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What does good door security look like?

Home Improvement & Construction

When you think about ‘door security’, what comes to mind? A solid door, a key that works and it can be easily closed and opened. It’s the entry to your home from the outside world. But door security is so much more important than that. It’s not only what is on the door but also everything around it that makes it secure. Getting the most out of your door security requires research, planning and of course, getting the professionals to install it all for you.

Factors to consider when securing your door

Door dimensions

This can either limit or widen your choices when it comes to the types of door locks you can install on your door. So, if you’re planning to upgrade to a new door, take a look at the door compatibility info pack for your chosen door lock. It is important to stick to these recommended dimensions. But, if you are using your existing door, then you need to ensure that the door lock will fit properly and securely on it. So what are the door dimensions that you should look for? the door thickness, height and width.

Material

What is your door made of? It is important to note that certain locks, such as smart locks will only operate on wooden doors. The design of your door also plays a key role in determining where you can install the door hardware. For example, if the design has a trimming or moulding, this limits the locations for the door handle, peep viewer and door knocker.

What other elements on the door design that can influence the positions of door hardware or the security of your door? Glass panels. Although glass panels are aesthetically pleasing, they may not necessarily be secure. It depends on the composition and placement of the panels. If you do opt for one (or two!) then get these double glazed. It improves its strength and becomes less susceptible to breakage. Glass panels shouldn’t be within easy reach of the door lock either. Should the glass break, you don’t want the thief to be able to easily reach through the broken panel to unlock the door.

Door hardware

We’ve touched lightly on this one in the previous section, now let’s go more into detail. The first must have is to invest in a high quality door lock. Most residential homes have either a double cylinder deadbolt or deadlatch. With a deadbolt, the bolt is engaged when a knob or key being turned, rather than by a spring. A deadlatch has a spring-bolt latch where the bolt will self deadlock. It can then be retracted by turning either the doorknob or key.

The second must have item is a door peep viewer. Because it’s always a good idea to see who is outside your home before opening the door. A door peep viewer can also work as a back up to a video doorbell. For example, if your video doorbell runs out of battery or is broken.

Consider a security screen door

A security screen door prevents bugs, pests and debris from entering your home. Plus with the right type of screen or mesh, it’s also an extra layer of security. Again, it is worth doing your research and investing in a high quality security screen door. It should be able to resist from a variety of attacks, such as brute force, knife shearing and tool jimmying. Security screen doors are made of steel or aluminium and include non-removable hinges. Your security screen door should also be able to be locked from the inside with or without a key.

Security around the door

Clear the space around the door. You should have an unobstructed view of the area in front and near the door. Trim trees and bushes that are located near your front door and windows. By having a clear line of sight on your front yard, it eliminates any possible hiding spots for thieves to scope out your home beforehand. Motion-activated lights provide that extra bit of security to the front of your home at night. So have one installed at your front door. It gives you a clear view of what is happening outside. Thieves prefer the cover of darkness, so if the streetlights in your neighbourhood are broken, get these reported immediately.

If you are in an emergency situation, it helps emergency responders to clearly identify your house, so ensure that your house number is clearly visible as well.

Maintaining your door security

Once you have kitted out your door with the best in door hardware and security, it is time to maintain it. Just like your car, it requires regular maintenance to keep it in top shape. But what does this look like?

If you’re in an area by the ocean, it’s a good idea to regularly wipe down your door lock to avoid the build-up of salt crystallisation;
Check the door lock isn’t loose, or that it’s too difficult to get the key into the keyhole;
If there are holes in the security screen, get these fixed asap. Otherwise, if the holes get bigger, it can render the security screen useless against thieves (and flies).
If the door drags or doesn’t close easily, check the hinges are screwed tightly. This can come loose over time as a result of simple wear and tear.
Avoid bringing extra dirt into your home by wiping down your security screen and main door.
Does any area of the door look as if it’s been tampered with? This could be the sign that someone has attempted to break into your home. Consider other options to protect your home, such as outdoor cameras and motion-activated lights.

Remember, if you are not satisfied with your door security, call in the professionals. They will conduct a full review of your door and provide you with suitable alternatives.

Excitement Grows Around Amalia Kadis’ Imminent Album Drop

Celebrity
Featured⭐
Review

Samantha Rigby

Excitement Grows Around Amalia Kadis’ Imminent Album Drop

Amalia Kadis is one of the strongest up and coming EDM singers, and she has built up an impressive catalogue of singles released throughout 2020. Instead of allowing the disruption of COVID-19 to ruin her release schedule, Amalia has famously persevered through the crisis and worked remotely with her team to release new 3 singles over the last 3 months.

