3 Common Website Mistakes You Need to Avoid

  When creating a website, there are a number of elements you need to implement in order to make sure everything works perfectly and your website actually attracts a lot of visitors. Ensuring your website is actually effective is extremely important for establishing a strong online presence and boosting your reputation.

However, if you are not tech-savvy and you don’t quite know what you need to do when it comes to web design, you can very easily make a mistake that could not only cost you your website traffic and page views, but also your conversions and, of course, revenue. That is why you need to make sure you avoid the common pitfalls when it comes to your website and take the right turn towards making it as effective and successful as possible.

Take a look at some of the most common mistakes website owners make and, if you happen to recognize yourself in at least one of them, take proper actions to correct them as soon as possible.

Not Providing Mobile Experience

Despite the fact that the most of the internet traffic comes from mobile devices, many website owners still don’t have mobile-friendly websites. If you are one of those people, you need to understand that having a mobile-friendly website can have a huge impact on your business and that it can benefit you in a countless number of ways.

If your website does not offer a mobile experience, you risk losing a lot of customers, not to mention a lot of revenue, because the majority of people are browsing the internet via their mobile devices. More importantly, mobile responsiveness is one of Google’s ranking factors so, by optimizing your website for mobile devices, you will improve your SEO ranking and drive more traffic to your website, ultimately attracting more quality leads that you can convert.

Not Optimizing for Search Engines

You need to optimize your website for search engines in order to increase your online visibility and raise brand awareness. If your pages are not optimized for search engines, you cannot drive quality leads and generate more revenue.

You need to pay attention to your keywords and include them in your meta tag titles and H1 headings, as well as your URLs. Also, don’t forget about internal linking, since internal links not only make navigation easier for your website visitors, but they also help you build a higher domain authority in search engines.

There are quite a lot more elements regarding SEO that you need to implement into your website in order to improve your ranking and attract more leads, so make sure you learn everything there is to know about it. Proper SEO is the key for online success, so don’t underestimate its power and its critical importance.

Not Having a Content Strategy

Businesses that create blog content on a regular basis generate more income than businesses that don’t follow their lead. If you don’t even have a blog on your website, you should create one as soon as possible, since your blog can be one of the most effective tools for raising the awareness of your business and enlarging your customer base.

However, without a content strategy, you cannot really make your blog into an effective one. If you want to achieve that and even make money writing blog content, you need to develop a good strategy that will help you craft posts that provide relevant and useful information to your target audience. What’s more, you need to know how to promote your content in order to extend your reach and increase your ROI.

In order to accomplish that, you need to understand your target audience and know exactly what their customer pain points are, so that you can know how to provide them with the right solutions to meet their needs. Once you know how to reach that goal, you will be able to develop a long-term strategy that will help you capture the attention of many prospects and ultimately grow your business.

If you recognized yourself in these mistakes, you need to start undoing them right now. Don’t waste your efforts, but put them to good use and start improving your business. There are plenty more mistakes that people make regarding their websites, but these are definitely the most frequent ones that you need to be aware of, so make sure you don’t make them.

This blog was first published on: http://thinkdebug.com/blog/3-common-website-mistakes-you-need-to-avoid/

Growth in Website Security Tech a Good Thing

As the threat of cyber attacks and hacking has increased over the past couple of years, the website security industry has undergone some pretty significant developments and changes. Understanding how the industry is changing for the better is important for every webmaster and business owner.

The Growing Threat of Website Mischief

Just because your website hasn’t been compromised in the past doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Website attacks and threats are growing and incident rates are increasing alongside this alarming trend. Just consider the following statistics as published in the 2016 Internet Security Threat Report by Symantec.

• In 2015, there were nine “mega-breaches.” The total reported number of exposed identities was roughly 429 million. However, the actual number is much larger. Many companies chose not to reveal the full extent of their breaches. Thus, the actual estimate of breaches was more than half a billion.

• Despite the increased emphasis on website security, vulnerabilities are still found in 75 percent of websites on the internet.

• In 2015, spear-phishing campaigns targeting company employees increased by roughly 55 percent, while ransomware grew by 35 percent.

