VoIP: It’s Part in Web Conferencing

Web conferencing is causing big waves in the last few years. By web conferencing, meetings, interviews, collaborations, demonstrations, orientations and additional business issues may now be done even if the participants are geographically scattered.

 

VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol. This is the technique of transmitting analog audio signals through the Net. Analog signals are changed over into digital data so it may be transmitted by Net connection. VoIP may turn a standard Net connection into a way to place free of charge calls. 

 

VoIP enables the user to make calls from anyplace with broadband connectivity. Adding VoIP into web conferencing is like blending data and audio in a handier system. However, there are some skeptics on the affectivity of VoIP in web conferencing.

 

There are benefits and disadvantages for utilizing VoIP. VoIP dramatically cuts the costs dispensed for voice minute charges. Adding audio and voice in web conferences heightens the effectiveness of the meetings. Necessities for VoIP set-up is likewise minimal, like a PC, broadband connection and a communications headset or additional audio data input device.

 

Prior to VoIP web conferencing, companies and businesses paid much money for international calls utilizing landline connections. However, with VoIP, companies may save 100s of 1000s of dollars yearly. By utilizing a phone adaptor (ATA), the VoIP technology may travel anyplace. The user just has to connect their phone adaptor to a broadband connection to utilize it. 

 

More than Two persons can talk on the phone line. With VoIP, affecting a conference for the whole team at once is possible. More calls may be handled at the same time. VoIP likewise has many features like Caller ID, Contact Lists, Voicemail, and so forth. 

 

Meanwhile there are individuals who doubt the VoIP use in web conferences. The voice quality is among the greatest questions over the use of VoIP. The greatest issue is echo, particularly if the participants are utilizing speakers and microphone rather than headsets. 

 

A different condition is that VoIP is contingent on electricity. For normal phones, if power goes down, the phone is still functioning. With VoIP, no power stands for no phone. Since VoIP likewise uses computer and Net, it's susceptible to worms, viruses and even hacking. To resolve this problem, VoIP developers and suppliers are already working on VoIP encryption. 

 

For sorriest case scenarios, a computer crashing in the midst of the call will likewise mean no phone. VoIP phone system is wholly dependent on PCs and the broadband connection. 

 

VoIP and web conferencing are still really young and evolving technology. There is still room for betterment to further improve the efficiency of VoIP. Similar to other rising technology, the beginning is always the edgy part. VoIP service suppliers are still facing many challenges to better improve the services they're offering. 

Shopping Cart Protection

Like what the title states: the protection of shopping carts is forever a mainstream issue, it was before, it is today, and it will forever be. If you’re a little business attempting to break into a fairly big and competitive market, shopping cart applications merged with your site would be a good investment. However numerous issues need to be addressed and likely among the more important one is the problem of security. 

 

A shopping cart commonly runs with having a check out, returns the total purchase, computes for the shipping costs, and records the required personal data. The security aspect of the shopping cart relies on the Secured Socket Layer certificate or the SSL which essentially manages the security of the personal data entered by buyers up till the time the data reaches the payment gateway. The SSSL is the responsible for making “https”. If you see this on the URL bar, it signifies the transaction is a secure environment. Meanwhile, the payment gateway or credit cart gateway is the one that corroborates and charges the buy on the charge card. 

 

There are choices now where the shopping cart suppliers no more needs SSL but rather directly sends the data to a payment gateway. The personal data entered by the buyers will then be the obligation of the gateway. This does away with the need for you to maintain any SSL. 

 

It's crucial that you let your buyers know most importantly the possible security risks of net dealings. But likewise make certain that your customers know that in spite of the risks, you've done your part to make the site secure and hack-free. Do not underestimate your buyers. Frequently, if they feel that something’s not proper with a site’s shopping cart, they'll most likely bail out of their transactions. 

 

Likewise, be accurate and clear about your shopping cart’s policy rules of thumb. I know it may be enticing to utilize assorted legal and marketing jargons. But, you have to remember that your users are not authorities and confronting them with a policy guideline that's highly complicated and hard to comprehend will reflect on your business’ report. 

 

We may only stress the importance of protection in these sorts of web applications. I've heard tales of identity thefts before and your buyers will certainly go with a shopping cart that may protect them from potential theft of charge card and personal data. 

