In this post, we will discuss different ways using which you can make your website more trustworthy.
Add trust seals and certificates
50% or more website buyers consider a site to be more reliable if it sports a security badge or seal.
Mentioning the payment gateways in the footer can ensure data safety.
Or use SSL certificates. These certificates ensure that your site sits on the secure HTTPS protocol featuring a padlock icon in the URL box. This shows that your site is secure. For eCommerce, reputable Shopify developers already have SSL enabled for online stores.
That may not be the case for everyone else.
Display social proof
Social proof is critical on your homepage and other pages as it provides a measure to compare different kinds of messaging.
It reinforces the claims you make.
Some examples are:
Testimonials: Testimonials tell website visitors what others feel about your brand and the products it has
Reviews, ratings, and customer feedback: When you showcase reviews, ratings, and feedback that tells others about the quality and the image of your company. You can even display negative reviews
For example on AffiliateWP’s homepage, you get the message that the plugin is used by over 30,000 plus business owners.
SmashBalloon is another example. They are proud of their 1,750,000 plus customers.
User-generated content: You can generate more trust by asking the community to share photos, their reviews, and additional feedback.
Social media: You can also display real follower counts of your social media accounts to people Showcase the number of followers you have on Facebook, on Instagram, or other channels.
Build trust in the products separately
Most consumers when they shop online have multiple fears. One strong fear is that the product they will finally get home isn’t one that matches what’s on display online. Breaking this fear isn’t easy. But there are several things you can do to allay it.
Use high-quality images. Consumers trust sites that look professional, so buy quality images or invest in professional photography
Add videos. Adding videos about the product builds credibility and trust. These videos can show usage instructions and more.
Include all the information. Tell customers about details on the products. It’s weight, size, color variants, and more.
Include reviews, warranty details, and more
This prevents people from leaving the site in place of something else.
Include a 360-degree view. One more thing I see working for eCommerce brands is displaying the product images at various angles to cover a 360-degree view.
Have you ever been to a VPN site? VPNs don’t sell based on the fact that if they have the most affordable VPN. What matters most is whether there are enough customers saying they their internet activity was private with so and so VPN.
Rafflepress offers a video on the homepage showing how you can use the product. This affirms our beliefs in the product.
Provide detailed and transparent policies.
Be transparent to customers with respect to shipping details, how the product is delivered, your refund policies, and more.
The company policies must be ready to access so that interested parties can discover them soon enough.
Checkout list: Include details of the order, the product purchased, its quantity and more details.
Share relevant shipping information: Provide details like the time of order estimated arrival time and where it ships from.
Provide options: provide delivery alternatives like payment options.
Be upfront about additional costs: If you shock customers with additional charges they will leave the shopping cart. So be upfront about shipping and delivery charges.
Your product page: Talk about the processes you followed through when you developed the product. There’s plenty of thought going on behind the development of each new product.
Tell the world about the practices you followed when you developed something. Talk about the inspiration behind the product and convey what you want to achieve with it. This helps strike a chord with the audience.
Your “about us” page: The about us page is usually the second-most visited page on any site. Tell others who you are. Include shots of your employees to humanize your brand.
On SeedProd, a drag-and-drop website builder, the page highlights a 60% off deal that you may miss out on if you don’t act quickly enough.
Provide details about customer service
A report by Microsoft points out that 96% of customers say customer service is one of the most important factors that helps them remain loyal to a business. Don’t forget to add FAQ pages and create content for every stage of the customer lifecycle.
On your website display the hours you operate and the hours the customer service team operates. Ideally, customers of today want 24/7 availability. However, that’s not very easy. You can also put up a live chat option on your website.
Add contact information.
Physical addresses and other tokens of contact details tell the world you exist. Add an about us page to display contact details, your email address, and office address. Most eCommerce companies don’t display physical addresses on about us or contact us pages. But don’t shy away from these details.
You can build customer trust on your eCommerce website with the help of these. This helps build a lasting relationship.
Use a reputed domain name
The very first thing people see on your website is your domain name. Make it memorable.
Include your main keyword in your domain. If you sell recorders a domain name like joshrecorders makes it clear what the website is about. For example, the name Sendlayer tells us that it has something to do with sending, probably email sending. That helps us wrap our minds around it.
It brands with your business name
Choose a high-quality domain extension. There are countless new domain extensions. Go with the established few like.com. Org or .store.
Make sure your domain name isn’t a copycat. Before choosing a domain name make sure it isn’t trademarked by someone else. You can get sued. Customers will see it for the copycat it is and that makes it less trustworthy
A brand is no longer just a representation of what your company or its products stand for. It’s a way to connect with your customers deeper and create a life-long relationship.
Think Coca-Cola, Mcdonald’s, Apple, Google, Amazon, Nike, Starbucks, or any of the top timeless brands you can think of. Does the mere mention of the brand instantly bring to the fore its logo, products, fonts, and colors? If yes, this is what successful brand awareness is all about.
Brand awareness shapes your business and greatly impacts how your customers view you. In addition, brand awareness can help make or break your business. It impacts not just how your brand is perceived by your customer but also by your employees, investors, partners, and everyone else.
As per various studies,
46% of customers are likelier to pay more for a brand they trust
92% of employees would consider leaving a job to take up an offer from a company with an outstanding reputation
82% of investors believe brand strength and name recognition are the most critical factors determining their investment decision.
But how can businesses create authentic and incredible brands? What is the tactic that should define their brand awareness strategy?
What Is Brand Awareness?
Brand awareness is the instant recall that your potential customers have when they see your brand name or logo. It entails how well your brand is recognized, the values it is associated with, and the trending or buzz-worthy aspects of your brand.
Successful brand awareness is when your customers can correctly identify your brand’s logo, products, or services and, in a few cases, get a monopoly over the business you are in. For example, when you tell someone to look up something online, would you rather say, “use a search engine to find relevant information,” or are you more likely to say, “just Google it”?
When your branding has strong recall and becomes synonymous with what you offer, that is what successful branding is all about. And even successful brands constantly reinvent themselves, as Google has done since its initial days.
Importance Of Brand Awareness In Today’s Digital Era
Brand awareness is your target customer’s ideal reaction or response when they notice your brand, and it is not just something you can buy or create instantly. Building a brand takes much more than that.
