Detech Technologies

5 Steps To Follow When Creating Your First Business Website

2017-02-15T17:50:00.002-08:00

1. Choose your domain name

Not sure exactly what that a domain name is? It’s the part of your URL visitors will use to go to your website. Here’s the URL (the internet address, so to speak) for Newton Osnowo.

http:// www. newtonosinowo .com
Within that URL, newtonosinowo.com is the domain name. There are many domain suffixes (technically known as top-level domains or TLDs) that you can choose from besides .com, like .net and .biz, but .com is the most common.

Ideally, your domain name will be short, easy to remember, and not confusing when users type it in a navigation bar. More importantly, though, your domain name should be part of your company brand. Take your time to come up with as many ideas as you can, narrow the field a bit, and then check to see if those names are available.

HostGator and other companies that register domain names have tools to check if the name you want is available. For example, I entered ‘life’ into Detech’s domain search tool. Alas, life.com and all its variations like life.org and life.biz belong to other people. If I were really set on including ‘life’ in my domain name, I could consider the alternatives listed below the results chart, like livelifeonline.co.

If your domain is available, you can register it. Once you’ve found a domain name that works, you may want to see if variations are available, too. If so, you might want to register them also and set them up to redirect visitors to your site at your primary URL.

2. Check your privacy settings

When you register your domain name or names, you’ll have the option to buy inexpensive domain privacy protection that keeps your personal information off WHOIS. WHOIS is a directory run by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which anyone can use to look up the contact information you used to register your domains. Companies like HostGator that offer privacy shield services use their address in your domain name registration instead of your personal details.

3. Pick a hosting plan

Next, you need a place to store whatever you put on your site so visitors can see it. Creating, offering, and maintaining that data storage space is what web hosting companies like HostGator do. Don’t get too overwhelmed by the monthly plan options you’ll see. For almost all new home-based businesses, an inexpensive shared business hosting plan will have everything you need. Whatever host and plan you choose, you should consider:

The number of domains you can register on a single plan
Available bandwidth, which will affect how fast your site loads and how many people can view your site at one time
Email account tools, which you’ll use to create branded email addresses
What templates or site-building tools the host provides and how easy they are to use
What e-commerce tools the host supports, if you’re planning to have an online shop on your site
Downtime, which is how often and how long the web host’s servers—and therefore your website–are typically unavailable
Customer support availability and quality

4. Build your site

Once you register your domain and have a hosting plan, you’re ready to set up your site. There are a few housekeeping tasks to do before you start designing.

Adjust your site’s control panel so the site is not live while you’re putting it together. While you’re at it, close comments for now. You can reopen them later if you add a blog to your site, and in the meantime, you won’t have to worry about random spam comments or visitors seeing your site while it’s ‘under construction.’

Pick a site template or use a website builder tool to start creating your home page. You can set it up however you like. Just keep in mind that a good business website must have these elements:

A responsive design, so your site will be easy to read and use on smartphones
Your business name and a short, descriptive tagline in the page header
A clear, brief explanation of what your business is and what you do
A bit about you, your business, your accomplishments, and testimonials from customers
Contact information (phone number and email address) on every page of your site
A product list, shopping cart, and checkout if you’re selling products online

These are the basics, of course. You can add photos, product videos, a blog, and other elements to your site over time.

5. Test and update

Once you get your basic site set up, view it on as many devices and browsers as you can. Ask family and friends to help you by checking it out and reporting any problems with page display, load times, and navigation. Fix any problems and then view it again. When you’re satisfied, go back to your host’s control panel and make your site visible to the rest of the world.

Your site is live, but that’s just the beginning. Schedule regular site-maintenance time to add features, make changes, and keep your template and plugins up to date. Regular maintenance makes the site more secure and helps it look its best. You may also want to subscribe to a site backup service to maintain the most recent version of your site and spare you the trouble of rebuilding your site if there’s ever a problem during a template or plug-in upgrade.

Source: HostGator

5 Plugins To Improve Your WordPress Website

2017-01-15T05:38:00.000-08:00

Part of what makes WordPress so incredible is the ability to simply install plugins which act to enable greater functionality as well as improve the appearance of your website. WordPress now has over 30,000 unique plugins, allowing users to execute their greatest imaginations when branding themselves online.

The trouble for most is not having enough familiarity with how plugins operate to sift through such a massive inventory. Luckily, we’ve created a list of five plugins that have been shown to help users of all industries so you can start getting the most from your WordPress website.

1. Yoast SEO

Formerly known as WordPress SEO by Yoast, this plug-in is one of the best available for guiding you through the process of optimizing your website to appear in the search engines. Some of the key features include:

Post Titles and Meta Descriptions: Every time you search in Google, you’ll see the title of a web-page and a description underneath. With the ‘Snippet Editor’ you get to edit this section manually to have complete control over the SERPs appearance for your website.
Visual Feedback: Yoast lets you know when your copy is ready to post from an SEO standpoint.
Set Focus Keywords: Yoast lets you know if you’re using your focus keywords too much, too little, or if you’ve used them before.

2. Google Fonts

You may have noticed while creating your first blog posts that WordPress only houses a very limited amount of fonts to choose from. Well, with this free plugin, the font resource is one of the most exciting developments in typography in a very long time.

Not only does this plugin add the necessary Google code for you, it also gives you the ability to assign the Google fonts to specific CSS elements of your website. The Google Directory has hundreds of font families to choose from, which is an excellent way to add a touch of personalization to your blog.

3. Akismet

Have you ever gotten a comment on one of your WordPress blog posts that at first glance seemed genuine, but may actually be spam? While these comments are mostly dirty tactics used by Internet spammers trying to get you to use their service, or visit their site, sometimes these comments can link to malicious downloads, or at the least be a large waste of your time.

Askimet is an anti-spam service that analyzes masses of data and prevents these comments from being posted on your blog.

4. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is one of the most powerful tools on the web for monitoring nearly all of the traffic related data on your website. With the free WordPress plugin, you’ll quickly be able to run reports on where your visitors are coming from as you work to build a target audience.

5. W3 Total Cache

W3 Total Cache improves the user experience on your site by reducing download times, increasing server performance, and by providing transparent content delivery network (CDN) integration. Other benefits include:

10x improvement in overall site performance.
Improved conversion rates will up your rank on Google.
Reduced page load time, which allows visitors to view more pages, and spend more time on your site.
The ability to sustain high traffic.

Have you used any of these plugins? How was your experience with them? Let us know in the comments!

Become a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

2016-09-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

Ethical Hacking is the process of evaluating the security of a computer system by simulating an attack by a malicious hacker. The course is designed to teach students how to think like a hacker, providing them with a deep understanding of security issues and concerns.

We encourage lively debates about pertinent ethical and security issues. Students develop the hacker mindset, determined to ‘do their bit’ to improve security in the world of Computing. These professionals will be proficient in identifying, isolating and responding appropriately to threats as fast as possible in order to effectively minimize damage.

Today software companies whether government or private is dealing with hardcore security problems. Crackers and intruders enter databases and web servers for stealing, damaging and spreading of irrelevant programs. This brings in the need of ethical hackers and courses on ethical hacking. Ethical hacking in Africa is grabbing the market fast and is doing a brisk business. It is the job of ethical hackers to protect the networking infrastructure and corporate websites. These moral hackers have the legal consent to penetrate into a computer or software system by using similar tools and techniques of that of a cracker. But they do not intend to steal information or damage the software system.

Who should attend this course?
Individuals/Organizations that wants to secure their confidential data from attackers.
Students who are willing to become ethical hackers
System/Network administrators who are responsible for protecting organization’s data.

PRE-REQUISITE
Basic knowledge of computers and internet.

Course Duration
5 Saturdays. Time (9:00am - 5:00pm).

Fees
Individual: ₦79,999
Corporate ₦145,000
Registration Fee: ₦2,500

The course fee covers (FLS Online Examination, Tools, Participation Certificate, amongst others). Certificate from Firewall Learning Solution India.

Requirements for Training
Laptop required – In other to gain maximum efficiency during the training program, participants are required to come with a laptop. We will provide each participant with the credentials needed to join our Classroom Training Network.

Next Batch Starts
September 17, 2016.

Venue
Suites 2, Dodondawa Plaza, 48, Chivita Avenue, Ajao Estate, Lagos, Nigeria.

Tel.
08064274780, 09093438308

Website
www.ict-networld.com/index.php/ceh/

3 Psychologically Proven Methods For Creating A Better Workplace

2014-08-06T06:14:00.002-07:00

When an influential mentor speaks to you, chances are you’re going to remember what they say. For me, it was a lecture early on in college where one of my Professors attempted to demonstrate the importance of social sciences in relation to real world business practices. The gist of what he said was, “Business is all about working with people. The more you understand what people want and how they operate, the more successful you’re going to be across any career path.”

Essentially signifying the role and value our emotional quotient fulfills in an environment where humans attempt to cooperate with one another on mutual tasks. Quite frequently, though, we’re begrudged by disrespectful and demanding supervisors who have skills in every aspect to a managerial position, except interpersonal relations.

Whether you’re struggling to develop a better relationship with your employees, or are simply lacking directional leadership skills, here are three ways you can improve the general happiness within your company.

Show Your Appreciation Appropriately

There are many ways to motivate employees, but nothing can can quite replace the empowerment of expressing gratitude towards their efforts. By taking the time to examine what we appreciate from our team, we’re also encouraging others to do the same.

