DEV Community: MichaelDeaneQeedle

Rental Property Maintenance Tips for New Landlords

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 14:49:28 +0000

So, you have decided to enter the lucrative and exciting world of renting your property. Congrats.

Being a landlord is a rewarding venture, but it is not without its challenges and tribulations. This is especially true if you are a newbie in the world of renting your property.

Here are the essential rental property maintenance tips for new landlords. Follow these tips and start reaping the fruits of your labor in no time.

Renting a property is a business

In theory, being a landlord might seem like a dream come true. Many people think that all a landlord has to do is rent their property and collect the rent every once in a while. But, renting a property is a business.

Running a business means that you must act following local and national laws. So even before you start renting your property, there is a set of rules and regulations that you must follow.

And once you find tenants and start running your business, you are the one responsible for a myriad of liability claims and potential accidents that might occur on your property and to your residents.

According to SCK Property, you must also meet the minimum standards for rental property (such as keeping all the appliances and amenities in good shape) before you even consider becoming a landlord.

That is why your rental place must be in good shape. So here is what to do.

Check everything before a tenancy begins

Disputes about the state of the property are relatively frequent occurrences when your tenants are moving out. To avoid this, do an inspection before you let anyone inhabit your property.

Ensure to check your property thoroughly, especially if you already had someone staying there. Document everything and take a lot of photos.

This type of proactive behavior can save you from potentially drawn out, cumbersome, and expensive arguments once your newest tenants leave your place. It is better to prevent a disagreement than to deal with it later onl.

Educate tenants

Renting a property is a two-way relationship. It is not enough that you do your part. Your tenants should be willing to cooperate with you to make that relationship a successful one.

The best thing to do is to provide your new renters with an information package that lists out all the basis of property maintenance and care that would be their responsibility.

For instance, make sure that they know to air the property regularly and ensure that it is kept adequately heated in colder months to minimize mold.

Many tenants, particularly younger and inexperienced ones, are not aware of their duties and things that they can do to keep the property running smoothly.

Because of that, it is better to educate them beforehand. This small initial step can save you from a lot of headaches down the line.

Ensure to keep the lines of communication between you and your renters open even after they have moved in. The better the communication, the better your relationship will be.

If you make it easy for your tenants to report any issues on the property, they will be able to do it quickly and before they become serious problems that will demand a lot of your time and money.

Try to keep good tenants

Good tenants are hard to come by. Because of this, once you find someone who is your ideal renter, offer them incentives to keep them as tenants.

Offering incentives doesn't mean that you should lower the rent to keep them. Quite the contrary, you can keep raising the rent in accordance with the current state of the rental market.

But, offer some perks to make it appealing for your current tenants to keep staying at your property. For instance, every year, you could offer to replace or upgrade one thing on the property up to a particular value.

Upgrade the AC system, change the flooring, or do something else that will simultaneously make living easier for your current tenants and raise the value of your property overall. That way, everybody benefits from this agreement.

Small gestures like this make it less likely for your residents to find a loophole and break an apartment lease without a penalty.

Do not ignore property problems

If a tenant reports a problem on your property, or you notice one during an inspection, do not hesitate to fix it. Problems do not go away. They can only get bigger.

Early intervention can only save you money. For example, a dripping faucet can become a leaking one, a small crack in the wall can become a hole, and so on.

It is better to spend a bit of money right away and fix a minor issue than wait and let that small issue develop into a big and expensive one.

Pay especially close attention to your property during colder winter months since that is when most issues become apparent.

How do I make a 3D model of my house?

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 08:48:39 +0000

If you want to redesign your old home or simply create your dream house from the ground up, or simply design a patio that will look good with your home, making its 3D model is the way to go.

Even if you just want to start learning the basics of 3D modeling, why not start with something you know well, like your home?

Whatever your reasons are, read on to learn how to make a 3D model of your house.

3D modeling - the basics

Let us start from the top and learn what precisely 3D modeling is.

3D modeling is the process of creating a three-dimensional representation of an object using special software. This representation you make is called a 3D model. It is used to precisely show an object’s size, shape, and texture.

You can create 3D models of existing items or designs that do not yet exist in real life.

Some uses of 3D modeling

3D replicas are helpful in various fields and across many industries. In film and animation, it is used to create CGI characters, objects, environments, animations, and titles for movies and commercials.

When it comes to gaming, many aspects of animation are the same ones used in film and TV, except they make up the visual 3D component of the game.

In interior designing and architecture, models represent renderings of buildings and structures. The vast majority of all architectural items are made via 3D modeling for real-life construction.

It is also used in the medical industry for interactive representations of anatomy and making 3D-printed prosthetics.

Besides these instances, 3D modeling is used in mechanical and industrial design, where products are 3D modeled. The 3D models as the digital representations of the actual objects are shown first to clients, subject to approvals. The actual 3D objects are then made.

While these are the most common uses of 3D, almost any industry can find a way to use 3D modeling.

Do you need to know how to draw to create 3D models?

In general, being skilled in 2D drawing is beneficial for those who want to be a professional in 3D modeling.

Things around us have a shape and size. They have some weight to them and are made from different materials. Traditional drawing skills can help you learn to convey those characteristics of an object, but they are not necessary for creating a 3D model of your home.

However, if you happen to like this endeavor and decide that you want to be a better 3D modeler, some 2D drawing skills would be a good thing to develop.

What type of software do I need?

Most modern-day 3D modeling is performed with some type of CAD (Computer Aided Design) software.

CAD has replaced manual drafting in making both 2D and 3D designs.

CAD makes the development, modification, and optimization of the design process more manageable.

The models made in CAD are easy to modify and improve design quality. The software also takes into consideration the way various materials interact.

Because CAD encourages creativity and speeds up productivity, it is becoming more valuable in almost all creative industries.

Getting down to business

Measurements

If you are doing any remodeling of your home, start with measuring. Bust out the trusty measuring tape, or simply use the Measure app on your phone. Speaking of apps, there are some like Magicplan (both for Android and iOS) that can create a floor plan simultaneously with doing the measuring.

