DEV Community: Vesiko Di

More CSS Tricks for a Better User Experience

Vesiko Di — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 11:12:05 +0000

Improving user experience is one of the key objectives of web design today. As new trends are shaping up and demand for better UX gets higher and higher, it is up to web developers to craft a website that doesn’t just look good but also performs well under heavy load.

There is also the fact that good user experience affects other things about the site, including its digital marketing success and SEO performance. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to deliver better user experience in general, starting with these next few CSS tricks we are about to discuss.

SVG Animations

Adding tactile animations to web pages is the hottest trend on the market right now. There is something about animated elements that really engages the audience on another level. Tactile animations provide that satisfying feel you get when interacting with the site.

Even better, you no longer have to rely on GIFs or worse, Flash animations, to deliver that tactile feel. CSS animations are far more robust today than ever before, especially when combined with SVGs. You can use regular CSS tags like transitions and transforms – even keyframe animations – to animate SVG elements on your pages.

SVG is based on lines of code, giving you even more control over how it can be animated. You can, for example, take a particular part of the SVG and animate it independently of the other elements in the file. The possibilities are endless.

Advanced Scrolling Effects

Until very recently, messing with how a user scrolls through your site was considered taboo. While there are some interesting frameworks that offer smooth scrolling, they don’t always work in all browsers and may hamper mobile user experience in particular.

Today, however, there are a few things you can do with scrolling. Yes, you still want to avoid messing with the speed at which users scroll to your pages and how the scrolling itself behaves, but you can add advanced scrolling effects to make your pages come to life.

WSI Digital Web, a prominent web design Belfast company, did a very good job of utilising advanced scrolling effects on its company website. You can see from the company’s past projects that there are a lot of interesting effects that can be triggered by scrolling.

Drill Down with Selectors

CSS3 also comes with new ways to style specific elements as well as to add styles globally. The * selector, in particular, is handy when you want to style elements across the entire site; you can, for instance, use *p selector to change how paragraphs are displayed.

Child elements, especially in a list, are targetable using the :nth-child(n) selector. You can use :before and :after to add elements – and even content – to specific parts of the site. You also have @support, which is handy for checking browser support.

It is easy to see how CSS3 is more robust than ever. You have more selectors to work with, more elements to add to your site, and new ways to improve user experience – and how users interact with your site – in general.

These are the People Who Really Need to Use a Virtual Private Network

Vesiko Di — Wed, 22 May 2019 13:32:19 +0000

If you utilize the internet a lot, you are risking the data on your internet connected devices to hackers, who can cause identity theft and other big problems for you.

A Virtual Private Network or VPN, allows you to have a secure internet connection, to protect you when web surfing, no matter where you are in the world. Many people think that a VPN is a luxury item, but for a lot of us, it should be mandatory. Here is a short list of people who should use a VPN.

Professionals Who Work a Lot Online

Many jobs today require that you are on the road a good part of the time. In the office, you usually have very strong online security that is in some cases managed by an IT department. And all of the devices and connections are constantly checked to ensure that they are secure.

When you leave the office however, things are not nearly as secure. Traveling around town, cafes, restaurants, airports, train stations, and hotels, offer Wi-Fi that is hardly ever secure enough for you to entrust your company’s business. Many of these Wi-Fi networks even utilize unencrypted connections, which are a magnet for hackers. These illegal operators can steal your data and identity, causing you and your company lots of problems.

A VPN always utilizes encryption to protect your valuable information, and to thwart thieves who intend on getting this data. A VPN will work anywhere you make an internet connection, so you are always secure and protected.

Lovers of Online Entertainment

If you are one of the millions around the world who love to watch movies, television shows, and sports online, but have problems trying to find certain entertainment you want to see because of restrictions in the country you are in, you should utilize a VPN. When you use a VPN you can get around any limited access wherever you are and see any content that is available, even if it is live.

Those Who Want to Maintain Their Privacy

The most important group who should use a VPN, is those of us who want to maintain our privacy when online. When you are online surfing, the things you look at should be private. And your browsing history should be exclusively yours. Today it is likely that your internet provider is storing your browsing history and can make it available to others. If you live in a country that is restrictive of the internet, they may even be checking your browsing history on a daily basis. With a VPN, your internet surfing is totally anonymous. No one knows what you have been viewing and there is no record of it.