The appropriateness comes into play in measures of frequency and the selective times in which we choose to show our appreciation. Not every routine action is in need of being remarked upon; rather, when an employee or co-worker seems to extend themselves beyond expectations be sure to reward their efforts by complimenting their work ethic.

Successful managers may even take extra steps every week, or month to send individual e-mails pointing out times when the employee made an invaluable contribution. No one wants to feel like their work is going unnoticed. Giving someone a feeling of purpose is an excellent tool for building the strength of your business.

Don’t Stifle Creativity

Officially classified as the ‘Technological Era’, our current trends of employment rely heavily on both sides of the brain. For the longest time we were seeing left-brained analytical work forces that didn’t allow for individuals to express their creativity within a company. Many careers during the informational era (Engineers, Doctors, Computer Programmers) were task oriented and routine, not allowing for an individuals personality to really impact their day to day.

But the world has changed.

While many, if not all careers, are still maximizing the linear and analytical portion of our brain (Left-half), we’re seeing a tremendous shift towards those who utilize the ‘big picture’ modules to steer business towards a more sustainable future. Automation has allowed for many careers to focus on the artistry and emotion of what makes our products/services human; therefore, right-brained individuals are thriving thanks to the opportunities presented in creative industries.

Not everyone lands a position in a creative sector, however, and try as we might our ideas are often stifled due to the lack of open-mindedness in a given company’s upper management. Best recommendation: listen to what your employees have to suggest.

Just like it’s become common place to have customer surveys, understanding and adapting to your employee’s needs will allow for your company to retain employees longer, while also providing a channel for their ideas to blossom.

Drop The Intimidation and Focus On Happiness

I think we’ve finally realized that ruling by fear is not the most effective approach to increasing productivity from our employees. In today’s economic climate there is already enough uncertainty pertaining to the security of our jobs. This has led to notable increases in documented health issues directly correlated to stress from our jobs.

Many reports have begun to emphasis the importance of ‘positive psychology’ in the workplace, disregarding prior methods of holding low job availability over employees heads as a means to generate pressure and fear. Positive psychology is all about the happiness of employees which has been shown to increase productivity, stimulate creativity, and create a better overall environment in which better candidates will apply to work for.

Some great ways to reduce stress and increase happiness, include:

Providing access to physical fitness – For some companies this means helping purchase gym memberships as a part of the benefits package.
Incorporate mentoring programs for new employees – Feeling like your company has invested in your position is a great way to feel secure and learn how to start working at a higher level
Engage a happiness trainer – While this can be expensive, the results could last much longer than employees constantly leaving in search of a better position.

Creating a better working environment doesn’t require a complete overhaul of resources. Often it’s the small gestures, and genuine demeanor we exchange with those we’re closest with at the office that will spread throughout the entire company. By starting to prioritize your company’s positive reputation today, you’ll have an even better team in the days of tomorrow.

Introducing Gidimarket.com

2014-06-22T06:36:00.001-07:00

Gidimarket.com is the next generation of online Classifieds for Africa… The Site is a global, interactive, mobile and internet platform for connecting Nigerian’s worldwide and serves them through a portfolio of industry-leading services. Gidimarket.com is simply a market place for buying and selling online, where you can also place a banner adverts. Gidimarket.com is one Nigeria base classifieds website where client looking to sell their products can post under the classified column and the results are displayed when a search for the keyword is made. The website does not have a clutter, the layout is perfect and the navigation which is quite an important part of the website is really smooth.

OUR INTEREST

Gidimarket.com is pleased to indicate its interest in making buying and 879771ad-55bb-41cc-8081-aadd09feb92eselling of anything online widely covered and also advertising of products and services. Our role in this regard will be to act as the Mandated Lead advertisers online where advertisements are best done online in Nigeria.

Classified Directory – provides Free Classifieds Advertising, local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, personals, services, local community, and events.

MAXIMISE PROFIT AND INCREASE YOUR BUSINESS REACH WITH NO EXTRA COSTS.

Gidimarket App is now Available on iOS(App Store) and Android(Google Play).

Get Started NOW! Visit www.gidimarket.com

How To Start Planning For Your Website’s Facelift

2014-04-29T07:40:00.001-07:00

With only a few months gone in 2014, it’s time to start thinking about how your website can be better. We’ll outline here a number of recommendations that you can follow in order to start planning for your website’s facelift.

Start developing more original content.

You’ve heard it before: when it comes to digital marketing, content is king. According to reports, “61% of consumers say they feel better about, and are more likely to buy from, a company that delivers custom content.” If you neglected to create original content for your website in 2013, take the last few months of this year to develop and queue up content (blog posts, videos, ebooks, presentations) that you can begin using on your website in 2014. These days, online consumers are spending more time than ever getting to know companies before they make purchasing decisions. Creating original content for your website can help you:

Create brand awareness
Provide value to your prospective customers
Leverage your company as an industry leader
Differentiate from competition

Your website is often the first impression online consumers will have of you. To help them understand who you are, what you do, why it matters, and why they should care, start developing new content for your website.

Start engaging with more people on social media.

Now more than ever, it’s essential that companies develop effective social media engagement strategies that will allow them to better connect with prospective customers. If you didn’t see the traffic and sales numbers you would have liked to see in 2013, it might be because you failed to truly connect with online users. In the last few months of the year, spend time being more intentional about engaging with users on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Help them understand who you are, what solutions or services you offer, and why you do what you do. It’s important that you create the perception that your company is open, transparent, and interested in communicating with current and prospective customers. Social media is a tool that will allow you to strengthen your company’s online reputation.

Study the numbers and make plans to change accordingly.

You probably set up or installed analytics on your website for a reason, but when was the last time you actually spent time looking through and interpreting the data? If you’ve been implementing the same website strategies over and over again and you’re not seeing any increases in sales or traffic, it’s time to make plans to change or update your strategies. Dedicate an afternoon or two diving into the numbers. If you need help understanding how to use Google Analytics, read through this

Discuss specific goals with your team.

Now is a great time to sit down with your team to discuss what your goals are in relation to your website. As you prepare for 2014, you should consider asking yourself (and your team) the following questions:

What is the purpose of our website?
What are the top three goals we should always be keeping in mind when it comes to our website?
Is what we’re doing on our website helping us achieve or work toward these and other goals we have (better customer service, more sales, etc.)?

Bringing other team members into the discussion will help you get a better idea of what everyone thinks the purpose and goals of your website are—and can ultimately help you plan for an even better website in 2014.

Compile a list of other websites you like and make a note of why you like them.

If you’ve been unhappy with the design or functionality of your website, start making a list of other websites you do like in order to help you decide what updates to make in 2014. Find out what other companies in your industry are doing. Make notes about what features you like about their sites. Pay attention to things like design, usability, content, and anything else that stands out. Doing so will help you understand what it is about your website you don’t like, and will put you on the right path when it comes to making any desired changes.

Get out the calendar and start setting realistic deadlines.

One of the most important steps you can take toward updating your website for 2014 is to get out a calendar and actually set some deadlines for any and all changes you would like to make to your website. Without deadlines and plans in place to help you reach your website goals, you’ll find that making any progress is fairly difficult. To avoid becoming overwhelmed with plans or frustrated with lack of progress, work on coming up with a timeline to gradually make changes to your site. When developing your 2014 website facelift calendar, you should try to include the following:

Description of the update or change
Purpose of the update or change
Person in charge of managing the update or change
Actual deadlines (first review of changes, second revisions, final completion)

15 Keys to Providing Customer Service Through Social Media

2014-04-28T09:16:00.002-07:00

Social media is great for connecting your business to your customers, and allowing them to have direct close access to you can be a boon for your brand image. However, unfettered access also means that more customers feel free to complain either directly or indirectly about companies through social media. In this media climate, it’s important to leverage your PR skills to positive effect, and here’s how.

Respond quickly

Your customer turned to social media to complain because they are looking for an immediate response, and while you may be busy with product development meetings or vendor calls, these seemingly-small, Facebook-born comments should receive similar attention. Make sure that you get back to them as soon as you see the complaint.

Have a dedicate twitter account for issues

Social media is all about context, which is why big corporations create accounts specifically for reporting and responding to issues, decluttering their primary social feed and filtering the important messages from the fluff. Nike and Comcast are two examples of companies that have dedicated accounts on twitter for customers experiencing issues for precisely these reasons. If your company is big enough, create a dedicated account where customers can reach you when something has gone amiss.

Be responsive around the clock

Know your business well and when your customers will be using your services. If you are a restaurant, for example, you can expect to hear from customers late in to the evening if they have had a bad dinner experience. Monitor your account around the clock as best you can or, better yet, dedicate staff to the task so that you can respond quickly.

Address the issue and offer a solution

In your response, be sure to restate the problem so it is clear you understand it, and give your customer a solution if one is available. Communication requires empathy and efficiency, and this approach will achieve both.

Offer new information they might not have access to

Airlines can frequently update the customer as to the status of cancelled or delayed flights quickly before that information is disseminated at the gate. Give the customer all the information you have as they might not have access to it. This will also show that you are paying close attention to their particular circumstances.

If no solution is available offer empathy

Sometimes no immediate solution is available, but it is important to respond as fast you can. A simple “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. That sounds like an awful time/situation/experience. We are working on it and will get back to you soon” can calm an angry customer while you work on a solution.