In many ways, Amalia Kadis has proven to be a highly positive force, both in her attitude to her work as well as the feelings her music induces. Thoughtful and engaging, Amalia’s music is something that thousands of fans have found enjoyment vibing with during the rocky (to say the least) year 2020 has been for everyone.

Each of her tracks she’s released so far is a real treat to listen to, and her fans love the positive vibes she brings. Her thoughtful lyrics and natural vocal ability are supported by excellent production values.

Amalia Kadis has gone from strength to strength with her music, and the release of her new album this month is incredibly exciting. If the quality of her currently released music is anything to go by, then fans and new listeners alike are in for a major treat when her album finally drops later this month.

We’re still anxiously waiting to hear new details about the album, as Amalia has been somewhat secretive about it – we don’t even know what it will be called yet! This has only heightened our anticipation, however, and we’re constantly replaying her current tracks on Spotify in excitement.

There’s no doubt that the new album, whatever it’s titled, is going to be filled with good vibes and quality beats. As it’s her first album, Amalia Kadis is no doubt anxious to see how it performs, but we’re confident that it’ll be loved by everyone who hears it.

Do’s and don’ts to keep in mind for your logo design

IT
Software
Technology
Web Development

Andrew Simon

Logos are the most observed component of your company. It is of utmost importance to grow the brand exceptionally. It gives your brand an unique identity which makes your stand out of the crowd and get noticed.

Having a well-crafted logo design makes a long-lasting impression on the customer and builds a positive trust between you and the customers. Being a most significant part of the brand, you must create it which attracts the customers towards your brand.

Designing a logo isn’t an easy task, it requires a meticulous knowledge of design concepts and various elements. Your business logo design includes plenty of colors, fonts, shapes and other design elements which makes it appealing and you need to use it wisely. Therefore, let’s discuss some of the do’s and don’ts points that you must keep in mind.

Do’s to keep in mind

01. Make your logo clear and legible

Your professional logo design must be clear and legible, there is nothing wrong in having this type of logo. People always struggled to read the complex fonts and unclear design which reduced the legibility of it.

Simplicity in logos is always a preferable option by many designers, it has power to capture the attention of the people. Many famous companies have accepted this point in their logo and make it simple, though they are able to attract the people and get noticed among other competitors. For instance, the logo of Nike is a perfect example of clear and legible logo, just swoosh sign and becomes the most popular brand in the international level.

02. Consider scalability

Logo has a wide range of usage. It can be placed in a website, social media images, banners, and many more even in different sizes as well. Might be today, you’re only using it in a website but later in the future you will require it in many places.

A business logo must be scalable enough so that it looks appealing in large size billboards to the small size pen as well. In order to make it scalable, you should not add too many details in a single design, otherwise it becomes difficult to see in a small size. So, consider this point as your logo can be used in any place, you must design it accordingly.

03. Be consistent

It’s really important when you’re designing a logo for your brand. It must be consistent from the first design. A frequent modification makes a negative impact on the customers and they won’t trust you more.

As the logo is the identity of the brand so must be consistent so that it shows the true value of the company. However, to keep it updated with the latest trend, small changes are acceptable but a major modification which completely changes the look of it is not recommendable.

You can consider the logo of Google as the best example of consistency. As they haven’t made much more modification in it from the establishment of the company.

04. Color variations

Might be the first time you have designed your professional logo design by considering only a single color. However, the fact is that it can be used in multiple color variations based on the requirements. So, you must design by considering plenty of color combinations.

Different color variation makes you stand out from the other and gets the attention from people. Because people always want to see something new, and colors can do that work very effectively. Thus, consider various color variations which suit your logo design the most and give a unique identity.

Don’ts to keep in mind

01. Overuse of colors

Undeniable, the colors are the integral part of the whole logo design. It has power to give your logo an extraordinary look if it’s used cleverly. Strive for simple and limited use of colors.

Two to three colors in a design would be sufficient to make it an eye-catching logo. Extensive use of it makes your logo complex and busy, which is not appropriate for any corporate industry. Being a designer you must understand the significance of color psychology as well. Each has a different meaning which you can include in design. A simple and wise of it shows the professionalism of the brand.

02. Blunder with fonts

Another very important factor which needs to be considered very carefully. A wrong use of typography won’t help you to attract the customers as it’s the most observed element of the logo.

Don’t make it complicated for your customer to read, it keeps your user stay away from you and that’s what nobody wants. If you’re going to use more than one font in a logo design then make sure that both look appealing by placing them on each other, otherwise it ruins the whole design.

Even from the distance and in the small object also it must look attractive. Bold and thick line fonts won’t give you better legibility in every device. Hence, choose the fonts wisely and make sure that they fit with the other design of the logo.

