Why PSD to HTML Conversion Tools Won’t Fully Replace Front-End Developers in the Near Future

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The field of web design and development has made significant strides in recent years, with frameworks like Bootstrap simplifying the process. Modern websites are now highly dynamic, responsive, and interactive.

Despite these advancements, the initial stages of website building remain unchanged from the early days of the Internet. The process still involves creating a design and converting it to HTML and CSS.

This workflow allows custom site creators to leverage the expertise of professionals in two different fields, resulting in a unique and visually appealing end product. JavaScript developers add interactivity to the client-facing part of the website, while back-end developers connect the site to a database for data manipulation.

But can we skip the design phase and jump straight into coding HTML and CSS?

The answer is no, and here’s why:

  1. Designers use graphic editors like Photoshop or Gimp to create unique and visually stunning designs. Without a visual representation of the webpage, it becomes challenging to assemble the elements correctly in HTML/CSS.
  2. Graphic editors allow designers to experiment with color combinations effortlessly. Trying different color codes in HTML and continuously reloading the page to see the changes is time-consuming and inefficient.
  3. Some visual effects, like lighting effects, cannot be achieved solely through HTML and CSS. Graphic software is necessary to create these effects.

Thus, a graphic editor is essential for creating mockups for complex and unique websites, with Photoshop being the preferred tool. While there are other tools available, such as Adobe XD or Figma, Photoshop remains the industry standard.

Once a design is created in a PSD file, there are three options for converting it to valid HTML and CSS: do it yourself, use a PSD to HTML converter, or hire professional markup developers.

Let’s review these options.

The Most Challenging Way: DIY PSD to HTML Conversion

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If you’ve ever purchased or downloaded a design and considered converting it to HTML and CSS yourself instead of using automated tools or hiring professionals, you’re embarking on the hardest path.

Without a background in front-end development, this process can be time-consuming. You’ll need to invest time in reading tutorials and practicing before you even start coding for your website.

Building the page is only part of the challenge; you’ll also need to thoroughly test it across different browsers, platforms, and screen resolutions to ensure responsiveness.

The bottom line: converting a Photoshop design into HTML manually is undeniably more trouble than it’s worth.

The Simplest Method: Use a PSD to HTML Converter

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The market consistently adapts to the demands set by businesses. This is precisely what occurred in the realm of PSD to HTML conversion. Companies required quick markups, faster than most existing PSD to HTML conversion services could provide.

This led to the emergence of numerous PSD to HTML conversion software options. Here are a few examples:

It all appears almost flawless, doesn’t it? Just upload a design into a tool like one of these, click a button, and voila! Your HTML file is ready.

However, businesses soon realized that automatic PSD to HTML conversion using specialized software didn’t deliver the value they desired. The low cost and swift conversion time were overshadowed by significant drawbacks found in every commercial or open-source PSD to HTML converter. The following are the most apparent of these:

  • Converting PSD to HTML using an online tool can be a headache when it comes to making changes to the code. Instead of relying on online tools to convert your PSD to HTML, try using one of them and then open the resulting HTML file. If you have experience in development, you’ll be surprised at how messy the code looks. The elements on the page are fixed in position and have specific pixel dimensions instead of relative units.

    This means that even the smallest changes to the code can easily break it. When users scale the page, the elements may overlap or cover each other partially or completely. It’s one of the major drawbacks of using a PSD to HTML converter.

  • Google doesn’t favor code generated by PSD to HTML converters. Anyone familiar with digital marketing knows the importance of ranking high on search engine results pages. With hand-coded web pages, developers follow Google-friendly practices such as adding Alt tags to images with relevant keywords and optimizing meta tags for better visibility.

    However, when you convert a PSD file to HTML using a converter, these optimizations are NOT automatically applied. You’ll have to manually fix these issues if you know where to look. Otherwise, you might need to hire professionals, adding extra time and cost to the process.

  • Automated PSD to HTML converters can produce bloated code vulnerable to cyber attacks. Even the best software can generate incorrect and invalid code. Improperly closed tags, elements not allowed by the document type, and other errors can cause various problems:
    • Different browsers may render the invalid code differently, resulting in inconsistent page displays.
    • Hackers are attracted to websites with invalid code produced by PSD to HTML converters, as they can exploit vulnerabilities.
    • Bug-infested code from converter software can significantly impact your site’s speed and performance.

The Best Approach: Hire a Professional PSD to HTML Conversion Developer Instead of Relying on Automatic Converters

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As you can see, despite advancements in technology, PSD to HTML converter software is far from perfect. That’s why it’s worth considering working with a professional developer specializing in PSD to HTML conversion.

By partnering with an expert, you can expect clean, efficient code that renders perfectly on any device and ensures excellent search engine visibility. This approach also contributes to fast loading times and smooth performance, which no PSD to HTML converter can guarantee.

Why Choosing a Dedicated Development Team Over Freelancers Makes Sense: 8 Compelling Reasons

Web development is a complex undertaking with many variables. It involves finding the right staff, acquiring tools and equipment, and establishing efficient processes. This requires both time and money.

In-house development teams often lack the expertise or resources to implement new features or test existing ones. This is where external assistance becomes invaluable.

So, where can companies find this assistance? The two most common options are freelancers and dedicated teams. In this post, we will compare these two models and highlight why hiring dedicated developers is generally more advantageous for businesses.

Let’s start by looking at situations where each model is typically preferred.

Understanding the Common Use Cases for the Two Models

Freelancers

Freelancers are self-employed professionals who offer services in various fields, including web development. They are often chosen when:

  • The project is short-term
  • The budget is fixed and limited
  • The requirements are clearly defined and unlikely to change
  • The final release date is known
  • Quality is not a major concern

Dedicated Teams

On the other hand, dedicated teams are groups of professionals who work full-time for a web development company. They are assigned to projects based on their qualifications. Dedicated teams are usually preferred when:

  • The project is large or multiple projects need to be completed
  • The requirements are flexible and subject to change
  • The exact deadline is uncertain
  • Quality is crucial
  • Budget limitations are not clearly defined

While some companies opt for freelancers due to lower costs, the future lies with dedicated development teams. Here are some key reasons why you should consider hiring a dedicated team for your next app or website.

8 Compelling Reasons Why Opting for a Dedicated Team Is Better Than Hiring Freelancers

Reason #1: Comprehensive Expertise in One Place

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Modern projects often require expertise in multiple technologies, such as back-end and front-end development. Freelancers tend to specialize in specific areas, making it time-consuming and challenging to find the right professionals.

In contrast, outsourcing companies have developers well-versed in various technologies, with proven experience. Their HR departments have already vetted these developers, saving you the hassle of reviewing countless CVs.

Dedicated teams may also include experts in other fields like marketing, search engine optimization, design, and user experience. Having all these skills under one roof improves communication and boosts efficiency. Freelancers simply can’t match the level of expertise and organization provided by a dedicated team.

Reason #2: Ensuring Accountability

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When it comes to sensitive business data, one of the drawbacks of working with freelancers is the lack of liability. There’s always a risk that a freelancer might disappear in the middle of a project, leaving you uncertain about the fate of your proprietary information.