 

Among the simplest ways to bear a secure network is to avail of the services of well esteemed and secure service supplier. That naturally is a sure way to bear a secure network for your shopping cart. Banking on the credible services of 3rd party providers isn't a bad course to take. You just require some time checking on these shopping cart providers to get to know them. 

 

The bottom-line is to buy and maintain a secure shopping cart for your customers. You've several choices at your disposal and not bearing a secure one is altogether unforgivable.

 

Rules To Help Sell and Buy Sites

Questioning how to sell web domain names? Domain name selling has now become a fruitful business on the Net. Premium domains enjoy good demand and are commonly noted for their attention-getting names and noteworthy traffic. If you're considering selling your site, it pays to be organized. Here are a few techniques that may help you in purchasing and selling sites:

 

- Maintain financial reports and tax filings. Although there might be nothing wrong with your site, you'll frighten away bidders with confusing or excessively detained financial statements. 

 

- Strive for accuracy. Serious bidders will call for an upper-level of comfort, particularly about the truth of cash-flow statements. This is a time when it might truly pay off to invest in audited statements. 

 

- Time your friend. While it always adds up to try to sell during a warm market, it's even more crucial to pay attention to what's going on inside your market niche. Don't attempt to sell during a substantial downswing - unless you utterly don't have any other choices and are fixed to accept a reduced price. 

 

- Keep matters easy. Anything strange is bad news when it comes time to selling your site. So, view your site the way a stranger would, and do away with complications before you try to sell. If you've mixed the cash from several sites, separate them unless you mean to sell all of them collectively.

 

- Swallow reality. If you're operational in a highly competitive marketplace, then your purchaser will insist on a non-compete arrangement. If you're not fixed to make such concessions, your site likely won't sell.

 

- Place an honest price tag on your site. A good guideline is that only on the rarest of times do companies sell for a price that's as elevated as sixfold pre-tax earnings. If you're attempting to sell for more than that, be prepared for your financial condition to be analyzed under a microscope.

 

- You are able to exhibit a list of DNSs for sale in the ad market sites provided by assorted companies facilitating domain sales. Make your site magnetic enough to invite a number of possible buyers. 

 

- Sell DNSs at assorted discount rates plus extra features. You are able to offer multiple DNSs for a wholesale rate. Buyers always seek low prices. In the rapid changing DNS market, price value may go up as time changes. So never exhibit current price values on the sites merely give a choice for request price. Another selling strategy is to offer DNSs with longer registration periods. Domains which have been recorded for longer periods invite more buyers as domain purchasers are always on the watch to reduce their risk from losing names by chance expiration.

 

Bringing In Income Purchasing and Selling Sites

Purchasing and selling sites have become quite a lucrative endeavor of the past years and individuals have been making it a full-time job. But, when you're in the market to begin your own web company, make certain that you've as much data on your site, market and comps as you are able to. 

 

Among the best-selling points for any seller in terms of providing sites is his or her believability. If the purchasing public knows that you've enough credibility, he or she won't hesitate to purchase from you and may even make testimonials to his or her acquaintances. 

 

When it bears on purchasing and selling the site, here are a few crucial matters that you ought to keep in mind: 

 

Do not be impatient. In selling sites, the sales procedure has to take some time if you wish to acquire the best price. In most instances, a period of numerous weeks or even months is usual this is because the likely purchaser is spending time doing background checks not only of the particular site but other sites that they have been taking into consideration. So, if you wish to acquire the best deal, it's best to hold off. As they say, good things come to those who wait. Who knows? You are able to find a purchaser who's willing to purchase your site for more than you've been expecting. 

 

Keep sustaining your site as if it isn't on sale. Updating and attending to your site as though you weren't selling it is among the selling points that a lot of individuals are attracted to. Viewing a well-maintained site will give them the thought that you're a believable seller and that they may trust you when it comes to matters affecting financial aspects. If the site is well handled and well attended to before selling, it may generate a great impression and will open the doors for additional potential deals and arrangements. 

 

Be organized to share much private and confidential info. If you're not comfortable with this then you've an issue. The less data you give the lower the offer will be from likely purchasers. The more data you give the more you expose yourself to dishonorable purchasers. 

 

You have to work with other site developers that may open the doors to pre-qualify buyers. This is really crucial as by working in close coordination with additional developers, you will not only open the doors to pre-qualify purchasers but may likewise help you get some ideas in selling the site effectively. You are able to likewise get the current trends in purchasing and selling sites.

