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Afnan Ali
Apr 03, 2025
Guide on How to Build a CMS in a Short Time in 2025
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Can You Get A Website Developed In 3 Days? Is It Even P...
Creating a website seems like a daunting task because maybe you are not sure where to begin.
So, in this article we will assist you in planning, creating and most probably launching your website within 3 days.
You don’t need to be an IT geek or a professional website developer to learn how to build a website in 3 days from now. And it’s not necessary that you should know how to code or manage host/servers. A lot of websites are built through drag and drop website builders.
First, you have to get the notion aside that you can’t build a website. You can do it!
A lot of website creation platforms have emerged that enables you to build websites without knowing how to code. You just have to use your mouse and drag a boxful of things instead of coding and creating them. Insert your texts, videos, images and click publish. That’s it.
If website builder tools are not cutting for you, you can always hire a professional if your budget permits it. There are 3 main factors to look for before hiring a professional website design and development company:
It completely depends on the individual or the company and their current workload. The best approach is to share your needs in detail with them and then let them tell how they will solve it and in what timeframe. You can then select a service provider based on many factors like quality of past work, timeline, and cost.
There should be a three stage approach in any professional website design and development agency. The process begins with defining the solutions they’ll be providing. Then it’s the design phase where they mock up as how all pages of your website would look across all devices and finally the last stage, development, which includes the building of the website.
The website is then sent to the client for the review.
This is the final phase for you as well as the development company. It is called the “modification period”. This typically includes change requests for minor bugs and content entry. Any professional web design and development agency doesn’t limit the website launching to a long number of weeks but it can take as long as you need to perfect your website.
Typically websites can take around 14 weeks from start to launch. But you can easily cut down this long period if you’re prepared with the proper planning. By following the proper protocol, you can spend less time building your website and more time building your business or flourishing your company. Ready? So let’s do this.
But before that, you need to keep in mind some basic items which are required to make a website.
1: Domain Name
2: Business Email Address
3: Website Building Software
4: Website Hosting
5: Template Design
6: Content and high-quality images
7: Google Analytics
Sit with pen and papers. Draw out the plan on the paper and decide the end goal in your mind. Making a plan is very essential. If you have a great plan, you will end up with a great website. A solid plan includes the structure of your website. Do some research on the competitors’ website and get ideas from them. Brainstorm the following questions:
Your website is not just about you. Write as many details as you can to reach the desired outcomes.
The website is the home of the business and domain is the homes address and your hosting account is the land on which the website files will be stored. You can purchase the domain name from a couple of websites. Select a name which is easy to share. Try to use .com or any other relevant TLD available.
You can even purchase the domain name and host from the same company.
Hosting Companies offers easy and one-click installation option of website development platforms like WordPress and Magento etc. After successful installation, select the built-in themes available or the premium themes. After getting done with the theme, install and activate it. Add your brand identity in it, make changes, add content/products, add widgets, and upload logo. Make your website chic and unique. It is the phase where you can let your imagination and creativity run wild.
Two days down, One day left.
Congratulations! It’s the big day for you. Finally, it’s the day to launch your website. But before doing that, make sure your website is mobile-friendly and SEO optimized. Once you are done with the building and optimizing, make your site live on the domain.
Now it’s time to tell people about it. Create your social media brand launch strategy, start a conversation within your field or industry, ask friends to share the words, build awareness for the brand and boost your website’s traffic.
There are some key points to remember:
Just follow these easy steps and you will be able to launch your own website within 3 days (if everything went smooth) by yourself or from any professional website design and development agency. We understand that the idea of building a website in 3 days might seem utopian but it’s not impossible. So, get started now!
Saima Naz
Jan 9, 2017
What Technologies Are Needed To Build An E-Commerce Web...
Over the last many years, ecommerce has changed how people buy and sell online. The Internet offers a quick and easy way for people to buy things without having to visit a real store. An online store can reach customers anywhere in the world. Online businesses are rapidly developing an ecommerce website to face times of economic adversity by offering greater discounts, flat-rate delivery, loyalty programs, and other incentives. There are many popular ecommerce platforms that make it easy to run promotions and keep your customers happy. Finally, although the boom in online sales has also opened a potential avenue for fraud and scams, site-builders have managed to stay ahead by offering top-of-the-line site protection and payment security to keep the online marketplace as safe as possible.