Direct them to resources where answers or solutions may be found

When you can’t provide the solution over social media, let them know where they can go to receive resolution, be it an email address they need to contact or a store manager they need to talk to directly. Keep in mind that social media channels aren’t the most appropriate avenue for obtaining things like account numbers or private information, so be sure to direct them to someone offline that can help them.

Be aware of your twitter account and follow your tags and hashtags

Someone on your staff needs to have alerts set for any tags or hashtags customers might

utilize to try and reach you. Pay attention to them, particularly if you intend to use them for support purposes.

Answer all of the questions asked (not just the easy one)

When writing your response go back and look at the original complaint. It may be easy to address just one issue but they may have had several questions or concerns. Address each and every one, clearly and effectively.

Rectify what you can

Make the situation right as fast as you can. You can’t fix every aspect of their problem but whatever issue you can fix, do so quickly. Remedying even a portion of the customer’s problem will be seen as progress and improve your image as a result.

Follow through with the issue

Chances are you won’t solve the problem on the first go around so go back and check in with your customer. Did they get a new flight? Was the broken item replaced? Etc etc. Follow up with the customer and demonstrate compassion, empathy, and dedication to their needs in the process. Do not wait to be asked for additional assistance!

Show customer appreciation

Proactively reach out to customers who are mentioning your company in a positive way. If someone takes a picture at your business and tags you, repost/retweet it! If you get a positive review on Facebook contact the customer and say thank you. These small actions will show that you are listening, potentially turning one time reviewers into brand evangelists.

Provide a real world solution

The coffee was cold? Offer to replace their cup free of charge. Car wasn’t repaired properly? Have them bring it back in. If it was a tangible problem offer a tangible solution, and remember that generosity is remembered, blogged about, rewarded, and retweeted.

Don’t remove complaints

It can be tempting to remove a complaint after you have addressed the concern, but leaving them alone should be standard practice for your business. Make sure that your responses and solutions are in the comments section or your direct reply to the tweet. New customers will see the complaint but also see that you were responsive and accommodating to customer needs.

Be professional

Above all reply and act in a professional manner. Your customer might be rude or upset but it is your job to maintain your calm and mitigate the situation as fast as you can. Remember: a crabby customer is an issue, but a positive response is an asset, and your customers will notice that.

In an age of ubiquitous social media, communication comes from many inboxes. Tend to your Twitter and Facebook accounts and exercise professionalism, and your wall will become a testament to your dedication to your customers.

Why The Images On Your Homepage Matter

2014-03-17T09:13:00.003-07:00

Your business makes a number of decisions every day. From management to product design, everything about your enterprise is organized with the intention of building a brand and selling a product. In the fray, however, certain aspects can become lost, including the images on your homepage. To the surprise of many business-owners, these seemingly simple assets can shape your brand perception, influence customer decisions, and improve conversion in profound ways.

They Heavily Influence Your First Impression

The old adage that “you only get one chance to make a first impression” is hard to shake in a rapidly moving society. For perspective’s sake, consider any time you’ve made a purchase online. You likely visited the homepage of the product in question and made a rather snappy judgment regarding characteristics that may even be impossible to perceive from the comfort of your desk chair: dependability, trustworthiness, quality, worth, value, etc. In that brief few seconds of analysis, you’ve already made a decision, completely independent of the carefully crafted text and list of product features.

Photographs help ensure that your product or products make a positive first impression quickly. Tired, hurried minds are far more likely to consider a visual before text, since text requires additional effort to process. Furthermore, the setting, subject, color, and quality of photos all convey the kinds of characteristics mentioned earlier. By presenting attractive images of your product or individuals using your product, you’re more likely to capture visitor attention and make an impression that spurs further research; no small feat on the constantly shifting web.

They Affect User Experience

As mentioned, Internet users are tired creatures, bombarded constantly by attention grabbing ploys and solicitations. In this scenario, visuals command immediate attention due to their ability to convey a great deal of information more efficiently and effectively than text.

In this way, visuals are more user-friendly, acknowledging the plight of the modern individual and offering a compromise that’s beneficial to both parties. Through presentation of a visual, users are treated to something pleasing, easy to digest, and easy to understand. By presenting a visual, businesses offer a more friendly web experience, additionally controlling the perception created by the presentation. This combination of effective communication and usability leads to a more positive brand perception that will influence future sales and open further engagement opportunities.

They Speak to Design

Apple’s market-changing products have shared one characteristic in common: design. The intelligent combination of visual appeal, functionality, and intuitiveness has propelled many of their devices to the forefront of the market, effectively demonstrating that the modern consumer has design in mind. Whether through conscious acknowledgement or subconscious enjoyment, this expectation is carried through all brand interactions.

With this conscious attention to trends, maintaining an up-to-date web design is paramount to brand image, and large-format photographs are a part of that package. If the images on your page are pixelated or of poor quality, users will take note and assume that your brand lacks the attentiveness needed to also produce a quality product. High-quality photos, on the other hand, inspire confidence, providing a positive experience and satisfying discerning tastes.

They Set Expectations

Unless your marketing campaign has significant clout, it’s generally safe to assume that a new visitor to your site knows next to nothing about your product. With this uncertainty comes a great deal of fear, generally dissuading purchases if an understanding of product functionality, performance, price, and value isn’t conveyed quickly.

Images help bridge this gap between uncertainty and comfort by quickly establishing viewer expectations. A photograph of a business setting suggests that your product helps productivity and communication in a professional context. An illustration of a house builds the understanding that your product is meant for consumers and used in their home. While it may be challenging to pick the perfect image to convey the nuances of your product, doing so immediately alleviates the mental burden of uncertainty that customers experience, guiding them further along the path to conversion.

They Affect Conversion

While each of these factors can be listed as important in their own rite, the net result is conversion. A strong first impression keeps viewers around while an easy-to-use website provides a more pleasant browsing experience. Strong web design inspires confidence in your company while accurate product expectations help convey brand message and improve conversion rates. Ultimately, the images you use on your homepage are more than just decoration; they are tools to bring potential customers into the fold, generating revenue and enhancing brand perception in complex and far-reaching ways.

From your products to your pitch, everything about your business is engineered for success. Your website should benefit from the same treatment with attractive and communicative images that turn one-time visitors into repeat customers. Don’t underestimate the value of a good visual and use the inherent benefits of these aesthetic assets to turn your homepage into a conversion tool

The Best Sites To Visit For Web Design Inspiration

2014-02-26T13:59:00.002-08:00

There was a time, long ago, when a beautiful website was a crowning achievement for a company. These days, it’s become a necessity. For the uninitiated, however, sifting the wheat from the chaff can be a challenging task. Fortunately, the Internet has developed a robust community of websites dedicated to observing and celebrating the best of the best to the benefit of site designers, and you.

Awwwards

Beautiful web design is easy to recognize if you have the right eye for it. Fortunately for those who lack the instinct

to assess the sites they visit, Awwwards has built a reputation on scoring and applauding the best that the web has to offer. Curated by design experts, the daily updated site offers scores on web designs, resources for aspiring designers, and the opportunity to submit your own site for appraisal and, if deemed worthy, recognition.

Abduzeedo

Brainchild of Brazillian designer Fabio Sasso, Abduzeedo’s legacy online is as long as it is prolific. The comprehensive design blog looks at design in its many forms and inspires a community of creatives through its constant posts and updates. Of particular note, the Sites of the Week column highlights the best in visual web design, interactive design, UX, and UI, giving hungry minds plenty of resources for their own projects.

From Up North

Another voluminous contributor to the creative community, Form Up North is virtually the resource for design inspiration. The site features daily updated content over a variety of design concepts, but its most useful resource to web designers is a veritable catalog of web design inspiration. Savvy users even demonstrate their mettle by re-designing already popular sites, giving a A/B comparison and demonstrating the importance of visual and UI design in the process.

Google Plus

Social media is, arguably, the richest source of inspiration on the web. However, what Google Plus offers that other sites do not is the ability to subscribe to a community of contributors, alleviating the need to discern worthwhile users for oneself. By subscribing to the Art & Design circle on Google’s social network, users are daily treated with a portfolio of inspired design of all kinds, web design included. This, coupled with the relatively low user base of Plus means less irrelevant discussion or inane status updates, and more time spent discussing what actually matters.

Web Creme

When all you need is inspiration, it’s hard to beat Web Creme. The simple interface and no-frills display of inspiring web design is akin to swatches at a paint store, allowing the mind to simply gaze and ponder without direction or influence. Each picture links directly to the website displayed, allowing curious browsers to investigate the design further and enjoy “hands-on” experience with exemplary works of high-quality design.

Behance

The socially connected portfolio for serious creatives is a gold mine for aspiring web designers. While it can take time to browse Behance’s impressive collection, those scouring the racks can be sure that what they’re seeing is of particularly high quality. The reason for this lies in the fact that creative professionals often view Behance as a serious portfolio and tool for discovery, compelling them to put their best foot forward and giving you a front row seat to some of the best in the business.

The Webby Awards

A Webby could, at one time, be considered something of a dubious honor. The awards had merit, but not based in any popular acceptance. Since the early days of the organization, however, The Webby Awards have blossomed into an arbiter of taste and design on the Internet. In addition to recognizing personalities and contributions to technology, the awards page offers a gallery view of some of the best practices in navigation, animation, photography, and interactivity.

