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On-site SEO for eCommerce Websites – A Basic Guide

An e-commerce business is a common phenomenon nowadays. As an entrepreneur, it is a must for you to rank higher than your competitors on Google’s search engine. But, if you are not aware of the SEO tips and tricks for the e-commerce business, then how will you achieve your goal? If you are not aware of the tricks then you are sure to lose out on those clicks and finally, on the sales. Regardless of whether you are improving an existing website or crafting a new one, a proper SEO campaign is just what you need to reach out to the target audience. With the competition getting tougher, getting featured on the first page is not sufficient anymore. What you need is a higher ranking, preferably number 1!

Before delving deeper into the subject, it is important to note that SEO can be classified into two sections in a broader sense – On-site and Off-site. In this article, the On-site factors will be discussed. This aspect of SEO is a critical step in optimizing your e-commerce websites.

Performing Competitor Research

This is the first factor that you need to take into account while planning SEO for E-commerce websites. In case you are a bit confused about how to plan an SEO strategy, the first step should be to explore more about your competitors. This is an important step to learn more about the various kinds of SEO strategies that you can apply to your website as well. Keyword, in this regard, is the first thing to focus upon. It will be helpful in this regard if the keywords for the Homepage and top product pages of their website can be analyzed. There are various online tools, like Moz or SEMrush, which you can utilize for finding out the keywords used in the title tags and product descriptions on their websites.

Checking out the landing pages will also be helpful.

Analyzing the Homepage SEO

The homepage is one place where the SEO businesses mostly invest their money and energy. Although this should be of prime importance while planning the on-site SEO strategy, this is not the only place to focus either. Homepage title tag is one of the most crucial elements for on-site search optimization. This includes the name of your business and the main keyword phrase that you want to target. It should be written in less than 70 characters in an engaging manner for the search engines.

The homepage Meta description is another important factor where there is a 160-character description about the business. Finally, the homepage content is equally important as it will help the visitors to gather a better idea about the company’s products and services.

Analyzing the Site Architecture

Site architecture plays a major role in the SEO campaign. Hence, when updating your website with products and other content, it is equally important to use a perfect navigation menu on the homepage and also, on the product pages. As far as the search engine robots are concerned, they will be picking up pages on the basis of internal link structure. The more well-structured your site is, the better will be the site’s ranking.

Optimizing the product page

This is indispensable in the e-commerce websites. Therefore, it is absolutely important to focus on the product names, product descriptions and on the optimization of the images that are there on every product page. In this regard, make sure that your product descriptions are unique, not copied content.

Add videos on the website

By adding videos of the products, you will make sure that the customers feel more confident about purchasing a product. Such a video can include certain basic information about the product.

Finally, an FAQ will be an added advantage for the on-site SEO campaign. There are several questions that can arise in the minds of customers. In order to provide a better customer service, including such a page can prove helpful for your e-commerce website.

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How to Stay Cyber Secure this Holiday Season?

It's now November, and that means that the Holiday shopping season is already beginning. With more and more shoppers turning to e-commerce sites to make their purchases, it's increasingly important to understand how cybersecurity comes into play when executing these transactions and how to best protect yourself. Today we’re partnering with the server hosting company SingleHop to help give you a rundown of some cybersecurity tips.

Although it might seem like your computer is just one out of billions in the world, hackers are always looking for new prey. They even have machines probing the Internet continually looking for vulnerabilities. You might think that you don't have anything of interest to a cybercriminal on your computer, but even small amounts of data can be helpful when trying to hack accounts. Think about things like your parents' or friends' names, past schools you've attended, or even passwords or financial information saved on your device. These are just a few examples of information that could be vital to a hacker's attempt to access your private accounts.

Although advertised as an effective way to protect your system from threats, firewalls and antivirus software aren't completely sufficient for protecting your precious data. These programs are only trained to protect against known threats, meaning that any new viruses or malware may still find their way onto your system. To help prevent attacks, it is best to update your security software as often as possible, and never skip an update once you know it exists.

For these reasons, you must be mindful of what you store on your system or in the cloud. Much of this information can still be accessed by hackers, even after it has been deleted. The same goes for online profiles and websites -- although you may have deleted something from your page, it most likely still exists on that site's dedicated server. And that means that you no longer have control of it once it is placed in that company's hands. Long story short, always is cautious of who you are providing information to, and where you are storing it so that it has less of a chance of being compromised in the event of a cyber attack.