If you plan on including the preexisting furniture in your model, remember to measure it as well. And don’t forget the fixtures like radiators. Measure everything: the length, width, and height of the things and walls.

Software

Next, start up the designing software of your choice. There are many options at your disposal. Some of them are free, others have different prices, but two things are true no matter what: you can’t get for free all the options a paid software includes, and a higher price doesn’t guarantee higher quality. So, check some of your options and choose something that doesn’t seem too intimidating.

Floor plan

Now is the time to make a floor plan. When you launch the software you choose, you are going to see a grid. The squares on it represent feet or meters. Check your measurements and use the program’s tools and grid to create walls, rooms, doors, and the other central elements.

If you are starting from scratch, check if your program has pre-set templates or sample files, and try to edit them according to your vision.

Furniture

Most design apps have an object browser window that you can use to drag 3-D models of everyday items (like tables, sofas, and shelves). Place them into your floor plan where you want them. Once again, more exclusive items may require an in-app purchase.

Depending on your software, it might also be possible to select different window and door designs, as well as stylized wallpaper, flooring, curtains, and other details to make your model look as close to your dream home as possible.

If you ever played any version of Sims, you’ll know what to do, even if you are new to 3D modeling.

Make it 3D

Some apps offer a split-screen view between a 2D drawing and a 3D model. With others, all it takes is a click (or a tap) to make your project pop from two to three dimensions.

Once you see your creation in 3D, you’ll be able to identify some problems that weren’t obvious during the planning stage. The jump to 3D will make it easier to see doors that you wouldn’t be able to fully open, kitchen elements that need half an inch to fit correctly, etc. Now is the time to fix all those potential issues.

Enjoy

Once you’re satisfied with your creation, move on to the ultimate step. Print your work to use as a guide as you work or send a copy to your contractor, so you’re both on the same page when it comes time to start the job. Or, simply marvel at your creation!

Finance Tips for Freelance Developers

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Fri, 28 May 2021 09:25:31 +0000

Freelancing has many advantages over an ordinary cubicle job. More often than not, you are the one who is in charge of your working hours. You also get to choose where you work from, and many other things.

But, this sense of freedom comes with one severe potential downside - it is temptingly easy to forget about your financial responsibilities and things you need to do to keep your finances in check. When you also consider the fact that freelancing is the type of work where no one can guarantee you a steady workflow, you will understand why it is important to keep your finances sorted out.

Get yourself an accountant

First of all, be aware that a good accountant can help you with most of the financial issues and inquiries you might have. But, there is even more than that an accountant can do for you.

A good accountant should be your financial advisor. They will provide you with financial advice and discover innovative ways to save money and improve profits.

With some help from a professional accountant, you can automate or altogether remove some repetitive and mundane parts of your workload.

Besides, consider all the everyday work that an accountant deals with - collecting and checking financial data, generating reports, and performing audits, together with preparing financial and tax information - and you will quickly see why you need their services.

Most accounting companies offer a type of deal where you can hire a professional to help you with your finances when you need one. This means that you won’t have to pay for accounting services all year long if that is too big of an expense for you.

For example, you can hire an accountant only during the tax season.

Avoid unnecessary expenses

When you are your boss, it is essential to save money wherever you can while simultaneously not being too strict on yourself.

Finding that balance is hard, but there are a few things that you can do.

For instance, when you get a new car, consider getting a lease instead of buying a new vehicle.

Besides the fact that monthly rates for a car loan are typically lower than those you would pay when outright buying a new car, this idea has several other significant advantages.

For one, as long as you take good care of your vehicle or avoid what is known as “excessive wear and tear,” all the repairs and insurance are usually included in your lease.

Another good thing is that you can simply return the car once your lease is up or sign a new agreement and leave the dealership with a brand new vehicle.

This is an excellent thing for those who always want the newest tech and safety features in their car. Remember, a new car loses half its value the minute you drive it off the lot, so leasing is the prudent thing to do.

Keep your accounts separated

One thing that can be extremely difficult when you have no one to answer to besides yourself is keeping your private life and your business separated. You should do the same with your business account and your personal one.

When you keep them separated, it will be much easier for you to keep track of your transactions, thereby making your small business accounting more accurate and up-to-date.

When the tax season comes, having two separate accounts will make it easier to find the statements and receipts you need. The same is true for all your end-of-the-year bookkeeping needs.

Even in the case of some legal issues, i.e., your business being sued, your personal liability is lower if your accounts are kept separate.

Have an emergency fund ready

As a freelancer, you already know that money comes and goes in hard to predict ways. That is why you should have a well-stocked emergency fund.

There will be times when work will be plentiful, and others when you are making just enough to get by. Sometimes, all your efforts, budgeting, and managing your expenses will not be enough.

To prepare for the rough times coming your way, you should initially have an emergency fund that can last you for at least one month. Later on, you should build that up to three, and finally, six months.

The best way to achieve this is to save money when there is plenty of work and income coming in. Simply create a budget and stick to it, even when you are earning enough for a much more luxurious lifestyle at the moment.

And, speaking of bank accounts, your best course of action would be to keep this emergency fund in a separate savings account, even if it doesn’t pay much interest. What matters is that you can access that money quickly and hassle-free, should you ever need it.

AI will take robotic process automation to the next level

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:20:47 +0000

To someone who isn’t familiar with their uses, Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process automation might sound like two sci-fi concepts that can unite to create some sinister threat to humankind.

Fortunately, the reality is far less threatening, as these two technologies can work together to help us and help each other. Here is what AI will do to take RPA to the next level.

Some RPA basics

First of all, the robots mentioned in the RPA acronym aren’t physical robots. They are specialized computer programs that are used to standardize and automate repeatable business processes. As such, they do the same task the same way each time, as they cannot learn and improve themselves.