Brand awareness among your target audience doesn’t happen overnight; it is all about consistent effort followed by the proper positioning, service, and values your brand should represent. Take the case in food industry, for instance, when managing a restaurant you want your customers to get the nice emotional reaction when interacting with meals from your mene. Successful brand awareness can lead to the following:
Instant recognition in highly crowded digital and physical stores
Credibility and advocacy from your customers, who like the experience that they got with your brand
Customer loyalty and repeat orders
Confidence to focus on shared values and attract the right talent
Now that we are familiar with what brand awareness is and why it is beneficial for businesses of all sizes let us look at 8 effective tips to build brand awareness without burning cash.
8 Ways to Build a Solid Brand Awareness
1. Set Achievable Brand Awareness Goals
Before starting a brand awareness campaign, you need to know what you are focusing on. Are you trying to generate awareness about your brand, or would you like to create a stronger brand recall among an already-engaged audience?
For example, if you were a brand like Subway, a well-known brand wanting to introduce its new menu. Here, the goal will be to raise awareness about Subway’s 12 new sandwiches.
For this goal, the SMART brand awareness objective for the brand could be — To generate 100,000 views on Subway’s New Menu campaign on YouTube by the end of Q4 2022.
This objective is Specific (because it mentions what to do clearly), Measurable (because it defines the number of views to be achieved), Attainable (the goal is not too easy or too difficult), Realistic (takes into account past data points), and Time-bound (mention the deadline for when the goal is to be achieved).
2. Know Your Target Audience
Once you have established your brand awareness goals, it’s time for the next crucial step — knowing who you are targeting. Unfortunately, most brands have a very vague understanding of their audience and often try to reach a wider audience.
Do extensive research, know your ideal customer, and discuss the finding in your staff meetings. The ideal way to create the right brand voice and target it to the right user group is by using Buyer Personas, which can help you know what your target audience wants. Knowing your audience also involves respecting them and providing a secure communication experience. Make sure they trust your brand, be dependable, ensure your mailing security with DMARC report checkups and other trust-feeding integrations in communication.
Darshan Somashekar, who runs Sudoku Craze, suggests using your existing audience to hone in on your brand voice. “We simply used onsite polls to learn more about our users, and why our games resonate with them. We then tailored our content and messaging to align with their ideal experience.”
Redbull’s Stratos Mission is a great example of knowing your brand’s values and audience. The brand, along with Austrian skydiver, daredevil, and BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner, made history by breaking a 50-year-old record of plunging to earth from the edge of space. This historic world record-breaking event took place on October 14, 2012, and was captured with high-tech cameras to ensure that the world could watch and feel the adrenaline rush.
The brand got maximum mileage with this event, which still resonates with Redbull’s target audience – young urban males who want to live on the edge and do things differently.
3. Focus on the Right Platforms
Creating excellent brand awareness is being where your target audience is. You will need to think of the right platforms to choose depending on your goal and the kind of audience you are targeting.
Depending on the platform, you must determine the correct format and approach for your outreach. This recipe post by Buzzfeed Tasty is a great example. They took the blog content and made it into an interactive and simple step-by-step carousel post on Instagram, which was loved by the audience.
Make sure to follow consistent branding everywhere for all your social media posts and content. This will enable your customers to recognize your brand no matter the platform instantly.
4. Leverage Customer Service for Your Online Marketing
About 73% of customers will prefer a brand because of how helpful its customer service is. Even though every company wants its customers to think that they care about them, what defines this is how fast it resolves customer grievances and how easy it is for its customers to get in touch with them. The extra step they are willing to take for their customers. Video is an essential component to building trust and rapport with your audience, whether it’s a service or product. Leverage video to engage your target audience, create brand awareness, and inspire action with your potential customers.
An example of friendly yet helpful customer service can be seen in this conversation between Skyscanner’s service rep and a user who has suggested a 47-year-long layover.
This technical snag could quickly have brought bad repute to the company that provides its customers with the lowest and most ideal flights. But the way Skyscanner’s service representative turned it into a creative and helpful conversation is a case study for every organization out there.
To provide exceptional customer service, ensure you have a strategy that allows your happy customers to become brand advocates and give them a platform to tell the world how much they like your brand or service. This could be via an interview, a testimonial, or a case study.
5. Build an Employee Advocacy Program
Employees reshare only 3% of the company’s social posts but are responsible for 30% of the overall engagement. So if your employees are not your brand ambassadors, your content or online presence is unlikely to have the reach or brand awareness you are looking for.
To help employees become your brand ambassadors, create an employee brand advocacy program with clear objectives, guides, and recognition systems to reward employees enabling your brand to reach a wider audience. Build a sense of community within your team, whether it’s at work or during team-building events with special prizes like custom company shirts. While this is a fun activity for the team, it also strengthens internal solidarity and employee motivation to become a brand ambassador.
Take a cue from Google’s rulebook, which is known for empowering its employees to become brand advocates. It focuses on its campus’s uniqueness and gives each new onboarding a human touch by featuring them on its social platforms.
Employees love it when they are made the story’s focus, enabling brand advocates, which helps Google reach the best talent among potential job seekers.
6. Explore Thought Leadership Branding
Whether B2B or B2C thought leadership content becomes crucial. Especially if you want to establish your brand as trustworthy and knowledgeable in your chosen space. Thought leadership content can be highly enriching if it can help your audience learn about their function and issues in detail and adds value to their lives.
A good example of educating and creating value for your audience is the American Express Business Class Blog, which features content about branding, growth, leadership, business tips, ideas, and more. The blog doesn’t just focus on selling or promoting its products. Instead, it focuses on teaching its readers all there is about business, entrepreneurship, and the nitty-gritty of the corporate world.
When creating any thought-leadership materials, make sure your materials use the best templates, minimalist branding, and unique brand styles, reinforcing your brand regarding the selected topic.
7. Have a Brand Voice
About 88% of customers think authenticity is crucial in deciding which brand they like or support. Customers, including Gen-Z and millennials, expect brands to care about them more than they do about profits and will be more likely to stand with a brand with its unique and fun identity.
Take the example of Uber’s #ThankYouForNotRidingWithUber campaign during the 2020 pandemic.