Moreover, if you hire multiple freelancers for the same project, the chances of your project specifications falling into the wrong hands increase. In case your information gets stolen, you might not even be aware of it or be able to identify the culprit.

On the other hand, when you hire a dedicated team of developers, you are dealing with a single entity. You can establish a formal contract that legally binds the provider to keep your confidential data secure. Reputable companies do not vanish overnight; they have a legitimate business address and can be held accountable.

Reason #3: Valuing Reputation

Unlike freelancers, dedicated teams are genuinely invested in the success of the company they work for and the projects they undertake. Freelancers bid farewell once their agreement term is over, forcing companies or individual entrepreneurs to start the hiring process from scratch, which can be time-consuming and complex.

In contrast, a dedicated team’s project manager can swiftly find a suitable replacement for any developer who may drop off for any reason. This is because large companies value their reputation and prioritize long-term cooperation and positive reviews.

Reason #4: Unwavering Commitment

When a team is labeled as “dedicated,” it means they are fully committed to your project, ensuring all your requirements are met and all your requests are fulfilled. They have no other distractions or competing tasks, ensuring stability and delivering high-quality results.

Freelancers, on the other hand, often juggle multiple projects simultaneously. Their focus on more clients and higher earnings can result in compromised quality. As the saying goes, “Between two stools, one falls to the ground.”

Reason #5: Transparent Communication Through Multiple Channels

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Effective communication is vital during the web development process. Both the vendor and the client must have a thorough understanding of each other’s needs. Otherwise, the client may face unpleasant surprises upon project completion, not necessarily due to the vendor’s fault.

While various communication channels like Skype, Slack, Telegram, and email facilitate global interactions, there is no guarantee that a freelancer will always be available to answer questions or provide updates, especially when working with freelancers located in different time zones. Keeping everyone in sync can become a nightmare.

With a dedicated development team, a project manager takes charge of the communication process. You can reach out to the project manager anytime to inquire about specific features being worked on or the status of bug fixes.

Reason #6: Comprehensive After-Release Support

Any product requires support and maintenance after its release, including adding new features, updating existing ones, and ensuring smooth operation. To avoid post-release troubles, you can sign a contract with an outsourcer upfront to provide these services.

While freelancers can also offer support for released applications, there is a risk of them abruptly terminating the contract, leaving your app vulnerable. Additionally, they may only cover certain aspects due to limited resources. On the other hand, dedicated developers ensure complete coverage and ongoing support.

Reason #7: Access to Authentic Software and Hardware

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To develop enterprise-quality software, web developers need access to the latest versions of development tools such as IDEs and graphical editors. These tools often require significant investments that only larger companies can afford. By hiring a dedicated development team, you gain access to cutting-edge licensed software and hardware, ensuring your project meets industry standards.

Freelancers typically have basic tools that enable them to handle essential tasks. However, it’s uncertain whether these applications are authentic or regularly updated. Additionally, freelancers may lack the powerful resources necessary for enterprise-level testing of your product.

Reason #8: Flexible Team Expansion/Scaling

Projects are dynamic entities that often require adjustments based on budget constraints or changes in customer demand. The dedicated development team model offers unparalleled scalability, allowing you to easily expand or scale down your team as needed.

With a dedicated team, all it takes is a simple communication with the project manager to reduce the number of developers or bring in new professionals. If you’re not satisfied with a specific developer’s performance, you can request a replacement, and the outsourcing company will swiftly find a suitable substitute. This is because reputable companies prioritize their reputation and long-term relationships.

In contrast, when working with freelancers, the responsibility falls on the client to search for a replacement if a freelancer decides to leave. Even when a new freelancer is onboarded, they need time to become familiar with the project’s specifics, causing delays and slowing down the overall progress.

Hiring dedicated developers to fill the gaps left by departing team members is a straightforward process. Returning developers who have previously worked on the project can seamlessly step back into their roles, using their knowledge of the technologies and workflows. This allows the project to resume without any unnecessary delays.

Final Words

In conclusion, the choice between dedicated developers and freelancers goes beyond a simple cost comparison. It extends into the realm of reliability, commitment, communication, post-release support, access to high-quality resources, and team scalability. 

Dedicated development teams bring a level of professionalism and dedication that ensures your project’s success, from its inception to after-release support. They provide a stable environment, enabling you to focus on your core business while they handle the technical aspects. Their commitment is unwavering, and their approach to communication is transparent and effective.

With access to the latest software and hardware, they assure quality outcomes. Furthermore, the flexibility to scale up or down as per project requirements makes dedicated teams a practical choice.

So, with all these compelling reasons, investing in a dedicated development team could be the strategic decision that propels your project to success.

Why Your Business Should Choose a Custom WordPress Theme: 7 Convincing Arguments

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Some twenty years after its initial release, WordPress remains the world’s most popular content management system (CMS). As of now, WordPress version 6.3 has been downloaded over 53.5 million times and continues to grow in popularity.

WordPress is a versatile platform that caters to various types of websites, from personal blogs to online stores. Renowned companies like Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, and Bloomberg are among its many users.

The secret behind WordPress’s incredible popularity lies in its open-source nature, user-friendly setup and management, and extensive community support. Additionally, WordPress offers a vast selection of plugins and themes to meet the needs of businesses.

While the features of a WordPress website are undoubtedly important, the visual appeal and functionality of the theme can greatly impact the success of a business. In this post, we will explore why choosing a custom WordPress theme is preferable to using a premade free or paid one.

Different Types of Themes: Exploring the Concept and Variants

A WordPress theme consists of files that determine the appearance and layout of a website’s content. These files include CSS stylesheets, templates, images, JavaScript files, PHP files, and more.

There are three options for obtaining themes:

  1. Downloading a free WordPress theme from the official vendor’s website.
  2. Purchasing a premium theme from various sites.
  3. Hiring a professional designer and developer to create a custom theme tailored to your specifications.

While it is possible to customize a premade theme by tweaking its code, building a theme from scratch offers numerous benefits for your business. Let’s explore them.

The Main Benefits of Selecting a Custom WordPress Theme for Your Project

#1: A Custom WordPress Theme Aligns Perfectly with Your Company’s Goals, Vision, and Content

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A custom WordPress theme is essential to aligning with your company’s goals, vision, and content. While there are many attractive themes available, modifying their appearance and layout may not accurately reflect your business objectives. This requires the expertise of professional WordPress developers who understand the intricacies involved.

Choosing the right colors and fonts is just the beginning. Before diving into HTML or PHP coding, you must answer several crucial questions:

  • What are your website’s intended business goals? Is it for representation, lead generation, or sales?
  • What content will be featured on your main page?
  • Who is your target audience? What do you know about them, and why would they visit your site?

Only after conducting thorough research, analyzing your business data, and understanding your core needs will a custom WordPress theme developer start coding. Customizing a premade theme to the necessary extent can be time-consuming and may not guarantee the desired outcome.

#2: A Custom WordPress Theme Sets You Apart from Competitors

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Even if you alter the colors and content, sticking to the same theme as others will make it difficult for potential customers to remember your website and increase the likelihood of them not returning.