These robots are not meant to replace humans in any way. Instead, they are more like virtual assistants that can handle repetitive tasks that aren’t complicated but consume valuable employee time. One clear advantage that robots have is that they don’t get bored with continually doing the same thing. Besides, there is no room for error since they will handle their duties precisely as instructed and as efficiently as possible.

Typical tasks that RPA handles include auto-keying, screen/form integration, application or data integration, automated decisions, and rudimentary task management. It can reach to simple task sequencing and simple resource orchestration.

What does AI do?

Unlike Robotic Process Automation, AI is meant to emulate human intelligence in many ways. This includes learning by gathering information and applying contextual rules to use the gathered info and reasoning, where AI can use context and regulations to reach a conclusion.

Finally, it can learn from its successes and failures. This final ability is known as self-correction. These qualities make AI capable of doing many things that RPA cannot do on its own. Popular applications of AI include image recognition, digital assistants, machine vision, speech recognition, chatbots, natural language generation, and sentiment analysis.

As you see, the main difference is that RPA uses structured inputs and logic, while AI uses unstructured inputs and develops its own logic.

How the two technologies work together

Even though they are so different, AI and RPA can team up to help each other and help us. Both are built mainly around improving workflow, minimizing human errors, and streamlining mundane or repetitive tasks.

While RPA automates the routine operations, AI has self-learning capabilities to boost process automation to the next level. Put them together, and you have two tools that perfectly complement one another.

AI empowers RPA with its cognitive capabilities, including machine learning and speech recognition. These cognitive technologies help in automating emotional or judgment-based processes, which is not possible with RPA alone. But that is not all.

When AI is integrated into Robotic Process Automation solutions, it brings the capability of gathering and sharing useful information with different systems and makes better decisions. Customized RPA solutions can utilize data fetched by AI and performs a complex task with ease. To sum it up, AI, together with cognitive technologies and ML (Machine Learning), empowers robotic process automation by introducing a human response in the workflow.

When put together, these two technologies can create something so new and powerful that some refer to this new process as CRPA (Cognitive Robotic Process Automation). This combination can also perform advanced tasks through refined software mechanisms and algorithms.

Challenges in RPA and AI synergy

Merging the two technologies has a gratifying outcome once you get to it. But, many kinks need to be sorted out before the combined solution is possible.

This process requires good coordination between two separate teams that handle RPA and AI, respectively, and proper planning and real-time communication between teams.

People who work on merging the two technologies should also keep an accurate record of actions, progress, problems, and milestones.

They also must manage the network to convey requirements and possible solutions effectively while paying more attention to every single detail and business aspects.

Finally, they need to apply a rigorous approach, which leaves no room for error because even the slightest mistake in the combination can damage the entire system.

When the two techs unite, it becomes easy to manage customer interactions and establish better customer relations through improved services. You can also utilize the RPA and AI combination in operating complex development cycles and explore new horizons for bringing intelligent automation to your workplace.

Advantages of AI and RPA working together

Here are some of the benefits your business can gain by using intelligent automation:

Improved productivity of your workforce.
Saving your workforce from tedious and repetitive tasks.
Eliminating human errors from the workplace and being sure to reach correct results.
Improving data management more effectively and saving costs.
Acquiring complete process transparency through a customized dashboard and customized reporting support.

What will the future bring?

As AI advances to include activities such as judgment, particularly in context, RPA can make informed decisions based on leveraging the combination of AI and analytics. Deductions can be made after integrated information sources and knowledge worlds are run through advanced algorithms to take smarter action that considers multiple contexts.

Tasks that are knowledge-intensive will also need the help of the combination of AI and RPA. AI will be able to sort through unstructured data that will also likely include image, voice, and video and use them to gain knowledge which will help the bots.

While AI can learn to think and project by employing predictive analytics, RPA would be able to intercept exceptions and match these patterns or events to expected or unexpected opportunities, as well as threats. This puts organizations in a position to think through and respond to emergent behaviors and markets.

Conclusion

Adding AI to existing RPA platforms means adding the capacity to understand speech, better mimic human behavior, work with less structured data sets, and more. Therefore, going from RPA to intelligent automation adds a level of cognitive thinking to your machine processes.

Machine learning helps robots develop the critical thinking skills needed to handle more complex tasks. All of this enables AI to become an even better human partner by taking on repetitive and manual tasks while allowing humans to take on more rewarding activities.

As Gaming Moves to the Cloud, Data Centers Focus on Latency

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 11:54:44 +0000

The gaming industry, once a small, niche market, earned $120 billion in 2019.

It shows no signs of slowing down as experts predict that these figures will reach $196 billion by 2022.

Cloud computing is one of the most important factors that have contributed to this tremendous growth. We have already witnessed how video and music streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify have raised the bar and revolutionized the entertainment industry.

Cloud gaming is the next big thing, but its huge potential to dominate the market depends on low, near-zero latency.

Here’s what this means for data centers.

What Is Cloud Gaming?

The concept of gaming has been evolving over the years, and now gamers purchase discs for their consoles or PCs or download a game onto their hard drives.

In both cases, the gaming experience depends on the speed of your computer processor – if it’s not fast and powerful enough, the overall gaming performance will suffer. Although other components such as RAM and graphics play an important role too, they won’t be able to operate at their full potential if the CPU is too weak.

With cloud gaming, you don’t need a disc, console, or even computer in order to play your favorite game. You can stream it on any device, just like you do when you want to listen to your playlist on YouTube or watch a movie on Netflix.

In other words, your game exists on a remote server – in a datacenter packed with servers, to be more precise, and it consists of a series of compressed video frames. But unlike Netflix or YouTube, where these compressed frames are sent to your device through one-way streaming signals, cloud gaming requires a very fast two-way connection.

Gaming is an interactive process. Namely, after receiving a streaming signal from the server on your device, the inputs you make have to be communicated back to the server in order for the actions you want to take in the game to happen. The remote server then makes adjustments that correspond with your inputs.

What Is Latency?

Lag is the gamers’ archenemy.

