Design your way

As a web designer, you have to be extra conscious of security.

Not only do you have to worry about your own personal security, but you have to think about the security and integrity of the websites you design for different clients and companies.

A failure to properly prioritize security could lead to serious compromises or data theft.

6 Tips for Staying Safe and Secure

Staying safe in today’s hostile online world can feel difficult at times. Hackers and cybercriminals are constantly changing the rules. And unless you stay up to date on the latest best practices, you can easily become a victim. Here are a few suggestions:

Choose the Right Tools

Make sure you’re using the right tools from start to finish. This includes design software, programming tools, and even things like plugins and add-ons.

When it comes to organizing and storing your own files, it’s best to invest in a centralized content management platform. This gives you a singular place where you can store all of your design files and content. Cloud tools like Box content management work especially well for this.

Use Strong Password Protections

Did you know that 64 percent of people who have had a password exposed or stolen online are still reusing those same passwords across multiple accounts? (You might even be one of them!) This speaks to a total lack of password hygiene and integrity. If you want to protect yourself and your clients, you have to get better in this area.

There are two keys to strong passwords: (1) make them complex, and (2) make them unique. Complex passwords are passwords with random combinations of characters (including numbers, letters, symbols, uppercase, and lowercase). Using unique passwords means never using the same password on multiple accounts. (Doing so can lead to a domino effect where a hacker is able to access multiple accounts in one fell swoop.)

“By making your password complex—harder to crack—you are extending the length of the fuse on the Acme bomb,” cybersecurity analyst Tom Hickman says. “Then by making your passwords unique, you’re limiting the blast radius in the event that the bomb actually explodes.”

As you create passwords, try to avoid predictable phrases and words. Instead, create a sentence for each password and then use the first letter of each word to form a random string of characters. For example, the phrase might be: Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side! This makes the password: Wdtcctr?Tgttos!

Limit Login Attempts

Be sure to limit the number of login attempts allowed on your website (or any website that you design/develop). If there are more than three attempts from the same IP address within a period of time, you can restrict access for several minutes or hours. This forces impatient hackers to move on to their next victim. Sure, hackers can switch up IP addresses and use other tools to get around this defense, but it’s one extra layer of friction that makes it difficult to break in.

Update Software

Be diligent about updating software as soon as a new patch or version is available. It might not always be convenient, but it’s one of the best ways to avoid security vulnerabilities. A failure to do so could allow hackers to identify weak spots in your system and easily compromise your website or data.

Purge Plug-Ins

Make sure you delete any plug-ins that aren’t currently being used. Each plug-in that you have installed on your website is basically an additional entry point into the website. By removing the ones you no longer need, you can remove the security threat.

Secure Your Servers

Cheap hosting is everywhere. And while it’s tempting to go with the least expensive option, you should know that you typically get what you pay for. Lower priced servers often share hosting with hundreds of thousands of other websites. If one site is hacked, this increases the risk that yours will be, too. Pay for quality servers and you’ll get better protection.

Putting it All Together

Don’t let security threats leave you exposed and vulnerable. Be strategic and preemptive. This means investing in the right tools and safeguards (like strong passwords, software updates, and secure servers). If you make smart choices like these, you’ll never have to worry about inadvertently exposing yourself or your clients online.

Mistakes still happen, but you’ll be able to sleep easy at night knowing you’ve done everything you can to stay safe.

The post A Web Designer’s Guide to Staying Safe Online appeared first on Design your way.

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Design your way

For many hackers, email is a juicy low-hanging fruit—one of the easiest gateways for penetrating cybersecurity barriers. To illustrate, a hacker recently hit Christie Business Holdings Company, which does business as Christie Clinic, with an email attack designed to steal information regarding their dealings with a third-party vendor. To make it through their system, the attacker gained access to a single email account.

Whether they were able to successfully intercept transactions between Christie Clinic and one of their providers is unclear, but it’s the least important detail of the story. Because they were able to access Christie Clinic’s email system—and the details of as many as 500,000 people—they could have levied any number of cyber assaults, including ransomware, other malware-based attacks, and elaborate social engineering schemes.

Mailchimp Phishing Attack Targets Cryptocurrency Wallets

A recent attack on Mailchimp took aim at users of Trezor, a crypto hardware provider. According to reports, someone inside Mailchimp gained access to Trezor users’ email accounts and then used social engineering to trick unsuspecting customers into downloading a supposedly updated version of the Trezor Suite. But when users clicked the link, they ended up downloading malware that stole their cryptocurrency.

Ironically—but not surprisingly—the attacker used the specter of a fake breach to execute a real one: They said Trezor had been attacked on April 2, 2022, and that they “must assume that [users’] cryptocurrency assets are at risk of being stolen.” Unfortunately, it worked: It looks like more than 100 Trezor users fell for the scam.

As the Mailchimp/Trezor and Christie Clinic examples demonstrate, many attackers are foregoing technically complicated assaults on firewalls and other cybersecurity technology in favor of email-based attacks. This is likely because it takes cutting-edge tech to circumvent cybersecurity and the threat intelligence that powers it, and so attackers use the oldest tricks in the book—human manipulation and mind games—to slip into an email system.

Email Clients and Servers: An Overview

The email attack surface can be categorized into mail clients and mail servers. An email client is what users interface with when they write, read, and send emails. An email application, such as Outlook, is an example of an email client, and it forms the bridge between users and email servers.

An email server is what sends and receives emails. A user types the email in their browser, which acts as the client, and the content of the message gets sent to a server, which then forwards it to the intended recipient.

