How Do Wechat Mini-programs Boast KOL Sales Campaigns?

Wechat offers wechat mini-programs in its exosystem which can help the users in generating more sales for their businesses. Wechat mini-programs can help in setting up a Wechat store or a Wechat shop. Through the use of Wechat mini-programs, KOLs can help improve the sales by promoting it on their platform.

VIDEO BACKGROUND ON WEBSITE – WHO SHOULD CONSIDER AND WHAT CAN BE ADDED?

When you come across a video background on a website for the first time it pops-up a good number of questions in mind. Those beautiful 15-30 seconds videos are good enough to entice you to the website and there is no secret that you may want the same for your website as well. The first question that comes across while watching these websites with video background is that if you should consider it or not and if you should consider that what all can you add? Let’s discuss the objectives and possibilities one by one.

Image by Pixabay

WHO SHOULD CONSIDER?

Frankly speaking, any company or individual who has a product or a service to showcase to the client can use video backgrounds on the website. You can be a photographer, videographer, dress designer, Makeup artist, jeweler, baker, handmade gift seller or anyone from any other field. The basic idea behind using a video in the background especially on the homepage is to give a clearer idea about the products and the services to the visitors.

HOW CAN IT BE USED?

There are two ways by which you can create a video background. The first way is by using smaller clips to clear a video montage of your work which can include products, services, behind the scene videos etc. The second way is by using the still images to create a video slideshow which can showcase the products of the services.

DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR DIFFERENT NICHE

The niche of every website owner is different. Thus it is very important to understand what can be shown in the background video. We have compiled a few examples below which will give you a better idea of what you can include in such videos.

Image by Free Range

• For photographers: Whether you are a product, fashion, wedding or contemporary photographer, the work is entirely different from the other photographers. In case of weddings and fashion photography, you can showcase your best work in the form of slideshows, or you can also add behind the scene videos where you can show what all goes in the process of creating those photographs. In case of product photography, you can show how you illuminated the product to look better in the photographs and so on.
• For videographers: It is much easier for the videographers to have video backgrounds on their website as they already have a lot of content related to the final product as well as behind the scene videos. You can use a blend of both which will give an idea to the visitor how much work it takes to create those magical videos. Alternatively, you can concentrate only on a montage of final edited video clips.
• Dress designers: The dress designers can showcase the latest products in the form of a ramp show, a fashion show or can produce a video showcasing the work that goes behind creating a piece of elegant dress. You can also make a stop motion animation of the process to make it even more interesting.
• Makeup artists: Makeup artists can showcase before and after images, behind the scenes, and a slideshow of final results.
• Jewelers: Just like the dress designers, the jewelers can either showcase a new range of products or showcase the work that goes behind make different pieces of jewelry.
• Bakers: Bakers have a lot of fascinating products and the process of making these products like biscuits, cakes etc. is also very interesting to watch. You can create a small video which runs through the process of cake making or can simply showcase a slideshow of the products you provide.

THE MINOR GLITCH

There is only one problem with the video background on a website, and that is the loading time. If the video size is big, then it will take some time to buffer which can increase the exit rate on your page. To avoid such situation, you should keep the length of the video between 15 to 30 seconds which is more than enough to give the glimpse of your work to the visitor. You can also keep a smaller video in a loop which will substantially reduce the loading time.

CONCLUSION

In short, any business can come up with an idea of a video background for the services or the products. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you have to keep the size of the video short so that the loading time of the page with video background can be controlled.

WHY DO YOU NEED TO GO WITH WORDPRESS OVER SITE BUILDER FOR YOUR WEDDING WEBSITE?

Choosing a website platform is one of the most difficult things especially when you are serious about website making, and you haven’t enough time to check all the platform. Now if you are from wedding industry then people like you asked which platform they should need to choose? Whenever this question is raised two options come to mind first is WordPress and second in site builder. But in both of them which one to choose this is a big question.

Before telling you the best let us make you clear that WordPress is a CMS which stands for Content Management Systems. It is one of the most used CMS in the world. More than 80% websites were made in WordPress.

Now coming to site builders then these are new generation website builders which allow the user to change site design to content everything live. Some of the famous site builders are WIX, Squarespace, Weebly, etc.

Both platforms have their pros and cons, but if you want to make a professional website, then there are tons of things which make you believe why WordPress is better than any site builder. Here we made some comparison which helps you to choose the best.

CUSTOM DOMAIN

Custom domain is one of the biggest sign of professionalism. Ask yourself how would you like to see your domain name. xyz.com or xyz.weebly.com. Obviously, anyone would like to go with xyz.com because it is more professional.

