development cycle. Astra can automatically detect and test login and logout (Authentication API), so it’s easy for anyone to integrate this into a CICD pipeline. Astra can take API collection as an input, making it able to test APIs in standalone mode.
Examples of the types of security tests you can perform with Astra are:
SQL injection
Cross-site scripting
Information leakage
Broken authentication and session management
CSRF (including Blind CSRF)
Rate limit
CORS misconfiguration (including CORS bypass techniques)
JWT attack
CRLF detection
Blind XXE injection
Pacu
Speaking of API security testing, are you worried about your Cloud-based application AWS APIs getting hacked?
Pacu is an AWS exploitation framework, designed for testing the security of Amazon Web services.
Taipan
Taipan is an automated web application vulnerability scanner that allows identifying web vulnerabilities in an automatic fashion. This project is the core engine of a broader project which includes other components, like a web dashboard where you can manage your vulnerability scans, download a PDF report, and a scanner agent to run on a specific host.
Archery
Archery is an open–source vulnerability assessment and management tool which helps developers and pentesters to perform scans and manage vulnerabilities.
It uses popular open-source tools to perform a comprehensive scanning tool for web applications and networks. It also performs web application dynamic authenticated scanning and covers the whole application using selenium. The developers can also utilize the tool for the implementation of their DevOps CI/CD environment.
Retire.JS
Have a bunch of javascript that you would like to scan for different types of vulnerabilities?
Try Retire.JS, which can scan your code for the use of JavaScript libraries with known vulnerabilities
mitmproxy
Need a way an intercepting proxy for your security testing and be able to run it from the command line?
Check out mitmproxy, which is one of the highest–rated (14,997 stars) on GitHub. Their GitHub page describes it as An interactive TLS-capable intercepting HTTP proxy for penetration testers and software developers.
Metasploit Framework
Metasploit Framework is one of the more popular penetration testing tools out there. It was designed specifically for penetration testing—like how to attack MS SQL, browser-based and file exploits, and social engineering attacks. This is one of the main tools used by hard-core security professionals.
Metasploit contains a suite of tools that can help you do things like performing attacks and testing security vulnerabilities. It contains a number of different modules that can test your application against common vulnerabilities that many hackers exploit. You can also use it to develop your own exploits. In Metasploit, a module is a software component that performs a chosen attack on a specified target.
Selenium
Umm… what is Selenium—a functional automation testing library—doing on this list?
Well, believe it or not, there are many ways to leverage existing functional automated tests, including security testing.
For example, in his Secure Guild session on integrated security testing, Morgan Roman will demonstrate how he leverages his existing Selenium tests to check his applications for cross-site vulnerabilities.
This works mainly by taking existing Selenium tests (or any other kind of test) and then adding a simple security payload to it, and finally injecting some extra detection into it.
This may seem complex at first, but he’ll show us just how simple it is. Register for Secure Guild and check out his session now
ZAP
Speaking of Selenium, another popular way of expanding its capabilities is to use it with the OWASP Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP).
ZAP can help you automatically find security vulnerabilities in your Web applications while you’re developing and testing your applications. It’s also a great tool for experienced Pen testers to use for manual security testing.
Many testers have leveraged ZAP within their Selenium tests to help with their security testing efforts.
Secure Guild
As you can see, there are many tool options available to testers who are looking to get more familiar with Security Testing.
Also, if you are just beginning your security testing career, another resource you should check out is Secure Guild, an online conference 100% dedicated to security testing. Learn more here.
Mobile App Design Process, the thought of creating a mobile app from scratch sounds like an uphill task full of corny, complex coding activities.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! Before developing a new mobile app, you need to design it first. It’s critical to plan every step, and at some point, you might want to retreat and examine what you’re building.
Global app downloads surpassed 218 billion last year. Businesses that made the mistake of not creating a mobile app will continue to suffer in the coming years too.
Having a mobile strategy is essential because this research shows that users spend 90% of their time in apps as compared to surfing the internet.
It’s great to have a mobile responsive website backed by a solid mobile marketing strategy with major resources being allocated to cross-device reach. In today’s competitive era, not having a mobile app has severe implications.
A mobile app helps businesses reach more customers, improve marketing strategies, provide value to the customers, increase brand awareness, increase customer engagement and loyalty, and create one or more competitive advantage(s). Plus, mobile apps can improve your bottom line.
When the average user spends more time looking at a mobile phone than watching television or using a desktop or laptop, what excuse does your business have for not having a mobile app?
The question remains, where and how to start?
There are two phases of any mobile app design.
Mobile app design strategy
App design process
Mobile App Design Strategy
It starts with a strategy. It defines the future and the path to reach your destination.
The issue, however, is with creating a mobile app design strategy. You simply can’t create an app just because your competitor has one. Your competitor might have a different business objective and mobile strategy which are quite different from yours.
Developing a mobile strategy links back to the company strategy and has four stages:
i). Understand the business strategy
ii). Business mobile app strategy
iii). App strategy
iv). Product management strategy
1. Understand Your Business Strategy
Understanding the overall business strategy should form the basis of your mobile app design. Misalignment between company strategy and the mobile strategy might be suicidal.
Recent statistics from the Harvard Business Review show that 70% of employees don’t have enough information about their company’s strategy or their perception of strategy is much different than the actual strategy.
There are several benefits of creating and executing a mobile strategy that’s derived from (and supports) the overall company strategy.
Improvement in quality, value, productivity, employee efficiency, and customer engagement.
2. Business Mobile App Strategy
Your mobile app strategy is your surefire path to achieving success with your mobile app design and marketing in general.
Yes, the success or failure of the app depends on the strategy since everything will be linked to the strategy. It will be easy to create if you have answers to these two questions:
What is the purpose of the app?
What is the benefit that the end-user will drive from using the app?
The simplest way to chart your app strategy is none other than:
“We will build this so that our customers can do that.”
The strategy has to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Anything that’s too vague or looks seemingly unachievable, strike it out. For example, having more downloads than WhatsApp isn’t a practically achievable goal.
Other Requirements
If you think a functional app idea, a roadmap, and budget allocation are all that you need for the strategy, think again.
Now is the time to define clear use cases on the basis of the customer journey. This calls for a clear definition of the single app strategy.
A use case is at the center of defining app strategy. It’s defined as the list of actions that define the interaction between a role and the system. The image below represents a simple use case that defines the actions of the buyer and the seller – the roles.
“The number one secret is to focus on one or two main use cases. Let’s not overwhelm the user, but really focus on one or two use cases and do them really, really well.”
The best app strategy is one that uses not more than two use cases. Think of Instagram, people use it when they have to share a photo. This is a perfect example of a single-use case.
4. Define Your Product Management Implementation Strategy
Once the mobile app strategy is defined and documented, it’s time to implement it.
The test strategy should be defined before the coders get to work. Here’s what to include in the test strategy:
What is the scope of the app?
What is not in the scope?
The features
Individual cases
Outcome
App versions and integration
Know The Required Tools
What tools do you need for development, testing, and for maintenance? Though, it mostly depends on the budget allocation.
List all the tools required at every stage of the development and post-development.
Google Analytics, Site Catalyst, or Omniture for analytics and performance.
Splunk, FogLight, or AppDynamics for app performance.
PractiTest, Test Collab, TestRail, or qTest for QA testing.
Basic App Design Process
Benji Hyam, the co-founder of Social Proof Interactive, stated that before you approach an app designer, you must have the following things ready:
Understanding your target market and the end-user
List of things that a user might want to accomplish with the app
Initial wireframes
Budget
This is, more or less, what we have covered in the previous section. Having a mobile app strategy will make app designing super easy.
Mobile app design strategy is an in-house process while app design process can be outsourced or done in-house.
The basic app design process consists of the following steps:
Setting the scope
User/market research
UX wireframe
Prototype
UI design
Animation
Software architecture
iOS development
Testing
Release
Let’s roll.
1. Setting The Scope
The scope refers to what needs to be done, what you want to achieve from the app, and how large/small it has to be. The scope may include all of the following:
The nature of the app
Target audience
Most crucial functions and features of the app
App’s visual design features
Potential technologies to be used
Consistency with the business strategy
Specific preferences
Did you notice that consistency with the business strategy is just one part of this process?
In order to document the scope of the app, it’s crucial to identify all of the following:
Objectives and goals of the app
Phases and subphases
Tasks and resources
Budget
Schedule
Based on the scope, the design and flow of the app will be prepared.
2. User & Market Research
This is the phase where the UX and UI designers will get to work based on the scope of the app and on the app strategy. It involves market research and user research.
How is it Done?
Start by conducting in-depth market research and analyzing the existing apps in your industry. If you’re going to create an image-sharing app, you’ll have to look at the existing image-sharing apps, their color schemes, patterns, flow, etc.
The user research will reveal colors and themes that will help you develop an emotional connection with the target audience.
What type of colors and styles will the end-users prefer? You can use different methods to collect data from potential users such as surveys, focus groups, design workshops, etc.
3. UX Wireframe
The visual representation of the user interface is known as the UX wireframe. You have to create a structure of the user interface, transitions, and interactions. It must be based on market research, user research, competition, and strategy.
You can use wireframing software or you can create a simple outline on paper. Lay down the user flow as you want it to appear on the actual app.
The purpose of UX wireframing is to define the flow of the app such as the number of windows, buttons, where each button leads the user, the registration process, the login screen, and everything related to the front-end of your app.
The low-fidelity prototype is a sketchy prototype that can be created right away as the wireframe is ready. There is no need to waste money on expensive prototypes.
Not only does a high-fidelity prototype consume resources but it takes time.
A simple physical prototype will show you how the app looks. The purpose of a prototype, by any means, is not to test or improve the functionality.
A lot of experts recommend using low-fidelity prototypes to save cost and time. Instead of wasting money creating expensive prototypes, spend money on app functions, features, and on coding.
5. UI Design
Do not confuse UX wireframe and prototyping with the user interface (UI) design.
The UX research, wireframing, and prototyping are about how the app works while the UI design is about how the app looks.
Once the UX has been tested, tweaked, and several prototypes have been tested and finalized, you have to move to the UI designing phase.
At this stage, you have to deal with the visual representation of the concepts, color schemes, fonts, shapes, buttons, font size, images, forms, illustrations, animation, etc.
You have to test multiple designs to see what works best for your users. The color schemes, skins, themes, and all the visual elements have to be tweaked several times to find what works.
It’s somewhat similar to A/B testing with the difference being that in the case of UI design, you have to make the judgments yourself. You cannot bring customers on board at this stage.
6. Interface Animation
The animation should be applied and tested with the UI design phase, so as to test different styles of animation in real-time.
Animation refers to the user interface animation such as how a new screen will pop out and how gestures are defined, and so on.
“Motion design can effectively guide the user’s attention in ways that both inform and delight. Use motion to smoothly transport users between navigational contexts, explain changes in the arrangement of elements on a screen, and reinforce element hierarchy.”
The animation should be functional instead of a simple design element.
Anatoly Nesterov has shared seven types of animations for mobile apps. You can choose from the following list.
Visual feedback
Function change
Element hierarchy
Orientation in space
Condition of the system
Visual prompts
Fun animations
7. Software Architecture Planning
This is perhaps the most crucial part of the entire design process. The core purpose of software architecture planning is to scale the app, and make it better in terms of functionality and design.
It involves the entire team including the designers, programmers, and managers. The idea is to improve the frontend and the backend processes by constructively tweaking the software architecture.
It calls for regular constructive discussion on platforms, frameworks, abstract layers, design platforms, technology, components, etc.
Understand the end user needs before designing and redesigning.
Do not hesitate to invest in architecture.
Identify key interfaces, layers, and subsystems.
Use an iterative approach to designing.
8. App Development
This is the phase where coding begins and the developers start creating the app.
This is something that developers have to do, so make sure you deal with the best coders. The app can be developed for android or iOS depending on your choice.
Instead of creating the app for multiple platforms simultaneously, the better approach is to create the app for one platform first.
Why?
Because developing an app for a single platform from an expert will cost you tens of thousands of dollars. If it turns out to be a poorly coded app, you will find yourself in the middle of nowhere.
Better yet, choose android app development first, since it’s cost-effective as compared to iOS.
9. Testing
When the average failure rate for app testing for android is 16.4%, you can’t afford to launch your newly created app without testing.
The purpose of testing the app is to ensure there aren’t any bugs and the app works as expected.
There are several stages in an app testing process. This type of rigorous testing process will ensure that your app works smoothly.
The app can be tested in-house, outsourced, or the developers can do the preliminary testing. The app testers should not be your developers or partners of the developers.
10. Release
Finally, it’s time to release your app once it has passed the tests.
The app must be submitted to the appropriate app store. It will take time since most of the apps are reviewed before they are published. It can take up to a week for the app to get approval so plan your release accordingly.
Most developers believe that a proper release strategy should be used for app launches.
Partnering with the right business is the best approach that worked exceptionally well for David and Goliath. They partnered with David Eckstein for the launch of their app which turned out to be a huge success.
Mobile Design Tips
The following mobile design tips will help you in achieving your set goals:
1. Iterate user interface designs: This tip comes from Amanda Cline, who is a developer with intensive experience under her belt.
She says:
“It is an excellent idea to iterate the interface design options so as to achieve apps that are fully engaging and retain the attention of targeted users.”
Every single iteration will help you learn a valuable lesson that might not be useful for this project, but it can help you in another project.
2. Understand your users: There is only one rule to designing better apps – understand your users. The best mobile app developers collect user feedback and apply it to the design. This is a crucial part of the mobile application design process.
“When I decided to put speed radar on a mobile device, the capability really wasn’t there, but I knew it would be.”
While designing an app, keep the future in mind. Never design for today because by the time you will finish designing the app, the hardware will have been upgraded and when you launch the app, you will always be behind.
System Architecture
This stage is often overlooked in the app development process. But taking the time to understand your system ensures that you can grow your business without outgrowing your app.
The best apps are scalable, reliable, and secure—but also achieve your goals.
Without a system architecture analysis, something will eventually get lost in the shuffle. So make sure you understand the various entities of your system. Figure out the different data flows between each entity as well.
What workflows will be required for each process? Do you need third-party integrations? What are the technical requirements on the backend?
Create a functional spec sheet that details all of the data flows and flow charts. This information can ultimately be handed off to your design team. A designer will need to understand your system architecture to create a design that makes sense for your specific app and its goals.
Wireframes
Your wireframe will be another crucial tool for your app’s design. Anyone can create a wireframe—you don’t need to be a designer to accomplish this.
Think of your wireframe as a rough sketch of your app’s usability. These can be super informal. I’ve even seen some wireframes sketched on napkins or pieces of paper, although most people today will create a digital version.
Conclusion
Mobile app design can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be.
To nail the design of your app, make sure you follow the design guidelines explained in this article. Rather than trying to tackle this on your own, contact our team here at BuildFire. We can handle all of the design elements, and more, while providing consultancy services for your app as well.
Our mobile app designers and app developers will double as strategic partners for your app development project. It’s time to take your design to the next level. Let’s build something great together!
Technology is ever-growing, and so are the various testing techniques, such as AI mobile automation testing.
A study by Kobiton showed that companies are willing to invest more and more in mobile app testing.
Mobile app testing is something many applications have to go through. It can be slightly challenging, as Shannon, an evangelist at Kobiton, says, “mobile application automation is challenging to achieve however, new trends aim to ease the process.
Mobile testing continues to increase in importance. It’s essential to have the right strategy and tools for each type of mobile testing.
A big trend I keep hearing these days is about having the ability to integrate app testing with AI and ML. This new trend will help speed the mobile testing process effectively and efficiently.
In this article TestGuild writer, Laveena Ramchandani shares how mobile app testing has evolved and how AI helps deliver this successfully.
What is mobile testing, and why is it important?
Mobile device testing is a technique for testing for functionality, usability, and consistency on mobile apps. Testing on mobile devices is done manually or assisted by automation.
Mobile testing is vital for many reasons;
Conducting business
Make sure the app works as intended
Make sure it’s accessible to a broad audience
Mobile apps usually have more users and need to work on a broader range of devices, leading to greater complexity in testing. While web apps are increasingly used on mobile devices, testing them is not quite as complex.
When it comes to mobile apps, you need to consider various things when planning your mobile app testing.
What can you do before you start mobile testing?
Understand your application
Understand your needs
Critical components of the application and how they function ( eg, iOS device on an Android device)
Automation that needs to be done
Framework required (XY tests and Espresso to remove flakiness, aim for hybrid frameworks)
Make sure your tests are running
Test run at a decent speed
Tests completed in a timely manner
Aim for device fragmentation native frameworks however that work for one platform( could add Appium)
The frameworks for Mobile Automation Testing
There are various frameworks you can use when performing mobile app testing; however, the following frameworks are the highly used/ recommended ones.
Is Codeless Mobile app testing the way forward?
Should you focus on script-based testing or codeless automation?
Good question?
As you’ve seen, mobile testing is still in its infancy, and many scripting issues can cause your test to become flaky.
That’s why you are seeing a lot of frameworks coming out that try to combat issues, such as the Xpath error on Appium.
The answer might be to go codeless with machine learning behind it.
For instance, the ML code can look for another identifier if a locator is not recommended or can’t be found at runtime.
This is an area where artificial intelligence plays a significant role.
The new tech trend that we’re currently seeing ourselves in is commercializing artificial intelligence.
So that is why you see more codeless, scriptless automation solutions that AI is driven,
However, with some frameworks today, you still have to do a bit of manual collation of test steps to stitch everything up and then make it work via the AI enhancements, but this can increase inconsistencies.
That’s why Shannon thinks a solution like Kobiton, on the other hand, showcases true AI-driven, scriptless automation, and it’s true scriptless and based on machine learning algorithms. And there is no need to do the manual drag and drop step.