One way to be sure that you are protected is to verify that any websites you use are using a securely dedicated server provider. Many of these hosting companies advertise which brands they host on their website, and conversely, many brands will volunteer this information as well (look for something that states “Hosted by XYZHostingBrand” or “Powered by XYZServers” on their site). If you’re still in doubt, try contacting customer service so that you can research what kinds of security measures are in place to protect customers’ information when it is transmitted online.

It's important to be sure that you are taking the proper precautions before entering any precious data online, such as credit card numbers, financial information or other identifying details. This includes on e-commerce sites that you may trust. Just take Target for example-- up until this year, they were a very reputable online shopping site, but most likely will suffer due to their widespread security breach. When in doubt, see if you can pay via check or money order, or go to the retailer in person and pay with cash. You can never be too careful with your online data -- your information could be the best Holiday present that hacker has ever received.

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How to Recover RAW Photos on USB Drive?

The Raw image file of a camera is actually a minimally processed data of the image sensor of devices like digital camera, motion picture film scanner, and an image scanner. The name suggests that they are not yet processed, cannot be edited using a bitmap graphics editor, and even they cannot be printed.

The image is processed with a raw converter for the precise level of conversions so that they can be converted to the commonly used image formats like JPEG or TIFF, where they can be manipulated. In fact, they have the same roles as the negatives in film photography do.

The structure of the file generally has the formats like image metadata, image thumbnail, sensor image data, and a short file header and others.

Sometimes, the user might be in trouble with the raw drive of the USB external disc. The Raw file system and the property of the drive will display zero bytes when the situation is that you have the photos saved on the drive and neither have you deleted the files nor you have performed formatting on the drive, which could have made them inaccessible.

Reasons for RAW USB Drive

There is some error information, which is thrown in such cases of problems related to the raw drive, for which they need for the software to restore Raw photos arises. Some of the errors are as follows:

Formatting of the drive is needed before use

Non-availability of the chkdsk whether in Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 or 8

the disk in drive F is not formatted, do you want to format it now

It has a RAW file system

exe cannot be run

FAT 32 is raw as per chkdsk

Windows 7 has an erroneous unreadable, raw drive or empty drive

While using the USB external disk, USB smart media, USB memory card or other storage media, situations like the following may be encountered.

The file system is displayed as "RAW".

Invalid media type reading drive. Abort, Retry, Fail?

Windows showing "disk not formatted. Do you want to format now?"

A message like "Sector not found"

File names containing some "weird" characters.

All these errors arise due to the fact that the partition of the USB drive is either damaged or corrupt.

These kinds of errors will make the USB drive inaccessible and we cannot open such files like emails, documents, and photos due to this. The property of the drive will display a RAW status for the file system.

AAW drive or a RAW file system is not really a type of system but represents a problem associated with the drive, which stores the data.

A Windows or Mac system cannot recognize such a RAW drive. Therefore, the data inside the RAW drive cannot be accessible.

Method for RAW USB Drive Recovery

The most important factor for a RAW USB drive Recovery is not to take recourse to direct formatting, as this will actually cause overwrite or damage to the files on the USB drive.

This way, the chances of recovery of the files on the USB drive are minimized. Therefore, before the formatting of the USB drive is done, there must be some recovery options for the USB drive.

Reasons for Data Loss

The reasons due to such data loss are due to software crash, getting infected by a virus, shutting down unexpectedly or other reasons unknown from hardware RAID and storage media such as USB drive.

Steps on Photo Recovery

Some professional Photo Recovery software is available for the recovery of the photos due to deletion, format, and recovery of lost data, due to various reasons. This software is available for photo recovery, music recovery and video recovery as well as all other types of data recovery.

The steps to follow are:

Scanning the selected disk and then finding the files, that are to be targeted

The Previewing of all these recoverable files will allow the user to select only the files,

which are needed

Then we proceed with the Recovery option so that we can save the files, on a different drive, as we do not want the data to be overwritten

After the Recovery of the files is done from the RAW USB drive, then we can get the USB drive formatted and then the files that were recovered are brought back to the drive

The Recovery of the deleted files or the damaged Partition can also be done using such professional software

Some Safety Tips

The user must take care of the safety options like:

Any new data on this hard drive should not be stored because if the original data is overwritten by new data it can lose forever

No new data can be added to the USB drive before the Recovery software is used

The recovered data should not be saved in the same drive but must be kept in a safer place

The built-in format tool has to be used after the data gets recovered

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The Most Popular Free Email Servers

Free email servers provide for valuable services to mankind in general and for their users in particular – these systems are at the heart of information and communication technology necessary for communicating messages, sharing information, and collaborating on projects, among other functions. Without these free-of-charge email servers, the world as we know it will cease to exist.