Why Hackers Attack Email Clients

When an attacker targets an email client, they’re either trying to:

• Obtain passwords or other information stored on the client
• Take advantage of unauthorized access to a user’s client

Using a compromised account to send and receive emails, they can pretend to be someone within an organization. They can also use account credentials to access other sensitive information, particularly if the organization uses email accounts as usernames to log in to certain sites. This was apparently what happened in the Christie Clinic attack, where a single business email account was compromised and then used in an attempt to steal information.

Why Hackers Attack Email Servers

An attack on an email server is a very different kind of assault because it involves getting inside a computer—the server—that sends emails between people and organizations. When you’re using emails, such as Gmail or Outlook, even if you store your messages on your computer, they’re not going from your PC straight to the recipient. They get sent to the email server and then to the person you’re communicating with.

As a result, servers often contain mountains of sensitive emails. If a hacker compromises a server, they can take the following steps to levy an attack:

• After getting inside the server, they locate emails that have been sent to it
• The hacker can then open an email someone sent and read it
• They can look for emails that require a response to a specific issue, particularly one that could be resolved with a downloadable document, application, or another file
• They abuse their rights within the server to send a reply that looks like it came from the intended recipient. In the reply, they include a download that’s supposed to solve a problem or provide critical information. In reality, it contains malware, and this is used to take over or corrupt the original sender’s computer or network

This merely scratches the surface of what a hacker could do if they gain access to an email server, especially because people often exchange sensitive data over email.

Why Email Is Still Target No. 1 for Cybercriminals

Email has maintained its position as the most attractive low-hanging fruit because it provides easy access to the weakest link in most companies’ security chain: people. It’s relatively easy to make a fake email look authentic, especially if the recipient either doesn’t know how to spot email fraud or if they’re just too busy to take one or two extra steps.

An email attack also gives a hacker access to a deep pool of potential victims. Using spam, for example, they can target many people at the same time, and all a criminal needs are their email addresses.

Additionally, if an attack succeeds in getting sensitive user credentials, the hacker can flip a quick profit by selling the info on the dark web. For attackers who are more focused on making a quick buck than orchestrating complicated, devastating attacks, email is an ideal vector to exploit.

Major Security Threats to Expect in an Email

Some of the most prominent threats to watch out for include malware, spam and phishing, social engineering, entities with malicious intent, and unintentional acts by unauthorized users.

1. Malware

In a malware attack, the hacker’s objective is to infect either a mail server or a user’s computer with malware. Once the malware has been planted, it can execute a ransomware attack, exfiltrate data, set up a backdoor for a future attack, and much more.

2. Spam and Phishing

Spam is irritating, but it’s actually more dangerous than aggravating. Within the haystack of seemingly innocent, extravagant ads and “warnings” are several sinister needles, such as malware and malicious links, waiting to be discovered.

Also, with a well-crafted spam email, a hacker can successfully phish for sensitive information. The target may visit a website, for instance, that appears legitimate but is actually designed to steal sensitive data, as was the case in the Mailchimp/Trezor attack.

3. Social Engineering

Because social engineering involves manipulating people into compromising information or systems, email is an ideal attack vehicle. A lot of folks still trust the emails they receive, especially if they appear to come from a trusted person or entity. They may not notice they’re being manipulated until it’s too late.

4. Entities with Malicious Intent

For anyone with malicious intent, an email server is like a playground. They can use it to:

• Steal usernames and passwords
• Send malware and malicious links
• Steal sensitive company information
• Sabotage an individual or organization by sending fake emails from real addresses

5. Unintentional Acts by Authorized Users

Sometimes, a well-meaning user can email sensitive data or proprietary information to the wrong person or entity. This can have both legal and reputational repercussions.

DOJ Action vs. Email Threats and How Security Companies Are Helping

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been hot on the tails of cybercriminals who try to launch attacks via email. For example, the DOJ has filed charges against a criminal group that launched a phishing campaign that impacted 300 universities in 21 different countries. The defendants were found to have launched attacks on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which plays an important role in Iran’s intelligence-gathering efforts.

To this end, cybersecurity companies have been stepping up to the plate to support the DOJ’s efforts. For instance:

• Cisco has outlined several tools organizations can use to meet the DOJ’s cybersecurity objectives
• Kaspersky has designed products that meet the needs of national cybersecurity teams
• Fortinet has developed Fortinet Federal, which is designed to meet the demands of strict government cybersecurity standards

How to Protect Sensitive Information Sent via Email

To safeguard sensitive information when using email:

• Keep private information private. Never provide private information to anyone you don’t know over email—unless you can verify they have a legitimate reason for asking for it
• Think before you click. Make sure every page you visit from an email is legitimate by hovering your cursor over the link or long-tapping it
• Verify email addresses before sending sensitive information. Avoid sending bank details or proprietary information to anyone whose email address you can’t confirm
• Delete emails with sensitive information. If anyone has sent you a message containing sensitive information, make sure to delete it completely—not just send it to the trash folder—to prevent a hacker from discovering it

Stay One Step Ahead of Attackers

Your organization doesn’t have to be the next headline. Even though email continues to be a primary attack vector, once employees and executives know what to look for, they can avoid giving hackers access to sensitive material. In this way, you can predict and prevent the most common attacks—malware, spam, phishing, and social engineering—from impacting your organization.

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Design your way

When you start a business, the first thing that comes to mind is your marketing strategy. Marketing strategies are continuously evolving as the world changes, so you won’t be as successful as you would like without one.