Pros of codeless
With AI the algorithm learns your application
Robust
AI becomes smarter every time you use the test case over and over
Not time-consuming
Cons of Codeless
More of a top-down approach from UI to the layers below
Not a lot of test coverage with scriptless automation
Not comprehensible, you can do some API tests and e2e but not as extensively
No granular control of what you are trying to automate
So how does Kobiton get around some of these cons?
Nova at Kobiton
The aim of Kobiton here is for Nova to go faster, forward, and be flexible. If you want to go scriptless using AI Mobile Automation Testing, then Nova helps with that too:
Nova captures the XPath associated with every element you touch
Nova generates an Appium script for you
Now you can run your scriptless script on as many devices as you wish
You can run the Appium script as many times as you like after that for any device set within your chosen framework
You can also run your scripts via a Jenkins job or on a CI/CD pipeline.
Kobiton supports CI/CD tools and has integrated with Jenkins. It’s a “first-come, first scriptless and not so much script-based at the moment.”
For those who are not going to go scriptless, Nova provides:
An auto-generated script that you can use
An in-house Appium server that is much faster can help with scriptless testing.
Appium being so great and how it can envelop both native frameworks or native app frameworks, Kobiton can do the same, but it can do it three times faster, leveraging Appium scripts.
flexCorrect to help AI with script-based automation
flexCorrect is the first of its kind coming to the market.
Shannon also mentioned that this is where we see artificial intelligence helps assist script-based automation, especially when it comes to flaky and inconsistent tests.
“So flexCorrect assists in script-based automation so that when you are running your Appium script and say it fails because an element not found on Page flexCorrect will prevent it from falling.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence comes into play by analyzing script-based automation.
So it’s capturing the object within the tree hierarchy of your application, and it’s also doing a manual session, or even just reruns of the test case on a real device Nova Kobitons AI engine can actually map elements across the screen, so if you’re tapping this element on the screen, it will pin that within the hierarchy and capture that XPath right there.
So that’s the two-pronged approach to how flexCorrect works in artificial intelligence, assisting script-based automation.
Also, have one prong that is again capturing the objects to capture the entire hierarchy and learning from it, analyzing it, and then the second prong of being able to map elements, map that element and pin it to the hierarchy. It will correct that instance for you, ensuring that your test continues running.
AI in Mobile Automation Conclusion
AI is currently enhancing mobile app testing and is an innovation again in itself coming from a really robust artificial intelligence engine that’s running it. Shannon says. that this is constantly being worked on with every release to really make sure that it has the utmost confidence and failures and passes and everything so that we can allow our users to know that they’re in good hands using Kobiton.
Wireframing is a crucial step in the mobile app development process. It helps provide a clear vision for stakeholders, development teams, designers, and everyone else associated with the project.
An app wireframe is a backbone for creating a successful design and building an app that users will love.
This in-depth guide explains everything you need to know about app wireframes, including how to make an app wireframe and best practices to follow.
What is a Mobile App Wireframe?
An app wireframe is a two-dimensional blueprint and visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of a mobile application.
The wireframe stage takes place early on in the product life cycle before any actual development or design begins. This initial stage of an app project helps demonstrate how the app will work and what it will look like.
Wireframes should visually illustrate different steps in the user journey as a way to identify potential pain points before the dev team starts building. It should include all of your page elements, navigation screens, content, and main objectives.
An app wireframe gets everyone on the same page, so the team knows what they’re building, and stakeholders know what to expect as the final product.
Wireframes do not include any colors, stylized graphics, images, logos, fonts, or mobile app design elements. They’re simply early sketches that show how the app will be used.
You can think of a wireframe as the blueprint of a house. It contains all of the rooms, doors, windows, electrical infrastructure, and plumbing but does not include any furniture or decorations.
Why Are Mobile App Wireframes Important?
App wireframes are a crucial part of the mobile app development and design process.
Wireframing helps provide a clear picture of how end-users will interact with your app. If you can’t explain how your app idea solves the problems of your customers, then you might need to go back to the drawing board.
Let’s take a closer look at the reasons why it’s so important to create an app wireframe.
Visual Blueprint of the App
Having an idea is great, and having a good idea is even better. But even the best ideas are useless if you don’t have a clear plan and vision.
Verbally conveying your idea to a development team and assuming they’re going to deliver what you want is unrealistic.
But a wireframe gets your point across and makes it easier to share your vision with project teams, investors, and stakeholders.
You can’t think about funding, user testing, or other business-related decisions without a wireframe. Putting these ideas into a wireframe first will make your life much easier.
Faster Iterations
An app wireframe helps simplify an otherwise large or intimidating development process. Breaking your project into smaller, attainable tasks is a much easier way to achieve success.
The great part about building a wireframe is that it doesn’t take a ton of time. This helps you build momentum and get the ball rolling as you’re assembling your team, giving presentations, and pitching investors.
Executing these iterations in the early stages of development is much easier, and you can continue building on these steps.
Avoid Mistakes
Your app wireframe should lay out the different screen functions.
It helps you determine where certain app features should be placed and if there’s enough room on the screen to accommodate those functions.
An app wireframe helps you establish a hierarchy of elements before you implement the design. It’s much easier to do this on paper than after you’ve committed any code.
Mistakes here are really easy to fix. But fixing mistakes post-development is much more challenging.
Saves Time and Money
As previously mentioned, an app wireframe helps you identify potential flaws and pain points before anything has been coded. This saves you a ton of time and money on development costs.
Wireframes also provide your developers and designers with a clear picture of what they’re building. So starting with a wireframe can actually speed up the development process and shorten your overall timeline.
Even things like content creation will be streamlined since the structure of your app’s screens has already been organized. Content creators and designers won’t have to ask any questions about where certain elements should be placed.
An app wireframe makes it easier to estimate costs as well. For example, if you’re outsourcing a UX/UI design team, they’ll likely provide you with a more accurate estimate since they know exactly what you’re looking for. So the chances of running over budget are reduced.
How to Wireframe Mobile Apps in 5 Simple Steps
Creating a wireframe is easy when you follow the step-by-step guide below:
Map Out the App’s User Flow
Organize the Mobile App Content
Determine the Layout
Create a Detailed Wireframe
Integrate the Design Elements
Step #1 — Map Out the App’s User Flow
User flows are the backbone of wireframes for mobile applications.
A user flow is a visual guide that showcases the series of actions a user must take to reach a specific goal. Not all user flows are linear—meaning there might be multiple paths to achieve a goal within your app.
You can start creating a user flow by sketching your idea on a piece of paper. Eventually, you can take this sketch to the next level with a digital version of the flow.
Remember, an app wireframe does not contain design elements just yet. So you can use simple rectangle boxes as image placeholders with arrows to showcase the flow.
You can start to think about dropdown menus or the bottom tab bar of each screen, but these won’t necessarily be included in the early sketches of UX flows.
After you’ve visualized the flow, you can share your early concepts with others. This allows you to get feedback from your team and other people. It forces you to create each screen with a clear purpose for achieving the end goal.
If a screen does not help a user do something related to the app’s purpose, then it can be removed from the flow.
For example, let’s say you’re designing a food delivery app. The app’s goal is to get food in the hands of users who can order from different restaurants.
After selecting a restaurant, should the user be brought to an “Our Story” screen for that particular establishment? No. That would disrupt the flow of ordering.
These are the types of things you need to take into consideration when you’re going through this process.
Step #2 — Organize the Mobile App Content
Now that you have a clear vision of your wireframe design, you can start to think about the actual copy and content that you’ll use in the app.
What is going to appear on different mobile screens? How will that content integrate with the user flow?
Using a simple spreadsheet or reusable content blocks is an effective way to organize your content. You can start to list things like headers, images, links, and anything else that will appear in your mobile frame.
For example, let’s say you’re creating a fitness app to expand your personal training business. You could put together a spreadsheet with your main app content that includes training videos, meal prep instructions, and fitness guides.
Then you could organize that content even further by segmenting cardio exercises from weight lifting. Within a weight lifting category, you can have sub-segments for arms, legs, back, etc.
It’s much easier to organize your content now, as opposed to later on when you’re mapping out the screen layouts. You can refer to your content list as you plug things in during the next steps.
Step #3 — Determine the Layout
Next, you can establish the visual hierarchy and interface elements of your key screens. This will eventually set up the interaction design.
Your app layout is essentially a combination of the first two steps we’ve already gone through. You’re going to take the content from step two and integrate it with the user flows in step one.
You can still use basic shapes and tab bar placeholders instead of using any actual copy. But you can eliminate at least some of the placeholder text or screens with headers.
For example, your home screen layout might initially include Lorem ipsum placeholder text. Now you can get rid of those placeholder headers and add the main headers from your content list.
You can establish the hierarchy of screen elements using size as a point of reference.
Larger buttons, text, and CTAs are more important than smaller text located at the bottom of the screen. You can play around with different variations of the screen layouts as you’re going through this process.
I strongly recommend using easily recognizable design patterns when you’re thinking about the screen layouts.
For example, let’s say you’re going to include a bottom tab bar navigation on each screen of your app that includes the app’s most important screens. Having a house icon for a home screen makes more sense than a random shape or icon. This is something that users are already familiar with, and they understand exactly where that button is going to take them. A smiley face icon is not appropriate for your settings page.
Look at the example above. You know exactly where the home button and settings button are, even without any text on the page.
Similarly, these icons would not fit in the middle of the screen, but they make sense placed at the bottom navigation.
These are the types of things you’ll have to consider when you’re mapping out the screen layouts.
Step #4 — Create a Detailed Wireframe
Detailed wireframes go beyond a basic sketch or hand-written notes. They are often high-fidelity versions of what your app will look like, including ready-made templates for your screens.
You don’t have to put in real images, videos, or anything like that just yet. But the wireframes should be digitalized and include the real spacing between buttons and content.
A detailed wireframe does not need to include any logos, custom fonts, or specialty UI elements. But they are a bit more formal for sharing with stakeholders and other team members. To make something stand out, you can use bold text, sizing, or spacing.
As you can see, there is still some Lorem ipsum placeholder text in the author bio section of that particular screen. But the sign-up screen has been replaced with the actual text.
The screen in the middle of this example shows how different book topics will be displayed on the screen, but it doesn’t actually go into detail about the genres.
Step #5 — Integrate the Design Elements
Technically, design elements are not part of the actual process for wireframing. Design is a completely different stage in the development process.
However, wireframing and design are so closely related that it makes sense to start thinking about it now.
If the design isn’t your strength, you can consult with multiple designers to show you different design patterns and ideas.
The responsive design development stages and other design elements will be implemented later on, but you can still add some of them now, depending on your goals.
For example, let’s say you need to raise money to fund your app. Pitching the app to investors is probably better if the wireframe includes more than just black and white placeholder text. Even some design elements can make the wireframe a bit more visually appealing.
Creating a ANDROID app is a mobile operating system practical approach to expanding an existing business. In addition, this is a chance to increase client loyalty by allowing them to use your services on their smartphone or tablet.
Starting an app begins with a concept or solution to a specific problem and selects an operating system for app development.
On the market now, iOS and Android are the only two solutions worth considering.
Let’s find out which one you prefer: IOS or Android development?
Android vs iOS
Unlike in the past, when there were multiple possibilities, iOS and Android are currently the only platforms worth considering. When combined, they account for about 100% of the mobile market.
According to the most recent statistics, Android and iOS control about 97% of the worldwide smartphone industry. As a result, you should develop and deploy your software simultaneously on both platforms, as there is no reason to explore the third platform.
Unfortunately, due to time, resources, and money restrictions, this strategy may not be feasible. As a result, many entrepreneurs and businesses must consider the advantages and disadvantages of Android vs. iOS apps and launch on one platform first before moving on to the other. There are obvious distinctions between the two platforms.
Aspects to consider while selecting a mobile operating system
When deciding between Android and iPhone app development, these are the significant considerations to consider.
They are as follows:
The availability and cost of talent
Android developers must produce apps that function on various devices, whereas iOS developers are only responsible for Apple products. It’s helpful to know that Android development might take longer in terms of money and schedule.
Target audience
The percentage of your target audience who owns a smartphone must be taken into consideration when deciding between Android and iOS app development. Next, look at demographic data like age, income, and gender to gain a clear picture of your target population. This is a convincing reason to choose iOS over the others if you discover that your target market favors this platform over the others. First, you need to know how many smartphones your target audience owns and which platforms they prefer to use.Â
Process of costing and reviewing
These are some of them:
Update to be compatible with the most recent operating system
Thoroughly test and update to work with the most recent devices.
While some developers’ app proposals are accepted within a few hours, there are numerous review horror stories of app submissions being stalled for weeks or even months. It’s crucial to remember that, regardless of how difficult App Store submissions maybe, if your market research suggests that your target market prefers iOS devices, this is the platform you should create first.
Monetization
The last thing to think about is your monetization plan or generating money from the app. Despite accounting for more than 75% of all worldwide app downloads, Google Play made around 88 percent less income than Apple’s app store last year (2018). This implies that selling an app via a subscription model or in-app purchases is more profitable if you create it for iOS. Ad-based monetization tactics, on the other hand, have a higher success rate in Android apps. Android developers are also growing better at driving customer spending, according to the data.
Creating an app is not easy. You might have worked on it for weeks or even months to get a version that you (or your clients) are happy with. However, this is only half the work, and the rest is concerned with getting your app live and running on the App Store.
Once you submit your app for reviews, it takes about 24-48 hrs for you to get a response from the App Store’s review team. Apple is infamous for its closed ecosystem and tight control. Any deviations from their app guidelines will warrant immediate rejection. The whole process is even more rigorous for apps that accept user-generated content.
What if Apple rejects your app?
The first thing to do is go through the rejection email carefully. Usually, the App Store team gives a detailed description of what has gone wrong.
For example, Suppose you violated section 1.2 of App store guidelines which deal with User-Generated content. In that case, this is the typical response mail you will receive:
Your app enables user-generated content but does not have the required precautions in place.
Next Steps
Please revise your app to implement all of the following precautions:
Require that users agree to terms (EULA). These terms must make it clear that there is no tolerance for objectionable content.
Have a method for filtering objectionable content.
Have a mechanism for users to flag objectionable content.
Have the ability to block abusive users from the service.
The developer must act on objectionable content reports within 24 hours by removing the content and ejecting the user who provided the offending content.
From this message, it is clear that your app was rejected for not providing enough features for users to control what they wish to see inside the app. Start building the solution from here.
Whatever be the reason for your rejection, the great thing about App Store is that it has a vast developer community, and most issues are well-documented. So even if you don’t get your answer from the email, there are multiple forums, guides, or agencies that can help.
Remember, the benefits of having a mobile app for your business far outweigh any minor inconveniences you might have during its development. So stick to it.
Why are ‘special guidelines’ for user-generated content required?
Consider you are a team of 5 people managing a social media app with 10,000 active users. Each user, on average, shares one post a day in the form of either text, image, or video. That’s about 10,000 content pieces in 3 different formats that your team has to go through every day to find out if they are within the App Store guidelines!
Now think about the case where you have a flag/report button on each content. Regulating your app becomes much easier with users actively participating in removing anything that doesn’t fit their taste (and your policies in the process). You can even prioritize the user reports- content that receives the most flags in a specific timeframe requiring the greatest attention and vice versa.
This level of app self-cleansing is why the App Store ‘Special Guidelines’ exist. It prevents the proliferation of offensive content like pornography, objectification, threats, and bullying.
How do you prevent UGC Appstore rejection?
If this is your first time creating an app with User-Generated content, keeping in mind these 7 points will drastically reduce any chance of the App Store rejecting it:
1. Written policy against objectionable content in T&C
It is essential to inform your new users about the app’s policies regarding user-generated content well in advance. Adding a section about this in the terms and conditions is the best way to go about it. No new user should be allowed to sign up without accepting your app’s T&C.
Your App’s T&C should elaborate on the following two points in much detail:
Respecting other’s rights: Dealing with privacy, IP, copyrights, spam, bullying, harassment, and defamation
Safety: 3rd party apps, external linking, use of bots and crawlers, soliciting login information, and similar infringements
2. Providing a flag or report button for objectionable content
The App Store requires you to provide a mechanism where users can flag or report objectionable content. There will be a 24 hr window before which you need to review the content and take appropriate action.
If the content is deemed inappropriate, you must remove it and warn or suspend the violating user, depending on severity.
3. Provision to filter objectionable content
It is also good practice to allow users to hide content and users they don’t want to see. Providing a simple ‘hide this content’ or ‘Do not show me again’ button should do the trick. These allow users not to see certain content which might not otherwise warrant a report or a block. These also reduce considerable strain on you or your moderators by reducing the number of false reports.
Explore Al-based content filtering systems for prominent apps with a large user base. These includes:
Using AI-bot to scan text-based content to find banned words
Using speech recognition software to detect hate speech in podcasts or videos
Photo filtering to find potentially objectionable images
4. Provision to block or report user
Similar to content, there must also be a provision for users to block or report other users. Moderators must then check the offending user’s profile for guideline violations and temporarily or permanently ban the user if required.
5. Add contact information
The Appstore’s UGC guidelines state that your app should have your official business contact information or support information so that people can easily reach you. A simple contact form will suffice for all intents and purposes, but you can go a step further by adding a help center on your app. This page will contain the most common issues and FAQs, apart from contact details.
6. NSFW content
‘Incidental mature’ content is permitted on the App Store as long as they come from a ‘web-based service’. This is why 9GAG is allowed to host an ‘NSFW’ section in their app. Such content should be hidden by default and only be allowed to turn on from the app’s website.
