They are some key indicators to let you know that it’s time to get your website updated from a professional web design agency. The answers to the questions like, “When should I need to revamp my company’s website?” Or, “What would be the best way to revamp my website?” are given below:

Does it contain Out-dated Information & Is it an Old-fashioned Web Site?

Is your website functional, pixel-perfect, have implemented new trends and created by new technologies? If the answer is no then geared up, you are ignoring the important part!

Website designs are changing rapidly. Take an objective look on your website and compare it with the others. Today, it’s all about clean design and easy navigation.

Outdated information on your website can annoy the customers or clients. Keep updating and posting fresh and new contents to your website. Publish blogs to create awareness or share information, post services, add products on the site or add interesting links and make people coming back to your website.

Are You Using Old Web Technologies?

We are going through the biggest technological shift and it sometimes seems difficult to keep up with it.

Design standards and technologies are completely different today. Websites need to adjust according to the screen sizes of different devices. Your websites should be more engaging and interactive because users have become more sophisticated and aware now!

Non-Responsive or Non-Mobile Friendly?

According to a study, more than half of the searches are performed on mobile devices.

The world has gone mobile and if your website isn’t optimized, it’s the high-time for a responsive redesign! If the website is non-responsive, you risk losing lots of mobile web traffic and potential customers.

Always remember, the user experience can make or break your online business.

Can You Make the Updates Easily?

Trends and technology change with time. With a wide range of CMS (Content Management System), you should be able to update your own website, add products or content in it.

A CMS is the back-end of your website. And it should be simple enough to let you add pages, images, contents and links even if you are not tech-savvy. When you have your website on CMS, you’re in control!

Is the Website Fast?

Consumers expect the website to load within 2 seconds or even less. If your website is slow, you are not only annoying the customers but also hurting your search engine ranking. Fast loading website gives better user experience.

Slow websites are usually the result of slow web hosting or poorly coded site. Run your website couple of time before making it live to get a solid baseline.

Is Your Website Ranking Good On Search Engines?

If your organic search engines are ranking low, you might need to update your website.

Today, it’s all about having original and high-quality content on your website, which is why a site with blogs performs so well. Not ranking in search engines can be a disaster for your company.

Whatever the reason is, you need to update the website to make sure, it is ranking well.

Do you have Fancy Splash Screen?

The home page is extremely important for your company’s website. If your website has some flash splash screen, then chances are Google isn’t even looking past your page.

Flash has been outdated for the past 5 years! No search engines or even mobile devices can’t read it. Flash is not only difficult to create but also hard to use and maintain.

Replace your flash screen with a normal web page at first!

Are the Third Party Tools Updated?

If you have embedded third party tools on your website, you might need to improve their functionality too.

Check few things to determine about your third party tools. Are they working properly? Are they slowing the site speed? Are there newer versions available?

Third party tools like shopping carts etc. drive customers away if they are outdated in terms of functions or designs or just doesn’t work properly.

Is your Site Secure?

If your website is outdated, you’re at risk. Although there’s no practical way to make your website completely hack-proof. A security guarantee acts like as an insurance policy. If your website ever gets hacked or infected, the hosting company or developer will have your back.

Make sure you are protected because the reputation of your business crucially depends upon it.

So, Are You Ready To Revamp Your Website?

Redesigning your company’s website can be the wisest decision as your website is the face of your company. Identify any of these above-mentioned scenarios to save yourself from the panic mode. Your website is the vehicle to help you achieve your target and goals with more lead and ultimately more satisfied customers.

Selecting a professional web design company over a solo freelancer completely depends on your business and your budget. A proper company can provide more options and solutions due to the diversity of their team. Freelancers can be quick and cheap but there is a high chance that they wouldn’t be able to fix all your issues and it can badly impact the quality of the work delivered.

Nonetheless, working with freelancers and web design companies both have their own pros and cons. It can be a tricky decision when it comes to choosing between the two. So we are sharing here five key reasons as to why choose professional Design Company over freelancers:

1: Specialization & the Services Offered

A web design company carries a whole team of geniuses with different and latest skill sets. They are each black belts in whatever they do. A web design company is very picky while selecting their employees.

