by Nick Throlson | May 24, 2018 | Off Topic
Magento is by accounts, the most popular and powerful eCommerce development platform available on the market. It is feature-rich, secure, scales seamlessly, and houses ample diversity in itself. In fact, even if there are thousands of virtual stores built using Magento, there are so many themes and plugins available that none of them would look or feel similar. This is also perhaps the reason why irrespective of goals, Magento development services do a pretty fine job of fitting-in in every industry and meet unique business requirements for all.That said, Magento isn?t just a static tool but an evolving technology that partly owing to its open-source tag is consistently endowed with new features. Those features when implemented, ultimately define the course of eCommerce as a whole. That is if you wish to gauge at the larger picture, just follow up with the trends on Magento. Here are the latest ones:Personalized Shopping
This has been in making for a very long time and has finally started to gain traction. Earlier online stores used to be somewhat like a warehouse where each customer was bombarded with the same set of products. And customers had to simply browse through countless number of products until they found what they were looking for.That onus now falls on businesses. With personalized shopping, eCommerce businesses now take into account the past purchases, general interests, budget considerations, among many other factors to finally curate a handful of products displayed uniquely to each customer. This is like walking into a store that may have countless number of products stored but only a few- the most meaningful to them are on display.Related: Vital Tips to Hire the Experienced and Reliable Magento DevelopersEnriched Content
Images, though important, aren?t appealing enough to persuade customers on their own. What businesses need to sell is not just a product but a story around it. Magento development is feature-rich to match that as well. Be it through animation, videos, or cutting-edge AR incorporation, we can expect more of these content to feature in eCommerce as we move further into 2018.Enhanced User Experience
From overall navigation theme to the time it takes to load a page, every aspect of an online store plays a crucial role in customer engagement and retention. For instance, if your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, chances are they won?t hang around. If they do not find their preferred payment option during checkout, they might abandon the cart.Magento development service now takes into account all these tidbits that are as important as core functionalities to improve not just the engagement but also overall business prospects. That is, as we move further, you will find Magento applications to be more engaging, faster, and all-inclusive.Notifications and Opt-in Forms
Businesses realize that people can?t and will not shop every day. But if they let them loose, they might not ever come back. To ensure engagement and nurture a business-customer relationship, notifications are newsletters are a fantastic channel.More and more Magento services are now incorporating notifications on their platform to consistently keep nudging their customers and occupy an exclusive mind-space.Opt-in forms are another sustainable channel to keep users informed by not acting just a destination for shopping but also the source of information.Mobile Commerce
Yes, there is the responsive design and the mobile-first strategy but we aren?t just talking about how the eCommerce looks and feel on mobile devices but how it works. And with the rise of wireless broadband and mobile wallets, the integration couldn?t be any easier for eCommerce to exploit. Magento, having full range of features for mobile devices, is guaranteed to fuel this segment in coming days
by Nick Throlson | May 22, 2018 | WordPress
How is your website going to change in the coming months? This might be the question that is perplexing your mind every now and then. Right? Yes! Of course. This is quite an obvious fact.Everyone would certainly want to stay ahead of the curve if it is such an environment that is prevailing nowadays and which is as shifting as the internet. You need to be aware of the upcoming developments and trends to upgrade your website like never before.And, to make your website an upgraded and appealing one, WordPress must be the term that revolves around your mind. So, do you know what are the current trends of WordPress for the year 2018?Not having an idea yet? Then, just read ahead!!- A Genuine ?Mobile first? design approach
Undoubtedly, mobile phones have been a web design trend for years and in the last year of 2017, the mobile traffic has continuously beaten desktop as the prominent device present worldwide. This scenario is a clear indication of how significant traffic avenue has become over the time.Now, mobile devices have become one of the most primary and important tools to interact with websites. So, mobiles are going to get an extreme boom in the coming time. Don?t forget to design your website while keeping in mind that it is quite mobile-friendly.- The emergence of push notifications
Push-ups have been one of the most important upcoming marketing channels during the recent times. On 2017, we have seen that more and more websites have used this concept to make themselves quite helpful.Moreover, this approach has become quite pervasive because of various perks of the same which are good browser and device support, high acceptance of mobile devices, click-through rates higher than email, and so on. So, it is expected that 2018 is definitely going to bring-on this concept like never before.- Custom graphics and illustrations to be on the top
When it comes to online contents then visuals really matter!! They are immensely engaging in nature and are able to convey various things the words and texts can?t do alone. Moreover, images even have a great SEO value when optimized right!!However, stock photos are even going strong with the passage of time, so there is also a trend going on in the other direction. Thus, experts are anticipating with complete belief that instead of generic visuals, website-owners like you should get ready for some of the most custom, and handmade stuff.Also, it is being expected that outstanding graphics and unique illustrations are another couple of website design trends that you are going to see in 2018.