7. Other General guidelines you should know about
Apart from the above-mentioned specific guidelines for apps with UGC content, there are also a few general guidelines that you must keep in mind before submitting your app for review:
Proper age-rating
No inappropriate content
Shouldn’t imitate or copy another app
Have a strong Privacy policy
Have transparency in user data usage
It should be stable without bugs and crashes
Remove any broken links or dummy content
Compatibility across various devices and iOS versions
THE MOST POPULAR WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTS TODAY industry is one of the most competitive and inventive. New programming languages, frameworks, platforms, products, and tools are released every day. So it’s no surprise that even experienced coders find it challenging to stay updated.
Furthermore, it’s getting increasingly popular since it’s less expensive to create, has many features, and is quite adaptable. Although it has advantages and disadvantages, you will discover that the advantages exceed the disadvantages.
The purpose of this article is to inform you about the most popular web application development products today. When you have web application development services, the procedure will be simple. Moreover, these tools will help you speed up and simplify your web development process.
Here is the list of Most Popular Web Application Development Products Today:
Chrome dev tools
Google Chrome provides several features that can assist with web application development. These are incorporated within the browser and are helpful for web developers. For example, users of DevTools will be able to examine messages right in their console; execute JavaScript in real-time without having to write a single word of code. This might be useful when solving issues or speeding up a website.
For any web developer, Chrome DevTools is a must-have. The performance panel allows you to improve site speed, monitor runtime performance, identify forced synchronous designs in Canvas documents, and investigate Network activity quickly due to its built-in Developer Tools feature.
Furthermore, it also has security features like identifying security issues and detecting Web page errors.
AWS Cloud9
AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that helps you write, execute, and debug various programming languages like JavaScript, Python, C, and PHP using only a browser. It was open-source in 2010. However, in 2016, it was bought by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
AWS Cloud9 also allows you to share your development environment and code with your coworkers in real-time. It saves you time and dramatically enhances the quality of your work because it comes preloaded with over 40 programming languages. File dragging, debugging, and code completion recommendations are valuable features.
Angular
Angular is a TypeScript-based programming platform. It contains everything you need as an all-in-one set of libraries and tools for creating web apps that can expand from startups to huge enterprises with many developers.
It also includes a component-based framework that aids in creating scalable database-driven websites without the need to write a lot of code, comprehensive form management solutions such as sanitization and data validation features, and routing capabilities that make developing easier by providing readymade components. With this fantastic toolbox, you will not have to go far to work on tasks.
Bootstrap
The Bootstrap toolkit is a set of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript development tools. This desktop tool is handy for creating Bootstrap-based responsive websites. It comes with various components that you may drag and drop to make responsive web pages.
The app’s framework is Bootstrap. It creates semantic HTML that is clear and easy to read. The app offers many premia, fully responsive themes, which you may alter. In addition, each design comes with various pages and widgets that you can mix and match to create your ideal website.
Many stunning components are included in Bootstrap Studio for creating responsive pages. Headers, footers, and galleries are all included in the design. Slides and essential components are also included. Bootstrap Studio can tell you which Bootstrap components are compatible.
ASP.Net
Microsoft’s ASP.Net framework is a web application development platform. It is employed in the development of web-based applications.
The initial version of ASP.Net was launched in 2002. The initial release of ASP.Net was version 1.0. Version 4.6 is the most recent version of ASP.Net. The HTTP protocol is intended to interact with ASP.Net. This is the universal protocol for all web apps.
ASP.NET is a module of the Microsoft.Net platform. ASP.NET applications are compiled scripts created with the.Net framework’s flexible and reusable components or objects. These scripts can access the whole hierarchy of classes in the.Net framework.
CodeLobster
CodeLobster is a handy and cross-platform IDE that is also free. Its primary purpose is to make creating PHP websites more accessible and faster. CodeLobster has been on the market for a long time, and each year it attracts a growing number of new users.
CodeLobster doesn’t work with PHP files. However, this IDE allows developers to modify CSS, HTML, Javascript, and Typescript files. Furthermore, it can give contextual help for any programming languages supported.
CodeLobster is likewise a highly user-friendly and straightforward tool. It combines a variety of essential elements into a single, well-organized location.
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is a “free editor that assists programmers in writing code, debugging, and correcting code using the intelli-sense approach.” In layman’s words, it makes it easier for users to develop code. Many people claim it’s half an IDE and half an editor, but that’s up to the developers to decide.
Any program we use is based on code that runs in the background. Traditionally, coding was done in traditional editors or simple ones like notepads. These editors used to give simple and basic assistance to developers.
Are you looking for tips to calculate your Web App Development Cost?If yes, you must read this article to learn about the cost of web app development.
Web app development is essential for every business as it has several benefits. But it is necessary to calculate the cost of web app development to make a budget for it.
People new in this field who wanted to develop their first web application found it challenging. But it is not as hard as you expect. In this article, you will get essential and valuable tips that will help you to calculate web app development costs efficiently.
Factors that affect web application development cost estimation
You might think that web developers only decide costs with their minds. But it is not correct; web app development costs depend on several factors, stages, and requirements. This section will tell about essential factors that affect the price of web app development.
Complexity
The more complex pages you want, the more cost will be needed. The difference is decided based on design, animation, and more. If you plan to make your application unique, you must spend more on it.
App developers and designers need more time and effort to make an app with solid UI or UX design. That is why they ask for more money.
They need up to 20 hours to design simple landing pages, which cost up to $1000 based on vendor rates. If you need more complex pages in your app, it will cost up to $5000 as they will add 3D animation, UX design, and more.
Developers area
The cost of web development differs from area to area. Countries like the USA, Canada, and more are charging high from other countries. At the same time, some countries of UKs are offering the lowest cost for web app development services.
Deadlines
The deadline of submitting a web app also affects the cost of it. If you need it as urgently as possible, app developers will charge extra for the urgent delivery of the app.
Hiring teams
The development of a web application is not a single person’s work. You have to hire some members to build a web app. Business analysts, frontend developers, backend developers, database engineers, and more are required for this team.
You do not have to hire all of them. You have to hire some of them, depending on your requirement. So the number of members in your web development team will also affect its cost as the price of each member differs.
Stages of web app development and estimated cost of web development
The process of web development goes through different stages. However, all stages are necessary and have their cost. Therefore, this section will get a web application development cost estimation of every step and detail of every stage.
Research
You must build an idea of your web app before hiring a web app development team. First, the research is necessary to know the market and needs of your target audience. Then, you can conduct your research. Otherwise, if you hire a web app development team, they will charge up to $25000.
Discuss requirement
If you have conducted your research for your web app, you must share your research with your web app development team. It will save the cost of research for your web app.
Design
Designing stage is essential in the web development process because the app’s design is the first thing your user notices on your app. You do not have to compromise at this stage as a bad quality design can be a reason for failure for your app.
Developers and designers spend a lot of time building attractive and unique designs. This stage takes 3 to 6 weeks, and the cost of designing starts from $50 and goes up to $50,000. However, the cost of designing is dependent on the complexity of the app.
Development phase
The development stage is crucial as front-end developers and back-end developers work to turn the ideas and design into a web app using the framework and tools of coding.
The time of this stage is not fixed as it depends on the app’s complexity. However, the cost of this phase will start from $5000 to $50,000, depending on your requirement.
Testing
Testing is necessary for all types of apps. You must test all the features of the app before launching it. Testing can show minor errors and significant errors in your app.
This stage will take 1 to 4 weeks, and you have to pay $500 to $50,000 to testers for this phase.
Estimate the cost of different app category
The development of apps is divided into three types. The cost of app development also depends on the type of application you want. There are the following types of apps –
Simple app – these apps are the basic set of functions, simple landing pages, and straightforward designs. These types of apps take about one month to build. The cost of these apps starts from $500 and goes up to $15000
Medium web app – these apps are more challenging to make than simple apps as they have interactive pages and lots of content. It takes 2 to 3 months in the building process and costs $15000 to $60000
Complex apps – Complex apps are the hardest to build as they have a high level of complexity like exclusive CMS, excellent designing of landing page and layout, and more. The designing of these apps is also challenging. It takes almost six months to make, starting from $60,000.
Are you planning to deploy SaaS to your business? Are you confused about whether you should deploy SaaS to your business or not framework? Then this article will clear your confusion as you will get the five best things about SaaS in this article.
The demand for SaaS is increasing day by day in the market. As a result, most companies use SaaS software instead of traditional software.
The high demand for SaaS in the market is that SaaS software doesn’t need any extra hardware, and the development team does. However, you need an internet connection and a web browser to deploy it to your business environment.
This is just one good thing about SaaS; you will get to know more about the benefits of SaaS in this article. In addition, this article will also give quick information about the best PHP framework for saas.
What is Software as a Service (SaaS)?
Software as a Service, also known as SaaS, licenses software on a subscription basis. SaaS providers give the software to companies or users who need software for their business needs. Companies and users pay the subscription charge to the SaaS provider to use their software.
The SaaS is part of cloud computing along with several other services. SaaS provider has delivered several business applications, mobile applications, payroll processing software, CRM software, and more. SaaS is also known as on-demand software as SaaS providers give software according to their client’s demands and needs.
What is the best PHP framework for saas?
While developing a SaaS product, the developer faces many challenges. It is hard to find the best PHP framework for saas. Every organization has to know about the framework of SaaS before deploying it to their company.
Laravel is the best PHP framework for saas. It is an open-source software framework. It is considered the best framework as it has several benefits, including model view control architecture, modular packaging, etc.
So make sure to choose SaaS products developed with Laravel Framework.
Differences between SaaS and on-premise framework software
When choosing software for your business, one is SaaS, and the other is on-premise software. SaaS and on-premise software are almost the same, but both have several significant differences, which you will learn in this section.
On-premise software comes with a license certificate. Software licenses are limited to one user or company. Due to this, the cost of on-premise software is too high. The user or company has to make a one-time payment to purchase this software. Then they can use SasS without any problem and compensation.
On the other hand, SaaS companies provide subscriptions on a monthly and yearly basis. As a result, users or companies have to pay for the subscription of SaaS products without spending large amounts on licensing software.
Many individuals don’t require software for life, and then SaaS is the best alternative in this case, as one can discontinue SaaS after completing their need.
This is just the beginning of the benefits of the SaaS model. You will get more detail about the benefits of the SaaS model in the next section.
Five best things about SaaS development frameworks
The SaaS model is an alternative model to traditional software. You only need an internet and web browser to deploy SaaS solutions to your business. It is less costly than traditional or on-premise software, and the benefits –
Save money
You can save more by deploying SaaS software to your business. SaaS resides in a multi-tenant environment resulting in the less upfront cost of purchasing and installation. Apart from up costs, you can also save on maintenance and upgrade costs.
SaaS also saves hardware cost as it does not require any hardware for use; it is easily deployable in your business environment. In addition, you do not have to pay for the unused feature to SaaS Providers as they only charge for the feature you are using.
Time-saving
This software also saves your time as SaaS products require less time than on-premise software for maintenance and installation. On-premise and traditional software needs time to develop and install the software.
On the other hand, SaaS has already installed and configured software on the cloud. SaaS providers will give you access to their software or application, and you can access the SaaS software in a couple of hours. This will save your time in the installation and configuration of the software.
No particular space is required.
You can use SaaS software from anywhere, even from your home. You do not need to visit a particular area to access this software. In addition, the SaaS system offers the option of remote access.
It is only necessary to have fast-speed internet and a web browser to access SaaS. SaaS products are helpful in the work from home. Anyone can access SaaS products from anywhere.
Flexibility
Relatively more flexible than other software. You do not have to purchase an additional server. You have the flexibility to scale up and down in your software based on your requirement.
Easy to adapt
The adaptation rate of SaaS solutions is significantly higher than traditional software. The learning curve of SaaS products is less means more efficiency for employees. Software-based SaaS is easy to handle, and some employees can take it alone.
That is why the adoption rate of SaaS solutions is very high. The High-efficiency rate has become one of the best things for developers and companies.
Scaling up your business requires a change of approach toward project definition. In the context of software, we refer to it as all the aspects that need to be covered during the process of planning and execution. A good project definition should answer the following questions:
Why?
All projects should start by providing their business justification, Scaling up a prerequisite to initiating any project. We can see this phase in almost every project management approach, including PRINCE2, DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method), or even AgileSHIFT. The latter one, which is relatively new to the market, distinguishes a phase called “Startup” which asks if the project is worth doing.
What?
Everything that needs to be done during the project. The scope of work has to be established before the project starts. As change is a part of every software-based project one has to take it into consideration when defining technical and system infrastructure, and the rules and procedures which will be used to operate the software. There is also a need to provide your team with training on maintenance or new organizational procedures introduced after scaling.
Who?
There is a need for a simplified structure within the team, with a clear set of responsibilities assigned to every person.
When?
A project definition has to include both a general and a detailed (with every task required) timeframe allowing the team and all stakeholders to track the progress.
How to define the project scope?
Even if you have vast resources, without a well-defined project scope there is little chance of success. So what is a scope and how do you define it when you have to make frequent changes to your product during the software development process? In simple terms: by defining scope we mean adopting a clear vision and an agreement on the deliverables expected from the project.
While defining the scope you have to prepare a detailed description of what the project is supposed to achieve and what it cannot accomplish. Of course, in today’s world changes to the project are inevitable, especially if you assume scaling up. To deal with that situation project managers use project scope management which includes defining project needs, understanding the project objectives, and the project scope definition.
By using Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Product Breakdown Structure (PBS), or Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) you can determine the impact of the change on the project scope.
These structures identify the features, components, or resources that would need to be added, changed, or deleted during the lifecycle of the project. Doing so will help to avoid scope creep. Furthermore, you must frequently update your project scope and communicate any changes to all stakeholders.
Tips:
Use WBS, and PBS RBS to identify any changes that can impact the project
Update your project scope frequently
How to re-organize a software development model when the product continually Scaling upchanges?
To maintain both high-quality and high value when the product continually changes there is a need for a re-organization of the software development model, which means choosing the right methodology, preferably the agile one (Extreme programming, Scrum, etc.) When it comes to requirements, project managers using Scrum tend to freeze the model for the current iteration so developers have a certain level of stability, although XP and DAD practitioners allow a change during the iteration. Whichever you choose, it is important to bear in mind that it may result in moving some requirements to the next iteration.
When working on the software project, stakeholders are responsible for defining and prioritizing new requirements, whilst developers are in charge of estimating the effort it takes to implement them. As many examples show, dealing with smaller requirements is easy to estimate, while bigger ones can be challenging.
So how to manage more difficult requirements? You must reorganize them into smaller and more manageable parts, so they can be implemented within a single iteration. As for iteration itself, it has to be shorter than in Scrum because it reduces the feedback cycle, making it easier to stay on track for both developers and stakeholders.
Tips:
Incline toward Agile rather than traditional methods.
Try to manage any change to requirements within one iteration.
When it comes to software development outsourcing, most people associate high-quality work with high prices. However, those who have outsourced IT services before are familiar with their time and budget-friendly benefits. So, whether you need a custom software development service or wish to work with freelance developers for web/mobile application development, you will find several options to fit your needs. If you’re on the lookout for an outsourcing company or vendor to provide you with the best services and value, this list will be extremely useful.
Before you hire someone for IT-related services, you should consider several factors that will play an essential role in planning the budget for such operations. Once you’ve carefully defined the budget, the benefits of outsourcing are endless.
Let’s take a look at the factors you should consider:
1. Average Cost of Software Development Outsourcing
Software development outsourcing companies typically charge by the hour, and their rates can be anywhere between USD $20 and $190 per hour. The type of outsourcing company you choose and their experience will determine the total cost you’ll pay for your work.
It’s best to check the vendor’s operational maturity level, list of services they offer, the quality of their work, and their work ethics before moving forward with the contract. More money often means higher quality, but that’s not always true. You can ask the vendor to provide work references and check online reviews, if available, before deciding. Additionally, there are four specific pricing strategies to consider before outsourcing software development services:
Fixed Price Plan: If you have clear goals and have agreed on all the deliverable details and deadlines, the vendors or freelancers will provide you with a fixed price. This pricing model is not flexible and any changes in the project will lead to cost adjustments.
CAP Plan: the CAP plan has features of both the pricing models mentioned above. While it is flexible and the project requirements are discussed in advance, there is an upper budget limit set by the client that the parties cannot exceed.
Monthly Flat Rate Plan: As the name of the plan suggests, if your vendor offers this pricing plan, you will pay a fixed monthly rate no matter how complicated or straightforward the software development process is. Typically, companies use this pricing plan for short-term services and when the scope of work is clear for both sides.
2. Evaluating Needs and Company Resources
Which IT services and operations will you need to outsource? If you need a complete software development project, including development, UI/UX design, quality assurance, project management, you will need to outline such needs from the outset.
If you decide to invest in IT outsourcing services without a clear goal, the project processes will not be optimized, and you will not get the best results from the services provided to you. It will be best to talk with the vendors and tell them which services you require in particular. An experienced service provider will conduct thorough research to identify product specifications and requirements before quoting a price.
3. Setting Expectations before Research
If your priority is finding vendors with the lowest rates, and you initiate your research based only on costs, there’s a higher chance that you’ll end up with an unqualified vendor. It’s always best to set criteria and a list of expectations (not just price) before conducting research.
First, you must analyze factors such as communication, management, and other processes and define the expectations of your ideal partner. Then you can conduct research to find a suitable software development outsourcing company.
4. Defining the Communication and Cooperation Model
Several companies report poor experience when outsourcing because communication issues overshadow the benefits of outsourcing. The communication gap is usually found when you hire off-shore outsourcing vendors. So, analyze how well the vendors understand your company goals and needs from the outset.
Additionally, following a specific cooperation model, such as a dedicated team, time and material, or fixed price, will make the services better for both you and your vendor. Before you set a budget, you need to analyze companies that offer clear communication platforms and control over the project. Ask vendors for their quotes so you have a clear idea of what they charge for scheduled reporting throughout the project. Poor communication can lead to delays and errors, which can cost your company more in the long run.