Depending on the budget, some businesses may have difficulty deciding which marketing strategy to pursue. This is especially true in these strange times [thanks to COVID-19] when some businesses cut their marketing budgets or cease marketing entirely to stay afloat. After the COVID- 19 situation, the rise of many startup marketing companies has made marketing more challenging and exciting.

Initially, you have to find your business purpose and targeted audience and decide how to build an efficient marketing strategy and which one to choose.

Throughout this article, I’ll go over the definition and pros and cons of traditional and digital marketing.

Let’s proceed!

What is Traditional Marketing?

Traditional marketing meets the needs of a target audience through offline channels while also making a profit.

In simple words, traditional marketing is marketing without the assistance of the internet. Traditional marketing has existed for decades but is becoming less popular. However, it still has advantages.

Below are a few examples of traditional market methods:

1. You can send postcards, coupons, and information packets using direct mail.
2. Radio or television commercials
3. Flyers and billboards
4. Newspaper or magazine advertisements
5. Telephone calls and text messages

Source: https://www.oviond.com/digital-marketing-vs-traditional-marketing-why-not-both

Every day, we hear and see these advertisements on the radio or billboards as we drive to work. They’ve become ingrained in our daily lives.

Main advantages of traditional marketing

1. Provide Your Audience with a Physical Copy

People online have a short attention span. As a result, paper marketing may be more accessible to people and maybe easier to recall than digital media.

A printed advertisement was more likely to stick in someone’s memory than a digital advertisement.

2. Easier to Implement

Marketing via traditional channels is easier to comprehend and implement than digital media since there is a lower learning curve and many businesses already have experience.

You are only responsible for creating the ad; everyone else handles the rest. Unlike digital marketing, it’s not dependent on a marketing strategy. Because of the consistency of traditional marketing, marketers only need to learn how to do it once.

3. Impactful and Easy to Understand

In traditional marketing, you reach a local audience and penetrate a local market. Traditional marketing is also essential for getting locals to talk to them and interact with them on a regional and daily basis. Today’s marketing is about more than just exchanging goods for cash.

Instead, it’s about the brand’s relationships with its customers, and traditional marketing is more straightforward.

4. More Memorable

If you see something in person rather than on your phone, you are more likely to remember it. In contrast to social media ads that you’ll probably scroll past in seconds, the excitement of new ads or a stunning window display will last longer in your mind.

Having a physical hardcopy of the advertisement or poster around your resident makes you remember the things more than on social media. So, traditional marketing is more memorable.

Source:https://digitalmarketinggroup.com/digital-marketing-or-traditional-marketing-which-should-you-be-using/

Main Disadvantages of Traditional Marketing

1. More Difficult to Measure Campaigns

Brand trackers can measure traditional marketing campaigns, but they lack the intelligence and depth of digital tools.

Due to this, it is impossible to know what could have been done better in previous campaigns or what went right or wrong.

2. Often Expensive

The cost of traditional marketing is higher. Newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, flyers, and other printed materials have printing costs. Advertising on the radio and television is also costly, and billboards must be rented. Digital marketing, on the other hand, incurs fewer costs.

3. No Direct Interaction with the Consumer

Traditional marketing lacks the reach and accuracy that digital marketing provides. People who buy newspapers or visit a local paper are the only ones who see newspaper ads and flyers. Although television and radio advertisements reach a much larger audience, this does not guarantee their interest in your products.

In contrast to digital marketing, it is more or less impossible to know what your audience thinks about your marketing efforts.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing connects brands with potential customers by using the internet or other digital communication tools. It includes multimedia, text, social media, email, and social media.

Some examples of standard digital marketing techniques are as follows:

• Content on the website
• Content Marketing
• Email marketing campaigns
• Social media postings
• Clickable ads
• Affiliate marketing
• Chatbot marketing
• SEO

Consumers use the internet and mobile devices widely today, so these strategies are prevalent. There are 4.5 billion active internet users and 3.8 billion active social media users around the world, according to Statista. It makes sense to market online and social media with a large audience.

Source:https://dailynewsegypt.com/2020/11/16/facebook-most-popular-digital-marketing-channel-followed-by-linkedin-in-2020-boost/

Main Advantages of Digital Marketing

1. It’s More Customer-Focused

Digital marketing aims to anticipate customer requirements and meet them where they are. It allows you to meet their needs at every stage of the purchasing process. Your audience will recognize that you are more interested in building relationships with them than selling the items. You can give your target audience the most pleasing possible experience with digital marketing.

2. It Lets You Effortlessly Reach Current and New Audiences.

Many digital marketing tactics enable you to reach a more significant number of interested people in your products or services. To increase your market, you might target consumers locally or worldwide. Thanks to digital marketing, audiences find your products and services when they need them, improving their chances of becoming customers. Visitors to your website are more likely to purchase since they are more informed.

3. Personalize Your Audience’s Experience

You can create personalized content by using digital marketing. You can create multiple marketing pieces with digital marketing tailored to people with various interests.

Furthermore, you can tailor your content to appeal to the interests and problems of your target audience. When a piece of content is well-optimized and personalized, it has a high potential to go viral quickly and reach even more people through word-of-mouth spreading.

4. Has High Conversion Rates

Visitor conversion rates are consistent with digital marketing. Compared to traditional marketing, digital marketing is usually more convenient, quicker, and more accessible. With digital marketing, you’ll be able to convert a higher percentage of users than you would with traditional media.