A company with 3 designers is more efficient than a bunch of 3 freelancers. A freelancer can be cheap with the price but it’s highly unlikely that they can produce the kind of quality a web design agency can do. There is a certain hierarchy when it comes to web design companies.

The whole team is an unmatched technological force responsible for building your web design. Whereas a freelancer can lack in some areas while designing.

A web design company is undoubtedly more capable of offering complete and satisfactory services with good quality than a freelancer though no matter how much he/she is experienced and skilled.

2: Who Can Better Utilize The Latest Technology?

The best and top Web Design companies do not take quality and testing lightly.

There is a set standard of quality development services in web design agencies whereas freelancers mostly rely on free resources and have to compromise on different things.

A company works like a library while a freelancer is a book. A library can provide you millions of books on the same subject but a book can only give you limited topics to think on.

3: Communication and Meeting The Deadlines

There is a certain level of professionalism when it comes to working with a web firm. The whole web design team listens well and do accordingly to it and can also suggest you better solutions for your business.

A freelance web designer is directly communicating with you and this can result in some misunderstandings or sometimes the freelancer might not be able to identify what exactly your needs are and can fail to give further solutions.

No one in the business wants to displease the clients. However, bad luck can strike anytime. Due to any issue, a single freelancer may not be able to complete the task in the given time and the worst part is, he/she don’t have any backups as they are solely responsible for completing your task. A company on the other hand always have a contingency plan if any mishap happens.

4: Who is more costly & What’s your Budget?

There is this perception that Web design agencies are always expensive in comparison to freelancers. Well, we can agree to disagree but this completely depends on what type of services you want.

If you are looking for a normal kind of service than the budget can be low and cheap. But if you want the whole design to be built from scratch and there are some custom-made features that you want on your website, then you need to raise your budget as well.

5: Trust, Reliability, and Efficiency

A company has long-term goals, so it strives hard to live up to their reputation. Whereas, most freelancers have temporary goals and take freelance work as a side job. The web design agency has a whole team to give up-to-date information about your work. They inform you on every stage and you can even ask them for updates on any step.

It’s very difficult to trust a freelancer in this aspect. Off course, they can be reliable and committed but sometimes they disappear in the mid-project and it can create sudden panic.

Working and executing the work is much better in a web design company rather than solo freelancers who works alone and have to cater multiple clients at once.

Web Design Company OR a Freelancer? Your call!

In a nutshell, no matter what type of web development services you are seeking, just make sure that you read reviews about the company or the freelancers you are choosing for the task. Moreover, it also relies on how much budget you have.

Do you require small changes in your current website? Maybe a freelancer might work. But, if you are looking for a complete package with strict deadlines, then a professional Web Design company might be a better option. A web design company is a one-stop shop for your business with a large, experienced team with long –term support.

It’s very tempting to hire freelancers on a cheap budget, but it can give you nightmares if they disappear into thin air in the middle of a project. But then again the decision lies with you, your current needs and your budget. So, choose wisely.

So, Interested in knowing the key authority figures when it comes to Digital marketing, business management, blogging, and entrepreneurship? Well, we have created a list of 17 influencers who have proved that they are at top of their game and driving the change and innovation in their respective industries.

So, follow them, learn from them and try to work upon their advice to make a change in your own life or influence people around you.

1: Grant Cardone

Grant Cardone is a sales trainer, a motivational speaker, New York Times Best Selling Author and famous on virtually all the social media platforms.

Watch How Grant Cardone Talks a Kid out of Quitting on Himself:

2: Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk is the CEO of VaynerMedia. He is a serial entrepreneur, motivational speaker, investor and a famous internet personality.

Here are Gary’s 6 MINS FOR THE NEXT 60 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE:

3: Neil Patel

Neil Patel is a famous internet personality and nearly everyone in the Digital Marketing space knows him well. He is New York Times best-selling author, Co-Founder of KISSmetrics, Crazy Egg, Hello Bar and was recognized as one of the Top 100 Entrepreneurs under the age of 30 by President Obama.