In 1-minute, the ad captures the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on all of us while also telling its customers to refrain from venturing out, telling them to instead #StayHome and be safe. This ad shows how brands can dare to go against their conventional wisdom and still come out stronger. All they need to do is put the customer at the heart of their brand.
8. Use the Power of Storytelling.
Storytelling is a compelling marketing tactic for brand awareness, as it gives something tangible for your audience to latch onto. Brands can use storytelling to craft a narrative around the brand, humanize it, and give it the proper depth to create a long-standing relationship.
For example, you can see this in Land Rover’s 3-min clip that shows how its fleet of Land Rovers dating from 1957 is being used in a remote village in the Himalayas, focusing on the brand’s USP while reinforcing its cars’ remarkable power and durability.
Conclusion
The ideas mentioned in the blog are only to help you take that first step since brand awareness includes a lot more than just strategies. It’s using the right channels, making the right partnerships, and consistent yet focused promotions.
So stay authentic, and focus on your core values. Create a strategy to help you build a loyal audience that will choose your products or services while becoming your brand advocates and recommend your brand to their family or friends.
Author Bio
Mehdi Hussen is a SaaS marketing and organic growth consultant. He helps SaaS businesses drive organic growth and customer acquisition through SEO and data-driven content marketing strategies. Mehdi spends his spare time musing about startup growth strategies, personal productivity, and remote work. Connect with him through Twitter or LinkedIn
In contrast to orientation, which focuses on familiarising new hires with the specifics of their position, onboarding involves acclimating workers to the firm as a whole. These ideas are connected through recruitment, a crucial process in HRM.
This article provides a concise comparison between orientation and onboarding, outlining the critical distinctions between the two.
Onboarding
Compared to orientation, its scope is much larger. The primary goal is to shorten the time required for a new employee to realize their full potential in production. Often, various USA staffing onboarding tools, specifically designed for onboarding, are used by HR managers to speed up this process.
In addition to orienting new employees to the company’s culture and values, onboarding helps them to set realistic goals for their time there. It’s more tactical and kicks off when an employee verbally accepts an offer.
After the initial contact, onboarding continues until the employee is fully integrated into the company. This entails familiarising them with the resources they can use to execute a good job, such as:
Putting them in contact with the folks they will see frequently.
Prioritizing time for open dialogue about expectations with the boss.
The onboarding process is not a one-time occurrence but takes several months to an entire year.
Educating employees on how things work around the organization.
There are many benefits to the onboarding process:
It helps in keeping employees around. Effective onboarding programs have decreased the frequency and severity of miscommunications and misunderstandings. Moreover, it facilitates a speedy adaptation to their new surroundings.
New employees can experience less anxiety in the workplace thanks to onboarding initiatives. We provide them with clear daily objectives and resources for developing their abilities to achieve this goal. This will help them see things more clearly and accomplish their goals.
New staff enthusiasm is sparked as a result. It’s always smart to help new hires get started on projects and inform them of their career options. Furthermore, you can demonstrate to them how to accomplish this.
An efficient onboarding process ensures that new hires are prepared for their responsibilities. As a result, they will have a far better idea of what they should be doing. It contributes to the bottom line in the long run.
Orientation
Many people associate with an orientation by putting on a name tag, getting to know one’s coworkers, and filling out many documents. You may share a corporate handbook and a supervisor’s policy talk. When they finally leave, they can have a million unanswered questions and a folder full of handouts.
Disorientation more accurately describes the state of affairs after Day 1. There needs to be more knowledge and more direction for new hires. Most people need more than the extra help they receive for the first few weeks after they start a new job during orientation. It would be up to coworkers’ manual, good fortune, and helpfulness to determine how quickly they could advance up the learning curve.
Getting new hires up to speed has always been a challenge, despite the best efforts of orientation programs. This group of new employees will also be attrition due to their feelings of isolation and dissatisfaction.
Benefits of Orientation:
It helps calm nerves before the big day. Before being expected to function in their new capacity, new hires benefit from an in-depth orientation that covers all aspects of the company’s operations and processes.
Employee orientation lowers costs without sacrificing productivity by helping new hires acclimate to their new responsibilities. It boosts productivity while lowering costs. Typically, orientation is conducted in a classroom setting where human resources professionals can simultaneously welcome and introduce several new hires.
Managers and other workers don’t have time to sit down with every new hire and give them a rundown of the organization. The company benefits from the time savings. During orientation, new hires learn about the many departments, the company’s policies, and the culture. Supervisors can build upon these foundational lessons.
To what extent do onboarding and orientation vary from one another?
At first look, the goals of orientation and onboarding may appear to be the same.
While both terms refer to fully integrating into a company, the onboarding phase might take several months to a year. During orientation, a new hire is introduced to the mission and core values of the firm.
They can also take this opportunity to become acquainted with their new coworkers and tour the office. When new employees join a company, they go through a process called “onboarding,” which provides further information about job training, best practices, and corporate policies.
The purpose of onboarding is to provide new hires with a safe and welcoming environment where they may feel comfortable asking questions and getting answers as they develop into their new position. It helps individuals settle into new roles and is tailored to their needs. The onboarding process can be tailored to each new hire, considering their learning styles, prior knowledge, and specific queries and concerns.
Conclusion
When new employees have a well-thought-out orientation and onboarding process, they can better understand their responsibilities and integrate into the workplace. During orientation, a new hire is briefed on the company’s mission and expectations. In contrast, employees learn about their responsibilities inside the organization during the onboarding process.
The Procreate app has transformed what is possible when creating art on an iPad.
It’s a very intuitive and easy-to-learn interface suitable for beginners but also interesting for experts, and everyone in between.
You do not need to be a professional to be able to use Procreate, and throughout this article, we will explain why.
Affordable
The first thing to know about Procreate that makes it very beginner friendly is its affordability. Firstly, you can buy a license for the Procreate app with a one-time payment whereas many apps and programs today, especially art and creative programs, are accessed with an ongoing monthly subscription payment.
On top of the fact that it is a one-time payment, it is also a very cheap one-time payment. So, for the same price you might pay to buy two or three coffees you can buy yourself a lifetime license to a feature-rich art app that will give you years of enjoyment.