Source: https://marketingnepal.com/6-advantages-of-digital-marketing-for-businesses/

Main Disadvantages of Digital Marketing

1. Digital Ads Can Be Deemed Annoying

Sometimes digital ads can be annoying when you don’t want to get disturbed, but certainly, it pops up. Ads can be unpleasant for various reasons, including frequency, location on the homepage, lack of relevancy and poor targeting, and ad size.

Here’s a scenario: you’re scrolling through your social media homepage, eager to see what your old classmates are doing these days. Then you get the terrible sponsored ad for an embarrassing illness you looked up the night before on Google. It’ll almost certainly make you irritated.

But, it is also beneficial when you pick up the most profitable product for yourself.

2. Less Permanent

Google advertisements, promotional emails, banner ads, and social media ads are all examples of digital marketing strategies that are intangible and easy to overlook. If your target audience scrolls or clicks to the next page, your ad will disappear from the screen.

3. Constantly Evolves

For digital marketing to be successful, you must understand a lot. Each channel usually requires its expert to get the most bang for your dollars, from search engine marketing to social media. New algorithms and new strategies evolve constantly, so make it more challenging.

The critical difference between Digital Marketing and Traditional Marketing

Source: https://www.digitalakash.in/digital-marketing-vs-traditional-marketing/

1. Target Audience

Digital marketing makes it possible to target individuals from desired audiences efficiently. Traditional marketing has few options for targeting your intended audience based on age, gender, race, region, and other demographic factors.

If the audience interacted with your ad but did not respond to it, you can retarget them. Digital marketing is a better alternative than traditional marketing because traditional marketing misses out on such opportunities.

2. Consumer Interaction

Traditional Marketing takes a more personal approach since direct contact with the customer. So, it covers only certain geographical areas. There is no need for a marketer’s physical presence with digital marketing. The majority of the interaction occurs online in comments, replies, etc. Hence, traditional marketing provides less room for customer interaction than digital marketing.

3. Costs

It is more challenging to scale traditional marketing because it requires printing, radio, and television ads, among other things. Because budgets can be defined, online marketing is less expensive, and real-time marketing results are much easier to track.

A primary advantage of digital marketing over traditional marketing is the higher return on advertising spend and enhanced personalization features, such as targeting a specific audience or interacting with them at a particular time.

4. Feedback

The nature of digital marketing allows for easy tracking and analysis of feedback to a particular campaign. In traditional marketing, marketers hope for positive feedback, which is why focus groups and market research are so important. It is easier to fix a flaw in digital marketing than in traditional marketing.

5. Speed of Results

It often takes weeks or months for traditional marketing results to materialize, and traditional marketing results are more challenging to quantify than digital marketing results. Unlike in digital marketing, marketers cannot track who sees their ads or how they interact with them.

With digital marketing, reports, and web analytics, it is much easier to track results in real-time. Additional metrics are available, such as views, click-through rate, page rank, session length, etc. Hence, digital marketing has the upper hand in the speed of results.

Conclusion

To sum up, the progressive tendency of digital marketing has improved the process and development of marketing. The best option is digital marketing, but traditional marketing can also be effective.

When reaching an older or local audience, traditional marketing methods may prove to be more effective. Digital marketing is essential if your product or service targets a younger demographic. Digital marketing campaigns that reach a broader audience for less money can be more cost-effective if your target audience is more visible.

To choose the best strategy for you, you must first thoroughly understand your business and target audience. You can leverage both traditional and digital marketing if you know what your audience wants.

Featured image source

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Design your way

An attractive, well-designed label will catch the eye of potential customers, and also make a bold statement about your company brand.

The tips we share here will vastly improve your labels, communicate who you are, and beat out the competition!

Conduct Ample Research

Before your team designs a product label that goes to print, do a ton of research and sketches. While researching effective product labels in your industry, think about who your target market is. What is their gender, age, education, and values? All of these factors are essential to designing the best product label.

The product label design team should also study competing products, brands, and labels. What works well for those organizations and what needs improvement?

Emphasize Readability

It’s obviously important that the product label is as readable as possible. The most effective product labels are simple and highly readable, usually featuring the product name, brand logo, and tagline. Some labels may also include the quantity and a very short product description.

Less is more, though.

The label text should be highly readable, with large font so everyone can read it from a distance. It’s also important that the label is highly readable even in less-than-perfect light.

Many say the label text font should be at least 6 point and probably bigger. For really critical brand and product information, 10 point type is effective.

Your company also can boost readability by choosing a font color with high contrast to the background shade. Advertising experts say choosing brighter colors for consumer products is often smart because it subconsciously improves their confidence in the product.

Once you have a readable label, your design team can move on to how to create effective custom labels.

Add White Space

Many product manufacturers are tempted to include a lot of information on the product label. Don’t we all know that more is better? Not with product labels! White space is really important to enhance readability.

White space also helps the consumer to separate different types of information on the label. Providing more space and breathing room on the label makes it easier to read.

Using white space well also helps it stand out from others. Some marketing authorities add that a lot of white space can make your product seem steadier and calmer. That’s why we often see a lot of white space on labels for cosmetics and baby products.

Choose Ideal Colors

The colors chosen for your product label are critical because they have a huge impact on consumers’ buying decisions.

Make sure to consider the color of the container and shipping package, as well. It’s also critical to think about the color of your product, too. It’s undesirable to have the label clash with any of these things.