While you may believe that purchasing a premium theme and customizing it to your preferences will differentiate you from other companies in your industry, the unfortunate reality is that five premium themes currently dominate around 25% of the market. As a result, even with significant changes to the purchased theme, its layout and features will resemble those used by many other players in the market.

On the other hand, opting for a custom WordPress theme or a custom WooCommerce theme (for online stores) will set you apart from your competitors. With its unique design that you have personally created, it will enhance brand recognition, customer engagement, and ultimately lead to better sales.

#3: A Custom WordPress Theme Enhances Security

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Security is paramount for any business, especially in the face of cyber criminals who exploit website vulnerabilities. One drawback of WordPress’s popularity is that it becomes a prime target for hackers. Shocking statistics reveal that 90% of the sites targeted by hackers a few years ago were powered by WordPress.

So, how do these cybercriminals usually gain access to WordPress websites? They often download free themes or purchase premium ones, then dismantle the code to uncover weaknesses. Once they identify these vulnerabilities, they scour the internet for websites using the same theme and exploit the security holes.

By using a custom theme, you can ensure that hackers won’t be able to access your website’s code. While this doesn’t guarantee complete immunity from cyber attacks, it significantly enhances the security of your WordPress website compared to using free or premium themes.

#4: A Custom WordPress Theme Is Better Optimized for Search Engines

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If you want your website to rank high on Google’s search results, having an SEO-friendly website is crucial. While many ready-made WordPress themes come with built-in SEO features, customizing them to meet your specific needs is essential for optimal search engine visibility.

In addition to using relevant keywords, the structure of your website plays a significant role in improving search engine rankings. By building a custom WordPress theme from scratch, you have the opportunity to design a structure that allows search engine crawlers to easily index your content.

#5: A Custom WordPress Theme Is Fast and Well-Performant

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Many premium themes come bundled with unnecessary features that may not be relevant to your business. The inclusion of these features adds unnecessary weight to the code, resulting in longer loading times for your website.

For a business website, loading speed is a critical factor. If the loading time exceeds two seconds, visitors are likely to leave and find an alternative. This not only leads to reduced sales but also negatively impacts your SEO rankings as the bounce rate increases significantly.

On the other hand, a custom theme is tailored specifically to your business needs and does not include any extraneous features. This lightweight nature allows your custom WordPress website to run faster, providing a better user experience.

Furthermore, you can have peace of mind knowing that the code of your custom WordPress theme has undergone extensive testing to eliminate any bugs, especially when you outsource WordPress development. This level of assurance is not always guaranteed with premium or free themes.

#6: With a Custom WordPress Theme, You Get Direct and Instant Support From the Developer

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Encountering problems with a premade theme, whether free or paid, can be quite bothersome. Incompatibility with plugins could render your website useless, requiring professional assistance.

The catch is, if thousands or even millions of websites are using the same theme, their owners may also face similar issues and need technical help. This means you might have to wait indefinitely for a resolution, a nightmare scenario for any business.

On the other hand, with a custom theme, you can rely on top-notch support that’s only a call away. Through white label WordPress development, the theme’s developer is always ready to address any concerns or fix bugs in your custom WordPress site promptly upon notification.

#7: A Custom WordPress Theme Is Easy to Update

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Regular updates are essential for maintaining the functionality and security of your website. While premium theme providers may neglect updates over time, leaving your website vulnerable to cyber threats, a custom WordPress theme offers a different experience.

With a custom theme, updating is as simple as notifying the developer, ensuring that your website always has the latest features and security patches. This provides a stable and secure online presence for your business and an enhanced user experience for your customers.

Conclusion

Selecting a custom WordPress theme for your project is a strategic decision that offers substantial benefits. With a custom theme, you can ensure that your website accurately reflects your business’s unique goals and vision, distinguishing you from competitors.

Custom themes also significantly enhance your website’s security and are better optimized for search engines, making them an ideal choice for businesses aiming for a robust online presence. Furthermore, a custom theme is not only fast and performant but also offers the advantage of direct developer support and easy updates

All these factors combine to provide a seamless and enriching user experience for your customers, making the custom WordPress theme an investment worth considering for every ambitious business.

What Exactly Does WordPress Development Involve? The Site Slinger Explains

What Is WordPress Development?

According to the data on builtwith.com, WordPress (WP) firmly holds first place among similar content management systems (CMSs) and is far ahead of its closest competitor.

WordPress Is Fare Ahead Its Competitors

What makes this CMS so popular among many businesses and organizations such as the White House or Sony Music? Here are just a few of WP’s benefits to give you an idea.

  1. Flexibility. WP is one of the most flexible content management platforms out there and a good WordPress development agency can work wonders for your business website. While its original purpose was to host and manage blogs, these days, it’s used for almost any type of site, be it a portfolio site, non-profit organization site, or e-commerce store.
  2. Extensibility. A WP site is extremely easy to create, even for someone who has never been involved in web development before. However, basic WordPress has limited functionality, which is not sufficient to handle more complex tasks such as inventory management or video conferencing. To fill this gap, the official WP directory offers tons of helpful plugins, both commercial and free. In addition, WP site owners can hire developers to code custom plugins for their unique business needs.
  3. A rich variety of themes. The way a site looks is no less, and in certain cases even more important, than the way it functions. WP offers its users a huge number of ready-made themes, which represent collections of code in separate folders that you can download and install through the dashboard. Then, you can tweak them to give your site a unique look. Another option is to create a custom theme.
  4. Convenient content addition and manipulation features. WP is a blogging software pioneer. Over the years, it has been improving existing and adding new content creation and management options such as the Gutenberg content editor or autosaving. Even novices can get to grips with these features in no time. This incredible ease of working with content attracts many news agencies to WP, for example, BBC America.

Of course, WP has a lot more advantages than we’ve listed above. When companies start working with this platform, though, they realize that they need more fine-tuning than they can get out of the box. This prompts them to start looking for WordPress developers. Sadly enough, they often come across people who don’t deserve the title.

That’s why we think it will be interesting and useful for you to learn what skills and knowledge a professional WordPress developer should possess and what WP development actually involves. This should save you time, nerves, and money in the long run.

What Differentiates Amateurs from True WordPress Developers?

Choose real WordPress Professionals

Amateurs

First, let’s talk about people you can hardly consider WP developers, let alone WP experts.

The ease of using and configuring WP is both its blessing and its curse. Even a teenager can get a WordPress site up and running by spending just a few weeks or even days learning how to do it. This is the reason why there are so many freelancers claiming to be professional WP developers.

However, just installing and tweaking a theme or adding a couple of plugins is far from being classified as professional WP development.

True WordPress Professionals

A true WP developer is someone who knows the platform inside and out — its file system and core functions. They are not just simple users who can install a plugin or change a theme, although they can do that all too.

What distinguishes a real WP expert is the knowledge of the principal web development technologies for the front-end (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) and the back-end (PHP and SQL) sides. Additionally, they should have an eye for aesthetics and be well familiar with the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) principles.

What Exactly Do a WP Developer’s Responsibilities Involve?

