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The Best WordPress SEO Plugins for 2020

1: Yoast SEO:

Yoast SEO is by far the most complete free WordPress SEO plugin, allowing you to deal with the technical optimization of your site and helping you optimize your content for search engines. A premium version ($89/year) is also available with advanced features like redirect manager, internal linking suggestions, content insights, and more.

2: All in One SEO:

All in One SEO is the second most popular WordPress SEO plugin after the Yoast SEO. While it works out of the box for beginners, it also offers cutting-edge features and API for developers. Key features include XML sitemap support, Google AMP support, advanced canonical URLs, WooCommerce support, and more. The pro version starts from $79.

3: Rank Math:

Rank Math is the Swiss Army Knife of WordPress SEO with a host of intelligent features that give your site a competitive edge in search engine results. It offers one-click import from Yoast and All in One SEO and lets you optimize your content for up to 5 keywords to drive massive organic traffic to your site. And wonderfully, it’s completely free!

4: WordLift:

WordLift is an AI-powered WordPress SEO plugin that uses state-of-the-art semantic technologies to help you produce better and more meaningful content backed by contextual facts, images, links, and interactive visualizations. You can try it free for 14-days, and after that, you’ll have to pay €47/month to continue.

5: SEMrush SEO Writing Assistant:

SEMrush SEO Writing Assistant is one of the most useful plugins for content professionals to check if their text meets various on-page SEO requirements in just a few clicks. Using this handy plugin, you can optimize your content for your targeted keywords based on the qualities of Google’s top 10 search results.

6: BAVOKO SEO Tools:

BAVOKO SEO Tools is the most comprehensive WordPress SEO plugin that brings together all aspects of search engine optimization in one place. Key features include detailed On-page SEO analysis, the integrated content optimizer, PageSpeed & requests analysis, backlink monitoring & Disavow tool, and more.

The Best WordPress SEO Themes for 2020

1: GeneratePress:

GeneratePress is a lightweight and responsive WordPress SEO theme built with speed, security, and usability in mind. Built-in Schema.org structured data, validated HTML, and lightning-fast load times are what makes it the most search engine friendly theme for WordPress. The theme size is less than 30kb, and it supports over 20 languages.

2: Neve:

Neve is a fast, lightweight, and SEO-friendly WordPress theme developed by ThemeIsle with a mobile-first approach. With an ever-growing collection of 80+ ready to import, starter sites, it allows you to create a professional-looking, SEO-optimized website in minutes. Neve is as tiny as 28KB and takes only 0.6s to load on a default WordPress install.

3: SEOCrawler:

SEOCrawler is a super powerful and customizable WordPress theme that works great with popular SEO plugins, including Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, and Rankie. The theme is built with the best SEO practices to make sure Google finds your website easily. Key features include Live Customizer, drag & drop content builder, and advanced admin panel, Google Fonts integration, WPML, and WooCommerce support, and more.

4: SEO Engine:

SEO Engine is a retina ready and fully responsive WordPress theme offering 12 home pages with incredible inner page layouts. It comes packed with WP Structure Data Schema PRO plugin, so you don’t have to generate schema data manually. Other key features include a powerful admin panel, unlimited color options, WooCommerce integration, and more.

5: SEO WP:

SEO WP is an extremely powerful and highly flexible SEO-optimized WordPress theme with 32 built-in conversion-optimized pages and 90 premium illustrations. To further boost your SEO and marketing efforts, the theme integrates several premium WordPress plugins, including Google site rank tracker, Yoast SEO, Ninja Forms, and more. An ideal theme for digital marketing and SEO agencies!

Looking for a reliable WordPress development partner to develop a custom WordPress SEO-friendly theme or plugin? Get in touch with us to hire expert WordPress developers for your next project.

Unlike version 5.3, which was focused on fixing several accessibility issues and expanding the Gutenberg aka the block editor with more intuitive interactions, version 5.4 endeavors to make the block editor even better with a plethora of new features and improvements.

Let’s check out in detail what’s new coming in WordPress 5.4 with screenshots!

Improvements to the Block Editor

#The New Welcome Guide Modal:

To help new users get started with the block editor quickly, WordPress 5.4 offers a new welcome guide popup. It is a simple slide show in the popup window showing crucial information about blocks to first-time users, taking them to the Block Library, and providing a link to block editor tutorial.

Want to relaunch the popup? Just click the three-dot menu given on the top-right corner and then select Welcome Guide.

#Improved Performance:

Although Gutenberg is not the fastest editor yet, the Block Editor team claims that in version 5.4, the block editor will offer 14% faster loading and 51% reduction in time-to-type, for a particularly sizable post (~ 36,000 words, ~1,000 blocks).

#Two New Blocks:

WordPress 5.4 introduces two new blocks to the Block Library:

• Social Icons Block: This new block allows you to easily add links to your social profiles inside your website’s pages and posts. You can choose from three styles – pills, logos, and default. Icons are available in their native colors and you’re not allowed to modify them.Simply click the + button to add links to your favorite social media icons.
• Buttons Group Block: This new block replaces the old Button block and enables you to add multiple buttons to your posts and pages.There are two different styles available to choose from: text and background colors and gradient background colors.

#More Color Options for Blocks:

WordPress 5.4 offers more color options for the cover, column, button, and group blocks.

Now, you can set text and background colors for all the blocks inside a group block.

Similarly, you’ll be able to set background and text colors inside the columns block.

#Drag and Drop to Upload Featured Image:

In WordPress 5.3, you’re not able to drag and drop an image to the featured image section but in WordPress 5.4, you can effortlessly drag and drop an image file to set it as a featured image.

#Change Text Color Inside Paragraph Block:

In the present version of WordPress, you can only change the color of the entire paragraph block. Taking it one step further, WordPress 5.4 also allows you to change the color of selected text inside a paragraph.

#Caption Below Table:

While using Table Block, there is an option provided in version 5.4 to let you add a caption below the table to display additional information.

#Fixed Block Toolbar on Mobile:

In the current version of WordPress, the toolbar moves around the block when you type something.

To fix the issue, version 5.4 offers a floating toolbar at the top. The new toolbar appears or vanishes depending on the type of block you’re editing in.

#Easily Select Gallery Image Size:

In the upcoming version of WordPress, you’ll be able to select an appropriate size for all your images under Gallery settings.

#Improved Latest Posts Block:

Starting WordPress 5.4, you’ll also be able to show featured images in the latest posts block.

#Easily Select Blocks:

The forthcoming version of WordPress offers users a ‘select’ tool using which they can easily select a block to change. This feature will surely prove useful when using nested blocks, such as groups and columns.

#The TikTok Embed Block:

Given the growing popularity of TikTok, WordPress 5.4 offers a new TikTok embed block using which you can easily embed videos from TikTok to your WordPress pages and posts.

#Accessibility Improvements:

Improving the accessibility of the CMS has always been a serious topic of discussion for WordPress Core Developers and consequently, some significant accessibility improvements have been made to the Block Editor in WordPress 5.4:

• Easier selection of multiple blocks.
• You can modify the title of an image within the Image block.
• Tabbing now works with the block’s sidebar.
• You can now visually switch between Navigation and Edit modes and also have an option to turn screen reader announcements on.

Accessibility Improvements in the Admin Dashboard

In addition to the block editor, the WordPress Core Team has also made several major accessibility improvements to the Admin Dashboard.

• Better focus management in Menu, Customizer and Site Health screens to fix several issues in existing keyboard navigation.
• Easier keyboard navigation in the Media modal offers better semantics.
• More readable Privacy Policy Guide.