 

If You Are Sick Of Spam

Analyses show unsought or “junk” e-mail, called spam, accounts for about half of all e-mail messages gotten. Although once thought of as little more than a pain, the preponderance of spam has expanded to the point where a lot of users have started to express a universal lack of confidence in the effectiveness of e-mail transmissions, and expanded concern over the spread of viruses via unsought messages.

 

So what do you do about spam? 

 

Do what you are able to ward off having your e-mail address out on the internet. 

There are products named “spam spiders” that browse the Internet for e-mail addresses to send e-mail to. If you're interested, do a search on “spam spider” and you'll be amazed at what you return. Interestingly, there's a site, WebPoison.org, which is an open-source project geared to battle net "spambots" and "spam spiders", by presenting them bogus HTML web pages, which hold bogus e-mail addresses.

 

You can utilize form e-mails, which may hide addresses or likewise utilize addresses like sales@company.com instead of your full address to help fight the issue. There are likewise programs that encrypt your e-mail, like jsGuard, which encrypts your e-mail address on web pages so that while junk e-mail spiders find it hard or impossible to read your e-mail address.

Acquire spam blocking software. There are a lot of programs out there for this. There are free versions or you might also buy a pro version. Get some sort of software. It will save you time. The software isn't foolproof, but they truly do help. You commonly have to do some manual set up to block particular sorts of e-mail.

 

Utilize the multiple e-mail address approach. There are a lot of gratis e-mail addresses to be had. If you must subscribe to e-zines, then have a “fill-in” e-mail address. It would be like presenting your cell number to your best friends and the business number to everybody else.

 

Attachments from individuals you don’t recognize are risky. A common issue with spam is that they've attachments and attachments may have viruses. General guideline: if you don't know who's sending you something, don't open up the attachment. Second, seek services that offer filtering. Firewall vendors provide this sort of service likewise.

 

E-mail services now hold “bulk-mail” baskets. If what you utilize currently doesn't support this, consider moving to a new vender. The construct is simple. If you know somebody, they may send you e-mails. If you don’t know them, put them in the bulk e-mail pile then “Pick” to allow them into your circle. 

 

Spam Blocking software has this construct likewise, but having extra layers seems vital these days, so it's worth checking into.

How To Prevent Spyware

There are a few things you are able to do to preclude spyware from infecting your PC. First of all, invest in a dependable commercial anti-spyware platform. There are many currently on the market including stand-alone packages like Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware or Windows Antispyware. Additional choices provide the anti-spyware software system as part of an anti-virus package. This sort of choice is offered up by companies such as Sophos, Symantec, and McAfee. Anti-spyware platforms may fight off spyware by allowing for real-time protection, scanning, and the removal of any discovered spyware software systems. As with a lot of programs, update your antivirus software often. 

 

As you might or might not know, the Internet Explorer (IE) is a great deal of the time a contributor to the adware/malware issue because spyware programs like to bind themselves to its functionality. Spyware loves penetrating the IE’s failings. Because of this, a lot of users have changed over to non-IE browsers. All the same, if you would like to stick with Internet Explorer, make certain to update the protection patches on a regular basis, and only download computer programs from reputable sources. This will help cut down your chances of a spyware infiltration. 

 

And, if all else gives out?

 

In conclusion, if your PC has been contaminated with a great number of spyware programs, the only answer you might have is backing up your information, and executing a complete reinstall of the operating system.

All About Trojans

We have all heard the phrase Trojan, but what precisely is it? A Trojan is a destructive computer program that masks itself as an innocuous application. Unlike computer viruses Trojans don't replicate themselves, but they may be even as destructive. Among the gravest examples of a Trojan horse is a computer program that promises to free your PC from viruses but alternatively introduces computer viruses into your PC.

 

The Trojan horse may be dodgy. Who hasn’t been online and had an ad crop up stating to be able to free your PC of some awful virus? Or, even more terrible, you get an e-mail that claims to be alerting you to a fresh computer virus that may jeopardize your PC. The sender promises to rapidly annihilate, or protect, your PC from viruses if you merely download their “free of charge”, attached software into your PC. You might be skeptical but the software looks licit and the company appears reputable. You continue to take them up on their offer and download the software. In doing so, you've just possibly exposed yourself to a monolithic headache and your PC to a laundry list of ailments. 