5. Examining Several Payment Models for Outsourcing
Choosing a payment model will help you consider all factors and apply them to a specific payment plan to calculate your budgeting needs.
Additionally, you can select either a fixed-fee pricing model or a per-hour pricing model. The model you choose will depend on the type of services you require and the contracted period. For example, a short-term plan can be based on a monthly flat-rate plan. In contrast, a long-term plan could follow the time and material pricing strategy. It’s best to discuss this with your vendor and find the most suitable payment model for a specific project.
6. Short-Term vs Long-Term Contracts
Depending on the extent of the work and the services you require, you will need to determine whether the company requires a long-term or short-term plan. This will help you greatly in managing expenses and setting a budget according to your needs.
A short-term plan typically covers portions of a service or a smaller project, while the long-term plan will cover all aspects of a service or department and typically include relatively bigger projects. It would also be worth evaluating whether carrying out these operations in-house can be completed within the specified budget, thereby offering better value for money.
Determining whether your goals are short or long-term will help you communicate with the vendors clearly and precisely. You will also be able to set a budget according to pricing models and the length of the project before work begins.
Countless articles compare C++ and Java’s technical features, but which differences are most important to consider? When a comparison shows, for example, that Java doesn’t support multiple inheritances and C++ does, what does that mean? And is it a good thing? software Some argue that this is an advantage of Java, while others declare it a problem.
Let’s explore the situations in which developers should choose C++, Java, or another language altogether—and, even more importantly, why the decision matters.
Examining the Basics: Language Builds and Ecosystems features
C++ launched in 1985 as a front end to C compilers, similar to how TypeScript compiles to JavaScript. Modern C++ compilers typically compile to native machine code. Though some claim C++’s compilers reduce its portability, and they do necessitate rebuilds for new target architectures, C++ code runs on almost every processor platform.
First released in 1995, Java doesn’t build directly to native code. Instead, Java builds bytecode, an intermediate binary representation that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). In other words, the Java compiler’s output needs a platform-specific native executable to run.
Both C++ and Java fall into the family of C-like languages, as they generally resemble C in their syntax. The most significant difference is their ecosystems: While C++ can seamlessly call into libraries based on C or C++ or the API of an operating system, Java is best suited for Java-based libraries. You can access C libraries in Java using the Java Native Interface (JNI) API, but it is error-prone and requires some C or C++ code. C++ also interacts with hardware more easily than Java, as C++ is a lower-level language.
Detailed Trade-offs: Generics, Memory, and More features
We can compare C++ to Java from many perspectives. In some cases, the decision between C++ and Java is clear. Native Android applications should typically use Java unless the app is a game. Most game developers should opt for C++ or another language for the smoothest possible real-time animation; Java’s memory management often causes lag during gameplay.
Cross-platform applications that aren’t games are beyond the scope of this discussion. Neither C++ nor Java are ideal in this case because they’re too verbose for efficient GUI development. For high-performance apps, it’s best to create C++ modules to do the heavy lifting and use a more developer-productive language for the GUI.
Is most internal audit report the right length? For many consumers of audit reports in the executive suite and boardroom, the answer is probably that they’re “too long!”
Audit reports may run to extraordinary lengths these days. For example, I recently talked to one organization where they could easily extend over a hundred pages. One hundred pages are clearly too long for anybody to rationally expect our stakeholders in top management and on the board to want to read them. When are there 100 pages of value, actionable information, in an audit report?
So, is the answer ten or twenty pages? Is it two or three? Let’s tackle the question in a different way.
Audit reports are a communication vehicle. The IIA Standards do not require that we write an audit report. Instead, they require that we communicate the results of our work to our stakeholders. So, a better question is: What should we communicate?
When is Will It Stop Hurting? When you visit the dentist because you have a toothache, do you want even a three-page report? Probably not. You want to know: (a) Can he or she stop the pain? (b) When will that be done? (c) Is there a serious problem? And (d) What is this going to cost me? You don’t want to be asked to read a recap of your dental history, the status of recommendations from your last visit, or a report on the depth of your gums. You want to receive the information you need, concisely and clearly written, without wasting a minute of your time.
What about your executives and board members? What information do they want to get from you? They want to know:
Is there a problem that is serious enough to potentially affect the organization and the achievement of its objectives in a material way? Is there a problem I need to worry about at my level?
Are the right actions being taken?
Is there anything I need to do personally?
Is there anything I need to make sure others are doing?
So why do we include more? Is it because we feel a need to justify our existence? I know of chief audit executives who insist that every audit report has at least one finding and recommendation. Why? If you have this need, this irrational compulsion, stop!
Is it because the report is a form of documentation, or because it is really being written for a regulator rather than the executive readers? Both are equally wrong.
The Elevator Version Imagine this. You enter the elevator at your company’s head office and are greeted by your CEO. She asks you about the audit your team recently performed of the Treasury function, saying that she is interested in the results. Do you tell her about the background of the audit? How about your scope and objectives? Do you list all the medium and low issues? Or do you just tell her whether there were major issues that merit her attention, whether management is taking the right corrective actions and any other insights that would be of value to her?
So why do we put more than these essentials in a written audit report? Why hide valuable, actionable information in a haystack of unnecessary detail? The length of the audit report, if one is even needed, should be just enough to tell the consumers of the report what they need to know—and no more.
Ah, I can hear you saying that the report has to include all the findings so you can make sure management owns the issues and will take necessary corrective actions. But do the executives and board members need to see that level of detail in the report? Weren’t these all discussed and agreed upon at your closing meeting (and if not, why not)?
Send a note to those present at the meeting, confirming the discussion and the corrective action details (who will do what by when, and other details). And then keep what you send to the executives and the board limited to what they need to read and no more.
Make it easy for them to pick up your reports promptly, digest the actionable information, and take whatever actions are needed—now when they are needed. Make it easy and not hard for them to read, understand, and take any necessary actions.
If you don’t waste their time with trivia when you have something to say they are far more likely to listen.
What say you? Can we cut most audit reports back to half a page? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
I have always been on the lookout for clever ways to describe an internal audit role in an organization. Elevator speeches are fine when you have 60 seconds to describe the value your profession brings to an uninformed bystander. I even shared some ideas for the elevator speech in a blog earlier this year. However, an elevator speech doesn’t hold a candle to a well-crafted sound bite that will leave a lasting impression.
One of my favorites used to be “internal audit is the brakes that allow the organization to drive faster.” The reasoning behind this analogy is that brakes are a critical component in a vehicle. To be sure, they are used to prohibit a vehicle from moving. But more importantly, brakes are crucial to maintaining control of a vehicle. Of course, well-resourced, independent internal audit functions add little value if they impede an organization’s ability to take risks and achieve results. But they add value when, like brakes on a car, they empower management and the board with information to slow down or stop if critical risks lie ahead.
Over the years, I have come to view the “internal audit-as-brakes” analogy to be a bit outdated. It envisions internal audit as being primarily control-focused. Today, internal audit provides much greater value than merely a set of brakes. After all, a vehicle with an outstanding braking system can still end up in the wrong place. Brakes are great for stopping or slowing down. However, they do little to help change course. Internal audits in the 2020s must help create – not just protect value!
I believe a more powerful analogy is that an internal audit is a critical component of an organization’s navigation system. Consider the value of a modern navigation system. Once the departing and arriving locations are enter, a navigation system provides timely and crucial feedback on the progress of the journey. The friendly voice provides turn-by-turn advice on reaching the destination. It recognizes when a turn has been missed and quickly alerts the driver to “make a legal U-turn.” It can be program to recommend routes that are faster, less congested, or avoid tolls. Some alert the driver when the speed limit is being exceed, or the vehicle is being taken on unsafe roads.
Much like the navigation system in a vehicle, an internal audit shows its powerful value by:
Providing assurance that the organization is progressing on the course charted by management and the board.
Provide recommended corrective actions when the organization is of course (please make a legal U-turn).
Identifying risks in advance (much like a navigation system warns of an accident or road congestion ahead).
Alerting management and the board of compliance risks/failures (think excessive speed).
Providing assurance that the organization has “arrived at its destination.”
To succeed, organizations in the 21st century must manage risks – both internal and external, whether related to finance, operations, strategy, technology, regulations, or reputation. While organizations are raising the bar on effective risk management, executives face extraordinary headwinds spawned by a turbulent environment in which risks materialize virtually overnight. In the past five years, we’ve faced the most extraordinary global pandemic in more than a century, more global financial turmoil, cybersecurity breaches that even target our infrastructure, corporate failures induced by toxic cultures, the #MeToo movement highlighting sexual assault and harassment in the workplace, and more. In the immediate future, we are facing the prospect of severe supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures not seen in 40 years, and likely more nasty surprises from COVID-19. Relying on a good braking system will be inadequate to navigate the hills and valleys that lie ahead. Instead, organizations need strong navigation systems with well-resourced and independent internal audit functions fully integrated to succeed.
Granted, my updated analogy may be oversimplified. Strong internal audit functions add value in a multitude of ways, and we are never more critical than management and the board in navigating risks that our organizations face. However, I find it is useful to think through analogies such as this one so that I can better articulate the internal audit’s role in ways that everyone can understand.
Upon scanning through the Common Criteria for a SOC 2, it doesn’t take long to come across criteria related to governance and the overall control environment. In particular, Common Criteria 1.2 (CC1.2)/COSO Principle 2 specifically addresses the role and expectations of the board of directors to provide oversight of internal controls. For small businesses or less mature organizations, this can be a potential hindrance in moving forward with a SOC 2. However, is a formal board of directors absolutely required to successfully address this criterion for a SOC 2 examination? Are other forms of governance sufficient? The purpose of this post is to examine this requirement in relation to a SOC 2 report and its application for organizations where a board of directors is not required or is not feasible or even unwarrant based on the nature of their entity.
What is a Board of Directors?
In the traditional sense (i.e. in relation to a corporation), a board of is a group of individuals, elected by shareholders, who form the governing body of the company and oversee management and the strategic direction of the organization. The board typically consists of internal executives as well as outside directors who are not employed or engage with the organization. The board of directors makes decisions on behalf of the company and its shareholders.
When is a Board of Required?
Certain organizations, such as public companies and S and C corporations, are legally required to have a board of directors in place. This is further defined by state laws. The board composition and roles and responsibilities are address in articles of incorporation, bylaws, and/or company charters. As such, public companies and corporations are well-positioned to satisfy requirements related to governance performed by the board of directors. However, limited liability companies (LLCs) and sole proprietorships, for example, are not require to have a board of directors. These organizations may elect to have a board of directors, but some may find it too costly or unnecessary to form a board of directors with independent board members.
What is the SOC 2 Requirement for a Board of Directors?
As set forth in TSP section 100, 2017 Trust Services Criteria for Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy, CC1.2 states:
“The board of directors demonstrates independence from management and exercises oversight of the development and performance of internal control. The following points of focus, specified in the COSO framework, highlight important characteristics relating to this criterion:
Establishes Oversight Responsibilities — The board of identifies and accepts its oversight responsibilities in relation to established requirements and expectations.
Applies Relevant Expertise — The board of directors defines, maintains, and periodically evaluates the skills and expertise needed among its members to enable them to ask probing questions of senior management and take commensurate action.
Operates Independently — The board of directors has sufficient members who are independent of management and objective in evaluations and decision making.
Supplements Board Expertise — The board of directors supplements its expertise relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy, as needed, through the use of a subcommittee or consultants.”
As stated, the criteria require that a board of directors be in place to provide adequate supervision and oversight of the organization. There appears to be little wiggle room when contemplating the need for a board of directors when engaging in a SOC 2 examination. However, the characteristics called out in the points of focus are not exclusive to a board of directors. A management team, or even an owner-manager, depending on the complexity of the organization, could fulfill the characteristics noted above. It seems reasonable that other forms of governance, depending on the nature of the entity, could provide adequate oversight where a board of directors is not in place.
Are There Alternatives to a Board ?
Per TSP section 100, 2017 Trust Services Criteria for Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy, the AICPA offers a broader definition of a board of directors:
“Individuals with responsibility for overseeing the strategic direction of the entity and the obligations related to the accountability of the entity. Depending on the nature of the entity, such responsibilities may be held by a board of directors or supervisory board for a corporation, a board of trustees for a not-for-profit entity, a board of governors or commissioners for a government entity, general partners for a partnership, or an owner for a small business.”
Based on the definition provided by the AICPA as noted above, those with responsibility for overseeing the entity are not confined to the traditional board of directors model. Rather, the AICPA recognizes that different forms of governance, depending on the nature of the entity, may be sufficient for the organization to achieve its services commitments and system requirements. So, yes, different forms of governance, depending on the nature of the entity, may be sufficient as an alternative to a board of directors
For example, for a less complex organization with fewer personnel, a service auditor may conclude that a senior management team or executive committee provides sufficient oversight of the company and that the achievement of the service commitments and system requirements is not impacted by the lack of a formal board of directors. In such an environment, management likely participates heavily in the supervision and reviews of key controls thus providing oversight of internal controls. They would be influential in the organization’s commitment to ethical and legal conduct and would also be involve in the recruitment and evaluation of employees and consultants to ensure adequate knowledge and expertise are present. In addition, management teams in this setting generally possess adequate competence and knowledge of the organization and its processes to provide adequate oversight without overreliance on others within the organization.
Cybersecurity is a complex and ever-evolving subject. Just when you feel you may have understood a majority of common threats looming on the internet, something new comes up. Catfishing, for instance, may be a new term for many and you’re perhaps one of that regular internet and social media users who aren’t too familiar with catfishing and what exact damage catfish can cause.
In this blog, we get into the details of catfishing, the motives of online catfish, and most importantly, how you can protect yourself from them.
Catfishing involves a person using information and images to create a false identity for themselves on the internet.
A catfish can sometimes steal another person’s full identity, including date of birth, photos, and geographical location, and pretend it’s their own. They then use the fake identity to trick others into doing business online or associating with them.
Catfishing is extremely common amongst dating app users as well. A catfish may pose as someone they’re not and trap others into romance scams.
It’s important to note that not all catfish are cybersecurity threats. Many people may catfish due to insecurities regarding who they are, mental instability, feelings of revenge, desire to experiment with sexual preferences, and more. While some catfish may not be malicious, many are fraudsters and perpetrators of cybersecurity scams against their targets.
How exactly do catfish scams work? Catfish trap unsuspecting targets to believe in their false identity and can extract vital, sensitive information in the process. Many can straight off ask for money and others may get precious credentials out of you. They may then use this sensitive information for monetary gains and in some extreme cases to unleash further sophisticated cyber-attacks or ransomware attacks against a business or organization you may be associated with.
While catfish are definitely out there in hoards and their intentions can range from impish to malicious, the only way to really deal with them is to know how to protect yourself from them. Below are ways to protect yourself and your personal information from potential catfish.
1. Do a background check
You can conduct a name search or an online background check with the help of services like Instant Checkmate. This can help reveal an individual’s social media profiles, news articles they could be mentioned in, or other digital content containing their name. After the initial search, you can confirm further personal details like their workplace, where they come from, their friends, etc. to make sure that who they claim to be matched with what the internet says about them.
2. Know the signs of being catfished
If the catfish’s description is thorough and detailed, it may be difficult to tell when you’re being catfished. Since the catfish’s profile is only created to target specific persons, they may not have a lot of followers or friends. A catfish may never want to voice or video call may avoid in-person meet-ups, and may even ask for money. These are all signs that you are being catfished and that you should put up your guard.
3. Never share your personal information
Oversharing personal information with strangers can be dangerous. If someone you’ve just met online begins asking for your personal data such as an address, additional contact information, or account details, or tries to push you to tell them things regarding your life or your work, they could be catfishing you.
If they ask you for a password on the pretext of an emergency, that’s a really major warning sign that something is up. Asking for personal data is another big red flag because that behavior isn’t normal, and it should raise cause for alarm.
4. Be suspicious of those you don’t know
Be careful when you receive friend requests, correspondence, or message requests from people you aren’t familiar with. Treat online conversations the same as real-life ones. While it’s okay to interact with new people and make more friends, you should be cautious and look out for catfishing signs discussed above.
5. Ask questions that require specific knowledge
If you suspect that someone is catfishing, ask them questions that only people with their reported background would know. You can ask about malls and restaurants from where they claim to come from or something particular about what they do. If they’re hesitant or try to avoid your questions, be wary of them.
6. Use reverse image search to identify fake profile photos
Social media is full of fake images and profiles. If you’re suspicious of the person you’re chatting with online, consider using a reverse image search to identify fake images. This tool also allows you to confirm a photo’s authenticity by looking at similar images and the original version of the photo.
Cyber Security Awareness amongst employees has emerged as one of the primary concerns that a business must focus on in the modern, digital age. Imparting basic skills needed for cyber security to employees has often been the critical differentiator between companies that get compromised and those that don’t.
The 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack is a case in point – the global cybercrime “epidemic” managed to attack those businesses that had not made necessary updates to their Windows systems.
Had the global cybersecurity awareness levels been higher and if more organizations across the world were following better cyber security practices, perhaps the number of attacks and the damage they’re able to cause today would be much lesser.
In this blog, we highlight some basic cyber security best practices that businesses should follow to protect themselves from cybercrime, as well as to protect the data of their customers, clients, and partners. This list is just indicative and only scratches the surface in terms of what you can do to ensure greater cyber resilience for your business.
7 Cyber Security Best Practices To Follow
1. Review Encryption Software: It is important to review your current encryption processes, and keep up to date with the latest technology. With cyber criminals getting more advanced every day and the number of people trying to steal information for monetary gains growing, encryption software and ensure that it is up to scratch.