MaiEnable

The Standard version is the free mail server of MailEnable Pty Ltd. one of the clients chosen by many of the world’s largest hosting companies for their hosted email, collaboration and synchronization solutions. Its features and functions including impressive webmail, strong security measures, and fast mobile connectivity, among others, have made MailEnable one of the best free email servers in the industry. Each user-enterprise with rave reviews about the free mail server cements its reputation so much so that it is overtaking many of the leaders like Postfix and Sendmail.

MailEnable also provides for paid mail servers like the Professional, Enterprise and Enterprise versions but the Standard version is an excellent way to test its waters, so to speak. Downloading and installing the Standard version is easy because of the intuitive interface and step-by-step guide – just select and click “Next” after every option, for example.

The features and functions of MailEnable that makes it stand out from the crowd of free email servers are:

• Mobile connectivity, which allows access of contacts, appointments, and messages on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets anytime and anywhere since the files are stored “in the Cloud”

• Real-time synchronization of changes made between mobile devices and desktop computers, thus, ensuring updated information when and where necessary; this is made possible via ActiveSync, SyncML, and WebDAV, among others

• Connection with Microsoft Outlook via the MAPI Connector, which means that users can bring their server-hosted calendar, contact and task lists to their Outlook client on the desktops; changes in both the webmail and Outlook are also communicated via real-time.

Other features that many competitors-cum-free email servers are working to equal but cannot in full measures are its effective administration application, its fully functional list server, and its extensive security measures, to name a few more. Suffice it to say that MailEnable enables its users to maximize their potentials in relation to their usage of a free mail server that may or may not result in the transition to the paid versions of the email server.

Postfix

Postfix is one of the more popular free email servers with approximately 23% of reachable mail servers on the Internet using it. Such popularity comes from its nature as a free and open-source mail transfer agent, which routes and delivers emails in an effective and efficient way.

But herein lies one of its weak points – Postfix has a limited number of MTA features so it must rely on third-party extensions for the rest of its functionality. For example, it must be combined with mailing list software like Mailman to deliver to become a high-performance parallelized engine for mail delivery.

Nonetheless, Postfix deserves attention as one of the best free email servers in the industry today so get it on your shortlist when choosing the best of the best free mail server for your own enterprise.

Sendmail

Sendmail supports several types of email transfer and delivery methods including SMTP and is, thus, used as a general-purpose internetwork mail routing facility. Today, it is used as both proprietary and free software, which partly explains its popularity.

The mail server has its pros and cons. On one hand, it creates effective message queues with the appropriate authorizations, uses OS X that makes maximizing its features easy, and it allows for greater control over relays via its Enabler feature. On the other hand, it is not check-summed, its configuration options are limited, and its Enabler has a default setting of a semi-open relay.

Which of these free email servers is the best? Well, it depends on your requirements in a mail server but it must be said that taking the guessing game out of the equation will facilitate your decision – go for the server with a strong customer service system like MailEnable, for example.

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Cloud Backup Robot -  Reliable Backup Solution for Databases

Backing up one's computer or system is crucial in the case under certain circumstances you lost your databases. There is a lot of computer backup software out there. But not all the backup services are equally created. A good quality backup service is a must for your system in order to keep all the important files and information safe as possible.

Cloud Backup Robot is one of the best and easily usable backup solutions for SQL Server backup program. This backup software can manage backup without intervening the services of SQL server. The software moreover supports backups for Azure database and enhances the software scalability.

Cloud Backup Robot

See some of the reviews why Cloud Backup Robot is the best choice for your windows backup solutions-

Easy to use

The installation and configuration process of this software is easy and can easily be used. It is very simple and also straightforward without any complexity. The backup is done right away in some seconds or a min. All you have to do is select the databases you want to back up and also the location of their destination.

Great features

This Cloud Backup software provides you with many cool features. It is compatible with various cloud storage services like Google Drive, Amazon S3, Box, Dropbox, and OneDrive.

Another useful feature of this Backup Software is its wizard-based functioning which provides service helps to a newbie by using some standard wizard. It also provides the restoring feature in which you can set up exactly the way before you backed up your SQL databases, files, and folders.

The Cloud Backup Robot also work as a flexible scheduler. The folders, files, and the SQL server databases automatically backups itself. You ought to enter the frequency of the copies you like to make and also specify the particular files. There is also an option for encryption of that information you would like to encrypt.