 

Once a Trojan horse is touched off, many things may occur. Some Trojans are more bothersome than malicious. A few of the less annoying Trojans might choose to alter your desktop settings or add cockamamie desktop icons. The graver Trojans may wipe out data on your PC, taint files, spread other malware like viruses, spy on the user and secretly report information like browsing habits to others, log keystrokes to steal data like passwords and charge card numbers, phish for bank account details and even establish a backdoor into your PC so that they may come and go as they please.

 

To increase your likelihood of not coming across a Trojan, abide by these rules of thumb.

Trojan horses may infect your PC through rogue sites, instant messaging, and e-mails with attachments. Don't download anything into your computer unless you're 100 % sure of its sender or beginning.

Guarantee that your OS is always cutting-edge. If you're running a Microsoft Windows OS, this is crucial.

Set up reliable anti-virus software. It's also crucial that you download any updates often to catch all new Trojans, viruses, and worms. Make certain that the anti-virus program that you select can likewise scan e-mails and files downloaded through the net.

Think about installing a firewall. A firewall is a system of rules that prevents unauthorized utilization and access to your computer. A firewall isn't going to wipe out your virus problems, but when utilized in co-occurrence with regular OS updates and reliable anti-virus software, it may provide additional security and shelter for your computer.

Nothing may guarantee the protection of your computer 100 %. But you can go forward to better your computer's security and lessen the possibility of infection by consistently following these rules of thumb.

About Phishing

Who hasn’t gotten an e-mail leading them to visit a familiar site where they're being required to update their personal info? The site needs you to affirm or update your passwords, charge card numbers, social security number, or even your bank account. You realize the business name as one that you’ve done business with previously. So, you click on the handy “take me there” link and go on to provide all the info they've called for. Regrettably, you discover much later that the site is bogus. It was produced with the sole aim of stealing your personal data. You've just been “phished”.

 

Phishing (sounded out as “fishing”) is specified as the act of sending out an e-mail to a recipient falsely claiming to have a founded, legitimate business. The aim of the phisher is to con the recipient into delivering their private data, and finally steal your identity.

It isn’t' at simple as you think to spot an e-mail phishing for data. At first sight, the e-mail might look like it's from a licit company. The "From" field of the e-mail might have the .com address of the company noted in the e-mail. The clickable link even appears to take you to the company's site, when as a matter of fact, it's a fake site assembled to replicate the licit site.

 

A lot of these individuals are pro criminals. They've spent much time in producing e-mails that look bona fide. Users need to go over all e-mails requesting personal info cautiously. When reviewing your e-mail remember that the "From Field" may be easily altered by the sender. While it might look like it's coming from a .com you do business with, looks may be deluding. Likewise hold in mind that the phisher will go all out in attempting to make their e-mail look as legitimate as conceivable. They'll even re-create logos or pictures from the official web site to utilize in their e-mails. Lastly, they like to include a clickable link that the receiver may follow to handily update their data. 

 

A good way to check the authenticity of the link is to point at the link with your mouse. Then, have a look in the bottom left screen of your computer. The actual site address to which you're being directed will display for you to view. It's a very quick and simple way to check if you're being led to a legitimate site.

 

Lastly, abide by the golden rule. Never, ever, click the links inside the text of the e-mail, and always erase the e-mail at once. Once you've deleted the e-mail, empty the trash box in your e-mail accounts likewise. If you're truly concerned that you're missing a crucial notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full web address of the site into your browser. At least then you are able to be confident that you're, really, being directed to the true and legitimate site.

Creating Your Business Website—5 Points to Consider

The first thing that many people prefer when they are reading or rather going through a web page is scanning and skimming pages for ideas rather than reading the pages. People also do not like very complex things but rather simple navigation that is being able to go through the page easily without any problems. 

 

The webpage also should have very neat work with no inconsistency. There should be not too much wordings on the page, because will make the reader to get bored of reading the page. You should not put so many advertisements or flags on one page because the reader will get distracted and hence losing concentration on whatever they were reading. Your business website must be quick in downloading pages, when it is too slow, you will find that a person wastes a lot of time and money and also, he gets bored easily. The pages should have significant, up-to-date and great information. 

 

There are five very important points that you should consider when you are creating your business website. The first point to note is that you should have a purpose of the website. You should have a well-known reason of what you want the website for. You should also be attentive on whatever you want your website to be. 