This phenomenon, also known as latency, refers to a delay occurring between the action of gamers and the reaction of the server. If we bear in mind that streaming signals travel from the remote server to the end-user and vice versa, it’s clear that this communication has to be extremely fast in order to prevent lag.

Otherwise, gamers will experience reduced responsiveness, as their video signal will freeze, fragment, or stutter. This is annoying when you watch videos, and when you’re playing a game, lag can completely ruin your experience.

Besides the fact that servers are miles away from gamers, there’s another important factor that can lead to latency – millions of players engaging with a particular game at once. That’s why gaming companies need to be ready for such surges and build the infrastructure capable of handling resource-intensive tasks and processes.

In order to deliver a high level of performance and reliability, data centers require a vast amount of electricity, which is why preventing power-quality issues is essential for improving their efficiency, reducing costs, and improving user experience.

Why Are Data Centres So Important for Cloud Gaming Experience?

A simple answer would be that without data centers, gamers would struggle with crippling latency. They practically couldn’t play any game without frustration.

Let’s take some of the most popular games as an example.

With 200 million players from all around the world, Fortnite is quite a demanding game in terms of infrastructure. To be more precise, it relies on 12 AWS data centers providing 24 availability zones. As the peak load is ten times higher than the smallest one, each of these data centers has to allow for such extreme differences.

The World of Warcraft is another immersive game, and it’s powered by 17 data centers processing 100GB per second.

All these figures demonstrate that seamless delivery won’t be possible without a number of reliable data centers. Let’s not forget that gamers invest in state-of-the-art equipment in order to ensure the best gaming experience, and they won’t put up with latency issues.

That’s why it’s only logical that cloud gaming services do everything they can to deliver a near-zero latency experience.

How to Improve the Data Center Infrastructure?

There are various tools and solutions designed to help data centers support cloud gaming and reduce latency, and this goal is one of the top service providers’ key differentiators.

Low and predictable latency depends on the proximity to the end-user, which means that service providers have to build powerful data centers and edge nodes closer to their users.

Edge computing technology does this by physically shortening the distance that gaming content has to cover. In a nutshell, this is a so-called distributed architecture that combats latency and improves response time by placing applications, data storage, and other resources geographically closer to the locations where they’re needed.

As of recently, the three biggest public clouds – AWS, Microsoft Azul, and Google Cloud Platform – started providing edge computing capabilities.

This is particularly important for cloud gaming because, in 2019, Google launched its highly-anticipated Stadia, a platform that allows gamers to stream and play games on their TV, laptop, mobile, and all that up to 4K resolution. With all its massive network and computing resources, Google can focus on delivering superb performance.

Similarly, Microsoft launched its xCloud game streaming platform with which users will be able to play games on their mobile phones.

Cloud gaming providers that don’t have their own centers can take advantage of colocation data centers, that is, data facilities that rent out rack space, equipment, cooling, bandwidth, and other resources. This allows them to cache their content there and deliver it to the end-users based on their proximity, thus significantly reducing latency.

The cloud has revolutionized the gaming industry, as it offers different benefits and functionalities to players. However, to keep pace with this technological advancement, data centers have to adjust their infrastructure in order to eliminate latency.

RankMath - the New SEO Plugin for WordPress

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 10:16:36 +0000

For too long a time, the WordPress SEO plugin market has been a one-horse or two-horse race, depending on whether you consider All in One SEO Pack a worthy competitor to Yoast. Finally, there is another player on the scene and it is a great one - RankMath.

As you will find out in the remainder of this review, RankMath is giving Yoast a run for its money and then some.

Who’s behind it?

The company behind RankMath is MyThemeShop, seasoned veterans of the WordPress ecosystem whose themes and plugins are used by more than 600,000 people around the world. According to them, they wanted to create a veritable SEO swiss knife and to give it to users for free. They did it and they did it in style.

So, what exactly did they do right?

Automated SEO for inexperienced webmasters

Let’s be honest, not everyone is that interested in SEO and many webmasters like to do as little of it as possible. They want to focus on producing great content and/or branding and they just want to make sure their optimization is not hindering them.

RankMath does this exceptionally well. It has a Setup Wizard which asks you only the very basics about your WordPress site and then it sets up its SEO automatically, ensuring that your website follows all the best practices when it comes to on-site SEO.

Of course, you can override this if you need something else for specific pages on your site.

Powerful SEO audit

RankMath also has a powerful SEO audit feature that looks at over 40 factors which can affect the search engine performance of your WordPress website. This provides you with a great overview of the current state of your site’s SEO.

In addition to this, you will also get recommendations on how to solve any issues that you might have, including permalink issues, keywords-related problems and even Caching plugin issues that might prevent your website from being as fast as possible.

Handy redirection manager

Improperly handled redirections can wreak havoc with any website, WordPress or no. If you were to analyze 100 websites that experienced severe organic traffic drops, you would find that badly handled redirections were the main culprit in at least 80 of them.

Redirections are particularly tricky to do right if you run an eCommerce website with thousands of products that come and go every day. In such situations, you can easily end up with pages with out-of-stock products getting traffic instead of those with available stock.

RankMath has a Redirection Manager feature which is exquisitely easy to use and which handles all of your redirections for you, making sure your website doesn’t have dead-ends and that the visitors end up exactly where you want them to end up.

In addition to this, RankMath also has a feature for redirecting attachments to parent pages or custom posts. For instance, if you have a particularly successful PDF that is getting organic links, you can redirect it to a page and give it link juice that way.

404 monitoring

Closely related to redirections are 404 errors, which tell you that an asset on your domain is not available - a post, an image or something else. Making sure you keep tabs on them is essential for good SEO and RankMath does this very well.

The Simple 404 monitoring feature simply informs you of 404 errors, so that you can remedy them in a way you find suitable. The Advanced version also informs you of the referring page, the time of the error, and even the user agent.

Support for rich snippets

The good people from RankMath realized that rich snippets are changing the SERP game, effectively serving only one above the fold result for many searches. Because of this, they have added powerful rich snippet support to their plugin.

With it, you simply choose the type of content for which you wish to create rich snippets and a simple fill-in process guides you through everything.

Pretty much all the types of content are supported - articles, books, courses, events, job listings, music, persons, products, recipes, restaurants, reviews, etc.

Of course, this does not mean that your snippet will automatically appear in the SERPs but it definitely increases your chances.

Search Console integration

Most webmasters use Google Search Console on a daily basis to track their keywords, backlinks, internal links, penalties, crawl rates and more. RankMath features an integration which allows you to keep track of all of this without having to fire up the actual SC.

This can save a ton of time, especially if you are just looking to check up on a few things.

Furthermore, with their in-built keyword analyzer, you can definitely save a bunch of time, identifying the keywords that are performing well and then cross-referencing this with how well your pages are optimized for them, discovering if you can make some improvements.

The “other” stuff

The “other” stuff here refers to things other than actual features that you can find in RankMath.

For example, there is the Yoast and All in One SEO Pack importer which enables you to switch seamlessly from those plugins to RankMath.

Also, there is the code which is lean and clean, meaning that the plugin will have a minimal negative influence on the performance of your WordPress website.

RankMath’s support people are also more than responsive, taking care of everything that is even remotely humanly possible within 24 hours. They are also extremely responsive to any new bugs that may appear (the tool is still relatively new) and they handle them in record time.

Finally, there is the price. The price for all of this is $0. As in zero dollars. Nothing. RankMath is a free plugin.

Closing Word

It has been a while since someone tried to challenge Yoast as a WordPress SEO plugin of choice. RankMath not only challenges Yoast, but surpasses it in many respects.

If you add the price into the mix, well, it’s a no brainer.

8 of the Best Free Cycling Apps

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 08:26:00 +0000

If you are a passionate rider that owns plenty of cycling gear, chances are you are a fan of technology as well.

Unlike bike gadgets, cycling apps are not something you have to spend money on to use. And the best cycling apps can be just as useful as your favorite bike-tech, if not more.

CycleStreets

This app helps you find the route that suits you best by showing you a variety of options. Due to its intuitive design, it’s one of the best free apps for route planning.

For instance, if you’d like to have a quieter commute, the app can find you a less popular route to work. You can use it for navigation, thanks to the live map feature. It also displays speed and distance covered.

Map my Ride

If you are tired of pedaling along the same path every single day, this app will help you discover new ones. It’s especially great for cycling pals as it lets you share routes with your friends, making it easier for everyone to explore the awesome new trail you’ve discovered.

Map my Ride also has an activity feed that lets you see what your friends are doing. You can even challenge one another to a competition, win prizes, and climb the leader board.

The app can also give you statistics via audio feedback, such as information about your pace or the number of calories you’ve burned.

Strava

Strava is a great cycling tracker, regardless of your level of fitness. By comparing feedback on your pace, distance, etc., you can keep track of your performance.

The app allows you to set goals and follow your progress. If you are up for a challenge, you can join the official monthly competition and see how you fare on the leaderboard. You can also connect with friends.

If you want to find new routes, the app allows you to access the largest global trail and road network. When you discover a new route you like, you can download it to your GPS device or your phone.

First Aid For Cyclists

In the US, 2018 was the deadliest year for cyclists since 1990. In 2019, the UK saw a dramatic increase in cyclist fatalities.

If we want to improve these bleak statistics, everyone has got to do their part. Road accidents are a fact of life, but we can keep the fatalities to a minimum by getting better acquainted with first aid protocols.

This is an excellent first aid manual designed specifically for cyclists. It offers simple, step-by-step instructions on how to assist someone who has been injured in an accident. The app covers the most common cycling injuries.

Fill That Hole

Whether you are cycling across the U.K. or just cycling to the store, there’s no way you can avoid potholes and other road defects.

Potholes can be a real nuisance, and, instead of waiting for the problem to disappear, UK cyclists can do something about it.

Fill That Hole allows cyclists to join together in a fight against road defects. Thanks to the Fill That Hole app, UK cyclists don’t have to jump through hoops to notify their local authorities of potholes.

The app is run by UK’s leading cycling charity, Cycling UK. To report a pothole, simply fill out the form in the app, and they will take care of the rest. By facilitating the reporting process, Cycling UK’s team helps keep bureaucracy to a minimum and the roads safer for everyone.

Cyclemeter

Cyclemeter is an all-around workout app for cyclists, runners, and mountain bikers. It packs a lot of cool features that will turn your smartphone into a powerful fitness gadget.

It can display maps, intervals, splits, training plans, and pie charts. It will even encourage you during your ride.

With the wealth of accurate data it offers, it’s one of the most comprehensive cycling apps out there. If there is something you want to keep track of during your ride, chances are you will find it listed in Cyclemeter.

Rain Alarm

When you’re planning a big bike outing, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. There are numerous weather forecast apps, but very few are as accurate and reliable as Rain Alarm.

Rain Alarm uses a satellite view to display accurate, short-term weather forecasts. It’s great if you want to plan your route around patches of rain or avoid rain altogether.

With its live map, live notifications, and real-time radar data, there’s no way you will be caught off guard by lousy weather. Rain Alarm even shows detailed information on the type of rain or snow that is headed your way.

CycleMaps

CycleMaps is another convenient route planner. It shows you different routes that lead from point A to point B. It’s particularly great for commuters.

For instance, you can request a safer and quieter route that leads through small streets and relaxed cycle paths. If you are in a hurry to get somewhere, you can request routes that use bigger roads and high-speed bike lanes.

You can use it for navigation as well. The app can give you directions and display your position on a live map, as well as monitor your speed.

Battling Burnout as a Software Developer

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 05:43:18 +0000

You’re a software developer. You love your job – in fact, you consider programming and coding to be your greatest passions in life.

