Why Biometric Security is Taking Over Traditional Passwords

Why Biometric Security is Taking Over Traditional Passwords

by | Nov 9, 2020 | Web Development

Did you know that passwords go back to Ancient Rome? While most people think they became popular after the computer, they’ve been around much longer. But lately, companies have turned to biometric security instead of using passwords. In this post, we’re going to discuss why biometric security is taking over the traditional password. 

 

The main reason passwords are so popular is due to the introduction of the internet. But, there are many issues with password security. According to Hiscox, small businesses in the UK are hacked every 19 seconds, so while passwords offer some protection, hackers can still access your personal information. 

 

Luckily, biometric security is the solution to many businesses hacking problems. 

 

What is Biometric Security?

 

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Biometric security is a newer form of technology, and its primary purpose is to improve user experience. Instead of inputting passwords, or pin codes, biometric security offers two primary ways to access your device/information; fingerprint sensors and facial recognition. 

 

Fingerprint Sensors

 

Fingerprint sensors are one of the most popular forms of biometric technology. They’re used in appliances, wearable items and mobile devices. While they’ve been around for years, it’s only recently that they became a staple for mobile phones and household items. 

 

The scanners work by taking an image of your fingerprint and using it as your identification. In simple terms, it’s a high-security password that you don’t need to remember. You can also get fingerprint locks which work similarly. 

 

Facial Recognition Technology

 

Facial recognition technology is similar to fingerprint sensors, but it scans an image of your face instead. Each person’s face has unique features and symmetrical elements, and the facial scanner picks these out and uses them to confirm your identity. 

 

The Advantages of Biometric Security

 

Biometric security has two distinctive advantages. Let’s take a look at some of them. 

 

High Security 

 

As we mentioned previously, traditional passwords are easy for hackers to access, but biometric technology drastically reduces their opportunities. If you want peace of mind, then using a biometric system for your business is a good idea. 

 

Did you know that there’s a one in sixty-four billion chance of your fingerprints matching with somebody else’s? That figure alone shows how secure biometric technology is. It would be almost impossible for someone to sign in to your device without access to your fingerprints. 

 

More Convenient 

 

It’s getting harder than ever to create a strong password. Most people use memorable information because it’s easier. But, most passwords should contain a mix of high case letters, lower case letters, numbers and special symbols. 

 

Biometric security is more convenient for users because there’s no need to remember your password. It takes less than a few seconds to sign in to your accounts, which simplifies internet banking and other applications. 

 

Things to Consider 

 

If you want to use biometrics for your business, then it can be quite costly. But, when you weigh it up against the costs of being hacked, then it can be worth the investment. The reality of biometric security is that it provides a convenient solution for businesses and consumers. 

 

Do you use biometric technology for your business? Are there any worries you have about implementing it? Let us know in the comments. 

What Is a Robots.TXT File and How Can I Use Them?

What Is a Robots.TXT File and How Can I Use Them?

by | Oct 19, 2020 | Web Development

There are so many things to think about when you start a business, and as technology improves, a lot of new company owners find themselves feeling lost and confused. If you haven’t heard of robots.txt files and why they’re essential for your business, then read on. 

 

What is a Robots.txt File?

 

Robots.txt is a tiny file that might seem of little importance, but it can destroy your website. Every search engine has bots that crawl a website and determine which pages to index. When your pages are indexed, they show up in the search engine results page. 

 

You can use robots.txt to tell search engines not to crawl individual pages, which means those pages won’t appear on the search engine results page. 

 

How it Works 

 

Every search engine follows a set of rules to ensure it delivers the best results for both users and website owners. A search engine will check to see what your robots.txt file says before it begins crawling and indexing your web pages. 

 

Robots.txt is useful because you can configure your files to cancel out certain web pages, which means a search engine won’t index them. This can be beneficial if you have duplicate pages, broken links and specific areas of your website that you don’t want spider search engines to crawl and index. 

 

Most search engines can only crawl a limited amount of pages every day, so when you configure your robots.txt file to eliminate less valuable pages, you have more opportunities to rank on the results page. 

 

How to Use Robots.TXT 

 

You can check if you have a txt.file by typing this formula into the search engine: [domain.com/robots.txt). Once you know if you have a file, you can use it to direct search engines to the pages you want them to crawl. 

 

Here are some of the things you can do with a robots.txt file. 

 

Allow Everything 

 

Most websites find it’s easier to allow search engine bots to crawl and index their entire website because they don’t have to configure their txt.file. Using this option means crawlers can find new pages and automatically crawl them. 

 

Block One Sub-Directory

 

If you have a specific area on your website that you don’t want spider search engine crawlers to find, then you should use the block one sub-directory option. This option enables you to block the checkout area, specific files or an adult section on your site. 

