Outsourse Web / Mobile / E-commerce Design

Category: Academia

  • Migrating to NodeJS+ReactJS E-Commerce Store From Magento EE

    Migrating to NodeJS+ReactJS E-Commerce Store From Magento EE

    Some of the Magento Enterprise clients that outgrew their solution started building NodeJS+ReactJS E-Commerce applications in-house. Here is why, explains Delaney, CTO of one of the online book retailers.

    “The first decision we made was to drop Magento. As we invested in our commerce experience we found we would need an increasingly customer-centric experience which goes beyond a simple storefront, and even with a great and supportive.

    So why NodeJS/React?

    • It provides us with server-side rendering, making SEO “just work”;
    • It gave us a common skillset (ES2017 Javascript) for server & client development;
    • It has great default integration libraries all the 3rd party tools we use, from payment (Braintree) to order management (NetSuite) to marketing/analytics (so many!);
    • The event-loop structure of Node gives our servers incredible server volume, cutting hosting costs by >75%;
    • Javascript’s functional-first programming model helps us write high-performance web services by default, instead of having to fight for it (ie: PHP);
    • React’s model for client development is the best way to model UI we’ve yet found.

    Really, if you’re going to build a web app right now from scratch, you should use NodeJS/React.

    What’s hard?

    • The single greatest challenge of this approach is the required skill level of the development team. Everyone has to be a full-stack expert to make the most of it, and it’s easy to go wrong, so it’s both hard to get started on the team and hard to maintain the required level of quality. We’ve really had to invest in hiring, improve our internal processes and establish quality controls, but in the end, it’s been well worth it.”

     

    If you decided to build an application using Javascript, make sure to check out Reaction Commerce! Why develop from scratch if there is an awesome ready to use, open source E-commerce solution based on Meteor.js?!

    Make sure to check out additional resources like this one: 4 Node.js Logging libraries which make sophisticated logging simpler, log analysis and log monitoring by Loggly.

    Need help choosing the right solution and building it to fit your needs? Email us at hello@buildateam.io – we are here to help!

     

  • Design The Perfect Home Page

    Design The Perfect Home Page

    Once you’ve come up with that one great idea that you want to share with the rest of the world, your best bet at actually exposing it to a global audience is a killer website. The website needs to be every bit as great and noteworthy as your idea, because nobody is going to bother reading all about your idea if it’s delivered through a roughshod-looking webpage.

    Unfortunately, if you’re like most people – your first step would be to hop on a portal that offers free wordpress themes and download a multipurpose template that can bring your idea to life. This is going about things the wrong way.

    A wordpress theme should never be the starting point in the journey to bring your great idea to life.

    First Impressions Last, So They Need to Come First

    Visitors are not going to bother poring through your content or browsing all the other sections in your website, if their first impression of your website is not positive. You have to make sure that visitors immediately feel welcome when they first click through your site, and that your site inspires trust at first glance.

    In order to do this, you need to first define your plans. Think of the story you want to tell using your website, what you feel visitors should think upon first seeing your homepage. Take your time at this stage, as its normal for proper planning to take time. Rushing could result in failure to realize the ideas inside your head.

    Plan in Advance

    Start from scratch and formulate a plan. Avoid buying or downloading the first beautiful wordpress theme you come across. You need to take strategy and execution into account. First, you need to think of your goals and objectives. Try to come up with a list of the following:

    • Who is your target audience?
    • What problems or needs does this target audience have?
    • What is your proposed solution for these problems?
    • Do you have social proof?
    • How do you convince the visitors to become a subscriber?

    List your answers, you can have as many answers as you want but once you’ve listed them all, narrow it down so that you’ll have a solid actionable gameplan.

    Decide on the Tone of the Website and Create a Flowchart

    Once you have an idea of the kind of people you want your website to cater to, you need to further categorize and segment them (e.g. by age, by interests, by gender, etc.) so that you can create a flowchart for each. Different subcategories within your audience will want to visit different parts of your website, so it helps to have an idea as to how you can guide them and service their needs properly. You have to make all of them happy and satisfied, because those two feelings are the hallmarks of a visitor who will convert and come back for more.

    Prioritize User Experience

    Now that you have an idea of where your readers will most likely flock to, you need to design your navigation around making it easier for them. Have you ever visited a website or open a program where you don’t know where to go, or what the buttons do? It’s a frustrating experience and chances are you gave up before even experiencing what they have to offer.

    Keep that scenario in mind when designing your website. Make sure navigation flows naturally from one section into the next, and try your best to ensure that people can get to where they want to go in the shortest amount of time and effort.

    Don’t Forget to Introduce Yourself

    Your website should have written content. It shouldn’t be all text, but it should have some text because you need to give people content to read and search engines something to index. The first types of content you need to produce are an About Me write-up. When people want to know more about you, this is the part of the page that they will visit.

    When writing your About Me text, you should practice brevity. Keep it short, but informative enough so that people will understand who you are and what the website does for them. Avoid stuffing text with keywords, because this SEO strategy is already outdated and can even backfire – people and search engine these days can easily recognize when you try to game the system and will be turned away.

    Match Your Design Strategy to a WordPress Theme

    With all of the previous points already taken care of, you probably already have a basic idea of what your home page does, what it’s supposed to look like, and what users can expect. It is time to buy or download a wordpress theme.

    Find a stock theme that suits your needs and will have features that your plan requires – everything from design-related factors such as position of design elements, to tweakable color schemes, and even technical factors such as browser compatibility, and support options should be taken into account.

    If within your budget, you may even want to hire someone to create a custom theme according to your specifications. That way, you can be sure that everything about the theme is suited to your specific needs.

    Populate the Content on Your Site

    Creating the perfect home page does not end when the theme is installed and the site has gone live. You also have to ensure that it has a glut of content that will keep people engage, which means it is now time to populate it with content.

    Whether you’re adding multimedia or text content to the site, it is imperative to keep the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) design principle in mind –  make sure the content is scannable and easy to consume; text should be written in small chunks of paragraph as opposed to a huge wall of text, images should be arranged neatly with its full version easily accessible with a click, and so on.

    With all of the above in place, it is time to put yourself in the shoes of your visitors. Log out of the wordpress dashboard (or any CMS you are using) and browse your site so you can see what the users will see upon visiting your home page. In this step, you get to see if you’ve missed something or committed a mistake that makes your readers frustrated. In which case you need to go back and make changes. Otherwise, congratulations are in order and it is time to launch your beautiful homepage.

    How BuildaTeam.io Can Help

    Our company can provide you with top-notch web design and development services. Our teams are experts in their field and they are backed up by a U.S.-Managed Company. We can also provide you with project managers to manage the entire project for you. If you want to avail of our services, simply send us an email at hello@buildateam.io or visit our services pages here.