 

The first thing that you should do for this point to be effective is to put it down in paper. Write the main purpose for your website. An example is that if you want your website to sell merchandise then it is supposed to be fast in downloading and showing the item satisfactorily and also with a good paying criterion.       

 

The second thing that you should keep in mind is that you are supposed to know your targeted group. This should be in your mind the first thing when you are planning. You do not however expect everyone to like your website but you should be in a position to welcome visitors on your page from various corners. 

 

The third thing that you consider is perspective of the designer. Being a creator of your website, you want all the pages to be conspicuous by designing with the current technology but as you make plans you should think whether too much of decorating will tamper with your communication to the users. 

 

Planning your contents is also very important. You should put down the headings for each page and its purpose. The fifth and the last thing is the structure of your website which should look like a pyramid and at the top is supposed to be the home page.  

10 Ways to Make Social Media Posts that Get Engagement

Social Media is a great tool for content marketing, but there are some rules to the game. Check out these 10 suggestions for effective posting that gets engagement. 

 

1. Use a great visuals. The visual content is what will stop people from scrolling through the endless parade of their feed and checking out your post. If you don’t have an image directly related to your business, use some stock imagery from a free site like Pixabay or Unsplash.

 

2. Write good copy. While the picture gets them to stop, the words get them to click. Use good grammar, flawless spelling, and appropriate punctuation with adequate spacing. 

 

3. Don’t be self-centred. Don’t promote your business and products directly every time. Post about topics in your industry, or repost items from other people to build your credibility and engagement with a wider audience.

 

4. Use hashtags. For the majority of social media sites, your post might as well be invisible if you’re not using hashtags. Hashtags tell people what category your post falls into, and draws in more engagement from people checking out what’s new in that topic.

 

5. Be brief. Don’t make your posts too long, because readers will get weary and move on. Use synonyms for longer words and keep your sentences short. Remember that your audience is very distracted. 

 

6. Post at key times. This varies by social media type, but your post will get in front of a large audience. You can do a quick Google search to see what days and times are best for the social media platforms you’re using.

 

7. Involve the readers. Put engaging questions into your post that will elicit discussion and response. If people are building on the thread below you words, you know your post has been a  success. 

 

8. Be persistent. In today’s socially connected world, it’s not overkill to post, post, and post again. People may need to see something at least a dozen times before even clicking on it, so don’t be afraid to keep trying, and don’t give up.

 

9. Consider the pros and cons of auto-posting. You may think that auto-posting saves you time and energy, but an organic effort fuelled by the inspiration of the moment might yield better results. 

 

10. Remember the audience. Different social media platforms are geared towards different users, so while you might be fine throwing up pictures of your weekend on Instagram, that tactic could backfire on LinkedIn.

6 Steps to Making a Content Marketing Strategy that Will Boost Your Business

You may have heard that content is king in this digitally connected age. Here are 6 simple steps to get the ball rolling with some excellent content marketing in your business.

 

1. Define your goals. You can’t go anywhere without a goal. Set concrete goals for your marketing attempt, such as fortifying your connection with a particular audience or branching out to new ones. 

 

With all the analytic tools available today, you can easily be able to monitor your progress as you move along.

 

2. Define your audience. Who are you marketing your product or service to? If you don’t have a clear vision about this, you’ll be wasting your time and money trying to market to everyone—which is sort of like throwing pasta on the wall and hoping it sticks.

 

Instead, build a vision of your ideal crowd. Perhaps even make a storyboard about the “typical” person in this group to fill out your marketing attempts with genuine copy.  

 

3. Define your style. What exactly is your brand all about, and what’s the accompanying style that best matches with your message? 

 

If you bounce all over the place with your words and your appearance, you’re going to make your audience confused and lose potential customers. Solidify the details about your appearance—everything from colour schemes to fonts to content topics.

 

4. Learn from the past. Chances are, if you’ve been in business for a few years already, that you have some extant content out there already. 

 

Take a look at what did well, and what bombed, and try to figure out why. Build on your success, and stay away from failure as you move forward.

 

5. Assemble the team. If you’re a one-man band, that’s great, but once a business reaches a certain point, you’ll need multiple people on the team. 

 

One person could be blogging and incorporating SEO keywords, while another is interacting with the fan base on social media, and yet another is crafting and implementing Google ads. 