When you go with any site builder, they will give you preferred subdomain. No doubt you can change your subdomain with the customized one but the main problem with such option is you will not get the desired custom name especially if you want to switch after some months as the domain you want is already registered.

In WordPress, you need to have a custom domain at the very early stage. You don’t have to compromise until and unless you want to switch extension (i.e. .com, .online, .wedding, .net, etc.) which is not recommended.

FREEDOM

To run your WordPress site, you need to host your site on any of hosting provider like Bluehost, GoDaddy, Hostgator, etc. If you are not happy with particular hosting service, you can switch to another anytime without any restriction.

If you use site builder, then you will not get such freedom, i.e. if you made your site in Weebly and after some time, you realize that WIX is far much better than in this scenario you can’t switch the site builder. You need to create your website totally from scratch.

CUSTOMIZATION

If you look from above, then you found out that site builders are more customizable and easy, but the real truth is opposite of it. However, WordPress seems bit complicated, but in few days you can master it. WordPress comes with lots of themes and plugins which helps you to make any website then no matter it is a professional wedding site or a full fledged e-commerce site like Amazon.

With site builders, you can create any site too but all come with limitations, and it’s guaranteed. You can’t much expand it. Site builders only allow to play with things which are already given, and on the other hand with WordPress, you can make your dream website quickly with the help of plugin and theme.

SPEED

Making a website is not enough there is something called page load speed which helps to boost your page ranking. You can’t sit down once your site is made. You need to make your site SEO friendly so that it will get highlighted in search engine result.

WordPress comes with a various hosting plan which is responsible for making your site slow and fast. In short, it’s all over you. Now coming to site builders, they seem easy to use, but behind the scenes they are coded complicatedly which make them very heavy. Such site builders are also less SEO friendly. So you need to rely only on promotions.

CONCLUSION

Hope these points help you to decide which is best. If you are still sure not about your site, then we recommend you to go with any site builder as they are free and give you a glimpse how sites work. Now if you are serious about your site then make sure go with WordPress only, don’t worry you will not regret later it’s our promise.

VIDEO BACKGROUND ON WEBSITE – WHO SHOULD CONSIDER AND WHAT CAN BE ADDED?

When you come across a video background on a website for the first time it pops-up a good number of questions in mind. Those beautiful 15-30 seconds videos are good enough to entice you to the website and there is no secret that you may want the same for your website as well. The first question that comes across while watching these websites with video background is that if you should consider it or not and if you should consider that what all can you add? Let’s discuss the objectives and possibilities one by one.

Image by Pixabay

WHO SHOULD CONSIDER?

Frankly speaking, any company or individual who has a product or a service to showcase to the client can use video backgrounds on the website. You can be a photographer, videographer, dress designer, Makeup artist, jeweler, baker, handmade gift seller or anyone from any other field. The basic idea behind using a video in the background especially on the homepage is to give a clearer idea about the products and the services to the visitors.

HOW CAN IT BE USED?

There are two ways by which you can create a video background. The first way is by using smaller clips to clear a video montage of your work which can include products, services, behind the scene videos etc. The second way is by using the still images to create a video slideshow which can showcase the products of the services.

DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR DIFFERENT NICHE

The niche of every website owner is different. Thus it is very important to understand what can be shown in the background video. We have compiled a few examples below which will give you a better idea of what you can include in such videos.

Image by Free Range

• For photographers: Whether you are a product, fashion, wedding or contemporary photographer, the work is entirely different from the other photographers. In case of weddings and fashion photography, you can showcase your best work in the form of slideshows, or you can also add behind the scene videos where you can show what all goes in the process of creating those photographs. In case of product photography, you can show how you illuminated the product to look better in the photographs and so on.
• For videographers: It is much easier for the videographers to have video backgrounds on their website as they already have a lot of content related to the final product as well as behind the scene videos. You can use a blend of both which will give an idea to the visitor how much work it takes to create those magical videos. Alternatively, you can concentrate only on a montage of final edited video clips.
• Dress designers: The dress designers can showcase the latest products in the form of a ramp show, a fashion show or can produce a video showcasing the work that goes behind creating a piece of elegant dress. You can also make a stop motion animation of the process to make it even more interesting.
• Makeup artists: Makeup artists can showcase before and after images, behind the scenes, and a slideshow of final results.
• Jewelers: Just like the dress designers, the jewelers can either showcase a new range of products or showcase the work that goes behind make different pieces of jewelry.
• Bakers: Bakers have a lot of fascinating products and the process of making these products like biscuits, cakes etc. is also very interesting to watch. You can create a small video which runs through the process of cake making or can simply showcase a slideshow of the products you provide.