Webdesign Inspiration

As heavy-handed as the title may be, Webdesign Inspiration is a no less valuable resource for, as the name implies, web design inspiration. The comprehensive catalog organizes sites by industry, layout, style, and type, allowing discerning designers to look for examples of high-quality work without wasting time. The site also highlights themes, books, and tips and offers free resources to visitors.

Standing on the shoulders of giants is a potent strategy when doing design work, but finding these “giants” can be challenging in a young, saturated market. Take the guesswork out of your web design inspiration with the resources listed here, and develop your eye for web design to better your own work in the future.

13 Shocking Mistakes Killing Your Landing Page

2014-02-11T07:30:00.003-08:00

Let’s face it. We’re all busy.

And when it comes to digital marketing, there’s a lot to learn. But if you’re doing business online you should take a close look at your landing pages because you could be losing money. To put it bluntly, a landing page that sucks can be hazardous to your business.

According to MarketingSherpa, only 52% of the companies that use landing pages test them to improve conversion. They also found that the number one reason companies don’t use or test landing pages is because their marketing department doesn’t know how to set them up or they’re too overloaded.

Sound familiar?

Here’s the good news: You don’t have to feel confused, overwhelmed or frustrated anymore. And you can’t use “I don’t know how” as an excuse.

Because I’m going to show you how to avoid the mistakes most people make with landing pages. That way you can improve your landing page experience and your conversion rates.

But before I show you how to improve your landing pages, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page here.

A landing page, sometimes known as a “lead capture page”, is a webpage that has a form and exists only to capture a visitor’s information through that form. That’s it in a nutshell. A landing page is a marketing tool designed to prompt a certain action or result.

In fact, they’re arguably the single most vital component of your online marketing efforts. I don’t believe in silver bullets but if I had to suggest one marketing tactic you could use to improve your bottom line, I’d suggest using landing pages on your site. Since landing pages are intended to prompt a specific action or result, if you drive a stream of traffic to a targeted landing page, you can improve your chances of converting that traffic into leads.

However, the problem is most digital marketers aren’t reaping the benefits of effective landing pages.

You owe it to yourself to learn how to recognize critical mistakes most people make with landing pages and how to avoid them.

Do You Make These 13 Mistakes?

Confusing the visitor— Landing pages should have one purpose. If your landing page has more than one objective, off-page links, presents too many choices, or doesn’t match the traffic source, you’re in trouble.
Cluttered, unfocused design— Effective landing pages have only one objective—get the reader to take a specific action—and every word and element on the page should support that one action. Anything else on the page is a distraction.
Weak copy— Just having a landing page isn’t enough to get you the conversion rate you want. Compelling copy is the “secret sauce” that persuades people to take action. You need a benefit-rich headline that makes the reader a promise and connects with them emotionally. Your compelling lead entices them to keep reading as you emphasize your value proposition. And through it all you should be speaking your customer’s language.
Too much focus on you, your company, or your product or service—Nobody cares about you. They do care how you can help them. Your landing page copy should be all about helping the reader solve their problem.
No clear call to action—Can your visitors easily identify the call to action? If your landing page doesn’t tell your visitor exactly what you want them to do next, they won’t do anything. That means you’re leaving money on the table.
No credibility—You only have 2 to 3 seconds to capture your visitor’s attention and confirm that they’re in the right place. It doesn’t matter whether you’re asking people to give you their email address or part with their hard-earned cash, if they don’t trust you it’s going to be tough to seal the deal.
Not using the recommended one-column format—There’s plenty of research showing that centered, single-column landing pages generally convert best. The 1-column format tends to look cleaner, have more white space, increase reading comprehension, and keep readers engaged with the message.
Not matching the look, feel and tone of the original ad, email or website—Your headline and other landing page elements should relate to the ad copy that drove the click. In other words, the page should be relevant to your ad text and keyword.
Ignoring fundamental principles of landing page design—There are best practices for creating an effective landing page. They include hiding your website navigation elements, keep your form “above the fold”, and underlining your links. A well-designed landing page must include a headline, benefits, a call to action, and an opt-in form.
Ineffective use of images—This is where lots of marketers drop the ball. They take the easy way out and use clip art. They have uncaptioned images that have nothing to do with the objective of the page. Or their images aren’t clickable.
Not optimizing the buttons—If the buttons on your landing page don’t look like buttons or they say “submit” or “send”, you could have a problem. A Hubspot researcher studied more than 40,000 landing pages and discovered that landing pages with submit buttons labeled “submit” had lower conversion rates than those with more engaging button text.
No reason for visitor to act: ethical bribe or sense of urgency—If your visitor is on the fence and your landing page doesn’t give them a reason to act…they usually won’t. Are you giving them a reason to take action?
Not testing—There’s always room for improvement and absolutely no way to know what to improve unless you test. Split-testing, or “A/B testing”, is an easy way to compare the results of tweaks to your landing page like a new call to action or a different headline.

Even if you’re not among the 10 percent of the U.S. population that has a fear of the number 13, the effect those 13 mistakes can have on your conversion rates is frightening.

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

When it comes to marketing, ignorance is not bliss.

Far from it.

If you don’t use or test landing pages because you don’t know how you’re cheating your customer and your business. Your customer deserves the best landing page experience you can deliver. And if you can improve on the 5-15% average conversion rate for landing pages, you’ll have an advantage over your competition.

AWeber recently surveyed small business owners and marketers and discovered that while 94% said online marketing was very important to the growth of their business, 29% said they were a bit overwhelmed by online marketing.

If online marketing is important to your business—and I’m guessing it is—I want to let you in on a little secret.

There’s never a point where you know it all. There’s never going to be a day you wake up and understand everything about marketing. You may never cross everything off your “To Do” list. But you still have a business to run so you just have to do it.

Here’s how:

Get Rid of Your Landing Page Problems Once and For All

Now that you’re aware of the disastrous mistakes most people make with landing pages let’s talk about how to avoid them.

The list of landing page mistakes offered a few clues on how to improve your landing page. Here are a few more.

Grab your visitor’s attention as soon as they land on the page and keep them focused on your message and the offer you’re making. Get rid of navigation bars, visual clutter, and anything else distracting. Your goal is to lead the reader from having a problem to seeing your offer as the solution. Write tight copy that’s clear and persuasive and write in the second person.
You want to make visitors feel comfortable and confident about doing business with you. You can do this with social proof, testimonials, a strong guarantee, a BBB logo, state licenses, or other means. You also accomplish this by making claims you can prove and backing up what you say. Offer an incentive for visitors taking action. It could be a free report, webinar, audio seminar, tip sheet, or eBook.
Use visual elements to draw your visitor’s attention toward your call to action. Check out other businesses’ landing pages for ideas. Conduct regular tests on your landing pages to improve conversion. There are easy-to-use tools and some of them are even free.

Agent/Independent Marketer and Referral Positions

2014-01-29T07:58:00.002-08:00

DETECH TECHNOLOGIES is a Nigerian based Company, established as a virile platform to provide reliable, innovative software solutions to corporate organizations and individuals in need of Technology-based services. 

Our range of services include: Application Development, Website Development, Web Hosting, Software Development, Branding and Technology Solutions

Our head office is in Toronto, Canada, with branch offices in UK, India and a contact place in Ikeja, Lagos-Nigeria, with agents and clients spread across the globe.

There are two (2) classes of membership;

1 AGENTS/INDEPENDENT MARKETERS

I) Interested persons (Agent) shall serve the company and perform all necessary activities that relates to marketing of the company and its services.

II) The agent will provide supervisory and advisory services to the company (Detech Technologies) when required; this is based on project(s) secured by the individual agent.

III) Agents have the option of deciding when he/she wants to receive payments (Per/Month or per/Project).

2 REFERRAL

Interested persons would refer client/prospective clients to us, and we would do all that is necessary to achieve the project. Once the project succeeds, commission will be calculated and paid to the referrer.

All interested persons should send us an email with the title of membership he/she wishes to belong as the email subject.

For example, email subject: Referral.

All emails should be sent to info@detech-ng.com

More Information:

Call: 08026319397, +16473849454

Email: info@detech-ng.com

www.detech-ng.com

Become a Certified Security & Forensic Expert / Certified Ethical Hacker (CSFE/CEH)

2014-01-26T05:39:00.001-08:00

Certified Security & Forensic Expert / Certified Ethical Hacker (CSFE/CEH)

CERTIFIED SECURITY & FORENSIC EXPERT (CSFE)is a recognized international certification in Information and Network Security domain, coined by Firewall learning Solutions, India.

The program covers all aspects of Information Security and Ethical Hacking, enabling one

to become an Ethical Hacker and Information Security Expert.  Online Security Breaches are happening at a very fast rate and experts are needed to check and cure these, IT Security Experts (ITS) are in demand.

According to NASSCOM, the demand for ITS Experts is going to rise substantially worldwide. ITS is the next big thing in ICT and you should make the best of it.

We currently provide trainings over subjects ranging from Vulnerabiltiy Assessment(VA) to Penetration Testing, Network Security, Web Application Security, Exploit Development to Malware Analysis amongst others.

Training Duration: 50 Hours, Weekends Only

Pre-requisite: Basic Knowledge of Computers and Internet

Training Venue: 8a, Longe Street, off Lateef Jakande road, Agidingbi, Ikeja-Lagos, Nigeria

Next Batch Starts: Saturday, February 15th , 2014.