2. Review Vendor Security: It is important to review the third-party security because your data gets transfer between your company and theirs. Your company can be as secure as you want it to be, but if the people who receive and handle your data do not have the same level of security
3. Invest in the IT Team: As a company, your IT team is your first line of both defense and offense. The people who make up your IT team need to be trained and updated with the latest information on what to look out for in terms of cyber-attacks and potential issues.understanding their concerns, and investing in the best possible resources for them are all great ideas if you want to ensure that you have a good cybersecurity posture.
4. Understand your Backups: Check and understand how you backup your data on a regular basis. Backing up your data is an important operation, crucial to business functioning; but it is also one of the key components of a ransomware readiness checklist. your backup processes are foolproof, that’s half the battle won against ransomware attackers as they won’t be able to block your access to your own data.
5. Review Authentication Processes: The way that authentication occurs in a business should always be record, and the way that employees use certain systems should have checks and balances to ensure that there is no use in bad faith. Authentication processes should be as watertight as possible, and it is important to have a record of who has what access within a business. Privileg access users should be monitored and trained with a greater degree of diligence.
6. Continue emphasizing strong passwords: As a security-focused business, you’ve probably already highlighted the importance of using strong passwords for your staff. But this is one aspect of good cybersecurity hygiene that needs continuous reiteration.
Often one leaked password is all it has taken for cyber criminals to unleash large-scale attacks on massive organizations. It should also be make mandatory for everyone to use multi-factor authentication to log in to their systems or corporate accounts. This adds another very important layer of security.
7. Staff Training: Finally, cybersecurity training is key not just for general employees, but also for IT teams and everyone in the management. It is important to make sure that your entire company is well trained in cyber security awareness and cyber incident response training.
In terms of cybersecurity awareness training, every employee must understand their individual roles and responsibilities when it comes to cyber security. They must understand the importance of not opening malicious links, suspicious emails, or pop-ups that look untrustworthy. These and other phishing tactics lead to most identity thefts and ransomware attacks.
The digital transformation of businesses around the world has accelerated significantly in recent years. With the spread of digitalization, there is a very high increase in the number of threats in businesses due to the deficiencies in traditional network security technology. This indicates that stronger measures are needed for data secure and network protection.
With the emergence of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) as one of these measures, network and security professionals aim to adapt to the distributed nature of users and data. According to a recent global survey, 19 percent of respondents are planning to deploy SASE in the next twelve months to obtain high security.
SASE stands out as a security approach combined with cloud services that distribute traffic faster than traditional network services. Before deploying SASE in your business, you should understand SASE capabilities. To use SASE consistently and implement it strategically, it would be beneficial to get more information about SASE.
What Is Secure Access Service Edge?
Expected to be an essential part of enterprise network systems, SASE is an advanced network solution that offers superior performance and the highest security at an affordable cost. SASE also refers to the process of combining SD-WAN with VPN and in this way, they both run as a cloud service at the source.
The unified SASE platform aims to:
Reduce complexity and costs.
Prevent data loss wherever data is used, from the edge to the cloud.
Meet the instant and uninterrupted service demands of its customers.
Protect employees from advanced threats with cloud-based SASE wherever they are.
SASE runs organizations’ network and security functions closer to the endpoints and puts the cloud at the center of the network with cloud-built security tools. At the heart of the SASE platform, there is a data protection solution that gives you unmatched control over many aspects of your data and ensures uniform connectivity and protection from anywhere so you can work from anywhere.
SASE provides a distributed workforce with secure remote access to cloud resources. It’s easy to gain quickness, mobility, reduced complexity, and expense reduction by applying SASE to your business.
What Are the Main Components of SASE?
SASE combines multiple solutions and five key components at the center of its capabilities. These components are as follows:
Secure Web Gateways | SWGs:
Secure Web Gateways protect against malicious web-based software on SASE networks. Filters unwanted malware from network traffic and enforces corporate policy compliance. In addition, web-based applications are also regularly monitored by SWG solutions.
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA):
Zero Trust Network Access offers secure remote access to any data or application. Unlike standard VPN solutions, it makes it possible to assign privileges and authorizations to users and devices. It works with the motto “Never trust, always verify”.
ZTNA maximizes security by subjecting devices and users accessing the network to authentication processes based on location, identity, and other criteria through advanced authentication protocols that can be replicated.
Cloud-Native Architecture:
Cloud-Native Architecture works with WAN architecture with a combination of network security functions. It offers extensive scalability and flexibility. Cloud-based services can be easily tailored to user and company needs and requirements. You can build a secure infrastructure for location, mobile devices, edge computing solutions, IoT technologies, cloud data centers, and more.
Firewall as a Service:
Firewall as a Service acts as a comprehensive intrusion prevention system for online businesses much more efficiently than a physical firewall. FWaaS can be adapted to any network and need thanks to cloud technologies.
Data Loss Protection:
Data Loss Protection can be defined as a data loss protection engine integrated into the SASE architecture. DLP makes it easy to track by providing visibility into data in use, in motion, and at rest. It can protect confidential data and important activities. This protection may require encryption. It can send network security alerts to minimize the overall risk of any security and data breach.
Cloud hosting for chief business apps including Sage HRMS, Sage CRM, or Sage ERP presents several advantages like IT cost reduction and workforce mobility. However, the decision to transfer the cloud frequently requires proper research and preparation. It is important for you to know that migrating Sage to the cloud may not be good for every business. Service providers will not only tell you if the move to the cloud is an accurate decision but also help you in leveraging your current software investments to their full potential. Transferring an on-site application, like Sage CRM provides the ability to increase its current investments.
1. Choose a cloud provider with Sage Hosting expertise:
The cloud hosting providers mostly understand the necessities required to transfer your company’s applications to the cloud. Since Sage CRM, Sage HRMS, and Sage ERP applications house the most relevant data of the business including customer information and finance-related data, selecting a service provider that has a good experience with Sage makes it simpler to troubleshoot issues related to applications and speed up the migration process.
CloudIBN offers reliable full-time support and the power of Softaculous to install many free applications with just a single click. We provide an easy control panel, free website templates, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and 24 x 7 technical support.
2. Select applications you will like to host:
While thinking about hosting Sage, you must consider other apps that would like to host with your existing Sage application as well. Find out the applications that can be moved easily without any issues and apps that can take more time to transfer because of on-premise customizations.
3. Backup and Disaster Recovery:
Always think about backup and disaster recovery solutions before moving your Sage application to an environment. Making sure that you have a backup and disaster recovery plan gives your business a greater sense of security as well.
4. Industry Requirements:
To ensure compliance, know about your industry requirements. Some industries like finance and healthcare usually require specific certifications and are heavily regulated to ensure data security.
5. Cloud Security:
Around 95% of companies that suffer major data loss ultimately go out of business, according to experts. Ensure that you have encrypted logins, the right user roles defined, 24 x 7 incident monitoring, built-in firewalls, and antivirus protection to ensure that your information is as secure as it can be.
6. Reliable Internet:
You will need to ensure that you have a proper connection to the internet once your business has Sage business software running in the cloud. Think about your existing internet connectivity while moving to the cloud. If you have a bad internet service then be ready to have issues in connecting to your apps in the cloud. Your cloud service provider should provide connectivity support too to assist with troubleshooting all connectivity problems.
7. Comparison Analysis:
By offering a cloud hosting comparison analysis, the service providers offer customers the elasticity of knowing whether the move to the cloud is accurate or not.
Organizations that lack a high-level cloud strategy risk wasted investment and failure. Cloud computing, with all its features and benefits, also comes with some multidimensional perks. The cloud computing paradigm has been driving innovation in almost all sectors of the market; contrary to the popular belief that cloud computing is just beneficial for computing applications. It is imperative that IT leaders think ahead and prepare a Cloud strategy for their Organizations.
To make full use of the Cloud computing arena, one needs to have a strong strategy in place. One that works for the business as a whole, and also one that works for the employees. There are some brilliant options to choose from and some great support services to avail but which one to choose? And what investment to make? We look at some cloud computing strategies that leaders should keep in mind while building from the bottom up.
4 Things to Consider for Building an effective Cloud Strategy for your Company
1. Private cloud or public cloud or hybrid: A very confusing but one of the most important decisions a leader has to make is to choose the type of Cloud he would like to deploy on. A Private cloud is definitely more secure and robust but costs more. A Public cloud is lean and relatively cost-less but comes with security concerns. A Hybrid cloud needs expert developers and careful planning to deploy, which increases operating costs as a whole. Careful consideration should be done while selecting the cloud and the pros and cons should be weighed against each other.
2. Value your options and choose: Cloud computing was first adopted by small and medium-sized companies for simple and low-cost solutions because their needs dictated that. Many large organizations are adopting cloud computing for cost-cutting and speed-to-market benefits. They view clouds primarily as an enabler of process improvement and a means of reducing costs in specific pockets across IT. You need to see where you fit, and what the purpose of the shift is. Do you need it for IT support or do you want to induce the BYOD paradigm in your workspace? Your choice would also depend on your bandwidth needs. In the end, choosing a Cloud computing platform is all about dealing with trade-offs.
3. Plan your budget: If you have made a decision on what fits your needs, you need to next choose your IT support backbone. There would be a minimal investment in the storage hardware, but you might have to invest in hiring the proper workforce for Cloud development.
4. Technology: After you have locked in your needs and the budget available for it, take a look at the best technology stack available for the task in the money that you have allocated for the shift to cloud computing. Keeping in mind your Go-to-market strategy, choose from among many of the Cloud service providers in the market today. A lot of them would provide additional features like social media integration and higher security measures, which might be valuable to you, so choose wisely.
Disaster Recovery, Backup, Scalability, Resilience, High Availability, and other capabilities of the Cloud have helped create an interesting solution set for Organizations to choose from. The power of the cloud lies in its versatility and flexibility. With more resources available to the average user on demand and without locking up its CapEx, Cloud computing is capable of delivering more content faster, and to more devices. There are many ways to utilize the cloud and each can have its own considerations and best practices. Aligning those best practices with your business goals is the key strategy that should be followed.
Cloud consulting services are part of many IT enterprises as well as other organizations. As more and more companies are realizing the potential of going cloud for better utilization of resources as well as lower dependence on hardware. Companies and the end-users get complete access to a variety of services such as software, information, and resources. You only need effective internet connectivity to build and run your application and software.
A cloud model usually provides three service models; namely Infrastructure-as-a-Service (Iaas), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-service. Let us dig each in detail.
IaaS – Infrastructure-as-a-Service
IaaS is one of the renowned cloud service models where you get access to distributed virtualized computing resources such as networks, storage, and servers. System administrators manage everything in this model and they provide convenient access to all users.
IaaS cloud infrastructure pattern provides the following benefits:
Transparency – You can request a general location zone for virtual machines
Pay-per-use – You can save hardware investment and pay for the resources you use
Flexibility – You can request a variety of computational and storage resources
Shared Resources – You can access a pool of shared resources and thus higher utilization rate can be achieved
On-demand Services – You can access or request services as you like
Manageability and accessibility – You can access resources from anywhere and anytime.
PaaS – Platform-as-a-Service
In the PaaS service model, you need not buy and own the hardware and software. PaaS offers a virtual environment for developing, running, deploying, and managing applications online. Developers are the principal users of PaaS. It is also known as the middleware service model used to provide a virtual environment with shared tools and resources by eliminating the need for managing the complexity of infrastructure.
IaaS cloud infrastructure pattern provides the following benefits:
Collaboration – geographically situated people can come together and work on a project
Versatility- You can access different databases and programming languages and other resources for the development
Simplification – You need not worry about updating servers. Everything is managed by a PaaS provider.
Testability – Different tools make the testing application programs more convenient
Elasticity – The resources such as network, storage, and servers required to deploy an application can be accommodated as per the varying volume of requirements.
Transparency – Your PaaS provider manages everything from patches to maintenance. There will be no server issues.
On-demand services – You can use additional software development tools if you want to
Accessibility – You can access all PaaS services through thin web browsers anytime from anywhere.
Pay-per-use – You pay for what services you consume
SaaS – Software-as-a-Service
The most sought-after part of any cloud platform will be SaaS. It is widely used by all sorts of companies and persons. The volume and different services the platform provides include applications, storage, servers, and so on.
SaaS cloud infrastructure pattern provides the following benefits:
Scalability – Scaling up and scaling down is easy
Reduced time to benefit – The software is ready to use and no need to waste time on installation and configuration
Lower costs – license costs for software and the maintenance cost are lower since its a multi-tenant environment
In a nutshell
All these service models ensure cloud security and considering the business goals you can choose a service model. IaaS provides sharing of distributed resources such as storage, networks, and other relevant computing resources for the end-user. He can run and deploy applications including operating systems. Operating system support and software development frameworks are provided in PaaS. SaaS delivers end-user applications on the cloud infrastructure. You can access it from any device as long as you have the credentials.
Staffing software (temporary staffing software and long-term staffing software) can help staffing agencies find and manage recruits as well as corporate clients. More specifically, it can facilitate communication with clients and recruits, managing recruit profiles, and posting jobs. Also, staffing software helps perform tasks related to matching recruits to job openings, including candidate screening, applicant tracking, and more.
Sometimes, staffing software is referred to as applicant tracking software or recruiting software. But applicant tracking software and recruiting software may also be used by enterprises for their own recruiting needs while staffing software handles the demands of a staffing agency.
Staffing agencies software key capabilities
Staffing software can integrate with email services and calendars, job boards, social media, a staffing agency’s website, and more, which helps increase the efficiency of staffing processes. As regards built-in capabilities of staffing software, we can distinguish the following components:
Applicant tracking system (ATS)
An applicant tracking system is a key component of staffing software. The ATS offers candidate sourcing, resume management, applicant evaluation, and candidate tracking.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Staffing CRM functionality is required for the effective management of an agency’s relationships with clients and candidates. It helps reduce time to hire, add and view candidate data easily, track opportunities, generate detailed real-time reports, and more.
Throughout the food manufacturing process, from purchasing raw materials to distributing end products, manufacturing companies rely on different types of software to facilitate their business-critical operations. An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution is one of the key elements of a manufacturing software ecosystem. It helps plan raw material procurement and utilization, monitor inventory levels across various stages, automate customer order processing, and track finished food items through the entire supply chain.
The key functionality of food manufacturing software
All ERPs for food manufacturers is unique and may provide different functionality depending on the manufacturer’s size, the production process specifics, the existing digital environment, and more. customers from the food domain are typically interested in the following food manufacturing software features:
Planning of food production and distribution. To analyze sales history, get analytics-based recommendations on the optimal time for raw material purchasing, manage order grouping for bulk processing, and plan product shipping.
Bill of Materials (BOM) creation and management. To centralize information on the amount and cost of raw materials required to manufacture a particular SKU, create and edit product manufacturing and packaging instructions.
Inventory management. To track the number of raw materials and finished goods, timely reallocate inventory between multiple , storage, and distribution sites, identify slow sellers and popular products, and predict high and low sales periods to avoid overstocking and stockouts.
Supply chain management. To monitor the transfer of raw materials and end products between manufacturing facilities, storage locations, and distribution centers.
Recipe management. To facilitate the creation and storage of food and beverage recipes, record information on ingredients and their substitutions.
Quality management. To establish quality control checklists and procedures, monitor the quality of raw materials and end products to ensure food safety and quality, and maintain compliance with relevant governmental regulations.
Cost management. To accurately value inventory based on a preferred costing method, track the spending on raw materials, consumables, etc.
Make the first step in your future food software
Food manufacturing and distribution software can facilitate planning, optimize inventory management and supply chain operations, and help guarantee the compliance of food products with the required industry- and country-specific regulations. If you consider implementing effective food software to improve the transparency and overall effectiveness of your food and distribution processes.
IT infrastructure has expanded rapidly over the last decade and has positioned IT as an active business partner. This drastic expansion means IT teams need to look for effective and scalable mechanisms to manage the IT infrastructure at optimal costs and efforts. Here we discuss how User Interface (UI) can play a significant role in effectively executing IT infrastructure management.
Importance of User Interface in IT Infrastructure Management
The IT department has a broad view of business services and infrastructure. To manage and serve dynamic IT infrastructure needs with ease, businesses are adopting various automation solutions to scale up efficiencies by improving visibility into infrastructure services while avoiding service outages and maximizing operational agility. Automation can save a lot of manual efforts and provide data to drive business decisions but, without proper UI and visualizations, IT teams cannot completely understand the data and service flows provided by automation.
Data visualization isn’t as simple as it appears, having the right information at the right time is the key. Without this, the entire process can slow down which decreases overall efficiency. This can greatly affect IT system administration and troubleshooting activities. For example, discovering and analyzing an issue is a time-sensitive task without proper data visualization and UI, it can compromise SLAs.
Binding complex functionalities under a well-defined UI enables IT, teams, to get results immediately. So, having a strong UI can simplify the process of IT administration and troubleshooting.
UI/UX Considerations for IT Management
The UI and User Experience (UX) design process is completely agile. For IT teams to achieve better results, striking the right balance between the UI design requirements and UX is important. There are a few things to consider to get this right.
UI/UX Considerations for Infrastructure Deployment
Expanding IT Infrastructure with new capabilities and resources is common. Initiating new deployments through UI requires following a structured process to guarantee all modules are installed properly. UI design patterns keep the process simple and provide transparency throughout the installation process. Generalization can simplify the process to prevent errors and speed up the entire process. Typically, in the deployment process, mostly wizards are used.
UI/UX Consideration for Infrastructure Monitoring and Management
The type of UI that goes into IT infrastructure monitoring isn’t the same as in the deployment process. The goal is to optimize IT operations management. This process involves checking the utilization and performance status and extract deeper insights of performance. IT teams need better data visualization and dashboards that enhance understanding of efficiency in IT infrastructure with a report specific to each business case.