Building a successful ecommerce site has become one of the most popular business trends. It may seem like a herculean task to set up an online business (not underestimating it either) or the actual e-commerce website development, but in real it isn’t that big of a hurdle as you’ve probably been hearing from most of the folks out there.
Doing online business means trades of goods from your Webstore to the customer, and trade means transactions. The idea of creating an online store raises few questions in everyone’s mind like ‘how’ and ‘who’ can build my e-commerce store? On what platforms can my ecommerce store be built? How can I find products to sell on my online store and how the transactions will be handled?
Like all business requires proper planning, discussion, backup plans, contingency plan, similarly before building any e-commerce store, you need proper planning about everything. Before starting, you need to think and list down all the possible aspects repercussions regarding online business.
Write your e-business plans. The e-commerce plans start with website goals. Who will be your targeted audience? What kind of products and services you want to offer. How much time and money you need to make your online presence. How will you handle shipping and payments?
Although there are many ecommerce and website hosting platforms, you must choose a perfect platform where your ecommerce store can be built.
It all seems difficult at first, but with every step, you will grasp things easily. A lot of the things which didn’t make sense at first would probably start resonating with time. Here’s a rundown of everything which requires opening an e-commerce store. Let’s get down to business:
There are many ecommerce tools and technologies required to build an e-commerce store and operate a successful online business. Both software and hardware technologies must be included in your e-business plan.
A web server is used to host an e-commerce website. All the Html, JavaScript, PHP files, databases, media files that make up the entire website are stored on this server. The web server runs on Windows or Linux operating system. Managing a web server is a very specific job. The website development companies host the site on their own web server or pay a hosting company to provide space on a secure web server.
When a user visits any website on a web browser, the web server knows the client is requesting some specific information. So it processes that request and serves the correct files to the client. The web browser then displays these files to the user.
There are many types of server software available including application software, database server, file server software, and cloud computing software. The popular web server software includes Apache and Windows IIS. Server software can either use on a physical server or on a virtual / cloud server.
A web authoring tool is used to create the front end of an e-commerce website. They range from basic HTML text editors (like Notepad++) to more complex graphic authoring tools and CMS (content management system) with built-in frameworks and debugging tools.
Html files are created by Dreamweaver along with the CSS (cascading style sheet) which enhance the visual appearance of the site. Another web authoring tool would be Visual Studio .net that can be used to make the sites which have integrated databases in it. Graphic design packages are also web authoring tools which design the skin for a user interface.
A database is an integral part of an e-commerce website. The database is used to store information about the products and services of the website such as pricing, description, image, details, and sales. In addition to this, the customer details are also stored in the database like what they ordered, their payment details, shipping details, and contact information.
It is necessary to program the website to connect securely to the database so that all the orders are processed correctly and your business runs smoothly. Technologies like PHP and MySQL are the communication route between the website and the DBMS (database management system).
TCP (transfer control protocol) and IP (internet protocol) defines as how computers should connect with each other through the internet and how they share information. Common TCP/IP protocols are HTTPS, HTTP, and FTP. We use these protocols to access the website without even realizing it. FTP (file transfer protocol) used to download files from a browser.
HTTPS (where the “S” stands for security) responsible for the secure communication between a server and a browser like an account information or personal information.
For an e-commerce website or online store, it is considered essential to provide a secure connection. SSL (secure sockets layer) and TLS (transport layer security) are the protocols associated with trust and security of any e-commerce website.
A web browser is a software application that is used to locate, receive and display content received from the web servers. Popular web browsers include Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari. Web developers and Web development agencies test the website see how it displays on multiple browsers across multiple devices and screen sizes before launching the website.
The Tip: To analyze website traffics, use tools like Google Analytics to get an idea as what browsers people are using and which one is the most popular.
Ports allow one device to connect with the other through a different and unique IP address. A device can have more than one port.
Port 25 (SMTP) is usually reserved for email. It is used to transmit data from remote email servers. If that port is blocked no emails can be sent. Some other common port numbers are 80(HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), 21 (FTP), 22 (SSH). Firewalls can often block a port to tighten the security.
