To ensure data centers are an integral part of the sustainable future of Europe, we gladly joined this Pack to achieve the goal of making centers climate neutral by 2030.
The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact is backed by 17 industry bodies, and sets targets for efficiency and the use of green energy, as well as making data centers into a circular economy. It follows the European Union’s announcement of a Green Deal at the end of 2019. and commits the industry to reach carbon neutrality by 2030.
Some of the goals with this Pact are:
Source: climateneutraldatacentre.net
Energy Efficiency: This will be demonstrated through aggressive power use effectiveness (PUE) targets.
Clean Energy: Our data centers will match their electricity supply through the purchase of clean energy.
Water: Data centres will conserve water and set ambitious water conservation targets.
Circular Economy: The reuse, repair, and recycling of servers, electrical equipment, and other related electrical components is a priority.
Circular Energy System: The reuse of data center heat presents an opportunity for energy conservation that can fit specific circumstances. We will explore possibilities to interconnect with district heating systems to determine if opportunities to feed captured heat from data centers into nearby systems are practical, environmentally sound, and cost-effective.
As our CEO said – We have one planet, no matter how big or small we are, we should do our best to make an impact for a greener tomorrow.
We at AltusHost are sure that contributing to the future of our planet, and in that sense to our future as well, could never be in vain. We also hope that other hosting providers and data center owners will follow in our footsteps so that we can together work on a greener tomorrow.
That’s half of the planet. Today you can reach everyone with your content, which seemed unimaginable just 3 decades ago.
In almost every way possible, social media have shaped our buying habits (and our habits in general) and it’s only natural that businesses are harnessing this new potential.
78% of salespeople engaged in social selling are outselling their peers who aren’t.
76% of buyers are ready to have a social media conversation with potential providers.
33% of users prefer to contact brands using social media instead of making a phone call.
Facebook and Instagram keep implementing shopping features. Linkedin is all about B2B selling. TikTok attracts Gen Z shoppers and Gen-Z-oriented brands.
So Why Would you Need a Website if you Have Social Media Channels that Wield Such Power?
One might think that having a website isn’t a necessity anymore. It’s enough to have a company page on a big social platform and that will do, right?
Well, what about privacy issues and data ownership? Despite the benefits, you have to consider what happens to your data, because data is the oil of the 21st century.
And what about your brand? Putting all the eggs into one basket (that’s not even yours) might not be a strategy you want for your company.
This article is not trying to persuade you to shut down your social media channels, but rather to show you that you should probably add a website to your mix of communication channels because, in the end, your website is your digital property.
You own it, you control it.
And as you’ll see in the next 10 paragraphs, your website yields so many benefits that almost outweigh those of social media.
1. Mark Zuckerberg might Decide One Day to Shut Down Facebook
Scary as it sounds, there’s nothing you can do about it. All the money you’ve invested in Facebook advertising, building your fan base, posting content on your feed… Gone. In one day, in one click.
The same applies to TikTok, Instagram, Whatsapp, Viber, Telegram…
With your own website, you’re the one who has control over your assets.
No one can delete the content from your blog
You get to decide who you communicate with
You decide what data to show to the world (and what data to collect)
Yes, it can happen that a data center that keeps your data secure one day burns down to ashes, as had happened in France recently, but in such cases, we recommend something you can’t easily do with social media content, and that’s making a 3-2-1 backup system.
2. Websites Have No Office Hours
Neither does social media. However, 72% of online shopping experiences start with a Google search. That means that people expect to find your website. Over 60% of people visit your Facebook page but decide to check out your website as well.
That’s a signal that people still put a lot of weight on your online presence in form of a website.
With the website being “open” all the time, you’ll promote yourself and sell 24/7/365. During the COVID-19 and with so many businesses being locked down, it’s important to find a way to communicate with buyers.
3. Your Competition Most Certainly has a Website
Do a basic web search. How many of your competitors have websites?
If many of them, you’re missing a lot. If just a few, you’re still missing a lot. At least an opportunity to gather all that traffic from web searches.
Position yourself in the online world before anyone else does
Inspect your competition and just do it better
Constantly keep an open eye on your competitors’ actions
4. You’ll Rank on Google, Which Means that People can Find You
Without a website, you won’t be able to rank effectively on the biggest search engine in the world. People won’t be able to find you and you’ll be leaving a lot of money on the table.
5. A Website Saves you Money and Time by Providing Information and Support
If every single person interested in your products and services called you or emailed you today, you’d spend all your resources just on replying. A good website saves you time and money by:
Informing people about your offers and your company
Providing ways to communicate in a streamlined way
Preparing customers for purchasing so by the time they contact you, they know what they were searching for
This is especially important because your social media channel can’t contain all the info people need. Most of your posts get buried down by other content in the feed.