UI and UX reporting should vary based on the hierarchy of access. For example, IT admins need an IT infrastructure map and access to data about each deployment. The UI deployed should provide visualizations with appropriate information in dashboards that are easy to understand. If you consider roles like users, the UI should be simple interfaces, so if there is an incident, users can troubleshoot without getting into technicalities.
The cloud-native infrastructure is a cloud environment that enables the entire life cycle of applications designed and developed to operate in the cloud. A classic cloud-native app consists of a mesh of isolated services ensuring the overall app stability as the app does not cease to operate when one service is down. The granular infrastructure of such apps enables their on-the-go improvement without operational downtimes and systemic failures.
Important aspects of the cloud-native infrastructureContainerization
For the deployment of cloud apps, I recommend using containers to package up software code with all the dependencies necessary to run an app or a service. Containers consume fewer cloud resources and can be easily configured, scaled, replicated, and orchestrated via such management systems as Kubernetes. The use of containers facilitates CI/CD implementation and infrastructure automation.
Paas
To make the cloud more attractive to users, major cloud providers offer PaaS services for developing, testing, deploying, managing, and updating cloud applications: AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, Google App Engine, etc. PaaS releases you from cumbersome server management and lets you extend your cloud infrastructure with special modules for AI, machine learning, IoT, blockchain, etc., with no extra development efforts.
IT infrastructure automation
With the Infrastructure as Code (IaC) approach, your DevOps team can automate cloud infrastructure setup and management of its components. They use configuration files to organize unified and instantly configured development environments and trace changes committed to the infrastructure.
Parallel development environments
As services of a cloud-native app are detached and have clear criteria for their functional operability, they enable a high level of automation and can be simultaneously developed and then assembled, tested, and deployed through the branching CI/CD pipelines.
Autoscaling
Cloud infrastructures are driven by virtual computing nodes like EC2s in AWS and VMs in Azure or Google Cloud Platform. Each component of a cloud infrastructure consumes CPU, RAM or storage capacities attributable to it and the consumption should timely follow the demandThat’s why I recommend automating resource orchestration to:
Reduce cloud consumption by scaling down when a service is idle.
Ensure sufficient performance of a service by scaling up.
Depending on the objectives, you can make the virtual instances scale dynamically against metrics of interest (including predictive metrics) or as scheduled if you expect load surges.
Load balancing
Application monitoring
Monitoring of a cloud-native app can be divide into two layers:
Health checks to define whether a microservice is functional at all. because The functional state is automatically reported to a host platform, which can scale up
Metrics analysis certainly gives an advanced picture of app performance. because It is mostly use by the developers to automate
Security
A cloud-native app lets you build perimeter and component-level security. However, the integration of access verification mechanisms into each app component may become a burden on performance. To avoid this, I suggest use intra-component authentication: a sign-up user gets a taken, which is then compare with a reference token cashed in each service to grant or deny access. This technique greatly contributes to app security with the least effect on its performance.
In the technology industry,IT Infrastructure Consultants much of the focus is placed on applications and solutions, and rightfully so. It is the applications themselves that enable a company to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and provide their services for their customers. However, without the right infrastructure in place, the application is either going to perform poorly or not function at all. As IT infrastructure consultants, here’s where Mindsight comes in. We provide expert insight and guidance at an infrastructure level to help our clients deploy, manage, and maintain their IT environments.
The Value Of IT Infrastructure Consultants
Purchasing your IT infrastructure is not as simple as ordering SKUs online and waiting for the parts to arrive. Truly, infrastructure consulting occurs in two phases.
Design and Strategy
Our approach to these consulting engagements is a holistic one. We don’t only meet with the IT department. Instead, we seek to understand our client’s business at every level. We meet with other business units, such as the finance department, sales, marketing, and more to discover how the technology empowers and hinders that department. Once we understand how the business operates, we are in a much better position to offer the best recommendations and guidance possible.
Deployment
The deployment phase is exactly what you might imagine. By choosing Mindsight as their preferred IT infrastructure consultant, our clients gain peace of mind in knowing that their new equipment will be deployed in their environment on time and on budget.
The software selection process can be complicated and overwhelming, and it often leads to analysis paralysis and organizational conflict, among other things. Navigating that terrain often requires external, objective help to help guide the process and ensure an organization is focusing on the right things as they vet each system.
It all comes down to gathering the right requirements, enabling project management, and other digital transformation best practices that you can find in our most recent digital transformation report.
Whether you do it yourself or decide to bring in a third-party consultant, these 10 proven tactics can guard your company against risks and pitfalls that come with the software selection process. Follow these vetting tactics when going through software evaluations. Although it may take a little longer, these simple due diligence asks will save money and heartburn in the long run.
10 Tips for Vetting Software Vendors Through the ERP Software Selection Process
Measure twice, cut once.
Allow your team the time to do real due diligence upfront. Red flags are ignore many times when the company is hurtling toward a fast decision. A proper selection process can take anywhere from 6-to 18 months depending on the size and scope. Allow them time and resources.
Get references.
Ask to speak to references who are on the same version you are planning to deploy and if it’s on-prem or cloud. Preferably in your industry, size, and with some of the same nuances or challenges you are solving for.
Probe beyond the surface.
Ask them to further demonstrate areas where they say “yes, we can do that” This may require mini demonstrations of said functionality and the vendor should be willing and able to accommodate.
What you see is not always what you get.
Ask if that functionality they are selling or showcasing is “out of the box” or requires customization. In addition, ask for details about the time and cost tied to building out the customizations. As well as any recurring fees to maintain the integrations that are built to accommodate those customizations.
Remember that vendors are selling.
There may be claims made in the sales process that simply can’t be fulfill by the professional services team. There have been many companies who have fallen subject to the professional services team being blind-side by a request, and they can only say that that functionality was not include or that it is the customer’s responsibility. Assume positive intent with your sales representative, but verify everything. Once you sign the contract, there’s no going back.
Understand the product road map.
Ask to have someone walk you through their product roadmap. Understand if what they are selling/showing is what will be deployed on your go-live date. Vendors will have their demo environments, websites, and web videos set up to show all the bells and whistles functioning at a high level. Again, they are selling. Remember that most ERP software does not come out of the box looking/operating like that. Dig deep into their product roadmap and the stability of the product over the next several years.
Do your due diligence.
Check the forums and real user feedback about how good their technical support and service teams are. SLAs, response times on service tickets, etc. There are many resources out there. Consider looking at places like Gartner and Software Advice.
Adding on too early in the process.
Be wary of doing customizations or buying additional modules too early in the process. Learn what is core functionality first and work with the system for a while before spending more time or money on additional bells and whistles you may not need right now. The 20% contingency budget built into these projects should not be spent on things that could have accounted for ahead of time.
Request sales back-up.
Ask the vendor to include a solution architect and professional services/delivery team resource in the demonstration if possible. This will keep the sales team honest in terms of what they are promising general cost, time, and complexity estimates.
NEGOTIATE!
There is almost always room to negotiate on price. There are a couple of vendors who are notorious for not negotiating, which I will not name here.
Know when fiscal year-end is for your vendors, and try to time negotiations/close around that time when they are most incentivized to offer discounts.
Oracle: May 31. Microsoft: June 30. Infor: April 30.
The end of the quarter can also be a good time for that as well.
A few other ways we’ve seen customers reduce spending include caps on maintenance fee increases, extended maintenance and support time, future options on additional software purchases, and reduced hourly rates on professional services.
Everything You Need To Know About Marketing Your Business During The Coronavirus
There is so much information floating around regarding COVID-19: how to avoid it, proper hand-washing techniques, practicing social distancing, what to do if you get the virus, and more.
But outside of personal concerns, there are added professional concerns for small business owners trying to minimize financial impact on their businesses during this time.
Marketing Strategies That You Can Utilize Now
1. Social Media Marketing
People are spending more time online now more than ever. With so many adults working from home, kids taking classes at home and people in general trying to stay in as much as possible during the Coronavirus, people are glued to social media right now! With increased reach, engagement and time spent on social platforms, why would a business owner choose now to pause their social media efforts? Put your brand in front of where your target audience is already scrolling.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Given the nature of your business, is it common for consumers to Google search the product or service you provide? If so, SEO is a process that can help your website appear in the top rankings on a search results page .
3. Email Marketing
As a business owner, are you ever really done learning about your audience? Is there ever a good time to stop building relationships with potential customers? Whether you’re B2B or B2C, email marketing can be a great way to connect with your clients. For B2B businesses, take this time to nurture your existing leads via email newsletters! For B2C and ecommerce businesses, understand that consumers purchase from brands they trust. Establishing that brand-consumer trust is invaluable to the longevity of your business now and long beyond COVID-19, so why not take the time now to set yourself up for long term success? Email marketing is a great way to do just that.
4. Social & Google Advertising
When business slows or uncertainties arise like they are now, it’s a common reaction for business owners to want to stop all advertising efforts. Why continue spending money if consumers aren’t actively purchasing as much, right? Wrong! First of all, it’s important to note that not all consumers are tightening their wallets. For those that are ready to spend now & continue life as normal, you want your business to be ready and in front of them! A business they spent all of COVID-19 learning about and familiarizing themselves with- not companies they didn’t see or hear about at all. Advertising on social media and Google keeps your brand relevant and in front of your target audience so that when they are ready to purchase, they purchase from you and not your competitors.
A small business without a digital advertising strategy is like a ship with no captain.
A small business starts out with one main goal in mind: to grow. To do that, they need to make people aware of their brand, products and services. To get their product or service out there, they need effective digital advertising strategies. The question now is which advertising strategy to use. Perhaps the best answer is the one that best fits the vision and goals of the company.
Digital Advertising Campaign Examples
1. Email Campaigns Digital Advertising
Email campaigns need to be a must for small business advertising campaigns. At the forefront are email newsletters, which are very easy to set up. You place an opt-in form on your website so potential customers will know the latest updates about your company. These sign-ups are usually integrated into websites courtesy of email service providers.
2. PPC (Pay-Per-Click)Digital Advertising
PPC ads have become a common and effective digital advertising strategy, but they can also be very expensive. In short, PPC allows your website to rank in the top paid search engine results for certain keywords people are searching on Google.
If your business is using keywords that are considered popular (and other businesses are competing for them), then get ready to spend some top dollar for it. But if you want to avoid that and still use PPC effectively, you can always use the more affordable longtail keywords.
Longtail keywords offer more options so you can find words that are cheaper and much more suited to your budget.
3. Content Marketing
Content marketing is a great option to drive traffic as well as engagement. In this campaign, you can use almost any kind of content that you have.
Depending on what you have or what you want to use at the moment, you can go with blogs, infographics, videos, and more. Your content is going to be driven by your keywords. So what you really need here is content that is rich in keywords without losing its quality.
4. Social Media
We all know the power of social media. It offers unmatched reach that other platforms find hard to rival.
Let us be clear about one thing, though. For social media outreach to work, you need to have the willingness to invest in it. And we are talking both time and money here.
Do you want it to be on Facebook? Or maybe you want it on Twitter? Our advise would be to spend some time researching your target audience to see which platform they’re active on the most!
Depending on which platform you choose, they’re may be organic (unpaid) options, or it may be more of a “pay-to-play” platform. Regardless, we’d recommend setting aside an advertising budget to help you accomplish your goals on social media.
Creating custom experiences eCommerce website design matters is key to winning customers’ hearts – and seizing market share.
We’ve been designing high-performing websites for over 19 years, and eCommerce sites are at the core of our expertise.
We’re focused on creating strategic, compelling designs that deliver unique experiences, driving purchases and bringing users back again and again.
What’s important in eCommerce website design
To sell products, you need to sell your users on your brand. Leading users to purchase means taking a closer look at who they are, what keeps them interested, eCommerce website design matters and why they convert.
Audience insights:
People have tons of options on where to spend their money. By educating, solving problems, and meeting user objections, you make your business the best option.
Experience-driven design:
In today’s eCommerce landscape, user experience is everything. With customers becoming more discriminating, a compelling user experience is a powerful differentiator.
Purchasing convenience:
Complex and confusing experiences leave sales on the table. If users can’t get from product page to checkout in just a few clicks, they’ll start looking elsewhere.
It’s human nature: people like things to be easy and clear. And today, people have need seamless user experiences at their fingertips, every minute of every day. Expectations are high.
So when a digital property isn’t easy to use, people get frustrated. And when they get frustrated, they go elsewhere – leaving with a poor impression of your business.
The good news is that building a great user experience takes work, but it’s not magic. You need the right expertise, a passion for listening to your users, and a willingness to test and learn.
Our UX process
Discovery
Like any Webzworld engagement, an UX engagement starts with an understanding of the business goals driving your project, so we can set project goals and objectives and ultimately define success.
User Research need
User research can take many forms. Semi-structured interviews, quantitative surveys, and user testing can all yield priceless insights, supporting later decisions with hard data.
We work with you to decide what kinds of user research make sense for your needs and budget, but we find user research is an investment that pays off in superior site performance.
User Testing
The ultimate test of any experience is how it performs with actual users. We use tools such as Optimal Workshop and Lookback to facilitate testing such as card sorting, first click testing, and task analysis. Again, we work closely with you to understand what kinds of user testing will make the most sense for your project.
Wireframing need
Wireframes are representations of pages or screens. Prototypes take it one step further and show how important functionality will work.
Wireframes are not designs, but show the flow and key interactions to guide the UI/visual designer, who will use these blueprints to make the design mockups look spectacular.
Documentation and Tech Specs need
Our UX team works side-by-side with designers and developers. They’re used to creating hyper-detailed specifications showing exactly how each interaction will work, so the experience can be built with maximum efficiency .
Using powerful storytelling to smooth Content the path to sales.
Getting content to work for you
Great content marketing is almost unfair. It brings qualified purchasers to you.
Helps drive conversions while providing brand lift, and continues to deliver value for years.
But in a crowded digital space, not every piece of achieves its full potential. Content success requires agility, strategy, a willingness to provide value, and above all, persistence.
What to look for in a content marketer
Excellent writing and strong ideas are table stakes for content. Effective marketers provide value by focusing on:
Collaboration. Strong content marketing combines writing talent and business know-how. Your marketing agency should be able to draw out your team’s expertise and frame it compellingly.
Data. You don’t know exactly how will perform until you put it out there, but your marketing partner needs to be ready to learn from the data when you do.
Amplification. In a noisy world, has to be promoted to be seen. Behind your reators, you need the marketing muscle to create space for your voice to be heard.
In a noisy world, has to be promoted to be seen. Behind your content creators, you need the marketing muscle to create space for your voice to be heard.
Types of Content Marketing
Research
A deep dive into the facts
start by getting to know your audience – their questions, their interests, and their needs. examine your competitors are creating to identify whitespace. We include competitors who are fighting for your audience’s attention even if they’re not angling for their business.
also take the time to really get to know you – we want to understand how you work, and what knowledge we can harness to produce the best possible content.
Ideation
Getting informed and inspired
Once we understand your business and our goals, it’s time for us to put our heads together and come up with business-relevant ideas that will add value to your audience and make their lives better. When we’ve come up with some winners, we pitch them to you for feedback.
Copywriting + Design
Putting pen to paper
Our experienced copywriters take what they’ve learned and apply your unique brand voice and perspective to create compelling pieces of . From the beginning, the content team works closely with design to ensure that your content grabs audience attention and holds it with outstanding visuals.
Your website represents your brand. And a site that’s slow, unreliable, or hard to use is a website that customers and prospects will avoid. Internal teams also suffer when small website changes are agonizingly slow, and big changes are out of the question.
What to look for in a website developer
If you’re not a technology person, it’s not easy to choose a technology partner to develop your website. Fortunately, there are qualities you can look for without reviewing a single line of code.
A genuine interest in your business needs. The newest and shiniest solution isn’t always the most appropriate. Taking an interest in your business isn’t just polite – it’s the only way for your agency to make sure the solution fits your true requirements.
Rigorous project management. Your website agency must manage time and budget as well as the work quality. Webzworld has the tools, experience, and skills to keep the project on the rails and push the boundaries of possibility.
Our website development process
No two projects are the same, but our process has served us and our clients well across hundreds of website builds.
Technical Discovery
Assessing the situation, goals, and requirements
We begin by assessing your current environment and technology stack, speaking to your key stakeholders and tech leads. Our goal is to understand your business needs, and learn how these inform your technology requirements. If we’re also designing your website, technical discovery is part of an integrated discovery and strategy process. website
Planning
Creating a tech strategy that works
An optimal technology architecture requires a skillful balancing of factors – current and future needs, workflows, integrations, regulatory requirements, in-house technical resources and, of course, budget – to arrive at the right solution.
Our experienced technology team acts as your strategic partners – helping you rebuild your tech stack or finding a solution that plays nicely with the tools you have.
Front- and Back-End Coding website
Our development teams are fluent in the whole range of modern web development languages, including PHP, HTML5, CSS and Javascript. With our range of partnerships.
Every build is assigned a dedicated technical Project Manager, who will support your equally dedicated Account Director in efficiently managing work quality, time, and budget.
QA
Testing against over 100 checkpoints
We’re fanatical about QA, with dedicated teams ruthlessly evaluating the site against over 100 checkpoints before it even gets close to going live.
CMS Training + Launch website
Preparing your team for handover
When we deliver your new site, we don’t just throw you the keys and run. We walk you through the CMS, show you how to use it (and how not to use it), and make sure everyone touching the website is comfortable with managing it. Launch day is time to celebrate – and to start planning enhancements that deliver even more value to your users and business.
Matching brands with the right advocates in digital
With more ads than ever vying for their attention, consumers today are selective with their trust. To cut through, brands need advocates their audiences like and believe in – which is where influencers shine.
Smart marketers focus on creating natural relationships with online trendsetters, no matter the size of their following. Look for agencies that:
Aren’t blinded by follower counts.
Just because someone has a million followers doesn’t mean they’ll get you a million fans. Experienced teams know how to spot the right people to promote your product – whether that’s micro-influencers or a true celebrity.
Understand the needs of influencers.
Many influencers make their living online. As excited as they may be to work with your brand, they also need to see how it benefits them. Partner with an agency that influencers like and will go the extra mile to help.
Get the brand balance right.
Influencers have already put in the time to bond with their audience, so good influencer marketers don’t insist on total creative control. At the same time, influencer marketers should always be advocating for a relationship that serves the brand and the creator alike.
Big or small, businesses that win at search reap enormous benefits. But although SEO is technical, it’s not an exact science, and it takes time to show results.
Search Engine Optimization process
Keyword Research
Keyword research gives us invaluable data about the specific terms users are using to search, and the volume of searches for those terms.
Just as importantly, the keyword research helps us understand users’ underlying intent. Are prospects looking for general information, doing research on a product, or ready to buy? Answering these questions helps us shape content for maximum impact.
Search Engine Optimization Strategy
It’s great to uncover fixes that can give you a bump in the rankings, but our true value comes from being an organic marketing partner.
Our SEO strategy may be part of a fully integrate digital marketing strategy or a more channel-specific effort (depending on your needs). The strategy will set the stage,and covering the tactics we’ll deploy and the benchmarks that will help to measure success.
Organic Marketing
We believe there’s no longer a bright line between and organic marketing. If you can find it through search, we think of it through the lens of search – from social media, and to customer reviews, also to sites where you’re talk about.
As a result, your team may feature a roster of organic marketing talent spanning content, influencer. Taking a holistic approach to your presence, we seek out opportunities to boost your brand wherever you may be find
Businesses today differentiate not on product or price, but on the quality.
If you can impress demanding customers with a frictionless journey, you’ll win favor, engagement, and market Digital Strategy share. But the question is: what do your customers really want?
Competitor Analysis
Sizing up your rivals
No business operates in a vacuum. That’s why we take your competitors very seriously. Understanding who is out there, how they set customer expectations, and where there are opportunities to stand out from the pack is central to delivering a digital experience that’s above the rest.
Audience Research
Defining your people
We take every step of our strategy process seriously, and but we’re obsessed with figuring out what makes your audience tick. No part of the process is more important.
Often, the deliverable for audience research is personas – audience profiles that identify who customers are and what they will demand from your digital experience. Personas are informed by a range of inputs, including analytics, social listening data, user testing, and information from the client. They help us focus on what visitors want and how they will navigate your digital experience.
Building a Strategy
Insight turns actionable
Preparing a strategy is a team effort. Strategy, design, UX, and content experts all come together to turn research into a concise plan for your brand in digital. We value a multidisciplinary approach because it’s rare that problems (or their solutions) fit neatly within the lines.
It’s here that problems are distilled and big questions are answered. And because we build digital experiences ourselves, we don’t just describe what you should do, but how it can be done.
Presentation & Implementation
Moving toward the future
. After the initial presentation, the team remains on standby, ready to offer clarity, answer questions, and plan the next steps to set the new experience in motion.
With a plethora of email clients available for end user and each one Email Rendering in different ways, coding and designing an email has been a turmoil for email marketers. After Gmail and Apple mail, Microsoft Outlook is the next big player in the email industry.
A broken email means a disappointed subscriber and the impact of this will blemish your brand identity in the longer run. Hence, most marketers avoid sending emails via Outlook. Email Uplers’ team of experienced developers test every developed email on Email Rendering Outlook against the pitfalls described below.
Major Pitfalls For Emails In Outlook And Windows Mail 10
Here are the key issues for building emails for Outlook & Windows Mail 10 and the workaround for them.
BACKGROUND IMAGES NOT SUPPORTED
There different types of backgrounds you can use in your emails.
Full body background
Pattern Background
Graphic Background
Section-wide background
Unfortunately Outlook 2007-2013 do not support any of the above backgrounds, but the ideal solution for rendering is by using VML (Vector Markup Language).
You use your to get in touch with lots of people. Use your email signature to get lots of people clicking through to your blog.
Make a friendly call to action in your email signature, inviting contacts to visit your blog. Give a brief benefit to motivate action – such as what your blog’s about. Include an easy to click link.
Example:
Tips for using your email signature:
Include a link to your blog in yoursignature, and encourage your co-workers to so too
Give a beneficial reason for people to click to your blog
Use the signature in all your emails, to generate more clicks
Give emails
Ok, now that you’ve got a robust email list – people will be clicking through to your blog in droves, right? Not quite.
Are you saturated with inbox info? So are your customers…
To get your emails opened, read and clicked through you need to stand out, connect with your readers, and beat out your content competitors.
Return of investment is the amount of capital invested by a company and what is the profit i.e return they get of that investment.
High ROI
indicates the return of investment is good and the investment is turned in the favor of the investor.
Low ROI
indicates the return of investment is not good and the investment is against the expectations of the investor.
ROI is used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiencies of several different investments.
The investment with the largest ROI is usually in the top prioritization,the spread of ROI over the time period of an investment should also be taken into account.
Risk with ROI usage
To use ROI as an indicator for prioritizing investment projects is very risky since usually the ROI figure is not accompanied by an explanation of its make-up.
As there are no proper reasons or explanations with the measuring results of roi it is quite risky.
One of greatest risks that comes with the traditional ROI calculation is that it does not fully “capture the short-term or long-term importance, value, or risks associated with natural and social capital” because it does not account for the environmental, social and governance performance of an organization.
There are two available method in email marketing for sign-up
Single opt-in
Double opt-in
Both these methods are easy and secure to collect contact information and engage with the audience.
1. Now let’s talk about Single opt-in :
The single opt-in method is very simple.
When a contact fills up sign-up forms and then clicks the submit button,they are saved as their audience.
The form saves important necessary information like the ip address and the time they signed up at.
Single opt-in can be defined as a streamline process and is useful if a person does the sign-up from the mobile device.
2. Now comes the Double opt-in
A few more steps is added to the single opt-in method.
It is quite similar to single opt-in method but in this the contact receives an confirmation email after the sign-up process.
A sign-up form is filled up by contact.
Then the contact receives an confirmation email and clicks the link to confirm.
Now they are added to your contact as a subscribed contact with some important information like their ip address and the time they subscribed.
An advantage of double opt-in is we are aware that the email address is valid.This is recommended to businesses who are not focussed on audience growth OR who have low open rates.
8 important points to remember to reduce your bounce rate and experience the change
Its not a pleasant site to see your Email Bounce
You sent your emails with so much hopes that it will reach the destination but quickly find out that it has not gone too far as you expected.
There are various reasons as to why your emails are bouncing and making your bounce rate increase.
Bounces can be categorized as hard and soft bounces.
So lets see further what this 8 points are
1. A good sign-up form is a great start
Inorder to make people enquire about the product or any information they want to know you got to have a good sign-up form.
This way they get to know the information they are looking for and we can contact them in future for any offers or discounts.Also make sure you have a good captcha system to prevent any fake user sign-up from computers or bots.
2. Use double opt-in contacts only
If you want to decrease your bounce rate you must use double opt-in contacts always.
You can learn more about the double opt-in contacts and single opt-in contacts here.
3. Before clicking on the send button you should clean the contact list first
A main reason for bouncing is if the contact list is old i.e your campaign list is old(more than 6 months or so).
Then its likely that your email will bounce as many of the addresses may have gone stale or have been closed or otherwise inactive.
An easy fix to this is to correct silly mistakes in addresses such as noreply@something.com OR info@something.com for example.
4. Using your first campaign as a way to clean your list is a straight NO
List cleaning is not your ESP and if you are doing that you are doing a disservice.
Consider using an actual list-verifying service.By sending your emails to a poor list you are risking your account as it could get suspended and that is a major disadvantage and it will damage your sender reputation.
Damaging your sender reputation may cause your next campaign to experience more blocks as the recipient server your emails.
Spend some time in verifying your list before clicking the send button.
5. Asking your recipient for updated information
Request for updated information OR verifying if the information is right can be easily included in the emails before sending,particularly if a transactional email is to be send.
This way you can reduce your chances of bounce by changing the address before it gets invalid.
6. Sender domain must be verified
A domain that has given elastic email permission to send email from it is a verified sender domain.
This means that elastic email servers are sending this emails but emails are using your domain as “From address”.
7. Don’t make your email look like a spam
This is most basic and obvious tip but if you are not paying attention to this it can cause you major problem.
The challenging part is that every spammer keeps on changing their tactics every now and then.
This means that you can’t just set and forget it.You should be up to-date with your email templates which will reduce your bounce rate to a great extent.
The more your emails are scheduled the more likely are the subscribers to forget that they have agreed to recieve email from a business or a group.
You don’t need to send emails every day but depending on how your email is engaging with your recipients and the specific wishes of your unique contact.
Email advertising has turned out to be a standout amongst the most-utilized promoting apparatuses for lead age, correspondence, and general income increment. In any case, with the expanded fame additionally came a lot of techniques on the most proficient method to ensure your clients really open your messages in any case. Brilliant Insights reports guarantee that the normal open rate can extend somewhere in the range of 5% to 25% contingent upon the size of your business and its industry.
Be that as it may, what truly makes individuals open messages is their title.
Composing the correct headlines is dubious. You have to ensure it hits only the correct spot. In all respects once in a while is a headline made in only two or three seconds. A decent headline incites a feeling or an anomaly that your endorser can’t help it.
How to create email subject lines that get opened?
The best way to write awesome subject lines for higher open rates is by leveraging natural human tendencies and emotional triggers. Here are a few ways to use these in your subject lines.
Add elements of scarcity (limited availability) or urgency (limited time) to increase FOMO (fear of mission out).
Ask a question (and answer it in your email), promising something interesting (like a surprise) to stimulate the reader’s curiosity.
Add humor to create a good first impression.
Use vanity to increase open rates. Promise something that makes the subscriber look better to their peers
Ask the who, what and why to understand who your customer is, in order to personalize your email.
Most common email types include:
Welcome emails
Offers
Abandoned cart
Announcements
Weekly / monthly newsletters.
When you set up what your email will be about and compose the substance, you’ll have the option to survey the title that will give you the best outcomes.
What kind of subject lines people like?
So now that you have established who are you writing to and your email type, you can select the reaction you want to install.
Digital Marketer notes that there are eight types of subject lines audience tends to react to best. They include things like self-interest, curiosity, news, social proof, humanity, story, scarcity, and offer.
Another way of doing this is look at your past headlines and see what worked – based on the email and reaction type, analyze why your audience reacted to certain subject lines better than others.
The must-have elements of best subject lines
Powerful words
The email marketing world is full of emotion-evoking words. Words such as ‘epic’, ‘fail’, ‘everything’, ‘important’ and ‘inspire’ are able to bring out a certain curiosity in people that will make them want to know what’s happening within your email. And that’s another click for you! Try to stir emotions in people in your subject lines but make sure you don’t look spammy Some spam filters are looking at subject lines on emails and if they look similar to other emails people mark as spam, they can get caught in spam filter!.
The value word
Each email needs to have a value. That value should be summarized in a single word, which you need to add to your subject line. For example, that can include guides, facts, planners, offer, discount, sale, and so on. Your email should always include the value you’re bringing to your customer.
Numbers
Using numbers will help people skim through what the email will be about. The number can also directly correlate with the value you’re giving your customer and increase your opening chances. To learn more about how numbers can influence your subject lines, we recommend reading studies on psychological pricing – the same principle applies to using numbers in your headlines.
Using emojis (optional)
Advertisers have begun including emoticons in the wake of seeing they’re most utilized in easygoing on the web discussion. Deliberately utilizing emoticons will enable you to make a relatable title that will make individuals need to open your email and as a little something extra point, let them have a snicker or two and will likewise more often than not emerge in a swarmed inbox. Obviously, utilizing emoticons is discretionary as it relies upon your very own image and manner of speaking.
best email subject lines for open rates
Everything you need to know about [insert value]
Here’s what we think about [insert value]
[Insert Number] templates to boost your [insert value]
Okay [First Name], we need to talk
From rags to riches – here’s [insert a name]’s story
Uh-oh, your [insert value] is expiring
Last Day To See What This Mystery Email Is All About
How to email a busy person (including a word-for-word script)
Steal these email templates…
So I’ll pick you up at 7?
Of course, subject lines depend on your own content, industry, and further marketing trends. But if you’re not satisfied by your ROI and the numbers you’re getting, try experimenting with new subject lines and the elements we gave you and see what happens.
While most email marketing platforms allow you to use A/B testing to test your own audience, companies like stayintouch also let you run your headlines through the subject line advisor and help you create a campaign that will give you the best open rates.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on what it takes to create the best subject line, so make sure you let us know what you think in the comments below.
What is a blacklist in the context of email marketing? In today’s article, we will explain everything you need to know about blacklists and the best ways to avoid them.
Isn’t it frustrating how some of your emails never make it to their recipients?
Now and again, even a solitary little issue will adversely influence your email deliver rate.
Perhaps it is a full inbox, a terrible email address, a grammatical mistake… And at that point, obviously, you may finish up on a boycott, which keeps your messages from consistently achieving their beneficiary.
What’s more, certain, a basic composition mix-up or awful email address is a little time bargain and can be fixed all around effectively.
In any case, with blacklist… it’s an alternate story.
These rundowns can do some genuine harm to your business so you should ensure you don’t finish up on one!
Presently, in the event that you are utilizing a trustworthy Email Service Provider (ESP), and you pursue solid email promoting rehearses, you probably have nothing to stress over.
In any case, even for this situation, it is imperative to find out about boycotts so you can all the more likely comprehend email promoting.
So, what is a blacklist and how does it affect your campaigns?
What is a blacklist?
A blacklist is a list that contains IP addresses and domains known to send spam.
These lists are mostly used by internet service providers and free mailbox providers to prevent themselves from spam.
Landing a spot in a list like this will depend on the quality and amount of emails you send to your list.
And while you may think that blacklists are frustrating, the truth is different.
In fact, blacklists are very helpful for individuals and companies alike.
This is because nearly 90% of all emails sent, on a daily basis, are spam and it is thanks to these lists that your inbox looks clean and empty.
How companies get on blacklists
Organizations and people will have their IP blacklisted when their email promoting campaigns receive high spam objections or when they are sent to bad email records.
Here is a more detailed overview of what leads to blacklisting:
Spam content –
If your readers mark your emails as spam, the ISPs will assume that your content is bad.The more complaints you receive, the more likely your IP address will be added to a blacklist.
Bad lists or addresses –
A high volume of bounced email addresses indicates that your list may not be built up in a natural way (e.g. a bought list). A few blacklists also use what is known as a “spamtrap” to locate spamming IP addresses. A spam trap is an email address that has no owner but can be publicly found and used to grow one’s list. Any emails sent to that address will suffer blacklisting.
A sudden increase in list size –
A natural email list develops gradually after some time. On the off chance that a list appears to detonate in development in a generally brief timeframe, most web access suppliers will accept that your list is unnatural.
No unsubscribe button –
As indicated by GDPR, it is compulsory to have a unsubscribe button in every email you send. Not doing as such may make individuals mark your emails as spam since you don’t regard their decision on whether they’d like to follow you or not.
Low Open Rates –
A very low amount of open rates may also be an indication of a bought (or rented) email list. In both cases, you stand a chance of getting blacklisted since some ESPs may think of your emails as spam.
What to do in case of blacklisting
You now know what a blacklist is, so the next step is to take precautions to avoid ending up on one.
In general, if your IP address is blacklisted, there is most likely an issue with your email marketing strategy.
After all, what is a blacklist, if not a direct result of miscommunication?
1) Large scale blacklists
The huge scale blacklists that are utilized by ISPs can have an immediate, negative effect on your email deliverability and, subsequently, your business.
On the off chance that your IP address is added to a blacklist of that scale, the best thing you can do is contact the rundown and request to be expelled.
Most significant blacklists have a well-ordered guide on their sites on how you can expel yourself from that rundown.
Most occasions, the procedure is basic and simple to pursue. Essentially experience the procedure and you will be alright.
2) Small scale blacklists
For littler records, in the event that you essentially change your mailing conduct and lower your spam rate you should be removed from the list without any additional work.
On the off chance that you need to check whether your IP address is on a blacklist, you can use MX Toolbox.
They will tell you how you can fix the issue and contact the blacklists to have you removed.
How do you avoid blacklisting?
As we already mentioned, the primary reason for blacklisting lies with the quality of your mailing list and your content.
The best thing you can do for your email marketing campaigns is to avoid becoming part of such a list in the first place. And here’s how you can do that:
Email content –
Send emails that are relevant and engaging to your audience. To do so, it is important to initially break your list into segments. Not everyone will enjoy reading the same email as they have different interests and needs. So make sure your subscribers receive what actually helps them in one way or another. If you don’t, you may soon be looking at spam complaints. Aside from the content you send, pay attention to the frequency as well. If you start sending daily emails after a long time of weekly newsletters, expect to get some delivery trouble.
Check the metrics –
You’re most likely observing important metrics, for example, opens and clicks. To be sure, ensure you check area opens also. So as to do that, you should add UTM parameters to your space and investigate the traffic, through Google Analytics. If a large drop in traffic occurs for one or more of your domains, you may be blacklisted.
Build your list, don’t buy it–
Try not to purchase email records. The email tends to incorporated into these rundowns are non-connecting with and, sometimes, spamtraps. The outcomes might pulverize for your deliverability rates and your business objectives.
What’s more, regardless of whether you are utilizing a natural mailing list, ensure you evacuate dormant or bobbed email addresses.