4: Rand Fishkin

Rand Fishkin is the founder and former CEO of Moz and one of the biggest influencers when it comes to Search Engine Optimization and Digital Marketing. He is also known as, ‘Wizard Of Moz’.

Watch Rand Fishkin discussing the 3 Biggest SEO Myths:

5: Mark Schaefer

Mark Schaefer is a globally-recognized Social Media Strategist, Author, Business Consultant and an educator. His clientele includes brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Adidas, Pfizer, Dell, The U.S Air Force, and the UK Government.

In one of his talks, he discusses how blogging saved his life:

6: Larry Kim

Larry Kim is the founder of Wordstream and an influencer when it comes to the subject of Pay-Per-Click. He is an award-winning author and frequently contributes in publications like Forbes, Inc. and, Search Engine Land.

Watch Larry discussing the state of online marketing:

7: Wil Reynolds

Wil Reynolds holds authority on subjects such as SEO and Digital Marketing. He is a renowned speaker and has been developing SEO strategies for famous Fortune 500 companies since 1999. He is also a founder of an SEO/SEM based consulting firm SEER Interactive.

Watch Wil’s discussion about Link building:

8: Sujan Patel

Sujan Patel is a famous Growth Hacker, Content Marketer, Entrepreneur and a speaker. He is also a Co-Founder of a growth marketing agency, Web Profits.

Sujan’s Advice On How to Start a Career in Digital Marketing:

9: Ann Handley

Ann Handley is a Co-Founder of ClickZ and also the Chief Content Officer of Marketing Profs. She is a keynote speaker and an influencer on the subject of Digital Marketing. She is also a columnist for Entrepreneur.com.

Ann Handley discusses about Creating Content that is engaging:

10: Brian D. Evans

Brian D. Evans is the CEO of Influencive, an online publication that is followed by millions of entrepreneurs all over the world. Brian is also an Inc 500 entrepreneur.

11: Joe Pulizzi

Joe Pulizzi is one of the leading online marketing influencer and he’s the one that coined the term, “Content Marketing” back in 2001. Joe is also the Founder of Content Marketing Institute.

Joe Pulizzi Shares With Us The Two Little Things that Made All the Difference:

12: Kimra Luna

Kimra Luna is the expert when it comes to personal branding and designing online business strategies. She grew her business from 0 to a Million Dollars in less than a year and now teaches young entrepreneurs on how to stand out and captivate their audiences’ attention.

Kimra Luna On How to Start a Successful Online Business Fast:

13: Avinash Kaushik

Avinash Kaushik is best known as the Digital Marketing Evangelist for Google, author of two of the most best-selling books on the subject of Web Analytics and Co-Founder of Market Motive.

14: Oli Gardner

Oli Gardner is the Co-Founder of Unbounce, and the biggest influencer on the subject of Landing Pages.  He is a keynote speaker at different conferences and contributes to famous publications like Moz.

15: Hiten Shah

Hiten Shah is the Co-Founder of QuickSprout, CrazyEgg and KISSmetrics. He is one of the most respected names when it comes to industries like Saas, Digital Marketing, and entrepreneurship.

Hiten’s session about A/B Testing for Startups:

16: Amy Porterfield

Amy Porterfield is a renowned social media strategist who specializes in Facebook Marketing. She is also the co-author of famous book “Facebook Marketing All-In-One for Dummies.”

17: Andy Crestodina

Andy Crestodina is the Co-Founder of a Chicago-based Web Design & Development Agency, Orbit Media. He is a famous Web Strategist, keynote speakers at different conferences around the world and author of the book:  Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Guide to Content Marketing.

In his Talk, Andy discusses How To Use Data to Make Better Content Marketing Decisions:

Magento is highly flexible and scalable, so it works perfectly fine for both small ecommerce stores and large-scale businesses. It totally depends on your business needs and if Magento is the right platform for your business. For non-techies, Magento development may be a little difficult to handle, but that too depends upon the level of technical tweaks you want to make in it. Nonetheless, Magento does promises do deliver the quality and performance that surely offers you great business growth.

