internet

7 Questions to Ask to Prove if You Really Need that Domain Name in Your Life (or Not)

Angela Manning Business , ,
7 Questions to Ask to Prove if You Really Need that Domain Name in Your Life (or Not)

Once you launch it, you can never easily take it back.

Creating a website is not rocket Science anymore during these recent years. As a matter of fact, there are tutorials and seminars online that can teach you its fundamentals and even beyond it. So it is not a surprise if you are reading this because you want to build your own website, regardless if it is for personal or business use.

So if you are one of the driven ones who want to start expressing themselves or begin an online platform for their brand, start fresh and read through this article first. Below are the seven questions which can help you decide if your desired domain name is the right one for you or your brand.

1. Is it available?

Before you proceed to the rest of the questions, this first one can be considered as the most important. Make sure to check the availability of the domain name that you desire before anything else. To simply put it, if the domain name is already taken, then you cannot use it. Whois can be your aid on this first step.

2. Are there competitors with almost the same domain name?

This question also applies even for personal websites, since there are also a lot of other websites of the same niche that may sound or spell alike. But this is very significant for companies and brands. Sometimes, your almost similar domain names can give away more clients to your competitors, especially of the competing website is already long established in the industry. Whois can also help you with this in order to avoid committing this probable mistake.

3. Is it user-friendly and has a recall?

Keep in mind that your domain name has to be easy to read and pronounce. It would also be so much better if you can make it a witty word play to capture more attention and recall. Write it down, say it out loud, so you will not regret it. Once you have that brilliant idea and you have double checked its availability, register domain name at once.

4. Do people search for it?

It will also help if your domain name has an average search. Utilize the Keyword Planner to find out if users tend to search for that term specifically or something similar to it.

5. Does it speak for the branding that you portray?

As self-explanatory as the question itself, your chosen domain name has to live up to the branding that you want your audience to perceive.

6. How expensive or affordable is it?

Do you badly want it that you need to bid for it? Is it that valuable? These are just some follow up questions under this question. We know how hard it is to decide when cost is involved.

7. Is it really good for the brand or is it just someone else’s preference?

In case you need to spend extra for the domain name you want, you need to think hard and reflect if this is going to be beneficial for the brand. Never go for it just because someone shared a good opinion about the name (unless it is someone valuable to the brand itself).

These questions are just guide to help you decide. After all, choosing a domain name is just the first step. Get ready for more work soon.

Why SEO Is the Lifeblood of Every Business In This Day and Age

Angela Manning Business , , , ,
Why SEO Is the Lifeblood of Every Business In This Day and Age

Ever since the Internet came into existence, everyone has wanted a piece of the newly baked pie. And that’s exactly how businesses had to shift their marketing strategy because the whole demographic had gone digital. Needless to say, that’s how search engine optimization came into existence and became the centerpiece of marketing.

When all has been said and done, the good user experience will help your SEO by increasing your visibility online. And that’s just one of the many reasons why SEO is vital to your business. The following will explain why it is so necessary to master SEO.

Search Engine Optimization Is Cost Effective

Unlike most traditional means of advertising, SEO is not only the cheapest but by far the most effective of them all. And because of this affordability, search engine optimization also boasts of a good ROI (Return On Investment). Just make sure you are using the right keywords and your content is not only well-written but also has value.

That way, your website or social media page will always keep attracting the right amount of traffic long after you’ve moved on to other things. Again, just make sure you are contracting with the best SEO company in your area since doing so has a plethora of benefits associated with it, among them traceable user feedback.

SEO Is the Only Way to Edge Out Your Closest Competition

The fact that every business is doing SEO just goes to show how important it is in the world of online marketing and therefore should be taken with a pinch of salt. If not, then you can always count on your competitors beating you as your ranking keeps on deteriorating which is very bad for your business. Thankfully, you can always find better ways of conducting your SEO matters.

In the end, get to enjoy all the benefits that come with it such as beating your competitors in their own game. Just make sure your content is informative as well as unique. This way, once the prospective clients use the right keywords to find your business, they’ll be satisfied with what they get to see.