Competitive Pricing

As compared to the amazing features the Cloud Backup Robot provides, the software is rather competitively priced. Their service offers three different licenses, each of which has its own features list. You can also test out the program first through its free trial version provided for 14 days. The different licenses are-

Lite - The Lite license is for $29.95.

Standard - It can be bought for $59.95.

Professional - This license is available for $179.95. This professional package also provides unlimited free software updates.

Why Cloud Backup Robot?

Cloud Backup Robot will erase all your worries about losing files and folders and also the SQL server databases if something happened to your system. Rest assured knowing that all your data is stored safely in the cloud under any circumstances. You will be able to assess your files and databases even if you lost your computer or damage.

The Cloud Backup Robot is highly advanced, rich in feature, and easy to use. It is compatible software which is safe, secure, highly reliable, as well as economical. This software is highly recommended for you if you want your data protected and efficiently backed up without any hindrance.

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On-Page SEO - Dos and Don’ts - An Infographic

SEO is such a substantial topic when it comes to your business. If you have a website and you need rankings, SEO is the way to go. Clueless about what you should do for your On-Page SEO, this topic is more like a puzzle in this universal space.

To break down these factors that embed various SEO sources, a similarity of Do’s and Dont's is explained by relating it to the Angels and the Demons of this World.

What should you have On-Page? How much content should you have on the Page? What are the character limits for your Title? What is Google Algorithms? How faster your page should load? All these important questions are answered in this Infographic!

In this entire humanity, there is a good side and a bad. It totally depends on what you want to move ahead with. If you’re still confused on what you should do for On Page SEO, then this infographic is the best Guide.

Dos and Don’ts of On-Page SEO

Statutory Warning: The Content in this Infographic is highly creative. Copying such content to your website can lead to Google Penalty.

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How to Improve Customer Experience with Mobility Solutions?

OlaCabs, a popular travel app in India, set off its venture in 2010 as a mobile app for personal transportation, catering to only a few cities. In less than four years, it soon expanded to other cities, registering a customer base of more than 200,000. Do you know why? Read on for in this article we discuss how mobility solutions can be sued to improve your customer experience.

Today, Ola is not just an app to book cabs but boasts of a set of enticing features such as delivering groceries, food, free movie tickets to your doorsteps, or a free ride to a stadium for a match. It also has safety options such as SOS, and notably, a feature to rate-review the driver and the ride. This is the power of mobility solutions that organizations worldwide are incorporating into their business strategies.

People across the globe are leveraging the ease and convenience of mobile devices, be it to pay off bills or file an insurance claim. Business enterprises are in turn capitalizing on this disruptive technology to generate revenue and more importantly, enhance the customer experience.

According to a recent survey by International Data Corporation (IDC), about 70 percent of companies have launched at least one mobile application, with over a third introducing multiple mobile apps. Surveys also indicate that IT companies are on the thrust of allocating 25 percent of software budgets in mobile app development, deployment and management.

Mobility solutions – your way to stay connected with customers

A few years back, a company had to send staff or hire an external company to go door-to-door/ malls-to-malls for feedback from customers or to conduct surveys on the company’s products and/or services. This, in turn, meant delayed the arrival of information to the manufacturer.

If a car manufacturer, for instance, receives information about a series of defects in their vehicles quite late, it can prove detrimental to the image of the company, thus bringing down its market value.

Mobility solutions will help them be in touch with their customers, constantly and directly. This helps companies to promptly respond to the data received and accordingly create new services for the customers. This new-age solution also facilitates quick and effective execution of complex processes and decreases delivery time. Additionally, this will enable the company to remain active in the market.

Take advantage of the multiple features for convenience

Internet and mobile devices have made day-to-day chores of customers a convenient and hassle-free process. Mobile apps have made the process easier. And these apps are armed with manifold features that would otherwise require tedious, long hours and more labor power.

Drawing an example, ICICI’s eftCheque provides a comprehensive solution for all cheque-based transactions. Dispensing digital cheque to a desired mobile number, depositing a scanned image of a physical cheque, tracking the status of a physical cheque are some of the convenient and secure mobility solutions that enhance the overall customer experience.