03. Copied from existing

Your logo design is an identity of your brand, it must be unique. It won’t help you to differentiate your brand from others, that is what the ultimate goal is.

You can take inspiration from the various professional logo designs but your imagination is what makes it attractive. By copying the logo you’re creating distance between you and a customer because if they find something relevant to it, they won’t trust you anymore.

04. Forget the industry

It’s highly necessary to include something relevant to the industry in the logo design. As it’s the identity of the brand, people must understand about the brand by looking at.

You can be creative and think out of the box to make it extraordinary and impressive but it should not ignore the industry. You need to just insert your requirement in the logo creator based on that you will get the logos of it. For example, you can not add fancy images and colors in a logo for the hospital. It must be somewhere relevant to the industry you’re targeting.

Conclusion:

Undeniably, the logo is the face of the company. It must be unique and extraordinary to impress the customers. In this digital world, having a well-crafted logo has utmost importance for various purposes. However, you need to consider the above-mentioned do’s and don’ts to make it suDo’s to keep in minditable for your brand.

Desired Living Reviews – We Selected The Most Enjoyable Reviews

Review

Below are selected reviews of Desired Living:

“I am loving my olive green chesterfield which we ordered from Desired Living in April this year. The quality is definitely better than I had anticipated given the price I paid for it. Would highly recommend to anyone who doesn’t want to pay the price tag for an overpriced furniture piece.” – T. Khan

“took me an hour to get to the store, wish it was closer to the west. But so happy I took the effort, I found a great 3 seater recliner in stock. It has been delivered and to my surprise they put a free cleaning kit for my lounge. THANK YOU” – Anita g.

“A big thank you to Desired Living and the staff in Sydney. The leather recliners arrived today and are amazing. I am sitting on them right now and these recliners are very comfortable. The shop in Sydney had a good range on display and Jim or Jason in the store was very professional and helped a lot. I am satisfied with the lounge desired living have provided.” – laylamae4u

“Beautiful lounge I just got. Good colours recommended by guy in shop. Please with comfort. I will buy from here again should I need more lounges. I have my eye on some recliners I saw in shop.” – Seth y.

“Moved house, needed two sets a corner lounge and recliner set. Very surprised how these guys could modify the size of the lounge. Good selection of colours, I remember it taking my hours to decide. Lounge arrived last week and recliners today. Happy with both lounges, would have liked more updates while the sofa was being made.” – Roger Salcoodo

“Thanks guys for delivering us a wonderful looking couch. Your service is excellent from the start and I would not hesitate to recommend you. However please use better couriers. I understand that they may not be directly related to your business however impression matters! We would have been happy to pay them extra to remove the existing couches but they didn’t even acknowledge our request. Otherwise it would have been a perfect experience from us.” – Timothy

“I am completely obsessed with my new lounge set. I purchased the Bolton leather sofa lounge set a few months ago and the quality and comfort is amazing. It looked exactly like it does in the images on the website. I have not come across any other shop that allows you to customise the softness of
your seat!!!! Unlike Lounge Life which we visited first, because they advertise themselves as having the widest colour range, its disappointing that this is not the case. On the other hand, Desired Living has a very wide colour range. I was able to choose natural colours to suit my existing furniture. We wanted to thank James who was very patient with us all the way.” – Lammy

“We are pleasantly surprised by our purchase. The colours match our walls perfectly. I must say you have one of the widest colour range we have seen from any retailer! Delivery was ok – Courier moved the sofas to our living room but would be nice if they also unpacked. The product definitely makes up for it!” – Rami

“Purchased as a gift for my sister as she is finally moving out of home, me and my sister went to the Chatswood store and Joe was very helpful and customised the sofa just how my sister wanted it. We got it now and it’s great quality, very comfortable and looks great. The colour is matte black” – Cassidy B.

“Firstly we had a broadly pleasant experience shopping with Desired Living. The sofa came on time and the quality was as expected. Just a feedback, the whole customer would have been more perfect if you kept us informed throughout the purchase and delivery timeframe. Not a major thing but just something for your guys to improve on. Otherwise would say that we are advocates of your business – many thanks” – Brahma K

“I wanted to talk to someone who was able to look at our floor plan and recommend a few designs to suit. Syeda from the Sydney showroom was very accommodating and helpful – we ended up with 2 sofas sets customised for our living and family rooms – love the new addition to our homes which arrived last week. Highly recommended!” – Venessa Y

“Nice little outlet, nothing fancy but reasonable prices for what you are getting – no huge mark ups like king living. Lucky we found this place on the way to Bunnings ! Happy with the quality with what we paid for the sofa and tv cabinet . Parking was a bit hard. Otherwise no other complaints .” – Tom Caulfield