You Can Use It On An iPad
All apple devices especially iPads are designed to be very easy and intuitive to use. Because of this, the Procreate app is also very accessible as it was designed to be used on an iPad.
If you know how to use a smartphone you will have the skills, or be able to develop the skills very quickly, to use Procreate.
It is not like some of those very complicated editing applications that people use on high-powered computers that have a significant technological learning curve.
Intuitive Workflow
The Procreate app has a very intuitive workflow.
You can go from a blank canvas to a finished piece of art in literally minutes. The key features are easily available from the home screen, and the more detailed features are only one click away and grouped with other logically related features so once you’ve had a small amount of time to practice on Procreate you will quickly develop a very effective Procreate skill set.
Draw On The Screen
Being creative with the Procreate app is made even easier when you use the Apple Pencil. An Apple Pencil is a device made by Apple that you sync with your iPad then when you place the pencil on the screen of your iPad it follows the movement of the pencil tip and creates a digital image of the pencil’s movements.
The Apple Pencil has a pressure-sensitive tip so you can create special effects based on your drawing style.
It is not an actual pencil that is going to mark your iPad, it has a special tip that is just designed to make direct contact with your iPad screen without leaving a mark or damaging it in any way.
The Apple Pencil provides a very intuitive way for you to interact with your digital canvas and is very easy to use if you are skilled at hand drawing.
No Supplies Needed
With most types of art, there’s going to be a significant investment of materials and supplies required to get yourself ready. That is not the case with Procreate.
With a once-off investment in the app license, you can create all sorts of things for years to come.
If you want to branch out and try more things then you can purchase an Apple Pencil. It is also possible to purchase other image packs and add-ons for the app to enhance its capabilities but the core app for one price is more than enough for most people.
Professionals Love It Too
Even though you do not need to be a professional to use Procreate many professionals love this app. They love how intuitive the app is and how easy it is to use and how rapidly you can turn an idea into an artwork.
Art Is For Everyone
The Procreate catchphrase, or tagline, is that “art is for everyone” and you can see this as a mission of theirs in the way the app has been designed. So if you are a beginner the Procreate app is a great app for you to consider.
Speeding Up The Learning Process
If you buy the Procreate app and you want to take your skills to the next level there are many different resources at your disposal both free and paid.
Procreate Website
The first place you should go if you have not already is the Procreate website. They have some official support resources in a special dedicated section of their website and they include tutorials and lessons on everything you could ever want to know about how to use the Procreate app.
There is a specific Procreate handbook that gives you a step-by-step, lesson-by-lesson guide on how to master all the features and functions of the Procreate app.
You do not need to go through this guide from start to finish if you do not want to, you can just pick and choose from different lessons to learn the features that you want to be able to use. But you might find benefit in starting from the start and going through the first few sections, lesson by lesson, as you familiarise yourself with the app in the beginning.
This Procreate handbook used to be a paid option but is now included as free for all users.
YouTube
Sometimes you learn more by watching someone do something than by reading about it yourself. The same may be true for Procreate, and the many YouTube videos you can search with many talented artists of all skill levels demonstrating how they use the Procreate app and what they have achieved with it.
With innovative recording techniques, people can record exactly what they’re doing on their screen so you get a very good picture of exactly what buttons they press and how they move their fingers, and which options they select to get certain textures to create their final designs.
Watching people on YouTube using Procreate can be both an inspiring process as well as an educational process.
Paid Courses
If you like structured and coherent sequences of information that have a very clear goal, then you may want to consider a Procreate class from advanced Procreate users. In some cases, this might be an in-person workshop, but in most cases, this will be in the form of an online course. An online course typically consists of a series of recorded videos grouped into a logical formation with a very specific skill or art style being conveyed to the students.
A Procreate Masterclass would be the quickest way to build your skills and familiarity with Procreate.
Procreate Success Is Yours For The Taking
With a little bit of effort combined with a lot of passion, a beginner can have success with Procreate.
Procreate is a very intuitive app, designed for a very intuitive device, and though it will take some time to learn the basic controls and features of a new application, it will not get any easier than it is with Procreate.
There are endless free resources available to you on YouTube and the Procreate website, you just need the time to sit down and take them in.
Taking the time to learn a new app is an investment, but it’s a worthy investment given the satisfaction you will have creating artwork in the years to come.
Curious about cybersecurity deals in late November? Want the best when it comes to protection online? Need the devices of your family protected from scams and cyberattacks, including your own? Are you looking for a good VPN, antivirus, or solid email security solution for incredibly low prices? Look no further than this article.
If you are one of the five billion people who use the internet every day, you could use a few cybersecurity tools to protect your sensitive data as well as the security of your devices. With the holiday season and Thanksgiving approaching, expect steep discounts on everything you can think of! Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be here in 2022! Many people have heard of Black Friday because it represents global discounts on almost everything from clothes to supermarket items. However, far fewer people are aware of Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is similar to Black Friday in that it focuses on technology and software products. It is considered an extension of Black Friday because it follows the same weekend late in November. Cyber Monday is always marked on the calendars of tech enthusiasts and security experts.
It is now time to look at the best cybersecurity deals available for various essential software to protect your online privacy and security. There is no better time than Black Friday and Cyber Monday to take advantage of fantastic savings on essential cybersecurity software for your entire family (your friends or anyone else, too)!
Why Must You Be Cyber Secure This Year?
We live in an era where being hacked and scammed is commonplace on the internet. As unfortunate as it is, the internet is now rife with cybercrime, scams, and vulnerabilities. Because the internet is simply too large for anyone to secure and contain, the responsibility for security falls on us. Everything from ransomware, social media dangers and hacked devices to cryptocurrency and email phishing scams is out there waiting to take advantage of you or your friends and family. You could be just one person on a list of targets. You don’t have to necessarily be a target of value to be hacked or scammed these days. To achieve optimal peace of mind when using the internet for any purpose, it is critical to protect your passwords, email, and much more with these sweet cybersecurity deals.
There are great deals this year on essential software that you should have on your devices (smartphones, laptops, desktop computers, tablets, and whatever else you use). Whether you own a business or just want some good, personal cybersecurity, you’ll find what you need in this article. So, you’ll need a good Virtual Private Network (VPN) as well as some great password managers, an antivirus suite, and email security. This package is considered the bare minimum for keeping your data secure and your online privacy intact today!
