Offshore web development

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Globalisation has made it imperative for all companies to have an online presence.  Web development encompasses everything right from getting your domain name registered to having your company’s website and continuously maintaining it.

Offshore outsourcing simply means to hire an external service provider to carry out the business functions in an abroad country. Offshore outsourcing has gained a huge momentum as it helps companies of different scales to minimise their development and infrastructure costs and increase their profits. Constant innovation is required for companies to have an effective web presence and visibility.  Offshore Outsourcing becomes a financially viable option rather than having a team comprising writer, designer, programmer and engineer working in your office. Technology keeps on changing and imparting knowledge and training on a regular basis to a company’s employees is not feasible so companies prefer to outsource all secondary functions must be passed on to third parties.

How does it help businesses?

  • Delegating web development needs to an external agency helps companies to concentrate more on their core competencies and business processes. Outsourcing helps to increase the business performance of the company.
  • Companies save on the cost of infrastructure.
  • Competition in the outsourcing industry has led to timely deliveries. Offshore development agencies always try to deliver the project on time as timely delivery is a future investment for getting more projects.
  • Skilled professionals offer better and uninterrupted technical support to their clients. Outsourcing helps you gain access to latest technology and expertise.
  • Some business houses also outsource with the vision to expand and gain access to new markets. Outsourcing helps companies to promote their business in untapped areas.
  • Offshore outsourcing service providers act as specialists and help companies mitigate risks.
  • Offshore agencies offer companies with flexibility as they modify their solutions as per the requirement of the business.

Key parameters to look out for while opting for an offshore developing company.

  • Location of the offshore company: While deciding the location of offshore company, it is important to study the political stability of the country. Time zone and cultural differences of the country where the offshore provider is located should also be considered.
  • Portfolio of the offshore web development company- Analyse the previous work of the development company and check if it matches your requirements.
  • Reliability of the company: Check the testimonials of previous customers of the web development company and speak to them. Gauge their ability to handle the projects like you are about to present them, their growth rates and their achievements.
  • Price: Compare rates with other companies. Decide the price of the project beforehand; if completely not possible then an estimate is also good enough. Care should be taken that you do not negotiate too much on price resulting in a sub standard quality of project developed by the offshore development company.
  • Infrastructure and Technical expertise: Find out whether the offshore service provider has state of the art infrastructure and professionals with the required skill set. With the market getting increasingly competitive, most of the companies continuously strive to hire a proficient staff.

There is a dearth of offshore outsourcing companies and to zero down on the right company is a crucial decision. Once the decision to choose the right company is taken, the business organisation can reap the benefits of outsourcing.

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5 key elements of an ecommerce site

ecommerce web

Make your E-commerce sites more conspicuous. – must haves for a successful E-commerce website.

Having an online business presence earlier was the domain of big companies but now even mid-sized and small businesses are waking up to the potential of ecommerce.  Having an eCommerce website allows you to promote your products and services globally. One of the biggest advantages of having an ecommerce site is that you are available 24*7 to your potential customers.

Ecommerce for businesses is one of the most effective and efficient ways to cut costs and reach out to a wider audience that extends beyond the geographical boundaries. You can create a huge customer base and develop your niche market in a speedy and cost effective manner. For customers, ecommerce gives them the option of looking and comparing products and services even while staying in the confines of their homes and offices.

Listed are some of the key elements for building an effective ecommerce website:

  • Security Payment/ Account Security: Security is one of the most crucial factors in online shopping. Customers are sceptical of sharing of credit/debit card details. Instil faith in your customers by communicating that their transaction and card details are completely secure.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Search Engine Optimization is one of the key factors for the success of your ecommerce site.  SEO helps in indexing your product pages so that when a prospective customer is searching for a product or service on the net, your pages will be ranking higher on search engines. If done effectively, SEO will enhance your online visibility, generate more leads for your business and increase your Return on Investment.
  • Design of the Ecommerce website: Your ecommerce website has to be visually attractive, fast to load and simple to navigate. A sizeable number of people who shop online rely heavily on visuals. Allure your visitors by using large pictures or give them an option to zoom in on images. Keep your shopping cart simple as longer purchasing process will prevent your prospective buyers to take any call for action.
  • Content Management System: Ecommerce site needs to be dynamic. A good Content Management System will help you instantly and seamlessly update your website content giving it a fresh look.  Updating content on a continuous basis also helps in maintaining the websites rankings on search engines.
  • Navigation: Navigation for an ecommerce site should be clear, consistent, extremely simple and comprehendible. Provide your visitors an enhanced and quick search method. If your visitor is unable to find your product easily on your website, it will put him off and also prevent him from visiting your website again.  Depending on your products, plan your product categories accordingly.

Create your own ecommerce site today and catapult your business to greater heights. 

Top 5 ingredients for web development.

Custome Web Application, Website developers

Custome Web Application, Website developers

It is essential to adopt latest technologies and current applications in web development. The process of web development project.

Best practices in creating a web development Architecture:

1- What does the site need to do?
First you need to find out what business model the website will be reflecting. Is it going to be lead generation, advertising driven or sales driven site.

2- What is the plan for growth?
Secondly check if the client has any intention building a community around the business and whether they are looking for a web 2.0 designs, will they be offering support online for product and services they offer, are they looking for managing advertising as well.

3- What kind of site integration will be required?
You need to find out if their existing business system will be a part of the process or the client is looking for the new system, also if the contact forms need to connect with a pre-existing database.

 

Secure your website and broken tags:

Your website should be tested for known vulnerabilities and security holes. Methods like penetration testing and load testing should be followed for your website and online application to ensure the safety of your data and your business.

Some of the known threats that you can protect your website on include:

  • · X-site scripting.
  • · SQL Injections.
  • · Classic Buffer Overflow.
  • · Poor access control definitions.
  • · Using unsecure FTP and not SFTP.
  • · OS Command injection.
  • · Hard coded scripting methods.

Test your site not with data, also with scripts:

I have outlined some details on web application testing which includes security testing, functionality testing, interface testing, usability testing, compatibility testing and performance testing.

  • · Check for logical errors
  • · Check for Design errors
  • · Go thru the communication you had with leader/ customer and confirm the delivery is as per the requirements
  • · Check for browser compatibility – IE 6.x
  • · Compare the sample HTML page given with the approved page and ensure that , it meets all look-n-feel requirements
  • · Perform thorough checking on all the modules related to the reworked pages
  • · Validation is compulsory for forms ( ensure data types while validating, this will avoid data errors)
  • · Empty the database and do the testing
  • · Check for Image/File uploads before delivery
  • · Never neglect HTML changes
  • · Check for scrolling and check the pages in higher and lower resolution
  • · Have CSS applied in all the pages and font, font size, colors should be consistent and presentable
  • · Check that the Images are not stretched or compressed in the pages
  • · Ensure Labeling/ messages wherever necessary
  • · Upload the work on Development servers and check the above points again thoroughly

Final delivery:

After you correct all errors, you are ready to deliver the site to its live environment but before that, your final delivery methodology should follow a structured path that has been validated with the final checks and testing to ensure the web application works well on its final server without any bugs and errors. The final web application delivery completes the phase of web development.