Domain names link to a company or a brand. Successful e-commerce companies have recognizable domain names. If you have any smaller business then it is best to select the domain name as per your business name. This would help to rank highly in search engines.
If a business becomes successful online, it is important to protect the brand by doing multiple registrations of domain names such as .com, .net, .uk, .org, .co
Doing this ensures that no one can steal your business by copying your business model.
Here is a quick recap that will help you put everything into place.
1: Front End: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ajax, JQuery
2: Server Side Scripting: PHP, ASP
3: CMS: WordPress + Woo commerce, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop
4: Database: MySQL, MSSQL
Business development is a relatively vague term with a purpose and responsibility that differs from company to company. While the definition has been infinitely discussed, the ultimate objective of business development is to find strategic opportunities that create long-term value.
Websites and apps have become crucial for businesses and organizations to showcase their services, goods, and brands. To this end, you need a website that is well designed with feature-rich apps. Modern ecommerce web technologies have acquired a status where it’s not mandatory for businesses to develop e-commerce websites or apps right from scratch.
Here are the ten latest web technologies for e-commerce web development that will help you make a practical decision.
Till date, Magento is the most famous and reliable e-commerce platform when it comes to B2B & B2C customers. Magento is a powerful SEO friendly platform with multiple features that can be readily customized. Magento’s ability to integrate with third-party products & services makes it a favorite among the customer community.
For an e-commerce website, Shopify is a very popular SEO compliant and constantly evolving web technology. Besides an impressive professionally designed template for your storefront, there are several add-ons with responsive checkout being one of them. Another excellent feature is that Bitcoins can be used by your customers to make payments.
WooCommerce is undoubtedly an amazing choice for problem-free setups. It is a free e-commerce plugin that can integrate with WordPress enabling store owners to sell their products rapidly and easily. It is estimated that around 30 percent of online store owners rely on WooCommerce plugin not only to sell their products but also to ship them and collect payments.
BigCommerce is quite popular because it has several new features and functions like built-in blogging, improved SEO and customer support round the clock. Its primary benefits are a user-friendly interface with a comprehensive knowledge base.
OpenCart is a practical and easy open source CMS endorsed by outstanding developers for e-commerce. Its features include several simple back-end plug-ins. You can edit CSS within the admin. But OpenCart’s support system is not very detailed compared to other systems.
Drupal Commerce is an exceptional online content marketing platform for open-source content. It guarantees an excellent customer experience using the e-commerce website. It can easily incorporate SEO strategy and blog integration as it can integrate seamlessly with the Drupal CMS framework.
Volusion is commonly used owing to several features, one of which is an easy-to-use interface. Although Volusion’s add-on shop is not as big as Shopify and a blog setup is not available, but account experts provide you with personalized services. Opposed to a responsive layout, the mobile site is used by Volusion stores.
OsCommerce is one of the first open source systems available with a big support database and an active forum. Its prominence is due to its easy installation and user-friendly interface. Although some consumers consider OsCommerce’s design and software update to be a little outdated store owner have complete control over their store and database.
SimpleCart is best suited to small online stores ‘ needs. It operates on HTML having a small footprint but supporting multiple currencies.
Squarespace enables you to design attractive websites with images and rich templates. With Squarespace, customers have complete control over inventories, product variants, coupon generation, and shipping setup. Squarespace inculcates all the essential tools to create a universal e-commerce store.
Regardless of the maturity of your ecommerce presence, you need to keep looking ahead to guarantee future success. To raise your ecommerce efforts in 2019, you should benefit from these three evolving trends.
Effective marketing is about enhancing your messaging to appeal to your target audience, but messaging won’t matter if the audience never sees it. It’s important to meet your audience members where they spend most of their time. In other words, if your customer base is online, it’s on social media one-third of that time. Therefore, you’re missing a great opportunity if you are not selling on social media.
Although diverse reality technologies have yet to see conventional adoption, they have made huge efforts to that end. Just as the internet, augmented reality and virtual reality will be a total game changer for retail. While augmented reality might not be everywhere yet, ecommerce retailers that effectively integrate AR capabilities into the shopping experience tend to gain a substantial advantage over their competitors.