Create segments –
Create targeted sub-lists by dividing your main list into smaller segments. These could be founded on area, buy conduct, or general interests. Sending customized emails is in every case better with regards to supporters’ commitment and fulfillment.
And that’s all you need to know!
Now you have a better understanding of blacklists and what you can do to avoid them. Make sure to send great substance and just utilize natural email records that you have worked after some time.
Likewise, watch out for the measurements of your campaigns to see where you can improve as well as to improve your deliverability.
All things considered, with a decent understanding and use of essential email promoting, you don’t have anything to stress over.
E-mail marketing is one of the best advertising means for smaller and medium-sized businesses.
Little organizations are frequently hesitant to put cash in publicizing, just in light of the fact that there’s not unreasonably a lot of cash they can spend.
Be that as it may, email advertising programming is accessible at strange costs and offers high-level return following. You’ll know where each and every penny went, and that is significant for a littler promoting spending plan.
Moreover, individuals are substantially more responsive with regards to email promoting, on the grounds that endorsers need to enable you to send them messages. The authorization is really a significant thing, and quite confounding for the individuals who are simply beginning.
Email advertising is authorization based, and generally requires the clients to affirm their email address when they sign up to an email bulletin. In any case, the authorization to mail is the thing that sets email advertising separated from other direct showcasing shapes, since it enables you to really fabricate an association with your clients.
Email promoting makes brand mindfulness, which is valuable for most, yet particularly neighborhood organizations. In the event that an individual knows you from your messages (yet the individual needs to really like you), that individual is much bound to pick your items in the event that the person has been given the chance.
E-mail marketing fits with the current marketing trends pretty well
It’s anything but difficult to incorporate Twitter, Facebook, and other online life into your battles. While it is addressed whether online networking is successful by any stretch of the imagination, social locales do make it simpler for the client to speak with you. Adding your online networking streams to your messages will urge the clients to give you valuable input and a little buzz, as well.
Also, ultimately, most independent companies use email advertising at any rate. It encourages them remain with a solitary client for whatever length of time that conceivable, and is a proficient technique for promoting, not just in light of the fact that it’s so modest.
So, to reiterate, this is why e-mail marketing rocks for smaller businesses:
E-mail marketing can track each and every penny you invest
E-mail marketing has the best response rates in advertising
It creates brand awareness (really useful for businesses that are just starting out)
E-mail marketing offers a chance to interact with customers and create dynamic marketing
Most small businesses already do it anyway
Besides, email lists are an extraordinary uninvolved wellspring of salary you can rely on over the long haul. On the off chance that you are faithful to your clients and don’t do anything excessively out of the line, they will regard you and pick your items for quite a long time, even years. It’s as yet imperative to secure new endorsers however.
Here are some quick tips if you’ve decided to try email marketing:
Add a sign-up form at your website ASAP. You’ll acquire subscribers – even if you don’t send that much content yet.
Add your company’s social media channels – this will help your e-mails become dynamic and offer a greater chance for the customer to interact with you
Try and do some A/B split testing. Send different versions of your newsletter to different subscribers, and see which one generates better results.
Know the difference between spam and permission-based email. You have to acquire permission to mail people. Don’t manually add people you don’t know to your mailing list; don’t buy e-mail lists you’ll later spam until infinity.
Develop a strategy which clearly states your goals with e-mail marketing. Whether it’s simply selling more products or expanding your business globally, is entirely your call.
E-mails are nothing without a call to action. Simply put, they have no real purpose without a call to action. The “action” you want the user to take, can vary. However, if you’re serious about your business, the place where each email ultimately leads to is a landing page and that is where email call to action comes in.
How to “call for action”?
Email suggestion to take action is somewhat of a mind-drinking spree. On one hand, you have a customer who will never consider what you need from him except if you make it unmistakable. Then again, there is a customer who’ll essentially leave in the event that you “weight” him. In spite of the fact that that reality lies between the two limits was dismissed by thinkers, despite everything it stands valid for email promoting.
A few people have issues recognizing a reasonable suggestion to take action and constraining the customer to make a buy. The first is a training you should utilize consistently, yet a “negative” kind of weight will make you look inept.
Fundamentally, you should call for activity by instructing the beneficiary in the event that they’re intrigued. Obviously, don’t waver to up the enthusiasm by explaining to the peruser why he ought to focus on your invitation to take action.
6 Tips for a Better Email Call to Action
Let’s jump to the tips that will help you create a better email call to action:
1. Unless it’s a sales e-mail, use phrases like “learn more” instead of “click here”
“Snap here” doesn’t generally give a thought of what’s inside the page you’re connecting. In the event that you should tell “click”, expound on the connection and tell precisely what’s inside and what it offers to the one perusing your email. Email promoting’s suggestion to take action depends more on the enlightening side – most changes are as yet done in greeting pages.
2. The call placement
You should position the CTA somewhere high in the page, not only in the bottom. See #6
3. Links, links, links
Individuals like to do things quick. Above all else, including numerous connections in your page will spare time for drive purchasers; besides, it will offer ground to questions like “what to click”.
4. Use markup to your advantage
Strong content gets saw simpler. Italics does as well, somewhat. This is evident yet is frequently abused or overlooked through and through.
5. Measure and analyze what gets you the most clicks
On the off chance that your crusade uses Google Analytics, have a go at including UTM Link labels. Add these labels to your connections. For instance, determine an area in the page – footer, header, body.
In time, you will see that you’re ready to expel a few connections which don’t do much and supplant them with valuable substance.
6. Spread the calls to action within an F-shape across the page
They will get more consideration that way. Despite the fact that a really old bit of research, it’s valuable, by and by. Peruse increasingly about the F perusing example directly here. Fundamentally, make sure to recall that your connections are well-put and enlightening, and afterward center around everything else. Email marketings’ invitation to take action has, be that as it may, dependably been less about “where to snap” and progressively about “for what reason to click”.
Talking in analogies, the greeting page is the Omega, the last goal of your email advertising effort. You need email showcasing presentation pages in case you’re selling something through email, period.
What is… a landing page?
In fact, a point of arrival is wherever where the client lands first when clicking a connection in your email or discovering your site through Google, or whatnot. Be that as it may, a “greeting page” has of late turned into a term that partners with a page where a specific responsibility is required from the client (for example purchasing an item, filling a review, and so forth).
Why do I need email landing pages?
Email marketing landing pages are needed because:
They help to direct the user’s attention
They help to soar the conversion rates
They offer a way of measuring the efficiency of your campaign
Points of arrival are especially alluring to advertisers since you can, at times unequivocally, instruct the client and what you expect of him. On the off chance that the presentation page is your site, the client can end up confounded as there is no clarification of why they are there in any case , and begin doing everything, with the exception of what you need.
How do I create email marketing landing pages?
Presently, this is a different science.
Making a presentation page without any preparation is a remarkable overwhelming assignment, and you’d most likely be in an ideal situation with either getting greeting page formats or perusing a great deal of writing concerning points of arrival.
However, we can at least point you in the right direction:
Landing pages are likely to be short (about 1-1.5 screens), especially for stuff that requires little commitment
The bigger the investment, the larger a landing page you should write
Include clear calls to action – tell the reader exactly what is your offer, benefits and what kind of action you want them to take
Obviously, add stat tracking to your website
Email promoting presentation pages is a subject that even an enormous book can’t cover completely.
You can discover more data about presentation pages directly here.
When you get into the hang of making such pages, maybe you will even need to make separate points of arrival for guests from Google, informal communities, and so forth.
Mistakes – everybody has made them. I came up with a list of seven common email marketing mistakes that you should steer clear of in order to have a trouble-free email marketing experience.
Email Marketing Mistakes
This might seem like an article for email marketing novices but even the most experienced marketer’s slip-up every now and then. These seven email marketing mistakes can cost you your reputation, email marketing services provider, potential clients and good email delivery.
# 1 Using Publicly Available, Bought or Borrowed Email Lists
It is human instinct to need things snappy and simple (aside from those climbing eight-thousanders without strengthening oxygen). It is actually this nature that drives individuals to search for easy routes. Easy routes are extraordinary… when they are not deceiving.
A valid example – utilizing purchased, acquired or freely sourced email records in email advertising. It is quick. It is simple. It is additionally illicit. Despite the fact that it might feel that it enables you to come to a bigger or new group of spectators, you are truly connecting your business with spontaneous messages and hurting your notoriety on the web and disconnected.
As indicated by email promoting best practice, messages in your rundown must be gathered through an (ideally, twofold) select in procedure – that is, you should get individual authorization to send showcasing messages to somebody. With an appropriately assembled show, you won’t just accomplish a superior conveyance result yet in addition, manufacture trust in your organization. Look at the Mailigen ‘How to Guide’ for more tips on email rundown building.
# 2 Not Having Sign-up Forms on Your Website
In the event that you are as of now tossing your hands noticeable all around, perplexed about how on earth you should develop your own email list – well, you can begin by putting join frames on your site. You can undoubtedly set these up in your Mailigen account – simply adhere to our directions on the most proficient method to setup a web join structure. While you are grinding away, remember that you can likewise add your sign-up structure to organization’s Facebook page. This is one of the most common email marketing mistakes.
Site join structures enable you to grow an authorization based email list and not dismiss potential clients. This is a problem free route for individuals to energetically join to get your emails and for you to quickly and productively develop your email subscriber list.
# 3 Not Keeping Proof of Subscription
Keep all confirmation of membership proof. This will prove to be useful if there are ever any grumblings about your messages. Individuals overlook things, so there is dependably an opportunity that somebody will overlook buying in to a bulletin and afterward report it as spam. Evidence of membership enables you to exhibit precisely how and when somebody turned into a supporter, if such an issue emerges.
As indicated by email showcasing best practices, the main real confirmation of membership originates from web join frames. Be that as it may, in the event that you have gathered messages disconnected, authorizations must be all around recorded. For example, paper polls, business cards and even recorded telephone discussions can fill in as evidence.
# 4 Not Using Your Company’s Domain as Your Email Sender Address
This is a typical email advertising mistake that is at the core of deliverability. Here is the arrangement – if your email sender address is an open space email address, you won’t most likely convey battles from your stayintouch account. Along these lines, you truly should utilize your organization’s location or private space address. This is one of the greatest email advertising mistakes that you can make.
This is a somewhat new improvement in the email showcasing world and it comes from the DMARC approach, which is intended to shield areas from maltreatment. Increasingly more email suppliers are grasping this strategy. Thus, there are a few, similar to Yahoo and AOL, who don’t permit bulk emails to be sent utilizing their space addresses. There is no reversing the situation, so a private space address is presently required when sending email campaigns from a Mailigen account.
You can likewise set up DMARC assurance for your area. Along these lines, you can ensure that nobody is sending emails from your domain without authorization.
# 5 Sending an Email That Is One Big Image
Including images and pictures in your email is a great idea. Having an email as one big image – not so much.
Two things. Right off the bat, email suppliers can’t peruse such an email. Consequently, there is a decent shot that it will go directly to the SPAM envelope, where it will join messages from the Nigerian ruler and other SPAM most prominent hits. Also, regardless of whether the email wonderfully escapes SPAM channels, some email suppliers square pictures so the early introduction when opening the email will be – for what reason is it unfilled? You can work around picture blocking, yet SPAM channels… ? That is a difficult task.
In this way, keep up an equalization and keep the content and beautiful sight proportion to 50/50 or 60/40. Thusly, you will get an outwardly solid email that still has something to demonstrate when the pictures get blocked and don’t draw in the consideration of SPAM channels.
# 6 Sending Emails with Large Attachments
Needing to be viewed as liberal can reverse discharge, particularly if your translation of liberality is enormous connections. Open and private email suppliers will in general have size cutoff points for connections, so if your email has a connection that surpasses that limit, the email won’t be conveyed. Moreover, email suppliers can recognize messages with an enormous connection as conceivably destructive and square it or imprint it as spam. Again – not conveyed.
So, keep your attachments as small as possible or, better yet, do not attach anything at all.
# 7 Not Keeping Email Size in Check
Coming up next isn’t a standard that is an unchangeable reality, it is to a greater degree a heads-up. It is proposed that messages ought not surpass the 100 KB limit, as bigger messages will in general keep running into deliverability issues. Right off the bat, huge messages get captured in SPAM traps. Also, enormous messages are slower to open. This may appear like a non-issue however it is the point at which you recall how restless individuals are in this time of moment this and moment that. In this way, remember these dangers and gauge them against the benefit of sending enormous messages. On the off chance that you need your messages to be conveyed easily, 100 KB is the size furthest reaches that you should remember.
No email advertiser is resistant to committing errors and, beyond any doubt, you will make your very own portion. In any case, throughout the years, so much experience has been gathered that it would be senseless not to gain from the errors of others. Begin with gaining from these seven email promoting botches and have a smoother email advertising knowledge.
The scales have tipped. For years, mobile devices were capturing people’s attention in ways that threatened the sovereignty of desktops. Now it’s official: Today, more people open their email on mobile devices than on desktops, and the gap between desktops and mobile is only expected to grow.
As of 2019, 60% of all email campaigns are read on mobile devices, compared to a mere 10% on desktops and 29% on webmail clients
What is Mobile Email Marketing?
Versatile Email Marketing alludes to the way toward advancing your email advertising effort to progress toward becoming “portable first”, by changing the content and plan that fits cell phone clients.
Despite the fact that portable currently rules, many email advertisers have neglected to adjust their substance to this pattern. (Truth be told, just a measly 31 percent of advertisers can express their versatile email open rate.)
That is terrible news, since portable improved messages are basic for holding endorsers. An astounding 80 percent of supporters will basically erase an email on the off chance that it doesn’t appear well on portable, and 30 percent will venture to such an extreme as to withdraw subsequent to opening a solitary email that doesn’t look great on their cell phone.
The takeaway? In case you’re not improving your messages for versatile, you’re effectively heading out potential clients and hurting your change rates. So it’s significant for advertisers of all stripes to utilize best practices for email showcasing on portable. Here’s the manner by which to get it going.
Email Optimisation Best Practices
Let’s look at all the methods you can use to improve your email for mobile readers.
# Spend time on the preheader text
Conventional email promoting best practices would state that your subject header is a standout amongst the most significant components of any email. And keeping in mind that headlines still issue on portable, significantly more consideration ought to be paid to the preheader content (or the 1-2 lines of HTML message that show up at the highest point of messages on cell phones). That is on the grounds that preheader content is appointed more space than headlines on cell phones, and it stacks before the body of the email, so it’s normally the principal thing perusers will see. Ensure you’re benefiting from this land by utilizing it to feature significant or eye-getting data.
# Keep content short and sweet
Upwards of 50 percent of perusers on versatile will draw in with a given email for three seconds or less. That is a little window wherein to grab perusers’ eye and move them to take you up on your suggestion to take action. So you have to attract perusers quickly, and you can’t tarry getting to your point. Keep your invitation to take action and any offer content “over the overlay” so perusers don’t need to chase for it, and separate content so the email is effectively searchable. Reward? Limiting your email substance may improve burden times, which can improve the probability that individuals really perused what you need to state.
With everything taken into account, when taking a gander from an optimistic standpoint Practices, content moderation is a standout amongst the most underutilized devices.
# Let your sentences “breathe”
Huge lumps of content are difficult to process. While longer passages may look great on a work area, looking through them from portable can rapidly dismiss perusers. Keep away from this by separating your content in littler sections. A decent beginning stage is keeping each lump of content shorter than 20 words.
Add spacings to give sentences “a chance to breathe” and make your substance increasingly readable by including striking content at the most significant focuses you need to underscore.
# Design for portrait and landscape views
Keep in mind that cell phones can consequently flip the direction of an email from representation to scene and back once more—so your messages need to look great in both of these organizations. One of the most effortless approaches to accomplish this is to compel yourself to a solitary segment design. It’s additionally useful to utilize a lot of blank area so the email doesn’t look jumbled in either see.
# Make social media icons and CTAs touch-friendly
In the event that you need your perusers to connect with your image on their cell phone (past simply perusing your messages), at that point you have to make it simple for them to do as such. That implies any connections or catches that are intended to guide perusers to your site or web based life nearness ought to be effectively interactive with the dash of a thumb, and they ought to be enormous enough for individuals to click without zooming in. (Same goes for structure fill handle.) The standard least for contact neighborly catches is 44 X 44 pixels.
# Enlarge your fonts
One of the least complex approaches to guarantee your messages are contact benevolent is to make the content size greater than you would for messages that are opened on work areas. Obviously, it’s significant not to go over the edge—you don’t need single word to fill the whole screen. Your objective is neatness that limits the exertion perusers need to take so as to process your substance. As such, you don’t need perusers to need to zoom in or out so as to process whatever is on their screen.
# Shrink your images
There are a few motivations to downsize your picture measure when you’re sending messages that will be opened on portable. First of all, cell phones burden pictures more gradually than work areas or workstations—and since perusers are probably not going to endure moderate burden times, monstrous pictures that require a significant stretch of time to load can eat into your navigate rates. Furthermore, huge pictures can go through perusers’ information at a speedy rate, which won’t charm them to your image. Consequently, pictures ought to be kept little or left out altogether.
# Test, test and test your emails
Very often, you may feel like your email structure is top-notch, only to later realize that you forgot a spacing, an important highlight or other elements that make reading easier. Before sending emails to your subscribers make sure you test your content on your own mobile device. Therefore, to improve your mobile email marketing campaign, go ahead and send it to yourself first.
# Wrap up
All the time, you may feel like your email structure is first rate, just to later understand that you overlooked a dividing, a significant feature or different components that make perusing simpler. Before sending messages to your endorsers ensure you test your substance all alone cell phone. Accordingly, to improve your portable email advertising effort, feel free to send it to yourself first.