Think About Label Material

It’s also important to select the ideal product label material. However the label is designed, it needs to mesh with the material on which it’s printed. Many vendors choose product labels that are clear, white, silver, or cream colored. A white material makes the label stand out more, and using a clear label can make your label blend with the item container.

Always Use Adobe Illustrator Or Similar Software

Most design professionals recommend creating product labels in Adobe Illustrator. You shouldn’t use Photoshop or Microsoft Word.

Microsoft Word is especially problematic because it produces artwork that won’t yield a high-quality label. Your product labels will look amateurish – not the impression you seek with consumers.

Specifically, Word converts your images to the color mode RGB which isn’t supported by most large label presses. That means any label made in Word must be edited before printing. This just costs more time and money.

Additionally, colors created in Word’s RGB will not convert nicely to CMYK, making your label colors look washed out.

Photoshop is also a superior choice but it also has negatives. This software still isn’t as good as Adobe Illustrator when you are using vectors. Also, it’s impossible to export vectors from Photoshop at all. And many say the image and text quality in Photoshop doesn’t hold a candle to Illustrator.

Remember, it takes a lot of time and research to create desirable and effective quality labeling. Following our simple tips here will help your team create a product label that beats the competition.

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Design your way

A framework, in IT, is a different block of the software system.

Software development frameworks are integrated into a system, could work as sets of functions, and could interrelate various components.

Furthermore, a framework could include code libraries, scripting language, auxiliary programs, and other software that facilitates the integration and development of different components of a big project.

Image Source: https://www.tatvasoft.com – Software Development Company

7 of the Best Software Development Frameworks in 2022

Below is a list of some of the best mobile and web development  technologies for a software development company and programmers to learn this year. Make your resume more attractive with these top frameworks, helping you to take your career to the next level.

1. Core Data

The framework is built-in in MacOS and iOS by Apple. Core Data lets developers interact with the database. Furthermore, it’s flexible and powerful when it comes to storing and managing the data model graph.

The tech stack is at the core of the development framework.  You can definitely manage and store data without the Core Data framework, but with it, it’s significantly more convenient.

2. AngularJS

An open-source JavaScript framework, AngularJS is designed to create single-page apps. The goal is to extend browser-based applications based on the MVC template and simplify development and testing. The framework, furthermore, supports various functions, including animation, DOM structure management, DOM, templates, routing, and a whole lot more.

AngularJS’ power and the rich functionality availability in a lot of ways influenced the fact that it’s used for the development of the growing number of web applications, being at present probably one of the most popular frameworks of JavaScript.

3. Laravel

An open-source, general-purpose framework, which was relatively born recently. Thanks to the fast development and the big army of fans, Laravel has one of the most popular PHP engines that could save you from spaghetti code. Furthermore, it’s a universal tool to build blogs, landing pages, the server part of mobile apps, chatbots, full-fledged online stores, and parsers.

4. TensorFlow

TensorFlow is the machine learning API of Google that they have used in developing the RankBrain algorithm for Google Search. It’s one of the most popular APIs that automates various real-world tasks. It can, for example, be used for image detection.

Thanks to the framework, everyone could now access the power of machine learning. It’s a great idea to learn cutting-edge technology, such as machine learning this year, and there’s no better library, to begin with, than TensorFlow.

5. Phalcon

An MVC-oriented framework of PHP that provides developers with data storage tools, including PHQL, its own dialect of SQL, and Object Document Mapping for MongoDB. Other features of Phalcon include form-builders, templates, app development simplicity, and so on. The framework is the ideal option for building different REST APIs, as well as for the development of full-fledged web apps.

6. CakePHP

A framework that accelerates and streamlines app development. It requires considerably less code. This is PHP 7’s modern framework that provides a more flexible access level to databases and a powerful code generation system as well.

Thanks to the features, developing small and complex systems has become easier, faster, and of course, with higher quality. PHP is for you if you want to develop software fast.

7. Symfony

For developing websites and web applications, Symfony is considered the most popular framework. The stack is a set of reusables, unrelated components that have been used in creating applications, such as PHPBB, Drupal, and eZ Publish.

Across the globe, the popular framework has over 600,000 software developers from more than 120 countries. These groups are committed to helping the PHP platform do the impossible.

Conclusion

The arsenal of the software development frameworks and libraries depends largely on the competence of the software development company. When choosing development frameworks, professional programmers and developers take into account a big number of characteristics, such as, for instance, how fast everything would work. For a cost-efficient software solution, experts always are ready to help choose the best approach for your budget and goals.

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Design your way

With the continuing rise of the organic search engine results (SERPs) index, more and more consumers are viewing shopping sites and landing pages. To drive more organic traffic, you need to create high-quality content that answers your customers’ questions. Improving site usability, writing engaging product reviews, and creating pop up boxes to drive additional traffic are all great ways to increase your organic traffic. For example, if you sell pet products, you can drive more organic traffic by improving your site’s layout and adding images of your products. Unlike other marketing strategies, you can drive traffic to your site without paying for it.

If you are a newcomer in the search industry you might be wondering, what is organic traffic, so let me tell you about it.

What is Organic Traffic ?

Organic traffic is traffic that comes from search engines that index websites based on the keywords they use to find them. Organic traffic comes from organic searches on Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and other search engines. A person will type in a keyword or phrase and see your site in their SERPs. Besides being free of hidden fees, organic traffic is also the most trusted. A visitor that arrives on your website through search engines is more likely to trust the information you’re providing them with than someone who comes to your website through a friend or family member.

How to Drive More Organic Traffic on Your Ecommerce Website?