A WordPress Developer must be proficient in back-end technologies

WP developers belong to a broader category of web developers. If necessary, they can take on the full website development cycle, starting from the requirements analysis to support and maintenance. However, they are back-end specialists in the first turn.

A WP developer is an expert in PHP, one of the most popular programming languages in the world. PHP is the weapon of choice in the majority of e-commerce projects. Its main purpose is to interact with a database, sending data to it and retrieving data from it through SQL queries, and then manipulating it as required.

THEMES

A WorPress Developer can integrate themes

By using these two essential tools (PHP and SQL), a WP developer takes theme files prepared by a designer and front-end specialist and integrates them into the WP site. Data from forms that a theme contains must be sent to the site’s database safely. Product data with descriptions, prices, and visuals stored in the database must be retrieved and displayed on the site correctly.

All this requires writing high-quality PHP scripts that contain SQL queries. The code must be clean, easy to read, and hard to crack by hackers. It must also be well-tested by the developer himself or herself and by dedicated QA professionals to ensure the best quality.

For example, our WP developers follow the TDD (Test Driven Development) methodology. In a nutshell, it assumes writing tests based on the technical specifications prior to typing a line of code. As a result, our WP experts create top-quality, bug-free code.

More on WP themes read here.

PLUGINS

A WordPress Developer can build custom plugins

Another major area of a WP developer’s expertise is writing custom plugins or tweaking existing ones. WordPress provides some basic functionality to add and manipulate content. To extend it, WP developers create PHP scripts that perform additional functions, known as plugins.

There are tons of plugins in the official WP directory, fulfilling all kinds of functions, starting from search engine optimization and security and ending with data import and export. Plugins often represent a collection of several types of files (CSS, JavaScript, images, PHP) intended to perform a particular task.

What makes PHP scripts as plugins different from PHP scripts written for themes is that the former are available to all themes, while the latter are attached to the current theme only. Change the theme and your functionality is gone.

That said, the same requirements for code quality concern plugins as well. WP developers must pay particular attention to the security of their plugin code and regularly update it, since plugins are the most coveted of hackers’ targets. To learn more about plugins, visit the official WP website.

ENTRUST YOUR WORDPRESS PROJECT TO A RELIABLE PARTNER

WordPress is the leading content management platform on the planet. With its flexibility, extensibility, and versatility, it attracts a wide audience of users, starting from individual bloggers and professionals who want to showcase their projects and ending with governments and large corporations.

Not everyone who can add plugins and tweak themes deserves to be called a professional WP developer. A genuine WP specialist has deep knowledge of the main web development technologies and can create high-quality custom plugins and themes.

This is exactly what The Site Slinger WordPress developers can offer you. With over 2,415 WP projects implemented to date, our WP pros have amassed unrivaled experience in all WordPress-related tasks.

We can develop a WP site of any scope and purpose from the ground up or tweak your existing site to suit your needs. The Site Slinger WP developers are proficient in using all staple web technologies, PHP and its frameworks like Lavarel in particular, and can integrate a wide variety of external solutions with your WP site, such as WooCommerce or the Event Calendar.

Avoid amateurs, trust professionals! Get in touch with us for any requests or questions regarding WordPress development.

 

Take Your Advertising Campaigns to the Next Level with Our HTML5 Banners

Our HTML 5 Banners

Advertising has always had a huge significance for businesses of all kinds. In the tough and highly competitive world of commerce today, though, it has acquired even greater importance than ever. 

Nowadays, all companies realize the value that online advertising can bring them. The leading position among online promotion methods is rightly occupied by the HTML5 banner ads.

HTML5 banners are highly engaging, visually attractive, and efficient means of conveying business messages and acquiring leads.

We at the Site Slinger saw the value of HTML5 banners right from the start. Now, after many years and thousands of successfully completed projects, we proudly hold the status of a leading provider of this type of display ads. Want to know exactly what we can offer you? Read on.

WHY HTML5? 

First, a few words about the technology itself. This is what makes HTML5 so desirable for making banners:

HTML5 Benefits

  • HTML5 banners will look perfect, regardless of the screen resolution of the device where they’re displayed. The Site Slinger builds completely responsive banner ads. 
  • A number of major advertising networks (e.g., Google Ads) accept ads built by using HTML5 and nothing else (e.g., Flash). 
  • HTML5 banners can have moving design elements. 
  • No add-ons are necessary. The target audience will see your message without fail. This is not always possible with Flash if a user has disabled it in their browser or simply forgot to update it. 
  • HTML5 banners weigh much less than ads built with the use of other technologies such as animated gifs. This significantly increases the page loading speed, contributing to better user experience and higher click-through rates.

These and other advantages of the HTML5 technology convinced our banner development professionals to make it our principal tool of the trade, and we’ve never regretted our choice. We’ve already built thousands of beautiful-looking, high-quality HTML5 banners of the following types. Take your pick!

Interactive

Interactive Banner One

As the name suggests, visitors can interact with this type of banner. For instance, they can see more information about the advertised products by using a slider right inside an ad or play a simple game without leaving an ad. 

In the end, a prospect or customer is taken to a landing page where they can view the corresponding offer in detail. That contributes to better brand recognition, plus a higher conversion and increased click-through rates. 

It’s true that interactive banners are the most expensive type of HTML5 ads we build: $124 for one. That’s because they require more effort and time it takes us to make one such banner. That said, interactive banners can hit the target three times more often than other types of ads on average. 

Simple Animated and Complex Animated 

Simple animated

Complex Animated Banner

While just a bit less engaging than interactive ads, these types of HTML5 banners are still very powerful tools in any digital advertiser’s arsenal. 

They represent design elements that move, hiding other design elements that appeared before them or taking their positions inside other elements at certain time intervals. Thanks to this effect, you have an opportunity to provide more information about your business propositions within the same square or rectangular area. 

Images or other design components can move once only in accordance with a specific animation effect (e.g., slowly appear on the background or float from one side of the ad to another) or do that a specified number of times. In addition, some elements can remain stationary while others are moving. The final price depends on how elaborate and effect-rich the ad is. 

Even though one complex animated banner costs $86, this is not expensive, considering what benefits these display ads can bring you (higher click-through rates and better engagement). 

Static 

Static Banner

Owing to relative simplicity, one such ad is way less expensive than its more exquisite “relatives.” Our price is $22 a piece. 

There are other positive aspects:

  •  Static ads are not annoying, taking up their portion of a page without “dancing” before a user’s eyes.
  • You can still send your message to the world loud and clear.
  • Static ads are always in sight. That contributes to better brand awareness.

The types of HTML5 banners we build

WE CAN HANDLE ANY OF YOUR REQUESTS  

We know that you may require something unique, something to produce the wow effect among your target audience. This is why our HTML5 banner ad service is not limited by the banner varieties we’ve described above. Just tell us what you need. We’ll implement any feature not included in our list. 

Have no design yet? No problem. We take care of the full development cycle, starting from the initial design and ending with the final delivery, and all this within one business day on average. We can also integrate a video file into your banner if necessary. 

In addition, we’ll make sure that your HTML5 banners seamlessly integrate with any advertising network, including IAB, Display & Video 360, Celtra, Google Ads, SIzmek, and others. 