VPNs typically charge fees for using them, and in some cases these fees can really add up. There are however several free VPNs that offer services that fit the needs of most. The review of ProtonVPN at Cooltechzone.com proves this fact. Having read that, you can make a great decision about getting the best online protection.

5 Reasons why you should use a Proxy Server in your Company

Vesiko Di — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 21:12:11 +0000

If you are an online business or you work online a lot, and you want to protect yourself from getting hacked by a malicious third party, then you should consider using a proxy server. So what is a proxy server and how does it work? It is a server (computer or application) that acts as an intermediary between a client and a server, for example, a web browser, and a web server. It performs the client’s request on their behalf by analyzing its local cache to find the particular web page or any other online resource requested. If found, it returns the results to you without having to go through the internet. If it doesn’t, it will browse through the internet using one of its IPs and return the results to you.

There are many proxies available in the market place, free, and premium ones. Of course, the premium ones will have a wide range of features. Therefore, it would be better to buy proxies. Let us see why you should use a proxy in your company.

Hidden IP address

When you use a proxy to access a website, the site will not log in your real IP address but the proxy server’s IP, meaning that you will be browsing anonymously. Your IP address is sensitive information, and malicious individuals can obtain it from just hacking sites you have navigated and deduce your country, who your ISP is and even the exact street you live. Therefore, it is essential to buy proxies

Accessing geo-blocked or restricted content

Have you ever wanted to access information on a particular website then get the annoying ‘this content is not available in your location’? It is mostly due to copyright and network regulations. Well with proxy servers, you can access this information because you will be browsing with a different IP address.

Filtering of malicious websites

The admins of the proxy servers can protect the users from malicious websites with phishing links. Furthermore, if you use an excellent proxy to access a website with malicious files, the virus might affect the proxy instead of your device. However, this is not a guarantee.

Faster speeds

One may assume that since many people use proxies to access web pages, they would be slower, this is not true at all. Proxies can increase speeds by compressing traffic, stripping ads on sites and cashing files. It ends up saving your bandwidth and increase speeds

Control employee internet usage

Many companies run on proxy servers because they can monitor the employee internet usage and prevent them from accessing inappropriate or insecure websites thereby protecting the company information. System administrators control the devices that have access to the internet and which sites they are allowed to visit. When you buy proxies, you can even monitor what people access using the company computers.
In conclusion, using a proxy server for your company’s operations is more of a necessity these days primarily if your business is online-based. It aids in enhancing the security of your information as well as increase productivity. Remember, buy proxies to get the best features as opposed to opting for the free ones.

Is Your Cloud Data Protected from Outside and Insider Threats?

Vesiko Di — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:34:45 +0000

Businesses are utilizing off-premise and cloud resources more and more every day. Previously, the internet could just open a pathway between a business and a customer, and data and apps were stored onsite. Now businesses and their employees can access data and apps instantly from a number of cloud platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform

Though data and apps can reside anywhere, businesses still have an obligation to protect their IP, CRM data on their customers and especially any PII from customers, such as credit card and email information. Employees can load and access new apps instantly from the cloud and those apps could contain malware which infects your entire cloud, or the app could send data to an unsecured environment. Additionally, there’s always the risk of disgruntled employees that may try to steal IP or data, and in other cases, employees may unknowingly delete data or download Ransomware which could cost thousands or weeks to rebuild the lost information.

Protect Yourself Online

While your cloud provider may protect the perimeter with firewalls or Intrusion Detection software, few have any protection inside your cloud instances. SpinBackup is a service that protects the soft core of your cloud apps and data. Spinbackup provides cloud-to-cloud backup up to 3x per day to minimize any loss from any number of threats, providing you with a secure copy of all of your data from Google’s G Suite or Microsoft Office 365, so you can recover any data that may have been lost, stolen or encrypted from your business’ cloud accounts. While existing measures exist within G Suite and O365 to protect cloud data, Spinbackup functions as an extra level of protection to ensure data loss, data leaks, insider threats and risks associated with thousands of cloud apps are proactively mitigated.