Take a Look at These Cybersecurity Deals!
Now for the deals which you’ve been looking for all this time! You’ll be surprised to learn that some of these items have been reduced by more than 50% for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It’s no surprise that people flock to stores and online sales increase in late November.
During these sales periods, premium cybersecurity software is discounted anywhere from over 40% to almost 90% (!). Yes, sometimes you could be getting a product almost for free! Why would you pass up an opportunity like that? Right? Yes.
To encrypt and anonymize yourself online, get a high-end VPN from the likes of NordVPN, Cyberghost, Surfshark, and others. Bitdefender, Avira, Norton, AVG Ultimate, and Avast all offer similar discounts on their top antivirus products. The same is true for trustworthy brands of password management software like 1Password and NordPass. Remember, the most crucial entry point to your applications and files is a password! The second most crucial component of your data and communications is, of course, your email platform, which you should secure next. ProtonMail offers similarly enticing discounts on email security solutions for less than $50 per year! Your emails will be anonymous and encrypted, just the way they should be.
Our entire world is concerned about external threats like cybercrime and scams. What other problems do we all have to deal with? Our human error! This is a reference to the simple passwords we employ, which can get us into a lot of trouble. Another issue that businesses struggle to adequately address is email security. For these reasons, it would be foolish to pass up a good Black Friday and Cyber Monday cybersecurity deal. After all, all of this software is cross-platform and can prevent a ton of headaches for you, your friends, and your family! Please keep in mind that protecting your digital devices is crucial and should not be disregarded.
When shelves are stuffed with so many similar products from different brands, packaging can be as important as the items inside. Brands generally have seven seconds to make an impression on potential buyers. Not only does an appealing and effective design help consumers make faster and easier decisions, but an eye-catching look can also draw clients’ attention. However, creating excellent packaging for your food products may be challenging. The first step in designing successful packaging is to work with a supplier.
Research has shown that at least a third of product decision-making depends on packaging and personal preferences. Moreover, 62 to 90% of people’s evaluation of an item is based solely on colors. In a competitive market where consumers make decisions quickly, the products’ packaging can attract or repel customers. To design successful food packaging, it would help to consider the following five steps:
#1. Work with a Packaging Supplier
When you need custom paper packaging for your food products, it’s in your best interest to engage the services of a packaging supplier. They can assist you throughout the entire process, from the initial consultation to the design to the finished product. Moreover, packaging specialists will provide the best solutions based on your specifications and needs at reasonable costs.
#2. Choose a Creative Yet Clear Design
Undoubtedly, creative designs can draw crowds, but there is something to be said for simple and clear communication. As consumers constantly become aware of health benefits, recyclability, and sustainability, accurate information is critical. A survey shows that 85% of customers say their in-store buying decisions are based on reading product packaging.
Whatever your food design packaging, be clear about your items. Before seeking help from a packaging supplier, gather the necessary information. Prepare the nutritional information, ingredient lists, or barcodes so they won’t get in the way of your creativity later. Then provide your company logo, guidelines, or message to save time.
#3. Consider Your Brand’s Tagline
When products are on store shelves, they are the promoters of your business. So, you need to ensure they communicate with your customers. How to do that? Easy, with a meaningful brand message!
When designing the custom paper packaging, choose a message that justifies its value proposition. Every item has something unique, and keeping it distinct from the competitors is vital. Take KFC’s tagline “finger lickin’ good” as an example. Your product and packaging should go hand in hand to catch your customers’ attention.
#4. Choose the Perfect Shape
The shape of your custom packaging can also play a considerable role in attracting potential buyers. In many cases, shapes can catch onlookers’ attention and encourage brand visibility. In addition to being visually pleasing, it’s best to ensure that your boxes are also functional.
An innovative shape may make your items stand out but, apart from that, your packaging must fulfill the basic requirements, namely, safely delivering the product. The point is to create a unique form and fantastic shape as long as you keep it damage-proof.
#5. Consider the Quality of Your Packaging Material
Statistics have shown that if a brand’s packaging deteriorates, more than 55% of clients abandon the brand, while 36% shift to other brands. Food boxes that use premium quality materials are more attractive. Over the years, consumers have made their purchasing habits clear by picking up paper-based packaging material over other types of materials.
When ordering custom paper food boxes, ask your packaging manufacturer about the paper’s thickness to ensure safety and trust for your clients. You can choose window-cut packaging to let your customer see the food. After all, they won’t be able to taste or smell your food items, but they would love to see what they’re purchasing.
You need to ensure you do basic research in the food industry. Food packaging design can be highly influenced by your personality and brand identity. The quality of your packaging material and its design will strongly influence your customer’s opinion about your products.
Are you looking to change the font in a PDF file? If you’re attempting to modify a PDF, you may have learned by now that changing the font is not as straightforward as clicking a button.
The good news is that while it is slightly more complex than handling an editable document, you can easily change the font in your PDF. It requires a few more steps, but with a quick workaround, you’ll be able to change the font type, style, size, and color, giving you much more creative freedom.
This article will take you through the process of editing the font in a PDF file.
Step 1: Convert the PDF to an Editable Format
It’s easier than you might think. In just a few seconds, you can convert your file into a fully editable format using the FormatPDF online conversion tool. It only takes a few seconds to convert your file, and you don’t need to create an account or log in to use it.
The FormatPDF website makes it easy to convert your PDF into Word, PowerPoint, Excel, ODT, HTML, and more.
In most cases, you’ll want to change the PDF to a Word document so you can have full control over changing the font. Let’s see how to do it, step by step.
1. Go to https://ift.tt/mngr0XE and select ‘PDF to Word’ from the list of online tools.
If your screen looks like the photo below, you’re on the right track.
2. Click ‘Select PDF file’ in the white box to choose your document from your files. Alternatively, you can drag and drop your file anywhere within the red box, where it says ‘or drag and drop the PDF here.
3. Your chosen document will appear in the tool. From this screen, you can use the plus and minus icons to zoom in or out. If you’d like, you can edit your file name and make any changes if required.