6. Your Website is Your Digital Business Presentation
Remember those good ol’ times of business cards? Everyone had one and we were throwing them like confetti at every conference. People were competing over business card design.
The famous business-card scene from the movie American Psycho
8. It’s Not Expensive nor Time-Consuming anymore to Build a Basic Website
We’ve heard so many times from many business owners that they hesitate to start a website building project because it takes too much time and probably costs a lot.
Luckily, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Unless you need something flashy and too complex.
10. Having a Website is Great for Branding and Reputation
And yet, 40% percent of small businesses don’t have one. If you have invested in building an online presence outside of social media, this is the signal that:
You invest in your business in general
You strive to build a sustainable business
You care about the habits of your audience
These three factors alone influence how people think of you and your online reputation.
Aside from that, you can paint your website in brand colors just the way you want it and express your uniqueness. That’s not easy to do on the social media company page.
Having a Website Together with Social Media Accounts is the Smartest Decision you Can Make
In the end, there’s one key point we’d like to drive home.
Strive to be everywhere your customers are and never put all of your eggs in one basket.
Engage with people on social media, but be there for them on Google. Share on your website, but make sure to notify customers on social media and give them a reason to follow you.
We hope that this article has helped you decide whether to build your online presence further and invest in a website.
If you liked the article, feel free to share it with your network, and as always, we’re looking forward to your feedback on social media and in the comments section below.
We are very proud to announce that AltusHost is officially the Partner of Plesk. Listening to our client’s needs has shown to be the best practice, so we insured to partner up with one of the most popular Control Panels out there.
What are the Plesk Editions, and Standard Features
Plesk licenses are available for virtual (also known as virtual private servers or VPS) and dedicated (also known as physical servers) servers. Available Editions are the following:
PleskWeb Admin is intended for Web & IT Admins who manage sites for an employer, business, or themselves. If you need a simple website and domain management, this is the right Edition for you. Available features for this edition are:
10 domains
Basic Subscription management
Power User Interface only
Plesk Web Pro Edition is intended for Web Professionals who design, develop, and deploy websites and web apps. If you need a simple way to manage websites and apps, including the use of WordPress as a CMS platform in a fully managed model, you should go with this Edition. Available Features are:
30 domains
Advanced Subscriptions, Customers, and Account Management
WordPress Toolkit
Power User + Service Provider Interface
100s of Apps at your fingertips
DNSSEC Support
Plesk Web Host Edition is intended for Agencies or Web Hosting Companies with all the hosting features they need. You can use shared accounts in almost any configuration wanted, as well as secure WordPress and domain management tools. The Features are:
Unlimited domains Reseller management
Advanced Subscriptions, Customers, and Account Management
WordPress Toolkit
Power User + Service Provider Interface
DNSSEC Support
What are the Advantages of Using Plesk?
Here is the breakdown of some of the advantages you have by choosing to use Plesk.
As a Premium Control Panel Plesk has very affordable prices, and a lower fee compared to some other Control Panels.
Plesk can work both on Linux and Windows! Good news, right?
Also, Plesk has some Special Editions that can be very attractive if you are looking for easier management of your website(s). Plesk WordPress EditionPlesk intended for WordPress Users and Agencies. This includes the Plesk Web Host Edition combined with extensions specifically designed to support WordPress work. And Business &CollaborationEdition intended for SMB Owners and IT Admins, which includes the Plesk Web Host Edition, as well as the necessary extensions and tools for business and communication.
How to Choose Plesk?
With all of our VPS and Dedicated Servers, you have the option to choose Plesk as your Control Panel, directly from the dropdown menu while making the order. If you are interested in some of the Plesk Special Editions contact our Sales Advisors at [email protected] or via our ticketing system. You can also upgrade your package at any time or add one of the Special Editions to your account.
Are you having a way too small percentage of sales, downloads, calls… Compared to the number of visitors?
Your website has everything it should have – a nice-looking logo, lengthy description of your services, huge CALL US, DOWNLOAD, SCHEDULE buttons…
And yet, crickets.
Why don’t they do what I want them to do?!
This is a million-dollar question. Maybe it’s a design. Or a bad user experience.
Whatever the case, if you’re not seeing results, maybe you should consider doing something marketers call CRO, or conversion rate optimization.
In this article, we’ll teach you the basics of CRO, show you the benefits of it, and give you a set of practical tips you could apply today to move the needle.
What is the Conversion Rate and How to Calculate it?
Let’s start with the basics. A conversion happens when our visitor completes a desired action.