However, recently, you’ve felt a little… stuck. You aren’t getting enough sleep. You’re skipping meals. You lack motivation. Ideas aren’t flowing as clearly and rapidly as they usually do.

If any of these statements currently describes you, you might be experiencing burnout. Don’t panic – software development reports a higher burnout amount than practically any other field. What you are experiencing is a normal feeling which every software developer undergoes at some point in their career.

Once you’ve identified burnout, it’s time to fight back That “stuck” feeling, if left on its own, can persist and cause both your career and life to stagnate. Be proactive and adopt healthy coping strategies for battling burnout TODAY!

Check in With Your Coach

When it comes to fighting burnout, a business coach makes a valuable ally. This experienced professional has been through periods of burnout in their own career, and will be able to offer you valuable advice for getting through even the darkest times.

If you don’t currently have a coach, it’s time to seek one out - but look no further, as Upskill Coach is the place to go. They can help with every stage of burnout, from noticing early signs to pulling you out of the darkest, unmotivated depths. Plus, a coach can assist you with many other steps in this guide, such as maintaining a regular schedule, strengthening your skills and keeping a positive, self-focused mindset!

… And with Yourself, Too!

Of course, it’s also important to learn how to detect signs of burnout in yourself. Take time every single day to do a “check-in” with your own brain. Shut off your electronics, disconnect, and ask yourself questions such as:

- How am I feeling right now?

- Do I feel like I had a productive day?

- If I didn’t, what do I feel went wrong?

This increased self-awareness will help you recognize even the earliest stages of burnout and take preventative action before things get too bad. Plus, speaking to friends, family or other members of your support network about your feelings will get a lot less stressful and intimidating!

Return to Regular Hours

Software development is an extremely flexible field which allows you to take your work anywhere – often with the help of just a simple laptop. However, that isn’t always a good thing.

A flexible work schedule can leave you feeling as though there is no longer a dividing line between your work and your out-of-office life. If you are experiencing this, try returning to a regular schedule for a few weeks. It doesn’t have to be a “standard” 9-5, but you should establish clearly delineated hours for “work” and “not work”.

Get Out from Behind the Screen

Once you’ve made that distinction in your schedule, start using the non-work hours for self-development activities – particularly those which don’t involve sitting at your computer.

Unfortunately, far too many software developers turn even their free time into “screen time,” totally neglecting the world around them. This isn’t good – natural light, exercise, and regular eating and sleeping are major anti-burnout weapons!

Spend your free time exercising, pursuing hobbies, or meeting up with friends outside of the workplace. Also, focus on getting plenty of sleep – you’re less likely to burn out if you are well-rested!

Try Something Brand New

Software development is an exciting, dynamic job – well, most of the time. Sometimes, you find yourself getting caught up in extremely dull, repetitive tasks while working on a single project or piece of code.

When you notice your workdays are getting repetitive, make sure to spice up your free time by learning or trying something new. This can be a job-related skill, a hobby you’ve always been interested in, or even trying out a new restaurant. Engaging in lots of varied activities keeps your brain alert and eager and prevents falling into the “same old patterns”.

Don’t Get Caught Up in Competition

Lastly, while it’s important to remain focused on self-development and reaching personal goals, you should try your best to avoid comparing yourself to or “competing with” others. Yes, software development is a competitive field, but constantly pitting yourself against coworkers – even just within your own brain – can lead to the development of an extremely unhealthy mindset.

Thinking of work as a competition results in feeling that “nothing you do is good enough” or that you are somehow “lesser” than your coworkers. This, in turn, leads to decreased productivity and an increase in negative thoughts. Thoughts like “what’s the point?” are the gateway to burnout.

Maybe you’ve experienced burnout several times before. Perhaps you are just starting to notice the signs for the first time. Wherever you are, however you are currently feeling, just remember – it’s never too late to start battling burnout!

How to Develop the Perfect Home Office Space

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 14:59:18 +0000

Working from home is a blessing for many people in this day and age, especially if they have to balance work and family life. Still, regardless of the reason why one might prefer to work from home, it’s essential to have a proper work area that boosts productivity and performance. And with your own home office, you have the freedom to do whatever you really want in order to make this space as pleasant, motivational and comfortable as possible. That said, keep in mind the following.

Find the Right Spot

Obviously, the first step in developing the perfect home office has everything to do with its place. If you’re lucky enough to have a spare room, you can turn it into your home office in no time. You can also try out a makeover for your attic, basement or garage in case you really want a separate area and you don’t use your attic/basement/garage for anything in particular. But, more often than not, you’ll have to designate a specific corner in the existing room for your home office, which is usually your bedroom or living room. Take the time to analyse your space properly so that you can pinpoint the perfect spot for your work area.

Pick Proper Furniture

You might think that you don’t have a lot of freedom when it comes to office furniture. It’s true, you pretty much just need a desk and a chair. But, in order to create an environment that suits your work and temperament, you can pick the design of your desk and chair, especially if you want to try and match them to your living room or bedroom. Most importantly, you should go with ergonomic furniture. That said, the desk has to be of proper height while the chair needs to be comfortable, with good back support and preferably armrests. It would be ideal if you could try out these items before purchasing them, just to be 100% sure that they fit your height and posture comfortably.

Separate This Area

If you have to make do with the space you already have, as many people working from home do, it’s important that you separate your work area from the rest in one way or another. In the living room, you can use different wallpaper or wall colours around this area to signify the separation and maybe even use the colours for a productivity boost . If the space allows it, you can also move the sofa behind your back. On the other hand, if you need to put your home office in your bedroom, it’s essential that you don’t have a clear view of your bed as this is counterproductive and can make you sleepy. Using a room divider screen is most effective in this case.

Adequate Lighting Keeps Your Eyes Safe

Just like an effective fire duct system is essential for the safety of your home , the right kind of lighting is essential for the safety of your eyes, especially when you’re working from home. For starters, you should try your best to position your office area at the spot that gets plenty of natural light. After all, natural light boosts your health and well-being and generally improves your mood and productivity. But, it’s often inevitable to rely on artificial lighting as well. This is where you need to be very careful. Don’t use overly bright lights that are too white as this can cause headaches and eyestrain. Also, you can’t work in a poorly lit room. That said, it would be best to go with LED lights with a warmer, more yellowish glow.