Registration Fee: N2,500 (Non- refundable) - Come with 4 passport photographs

Price:

Option1: Individual - N60,000 (Without Exam)

Option2: Individual - N80,000, Corporate - N120, 000 (Online Examination, E-Books, International Certification-from Firewall learning Solutions India,All required tools included)

Requirements for Training Program: Laptop Required – In order to gain maximum efficiency during training and research, participants are required to bring their laptops, they can connect directly to the Classroom Training Network.

Quick inquiry: +234 9093438308, +234 8064274780, Intl. Office: India +914030326263 Canada +1 647 384 9454

www.ict-networld.com

Season's Greetings From Detech Technologies

2013-12-20T18:12:00.005-08:00

Detech Technologies would like to wish a happy holiday, Wonderful Christmas and New Year Season to you our valued Reader.
Hope you had a wonderful 2013? We are wishing you a great 2014 ahead.

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

Thank You for choosing Detech Technologies.

God Bless!

Newton Osinowo
Detech Technologies
www.detech-ng.com

December Web Hosting Promotion

2013-12-02T15:02:00.002-08:00

This is to welcome you to the last month of the year. We hope had a success in your business dealings this year.

However, we are taking this time to inform you of our 50% off promotion on our Web Hosting Packages for the first year.

Our promotion will be starting from today till the End of December 2013. You can visit www.detech-ng.com/hosting for more information or call or send us an email.

Do you know an Individual/Organization who wants to Design/Redesign their website? Please feel free to refer them to us.

Thank you for choosing Detech Tecnologies.

www.detech-ng.com

info@detech-ng.com
+2348026319397, +16473849454

5 Ways Your Website Could Be Better

2013-11-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

If you’re looking for ideas on how to increase traffic, gain more online customers, and improve your brand reputation online, look no further. We’ve put together a helpful list that outlines ten ways your website could be better. If you’re just not getting what you’ve been hoping to get out of your website, consider the following:

It could be responsive.
Responsive websites use flexible and fluid layouts that adapt to almost any screen. According to a recent Forbes article, responsive web design is a “design approach that enables Web designers and developers to build and maintain a single website to serve to all kinds of devices: smartphones, tablets, laptops and more.”

As more and more consumers continue to use their smartphones as the primary way they shop, read their news, interact with friends, and document their lives, it’s even more important than ever for businesses to make their websites as mobile-friendly as possible. For many businesses in recent years, the movement toward mobile meant they had to design and launch a completely separate mobile site for their business. Responsive design offers a way for businesses to build one website that consumers can view from a variety of different devices (iPad, laptop, desktop, iPhone) and browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Safari). If you aren’t using a responsive design for your website, consider doing so. With a responsive design, you can feel confident that your consumers are able to visit your website throughout the entire buying process. In the same Forbes artilce, an expert explains how the buying process can work for a business that uses a responsive website:

“With a responsive website, businesses can be in front of consumers at every step of their online journey. People who search for a business’ site, begin reading content and viewing videos from their desktop computers at work, and then look for the same business on their smartphones during lunch are able to continue their research into products and services uninterrupted.”

It could be more social.
If you haven’t already, you need to integrate social media into your website. At the very least this means adding links and buttons that direct visitors to the social media sites your business has an active presence on (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, etc). If you really want to impress your customers and prospective clients however, spend time making your site more social across the board. To get started, embed your Facebook and Twitter feeds onto your homepage or blog sidebar. Next, add social share buttons to your pages and blog posts. You can do this easily by using the service AddThis provides. Finally, add the ability for visitors to comment or log into your website using their Facebook account.

It could include more visuals.
According to HubSpot, 40% of people will respond better to visual information than plain text. If the only visuals you’re using on your website are stock photos and clipart, it’s time for an upgrade. It shouldn’t be too hard to recognize that consumers prefer visual content. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have invested heavily in the last few years into making updates to their sites that have made for a much more visual experience for users. Your website should include original photos and videos that help your customers understand who you are, what you sell, and why they should buy. Your visuals should also help educate your prospective customers and leverage you as an influencer—someone who can help solve their problems. To start adding more visual content to your site, experiment with a few of the tools listed here.

It could include enticing Call-To-Actions.
If the high traffic to your website isn’t converting into sales, it might be because your site lacks effective call-to-actions (CTAs). According to Hubspot, “CTAs are what motivate and direct your visitors to take a desired action. They bridge the gap between anonymous website visitors and marketable leads.” CTAs are what help move your prospects down your sales funnel. With them, you can transform passive website visitors into loyal customers. To start creating and using effective call-to-actions, follow the tips we outlined in this blog post.

It could feature testimonials or case studies from clients and partners.
As competition online continues to intensify, you need to be going out of your way to prove to consumers that they should be interacting with your business and purchasing your products or services. One way to do this is by highlighting real and true success stories from your clients and partners. Consumers online will appreciate how passionate you are about your products and services, but they’ll give more weight to genuine statements from other people who have benefited from working with you. If you currently are not featuring any testimonials (text or video) or case studies on your website, make a goal of collecting and publishing at least three on your website before the end of the calendar year. Reach out to your most loyal customers and ask them if they would be willing to participate.

Your website should be more than just a static billboard on the internet. Thanks to the popularity of the internet, it’s never been easier to connect with new prospects. But it takes work. If you truly are interested in increasing traffic, gaining more online customers, and improving your brand reputation online, start working to implement some of the recommendations outlined above.

Five Ways to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Your Content Marketing Strategy

2013-10-27T18:53:00.002-07:00

Are you looking for ways to beef up or update your content marketing strategies in preparation for the New Year? If so, we can help. In the post below, we’re outlining 5 recommendations that you can use to evaluate your strategies and make improvements during the last few months of 2013.

1. Use Your Data

The Information Age has given marketers, businesses, and content creators unprecedented access to data about their customers. But while these statistics make for beautiful pie charts and bar graphs, failing to “interpret the tea leaves” effectively means wasted time and effort for both analysts and writers.

First and foremost, take a look at your data from all available sources. If you use Buffer, check the social media impact to determine whether you are utilizing the correct channels for distribution. If you use Google Webmaster Tools, take a look at your unique visitors and pageviews per visit to determine whether your content is keeping customers around. Even something as simple as blog comments can help determine whether your content is engaging your audience.

Be careful and consider how data reflects progress toward your goals. Avoid depending on “vanity metrics” such as Twitter followers and Facebook likes. If your goal is to engage customers, then the click of a button isn’t going to cut it. On the other hand, statistics such as the ratio of tweets to retweets can demonstrate whether or not your content is getting passed on. Just keep in mind that every number has a story, and some stories have more to teach.

2. Look for the “Golden Thread”

Content marketing itself is only as good as its ability to extend value to customers, but determining if that value was delivered to the right people in the right way can be tricky. Tim Riches at Futurebrandrecommends looking for the “golden thread”: the connection of “business objective, consumer insight, marketing strategy, creativity, execution, and results”.

Each component of the thread is critical to content effectiveness. Paramount to all other considerations, your content should further your business’ objectives. Well-written content that fails to further progress toward your core goals is wasted effort. Getting this information into the right hands gives information traction, and for that reason utilization of insights regarding customers should be standard practice. These same consumers need to be able to identify your content with your brand, so observe your marketing strategy when crafting materials. But these factors matter little if the content does not have staying power. For that reason creative, well-written content should comprise the core of your efforts.

The golden thread is less tangible than hard data, but the results are no less concrete. When reviewing content, run through the checklist and pose each item as a question, e.g. “does our content creatively engage the right audience with the intent of accomplishing our objectives?” Answering “yes” to this question means you are on the right track.

3. Examine Context

Even if your strategy meets these criteria, your metrics may not reflect progress. This can be disheartening for anyone passionate about their business, but don’t panic—there’s more at play than your blog posts. Our businesses exist, for better or worse, in a larger world with circumstances beyond our control and this must be taken into account.

Tim Riches also mentions an instance in which a national tourism effort measured its effectiveness by looking at raw data alone. But this data, when understood in context, tells a different story. While the agency was busy popping bottles over their marketing prowess, tourists flooding the gates of three brand new tourist attractions, opened in the same period as the campaign, would reveal that not all the credit lay with the campaign itself.

This perspective can help avoid drastic changes in content efforts and spur innovation when complacency might be tempting. Ultimately, while your content is affecting customers in some way, not acknowledging the greater picture at work can result in poor insights and misdirected decisions. Your “10 tips for aspiring dog groomers” may be objectively brilliant, but in a world with robot dog groomers who do the job twice as fast for half the price, it can appear to be a failure. Rely on your knowledge and talents and keep circumstances, both in and out of your control, in mind.

4. Ask Your Readers

Until telepathy is ubiquitous, marketing will continue to rely on research for its insights. Content marketing is not immune to this fact. While click-throughs and pageviews can provide a sort of silhouette of the typical reader, the most poignant insights can be found in the words of customers themselves.

Researching your readers’ predilections can come in myriad forms, but simply asking for feedback is the first step. The Internet has provided passionate (and, sometimes, unhappy) customers with the unique opportunity to voice their feedback in very public ways. The trick is providing customers with that opportunity to respond. Ask and ye shall receive valuable information, both positive and constructive.

5. Take a Look at Links

At the end of the day, the Internet is nothing more than an enormous collection of links. Links are the currency of the Internet, bolstering Google cred and spreading information in dynamic ways. For this reason, linkages, especially those from prominent community voices, should be examined and valued.

