Category: Industries

Unlocking E-Commerce Success: 05 Essential E-Commerce Conversion Rate Optimization Tips

Posted on by galaxy-admin

Whether you are considering beginning an e-commerce business or already have one, some actions must be taken before launching your e-commerce website to ensure its success. One influential aspect of your e-commerce business is conversions. All online stores work diligently to increase their conversion rates. Every team knows how difficult it is to raise the e-commerce conversion rate by even a tiny percentage. 

Low conversion rates are sometimes the only thing keeping your company from achieving a certain level of success. Marketing initiatives that emphasize conversion rates are more effective than those that do not. 

Data from Outgrow. co show that companies typically spend 92 USD to acquire customers but just 1 USD to convert them. Therefore, it should be easy to believe that just 22% of firms are convinced of the return on their investment from conversion rates.

According to e-commerce Guide, e-commerce currently accounts for almost all retail growth in the US, which is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. That should be enough reason for you to put your business at the forefront with cutting-edge technology via the best-optimized website and user experience. 

How Is CRO Beneficial to the Business?

The unifying objective of all marketing initiatives is to improve results. Furthermore, the pursuit of innovation and development must be continuous to seize growth possibilities, regardless of the KPIs used to gauge the effectiveness of these processes.

Therefore, when addressing how to focus the lead or visitor’s attention and guide them to a specific action on the website, focusing on approaches such as CRO Marketing or Conversion Rate Optimization is beneficial.

While increasing e-commerce conversion rates is the primary goal of CRO, it also has the following extra benefits:

  • CRO enhances the user’s experience. By removing obstacles, you streamline and hasten the consumer experience. It therefore benefits your business’s bottom line and its standing in search engine results pages (SERPs).
  • CRO uncovers marketing possibilities: CRO identifies marketing opportunities that were previously prohibitively expensive, helping them to get a large number of new consumers.
  • CRO Adds Business Momentum: It boosts your capacity to spend money cost-effectively and helps you obtain more value out of every dollar invested. Momentum is crucial for recruiting further investment, so it also has that secondary advantage.
  • CRO uncovers your target audience: Since CRO calls for ongoing research and hypothesis testing, it provides a thorough insight of the target audience.

05 E-Commerce Conversion Rate Optimization Tips

01- Use high-quality images and videos on your product pages

According to MIT research, the human brain can process a picture in only 13 milliseconds, giving your customers a quick first impression of your brand and goods caliber. According to research by Shopify, only 0.52 percent of customers prefer to see a single product photo, 33.16 percent like to see many shots, and almost 60 percent prefer images that allow them to get a 360-degree perspective of the product.

When someone purchases anything online, high-quality photos & videos clearly show them what they will receive. They give an overview of texture, shape, shades, etc. Additionally, they assist customers in understanding the product’s size and the variety of its uses.

Key Takeaway- It’s no secret that visual marketing is crucial for developing a brand online. High-quality visual content, such as product photos, can make or break an e-commerce brand’s online visibility and consumer experience. Your images must provide information and help the consumer distinguish between various products. 

02- Be competitively priced.

When it comes to price, consider not just the product you’re trying to sell online but also the value it provides and your e-commerce USP. A company must first conduct some research to determine the pricing using a competitor-based strategy.

You must conduct market research on your competitors offering products that are incredibly similar to or identical to yours to develop this pricing plan for your online business. This should include high-end and low-cost retailers to give you a thorough market overview.

Let’s imagine you run a business selling sports footwear and looking forward to adding new designs. Even if the sports shoes cost you $20 to manufacture and advertise, the average cost for a sports shoe is $40. You can start your pricing slightly over the market average of $45, giving you a $25 profit.

Key Takeaway: The cost-based strategy is extended by e-commerce market-based pricing strategies that take into account your niche competitors. This is crucial if your products are identical to or highly comparable to those offered by other online retailers, allowing buyers to compare prices.

03- Clear navigation menus

Homepage navigation is one design feature that gains from familiarity and convention. However, many design website navigation as a last-minute addition after considering pages and content. In a recent poll, just 50% of internet users could anticipate where relevant content will rely on typical page navigation.

Users want to save time figuring out complicated, almost buried menus and strange iconography. The use of a traditional navigation structure improves usability. Navigation is made more efficient by placing the most crucial pieces in well-known places.

Key Takeaway: A simple navigation menu makes it easier for customers to understand your website’s many product categories. You must categorize your products using generic terms. For instance, a yoga brand can categorize its product line into “Bestsellers,” “Women’s,” “Men’s,” “Maternity,” and “Sale.”

04- 3-30-3 rule for creating content

In today’s fast-paced environment, capturing a potential customer’s attention can be challenging, even if your content is excellently crafted and highly relevant. The “3-30-3” formula can help you create content that engages readers and has an impact. The 3-30-3 rule lasts three seconds, thirty seconds, and three minutes.

  • 3 seconds- This implies that you have just three seconds to convince a website user that they are looking for the right product and are in the right place. Ensuring your title is intriguing, compelling, and grabs the reader’s attention is crucial.
  • 30 seconds- You only have 30 seconds to make your pitch after a visitor has chosen that your website is the best place for them to be. Therefore, your product introduction and opening H2 ought to be excellent. At this stage, you should grab their attention with eye-catching industry figures, quotations, or a fact that sets your product apart from the competition.
  • 3 minutes- At this point, users start to show a desire to understand more about your products. You must now choose what will convert the best for you, whether a short story, a demo, a client review, or infographics.

Key Takeaway: 

The “3-30-3” rule states that you have only three seconds to get a reader’s attention, thirty seconds to keep them engaged, and around three minutes for them to read the entire content. Here, it’s crucial to succinctly explain what they will gain by reading your content and how it will impact them.

05- Maximize the Mobile Experience

According to Statista, 93% of Millennials have used a mobile device to compare online deals, while 82% of Internet users in the United States have used a mobile device to shop online. Furthermore, Marketing Land says mobile app conversion rates are three times greater than mobile website conversion rates.

Businesses that have adapted to the popularity of mobile experiences in e-commerce are reaping the benefits in a very diverse business environment, while those that still need to commit to this area are inevitably losing out on a growing segment of the customer base.

A mobile-optimized website will automatically alter its size to accommodate different screen types, depending on the device used to view it. A non-responsive website will not display correctly on all devices, interfering with the user experience. This is particularly damaging for online stores as it could increase bounce rates and worse conversion rates.

Key takeaway:  With direct communication with customers, the mobile experience gives away an opportunity to reach a broader range of customers and access valuable customer data. All it requires is to create a mobile experience with a slick appearance, fluid operation, and everything in its proper place.

Final Thoughts

E-commerce has become a crucial component of the global retail landscape in recent years. As modern life is increasingly digitized, online shopping has become essential for retail and e-commerce businesses. A well-designed website that checks all the above-listed points is necessary for immediate and long-term success.

As boosting e-commerce conversion rates should be the number one priority for businesses, Galaxy Weblinks can offer more specialized solutions with streamlined processes that drive growth and encourage customers to do what is most important, buy your products. To continue serving your people, you must be ready to make the next move. If you need us to help you with anything related to e-commerce website/app design and development, contact us! We’re happy to help.

What will happen if I don’t migrate to GA4?

Posted on by galaxy-admin

Google Analytics (GA) has been a go-to tool for collecting and analyzing website data and user behavior. With the launch of GA4, many people now have to decide whether to switch over or stay with Universal Analytics. This article will provide an in-depth overview of the potential repercussions of not switching to GA4. You will gain insight into the risks associated with this choice and its consequences.

Migrate to GA4

Why migrate to GA4?

The latest version of Google Analytics, GA4, was introduced in October 2020, and it is equipped with some exclusive features/benefits unavailable with Universal Analytics. These features include:

1. Enhanced User Analysis: GA4 gives you more accurate and in-depth insights into the behavior of your website visitors, allowing you to understand how they navigate and which pages they view.

2. Automatic Data Collection: With GA4, you don’t have to manually set up tracking codes to monitor user interactions on your website, like clicks, scrolls, and form submissions. It automatically collects this data for you.

3. Machine Learning Capabilities: GA4 utilizes machine learning algorithms to review your data and predict how users will act. This helps you make more educated decisions about your promotional tactics.

Risks and Consequences of not migrating to GA4

Failing to migrate to GA4 could have numerous consequences, such as

1. Limited Data Analysis: GA4 provides more detailed and accurate data, which helps to understand user behavior. Without GA4, you may not have access to new analysis tools, making it difficult to make effective decisions about your website or business.

2. Inability to Access New Features: You must upgrade to GA4 as many features are unavailable on Universal Analytics. This includes automated data collection, machine learning capabilities, and much more. You will benefit from all the advantages these extra features provide without migrating.

3. Loss of Data Access: Google has revealed that they will be phasing out Universal Analytics and will only provide technical assistance to those who still use it. If you switch over to using the GA4 version of Google Analytics, you could avoid a situation where your data and tracking information become inaccessible.

Conclusion

The switch to GA4 might appear intimidating, but its new functionalities and enhanced reporting make it worth considering. That being said, if you don’t migrate to GA4, your website will miss out on valuable data that can be used to optimize the user experience. Our team of experts at Galaxy Weblinks helps businesses like yours to make the transition of your data from existing Universal Analytics to GA4 easier and more efficient. With our help, you can rest assured that you will get all the essential insights and data.

To get started with us and to learn more about our GA4 migration service, get in touch with us today!

Things To Be Considered During Design Phase For Low Code App Development

Posted on by galaxy-admin
Galaxy Low Code No Code Services

Low code solutions are all the rage these days, and their popularity as general social and technological phenomena is expected to rise. It simplifies and streamlines every application lifecycle stage, promoting ongoing connectivity by splitting the conventional IT and business boundaries. They are just as remarkable and successful as those developed by highly competent experts, even though they can be built in less time and effort.

As new technologies and features are introduced to close the gap between what someone with little to no coding abilities can do and what a full-fledged developer can do, the low code and no code solution design movement is resurgent.

According to McKinsey’s “The business value of design” study, businesses with a better user experience outperform their competitors in terms of revenue by a factor of two and shareholder returns by 21%. According to Gartner, more than 65% of application development activity will be carried out using low code platforms by 2024. This indicates that low code app development tools won’t go away, and the primary focus will be on demand for better design.

Design Challenges Of Low Code App Development

You are no longer limited by drawn-out development cycles thanks to the introduction of LCNC platforms. However, a team can face a few oft-cited design challenges during the design phase for low code development.

Improper Scalability and Reusability of UI Elements.

A low code platform might have numerous small UI components spread across several devices. And as to maintain a consistent end-user experience, even the slightest modifications to one element need to be replicated elsewhere, this leads to a design barrier.

Lack of Customization.

Each platform has a different set of customization options. While some low code no code platforms restrict editing options, others provide access to the source code. Similarly, some will let you create custom applications while others won’t. These limitations often hinder you from gaining that edge in your app.

Limited Integration Options.

Operational efficiency is the main objective of no code platforms. They must work on a core user experience and connect to older systems. It limits the ways that users can integrate. Additionally, the provider forbids third-party or internal system custom integrations.

Furthermore, managing APIs when integrating hundreds of systems is the most challenging element.

Things To Consider For Low Code Platforms During The Design Phase


1- Design for impact.

Regardless of your users’ desired solution, provide the one that best addresses their problems. By setting up a shared understanding and creating solutions, design thinking approaches can assist you in identifying unfulfilled requirements.

Therefore, compile the system design specification document that represents the software requirement specification (SRS document) from earlier phases.

Key Takeaway: Ensure your design solutions align with the problems at hand to provide exceptional customer outcomes that lead to the intended business objectives. Think about using the North Star method for goal setting to direct your planning and choices during the design process.

2- Develop a system document.

Creating a document that translates the specified low code no code platform guidelines could be extraordinarily valuable. To keep the team in sync and enable them to meet the rising demand for continuous delivery, it can be informative to specify which tools and services users could use on the platform, access permission for usage based on roles, unification of project-related data, and the keeping of all policies in one place. Additionally, people can carry out the entire project swiftly if they have all the relevant information. Expanding and enhancing digital workflows aims to combine business processes while eliminating the guesswork and maintaining team cohesion.

Key Takeaway: With the introduction of the system document, you are no longer bound to spend months interacting with an app production team. The goal is to efficiently complete the software development’s design phase while accelerating the app design and delivery.

3- Define your information architecture.

Using hierarchy manipulation throughout the designing phase is a great approach to demonstrate how the elements of your work interact, highlighting the most crucial components and detracting attention from others. These should be set as parameters to inform users of information and relevance. Having this outlined makes it simpler for the subsequent UI design stage for your team members to convert this architecture into semantic code that is simpler for assistive technology to understand.

Key Takeaway: The goal of information architecture in low code app development is to organize, structure, and classify content functionally and sustainably. The goal is to make it easier for users to access information and finish tasks.

4- Put Accessibility into Play.

If accessibility is essential to your business, you should consider it from the start. Fixing accessibility issues on already-existing websites requires more time and effort than starting from scratch with a fully accessible website. When accessibility is incorporated from the start, it maximizes the outcomes and uses fewer resources. It helps consider the diverse variety of customers that utilize your services and items.

Key Takeaway: Regardless of how big or small your project is, accessibility should be considered from the beginning if it is crucial to your business. This prompts you to consider the wide range of complex individuals utilizing our designs and code. It aids in ensuring that we don’t build any obstacles for them.

5- Conduct Design Reviews.

Sometimes all it takes to shift from mediocrity to excellence is a design review. Design reviews are carried out to ensure that the functional requirements, performance requirements, security requirements, etc., are met. The review looks into implementing certain features and analyzes a project feature or user flow prototype. It’s usually a good idea to incorporate diverse roles in the process. This lets you see your design from multiple angles and create a distinctive, organic, and intuitive end result.

Key Takeaway- It’s crucial to implement a successful design review process to get insightful feedback. With an advanced design review process like the Adalo app, your entire team can make faster and more informed decisions. Even the slightest ideas and suggestions can help to improve and simplify the user experience for everyone.

Wrapping It Up

The design stage in creating low code apps is crucial to successfully completing the software project. It yields one of the project’s two critical elements: The Design and The System. The second crucial component, the system, can only be built, practiced on, put into use, or operated with a detailed design.

The ultimate shape of the software product is substantially impacted by the quality decisions made during the design phase regarding development techniques, frameworks, configuration, implementation, software and hardware architecture, etc. Using the design checklist outlined above, you can develop enterprise-level, usable solutions that advance your business.

If you’re looking for qualified software designers and architects, Galaxy Weblinks can help. We streamline the process of offering practical answers to complex business problems.

How to migrate to Google Analytics 4: A step-by-step guide

Posted on by galaxy-admin

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google Analytics, which was announced on October 14, 2020. It replaces the previous version, Universal Analytics. It includes new features such as enhanced machine learning, improved data collection and processing, and the ability to analyze cross-device and cross-platform user behavior.

Migrate to Google Analytics 4

GA4 was developed in response to the increasing complexity of the modern digital landscape, which includes a wide range of devices, platforms, and interaction types.

It was designed to provide a more comprehensive and accurate view of user behavior across all of these channels and help businesses better understand and engage with their customers.

Take a quick look at some key differences between Universal Analytics and GA4.

google analytics 4

Overall, GA4 represents a significant advancement in the capabilities of Google Analytics and is expected to become the primary version of the tool for businesses worldwide.

Steps you need to take for a successful migration to Google Analytics 4

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through the process of migrating from Universal Analytics to GA4.

Before we get started, it’s important to note that GA4 is a complete rewrite of Google Analytics, and as such, it requires a separate property in your Google Analytics account. This means you’ll be able to continue using your Universal Analytics property while you test out GA4 and make any necessary adjustments. With that said, let’s dive into the steps you need to take to migrate to GA4.

1. Set up a new GA4 property: The first step in migrating to GA4 is to create a new property in your Google Analytics account. To do this, log in to your account, click on the “Admin” tab, and then select “Create Property” from the menu on the right. Choose “Google Analytics 4” as the property type, and follow the prompts to complete the setup process.

2. Install the GA4 tracking code: Next, you’ll need to install the GA4 tracking code on your website. This code is similar to the tracking code used in Universal Analytics, but it includes some additional parameters that are specific to GA4. You can find the tracking code in the “Tracking Info” section of your new GA4 property.

3. Configure your events and parameters: In GA4, data is collected and analyzed using events and parameters. An event is a specific action taken by a user on your website, such as clicking a button or making a purchase. Parameters are additional pieces of information that can be associated with an event, such as the value of a purchase or the category of a product. You’ll need to configure your events and parameters in GA4 to ensure you’re collecting the data you need.

4. Set up your conversion goals: Conversion goals are specific actions you want users to take on your website, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. You can set up conversion goals in GA4 using the “Goals” feature in the “Admin” tab of your property.

5. Test and verify your setup: Before you entirely switch over to GA4, it’s a good idea to test your tracking code and verify that it’s working correctly. You can use the “Realtime” report in GA4 to see if data is being collected and reported in nearly real-time. You should also check that your events and parameters are being collected and processed correctly.

6. Migrate your data: Once you’ve verified that your GA4 setup is working correctly, you can begin the process of migrating your data from your previous analytics tool. This can typically be done using the “Import” feature in GA4, which allows you to import data from various sources. Be sure to thoroughly test your data after the migration to ensure everything has been transferred correctly.

7. Turn off your previous analytics tool: Once you’ve successfully migrated all of your data to GA4 and verified that everything is working correctly, you can turn off your previous analytics tool and begin using GA4 as your primary analytics solution. Be sure to double-check that all of your tracking code has been removed from your website, and consider archiving any old analytics data that you no longer need.

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully migrate to Google Analytics 4 and begin taking advantage of its new features and capabilities.

Conclusion

Google Analytics 4 can make all the difference in managing your organizational digital analytics. From setup assistance, data migration, and ongoing training, you can rely on our experts for all your needs. Contact our certified Analytics expert for a free consultation today – we’ll be happy to talk!

Why you need to switch to Google Analytics 4

Posted on by galaxy-admin

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google Analytics, a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. It was released in October 2020 and is the successor to the previous version, Universal Analytics.

Google-Analytics-4

One of the main differences between GA4 and Universal Analytics is that GA4 is designed to be more closely integrated with other Google products, such as Google Ads, and to make it easier for users to get a complete view of their customers across different devices and channels. GA4 also includes new features such as automatic event tracking and setting up audiences based on user behavior.

Why is GA4 necessary?

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a new version of Google Analytics that was designed to better meet the needs of modern businesses and organizations. It includes several new features and capabilities that are not available in earlier versions of the product, such as:

  • Enhanced user privacy controls: GA4 includes more robust rules for managing user data and protecting user privacy, including the ability to automatically delete user data after a specified time period.
  • Improved data collection and analysis: GA4 uses machine learning algorithms to better understand user behavior and provide more accurate and detailed insights about how users interact with websites and apps.
  • Enhanced integration with other Google products: GA4 integrates more seamlessly with other Google products, such as Google Ads and Google BigQuery, making it easier to use data from multiple sources to inform marketing and business strategy.

Overall, GA4 is intended to provide businesses and organizations with a more comprehensive and powerful tool for understanding and engaging with their customers.

Benefits/Advantages of GA4

  • Customizable Interface

Google Analytics 4 has a more intuitive and customizable interface than ever before – which addresses some of the previous pain points Google Analytics users have faced.

You can now easily customize the timeframe of your data reports, making the tool more enjoyable to use. Plus, you can access important data with just a quick glance.

  • Control Over Custom Reporting

Google Analytics 4 is a powerful tool that focuses on custom reporting. And better yet, it allows you to quickly view any data of your choice and make decisions in an efficient manner!

Universal Analytics was challenging to work with before, but that’s all in the past. You can create custom reports and precise, insightful data visualizations that make it easier to understand your users in more detail.

  • Detailed Reporting

Google Analytics 4 is also capable of providing more detailed data. Allowing you to see the type of traffic that’s been coming in for the last few days, weeks, or months.

This new data model introduced by Google Analytics 4 is inspiring and has made it easier to work on reports. You can customize your events to fit your brand or business needs. For instance, you might want them to represent a specific user action that you would like to analyze, or perhaps you could use them as a means of differentiating one set of users from another.

GA4 Dashboard
  • Better Real-Time Data

There are some improvements in Google Analytics 4 that Universal Analytics doesn’t have. For example, it offers real-time reports to see what users do as they interact with your site. You can even see individual user actions!

With DebugView in Google Analytics, 4 allows checking the incoming data at a more granular level.

  • New Automatic Tracking

Google Analytics 4 has made some exciting changes, including a more robust and easier-to-use Enhanced Measurement feature. This feature automatically tracks how much time people spend on a page and how many outbound links they click. This is a powerful tool to increase engagement with your website.

Because of this, custom campaign tracking is not needed. And the actions are automatically tracked for you.

  • More Effective Data Exporting

You will get much more data with Google Analytics 4 and can export that data more effectively. Having access to more detailed and more personalized data means you’ll be able to get more in-depth data that are tailored specifically for your needs, plus much more data per export.

On top of all this, you could even send your data to Google BigQuery if you want to be in total control of the data you collect.

Conclusion

With real-time insights, machine learning, and cross-device tracking, GA4 offers various advanced features that can help you better understand your customers and optimize your marketing efforts. Plus, with Universal Analytics set to be retired in July 2023, now is the perfect time to make the switch.

Whether you need help with setup, data migration, or ongoing support and training, our team of experts has you covered. Don’t miss out on the benefits of GA4 – contact our certified analytics expert for a free consultation today!

Top 5 SAAS Trends to Watch in 2023

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Top 5 SaaS Trends to Watch In 2023

SaaS in 2022 was all about growth and innovation, with a significant focus on giving customers the best possible experience. Thanks to COVID-19, the whole industry had to change radically in 2021 and 2022, but those changes were essential. If we look at the data, it’s clear that personalization, customization, scalability, and customer experience are all major priorities.

  • In 2017, cloud workloads accounted for 86% of data center workloads; in 2022, this figure has increased to 94%.
  • In 2022, 73% of SAAS business leaders believe machine learning will double employee productivity.
  • With 52% of web traffic coming from mobile devices, the mobile SaaS market has grown to $7.4 billion in 2022.
  • PaaS accounts for about 20 percent of the overall cloud services market, and the SaaS segment dominates most of it.

While these were the most impactful trends of 2022, we expect the upcoming year to be much more exciting for the industry.

Let’s get started and talk about the top 5 SaaS trends to watch in 2023.

1. Improved Personalization with Artificial intelligence

Customer expectations have changed a lot over the years. Nowadays, many consumers are willing to give up a little bit of privacy in exchange for getting relevant recommendations. They also expect brands to provide them with personalized experiences. This shift has affected the business-to-business (B2B) industry, where longer sales cycles and multiple customer touchpoints are now the norm.

According to Salesforce research, by 2023, three-quarters of B2B customers will expect their suppliers to predict and anticipate their needs before they even get in touch. With their robust pattern recognition and predictive analysis, AI and machine learning can assist SaaS companies in meeting the levels of personalization that consumers have come to expect.

Why it Matters:

Now is the time to start if you’re not already considering AI optimization for your SaaS business. AI and SaaS’s advantages in customer service, personalization, and security can translate into profits for all businesses involved. So if you’re looking for ways to boost your bottom line, this is definitely an avenue worth exploring.

2. Low code/ No code platforms for faster product development

According to reports, more than 60% of business stakeholders have implemented less than 50% of their technology solutions. In such circumstances, low code appears to be a boon because it helps to get custom apps in 50% less time and at 40% less cost.

Gartner predicts that “low-code application development will account for more than 65% of application development activity by 2024.” This will also allow startups to test their concepts and ideas in a real-world scenario faster. This will enable them to get investments sooner than the average time.

Why it matters:

Low-code development platforms are a great way to speed up development and get your SaaS product to market faster. Low-code tools are used for creating email and online advertising campaigns, as well as applications and websites. MailChimp is a popular example of a low-code tool with its email builder functionality.

Low-code platforms can be used for much more than just building custom apps. They can also be used to create apps that streamline internal business processes. For example, automated workflows can easily share data among multiple SaaS applications. This can be helpful for onboarding and recruitment, financial data processing, automated marketing, and more.

3. Multi-cloud Adoption for improved flexibility and reliability

If you thought 2022 was the year of hybrid cloud, just wait until 2023! That’s when businesses will start reaping the benefits of using multiple cloud providers. It’s called a “multi-cloud strategy,” providing increased flexibility and security.

While most businesses were still tied to a single cloud service provider in 2020, reports show that by 2023, 84% of mid-to-large businesses will have adopted a multi-cloud strategy. So if you haven’t started using multiple cloud providers yet, 2023 is definitely the year to do it!

Why it matters:

You’re no longer limited to just one cloud provider when you go multi-cloud. You can easily pick up and move your applications to a new platform if you need to. This makes life a lot easier and gives you more options for finding the right cloud solution for your needs.

4. Vertical SaaS for better service customization

More and more businesses are finding that a vertical SaaS solution is the way to go when it comes to cloud computing. This is especially true if you have a business that falls into a specific niche or industry, like retail, automotive, or insurance. With vertical SaaS, you can create solutions that are specifically tailored to the challenges your business faces. Even though the potential market and user base might be smaller, vertical SaaS is still highly effective.

For example, the restaurant industry is projected to see a 20% increase in technology adoption and upgrades by 2022. Brands like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Dunkin’ are now investing in custom SAAS solutions that match their brand guidelines and SOPs and solve critical operational challenges for QSRs.

Why it matters:

SaaS is a great way to deploy solutions quickly and efficiently. Real-time collaboration and better security make it the perfect way to scale your business rapidly. In 2023, we’ll see a significant increase in vertical SAAS, which will help businesses address specific industry challenges.

5. Unbundling and Decoupling SaaS service packages

SaaS providers are always looking for ways to improve their pricing and packaging models so customers can get the most value out of their purchases. One way to do this is by unbundling SaaS packages, allowing users to choose the features they need. This approach gives customers more control over what they pay for, ultimately leading to a better experience for everyone involved.

With nearly half of the organizations pointing to vendor lock-in as a barrier to SaaS adoption, we expect this package unbundling trend to continue. This is especially true when SaaS providers, funded so often by venture capital, become increasingly flexible to retain and attract new customers with personalized value-based feature sets, pricing, and packaging.

Why it matters:

The SaaS industry is oversaturated with thousands of products that are often barely different from each other. The future belongs to hybrid products that enable customers to create experiences tailored to their needs. And not the “one size fits all” model.

The “do it yourself” software movement will grow as the tools get more accessible and easier to use and as more and more people learn technical skills. Unbundling SaaS is just the first step in that direction.

Key Takeaways

Many organizations realized in 2022 how important it is to respond quickly to changes and uncertainties. Business process automation, or having the right digital muscles in place, emerged as the most crucial capability every organization should have to remain relevant. This enables them to provide a seamless customer experience and perform data-driven management.

In the next few years, the SaaS industry will be pretty different from what it is now. We’ll need to make a significant change to how we build things to focus on creating customized and secure outcomes instead of just owning the software. This means understanding how different organizations use SaaS products and then putting the proper controls in place for each.

We would be happy to offer a consultation if you want to upgrade or add features to your SAAS product. Reach out to us at https://www.galaxyweblinks.com/

CraftCMS Pros and Cons — A Quick Guide

Posted on by galaxy-admin

What is CMS (Content Management System)?

  • A content management application used for creating, editing, and publishing content.
  • Allow multiple users to contribute, schedule, or manage content.
  • Having a browser-based interface accessible anywhere to any number of users.
  • Drag-and-drop editors allow users to enter text and media without expertise in HTML, CSS or other programming languages.
  • Easy content creation and formatting. Content storage in one place.
  • Permissions for managing content are based on roles: authors, editors, and admins.
  • Publishing and organizing content live.
  • It reduces your reliance on front-end developers to make changes to the website.

“What is Craft CMS?”

There are many Content Management Systems. You’ve possibly heard about a few of the popular ones like — WordPress, Drupal, Craft, Shopify, and Joomla.

Craft CMS was introduced in 2011. It is a relatively new CMS but is increasingly becoming popular as an alternative to WordPress. It has excellent features, including, simple editing, flexibility, and live previews.

As an agency, we prefer to create unique solutions that are reflective of every individual client. We believe a lot is going for Craft. It enables us to achieve more even on tighter timeframes and budgets.

An overview

  • Written in PHP on the Yii 1.x platform.
  • Versatile, user-friendly, lightweight CMS with a clear graphical interface.
  • Simple control panel for content production and administration.
  • Craft CMS uses Twig, a strong, open-source PHP template engine, for the template.
  • Twig’s syntax is derived from Jinja and Django templates.
  • Has all the key backend functionality (SEO, page ranking) and commercial features (1st party localization, easy rebranding, etc.).
  • Page revisions, live view modifications, live page updates, and plugin administration are all maintained.
  • You can expand and enhance Craft CMS functionality and features using backend technologies like PHP and JS.

Should you go for Craft CMS or place your bets on a more popular CMS like WordPress, which is used by 60% of CMS users? Many variables need to be considered when answering this question, and it can’t simply be boiled down to one side or the other.

Advantages and disadvantages of CraftCMS

Speed

CraftCMS is faster than WordPress. It is much snappier than WordPress.

On the downside, there are some WordPress themes (like WooThemes) that don’t translate very well into Craft.

In that case, speed gets compromised. Fortunately, there are now some excellent solutions for translating these themes.

Complexity

One of Craft’s advantages is its highly customizable nature: If you can work a little bit with code or hire someone who can (like us) then there are plenty of ways in which Craft could make your life easier as opposed to more difficult.

Craft can get complex at times for those who have no idea about it. In that case, you may need a developer or two to help along the way.

Flexibility

Craft’s greatest strength is its flexibility. Because it is open-source, it has been adopted by a large community of developers who continually update and improve upon it.

This means that, no matter what your niche or business requirements are, you can be sure there will be a solid solution for you to use.

It also helps that Craft is so easy to customize with an interface that feels tailor-made for those with minimal technical knowledge.

On the downside — if you choose to add features beyond what Craft offers natively, customization costs can appear depending on how complex your project needs become.

Ease of use

One of Craft’s most appealing features is how easy it is to set up. Once installed, it takes minimal effort to modify templates and create new pages.

So if you want a CMS that doesn’t require any programming knowledge to get started, Craft is your best bet.

This ease of use also makes Craft very accessible for beginners — especially when it comes to getting a website up quickly.

Released under an MIT license, CraftCMS can be used for both personal and commercial projects. It’s been getting a lot of attention lately from developers because it makes developing custom modules simple.

We’ve seen developers convert to Craft almost instantaneously after discovering how easy it is to get started building sites with it. When it gets easy for us, we try to make it even easier for our clients by all possible means.

Get our Web Platform experts onboard to help you set up your CMS website in no time.

4 Benefits of Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Posted on by galaxy-admin

Technology continues to deliver excellence and performance to modern-day businesses. Enterprises globally are keen to adopt technology to scale their business.

Digital transformation results in improved processes, better customer experience, growing revenues, and so on. It enables businesses to stay competitive and relevant.

After the pandemic, the healthcare sector has jumped on the digital bandwagon.

  • Hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and diagnostic centers have tapped into the digital health market, which is expected to hit 426.9 billion (USD) by 2027.
  • Telemedicine, AI-enabled medical devices, and blockchain electronic healthcare records are all examples of digital transformation in healthcare.
  • Healthcare providers have transformed the way they interact and share the data with service providers, and how they make decisions about treatment plans.

Healthcare institutions and pharmaceutical companies have reaped the benefits of digital transformation to further their businesses.

Here are some of the compelling reasons why healthcare services should seek digital transformation.

1. Improved safety

Ensuring the safety and sanctity of digital medical records is a big concern area for healthcare providers. The digital service providers deliver custom solutions that help reduce human errors and minimize risks. For example:

  • Instant sharing of medical records between doctors and facilities can make the emergency room experience less traumatic.
  • Physicians get easy access to patients’ medical histories in one place makes their work easier and more convenient.

We all know that medical data needs to be extremely secure, and that’s a major reason why so many doctors and hospitals are still reluctant to adopt digital health solutions.

With a carefully crafted digital strategy and transformation, there are minuscule opportunities for hackers to get into your data.

2. Reduced costs and enhanced value

Going digital can reduce your costs on activities including marketing, training programs for employees, and maintaining an IT infrastructure. These savings can be passed on to patients.

Moreso, a company that’s technology-friendly has a higher value vis-a-vis competitors who aren’t. Don’t forget that it could also make you more attractive to investors and lenders.

3. Increased Accuracy

The chances to determine the illness increases exponentially when digital systems are involved. Digital systems and connected devices can host patients’ entire medical records, including lab results, physical exams, even x-rays.

Additionally, dependencies on third parties — like a specialist or lab — for information can be eliminated.

4. Reduced Waiting Times

Digitalization reduces waiting time dramatically. People used to take appointments weeks in advance. However, it is increasingly common for doctors now to operate on a walk-in basis, or even remotely.

This is great news for both patients and providers, who can operate more efficiently as a result.

Some other common benefits digitalization can offer to the healthcare industry:

  • Seamless coordination (between doctor-patient)
  • Automated administrative tasks
  • Access to real-time information
  • Collaborative studies and research
  • Ease of online appointments
  • Improved patient management
  • Supercharged hospital evaluations
  • Improved clinical conclusions

We’ve only touched on a few benefits here. Digital transformation can create far more efficiencies and cost savings. Everything from patient engagement to hospital operations will be changed by digital transformation; it truly is an exciting time to be alive.

Innovation is the key when it comes to digital transformation. The main goal is to streamline physicians’ work, optimize systems, improve patient outcomes, reduce human error, and lower costs through incredible web and mobile experiences.

That said, it can be overwhelming to keep up with the digital transformation of healthcare. It is difficult for healthcare businesses to determine which emerging technologies are worth investing in. It is even hard to get the staff on board with the change.

You need to be flexible and open to taking risks to adapt to the digital age. It is important to let go of old business practices and believe that disruption will bring about big changes.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below! If you want to embark on the journey of transformation and take your healthcare business to the next level, fill out this form.

5 Steps for Effective Performance Testing: A Practical Guide

Posted on by galaxy-admin

Applications are becoming increasingly complex and with a reduced development cycle. This necessitates the adoption of new, agile development and testing methodologies. Application performance as a component of the overall user experience is now among the most important aspect of application quality. 

Sequential projects with static qualification/implementation/test phases that postpone performance testing until the end of the project may face performance risks. By today’s application quality standards, this is no longer acceptable.

This article will give you practical advice on how to conduct efficient performance testing in this new and more demanding environment.

Stage 1- Software analysis and requirements preparation

Before beginning performance testing, it is critical to ensure that the software configuration has been properly adjusted. When the system is deployed, functional testing should be performed to ensure that the main functions used for performance checks work properly.

The examination of a system’s features, operation mode, and peculiarities are part of its analysis. To achieve the following goals, detailed analysis is required:

  • Simulate the best user behavior patterns and load profiles
  • Determine the amount of test data required
  • Identify system bottlenecks
  • Define the software monitoring methods

The primary focus should be on defining the success criteria for the tests that are usually included in the SLA (service-level agreement). The criteria that the system technically corresponds to are called the requirements. The requirements defined during the first stage will be compared to the received results to evaluate the behavior of the product and system units and determine the bottlenecks. There are so many crucial performance testing metrics that are used as success criteria.

System analysis encompasses all information about the software, testing objectives, planned test runs, test stand configuration, performance testing tools, user behavior scenarios, load profile, testing monitoring, load model, application requirements, and the method of delivering results.

Stage 2- Design Testing Strategy

The testing strategy is developed based on detailed system analysis as described above. Below are the steps to develop an ideal testing strategy:

2.1. Choosing optimal performance testing tool

These tools can be used to conduct performance testing:

ToolAdvantagesDisadvantages
The test results are well-structured and stored in an MS SQL database.
There is no limit to the number of virtual users covered by the license.		Declarative tests have limited functionality for scripts logic.
Declarative tests are the only type of testing available for SharePoint.
Provides a distributed architecture (VuGen, Controller, Load Generator, Analysis).
There are tools available for working with various protocols.
Allows you to generate reports and create report templates.
It is possible to keep detailed action logs for each virtual user.		The number of virtual users is limited.
The number of updates is relatively low.
It is possible to run tests with complex logic and dynamic parameter correlation. Web application testing is possible (including API and web services, database connections).
Allows you to simulate the behavior of multiple users in multiple parallel threads while applying a heavy load to the web application.		Encounters issues in the reproduction of AJAX traffic.
There’re limited reporting functions.
Requires many resources of RAM and CPU for test launching.

2.2. Design of a load profile and a load model

As part of the performance testing process, statistics on application usage are gathered. The data gathered is required for the creation of the load profile – a user behavior model.

Different load models can be used in the same test. For example, one new virtual user could be added every five minutes, or all users could be added all at once. The query rate, test duration, 

and the number of users are the most important aspects of the load model.

2.3. Configuration of the test stands

The results of performance testing can be influenced by a variety of factors such as test stand configuration, network load, database content, and many others.

As a result, to obtain the most reliable results, performance testing should be carried out in a separate environment with features and configurations that are similar to the parameters of the real software.

Test stand elementsFeature

Application
ArchitectureDatabase (structure, data)Software required for the system operation

Network
Network mappingBandwidth performanceCommunication protocol

Software
Operational system (version and service packs)Application server (version and patches)DBMS (version and type)
HardwareCPU (number of cores, type, clock speed)Random-access memory (space, type)Hard disk (type, speed)

Stage 3- Load generator configuration and monitoring

Performance testing tools should be installed on a load generator to produce high-quality results. It is a virtual or physical machine that is near the application server(s).

If a heavy load is to be generated, one machine’s resources may be insufficient. Distributed performance testing is carried out in this case.

Software monitoring can be carried out with the assistance of tools for controlling system hardware resources consumption.

The following are the most popular hardware monitoring tools:

  • New Relic: The performance tracking service offers analytics for every component of the environment. The tool is a powerful tool for viewing and analyzing massive amounts of data and obtaining information about real-time actions.
  • Grafana: This monitoring data visualization tool can analyze data from Graphite, InfluxDB, and OpenTSDB time-series databases.
  • Zabbix: The software employs a “server-agent” model. The server collects all of the data and allows you to view the monitoring history as well as set up metrics and rules.
  • JProfiler combines CPU, memory, and thread profiling, making it simple to determine what should be optimized, eliminated, or modified. This tool can be used for both local and remote services.
  • Xdebug is a powerful tool used to analyze PHP code and identify bottlenecks and slow elements.
  • XHprof decomposes the application into function calls (methods) and generates resource consumption statistics for them. The metrics include the amount of allocated memory, the number of function calls, the execution time, and many others.
  • PostgreSQL is an object-relational database management system that is free to use. The pgBadger profiler can be used to achieve performance testing objectives.
  • MS SQL Server Profiler is a tool for tracking, reconstruction, and debugging of the MS SQL Server. It enables the creation and processing of queries.

Stage 4- Test Data Generation and Test Scripts Development

Let’s look at four different types of test data generation:

Code

Scripts written in various programming languages (Java, Python) enable the creation of users, passwords, and other values required for proper data usage.

SQL statements

SQL queries can also be used to populate a database. This method is only available if the database is accessible from the server. The approach can be implemented as follows: first, a completed DB in MS Access with fields identical to the server-side database is created; second, a dump file containing requests to add information to the DB is created.

API requests

API requests can be used to populate the database with items for sale or user information. One or two phone calls will suffice.

Interface

For filling the database via the system interface, a script that mimics the steps of the user registration process can be developed. The script adds new users to the database. A snapshot of the file system can be created in order to use the newly created users for test execution.

Stage 5: Preliminary Launch and Test Execution

Preliminary tests aid in determining the best load model for the system. They also show how the application resources are used and whether the power of the load generator(s) is sufficient for running full-scale tests.

The tests should be run with various load models. As a result, the testing load is determined based on software monitoring and analysis. For test execution, there are many types of checks, like stress testing, lead testing, stability testing, volume testing, etc. Read more in detail.

Performance testing is an ongoing process.

Performance testing needs to be carried out on a regular basis. Hopefully, your website or application will continue to grow, necessitating changes to accommodate a larger user base.

Contact us to find out how performance testing experts can improve the quality of yo

Security in the Cloud: How to Enhance it Using Security Controls?

Posted on by galaxy-admin

Traditional IT security is no longer what we’ve known it to be for the past few decades. There is a massive shift to cloud computing that has changed how we see and perceive IT security. We have grown accustomed to the ubiquitous cloud models, their convenience, and unhindered connectivity. But our ever-increasing dependence on cloud computing for everything also necessitates new and stricter security considerations.

Cloud security, in its entirety, is a subset of computer, network, and information security. It refers to a set of policies, technologies, applications, and controls protecting virtual IP addresses, data, applications, services, and cloud computing infrastructure against external and internal cybersecurity threats.

What are the security issues with the cloud?

Third-party data centers store the cloud data. Thus, data integrity and security are always big concerns for cloud providers and tenants alike. The cloud can be implemented in different service models, such as:

  • SaaS
  • PaaS
  • IaaS

And deployment models such as:

  • Private
  • Public
  • Hybrid
  • Community

The security issues in the cloud fall into two categories. First, the issues that cloud providers (companies providing SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS) face. Second, the issues faced by their customers. The security responsibility, however, is shared, which is mentioned in the cloud provider’s shared security responsibility or shared responsibility model. This means that the provider must take every measure to secure their infrastructure and clients’ data. On the other hand, users must also take measures to secure their applications and utilize strong passwords and authentication methods.

When a business chooses the public cloud, it relinquishes physical access to the servers that contain its data. Insider threats are a concern in this scenario since sensitive data is at risk. Thus, cloud service providers do extensive background checks on all personnel having physical access to the data center’s systems. Data centers are also checked regularly for suspicious behavior.

Unless it’s a private cloud, no cloud provider stores just one customer’s data on their servers. This is done to conserve resources and cut costs. Consequently, there is a possibility that a user’s private data is visible or accessible to other users. Cloud service providers should ensure proper data isolation and logical storage segregation to handle such sensitive situations.

The growing use of virtualization in cloud implementation is another security concern. Virtualization changes the relationship between the operating system and the underlying hardware. It adds a layer that needs to be configured, managed, and secured properly. 

These were the vulnerabilities in the cloud. Now let’s talk about how we can secure our cloud, starting with security controls:

Cloud Security Controls

An effective cloud security architecture must identify any current or future issues that may arise with security management. It must follow mitigation strategies, procedures, and guidelines to ensure a secure cloud environment. Security controls are used by security management to address these issues.

Let’s look at the categories of controls behind a cloud security architecture:

Deterrent Controls

Deterrents are administrative mechanisms used to ensure compliance with external controls and to reduce attacks on a cloud system. Deterrent controls, like a warning sign on a property, reduce the threat level by informing attackers about negative consequences.

Policies, procedures, standards, guidelines, laws, and regulations that guide an organization toward security are examples of such controls.

Preventive controls

The primary goal of preventive controls is to safeguard the system against incidents by reducing, if not eliminating, vulnerabilities and preventing unauthorized intruders from accessing or entering the system. Examples of these controls are firewall protection, endpoint protection, and multi-factor authentication like software or feature implementations. 

Preventive controls also consider room for human error. They use security awareness training and exercise to address these issues at the onset. It also takes into account the strength of authentication in preventing unauthorized access. Preventative controls not only reduce the possibility of loss event occurrence but are also effective enough to eliminate the system’s exposure to malicious actions. 

Detective Controls

The purpose of detective controls is to detect and respond appropriately to any incidents that occur. In the event of an attack, a detective control will alert the preventive or corrective controls to deal with the problem. These controls function during and even after an event has taken place. 

System and network security monitoring, including intrusion detection and prevention methods, is used to detect threats in cloud systems and the accompanying communications infrastructure.

Most organizations go as far as to acquire or build their security operations center (SOC). A dedicated team monitors the IT infrastructure there. Detective controls also come equipped with physical security controls like intrusion detection and anti-virus/anti-malware tools. This helps in detecting security vulnerabilities in the IT infrastructure.

Corrective Controls

Corrective control is a security incident mitigation control. Technical, physical, and administrative measures are taken during and after an incident to restore the resources to their last working state. For example, re-issuing an access card or repairing damage are considered corrective controls. Corrective controls include: terminating a process and implementing an incident response plan. Ultimately, the corrective controls are all about recovering and repairing damage caused by a security incident or unauthorized activity.

Here are benefits of selecting a cloud storage solution.

Security and Privacy

The protection of data is one of the primary concerns in cloud computing when it comes to security and privacy.

Millions of people have put their sensitive data on these clouds. It is difficult to protect every piece of data. Data security is a critical concern in cloud computing since data is scattered across a variety of storage devices. Computers, including PCs, servers, and mobile devices such as smartphones and wireless sensor networks. If cloud computing security and privacy are disregarded, each user’s private information is at risk. It will be easier for cybercriminals to get into the system and exploit any user’s private storage data.

For this reason, virtual servers, like physical servers, should be safeguarded against data leakage, malware, and exploited vulnerabilities.

Identity Management

Identity Management is used to regulate access to information and computing resources.

Cloud providers can either use federation or SSO technology or a biometric-based identification system to incorporate the customer’s identity management system into their infrastructure. Or they can supply their own identity management system.

CloudID, for example, offers cloud-based and cross-enterprise biometric identification while maintaining privacy. It ties users’ personal information to their biometrics and saves it in an encrypted format.

Physical Security

IT hardware like servers, routers, and cables, etc. are also vulnerable. They should also be physically secured by the cloud service providers to prevent unauthorized access, interference, theft, fires, floods, etc. 

This is accomplished by serving cloud applications from data centers that have been professionally specified, designed, built, managed, monitored, and maintained.

Privacy

Sensitive information like card details or addresses should be masked and encrypted with limited access to only a few authorized people. Apart from financial and personal information, digital identities, credentials, and data about customer activity should also be protected.

Penetration Testing

Penetration testing rules of engagement are essential, considering the cloud is shared between customers or tenants. The cloud provider is responsible for cloud security. He should authorize the scanning and penetration testing from inside or outside. 

Parting words

It’s easy to see why so many people enjoy using it and are ready to entrust their sensitive data to the cloud. However, a data leak could jeopardize this confidence. As a result, cloud computing security and privacy must build a solid line of protection against these cyber threats.

If you’re overwhelmed with the sheer possibilities of threats in cloud computing or lack the resources to put in place a secure cloud infrastructure, get on a call with us for a quick consultation.