Site Health Check Improvements

In WordPress 5.4, a new Site Health Check widget not only gives you a quick sneak peek into your site’s health but also warns you about potential issues that could negatively affect the performance and security of your WordPress site.

As shown in the image above, a call-to-action button has also been provided to redirect site owners to the Site Health screen where they can see the state of their site in detail with suggested fixes.

That’s all about what’s new coming to WordPress 5.4!

Want to test out the WordPress 5.4 Beta 2? You can either use the WordPress Beta Tester plugin or download the beta from here to play with it on your local computer.

In case you’re looking for custom WordPress theme development and customization, feel free to contact us.

Luckily, there are numerous ways to increase traffic such as Social Media Marketing, SEO improvements, Guest Blogging, and so on. One of the most popular methods for it is Email Marketing in which you send regular eNewsletter to your subscribers.

In WordPress, incorporating a newsletter into your website is very easy. All you need to do is just install a WordPress email newsletter plugin and you’re good to go. However, since WordPress has a host of email newsletter plugins, choosing the right plugin might sometimes be a bit overwhelming to you. That’s why we have listed out the best free WordPress email newsletter plugins which will surely help you in making the right choice.

Let’s get started!

MailPoet

Formerly known as WYSIJA Newsletters, MailPoet is one of the most powerful and popular WordPress email newsletter plugins to create, customize, and add a newsletter subscription form to your WordPress site. To help you quickly build a beautiful email subscription form, this super easy to set up and use plugin comes packed with several stunning responsive email templates that work flawlessly across all devices. The key features of MailPoet WordPress email newsletter plugin include:

• A Drag and Drop Newsletter Editor
• Single and Double opt-in Options
• Option to Schedule Newsletters
• Send Automated Signup Welcome Emails
• Track the Opens, Clicks, and Unsubscribes
• WooCommerce Integration
• GDPR Compliant

MailMunch

With over 20,000+ active installations, MailMunch is another free and popular WordPress email newsletter plugin to get more email subscribers through your WordPress site. Providing all the essential tools to grow your email list and turn your website visitors into customers, this handy plugin allows you to create beautiful opt-in forms without writing a single line of code. Some of the main features of this plugin are:

• Five types of Opt-in Forms
• Page-level Targeting
• Integration with Popular Email Marketing Services, including MailChimp, AWeber, and Constant Contact
• Beautiful and Fully Customizable Newsletter Themes
• A/B Testing to Find Out Which Opt-in Form Performs Better
• Email Subscription Analytics and Statistics

Mailchimp for WordPress

Also abbreviated as MC4WP, Mailchimp for WordPress is a wonderful plugin that you can use to add various methods of signing up for your MailChimp lists to your WordPress site. With this plugin, not only you can easily create user-friendly, good looking, and mobile-optimized opt-in forms but also you can integrate those forms with any existing form on your WordPress site, like contact, comment or checkout form. Despite being an unofficial plugin, the plugin has many notable features, including:

• Styles Builder
• Reports with Visual Charts
• Seamless Integration with Other WordPress Plugins
• Complete Control Over the Form Fields
• A Multitude of Add-on Plugins and Integrations
• Well-documented and Developer-friendly

Also Read: How to Start a Newsletter Subscription Service in WordPress via Mailchimp

Mailjet

Mailjet is an extremely powerful and feature-rich WordPress email newsletter plugin with which you can increase the number of your email subscribers. Actually, this fully-fledged WordPress email newsletter plugin focuses a lot on easy mail management so that you can easily create and manage all of your marketing and transactional emails right from your WordPress Dashboard. Even, you can manage sign-up forms and contact lists with this handy plugin. The main features of the Mailjet plugin include:

• Campaign Builder Tool
• World-class Deliverability
• Automated Contact Synchronization
• Real-time Statistics
• GDPR Compliant
• Full WooCommerce Support
• Shortcode Support
• Integration with Contact Form 7

MailOptin

If you’re looking for a highly flexible and powerful WordPress email newsletter plugin, then MailOptin can be a great option to grow and engage your email list. It comes with an easy to use template and form builder using which you can create pretty and conversion-optimized opt-in forms and email templates with ease. As well, it works out of the box with all popular email marketing services, including MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, etc.

• Various Types of Optin Forms
• An Intuitive Form and Template Builder
• Elementor Form Integration
• Page-level Targeting
• New Post Notifications
• After Conversion Actions
• Email Digest of Published Posts
• Built-in A/B testing feature

Newsletter

As the name itself explains, Newsletter is another leading WordPress email newsletter plugin designed to help you easily build lists and create, send and track e-mails without any hassle. With this super easy to use plugin, not only you can have unlimited subscribers with statistics but also you’ll be able to use an unlimited number of newsletters with tracking. The newsletter just works out of the box and offers a host of features, including:

• A Fully Responsive Drag and Drop Composer
• Subscription Spam Check
• Single and Double opt-in with Privacy Checkbox
• Automated Newsletter Generation
• SMTP and GDPR Ready
• Fully Compatible with Every SMTP Plugin
• Advanced Targeting with Lists Combinations
• Delivery Speed Fine Control

Also Read: Email Newsletter Strategy – Tips for Design, Content & Marketing

Jackmail Newsletters

With over 35000+ downloads and 2000+ active installations, Jackmail claims to be the first WordPress email newsletter plugin ever with a built-in SMTP service. With this amazing plugin, you can create and send fully responsive newsletters right from your WordPress dashboard. Additionally, the plugin works seamlessly with other WordPress plugins, such as ContactForm, NinjaForms, and WPForms. Some of the key features of Jackmail are:

• Drag and Drop EmailBuilder with Responsive Mode
• Automatic Newsletters Based on Triggers
• HTML & Plain-text Mode
• Opt-in Forms and Widget
• 48 Free Newsletter Templates
• WooCommerce Compatibility
• Detailed Statistics on Clicks, Openings, etc.
• Marketing Automation

SendPress Newsletters

If you’re looking for the easiest way to send newsletters right from your WordPress site, SendPress Newsletters is a great option. With this easy to use WordPress email newsletter plugin, not only you can design eye-catching newsletter templates but also you can edit the contents of your newsletter just like you would publish a post in WordPress. Unlike other WordPress email newsletter plugins, SendPress Newsletters also allows you to create newsletter lists according to WordPress roles. Means, you can create and send custom newsletters to your blog authors as well.

• Unlimited Subscribers and Responsive Newsletters with Tracking
• Simple, Code-free Newsletter Editor
• Single and Double Opt-in
• HTML & Plain-text Mode
• Scheduled Sending of Newsletters
• Tracking Options for Clicks, Opens, and Unsubscribes
• Easy to Use Newsletter Theme Styler
• You can use your web host or Gmail to send newsletters for free

In addition to the above-listedWordPress email newsletter plugins, you can also try ALO EasyMail Newsletter and Email Subscribers & Newsletters.

Hopefully, you’d find this article valuable and informative. Now, if you’re looking for a reliable partner to develop a custom responsive email newsletter from PSD, feel free to contact us.

The main reasons why Automation Testing is a preferred choice for quality testers are Speed, Time, and Quality. However, picking the right automated testing tools is the first and foremost step to unleash the true potential of automation testing. With that in mind, here’s a hand-picked list of the best automation testing tools which QA professionals can use to improve their web apps significantly.

Let’s start with understanding what Automated Testing actually is!

What is Automated Testing?

In software testing, Automated Testing or Test Automation refers to the use of specialized software systems, aka automation testing tools, separate from the one being tested, to control the execution of tests and compare the actual outcomes with the expected results.

The automated process requires little or no human intervention and is often used to automate some repetitive but necessary testing tasks that may be too difficult to perform manually. The main objective of automation testing is to provide testers with higher efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy.