Everyone Has a Smartphone

The fact that everyone has a smartphone is also another reason why you need to invest in SEO. This is simply because consumers will rely more on the Internet to find whatever it is that they are looking for than using traditional means such as listening to the radio or television ads.

That said, if you want to get ahead of the curve, then your first order of business should be making great content from a place that has the most likelihood to attracting the maximum number of eyeballs. And if your content is great, then you can be assured of more than enough conversions to give your business as much boost as you need.

SEO Will Encourage You to Level Up

Since the competition is stiff, the prospective clients have also been treated to a variety which has made them very impatient. And that alone is enough to push you to bring nothing but the very best of products and/or services to the table. You’ll make sure that you are doing your level best in both branding and writing content.

By so doing, all of the clients who have the pleasure to visit your website or social media page by using the right keywords will not only be attracted to what you are offering but also make a conversion almost immediately. You’ll also see the need to keep reinventing your business so as to keep the prospective clients interested in what you have to offer.

Now that you know just how vital SEO is to the success of your business, your first order of business ought to be investing in ways to improve it. Thankfully, you don’t have to learn all there is to it since it can get a little bit complicated. And that’s exactly why you’ll need to contact a business within your area that deals specifically with search engine optimization.

Doing so will not only ensure that your business is staying afloat at all times but also will give you the chance to focus on other important things which will include running your business the best way you know how. With that said, if you haven’t begun paying attention to SEO, then it’s about time you started.

How to Monitor the Health of Your Website

Angela Manning Business , , , ,
How to Monitor the Health of Your Website

If you aren’t monitoring your website health, you could be at serious risk and not even know about it. There are viruses and hackers at large every day online and they are looking for sites to attack. Even if you don’t have problems with a hacker, your site could be experiencing website issues that can be remedied to ensure that you give the best results to your users as well as get the best rankings possible in the search engines.

What Should You Look For?

There are so many things you can look for when you are checking your website’s health. These things include:

  • Management
  • Content & Features
  • Strategic Issues
  • Marketing & Promotion
  • Usability & Design
  • Revenue and Savings
  • Technical Issues

For your site to be functioning at its best, you need to keep your finger on the pulse of the website. If you aren’t paying attention, you may find yourself dealing with a major technical problem that has your site down for days or there may be a big design flaw on your site that you don’t notice.

Whatever is going on with your site, you need to make sure that you know about it so that you can quickly fix the problem and ensure that your site is up and running.

One of the tools that you can use to make sure that your site is up and running and your hosting isn’t taking a break is a uptime status checker. When you use one of these tools, you will be able to tell if your site has gone down or if you’ve had a perfect uptime. If you notice that your site has been down, you are probably experiencing issues with your host. If you have host issues, you should contact them right away to ensure that these are fixed immediately.

When your site is down, you are losing potential subscribers and leads which means you are losing the ability to convert them into customers and so the final conclusion is that you are losing sales.

Google Analytics

Did you know that Google gives you powerful analytic tools to use for your site for free? You can check almost any metric you want to see regarding your site if you’ve set up Google Analytics on your site. There are many ways to filter information and it can get confusing, but we are going to give you some tips so you can understand how to check your website’s health with GA.

If you are going into Google Analytics, looking at your graphs and coming out as confused as when you went in, it doesn’t have to be that way.

When you look at your Google Analytics, you need to look at your site’s bounce rate. If you notice that your bounce rate is high, there is something wrong. Having a high bounce rate will hurt you in the search engines, but it is also telling you that you aren’t keeping your users on your site past the first page. This means there is little interest in what you have to say so they are clicking away from the site.

If you have a low bounce rate, that shows that people are interested in what you have to say and are finding other pages on your site helpful after viewing the initial landing page. This also leads to an increase in time on your site which is another important metric that you need to pay attention to when you are checking your site health.

Page Speed

You can check how quickly your site is loading through PageSpeed Insights. It is important to have a quick and well optimized website that provides a great user experience to your visitors. Many people are still loading websites from slow connections so ensure that your site is allowing them the quickest load possible. If you match a slow site with a slow connection, it can seem like it is taking a lifetime to load the content on your site.