Protect Your Customers

It is becoming increasingly important to protect customer data as well as business files. Customer account details, passwords, and payment details are all highly sensitive and confidential information that companies have a duty to protect. Relying on the security of widely used services alone is a double-edged sword. Their popularity makes them easy to use and link with other services, but with so many people using them, they are very tempting for hackers to attack. It is good business practice to back up sensitive data on a more exclusive platform that can provide assurances such as:

● Automated and Manual Backup
○ Encrypted, Incremental Daily Backups to secure cloud storage on AWS, GCP, and Azure.
● Restore
○ 100% accurate recovery using the same folders hierarchy.
● Deletion Control
○ Lost & Found folder informs you what files were deleted.
● Local Downloads
○ Download backed up data from your Spinbackup account to any device.
● Migration
○ Four types of data migration from one account to another one.
● Version Control
○ Every version of your document, including suspended accounts, is under your control and accessible.
● Fast Search
○ Fast, easy search for your backed-up items to help you recover lost data immediately.
● Advanced Reports
○ Weekly and monthly reports are available to monitor data loss protection status.

A Break in the Clouds

Data loss is also a credible threat to any business that operates using cloud services. Temporary losses of data can occur with any cloud service, and no data service can guarantee flawless data retention. Having a back-up to your cloud not only gives you confidence that your files and customer data are safe, secure, and available, but it also puts organizations in a better position to be GDPR compliant as part of an organization’s data retention policy.

Any disruption to your connection will disrupt your business. If G Suite or Office 365 is not available online, then it can slow down productivity. A temporary halt in services may cost Google or Microsoft some embarrassment or a small drop in stock price, but for another company, it could mean the loss of a client or an investor. The speed of business today demands a business takes action quickly, and if you don’t have the information you need when you need it, you cannot act at all. Of course, we hope it will never happen but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Keeping a secure copy of your business’ cloud data is becoming more important each day, as the number of online threats to businesses increases, and the surge in the use of major cloud services put pressure on those resources. SpinBackup gives any business the peace of mind that comes with knowing that there is a safe copy of their data available in just a few clicks.

How Smartphones Have Transformed Business

Vesiko Di — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 18:51:40 +0000

Technology is changing the way we do business, learn, and live. As technology grows smarter, so do we and businesses are often using new pieces of technology and smartphone apps to get ahead of the game. With almost everyone owning their own smartphone, it is no wonder that smartphones have seriously transformed business. If you want some inspiration or to see how other businesses are using smartphones to their advantage, check out some of the ways that mobile phones are transforming business.

Social Media and Networking

Making an online presence for your business is now very common and smartphones make this even simpler. Now, on just one app, you can manage both your personal Facebook account and your business one, making it easier than ever to post photos and respond to customers messages at the touch of a button. If you want your business to be relevant, having social media accounts is the way to do so. LinkedIn is another website that businesses can make use of, to network and find potential candidates. As you can now download LinkedIn on your phone as an app, it is easier than ever to use this free service.

Advertising

Smartphones have made advertisements even easier, with the use of social media being one. One of the most important moves in the advertising industry was seen in 2017, with the use of smartphones and augmented reality. Smartphones now allow businesses to advertise like never before, with 360-degree adverts becoming more popular and a great way to attract customers attention. This allows customers to interact with an advert and see places and objects in a different light. Purchasing advertising space on mobile applications and other forms of mobile technology means that your business can be seen by more people, as so many of us own a smartphone. With virtual reality (VR) becoming the next big thing, it won’t be long before businesses decide to take their adverts one step further for the VR platform.

Mobile Apps Are Changing Business

Many businesses now have their own apps in which you can place orders and purchase items. This means where once you have to wait in line to order your coffee at Starbucks, you can now order before you have even got to the store and skip the queues. There are also other smartphone applications out there that make life easier for businesses, such as this barcode scanning software. This barcode scanning app allows businesses to scan multiple barcodes at once, saving time and effort. It also allows employees to check the stock level of an item whilst on the shop floor or let a customer scan a barcode for a product review of the item in a matter of seconds.

Smartphones are making life easier for businesses and giving better experiences to customers. From the way we advertise to social networking and ordering straight from our mobiles, smartphones are here to stay in the world of business.

Can you trust cheap VPN?

Vesiko Di — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 17:45:44 +0000

In the market economy, we are led to believe that quality grows along with the price. This may be true for some software products, including VPN. But should you really base your choice of VPN solely on the price and go straight for the most pricy one, hoping that the price matches the quality?

What are the risks?

First of all, when choosing a trusted VPN provider, you need to familiarise yourself with a full list of ways your VPN may be used against you. After all, VPN is just another piece of software you trust your personal data with.