4. Click the red ‘Convert to Word’ button when you are ready to do so. The online conversion tool will take a few seconds to convert your document.
5. In just a few seconds your document will automatically download and appear where you usually receive your downloads. The confirmation screen will be visible after your file has been downloaded successfully.
Step 2: Edit the Word Document
Now that you have your editable word document, you can edit and make changes in the Word file. If you don’t have Microsoft Word installed on your device, then we’ve outlined a different method below. Keep reading for instructions on how to edit the text using Google Docs.
Option 1: Use Microsoft Word to change the font in a PDF
Opening your file in the Microsoft Word program or app allows you to make many different edits. Once you’ve located your converted file wherever you receive your downloads, double-click on the file to open it. This will open the document on your device and allow you to start editing.
How to change the font style:
Word provides a comprehensive list of different font styles – the difficult part is choosing the right one!
To perform this task, simply click ‘Home’ at the top of the document, left-hand side, next to ‘File’. Then navigate a bit down and to the right to find the box above the font formatting options which appear as ‘B’, ‘I’, and ‘U’. The box will display the current font name that’s already in use in the document, for example, ‘Calibri’ or ‘Arial’.
Click the drop-down box next to the font name to open the full list of options. There are dozens to choose from, but if you’re looking for something more unique, you can also download new styles (for example, free retro and vintage fonts) from the web.
In the document, highlight the text you want to modify and select the font style you wish to choose from the list of options.
How to change the font size:
Next to the font style box, you will see a box displaying a number, for example ‘11’. This box displays the current font size used in the document or the current section of the document you are editing.
Select the drop-down menu to scroll through different font sizes and choose your preferred size. You can also type it directly into the box. Remember to highlight the text you want to change before selecting the size.
How to change the font formatting:
Underneath the style and size boxes, you will find options to change your text to bold, italics, and underline. These are displayed as ‘B’, ‘I’, and ‘U’.
To perform this edit, you need to highlight the text you wish to change and then navigate to the icon you wish to use, for example, ‘B’ if you want to make it bold.
How to change the font color:
The last edit you may want to perform is changing the text color. You can choose from Word’s pre-set colors or opt to open a palette that allows you to select the exact shade.
Simply navigate to ‘Home’ in the toolbar at the top and select the drop-down menu next to the ‘A’ that appears with a red line under it. The pre-set colors are directly under the menu.
If you want more options, simply click ‘More Colors’ to view a more comprehensive selection of different tones and shades.
Use Google Docs to change the font in a PDF
Google Docs may provide a useful alternative method to editing the font in a PDF. If you are a Google Docs user, this method may appeal to you as you will be familiar with the online word processor.
Firstly, you need to log in to Google Drive with your account, then upload your PDF by clicking the ‘Upload files’ option. Your file will open in Google Docs. You’re now able to make edits to your PDF. The toolbar at the top of your document will display everything you need to edit your font.
To avoid possible formatting issues that may come with uploading the PDF directly, you may want to use a conversion tool to first convert the PDF to an editable format like Word, then upload the Word to Google Docs.
Once you’re in Google Docs, on the left of the toolbar, you’ll see the font style box (which will already display the current font style name e.g. ‘Arial’). Next to font style, you’ll see a box displaying the font size. Click the drop-down on either box to scroll through a list of style names and sizes and select.
To the right of the style and size boxes, you’ll see ‘B’, ‘I’, and ‘U’ for bold, italics, and underline. Select the text in the document you’d like to edit and then choose any of the three options to bold, italicize, or underline your text.
You can change the font color by selecting the ‘A’ with the black line under it. This will open a drop-down of pre-set colors, or you can select ‘Custom’ to choose from more options of tones and shades until you get the desired result.
Step 3: Convert back to PDF
When you’re happy with your edits, you can navigate to ‘File’> ‘Download’> ‘PDF’ to save it as a PDF file again.
Or, if you download it as a Word file, then you’ll want to change it back to its original format. To do so, you can follow the method outlined in Step 1 but this time you’ll need to use the FormatPDF Word to PDF file conversion tool.
Conclusion
There are two main ways of changing the font in a PDF. The first is converting it into an editable document whereby you can make changes before converting it back into PDF format.
The second is using Google Docs to perform your task. It comes down to whichever method you’re more comfortable using as both methods provide a quick and simple workaround.
The free logo design software that has popped up in recent years is one of the latest innovations which have taken graphic designers and branding specialists by surprise.
Many big-name players like WiX and Shopify have entered this arena and created their own free logo software allowing anyone to create stunning and professional-looking logos without having any graphic design experience.
Our list of free software for creating logos is most suitable for individuals who do not have the design skills or access to professional graphic design software like Adobe Illustrator (the recommended software for professional designers).
Sponsored Message
You’ll have to determine which one is the best for you by getting familiar with them first. Most promote themselves as free apps, and some ultimately charge for downloading the finished logo.
Before we dive into this list of the 10 best free logo design software, let’s answer a fundamental question first.
What is logo design software?
First off, sometimes logo design software is identified as logo makers, logo creation tools, and logo editors.
As the name suggests, it’s the ability to Freely Use graphic design software for logo creation. There is no software to download, which is a computer resource saver. These top 10 are all online-based.
Being free to use, as already mentioned, means some of the programs will charge for the final design or the high-resolution version of the logo. But you can freely edit the logo anytime with the option of changing colors, fonts, composition, backgrounds, and a lot more.
10 Best Free Logo Design Software for 2022 (quick list)
6 Tips on How To Choose a Free Logo Design Software
It is essential to understand that each logo-creating app works differently and offers different plans. Therefore, whenever you are choosing a free logo maker app, make sure you consider the following aspects:
1. Is it really free?
The logo design software promises to be free at the start. Still, when you are done through the entire process of designing the logo and moving towards downloading it, they surprise you with a payment plan. So, if you are looking for a truly free logo, ensure that the software you choose is free throughout.
2. Quality of Logo Options
These software logo designing tools largely depend on the AI (artificial intelligence) they deploy. While some apps deliver very accurate and good-looking logo combinations, some cheap tools throw up random logo options that are not helpful and end up wasting your time.