 

The more specialized each person can become, the more their expertise will increase the overall success of your business—but remember to keep everyone within a good loop of communication. 

 

6. Make a plan. Set up checkpoints, goals, and deadlines. Use analytic software to track clicks and see what parts of the strategy are working. 

 

Just like goals are crucial for creating a destination, a plan is crucial for getting to those goals.

6 Reasons Why Your Social Media Strategy Is Not Working

Social media is supposed to be the definitive content marketing channel solution, right? But many business owners are discovering it’s easier said than done. Here are a few reasons your social media strategy is not working.

 

1. You’re not advertising. Yes, social media is free, whereas traditional advertising can cost lots of money. But even so, you have to realize that social media engagement with organic posting is inherently weak—people are overly bombarded by the items in their feed. With social media ads, you can target specific users and secure a noticeable spot in the feed, yielding more click-through action. 

 

2. You’re hacking too much. Despite the seductive words of internet gurus and content marketing professionals, there is no get-rich-quick solution to social media content marketing. Building a solid presence takes time, patience, and quality material. You can try all the backend hacks you want, but the social media venues have watchdogs to monitor that activity. If they deem it shady, it will reduce the health score of your profile, making it harder for you to market. 

 

3. You’re not interacting. It’s called social media for a reason! Even monolithic mega-giants like Disney and Coca-Cola have social teams that interact with users making comments on their pages and forums. If you’re going to build brand loyalty on a social media platform, you have to interact with your followers by commenting on their posts and pictures, and responding to their comments and likes.

 

4. You’re not using data. There are plenty of programs out there that can help you mine user data, which can help you better refine your target audience. This type of software can help you understand who interacts with your brand, and what demographics are potentially most interested in what you have to offer. Without leveraging that info, you’re kind of just shooting in the dark.

 

5. You’re not making good content. From pictures to textual posts, what grabs attention on social media is good content. Learn about what will get eyes to stop and click on a link, and if you can’t figure it out, employ someone who can. 

 

6. You’re doing all the work. You heard it right… the best social media marketing comes about when other people market your product or service. Your brand ambassadors can collectively reach out to a wider audience who is already in love with their posts and appreciates their unique style. Moreover, someone else touting your product or service gives it a seal of approval you just can’t fake on your own.

5 Reasons No One is Reading Your Blog

So you’ve decided to start a blog. Whether it’s to spread a personal message, get readers to click on affiliate links, or make money from advertisers, blogging can be a rewarded digital sport. 

 

But if you’re like many bloggers, you’ve come to the frustrating realization that no one is reading your posts, and here’s why:

 

1. You’re not writing about something people find helpful. There are already a million blog posts out there on “different things to do in xyx place,” so—for example—if you’re writing a travel blog, you have to get more “niche” with it and provide some value. For example, “best places to find spicy food in Denver” is a much more specific post that carries some value for the readers who are putting that inquiry into Google.

 

2. You’re not opening doors. A big part of funnelling readers to your blog is about building a network of back-links, which are essentially hyperlinks to your site on other people’s blogs or websites. A good way to do this is just to network and do guest posts for people on their blogs, with the stipulation that you can put some links to your site on there.

 

3. You’re not building relationships. You need to have a contact button of form on your website, and harvest some emails. Alternatively, by blogging consistently and alerting social media connections of your new posts, you can draw some steady streams of traffic to your site. The overall idea is to get recurring readers. Not only will they increase your readership with their own eyes, but over time, if they like your content they’ll share it with others.

 

4. Your site doesn’t look good. If people hop on to your blog and find that it looks like the screen from Pac Man, they probably will bounce off the page in less than a minute—unless of course, your blog post is dedicated to Pac Man aficionados…then that would be cool. Your website needs to look professional, and the architecture needs to be clean and well designed (for mobile users as well).

 

5. You think you are Shakespeare. Don’t try to get to literary with your posting, unless of course you’re catering to a high-brow audience. Use shorter sentences, small paragraphs, and lots of pictures to punctuate your words, otherwise people will find your blog too exhausting to read. While SEO experts tout the benefits of long-form posts (over 2,000 words) you still have to balance that out with reader experience—and most readers can’t tolerate more than half that word count.   