Traffic logs

The most obvious of issues when choosing your VPN is privacy, and specifically what kind of information your VPN provider keeps about you. Traffic logs kept by VPN providers can become a serious dealbreaker. If a VPN provider does not state explicitly that it has a no-logs policy, you may safely assume that they log quite a lot of information about how you use VPN, about your browsing and downloading habits. Most reasonably good VPN providers write down their logging policy and clearly state what sort of metadata they collect from you: at a bare minimum, it would be times when you log in and log out. A serious issue arises if the VPN provider keeps a log of your IP addresses (real or spoofed), your browsing history, or DNS queries. Depending on the jurisdiction (where the VPN provider is based territorially), law enforcement may have more or less straightforward access to all these data. Even VPN providers that had stated previously that they had a no-logging policy, sometimes would be revealed to have kept quite a lot of detailed information on their users.

If the VPN is suspiciously cheap or free, ask yourself: how are they maintaining the business? Are they selling my data to advertisers or just keeping them for a rainy day? Are they selling my bandwidth? A trustworthy VPN provider might offer free service alongside paid plans, with a free account having a monthly data cap or other limitations.

What do you need this VPN for?

Secondly, ask yourself what is your primary reason for acquiring a VPN? Is it to get access to geo-blocked entertainment content? Is it because of privacy concerns and the need to mask your IP from your nosy ISP? Or is it because you need a secure virtual private network for business and personal use?

Some VPN providers might be more focused on one aspect of VPN functionality than another. Security-minded VPN provider may ensure that your network is 100% malware-proof, but this doesn’t mean they will also adhere to the no-logging standard. It works the other way round too: a VPN can be extremely privacy-conscious but utter rubbish when it comes to network security. The cheap price might be an indicator of this – for half the normal price you effectively get just half a VPN.

But if you strapped for cash and looking for a VPN that fits all your privacy and security concerns but can also be acquired on a modest budget, Private Internet Access is one of the best solutions when considering cheap VPN service. This PIA review may give you a better glimpse into its functionality. PIA market themselves as an ‘anonymous VPN service provider’, clearly focusing on privacy more than on anything else. Protecting your identity and bypassing censorship are the main selling points of PIA, and the price is extremely affordable.

PIA does not offer a free subscription plan. The cheapest commitment you can get is a 2-year subscription at $2.91/month. Otherwise, $6.95 is a monthly fee for a full-feature PIA plan that includes P2P support, up to 5 simultaneous devices, no logging, unlimited bandwidth, adblock and anti-tracking, and multiple gateways.

The bottom line is, the price is usually the first thing we notice, and the first aspect of VPN service that gets marketed to us. In reality, the first page you need to read when researching a VPN is the privacy policy, logging policy, and other terms and conditions. After all, you are entrusting your private data to the service provider that exists for the main purpose of making your internet access more private and secure.

Ways you can use the internet to grow your business

Vesiko Di — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 18:22:41 +0000

The internet has become more of an essential in enterprises today. Most of the world is going digital and having an online presence is the surest way to propel your business to greater heights. On top of getting your business on the global map, going online enables you to collect information from your customers who are the primary drivers of your business. The information you gather will help you understand them better and therefore satisfy their needs more effectively. Growing your business through the internet is characterized by the upcoming business models such as digital marketing, e-commerce, and business models.
Here are some of the ways going online can help boost your business to greater heights.

E-commerce

It is more affordable to set up an online shop as compared to renting physical premises. The restrictions are minimal and can work for anyone. E-commerce shops enable your customers to access your products 24/7, so it doesn’t matter in what time zones they operate. Through having seamlessly integrated features, transactions can occur anywhere anytime. They also ease marketing efforts by making it easier to target customers based on their wants and interests. Through online shops, third-party services also grow such as courier services, graphic designers and content marketers.

Collaborative software programs

Through going online, you don’t have to meet physically to get work done. It reduces transportation costs as well as saving on time. There are many collaborative software programs online that you can use to progress on work such as Google sheets and documents. Moreover, this means that you do not have to limit your labor pool to a particular region. You can source talent from anywhere in the globe.

Digital marketing

Most areas of the world have internet coverage these days. Digital marketing includes email marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimization, and website advertisements. The internet provides you with a means of marketing your products to any country of your choice. It is also more affordable and fruitful these days as compared to these other means of advertising. Social media is a significant agent in digital marketing. Having a large social media audience goes a long way in boosting awareness of your business’ products.