THE MINOR GLITCH

There is only one problem with the video background on a website, and that is the loading time. If the video size is big, then it will take some time to buffer which can increase the exit rate on your page. To avoid such situation, you should keep the length of the video between 15 to 30 seconds which is more than enough to give the glimpse of your work to the visitor. You can also keep a smaller video in a loop which will substantially reduce the loading time.

CONCLUSION

In short, any business can come up with an idea of a video background for the services or the products. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you have to keep the size of the video short so that the loading time of the page with video background can be controlled.

HOW MUCH IS THE TOTAL COST TO MAKE AN APP FOR A SMALL BUSINESS?

Apps are popular these days, so it’ll definitely be a good move to create a mobile app to further promote your brand. However, creating an app isn’t as easy as you may think. Making your own app entails a lot of planning and a lot of budgeting.

You especially have to pay attention to the cost because it can be expensive to build an app, depending on how high tech or functional you want it to be. If you’re a novice or beginner at app creation, here is a guide on the estimated cost that you need to shell out.

Given below are cost factors that you have to take into consideration, as well as the actual costs of the development.

THE BUSINESS MODEL

The first thing that you have to consider is your business model. How will the app fit into your business model? If it can compliment your brand, then it’ll be easy to market the app. If it’s a bit hard to fit in, you might need to do some thinking as to how you’ll make it fit.

THE KIND OF APP

How high tech do you want your app to be? Obviously, the more low tech the app, the cheaper it will be. To get an idea of how the costing is like, check out the estimated costs for Android apps below:

• Basic App- up to $35,000
• Standard App- $40,000 to $55,000
• Semi High-Tech Apps- $55,000 to $100,000 (depending on the functions)
• Very High Tech Apps- $100,000 and higher

These are the costs for Android apps. Let’s check out the ones for iOS or Apple apps.

• Table Based Apps- $1,000 to $4,000
• Database Apps- $5,000 to $50,000
• Gaming Apps- Up to $250,000 (depending on quality and functions of the game)

THE FUNCTIONS

Next, you have to consider the functions of the app. There are so many functions that you can choose from. As long as you tell the developer what you want, the developer will be the one to quote you. However, below are some of the most common functions that you can add along with their respective costs:

• In-app purchases: Around $3,000
• Internet services: $1,000 to $5,000
• Share Functions: $500 to $1,500;
• SDKs: $50 to $200

The cost of other functions may vary depending on the developer.

THE DESIGN

The design would entail both the front and the backend of the app (what the consumer sees and what you see from the back). You have to work with your development team when including all the functions and development to create the final app design.

THE MANPOWER

You have two options with regard to manpower— you can create your own team of developers, or you can outsource a development company (or a freelance developer) to create the app for you. If you want to create your own team, you’ll need:

• Operations Manager to supervise the development
• The Coding Team to do the actual development structure
• The QA Engineer to test all the protocols
• The UX Specialist to help determine what people would want in the app

If you want to get a development company, check out some of the costs below for three development companies:

• Applico- $100,000 to $300,000
• Fueled- $100,000 to $500,000
• Savvy Apps- $100,000 to $500,000

If you want to get a freelancer, you would most likely be charged by the hour. Here are some estimated rates:

• Native Apps- $35 to 100 per hour
• Cross-Platform Apps- $16 to 60 per hour
• Hybrid Apps- $20 to $100 per hour

CONCLUSION

As you can see, it’s possible to spend over half a million dollars on the development of a regular app. However, it is also possible to spend much less like just a little below $100,000 depending on what you want your app to be like. All you have to do is to create your main vision first and work from there. You’ll be able to see the costs along the way. From there, you can start shaving off costs and functions that you won’t need.

Take note that all these costs are estimates and may differ from the actual figures.

SHOULD I CHOOSE A SITE BUILDER OR WORDPRESS FOR MY WEDDING BUSINESS WEBSITE?

Almost every service provided in the wedding industry needs an online presence. Professionals rightly wonder which type of site they should opt for. The most frequent dilemma is deciding between WordPress and other website builders.

SO, YOU ASK: WHICH ONE IS BETTER FOR YOUR WEDDING PROJECT, A SITE BUILDER OR WORDPRESS?

Understanding the way these platforms work can provide you with an answer or at least, help you gain insight into their very nature. Unlike Squarespace or Weebly, which are website builders, WordPress is actually an open-source platform. That means the commercial restrictions are virtually non-existent and your project can be hosted anywhere. That alone can be a reason enough to prevail in its favor.

SYSTEMS SUCH AS SQUARESPACE AND WORDPRESS ARE EQUALLY ESTEEMED.

Yet, these content management systems do differ in several aspects.

First of all, being in the wedding industry demands creativity. This is where WordPress features outweigh those of Squarespace or Weebly. Its customizability makes it the most popular platform of this kind in the world because thousands of widgets, themes and plugins work visual miracles.

On the other hand, Squarespace offers fewer themes than WordPress does but quantity and quality in this instance come with strings attached. Unlike WordPress, Squarespace is cloud-based and that means everything is pre-installed and downloaded. Squarespace is generally a lot easier to use, especially for people who do not have any or have very little experience in website building.

Being a cloud-based platform, Squarespace comes with a massive drawback, though. All updates and installments are done automatically so the moment the system goes down, your project is likely to go down with it. Conversely, WordPress is being continuously maintained and this can save you a lot of time and nerves.

ON TOP OF THAT, WORDPRESS BRINGS THE CREATIVE EXPERIENCE TO THE MAXIMUM.

The themes (so-called “skins”) WordPress employs support a range of website types – publications, blogs, online stores etc. Along with the plugins – tools for social sharing or e-commerce payment systems, WordPress delivers unparalleled customizability and functionality ideal for building an online wedding project.

SO, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE PURPOSE OF YOUR PROJECT.

What is the name of your game? Are you a blogger? Then, the ease of use Squarespace offers could be the right solution.

One thing is irrefutable – Squarespace is characterized by its overall simplicity and usability. But, as with any other business, you want to think ahead and minimize your website’s flaws in the long run. This is exactly why WordPress is a safer bet.

Wedding industry is an ever-growing one. The services you provide need to be presented with a dose of responsibility and professionalism. WordPress is fully-featured and depending on your desired content, the complexity it offers exceeds any other platform.

The bottom line is that with WordPress, you have the upper hand in the business you are trying to pitch. This top-notch web publishing system exceeds any other on the market by enabling unrivaled performances suitable for any kind of online business and weddings are no exception.

THE IMPACT OF VIDEO CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY

The present era can be referred to as highly ‘socially active.’ By ‘socially active’ we mean that the usage of social media platforms today is at its peak, especially the rise of video content is one of the biggest trends on social media today. There must be only a few who aren’t there on any social media platform; otherwise, the rest of the world is crazily active on social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO IS THE MOST VIEWED CONTENT

The number of videos appearing in our newsfeeds on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. has exponentially increased. As we keep scrolling the newsfeed, a new video appears. Thus, it is pretty much evident that video content is used for almost every purpose, be it marketing a brand, awareness of a societal issue, spreading information, etc. According to TechCrunch’s report for 2016, over 8 billion videos are viewed on Facebook alone in one day and about 100 million hours of video content is viewed on Facebook every day. Big number, isn’t it?

SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO CONTENT IS MARKETERS’ FIRST PREFERENCE

Social media video content has now become one of the most powerful and effective marketing tools. People in the marketing field have adopted and they practically follow the phrase that says, “actions speak louder than words.” This is true from all depths that what our eyes see leave a deeper influence as compared to using words. Therefore, TV advertisements, promotional videos, campaigning videos have become more and more common as they are the most effective means of brand engagement.

According to Social Media Examiner’s survey, 72% of the marketers think social media video content brings them the best ROI. On average, a social media video’s organic reach is 135 percent more than a static post. Furthermore, we see many videos that are about awareness of a certain issue or are for the welfare of the animals, humans etc. People now know that words cannot be as influential as the videos!

We understand why videos are being used for marketing, promotions, awareness but ever wondered why do we see videos flooding on our newsfeeds on all our social media accounts?

Well, this is because the people today rely majorly on their social media accounts. Videos have caused social media platforms to become a place for the marketing of products, awareness of issues around the world. Almost everyone we know, companies, NGOs, individuals, etc., uses social media video content to promote their business. Through uploading videos on such platforms, the message can reach a wider audience all around the world without much effort. And not only that, it is considered as an easier way to influence the minds of the major population of the world.

According to Social Media Examiner’s report for 2016, 60% of the overall social media marketers use video content, about 14% of them used live video feature on Facebook or YouTube. 1 out of every 4 marketers or brands falls behind a video as their cornerstone content.