The Key to Better Websites: Design

Introduction

  

Design, design, design. To put the wonders of a good design into perspective, imagine a when we are purchasing a T-Shirt. First of all, what do we look at? The design of the T-Shirt, of course. Well, most people do, other than the material factor. But let’s assume the all the other factors are constant, wouldn’t the design or looks, become the key aspect then?

 

Design

 

Putting oneself in another individual’s shoes, as usual. Here are another two situations.

 

Situation A: 

A website with good design and breathtaking graphics. (Good color schemes with matching theme), pictures. (Optimum resolutions and relevant) and proper fonts and word sizes.

 

Situation B: 

A website inversely equipped with hideous graphics and pictures in terms of resolution, quality and relevancy. (Red pictures with a bright green background) Fonts used were not matching albeit too fanciful. (Too small, artsy font-types)

 

Situation A, visitors that enter the website are immediately awestruck by the design and artwork. The well-placed pictures and designs will somewhat symbolize the positive nature of the company/website. As we know, most people DO judge by impression. 

 

As for Situation B, the shabby environment due to severe lack of creativity and badly taken pictures wouldn’t exactly help in attracting visitors. Fonts that were hard to be read, let alone comprehended, and mismatching themes in terms of color, isn’t exactly welcoming, is it?

 

Analysis: Now, the main idea here is to always plan your websites, try to get other individuals for feedback and perspectives. Each mindset might differ, but at least you will get room for improvement. Don’t get me wrong, even a plain website with proper design would generate plenty of positive implications, but the key idea here is to at least maintain an impressionable website.

 

Website Customization: What can we do?

Nowadays, in this trendy world, people get very uptight when they do not look entirely presentable. This would also be the case in web designing. 

 

Every individual would definitely want their website to look good, if not, to the best they can. Here are a few things we could look out for when wanting to create a professional looking webpage.

 

Color Schemes and Themes

 

When designing, always choose matching colors. An example of a matching color would be to have a dark background, with visible words and designs. With the dark theme, try not to mix too many bright colors into the design. What we should NEVER do, is to mix two very different colors, such as purple and yellow. Now, of course, it would depend on the purpose of the website, but those two colors are too striking for one who wants it to look more professional.

 

Themes must always suit the company or rather, the organization / etc. If the website was made to cater for a food company, it would be wise to stick to that particular category, rather than to revert to a different theme, such as machinery. 

 

Fonts should be used in regard to the formality of the website. A simple sans-serif font would suffice in most cases. Exceptional cases such as design and art groups might want to use fanciful designs and fonts. Of course, that’s only if you know what you’re doing.

 

Finally, we must always try to think of our visitors, see the way they see. The resolutions and file sizes of the pictures must not be too large in terms of size. This is to allow maximum compatibility and cater our visitor’s needs. 

 

So, planning is something we should always do, before attempting something.

 

The Key to Better Websites: Navigation

Introduction

 

One of the primary implications of a well-organized / good website, is to keep your visitors in the website. A website is definitely created for a purpose, unless intended for personal use, which is the minority. For example, a portfolio website would want to be visited and its content viewed. For companies and internet businesses, your website certainly aims to provide product information, to make sales, or somewhat similar. However, most individuals undoubtedly prefer visually captivating designs, so on and so forth. It is undeniable that this causes no harm, but one must put himself/herself in other people’s shoes, as to understand how a visitor to the website might think, do and react.

 

Navigation

 

As I said, a web designer has to learn how to think the way your visitors think. 

 

Situation A: 

Website with good navigation (2-3 hyperlinks to target page), well planned in terms of placement, and design.

 

Situation B: 

Website with poor navigation (takes forever for the visitor to reach his/her target page), hard-to-read navigation fonts and poor placement of the navigation buttons/bar.

 

In Situation A, a visitor will always want to be able to access his/her target page. For example, the individual comes across your website, and is interested in the product sold, but wants to find more information. He/she finds the navigation with no trouble, and enters the particular product information page.

 

As for Situation B, a visitor stumbles into the website, and would also like to find out more information about the product. Unfortunately, due to bad placement and fanciful font-types, the visitor takes forever, or even fails to find the navigation bar. Even when he/she does so, links to the product information are nowhere to be found, (example: home > about > products > product image > etc.… [a few more clicks] > product information).

 

Analysis: In both situations, wouldn’t a website with characteristics similar to Situation A be more rewarding and better?