The fastest your site loads, the more you will be able to retain your visitors and longer retention means more time to convert them into subscribers and then on to customers.

Continually Optimizing Your Site

Even after you have optimized your site and you see that you are getting good results, you need to keep a watch on your site. It is easier to fix small challenges than to fix big problems. If you find out that you are experiencing big problems due to no checking on your website health enough, the best time to start keeping a good check is right now.

Set up schedules and reminders that will help you stay on track with monitoring your site. Improving your site’s speed by a second could mean a world of difference for conversion so continue to test and see how you can make your site better. There are many options for optimizing available and as you are learning about your site’s health, you will see what you need specifically to improve any challenges that you might having.

Conclusion

Keeping up to day with the latest technologies and software is important for keeping your site safe and functioning properly. Make sure that you set up regular backups in case your site does have any problems and periodically check to make sure any plugins that you are using are up to date and functioning well with your CMS.

Was this article helpful and informative? Leave us a comment with your thoughts in the section below.

The 5 Step Guide for Installing Elementor Pro and GeneratePress Premium on a Fresh WordPress

Angela Manning Business, Education , , , ,
The 5 Step Guide for Installing Elementor Pro and GeneratePress Premium on a Fresh WordPress

Creating a beautiful site on WordPress is relatively easy these days with all of the amazing theme templates and page builders. With so many options to choose from, it’s hard to find a solid ground to start on. As you start to use more and more themes, you start to see how roughly some of them are constructed, and you quickly start running into issues with your custom themes. That often results in a silly hole that was overlooked in the code that needs updated.

To avoid such pitfalls, people have been leaning to a few major theme and page builder combinations to keep site speed up and uselessjunk to a minimum. The combo that has seen some major success for its ease of use is the GeneratePress theme with Elementor Pro as the page builder since GP Premium has Elementor Pro import templates to kickstart your project.

It’s easy to use, but getting it going might have you running in circles. So to help you get your theme and page builder up and running the right way, we put together a 5 step guide that takes you through activating and installing Elementor Pro and GeneratePress on a fresh install of WordPress.

1 – Add GeneratePress

Let’s start by adding the GeneratePress theme to the fresh install of WordPress. The reason being, GP Premium uses the free version of GeneratePress to unlock your GP Premium, so we need to start there.

Navigate to Appearance > Themes

Onces you are there, click on the “AddNew” button in the top part of the page next to the “Themes” page title.

Type “GeneratePress” in the search bar and hit enter. It should be the very first result.

Click the “Install” button, and when prompted, activate the theme.

2 – Install GP Premium Plugin

If you haven’t already, make your way over to GeneratePress and pick up a premium membership. It gets you tons of crazy stuff and endless uses for under $40, so that’s awesome for developers.

Once you complete the purchase, you should automatically navigate to your account where you can view the details. Download the GP Premium plugin and copy the key.

Now that we have the GP Premium plugin and key, we are going to go back to the wp-admin dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New and click the “Upload Plugin” button at the top.

Now that you have access to the “Choose File” button, you can click the box and add the file to the upload, or just drag the .zip file to the “Choose File” button. Click the “install now” button, and activate the plugin.

**If you try to upload this plugin on the theme upload menu, you will get a failure due to missing style.css message because it’s an premium activation plugin for the free theme**

3 – Activating GeneratePress

Once you have the plugin activated, it’s time to use that key you copied.

Navigate back to the plugin menu, and look for the “GP Premium” plugin.

Once you find it, click on the highlighted “configure” button, and it will take you to a screen that has the activation box. Simply paste your code in that box and hit the “activate” button.

Boom! You’re halfway there.

4 – Installing Elementor Pro

Now that we have that theme all set up and ready to rock, let’s set up our page builder.  Find the best website page builders for WordPress really comes down to personal preference, but lately there has been a big shift toward Elementor. The price is so right for unlimited developers and single sites, and at $200 and $50 respectively, it’s a steal

So if you haven’t already, head on over to Elementor and set up an account. Once you have your account, you need to download the latest .zip they provide you, and while you are there make sure to copy the key.