What Are the Different Types of Automation Testing?

There are many types of tests that can be automated. However, we can’t really get them all into one post. Here are just a few to give you a good starting point.

#Code Analysis:

These tests leverage different types of static and dynamic code analysis tools, such as SonarQube and Coverity, to check if your code is likely to cause bugs or security problems. In fact, Code Analysis is the first and foremost step to quality improvement.

#Unit Testing:

Unit tests are designed to test a specific section of code individually to ensure it is working as expected.

#Smoke Testing:

Also known as Build Verification Testing, Smoke Testing is usually performed after a maintenance window to examine whether the deployed build is up and running.

#Functional Testing:

Functional Testing is performed to determine whether all functions and features of the software are working as expected or not.

#GUI Testing:

Graphical User Interface (GUI) tests involve the testing of the user interface to ensure all the visual elements of the software are looking and functioning as expected.

#API Driven Testing:

These tests are performed to determine if the Application Programming Interface (API) of the software is working and interacting correctly with other software applications.

#Integration Testing:

Usually performed after the completion of Unit Testing, Integration Testing involves the testing of units or modules that are integrated.

#Regression Testing:

Regression Testing is performed to verify that a recent change in code doesn’t affect the old code, and everything is working like before.

#Acceptance Testing:

Acceptance Testing is usually done to ensure if the software system has met the required criteria for delivery to end-users.

#Performance Testing:

Performance tests are non-functional tests performed to check the speed, scalability, and stability of the software under different workloads.

#Security Testing:

Security Testing performed to check if the software is capable enough to combat with ever-emerging cybersecurity threats.

#Black Box Testing:

Also known as Input-output Testing, Black Box Testing emphasizes testing the software from the user’s perspective by comparing the input data with output data.

#Continuous Testing:

This is performed to get immediate feedback on potential risks associated with a software release candidate.

The Key Benefits of Automation Testing

The key advantages of automated testing include:

• Up to 70% faster than the manual testing
• Wider testing coverage
• Earlier detection of defects
• Improved testing efficiency
• Saves money
• Re-usable test scripts
• Little or no human intervention
• Greater consistency
• Reliability in results
• Improved testing accuracy
• Increased productivity
• Reduction of repetitive work
• Increased efficiency
• Ability to test thoroughly
• Faster feedback
• Faster time-to-market

Automated Testing vs. Manual Testing

To help you understand the difference between automated testing and manual testing, here is a quick comparison of the two.

#Time Factor:

As compared to manual testing, automated testing takes less processing time.

#Random Testing:

Also called Exploratory Testing, Random Testing is not allowed in automation.

#Start-up Cost:

In the long run, automated testing returns higher on investment when compared with manual testing.

#Accuracy:

Automation Testing depicts a higher accuracy than manual testing due to computer-based testing.

#Frameworks:

Automation testing uses various frameworks for testing, whereas manual testing doesn’t.

#The Human Factor:

Humans aren’t a part of the automation testing equation, while manual testing is truly human-based.

#Programming Skills/Knowledge:

Automation testing requires knowledge of various programming languages to write scripts, whereas manual testing doesn’t.

#Testing at Scale:

Testing at a large scale can be easily performed with automation testing, while manual testing requires a significant amount of time for the same.

#Turnaround Time:

In automation testing, the turnaround time is much lower as compared to manual testing.

Top Automated Testing Tools for 2020

1: LambdaTest

LambdaTest is one of the most popular and widely used cloud-based cross-browser testing platform that empowers QA professionals to perform automated and live interactive testing on their websites and web applications across 2000+ web/mobile browsers and operating systems online. You can even integrate it with your favorite tools such as Asana, Slack, Trello, Jira, and more to collaborate seamlessly with other testers.

2: Selenium

Selenium is an open-source suite of testing tools that automate web browsers across a variety of platforms. Comprised of 4 components, Selenium WebDriver, Selenium IDE, Selenium Grid, and Selenium RC, it facilitates test engineers to run, scale and distribute complex and advanced automation scripts across a wide range of environments.

Designed to help you automatically test the functional aspects of a web application, Selenium works well with several programming/scripting languages, testing systems, browsers, and operating systems.

3: Experitest

Experitest is your all-in-one solution for cross-browser testing, Appium & Selenium testing, mobile app testing, and more. With this extremely powerful testing tool, you can create and execute hundreds of manual or automated tests simultaneously across 2000+ browsers, devices, and operating systems in the cloud. Additionally, it also integrates well with other popular development and testing tools.

4: Ranorex

Trusted by over 4k+ companies and 14k+ users worldwide, Ranorex is an all-in-one tool to automate the testing of desktop, web-based and mobile applications. Using this exceptionally powerful automated testing tool, you can create and run automated test modules using popular programming languages and frameworks such as C#, Java, and VB.NET. And, the best thing about Ranorex is that it comes with a codeless click-and-go interface and best suitable for beginners.

5: Watir

Pronounced as “water”, Watir is an abbreviation for “Web Application Testing in Ruby”. With the help of this open-source Ruby library, you can automate web application testing for popular modern web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer. The most noteworthy thing about Watir is that it interacts with a browser the same way a human does.

6: Katalon Studio

Used by over 55k small, medium, and large companies, Katalon Studio is a complete cross-platform automation testing solution for API, web, mobile and desktop applications. It is built on top of Selenium and Appium and facilitates you to quickly generate and execute tests on all browsers, devices, and operating systems. Available on both Windows and Mac, Katalon comes with a built-in test recorder and offers out-of-the-box Jira integration.

7: LEAPWORK

LEAPWORK is another popular automation platform that allows you to write and execute high-quality test cases without writing a single line of code. Unlike other automated testing tools in the list, it offers visual building blocks that include all the logic and commands needed for test automation, RPA and more. Moreover, it has the shortest learning curve of any equivalent tool and requires only a single day to get started.

8: CloudQA

Built on the top of Selenium, CloudQA is a simple yet powerful cloud-based automation testing tool that offers codeless testing along with record and playback. Allowing you to run hundreds of tests in parallel across different browsers, it speeds up regression testing and release cycles by up to five times. Furthermore, CloudQA integrates well with your existing tech stack, including Slack, Asana, Jenkins, and Jira.

9: Cypress

Cypress is a lightweight and fast open-source front-end testing tool designed to make everything from setting up to writing and running to debugging easier for both developers and QA engineers. It is created keeping the modern web in mind and thereby can handle modern JavaScript frameworks like no other tool. While most end-to-end automated testing tools are Selenium-based, Cypress is built with a completely new architecture from the ground up.

10: TestComplete

Claimed to be the easiest-to-use automated testing tool, TestComplete leverages the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make it quicker and easier for QA professionals to create, maintain, and execute automated UI functional tests across for mobile, web, and desktop applications – all without additional plug-ins. With TestComplete, you can expand your test coverage and ensure you ship battle-tested, bug-free web applications.

11: TestingWhiz

TestingWhiz is a simple, intuitive and codeless automation testing tool for multiple scenarios such as Web, Mobile, API testing, etc. Having a very short learning curve, it comes with a powerful Automation Engine using which you can take your test and deploy your web applications at DevOps speed. Equipped with an intuitive Record/Playback feature, TestingWhiz offers over 300+ drag and drop commands to take your test automation to a whole new level.

12: TestCraft

TestCraft is a code-free test automation platform that allows testers to visually create fully automated, Selenium-based test scenarios that you can run on multiple browsers, platforms, and work environments. Like TestComplete, TestCraft also takes advantage of the revolutionary AI technology to reduce maintenance time as well as the development cost of a web application.