Similarly, insurance companies to deploy mobility solutions for the benefit of both various policyholders and their agents. Submitting claims, clicking photos of the car accident with GPS coordinates are some of the mobility solutions that have taken the insurance world by storm. Cushman Insurance Group’s Auto Accident Help, for example, is packed with multiple features to help customers in the event of an accident. It automatically records the accident date, time and location; lets you photograph the damage as well as record audio description; helps gather information from passengers, drivers, police, and witnesses; generate a detailed accident report with appended photos, audio recordings and contact details and more.

Personal healthcare and other sectors too have tapped into this disruptive innovation to proffer numerous mobility solutions that will improve functionalities, augment customer experience and expand their model of business.

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How to Save Money with Your Tech?

Your tech can make life so much easier, but if you’re spending hundreds of dollars on the newest gadget a couple of times a year, you’re not going to be saving much. There is some give and take when it actually comes to saving money with technology, especially with it ever-evolving and its ever-revolving door.

You don’t want to have to get a loan every time a new iPhone comes out, although you could look into a lending program if you need the tech for your business or livelihood. Instead of going into debt to have all the coolest gadgets, take some advice on how to save some money and still be high tech.

Saving Money Using Tech

Buy an Older Version

You don’t always have to have the latest versions of the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. Older models will be lower in price and will have most of the same capabilities. The newer ones may have a different screen or be thinner, but the internet will work just the same.

Never buy a newly released phone the very moment it comes out. Wait until there are some honest reviews out there. You definitely want to read the reviews on any tech you’re considering, from notebook computers to digital cameras (you’ll save yourself a lot of time and money).

Use Free Apps

Always pick the free versions of apps to try out first. It’s likely that if there are a lot of glitches in the freebie there will at least be some in the one you’d have paid a couple of bucks for as well. You may think a couple of dollars for an app isn’t much, but if it doesn’t work you’re out that money, and it can add up if you buy a lot of apps.

Spend Less Time Online

Depending on your phone plan and your internet service provider, you could have fees racking up because you’re spending too much time on the internet or too much time using your phone when it isn’t connected to wifi. If you have an internet company that limits your usage you may want to look into a new company, or you definitely need to limit your time so you can save money. Same with your phone.

Cut Back On Streaming

One way to cut back on your internet usage, that can help you in saving money otherwise, is to cut back on your streaming. If you have multiple paid streaming accounts it may be time to ditch one (or more) of them. Unless you watch them all on a regular basis it seems fruitless to be paying a monthly fee on them all (and it may help you cut down on the amount of time you’re wasting staring at the TV screen instead of enjoying life).

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How Your Phone Makes Vehicle Ownership Easier?

Vehicle ownership is easier in the age of technology. You may not realize it, but smartphones have made life easier in so many aspects. If you don’t have a smartphone yet, you are seriously missing out. Even if you aren’t interested in continually being connected to the outside world, your smartphone will still do a lot of good for you. 

Read: Do you know the 10 fastest cars?

One thing that might surprise you is that your smartphone can help make vehicle ownership easier. Hey, it takes work, communication, traveling (in general), and even banking, easier. It makes sense that it would be a great asset to your vehicle. Here’s how.

Vehicle Ownership Using Phone

Keeping Track of Payments

Use your phone to remind you of payments, to make payments, and even to determine how many payments you have left to make before your car is paid off. You can start by searching for a loan that’s right for you, right through your phone. Most banks have apps for smartphones, whether you’re an Apple person or an Android person, so it’s likely the bank you have your loan through will have an app you can use.

You can also use the app for your own bank to keep track of the money that’s in your checking account to make sure your vehicle payment doesn’t overdraft your account.

Finding the Best Gas Prices

Yes, there is an app for everything, including one that will help you find the best gas prices. Right now, in most places anyway, the gas prices have seemed to even out. However, around holiday time you can bet they’ll start to fluctuate, but an app could help you save some money.

Getting to Where You’re Going

Your smartphone will be a great help in getting you anywhere you need or want to go. With built-in GPS, you no longer need a standalone GPS in your vehicle. Your phone can leave the car with you so that when you’re having walking adventures after your driving adventure you can still get to where you are going.

You can also instantly call places from your Google search of them, just in case you’ve gotten lost. You are constantly connected, so it's a safety device that will help ensure you make your destination every time.

Showing Proof of Insurance

Smartphones and your vehicle insurance company work well together too. Find out if it’s legal in your state to use your smartphone as a means to show your proof of insurance if you’re pulled over or in case of an accident. Electronic proof of insurance could save you a lot of trouble if you often forget to put that little slip of paper in your glove box.

This also makes it so that when you get a new car you can get insurance taken care of right at the dealer’s desk.