  • Top Web Design Mistakes You Should Avoid

    Top Web Design Mistakes You Should Avoid

    Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. This is true for all endeavors especially web design. Though making mistakes is fine, it can be too costly and time-consuming on the part of web designers, web developers, and business owners. Thus, it is best to avoid them by making sure you are wary of the common mistakes in web design.

    Forunately, in this article, we will be giving you the top web design mistakes you should avoid. This is to help you create a viable web design that will help you grow your business. Let’s start with the first one.

    A Crowded Website

    If you want to enhance user experience, you must make sure your website is not too crowded. If there is too much information placed on one page, then the users will most likely be confused. There should always be a clear hierarchy when it comes to your website’s design. It is best to provide a simple, clean layout that emphasizes the most important points of your webpage.

    web design mistakes

    A Horrendous Call-To-Action (CTA)

    Your call-to-action is a very important element in converting your viewers into loyal, paying customers. It is necessary to provide a clear, call-to-action, specifically defining the users what to do. Information should be provided to let the visitors know what they’re getting from taking a particular action. Plus, call-to-action buttons should be emphasized in order to catch the attention of the viewers. It is best to place them inside bold borders to stand out.

    A Hard-To-Find Search Box

    The web is filled with trillions, if not zillions, of information. Chances are, your website is too. Your visitors are always looking for information they can find. And if is hidden within the depths of your website, it is best to give them an easy-to-find search box. This will make your website more convenient for your users.

    A Website with Poor Content

    Content is necessary to provide your users with the information they need. If you provide content that is filled with fluff, typographical, and grammatical errors, then your viewers will be confused with your message. Plus, an error-filled website will make you look spammy. You won’t appear as trustworthy towards your viewers.

    Thus, it is best to have a professional writer create unique content for your website. In addition, you should hire an editor and a proofreader to double check the content. This is just for perfection purposes but it won’t hurt your website design a bit.

    A Website with Poor Readability

    Viewers have to read through a website in order to obtain the information they want. If you use hard-to-read fonts, then the users will most likely click the back button. As a tip, you can use the Sans Serif typeface for legibility on the website.

    Poor Navigation

    A website should always have a seamless navigation. The viewers should find their way around the website easily. It has to be easy-to-understand for the viewers in order to avoid confusion. In addition, you should always avoid dead links inside your website. This can make you look unprofessional and untrustworthy. It is best to create a hierarchy of your website and then put this into place by providing an easy-to-understand navigation.

    common web design mistakes - navigation

    Low-Resolution Images

    The graphical media found in your website is a very crucial part of its design. Images can provide a certain perception of your page. It is best to use high-resolution, high-quality images that are relevant to your website’s theme. Irrelevant images will provide confusion to your readers making them hard to understand what you’re trying to portray.

    A Website Lacking In Contact Information and Contact Page

    Lacking and missing contact information is a common mistake in web design. Once your visitor decides to make a purchase or an important conversion action, it is best to have your contact information on hand. Your “Contact” Page should always be clearly seen by visitors once they visit your site. Avoid too much hassle on the part of the viewer and you are on your way to a great web design.

    top web design mistakes - contact information

    Including Too Much Pop-Up Windows

    A pop-up window always leads to a disorienting experience for the viewers. If you have too much pop-up windows showing in one page, your users will most likely get annoyed. Make sure your viewers are able to close the pop-up window once it appears. In addition, keep your pop-up windows to a minimum.

    Non-Responsive Web Design

    A responsive web design is imperative nowadays. Viewers are checking your website through various devices be it mobile or desktop. As such, your web design should cater to all these viewers in order to avoid losing them. Make sure you hire website designers that can provide you with a responsive design.

    Complex Registration Forms

    In our previous article, we have stated that a shorter form is best to increase the conversion rate of your webpage. This is true of web design. Providing a complicated form (or even registration process) can decrease the conversion rate of your website.

    In addition, you must make sure you avoid errors in your form. We have found a lot of websites wherein people were not able to submit forms because of errors. Forms should always be double-checked to avoid a bad user experience on the part of the viewers.

    common website design mistakes - registration forms 

    Background Music

    Users don’t want background music from the website. They want efficiency not additional features that might hinder their attention. It is HIGHLY SUGGESTED to avoid putting a background music on your website unless it is a very important part of your marketing efforts.

    Wrong Ad Location

    Advertising is very important when it comes to certain types of websites. However, it should not be exaggerated. Ads in wrong places can disrupt user experience and confuse the hell out of your viewers. You have to analyze your ads by checking your website as a visitor. If your ads annoy you, then it will most likely annoy your visitors too.

    In Conclusion

    Your website’s design is very important when it comes to providing your users with a great experience. In order to be deemed as professional and trustworthy, you must avoid the common mistakes found in this article. In addition, you must apply all of these by heart to increase the likelihood of your viewers converting into loyal customers. It is best to hire professional web designers to avoid the common mistakes of your business’ website or marketing designs.

  • Content Marketing Strategy: A Beginner’s Bible

    Content Marketing Strategy: A Beginner’s Bible

    Content marketing is popular nowadays. More and more people shout the mantra “Content is king.” But what is content marketing anyway? Content marketing is the use of content to attract one’s target audience and ultimately achieve one’s goal. It  is used by both small businesses and large corporations to entice a user to take a particular action such as engaging in social media or subscribing to an email list.

    You might be wondering how to effectively utilize content marketing to your advantage. Well, in this article, we will be showing you how to create and apply a content marketing strategy for your specific endeavor. First, let’s start with the benefits of content marketing.

    The Benefits Of Content Marketing

    If you think content marketing is not for you then you might want to take a look at this. Below is a list of benefits you can leverage to your advantage.

    1. Increased Optimization For Search Engines

    Search engines uses text to obtain information regarding a page or a website. Creating content that target particular keywords can help search engines decide what to do with your page. If you have high-quality content, then you are more likely to appear on search results for terms that you optimized your content for.

    1. Increased Traffic

    Appearing on search results means more traffic. Promoting your blog posts and other types of content through social media marketing, blog commenting, and guest posting can also mean more traffic for your site.

    Content Strategy - Traffic

    1. Enhance Reputation and Trustworthiness

    You can build lasting impressions through your content. When you provide high-quality content that can’t be found elsewhere, you are immediately seen as the go-to-guy for that field. Trustworthiness is also built through content marketing. Think about how your readers will perceive you when you put crappy content on your site.

    So, how do you start the process of creating a content marketing strategy? Let’s dive into the details.