Conducting market research

It is paramount to perform extensive market research and come up with a final business plan before venturing into any market or getting started on a new product. Google is one of the most informative search engines having consolidated a lot of information in various fields. Moreover, the internet makes it easy to conduct surveys through multiple mediums such as emails and website surveys.

Internet banking

Through this feature, you can make transactions quickly online. You no longer have to hustle on long banking hall queues that eat up a lot of time. Internet banking also enables your customers to make payments more easily in the comforts of their homes in the case of e-commerce businesses.

Customer relationship management systems

Commonly known as CRM, these software programs help you manage your customer relationships through automatic processes and responses. To grow your business, you need to know how to attract new customers and retain old ones. It can only be done by understanding what exactly your customer wants and providing it to them. Automating your sales and support processes gives you a better return on your marketing efforts.

In conclusion, the internet is taking the business world by a storm, and it has just begun. Innovative business models are on the rise as people strive to better their businesses. Do not be left behind.

How to Develop a Powerful B2B Online Marketing Strategy

Vesiko Di — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 18:03:29 +0000

So, you’ve just developed a new revolutionary product and are now ready to take over the marketplace. All of this is fine, but if you don’t have a clear strategy on how to get customers, you will struggle to make a mark and your venture will eventually fail. And if you’re still unfamiliar with online marketing, getting familiar with all the different marketing methods out there and knowing where you should put most of your efforts can be a challenge. Martal Group has created a few tips on how to develop a solid B2B marketing strategy that will help you reach your objectives. Learn about Martal and their B2B marketing services here.

Know Your Target Market

You can’t afford to have a ‘build it and they’ll come’ mentality in this day and age. Too many people focus on building a fancy website with all the bells and whistles, and just assume that the masses will come flocking. With all the tools available today, you can expand much further than just your local market, but only if you truly understand the market. So, make sure that you know everything there is to know about your target market first before you start working on any strategy.

Know the Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Marketing

Before you start, you have to know the difference between marketing approaches so you know which one will fit your business model the best.

Inbound marketing is about luring people in by publishing valuable content and letting them come to you instead of you actively pursuing them. You can do that by creating content that answers their questions and solves their problems. Once you have them on your site, you can gather their information and start building a relationship with them.

One of the great things about inbound marketing is that you’re not hard selling anything and are presenting yourself as an actual resource. Leads acquired that way also tend to be more valuable and often turn into long-term customers. However, creating and finding valuable content that will be targeted for your audience can be costly. And it can take more time to get results.

If inbound marketing is like trapping, then outbound marketing is more like fly fishing. You throw your lure in the water hoping something bites. Outbound marketing is probably the most common form of marketing and has existed from the year dot. An example of outbound marketing is starting email campaigns to gather leads and following up with cold calls.

If you’re in the B2B business, then directly interacting with your audience through trade shows or meetings face to face is essential. However, depending on your product, aggressive marketing may actually deter your core audience. That’s why it’s essential that you understand your target market first to know which approach would work the best.

Have a Clear Plan in Place

Now that you understand your market better and have decided on the approach you’re going to take, it’s time to start on a plan. Without having a clear plan in place, your efforts won’t be properly targeted and you’ll have more of a challenge tracking your results. It would be wise at that point to consider working with a B2B sales and marketing firm that will help you build a solid roadmap for your future marketing efforts.

And if you plan to expand, it would also be wise to start looking for outside capital. A B2B venture capital firm will be able to secure financing for you and give you advice on your expansion plans. They may also be able to give you an idea of whether your project is viable or not before you spend your money for nothing.
Understanding how to build an efficient marketing plan is essential if you want to branch out and build your brand both locally and internationally. Make sure that you follow these few instructions and also consider working with professionals who will be able to guide you through the process.

How to Build a Solid Weather App

Vesiko Di — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 01:43:58 +0000

Some businesses and content creators may want to attract regular visitors to their website by offering weather data and weather predictions. Providing weather data to visitors can be a value-added service, and it will keep them on your website. The hard part for many is building a decent weather app. Let’s take a look at what it takes to create a solid weather app from scratch.

Decide What You Want the App to Do

The first step to building a weather app is deciding what features you’re going to include. A basic app could show time and temperature based on someone’s location or the reference point programmed into the app. A somewhat more advanced app could let someone search for a location and then check the weather there. This requires a geolocation API. More complex apps could show current weather conditions as well as projected weather for a given area.

Select a Weather Mapping Platform

Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, rely on an expert service that specializes in exactly this sort of tool. Integrating the weather API into your app allows you to tap into someone else’s expertise and database, speeding up the development of your app. One example is Aeris weather’s weather mapping API.
The Aeris Maps Platform or AMP allows you to create everything from full weather maps you’d expect to see on a local news site to weather tiles you can integrate with other images. You can then integrate the AMP with whatever mapping library you choose to use. The AMP allows you to generate weather maps for any location with resolutions up to 4K.

Tailor Your App to Your Desired Outputs

Building the app and interfacing with the weather API is the bulk of the work to be done. However, it is the little details that make your app unique. You could tailor the app to generate icons based on certain weather conditions, such as a sun icon showing if the weather service says the skies are clear. You can choose what images or icons to show if it is snowing, raining or a nasty mix of sleet and ice. This may involve coding conditional statements to search for weather descriptions and then present the image you want to be shown. Additional data sources could add value to your users, such as showing snow holidays and if the local attractions are open when people are checking the weather forecast.
Depending on your use case, you could provide extra value to users by giving people weather warnings. For example, a weather app that taps into local weather reports and warnings could warn people when there is severe weather like hail or tornadoes in their area. In cases like these, a push notification that alerts people with up to date information, even though they aren’t using the app, should be built into the dashboard.

Or, you could provide enhanced forecasts, such as when people are planning weekend activities. Seasonal forecasts are not generally available, but you can tap into this information with some weather APIs. That type of information is ideal for a weather map on a travel agency website.

Conclusion

Weather apps are popular because they are so useful. They can be a great way for website owners to stay engaged with their customers or give people a reason to visit the site. However, all of this is predicated on giving them the information they truly need.

3 Questions You Should Ask Your Potential Software Developer

Vesiko Di — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 09:59:12 +0000

You’ve decided to outsource your software development. You’ve created a list of potential candidates. The hard part for many is making the right decision, though you cannot afford to make a mistake in this area. If you ask the right questions, you’ll be able to vet software development firms for the skills, expertise, and capacity you need - and weed out those that are not a match. Here are three questions you should ask your potential software developer.

Have You Worked on Projects Similar to Mine?

If a software development firm has already worked on projects that are similar to yours, they probably understand your industry. They will understand the problems your customers have that the software is supposed to solve. Another factor to consider is the market sector. Working with big businesses is different than working with startups. This is the time to ask for a client list to verify they actually have experience working with your industry, technology, and desired end product.

What Is Software Development Like in Your Company?

This question helps you to learn more about their software development process and gauge how much they invest in the business side of your project. Are they following a formal software development process or racing to slap something together? Do they carefully gather software requirements, create versions for testing, thoroughly test it, and iteratively improve it?

Or, are they aiming for a minimally viable product or the fully functional version you truly want? Companies like Clockwork can create prototypes and minimally viable software that lets you seize an opportunity and create a scalable infrastructure that will grow with your company. Don’t assume that a website design firm can create an integrated dashboard tool for your company, though a team like Clockwork can.

Also, ask how they see your role in the project. Do they expect you to simply hand over money and hope the final product is right? Will they involve you in the development process, inviting you to review prototypes and regular meetings?
How Do You Communicate During the Software Development Project?

Communication is key to success. A lack of communication could easily throw a wrench in the project. How often will the project lead contact you with the status of the project? How will software developers contact your team when they have questions or need help testing? Ask what collaboration tools you’ll use since you’d like to be on the same literal page from the start.

Take the time to ask what files you’ll be able to access during the development. Will you be able to track projects via project management boards, or will you only see instant messages when someone has a question? Can you see the software file repositories and check the quality of the code yourself? In the ideal case, you’ll be able to see everything from burndown charts to time reports and code as it is uploaded to the repository.

Make certain that you ask what will happen if you’re not satisfied with the product or service and how problems will be handled if they’re found during development.

Conclusion

Ask the right questions, and the software developers will tell you whether or not they’re a match for your firm’s needs. Invest the time and effort now to verify that you’re making the right choice because you cannot afford to waste time trying to fix someone else’s mistakes or shortfalls.