Consider the context of these links and what they mean for your content. Links have the unique ability to further your reach and improve or hinder your reception simply by association. Appearing on a list of top-10 fails is obviously counter-productive, but one mention on a prominent community website can mean the difference between no traffic and a flood of hits. If you’re lost, just ask yourself, “is our content appearing where we want it to?” One popular strategy is to look at the readership of places you’d like to appear, and tailor your content to attract their attention. After all, good content doesn’t go unnoticed forever, especially if you’re aiming at the right targets.

Each of these tools can go a long way in tailoring content strategy, but keep in mind, no one has ESP. John Wanamaker once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” And truth be told, we may never be able to identify every single wasted dollar. But with a little bit of information, some thoughtful consideration, and a dash of powerful knowledge, we can get pretty darn close.

Why Backing Up Your Website Is So Important

2013-10-05T17:12:00.001-07:00

You’ve heard a lot of talk about the importance of backing up your hard drive just in case something should happen to your computer. There are few things more painful than knowing that all of your precious files have been lost forever. The same holds true for websites. It seems like every day there is a new headline about the latest high profile website crash. Unfortunately, website threats are very real. Backing up your website helps you to safeguard against those threats.

Website Hackers

Unfortunately, hackers have become commonplace on the web. While the aim of a hacker may be to steal credit card numbers and other sensitive information, often people hack websites merely to prove themselves or cause trouble. If your website is online, there is always the chance that it may become compromised.

Computer Catastrophes

Storing a copy of your files on your computer is a good idea, but should your machine crash, get lost, or fall off a cliff, then your files will be gone with it. Backing up your files remotely is a more practical option in the event that something happens to your machine.

Updates Gone Wrong

Regular updates refer to updated features and increased security, but they don’t always go as planned. This is why WordPress always tells you to perform a backup before updating. Websites have multiple components, including plugins, themes, software, and back-end programming. An awry update to any of these can take an entire website offline for any amount of time.

Malware and Viruses

Viruses, trojan horses, and other malware can find their way into your website even via third parties that are normally safe. You can download them unknowingly with a theme or plugin, or they can slip in through a chink in your firewall’s armor. Having backup files means that you’ll be prepared just in case your site starts acting mysteriously weird.

Employee Errors

The truth is that people make mistakes. It’s perfectly possible that an employee or contractor might click a wrong button or delete a necessary file by accident. When you backup your files, there’s less chance that human error will mess up your operations.

Minimize the Damage

Say you log onto your website one day, only to be greeted with an unfamiliar error page. You try again and again, but it still doesn’t come up. You get a sinking feeling in your stomach as you realize that something has gone wrong. You could either a) Go into an all out panic as you try to figure out what went wrong, and whether or not you’ve lost all of your precious content, or b) Become a bit annoyed that you may have to spend some time reloading your website, but you won’t have reason to go into an anxious tailspin.

How to Backup Your site

If by now you’re convinced that backing up your website is the right thing to do, there are a few ways you can go about it.

Find out if your web host provides website backups as a service.
Contact the person who designed your website and ask them to do it for you. They should have enough knowledge of how content management systems work that they would be able to manually backup your files.
Use an additional “just in case” backup service. Many of these services exist, so do your research. Some are more cost effective than others, while others have software that’s more or less user friendly.
Install a backup plugin on your site. Some plugins allow you to schedule backups, as well as send your files to cloud services like Dropbox.
If you have a smaller website, you might just choose to compress your files in a ZIP folder and email them to yourself. Again, this works best for small websites. So if the size of your files is bigger than your email provider allows you to send, or if you expect that the size of your site will expand, then look into one of the other backup options.
It’s a good idea to also save a copy of your files on your computer, though you should also do this in addition to one of the other techniques. Having two copies of your files isn’t a bad idea. As the old adage goes, better safe than sorry.

Backing up your site doesn’t take a lot of time or money, and it it’s a worthwhile investment considering all of the threats that exist online. Backup your website today, and avoid becoming one of those anxiety-ridden business owners who must reluctantly restart their website from scratch.

Happy Independence Day

2013-10-01T06:57:00.002-07:00

We value your businesses with us and will do our utmost to ensure your relationship with us is a long and satisfying one.

Happy Independence Day Nigeria from the entire team at Detech Technologies

Are you thinking of Upgrading/Redesigning your website? Call us today and we will make it happen.

Detech Team
www.detech-ng.com

9 Practical Steps For Planning a Website

2013-09-29T07:38:00.004-07:00

As the old adage goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Building a website without a plan is like constructing a building without blueprints. Things end up in the wrong place, features are overlooked, and the situation is ripe for miscommunication between website builder and client. Planning your website ahead of time will give it clear direction as well as prevent missed deadlines and backtracking. If you are a web designer working with clients, then this guide will help both of you to plan properly. If you are a business owner or employee of an organization, then this guide will help lay the groundwork for your coming website.

Set your purpose and goals. What is the purpose of your website? Is it to gain publicity for your business? To sell your inventory? To rally support behind a cause? It’s important to identify your website’s purpose, as well as your target audience. You should also define your goals. How many visitors do you expect per month? How many do you expect will sign up for your newsletter? How much in sales do you expect to make? Set measurable, specific goals for your website that are in line with your marketing goals. An analytics tool like Google Analytics will allow you to monitor your website’s performance over time.

Create a budget. Whether you’re an established, mid-sized organization or a fledgling start-up, you should always set a budget for your website expenses. This will probably include funds for web design, programming, and web hosting (though other expenses may apply). Research the market by shopping around and consulting with professionals. Don’t sell yourself short by comparing prices alone. What you save in money you may later pay for with a lackluster site and lots of headaches. It’s better to choose team members based on experience, insightfulness, references, and examples of work.

Assign roles. Assemble the team of people who will be working on the website. Your team may consist of:

Company stakeholders (owner, marketing manager, or whoever else represents a primary function of the business)
Web developer
Content writer and/or editor
HTML/CSS professional
Web and graphic designer

Make sure everyone on your team knows their role and what is expected of them, and that they stay abreast of deadlines and new developments.

Create a content strategy. What kind of content will you be displaying on your website? Content is basically anything that gives your visitors information. It can include, but is not limited to:

Blog posts
Documents
Video
Pictures (such as in a gallery)
Slideshows
Embedded social media feeds (such as your Twitter stream or Facebook page updates)

Your content strategy is the way that you plan to present your content over time. For instance, you may want to publish two blog posts a month, and put out a free quarterly report for your subscribers to download four times a year. Since content is such a vital aspect of a website, bring in help if you need it. Hire a writer who is experienced with writing for the web, and invest in some professional looking pictures of your storefront and employees.

Structure your website. Decide what pages you’ll be using and what features will be on each one. Most websites have an About and Contact page, but the pages you use should meet your business’ needs.

Create a mock-up. A page mock-up, also know as a wireframe, is essentially the outline of your

website (with the initial design being the first draft). Usually created in Photoshop or Fireworks, you don’t have to put too much detail into your mock-up. Use placeholder text to fill pages, and don’t worry about details. This is just to give everyone an idea of what the website will look like.

Start designing. The importance of good web design can’t be stressed enough. Good website design includes both usability and aesthetics. An ugly website will drive away visitors, as will a website that’s difficult to navigate. Keep in mind some basic concepts of usability as you go:
1. Make your navigation easy to understand and easy to find. Research shows that most users expect website navigation to be vertical and centered at the top of the page.
2. Use an easy-to-read font for blocks of text. Choose a background color and text color that contrast well (Hint: No red text on a hot pink background).
3. Make sure your site fits the screen. Use responsive design (or an equally effective approach) to make your website one that adapts to all screen sizes.
4. Keep your website light so that it loads quickly.
5. Make the company logo and tag line prominent on the page.
6. Keep styles and colors consistent across the website.
7. Make copy clear and concise, and put important information and features (e.g., your newsletter sign-up form) above the fold.

Make notes about what to include in the style sheet as you design, as you want to keep style and function separate. This is important, not only to comply with web standards, but to make it easier to change something in the future if you need to. You should also design with the future in mind. For instance, your website may only have a few blog posts now, but what about when you have two hundred?

Test it out. Testing is important for getting out bugs out and catching details that you might have missed initially. Make sure your website shows up the way you want it to in all browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and mobile web browsers like Safari and Opera Mini. Test it on your cell phone, your tablet, and your colleague’s cell phones and tablets too. You want your site to have a consistent appearance no matter what screen it shows up on. Make sure all of the links work, that the images are properly sized, and that you’ve replaced all of the placeholders with actual content. See to it that all of the forms and other input fields are working.

Maintain your site. Once your site is launched, the work isn’t over. A website is an ongoing entity that continuously represents your company, so maintenance is very important. Monitor your analytics software to see how your website is performing with the public. Keep an eye on metrics like your number of unique visitors, bounce rate, and which pages are most popular on your website. You might find that certain metrics are more useful to you than others, but that is information you’ll find out over time.

You should also have a plan for maintaining the website, such as who is responsible for posting new content or monitoring site security. And of course, get feedback from your users. Feedback is a valuable tool for improvement.

Planning a website ahead of time is just as important as planning anything else in business, yet this step often gets overlooked by those anxious to claim their piece of internet real estate. Taking the time to plan your website is a great investment, and it will better you chances of having a finished product that serves you well for as long as you need it.