Google is the most popular search engine in the world. And with Google’s continual indexing process, it’s increasingly important for your site to rank high on SERPs to drive more traffic. The easiest way to do this is by writing content that answers common questions. This will help increase your site’s usability and drive more traffic. For example, if you sell pet products, you could create a blog post that discusses what type of dog food is best for large dogs. By answering common questions, you will be providing valuable information that your customers are looking for and increasing their likelihood of going through with a purchase.

Organic traffic is valuable because it doesn’t cost anything to get it. Unlike other marketing strategies such as PPC advertising, organic traffic won’t cost you any money; however, it still has the potential to bring in sales and increase brand awareness. There are many ways to drive organic traffic, including improving site usability, writing engaging product reviews, and creating pop-ups boxes for additional traffic sources.

Moreover, don’t forget to use a Chatbot for your website, which will increase the engagement rate and will help your website to rank well in the search engines, ultimately which will increase your website’s organic traffic. If you have a wordpress website, then a wordpress chat plugin would be the right fit, and if you have an e-commerce website, then an e-commerce wordpress plugin would be perfect. For other platforms like whatsapp messenger, Skype, and Telegram, a live chat app would be a perfect fit for it. Moreover, keeping a chat widget for customer support in the chatbot would be an added advantage for your business and customer.

When we talk about organic traffic, one thing will surely come to mind if you are well aware of digital marketing, and that is SEO ( Search Engine Optimization). Every search engine has its guidelines about website indexing. If the website fulfills all the compliance made by search engines, it will rank higher in search engines and will find a chance to attract more traffic.

Moreover, SEO Professionals are solely responsible for the SEO work. Following are some tips from SEO Professionals that will help you bring more organic traffic hassle-free.

Milosz Krasinski, miloszkrasinski.com

Use HARO Pitches for Organic Traffic

HARO, or Help A Reporter Out, can be a useful tool for link building, digital PR, and driving organic traffic to your website. As a platform that connects journalists, bloggers, and webmasters with expert sources, HARO can be a great way to get your website featured in high-quality publications. In turn, this can help to improve your website’s search engine ranking and visibility, as well as generate organic traffic.

Moreover, being featured on respected websites can also help to build links to your own site, which can further improve your site’s authority and ranking. Therefore, if you’re looking for ways to boost your website’s traffic and search engine ranking, becoming a source on HARO may be a helpful strategy to consider. I have an extensive HARO guide on my blog that takes a really deep dive into what HARO is, how to pitch successfully, and how to land natural, authoritative links.

Dima Suponau, Number For Live Person

Use High Quality Content

It’s no secret that links are still one of the most important ranking factors in Google’s algorithm. But in recent years, there’s been a shift away from low-quality link building tactics towards earning high-quality links through great content. And for good reason – high-quality content is worth linking to, and it’s the best way of scoring high-authority links. Not only that, but it will also defend itself within the SERP better than any other method. So always hire the best and experienced content writer who could write a high quality article. If you write yourself so first of all learn some content writing skills and keep continually reading some important tips about article writing given by content writing experts.

By producing truly useful and informative content, you can be sure that it will organically attract links and traffic better than any other strategy. So if you’re looking to drive organic traffic and earn higher search engine rankings, make sure you’re investing in high-quality content. Apart from that, content marketing has a few other benefits that make it worth your while. For example, it can help you build brand awareness and establish yourself as an authority in your industry. It can also be repurposed into other marketing materials, such as email newsletters, social media posts, and even infographics.

Abby Chapman, Extension File

Target Long-tail Keyword for website blog

Targeting long-tail keywords is one of the best ways to boost organic traffic and conversion rates. Long phrases with low volume often convert better than shorter, more popular keywords. They’re also usually easier to rank for. Articles can rank for multiple long-tail keywords at a time, which can increase traffic significantly.

Long-tail keywords are especially important for eCommerce businesses. They tend to be more specific, which can make them more valuable for both customers and search engines. When customers use long-tail keywords, they usually have a better idea of what they want, and they’re more likely to convert. And since long-tail keywords are less competitive, it’s usually easier and cheaper to rank for them.

If you’re not sure which long-tail keywords to target, start by brainstorming a list of potential terms. Then, use a keyword research tool to find out which ones are most popular and have the highest search volume. Finally, try to match your keywords to customer (or in this case, search) intent.

Christian Belmont, Plixpay

Optimize Your Website for Local SEO

Local search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website in a local market. It is an important part of any eCommerce business’s marketing strategy, as it helps to attract more local customers who are searching for products or services that are relevant to your business. There are a number of ways to improve your local SEO, including optimizing your website for local keyword searches and creating location-specific pages.

Additionally, claiming and verifying your business listing on Google My Business can also help to improve your visibility in local search results. By taking the time to optimize your eCommerce website for local SEO, you can ensure that your business is visible to potential customers in your area.

Even if your store is not local but it sells some locally manufactured products on a nationwide scale, you should consider optimizing your website for local keyword searches. This is a great way to reach out to potential customers who may not be aware of your business otherwise, especially those that prefer to support local businesses.

Jan Suski, Chilli Fruit Web Consulting

Word-Of-Mouth Marketing

Any business owner knows that organic traffic is essential for a successful website. After all, what good is a website if no one is visiting it? While there are many ways to drive traffic to your site, one of the most effective is word-of-mouth marketing. When people hear about your site from a friend or family member, they’re more likely to visit it than if they see an advertisement.