Add a Personal Touch for Inspiration

No one enjoys the look of a sterile and completely impersonal office space. And since you can work from home, you can use whatever design and décor you want. But, keep in mind that too many trinkets, photographs and personal items can actually decrease your productivity, so don’t go overboard. As mentioned, you can use colours to personalize this space. Aside from that, an image or two of scenery that you particularly enjoy, interesting stationery, a nice plant and maybe even customized gadgets such as a keyboard, mouse and mouse pad can really make a difference.

Remote work can be as fulfilling and rewarding as regular office work, if not even more so, if you make it a point to develop a proper home office space for yourself. In the end, it’s all about the available space that you have and the way you can utilize this realistically. But, even if you don’t have a whole room at your disposal, you can still develop the perfect home office space that will keep you engaged, productive and motivated. When you mix functionality with your personality and creativity, the results are bound to be superb.

Is Your Offline Promotion Killing Your Online Business?

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 12:39:12 +0000

Be honest – do you really have a solid marketing strategy? Or are you just winging it? Marketing might seem easy; without a doubt, it is not nuclear physics. However, it is way harder than most people realise, especially the ones that have never undergone any type of education or training.

The list of products or ideas that have failed because of bad marketing is a long one. There is no doubt that you do not want to be anywhere near that school of thought. And in the digital world, where marketing is done both online and offline, the challenge becomes that much harder.

Most business and advertising are done online, but plenty of people still appreciate the spoken word, the direct contact and the human element. That means that the company has to penetrate the market simultaneously in two different ways, and in doing so, might damage one or both. Are your online and offline marketers even working together? Let’s see how you can make sure that your offline promotion doesn’t clash with all of your online activities, marketing and otherwise.

Coordinate All Marketing Activities with Your Core Business – All the Time!

Your business might be online, but your whole presence isn’t. There will be many opportunities for direct contact with the customer, and you should grab every single one. Before you do that, however, you should come up with a solid plan. What are the marketing activities, both online and offline, that are going to help you get a bigger market share? How can you make sure that you are communicating the same message? Can you guarantee that that message is aligned with the company’s goals, mission and strategy for the upcoming period?

Consolidate your core team and do the grunt work. That way you will never have to worry that your offline work is hurting your business.

Every Offline Presence Should Have a Unified Visual Brand

The importance of having a good brand can’t be emphasised enough. Whether your company is big or small, domestic or international, offline or online… The importance of a good brand remains the same. On the other hand, if your company is doing business online, chances are your customers aren’t used to seeing your identity in a physical form. Which is why, every time there is a gathering, you should have branded banners .

You can also take it a step further and brand some useful items that you can give away for free. Most companies go for pens, coffee mugs, etc. To be honest, there are plenty of items you could choose from – sunglasses, USB drives, umbrellas… Figure out what your potential customers would enjoy the most and make sure there is plenty to go around. Don’t sabotage yourself by giving away free merchandise of poor quality. Headphones that don’t work aren’t really putting your company on the map.

Be Accessible and Approachable at Any Point of Contact with the Customer

The unified approach you have when it comes to your visual identity needs to be replicated in terms of the way you approach and manage your customers. If you invest a lot in your online customer service, and have branded yourself by always putting your customers first, then your physical presence can’t be any different. Let’s say people approach your stand and want to sign up for a service. Your sellers need to be informed, professional and polite. Tools they are using can’t malfunction. If you told your customers they would get a free item with their purchase, you can’t tell them that you are out.

Consistency is the key, and every contact needs to be pristine in order not to damage the already established share of the market and relationship with the customers.

Educate Your Staff and Turn Every Promotion into a Sales Deal

The last piece of the puzzle is your staff. They can do the most harm, and they can do the most good. Not only do they need to know the product and service, as well as all current promotions and deals, but they also need to embody the company values and strategy. Only they can turn a simple promotion into a sale and a random bystander into a loyal customer. Invest your time, money and energy into turning them into high performers, so you can be sure that every offline event is one step forward for your online business. And if they do end up achieving impressive results, reward them and make sure they are staying.

If you are running an online company, the way you handle your offline marketing activities can make all the difference. Any company that can do both is already one step ahead of all of its competitors. Invent new ways to penetrate the market, don’t be afraid to get creative and learn from your surroundings.

What Can a Developer Offer Accountants?

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 09:17:40 +0000

The business of accounting has been taking great strides in going digital. With cloud accounting, working with small and large businesses has never been easier. However, this seems to be a market dominated by a chosen few apps, namely Xero. If you wish to take the plunge into the fray, you’re possibly going to face an uphill battle. That is why we’ve come up with a few pieces of advice that just might come in handy.

Apps That Do All the Legwork

In an interview with Digitalfirst.com, Rich Preece mentions that it has become customary for accountants to ask their clients to buy an app or two in addition to their services. These apps help gather important budgeting data that was once overwhelming legwork for the accounting firm.

However, business owners are pushing back, due to the complexity of the software. They usually rather leave the legwork to the accounting, but with a pay raise. Developing an app that would be easy to understand and follow for a layman would actually help accountants. It would leave the legwork to the business owners, while they focus on the big picture.

Apps That Make Payroll Integration Easy

With each payroll, there are certain deductions and bonuses that need to be accounted for. What you can do to help ease this process is to offer software that keeps all the employees’ payroll information on a single platform. Then, you can automate the monthly payments and deductions that follow, such as health, benefits, bonuses, taxes, etc. Each employee can access the data over an app and oversee their finances and benefits, which can make an accountant’s work a whole lot more manageable.

While on the topic of integration, make sure to integrate your app with other bigger platforms. Many accounting experts have expressed how important integration is to them. It makes their apps interchangeable and larger tasks much easier if they are allowed to import data from one place to another.