    How To Create A Content Marketing Strategy

    STEP 1: ESTABLISH WHY YOUR CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY EXISTS

    Starting your content marketing strategy includes knowing your objectives. You need to focus on what you need to achieve with a content marketing strategy. Ask yourself, what do I want to achieve with this content? Below are some goals you might find similar to yours:

    • Increase awareness of the brand.
    • Drive traffic to the site.
    • Entice readers to subscribe to your email list.
    • Entice readers to share your posts on social media channels.
    • Entice readers to contact you through the phone or through a fill-up form

    STEP 2: KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

    Knowing your target audience means creating profiles or personas for the people you want to attract. You have to learn about who you want to target. Below are some questions you might ask yourself:

    • Am I targeting people in a particular job, field or industry?
    • How can I reach my audience? Where can they be found? Where do they hang out online?
    • What are their demographics? Am I more likely to target males or females? What are their age groups?
    • What does my target audience want from the business?
    • What are their goals and how can I help them achieve these goals?
    • What information are they looking for? Where do they go to in order to look for these information?

    STEP 3: CREATE IDEAS FOR CONTENT

    Finding ideas for your content can be mind-boggling but it sure is possible. You don’t have to hit your head with a club just to get the answers. All you have to do is apply the following.

    Content Marketing Plan - Ideas

    • Research Your Competitors. Spying on your competitors is a great way to find topics. This does not mean you have to copy their articles. Simply take a look at their social media profiles and check what type of content gets the most approval (e.g. shares, retweets, and likes). Then come up with topics that might complement those articles. You can also analyze your competitor’s articles and check what they might have missed. You can create an article filling up their articles’ void.
    • Research Questions. Prowling on blogs, forums and Q&A sites such as Quora AND Yahoo! Answers can be beneficial. Look for the questions related to your niche. You can type in the search queries “Keyword + Quora.com” or “Keyword + Answers.Yahoo.com” on Google to find questions you can answer through articles.
    • Talk About Your Experiences. As a business owner, you’ve had your failures and successes. You can talk about your personal mistakes and what you have learned from them. Teach them how to avoid or fix these mistakes. You can also talk about your successes in business and the steps you have taken to achieve them.
    • Provide Your Opinion. You can provide your opinion on hot topics or trends you find on the news. You can even provide your opinion on evergreen content. In addition, you can search for articles and create opposite articles that show the other side of the conversation. For example, if you find a topic that says “Content marketing is dead” then you should come up with your own article stating why content is still king.

    STEP 4: CREATE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING EXECUTION STRATEGY

    After you have finished steps 1 to 3, you must start creating a plan to execute your content marketing strategy. Use a spreadsheet to include the following:

    • Title or topic of the content.
    • Deadline of the content draft.
    • When the content will be published.
    • A brief description of the content.
    • The outline of the content.
    • Any graphical images or concepts included in the content.

    A content marketing schedule will help you visualize how you will create content and when you have to create the content. This can help you dive into the actual action that gets your results.  Now let’s move on to the final phase of this article, promoting your content.

    How To Promote Your Content

    Let’s face it. Your content isn’t going to be seen by millions of readers with a single wave of a magic wand. You have to put in effort to get your message across. Below are some marketing techniques you can use to promote your content and reach your viewers:

    Marketing Content - Advertising

    Promoting Your Content Through Comments

    In this section, we won’t be using gray- or black-hat techniques to promote our content. We will be focusing on white-hat techniques. First, you have to find blogs or articles related to the content you are offering. Read these articles by heart and try to engage with the conversation (comment section) below it. Provide your opinion regarding the matter and build a relationship over time.

    Finally, if the opportunity comes, you can link back to your article. Note that you should only link back to the article if it is relevant to the conversation at hand. You should not simply link back to the article right away as most of the time it will only be regarded as spam.

    Also note that through comment marketing you can’t promote your content every single time. Sometimes, you can put a link back to your content. Most of the time, this isn’t possible.

    Promoting Through Guest Posts

    Guest posting is fairly simple to understand. You simply pitch a blog or article to another site (with a bigger audience) and hope it gets accepted and published. However, it can be a tedious process. On the other hand, this so-called “tedious” method works very well in the long-run. So, how do you do this?

    Step 1: Look for sites that cover topics related to the content you are offering. Make sure those sites have a high Domain Authority and Page Rank. This ensures you that they have a big audience.

    Step 2: Check out their site and find out if they have a page dedicated to guest posts. If they have it, then simply move on to Step 3. If they don’t have it, simply contact them through their email or contact form and ask if guest blogging is an option for their site. Wait for their reply. Some sites will allow you to guest post. If this happens, then ask for their guest post or editorial guidelines. If they don’t accept guest posts, move on to the next site.

    Step 3: If they have guest posting guidelines, read this and follow it by heart.

    Step 4: Brainstorm content ideas that you could use as a guest post and pitch it to the websites you have found.

    Step 5: If they accepted your pitch, create content by following their guidelines.

    Step 6: Submit your content and wait for it to get published.

    Step 7: Once it gets published, promote your content through the various methods sited here.

    Quick Automation Tip: You can use NinjaOutreach to find prospective blog owners and email them for guest blogging opportunities. This is one great tool that can save you time with regards to your activities.

    Promoting Through Social Media

    When you promote your post through social media, make sure to take advantage of most social media sites. However, you should not create one identical post for all social media channels. You must customize each message for each site.

    It is best to have an image for your content. You must also create a catchy headline that will get your reader’s attention. If possible, edit the description of the post so that it says something significant about the content you are promoting.

    When hashtags are appropriate (e.g. Twitter or Instagram), make sure you research the keywords for them. For example, when you are writing about business, you can use the hashtags “entrepreneur,” “business,” “startups,” and “entrepreneurship.”

    Posting the same content spread over a few days is also possible. Do not be afraid to do this. However, you must customize the message for every post. In this way, you’ll get your message across to thousands (or even millions) of viewers in your network.

    Quick Automation Tip: Promoting through social media manually can be tedious. You can use Buffer or Quuu to automate your social media marketing efforts. It allows you to schedule your posts beforehand and it automatically posts your content during your desired schedule.

    Email Marketing

    If you have an email list, it is a must to send them a message regarding a new post you have published. Inside the message, tell them what information they can get if they read your blog post. Encourage them to share it on social media by adding social media buttons inside your blog post.

    In Conclusion:

    Content marketing can be a very tedious process however this is a strategy that works in the long-run. Make sure you target the right audience and send the right message at the same time.

    If you need help creating and executing a marketing/ design and development strategy, feel free to contact us at hello@buildateam.io. Learn more about our services for outsourcing web, ecommerce, and mobile application design and development. 

  • Business Essentials – Killer Website Design Must-Knows For Conversion

    Business Essentials – Killer Website Design Must-Knows For Conversion

    You might think having your own website is easy. You can simply hire website designers and website developers to do the job for you. But this is just one part of the picture. Not all designers and developers know the ins and outs of marketing.

    Your website’s design is VERY important when it comes to increasing your business’ conversions, and ultimately, sales. You, and possibly a marketing manager, must be involved in the process. You must know the ins and outs of a website designed for conversion. Fortunately, we will be giving you the top website design essentials to optimize your website and achieve your conversion goals.