“We are loving our new couch which came 9 weeks after we placed the deposit. To be fair, we were told 8-12 weeks at the time we placed the order. The couch is a beautiful match to our burgundy interior which was rather hard to match and we had to look around a fair bit to find a supplier that carried this colour range.” – Maxwell B

“You do pay for what you get. We found these guys to be cheaper than the substantially marked up sofas by other retailers. Happy to say the quality of our sofa is well worth our money spent! Would love to thank Ambree? Who was brilliant in helping us choose and customise the ruby sofa for us.” – Pearl Brigette

“Thank you guys for providing us with a beautiful brown aged chesterfield. We could not be happier with the look and the colour choice. If there is anything you guys could do to reduce the wait time to less than 8 weeks, I would be sure that your business would get many more clients! All the best.” Shawn Kee

“Harris was terrific in helping me with the purchase, I got the Sierra sofa in snowy white and it suits my house nicely, I am taking a friend of mine to the store to also buy for themselves” – Nathan W.

“Fantastic prices compared to the other shops around my place, received my lounge yesterday and today Harris who helped me with my order called just to ask how I liked the sofa and if there is anything he can do to assist me further. FANTASTIC SERVICE” – Jojan b.

“Bought a few sets for my new house, Nicolas in Sydney was very helpful and kind, I was so happy with the service, the woman told me to bring photos of the rooms I want to put the sofas in and the staff will help me choose the best looking sofas and colours. They definitely knew what they were doing and it looks great in my room. A minor inconvenience though was that they wouldn’t take my old sofa sets from my house and get rid of it for me” – Melissa

“Received my Adra U shaped sofa last week. Wife is happy so I am happy as well. Good quality couch for the price. Would recommend. Anyone that hasn’t checked out their customisation function so really do so; it was fun just having a play of the function on the website!” – Choo G

“Bought a lounge through the online store with a few changes. Lounge was delivered to exact what was asked. Nice quality comfortable lounge. Was a bit wary of ordering online but once opened it did not disappoint” – Ash B.

“Beautiful lounge arrived Friday, terrific quality and made just the way I wanted it. Jim was very helpful and called me this morning to hear my thoughts on the lounge. Great service.” – Damina Anam

“Thanks for the gorgeous lounges. The gentleman in the Chatswood store was 100% right with his suggestions; the colours on the lounge look terrific in my social room.” – Parvinder Gulshif

“Thank you for rushing our order through before Xmas . You have been a life saver ! We are thrilled by your service and would be very happy to recommend you to our friends . Our flake sofa is now happily sitting in our family room and we no longer have to worry about entertaining our family during the festive holidays . Can I extend a big thank you to James for providing such a wonderful service.

Loving the quality and colour of our sofa – all the best !” – Oliver Hasheem

“Totally thrilled with the custom leather sofa I ordered from Desired Living. Quality is great. Price was fantastic. Service has been wonderful from start to finish. And the sofa is gorgeous! Extremely happy.” – Tascha Bliss

“6/5, using Desired Living for many of my clients design projects and now receiving a lounge I had purchased for myself today i must praise them and Jim in particular for always providing excellent customer service and accommodating for what each of my clients required for their projects. I always touch base with my clients to enquire of the quality of the lounges which I always hear nothing but good things.” – Fred Diviis

“Amazing range of colours, so happy I found jusy the color I wanted after looking at so many shops, my lounge set arrived yesterday, looks even better than the one in the shop.” – Mari Prado

“I purchased a theatre recliner set which I highly recommend. Comfortable and very pretty. My son’s love it as do I.” – Daniella Stokes

“I purchased a fabric recliner set, (slightly delayed due to pandemic) set up today for my new house, great quality recliner and so comfortable; Jim in Sydney was very professional and helpful. Look forward to the TV unit I have now ordered from them.” – Aman Hashes

“From start to finish we had an excellent experience buying our lounges from Desired living. Excellent communication with all staff members, helpful and with a great understanding of their products.
Our lounge was delivered on time, in perfect condition and exactly as ordered.
Highly recommend and would use this company again.” – Lisa Fowler

“I am a fan of chesterfields so having the right colour and leather type was of particular importance to me – the larger shops couldn’t provide the colour range that I wanted. Glad I found these guys as my burgundy flake chesterfield is sitting nicely in my study room ! Thank you very much – would recommend” – Will Morgan

8 reasons online reviews are essential for your brand

Business

Melissa Hamler

A strong brand is the most powerful asset that any business can have, and one of the best tools for growing your brand is the online review.