Apps for Meetings

More often than not, accountants are faced with, difficult meetings. They not only have to discuss complex matters in as simple language as possible, but they also try to present it in an easily understandable way. One thing you as a developer can focus on is creating an app that allows them to create visual reports. They need a tool for creating impactful graphs and charts, in order to clearly present strategic plans, forecasts, budget cuts, goals, and more. This kind of app would also be useful for CFOs who need to show their findings to CEOs and investors.

Apps for Business Strategy

Before a small business can find investors, they need to create a business strategy, or a plan. Being the company roadmap, it needs to show the investors how the CEO intends to use their money to make the company develop and grow. This is usually where accountants come into play, as they can build financial plans based on market demands and CEOs’ expectations.

Keeping this in mind, you can build an app that would automate this process, and make it quicker. If it can calculate potential profit and loss over a certain timeframe, make budgeting easier, and make forecasts, it would be indispensable. Additionally, making it small-business friendly for new accountants and laymen is always a plus.

Invoice Apps

More than anything, apps that deal with invoices and online payments have become more popular. An easy-to-use app for crafting invoices would be certain to draw the attention of businesses, especially those in creative fields that have to justify their hourly billing when sending invoices to clients. The option to track invoice and payment status would greatly reduce the number of “the payment is in the mail” situations, while keeping both the company and the client accountable to holding up their end of the deal.

On User-Friendliness

Going back to the interview from the beginning, one key thing Preece mentioned was the unwillingness of many accountants to go digital. A lot of the negativity seems to stem from the necessity to train people in every new app they want to start using. This is a useful consideration for whichever app you choose to develop, because no matter how useful, it won’t sell if it is not easy to pick up and train others to use.

Consider simplifying the user interface, or the design itself. Do some research and see what accountants find frustrating with other apps, and make sure not to repeat those mistakes.

To sum up

Despite what some may think, web developers have a lot to offer to the accounting world. Seeing how businesses are going digital, accounting firms and experts are following suit. They must if they want to survive in the market. And that is why numerous accounting desktop programs and apps alike are still in their beginnings, struggling to offer the best product out there. Accountants need all the help they can get: with invoices, client communication, scheduling, making financial forecasts and business plans. They need what only web developers can offer – an easier way to turn plentiful raw data into useful results they can analyse and pass on.

How Can Chatbots Help You Increase Conversions

MichaelDeaneQeedle — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 12:00:02 +0000

If we’re talking the age of artificial intelligence and conversion rate optimisation (CRO), chatbots will no doubt make their way into the conversation.

According to Gartner, more than 85% of customer interactions will be settled without human agents as early as 2020. More than 70% of people already use fewer than 7 apps per day, in favour of sticking to messenger apps. This strongly hints at chatbots playing an even more pivotal role in personalising the way people communicate and solve issues online.

But how exactly do they help you with conversions? Don’t worry, we’ve covered all the basics below. Stick around and learn how and why chatbots can help you increase conversions.

But first… what is a chatbot?

Defining the Chatbot

A chatbot is a rule-based and sometimes artificially intelligent application, programmed to carry out simple tasks in place of a human. Obviously these are implemented in a chat interface. The service being completed could entail a number of things.

But let’s say you went to H&M online to purchase something. You don’t know as of yet what it is you are looking for. So you scour the site until you finally come across a product you want and make a purchase.

Now inject a chatbot into the mix, and you would instead engage with ‘Tom’. Tom collects your relevant information and uses that information to speed up that whole process, bringing you closer to your purchase in way less time.

Imagine what this means for your customers.

Shorter Sales Steps

We’ve all heard about cart abandonment, but what is the root of this issue? The truth is the shopping process can be long. A lot of times people don’t have the time to complete this process in one go. A day turns into a week, a week turns into a month, and before you know it the cart is left behind and people move on to other things.

Chatbots reduce the chances of this happening by collecting customer information and nudging them accordingly to bring their attention back to products they may have forgotten.

Here’s an interesting study which shows that 23% of customers will abandon their shopping carts. Why? Because they had to create a new user account, a process that can be time-consuming. Who gets excited to fill out forms and verify emails? If customers find out there is a way to cut that process down to size (and even make it interesting), they will jump at the opportunity. Chatbots can help you achieve this.

Service That Sells

The importance of a customer service department cannot be overstated. Remember, good business is all about your relationship with your customers. The service you provide will undoubtedly determine the quality of the business being conducted. According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, it is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one. With that mind, know that 75% of customers believe it takes too long to get in touch with a live agent. Chatbots are better at offering a 24/7 service and turning potential buyers into actual paying customers. Best of all, it doesn’t matter the hour they submit their queries. After all, chatbots don’t need a good night’s sleep.

In this age, customers want information quicker than ever, and they also expect the service to be stellar. It has been proved that customers are also likely to pay MORE for above-average customer service. It gets better. Forrester predicts that in 2020, one of the major factors of differentiating a brand will be neither the price nor the product – but the customer experience.

Your Own Super Sales Executive

One of the things that make chatbots a superb tool is their ability to interact with your customers. But let’s take it a step further. What about their ability to learn customers’ behaviours as well?

Here’s an example...

A customer buys a pair of shoes via a chatbot. That chabot can then tell them about another pair of shoes similar to the one they got before. Or suggest items that would complement the pair they previously purchased. Say, a wristwatch, for instance.

A similar thing is true for SaaS businesses in that you can remind users about an available upgrade. This is done via a chatbot in a way that is both conversational and actionable.

Conclusion

It is important for business owners to view AI as something that’s meant to augment our inefficiency. AI is not here to replace human agents.

For some, it may be easy to get caught up in the idea that AI is here to take all our jobs. View it more as a collaboration. There are simple but super useful ways in which AI makes menial tasks non-problematic by allowing us to focus on more complex work. Chatbots, in this instance, are assets when it comes to sales and conversions.