For example, if we wish that they pick up the phone and call us as soon as they scroll through our homepage, and that was our goal, then they “converted”, a conversion happened.
The same applies to downloads, calls… Pretty much any other goal you set.
Conversion rate is the percentage of people who visit our website and do what we want them to do.
Here’s a simple formula to calculate your conversion rate:
Let’s say 10 people bought our product today, out of 100 of them who visited our website.
Let’s put that into the formula: (10 / 100) * 100 = 10%
Our conversion rate is 10%. Every tenth visitor out of a hundred decides to buy, download, call…
What is a Good Conversion Rate?
The only real answer is – it depends!
It depends on your:
Conversion goals
Measures you’ve taken to increase conversion
Advertising efforts
Touchpoints where the conversion takes place
But let’s say that most businesspeople agree that 2-5% is a decent number. Everything above 10% is huge and puts you at the very top of successful businesses.
Everything below 2% is considered bad and if you’re in that situation, consider hiring a CRO professional or implementing some tips from this article to fix the leaks.
How Websites Benefit from Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
If a website has a high conversion rate, that means that it’s:
Well designed
Aligned with visitors’ needs and habits
Optimized in terms of speed and usability
Well-written and has a good offer
Structured to push people to convert
Highly-optimized websites in terms of conversion rate bring more leads, more revenue, and increase your growth rate, as well as your brand image.
There are many ways to optimize your conversion rate. We’ve selected 11 quick ways that you could implement by yourself today and perhaps see an increase in numbers very soon.
Make sure to follow your analytics.
Add Live Chat to Your Website
When people visit your website, they expect to find information fast. Although we like to believe that everyone will read our blog and spend hours looking for that specific info… The truth is, the majority leaves in a minute.
Why is that? It’s because people have the chance to contact you right away and get the desired answers. Chances are, they’ll schedule that demo or buy a product just because you were there when they were ready to buy.
All they did was they changed the button size and color. This study by Befree.io shows that blue might be the best CTA button color.
Here’s an example of good vs dry CTA button text copy.
We know it’s easy to just put Schedule a call or Download out there… But don’t you think that Click here to get + Certainty + Specific benefit is a bit more alluring?
The best thing you could do is to test everything.
Change the button text
Move it up, down, left, right
Make it bigger or smaller
And when writing CTA button copy, bear in mind that specificity + benefits always win. Try to provide your visitors with an answer to the question:
What’s next? What can I expect when I click here?
Pro tip: Make sure to point out what they are missing if they don’t click and follow through. Loss aversion is a powerful motivator.
Add a Countdown Timer
Have you heard of the urgency effect? It predicts that people will complete an unimportant task over an important one just because the unimportant one has an expiration date.
Depending on your business type, adding a countdown timer to certain offers, like
Pro tip: Use timers carefully. It takes a lifetime to build a brand and only one unfair promotion to ruin it. Don’t put timers to make an illusion of scarcity, and don’t do it all the time.
Use them to push sales when there’s really a deadline. If caught red-handed, you could lose your reputation. That’s something your competition certainly hopes for.
The new rule of thumb is – if you’re asking for a huge amount of data, make sure to provide tons of value, like industry reports, webinars, huge and knowledge-packed ebooks…
People expect to give a lot of data if they perceive the value they get in return as high enough.
However, if you’re inviting people to join your email list or schedule a demo (first point of contact)… Reducing the number of input fields will reduce this friction.
Let’s take a look at Hubspot’s kit download form. They’re giving you a whole set of materials that could save you hours and hours. It’s fair to ask for more data than usual.
Source: Hubspot
Now take a look at this example:
Source: bmon.co.uk
Would you insert all of that data?
Use Heatmaps to Follow Users’ Behavior
Heatmaps are graphical representations of user behavior on your website.
You install a tracker code from the heatmap software that allows you to see
Recordings of users sessions,
What they click the most (where they keep their cursors)
What elements capture the most attention
Source: datahash.com
These types of data help you determine whether the content on your website keeps users engaged. Combined with Google Analytics, you could use this info to make data-driven decisions.
The most popular heatmap software on the market in 2021:
People have different habits when it comes to consuming content on the internet. Some like to listen, others to watch, while some prefer to read. But they all have something in common – they enjoy rich experiences.
Blog posts rich with multimedia are:
Visually appealing (blogs with visuals get 94% more views)
More interesting to read
Better for SEO (since they increase viewing time)
More traffic, more visitors, and a pleasant experience, in the end, increase your conversion rate.
Why? Real faces establish trust. Landing on an unknown website, rummaging through lots of info, without seeing anything more than stock imagery (or stock text!) can’t tell much.
Especially because it’s so easy to get scammed online today.
Our piece of advice: Hire a photographer and add photos of real people to your website.
Source: Unsplash These two guys might be on every third startup website on the web.
Add Pop-Ups
Yes, people hate pop-ups. They’re distracting, interrupting, and frustrating.
When implementing pop-ups, bear in mind that they should not interfere with user experience on the website.
Wrapping Up your First Steps in CRO
Working on your website is like owning a house with a nice lawn… Yes, it’s great, but there’s always some work to do. There’s always room for improvement.
As you have seen, one button can increase or kill your sales. A wrong choice of color can hamper your growth. Too many input fields in your form when providing little to no value is a big no-no.
What you can do right away is to check your Google analytics, connect a heatmap software, do a quick survey with your existing customers, and start making changes by following tips from this article.
Do-rinse-repeat. Check the status after a month or two. It’s a win-win situation. Not doing anything will cost you more than trying.
We hope this article helped you understand the basics of website conversion rate optimization. We’d appreciate sharing it with your friends and family on social media, especially with those whose sites need optimization.
Protecting the data we work with should be a priority for companies of any size. By doing regular backups, creating backup strategies, and methods for recovery in case of data loss, you ensure that your business keeps running even in the toughest of conditions.
There are many methodologies out there for data backup and recovery, but the one that persists for decades is the 3-2-1 Backup plan.
Before we dive straight into that plan (or rule, as many call it), we’ll go through the importance of regular data backup, the hidden costs of not having data backups, and the most common backup methods. At the end of this article, you’ll understand why and how to protect your data, following the 3-2-1 plan.
Why is Data Back up Necessary
This may be the most important question to consider. Although experts advise making backups all the time, the numbers aren’t too great. Around 30% fewer people back up data, compared to the surveys from the last year.
The simple answer to why backup is important is because business is unpredictable, as well as life. Companies lose data due to:
With so many dangers lurking in the world, it would be irresponsible to leave data unprotected, regardless of the size of your business
Source: Unsplash
Aside from that, losing data incurs huge financial and personal costs.
The Costs of Data Loss and not having Backups
Although data aren’t “material stuff” and their loss doesn’t seem so dangerous at the first sight (we can always gather/make that data again, right?), the real consequences derived from available data and studies prove that data loss indeed poses huge problems for the company.
Let’s see how much does it cost not to have a data backup.
Financial costs
Nearly 46% of people lose data, according to the research conducted by BackBlaze. Another research by the British Chamber of Commerce showed that 93% of businesses that lose data and fail to recover them, file for bankruptcy after a year.
“While the average cost per lost or stolen record was $146 across all data breaches, those containing customer PII cost businesses $150 per compromised record.”
If you lose data, you’ll lose credibility in the eyes of your customers.
What are the Common Data Backup Methods
Source: Handybackup.com
We hope that the data got you thinking about making regular backups. So you might be wondering what types of backups there are.
There are 3 types of data backup:
Full backup
A full backup involves copying the entire data into a backup unit (hard disk, server, cloud…). It takes a lot of time and a lot of space.
Full backups provide the most protection and full recovery in case of a loss.
Incremental backup
Incremental backups are not so resource-consuming processes as full backups, since they involve copying only modified data sets.
The downside to incremental backups is that they depend on previous backups. Any damage to the previous database will prevent full data recovery.
Differential backup
A differential backup is similar to the incremental backup type. It involves saving modified data.
The main difference is that, while the incremental backup method saves only the data modified since the last backup, the differential method relies on the last full backup and saves the data modified since the last full backup.
Source: Phoenixnap.com
Deciding on a type of backup isn’t a matter of method, but rather of your needs:
Now that you know the existing types of backups, and why you should have them, here’s the most popular method that works in companies of every size, for any type of data, in every environment – The 3-2-1 Backup Rule.
The method looks like this:
Make 3 copies of data – the original data + 2 copies.
Use 2 different storage types – to minimize the chance of failure (more on storage types later)
1 copy should be stored offsite – to prevent natural catastrophes from destroying all data copies
Source: TechTarget
This approach is so popular that even the United States government recommends it. In a 2012 paper for US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team), Carnegie Mellon recommended the 3-2-1 method in their publication titled: Data Backup Options.
Of course, there are alternatives to it, but the 3-2-1 remains the standard.
What Storage Types Should You Use for 3-2-1 Backups?
Essentially – everything goes!
There are 6 common types of modern data storage units. This decision depends on the size of your data sets.
Example of a 3-2-1 rule: Original data on the hard drive + copy on a USB + copy on an offsite server.
RTO and RPO in the 3-2-1 Strategy
Before reading the explanation, we recommend watching this short video from Amazon Web Services. It’s only a minute long.
Done?
When you start thinking about data backup, these are the two parameters you’ll most certainly encounter. Let’s dive straight into their meanings.
RTO stands for Recovery Time Objective. This is the time it takes for you to recover from disaster and return your business to normal operation. When your systems are down, clients get frustrated and you lose money.
So RTO has to be quick. But that requires strong technology, which means that it’s also expensive.
RPO stands for Recovery Point Objective.When you decide on the scope of backups, it’s time to decide on the frequency. In case of a failure between two backups, all data from the last backup will be lost. That period, that tolerance in between is RPO.
RPO is your measure of just how much data you can afford to lose.
The longer RPO, the more data you lose, but the more money you save on technology. The shorter RPO means that you need to invest a lot into resources to keep the backups ready.
When you’re following the 3-2-1 strategy, try to strike a balance between the RPO, RTO, and the tech stack that fits into your budget. It’s not like the disaster waits around the corner, but better safe than sorry.
If you handle high quantities of extremely sensitive data, the backup technology stack is an investment, not an expense.
What Data Should you Back up
Although we’d say “everything”, there’s a limit to financial and storage resources available.
The rule of thumb is to back up:
The data created by you/your employees/your company
Not easily replaceable data
Confidential data
Customer data
This includes spreadsheets, financial reports, invoices, customer databases… While operating system data isn’t so relevant because it can be restored at any point.
Just ask yourself – If I lose this data, will it incur serious damage? If the answer is yes, put it on a storage unit.
How Often Should you Back up Data?
As often as possible is the ideal scenario.
But it actually depends on two things:
The size of your business and data
The investment you make into backup technology
Think about RPO, RTO, and the financial costs of backups.
And it’s more about the combination of backup methods. Consider making a backup plan.
In mid-sized companies, full backups, based on a 3-2-1 rule, are usually done weekly or every two weeks, with incremental backups in between.
In enterprise companies, full backups are done daily, also with incremental/differential backups in between.
Small businesses should do a full backup on two weeks or monthly basis.
Follow the 3-2-1 Backup Rule and Protect your Business
Now that we’ve covered the importance of data backup and the 3-2-1 backup strategy, we hope that you’ll start backing up your data from today on. Data losses affect not only your finances but also your brand and your image.
Make sure to protect your valuable digital assets at all times by following simple and best practices, like the 3-2-1 rule.
If you liked this article, share it with your network of business partners and show them how important it is to protect their data.
Node.js and Deno both serve as runtimes for JavaScript and have a common producer, Ryan Dahl. As Node.js was introduced in 2009, many have become comfortable with its variety of functions due to the use of Javascript. But, there were a couple of features Ryan Dahl admitted that he should have focused more on, such as security, modules, dependencies.
In 2018 at the JSConf EU, Ryan Dahl talked about design flaws in Node. He regretted some of the choices that he made during its development. This was because of the limited features JavaScript language provided back in 2009.
All the algorithm flaws discussed could only be fixed by debugging the core code of Node, making it a lengthy and costly process. To prevent this, Ryan Dahl ended legal support of this runtime and introduced a new and improved, Deno. It’s an anagram of Node.
He confirmed that Deno wasn’t made to replace Node, so node developers don’t need to worry. They both serve as JavaScript runtimes, allowing access to JS outside of web browsers. Here are some comparison points between Node and Deno to help you gain a deeper understanding of the two.
In-Depth View Of Node And Deno
Node.js, an open-source server environment, was created from C++ language, and it leverages the V8 engine to run Javascript code. Originally, the V8 engine was made for Google Chrome to execute Javascript in the browser very quickly.
Similarly, Deno relies on the V8 engine. However, it was made by using a programming language called Rust, having a similar syntax as compared to C++. This language places special emphasis on security.
Node.js falls behind in terms of security. When a node app runs, it can easily open file systems or access networks. Deno prevents this by asking permission from the app user to execute a function. It can’t access the file systems or environmental variables without writing the command for allowance.
On Deno’s official website, an example is given of running a program that returned a network access error if network access wasn’t allowed. There are a variety of permission functions that range from reading to editing a file.
Design of APIs
Both Node and Deno keep their APIs open for web development, allowing professionals to make programs that can’t only read or write files but also deliver or receive requests for accessing networks.
At the time of production of Node, there was no built-in support for the use of Promises. Thus, Node’s API for asynchronous operations were designed to implement the error callback convention. Presently, Node does have access to Promises, and the async/await syntax, but it still requires the use of callbacks for backward compatibility.
Deno’s API takes advantage of the modern features in Javascript. All asynchronous operations return Promises. It also supports using top-level await in your main script. This eliminates the need for wrapping the main body of your code in an async function.
Browser Optimized
Deno’s development team has embedded browser APIs’ in required areas. It provides a global window object and APIs such as Web Worker and WebAssembly. These help to create web servers that function similar to client-side Javascript programs.
In simple terms, Deno applications written in Javascript that don’t use the global Deno namespace can run on modern browsers without modifications. The window object is unavailable in Node, but fetch can be used by accessing a third-party library.
Usage of Modules
Deno uses ES modules, the official custom packages that give access to Javascript code. Node.js used the CommonJS module because Javascript didn’t have its module at the time of Node’s invention.
Node installs and manages third party modules using its package manager called npm. It’s used for accessing npm’s online registry, where all the third-party packages are available.
When npm is used to install a package into your project, a package.json file is utilized, which allocates the name and suitable range of its versions. Any packages that the package installed depends on are stored in a node_modules folder, which is inside your project.
Deno loads modules by importing their URLs. These packages don’t require a centralized registry compared to npm, i.e., a package manager. NPM results in large node_modules folders, with the added difficulty of keeping them secure.
Deno enables package creators to present their code at suitable places. It eliminates the need for package.json and node_modules. When an application is started, Deno downloads all the imported libraries and stores them temporarily.
Deno creators ask users to check if they are stored in their version control systems or repositories. They can access that version of the modules when they were downloaded, even if the URLs stop working.
Access to Third-Party Modules
Node has a wide family of packages and libraries available. In June 2019, the total number of packages registered in the npm registry crossed 1 million and surpassed 1.3 million in 2020. Some may not be working currently, but it gives the advantage of accessing a large library for developers.
Deno eliminates the need to depend on a package manager. Instead, scripts can import modules from any public URLs. One can encounter difficulty in importing a package if they don’t know which is suitable. Fortunately, the Deno website provides a list of compatible open source modules. Currently, there are 1550 modules.
Deno also provides a standard library of functions for carrying out general operations. These modules are assessed by the Deno core team for providing high-quality code. Node can access them only via third party packages.
Wrapping Up
This article wasn’t written to support any of the two entities but to easily distinguish between them. Both of them offer one purpose but have different functionality. Deno displays a couple of advantages that include a sound approval system and exclusive typescript support. Its interface and designing tools provide a constructive environment and a great developer experience.
Whereas, Node has a great maturing ecosystem as it’s been more than a decade since its development. Currently, Node.js has a vast amount of documentation and tutorials available, making it a supportive application for creating web sites.
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About the Author:Nouman provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. His educational background in the technical field and business studies helps him in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development and digital marketing. He occasionally writes articles for Dynamologic Solutions.
If you have a website that has a contact form on it, then you probably often receive spam messages coming from the forms on your website. Since these messages are in most cases sent by software bots, this can become a fairly large number of messages that overwhelm your inbox with spam every day. Fortunately, there is a good solution to this problem and it is called CAPTCHA.
In this blog, we will explain how to install one of the most popular CAPTCHA services in the world – Google reCAPTCHA.
CAPTCHA is a specific type of test that a website user needs to solve in order to be allowed to send a message via the contact form or perform any other activity on the form (registration, logging in, subscribing to the newsletter, etc.). In fact, by solving the test, the CAPTCHA software identifies whether the user is a human or a bot.
Please note that there is no 100% protection against bots, but with the help of reCAPTCHA, you will stop most malicious bots from spamming your inbox and overloading your web server.
reCAPTCHA
Google has several versions of reCAPTCHA – reCAPTCHA v2, and reCAPTCHA v3 are the most commonly used versions today. The reCAPTCHA v1 version ceased to exist in March 2018.
Let’s briefly explain the difference between these two versions:
ReCAPTCHA v2 is a test that, along with the form offers you the option to check the ‘I am not a robot’ button and thus confirm that you are a human and not a bot. If the software estimates that there are no suspicious activities on the form, it will only offer the option to check the mentioned field. Otherwise, it will give you a test, that you have probably often seen on websites, it consists of several squares with pictures that you need to check on request. So, the user has to identify in some way that he is a person, not a bot, which obviously requires solving this type of test. This is also the most popular version of reCAPTCHA.
ReCAPTCHA v3 is a newer (and improved) version of this software. Unlike reCAPTCHA v2, this version means that the user does not need to identify himself immediately by solving a test, but the software applies silent background analysis to identify malicious behavior in the form of a bot using AI. Each visitor to your form is assigned a score based on which the software determines further steps (eg to request additional user identification, to notify the webmaster..etc). This version requires a little more work to be implemented on the website.
Setting Up reCAPTCHA v2
To register, firstly go to the reCaptcha console. As with other Google services, you need to sign up with your Gmail account.
After registration, enter the Admin Console, on the top right corner.
Now you need to register your site. Enter a profile name in the Label field (optional – eg site name). Now in the reCAPTCHA type section, you need to choose which version of reCAPTCHA you want to register. We select reCAPTCHA v2 and left it on the default ‘I am not a robot’ Checkbox.
Next, enter the domain name in the Domains field (without https: //), for example, www.mywebsite.com, and in the Owners, section enter the email address to which you want to receive notifications.
Note that in the Security Preference section you have the option to adjust detection sensitivity. We recommend leaving this at the default value or changing it if necessary, depending on whether you need a higher or lower level of sensitivity.
Check the button to accept the Terms of Service and click Submit to create an account.
The account has now been created and with it two keys (SITE KEY and SECRET KEY). With these keys, you can complete the registration of the Google reCAPTCHA service through your website and implement this protection on the forms. So do not close the page with these keys, but immediately enter the dashboard of your WordPress site and enter these keys in the contact form.
Depending on which plugin you use for the form, you need to find the part in the settings where you can enter these keys. There are many forms, so we will not discuss a specific one in this text. But whichever of the more popular forms you opt for, surely each of them has the option to add a reCAPTCHA service.
Copy both keys to the corresponding fields inside the form plugin, so that the service is immediately active. Once you’ve saved your changes, make sure they’re applied to your website. If they are, you should see the following image below your form.
This completes the implementation of the reCAPTCHA service on your website. If you have several forms on the site, re-register using the same keys for each of them.
We hope this article was helpful. Until our next blog, stay spam-free 👋
The home page is the first page that most of your website visitors see, hence it is also the most important. Its purpose is to attract the attention of potential users and help them find the necessary information quickly and easily.
When they visit your website, most users decide within the first three seconds whether they have found what they were looking for or not. Imagine, it only takes a few seconds to lose a potential customer! The home page is your only chance to attract them to stay on your website and become your clients. For this reason, in this blog, we have prepared five tips on how to do just that.
Be Concise
Today’s users have a very short attention span, this is why the text on your home page should be as clear and as short as possible.
So, the text on the home page aims to convince the visitor that your services are the right choice for him and to encourage him to take action, this should be done in one to three sentences. Don’t waste time on details, background, and history of your services and company, you can leave that of other pages website.
Did you know that shortening the text on the home page can have a positive effect on the number of uses of your services? So, if most users just glance over your content, it is inevitable that some of them will miss important information or even remember only what is not so important. By shortening the text, you remove everything except what you want your visitors to focus on and what will make them take action.
Call to Action
One of the most common reasons why users leave the site is that they simply do not know what to do next. So it’s not that they don’t want to become your customer – it’s that they don’t know-how.
This means that in addition to explaining what you offer, your homepage should also contain a call to action, which is actually the most important element on it. No matter how beautiful your design or text is, your homepage is useless if it doesn’t help you achieve your business goals – selling and generating potential customers. The best way to achieve that is to let your visitors know exactly what they need to do (button – Order, Sign up, etc.).
Above the Fold
As you write your homepage, you should ensure that your text and call to action are “above the fold” regardless of the browser or device the visitor uses to access your website.
The expression, “above the fold” refers to the part of the page that the user sees without scrolling down. So, this is the first thing visitors see when they open your site.
This means that the content you place “above the fold” is what will leave the first impression on every visitor. And we all know that the first impression is the most important one 😃 If they understand and like what they see, they will most likely stay on your page, take the action you want or further explore the website. But if the content within that first view is not enough to convince them they have come to the right place, they will not waste any more time on your website.
Emphasize Value, Not Function
As soon as a visitor opens your website, you must show them the value of what you offer.
While this may seem obvious to you (and your team), you will be most effective at converting visitors into customers if you write that value as clearly as possible.
If you focus on providing the most cost-effective solutions in your industry, say it clearly! Instead of giving generalized descriptions of the features of your product such as – Our service is fast – it is much better to focus on what benefits your service can bring to the customer, e.g. – Our service will increase your productivity by as much as 25% -. Keep in mind that product features help you do something, while product value is what helps the customer.
This way, visitors do not have to spend a lot of time looking for how you can help them, it will be clear to them only after a few seconds spent on your website.
Simplify navigation
This one is pretty clear, visitors should be able to immediately determine where they should click on your website to find the information they want. Place the menu in a visible place (e.g. the upper right corner). Use an appropriate name or icon for each of the pages on your site.
A good home page makes a difference in whether a visitor will leave after a few seconds or take the action you want. This is certainly not an easy task, as you have limited space and time to convince them that your site is worth their time.
We do hope we have made this task at least somewhat easier for you.
Hello Builders! 😃 Hope you are excited to continue our journey towards your ideal website. As you know in our previous blog we talked about the initial setup of your website, how to choose a theme, and where to edit website pages.
Now let’s continue and build your perfect website 🚀
When you access your Website Builder this is the first page you are going to see. From here you are able to see all the sites you are currently working on, in our case, there is only one.
By hovering over the website you will get multiple options – view site, log to the site, edit site, clone, backup, or delete it. Choose the Log in to site icon, and let’s continue.
You are already familiar with the way your Dashboard looks, from our previous blog. Also from your Dashboard, you can add media content that you will use while building your website. From the menu on the left side choose Media – Library, where you have an overview of all the media content you added. From the drop-down menus, you can choose to list a specific type of media (images, videos, audio…) or even specific dates when you uploaded the content.
You can add content by clicking on the Add New button on the page, or by choosing the Add New option directly from the menu on the left of your Dashboard. Files can be added by dragging them anywhere on the marked field or simply uploading them from your device.
Clicking on the uploaded content you will open a pop-up window. From this window you can edit your files title, URL, caption, add a short description, or delete it.
At the bottom of the pop-up window, there is also an Edit image button. By clicking here you will be able to change the dimensions of your file, resize it, crop it, or rotate it… Of course, do not forget to save all of your changes.
Please, have in mind that you can of course choose your preferred language for Website Builder. Just click on the drop-down menu in the top right corner.
Let us stop here 😊 Stay tuned for our next blog, where we will talk about how to edit widgets and continue towards your perfect website. Until next time, happy building 🔧
Keyword research is a crucial part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) since the terms that people use to search a site like yours are one of the basic things about SEO.
Using SEO tools can help you in many different ways, and in this article, we will talk about a few of them. Well, let’s go 🚀
1. Neil Patel SEO Analyzer
In addition to being a marketing genius, Neil Patel’s website is full of resources when it comes to almost any field of marketing. There is also a free tool that analyzes your website and provides insight into the things that need to be improved on your website.
If you have no, or very little, knowledge of SEO, this tool will certainly be of importance to you.
2. SEM Rush
SEM Rush is one of the best platforms that provides various options to its users.
As you might have guessed, with the various options comes a price, so SEM Rush is available from 99.95$ per month.
SEM Rush will not only show you information about the number of keywords that people search for, but also suggest related ones, as well as ideas about the content of a text. You can also use it to rank and track your competition.
3. The Hoth
The Hoth offers a range of free keyword tools that actually drive data from SEM Rush and other leading SEO tools.
Before you get too excited, these free tools aren’t as powerful as the ones you need to pay for.
However, if you want to test these features, and you are still not ready to set aside money for a subscription, go ahead and try it.
4. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another great tool similar to SEM Rush. Prices start at 99$, and there is also a trial version lasting seven days for 7$.
As with SEM Rush, getting the most out of Ahrefs will take time and effort, but there are a number of tutorials and online guides that can help you get started.
5. Moz Pro
Moz Pro is another premium keyword tool. Again, the complexity of the platform is also reflected in its price, which starts at 79$ per month if you pay an annual subscription, or 99$ if choose to pay for it monthly.
However, the good news is that Moz Pro offers a free 30 days trial period, so you have plenty of time to check if and how this platform could help you.
6. Autocomplete Tools
You’ve probably noticed by now that if you type something into Google search, Google will try to guess what you’re typing. This auto-complete feature can be used to research keywords, but there are certainly some other tools you should consider.
The first one is Ubersuggestwhich has a slight advantage since it is free. Simply enter a couple of keywords and you’ll get suggestions for other keywords based on autocomplete.
Another tool is Keywordtool.io which is unfortunately not free. However, if you decide to pay 69$ a month for an annual subscription, the platform will surely pay off for you, as there are countless functionalities.
7. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is actually designed to be used together with Google’s paid advertising platform – Google Ads.
However, you can also use this planner to find the number of people searching for a keyword or phrase. Unfortunately, Google usually provides insight into a wide range of searches, which makes the planner a little less useful than it could be.
Keywords Everywhereis actually a plugin that allows you to view keyword data on 16 sites, including Google.
It’s currently only available for Google Chrome and Firefox, though, since it’s a free tool, it’s great to try out to expand your keyword research skills.
There you have it – 8 tools that can help you improve SEO by targeting the right keywords and phrases.