 

Block Certain Files 

 

Some people like to display images on their website, but don’t want them to be indexed by the search engines. Using this option means you can block GIFs, PDFs and focus on the vital information. 

 

Block Certain Webpages 

 

If you want to block your terms and conditions pages or any others that might take up valuable crawling time, you can use a command to make sure search engines ignore them. Your website visitors can still discover less important pages, but you won’t have to worry about missing out on your most important pages being crawled. 

 

The Bottom Line 

 

Now you know the basics of robots.txt files; you can use them to make sure the search engines crawl your most important pages, which will increase your visibility. You can use these commands to configure your robots.txt file. 

 

Would you like to know how to create web pages that turn visitors into customers? Click here for our extensive guide. 

Accelerated Mobile Pages: What Is AMP and Why is it Important?

Accelerated Mobile Pages: What Is AMP and Why is it Important?

by | Oct 2, 2020 | Web Development

Do you remember the old Nokia phones? People were so excited about being able to send text messages and play snake. Fast forward a few years and Smartphones have become a staple for most people, so businesses have to adapt to consumer trends. One of the latest things companies must consider is accelerated mobile pages. 

 

In 2018, mobile usage finally took over desktop, meaning Google had to come up with a way to help websites optimise themselves for mobile browsing. Their solution is AMP. 

 

What is AMP?

 

AMP was developed by Google to improve how websites are optimised for mobile search. In basic terms, AMP refers to a framework that works around existing HTML to create an effective way to streamline the information browsers exchange with each other. 

 

By using AMP, users get a faster browsing experience, and loading speed for mobile pages is instantaneous. The most significant advantage of AMP is it integrates well with all browsers and content management systems. 

 

Accelerated Mobile Pages SEO Benefits 

 

It’s important to note here that while AMP isn’t a ranking factor for your SEO, but implementing it does offer two major benefits. Let’s look at them now. 

 

Faster Page Load Times 

 

Google recently announced that in 2021, its ranking factors would change to include user experience. One of the most significant aspects their algorithm will look for is page loading times. AMP can boost the speed of your web pages, which will result in your search result page ranking. 

 

According to Google, implementing AMP into your website means your web page loading time could be under one second. As Website Magazine points out, slow loading pages are one of the most significant reasons people leave a web page so that AMP can make a big difference to your SEO. 

 

More Visibility in Search Results 

 

Google makes certain websites that use AMP are rewarded by enhanced visibility in the search results. As you can see from the image below, AMP pages are highlighted by a lightning bolt so users can see which sites use it. 

 

<h3>amp lightning bolt</h3>

 

AMP is also a deciding factor in if top stories will rank highly in the search results. If you don’t implement AMP, Google won’t include your post in the top stories carousel, so for blogging and content marketing purposes, AMP looks like it will become a vital integration for all sites soon. 

 

Things to Think About 

 

Implementing AMP is a good idea, but before you dive in head first, there are a few things you should consider. 

 

Is AMP a stable investment? 

 

What we mean by stable investment is can you invest once in AMP and expect to not make any future investments on upgrades? Unfortunately not. Google continually updates its algorithm, and it’s likely accelerated mobile pages. 

 

Is there more work involved? 

 

You’ll need to either have a development team in place or partner with a developer if you want to create content. SEO is more complicated with accelerated mobile pages, so it’s worth considering if you can afford the extra costs, time and input. 

 

The Bottom Line 

 

AMP holds a lot of benefits, but it seems while larger companies embrace it, SMB’s need to think about whether the pros outweigh the cons. There’s no doubt that accelerated mobile pages for SEO are important, but it’s not a cheap option for companies on a budget. 

 

If you’d like to know more about how to boost your website performance, check out our guide on how to keep users on your website using internal linking. 

5 WordPress Plugins You Can’t Live Without 

5 WordPress Plugins You Can’t Live Without 

by | Oct 2, 2020 | Web Design, Web Development

WordPress is one of the most popular website builders and content management systems in the world. What makes it so good are the sheer number of plugins available. In this post, we’re going to look at the best WordPress plugins available. 

 

Yoast SEO 

 

Yoast is our go-to tool here at Zapp Sites. We know how important SEO is, and Yoast makes it so much easier. There’s a free version and a paid version, but both are excellent. Using Yoast means you can update your meta titles and descriptions. It also shows you how many times your focus keyword appears in your test and gives you useful tips on how to improve your SEO score. 

 

The premium version of Yoast has more capabilities, including synonym keywords and other words. It’s an excellent option for larger businesses, but the free version has everything you need to get started with your SEO efforts. 

 

Visual Composer/WP Bakery Page Builder

 

Web designers UK and worldwide use Visual Composer to create their sites. The frontend and backend page builder enables you to modify existing pages and create new ones with ease. Better still, the fully responsive plugin will integrate into any theme you choose, and it has full responsiveness. 

