What Is Responsive Web Design & Why Is It Essential For Your Business?
It is difficult for businesses to survive and do well these days without a website. But not everyone out there on the internet with a website is doing brisk business. To succeed in the online circuit, you need to make sure that your website has an attractive layout, it has a user-friendly interface, and most importantly, it should have a responsive web design.
It is true that if you want to succeed in the online landscape, you need to have a responsive web design. Responsive web design is essential for your website not only because it offers a better user experience, but it also improves your search engine rankings.
In 2015, Google altered its search engine algorithms to take into account a website’s mobile presence for ranking purposes. What it means is simply this – you need to develop websites that are user-friendly on mobile devices, especially on smartphones. Your users should be able to read the text on mobile devices without zooming it, the design should have adequate space for tap targets, and users should be able to read the text without horizontal scrolling.
So, why is it essential to make your website responsive?
As the number of mobile users increases worldwide, businesses cannot afford to have a web design that is not responsive. Smartphone users worldwide crossed
2 billion in 2016, and according to estimates, in 2018 they will surpass 2.56 billion. Also, mobile searches have seen a steady rise in comparison to the desktop searches which has consistently seen a dip over the years.
What it means for businesses is that you cannot and should not ignore your mobile users. Hence, if your website is not optimised for mobile devices, it can experience a dip in your search engine rankings. And, it is not a cost-effective solution to have different solutions for different devices, so you need to make sure that your website design is responsive.
What is responsive web design?
RWD or responsive web design allows your website to fit into the size of your user’s device without changing the URL and content source. Responsive web design should offer a seamless experience to your users on all the devices. It means your website should look the same on all the devices, namely a desktop/ laptop, tablet, and mobile phones.
Responsive web design uses HTML and CSS to automatically resize a website to make it appear good on all devices, be it a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Earlier developers had to make more than one website to accommodate different screen sizes. But as mentioned above, it is not a feasible option to have different websites for different devices. Having a responsive web design, therefore, is not a trend anymore, it is a necessity which businesses cannot ignore now.
Why is it important for businesses to opt for responsive web design?
With a responsive web design, you can increase your reach to your prospects who use mobile devices. Also, with responsive web design, you offer a seamless experience to your customers which can increase lead generation, boost your sales, and improve your conversions.
Having a responsive web design ensures that analytics, reporting, and tracking can all happen from one place. You also save on time and money in managing the content of your website.
Last but not least, it helps you stay ahead of your competitors.
Benefits of using a responsive website
With Google dominating the search market, there is no way you can ignore it. And, according to Google, smartphone-optimised sites should have a responsive web design.
Opting for a responsive website offers several benefits, here are some of them:
Responsive web design increases your traffic – Mobile users form a formidable chunk of your prospective customers, and you cannot afford to ignore them. Also, it is not a viable option to maintain two websites – one for your desktop users and the other for mobile users. Hence, the best practice is to opt for a responsive website which works well for all the devices. When you opt for responsive web design, you do not need to worry about losing out on your mobile users. This also keeps you abreast with competition.
Responsive web design is cost-effective and low on maintenance – Maintaining two websites (one for desktop and the other for mobile) is not just more time consuming, but it is also a costly option. But when you opt for responsive web design, it turns out to be a cost-efficient option in the long run. Though responsive web design would cost you more initially, it is easy to maintain, and it is also more cost-effective. Moreover, setting up two websites is a more time-consuming option in comparison to creating one that is responsive in design. With only one site to maintain, you can have more time to focus on other areas which need your attention.
It offers a seamless user experience – If you cannot offer a seamless experience to your customers, it is difficult for you to survive in the business world these days. If your website is not responsive, it can distort the appearance of your site on mobile devices which can put off your customers. Nobody likes to do business on a site where the images do not align properly, texts are jumbled, and you have to search endlessly for one single information. And, when it becomes difficult for your users to navigate the site, they might leave you for good. It is, therefore, important to offer a seamless user experience to your prospects. That is why you should have a responsive web design.
Responsive web design adapts easily to all screen sizes – With a responsive web design in place, you do not have to worry about the competition. You can remain ahead of your competition because you can cater to all your clients. When your website adapts easily to all screen sizes, you will not lose out on customers who use smart devices like smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, other IoT devices, etc. When you have a responsive web design, your website can adjust to every screen with perfection.
Most importantly, it improves your SEO efforts – A website with responsive design is likely to rank higher on the SERP. After the Google algorithm update, if your website is responsive in design, it increases your visibility on the search engine because it is mobile-friendly. If your website offers a seamless mobile experience, it is bound to fare well in search results in comparison to the one that is unresponsive. The more seamless the user experience you offer to your customers, the more are the chances of improving your SEO efforts. And, the more you rank high on the internet, the better are your prospects of generating leads, increasing your conversions, and boosting your sales.
For making responsive website design, you should get in touch with vStacks Infotech now. vStacks Infotech is a digital marketing company, and we have the necessary experience and expertise in designing responsive web designs for businesses in all the verticals.
How Small Businesses Should Leverage Social Media?
Effective communication is integral to the growth and development of organisations, both big and small. You need to devise ways and means to effectively reach out to your target audience and keep them engaged.
So, how do you effectively communicate with your target audience?
Without a doubt, social media is one of the best channels available that offer ample opportunity to businesses of all sizes to effectively reach out to their target audience.
If you want to engage with your audience effectively, you cannot ignore social media these days.
But as a small business, are you leveraging social media to your advantage?
In case you are not using social media to your advantage, you are missing big time on opportunities. But small businesses should know how to devise an effective social media strategy to reap its benefits. Here are some of the benefits of social media and how small businesses should leverage social media to their advantage.
Benefits of social media for small businesses
The social media channels have made it possible for small businesses to engage with their customers effectively and scale new markets. In case you want to stay ahead of your competitors and improve customer experience, then it is vital for you to use social media effectively. Here are some of the major benefits of social media for small businesses:
Using social media effectively can improve your website traffic.
Social media increases brand awareness. When used effectively, you can create a space for your brand among your customers.
Social media can be rewarding for your customers. You can ask your customers, who follow you on the social media platforms, to use the promo code in your posts to avail the discount.
Social media can generate the right kind of buzz for your business. Social media is probably the most cost-effective method to generate buzz for your small business.
You can use location-based social media apps to bring in customers from your area.
Social media can help you connect with other businesses.
How should small businesses use social media?
If you are a small business and want to connect with your customers and prospects, you should start using social media effectively to climb the success ladder. Small businesses might feel overwhelmed when it comes to getting started with social media, but there is nothing scary about it. With a bit of planning, you can use social media to your advantage. Here are some social media tips for small business owners:
To start with, you should have a good plan in place – Just like you have a strategy for growing your business, you should also have a plan for social media marketing. Though you can start posting organic posts for free, without a robust social media marketing plan, it will not help you achieve much. To achieve the desired results, you first need to have a definite plan in place. Having a social media plan upfront will ensure that your social efforts support your business goals.
Your social media plan should include the following:
You should set clear, attainable, measurable, and relevant social media objectives and goals for your business. It is important that you base your goals on what you want to achieve from your social media campaign – do you want to increase your customer base or do you want to boost your conversions.
Do a bit of research on what your competitors are doing on social media. It will help you formulate your social media strategy as you would come to know what works and things that you need to avoid.
In case you are already on the social media bandwagon, you should take stock of what your campaign has achieved so far, and where you need to improve.
It is also important to create a social media calendar. It helps your social media campaign if you post the right content at the right time. Try to make sure that you follow the 80-20 rule where 80% of your content should be educational, informational, and entertaining, and the rest can be used to promote your brand or for selling your product.