Myth #3: Lacks customer support

Most of the people say that Magento doesn’t offer any customer support, well, that totally depends upon the Magento plan chosen by you. Magento offers 24/7 customer support if you go with the Enterprise Edition which is paid of course. But if you go with the community edition which is free, you can get help from the awesome Magento Community which is the biggest and the most responsive community that no other ecommerce platform has right now. So, just like in any other service, to enjoy advanced privileges, you must become a paid member, and same goes with Magento too.

Myth #4: It’s awesome for SEO

There is no denying the fact that Magento is SEO-friendly, but at the same time, we should not underestimate the importance of SEO and its properly deployed strategies for other ecommerce platforms. Ecommerce websites other than Magento can definitely rank better if they are tweaked and properly optimized for search engines. So, one should not ignore the significance of SEO as it’s a whole different ballgame.

Myth #5: The Magento Community is all I need

Well, running an ecommerce store is a crucial and delicate process. Sooner or later your store may require some serious fixes and you better be prepared for that, as time is of the essence and with every passing moment, you may lose potential prospects that are landing on your website. So, there are certain things which can’t be tackled by the DIY method or community support. And for this very reason, Arpatech ensures that your store stays up and glitch free at all times.

Community’s take on Magento Myths

Now, when you reach out to communities for finding answers related to your queries, you’ll get mixed responses, both good and bad. Moreover, we wanted to keep things transparent, so we have included responses without any editing so as to keep the responses unbiased. So, some responses may not go well with our theme, but these are the genuine responses of the community regarding Magento, so, here they are:

1: I think the biggest myth is that you can install 15 different modules and they will all magically work together, like the multi-inventory center’s module will suddenly work with a custom POS module.

2: The craziest things is people thinking it is a point-and-click system that you can just install hundreds of mods for and it will all magically work.

3: The most dangerous myth IMO is: “You can run Magento with zero technical skill and not paying a penny to experts”.

4: Love Magento but wouldn’t really call these absolute myths – “Magento that it’s slow, its maintenance is expensive, it’s only suitable for Large-scale businesses’ limited customer support”.

Magento Myths…DEBUNKED?

Every ecommerce platform has its limitations, and there are various myths associated with each one of it. The Magento Myths that we have discussed in this article are the few ones which are really famous. But what do you think? Were these Myths enough? Do you know more? Or is there any Myth which you think is wrongly addressed? Kindly leave us your thoughts in the comment section below.

If your store is launched in a day, you can probably land a sale in a week. The biggest mistake that people make is that they never try. By following these crucial steps, you will see how fast and easy it is to get your ecommerce store up and running!

If you have any suggestions, feedback or ideas, let us know in the comments section below.

Many e-commerce extensions and plugins are available on the internet but choosing the best one can be a difficult choice for an online business owner. To make it easier, we are listing down some awesome Magento extensions to install on your e-commerce website and enhance your online store’s functionality.

These extensions will definitely help in providing greater advantages to the Magento store and assist your business flourish and grow in the present competitive market.

1: One Step Checkout Extension for Magento

Magento One Step Checkout Extension is one of the best and essential extension for Magento. It allows the user to simply sign-in and fill their carts. If the user has already filled out the payment details, the extension will work like magic. The extension makes all checkout steps to appear together on a single page. It supports 40+ payments method and Google Suggest to automatically fill the address.

It also supports multiple languages and PayPal integration. The checkout extension can be modified according to the web store’s needs.

2: Creare SEO

Creare SEO aims to help Magento store owner for optimal SEO performance. Adding this extension to your online store will helps in avoiding duplicate content and 404 error pages. The extension can also add a lot of features to your Magento website like HTML sitemap, 301 redirects for discontinued products, unique category headings, social media schema and many more. The ultimate aim of the Creare SEO extension is to make your store rank better in Google and by making small changes to the store’s configuration.