Compared to conventional retail shopping, ecommerce stores have virtually no personal interaction. Online stores have no personnel who can endorse products based on your interests, sensitivities, and predilections. To imitate this experience, ecommerce businesses influence personalization opportunities through the shopping drive. Just as online course providers are substituting the need for in-person teaching, ecommerce is swapping the need for in-store retail experiences.
There are multiple e-commerce tools and technologies. It’s always good to know what resources are actually required to build an ecommerce store from start-to-finish. Professional ecommerce website design process is a documented outline of the steps needed to be taken from start to finish, which divides and categorizes the work and then breaks these high-level sections into tasks and resources. But once you have gone through the complete guide to the technologies needed for building an e-commerce site, things will become easier and systematic and will make your ecommerce development process smooth and fluid. While there’s been a lot of work on the growth and development of ecommerce, there are aspects of the technology that needs to be unearthed.
Saima Naz
Jan 6, 2017
Is It the Right Time to Revamp Your Company’s Website...
Let’s agree on one thing that we all want to look good.
We all want to present the best version of ourselves to the world.
And unlike everything, your personal website or company’s website needs an overhaul too from time to time. Your website needs a refreshing new look and a revamp to let the world know that you or your business are well-aware of the current web trends and want your website to resonate the same for a better online presence.
Today, the company/business doesn’t just need a website, it requires well-designed, easily navigable, engaging and responsive website which meets the needs and requirements of your customers and the business.
Who doesn’t love change! But to figure out the right time for revamping and get a new overlook is the actual question. Redesigning your company’s website doesn’t necessarily mean to change each and everything of your brand, but to give it new functional modifications that help the website to work best and to help you in achieving your market goals!
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:
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Saima Naz
Jan 3, 2017
5 Reasons Why To Choose Professional Web Design Company...
If your business does not have an online presence, your business does not exist, hence, every business requires a website. But, web development is more than just graphics. Those graphics, color schemes should resonate your brand positioning too.
But where to get your company’s website developed?
And this is where the rigmarole starts!
Web Design Company or a freelancer? It can be a long running debate and a very difficult choice to make. Web Design companies charge a whole lot of money and some major services cannot be found with a freelance contract.
A professional and an experienced web design company follows proper methods and strategies with the latest technology for developing your website. Web design companies with qualified designers can give you better services rather than a single web designer/freelancer.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Saima Naz
Jan 2, 2017
17 Awesome Marketing Influencers To Follow in The New Y...
We just entered into the New Year 2017 and we wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year! With that said, we all like to make new year resolutions, set new goals, or try to achieve new milestones. But sometimes, we lack the proper guidance, motivation, and direction to achieve those goals.
And that’s where we all need a mentor, an influencer who can motivate us and guide us through this realm of success!
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.
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:
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:
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.”
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:
Saima Naz
Jan 1, 2017
5 Most Common Magento Myths Debunked! What’s True...
There is a disruption going on right now in every sector of our lives, and technology is playing a huge role in it. But, despite this ever-changing technological landscape, we still believe in certain stories, folklores, and myths regarding different things without knowing the facts.
Now, in this article, we are not going to talk about any Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, but a GIANT for sure. And when I say giant, I am specifically talking about Magento- an ecommerce platform that is used by nearly quarter of all online stores.
But it may boggle your mind that how can there be myths revolving around something as boring as an e-commerce platform? Well, the moment you opened this article, you’ve officially entered “the nerd world” and here you would find stories on such topics. *Wink*
Well, people do discuss certain usages, parameters, drawbacks about Magento, but they haven’t really personally experienced any of it. Those are all just preconceived notions peppered by people that have now become facts which simply aren’t true!
But before we go on exploring “Magento Myths”, let me just give you a little overview of Magento and discuss its key features in simple points:
So, now that you know the key features of Magento, let’s discuss the Magento Myths in detail:
I get that Magento is a bit complex e-commerce platform than the rest, but by no means is it slow. Magento is used by 25% of all online stores, and some of them include really big names like Adidas, Nike, Eastwood, etc. Thousands of visitors flock to these online stores daily, so, if it was slow, such big brands would never use Magento. Moreover, previous versions of Magento have been updated for any loopholes and the latest version Magento 2 has got some real performance improvements. So, if your website/online store is running slow, Magento isn’t the real culprit- look for other factors.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
Saima Naz
Dec 23, 2016
How To Launch Your Ecommerce Store In A Day!