It's just simply how one can take vehicle ownership using technology.

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6 Social Media Trends You Shouldn’t Ignore

Expected social media trends can change the world. New Year brings new things with it, and in every aspect of life, you will see change every year. In the modern age we are living in, it is the age of the Internet, and if you go on the web, the sites you will see dominating the web are social media sites. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Linkedin, Tumblr, and many other social websites have attracted billions of users from all around the world. If we ask regular internet users to live without social media, then it would be very hard for them these days.

Social media has become a massive marketing tool as well, it is the most affordable tool to market your business, and it is very efficient as well. Your social media experience in previous years was much different from what you experienced in the last few months, and now again, the features and trends you are going to experience in near future are not going to be the same as you experienced last year. Every year social media websites bring anything new to you. So, what are going to be the latest trends for this year and what new experience you are going to get?

Social Media Trends to Follow

Here are the top six social media trends that one should follow.

1. Live videos

Today almost all the social media websites are offering live features and those who web sites, who aren’t offering it, will be offering this feature in the future. The live feature of Facebook, Twitter or Instagram has been a great success and almost every user is taking advantage of it. You can now see many live shows running on Facebook, and you feel just like you are watching TV. So, if you are not yet using the live feature, you need to use it because at the end of 2017 every other person will be using the live video feature. Live videos are an even greater influence on business accounts. You can use this feature for your business account in many positive ways.

You can create a YouTube channel to stream live videos.

2. Ephemeral photos and videos

We all know that the first one to introduce ephemeral photos and videos feature was Snapchat. But now you can see many other sites using this feature as well. The idea of sharing a message that lasts for just a few seconds was very creative and with Snapchat making a big success out of it now we can see Instagram and Whatsapp following the step as well. In fact, recently Facebook Messenger also added the feature for story sharing. So, it is quite clear that this trend is becoming popular very quickly and by the end of 2019, many other social media websites are going to get it as well. So, to catch up with everyone else, start using this feature right now.

3. Use social media tools for marketing

Social media marketing will definitely work well and countable in social media trends in the year 2019. It is a great way of marketing your product, and if you are trying to run a successful social media campaign, there are some things you will need to follow correctly and you will need a lot of knowledge about your audiences as well. These things have now become easier for users with the introduction of many social media tools. There are many tools available online that are specially designed for social media marketers. These tools help you to manage multiple accounts, they give you insights to your audience, and they assist you in scheduling a post as well. So, social media tools will become necessary now for running a successful marketing campaign on any social networking site.

4. Brands will start to connect more with the customers

With the boom of social media and social media marketing touching new heights customer care is becoming challenging, and it is not getting any easier to interact with their clients all the time. Brand and customer interaction on social media will change, and brands will start to reach out to customers through messengers. Now you will be able to connect with your clients quickly on Messenger and WhatsApp. Many new technologies have been introduced, and they are helping in making customer care better. You will be able to reach out to a brand through messengers, and you can easily ask your queries there, and you can also get brand information as well. This is the year when brands will start to reach out to their customers through messaging services.

But wait! If you want brands to reach out to you, you must have a significant social media presence. There are many ways to grow your presence and one of them is that you buy some followers and likes. Brands really look at the number of people following you. If you have a large following base, you will win a lot of new sponsored projects.

5. Instagram will dominate Snapchat

Instagram has been on the rise since the last year and is improving rapidly. Last year in August Instagram introduced its story feature which was just like Snapchat, and it proved very useful for them. The users from Snapchat have started to move to Instagram because it has suddenly started to look even better than Snapchat. On Snapchat, you can only share your current moments, but Instagram gives you both the story feature and as well as pictures sharing feature. Also, Instagram has so many cool filters that give the app an advantage. So, it looks like in 2017 Instagram is going to overtake Snapchat. Instagram already has around 600 million users today, and around 50% of businesses are using Instagram as a social media marketing platform. Therefore Snapchat needs to start introducing new features if they need to stay alive in this fight.

6. Social shopping will become more common

Well, we all know that online shopping is on the rise as well and now people have started to buy stuff online more and more. Though e-commerce is the way to go and there are different websites available for shopping online now, but social media sites will change the trend. Now people will start buying products directly from social networking sites. The shop now button introduced by many sites like Facebook and Instagram is making things even different for online shoppers. Now you can shop directly from the platform where you saw the advertisement. So, go ahead and start shopping through Facebook now.

These are the upcoming social media trends and you can take advantage of time.