So select a standard HTML5 banner or give us your own ideas. The Site Slinger is always here for you!

5 Effective Tools to Help You Automate Your Shopify Business

5 Effective tools to automate your Shopify business

Automating any business, e-commerce businesses in particular, helps its owners save money and time as well as increase sales. Automation gives companies real value when they start growing and require larger inventories and more efforts directed to customer retention and support. 

Instead of hiring new people to deal with the increased workload and spending money on their salaries and benefits packages, a business can simply take advantage of specialized software that handles the same tasks as, or even more efficiently and costs far less.

Although Shopify is probably the easiest e-commerce platform to set up, new merchants may find themselves at a loss when faced with a multitude of business tasks, from finding products to sell and email marketing to reporting and profit calculations. 

Unfortunately, the Shopify core doesn’t provide all automatic business management functions. Not to panic, though. You can find a wealth of tools on the official Shopify App Store. All of them have gone through strict verification and quality checks and can now be safely integrated into your e-commerce website.

The number of apps in the App Store is huge: 3,645 at the moment of writing the post. To save you some trouble, we’ve prepared a review of five apps in five different categories that you can try out to automate some of the most common business processes.

CATEGORY: WORKFLOW AUTOMATION

APP TITLE: Shop Workflow Automation

Shop Flow Automation

Before writing a line of code, the app developers had gone to great pains to survey a variety of Shopify merchants on which of their daily routines and workflows could and should be automated. That alone should make Shop Workflow Automation trustworthy. 

Consider it your personal digital assistant, responsible for the smooth operation of your shop and promptly responding to any events that need attention.

One of its most appealing features is the automatic removal of out-of-stock items from the store. Simultaneously, the app notifies the store owner that a product is no longer in stock and needs to be restocked. Shop Workflow Automation also conducts the daily monitoring of the stock and redisplays products that it (or the administrator) has removed from the store previously.

Sadly, online merchants fall victim to the fraud of all kinds in 2019, just like they did in the years before. Fraudsters constantly find new ways to cheat and steal. To counteract them, Shop Workflow Automation automatically detects suspicious orders and sends emails to the store owner with the relevant details. This way, the merchant has a chance to study the order carefully before fulfilling it to avoid a chargeback in the future. 

CATEGORY: INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

APP TITLE: Simile | Smart Bundles

Simile

The Frequently Bought Together bundle you see on many e-commerce websites, including Amazon, is a good way to boost your upselling and cross-selling efforts. You can automatically add a bundle like that to your products too. The Simile | Smart Bundles app performs just this function.

The app looks into your database for past purchases and then applies an artificial intelligence algorithm to create a bundle for each product automatically. Normally, three items are included in a bundle. What’s more, new e-commerce sites with no purchases made yet can have this algorithm applied as well.

With Simile | Smart Bundles you can also add a discount to the items in a bundle, which encourages your customers to buy more products. All of the items in a bundle and only they will get a reduction in price. Once a consumer removes at least one item from a bundle, the discount on the products left in the cart is canceled.

Another feature worth mentioning: as soon as a customer adds a bundle to the cart, they’re immediately taken to the checkout page. This is very beneficial in regards to the speed of the shopping process and contributes to a higher conversion rate.

CATEGORY: REPORTING

APP TITLE: Lifetimely: Profit & LTV

Lifetimely

How can you make your sales more effective? By analyzing the data about your purchases and adjusting your marketing strategy accordingly. This is where you’ll find the Lifetimely app invaluable. 

With this advanced analytics toolkit for Shopify, you’ll be able to track your customer lifetime value and see your best-purchasing customers’ shopping patterns. You’ll also be able to watch your profits in real time by looking at the data from your Shopify store, shipping data, costs, and marketing data (Google, Facebook, etc.) in one centralized location — profit dashboard. 

The provided Lifecycle Grid will help you understand your customer base better over time by letting you see what has changed in it. Thus, you can determine the groups of customers that no longer visit your store.

You can also see what products, channels, or categories are more or less profitable and export the customers or segments for the email service of your choice. The app integrates with Google Ads, Adwords, and Facebook Ads.

CATEGORY: ORDERS AND SHIPPING

APP TITLE: MassFulfill

MassFulfill

This app should save a lot of your time on fulfilling orders. If you have a large number of files with tracking data, you can upload them to the app and have them fulfilled in bulk instead of adding the data to your orders piece by piece. 

Also, if you ship different SKUs from different suppliers or locations, you can specify the SKUs of that place in the file you upload and thus will be able to fulfill only the line items that correspond to the SKUs.

The app developer has provided the Google Sheets integration feature. You can make a spreadsheet with your orders and send it to your supplier. You can easily fulfill the orders the spreadsheet contains.

How do you know you’re going to fulfill the right orders? You can see what is about to happen on the confirmation page, thus completely eliminating the possibility of an error. 

Among other notable MassFulfill features are mass tagging by order number and bulk unfulfilling of orders, should you suddenly realize you’ve done something wrong or need to add products to a file. 

CATEGORY: CUSTOMER SUPPORT 

APP TITLE: Automated RMAs and Returns

AutomatedReturns

There are a number of reasons why consumers return goods to retailers. An item has a defect, its description on the site is different from what it really is, or it is a size too small or too large. The list goes on and on. 

Having to accept returns from your customers is something you simply can’t avoid. What you can do, though, is automate this process. The Automated RMAs and Returns app will take most of the load off your shoulders.

Instead of contacting you in person, a customer provides the information about the order, specifies the products they’d like to return, gives the reasons for their decision, and leaves their email address — all through the app.

After that, they get a prepaid label for dropping off their no-longer-wanted items at the shipping carrier you’ve chosen. Emails with relevant return data are delivered to you and the customer. That’s how it looks in a nutshell. However, the feature list is long. Here are some other benefits:  

  • You can completely customize the messages you send to your customers. 
  • You can set rules to return goods to a different location. 
  • You can automatically keep your customers updated on the status of their return at each stage of the process. 
  • You can export the full list of your returns to an Excel spreadsheet for reporting purposes. 
  • You can accept money from your customers for return postage via Stripe.

CONCLUSION 

Shopify makes it easy to automate various e-commerce business processes through hundreds of apps on its App Store. If you’re new to this great e-commerce platform, why not start with the tools we’ve suggested above, exploring the rest of your options in the meantime? 

If you have any questions related to running your Shopify store, want a unique theme designed to stand out from your competitors, or need a custom app to perform your business-specific logic, The Site Slinger developers are always here to provide the best services on the market.

Drupal 8 Modules to Make an E-Commerce Website More Profitable

 

Ecommerce modules

These days, fewer consumers want to waste their time standing in lines or roaming around shopping malls in search of things they need. Why all that trouble? Just open up an e-commerce website, make a few clicks, and get nearly everything under the sun delivered right to your threshold.

Among numerous e-commerce solutions, Drupal is gaining more significance with every passing year. Although it doesn’t include e-commerce features by default, unlike such platforms as Shopify or Magento, Drupal 8 makes up for it with a well-developed system of modules.

If we run a search on the official Drupal website, it returns 1,756 e-commerce modules at the moment of writing this post. While that’s a huge number, you don’t need to install all of those extensions. Just find out what consumers value in an e-commerce solution above all and pick one module for each requirement. 

Drupal modules

 

What Do Customers Need in an E-Commerce Site Above All? 

While many aspects are important for online stores to succeed, we believe that some areas are really crucial: 

    1. SEO. Customers need to know about your offerings and should be able to find your store in the vast space of the Internet.
    2. Convenient purchasing procedure: 
  • The checkout process should be short and intuitive. 
  • There should be a number of payment channels for customers’ convenience. 
  • Prices should be calculated in all possible currencies. 
  • Customers should know exactly how much they will have to pay for shipment depending on their location. 
  • Customers should get a detailed invoice right after they’ve made a purchase. 

When your e-commerce site is easy to use, it contributes to higher customer satisfaction, generates more traffic, and ultimately increases the conversion rate. Now, let’s review the top Drupal 8 modules that can make an e-commerce website more lucrative. 

Our List of Top Drupal 8 E-Commerce Modules 

SEO Checklist 

SEO Checklist

This module helps Drupal site owners remember every SEO task required to improve their online store’s search engine visibility. The SEO Checklist will ensure you don’t forget to clean duplicate content, use keywords in headings, optimize images with descriptive ALT tags, or perform many other essential SEO tasks. You’ll be notified whenever you’ve missed one of the items on the list.

Moreover, if you’re not sure about the best way to handle a certain SEO task, the module will helpfully suggest the best options for you. The same thing happens if you’ve done something wrong from SEO’s point of view. The module will “complain” and tell you exactly what’s amiss. 

We all know how frequently Google loves changing its search algorithm. With SEO Checklist, though, it’s not an issue, since it gets updated on a regular basis. Any of Google’s new rules are immediately reflected in the module’s list. 

Ubercart 

If you’re a small or mid-size business owner, you’ll find this module simply indispensable. It helps you create a ground-level shopping cart system in no time and with a minimum amount of effort. 

You can use Ubercart for any type of business, starting from selling physical merchandise like furniture or electronics and ending with downloading digital products like PDF files. This module enables you to do the following: 

  • Add products to a configurable catalog 
  • Create and edit orders 
  • Automatically generate accounts 
  • Add multiple images for the same product 
  • Track stock and get warning messages when some items are about to run out 

This list is far from complete. One of the most appealing Ubercart’s features is a one-page checkout — every e-commerce website owner’s dream. Customers don’t have to go through several forms on different pages until they can finally call something their own. 

Ubercart also includes an integrated payment system. It lets you select various payment options such as credit card or check, as well as payment processors, including PayPal, CyberSource, and others. That’s what we meant when we stressed the need for several payment channels on an e-commerce site. 

Currency

Currency

If your own country has suddenly become too small for your growing online business, you may want to move up to the international level. Then, you’ll have to adapt your online store for displaying prices in different currencies. That’s exactly what the Currency module is for. 

  • Convert currencies and present them in the appropriate format depending on a customer’s locale
  • Show the necessary information about specific currencies 

With Currency, you get the entire world covered. More profits without hassle!  

Conclusion 

The success of any e-commerce site depends to a large extent on a smooth user experience. If a customer can find an online store easily, have one checkout page instead of six, and pay in any currency via a gateway of his or her choice, the chance that he or she will become a regular is higher. 

While the e-commerce modules we’ve described in this post are a great help for any Drupal-powered online shop manager, building a truly secure, SEO-friendly, and feature-rich site requires professional assistance. 

The Site Slinger’s experienced Drupal developers can take care of many Drupal-related tasks including PSD to Drupal development. Just get in touch with us and let us turn your ideas into a perfect e-commerce solution. 

7 Tips on Creating an HTML5 Banner Ad None of Your Prospects Will Miss

 

Tips on creating effective HTML 5 banners

No business can survive without advertising, obviously. Banner ads are among the most effective means of attracting new customers on the Internet. Just open any serious website and you’re bound to see enticing banners for products or services on almost every page. 

Banner advertising pursues several goals:

  • drive more traffic to a website 
  • make a product or service more popular and recognizable 
  • create a positive brand image

Banner ads have another important benefit. If a visitor clicks on an ad and lands on the advertiser’s website, it means that they’re truly interested in the offer. Thus, their status is close to that of a prospective customer.

To judge how effective banner advertising is, the Click-Through Rate (CTR) indicator has been introduced. It measures how many people have clicked on a banner per one thousand times it has been viewed. For instance, 20 clicks/1,000 views = CTR of 2 percent.

How can you achieve a higher CTR? By choosing the right type of banner for your specific case and applying certain time-tested techniques. We’ve collected 7 best tips to help you boost the CTR for your banner ads. Follow these guidelines and you should soon notice a steady increase in your website traffic.

  1. Choose the Right Technology

It’s simple: HTML5 is the King of Kings when it comes to building banner ads. HTML5 has outperformed the previous leader in this field ― Flash ― by the widest of margins:

HTML 5 benefits

The latest version of the markup language is particularly valuable for building responsive websites that perfectly render on mobile devices. Result: a much wider audience coverage. 

In addition, you can edit your HTML5 banner ad as if it were an ordinary web page. Changing the text, videos, or images inside your banner is a breeze (if you know how). Flash-based banners are much harder to modify. 

  1. Pick the Optimal Banner Size 

Mark Twain famously said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” When talking about banner ads, though, “the size of the dog” matters no less than its fighting spirit. 

Visit the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) website. There, you can find the main requirements for banner sizes that various advertising networks have put in place. The list contains 15 different formats. Which is yours? 

Your ad design and business goals determine the answer. Vertical or horizontal―it’s all case-specific. Still, AdSense has found these five formats to be undisputed leaders in terms of performance:

The leading banner sizes

Play around with them before you look to the underdogs. You may also be interested to know that wider banners have shown better click-through rates than narrow ones. Why? 

As is often the case, it all boils down to UX. Most people feel more comfortable reading longer lines from left to right. A thin banner, by contrast, mostly contains one or two-word lines. That makes the reader’s eyes jump from line to line far too often.

  1. Put Your Brand Above All 

When you start designing a banner ad, the first thing to keep in mind is your brand. People should know what company is advertising the goods or services. Otherwise, they may not even consider pointing the mouse cursor at your banner.

You can establish a connection between your company and the ad in two main ways: 

  • By displaying your logo or brand name within the banner. The most typical location for a brand logo is the uppermost or lowermost portion of an ad. However, you can be more creative in this respect. No logo available? Place your brand name somewhere on the ad at least. Whichever option you select, website visitors will be aware of your business even if they don’t click on the banner in the end.

Put your brand above all

  • By following the pattern common for all your marketing materials. That includes fonts, colors, and visuals. Giving the call-to-action button the same color or style as that of the landing page, for example, will create a permanent link between the banner and your brand in your prospects’ minds. 

  1. Keep Your Text Short

Scroll up to the list of the most popular banner ad sizes. None of them is too big, right? It means that you have to be very resourceful if you want to get your message across within such a limited space. Pin down the most essential details about your offering. A few lines too many and your beautifully designed banner will send any potential customers running away. 

Ask someone to read your ad. If they can’t fully understand the message after two seconds, cut your text down. Make sure you keep your ad to 10 words in length or less.

Keep the text of your banner short

  1. Create a Hierarchy for Your Information

You should structure all your messages on the more important-less important principle. The larger or bolded words will let the viewers understand that they’re central to the ad. Smaller, unbolded letters will indicate that it’s something extra, secondary to the key message.

Create a hierarchy for your infromation

Also, make sure you use mobile-friendly fonts and colors: 

  • The black-white combination works perfectly well in the majority of cases. 
  • Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, Avant Garde, Franklin Gothic, or other sans-serif fonts make your ads easier to read than serif fonts. 
  • Avoid extremes: a text that’s too big or too small (10 points or less). Strive for the golden mean. 

  1. Draw a Border Around Your Ad

In certain cases, it’s hard to tell where the main website content ends and a banner begins. 

If the website visitors can’t find your banner at once, they’re less likely to click on it, you bet. A fix? 

  • Give your ad a border 
  • Pick a background for your ad that differs from the rest of the page. 

That will make your ad stand out from the other content. Any visitor will immediately notice it. The better people see your ad, the more likely they’re to click on it.

Make you HTML 5 banner ad different from the surrounding content

  1. Entice Them 

Finally, remember that you should give your prospective or current customers something that will really draw them in. When they see the words “free trial,” they’re more likely to click on your banner. You can also write something like “Only in May” or “Just Now!” That will create a sense of urgency. 

Another way to get people to click on your banner is to come up with a good call-to-action (CTA). Experiment with different CTAs by running A/B tests. Choose a CTA that’s more specific than the ubiquitous “Click here.” Consider what it is you’re offering and try to use a “buzz” phrase. For example, you may write, “Buy the full solution for just…” or “Get certified in 2 weeks.”

Entice_Your_Users

Conclusion 

Creating an effective banner ad is a science and an art. Try following the tips we’ve given above, and your next banner should bring you more new customers.  

If you need someone to take care of the technical aspect of your banner creation, the Site Slinger professionals are here to help. We can build several types of HTML5 banners: static, simple animated, complex animated, and interactive. Just give us your design and get back a perfect HTML5 banner tested on a variety of real devices and in the most popular web browsers.

We can also design your banner from scratch. Just provide us with the details of your offering and give us your ideas of how the banner should look like. You’ll be pleased with the outcome, we promise!

6 Reasons for Choosing Shopify to Build a Successful Dropshipping Business

 

Shopify is the best platform for dropshipping

The share of e-commerce in total U.S. retail sales in the first quarter of 2019 has reached 10.5%. That’s a 6.3% increase compared to the first quarter of 2010. The total amount of money that U.S. consumers are expected to spend online should reach over 740 billion dollars in 2023. 

It means that e-commerce is likely to replace traditional retail operations almost entirely in the not so distant future. These days, an increasing number of businesses and individual entrepreneurs conduct transactions via online storefronts using the dropshipping retail fulfillment method and various e-commerce platforms. 

What is dropshipping, why is it so popular, and why is Shopify the best e-commerce solution for building dropshipping online stores? Find the answers below.

Dropshipping — Business for the Masses 

What Is Dropshipping? 

Consider the traditional business model of selling physical products. A retailer buys goods from a manufacturer, stores them in a warehouse, and then sells them to customers through brick-and-mortar retail outlets. 

The dropshipping model works differently. Instead of storing goods in a warehouse, a dropshipping company purchases the items a customer wants from a third-party supplier and has them delivered to the customer’s location through the same supplier or a delivery company. 

As such, a dropshipping business only accepts orders via its online storefront and arranges the shipment of goods to customers’ addresses. The warehousing stage is missing. Here’s what the workflow looks like in a nutshell:

Dropshipping workflow

Dropshipping is not a new concept. Many big, well-established companies have been using it for a long time. Amazon is probably one of the most notable examples. 

How much can dropshippers make? It depends on the niche. If you’re selling items of mass consumption such as T-shirts or shoes, don’t expect large profits because of fierce competition. On the other hand, when offering expensive merchandise like jewelry or brand watches, dropshippers’ profit margin can reach as much as 100%. 

Benefits of Dropshipping 

The popularity of dropshipping is growing by the hour, and for a good reason. Here’s why we can call it a retail fulfillment method for the masses. 

Almost No Upfront Expenses 

Dropshipping means no need to purchase goods. Therefore, a business owner only has to cover the hosting expenses for the online store and pay for additional web development services like themes, apps, and so on. 

Immediate Start 

This is a very straightforward business. Dropshippers don’t have to go through the routine of conventional retailers: running a warehouse, preparing goods for shipment, ensuring that the stock is full, and performing other “old school” retailer’s tasks. 

All they need to do is strike a deal with a reliable shipper, pick an affordable and efficient e-commerce platform, fill the website with the information about items for sale, and begin accepting orders. This may take just a few weeks. 

No Fixed Business Location 

With dropshipping, you’re not limited in space. You can easily combine traveling with business. In essence, there are only two things you need: 

  • A laptop 
  • Internet access

A Wide Assortment of Goods

Dropshippers can offer any products to their customers as long as they can find appropriate suppliers for them. A dropshipping business may focus on one particular niche, such as sportswear or on a variety of different products. Sell children’s toys along with books, building materials, and electronics. Why not? 

Make Your Business Bigger Whenever You Need 

Every business wants to grow, naturally. Traditional retailers often struggle with expanding their operations. More manpower, more money to invest, and more space in the available warehouses or new warehouses to rent. 

Dropshipping makes this all unnecessary. New orders are simply forwarded to a supplier for processing. A dropshipper may only have to spend more time on customer service. The supplier takes care of the nitty-gritty of order-handling. 

One of the most important aspects of the dropshipping business is choosing the right e-commerce system. According to Statista, the largest market share among e-commerce software platforms in the United States in 2019 belongs to Shopify. Here are 6 arguments why you should choose this platform for your dropshipping store. 

Shopify, the Best E-Commerce Platform for Dropshipping

 

Shopify market share

Statista: Projected market share of e-commerce software platforms in the United States in 2019

Reason #1: No Advanced Technical Skills Required. Good for Beginners 

Shopify is a SaaS (Sofware as a Service) solution. It’s hosted in the cloud and maintained by the Shopify development team. There’s no need to watch out for updates. Just focus on the store itself and let the vendor take care of all the technical aspects. You only need to pay a monthly fee. 

Shopify is especially good for small companies and individual entrepreneurs who want to start their online stores quickly without having to slog through the details of the CMS. The dashboard is easy-to-use and intuitive. When adding a new item, you can specify all of its attributes (price, quantity, and so on) in one central location. Very convenient. 

Reasons # 2: A Multitude of Apps to Complement a Store’s Functionality

 

Shopify apps for dropshipping

The Shopify App Store contains over 3,381 items at the moment of writing this post. These applications help online store owners get closer to their customers via a live chat, keep their bookkeeping records neat, automate marketing campaigns, and address other important issues. 

Among those 3,300+, you can find around 150 specialized dropshipping apps, both free and commercial. For example, Oberlo facilitates finding products to sell on Shopify. All these apps are valuable time-saving tools for dropshippers. 

Reasons # 3: Dozens of Payment Gateways to Choose from 

Shopify is the champion when it comes to payment options. Over 100 gateways! The closest competitors are still way behind Shopify in this respect.

Customers can choose among many third-party providers, such as Amazon Pay or Skrill, according to their geographic regions. Here is a list for the United States. Fees for using these services apply. 

You can also use Shopify’s own gateway called Shopify Payments. You don’t have to pay fees for using Shopify Payments. Just conduct a transaction with your card (credit or debit). 

What’s more, you can sell your goods in different currencies through Shopify Payments. The system will identify the customer’s country and convert the price to that country’s currency in accordance with the current exchange rate. The only downside is that Shopify Payments is available in a limited number of countries. 

Reason # 4: Easy Shipping Options Adjustment 

Setting different shipping rates based on the weight and value of goods, customers’ locations, or delivery time is crucial for any dropshipping business. Shopify excels at this too. 

Besides, Shopify has partnered with the world’s leading shipping companies like DHL and UPS. So, if you decide to purchase goods from a manufacturer and choose your own courier service, Shopify is there for you as well. 

Reason # 5: Excellent SEO Capabilities 

What’s the use of building a store if no one can find it on the Internet? Shopify does a great job of improving search engine visibility. It has a plethora of useful SEO functions, like customizable titles, meta-tags, keywords, alt text, and many more. 

In addition, the e-commerce platform provides Integration with the largest media channels like Facebook. With all these SEO bells and whistles, your chances that Google will fall in love with your dropshipping store become much higher. 

Reason # 6: Care for Mobile Users

Shopify cares for mobile users

When an online store owner ignores mobile users, the business is bound to fail. An ever-increasing number of customers today prefer shopping from their handheld devices. 

The Shopify team is well aware of this trend. It has ensured that all websites based on their platform look great regardless of screen resolution. Besides, mobile commerce features allow both consumers and business owners to work with their Shopify-powered online stores on mobile devices in the same way they work with the web version. 

Bottom Line

Dropshipping is an easy-to-set-up and profitable business that requires a minimum amount of upfront investments. It attracts entrepreneurs with its flexibility of selecting products for sale and without having to be tied to one specific location. 

Most dropshippers prefer Shopify as the e-commerce platform behind their online stores. It’s simple in operation, requires no technical expertise, is easy to scale, and provides many useful functions, such as adjusting shipment options and accepting payments through numerous gateways. 

While Shopify is a great solution that anyone can get up and running fast, making it really beautifully designed, SEO-friendly, and secure is a job for professionals. The Site Slinger’s Shopify development team is always at your service, whatever idea you have for your online store. We perform PSD to Shopify conversion and can customize your Shopify themes to look great on any device.

5 Hottest Web Development Trends in 2019

The hottest web development trends in 2019

We’re well into 2019 now, and the web development world is in many ways different from the 2018 edition. While all of the front-end technologies and practices that piqued people’s excitement in the last twelve months or so are still here, new trends are gradually cropping up. 

The key principle that all web developers, including the Site Slinger experts, strive to follow, though, remains unchanged. It’s the need to engage users and personalize their digital experience. We’ve prepared a rundown of the most notable web development trends in 2019 that focus on these goals exactly.

Progressive Web Apps Versus Responsive Websites: Meet the Winner

Progressive Web Apps

First, there were static websites with just HTML and not much else. Then came CSS, Javascript, and other technologies that made websites more dynamic and responsive. These days, however, responsiveness has transformed into a much broader notion.

Just a responsive website is no longer enough to meet the users’ growing demands in 2019. On certain devices, it may not look as attractive as you might expect. That limitation gave rise to an alternative solution: Progressive Web Apps (PWA).

A PWA is a website that perfectly adapts to the specifics of the device where it gets displayed: screen resolution and size, browser, and hardware features. As a result, it’s almost impossible to notice any differences between a PWA and a native app.

Here are the key benefits that PWAs give web developers and users: 

  • Since they can access the device’s hardware, you can use PWAs offline. 
  • They’re fast, even on outdated or poor-quality devices with a weak signal. 
  • They’re a step up in security compared with responsive websites 
  • They are cost-effective and less time-consuming to create. 

Your main takeaway? Lower bounce and higher conversion rates. 

“How may I help  you?” — AI and Chatbots

Artificial Intelligence

According to a recent report from Gartner, 37% of organizations have implemented Artificial Intelligence in various forms, and this trend is going to continue in the foreseeable future.

Almost every business website uses a live chat as a permanent point of connection with consumers. Now, this feature has become more sophisticated. No more need to hire a human support agent waiting for a customer to text a question at 3 a.m. 

Just get a chatbot made and keep it running day and night. Thanks to the breakthrough in Natural Language Processing, chatbots no longer resemble mechanically speaking toys. They’re now able to answer typical questions from the Q&A page in a much more meaningful way and even solve simple issues that users may encounter. 

So, expect chatbot development to remain in high demand in 2019 and years to come.

Push Notifications: Everywhere, Anywhere 

Email newsletters are still a popular way to inform consumers of new services or update them on company news. However, they are slowly but steadily being replaced by push notifications. 

In the past, these unobtrusive messages used to be limited to mobile devices. In 2019, an increasing number of website owners regard push notifications as a more valuable tool to stay in touch with their users. 

Which is better: the inbox drowned in hundreds of newsletters or a tiny notification icon on the toolbar? We would choose the latter. You can add the push notification feature to a website by subscribing to a service like PushWoosh. WordPress website owners can also take advantage of various dedicated plugins like PushEngage. 

The Site Slinger has implemented thousands of WordPress projects over the years. We are providers of all the services related to this most popular CMS in the world, including theming, customizing existing or building custom plugins from scratch.

No More Coding! Use Blocks

Blocks

New versions of content management systems provide more powerful features to their users than ever before. Know nothing about CSS rules or HTML tags? It’s OK. You can still put together a sleek web page just like a professional web designer does (well, almost). 

Simply take ready-made blocks or modules and mix them together. The website module building is only expected to grow in popularity in 2019 and beyond. That’s particularly true for WordPress users, who can use Gutenberg to “make adding rich content to WordPress simple and enjoyable.” 

Smooth Website Navigation: Motion UI

Websites with visually appealing and simple navigation elements are likely to hold users’ attention for a longer span. When they know where to go and find surfing a website enjoyable, they will keep returning to it. 

Creating smooth and straightforward navigation by using CSS animations/transitions is a trend that shows no signs of stopping in 2019. Motion UI is one of the best web development libraries for that purpose, flexible and customizable.

The Site Slinger web developers are skilled in creating dynamic and modern-looking interfaces by using a range of cutting-edge tools and libraries. 

Concluding Thoughts 

There’s no doubt: the web development industry is going to keep on flourishing. Websites and web apps are going to be faster, more secure, interactive, and AI-wise. Whatever modern technologies you select for your website, the top-of-the-line developers from The Site Slinger are always at your service.