5 Reasons Why Your Company Should Outsource Technical Support

Vesiko Di — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 12:29:21 +0000

Outsourcing is a strategy that businesses use to contract out a task to specialist providers. Companies typically outsource their bookkeeping and accounting duties, HR management and technical support. Here are five reasons why your company should outsource technical support.

Reducing Costs

One of the main benefits of your company outsourcing technical support is to reduce costs. Reducing equipment and labor costs are one of the key reasons why companies choose to outsource their IT services. Using a company to do all the work for you is cheaper than hiring an entire IT staff. Also, outsourcing technical support takes the stress away from having to train your own employees, not to mention the cost.

Increasing Productivity

Businesses that try to cut down on costs end up delegating IT tasks to their own employees instead. Not only can this cause a problem but it will also reduce employee productivity in their original roles. Instead of your employees focusing on their main responsibilities, they will need to spend time resolving technical issues. Therefore, outsourcing technical support will mean that your employees can focus on their own tasks and increase productivity.

Providing 24/7 Support

If your company is one that needs to be open 24-hours a day to customers, that is another reason why you should outsource technical support. Instead of having to hire more IT staff, which will end up costing you more, outsourcing your technical support to a third-party company will ensure that there is always someone available to help your clients and customers. A professional will answer the call and give technical support, rather than someone who may not be fully trained. Companies like Humach can give you more information on call center outsourcing and the services on offer to help improve your business.

24/7 Maintenance

In an outsourced IT support contract, it is likely that there will be a member of the team who manages and monitors your IT network on a 24/7 basis. Doing this allows them to recognize any bugs or flaws in your company before they can affect your business’s infrastructure. Having someone on hand to identify any problems can help reduce possible downtime. If you use your own IT staff to deal with a break or fix, this will lead to decreased productivity, not to mention a decrease in revenue. It is important that you take time to decide on whether outsourcing technical support will be beneficial to your company and your employees.

Giving You Time to Focus

Another benefit of outsourcing technical support is that it gives you more time to focus on your company. Worrying about the integrity and security of your system can take your eye off the ball and potentially cause damage to your business. As a business owner, you will want to use your time wisely to improve your services and products, whilst letting your outsourced IT team manage and deal with any technical issues.

With many more beneficial reasons to outsource technical support, it is best that you take time to look through the benefits to see if they could be incorporated into your own company.

4 Essential Ingredients for a Successful Website

Vesiko Di — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 17:19:41 +0000

Whether it's simply a personal passion project, your first foray into the world of blogging, or a website to support your small business, getting your website right from the very beginning is essential for its long-term success. The good news is that, while developing a high-quality website will require you to put some serious work in and to carefully consider your actions, the fundamental ingredients of a successful website are things that anyone can implement.

The following are the most important things to consider when you are designing and building a website.

SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of contemporary web design. If you are so far unaware of SEO, you should make sure to read up on the subject thoroughly. Essentially, a website's SEO score determines how near the top it appears in search results. Websites with the highest SEO scores will place near to the top, thereby reaping the most significant traffic rewards that search engines can offer.

Think about how you use the internet yourself. When any of us wants to find something online, the first place we go is to a search engine. Without these search engines, the landscape of the internet would be very different indeed. It isn't difficult to see why you would want to be as near to the top of that list as possible.

Dynamic Design

The majority of internet browsing is now done on smartphones and other portable devices. As such, websites have had to completely change their approach to mobile web design. This used to involve the site maintaining two separate website designs, one for desktops and laptops, the other for portable devices.

A much more modern and effective way of achieving this is to instead code your website so that it will automatically rearrange itself to suit the device it is being viewed on. This ensures that every user has the best possible experience.

Choose a Decent Web Host

The web host you choose will have a significant impact on the overall performance and reliability of your site. You need to find the right kind of web hosting and choose a service provider who can provide you with it. Don't just dive in and sign up for the first host you come across. Instead, take the time to research your options and make sure that the host you are considering is reputable and trustworthy. Choose a reputable web hosting service such as HostSailor.

Quality Copy

It's no good having all the infrastructure in place for a successful website if you aren't filling it with high-quality content. If your website is there to support your business, you will want to ensure that it is well written, free of errors, and contains engaging content. If you don't feel confident in your ability to produce this yourself, hire a professional writer to do it.

Building a successful website means being aware of the current trends and preferences of the market. But there are also a number of fundamentals which never change. You will always need to ensure that your website is easy to read, regardless of the browsing device, considers SEO, and is hosted by a reliable provider.