3: Blog

Even on an e-commerce site, a Blog can be helpful in announcing promotions, news on upcoming products or even you can write some relevant content regarding the business. Magento Blog Extension works as a silent salesman for your online store and this would help in attracting visitors. Optimize the blog content from SEO perspective to get more visibility over the web. The extension offers regular blogging platform including RSS and many others.

4: Social Connect Magento Extension

This extension adds social icons on the login page of your online store. Customers use these buttons to log in or get registered in the e-commerce store without going through the trouble of registration process and procedure by using their Google or Facebook accounts. This overall process has become a convenient way for the customers. The functionality will be available on creating an account page plus on the first step of your store’s checkout process.

5: Yotpo

Yotpo has become one of the most widely used Magento extension because of its functionality. Shopping online may be convenient but there are people with reservation. Before purchasing the products, customers evaluate reviews or feedbacks of that particular item. Yotpo Magento extension provides the customers the facility to evaluate the product on the existing shopping site without looking for anywhere else.

Conclusion

The list doesn’t end here. There are many other useful Magento extensions helping to increase the online sales. But these top 5 Magento extension or plugins will be of great help in boosting your online business. Integrate them into your online shopping store and experience amazing results for your e-commerce business.

You can easily reduce cart abandonment rates with a few changes and little efforts. Here we have specified some tips to reduce cart abandonment rates on your Ecommerce Store:

1: Free or Flat Shipping

According to a study, 44% of online customers abandon their shopping carts due to high shipping costs. While many others abandon the carts because the seller didn’t mention shipping rates or costs.

A similar study shows that a free shipping leads customers to complete the checkout process. Customers like to buy products with free shipping offer. The study also shows that the customers who receive free shipping ends up being more satisfied than those who have to pay additional fees.

2: Multiple Payments Option

With an extensive list of payments, options for an online store will make the e-commerce sales grow. Having a wide variety of payment options including credit cards, third-party online payments services like PayPal can even reach those customers who have not visited the store in the first place. Make your products available to all kinds of digital payment buyers.

3: Guest Checkouts

Keep your sign-up process as simple as possible to avoid customers from leaving your site early before finishing. Enable the option of a guest account to let the customer checkout easily. It is a great way to help new customers to get used to the website without pressuring them. Just get the relevant information from the customers opting for Guest Checkout. It would be better to let customer first add items in their baskets and then encourages them to sign-up for further process.

4: Email Reminders, Sales, Deals & Discounts

Communication with the customers is essential in marketing. Who doesn’t love to get deals, sales & discounts? Spread the word for reminder and promotions. Use email marketing to bring real customers back by reminding off their lost items or to make new purchases.

5: Secure the Check-Out Page

No one wants to buy from an unsecured website. Establish the credibility as an e-commerce merchant by securing your checkout process. A “Google Trusted Store” badge offers certainty and security to the Webstore. It will help in winning the customer’s trust. This will also give assurance to the customers that they’re in a safe place.

6: No Hidden Charges

In e-commerce field, never hide decisive information from the customers. Eliminate any type of hidden charges. Be accurate with the items left in the shopping cart or in the stock. One way to reduce hidden fees is by adding built-in sales tax calculator to the shopping cart to avoid any surprise additional charges to the customer.

7: Provide Currency Converter

Make currency converter available in the shopping cart or during the check-out process to avoid confusions for the customers. When they know the price of the products in their currency, they are most likely to keep moving forward with the checkout process.

8: Be Crystal Clear About The Costs

Be clear about the shipping costs and taxes with the shoppers when they are stepping out of the checkout process. Show all the prices in the cart. Customers hate being surprised about the costs at the last moment.

Conclusion

The Number 1 thing in any business is to win the trust of your customers. Make things easier for customers so that they can trust your e-commerce store. By keeping these tips in mind, you can reduce the barriers for customers and can improve the conversion rates. By applying these simple tips to your e-commerce store, you can possibly increase the sale and provide an easier shopping experience for the customers.