And once they’re on your site, you have a chance to convert them into a customer. Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool because it’s based on personal recommendations. People are more likely to trust someone they know than a stranger, so when you can get people talking about your site, you’re more likely to see an influx of traffic.

There are a few ways you can generate word-of-mouth marketing for your business.

First, make sure your site is high quality and easy to use. If people have a positive experience on your site, they’re more likely to tell others about it.

Second, offer something unique or valuable on your site that people will want to share with others. This could be a coupon, a freebie, or exclusive content.

Third, make it easy for people to share your site with others. Include social sharing buttons on your site and in your email signature.

And finally, stay active on social media. When you share interesting content or interact with followers, you’re more likely to get people talking about your site.

Harry Johns White, NBA Blast

Use Digital PR

Digital PR is a process that can help with SEO. It can help to improve the visibility of your website by increasing the number of links to your site from authoritative and high-quality websites. While do-follow links are the most desirable, no-follow ones and even unlinked mentions can prove your authority as an expert on the topic. Your traffic grows both from organic results and from the referral links you acquire on different websites.

Digital PR can also help to build relationships with key journalists and bloggers, which can result in coverage of your company or product. Nowadays, relationships are the cornerstone of most marketing efforts, and they can be very effective in helping you to achieve your SEO goals. Make sure that you pitch the right journalists and bloggers, though, and that their publications have good-enough parameters. You want to take the sniper approach, not the spray and pray way of pitching.

Michael Batalha, Emercury

Use Email Marketing for driving traffic on your E-Commerce website

When it comes to driving sales, ecommerce retailers are constantly looking for new ways to increase their customer base and turn visitors into repeat buyers. One of the best ways to attract customer attention and drive more organic traffic to your ecommerce store is through email marketing. Email marketing is an incredibly effective way to reach out to your prospective customers and sell them on your brand. In fact, it’s one of the most popular digital marketing strategies for ecommerce retailers, especially if you have a loyal customer base and look to increase your brand visibility. That being said, it can also be one of the most challenging. If you don’t have the tools or resources to create content for email marketing campaigns, then you might not see much return from your email marketing efforts. So, you should focus on acquiring the right software that makes email marketing easy for you.

Antonio Wells, NAMYNOT Inc.

Use Paid Advertising for Organic Traffic

Paid advertising can also be used to drive organic traffic. One way for ecommerce sites to drive more organic traffic is through paid advertising. This can be done on social media or through an online platform like Google AdWords. Paid advertising will cost money, but it also has a much higher chance of driving more traffic than other methods. With paid advertising, you can advertise your products directly to your ideal customers in the hopes that they will visit your website and make a purchase. For example, if you sell pet products, you could advertise on Facebook or Instagram and target people with pets who live in certain zip codes. Paid advertising is an excellent tool for driving more organic traffic when used correctly.  However, this type of marketing should not be relied on as the only source of traffic because it doesn’t bring in free visitors like organic search engine results do.

Vidyarthi Ram, Rank Care

Use Technical SEO prudently

Technical SEO is the process of optimizing a site’s content, structural elements, and algorithm to bring it up to the standards of search engines so that it’s more likely to show up in search results and show a higher boost in organic traffic. While many people will associate SEO with words, content, or keywords, it’s actually a much more broad field that encompasses technical elements, such as meta tags, URLs, on-page content, code, and more. That said, it’s not just about keywords. Even though search algorithms are designed to pick out the most relevant content, search engines also look for other technical indicators of relevancy, such as the number of pages, the quality of on-page content, and the speed of serving content.

As we know E-commerce sites become a big site with thousands of pages so technical SEO becomes more significant for it. Well optimized site will easily attract the Google Index crawler / bot and will gain higher ranking in the Google search.

Michał Jackowski, Veautie

Show some personality!

When people are searching online, they’re looking for more than just a product. They want to find a website that feels like a good fit for them, and that means creating content that has a strong voice and personality. So don’t be afraid to let your brand’s unique voice shine through in your blog posts, social media posts, and even product descriptions. By giving potential customers a taste of what it would be like to shop with you, you’ll be much more likely to attract them to your site—and keep them coming back for more. On top of that, personalization can also help you boost your conversion rate, since customers are more likely to buy from a site that feels like it’s speaking directly to them. So if you’re not already infusing your eCommerce website with personality, now’s the time to start!

Final Thought

Nowadays, bringing organic traffic to a website is not a tough job but bringing relevant traffic is really hard. So for driving relevant and potential traffic on your website you need to work on your On-page, Off-page and Technical SEO prudently. Moreover other mediums of content promotion like email marketing, word-of-mouth or influencer marketing also play an important role.

Finally we know that driving the organic traffic need various tools and technique so right strategy, perfect timing and best implementation management play a vital role for achieve your targeted audiences irrespective of what tools you use or which platform you use.

Author Bio – Vidyarthi Ram is a digital marketer and writer from India. He loves to research new hypothetical future technology in his free time, which could be included in his upcoming story.

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Design your way

While homepage design is crucial for making a great first impression, product page design is what will boost your sales.

According to Think with Google, 85% of shoppers say product information and images play an important role for them when deciding which brand or retailer to buy from. On the other hand, almost 70% of customers leave items in their shopping carts and don’t complete their transactions.

These stats illustrate how important it is to get your product pages right and maximize conversions.

Here are a couple of simple product page design hacks that can help you boost your sales.

1.  Add Credibility with Social Proof

Lack of trust is a deal-breaker when it comes to ecommerce stores.

Don’t forget your potential customers can’t see your products in person, touch them, or evaluate their quality. They have to take your word for it and rely on the images and videos you provide.