The advanced browser technologies are allowing web designers to move away from static visuals now and they are gradually letting the website owners embrace movements.The animations on various websites are becoming readily available now. And, it is expected that in the course of time animation will simply take over the world. So, if you are onto any online business then get ready to come up with some fantastic and appealing animations!- Vibrant color schemes and gradients will dominate
In the past, the tradition seemed to be like web-designs had to stick to web-safe colors always. But, now the scenario has changed with the due course of time. Now, colors are more vibrant and outstanding.However, it?s because of the better monitors and the devices capable of showcasing them, you can even now use myriads of colors on your website in 2018.- Asymmetry and irregular grids will do wonders
Nowadays, websites tend to appear on anything starting from huge television sets to small cell phone screens. So, if you are leading a website then you should keep in mind that your business is going to get advertised in all such media.Thus, there is no need to adhere to one single traditional grid. As a result, it is expected that asymmetric layouts are going to flourish amazingly in the coming months of 2018.And, not only 2018, but also the scenario is more likely to remain quite the same in the upcoming subsequent years.- Bold fonts and large typography will lead
It has been seen that big and bold typography has been being a trend for quite a while. In 2017, it was one of the most well-known trends of WordPress.Moreover, thanks to the fact that there are a huge number of freely available custom fronts available along with the remarkable improvements in device capabilities, websites can now easily get away with the really large letters.Also, while being paired with ample amount of whitespace, it makes the websites quite easy for reading and skimming. It?s because of such a huge number of benefits, experts are expecting that big, and bold fonts and typography will continue to roll in the rest of 2018!- Micro-interactions will increase
Are you not aware of the term? Well, micro-interactions are some subtle effects for accomplishing various tasks on websites. You can say they are no less than the staple of social networks like Facebook.Micro-interactions are quite beneficial because they give a chance to the users to interact with the contents of your website in a whole new way.However, it is believed that rest of 2018 is going to bring on a lot of visual feedback for user actions to online businessmen, abundant interactivity without the need of any reloading of pages and so on through these micro-interactions in various websites.Summing Up Well, to predict WordPress trend is definitely not an exact science. We would only understand which of the aforementioned ones dominated in 2018 only after the year has ended. But, thanks to the remarkable expertise of the industry experts, these trends which they have predicted couldn?t be ignored at all.So, just be smart, adopt the right WordPress trend for your website in 2018, and that?s it you are done!Brand-awareness, sales, and last but not the least Success will kiss your feet!About Author:Neil Helson is the marketing manager at Blurbpoint Media, SEO, and digital marketing company. He is passionate about helping small businesses and startups grow online. by Nick Throlson | May 19, 2018 | Web Design
We believe you are not a web designer or if you are a designer, we believe you are a fresher and we consider this post is specially written for you people to help you understand what the necessary things you need to know to build a new website and important things you should provide to your website design service provider for better as well as efficient design. It might be that you are going to conduct a Wix and Squarespace comparison, or you are simply going directly to a professional designer, either way you need to know what it is you want. This post will help you with some tips as well as resources to expedite the alpha and omega of the web design process.
There would likely be some questions in your mind along the way, so it is better to manage them prior to the meter is running. Here are the nine most important things you should provide to your website designer prior to starting a web design project.
Website Design in Detail ? When you search your website typing a keyword, would you see your site on the 1st page? While building a website, you should see this thing, because ranking is important. You are building a website not just for building a website, but for many things you should keep in mind. You discuss with your website design team or the website designer in detail about the CMS or which in which to understand the appropriate design functions.
Visual Sitemap ? A visual sitemap is nothing but a thing that helps you organize what pages you need or wish to have on your website, and in which order you want. This type of sitemap not only allows web designers as well as developers to quickly and efficiently plan a website project by showing a flowchart of the total project but also other things, like page trees, web content, and pages.
Main Menu ? The main menu is no other than a menu that needs to have in a website. A navigation structure that you wish to have on your website, which should be with a page name that typically hovers across the top of the home page of your website.
Logo ? Important thing no doubt. A logo is nothing but a mark or stigma that says something in short about your company, products, or services you are offering. It is an emblem that your business name or brand use that helps recognizes you quickly with a graphic as well as typeface style.
Theme Colors ? When you are designing a website, or you are hired a website design company to design it, you should consult with them about the color of the website or the theme of the website which is the primary concern of a website, be it for an individual or business website.