In addition to the above-mentioned automation testing tools, you can also try the following tools to automate testing of your web applications:

• Squish
• Sahi Pro
• TestCafe Studio
• Apache JMeter
• Eggplant

How to Pick the Right Automation Testing Tool?

With a multitude of automation testing tools available online, selecting the right tool can sometimes be tricky. Keep the following criteria in mind to select the best automation tool for your requirement:

• Ease of use
• Environment Support
• Database testing
• Object identification and mapping
• Image testing
• Scripting language used
• Error recovery testing
• Support for multiple testing frameworks
• Support for various types of tests
• Minimize training cost of selected tools
• Extensive test reports and results

Hopefully, you would find this article useful and informative. In case you’re looking for a reliable partner to automate the testing of your web applications, feel free to contact us.

• Design
• Content
• Marketing

Through this article, our motto is to share with you some of the finest tips regarding email newsletter design, content, and marketing. Through these tips, you can easily attract the attention of your potential clients and help generate more sales.

Newsletter Design Strategy

There are a lot of things that go into the design strategy of an email newsletter. For a newsletter to achieve the desired objective, design elements play a very crucial role. So let us examine these.

#Use a custom email template

For your email newsletter to make an impact upon recipients, templates play an important role. In this regard, you need to use a customized HTML newsletter template. The reason for using the same:

• To stand apart from the crowd
• To tailor it as per your needs
• Less time to develop and cost-effective as well
• More scope for making email interactive
• Flexibility of making a one-use or reusable template

#Opt for web-safe fonts

Typography plays an important part in email newsletter design. Your newsletter’s effect on recipients depends on the fonts you use. So, let us explore why it is necessary to stick to web-safe fonts.

• For maintaining a consistent look
• Don’t go overboard with fonts, be simple
• Readability should be given primacy
• Avoid being cluttered and uncoordinated
• Fonts used for branding and email newsletter should be similar

#Strike the right balance with images

It is pertinent to main the right balance with images on newsletters. Pictures, as they say, do the job of a thousand words. Hence, it is essential to have images in adequate numbers. But, it should not be image-heavy as well. Some of the things to consider while displaying images are:

• Analyse whether a background image is needed for newsletter
• Use alt text to describe any images so that even with pictures disabled things make sense
• Don’t hide important information in images
• Select images that are clear and crisp

In case you need images for your newsletter then there are free sites for the same as well.

#Go for the right colors

Colors play a vital part in email newsletter design. When you are trying to woo the subscribers, it is mandatory to use colors to set their mood. So, why colors are important in newsletters:

• Aids in brand recognition
• They can be aesthetically appealing
• Prompt people to make purchases
• Set the mood of recipients

This is why colors are very significant when it comes to email. Your logo will more or less be the same. You could use seasonal images inside the body of your newsletter. This helps in getting subscribers emotionally attached to certain colors. So make sure that you get the right colors for your newsletter.

#Get the CTA part right

We have come across several design aspects such as fonts, colors, etc that play crucial roles in a successful email program. There is one thing that many email newsletter campaigns do not take seriously. That happens to be Call To Action functionality. Eventually, the triumph of your email newsletter design is defined by the clicks it garners. The CTA is very vital in involving subscribers in the email newsletter.

Attributes of a good call to action:

• Easily-seen and actionable
• Could come across in several formats, a link or a button
• Should come several times in an email, most likely 3

#The design should be mobile-friendly

These days people use mobile or tablets to check mail and perform other functions. So, your e-newsletter should not only come across perfectly on a PC or a desktop but also on the screens of mobile and tablet devices. Hence, you should try out these measures to intensify your newsletter’s compatibility with mobile and tablet devices.

• Opt for a single-column layout
• Intensify the font size for enhanced readability
• Keep email within 600 pixels wide
• Refrain from having tiny navigation or menu bars
• Go for touch-friendly buttons and links

So, design your newsletter in line with mobile or tablet usage in mind.

#The design should be minimal

The design is very much integral in making the newsletter a success story. It can lure or drive the subscribers away. Hence it is essential to pay attention to the details of the design. It is advisable to focus on the core message than style while designing the same. Keep it simple as much as possible and do not be too flashy with the design aspect. Some of these tips would help your design to achieve the intended purpose.

• Have appropriate white space in the design
• Give both HTML and plain text versions
• Design should not overpower the content
• Eschew the tendency to use heavy-duty graphics

Never forget the fact that a simple and straight-forward newsletter is the one that people would prefer.

#Incorporate video, GIF wherever applicable

These days GIFs and video are used quite a lot in email. These can add more value to the newsletter if done properly. There are certain dos, and don’ts to follow here:

• Don’t go overboard with these
• Feature video and GIFs that are relevant to your product
• Ensure these are not too “in your face”

Remember, when it comes to design it is not about mere glamour or appeal, the message should come across effortlessly.

Newsletter Content Strategy

For email newsletter to be effective, it is advisable to have an excellent content strategy. Such a strategy will encourage decisive actions from your audience and turns such members into customers. So, let us get into some vital aspects involved in a good newsletter content strategy.

#The content should be short

In newsletters, it is better to have less and precise content. It is not a good idea to have large text. Over here, the mantra should be less is more. Avoid the tendency to shove as many information into the newsletter. Some of the things to be considered while drafting content are:

• Keep defined breaks in your newsletter between items
• Use appealing texts, like linked texts, bold words, etc, sparingly
• Avoid giving the full article
• Give short snippets of articles with a link to read it fully
• Employ bullet points to highlight important textual content
• Content should be accurate and well-researched

#Convey messages effectively

Even in newsletter content reigns supreme. However, as discussed previously, long texts should be avoided. There are several other ways to deliver valuable content to your customers. Hence, you are required to follow certain steps here.

• Give valuable information that would push people to open the mail
• Spice up the newsletter with giveaways, contests, and other captivating items
• Help customers by giving important industry-related news
• Keep the content compact, clear, fun and informative
• Update customers on any new changes in your products or services
• Use infographics to send across the message swiftly

#Use headers and footers aptly

In email newsletters motto is to grab attention as quickly as possible. You don’t have elaborate time for the same. The time is of essence over here. The first few parts are crucial in making an impact upon subscribers. Three things to be considered over here are:

• Header offers the first opportunity to impress, so use it judiciously
• Footer also becomes crucial as it gives the proper feel of the mail
• Do not forget to include social media icons as well as an unsubscribe button

#Think of a captivating subject line

Subject lines play a very crucial in making your newsletter click. It can make or mar your efforts. So, ensure that you come up with a very good subject line. Here are some very good methods to make your subject line effective.

• Think of original subject lines to keep the interest of people intact
• Have emojis on the subject line to heighten the chances of open rate
• It should be mobile -friendly as people use these gadgets more these days
• Think out of the box while conceiving the subject line
• A subject line composed as a question leads to high engagement

#Select sender’s name carefully

What would you do if you get an email from an unknown person? The answer is simple, you would not even bother opening the same. It would be deleted immediately as well. So, all the efforts that have been put in to create the newsletter have gone down the drain. In case you are a known entity in the business arena, then people might just click on the mail. But what about others?

So, what should be done in the circumstances? Go for the personal approach by including the name of the real person. This would work perfectly for you. Also, by utilizing a genuine email address instead of a no-reply address, you are allowing subscribers to reply to your email, which is good for your reputation as well.

#Create a Newsletter Content Calendar

It would be a very good idea to devise a content calendar for your newsletter. It is always helpful to have an editorial plan in place for the newsletter because in case you are blogging, you can incorporate the same to your editorial calendar. Also, if your business happens to be seasonal in nature, a calendar can be a good tool to maintain ties with your subscribers during off-seasons.

So, you require a content calendar with a clearly etched editorial strategy that encompasses industry events, seasonality, and company news. This whole process of having the calendar helps you in many ways.

• Gauge the reaction of your subscribers
• Gives you a good platform for interaction with subscribers
• Plan newsletter in a better way

#Consistency has to be maintained with sections

In newsletters, consistency has to be maintained as far as content sections are concerned. These can’t be different from what was given previously. As a reference, you only have to follow the template of a newspaper. As for newspapers, you know what to find on which pages, the same formula applies in the newsletter as well. What purpose does this serve?

• Subscribers will not face any issue in accessing the information
• This can encourage active participation from subscribers
• A positive-word-of-mouth about the newsletter can be created

Newsletter Marketing Strategy

It is essential to get the desired output from your email marketing efforts. If you are unable to fetch favorable results, then you need to rework your email newsletter strategy. So, here are some of the powerful email marketing tips to get your newsletter on track.

#Make it Subscribers-specific

Nobody is going to open your newsletter if they have not signed up for your emails. In such circumstances, your email newsletter would only end up seeing the recycle bin folder. So what you should do. You can certainly try out these things.

• Approach only those who are in your subscribers’ list
• Try to find out those people who would be interested in your products or services
• Do not try to buy subscribers
• Give many options for subscribers to receive your emails post sign up

#Go for double opens strategy

This is an effective strategy for the email newsletter. This means re-sending the mail with a different subject line to subscribers, who did not open the mail in the first instance. The reason why they did not open because 7 out of 10 don’t open your mail at the first instance. There has to be some extra push needed with your newsletter to make them open your newsletter. Hence, there are some points to be considered while re-sending the mail.

• Find some attractive things to be included in the newsletter
• Be mindful of your send time
• Don’t resend the mail immediately
• A wait time of 3-5 days is advisable

Try this method, who knows, you might be second-time lucky.

#Accord high priority to engagement

The chief objective of a marketer is to boost sales, and the dispatch of the newsletter is often done with this in mind. There is nothing wrong in it as increasing sales is your ultimate goal. However, you should also think about building a relationship apart from accomplishing the chief objective. Why people join your email list?

• To get to know more about your business
• To learn how unique you are from others
• To gauge your business ethics

Only after this, they think of dealing with you commercially. Hence, preference should be given to building ties. This leads to more engagement from them. So, engagement is vital in making your newsletter campaign a success.

#Stop bombarding them with messages

Bombarding messages to customers is a bad email newsletter marketing strategy. This can spell a lot of trouble for your email newsletter campaign. There is a limit to messaging customers, and if you cross that limit, then the consequences can be extremely disastrous.

• This can annoy customers to no end
• It would be difficult for you to win them back
• This can kick up a negative word of mouth publicity for your business
• Finding new customers can be extremely tough
• Majority of people will mark your email as spam or unsubscribe from your mailing list

How to avoid this phenomenon of over mailing? You can opt for frequency capping, which cuts down the frequency of mailers people receive for a certain time. Over here, you can set the limit to the number mails to be sent for a particular duration.

#Constantly test your email newsletter

This is another important step in email newsletter marketing initiative. You need to assess your email campaign for efficacy regularly. This is very important; otherwise, you won’t be able to cope up with changing business dynamics. By constantly testing, you will come across various patterns, and you can accordingly make adjustments to your email marketing strategy. Things to consider while testing the same.

• Your opinion or gut feeling should be avoided
• Base your decision on open, conversion and click-through rates
• Inspect all the elements in your email campaign thoroughly
• For accuracy, test one element at a time

There are several newsletter testing tools as well such as Litmus, Email on Acid, etc. So, do this assessment correctly and recalibrate your email marketing strategy.

#Keep yourself updated about new trends

The landscape of email marketing is constantly evolving. It is not necessary that something that works today would work tomorrow. So, you should try to stay updated with new trends. Things to do over here is:

• Understand new developments in the email marketing domain
• Just forget what has become obsolete
• Don’t fall prey to email marketing myths and misconceptions

This tip is important if you want to convert subscribers into customers. So, be aware of what’s not working and working.

#Sort your list by relevance

The cardinal sin you can commit as an email marketer is dispatching the similar generic emails to all the people on your list. This is the biggest email marketing blunder you can come up in the name of strategy. Do you realize why? It is simple as people are not bothered about what is irrelevant to them.

For example, why would a hotel owner be interested in eCommerce trends? You should ideally send him some new developments regarding hotels. So, be more specific in your newsletter marketing strategy. Now how do you go about this segmentation? Choose these parameters:

• Area of residence
• Gauge Interests based on visited pages, emails opened, and content read, etc
• Open rates and clicks
• Past buying pattern
• Additional information provided via opt-in (occupation, entity, etc.)

Hence, begin segmenting your list the moment a subscriber joins your mailing list.

Provide something for free

In marketing, it is of common knowledge that it is not a one-way street. In order to gain something, you also need to offer something. The same logic applies to email newsletter marketing strategy as well. Hence, you should offer something valuable for free in your welcome email. There are very good reasons for this:

• It generates a warm feeling among subscribers
• An ideal manner to build ties with subscribers
• It shows your worth instantly
• This can also make them wait curiously for your next email newsletter

Also, make sure they find this freebie quite valuable. After all, this is about proving your worth.

Conclusion

It is very much evident that for successful email newsletter campaigns, three things are very crucial: content, design, and marketing. An email marketer has to give equal importance to all three elements to make his newsletter strategy work. So, follow these tips to chalk out a potent email newsletter strategy.

Hopefully you’ll find this guide valuable and informative. Feel free to contact us if you’re looking for a reliable PSD to Email Newsletter Conversion Service Provider.

The platform is packed with excellent features like attractive templates. With Shopify, users can sell goods, physically or digitally, online with ease. Developing an attractive and content-rich website using Shopify is fine, but that is not the end of the story. The next part is to get organic traffic from search engines for your Shopify-powered venture. This is easier said than done as adopting the right SEO techniques requires a lot of thinking and planning.

Why Do You Need SEO in eCommerce?

The SEO is something which we keep hearing every now and then. Everyone talks about SEO, but not many understand the concept in the truest sense. For the uninitiated, it is the process of optimizing your website to get natural or unpaid traffic through the search engine results page. The SEO is done with the sole purpose of displaying your website in the top five results on the search engine.

By now, it is pretty much evident that SEO is a critical component of your website in magnifying its visibility. Even in eCommerce ventures, be it based on WooCommerce or Shopify, SEO plays a significant part in driving traffic. By employing the right optimization tactics, the online stores powered by Shopify or any other platforms can easily reach out to their target audience. One such tactic happens to be website structure optimization, which helps you avoid duplicate content on your Shopify store. Check our some really good reasons to optimize the structure of your eCommerce website.

3 Reasons to Optimize Your Shopify Store for SEO

Many times, Shopify store owners find themselves in a quandary due to lack of traffic despite having a content-rich eCommerce platform. It must be noted that having a descriptive website is fine, but it solely does not guarantee organic traffic. The key is to improve your Search Engine Optimization(SEO) so that your online store becomes easily visible on search engines, the place crowded by those searching for anything. So, it is apparent that Shopify store owners must optimize their store for SEO.

#SEO is like an unpaid advertisement:

What people mostly do when they have to buy or purchase something. They go to Google or any other search engines to search the product. When they come across a search engine results page, they are bound to choose the topmost options. If your product does not feature in the top results then you will lose, irrespective of the quality and variety of services you offer. This is where SEO does the trick. By adopting relevant SEO practices, your Shopify-based site can easily break into the top of the results page. This explains why you need to optimize your Shopify store for SEO.