This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Cyber threats are growing and it’s imperative that businesses respond by securing their websites and protecting their information.

Three Ways Leading Companies are Responding

While some companies are sitting on the sidelines and refusing to believe the tales of destruction, others are listening intently and applying extra layers of security. Here are some of the things they’re doing:

1. SSL Certificates

“Also known as a secure sockets layer, an SSL certificate offers a high level of security for communication and the transfer of information over a network,” SSL Certificate Reviews explains. “This type of security is normally implemented by websites that process payments or accept information that needs to be secure at all times.”

If you process payments or accept customer information, then chances are, you need an SSL certificate. The good news is that they’re fairly cost-effective and, depending on your website host, easy to setup.

2. Complex Password Tools

“Everyone knows they should use complex passwords, but that doesn’t mean they always do,” says developer Ruald Gerber. “It is crucial to use strong passwords to your server and website admin area, but equally also important to insist on good password practices for your users to protect the security of their accounts.”

Gerber makes a really good point. While website admins have finally begun to understand the importance of complex passwords, many network users still do a poor job of creating sophisticated passwords. That’s why many companies are turning to password managers and encouraging their employees to use them for added security.

3. Server Side Validation

Smart companies make sure their websites are validating information both on the browser and server side. Browsers can catch some things, such as mandatory fields that are left blank. “These can however be bypassed,” Gerber mentions, “and you should make sure you check for these validation and deeper validation server side as failing to do so could lead to malicious code or scripting code being inserted into the database or could cause undesirable results in your website.”

How Will You Respond?

The time for sitting on the sidelines and hoping threats will go away is over. In the coming year, expect cyber attacks rates to increase rather dramatically from where they already are. You can also anticipate hackers getting more and more creative in their pursuit of compromising customer data. The only reasonable response is to double-down and secure your website using the new technology you now have at your fingertips.

The Current State of Weight Loss Technology

The weight loss niche is one of the fastest growing areas in all of fitness and healthcare. Thousands of companies are looking for the ultimate weight loss solution and many will tell you that they’ve finally honed in on the answer. But which weight loss technologies are actually worth your time?

3 Technologies to Keep an Eye On

There are dozens of ways to lose weight, but only a few of them are considered healthy and sustainable. If you want to shed those extra pounds – and keep them off – without compromising your health, then you should do your due diligence and carefully consider the potential consequences of using any sort of “new” technology. In this article, we’ll take a look at some specific technologies that are worth thinking about.

1. hCG Injections

hCG injections, also referred to as hCG shots, involve a medically administered form of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. hCG injections are frequently given for fertility issues, but can also play a role in weight loss.

“It may seem strange that hCG, a hormone produced by pregnant women to nourish their growing baby, can actually assist weight loss,” Fitness Edge acknowledges. “The fact is, that the secret to the effectiveness of hCG for weight loss is actually due to the very role that it plays during pregnancy.”

If a pregnant mother doesn’t consume enough food to nourish both the baby and her own body during pregnancy, the hCG hormone stimulates the body and tells it to use any excess fat stores as an alternative form of nutrition.

The idea here is that by injecting yourself with hCG hormones during a period of low caloric intakes, the body mimics this scenario and burns fat. The key to being successful with hCG injections is consuming the right amount of calories. You need to eat enough to remain healthy, while not eating so much that the hCG fails to do its part.

2. CoolSculpting

By now you’ve probably heard of CoolSculpting. It’s a huge trend in Hollywood and is beginning to catch on elsewhere. “The CoolSculpting fat-freezing procedure is the only FDA-cleared, non-surgical fat-reduction treatment that uses controlled cooling to eliminate stubborn fat that resists all efforts through diet and exercise. The results are proven, noticeable, and lasting – so you’ll look great from every angle,” the company says.

While that’s obviously marketing-speak, there’s ample evidence to suggest that CoolSculpting does indeed eliminate stubborn fat with very few negative side effects. It’s primarily used to eliminate fat in the neck, stomach, sides, and legs.

3. Ultrasound Melting

While it may sound less appealing than CoolSculpting, ultrasound melting has been rather successful. It received FDA approval in 2014 and has been used for years in Canada.

Ultrasound melting takes place in three separate sessions, each of which occurs roughly two weeks apart. In this process, the doctor “pinches” abdominal fat and forms it into a rectangular shape that’s then taped off. A gooey gel is then applied to the surface and the ultrasound wand is waved over the fat for roughly 10 minutes. Many have reported seeing as much as an inch waistline decrease after treatments.

Do Your Homework

Just because something tells you that you can lose weight doesn’t mean it’s safe. There are plenty of unsafe weight loss technologies on the market and you have to make sure you avoid them at all costs. There’s no sense in losing a couple pounds of flab at the expense of permanently harming your body.

With that being said, the technologies listed in this article seem to provide all of the right answers. Do your own research and find out if one of them can help you finally achieve the weight you’ve been dreaming of.

Sony Xperia X Performance is now getting the Android 7.0 Nougat update

For a change, Android's latest version, 7.0 Nougat is popping up on phones earlier than the previous versions did when they launched. After the Moto phones received its fair share of updates, it's time for Sony's premium lineup to receive the update. Sony is now beginning to roll out the Android Nougat update to the Xperia X Performance.

For now, only model numbers F8131 and F8132, the Dual SIM variant of the phone are reportedly receiving the update. It has also not been confirmed which regions are getting the update.

The Xperia X Performance release back in February at MWC 2016 and Sony had been reportedly testing Android Nougat on the Xperia X lately through the Xperia Beta Program as of November 1st, according to Android Headlines. And only after a thorough round of test, the update is now rolling out officially to devices.

Android 7.0 Nougat is the new incremental update to Android, announced earlier this year in Google's I/O conference. While there are no significant design changes, Nougat brings support for multi-window and Direct Replies. 

Moreover, Android Nougat comes with a whole new notification panel and some nifty tweaks for battery improvements.

In addition, Nougat comes with the Google Assistant, the AI-powered Digital Assistant that is more contextually aware than any of its counterparts.

Nougat is also more secure than the previous versions in the sense that it now uses file-based encryption and direct boot which prevents the entire system to be compromised through one bad sector.

Google has also made it easier to install the monthly security patches that it releases to make it even more secure.

The update for the Sony Xperia X Performance is rolling out in phases. To update your phone, head to Settings, About Phone and hit on System Updates.

Meizu m5 Note to be officially revealed on 6 December

Meizu has sent out invitations for its upcoming smartphone called the Meizu m5 Note that will be launched in China at an event dated December 6. The phone will be an upgrade of Meizu m3 Note that sold 20 million units from the time of launch.

The specs of the Meizu m5 Note had been tipped online at a Chinese telecommunication site TENAA. According to the tipped reports, the phone features a 5.5 inch full HD display with a resolution of 1080x 1920 pixels and will very likely power on a MediaTek Helio P10 MT6755 Octa core chipset that comes paired with MALI t860 MP2 GPU and works on Andrid v6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system. The phone is likely to launch in three different variants, which include 2GB RAM for 16GB storage, 3GB RAM for 32GB storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB storage. More so, there will be an external memory slot for all the phones, but considering three different variants, the battery too of the 64GB model would be different and will host a large 4000mAh battery, on the other hand, the 16GB version as well as the 32GB variant might operate n a 3920mAh battery.

To click images and record videos, the smartphone at the back would use a 13 Megapixel rear camera where as at the front would be a 5 Megapixel camera that assists users in doing video chats and clicking selfies. The Mezu m5 will come in colour options of White and Black and in terms of design, the handset would be available in a metal unibody frame paired with rounded edges along with a presumable fingerprint scanner that most likely will be placed in the Home Button of the phone. The handset is likely to weigh 175 grams and come with 8.5mm thickness.

Well all the specs mentioned are alleged rumours, and shouldn’t be considered official. To get an official prospect about the specs of the phone, we would rather wait till the official launch takes place.

Apple, The Company That Hated Clutter, Now Makes 17 Different Types Of Dongles

Short Bytes: You’ll be surprised to know that now Apple sells 17 different kinds of dongles to connect other devices to its computers. A Twitter user has aptly called “dongles” the fastest growing category of Apple devices. The latest MacBook Pro, which has ditched all the standard ports, continues to worsen this situation.

In the tech industry, no company is better at PC marketing than the genius gurus at Cupertino. Who can forget when they threw the hammer at IBM with the infamous 1984 ad. Another strong attempt was made by Apple in 1992 by mocking Microsoft for its user-unfriendliness.Talking about Windows PC and all the extra stuff that one needs to buy, another Apple ad said that, “I feel like I’m being pecked to death by ducks.” Steve Jobs channeled Mac’s “It just works” slogan and things turned out pretty great. Back then, Apple marketed itself as a superior company that didn’t make you buy extra stuff.

Over the years, things have changed drastically. After the recent MacBook Pro launch, Apple was bashed for removing all the standard connectivity ports, including the likes of HDMI port, SD card reader, regular USB port etc. Moreover, the latest Apple laptops can’t connect to Apple’s own flagship iPhone 7 without any dongle. Longtime Apple fans are saddened by these new profit-making complications brought by Apple and some of them are even looking for other alternatives like Ubuntu.

A Twitter user named Drew Breunig has compiled all kinds of dongles that are offered by Apple. This picture shows 17 types of ugly connectors that are sold by Apple. Breunig labels dongle as Apple’s fastest growing product category.

In another recent development, Apple has reduced the price of its dongles. “Through the end of the year, we are reducing prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals we sell, as well as the prices on Apple’s USB-C adapters and cables,” the company said in a statement issued to the media.

Have something to add? Share your views in the comments section below.

This Blog was first published on: http://thinkdebug.com/blog/apple-the-company-that-hated-clutter-now-makes-17-different-types-of-dongles/

Mobile Credit Score Checks: 4 Tools That Work

It’s both a benefit of the modern era and everyone’s worst nightmare: you’re out at the store when your phone beeps, alerting you to an abnormal charge on your credit card. You’re glad to know your credit card company is looking out for you, but now you’ve got to deal with this anomaly. Was it you or has your identity been stolen? And is this the first time an unusual charge has shown up on your card? It’s time to do some detective work. You may even need to dispute your credit report.

One way to reduce the likelihood of a credit problem arising is by keeping a close eye on your credit score using one of the many mobile credit apps available today. But how do you know which ones work and which ones will leave you fumbling?

We’ve done the research and these four apps stand out from the pack.

Get Wise

You may have seen the commercials recently – Capital One has been advertising the fact that they now provide free credit scores to anyone through their CreditWise program. Unlike many credit card companies that only provide credit scores to their clients, as recommended by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Capital One concluded that their program was a valuable advocacy tool for all people. You can grab your score online or through apps available for both iOS and Android.

Be Comprehensive

Not interested in an app that can only tell you your credit score? Then Mint might be the right program for you. Mint is best known for its budgeting services, but it also monitors your credit accounts and will calculate your credit score for you. It’s a smart all-around tool for those who want to see all their financial data in one place.

Build Your Karma

Another well-known credit score app available for iOS and Android is Credit Karma. The app is free and it outshines many others because it displays credit scores from 2 out of 3 major score providers and updates them weekly. Most other programs will only show you one of those scores, whereas having access to two different scoring systems will better allow you to determine whether there’s an error in one of your reports.

Credit Karma will also show you potentially beneficial credit card offers and provides basic interpretations of your credit score, ranking it using the standard “poor through excellent” scale.

Open Up To Knowledge

Finally, quite similar to Credit Karma is Credit Sesame, another app that delivers non-FICO credit scores. It currently uses TransUnion data and your credit score is updated monthly – so not quite as often as with Credit Karma. It’s worth noting that lenders rely on FICO scores when determining your eligibility for a loan or credit card, but your score on Credit Sesame will give you a ballpark range fairly close to your FICO score.

Knowing your credit score is an integral part of building your financial reputation, so it’s worth keeping at least one of these apps on hand. By monitoring your credit score, you can stay one step ahead of scammers who might want to crash your numbers through unauthorized purchases.

This blog was first published on: http://smarterware.org/2016/11/mobile-credit-score-checks-4-tools-work/