Fonts ? Fonts of a website are no doubt important because visitors visit a website not just to see the design of the website, but to see and read the products and services. Your product description should be written with good fonts so that your visitors can understand them quickly. If you do a quick Wix and Squarespace comparison you will find that while Squarespace offers a bigger selection of fonts for your site, Wix makes it considerably easier to install custom fonts on your website.
Page Copy ? Page copy denotes many things, yes it denotes blog, article review, and anything that you wish to write about or for your website. This is one of the most important tips next to the spelling checker to your copy that helps overcome your visitors to understand to speak and rewrite. Much software available to page copy, you can discuss with your designer to make it simple and lucid.
Videos or Page Images? A successful website these days use images as well as videos that speak to the customers and help them understand what products or services they are going to get. Tell your website designer to use relevant images or videos on your website to boost your website user-friendliness.
Contact Form ? It is essential to know about a contact form, what would be the form structure and other essential things. The kind of form you want to see appear in your website for the visitors. Exempli gratia, you have in mind some fields that you want to show on your contact form, Mr. or Mrs. or Ms etc. You can say your designer using the following things on your contact form.
Putting these all together you will be able to design a wonderful user-friendly and search-engine friendly website that your visitors will certainly appreciate. You can give your web designer these tips to help them to develop and design the site in such a way that could be useful and serve your purpose. When you show or discuss these important 9 things with your website designer, your website would be launched in a reasonable time frame for sure. It would not cost that much high to share the details, better you show or discuss with them beforehand.
by Nick Throlson | May 17, 2018 | SEO, Web Design
The most common advice for starting a business is to go step by step. While generally speaking this is the way to go, there are certain exceptions. We all know that in these digital times the core of every business is an attractive and engaging website that needs to be ranked high up on the first page of search results. The most common?mistake the inexperienced?business?owners make is to design a website right away and worry about the SEO later. Well, these are the two steps you need to do simultaneously. As Sydney SEO?experts constantly point out - there is an essential and natural link between the site?s design and it?s search performance. So let?s take a look how can you make this interplay happen and make the most of it.1. Yellow Brick Road
In today?s ever-growing?competition the battle for the user?s attention has never been greater and the result is that all of our senses are constantly under attack, our vision in?the first place. In order to attract their audience, most of the business owners overload their websites with various eye candy because they think that will boost their engagement. But results are usually quite opposite?because people easily get lost among this visual stimulus. If you want to build a spectacular Land of Oz?you need to include the yellow brick road?that will lead your customers to your sales funnel and CTA buttons. If your pages are confusing and difficult?to use your customers will quickly get frustrated and look for the ones with greater usability factors. That?s why your design's navigation is crucial for SEO?- with a proper guidance people will stay longer on your pages, share them with friends and you?ll get the higher volume of inbound links. All these factors are an indication of quality which is rewarded by search engines. When creating this navigation remember that your roads need to stretch to mobile devices, too.2. The Cobweb
Your users are not the only ones who need to have open roads before them - you need to knit the cobweb for those little crawling spiders?because they?re the ones who can make your website discoverable - or not. These search?engine bots in charge of?indexing are sophisticated, but their ability to discover?content is not without limits. Their web consists entirely from links to your content and if these links are broken, buried, or simply don?t exist - your pages will be impossible to rank. The key is to make the architecture of your website intuitive from the perspective?of design and crawlable from?the perspective of SEO. That?s why you need to keep your most important content high up and then?build subcategories from there.3. The Wizard
At the end of their adventures in the land of Oz, Dorothy?and her friends realize that the great wizard?is just the man. Nonetheless, they don?t end up empty-handed. The presents are simple, but they?re just what they were looking for. In the same manner, beneath all that eye candy on your website,?there?s a content. It is an indication?to search engines of what your page is about and it needs to be just what your users are looking for. And only simplicity can produce real results - the times when you could stuff your landing page with keywords is over, for modern SEO the quality of the content?is crucial. You need to know the purpose of every page, what is?the information?the users need or will want to know about every topic and what kind of content is necessary to get your message across. And you need to know all this before?you bring your design ideas to life because they should be developed to assist the content, not to distract the users from it.4. There?s No Place Like Home
Although we?ve promised you the tips for nailing the design and SEO, that doesn?t mean you won?t have to maintain the world you?ve created. The competition and the rapid evolution of technology can easily make your website outdated in only a couple of years, so redesign?has become a normal procedure. Same as the SEO, the design is also an ongoing process. That doesn?t mean you?ve done anything wrong, things?simply need?to be updated to satisfy new standards. That?s why it?s important that all the elements and connections between them find a way to your new and improved look. This is the point where the connection between the design and SEO becomes indisputable - if you redirect things wrong all the SEO value you?ve been building?will go down the drain. So before you start, get a really clear view of the current state so no pages and their content (along with rankings, title tags, and?other relevant information) are left behind.We live at the times of short attention spans so strong visuals are necessary, but they mustn?t become?the distraction. You need to keep the navigation clear and the content visible and able to survive the winds of change.?Only if both - spiders and searchers - can find their way around you?ll be open?for business. by Nick Throlson | May 16, 2018 | Off Topic