Reviews can get your name, your values, and your quality products and services in front of countless potential customers and collaborators. A great review can enhance your brand and grow your sales, while too many negative ones can damage your reputation.

Research backs this up too, with 94% of customers choosing to avoid brands because of bad reviews, while websites that display reviews are 63% more likely to get sales than websites that don’t.

To see how online reviews can enhance your brand, view the eight points below.

Increase Visibility

Search engines are the best way to increase your brand’s visibility online because 51% of all website traffic is the result of organic search. To show up in relevant search results, you need to develop a robust SEO and Local SEO strategy, and reviews are an important part of this.

Here are 3 ways reviews help to boost your SEO and get your brand noticed in search engine results:

Reviews are a top-three ranking factor for Local SEO, meaning customer reviews will help you appear higher in local Google search queries
Google Reviews provide fresh content and keywords for your business, which you don’t even need to write. This is great for your SEO efforts
In general, people spend more time on your website when there is user-generated content (e.g. reviews, comments) to interact with

Increase Trust

You need potential customers to know, like, and trust your brand. People might know your brand because they’ve seen it in search results. They might like the look of what you have to offer. But only when they trust you is that relationship at its strongest.

Online reviews help you increase trust in your brand simply because people trust online reviews. In fact, 91% of consumers surveyed (aged 18-34) trusted online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

The more positive reviews you get on sites like Google, Bing, Facebook, and Yelp, the more people will see these reviews they trust, and the more they will feel like they can trust you too.

Increase Credibility

Reviews play a role in helping you appear credible and genuine, and this is thanks to negative reviews as much as it is positive ones.

When people look at brands with too many good reviews and not many bad ones, they think it’s too good to be true. Fake reviews certainly exist – both positive and negative – but even an excess of genuine happy reviews could have this effect.

Even one overly positive review in isolation could be seen as not credible, with research from Harvard Business School confirming that moderately positive reviews are more trustworthy than glowing ones.

The key takeaway here is that you shouldn’t lose sleep over some less than positive reviews. As long as you have a good amount of reviews and the positives still outweighs the negatives, your brand’s credibility will remain intact.

Increase Conversation

Reviews can increase the conversation about your brand. There are so many places to leave a review on the internet, from Yelp to Google, Yellow Pages to Facebook, and even your website. The more places people are talking about you, the more reach your brand can have.

Furthermore, you can engage in constructive and positive conversations with your customers by responding to reviews. Responding to all reviews is best practice because it shows that you’re willing to engage with your customers and you’re concerned about solving the problems prompted in negative reviews.

According to BrightLocal, 97% of people who read reviews also read a business’s response, so when you’re replying to one review you’re sending a message to all existing and potential customers.

Increase Conversion

Reviews increase conversions because they may be the difference between a customer buying and not buying your products. In fact, displaying five reviews next to a product can increase sales by 270% compared to products with no reviews

This is because reviews serve as a form of social proof, which allows people to make decisions (such as the decision to buy) based on the experiences of others, rather than having to do further research themselves.

Increase Control of Your Brand Image

A branded search is when someone searches for your brand rather than your products or services. For example, searching for “iPhones” instead of “smartphones”. If your brand has been reviewed across multiple websites, these reviews can show up in branded searches.

While you can’t directly control how people review you online, there are many strategies to promote positive reviews. Furthermore, many reviews could lead customers to webpages you do control, such as social media profiles or your website.

Increase Your Understanding

Understanding your target market is the key to growing your brand and selling your products or services. Online reviews can be a goldmine for finding out what your customers think and better understanding them.

Just some of the things that reviews can give you an insight into include:

What customers don’t understand about your offerings
What customers dislike about your products and services
What changes customers would like to see to your brand
What you’re doing right (and therefore what you can emphasise in the future)

Increase Your Opportunities

Once you know what your customers do and don’t like, you can take advantage of new marketing and promotional activities. These activities can build your brand and help you grow your sales.

For example, if online reviews indicate that customers share a common concern, you can create content that addresses that concern and explains how you will overcome it.

By looking at positive reviews, you can identify ideas for content, calls-to-action, and other elements of your campaigns. After all, why wouldn’t you want to emphasise the elements of your brand that you know customers love?

Now It’s Time to Enhance Your Brand with Online Reviews

With all these great benefits for your brand, there’s no reason not to put some effort into online reviews. To get customers to leave you reviews on specific sites, send them a message with a direct link to the review page. For example, to generate a direct link to your Google review page, try the free Supple Reviews Tool from Supple Digital.

Start generating and utilising online reviews today and see the difference this makes for your brand.