How to Measure Website Success

2013-08-21T23:40:00.000-07:00

Every website is different. What might be considered successful results for one website may be lackluster for another. To measure your own site’s success, you must first define what success means to you and develop a clear picture of how your website is performing according to these metrics.

What is the Purpose of Your Website?

To start, ask yourself about the purpose of your site. Was it created to sell products? To boost fundraising efforts? To engage consumers in a particular niche? Defining the purpose of your website is essential to defining its success.

Setting Good Goals

Next, you need to set some clear goals that coincide with your website’s purpose. When devising goals, consider the following questions:

Are your website goals tied in to the overall goals of your organization?
Are your goals measurable?
Are they challenging, yet realistic?
Are they set in a specific time frame?
Do your goals depend on specific website visitor actions? (Signing up for a newsletter, buying a product, etc.)

As an example, say you’re a business owner who sells jackets online. Your organizational goal is to generate revenue through jacket sales, so one goal of your website is to get visitors to buy jackets (a specific website visitor action). Your goal might be to sell 500 jackets per month through your website (which is both measurable and constrained by a specific time frame), up from the 400 you sold last month (which is challenging, yet realistic).

Metrics That Matter

Website metrics are a way to measure how people are interacting with your website. When you keep track of web metrics, you’ll be able to see what’s working on your site and what needs improvement as far as web traffic and conversions go. Here are some metrics that you should be tracking – no matter the purpose of your website:

Conversion Rate: This metric measures how many people are performing your website visitor action. Conversion rate is given as a percentage, and is based on the number of people who convert versus the number who leave your website without taking the desired visitor action.
Exit Pages: This statistic lets you know what pages your visitors are exiting your website from. This data, along with the conversion rate metric, can help you to optimize your sales funnel. Know what pages within your sales funnel people are exiting on and improve on those pages in order to maximize conversions (although, keep in mind that some pages – like your “Thank You” page – are natural exits).
Unique Visitors: This numbers tells you the number of individual people who visit your website in a given time period, usually daily. This is more significant than just measuring page views. Page views can tell you that you had three visits to your website in a day, but not if it was the same person visiting three separate times.
Referrers: This data tells you where your visitors are coming from and can be extremely helpful in measuring and strategizing your marketing efforts.
Top Keywords: This important metric tells you what search engine keywords are leading people to your website.
Top Internal Search Keywords: Don’t confuse this with top search engine keywords. This data tells you what people are using the search box on your website to search for. This could be helpful in determining what content on your website is most popular, or if there’s something you’re missing on your site that people are expecting to find.
Top Search Engines: This metric tells you what search engines people are visiting your website from, which can be useful when it comes to prioritizing SEO activities.
Average Time Spent: This number lets you know how much time people are spending on your website and individual pages, and it’s a good way to measure the quality of your website.
Bounce Rate: Your bounce rate is a measurement of how many people visit your website and then leave after only viewing the page they landed on. In other words, it tells you if your website is driving traffic away before engagement can occur.

When you measure your website metrics, you gain valuable information that will help you to achieve the goals you’ve set. If, for example, you see that the most visitors to your jacket sales website arrive by searching Google for “winter down jackets,” you can use that information for both marketing and optimization purposes.

Measuring Metrics

Given the importance of a website’s metrics, there are plenty of tools to choose from when it comes to measurement. Google Analytics is free and perhaps the most popular tool for measuring website metrics. Google Analytics not only lets you measure the success of your website, but also lets you perform split testing, helping you to turn your analytics data into actionable steps towards improvement.

Piwik is another free tool that can be hosted on your own web server. It offers many of the same features as Google Analytics, but since it’s hosted on your server, you’re the only one that sees the stats.

If you master Google Analytics and want to get deeper into your website’s analytics, Deep Log Analyzer is a good option. It’s not free, but it’s easy to use and could prove useful in further optimizing your website for conversions.

Remember that measuring the success of your website is two-fold. First, you must set your website’s goals, and then you must measure how your website is performing. Consistently revising your goals, measuring your website’s performance, and making improvements are surefire ways to improve the success of your website.

Website Development and Hosting Training

2013-08-15T14:07:00.002-07:00

Aelean Technologies invites you to a day workshop on Website Designing and Hosting on 17th Aug, 2013 @ Home Inn Hotels and Suites. 3/5 Morenikeji Cariner Close, off old otta road, near General Hospital Ile-epo, oke-odo oja rd. Agege. Lagos. 9am propmpt. (www.aelean.com)
Call: 0703 716 7459

Best Social PPC Platforms for Your Business

2013-08-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

When it comes to PPC (Pay Per Click), there’s no doubt that the big search engines are great places to advertise. With Google now reaching at least 80 percent of all internet users, Google Adwords has become a powerful force in PPC advertising.

However, you can’t talk about PPC these days without giving at least a mention to social media. The larger social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter all have their own PPC programs that allow you to target your ads to a specific audience. Social networks collect plenty of demographic information from their users. This means that – even when they’re not searching – members can still see ads tailored to them and their interests.

So the question then becomes: Which social network PPC program will serve your business best?

Things to Consider

As with any advertising campaign, your budget and target audience should be your main focus. It’s true that PPC costs much less than traditional advertising methods by comparison, but the daily costs can quickly add up and you’ll really feel it if your campaign isn’t getting the results you expect. Test and retest your chosen platform(s) before making any major financial commitment. Time spent on testing is well worth it in the long run.

Also, don’t advertise on any particular PPC platform just because everyone else is doing it. Find out where your demographic congregates and take your advertising dollars there.

Who Uses Social Media?

This is the first thing to consider when you’re thinking about going

the social PPC route, as targeting the right demographic is crucial to the success of your PPC campaign. Though marketers and webmasters are singing the praises of social PPC, the truth is that not every business can benefit as much as the next when it comes to this advertising channel.

The following are a few of the different types of users you’ll find on social media networks:

Age: According to data from the Pew Research Center, the age demographic with the largest social media usage rate is 18 to 29-year-olds (83%), followed by 30 to 49 year olds (73%). Not surprisingly, this age stratification has stayed constant since 2005, with the younger subset being the most frequent social media users.
Education: The data shows that social media usage pretty much spans across all education levels, with 65% of users holding a college degree or higher, 69% of people with some college education, and 66% of participants with a high school education.
Gender: Roughly 71% of women engage in social media, compared to 62% of men.
Location: About 70% of people in urban areas use social media, 67% of people in suburban areas, and 61% of people who live in rural areas.

Comparing PPC Programs

Facebook is probably the most widely used social PPC program, since it was the first one to make a huge splash on the social media scene (it’s also the most widely used social network by a landslide). With over 800 million users and a minimum daily budget of only $1, it’s a good choice for advertisers who want a wide reach on a budget. When advertising on Facebook, you can choose from the CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per mille, or cost per thousand views) methods of payment, though costs have been rising since last year for those paying by CPM.

Twitter is currently the biggest well-known micro blogging platform – with 500 million registered users as of October 2012, they’re fast catching up to Facebook in terms of user base. Twitter offers both sponsored tweets and sponsored hashtags for advertisers, though advertising here is considerably more expensive than on the other platforms.

For this reason, you most often see sponsored content from big companies, media giants, and well-known celebs on Twitter. Because of its succinct nature, this platform is fast paced and suitable for promoting hot and trendy things that you want to quickly build a buzz around. Though this social network has a broad swathe of users, account holders tend to be young (with an average age of 18-29), African American (26%), and/or urban dwellers (72%).

LinkedIn is the place to advertise if you’re offering B2B or employment services and products. With its very specific demographic (professionals and job seekers), LinkedIn allows you to target business professionals in specific industries. Right now, the minimum budget is $10 a day, which could be well worth it if your audience is mostly found on LinkedIn.

At the end of the day, experience is a great indicator for future success. If you’re still unsure about which social PPC platform is right for your business, the best thing to do is test. Run test campaigns on the platforms you feel would best suit your needs, and see which ones you perform well on. Then, optimize those campaigns so that they perform even better. Social PPC popularity is showing no signs of slowing down, making now a great time to dig your business’s roots into the social PPC soil.

HTML 101: Your HTML Cheat Sheet

2013-07-24T01:32:00.001-07:00

your website is up and running, you may find yourself wanting to make some small additions or edits. Contacting your designer or a webmaster for every little change can become tedious (not to mention expensive), which is why it’s so helpful to understand some basic HTML. HTML is the language that most websites are coded in – it drives the layout, fonts, colors and other formatting and functionality aspects of your website.

You may be thinking, “That’s great! But I don’t know any HTML.” If you’re in this position, this short cheat sheet will serve as a guide to making basic HTML changes to your website. This way, if you’d like to change some minor formatting on a page, you can quickly make these changes yourself.

What is an HTML tag?

An HTML tag is a snippet of code that tells the website how to read or format your content. HTML tags are surrounded by the < > characters. All HTML tags must be closed with corresponding </ > tags. This tells your website where your formatting changes begin and end.

Where do I make HTML changes?

Before we get started, it’s important to note where these changes get made. In most content management systems (CMSs), you’ll find that each page has two views. One is a design or visual view. This lets you see the page as it will look when it’s posted to your website. The other view is often referred to as the text, code or HTML view, depending on which CMS you are using. HTML changes should all be added to the text, code, or HTML view.