Social media was introduced for easy communication between friends and family members who live far away and to know what’s going on in their lives but it has now taken an altogether different shape.  Apart from social networking, the social media today has also become a wonderful platform for video marketing, spreading awareness, creating brands and many more activities.

Videos and social media together serve as the best tool to grab the attention of the world. Social media video content has become the king and is ruling all social media platforms. The world is evolving and we see innovative ideas springing up from every corner of the world. Today video content has become the most popular means of conveying messages all around, let us wait and see what the future holds, what new ways will replace the old ones!

WORDPRESS VS JOOMLA – THE UNBIASED COMPARISON

Simply creating a website is not enough in today’s time. With the internet getting bigger and better with increasing number of possibilities, it is important to keep the website updated and in sync with the latest technology and designs. The best way to manage the websites is via Content Management Systems that are generally known as the CMS.

WordPress, without a doubt, is the most popular CMS at the moment however it is not the only CMS available in the market. WordPress holds approximately 50%+ market share at the moment followed by second most popular CMS i.e. Joomla. Every CMS has its own pros and cons. It is up to the customer to make the fair decision for the website. We have created a small point-based comparison which will definitely help you in making the decision.

1. Installation

Though there are thousands of experts available who can take care of the installation part for you it is always better to at least try it once. Both WordPress and Joomla are available in the “One Click” script installation section of your hosting service provider’s panel. You can login to your admin panel and install these scripts. But if you want to do it manually, you will find WordPress much easier and simpler in comparison to Joomla. It hardly takes 5 minutes and almost no technical knowledge to install WordPress but in case of Joomla, you need a little bit of knowledge and longer time to install.

Also, once installed, WordPress is fairly simple to use. If you know how to email using Gmail, then you can create and customize your blog or website on WordPress. In case of Joomla, the number of options and much more than WordPress and the navigation is quite confusing for a layman. If you meet fans a Joomla, the most common argument comes from them that it has a lot more options as compared to WordPress but that cannot justify its complexity.

2. Plugins and Themes

In comparison to Joomla, WordPress has way more plugins and themes available for the installation. There is a plugin for every function that a website owner may require. If there is not, you can find someone who can create one for you as well. The number of freelancers who exclusively work on WordPress at an affordable price is unimaginably high. On the other hand, there are few plugins and themes available for Joomla. Also, the number of programmers for Joomla is also very less as compared to WordPress. In case you want to customize the theme or a plugin in WordPress, it is much easier in comparison to Joomla.

3. Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is very important for any website. If we compare the SEO capabilities of both the platforms, it is clear that the basic structure is not good enough for the SEO. However, the basic structure of Joomla is slightly better than WordPress. But with plugins like Yoast which is currently the most popular SEO plugin for WordPress, the game just goes into the hands of WordPress. Easy Fronted SEO or EFSEO is available for Joomla which makes the process easier and simpler for the user but it is still nowhere near the Yoast plugin.

4. Content Management

When we talk about content management in a CMS based website, we talk about adding or editing pages, posts, images and videos. As we have mentioned above, WordPress is more user-friendly and easy-to-use in comparison to Joomla. Adding content to Joomla is little complicated for a layman and it takes time to understand the process while in WordPress you can learn it in minutes.

5. Security

No one wants his or her website to be vulnerable to the hackers. Being the most famous CMS, WordPress is constantly on the target of hackers. However, the team behind the CMS reacts to any reported bug or vulnerability instantly. WordPress also has automated update system which updates the code of the website almost immediately at the time of release. You can also use two-step verification system and automated backups to keep the website more secure.
When we talk about security, Joomla is almost similar to WordPress. The team behind Joomla is very active in responding to any vulnerability in the code and release patches very often. However, there is automated updating system in Joomla. So if you are not checking the admin panel of the website regularly, you may miss updating the code by a huge margin.

6. Support

Both WordPress and Joomla have very strong user community which is always ready to help each other to solve the problems. There are tutorials, handbooks, support forums, docs, videos etc. available which can be helpful at any given time. However, it is not easy to find an expert to work on your Joomla based project at an affordable price.

7. Multi-lingual support

WordPress comes with 53 language support and you can add more with the help of plugins. However, Joomla comes with fully featured language support and you do not need any plugin to create a multi-lingual website.

Conclusion
Though both the CMS are great in their own perspective if we talk about the ease of use and functionality, WordPress wins the race fair square. At any given day, WordPress wins in terms of support, ease of use, functionality, affordability, and size of the global community.