Stay-at-home style: 11 of 2020’s top must-have fashion trends for women

Fashion & Beauty
Featured⭐

Samantha Rigby

Stay-at-home style: 11 of 2020’s top must-have fashion trends for women

Surprisingly, Retail Sales of Clothing and Footwear are Trending Up. Here’s What’s on Offer Right Now:

Considering that fewer people are going to bars, dining out or attending parties right now, you might be tempted to conclude that fashion trends don’t matter at all in 2020. But actually, that would be a mistaken assumption. According to Business Insider, retail sales in Australia for clothing and footwear have actually been trending up in recent months.

So, what exactly are people buying right now, and what sorts of styles are fashion designers presenting as purchasing options? Let’s take a look at 11 of 2020’s timeliest fashion trends:

Silly face masks

The face mask is, obviously, the hottest new fashion accessory of the moment. Of course, you could just choose a standard mask in a solid shade of surgical blue and be done with it – but why not have some fun with your choice of masks? Some of the current face mask designs are hilarious.

Athleisure wear

Business suits and ties have never been all that fashionable here in Oz; and with fewer people going to work, it should surprise no one that people are not buying those right now. It probably also won’t come as a shock that trackies are trendy attire at the moment.

In particular, eco-friendly activewear is having a moment. Some companies are now offering leggings and other athletic styles that are partially made of recycled plastic bottles. Some of these designs are also produced with longevity in mind. Considering the current economic downturn, the rising levels of alarm about plastic pollution and the growing backlash against fast fashion, consumers are sure to appreciate this small gesture.

Tie-dye t-shirts

Tie-dye has been popping up all over the 2020 runway fashion collections, and it is also finding its way into Australians’ wardrobes. It’s easiest to work it into your wardrobe on a colorful t-shirt, but there are many other options including tie-dye hats, shorts, dresses and more.

Floral peasant tops

Fashion enthusiasts are predicting that pretty floral prints will be popular in spring 2020. There are heaps of different ways to wear a floral print, but one of the loveliest options is the feminine floral peasant blouse.

There are many different ways you could style this wardrobe piece. A vaguely 1970s-ish aesthetic is fashionable once again, and peasant blouses fit in with this trend effortlessly. You could pair a peasant blouse with a hippie style skirt to take the look in that direction. Or if you prefer to dress the look down a bit, you could simply pair the top with a pair of jeans.

Polka dotted shirt dresses

If you do have to leave the house for some reason, consider a comfy polka dotted shirt dress as being the wardrobe essential you’d want to reach for. Even if you aren’t going anywhere, you might want to put one on of these to look presentable for your next Zoom meeting. Bonus points if you can find a matching polka dotted mask.

Natural fibres

At times like these, when you just want to be comfortable, natural fibres are an excellent choice for whatever clothing you want to buy. Natural fibres tend to be far superior to synthetic ones in the comfort department. Think organic cotton, linen, bamboo, hemp, merino wool and cashmere; these fibres all work well for making beautiful basic pieces that are comfortable, fit well and flatter a broad range of body types.

Customised mobile phone cases

When you’re sitting at home by yourself all day, your mobile phone is your major connection to the outside world. Australians are still spending money on their phones and, along with the phones, their phone cases. Customised PopSockets cases are the ultimate expression of one’s personal style.

Eye-catching sleeves

Pretty, puffy sleeves are showing up everywhere. You’ll find them featured on a broad variety of dresses, rompers, blouses and tops.

Colorful striped knitwear

Knitted garments are now sporting colorful, eye-catching stripes in widths ranging from skinny to wide and dramatic. In particular, heaps of different styles of knitted dresses and knitted skirts are becoming available. Think 1980s to 1990s Missoni, and you’ve got an idea of the basic aesthetic to strive for.

Dressy tailored loafers

In the shoe department, it’s almost like we’re having a flashback to 1996, the era of the square-toed, square-heeled tailored loafer.

In those days, there were flat loafers. There were mid-heeled loafers; and there were high-heeled loafers. Some of those same looks are being revived and are once again available for the wearing now. But, if you still have some old school 1990s loafers hanging around in your closet, there’s no need to buy new ones; you’re totally good to go. The latest iterations of the dressy loafer are pretty similar to their vintage inspirations.

Chunky boots with lug soles

Apparently, ugly shoes are a thing right now. In particular, big, hefty boots with lug soles are a top trend. Happily, not all of the shoes fitting this description are truly ugly ones; some of these styles are quite appealing, especially if you style them carefully. They have the added advantage of being extremely practical.

These are 11 of the most coveted fashion trends in Australia at the moment. If you’re thinking of updating your wardrobe in the era of stay-at-home style, these are some excellent options you might want to consider adding – or moving to the front of your closet if you already own similar wardrobe pieces.

Web Development vs Software Development: How to choose between the two?