 

Visual Composer isn’t one of the free WordPress plugins, but for everything it offers, it’s worth the money, especially if you want to build high-quality websites. 

 

Remove Widget Titles 

 

If you’re already familiar with WordPress, then you know how essential widgets are. The most significant issue users have is that if you don’t give your widgets a title, the word ‘text’ displays. It causes problems if you have multiple widgets on your site, but you can remove the text with this free plugin. 

 

While this plugin might not seem like a big deal, it makes all the difference when you want to manage your widgets and titles from the backend. 

 

WooCommerce 

 

Most people think WooCommerce is just for selling physical products, but you can also use it for subscriptions. It’s one of the best free WordPress plugins around and has endless add-on features. You might have to pay for more premium add-ons, but overall WooCommerce is ideal for people that want to maximise their selling potential. 

 

If you want to begin selling on your WordPress website, you can integrate WooCommerce and save yourself some money. The plugin is quite complex to use, so you might find it’s better to get a professional to help you set it up. 

 

AMP 

 

Everyone knows how important a mobile responsive website is, especially if your business operates locally With so many people using their phones and tablets to browse the net, you need to make sure your site works across all devices. The AMP plugin enables you to optimise your website for Google and make sure you have the best chance of ranking on mobile searches. 

 

So, those were the best WordPress plugins you can’t live without. If you’d like to learn more about developing your website, check out our helpful guide on web page design and the best practices to make your site stand out. 

 

Live Chat: 5 Reasons Your Business Needs It 

Live Chat: 5 Reasons Your Business Needs It 

by | Sep 15, 2020 | Web Development

In the business world, nothing is ever certain. You can have the best ideas, a fantastic website and offer low prices, but without your customers, you’re nothing. Today, businesses are using the benefits of live chat to scale their customer service efforts, but what is live chat?

 

What Is Live Chat?

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Live chat enables customers to receive support in real-time. Instead of sending an email or picking up the phone, they can chat to an operative through websites, apps and Facebook messenger. 

 

Most large companies use live chat, and smaller companies are starting to see the benefits it has. Let’s look at why you need live chat. 

 

More Convenience 

 

Imagine you operate your business in the UK, and a potential lead in Canada visits your website. Research shows that the average person will visit a website nine times before they make a purchase, but live chat can help you reduce the number of visits by offering more convenience. 

 

Few people enjoy picking up the phone, and most businesses reply to email within 48 hours. While that may not seem a long time, if your customer is actively searching for a product/service, they want to find what they need instead of waiting around. 

 

Live chat means you can answer your visitors’ questions in real-time, and provide expert advice. 

 

Better Reputation

 

Customer service can make or break a business. That’s a fact. HubSpot has a useful list of statistics that shows how vital customer service is to any business, to make sales. But it’s also essential if you want to maintain a good reputation. 

 

There are so many businesses around; it’s challenging to stand against the competition. Live chat can build your reputation with your audience because it shows you’re ready to help them with whatever they need when they visit your website. 

 

Now more small businesses are implementing live chat features, in an attempt to compete with retailers such as Amazon. It’s crucial you don’t get left behind because your company will suffer. 

 

Cost Effective 

 

Live chat services are bigger and better than ever before. Newer software has multi-chat functionality, which means you don’t have to hire multiple operators. You might be able to cut back on your administrative spend if you have experienced operators, so live chat might be a more cost-effective option for your business. 

 

There are some free live chat options available, including Zoho but if you want to generate reports, you’ll have to pay. Apex Chat claims that including live chat in your customer service strategy can increase your conversions by up to 40%. An initial investment in the software could mean a steady increase in your profits. 

 

Higher Conversion Rates 

<h3>benefits of live chat</h3>

People rarely want to part with their hard-earned cash, so it’s your job to convince them. Live chat is a great way to interact with potential customers because you can build a level of trust. Think about it like this, would you rather search through a website and choose a product you think you want or speak to a real person that can help you to decide? 

 

When you offer sound advice and listen to your customers’ needs, they’re more likely to trust your brand and will make a purchase. 

 

Monitor Employees 

 

It’s common practice to ask customers to fill out a survey if they’ve accessed your telephone support, but how many do it? Not many at all. But with live chat, you have the logs at your disposal to monitor how your team interacts with your visitors. 

 

Customer service is essential for any brand success. Statistics from Customer Thermometer show that 47% of people will switch to a different company if they receive poor support. Evaluating the performance of your operators means you can assess whether they need more training. 

 

The Bottom Line 

 

Now you know the benefits of live chat, it’s time to consider integrating it into your website. The impact of COVID means that companies will have to really up their game to survive, and improving your customer service could be the difference. 