3. Customization Allowed
No matter how good the auto-generated logo options are, you would always want to make some minor tweaks to them, be it changing the logo or the font style to match your branding. If you have certain designing experience, it becomes all the more important that you are allowed to finetune the logo; otherwise, you will feel stuck and have to use professional software.
4. Value-added Services
Logo design is generally the start of your branding exercise, and post the logo; you will need other branding elements like visiting cards, letterhead, and even a website. In that case, go for tools that offer other value-added services to make your overall journey more cost-effective and seamless.
5. Customer Support
Always double-check the quality of customer support when you plan to avail yourself of any online services. You do not want to be hanging out there in the dark with no help available. Even for logo design, you would want the right amount of hand-holding or even troubleshooting so that you can complete the process quickly and hassle-free.
6. Value for Money
The last and most important thing you must consider is the value for money when using logo design software. Based on the budget you want to work with, you can access the pricing plans of the services. Also, keep in mind that you have the option of hiring an actual designer for the logo if you feel the pricing plans of certain software are too high.
In this blog, we will cover the top 10 best options for a free and simple logo design software that’s available today. We will try to guide you to make the right choice and get a professional-looking logo with minimal effort and one that’s free or low cost.
Top 10 Best Free Logo Design Software for Creating Logos
1. Wix Logo Maker – Best free logo design software for speed
Wix enjoys a very good name for website development, and it is making solid inroads in the logo design industry with the same reputation. Trusted by over 200 Million users, you can’t go wrong with Wix. This free logo design software offers stunning and professional-looking logos at an affordable rate. The editing workspace offered by Wix is also robust and allows a lot of scope for customizing the logo.
It utilizes a unique process for getting the right set of inputs from you. For brand names, taglines, and industry categories, it takes regular input. But after that step, it shows five batches of logos, and you have to select which style you like. This intuitive approach allows Wix to get a better understanding of the visual logo you have in your mind. This critical input can provide outstanding and relatable logo options.
It also offers other value-added services for brand design
Cons:
Only low-resolution logo file is free
No provision for designing a logo from scratch
Logo options may seem generic
Tries to upsell its other products
2. Canva Logo Maker – The best free logo design software overall
In a very short time, Canva has become one of the most trusted online graphic design tools. Along with all its other powerful graphic design options, Canva also offers free logo design software. The tool works as easily and smoothly as its main graphic design editor. There are plenty of logo templates to choose from, and also the fact that Canva is loaded with design elements and tools makes it all the more suitable option.
Canva allows designers to download a high-resolution logo for free. But this is not with transparent background. Still, the image can be easily used in various applications. For designers already well versed with Canva, their free logo design software can be a good addition to your design resources.
Cost:
Free: High-resolution logo
$12.99/month: Canva Pro Plan is needed if you want the logo with transparent background
Pros:
Super easy to use even for non-designers
It offers a lot of font options
Users can avail thousands of design elements
Highly reputed and used by the design community
Cons:
Logo vector file not available for free
No specific plans exclusive to logo design
It does not allow the creation of unique shapes
AI logo generation is not as good as other competitors
Shopify, the e-commerce website-building giant has also entered the logo design software arena with its Hatchful tool. This is beneficial for users who choose Shopify as their eCommerce partner as they can also avail themselves of its logo designing and branding services. In terms of functioning, it is similar to the other logo design software on our list but lightning fast. Moreover, its AI can generate good useful logos.
It does allow customization but only for limited features. Its multilingual support enables you to create logos in different languages, which is a big plus if you want a global reach for your brand. Just like Canva, it allows free download of high-resolution logo images. Even though it does not have thousands of design elements, Hatchful can be a handy tool if you are looking for a quick logo generator.
Cost: Free
Pros:
Super fast app delivering instant results
Free high-resolution logo templates are abundant
Does not need any design skills
Application supports logo design in multiple languages
Cons:
Logo templates are fewer, and options may be generic
You cannot get a print-friendly logo vector file
Customization tools are limited
Only email customer support is available
4. NameCheap – One of the best free but simple logo design software options
Namecheap has a good reputation for providing cost-effective domain and web hosting solutions, and it is also trying to build a reputation as having one of the best free logo software available. It follows a similar process to that of the other free logo design software which first takes inputs from the user and then it presents autogenerated logo ideas or options.
The logo templates are good, but they can often offer quite random logos. The best part about this app is that it provides logo files for free. It also allows you to visualize how your logo will look on various branding materials. The interface is simple, but there are not many editing features. NameCheap logo generator tool is suitable for people looking for a simple logo design software that’s free.
Cost: Free
Pros:
The user interface is really easy and fast
Good collection of logo templates
Get your logo files absolutely free
Offers a quick live chat customer support
Cons:
Editing options are very limited
The AI logo generator can, at times, give random logo options
The design elements available are not great
Constantly tries to upsell other services
5. Adobe Express – Best logo software for those with some intermediate skill level
Is there any Adobe design product that we cannot trust? Looking at the massive wave in online logo design services, Adobe Express (also known as Abobe Creative Cloud) has also entered this sector. The logo creation option it provides through its AI is really good-looking. The best part is that the services are entirely free, and you even get the vector files for download at no cost.
The Adobe logo maker scores over its competition due to the editing options it allows. For non-designers, this may not be important, but for designers, it opens a lot of creative bandwidth. There may still be a few glitches in the tool, but it is one of the best right now if you are looking for a free logo-making application online.
Cost: Totally Free
Pros:
All the logo-making services are free
The tool has powerful customization options
You can create a logo right from scratch
Loads of design elements to choose from
Cons:
As the app is in the beta stage, there may be a few glitches
Designing tools can be overwhelming for non-designers
Auto-generated logos are somewhat random and not impressive
If you are looking for an online design service that can help you more than just with a logo, then Looka is a good option. While it performs strongly in the logo design arena, it also extends its services by offering you other branding design services. As a result, this becomes a lucrative choice for small firms that do not have the budget to hire a full-fledged graphic designer.
The logo design program of Looka is easy to use, and the AI is brilliant in giving precise logo options. You also get full ownership of all logo designs you create. The problem is that it only allows a low-resolution download of the logo file. For editable logo files, you have to subscribe to its plans which are a bit costly.