IT
Software
Technology
Web Development

Tarun Nagar

Web Development vs Software Development: How to choose between the two?

In today’s era, with the increasing demand for the online presence among businesses, demand for software development and web development is also exponentially increasing.

Both web and software development companies have equal importance in different areas, basically, it totally depends on the requirements of the end-users.

Suppose a shopkeeper wants to shift their business online. In order to do that he or she needs to show the products virtually so that consumers can see a product online sitting at home.

Web development and software development will help the shopkeeper to scale the business online in a much useful manner.

Basically, through this example, we can understand that both software development and web development have equal importance in their vicinity.

If you are stuck between web development or software development. Don’t worry, in this article, you will learn about the key differences between web development vs software development.

Hosting
Flexibility
Working Agenda
Basic requirements
Compatibility with users
Scope in freelancing
Working criteria
Pricing range
Platform dependency

1. Hosting

Web development company requires hosting facilities via the internet or intranet. To access these facilities, website hosting plays an important role.

Without hosting you cannot access the websites. Whereas in software development you don’t require any host.

Without a host, it can work effectively which satisfies user’s demand. So you can choose as per your requirement whether you want your application to work using as a hosting server or not.

2. Flexibility

Web application development company generally focuses on proper orientation of data.

Web developed application plays an active role in data centralization whereas software-based applications majorly work better in gaming, handling of files, etc. Both results are effective in development fields.

3. Working Agenda

Software Development totally focuses on programming used in systems. It is responsible for creating a whole structure of any software.

It can be a framework, testing, maintenance, documentation, logic, and concept building. On the other hand, web development is not more involved in the designing part.

They generally work at the backend. Web developers also use coding to create eye-catching webpages.

In essence, both can mean the same things while talking about web development vs software development.

4. Basic requirements

Software development creates an app or software which runs on mobile as well as on the desktop.

Which allows more user to interact with devices like computer. Software developer usually works with many programming languages like python, java, etc which are related to each other.

Whereas website developer also works with many interrelated programming languages like JS, PHP, CSS, HTML to create a website for end-users.

It allows more users to interact with pages and computers to catch more and more attention from users.

Both web developers vs software developers play an important role in specific fields.

5. Compatibility with users

Custom software development company like Amazon, Google, etc needs skilled software developers to accomplish their idea with the help of software.

Due to this, Software development has broad demand in learned skills. As they can work in an agile environment without any discomfort. They can easily design software according to the requirements of the users.

As far as web development is concerned creating a prototype of the web pages should be more attractive and influencing.

So that end-users can enjoy using the website smoothly. Such skills are required in changing prototype according to the latest demand going on in the market.

6. Scope in freelancing

There is an increasing demand for both these things but working as a freelancer is more effective in web development.

As a web developer, you can easily find clients who require a website to scale their business.

As you can work as a freelancer along with doing jobs. Which helps in generating an extra income side by side.

Now working as a software developer, for them clients are less as compared to web development but the point is the income generated by the software developers is the same or even more than web developers.

As one pays enough to software developers compared to web developers. Every customer is ready to pay for a website but not all to pay for software.

7. Working criteria

Web developers work in two sections firstly on client-server and second on the server-side. What happens in the client’s server is that a web developer is responsible for every element that will be accessed by the user.

The client-server side directs the users to perform actions related to their requirements. Those who work on client-server are known as Front End architecture.

On the other hand, working on the server-side requires unique skills to maintain the digital infrastructure of the web page.

They are well known as Back end developer who is responsible for paneling data or the instruction given by the users.

Full-stack development services involve both front end and back end services.

Whereas software developer handles both parts efficiently and many other factors involving maintenance, prototype, etc.

8. Pricing range

Web development company pays less as compared to software companies but that is not the case always.

If you are working as a freelancer, you will be paid not much amount in return. Customers usually prefer websites because websites are relatively affordable compared to the software development part.

Many companies pay hefty salaries to the software developers as they are responsible for various tasks like designing, maintenance, holding, and establishing the demands and needs of the users.

They usually handle a lot of tasks simultaneously. Whereas web developers work under specific sections and phases.

Many web developers handle whole tasks like full-stack developers. They are the one who receives more salary.

9. Platform dependency

Majorly, what happens is a custom software development company design software that runs on a specific platform.

As every software is designed as a specific agenda so that’s why they are majorly designed for a certain platform.

On the other hand, web application developed for cross-platform that gives flexibility to the website users.

This factor plays a vital role in deciding which development is more effective for the audience and how it will give benefit to the developer or the company specially.

Conclusion

Web development and software development are both used for developing applications and perform best in their vicinity.