 

If you’d like support with accessing live chat business services, Zapp sites are here to help. We have a range of cost-effective website packages, with fully customizable add-ons. Contact us today to build your business for a better future. 

 

Web Design and Web Development: Are They Different?

Web Design and Web Development: Are They Different?

by | Aug 31, 2020 | Web Design, Web Development

It’s one of the most common misconceptions that web design and web development are the same. The practices are different, but both are vital if you want to create a functional platform for your business.

According to HubSpot, 90% of people leave a website if the design is poor, and Standard Firms say that 47% of people expect a website to load within two seconds.

Both are incredibly important, but to understand why we need to uncover the differences between web design and web development.

What Is Web Design?

Web designers make sure your site looks good and use their technical skills to create visual elements. They also use HTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) to create unique designs and customise the visual elements to meet a company’s branding requirements.

 

The Web Designers Main Role 

The look of a website is essential because if a user doesn’t find the overall design appealing, they’re more likely to go elsewhere. Most web designers sit with clients to discuss their branding and make sure it remains consistent among all marketing channels.

Most designers start with a concept and create a template based around it. Once the base design is complete, they move on to the graphics and visuals. The most popular web design tools are InDesign, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

For a web designer to carry out their work effectively, they need to possess a multitude of skills, including:

Typography 

The majority of web designers understand how essential typography is to a company’s brand identity. There are so many fonts to choose from (link to branding guide here), but the right designer will make sure your typography works with your brand and not against it.

Design 

It won’t shock you to learn that a designer must have the necessary skills. Working with shapes, logos, and a variety of graphic design tools enables professionals to create unique elements for a website.

Imagination 

Did you know that there are over 1.7 billion websites in the world? That’s a lot of competition. Successful web designers know how to make a site stand out. They use their imagination, along with creative skills, to provide unique designs for their clients.

 

What Is Web Development? 

Website development is the process of taking a design and turning it into a workable reality. If web designers are the visionaries, developers are the technicians. There are many different forms of web development, so let’s take a look at them.

Front-end Development 

When a design is complete, front-end developers translate it into code. They use HTML for the website structure and CSS to configure the elements such as layouts, buttons and the general style.

Advanced developers also use JavaScript to improve the interactivity. One of the best examples of front-end work is the process of customising a WordPress website.

Back-end Development 

Back-end development demands more technical ability because it focuses on how a website works. Back-end developers provide higher levels of functionality for sites, including integrating shopping carts and user accounts.

Both front and back-end developers possess many skills, including:

Technicality 

It comes as no surprise that web developers are a tech-savvy bunch, and their skills should never be underestimated. Most developers know how to use advanced software and can even create their own.

Testing and Debugging

Webpage errors cost clients, so developers must be aware of any issues so they can fix them promptly. Continuous testing is vital for website usability and identifying bugs.

Responsive Design 

Responsive design is vital in this age – especially with 53% of website traffic coming from mobile devices in 2019. To make sure users get the best experience, developers must make sure that the website fits a range of screen sizes. If the responsivity isn’t on-point, then customers will go elsewhere.

 

So What Is The Difference Between Website Design and Website Development? 

When we look at web design and web development, we can see they have a lot of similarities. While many people begin by specialising in one area, they often acquire skills in the other to provide a comprehensive service.

One example of this is responsive design. Both designers and developers need to know how to create websites that work on a range of devices, so many choose to develop their skills and branch out into new areas.

Working with CSS systems requires a lot of technicality and creativity, and a lot of designers combine their services with website development to meet the needs of their client.

 

Are The Specialities Merging? 

Full-stack developers are defining the website design industry, with many professionals choosing to offer a complete experience. The ability to take a basic concept, create a design and see it through to the finish can be very profitable for web professionals.

While some people still prefer to specialise in either web design or development, many realise that their clients would prefer an all-in-one service rather than having to source professionals for different roles.

You should think of web design and development encompassing a whole industry. Neither is more important than the other and for an effective website, both practices should be applied.

 

The Bottom Line 

 

With many clients hoping to simplify the website development process, professionals have many opportunities to scale their business. A lot of companies choose to offer templated designs to provide affordable web design for their customers.

 

If you’re thinking about asking a professional to build your website, think about the following things:

 

  • What can they offer you?
  • Do they specialise in mobile responsiveness?
  • Which services do you require for your platform?

 

Finding the right company to build your website can be challenging, but it is possible. If you’re looking for a simple website to showcase your services, then there are plenty of professionals that offer basic design, development and customisation.

 

If you’re searching for the best web design agency in the UK, it’s best to find one that offers templates, customisation and bespoke website build from scratch.

 

Now you know the difference between web design and web development, you can choose the company that suits your needs and create an online platform for your business.