In the world of modern technology, ecommerce is becoming the first option for many companies and entrepreneurs who wants to launch their business virtually. Building up your own ecommerce store seems like a daunting task, but it’s not all that difficult. You can launch your ecommerce store in a day following some simple steps.
Being in the pre-launch phase would be a critical time for an online merchant to keep the business going forward but taking correct steps and in right order, will make your store a success.
Building the business without being prepared can result in a disaster that’s why we are sharing down here some most important and simple steps to help in starting your business online.
The two ways to launch an online store is either built one yourself which is self-hosted or rent a pre-built one i-e hosted by an ecommerce platform.
The best option is to rent a pre-build store from platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento or any other similar service. Create an account, select the store look, add the products and you are done. It is as simple as managing your Facebook account.
After successfully registering, don’t forget to create content or use Standard Pages Template to save the time in optimizing the content. You can also create additional pages from your e-commerce platform tools.
After getting done with the content, you will be needed to add a payment provider, create your shipping rates, and add the billing information.
Browse other ecommerce stores and social shopping sites to categorize your store. What’s going to be your niche? Use their information as a benefit because big stores have an unlimited source of data and hundreds of employees who organizes the sales and the products.
Check for the best seller category. Follow trending products. Write down eye-catching product ideas. Revise the list and look for niche products. Avoid products of higher prices. Check the products demand at Google Trend. Cross the product off the list if it is seasonal and has no market demand or value.
Drop-shipping allows you to quickly switch between ideas. Ideally, you should have one to two product line ideas that you could use to fill your store.
There are many drop-shipping apps to help you out. For a free trial, try Oberlo which is built for Shopify e-commerce platform and specifically designed to manage AliExpress drop-shipping.
After installing Oberlo, go to AliExpress, search for the products you have decided to sell, and import them into your store. After importing, customize them according to the needs. Import at least 40-50 products.
Whenever receive an order, go to Oberlo’s order page, confirm it and get it shipped to the customer.
A store without the products won’t do much good. The fun part after setting up your business virtually, is the fact that what you are going to sell. If you are building your store in a day, you will not going to spend much time finding the products manually.
The fastest track is to source products through drop-shipping services such as Oberlo, AliExpress, Amazon etc. Just copy the products from these services to your store and set up your own prices/markups. After selling the product, purchase it from the drop-shipping services and deliver it directly to your customer.
It is the best approach for beginner level entrepreneurs. But avoid expensive items as they are harder to sell.
The shipping strategy is an integral part of the ecommerce business. Without products and the method to ship them, the store won’t do much good. Thankfully the drop-shipping apps help in filling your store with products and get them delivered to the customers.
After receiving an order, confirm it via the drop-shipping app installed on your website and your product will be sent to the customer.
Installing the drop-shipping apps ensures that the store is ready to start filling customer orders right away.
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.
Saima Naz
Dec 21, 2016
5 Must-Have Magento Extensions For Your Magento Store
E-commerce has surely turned out to be the next big thing on the internet as people have made billions of dollars through this platform. The most popular framework that comes in mind while talking about e-commerce platforms is Magento. It is the entire e-commerce business solution in a box. It is the most flexible e-commerce platform.
Magento has worldwide popularity because of its functionality and strong community support. If the online merchants want to get the most from this flexible, feature-rich and powerful e-commerce platform, then they must need to install Magento plugins or extensions in their Magento Store to extend the functionality of it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Saima Naz
Dec 20, 2016
8 Tips To Reduce Cart Abandonment Rates On Your Ecommer...
So you have set up an e-commerce store and your website is receiving great traffic. But, a great number of your website visitors are abandoning the cart and you are clueless as to what could be the reason for this type of user behavior?
Well, any e-commerce business owner should learn how to optimize their shopping carts so that the unlimited number of customers can possibly go through with their purchases. Shopping cart abandonment is one of the most crucial problems in an online business and a seriously critical issue.
Most of the leakage happens in the checkout process. Even when the checkout is completed, the risk of losing an e-commerce customer begins almost as soon as they get to know your product offer.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Saima Naz
Dec 19, 2016
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