The second important thing is to know your audience – Understanding your audience is probably the most vital thing for your business. You can compile data on your present customers, and then go further with social media analytics to know what your customers are buying from you and who all are interacting with you online. You can formulate your social media plan according to the preferences of your audience.
If you know your audience well and understand what they want, your social media campaign can generate a huge response.
The next most important thing is to select the right platforms for your social media campaign – Going by your gut feel in selecting the right platforms for your social media campaign would not help you much. For example, if you think you can avoid Facebook, then it is wrong because it remains the most popular social media platform even today. You need to know where your online audience hangs out the most.
These are general trends, but with a bit of research (especially demographic profiling), you can find out where your audience prefers to spend their online time. It is always better to use a combination of platforms to reach a wider audience.
Concentrate on building relationships – Social media allows you to engage directly with your customers, prospects, and followers. Without asking your prospects to buy upfront, you can cultivate strong relationships with them over time. Most people who follow small and medium-sized business on social media, tend to buy from them in the longer run.
People who engage with your content on social media expect you to respond to their queries. And, when you respond promptly, it builds trust which is the building block of developing strong relationships with your customers.
And, one way of developing a relationship with your prospects is to form Facebook Groups. You can build community, develop relationships, and increase brand loyalty among your group members who in turn can act as brand ambassadors for your business.
You can also use social channels to develop relationships with other business owners and influencers in your vertical.
Focus on expanding your audience – You can use social media tools to target new audiences after you have saturated your market. For example, you can use Facebook targeting options to reach out to new audiences. You should never lose focus on your core market, but ensure that you tap into new audiences once you are ready to expand. You can also exploit social media to bring in new customers to your local business.
Make it a point to share captivating visuals – People these days want to see more of visual content. Data from Twitter shows that people are more likely to engage with a tweet that has visual content such as video, GIF, infographic, or photo. Also, some of the other visual-first platforms are Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat. People, especially the younger generation, are more likely to make their travel plans or visit a restaurant after they see their friend’s video or image on social media. All you need to do is do a bit of research online, and you will find many high-quality pictures that you can legitimately share with your content on social media.
Concentrate on quality instead of quantity – Social media spoils you with options. But it is not necessary that you make your presence felt on all the platforms. What you need to do is create quality content and identify the platforms where you think you can connect with your audiences. Your social media posts should offer value to your customers. People will not engage with your content if you only try to sell your product. What you need to understand is that social media marketing is about relationship building.
It is, therefore, important that you start with one or two social channels and after mastering it you can expand your reach.
It is important to select and use the right social media tools – If you want your social media campaign to fetch you great results, you need to make sure that you select and use the right social media tools. Social media tools can simplify your job by automating much of the work. These tools can improve your productivity which increases your social efforts.
Monitor, track and respond to the conversations – Social listening is an important aspect of social media. If you want to make your social media marketing efforts more effective, you should monitor your campaign and respond to all those who engage with your content. You should also keep a tab on the online conversations that are happening about your business and respond to it appropriately.
Also, when you track and monitor your social media campaign, you can fine-tune your efforts so that it produces better results. Monitoring and tracking will also help you determine what is working for you and things that you need to avoid or improve.
If you are the owner of a small business house, and you want to make a mark on social media, you can get in touch with vStacks Infotech now. We will make sure that you get a robust social media marketing strategy so that you can communicate with your target audience effectively. vStacks Infotech has been leveraging social media for businesses of all sizes, and our customers have had tremendous success in keeping their clients engaged.
What You Need To Know About Backlinks, And Its Importance In SEO
If you have a website, you should know the importance of ranking among the top few search results. Every website owner wants to rank high on the search results. However, it is not possible for the search engines to accommodate all the websites on the first page. Only a limited number of websites can figure on the first page.
So, how can you improve your organic ranking on the search engines?
As search engines frequently change their algorithms, it becomes imperative for the website owners to put in place a smart SEO strategy to climb the search engine rankings. SEO or search engine optimisation is a method which is used to increase the quantitative as well as the qualitative traffic to your website through organic or unpaid search engine results. A lot of factors influence your search engine rankings, but backlinks are one of the most vital of them all.
In case you want to climb the search engine ladder, you need to make sure that your website has relevant backlinks. That is the reason why you need to know about backlinks.
So, what are backlinks?
A Backlink or an inbound link is a link from an external website to your site. It is the building block of an effective SEO strategy because these are links that are directed towards your website. In simpler terms, when a website or a webpage has a hyperlink, which redirects to your website is referred to as a backlink.
Search engines, especially Google, considers your website reliable and trustworthy if it has several backlinks that come from reliable sources. And, one thing which website owners need to understand at the start is that the quality of the backlink is much more important than its quantity.
Backlinks are considered to be of high-quality if they come from authority websites that have some relevance to your content. Backlinks that redirect to your website should be real, and it needs to come from a similar niche. For example, if your website is about cookery and your page is linked to a furniture website, then these links become irrelevant because they negatively impact your search engine rankings.
And, why are they important for your website?
Backlinks are known to improve your search engine rankings provided they are of high quality. As mentioned earlier, search engines including Google consider your website to be more trustworthy, reliable, and relevant if they have links that come from authority sites related to your business. But make sure that you never get backlinks from spammy, harvested, or paid sites. Buying backlinks randomly will not improve your search engine ranking; it can only have a negative effect.
Search engines (including Google) measure the relevancy of a website through the number of backlinks it contains. Search engines (including Google) consider that if a web page is linked by other relevant pages several times, then it has the quality and should rank higher. And, this is the main purpose of building relevant backlinks. Also, when you get a backlink from a website, it passes the link juice to your website which is what helps you climb the search engine rankings. Another benefit of creating quality backlinks in SEO is that it helps you to increase your organic traffic.
Hence, if you want to climb the search engine ranking and increase your organic traffic, then you should concentrate on creating relevant backlinks for your website.
Faster indexing is another big advantage of relevant backlinks in SEO. Relevant backlinks in SEO helps your pages to get indexed faster on the search engines. Websites that have several relevant backlinks are picked up faster by the search engine bots for indexing. Hence, if you want Google to index your pages faster, you should create high-quality backlinks for your website.
Types of backlinks
There are two types of backlinks – dofollow backlinks and nofollow backlinks.
- Dofollow backlinks – Natural linking of one website to another without putting the no-follow tag is termed as a dofollow backlink. These type of backlinks (dofollow backlinks) pass on the link juice to the website which helps it in climbing the search engine ranking.
- Google crawlers crawl the dofollow backlinks which help Google bots to reach the page that has been given the link. That is the reason why dofollow links are considered vital in search engine optimisation. Every link by default that is given to a website is a do-follow link.
- Nofollow backlinks – Backlinks that contain the no follow tag are referred to as no-follow backlinks. These links are not all that relevant from the SEO perspective.
- Google crawlers ignore the links with no tags when they crawl a web page. Google crawlers don’t bother to crawl to the linked website via the nofollow link. Also, nofollow backlinks are not relevant in search engine optimisation, and it does not improve your page rankings.
How to create relevant backlinks?
Now that you know that creating relevant backlinks is vital for your SEO strategy, here are some ways that you should adopt to get relevant backlinks for your website:
- 1. You should create high-quality content for your website that is relevant to your audience. When you produce high-quality content, people with related content will automatically link back to your site, and this is the most natural way of getting a relevant backlink. Also, high-quality content will attract many followers who can share your content on various social media platforms.
- 2. Get into a habit of writing guest articles on top forums and blogs.
- 3. Look for influencers in your niche and request them to review your products on their site.
- 4. You also need to leverage high-quality Q&A sites like Quora to increase traffic to your site. You can participate in the discussion boards and link it to your blogs. You can comment on these sites to engage with your prospects and increase your brand awareness.
- 5. You can use tools like SEMrush, Open Site Explorer, Open Link Profiler, and Ahrefs to review backlinks of your competitors and fine-tune your SEO strategy. Here are some more ways that you can adopt to get relevant backlinks for your website.
- 6. You can start relevant threads in Forums, and then link it to your blog posts.
- 7. Work on broken link building. Usually, every link on a website links to another page online. However, since websites frequently move their content around, some of the links ultimately break or point to pages that are not in existence (the 404-page error you sometimes see when you click a link). When you find broken links on other websites, try and identify the content they referred to originally, then offer the site the chance to replace the broken link with a valid link. Use Ahrefs Broken Link Checker to get to the links that are not working. You can go to Internet Archive to find out what the original post was about and if you generate relevant content for that broken link, then you can offer the owner of the site to replace your link with the link that is now broken. This is how you get a backlink by working on the broken link building exercise.
- 8. Social bookmarking is also important (because they are considered as backlinks); hence target sites like Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.
- 9. Submit your blogs posts on blogging communities (BlogEngage, Medium, Ampower, etc.)
- 10. You can also visit Answer sites and ask questions related to your blog, and then link to your blog in your questions.
- 11. You can also submit your blogs to top blogging directories.
Backlinks, therefore, are an integral part of an SEO strategy. To get on top of the SEO game, you need to focus on creating relevant and top-quality backlinks for your website.
For an effective backlink building strategy, you can get in touch with vStacks Infotech now. vStacks Infotech is a one-stop shop for all your digital marketing needs. Also, if a smart SEO strategy is what you want for your website, we have you covered.
Common Uses Of Cloud Computing
Businesses the world over have now understood the benefits of cloud computing, and that is why they are moving their operations to the cloud. Some of the cloud computing benefits are cost reduction, storage, greater flexibility, optimal resource utilisation, backup, and scalability. With so many benefits (of cloud computing), it is not surprising that businesses use cloud computing to further their business goals.
When you opt for cloud computing, you don’t have to invest heavily in creating an IT infrastructure. Moreover, cloud computing offers matchless mobility, which means you can access your files from anywhere and at any time if you have an internet connection.
The world over, more than 50% of businesses will depend on the cloud for a minimum of one public cloud platform to drive digital transformation and delight customers (Forrester).
And, not to forget that the public cloud market is growing at a CAGR of 22% and is projected to touch $178 billion in 2018.
Businesses on an average predict that they will invest $3.5 million on cloud apps, platforms, and services in 2018.
Do we need to say more about the utility of cloud computing in today’s times?
So, what are the top most common uses of cloud computing?
The top most common uses of cloud computing
Some scenarios where cloud computing is used to further the ability to realise business goals are:
Cloud database – Every organisation needs an IT infrastructure. Businesses who need a database, but do not want to invest in acquiring the IT paraphernalia can turn to the cloud for all their IT needs. What you stand to gain if you embrace cloud computing is you don’t have to invest huge amounts upfront, and you also don’t have to hire a team of IT experts to run the show.
With cloud databases, you get powerful databases that work fine, and you don’t have to bother about physically acquiring an IT infrastructure. The upkeep of cloud databases is the responsibility of the cloud service provider. Businesses don’t have to bother about maintaining and operating the databases. All you need to do is handle your data.
Moreover, businesses get endless scalability if they opt for cloud databases. Whenever you need to increase your resources, you can inform your service provider, and within minutes you get the additional resources. For example, during the seasonal sales period, you know that your visitors increase many folds which means you need additional databases. You can upgrade and downgrade your requirements as and when you want when you opt for the cloud databases. You don’t have to install additional servers to meet your requirements.
Website hosting – Hosting takes up a large portion of IT resources. If you have a growing business, you need to host your website on the cloud or else you need to upgrade your IT resources constantly. With cloud-based web hosting, you don’t have to worry about your growing needs as scalability is an inbuilt option in the cloud package you select. And, if there are issues, then your website can migrate to the nearest server, or you can add more servers during uptime to offset the problem.
Also, with cloud web hosting, you pay as you use. There are no security concerns as it is the responsibility of the service provider to provide foolproof security.
Test and development – Testing and development are important because you need to make sure that your application can run smoothly, without any hassle, and is usable. And, to test your application, you should have a simulated environment which needs to be exactly like the actual business operations to authenticate the results.
And, it is cloud computing that comes to the rescue of businesses as there are various ready-made environments which are tailored to suit your requirements as and when you need them. The moment your application is ready, you can introduce it to a test environment for analysis. You can also use the platform for training purpose.
Big data analytics – In today’s times, every data that you come across – be it the resumes, the stack of paperwork, or digital data, it is all categorized as Big Data. The importance of data management is well documented, but its sheer volume makes the job a bit challenging. When you put your data into the cloud, it makes the job of data management easier, accessible, and when you combine it with analytics, it offers useful insights.
The biggest challenge that you face in data management is the processing part. So, how do you get the most useful information from the sea of data? There are Big Data Analytics platforms that use cloud technology and help businesses to process structured as well as unstructured data.
Backup and disaster recovery – You need to backup all your data so that you don’t lose any information. Be it your files, documents, or any other data; you need to back them all up. But, not all of us follow it routinely. Even today, we manually dispatch data by using portable devices and storage facilities which is both time-consuming as well as costly. That is where cloud computing’s disaster recovery steps in. Disaster recovery is a process that efficiently backs up your data in case of any eventuality, whether natural or otherwise. A disaster recovery plan not only save you costs, but it also offers several benefits to businesses. If there is a natural disaster that destroys your business partially or totally, your data is kept safe in the cloud which can be recovered timely and automatically. It thus eliminates the need for tapes, disks, or other storage facilities.
File storage and sharing – It makes life easier for businesses that work from different locations. Since all your files and documents are stored in the cloud, it makes sharing and retrieving data very easy. The most popular example of this service is Google Drive and Dropbox. With file storage and sharing, you and your colleagues in different locations can work on the same project without wasting time and money. You can upload the information which can be viewed and worked upon by your colleagues and vice versa. You can receive feedback, edit or review things online instantly which saves you a lot of time as well as money.
Business applications – There are cloud-based applications that are intuitive which are easy to use and are tailor-made for a specific industry. For example, you can use cloud CRM to build and maintain a strong relationship with all your customers. You can use cloud ERP to keep track of the resources, get decision-making insights, and update the budget plan. And, you can use cloud LMS for corporate training to keep your employees engaged. These cloud applications can help small, medium, and large enterprises in the same way. Organizations don’t have to pay any upfront cost for the hardware and software, and the pricing is typically cloud-based which is pay as you use.
Some companies still have security concerns as far as cloud computing is concerned. But, any service provider worth its name in the market will offer adequate security measures so that your data and company information remain safe at all the times.
In case you have not thought about migrating your business operations to the cloud, you need to urgently think of shifting to the cloud so that you can reap the benefits of innovative technology. For affordable cloud computing plans, you should get in touch with vStacks Infotech now and take your business operations to the next level.
If you want to manage all your IT and file storage needs efficiently, you should opt for cloud hosting packages from vStacks Infotech. With fully redundant data centres, we are capable of keeping all your information safe and secure.
How To Choose The Best Website Colour Scheme?
What we see has more impact on us than things we read or hear. Humans follow the visual stimuli in most of the things they do. The same is true when it comes to shopping and buying on the internet. Hence, it is important for businesses who have an online presence to create and design a website that attracts people. And, if you have a website that is boring and unattractive, it can put off your visitors permanently. But it is not all that easy to design a website that ticks with the masses. And, what can make or break your journey in the online arena is the website colour scheme. You have to be right on all the counts when it comes to website colour scheme.
Therefore, people who do not pay attention to the colour scheme of their website should not expect to do well on the online circuit.
Most of the buyers (85%) base their product buying decision on colour. Though the statistic is surprising, but it is none the less true.
If you think of some of the world’s most popular brands, you will notice that each one of them has a distinct colour scheme. Be it McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, or Dell, each of them is the leader in their vertical, and all have a distinct colour scheme.
Creating a brand….
If you are in the world of business, you must be aware that creating a strong brand identity is essential for the success of your organisation. A strong brand identity generates trust, comfort, and develops a long-lasting relationship with customers.
And, one thing that is central to any brand that has created a name for itself is its logo.
So, if you want to have a lasting effect on the minds and hearts of your consumers, you need to select the colour scheme of your logo carefully.
After all, colour is said to increase brand recognition by as much as 80%.
This proves our point beyond doubt that colour scheme is vitally important for creating a successful brand. It is not in the interest of the successful brands to play with their colour scheme. Hence, you would seldom see a change in the colour scheme of brands that are successful.
Website colour scheme – how to choose the best for your business?
When you start your business, you do a lot of brainstorming to select the right colour for your brand logo. Similarly, it is crucial for businesses to choose the right colour scheme for their websites. It is not advisable to select the colour scheme of your website randomly or follow your gut feeling.
If you want your website to look aesthetic, you should do a lot of deliberation when it comes to picking up the right colour scheme.
Within 90 seconds of initial viewing, people form an opinion about a product or an environment. And, 62 to 90% of that assessment is directly based on the colour.
It is therefore vital for you to select the right colour scheme for your website, one that suits your demographic.
Follow these simple tips to select the best colour scheme for your website:
Colours have an emotional connect with humans, try to understand it – Before deciding on the colour scheme for your website, it is important that you try to understand the human connection with colours.
Try and understand the psychology of colours. Every colour conveys a message.
For example, the colour green represents nature, health, wealth, and tranquillity. Green colour has relaxing effects and is the easiest colour for the eyes to process. It is the second most preferred colour by men and women. Leading brands using colour green – Tropicana, BP, Animal Planet, etc.
The colour yellow is associated with youthfulness, cheerfulness, and optimism. The yellow colour is mostly used to grab the attention of the audience. Leading brands using colour yellow – McDonald’s, Hertz, National Geographic, etc.
The colour orange represents enthusiasm, creativity, and friendliness. The orange colour prompts people to act – for example, buy and subscribe. It attracts impulse buyers. The leading brands using colour orange – Amazon, Crush, Payless, etc.
The colour red represents energy, passion, danger, urgency, vibrancy, and excitement. The colour red is mostly used to create urgency to buy. It triggers strong emotional reactions. You can see most of the restaurants using the colour red to stimulate appetite. Leading brands using colour red – Heinz, Coca-Cola, Red Robin, etc.
The colour pink is associated with sweetness, feminism, romance, fertility, and innocence. The colour pink is mostly used to market products and services that are used by women and young girls. Leading brands using colour pink – Barbie, Lyft, Pink Victoria’s Secret, etc.
The colour purple represents wisdom, royalty, success, and wealth. The colour is mostly used in beauty and aging products. It has a soothing effect on people. Leading brands using colour purple – Qatar Airways, THAI, Cadbury, etc.
The colour blue represents security, calmness, trust, peace, and stability. The colour blue is mostly used in banks and businesses to create a sense of security and trust among customers. It is the most preferred colour by both men and women. Leading brands using colour blue – Dell, GE, American Express, etc.
The colour grey represents simplicity, neutrality, calmness, and logic. The colour grey lacks emotion and is associated with precision, technology, control, industry, competence, and sophistication. Leading brands using colour grey – Mercedes, Bosch, Tesla, etc.
The colour black represents luxury, power, elegance, and sophistication. The colour black is mostly used to market luxury brands which evoke a sense of professionalism, precision, and strength. Leading brands using colour black – L’Oréal, Chanel, Rolls Royce, etc.
Hence, depending on the type and sector of your website, you should choose the colour scheme for your website. Also, very carefully you need to select the colour for the CTA button. You also have to understand that the effect of colours may vary on the place of your geographical location. For example, colours that attract Americans might not appeal in the same way to the Britishers.
Check out your demographic audience – This again is an important consideration. Try to figure out your target audience and then select the colour scheme of your website. Based on the emotions that colours evoke (as mentioned earlier), you need to choose the primary colour for your website. For example, if you are in the food business, you can consider making red as your primary colour.
Find out gender preferences – Depending on the business you are into; gender preferences can also play a significant role in selecting the colour scheme for your website. If you are specifically catering to a particular gender, try to pick up a colour that connects with your audience. You should know which colours attract men and women and those that they don’t like. Each gender has a clear colour preference. For example, the favourite colour for men is blue, and they generally don’t like brown and purple. Similarly, women’s favourite colour is also blue, and they don’t like brown and orange. Hence, it is important that you keep gender colour preferences in mind before finalizing the colour scheme of your website.
You also need to consider the age group of your audience – Just as colour preferences are different for men and women, it is different for people in different age brackets. Younger people like bold colours like yellow and red, while older people prefer sober colours like purple and white. Blue, green, and purple are liked by people in almost all the age brackets. As people age, their preference for green decreases, and they start liking purple. Hence, depending on the age group that dominates your demographic, you should select the colour scheme for your website.
Don’t be biased – It is not about what you like; it is about what others prefer. Hence, you should select a colour scheme that is based on psychology and not on your gut feeling. If you select your favourite colour as the primary colour, it might not give you the desired results. For example, if you like the colour green, you might want to select green as your primary colour for your restaurant business (which is not what colour psychology recommends). So, it should not be according to your likes and dislikes. Base your decision on psychology and not on your preferences.
Decide on the number of colours you want to use – After selecting the primary colour, you need to decide on the number of colours you want to use. Using too many colours can spoil the fun and can complicate things for your website. Usually, businesses opt for three colours in the following ratio – 60-30-10, where dominant colour takes up 60% of the space, secondary colour accounts for 30%, and accent colour takes up 10%. It is therefore best to follow a combination of three colours in the ratio mentioned here.
Now, select the colours you want to use – Choose the set of colours you want for your website. Do keep in mind that contrast generally works fine when it comes to websites. A background that is light in colour with contrast foregrounds can be an ideal combination for a website. The combination is soothing for the eyes of your customers and has an aesthetic appeal as well. However, websites with a dark background and light foreground can also look great. But, in such cases, you should select the colours carefully.
Take the help of the colour wheel – When it comes to selecting the colour scheme of your website, taking the help of the colour wheel is always a good idea. You can choose analogous colours that are pretty much the same and lie next to each other on the colour wheel. Alternatively, you can select complimentary colours that are bang opposite each other on the colour wheel.
Take the help of tools – The internet pretty much teaches you everything. Take the help of the tools that are available on the internet to select the best colour scheme for your website. It can make your job easy and save you time. You can take the help of Colormind, Colour Spire, colour explorer, or any other.
Study your competition – Your competitors can teach you a lot. Do a detailed study (check out at least three) to find what works best in your industry (colour scheme). You can choose a colour scheme that is similar to those of some of the popular websites, or you can pick up a combination that is just the opposite.
Work on two-three colour schemes then compare – Don’t finalize the first colour scheme that comes to your mind. Check out at least two to three colour schemes, and then finalize one for your website. Work out your options and show them to your friends and colleagues. See their reactions before finalizing the colour scheme of your website.
If you still have any problem, you can get in touch with vStacks Infotech and get new ideas for the colour scheme of your website.
vStacks Infotech has been in the business of website designing for long, and we know what it takes to design an attractive website.
Why Cloud Hosting Is Good For Your E-commerce Business
E-commerce industry has seen phenomenal growth in the recent past, and the trend is set to continue in the years to come. You need to have an e-commerce platform in place if you want to beat the competition in today’s times. That is the reason why businesses these days want to have an online presence to sell their products and services.
In 2017 the total e-commerce sales amounted to roughly $2.3 trillion which is set to touch $4.5 trillion by 2021 (Statista).
But with so many e-commerce platforms already out there in the market, it is not easy to climb the success ladder in the online business unless you have a well-defined strategy in place. And, when we talk of a well-defined strategy, it is important for businesses to select the right kind of hosting for your e-commerce business.
Many businesses, especially those entering the ecommerce market for the first time wonder whether to choose an on-premise or cloud-based online interface. It is a decision that has a far- reaching impact on your ecommerce business. It not only controls your capital and operating budgets, but it also determines your ability to grow and the way you respond to the opportunities present in the market.
Why cloud-hosting for your ecommerce business?
It is no secret that businesses all over the world are moving to the cloud thick and fast. According to Gartner, in 2018 the worldwide public cloud services market is expected to grow at a healthy rate of 21.4% and will touch $186.4 billion, up from $153.5 billion in 2017.
According to Forbes, the cloud equipment market worldwide is expected to reach $79.1 billion in 2018.
According to the LogicMonitor’s survey, 83% of enterprise workloads will run in the cloud by 2020. It is not surprising to note that on-premise workloads are expected to come down from a present 37% to 27% of all workloads by 2020.
Companies, cutting across all verticals, from financial services and manufacturing to healthcare and retail, are planning to shift their operations to the cloud because it offers the ultimate storage solution for a range of activities that include online storage gateways, backup storage, and data movement and access.
So, if your ecommerce business is looking for an efficient data storage solution, then the cloud can offer numerous benefits, and hence makes it a perfect option.
The ecommerce companies are opting for cloud services because it allows them to reach their goals and provide a customized experience to its customers. Also, those who have adopted the cloud have a distinct competitive advantage over the ones who have not yet embraced the cloud.
Here are some major benefits to consider cloud hosting if you are planning to start your ecommerce business.
Benefits of cloud hosting for your ecommerce business
The ecommerce industry has hugely benefitted from the cloud computing market. If you are planning to start your ecommerce business, you should consider cloud hosting for the ecommerce platform. From cost and scalability to reliability and flexibility, cloud computing can offer several benefits to your ecommerce business.
Here are some of the major benefits cloud computing has to offer to your ecommerce business:
Cost savings
Whether you are planning to shift your present operations to the cloud or start your new ecommerce business, there are a lot of savings that are up for grabs in case you move to the cloud.
When it comes to cloud computing, you only need to pay for the services you take and use. Also, as and when you grow, you don’t have to worry about investing huge amounts in upgrading the hardware and software infrastructure. You also don’t have to bother about developing and maintaining the IT infrastructure which amounts to substantial savings.
When businesses plan to foray into new geographical locations, cloud-based ecommerce solutions offer them a great deal of flexibility and scalability at prices that are reasonable.
Unmatched accessibility
When your ecommerce business is hosted in the cloud, all the relevant business information is easily accessible by the users through any standard web browser. When you start or move your ecommerce business to the cloud, you don’t have to worry about setting up an in-house system. Your business processes can be fast and easy because all your employees, partners, distributors, and suppliers have easy access to information.
Unquestioned scalability
One of the most important attributes of cloud computing is scalability. When businesses opt for cloud computing, you don’t have to worry about increased customer activity or a surge in the number of customer visits. As and when your requirements go up, you can easily scale up the resources in any given active session. Whether it is a promotional activity or flash sale, with cloud hosting you can easily manage your resources to suit your needs. Cloud servers are designed to provide maximum performance. Moreover, as easily as you can scale up your resources, you can also scale them down after your requirements are over. Scalability for the ecommerce business is an important consideration as it is difficult to upgrade and downgrade your IT infrastructure.
Unparalleled security
Security for an ecommerce business is always an important consideration. It is important to secure your business files, applications, tools, and networks. Since cloud hosting solution is professionally managed, you can rest assured that your business data remains secure at all times. Providers of cloud hosting solution ensure that the highest levels of security measures are put in place to keep your data secure. From end to end encryption, antivirus programs, and managed firewalls to multi-level authentication process, cloud hosting provides complete protection of your business data and files.
Recovery and backup
Cloud hosting allows you the best available option for backing up your customer data. There can be a lot of problem for your ecommerce store if your data isn’t secure and backed up at all times. From natural disasters and hard drive failures to power surges and corrupt software, you have to keep your data protected from a lot of factors. Local data backup can provide you some protection, but it proves insufficient in case of extreme emergencies. Cloud hosting offers you better control over the data you want to save and gives you the option of the place where you want it stored.
Your business operations can get adversely affected if there is a power outage or system failure at your place. And, in any such eventuality if you lose your business data, then it is a big problem. But, when you have your ecommerce business hosted on the cloud, you don’t have to worry about system failures or physical damage. When your website is hosted on the cloud, your servers remain functional at all times which ensures smooth customer operations.
More flexibility
Cloud powered solutions are perfect for ecommerce websites because they generally have fluctuating bandwidth requirements. It is easy to scale up the resources as and when your bandwidth requirement increases. And, since scaling up of resources is possible in cloud computing, hence there is no reason why your website will become slow.
Enhanced mobility
Your employees can access important data and applications from anywhere they want and when ever they so desire. This allows the employees to manage their work at their convenience from their smartphones and tablets. Your employees can also share important documents and data through the cloud without any hassle. This helps you reduce the time-to-market and improves product development and customer service.
Increased reliability
In the case of cloud hosting the servers are linked to the same network because of which they work in a complimentary fashion. This helps the load to get evenly distributed between the cloud servers which improves the functionality. It means your website has an on-going backup system which makes it more reliable.
Competitive edge
Since you don’t have to invest time in IT procurement, the cloud hosting resources gives you a distinct edge over your competitors. You can get significant business benefit by deploying critical applications for your ecommerce website. And, you can do all of this quickly and at no additional cost. With cloud hosting, you can concentrate on expanding your business instead of investing too much of your time on IT infrastructure.
Complete Root/ RDP access
When you opt for cloud hosting, you get complete control over your hosting platform. You get complete root/ RDP access which allows you to install applications and do a lot many other things. This feature can be used to enhance the activities of your ecommerce platform and for the smooth functioning of your website.
If you want to propel your e-commerce business to the next level, you need the necessary resources and cloud computing is what offers you all of that and more. If e-commerce business is what you are planning to start, you should get in touch with vStacks Infotech now for affordable cloud hosting plans.
vStacks Infotech has been in the cloud hosting and storage business for a long time now, and we know what it takes to make your e-commerce business a success.
Reasons Why Your E-commerce Business Needs To Do Content Marketing The Right Way
If you are familiar with the internet, websites, and SEO, you probably understand the importance of content marketing.
But is content marketing crucial for the success of your e-commerce business?
Yes!
Your e-commerce business needs it the most.
It is important for businesses to keep devising ways so that they can effectively communicate with their prospects and customers. Businesses adopt different ways to put across their messages to their customers and prospects. And, content marketing is by far the most effective way of communicating with your target audience, especially if you are in the retail vertical.
The retail sector needs content marketing the most because their target audience is selective and they interact only with the content that interests them.
Sample these statistics:
Effective content marketing can increase the conversion rates by almost 6X for an e-commerce brand.
Websites that do not have a content marketing strategy in place have an average conversion rate of 0.5%, whereas those brand websites that focus on content marketing have an average conversion rate of 2.9%. What a staggering difference to say the least.
Also, we know that the time spent by the adults on the digital media has constantly seen an increase over the years and is set to go up further.
Content marketing, therefore, helps you conquer the social media battle as well and is the best place for the word of the mouth publicity. Social media is the go-to place if you want to create a buzz for your product, service, or brand.
In this blog, we will take you through why content marketing is important for your e-commerce business. But before getting into that lets first try to understand what is content marketing?
What is content marketing?
According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.
Naturally, content marketing has found favour from all forward-thinking marketers because traditional marketing is getting less and less effective. All the leading brands across the world are using content marketing to promote their brands.
You do not have to hard sell your product or service in this form of marketing. All you do is provide truly relevant content that is useful to your customers and prospects that help them solve their issues, in turn, making them your loyal clients.
And, why does content marketing work?
Customers are fed-up with offers, advertisements, and sops to buy products and services on a day to day basis. The slide in traditional marketing has led to the rapid rise of content marketing where companies and brands publish relevant content in the form of articles, blogs, etc. to provide useful information targeted at their customers. It is an inbound marketing strategy where you do not go to the users at the point of sale instead content visibility ensures that customers come to you.
Content marketing helps you generate brand equity and attracts new customers. Content marketing educates your prospects which helps in building a rapport with them that can lead to an immediate sale and long-term loyalty.
When you ensure that your content marketing is effective, it spreads like wildfire on the social networks, and word of mouth publicity can generate a lot of goodwill for your brand which helps drive sales.
Why do brands need a content marketing strategy?
Content marketing educates and solves your customer’s problems and is the perfect way to create customer engagement. Content marketing improves your search engine rankings, increases brand awareness, and drives traffic. Also, content marketing promotes integrated marketing, generates leads, and provides you the competitive edge.
In content marketing, your message directly interacts with your target audience which creates a direct connection with them causing deeper levels of emotions as compared to the traditional ways. This leaves a lasting impact on your customers as you can convey your brand message more effectively.
According to Demand Metric, content marketing is three times more effective in lead generation than traditional forms of marketing.
Content marketing is more cost-effective which works out to 62% less than traditional marketing.
With custom content, 82% of the customers develop a positive opinion about the brand.
Content marketing helps 70% of the customers to develop a personal connection.
Content marketing helps 72% of the customers to develop a relationship with a brand due to custom content.
This is how your e-commerce business can benefit from an effective content marketing strategy
People in the sales function know it pretty well that selling is more about building an emotional connection with your customer.
Sample these statistics:
- 60% of the customers plan to buy a product only after getting informed about it.
- 90% of the customers like to read custom content that is relevant.
- And, 86% of the customers are ready to pay more for better customer experience.
This is how your e-commerce business can benefit from an effective content marketing strategy:
Content marketing helps in product research – Before buying a product, more than 80% of the online shoppers first conduct detailed research. What is more interesting is that around 60% of these customers start their product research over search engines. Hence, with a content marketing strategy in place, businesses in the e-commerce sector stand a better chance to attract online shoppers to their site through the process of search. For example, up-to-date product reviews and insightful buying guides are an effective content marketing strategy that can do wonders for your e-commerce business.
It increases your brand awareness – It is a known fact that brands that produce custom content are more likely to develop a positive connection with their customers. This proves that putting in place a content strategy is an effective method of building customer relations. If you generate high-quality content, then people will retain information about your brand and can also make a positive association with it. And, in case you use social media to promote your content, then it can create a lot of awareness and buzz about your brand. It is no secret that relevant and useful content is shared on the social media like wildfire which increases your brand awareness significantly.
It improves the overall experience of the shopper – Content marketing provides relevant and useful information to your online customers, which generates more user engagement and also keeps them entertained. When you provide custom content to your online shoppers, they tend to spend more time on your site. For example, adding terms and conditions policies increases your customer’s understanding as well as enhances his or her trust in your site. Hence, content that is high in quality increases the overall experience of your customers.
It allows you to display your products in a more meaningful way – Custom content can display the products in the right frame and in a more meaningful way. While going through the content, an individual can understand the value he or she would get if they buy the product which increases their urge to own your brand. The custom content educates the customers on how to use the product and informs them about its useful features. All this develops a stronger emotional bond with your customers which encourage them to buy the product.
It increases conversions and augments brand loyalty – If people can relate to your content more, then they develop trust in your brand and feel connected to it. Hence, if your content is useful and relevant, then people get attracted to your brand more and this, in turn, can increase your conversions. If you carefully position call-to-action in your content, you can redirect many individuals where you want them to go. You can increase your conversions if you have a good content strategy in place.
Useful and relevant content not just improves your conversions, it also boosts customer loyalty. People who find your content interesting and useful will keep coming back to your site to gain knowledge which, in turn, can boost customer loyalty.
Content in the form of product videos increases the trust and augments sale – Adding product or explainer videos to your site is another way of influencing your customers positively. Almost three fourth of the online buyers make their decision after watching the video. Not just that around half of the online buyers (46%) avoid shopping if they don’t get to see a video. Also, 71% of your online buyers consider that a video offers a better explanation. And, not to forget that 58% of your online shoppers trust a brand more if it has a product video. Hence, you need to add product videos to increase the trust and augment sales.
If you want to improve customer engagement for your e-commerce store, you should get in touch with vStacks Infotech now. We will make sure that you get a smart content marketing strategy for your e-commerce business.
vStacks Infotech has been in the world of digital marketing for long, and we not only create meaningful content for your e-commerce store, but we can also create, run, and manage your social media activities.
Benefits Of Cloud Computing
The cloud market is growing at a break-neck speed, and there are no signs of a let up in the years to come. Cloud computing offers several benefits like affordability, security, and scalability. And, that is the reason why companies around the world are shifting their business operations to the cloud.
Cloud computing has been around for a pretty long time now. For example, the banking transaction we do on the internet, the music we listen to on the phone, and emails that we send and receive – all of it is managed and stored by cloud computing.
The cloud computing market is projected to touch $411 billion by 2020 (Gartner).
Cloud computing has the potential to solve all your IT infrastructure needs. With cloud computing in place, you don’t have to invest in costly IT infrastructure. And, it is just a myth that cloud computing is meant only for big businesses. Cloud computing has several benefits to offer to businesses both big and small.
So, what are the benefits of cloud computing? But before getting into the benefits of cloud computing, let us try to understand what is cloud computing.
What is cloud computing?
The use of various resources like software development platforms, software, storage, servers over the internet is called cloud computing. And, the companies that offer these services are known as cloud service providers. When it comes to cloud computing, you only have to pay for what you use. The cloud service providers generally manage the backend of the application (hardware), and you only have to pay for the services you use like bandwidth, processing time, memory, etc.
In cloud computing, you can run all your programs and applications over the internet. And, since you don’t have to invest in costly IT infrastructure, that is why you save so much money. That is why cloud computing is a boon for small and medium enterprises because businesses don’t need to arrange liquid funds to create the IT infrastructure.
Cloud computing is generally categorised into three main types – Infrastructure as a service or IaaS, Platform as a service or PaaS, and Software as a service or SaaS.
Benefits of cloud computing
Cloud computing has several benefits to offer to businesses both big and small. Here are some of the major benefits of cloud computing.
Cloud computing is/ offers:
Cost-efficient – Small and medium enterprises need to invest in the infrastructure set-up carefully. Putting in place the IT infrastructure and the team to run the show requires a lot of money upfront. And, many a time, arranging liquid funds becomes a problem for organisations that are starting their operations. And, cloud computing comes as a major respite for all such organisations that don’t want to invest big at the start. You are not required to invest big (or even small) when you start your operation in the cloud. All you have to pay for is what you use.
It is the responsibility of the cloud service provider to acquire the hardware, run it, maintain it, and upgrade it. All you have to pay for is the services you use, and that too in a convenient way – yearly, half-yearly, or monthly.
Scalable – At the start organisations have limited requirement, but as you grow, your needs grow. It means that as you grow, you need to increase and improve your IT resources (read infrastructure), employees, team collaboration, etc. But when you opt for cloud computing, you don’t have to worry about your growing needs because cloud computing offers scalable solutions. You don’t have to keep investing money to upgrade your IT resources every time your business operations grow. It is the responsibility of the cloud service provider to arrange all the resources for your organisation. For example, if your bandwidth requirement grows, your service provider will scale up your capacity. Likewise, if your requirements come down, your service provider can scale down your capacity.
Safe – Cloud computing is safe. Cloud providers take adequate measures to make sure that your data remain safe at all the times. You can put in place different security settings to keep your data protected from prying eyes. Also, encryption provides additional security to your data in the cloud. Your data remains safer in the cloud in comparison to the traditional on-site servers.
Mobility – Cloud computing can increase the productivity and efficiency of your team members because it offers them mobile access. Your team members can access the corporate data as and when they need it, and this helps them remain on the same page on any given subject. Those at a remote location and high-flying executives who are short on time can keep themselves updated on all the recent developments. It makes life much easier for your remote staff and freelancers who can remain equally productive. It also empowers your sales team because they have access to all the data on the move.
Increased collaboration – Cloud computing makes the process of collaboration seamless. It allows your mobile workforce and remote workers to access information seamlessly across devices making them more productive. With cloud computing, your team members can view and share all the information securely without any delay. Collaborating without cloud computing is not easy, and it is also not all that effective.
Disaster recovery – Data is important for every business, and that is why businesses need to invest in robust data recovery. But due to lack of expertise and liquid funds, it becomes difficult for smaller businesses to invest in data recovery. That is where cloud computing comes to the rescue of businesses. You can avail the cloud-based backup and recovery solutions which ensures that your data remains safe at all the times. Businesses not only save on time and third-party expertise, but they also don’t have to spend money on disaster recovery. Be it power outages or natural disasters; cloud computing offers a robust data recovery solution.
Document control – You need to have stringent document control in place when employees and partners from different region collaborate on documents. Earlier, employees used to send the documents back and forth as an email attachment for inputs and correction where only one person at a time could have given his or her views. All of this resulted in unnecessary confusion. But when businesses move their operations to the cloud, all your documents are stored at a central place and in a similar format. And, when people in your organisation access the same information, it helps you to maintain data consistency and eliminates human error. It improves collaboration which, of course, results in better outcomes.
Competitive edge – Businesses who have moved their operations to the cloud firmly believe that it has provided them with a competitive edge. With cloud computing, you get access to enterprise-class technology which helps small and medium companies to act faster than big and established corporates. When you opt for cloud computing, you get all the resources to compete with the big players.
In case you are planning to move your business operations to the cloud, and you are looking for a reliable cloud service provider, you can get in touch with vStacks Infotech now.
vStacks Infotech offers affordable and flexible cloud hosting solutions. We have the necessary experience and exposure in the software industry to take your business to the next level.
VPS Hosting – What You Need To Know And Things To Look For In A VPS Service Provider
The online revolution has almost made it mandatory for businesses of all sizes to have a website these days. But for a website to exist on the internet, you first need to host it on the net. When it comes to hosting, there are different types of hosting packages that are on offer, namely shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated server hosting. If you have just started of your business operations, shared hosting might be the right hosting option for you. But, in case the traffic on your website is high, then shared hosting does not offer you the resources required for smooth operations. That is where VPS hosting comes into the picture.
VPS or virtual private server hosting offers more features, security, and benefits, and hence is more suited for websites that expect higher traffic.
The decision to start a website is a simple one, but many people get confused when it comes to selecting a hosting solution (read plan) for their website. Selecting the right hosting solution for your website is a crucial decision to make which can have a far-reaching effect on your business. Another equally vital decision that businesses have to make is to pick up the best service provider for their website. You need a hosting service provider to host a website on the internet, and you should get the best in the business if you want your website to function smoothly.
Let us try to understand what is VPS hosting and what is it that you should look for in a VPS service provider.
What is VPS hosting?
VPS hosting is a powerful hosting option, and here every website is hosted on a virtual private server. In VPS hosting the physical machine is divided into several compartments. Each compartment has a separate server software which allows every unit to function independently. One of the reasons why VPS hosting is considered as the best form of hosting is that it hosts only your website in the compartment earmarked for you. Though there are other websites present on the same physical server, still it does not affect the performance of your website. In simple terms, you get the system resources according to the plan you choose and the amount you pay.
In VPS hosting your website is housed in a separate compartment where you have all the resources so that you can survive on your own. As in case of a dedicated server, in VPS hosting also you get complete root access to your server. But since the physical machine remains the same, you have to share the bandwidth, RAM, and CPU.
VPS hosting offers you roughly the same benefits as that in case of a dedicated server but at a much cheaper rate.
The difference between shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and VPS hosting
When it comes to shared hosting, it is like living in an apartment where you have to share all the amenities of the building with other inhabitants. Common resources of the building like swimming pool, club, fitness centre, lift, etc. are shared by all the residents living in the apartment. When anyone residing in the building overuses the resources, others living in the apartment get affected in some way or the other. Likewise, in shared hosting, your website is hosted on a server that houses other users who have to share the same resources and facilities. In shared hosting resources like CPU, disk space, and RAM are shared with other websites. And, in case some website gets too much traffic then it can adversely affect the performance of your website.
Dedicated sharing is like living in an independent house where everything is at your disposal. You don’t have to share your resources with anybody. In dedicated hosting, you are virtually the owner of the server. Everything is at your command, and you don’t have the tension of sharing your resources with others in the vicinity. But dedicated hosting is a costly option, and you need it only if your resource requirements are too high.
VPS hosting is the middle path – you get the resources of dedicated hosting and the affordability of shared hosting. In case of VPS hosting, you don’t have to worry about sharing of resources. Only you can use the resources that have been allocated to your website; hence your website performance will not get affected by what others are doing around you. If your resource requirements are high, but you don’t want to pay too high a cost, then VPS hosting is the perfect hosting option for your website.
So, if you have opted for shared hosting, when should you shift to VPS hosting?
You should think of upgrading to VPS hosting as and when the traffic of your website increase. When website traffic increases, it becomes difficult for shared hosting to offer the resources for the smooth functioning of your website. When you find that shared hosting is unable to take the load, you should plan to upgrade your hosting option. If you notice that the load speed of your website has taken a hit and the downtime has increased, you don’t need any further proof – it is time to upgrade to VPS hosting.
Another indication of upgrading to a new hosting plan is when your service provider reminds you every month that you have exhausted your resources for the month. Your website will also face a problem in shared hosting if the website traffic of some other website increases. You should also be using VPS hosting for smooth functioning if your website uses a lot of rich multimedia content.
Things to look for in a VPS hosting service provider
Once you make up your mind that you have to shift to VPS hosting, you need to ensure that you hire an experienced and reliable VPS hosting service provider.
So, what is that you need to look for in a VPS hosting service provider?
Here are things that you should look for in a VPS hosting service provider:
Always hire an experienced and reliable service provider – Adequate experience and reliability are the two main factors that you need to consider upfront. Make sure that the service provider you hire has hands-on experience in the VPS hosting vertical. A reputed and reliable VPS service provider will have a robust infrastructure, which is must for the smooth functioning of your website (read business). Also, when you hire a reliable service provider, you can rest assured that they will have a technically qualified team of experts. And, this comes in handy for the smooth functioning of your website.
Look at the server configuration your service provider is ready to offer – Server configuration is an important yardstick for the smooth functioning of your website. Hence, it is vital for you to know upfront what you will get. Find out the amount of disk space, RAM, and the capacity of the processor your service provider is ready to offer. It is also vital for you to know about the quality of the machine your VPS service provider is using. You should ensure that you hire a service provider who uses a high-quality infrastructure. Your service provider should also assure you of high speed and a minimum of downtime.
Find out about the kind of customer support the service provider is ready to offer – It is vital for you to find out the kind of customer support the service provider is ready to offer. Your business operations can get affected if you don’t get the right kind of customer support from your service provider because problems don’t announce and come. The service provider needs to offer you round the clock customer support.
Price on offer is another important consideration – Companies both big and small are sensitive to the issue of pricing. The first thing you need to do is find out the going rate for VPS hosting. A bit of research is all that it will take to find out the prevailing rates for VPS hosting. Make sure that the service provider you are planning to hire offers you competitive pricing. You should look for a service provider who offers competitive rates and has a transparent pricing policy. The kind of resources you take from the service provider would, in general, determine the amount you have to pay to the hosting provider.
Find out about scalability and redundancy – You should look for a service provider who is ready to provide a scalable solution. When you grow as an organisation, your service provider should be in a position to upgrade your requirements. Reputed, experienced, and reliable service provider should have the resources to tackle the issue of a sudden rise in traffic.
Redundancy is another important consideration. It is the ability of the service provider to have a backup resource at the datacentre. Your service provider should have a UPS/ generator in place to counter the electricity problem as and when it arises. Also, your service provider should be in a position to offer alternative arrangement in case there is an interruption in the ISP services. Your service provider should also have standby servers so that you run your business operations smoothly in case there is a problem in their main server.
Find out whether they offer a user-friendly control panel or not – If you want your business operations and administration to be smooth, you should ensure that you get a user-friendly control panel. You should ensure that you get complete access to the features so that you can improve the performance of your website. Unfriendly control panels can unnecessarily complicate things for you and your website.
If you are planning to migrate to VPS hosting or in case you are starting your business operations where you know your traffic would be on the higher side, then you should get in touch with vStacks Infotech for VPS hosting. We have adequate experience in the hosting industry, and we know what it takes to host your website successfully.
vStacks Infotech offers round the clock customer support to all its customers. We have powerful datacentres, and we also offer a user-friendly interface to our customers. We can create, host, and look after your website so that you can concentrate on the growth of your business.
Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Your Explainer Video To Succeed
Effective communication is the backbone of every marketing strategy. And, one of the ways to make your communication effective is to opt for an explainer video. Yes, making an explainer video is no doubt a good idea, and it helps you to reach out to your target audience easily. Visual memory, we all know has a greater impact than plain written text. It is rightly said that a picture is worth a thousand words. An explainer video (or picture) has greater ability to captivate your audience, and it also generates a better user experience.
Explainer videos can improve your conversions, sales, and hence your overall revenues. It is not surprising therefore that businesses these days are increasingly adding explainer videos to their websites. Hence, if you don’t add an explainer video to your scheme of things, your marketing mix remains incomplete.
81% of the companies use video as a marketing tool these days.
78% of people view at least one video every week on YouTube.
More than 90% of B2B consumers view online video.
34% of online shoppers are likely to buy a product or service after watching a video advertisement.
However, making an explainer video is not all that simple. It is a challenging task because you have to sum up your message in one, one and a half, or maybe two minutes. Businesses at times find it difficult to effectively convey their message in such a short span of time. They make some common mistakes while creating an explainer video.
In case you want to avoid common mistakes that businesses usually commit during the making of an explainer video, then you are at the right place. Let us find out what you need to do to avoid these common mistakes.
How does an explainer video fit into your marketing strategy?
When you take a closer look at a customer’s journey before they finally purchase the product or service, the explainer video fits into the “consideration “slot.
By the time a customer crosses the awareness stage, he or she is aware of the problem and the solution that will solve his or her problem. At this stage, the prospect expands his or her research that will solve the problem. It is here that an explainer video makes the difference as it summarises the problem, explains the solution, and introduces the brand to the prospect.
When the prospect reaches the decision-making stage, it is your explainer video that helps him or her to make the purchase.
Avoid these mistakes if you want to make your explainer video successful
In case you want to reap the benefits of an explainer video, you need to make sure that you avoid these common mistakes which businesses tend to make quite often:
Never forget your target audience – It is important to address your target audience. Every brand is developed keeping in mind a particular set of people. It is not possible to convince everyone with a single explainer video. You need to understand that you have to convince your target audience. Your message should be specifically directed to your target audience.
You can use characters that look and behave like your target audience. Create a situation that your target audience can connect to easily. You should try and use words that you think your target audience would be using more often. And, don’t forget to put across your message clearly.
Not paying adequate attention to the script – The script is the mainstay of your video, and hence you cannot ignore it. Your video message cannot be effective unless you have a good script to back it up. When you have an effective script, it makes sure that your message is clear and to the point and yet it informs your prospects about your brand.
You should start with the problems your prospective customers are facing, and then offer them a pragmatic solution. And, in between tell your prospects how you can help them solve their problem. Before leaving your customers, ask them to act – promote a call to action here.
Do not make a long video – Long videos tend to annoy and bore people. No one has time to watch long videos. You need to ensure that your explainer video is to the point and not too long. Ideally, you should try to convey your message in one and a half minutes. See to it that your explainer video should not be longer than two minutes. Also, you need to ensure that there should not be more than 150 words per minute. The best strategy of making an explainer video is to keep it simple, short, and crisp.
Do not keep talking about the features only – People, in general, are not all that keen to hear about what went into making the product or the difficulties you faced during the testing stage. What people want to know is whether the product or service is good enough to make their lives better or not. You should not just keep talking about the technical aspects of your product. Instead, focus on telling your customers how it will solve their problems because that is what they are interested to know. What you need to do is connect with your customers on an emotional level. Also, you should make sure that you address the concerns of your customers in the explainer video.
Not distributing your video on the right platforms – Making a good explainer video is important, but it is equally important to distribute your video on the right platforms. Just uploading your video on YouTube will not give you the best results. You need to make sure that you upload your video on all the right forums so that you get a good response. Do the following to get the best possible result:
- You should make sure that you use the video in your advertising (this has the highest click through rate).
- You also need to link the video to your blogs. Linking improves the quality of your content, and it also helps you climb the search engine ladder.
- You should also post your video on social media platforms. People love sharing videos they like.
- Add the explainer video to your email marketing campaign. It increases the click through rate.
- Also, add the video to your landing page. It impresses your audience boosts your conversions and sales.
Make sure that the quality of your video is good – You should never compromise on the quality of your video. Quality of the video should always be good. High-quality content is the need of the hour, and this is the only way you can impress your customers. When you set out to make an explainer video, don’t look for shortcuts. Do not squeeze the budget of your video. Advertising should always be considered as an investment.
An effective explainer video increases brand awareness, generates more leads, improves your visibility, and boosts trustworthiness. However, when you compromise on the quality of your video, you should not expect it to fetch the same result.
The explainer video should have a clear sound, professional voice over and tone, flawless editing, and stimulating animation. More often than not, to get all of these, you need to hire a professional video making company.
You should not sound boring or serious – People don’t like videos that are boring or serious. What sells in the market today is entertainment. Your job gets half done if you make an explainer video that is entertaining. You can add a joke or punchline that you think will be well received by your audience. Try to do something different or new for your product and add a surprise element if you can.
But, the best way to get an explainer video for your business is to hire a professional video making company. You can contact vStacks Infotech and get a top-quality explainer video for your business.
vStacks Infotech is a professional company, and we will put in everything in your video that makes it a roaring success.
ERP | CRM | LMS | SEO & SMM |
Hosting Solutions | Custom Apps