#Optimization establishes brand credibility:

Everyone looks for brand credibility. The same applies in your case as well because even you would not buy anything from an unknown entity. Now, the question is how to achieve the same for your Shopify online store. Even here also SEO comes to your rescue. By following correct SEO guidelines, your site will feature in the top results. When the audience sees your site on the top, they start believing in the brand value of yours. This prompts them to visit your site and make purchases.

#It boosts sales as well:

The SEO ensures increased traffic to your Shopify-powered website as a result of positive brand exposure. This leads to the multiplying of your customer base and, eventually, sales. The main objective of every eCommerce venture is to enhance the bottom line. It is common knowledge that your business cannot be profitable if sales are on the decline. So, optimizing your site goes a long way in taking your offerings to a wide audience and increasing the sales of your products online.

4 Ways to Improve the SEO of Your Shopify Store

Dissimilar to other sites, Shopify-powered stores have different kinds of SEO. Content marketing won’t be the sole priority as far as these sites are concerned. In fact, you would be splitting your bases between three types of optimization. There are technical aspects such as metadata, URL structure, etc. and you also have to factor in crucial on-page SEO aspects like content optimization. So, let’s explore these factors to identify steps to improve the SEO of Shopify stores.

#Use an SEO-optimized theme:

In order to have an effective Shopify-powered eCommerce store, choosing a SEO-friendly theme is essential. With an a SEO-optimized theme, your website will face no problem with regard to search engine optimization. When it comes to SEO-friendly themes, it is always advisable to opt for a custom Shopify theme as it will be specific to your SEO requirements. However, if you want to opt for pre-made theme, then there are some good options available for the same at Shopify store as well:

• Minimal
• Jumpstart
• Supply
• Debut
• Simple

#Get your keywords right:

Over here, it might be a bit boring, but you have to go back to the traditional method of manual keyword research. Identify the kind of keywords people are using to find your products for the purpose of purchasing them. Look for keywords that stress on purchases. This might sound a bit old-fashioned but very effective way to optimize your Shopify store. There are some keyword search tools which can help you out in finding the right keyword:

• Ubersuggest
• Google Keyword Planner
• KWFinder
• Keyword Tool
• SEMrush

#Building Quality back-links:

By building quality links for your Shopify store you can easily improve your search engine rankings. It’s happens to one of the productive ways to grow organic search traffic. However, you need to be cautious when it comes to building quality backlinks as links play a major part in how Google and other search engines determine trustworthiness a website is from the beginning. Here is how you can attract and build quality back-links for any eCommerce store.

#Be innovative while writing product pages:

An eCommerce site features mostly products. These pages need to be descriptive and interesting. A striking and poignant description of the product is mandatory to attract maximum eyeballs. This apart, mention technical aspects of the product such as size and dimensions. Also, think of a unique feature, which Google can utilize for organic ranking and influences users to take a decision.

 Best Shopify SEO Apps to Drive Sales

It is true that the Shopify platform is adept at dealing with most of the technical problems pertaining to the SEO, however, it won’t be a bad idea to install an app with which you can directly influence your site. If you have the relevant app, then it can easily spot SEO errors and guide you on how to fix them. This is akin to automated SEO audit.

There are numerous Shopify SEO apps available to make your business profitable. These applications are very much adept at resolving any kind of issues pertaining to optimization. They are also capable of improving the rankings of your Shopify store on search engines. Considering the number of choices, it would be tough for you to zero in on one. Hence, to make your job easier, we have compiled a list of six best Shopify SEO apps.

Smart SEO:

This Shopify app makes your WordPress website very much accessible to Google and other search engines. Smart SEO also helps your website attract organic traffic. Over here, you don’t have to enter meta tags or alt tags manually for every product in your store. The Smart SEO app can generate the same for you.

SEO Ranger:

This is another Shopify app that will certainly boost SEO prospects of your online store. With just a single click, the SEO Ranger can scan your entire website. This can also find and fix optimization issues, plaguing your Shopify-powered eCommerce venture.

SEO Assistant by Buymaxx:

This is another valuable Shopify app which can boost the SEO potentials of your eStore. With flexible SEO settings for products and pages, the app can easily facilitate higher organic traffic and search engine rankings. Its Advanced SEO Automation saves your valuable time by automatically editing Meta tags and ALT tags in bulk.

SEO Manager:

With the SEO Manager, it would become easy and convenient to follow and execute SEO strategies to help your store get good rankings on search engines. This is very user-friendly and helps you in getting real-time feedback about the results of your site optimization efforts. Broken links can be detrimental to your SEO prospects as search engines perceive 404 error in a negative light. The SEO Manager keeps broken links issues under check by automatically fixing the same.

SEO- All in one & Auto SEO:

This application has perfect solutions for all the SEO needs of your Shopify store. It optimizes images with smart and flexible SEO friendly ALT tags to multiply traffic from image search engines. It can also fix issues pertaining to broken link as well. It is also capable of scanning your entire online Store for SEO-related issues.

SEO image Optimizer:

SEO Image Optimizer fits perfectly in your scheme of things if you want to provide Alt-text to images. This has to be one of the most trusted apps for SEO from the stable of Shopify store. This enhances user experience and betters your store ranking. This application is a must if you wish to harness your SEO potential.

Final Thoughts:

After going through the article it has emerged with clarity that SEO is a critical component for all websites which should not be ignored at all. The SEO is also very significant for Shopify-powered eCommerce sites as well to get higher ranking and drive organic traffic. This even leads to growth in sales as well. With right SEO guidelines, websites based on Shopify or any other platforms can flourish even in the cut-throat competitive world. In case, you are looking for a reliable partner to build an eCommerce site on Shopify platform, feel free to contact us.

What Do You Mean by a Landing Page?

A landing page is an integral part of your web page through which you can enhance sales and secure good leads as well. It’s a page where people arrive at first, see the content, and take action, such as buying a product or subscribing to your site. In a broad sense, an efficient landing page of a WordPress or any other site should serve the purpose of a potent marketing tool that drives traffic and turns the same into potential leads.

Key Characteristics of a High Convertible Landing Page

All landing pages are not alike, but there are a few characteristics that define an effective landing page. These are some of the common attributes of the high convertible landing page on WordPress or any other platforms.

Structure is vital

One common factor that adversely affects landing pages is the improper flow of content. This happens due to the misconception that a landing page has to follow a logical pattern by explaining the concept and subsequently end with a call-to-action. This simply does not work. Hence, It is advisable that call-to-action (CTA) should remain at the top of the page, as it leads to very good returns in the future. This is something that needs to be factored in while designing a landing page.

Pointed Headline

More often than not, the headline is the one that creates an impression upon the visitor, as it is the first thing that he or she sees on a landing page. And hence, the headline should be given paramount significance. But the question is, how do you make a high converting headline? Well, it has to be clear, concise, and crisp. So, in case you give high priority to headline, then you can easily achieve a good conversion rate on your landing page.

Apt Color scheme

The color of your landing page also plays a significant role in enhancing the value of the page. In fact, there has to be a logical pattern behind the usage of colors on the landing page. For instance, the color Orange stands for clarity and warmth, Red can be electrifying and brave, and Green stands for progress, finance, and spirit. There are other colors as well that convey different messages. So, a color evokes several emotions and feelings. In fact, it won’t be exaggerating to say that colors leave an effect on the subconscious level.