    1. Limiting Options

    We all want to think that we don’t have limitations. But this is not the case when it comes to website design. If you want to increase your conversion rate, you have to limit the choices of your customers. Having too much to offer increases your customers’ decision-making time.

    One example below is a website with too many choices for the viewer. This should be avoided.

    Querubin, M. Limiting Options 1 [Image, Screen Capture]. Retrieved from this URL.

    In contrast, below is Buffer’s website. It has a single call-to-action making it easy for the users to decide what to do.

    Querubin, M. Limiting Options 2 [Image, Screen Capture]. Retrieved from this URL.

    How To Apply It: First, minimize the number of links available in your homepage. It is best to create a full-screen homepage that limits the users to a single call-to-action. Your homepage’s ultimate goal should be summarized in a few clicks of a button. Let your viewers scroll down the page in order to view more about your company. Second, decide on your ultimate goal for a particular page. Think about what you really want them to do. You might want them to share a review, leave a comment, share your page on social media, or call your number. All of these should not be allowed in one single page. As said before, limit them to the best number of decisions they can make – that is the number ONE.

    2. Emphasizing Your Buttons

    Your call-to-action buttons can ultimately lead your users to conversion. They must always be emphasized within a page to catch the attention of your users. They must be bold enough to stand out.

    Check out the image below. Notice how the package placed in bold borders stands out from the other three packages.

    Querubin, M. Emphasizing Buttons [Image, Screen Capture].

    How To Apply It: Place your call-to-action buttons in thick, bold borders. Instruct your web designer to do this for every button you want to emphasize.  You will be amazed at the difference.

    3. Dividing Your Website Into Nine (9)

    Focusing your user’s attention on a single part of the page can be a challenge. But you can do so with this simple tip. Try to divide your website into nine equal parts like in the picture below. Notice the four circles around the center of the page. These are the points most likely to catch the attention of users.

    Querubin, M. Dividing Into Nine [Image, Screen Capture]. Retrieved from this URL.

    One example will be AdGooroo’s website as seen in the picture above. Notice how the most important message is placed inside (and near) the four corners of these important points.

    How To Apply It: Place your call-to-action and subliminal message s (text, images, and videos) in these four points of interest. Make sure the navigation bar is not located at these points to avoid providing the users with too much links to click.

    4. Increasing Your Site’s Speed

    People are very impatient. Even a user’s online attention spans for only eight (8) seconds. Thus, you must make sure your site loads as fast as possible or you might lose a customer to another company.

    How To Apply It: Use these tools to check your site loading speed and fix any problems you might face:

    If you are a non-technical person who wants to speed up your website, you can contact expert Ph.D. level developers like BuildaTeam.io here.

    5. Maximizing Your Use Of Whitespace

    Can you envision a website that is full of clutter? It will definitely burn out the user’s eyes and lead them to hit the back button. This is not what you want for your website. Maximizing your whitespace, the area without content, is a great way to increase your conversions.

    You have to make sure that every element on your page is easy on the eyes. Whitespace is the solution for that.

    Check out the difference between the two websites below. The one with more whitespace keeps your focus on the most important elements of the page.

    Querubin, M. Whitespace 1 [Image, Screen Capture]. Retrieved from this URL.

    Querubin, M. Whitespace 2 [Image, Screen Capture]. Retrieved from this URL.

    How To Apply It: Talk to your website designer about putting spaces in between elements. Make sure the most important points in your page are given focus. Ensure that texts are readable by giving ample space between letters and between paragraphs. Plus, make sure that there isn’t too much going on inside a single page of your website.

    6. Using High-Quality Images and Videos

    You must always provide high-quality images and videos for your users. A crappy, low-resolution image won’t do. Think about how your customers will perceive your business. High-resolution images give a professional feel towards your website. Believe me, this is what you would want to project to your customers.

    How To Apply It: If you can professionally create images, then you can do this yourself. However, you can hire website designers and graphic designers to do the job for you. If you are low on budget you can search for high-resolution images from Creative Commons. This is a site that provides images that are free to use commercially.

    7. Using Shorter Forms

    Are you like most people who hate too much work? Then, Bingo! People hate it when they have to type in too much information to get what they want. Experts always tell us to respect people’s time. Thus, shorter forms are better as opposed to longer ones.

    Check out the form below. Notice that Megaventory only asks three (3) information from its users. This is a good principle to follow.

    Querubin, M. Short Forms [Image, Screen Capture]. Retrieved from this URL.

    How To Apply It: Keep your forms shorter by asking for essential information only. Avoid asking unnecessary details which opts your user to back out of the website.

    8. Making Your Site Responsive

    A responsive website is one that can be viewed and can adapt or respond to all devices including smartphones, tablets, desktops, and laptops. As you can see, more and more people are searching online through their mobile devices. If your site is not responsive, you are missing out on all the action. You can lose would-be customers to other businesses. The importance of a responsive web design is even recognized by Google. It has released an algorithm called Mobilegeddon which favors responsive websites in search engine results.

    How To Apply It: Contact your website designer and developer regarding the change. Ask them to create a responsive design for your website. Make sure the theme of the desktop and mobile versions are similar as different ones can confuse your viewers.

    9. Providing Amazing Content

    Mediocre content just won’t do every single time. Great content is necessary to attract your customers and lead them to conversions. Plus, great content shows that you are trustworthy in the business. If you are a service provider, it shows that you are an expert in your field.

    How To Apply It: Always serve what your audience want and need. Invest the time and effort into creating great, unique content that will capture your user’s interest. You don’t have to be sales-y all the time. You don’t have to stick your products and services in your customer’s faces. Most of the time, you have to provide value by posting content that might help users in their problems.

    10. Providing Proof And Building Trust

    People like the persons who they trust and know about. Thus it is best to instill trust and reputation when it comes to building your websites. According to Warren Buffet, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” This is true when it comes to business. A lack of social proof regarding your products and services can work against you.

    How To Fix It: Provide testimonials, press appearances, and social media shares on your website. You can even provide quotes stated by famous people. You can create a page fully dedicated to testimonials within your website. Don’t stop on written statements alone. You can even provide video testimonials from previous clients.

    11. Using Subliminal Messages

    Think about the theme of your website. What do you want to convey? Using subliminal messages such as images that evoke the feeling you want to instill can increase your conversions. Shopping malls play Christmas songs during the Holidays just to evoke the feelings related to this event. In this way, they are more enticed to buy for themselves and their loved ones.

    How To Apply It: Consider the feelings you want to evoke in your users. Do you want women to purchase shoes from you? Then put a picture of a lady wearing stunning shoes. Invoke the satisfaction women get when they have a good pair of shoes. You get the picture right?

    12. Guiding Your Viewers’ Focus

    We read traffic signs to guide us through the road helping us get from Point A to Point B. You should be doing this to your viewers as well. Directions point your viewers to where you need them to be. This will help you increase conversions and ultimately, sales.

    Below is an example of website which use directional cues to guide their viewers to buy their product.

    Querubin, M. Focus [Image, Screen Capture]. Retrieved from this URL.

    How To Apply It: Ask your website designer to design a website with arrows or directional cues pointing to your call-to-action. Make sure you emphasize directional cues and call-to-action buttons in order to maximize this tip.

    13.  Avoiding Poor Navigation

    A user goes to a website to get what he wants or needs. He/ she want this to be as quick as a jet. Thus, it is necessary for you to make sure your navigation is convenient for your customers. The navigation of your site must be simple-to-use and it must have a great hierarchical structure. Your navigation bar allows your users to contact you and to browse through more information. If you can’ provide this to your viewers then you simply have to fix your site structure fast.

    How To Apply It: Brainstorm through your objectives. What do you want your users to do when they go through the site? Make a list of the products and services you have to offer and create a hierarchical structure for the pages. Make sure the navigation bar is simple and contains the information the users need to convert.

    In Conclusion:

    Having your own website is only one side of the coin. Ensuring that it converts your viewers into customers is another.

     

    If you want a website optimized for conversions, contact us for a free quote at hello@buildateam.io

     

    <!– Read also: Increase Your Website’s Conversion Rate: 25 Effective Ways to Do It –>

  • How To Use Kubernetes, Google Cloud and Docker

    How To Use Kubernetes, Google Cloud and Docker

    After years of growth and development, cloud computing has matured. Unlike on-premises deployment it ensures a fast infrastructure setup. Building a physical infrastructure may take weeks, while creating a cloud infrastructure may require only several hours. Other compelling advantages of cloud services are scalability, reliability, high performance, and security.

    We use these services in order to be more flexible in “continuously” expanding your resources within minutes.

    We have experience in Google Cloud, Docker and Kubernetes. It allows us to run any kind of scalable web applications

    .We use Google Cloud Container Engine for deployment of our applications, which have different requirements for launching. We can run a lot of environments by docker technology using, for example, one application which needs CentOS platform and 100 Mb of RAM. We launch this application in Google Container Cluster near other various applications and they do not interfere with each other. Every application is running in their own isolated environments.

    We are working on the following algorithm (Pic. 1).

    Our Development Process

    When we receive the request to develop an application, we assign it to our developers. Next, when the application is ready for release, our DevOps specialist prepares the docker environment for the mentioned application.

    Docker is a great platform for launching each application in its own environment (CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian or other base image).

    To launch the application, we use the Google Container Engine, that provides the docker cluster and private docker registries.

     Before launch, we need to prepare the application description for Kubernetes (json or yml file). First of all, we need to build the image and push it into the private repository. We identify the based image in the description file. If the application is simple, we do not need to describe the difficult json or yml description file (Pic. 7), we only run the application with the docker image that we have prepared before.

      

    If the application needs the Public IP-address, then the Google Cloud will provide it for the application and we can fix it as static.

     The common process of our working can be shown as below (Pic. 2):

    We use the Kubernetes docker cluster for hosting our application. It looks similar to the picture below (Pic. 3).

     

    Usage of the following architecture helps to use the computer resources more effectively because some applications need a small amount of memory but the remote instance has a lot of it. Every application can be launched on its own Linux-Environment. Do not look on the main instance of the Linux OS type where the application is hosted.

     The Google Cloud Container Cluster is as scalable as we wish. If we have a lot of new applications to host, we only add new Nodes to our cluster and launch the application in it. If the Nod has a lot of free resources, the cluster decides what application it launches on what Nod (instance).

     

    How Buildateam.io Use Flexible Services To The Storing Of Data In The Network Cloud

    We can make as many replicas as we need and we can increase our existable cloud storages to size as needed.

    We can also use distributed file systems, for example, glusterfs, which can be used for simple replication between the remote servers. If our task is to increase our remote storage, we only add a new volume from various remote servers in the storage by gluster shell command. Afterwards, our cloud storage increases automatically.

    Use Of Docker Cluster In The Final Application Launch

     To launch the application, we can use the docker in some of the remote servers. When we need to increase the resource, we may be faced with some problems transferring the environment.

    Why We Use Google Cloud And Kubernetes

    The Kubernetes is used to manage a docker cluster.

     

    The Kubernetes can be installed on every Linux host that has docker for example. Also the Kubernetes is used for managing a docker cluster in the Google Container Engine cluster by default.

    When the cluster is launched, a user can enter into the Kubernetes web interface. To get access to the web dashboard, we execute the command kubectl cluster-info like above (Pic. 5).

     If the user goes by the url (Pic 5, 2) he will see the next web interface (Pic. 6).

    The information mentioned above means that the user wants to scale the cluster. The user can do that at any time because the Kubernetes supports this feature. The user can decrease the number of nodes or even increase it.

     To create a cluster for applications that consists in a docker environment, the user can use the GCloud Web Console or the GCloud Console Application.

    We Use The Google Cloud Shell Application To Manage Our Clusters

     The GCloud application can install the kubectl as well. Kubectl is the application used to manage the Kubernetes cluster. The user needs to pass the authentication procedure to get the Google Cloud Access for his console. This is all that needs to be done.

     For launching the application in Kubernetes cluster, the user needs to prepare the docker image which is the base of application. In order to do this, the user needs to create the private docker registry and Google Cloud provides it for the users.

     The user creates the docker registry (Google Container Registry) and afterwards the user can push the docker images from the local computer into the remote private registry. When the images are located in registry, the user can launch the application based on the user’s private docker image that can contain the private data as well. The user can launch the application which is based on public docker images from another registry. One example is the official docker registry docker.io.

    The private registry is needed when the user wants to store some private information with the application. When the user launches the application, he can set only the input environment, links to applications containers, and external volumes for application.

     In order to launch the application, it is required to describe it by using the yml (Pic. 7 above) or json file with the description of containers that will be running on container cluster.

     The description file of the application shows the application-based image or a group of containers that are needed to work on the whole application. This file is like the docker-compose.yml but it has own format that is understandable to Kubernetes.

     When the description file is ready, it can be used to launch the application. The simple way to do this is to use the web-interface. However, the console application kubectl has more abilities to launch the user’s application in docker cluster. Thus, we always use it, if it is required to make more tuned applications’ environment. Each application gets its own external IP address after it is launched. Kubernetes makes this step independently without any additional user’s actions.

    An Example On How We Manage GCloud Resources

    So, let’s launch the simple application based on the nginx official image. In the dockerfile, I will change the index page, and we will see it in the web browser.

    Installing The GCloud Utility Locally

    $ wget https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-sdk-116.0.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
    $ tar -xf google-cloud-sdk-116.0.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
    $ cd google-cloud-sdk
    $ ./install.sh
    $ gcloud init

    Installing Kubectl With GCloud Utility Help

    $ gcloud components install kubectl

    Create A Cluster (Wait For A While)

    $ gcloud container clusters create mycluster --num-nodes 1 --disk-size 10
    $ gloud container clusters list

     Prepare The Docker File With Changed Index Page

    Log into the registry though the GCloud Utility to get push access. Build the docker image. Push the docker image into the docker registry (Google Container Registry).

    $ cat Dockerfile

     

    $ docker build -t nginx-app ./
    $ docker tag nginx-app gcr.io/plucky-mile-818/nginx-app
    $ gcloud docker push gcr.io/plucky-mile-818/nginx-app

     

     After these operations, the user can see his image in the repository through the web console of Google Cloud.

     

    We can use this image to launch the container or group of containers in our docker cluster and no one can get access to it without necessary access rights.

    Launch The Application

    To launch the application, we prepare the yml or json file that describes the application. We use this file when we create the application in our Kubernetes docker cluster. If we launch the simple application, we can use only the command line parameters to launch the application (container, containers, pods):

    $ kubectl run my-nginx --image=gcr.io/plucky-mile-818/nginx-app --replicas=1 --port=80
    $ kubectl get pods

     

    To release the application to the world, we launch the next command. After some time, Google Cloud will give our application the external IP-address.

    $ kubectl expose deployment my-nginx --port=80 --type=LoadBalancer

    To look what IP address our application got we execute the next command:

    $ kubectl get services

     If we open the web browser and go by url http://130.211.94.91, we can see our index page that was described in dockerfile.

    For each application, Google Cloud exposes the external IP whenever necessary. This IP address will be ours until the application is running.

     If we need the static IP, it would not be a problem. We should change the type of IP in the network settings panel of the Google Cloud Console and then we can assign it to the different Google Cloud instance or services in Kubernetes docker cluster.

    If a team uses a simple procedure during the process, it spends less time concentrating on application code. After the code is ready, the team needs to find the hosting place to launch its application. The team installs the OS, installs additional software, and set it up to make a correct launch of the application.

     If we already have a platform to launch the application we decrease the deployment process significantly and use the time wisely for the development purposes.

    We continuously monitor IT markets for new technologies and always test them before implementing them in our projects.

    Need help setting things up or want to buy pre-configured images for your Magento Cloud Hosting?
    Email us at hello@buildateam.io for an advice or a quote. Also feel free to check out our Managed Magento Optimized Google Cloud Hosting

    Read more:

    How To Setup Scalable Magento Kubernetes Environment on Google Cloud.

  • What E-Commerce Platform To Choose: WordPress, Magento, Shopify, Reaction Commerce.

    What E-Commerce Platform To Choose: WordPress, Magento, Shopify, Reaction Commerce.

    Launching an E-Commerce store? What platform to choose? Please see below our thoughts on some of the most popular platforms out there.

     

    WOOCOMMERCE

    WordPress has been around for a while and if you already own a WordPress blog/vlog/site it might be the perfect low-budget option to get started. As much as we all love WordPress, building a new E-commerce site using WordPress may not be the most practical idea. Originally WordPress was developed as blog software without E-commerce support.   WordPress could be used for building wonderful LMS (Learning Management Systems) for online courses, or for multi-million dollar blogs, vlogs, and business websites, but for e-commerce stores and marketplaces – its a little too much of a stretch frankly speaking. Even though you can make WordPress work – it would need much love and plugins in order to achieve E-Commerce experience that other E-commerce oriented platforms offer out of the box. Plus all the security concerns. When developing on WordPress many new entities become a variation of a ‘post’. You can do a lot of things with it, but its just such a post. Use WordPress for a great blog with an e-commerce store built on something more sales oriented.  

    If you are looking for an experienced team to help you with maintaining your WordPress site, check out our Outsourced WordPress Design & Development Services.

     

    SHOPIFY

    Great solution for smaller / medium sized businesses for its simplicity and reliability. Shopify is the easiest platform to launch from our list. It’s a hosted service, so if your requirements fit into its limitations there will be no operational costs besides monthly fees (from $29) and 2.9% + 30c for credit card processing fees.

     

    Shopify App Store offers many apps that extend store functionality. You can also create custom apps connected to Shopify platform via API and embedded frames. This allows creating a highly customized experience. Which means that after customizing the heck out of it, you start thinking that it might have been easier with an open-source platform.

     

    • Customizing using private apps also means that besides running Shopify you will also need to run a separate server / hosting for your apps;
    • Unless you are using ‘Shopify Plus’ you have no control over Shopify backend code, so sometimes it’s not trivial to develop complicated things;
    • Any customizations and additional data for products are stored in product meta fields. Any additional store data is saved in store meta fields or on your own backend connected via API.
    • Shopify has auto-scaling built-in and it had performed very well during the Black Friday, keeping the response time the same as if it was no load at all.
    • If you want to have international support with different languages and currencies, you will need to create a new store for each of those countries / languages / currencies.

     

    Moving highly customized themes and logic from staging to production is also a non-trivial task and requires some time for manual transfer. Unless you use a paid app that can do the data transfer for you. If you have been using meta-fields for customizing your store you will need to install an app that allows exporting/importing those custom meta-fields as well. The explicit limit on the number of possible product variations (100) can be a hassle to overcome when trying to fit in custom experiences with numerous SKUs.

    Though powerful, but overly simplistic interface and minor limitations of the platform functionality limit the imagination of an avid Magento user.

    CREATE A NEW SHOPIFY STORE

    If you are looking for an experienced team to help you with building your Shopify store, check out our Shopify Design and Development Services.

     

    MAGENTO 2

    Magento 2 is a great solution for medium-large Enterprise stores that don’t have that ‘technology first’ approach but still, want full control of their E-commerce platform & hosting environment. Magento has hundreds of plugins, well-established ecosystem, and a global network of certified developers. Community Edition is free. There are no additional charges. However, the platform is very resource hungry and requires skilled engineers for support and maintenance.

     

    There is no autoscaling out of the box. Scalability has to be accomplished by engineers utilizing additional software and server configuration. Magento 2 offers a much better user experience on both frontend and admin panel than Magento 1. It has a very strong caching mechanism built in and has evolved significantly in terms of the libraries used for creating front-end experience.

     

    It is also fair to mention that Magento has been an inspiration for a lot of new e-commerce platforms that emerged in recent years due to its very well thought through architecture and flexibility. There have been a lot of comments in the development community that Magento 2 takes more time to develop because of such an aggressive caching.

     

    Nevertheless, since this is an open-source platform where you have access to the code base with the right resources you can make it fully fit your needs and custom flow. If you have a complex store with custom logic on the frontend (category / product / checkout / cart / account pages ) and backend – Magento 2 is the way to go over the previously mentioned platforms.

    If you want a full control of your e-commerce platform & hosting, Magento 2 combined with Kubernetes on Google Cloud is a serious solution for scale.

    Read side by side comparison of Reaction Commerce and Magento 2.

     

    If you are looking for an experienced team to help you with building your Magento store, check out our Magento Design and Development Services.

     

    REACTION COMMERCE

    It’s a new Meteor.js based E-Commerce platform that aims at solving problems that Magento has at scale. Many large Enterprise Magento customers that we know, started developing their in-house Node.js+React.js based E-Commerce applications to get a technological advantage over the competition. Why not use an open-source reactive framework for that?

     

    Reaction Commerce is an open-source platform that has the power of Meteor.js under its hood. Reaction Commerce also offers managed Reaction Commerce hosting platform, which means that as its Enterprise user you get both: full access to the application and data with a scalable hosting that is fine-tuned for your needs supported by the platform developers.

     

    If you are a Javascript developer or have someone ready to work on your project who is not afraid of a new stack and fixing bugs you will achieve excellent results in terms of required resources, performance, speed, and functionality. Almost real-time updates allow you to take the personalization experience to the next level. Reactivity goes through the whole stack (Database + Server + Frontend). It’s a huge step up from ‘AJAX’. More functionality, scalability and less hassle.

     

    There are a number of layout changes from Magento as well. Login / Create Account / Cart do not exist as separate pages. They are represented as popups out of the box. Account pages and order pages are also different in layout from what you might be used to see in Magento. According to the Reaction Commerce Team, if your sales are over $10mln a year and you are looking for a cutting-edge E-commerce platform that is way ahead of the closest competition in terms of the technology used – Reaction Commerce is for you. Backed up by GV (formerly Google Ventures) in its recent A round, Reaction Commerce is an exciting preview into the future of E-Commerce.

     

    You will need some patience and skilled development resources in order to make the most out of all the flexibility that Reaction Commerce offers out of the box, but the result is well worth it.

     

    The community for Reaction Commerce is rapidly growing and it’s exciting to see the future of E-commerce take a new turn. Implementing the new generation software has a learning curve but if you do it right you will take the user experience to the new level.

     

    Read side by side comparison of Reaction Commerce and Magento 2.

     

    If you are looking for an experienced team to help you with building your Reaction Commerce store, check out our Reaction Commerce Design and Development Services.

     

    Summary

    Overall the choice for a new E-Commerce store depends upon your business goals and revenue. If you sell for example for $1k per week there is no point for you to sign up for Magento or Reaction Commerce at all. Use Shopify or any other hosted platform with a minimum fee. However, if you sell for $10k+ per week you certainly want to explore a more custom solution that will take your business to a new level. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of other E-Commerce platforms that can get you where you want. BigCommerce, OSCommerce, Moltin etc. If you use any other platform and would like to share the benefits of it – please feel free to comment below!

    Email us at hello@buildateam.io and learn more about our expert dedicated outsourced e-commerce design and development teams.
  • Top 8 Reasons Why You Bike Commute To Work:

    Top 8 Reasons Why You Bike Commute To Work:

    Chances are you live within 10 miles of your job, as recent studies show over half of Americans do. If not, there’s a huge likelihood that your commute to work is less than 20 miles (as is the case for 70% of us). Now if you’re new to the concept of bike commuting there’s a chance 10-20 miles could sound like ridiculous overkill but keep reading, because it’s not! One of the most common misconceptions about biking to work is that it’s inconvenient, but have you ever spent 5-10 minutes looking for bike parking? I didn’t think so. Have you ever waited in bike traffic? Me neither! Have you ever been happy to get in your car and drive to work? Nah, didn’t think so. A bike commute can change all of that!

    No matter where you live, no matter how hot or cold, mountainous or flat you could definitely survive a bike to work day every once in awhile. There’s a slew of unbelievably enticing statistics out there so we at BuildaTeam.io scoured the entire webternets and compiled our favorites. These are our Top 8 Reasons Why You Should Bike Commute To Work:

    • You’ll boost your overall well-being. People who switched from car commuting to active commuting (à la bikes) reported greater well-being and concentration in aPreventive Medicine study. Who wouldn’t feel great after a free, outdoor spin class?
    • You’ll start the day in a better mood. Bike commuters reported the best moods in a transportation study, when compared to people commuting via car and public transportation. Less traffic and fewer delays = less frustration.
    • You’re more likely to have a lean bod. Biking to work is associated with a reduced risk of obesity and high blood pressure, according to a study published in PLOS Medicine. That’s not so shocking, considering that bike commuting can burn around 200 calories each way. Plus, it helps you meet the American Heart Association’s suggested 30 minutes of cardio a day, five days a week.
    • You don’t need to go to the gym if you bike back and forth to work.I mean, you absolutely can, but unless you live directly next to your office you’re probably getting a pretty decent workout. According to Women’s Health magazine, a 135-pound woman pedaling 12 to 14 miles an hour blasts 488 calories in 60 minutes. Boom! Plus, your legs will look fabulous. Just in time for summer.

    If she can do it, why can’t you? Pro Tip: bike in flats, leave the heels in your bag!

    • Save Money!  The average person in the U.S spends $2600 a year getting to work in a car and add on maintenance and car depreciation and the average American spends $9000 to own a car, every year: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/16/aaa-car-ownership-costs/2070397/  If you bike commute to work then you can save a ton!
    • Tax Benefits:  According to the National Center for Transit Research on December 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2029 which among other things mandated that companies that offer employee reimbursement up to $20/month for reasonable expenses related to commuting by bicycle.
    • A bike commute Increases Productivity: Cycling raises productivity. Exercising before work raises an employee’s productivity by an average of 15 percent! Forget coffee, you’ve got a bike with a bell! And for you managers, you may want to think about installing some sort of bike support program. This could include easy and safe places for employees to store their bikes, allow employees to walk around in bike clothes, sponsor workshops, or get certified in becoming a Bike Friendly Workplace. Find out more information here.
    • “Leaving your car at home and biking to work just two days a week can reduce carbon pollution by an average of two tons per year.” -EPA

    Sources:

          http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/17/pf/work-commute-time-and-money/

            http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/mind-body/stress/bike-commute/

            http://www.levo.com/articles/lifestyle/bike-to-work-reasons

  • 5 Reasons Outsourced Freelance Developers are Better For Business!

    5 Reasons Outsourced Freelance Developers are Better For Business!

    Chances are if you’re reading this you’ve had a need, or currently need to hire a developer for something. Maybe you’ve got an app idea and want to build an MVP, or your company’s Shopify e-commerce store needs some updating? We get a lot of people asking us why we think it’s better to hire freelance developers, and we try to give unbiased responses, even though we are an On Demand Freelance Developer Hiring Platform. Since this question comes up so much we thought we’d take the time to research the facts, and present to you 5 Reasons Outsourced Freelance Developers Are Better For Business. We also custom made the infographic too! Please share it!

     

    1. Save Time: Freelance Developers save time. That’s a fact. Take it from us at BuildaTeam where we save our clients months of recruitment work, by vetting and hiring freelance developers using our proprietary testing method we’ve developed over the years. This tool was designed to quickly vet a freelancer’s skill set vs. the client’s need and save everyone time in the hiring process. We’re not the only solution either (although we’d like to think we are the best). Hiring internally is a long term solution, and can take several months to find a solid team fit. Freelance Developers, on the other hand, don’t need to meet the team physically and usually only work on a specific project, on a contractual basis. Because of this, they can start working quickly, saving your organization tons of time.
    2. Save Money:  The average full-time software developer in the United Stated earned a $99,510 salary in 2014 and no doubt that figure is growing annually. Unless your company is prepared to pay that kind of salary for a full-time team member then sourcing a freelance web and or mobile development freelance is your best option. The average freelance developer is charging $73/hour so you can imagine the cost savings for your business! For instance, the average website redesign is between 30-100 hours of work for a freelance developer, yet a full-time employee may drag that work out over a few months of paid salary. You do the math.
    3. Get More Done:  For any of us who have ever worked from home for a day, or been a digital nomad we’re sure you’ve noticed that saving time getting ready, and getting to the office has allowed you to crush half of your to-do list before you would even be in the office normally. Well, that enhanced productivity time is a constant for most freelance developers. The average commute to work in the U.S takes over 25 minutes each way, not to mention the time it takes to get ready, chatting in the office, distractions etc. Bottom line, freelance developers get more done for your money, period.
    4. More Experience: This is a no-brainer. Freelance developers normally juggle multiple projects and gigs at the same time, often from several differing industries and technologies as well. This wide range of work allows freelancers to gain a much more varied experience than their full-time counterparts who work years often on one project at a time.  More experience means more usefulness to you as the hiring manager. Again, get more shit done!
    5.  More Talent: The freelancer workforce is exploding, yet it’s getting harder and harder to source and hire fulltime software developers. There are currently over 60 million Freelance Software Developers in the U.S and half of the entire American workforce is expected to do some sort of freelancing by the year 2020 (although, admittedly this is not just Software related freelancing but still, cool figure right?). Focusing on hiring a freelancer will greatly open up your options no matter where in the world you are.

    So there you have it. 5 Solid reasons to start looking for freelance software developers for your next website or mobile development project. In case you needed any further discussions, advice or info on who to hire for your project, our Project Managers are always standing by, ready to chat with you, for free! Email us any questions you have and we’d be happy to help you. For more info on what we do as a company, and how we help companies hire the world’s best software development freelancers please visit our site here.  Also make sure to check out Clockspot – Saving your organization tons of time.

     

    Sources:

    https://www.fastcompany.com/3049532/the-future-of-work/heres-why-the-freelancer-economy-is-on-the-rise

    https://fu-web-storage-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/content/filer_public/c2/06/c2065a8a-7f00-46db-915a-2122965df7d9/fu_freelancinginamericareport_v3-rgb.pdf

    http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/software-developer/salary

    https://project.wnyc.org/commute-times-us/embed.html

  • 8 Reasons Why You Need To Hire an SEO Consultant!

    8 Reasons Why You Need To Hire an SEO Consultant!

    If you’re reading this, you probably have access to a web developer (if you don’t you should email us). Hopefully, your developer knows how to build a website for human visitors, but do they know how to build a website that appears equally as attractive to robot search engine spiders? If not, you need an SEO Consultant and here’s why.

    Search Engine Optimization is all about constructing the content of your website to be most relevant to Search Engine Spiders for the terms that will optimally drive your business’ growth. But you probably knew that already, right?

    Buildateam.io offers professional SEO Consultant Services

     

    Well, SEO is a long-term marketing strategy that requires a lot of time investment to be successful. If you’re doing it alone it also takes months of trial and error and hundreds of hours of reading best practices and asking questions on forums online. Want to fast track that success? That’s where a professional SEO consultant comes in. An SEO Consultant assists small companies and startups who would otherwise not have access to a full-time in-house SEO expert by acting as a temporary assistant to their development team. Usually, an SEO Consultant will diligently analyze your website against 20-40 proven Search Engine Optimization tactics and best SEO practices and then they’ll compile an actionable list of on-site improvements your developer can implement themselves.  Need more convincing? Here are 8 Reasons Why You Need To Hire and SEO Consultant:

     

    -1)  You’ll save Time –

    With SEO, timing is everything. Well maybe not everything, but it’s huge. Finding an in-house SEO Expert can be a costly HR endeavor. Outsourcing organic Search Engine work to an agency can be a waste also, as their client workload reduces the amount of focus on your company’s campaigns. An SEO Audit Consultant can start working right away to save you time and get you rankings quicker. SEO results normally take 3-6 months to kick in (but plenty of people see first page results in 30 days, depends on chosen keyword strategy)  so the quicker you get to work, the better.

     

    -2) You’ll Save Money-

    The average SEO agency charges $4000 per month for a minimum 6-month retainer. Building a team of Search Engine can take months and cost even more! A one-off SEO Audit can cost under $2000 with Buildateam or other agencies and you’re existing developers and marketing team are trained to carry on the work alongside other projects.

     

    -3) SEO Brings Free Leads For Life- Only SEO and Content Marketing bring in leads forever. Nothing has a better proven ROI than Search Engine Optimization. Spend time now and gain rankings and high-quality traffic for the life of your business.

    Buildateam provides Search Engine Optimization Solutions

    4)Search Engine Optimization Is Crucial- SEO is so important because there are essentially only two types of web visitors that will land on your website; potential customers and search engine bots, also known as Spiders. You must optimize for both.

     

    -5) Search Builds a Foundation- Optimizing your website for Search Engines builds a foundation for all other forms of marketing to succeed. If you don’t have SEO in place, you are not maximizing your other marketing initiatives.

     

    -6) The Highest Quality Traffic = SEO- Search traffic has the highest intent to convert for your business because they are literally searching for you, as opposed to clicking an ad or a post on social media. You are top of mind.

     

    -7) SEO Leverages Everything Else You Do- After you have basic on-page SEO work done, every Social Media share you receive, every link posted in a forum all help to increasing your standings online. SEO compounds the results of other marketing efforts.

     

    -8) Organic Beats Paid Always- Nearly 75% of all search traffic clicks on Organic Search Engine results. This means that if you get strong SERP (Search Engine Results Page) standings you are 3x more likely to get the click than through a paid ad, forever free! Paid ads are a short term supplementary addition to your SEO campaigns…but SEO will win you more business overall, for free!

     

    Convinced yet? There are a myriad of options for finding freelance SEO consultants like www.freelancer.com but if you’re ready for a really fast solution BuildaTeam can help. Our SEO Consultant has worked with several of our Web Development clients and he’s ready to assist you too! If you’re interested in learning more about how a Professional Search Engine Consultant can save your time, money and a lot of headaches on your SEO email us today at hello@buildateam.io