With millions of apps competing for user attention, the road to success is really steep that only a handful of top mobile application development companies have managed to trace. So, no matter how great an idea you have, unless it takes the shape of an equally appealing app, there is little chance that you will achieve the desired success.Here are 10 tips to ensure the success of your app, which isn?t left to mere luck:1. Design to captivate
The first thing that a user experiences after launching your app isn?t its features or performance, but the design. And it is this first impression that largely determines the appreciation it evokes in users, that may later turn into loyalty. So, be it Android?s material design or iOS?s flat design concept, be sure to exploit the full potential of the powerful UI/UX customization they offer.2. Keep it simple
In a rush to create the most appealing and responsive design of all time, do not underestimate the basics. The first rule of creating an elegant UI is to minimize the number of clicks that it takes to do any particular tasks. Expect for one-click solutions, conventionally, if it is more than 4-5 clicks to reach any particular page or task, it is evident that there is something wrong and you may need to take the design back to the drawing board.3. Target all platforms
Unless you have some specific users in mind or your app performs some functionality that?s acceptable on any particular platform, your app must be available on all platforms. Be it Android, iOS or iPad, each of these platforms has their own set of users, any of which must not be missed if you wish to create a highly successful app.That said, you don?t necessarily need to hit all those platforms at once and can take your time to test the feasibility and response on one platform and then use that knowledge for subsequent releases.4. Keep evolving
As the technology evolves, your users expect your app to provide new features. Because if your app offers the same set of functions even after months or years after they installed it, they have every reason to come out looking for a better, more productive alternative.5. Do not hesitate to experiment
It doesn?t mean you should force your whims on all your existing users. Be it a new feature or a design change, release them first to certain small test groups across different regions. And if the response is positive, you can proceed to a full-scale release.6. Keep your goals in sight
Most times, in an effort to offer something refreshing, businesses tend to betray the core concept of an app, which as expected, irks the users. If you wish to offer a new service, a separate app is the better path to take and not treat the existing app as a testing ground.7. Clear monetization strategy
There are instances when an app starts out as free and after a while, when the user base swells and they struggle with the revenues, they bombard the app with ads and in-app purchases. This is something you must not indulge into. Get your revenue channels figured out from the beginning else it will risk the credibility of your app.8. Make it secure
Perhaps, this goes without saying- no matter what your app does, if it?s not secure, don?t even bother launching it. Especially, if it collects personal, sensitive information, employ the finest encryption methods and try to store data locally than routing it to servers.Also read: How to Integrate Security in App Development at Early Stage9. Go for offline
There is possibly nothing more annoying when an app goes useless the moment internet connection is turned off. Especially if your app does something important, try to make some functionalities available offline to help users when they are off-grid.10. Retention is the key
If you know anything about mobile app business or even marking in general, you may know that referrals are in fact the cheapest way of customer acquisition. So, instead of burning your resources on acquiring users, focus more on retaining those who are already there. Because if you manage to delight a small number of users, they will work as a catalyst to bring new ones.
Magento is by accounts, the most popular and powerful eCommerce development platform available on the market. It is feature-rich, secure, scales seamlessly, and houses ample diversity in itself. In fact, even if there are thousands of virtual stores built using Magento, there are so many themes and plugins available that none of them would look or feel similar. This is also perhaps the reason why irrespective of goals, Magento development services do a pretty fine job of fitting-in in every industry and meet unique business requirements for all.That said, Magento isn?t just a static tool but an evolving technology that partly owing to its open-source tag is consistently endowed with new features. Those features when implemented, ultimately define the course of eCommerce as a whole. That is if you wish to gauge at the larger picture, just follow up with the trends on Magento. Here are the latest ones:
The most common advice for starting a business is to go step by step. While generally speaking this is the way to go, there are certain exceptions. We all know that in these digital times the core of every business is an attractive and engaging website that needs to be ranked high up on the first page of search results. The most common?mistake the inexperienced?business?owners make is to design a website right away and worry about the 
With millions of apps competing for user attention, the road to success is really steep that only a handful of top mobile application development companies have managed to trace. So, no matter how great an idea you have, unless it takes the shape of an equally appealing app, there is little chance that you will achieve the desired success.Here are 10 tips to ensure the success of your app, which isn?t left to mere luck:
