Posts in "Employer"

6 Reasons To Choose PrestaShop for Your Online Store

PrestaShop is one of the many eCommerce platforms available on the market. What makes it stand out and what features distinguish this platform from the other online store engines? Read on the find out the best reasons to choose PrestaShop for an online store.  

Open-source eCommerce platform

The eCommerce platform was created in 2007 in France. And since it is open-source, this means not only that it is not only available for free but also that you can tweak the code any way you need. 

You get a powerful tool to start or expand your online business and provide the best experience for your customers – as PrestaShop is famous for its flexibility, user-friendliness, and reliability 

There are two types of PrestaShop – PrestaShop Cloud and self-hosted PrestaShop. With PrestaShop Cloud, you get a pre-installed engine and hosting. You can either connect your own domain name or use the provided sub-domain name. But with PrestaShop Cloud, you can only use official plugins and extensions and you will not have access to the source code and database. 

On the contrary, with a self-hosted PrestaShop, you can download the software, install it on your hosting, and connect to your domain name to create the online store. 

Easy to use

PrestaShop is very easy to use with multiple tools, features, and settings. It combines important instruments for eCommerce with a very intuitive and user-friendly interface. There is also the option to access the admin panel on a smartphone or tablet so you can make adjustments, edit your inventory or check the status of your orders on the go and from everywhere you are. 

If you want to see if PrestaShop is the best choice for you, you can first test the admin panel without the need to download and install the engine. 

Great functionality and features 

There are several great functionalities and features you get with PrestaShop. Some of these include: 

  • Responsive design so that the layout adapts to multiple mobile devices
  • Various languages to choose from – both for the admin panel and the front end 
  • A catalog mode with which customers can see the products but without the checkout option 
  • A multi-store option so that you can connect different stores and manage them from the same admin panel 
  • Extensive analytics to track average order value, real-time visitors, conversion rate, and other important KPIs 
  • Marketing tools such as social media integration, newsletters, and affiliate management. 
  • In-built SEO functionality for easy customization of meta titles and descriptions to create SEO-friendly URLs. 
  • Easy and complete store management including products, inventory, shipping, customers, payment, prices.

Low requirements

Unlike some of its competitors, PrestaShop has low requirements – there is no need for dedicated hosting or VPS. Check out the requirements first but a good shared hosting plan would be sufficient. And since you are getting an all-in-one solution, there is no need to worry about system requirements. 

Multiple themes and plugins

Being one of the most popular eCommerce platforms, there are a lot of themes and plugins available for PrestaShop. If you can not find what you are looking for in the official features, you can find a lot of PrestaShop approved themes and plugins, both free and paid. 

Active community and support

When you need an answer to a question or you are facing some issues you do not know how to tackle, you can rely on the PrestaShop community, support, and documentation. In the documentation, you will find archives for all the versions and tutorials for each one, with multiple guides. 

The community includes more than 800 000 users and developers who can help you find an answer to all your questions in the official community forum. 

The official PrestaShop support is paid with different plans and levels – Essential plan, Premium plan, Deluxe plan, Starter plan, and more. 

 

10 Reasons for You to Use Magento for Your E-Commerce Site

The e-Commerce industry has boomed over recent years, and during the recent global health crisis, they have become an essential part of our lives. Magneto is used by 86,000 e-Commerce platforms, with only WooCommerce having more. In total, 29.89% of online stores use Magento. So, what makes Magento such a popular choice? Here are 10 reasons why you should consider Magento for your e-commerce site.

  1. It was Designed with e-Commerce in Mind.

Magento is a complete solution that offers an amazing CMS for online stores with a full set of dynamic features for e-Commerce solutions. It is actually the default CMS for all online businesses and is the key to success with e-Commerce. It’s like the gin to the tonic or the cream to your coffee; they partner beautifully.

  1. Magento is Open Source

Being open-source, it is both free, and developers can add to it to make it more suitable for their needs. The Magento Community Edition (CE) is easy to install, and you can enhance your site with the help of Magento modules that you can develop and/or install.

  1. Superior Performance

For optimum performance, Magento excels at page load time, query processing, and static and dynamic operations. With just a few hundred milliseconds of latency, Magento meets yet another user performance requirement. When you combine it with optimized databases like Varnish or FPC, your online store is even more efficient.

  1. It’s Ability to Multitask

To save valuable time, Magento enables site owners to carry out various tasks at the same time, all the while, you can keep a close eye on your site’s performance. With the user-friendly admin-panel, you can manage items, billings, and customer details in one place.

  1. Magento is a Flexible Option

Magento developers can take full advantage of the complete control over website design. It goes without saying that you can develop a front-end to make sure your users have to best experience. Still, Magento allows developers to customize the backend to meet specific individual needs. It’s difficult to imagine a solution with more flexibility.

  1. It’s Optimized for Mobile Use

More and more consumers turn to their mobiles instead of desktops to search the internet and shop online. It is essential that your e-commerce site is not just mobile-friendly but also pleasing to mobile-savvy users. Magento is compatible with smartphones and supports HTML5. It will adjust image sizes to fit the right screen, and you can include videos. Developers love the drag and drop features to simplify design and maximize user experience.

  1. Integration is quick and easy.

Integration with your other third-party services is effortless with Magento. Needless to say, you will want to integrate solutions like payment gateways and databases. There will also be a need for solutions for order tracking, shipping, and transportation. It gets even better when you consider that Magento has a range of built-in tools from Google, such as Google Analytics, Google Checkout, and Google Base.

  1. It’s SEO Friendly

SEO is still essential in today’s e-commerce market, and you still need to take advantage of features that will position your online store higher up on search engine rankings. These features include sitemaps, URL rewrites, tags, descriptions, and SEP friendly URL structure.

  1. Magento Support

There is an impressive technical team behind Magento offering both traditional and online support. You can access specific support regarding security and stability and help make your e-Commerce site easier and faster for users and more productive for you.

  1. The Magento Community

The community behind Magento is another massive support source and is made up of developers, Project managers, and CEOs across the globe. This community works together to provide solutions and fixes so that everyone can benefit from a better product.

Is Kotlin Better than Java for Android App Development

Kotlin and Java are two of the most popular programming languages for Android development – mainly because of their higher level of practicability, depth, and user-friendly nature. Over the past few years, Kotlin has been eclipsing Java in Android app development. More and more developers prefer the more elegant Kotlin – but is it really better than the good old Java? 

A general-purpose programming language, Java is class-based, object-oriented, and platform-independent. It provides flexibility so that developers can write code that runs on all platforms supporting Java without the need to rewrite and recompile. The syntax is very similar to C and C++ but with the depth of lower-level programming languages. 

Even though Java is considered to be the official language for Android application development, Kotlin is fast becoming the second most preferred programming language. It runs on JVM and is fully interoperable with Java, and you can utilize various Java frameworks and libraries to be used in Kotlin programs. Kotlin programs are generally more readable and concise as they are 30-40% shorter than Java equivalents. Because of the simplified syntax, enhanced features, and interoperability of Kotlin, it has been adopted by Google as an official Android development language. 

Kotlin code can be seen as a simplified version of Java as, generally, it removes the syntax involved in variable classes, methods, and declaration. And since the use of Semicolons is eliminated, the code comes out much cleaner. 

Classes in Kotlin can easily be declared in one line so that the code can be much shorter and simpler compared to Java. There is also an additional layer of security because nulls are illegal. 

With a well-developed and active community, Kotlin provides great support and easy to access documentation and libraries online. The official community website of Kotlin is a great place to start and a place where developers share and support each other with plenty of talks and events. The website and the resources are maintained by the community, and there are many relevant news articles and relevant links to projects and libraries. 

There is a dedicated section in the tutorials on how to use Kotlin as a dynamic library and how to publish Kotlin libraries. Some of the most popular libraries include Glide, Retrofit 2, Dagger 2, and Realm databases. 

On the official website, beginners will find the right tools to start with Kotlin’s documentation and learn about basic syntax rules, how to start with Kotlin functions, packages, string templates, and variables. 

In conclusion, Kotlin is the best option for both beginner and advanced developers when it comes to Android app development. It provides simplicity and additional depth. Because it is already being accepted by major leaders in the Android development space, it is reasonable to expect that Kotlin will take over Java in the future. Of course, Java can not be entirely written-off for the moment as it provides many features that are not supported by Kotlin currently. 

 

Best Tips on How to Hire a Joomla Developer

A Joomla developer is quite a broad term, so before you start looking for one, you need to set your requirements and criteria straight. 

There are four most common areas of expertise on the Joomla developer market: 

  • A site builder uses their knowledge of templates and extensions to build websites by using already created solutions. Best for small businesses as they provide good value at a lower market rate. 
  • A template skinner knows CSS and HTML and can take someone else’s design to turn it into a Joomla website design. They are best for graphic designers who want to adapt their design to their website. 
  • A web designer can also create custom designs and alter existing ones. Their value depends on their abilities and the complexity and size of the website. 
  • An extension developer is technical and can create custom Joomla extensions. They can also solve different problems by using their knowledge of the platform. 

A Joomla developer can fall in more than one category, but you want to know what kind of projects they have worked on similar to yours.

Should you hire a freelance Joomla developer or a company? 

Both freelancers and companies have their pros and cons. 

When you hire a freelance Joomla developer, you are working directly with the person, speeding up the outcome, and bringing results faster. They can be rather flexible and often work at lower rates. But you might encounter a lack of professionalism and poor service, and the results can be variable. 

When you hire a team of developers, you get access to multi-layered services to address various issues – SEO, programming, design, marketing, etc. Development companies offer more stability and deeper experience pools, as well as professional service and results. But the service is more costly and less flexible, and there is the risk that you get a thin company – as some entrepreneurs mark themselves as a company while, in reality, they outsource your project.

To choose the best fit for your project, consider your business needs. For example, if your project is very small, a freelancer developer might be a good fit. But if you have a more complex project, require some guidance in the process, and can not invest a lot of your time in the process, a development company would better suit your needs. 

Where to look for your Joomla developer

There are several main resources that you can use to find your Joomla developer. 

Referrals are always a good way to find help so if you have colleagues or friends that use Joomla, ask them for recommendations. 

Searching on the Internet – this approach can be useful, but it will take some time and effort – you will need to go beyond the first page of results to find a suitable prospect. 

Staffing companies – Agency recruiters have their finger on the pulse and are experts in their specialized markets. Using Staff Augmentation, you can easily hire Joomla developers, so you can focus on the growth of your business. You can now take on additional short term projects without adding to long term headcount while having the ability to downsize staff and overhead when the projects are finished.

 

WordPress or Craft CMS – Which One Is Better? 

If you are looking to have a new website or planning to upgrade your existing one, you are probably wondering which CMS is better. What you need to consider when choosing one is the ease of use, the flexibility it provides, and whether it has the needed SEO tools to guarantee you a good ranking on Google. 

One of the most popular CMSs is WordPress and often business owners choose this one. But there are other worth considering such as Craft CMS – although less popular, it offers some good functionalities. Read on to find out WordPress or Craft CMS – which one is better? 

Ease of use 

WordPress offers a lot of pre-built components but the problem is that often these tend to complicate the interface and are unnecessary for many users, especially businesses. Finding and editing content might become more complicated, as well as training other people to use the CMS. 

Craft CMS, on the other hand, is much more user-friendly. The interface is simplified and more streamlined, built to meet business requirements, and provide a more seamless user experience. There is also a live preview feature that is very handy as admins can view the content editing section and the preview in real-time right next to each other so editing content becomes much easier. 

Flexibility 

WordPress takes the lead when it comes to template and plugin options. Since the development community is much bigger, the platform provides more flexibility in terms of functionalities so that businesses of all sizes and types can find what they need. The only downside here is that many websites built on WordPress at the end look alike, which makes it harder to stand out. And even though there are a lot of plugins available for WordPress, too many of them are buggy and almost unusable, to the extent that they can create serious issues.  

On the contrary, Craft CMS puts content first and the websites built on it are much more customized to the exact needs of the business, not using ready-made templates. This way users can have more flexibility when wanting to add new elements or rearrange existing ones. 

Search engine ranking and visibility 

No doubt, WordPress is very SEO-friendly. There are a lot of effective SEO plugins that are easy to use and will guide you to optimize the website properly. 

Craft CMS offers only a basic but just as effective SEO plugin, and due to the build flexibility, there is an opportunity to streamline and simplify your SEO efforts – especially useful for bigger websites that frequently add and update pages. 

Stability and security 

About 27% of all websites are built on WordPress which means that the platform is more targeted by hackers and each added plugin is a potential risk as it can be an entry point. 

Craft takes security and stability seriously and since the platform is not that popular compared to WordPress, attacks are less likely to happen. 

Website speed

Because WordPress provides a lot of ready-made options, this can cause smaller websites to run slower due to unorganized and heavier code. 

On the other hand, Craft has an extremely lightweight code which is the reason for faster website speed. This results in a better user experience and improved search engine rankings. 

Finally – which CMS is better? 

If you are looking for something ready to use, that offers plenty of quick fixes then WordPress is for you. But if you want a flexible and sleek website solution, consider using Craft CMS as it can be tailored exactly for your needs. 

 

OpenCart vs WooCommerce: Which One To Choose? 

OpenCart and WooCommerce are both popular open-source e-commerce platforms. The main reason behind their popularity is mainly the reason they are fairly simple to use even for regular users but can be extensively reworked by developers. And most of all – being open-source, they are free to use. 

Both OpenCart and WooCommerce are created to provide e-commerce capabilities, no matter the size of the business. But while OpenCart is a open-source standalone solution, WooCommerce is an open-source plugin for WordPress. Both platforms are famous for their user-friendliness and offer extreme customization capabilities, as well as a lot of themes that can be used for adjusting the website layout. 

But which one offers better services for online stores – and which one to choose? Read on as we give you the main differences between OpenCart and WooCommerce. 

Setting Up

The setup process for both platforms is really simple and straightforward – it only takes a few steps through the installation wizard. OpenCart provides a manual setup option though, which is great for additional customization but suitable only for advanced users. 

The dashboards of both platforms are well-structured and simple, but overall OpenCart wins when it comes to setting up because of the versatile approach it offers. For non-coders, the installation is really easy thanks to the single click script installer, and developers can use the manual option and have more flexibility. 

Online Store Design 

Design is fairly easy and convenient as both OpenCart and WooCommerce offer plenty of free and paid themes that can be used for development. If you are using WooCommerce, you can also acquire themes through WordPress, while OpenCart offers compatible themes in third-party websites. There is also the possibility of working with open-source code on both platforms to further customize the appearance. 

But overall, WooCommerce provides a more intuitive and much simpler design process with numerous customizable themes. 

Customization 

Because both WooCommerce and OpenCart are supported by numerous developers worldwide, there are plenty of effective extensions for customization – not only on their individual marketplaces but on other websites as well. 

And since both platforms provide programming documentation, there is the possibility to configure your online store even further. WooCommerce wins in this category simply because it is easier to customize and the whole process is more intuitive. 

Store Management

OpenCart and WooCommerce provide support for all primary processes when it comes to e-commerce – from inventory management, sales tracking, order fulfillment, payment processing, reporting, marketing, and much more. And thanks to the versatile open-source coding, you can adjust the processes further. 

When it comes to store management, both platforms offer the same level of functionalities, so there is no way to say which one is better – this one is simply a tie. 

Pricing 

Being open-source, you will not pay for using OpenCart or WooCommerce. But there will be charges involved in creating and running your online store – these include domain registration, hosting, premium themes and extensions, payment processing options, as well as various plugins you might need to provide different functionalities on your website. 

 

7 Questions You Should Ask an OpenCart Developer During an Interview

If you are looking to hire a website developer for an e-commerce website using OpenCart, surely you want to hire the best one for the job. It does not matter if you are looking for whole new website development or just tweaking and upgrading an existing one, there are several important things you should be aware of before you hire the developer. 

The interview process is the best time to find out whether the developer will be the best fit for the job. Read on to find out which are the most important questions you should ask an OpenCart developer during an interview to ensure the best results. 

1. What is your experience in OpenCart development? 

Experience matters a lot when it comes to development, especially for using an e-commerce open-source platform like OpenCart. A developer without significant experience and knowledge may give you a lower price but this might lead to unwanted issues such as delayed project completion, bugs and errors on the website, and the inability of the developer to fulfill all your requirements, especially when there are more complicated features to be implemented. 

In the best-case scenario, the OpenCart developer you would hire will have at least 3 to 4 years of experience. 

2. How can you ensure the security of an OpenCart website? 

Security is very important, especially for websites build on open-source platforms like OpenCart. Since these have a familiar structure, they are easier to be attacked by hackers. But there are different ways a developer can make an OpenCart website secure – most likely, an experienced developer will have the knowledge to do so.

Again, one more reason to hire an experienced OpenCart developer to build or redesign your website. 

3. How many successful OpenCart projects have you worked on?

The years of experience is not the only factor to measure because a developer might have worked on just a few project during all that duration. You want to know the number of successful projects they have delivered – the more, the better. 

4. How much do you charge for website development? 

Of course, money is important, especially when you are a small business or a startup. So it is very important to be aware of all costs before you hire an OpenCart developer. You want to find the best quality for the most affordable cost – but since it will depend on the specific requirements of your website, it might be difficult to nail a fixed price. 

It is best if you compare prices from different website developers to ensure that you get the best quote that will meet all your needs. 

5. Can you offer OpenCart extensions customizations? 

A lot of developers know how to set up an e-commerce website with OpenCart and how to install and configure the extensions. But the process of customizing these extensions can be a challenging job that only experienced website developers can do. Make sure that the OpenCart developer you hire can customize the extensions according to your requirements. 

6. How long will it take to complete the project?

You should be aware from the start of the specific timeframe your e-commerce website can be done. Ask the developer when they can start and how soon they can finish and complete the project. If you are on a tight deadline, you have to be sure that the developer is up to the task and able to deliver on time, and that your project will not be delayed because of their unavailability. 

7. Do you provide future website maintenance?

You will need to make changes on the website in the future – like fixing issues, redesigning, or upgrading. Hire an OpenCart developer that will provide continuous support as you do not want to go through the same hiring process a couple of months later again. 

 

6 Reasons To Use Vue.js for Web UI Development

The UX/UI design is extremely important for application development and these days every brand and business is focused on having the right interactive elements and an intuitive user interface. So which is the best JavaScript framework for the development of UI? 

One of the best frameworks you could use is Vue.js – an open-source JavaScript framework that can be used for the development of web UI and single-page applications. It is preferred by most of the developers mostly because it offers a full set of features that makes it very easier to enter the UI world and ensure the success of a web application. 

Read on to find out what are the main characteristics of Vue.js and why you should use it for web UI development. 

What are the main characteristics of Vue.js 

Virtual DOM: Vue.js operates with Virtual DOM which means that any changes that are made during the development process will not be reflected on the DOM. This allows the developers to experiment with their design and see all the changes made in the user interface design. 

Data Binding: developers can easily modify the style, set values to HTML attributes, and more. 

Transition and animation: Developers can implement transition to HTML elements and add animated libraries to build more interactive UI. 

HTML-based templates: Vue.js makes tasks of UI development simpler by complying templates into Virtual DOM render functionality. 

Computed Properties: one of the core functionalities, which encourages developers and designers to take care of changes made to the elements of the user interface and make calculations without the need for additional coding. 

Why you should use Vue.js for web UI development 

Smaller size and high speed 

One of the best reasons to use Vue.js is that the application needs is up to 21 kB. But the smaller size does not affect performance and high speed. This is why Vue.js can be used for both smaller and bigger application development projects. 

Easy to learn 

With a very simple structure, Vue.js comes with a gentle learning curve that allows everyone to find and eliminate coding errors and work on smaller and larger templates fairly quickly. This is the main reason why Vue.js is becoming more and more popular in the mobile market. 

Better performance

Another great plus of Vue.js for web UI development is that it offers better and higher performance. The reason for that is that it works with a virtual DOM but also because it comes with the option to manage a high frame rate and pay attention to shortcomings. 

Simple to integrate

Because Vue.js is based on JavaScript, it is very easy to integrate with every existing app which allows JS integrations. This means that developers can create an app from scratch with Vue.js or introduce elements in an existing application. 

Flexible 

This is another plus of Vue.js for user interface web development – because it offers flexibility and enables writing templates in JavaScript and HTML that can run on different browsers. 

Well-defined documentation

The enhanced documentation that comes with Vue.js means that developers can easily understand the mechanisms and develop the application without having serious issues. 

 

The Pros and Cons of Using Concrete5 CMS

Concrete5 is a Content Management System (CMS) that can be used for website development. 

Just like other content management systems, Content5 provides the ability to manage the website content without the need of going through a web developer. 

With Concrete5 you can edit copy, control URL structure, and facilitate the distribution of media. It can simplify the management of content and offers search engine optimization and content distribution. You can use it for websites, online stores, forums, and web applications. It is not as popular as other Content Management Systems, such as WordPress, but what it lacks in popularity, it makes up in ease of use and functionalities. 

Of course, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using Concrete5 Content Management System, so it is important to know about them before deciding whether it will be a good fit for your needs and is it worth investing. Read on to find out the pros and cons of using Concrete5 CMS to make an informative decision. 

Pros of using Concrete5 Content Management System 

It is open-sourced: Because Concrete5 is open-source, you can easily modify and distribute code without having to worry about licensing fees. 

Provides native content blocks: One of the unique features of Concrete5 is the ability to drag and drop content blocks within a template, which makes organizing and editing extremely easy and effortless.

Easy to learn and use: Since Concrete5 is very easy to install and use, it is a great choice for people with little to no experience in coding and web development. There is no steep learning curve – actually, it is known as one of the best Content Management Systems for absolute beginners. 

Flexible and customizable: Concrete5 can be easily customized to suit the requirements and meet the needs of any small to medium-sized business. 

Good for Search Engine Optimization: It provides plenty of SEO tools that will help you to ensure that your website is optimized and Google-friendly.

Multiple website permissions: You can assign different permissions with different admin levels and control what different people can edit or not on the website. 

Cons of using Concrete5 Content Management System

Small community: The community behind Concrete5 is significantly smaller than other platforms which means that if you encounter an issue or have any questions it might be more difficult to find an answer. 
More commercial add-ons: Even though Concrete5 comes with a variety of nice features, more of the additional add-ons are available for purchasing. 

Concrete5 is definitely a content management system to consider as it offers ease of use and high functionality. It simplifies website management and allows you to add pages, content, and media without the need for coding and web development knowledge. It is especially good for content-focused websites such as blogs, marketing sites, online stores, and so on. 

But consider your personal needs and requirements before you decide whether it is the best fit or maybe another platform might be better in the long term. 

 

6 Reasons Why You Should Use Craft Commerce For E-Commerce Websites 

Craft Commerce provides everything you need for modern e-commerce – a great way to build intuitive, powerful, and user-friendly eCommerce solutions. It is customizable and flexible so you can build exactly the store you need. And the best thing is that it is equally intuitive for both developers and store managers. 

If you are looking into a made-for-you eCommerce solution – here are the best reasons why you should use Craft Commerce for your eCommerce website. 

Easy to use and intuitive 

When you need to make changes to your eCommerce website, everything is really easy with the admin control panel of Craft Commerce. It allows you to make changes and update the content without any additional efforts or need to ask a developer for help – a great way to save both time and money. 

Great customer support 

With Craft Commerce, you can always rely on super helpful, fast, and easy to access customer support. This can make all the difference when you manage your eCommerce store by yourself which is the case with a lot of small business owners. Having reliable customer support will ensure that you can tackle most of the issues and problems you encounter in your everyday site management. 

Easy to integrate 

Because Craft Commerce does not have themes, it provides the opportunity to build something unique and exactly according to your needs. You can just pick the features that will serve your business best without the need to redo a whole theme that does not fit your requirements exactly. 

With multiple plug-ins that are very intuitive to integrate, you can create check-out flows, optimize for SEO, or add payment gateways easily. 

Natural behaving websites 

You want your website to be responsive and to behave naturally – but you do not need to code to achieve that. Because Craft Commerce uses Twig coding language, websites respond naturally and behave the way they should. This means that your website will provide a better user experience and increase your conversions. 

Perfectly bridges content with the eCommerce store 

Having content as a part of your eCommerce strategy is a great way to strengthen the relationship with your customers, build authority, and achieve a significant advantage in front of your competitors. With Craft Commerce, you can structure long-form content and create super flexible and customizable pages – a great way to include quality and added value to your eCommerce website. 

Offers flexibility and scalability 

Being flexible and easily scalable is important for every eCommerce website that is supposed to grow – which is what you are aiming for. Growth and implementation of changes can turn out to be a challenge with most eCommerce platforms though. This is where you will appreciate the flexibility provided by Craft Commerce – applying changes and making adjustments is easy so you will not feel limited and can focus on growing your business. Create discounts, add new programs, offer a subscription option – whatever you need to improve your customer experience and increase your sales.