Credibility and Approval

It is better not to be overtly marketing when it comes to the content on the landing pages, as that might dilute its realism. This clearly implies that instead of being pushy, the messages should be effective enough to let your audience take a call based on the facts. One of the ideal ways to achieve this is by using social proof such as customer testimonials, reviews, and case studies. So, be natural.

Top 4 Landing Page Plugins for WordPress Sites

There are landing page plugins that come with pre-designed landing page templates with which you can customize a bit. The plugins are devised by experts, and hence you can create some amazing landing pages in quick time. So, here we’ve shortlisted the best landing page plugins for your convenience.

#Beaver builder:

Beaver Builder happens to be a well-known WordPress landing page plugin. It has got many ready-made templates to create an effective landing page. With this plugin, landing pages can be edited quickly through drag and drop builder. You only need to just click on any element in a page for editing purposes. It is also possible to move properties up and down, or include new modules to your page.

#Leadpages:

Leadpages is also a very good WordPress drag and drop page builder to swiftly generate landing pages. It is a self-sufficient landing page builder, which can perform functions with or without a WordPress website. It contains several professionally designed templates that can be used as a starting point. All these templates can be leveraged for lead generation and conversion.

#Divi:

Divi is another helpful plugin for building landing pages for WordPress sites. It is the creation of Elegant Themes, one of the oldest WordPress theme shops in the market. It has more than 20 ready to use landing page templates. Also, with this plugin, you can make your own templates and reuse them later.

#OptimizePress:

OptimizePress is a robust plugin to create landing pages for WordPress sites. It has theme and plugin that can be used with any other WordPress theme. There are over 30 ready to use templates as well as far as this plugin is concerned. It has a design tool to edit landing page templates. The OptimizePress also merges seamlessly with various email marketing services and WordPress membership plugins.

Finally

So, the creation of a landing page is an ongoing exercise as you can’t have it in one go. This means successful landing pages are those that get tweaked and optimized constantly. In case you want your landing pages to achieve the desired results, then it requires regular analysis and appropriate remedies. It is not a one-fix solution. Also, if you are looking for a trusted development partner to develop a custom landing page for your WordPress site, feel free to contact us.

As a recent instance, following the release of Angular 7 last year in October, the Angular team is now back again with a brand-new version of the framework, Angular 8!

Unlike the previous version, which was mainly focused on boosting the speed and performance of the framework, Angular 8.0 revolves around reducing the startup time of applications as well as alignment of the platform with the ecosystem and latest web standards. Let’s explore in detail what new and exciting Angular 8.0 brings to developers.

Differential Loading by Default

From version 8.0 onwards, the Angular CLI will produce and label two separate optimized JavaScript bundles by default, which are Modern (ES2015+) and Legacy (ES5). Means, when users load your application, the browser, depending on your application’s requirements, will automatically load the appropriate bundle for them.

Taking advantage of this new feature, the Angular Team has successfully reduced the initial bundle size for modern browsers by around 41Kb.

Consequently, the loading speed and time to interactive (TTI) of applications built with Angular 8 is expected to get dramatically improved on modern browsers!

Learn more about differential loading here.

Route Configurations Now Use Dynamic Imports

Starting Angular 8, the Angular Team will be using the industry standard dynamic imports in place of below custom syntax which was built into the toolchain:

{path: ‘/admin’, loadChildren: ‘./admin/admin.module#AdminModule’}

Therefore it is highly recommended you use the loadChildren key in the $route APIs to lazily load parts of your applications. The new syntax will look like:

{path: /admin, loadChildren: () =>
import(./admin/admin.module).then(m => m.AdminModule)}

Strictly speaking, the use of Dynamic Imports will improve the support from editors such as WebStorm and VSCode and as a result, they will now be able to better understand and validate these imports for you.

Builder and Workspace APIs in the CLI

Taking the Angular CLI to a whole new level in version 8.0, the Angular Core Developers have added two new APIs to the framework: Builder APIs and Workspace APIs.

Where the Builder APIs lets you perform processes like build and deployment using ng build, ng test and ng run, on the other hand, Workspace APIs make reading and modifying the angular.json file (which was introduced in Angular 6) a breeze for developers.

Improved Support for Web Worker

Offloading unnecessary work to a background thread, Web Workers dramatically boost the speed of your application, particularly when it needs to do any kind of CPU intensive computations. Keeping the request of developers from around the globe, the Angular Team now allows you to generate new web workers right from the CLI. To add a web worker to your Angular project, you just need to run the following command:

ng generate webWorker my-worker

Read more about the usage of Web Workers in the Angular CLI here.

Improvements to AngularJS Migration

To make migrating from AngularJS to Angular as painless as possible, the Angular Team has introduced a new module, called LocationUpgradeModule, in version 8.0. This module enables a unified location service to efficiently shift responsibilities from the AngularJS $location service to the Angular Location Service. The main purpose of this improvement is to improve the lives of applications with routing implemented in both versions of Angular.

In addition, Angular Core Developers have also documented lazy loading best practices to make it easier for developers to migrate the most frequently used features first from AngularJS to Angular.

New Deprecation Guide

Keeping their commitment to maintaining Semantic Versioning and providing a high degree of stability across major versions of the framework, the Angular Team offers a new Deprecation Guide in version 8.0, which puts together all the deprecations and removals into one place for the convenience of developers.

For the public API, the Angular Core Developers are committed to providing feature support for N+2 releases. Thus, a feature that is deprecated in Angular 8 will continue to work in the upcoming two releases of the framework i.e. Angular 9 and Angular 10.

Opt-In usage Sharing

To keep their efforts in alignment with the needs of the community, the Angular Team has added an opt-in telemetry in CLI. Using this feature, Angular 8.0 will be able to collect anonymous data from users only if they allow it to. This information will help the Angular Team to understand how developers use version 8.0 so that they could make the platform even better in the future.

That’s all about Angular 8.0! For detailed information and guidance on upgrading your application to version 8, please visit Angular Update Guide. Feel free to contact us if you face any trouble while upgrading or have any query related to Angular website and application development.

• Separate URLs (m-Dot websites)
• Dynamic Serving
• Web Apps
• Responsive Web Design (RWD)
• Native Apps
• Google’s AMP

While the latter three techniques have been with us for a while, developers today are looking forward to taking advantage of a whole new set of possibilities, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), to further improve the mobile experience. Through this blog post, you’ll learn what PWAs actually are, their key benefits and possible ways to turn a WordPress site into a Progressive Web App.

Let’s get started!

What is a Progressive Web App?

Originally introduced by Google, the concept of Progressive Web Apps revolves around delivering users a speedy app-like experience inside the browser on both desktop and mobile through modern web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.

In its simplest sense, a progressive web app combines the flexibility of a web app with the experience of a native app to ensure your users get the best experience possible on all devices, including smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops, and whatever device comes next. Google describes them as being:

• Reliable: Being independent of internet connectivity, PWAs are more reliable than native mobile apps. They load instantly, even in uncertain network conditions.
  
• Fast: They load at the speed of light and respond quickly to user interactions. According to an infographic designed by AppInstitute, PWAs are 15x faster than native apps.
  
• Engaging: Behaving exactly like a native app, a Progressive Web App offers users an immersive full-screen experience and can even re-engage them with features like Add to Homescreen and Web Push Notifications. As an example, OLX, one of the largest Indian online destinations for classified ads, was able to increase re-engagement on the mobile web by 250% through a PWA.
  