But social proof adds another dimension and a touch of credibility to your product pages.

People tend to trust other customers more than the brands they’re purchasing from. So, to show your store is legit and your products are of good quality, leverage user reviews on your product pages.

Amerisleep, for example, zeroes in on this tactic by providing not one but two types of social proof. First, there are media references under reputable publishers such as Newsweek and Forbes above the fold. Then, they also offer verified customer reviews below the fold.

Source: amerisleep.com

2.  Expand Product Descriptions

Potential customers need as much information about your products as possible.

Avoid bland and generic phrases that don’t say anything other than that your product is fantastic. If you don’t help customers visualize using your product and understand its benefits, you risk losing them to your competitors.

Namely, if your product descriptions leave much to be desired, potential customers will go to Google to find more information. And they’ll easily end up buying from another vendor that offers more details.

This particularly refers to clothes and shoes since it’s difficult to buy these items without trying them on.

C&A solves this problem by offering exhaustive product descriptions together with detailed size charts. Besides that, the brand shares which size the featured model wears and their height so that customers can make more accurate comparisons.

Source: c-and-a.com

3.  Eliminate the Clutter

Once you manage to bring a potential customer to your product page, you need to get them to focus on your offer and add it to the shopping cart.

This means your product page has to be completely distraction-free.

By opting for minimalistic design, you will rest assured that nothing will take potential customers away from what they have come to your product page for – to make a purchase.

So, use a lot of negative space to give your design room to breathe. Cramping your product page with many different elements makes it difficult for customers to find the CTA button and convert.

Here’s how GetSafe leverages white space and clean design to highlight the most essential elements of their products:

Source: getsafe.com

4.  Leverage FAQs to Handle Objections

It’s natural for customers to have some additional questions and doubts about a product they want to buy online.

One of the best ways to offer them more information and answer potential questions they might have without cluttering your product page is using an FAQ section.

This way, you can speed up resolving a query and, in turn, a purchasing decision. Instead of having to contact customer support or use live chat, customers can instantly find answers to the most common questions.

REI, for example, features a Q&A section on product pages so that people can ask questions and get answers from both the brand and other users. This makes for an extensive resource potential customers can use to get familiar with a product and figure out whether it fits their needs.

Source: rei.com

5.  Use High-Quality Visuals

A study has shown that 94% of first impressions are design-related. This means that your store’s visual appeal is what decides whether potential customers will stick around or bounce off.

Similarly, almost half of all surveyed customers assessed the credibility of websites based on visual design.

In short, if you want your potential customers to trust and purchase from you, make your product page design and visuals stand out.

Using high-quality images and videos can profoundly impact how your store visitors form their opinion regarding your products. Professional photoshoots are expensive, but it’s a worthwhile investment if we bear in mind that exceptional images will boost your sales.

Williams Sonoma product pages feature stunning images that never fail to impress customers.

Source: williams-sonoma.com

6.  Be Transparent About Shipping Costs

Extra costs and hidden fees are among the biggest conversion killers.

48% of online consumers abandon their shopping cart during checkout because of high extra costs.

Instead of ambushing your customers by waiting until the last minute to inform them how much they will have to pay for shipping, display the total price upfront. Adding shipping cost details to your product pages will allow your customers to come to terms with having to pay more than they expected.

As a matter of fact, 64% of customers look for shipping costs on product pages and admit that these expenses influence their purchasing decision.

This kind of transparency can improve loyalty and drive more sales.

Sephora offers free standard shipping and allows customers to get location-based estimates for same-day deliveries.

Source: sephora.com

7.  Harness the Power of Cross-Selling

Fast food restaurants heavily rely on cross-selling to boost their revenue.

“Do you want fries with that?”

This simple sentence brings McDonald’s millions of dollars annually. Unlike burgers, fries and soft drinks provide high margins of up to 90%, and by implementing cross-selling, restaurants generate huge profits.

But what’s the secret to successful cross-selling?

It’s simple: recommending relevant products that go with the one your customers are interested in.

This way, you’re not only improving your average order value but also doing your customers a favor. Show them accessories they might need with the core product or items that others who bought the product also viewed.

Some fashion retailers even offer entire looks so that their customers feel as if they have their own personal shopper and stylist.

Nordstrom takes its product pages to the next level by including Style Ideas for This Item. Such an approach shows a genuine desire to help customers solve their problems – in this case, pick the best outfit for a particular occasion.

Source: nordstrom.com

8.  Take Advantage of FOMO

The fear of missing out is a powerful psychological motivator.

Marketers play on this phenomenon to make people feel an urge to purchase a certain product immediately – that is, before it’s sold out or while a special offer lasts.

FOMO can be best triggered using urgency and scarcity on product pages.

By showing that there are only ten or even fewer items left in stock, you’re implying that the product in question is very popular and that people often purchase it.

Here’s how Amazon capitalizes on scarcity and prompts customers to make up their minds ASAP:

Source: amazon.com

Similarly, leveraging time-limited offers such as “Sale ends tonight” will get your customers to act and grab the product they want right away. You can add an extra layer of urgency by implementing countdown pop ups that will visually illustrate how time is running out for special discounts.

Boosting Sales with Great Product Page Design

Product page design is a make-it-or-break-it factor when it comes to the success of your online store. These pages have to be both attractive and functional. Luckily, you don’t need any complex gimmicks to achieve this. These clever yet simple tune-ups can help you transform your product pages and consequently boost your sales.

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