Now let’s head back to the wp-admin and navigate to Plugins >  Add New again. Click the “Upload Plugin” button at the top, and drag the Elementor .zip to your “Choose File” button. Then click the “Install Now” button. When prompted, activate the plugin.

5 – Activating Elementor Pro

You’re almost there now that you have clicked activate. When you return to the wp-admin dashboard, you will see a warning about elementor pro not being fully activated and it needing to install another plugin. Click the button and let it go threw the install. Activate the plugin when you are prompted to.

Now that you have both parts of elementor activated, you will see an Elementor icon on your wp-admin dashboard under the settings icon. Navigate to Elementor > License and paste the key into the activation box then click “activate.”

Conclusion

That’s all it takes to get your WordPress up and running with GeneratePress and Elementor Pro on a fresh install. This works every instance on WordPress, but if you have content already on the site, it might change or remove it. If you are revamping a site with this setup, make sure you have a backup ready incase it breaks more than you expect and you need to go back.

What do you think of the GeneratePress and Elementor Pro combo? Do you like another page builder and theme combo better? Let us know in the comments below.

4 Ways Social Media Can Help Your Business

Angela Manning Business , , , , ,
4 Ways Social Media Can Help Your Business

Source

Social media platforms are big business, and when you have people like President Trump with many millions of followers on Twitter, it is not likely that its use will diminish in the foreseeable future. Facebook has passed 2 billion active users, and LinkedIn has over 380,000 professional users. That is without all the other social media platforms such as Instagram, WeChat, YouTube and Pinterest.

Businesses cannot afford to ignore social media any longer, but it needs to be handled carefully for them to feel the benefit.

Getting Your Brand Known

Social media is a great way to get your brand name known. As long as you do not bombard people with lots of written content about your products, they will see your name again and again. Images and videos are better because users are more likely to stop and look at them rather than just scroll past. Also, you should interact with people. That is how you will build up a following, and then every time you like a post or comment on one, your brand name will show.

Turning Views into Conversions

The way the human mind works, generally if they want to buy something it will be from a friend rather than a stranger. You may be a Facebook friend, but that doesn’t matter. If you sell a product they want, a friend is a friend and they are more likely to buy from you than a competitor. It is good to have a ‘View Site” button on your social media page, so that they very easily can move to your website to see the whole range of products you sell. This can be particularly useful is there is news you want to tell on your blog, either about the industry you are in or perhaps some new laws that will affect your products.

Creating a Good Customer Service

No business wants to have to man a customer service desk that is open 24 hours a day, but with social media that is exactly what you have. People can write good comments, complain or ask queries any time of day or night. Replying with positive answers is the key because then you will build trust with the viewers following the thread.

Even if someone is not saying good things about your product, there is always some way of you reacting in a positive manner. In fact, a positive reply to a bad post can do wonders for your credibility.

Analytics

If you advertise on TV, radio or in print, you have no real way of knowing how many people have seen it. With social media, there are analytical tools that can record for you who has seen what, the times of day your posts were viewed and lots of other information that can help you to target the right audience.

These are just 4 of the many ways that social media can help your business. Having an online presence is vital for all businesses to succeed, and social media platforms are a brilliant way of achieving that goal.

4 Methods to Make Your Business Website Stand Out

Angela Manning Business , , , ,
4 Methods to Make Your Business Website Stand Out

Some people call it the “it factor”: the idea that the most compelling people, places, and things have an ineffable charm and an intrinsic quality that simply can’t be recreated. Unfortunately, there’s no way to measure, collate, analyze, or reproduce “it” –– whatever “it” is. However, in the world of business, professionals need to deal with tangibles; they have no use for fanciful musings or unsupported theories. Instead, when designing a professional website, business owners should have a well-developed plan on how they’re going to separate themselves from the competition. To that end, here are four concrete ways to make your company’s website stand out from the pack:

Make Everything Easy

This shouldn’t come as a revelation: customers love convenience. So when you’re creating your website you should work to ensure that everything about it is intuitive and easy to understand. You don’t want your leads struggling to find products or services buried deep within your website. Furthermore, streamline your online store to promote easy use and mitigate against consumers exiting your site at the last possible second.