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5 Reasons to SD-WAN for Your Business

Cloud-based solutions are fast revolutionizing the way we do business. From data centers to networks, the cloud has made technological needs mobile and cost-effective. One of the areas where it has proven to be beneficial is for wide area networks (WAN), specifically through software-defined networking (SDN). This brought us an SD-WAN.

Simply put, a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) allows for a secure hybrid overlay, transforming the network so that it may be managed and controlled virtually. Experts estimate that by 2020, more than half of businesses will shift to SD-WAN from traditional technologies such as routers.

Top 5 Benefits of SD-WAN

Why are more and more people upgrading to a Software-Defined WAN? Here are some compelling reasons:

1. It can reduce costs by 50% or more

By migrating from MPLS to hybrid WAN, a business can optimize usage and capacity of transport of the network by having 10x more bandwidth, which translates to great savings. Companies that implement this WAN solution can benefit from a cost/Mbps reduction of up to 80%.

2. Capability time is shortened.

Especially helpful when expanding a business, SD-WAN offers quick and efficient deployment of new branches with any kind of transport – whether LTE, broadband, MPLS, or VSAT. Since it offers centralized management, SD-WAN can implement policy or enable new services right away. It can also automate workflow with its built-in automation. A full M&A integration can be done as quickly as two weeks.

3. There is no possibility of an outage for any application.

More stable than traditional networks, an enterprise-class SD-WAN promise zero outages through the use of multiple hybrid links with active-active capability. This means traffic can be steered in real-time in case an upstream network issue arises. SLA-based application policies may also be customized according to business specifications. Network failures are minimized due to this feature.

4. You will benefit from a cloud-optimized network.

By securing the WAN through the cloud, it can be extended seamlessly to Azure and AWS. SaaS performance for various applications such as Office 365 and Salesforce will be enhanced as a result. SD-WAN technologies can also unify enterprise WAN policies for both on-site and cloud-based workloads, ensuring improved overall performance.

5. It guarantees a secure and hardened network.

As with other cloud technologies, SD-WAN is highly secure and robust. It reduces and practically eliminates threats and attacks to the network by segmenting data within the cloud from partner networks, guest wireless, and IoT, among others. It also allows for on-demand inclusion of network services such as Palo Alto and Zscaler. This is especially advantageous for companies that have stores that require multiple guest wireless set up in various locations.

Truly, SD-WAN is the best WAN solution for your business needs because it can reduce costs by 50% and increase bandwidth by 10%, expedite expansion through the quick setup of new branches and services, eliminate the possibility of outages, and optimize other cloud-based applications, all on a secure, hardened network that is virtually impenetrable. Allow it to transform and revolutionize the way you do business.

[miliwalkr]

What is CodeIgniter? Reasons to Say It Goodbye

Web developers have always been a fan of CodeIgniter. The majority of websites are dealing with this web application framework, and the results were massive. It was designed in such a manner so that programs can run smoothly on multiple hosting environments. The main strength of CI lies with the easy usage value along with an excellent form of documentation. You are free from any installer, rocket science framework and other messy files while dealing with this framework. And this has done its parts for so many years now. But finally, it is time to say goodbye to CodeIgniter and say hello to the more modernized frameworks, which can match perfectly with Google’s needs.

Why Goodbye to CodeIgniter?

Is it really the end?

Now, this is somewhat a dicey question to answer. Do you think it is really possible to say goodbye to CodeIgniter and say hello to the new kid in the block? Well, there are certain points which make CI the best choice of all time, and that deals with the exciting features it has, even now.

CodeIgniter is mainly defined to be a solid base, which is known for its stable features. Even though the number of applications and users keeps on increasing over here, the mechanism remains strong and unchanged.

Here, the code base seems to be well documented and tested. It is hard to find any problems with it because previous users already solved all the relevant problems. So, you can always enjoy a problem-free run.

This framework is quite easy to grasp. If you have a basic PHP knowledge, then using CodeIgniter seems to be an easy piece of cake. It is no doubt welcoming and easy for you to get hold of.

These are some of the reasons why CodeIgniter is the perfect choice for all the novices, out there. The fantastic documents along with the coding genius are some of the reasons, on why you should even rely on CodeIgniter for the next best software or website development approach.

For some more features

The points mentioned above are some of the reasons why you should rely on CodeIgniter, even now. However, in case, you are looking for the best services, then nothing can beat the importance of Laravel, the new expert to catch on. And that’s one of the main reason why it is time to say goodbye to your old friend, CodeIgniter.