Cost:
Free: Low-resolution logo image
$20: High-resolution non-transparent logo
$65: Vector files of the logo
Pros:
The designing tool is easy to learn and use
AI-generated logo options are creative
Its comprehensive branding plan can be helpful for small firms
Get full ownership of your creatives
Cons:
You get only a low-resolution logo file for free
It does not offer a wide range of customization options
Designing a workspace is a bit slow to respond
Its pricing plans are costly compared to its competitors
The FreeLogoDesign website is dedicated to the idea of designing logos online for free. It covers over 35 business categories and has over 2000 logo templates. This means that you will always find a suitable option on this website. It also supports various languages, which is highly beneficial for global brands.
Functionality wise it is similar to most regular logo creator applications. The design element options are not very creative, but they can work for people looking for quick logo options for personal branding. But if you have designing experience and are looking to perfect your logo, you find it slightly frustrating to work on its editor. Also, it allows high-resolution downloads at a very premium price.
Cost:
Free: Low-resolution logo
$39.99: High-resolution logo download
Pros:
Tons of logo options offer a good variety
Overall app is easy to use and quick to deliver results
It covers a lot of business categories
Offers social media add-on features for logos
Cons:
Only low-resolution logo image is free
More emphasis on text and not logo graphics
AI-generated logo options are generic
The premium plan, which gives logo vector files, is quite costly
As the name suggests, this service works extensively to provide tailor-made solutions for brands. However, the target audience for Tailor Brands is non-designers, and hence it offers minimal design options in its editor. This may not work well with people who have design experience or want to finetune their logos.
Overall the user interface of this logo generator is simple and clean, and its AI’s logo options are professional looking. Compared to some higher-end logo maker applications, the pricing plan of Tailor Brands is relatively cost-effective. However, one of the most common complaints is that its pricing plans are deceptive, and users end up paying for annual subscriptions.
Cost:
Free: Low-resolution logo download
$3.99/month: High-resolution non-transparent logo
$5.99/month: Logo vector files
Pros:
Well suited for non-designers
The app interface is intuitive and result-oriented
The logo-making tool of DesignHill is prompt, straightforward, and delivers good results. DesignHill is considered to be one of the premier design competition platforms. Users can create projects, designers provide their results, and the best entry wins. However, logo designing does not use this principle. Instead, it follows the standard procedure of the other logo generator applications.
Once the user provides the requisite input, its AI generates a series of logo options. Most options are generic, and you will have to scroll quite a bit to find good options. Its design workspace is not as equipped as that of Wix or Adobe. It lets you play around with font, color, and other such features. This is beneficial for non-designers as they can quickly get a logo output. It has 100+ logo templates and a lot of design elements, but from a cost perspective, it has a disadvantage compared to its competitors.
Cost:
$20: Low-resolution logo
$65: High-resolution logo
Pros:
Provides a lot of logo templates
Very useful for people looking for a super-fast logo
The application interface is straightforward
Offers a value-added custom branding package
Cons:
The cost for high-resolution logo files is very high
Customization features are minimal
AI-generated logo designs are generic
Constantly tries to upsell other services
10. Free Logo Services – Best for quick support and little interface issues
Here is one of the best logo design software options but not as good as the others on the list. It replicates the same working process of getting inputs from the user, offering auto-generated logo options, and then allowing users to tweak it as per their needs. A good offering that FreeLogoServices provides is a robust mobile application on which you can design free logos.
In terms of logo templates, it has a decent collection and supports multiple languages. However, its design options are very limited; hence, it is better suited for the non-designer community. Furthermore, its pricing plans are way too expensive than other better players, which puts this service at a disadvantage. It is suitable for non-designers who want a simple logo quickly.
Cost:
$40: Essential logo download package
$60: Premium logo download package
Pros:
Suitable for non-designers as it offers quick logos
The logo maker comes with a mobile application
Customer support is very reliable and quick
The app interface is simple and glitch-free
Cons:
There is no option for a free logo download
Autogenerated logos are generic at times
Pricing plans are way too costly
Allows very limited customization
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best logo design software that’s free to use?
WiX and Canva are some of the best logo design software that is free to use because of the professional-looking logo templates offered along with the ability to easily change colors and fonts. It’s worth mentioning that these companies have big budgets to innovate and design their software to outrank others.
What are the benefits of using free logo design software?
There are a lot of benefits to using a free logo maker app, as it helps you design a logo with minimal effort and takes very little time. Following are the reasons why you should opt for logo generator tools:
1. Big Benefit for Non-Designers:
The biggest beneficiary of these logo generator tools is the non-designer community. They no longer need to learn design or depend on a designer to get a good-looking logo.
2. Easy Interface:
The interface of these online logo-making applications is designed so that all types of people can work on it comfortably. The tools are easy to understand, and even people with no design knowledge can easily use them.
3. Variety of Options:
Right from the first batch of logo options, these logo generator tools offer many options. They have loads of logo templates built in. This design approach provides a large bandwidth for creativity and allows you to generate various logo options.
4. Allows For Customization:
If you are not completely satisfied with the logo options generated by the tool, then you always have the option of customizing the logo. You can change the color, font, composition, background, and much more until you are happy with the logo.
5. Unlimited Changes:
One of the best parts of these tools is that they let you create unlimited iterations. This is very useful when generating a logo for someone or working in a team. For example, you can create a series of logo options and share them with the team for their feedback.
6. Cost-Effective:
Online logo generators are highly cost-effective since there’s no need to put a lot of effort and time into the logo design. The packages they offer are also very affordable. Many tools also offer additional branding packages, which can be of extra value.
10 Best Free Logo Design Software in 2022 – Summary
Gone are the days when people without design skills could not create logos by themselves. The logo design software of today can do the job for you. But given these many choices, it is always hard to figure out which ones are really good and, more importantly, which are really free.
Our list above is trustworthy and delivers reliable and quality results. You should be equipped to choose the software that best suits your needs and get started on your logo-designing journey.
When you find a good match, let us know in the comments below.
Mehdi Hussen is a SaaS marketing and organic growth consultant. He helps SaaS businesses drive organic growth and customer acquisition through SEO and data-driven content marketing strategies. Mehdi spends his spare time musing about startup growth strategies, personal productivity, and remote work. Connect with him through 