Avoid Gimmicks

Websites that utilize gimmicks and give into fads just look tacky and unprofessional. Remember that it’s okay show some personality and be lighthearted, but at the end of the day your website should focus on serving your customers. If you’re sacrificing functionality for something inessential, then rethink your priorities.

Optimize Products and Services

Companies that don’t bother writing appropriate headlines and meta descriptions for their website are always going to struggle to make progress in a crowded marketplace. Rather than sticking with the generic back-end settings, give proper weight to keywords and phrases that actually explain what you do –– and label your pages accordingly. Chances are people on search engines will go looking for specific products and services, instead of your company’s moniker. Note that whatever it is your company specializes in –– from vintage guitars to doctor loans –– your emphasis should first and foremost be on the product or service you provide. 

Use Original Visuals

Companies that use original visuals tend to stand out more than those that stick to stock images or videos. When used on your site or on social media, visuals can tell a story and help build trust with your brand. In addition to photos, the use of visuals like custom infographics, gifs, or animations will really set you apart. If you are serious about your branding, there is nothing more effective for storytelling than video. Learn about video production processes and formulate your own story that you can use to help sell products, establish your brand, or showcase customer testimonials, all on your website.

Answer Tough Questions

Consumers value a website that provides valuable insight. Plain and simple, if you’re able to deliver cogent content consistently, you’ll likely attract qualified leads to your site. Pertinent and timely blogs, smart videos, and the occasional guest post will go a long way toward helping differentiate your site from the competition. Don’t flatter to deceive on your site; rather, get down to brass tacks and give your visitors the information they’re looking for. Odds are, you’ll see the rewards of that effort sooner rather than later.

Five Advantages to Using a vLAN

Angela Manning Tech , , , , , , ,
Five Advantages to Using a vLAN

A vLAN, or Virtual Local Area Network, is a collection of devices used to manage broadcast, multicast, and unicast traffic in layer 2 devices. A vLAN network is monitored by a team of administrators to oversee the functions of the network and make sure that everything is working properly. So now that we know what a vLAN is, why is it relevant, and what advantages are there to using one? Here are five reasons that using a vLAN is ideal for clients looking to implement technology into their businesses.

A dedicated vLAN

One of the impressive parts of vLAN services is that each network is dedicated to only one business. Having access to a dedicated server is ideal for prospective clients because it better protects their data, provides more space for file storage, and can be managed by someone else externally. Having personal space to store data on a network is a necessity in this day and age and businesses would be remiss not to update.

Better Performance

Because vLANs usually have a team of administrators to oversee daily functions of a network server, they can also gauge how much of the network bandwidth is used and limit the number of server hops and broadcast traffic. By controlling and reducing traffic, a server’s bandwidth can be significantly reduced, allowing the server to run faster and for more ready access for other users.

Enhanced Security

A vLAN will separate sensitive data from the rest of the network, making them much safer and less prone to attacks from hackers or accidental access by employees that do not have clearance. vLANs provide greater security because the entire network is monitored and controlled by an administrator. This means that administrators have access logs for every user and ports. They have the ability to block malicious users which is great for keeping unwanted users out.

Department Specialization

For larger businesses that have multiple departments, keeping track of and filing away information for the business can become tiresome, especially with everything mixed into one space. With a vLAN, customers can allocate specific sections for employees to access and use without overlapping on another department. Being organized is a key to keeping up with a business and vLANs offer unparalleled organization for can take care of all of the organizations.

Experts Available

Not every business owner is technologically talented and that’s okay. There are plenty of virtual lan services available to fulfil the needs of business owners and provide help whenever needed. Companies such as Memset are great both for their expertise in the field, but also for offering quality customer care to ensure that they’re taken care of.

In order to keep up to date with a technologically driven world, it is more important than ever for network owners to be conscious about the safety of their files and data. A business that is more efficient and cost-effective tend to fare better with customers as well. Storing and accessing information is more streamlined and overall much better for business owners, this is a key part of vLANs and everything that they have to offer.

Jay Eitner LinkedIn – Websites Which Will Greatly Help Kids Understand Science

Angela Manning Education , , , , , ,
Jay Eitner LinkedIn – Websites Which Will Greatly Help Kids Understand Science

Whether you are a teacher or a parent, getting boys and girls interested in the sciences is something which is not always easy. In fact studies by the federal government have shown that this is one subject where there is a far less interest than ever before, and they are taking steps to remedy that. As a parent I have worked hard on encouraging my kids to engage more with science, be it though a quiz about food sources based on the main menu of a restaurant to trying to teach them the biology behind a goldfish which they looked after. the best place that I have found to teach them new things and spark their passion for sciences however, has been online, and here are some great sites which you should be using to motivate you kids to love science.

Jay Eitner Blog

Jay Eitner is a real inspiration to me in terms of education, he was schooled in New Jersey like me and then went on to play a key role in the improvement of education in the state. Jay Eitner Linkedin profile may talk about the fact that he is superintendent of Waterford Township School District, but it skips over the part about who inspiring his teaching methods are. On his very own blog you can find a great amount of resources to help encourage your kids to get more into the sciences.

YouTube

As long as you carefully supervise it, your kids can get a greta amount of value from the video sharing website Youtube. The site features thousands of videos about science which are aimed at all age groups. What I love most about using these videos is that some of them are ‘wow’ videos featuring explosions and chemical reactions, or fascinating videos about the animal kingdom, whereas there are others which delve deeper into the theory behind the science. You will need to watch your kids when they are on YouTube, as there can be the temptation to look at other, unrelated videos. When managed well however, this is a great resource which can inspire your kids.

NOVA

Of all the educational websites which I have found that relate to science, NOVA seems to be the best, and the kids absolutely love it. The website is filled with educational resources from literature to videos and it approaches things at a classroom level. Arguably the best part of this website, and the aspect which keeps the kids involved and interested, is the existing and fun delivery of the information. Using a wide range of fancy graphics, images and videos to support the information, it helps all types of children, regardless of their learning style. The website has information about all of the sciences and offers support for all age groups.

If you are looking to further inspire your kids’ scientific education, make use of these wonderful online tools.

How imagery influences website engagement

Angela Manning Business , , , , ,
How imagery influences website engagement

If your website isn’t encouraging visitors to interact, share, click, register, visit, or buy, it’s not doing its job. The strategic purpose of investing in a quality website is to connect with potential clients, customers, or fans, build brand recognition, and convert visitors to engaged followers or customers.

The right imagery can support grabbing, holding, and encouraging the attention of visitors. It’s a main element in creating shareable content and a web experience with which visitors will happily engage. If you have a substantial budget, a skilled photographer and a talented graphic designer can supply content-specific imagery, but if that’s out of reach, you can easily access images from stock image sites, from which you can download free here.

If you want to create a strategy that maximizes website engagement, there are five types of visual content you should consider:

Banners and wallpaper

Banners and wallpaper imagery help you to craft a consistent, appealing brand experience on your website. Create a unified feel across the site by using a limited palette of colors or by choosing images with thematic similarities. Current trends in website design often feature a single large photo or design at the top of each page or post that supports or extends the topic of the content. A good banner communicates that a brand is up to date and professional and is worth attention. Wallpaper graphics add visual interest to backgrounds or fill an entire screen for a graphics-first experience, with text layered on top or following when users scroll down. This design trend feels fresh and immersive and can help your brand feel more likable and engaging to visitors.

Photographs

While banners and wallpaper may be photograph or graphic based, using photographs in-line with content can also be a good strategy. Break up large blocks of text with photos to hold interest and make information more enjoyable and easy to scan through for visitors. Use photography to illustrate or extend ideas from the text where possible. Good photographs can encourage content sharing, boosting your organic reach via social media. Be cautious with stacking or cluttering the space with too many photos, though. Remember to include ample white space and follow layout best practices. If you sell products, custom photos of the products are a necessity.

Vector Graphics

Vector graphics are a fun alternative to photography and may suit your brand or offer more flexibility in portraying an idea or accompanying a topic. Illustrations and vector graphics may be placed in a sidebar location or alternated with text like photos. Vector graphics are ideal because they can scale up or down to suit the space without losing resolution. Draw from the enormous pool of premade graphics in a good stock image store, or commission custom graphics to suit pages and articles if you prefer. Graphics are a useful way to illustrate services since stock photos for professionals could seem cheesy in that context.

Video

Video is preferred in search and on social media, which is a huge opportunity for your website and brand. Keep videos short for best results. You can embed them on pages to accompany things like products, services, and informational content, as well as using them in content marketing campaigns on social media. Good stock imagery sites offer stock video that you can adjust with custom text and/or voiceovers. If you’re finding your website and social media efforts aren’t getting the traction you want, adding or switching to video content can give you an instant boost in visibility and sharing.

Infographics

Make the most of your content with infographics. These combine graphics or illustrations with informational content to visually show the data or convey an idea at a glance. They are excellent for engagement and sharing because visitors can scan them and get a snapshot of what you’re trying to communicate at a glance.

Boost engagement and make the most of your website and social media efforts with the correct use of high-quality graphics. Photos or illustrations are great for creating appealing layouts, page headers, and breaking up content. For e-retailers, crisp, attractive photos of products are a must, while service providers may have more success with illustrations or vector graphics.

Infographics are highly shareable at-a-glance snapshots of information and ideas. Video keeps visitors on the page longer, can convey more information and strengthen your brand reputation, and improves search rankings and social media sharing and visibility. You can work with specialist creators for custom content or draw on the deep pool of creative content provided by good stock imagery providers to craft an engaging site that regularly converts visits in

Traveling Before and After the Internet

Angela Manning Education, Travel , , , ,
Traveling Before and After the Internet

Charles Nucci is someone who lives for traveling. Several decades ago, he started traveling, using his thumb and, later, an old banger of a vehicle. He tried Greyhound buses and trains. Eventually, he was able to take some flights as well, but they continued to be few and far between. In those days, it was all about saving money by looking at different modes of transportation. If a local flight was too expensive, there would be a train or a bus as an alternative. Before the internet, traveling was about speaking to kind truckers and asking for a lift, or speaking to other backpackers for tips and tricks. Times have changed significantly, although some things will always remain the same – namely, it is always about saving money.

Traveling Since the Internet

Today, finding a good deal is a lot easier, and a lot less time consuming. Thanks to the internet, and the thousands of price comparison websites, it is easier than ever to find a cheap mode of travel. Everything can be booked online, from your transfer taxi to your train ticket, and from your plane journey to the bus. Thanks to the competition between the different websites, you can also find a variety of discounts and special offers. This means that the same mode of travel through one website can cost substantially less than if you were to go through a different website. And with the widespread availability of coupons and other such options, travel really doesn’t have to cost all that much anymore.

Has Something Been Lost?

Today, people still share a good deal with each other. They post it on social media and tell the world about the fact that they are able to get from A to B at a seriously reduced cost. Some of that is about hoping that others can benefit from the deal as well, but a lot of it is actually about showing off – showing the world that you were able to get this deal whereas others weren’t. And while social media is meant to be social, it does miss that real human touch.

According to Charles Nucci, we have lost something because of the internet. We have lost those late night chats in the hostel, or those exciting moments sitting on a beach hoping for a place to stay the night. We have lost the thing that brings travelers together. Today, those late night chats still happen, but everybody has their cellphone with them to check how they can easily get to their next location the next day. At the same time, however, Nucci knows just how important the internet is, and how it has facilitated so many people’s ability to travel. It has also made people safer and it has ensured young people can stay in touch with their family members and friends back home. That is something to be loved and embraced. But at the same time, it is important to not forget that traveling is about being social, and that is about real human contact.