Statistically, each step involved in downloading, installing and using a native app costs you around 20% of potential users. The general process of downloading and installing a native app looks something like this:

• Open the App Store
• Search for the app
• Click install and wait
• Accept various permissions
• Open the app
• App launches
• Sign in to the app (optional)
• Use the app

On the other hand, a Progressive Web App simplifies the entire process into a relatively easier four-step process:

• Visit the site
• Add to the home screen
• Go to the home screen and open the site
• Use the app

In essence, a Progressive Web App is a JavaScript application designed to bridge the gap between the mobile web and mobile apps with advanced features like Offline Mode, Add to Homescreen and Web Push Notifications.

Key Characteristics of a Progressive Web App

According to Google Developers, an app must have the following characteristics to be considered as a PWA:

• Progressive: It must be built with progressive enhancement as a core tenet and must work for every user, regardless of the browser or OS choice.
• Responsive: The layout and design of a PWA must fit any form factor, including mobile, tablet, desktop and even something yet to emerge.
• Connectivity Independent: If not all, at least some areas of the app must work properly on low-quality networks, or even offline!
• App-like: The app must feel just like a native app to the user with app-style interactions and navigation.
• Fresh: Whenever the user goes online, the app should automatically update itself without any action from the user.
• Lightning Fast: The app must load at the speed of light and respond quickly to user interactions, even under poor network conditions.
• Safe and Secure: The app must always be served via HTTPS to eliminate the risk of snooping and ensure no-one can tamper with your app.
• Discoverable: Despite being classified as an app, a Progressive Web App must be easily discoverable by all search engines.
• Engaging: The app must be able to engage users through web push notifications, just like a native app does with native push notifications.
• Easily Installable: Users must be able to install and keep the app on their home screen without the need for downloading and installing it from an app store.
• Linkable: The app should be easily shared via a URL and shouldn’t require any complex installation.

Why Should You Convert Your WordPress Site Into a PWA?

Building a high-quality Progressive Web App for your WordPress site has several incredible benefits, ranging from increased engagement to improved conversions. Let’s take a look at how PWAs can change your WordPress-based online business:

Reliably Fast and Boosted Performance:

Studies have shown that if a website takes more than three seconds to load, almost 50% of the visitors are likely to abandon the site. With a PWA, you don’t have to worry about the load speed as all the contents of your WordPress site are saved locally and can even be accessed offline.

Increased Engagement:

When you turn your WordPress site into a Progressive Web App, features like Web Push Notifications increase the user engagement by 4X. Also, users are likely to spend twice as much time on the site.

Improved Conversions:

Since a Progressive Web App is able to deliver users an amazing, app-like experience on both mobile and desktop devices, they dramatically improve the conversion rate of your WordPress site. According to Google itself, AliExpress, an online retail service based in China, witnessed conversion rates for new users increase by 104% after the implementation of PWA.

Works Offline Too:

The ability to work offline is what largely differentiates a Progressive Web App from a native app. To access a PWA, users don’t need an internet connection. Another great thing about PWAs is that they can send web push notifications even if the browser is not opened. This engages and keeps users returning to the website over and over again, which eventually results in a decreased bounce rate and multiple user sessions.

Faster to Develop, Implement, Update:

To develop a Progressive Web App, you don’t to be a coding ninja. With a good knowledge of web languages like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, building a PWA is just a matter of a few hours.

Also, unlike a native app that needs to be developed separately for each OS and requires approval from the app store to become available publicly, a single Progressive Web App works across all platforms and doesn’t require any third party approval.

Prerequisites to Setup a PWA in WordPress

To turn your WordPress site into a finest quality Progressive Web App, there are two key prerequisites that must be met:

• Your WordPress site must be HTTPS secured. Means, the green padlock must always present in the Address bar of the browser.
• Your WordPress site must be fully responsive i.e. it should work perfectly on all devices and screen sizes, including mobiles, tablets, laptops, and desktops.
• WordPress Version must be higher than 3.5.0.
• PHP version must be higher than 5.3.

If your WordPress site meets these four above-mentioned conditions, you can easily convert it into a highly interactive Progressive Web App using any one of the following options.

Ways to Turn Your WordPress Site into a PWA

Fortunately, in WordPress, it’s pretty straightforward to turn your WordPress site into a powerful Progressive Web App. There is a number of resources, tools, and plugins using which you can quickly and easily set up a PWA for your WordPress site. Ideally, there are three ways to get your WordPress site converted to a Progressive Web App:

Do It Yourself:

If you’re a developer having a good grip over prevalent JavaScript frameworks and libraries, like Angular, React, Vue, Ionic, etc, you can prefer to handle the entire development process yourself!

Although Google doesn’t support any particular technology or framework, Angular and React are the two most preferred JavaScript frameworks today for developing PWAs. This is because both Angular and React have their advantages:

• The combination of Angular with Ionic is quite popular among developers nowadays. Ionic, a great framework offering a set of ready to use components, was originally built for mobile apps but now allows developers to leverage the same technology with Angular to build fast, beautiful PWAs.
• On the other hand, React is a very intuitive and easy to understand JavaScript framework. Taking advantage of its create-react-app boilerplate that comes with PWA support by default, you can easily build a fully functional, offline-first Progressive Web App in just a few hours.

To help you out, below are some tutorials:

• CodeinWP Tutorial to Build Progressive Web Apps
• How to Build Progressive Web Apps with Angular and Ionic
• The Complete Guide To Progressive Web Apps with Ionic 4
• Convert Your Website to a Progressive Web App in 3 Steps

While building your Progressive Web App, make sure you follow Google’s Progressive Web App Checklist and test your app against the Lighthouse tool. This will help you deliver the best possible experiences to your users.

Use a Plugin:

If you don’t want to go with the manual DIY route, don’t worry. WordPress offers a number of free and paid plugins that can do all the heavy lifting for you. Some of these are:

Free Plugins

• Super Progressive Web Apps: An easy to configure plugin that instantly converts your WordPress site into a fully functional Progressive Web App, without editing any code.
• Progressive WordPress (PWA): The first WordPress PWA plugin that fully supports Google AMP and is compatible with OneSignal – the world’s leader for sending mobile and web push notifications.
• WP-AppKit: Another great plugin that lets you create a progressive web app for your WordPress site with a 100% score on Lighthouse.
• PWACommerce: A perfect plugin that offers pre-built eCommerce PWA themes to help turn your WordPress-powered online store into a sales-oriented progressive web app.
• PWA for WP & AMP: Another powerful plugin that combines the power of PWA and AMP to take the user experience of your WordPress site to the next level.

Paid Plugins

• WordPress Mobile Soft: A plugin that turns your WordPress site into a Progressive Web Application for both desktop and mobile platforms with capabilities like Offline Mode, Add to Home Screen, and Web Push Notifications.
  Price: $25
• Progressive Web Apps For WordPress: Leveraging the modern web capabilities, this handy plugin by DaftPlug upgrades your WordPress site to a highly optimized and accessible Progressive Web App.
  Price: $21
• WordPress Mobile Pack: With over 1 million downloads and counting, WordPress Mobile Pack comes packed with a dozen of progressive web app themes to help you deliver fast, native app-like experiences to your users.
  Price: $49-$99 (depending on the PWA bundle you choose)
• PWAThemes: Offers a number of Angular/Ionic and React-based progressive web app themes, UI kits and extensions to help you build your PWA with ease.
  Price: $49-$99 (depending on the PWA bundle you choose)

Hire a Professional Developer:

Finally, if you don’t want to go with any of the above routes, you can hire a professional developer to turn your WordPress site into a high-quality Progressive Web App.

An added advantage of hiring an experienced developer is that you don’t need to worry about the compliance of Google’s PWA Standards. Being well-familiar with all the ins and outs of a Progressive Web App and having coded hundreds of PWAs, a professional developer not only writes clean, well-commented code but also knows well how to achieve the maximum score possible against Google’s Lighthouse tool.