There are some more compelling reasons on why you should move to Laravel from CodeIgniter. This is somewhat a younger framework. Within this small span of time, it has reached to its 4th revision. Now, that shows how well this framework is appreciated by the people, mostly software developers.

Laravel is known for its familiar framework, which is easy to use and understand. Once you have started using it, you will feel like jumping right into the business prospect. You don’t have to spend much time on the basics, as this platform already has the same features and outlook.

The documentation of Laravel is more or less similar to the one you have used in CodeIgniter, so far. It is concise and even clear for you to enjoy. You are going to feel awesome, while you are writing code for Laravel. You will hardly find any mistakes, while you are associated with Laravel’s coding. Now, that’s a mystery, but a good one!

There are some interesting features, which make Laravel the best one when compared to CodeIgniter. It has the finest user authentication along with stack trace, which you love to use. On the other hand, you cannot deny the importance of asset management over here, under two variations, CSS and JS. Get hold of Templating, as another interesting feature, straight from Laravel.

With CodeIgniter, you have to work separately for the Kalexiko CMS, as those were custom built. These were not part of the CodeIgniter core library. But, this is not the case, when you are using Laravel. You are free from re-engineering the functions and can spend the time or other productive work.

Laravel is also known to be quite expressive. You can almost feel like having a chat session with this segment, as you do not have to work on the procedural code. These are some points, which differentiate Laravel from CodeIgniter and make it better than the latter.

Time for a final goodbye

The points, which have been clearly defined earlier is enough to prove the importance of Laravel, these days. And that focuses on the clear truth that it is really time to say goodbye to CodeIgniter. However, in case, you are a novice and trying your hand on software development programs for the first time, then it is always advisable to stick to CodeIgniter. With this application framework, you get the chance to start from the basic, and approach to advanced level, slowly.

[miliwalkr]

5 Non-IT Skills that IT Professionals Should Have

As an IT Professional, you might think that tech-savvy is all you really need for a great job. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Most businesses need to know that you can handle pressure in a job setting and that you can communicate respectfully with superiors and team members. When you’re looking for a job or promotion, make sure you have the following skills as well as your technological prowess.

Non-Tech-Savvy for IT Professionals

1. Sales

An understanding of sales and marketing is particularly essential if you’re in a small business or startup. You’ll often be required to wear multiple hats, and finding new clients may be one of those responsibilities.

You don’t necessarily need experience in sales, but an entrepreneurial attitude, competitive personality, flexibility, and people skills will help you make sales.

2. Communication

The ability to both talk and listen is invaluable for IT professionals. When explaining a situation or process to those who may not be tech-savvy, you must explain in terms that they can understand. This means taking jargon and translating it into common English.

You’ll also need to listen to feedback. When someone suggests a way to improve, take their words to heart. The ability to listen to means you’re constantly learning and maintaining a positive attitude that fosters growth in your skills.

3. Collaboration

You may be required to work in a team of other IT professionals or with other departments in a business. Either way, you must learn to collaborate. Agility and flexibility will be central to your success.

As you work together, you’ll practice strong communication and problem-solving skills that will keep things running smoothly. Ultimately, you’re trying to avoid butting heads. If you disagree with someone, you’ll be able to work through it respectfully and calmly.

4. Basic Business Finance

You’ll be given a budget for a project, and if you don’t know how to stay within that budget, you’ll be in big trouble. A basic understanding of balance sheets, financial ratios, and cash flow statements will help you through this important business aspect.

You should also understand the return on investment (ROI). It will help you recognize good business investments and whether or not certain processes will be worthwhile for the company. If you can save the company money because you know the way money works in regards to your IT projects, your job will be much more secure.

5. Management

The ability to lead a group of IT professionals or even multi-department employees will be invaluable. There will be many opportunities for you to take charge while at work. An IT professional who also has skills for project management is much more valuable.

Being a good leader means leading by example. You’ll set the standard and expectations that others will be required to follow.

Stepping outside of your comfort zone as a tech-savvy professional will make all the difference in whether or not you’re able to find, maintain, and rise up in a job. Begin practising these skills now for job security and growth.

[miliwalkr]

Wish you a Merry Christmas!

Hello Old Friend

How have you been?

[miliwalkr]

via @defineyourgrind

[miliwalkr]

How to start a digital marketing agency?

https://www.techprevue.com/start-a-digital-marketing-agency/

[miliwalkr]

Good night bae Bay

📷 by local underwater photographer JR Sosky