To enter a change, you’ll need to find the section of the page you’d like to change. Simply scroll until you see the text you’d like to alter or the space where you’d like to add new content. There, you can add the appropriate tags. After this, make sure to check the design view or preview the page to make sure everything looks the way you’d like it to.

Make text bold using HTML

To make text on a web page bold, use the HTML tag . For example, if you wanted to make the sentence, “This is important” bold, it would look like this:

This is important

Make text italic using HTML

To make text on a web page italic using HTML tags, you would use the HTML tag . This is short for emphasis. For example, if you wanted to make the sentence “This is important” italic, it would look like this:

This is important

Add a link using HTML

Adding a link is somewhat trickier than simply changing the formatting of your text to be bold or italic. If you’d like to add a link, you’ll use the HREF tag. HREF tags tell the website what text should be linked, where the link should go, and how the link should be opened.

For example, if I wanted the text “Google” to be linked to the Google website, it would look like this:

<a href=”http://www.google.com”>Google</a>

For contrast, if I wanted the text “Yahoo” to link to the website for Yahoo, it would look like this:

<a href=”http://www.yahoo.com”>Yahoo</a>

Additionally, if you’d like your link to open in a new window or tab so that users aren’t directed away from your site, you can add some additional information to the HREF tag. For this example, you would tell the code that you’d like to open the link in a new window by indicating that the target is blank. In this instance, the HTML code would look like this:

<a href=”http://www.yahoo.com” target=”blank”>Yahoo</a>

Add a picture using HTML

Adding imagery is a great way to help users connect with your content and become more interested in what you have to say. To add an image, you’ll first need to host that image somewhere online, either on your CMS or on another service. Once you’ve uploaded the image to the place where you’re hosting it, simply add an image tag.

As an example, an image tag should look like this:

Images are somewhat unique because they do not always have an end tag. The code does not need to know where the image ends – the image itself can dictate that. However, you can link images to a web page. For instance, if you wanted to link your image to your home page, it would look like this:

You’ll notice that, in this case, the code for the image simply replaces the text in the HREF tag.

Obviously, these few tweaks only scratch the surface of full HTML coding. However, simply knowing how to handle these simple changes on your own can save you big money by minimizing the need to contact your web designer every time edits must be made. Start with these HTML 101 steps and continue to grow your coding skills as you go!

33 Killer Resources for Getting More Out of Your Website

2013-06-22T23:56:00.001-07:00

If you run a website, you know how important it is to get the most out of it. To improve your skills as a webmaster, check out any of the following 33 resources:

Website Reference Sites

Mashable – Mashable is a site that focuses on the online world. With segments for business, technology and social media, it is one of the web’s leading sources of information on online marketing and a great way to stay up-to-date.

Social Fresh – Social Fresh is a leader is social media marketing and technology, making it a great resource for best practices in online marketing.

Copyblogger – Copyblogger focuses on content, from landing pages to newsletters to sales pieces. If you’re looking for tips on writing copy that will help you soft sell your products and services, check out this great resource.

Website Optimization Tools

XML Sitemap – An XML sitemap (like the one created by this plugin) helps search engines to more easily read your site, which is crucial for ranking high in search engine results.

ClickTale – Clicktale is designed to track user behavior on your site and produces professional-looking reports on visitor movement throughout your pages.

CrazyEgg – This tool provides website analytics through heat mapping and scroll reports. It also offers a feature called Confetti, which allows you to segment all the clicks on your site by referral source.

ClickDensity – This analytics tool is free, self-hosted and simple to use. ClickDensity provides heat mapping that you can manage completely behind the scenes, free of charge.

Zentester – Zentester offers A/B testing, scroll and heat mapping, and an analytics feature as well. It’s a simple tool that helps small business owners create great landing pages for their websites.

Webpagetest – Webpagetest allows you to test your web page’s load time on multiple browsers in real time, giving you a quick way to understand if your site is optimized for load time.

Google Page Speed – Be sure to check out Google’s own tool for determining the load time of your website.

Website Tracking Tools

Google Analytics – Google Analytics is Google’s tool for determining what your users are doing on your site. It offers some basic analytics like demographics, bounce rate and number of pageviews, and is both free and easy to install.

Chartbeat – This tool offers analytics with a focus on what’s hot now. If you’re looking for real-time trends, Chartbeat offers a visually pleasing display of this type of data.

Clicky – Clicky offers website analytics, including time-on-site tracking and real bounce rates. All statistics are real-time, though some detractors feel its interface is not user-friendly.

GoSquared – This analytics tools also focuses on what’s happening right now, including a second-by-second analysis of what’s happening on your site.

Reinvigorate – Reinvigorate offers basic analytics, like number of visitors and visit length. It also includes a basic heat mapping tool as part of its package.

Woopra – This analytics tool aims to integrate analytics and CRM with the end goal of tracking user behavior across different types of devices.

Social Media Integration

Disqus – This third-party commenting system integrates easily with a variety of CMSs, including WordPress and Blogger. Disqus is extremely mobile-friendly and reflects comments and responses in near real time.

Livefyre – Livefyre is a new commenting system that offers many of the benefits of Disqus and Intense Debates, while also allowing users to post their comments simultaneously to Facebook and Twitter.

IntenseDebate – IntenseDebate is a third-party commenting system that offers the ability to reward Reputation Points to rank comments and allow “better” comments to display above less popular feedback.

Add This – AddThis is a simple social sharing tool that allows users to easily share your content to the social network of their choosing.

Shareaholic – Similar to AddThis, Shareaholic offers the ability to install a tool bar with social sharing buttons to your site. Its aesthetics are different, so your preference between the two will be determined mostly by your taste.

Click to Tweet – Clicktotweet advertises itself as the simplest, best way to promote your content on Twitter. The plugin allows you to generate pre-populated tweets with a snippet unique text you’ve created from your site’s content.

Hrefshare – Much like Click to Tweet, Hrefshare allows you to create pre-populated content for your users to distribute. The difference is that Hrefshare integrates with Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ in addition to Twitter.

Send to Kindle – Adding this tool to your website allows readers to save your content to their Kindles. This way if they want to read at a later time, they already have your content at their fingertips.

Contact Capture

LeadLife – LeadLife is a more traditional CRM and contact management system. Its cost may be significant for many small businesses, but it has shown a definite impact on revenue for some companies.

Constant Contact – Constant Contact is a newsletter and email capture service. Starting at $15 per month, this tool allows you to easily manage your email list and capture new leads.

MailChimp – The Mailchimp newsletter service is free of charge if you have a subscriber base of 2,000 or less. This contact capture program also integrates with services like EventBrite and SurveyGizmo.

Aweber – If you need better analytics and reporting features from your email newsletter service, give the Aweber list management program a closer look.

Website Survey Tools

SurveyMonkey – SurveyMonkey offers both free and paid versions that can handle everything from small, informal surveys to the ability to customize surveys, skip questions and even download survey reports.

SurveyGizmo – This tool is allows you to create surveys with a customizable look and feel. You can also embed videos and images into your surveys and integrate easily with your MailChimp email list.

Social Media Management Tools

Hootsuite – Hootsuite (which comes in both free and paid versions) allows you to post or schedule updates to multiple social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Facebook business pages, LinkedIn, Google+ and Myspace) from one simple interface.

Tweetdeck – This Twitter management tool is 100% free to use and offers the ability to view multiple Twitter streams at once. Similar to Hootsuite, you can schedule updates from this easily-accessible interface.

SproutSocial – Sprout Social is a paid toolset that provides social media management features, as well as analytics. Unlike the options above, it allows multiple people to access the account, making it a great tool for larger teams.

Having the right resources on hand can help ensure you’re making the most of your online presence. Implementing the combination of the tools above that’s right for your business can help you to easily take your website to the next level.

Introducing Facebook page fan audience boosting

2013-05-22T15:47:00.001-07:00

We hereby introduce our new facebook page fan audience boosting tool to help move your projection upward.

FACEBOOK FANBASE BOOSTING
A lot of people out there have to be able to gather the facts about a company before they end up buying a product from that company. A company that is able to develop a following and get a large number of likes is more likely to have products purchased from them.

Facebook likes are even something that politicians purchase in order to juice up their campaigns. A lot of people out there need to be able to make sure that the products they are purchasing happen to be safe. The safeness of your products are something that can make a big difference and a parent who sees that your company has a lot of likes on Facebook is going to be able to assume that the products are safe. Quality is also something that can be discussed on a Facebook fan page as well.
Why Buy Facebook Likes? Because it can give you instant credibility in certain circles and the niche marketing techniques that are assisted through this process happen to be numerous.

There are a large number of creative people that can gain a number of followers through Facebook.
Local artists can get people to like their work through Facebook and the acquisition of Facebook likes and friends.

A lot of great business people are going to work hard in order to set up their Facebook presence.
The tech sector knew about the benefits of Facebook before the common person knew about Facebook, but this does not mean that they are too stupid to not enjoy the benefits of that economic tool. Many people should view Facebook as an economic tool and fanbase boosting is one of the tools that can be used to increase your economic fortunes.

Packages	Number of Likes	Duration	Cost
Bronze	1,000	5 - 7days	N25, 000
Silver	5,000	10 - 15 days	N90, 000
Gold	10,000	15 - 20days	N140, 000
Flex	If you need more than 10,000 facebook page likes. Please call 08026319397

For more information regarding this, you can reply this email.
Regards,
Newton Osinowo
Detech Technologies
www.detech-ng.com
08026319397