As software development requires coding for generating software for computers similarly web development required coding for generating web applications that work as efficiently on mobile phones as on the desktop.

The major difference is that software development has some specific set of rules whereas web developed applications are more secure and reliable.

With the increasing demand in the use of the internet and online applications, demand for web development is also increasing in the market.

7 key benefits of digital smile design

Health

Ved Berani

Everyone has a different notion of what makes a perfect smile. As with clothes, what looks good on someone might not produce the same effects on someone else. Likewise, for teeth, there is no universal measure of a perfect fit smile. The only opinion that matters is your own. If you feel there is something wrong with your smile and it needs to be fixed, you definitely can go to a cosmetic dentist.

The breakthrough technology in dentistry known as Digital Smile Design (DSD) allows dentists to change the appearance of your teeth as you like it. DSD includes using high definition cameras attached to a computer to capture minute details about a person’s teeth in the form of images and videos. The DSD app is then used to simulate a new design of your smile. You may also contribute to this design by discussing your expectations from this cosmetic dental treatment. Once the design is finalised, dentists can perform the actual dental surgery. And get your confidence back with a perfect smile.

The process of DSD might also be combined with sedation dentistry in case of major dental work. For example, if you are missing a tooth and need to replace it with dental implants, your dentist might suggest you a sedation method to help you feel relaxed throughout the dental procedure. It is helpful for patients with high dental anxiety or phobia.

Digital Smile Design is the way to enhance the appearance of your smile in a way that suits you. To know more about the benefits of DSD, keep reading.

1. Made-to-measure

As we know dentistry is not about one-size-fits-all. Every patient has different dental treatment requirements based on the condition of their teeth. Digital Smile Design helps achieve the level of customisation required to provide the perfect dental treatment to every patient. It includes performing dental procedures which are made-to-measure for patient requirements.

2. Simulation of result

The advanced software used in DSD allows designing a realistic simulation of the final result that can be achieved from dental treatment. Patients can see the results beforehand. It enables patients and dentists to be on the same page regarding the outcomes of dental treatment. The dentist can relax knowing that the patient has agreed to the outcome of a dental procedure and they will not be getting any unpleasant surprises after the treatment.

3. Contribution from patients

When the simulation is shown to a patient before dental treatment, patients can also contribute their views. Digital Smile Design allows patients and dentists to clearly communicate the requirements and expectations of patients from dental treatment and their feasibility. It is only when a mutual solution is agreed upon by both the dentist and the patient that the actual dental procedure is carried out. This way, patients are empowered to equally contribute to their dental treatment.

4. Higher precision

The technology used to capture minute oral details and perform all modern dental treatment also adds precision to the process of Digital Smile Design. Dental treatments that were done before DSD have little or no comparison to the results of dental treatments now. Since every measurement is customised, the risk of dental treatment not providing desired results is quite low. It also makes things easier for dentists who can concentrate more on the surgery rather than doing unnecessary dental work.

5. Improved smile

Given all the above benefits of Digital Smile Design, an improved smile, in the end, is guaranteed. With better precision and customised processes, every patient will be satisfied with the results. Healthy teeth also add to the appearance of your smile and help improve it the way you wanted.

6. Better chewability

Digital Smile Design corrects dental anomalies which not only made you look bad but also affected your chewing capacity. Once you are treated, you can enjoy all your favourite foods without worrying about your teeth not supporting you. DSD ensures you enjoy all your favourite foods and drinks just like you did without your dental problems.

7. Uplifted morale’s

When you get your teeth corrected followed by a comfortable chewing experience, you are bound to feel better than before. Who stays grumpy even after getting the perfect smile and ability to eat all their favourite foods? Nobody. Also, a better smile helps build the confidence which might have lacked when you thought your smile is not good enough.

What treatments can be performed with Digital Smile Design?

Digital Smile Design is the beginning of rectifying a dental anomaly. The advanced technology helps achieve a better understanding of the current dental problems and design better solutions to these problems. DSD is used to perform various dental treatments such as teeth whitening, dental implants, teeth bonding, crowns, and veneers, etc.

Am I a candidate for Digital Smile Design?

The biggest advantage of Digital Smile Designing is that everyone is a good candidate for it. DSD involves treating patients based on their dental and facial proportions and is customised based on patients’ needs. It adds to your smile positively and helps remove dental anomalies that either made your smile look bad or proved a hurdle for enjoying your favourite food.

Digital Smile Design is the answer to all dental conditions. Digital Smile Design (DSD) is a state-of-the-art technology that allows you to stimulate new smile with advanced imaging software. It is a perfect combination of cosmetic and general dentistry. It helps add to your smile and also caters to the functional aspects of your teeth. You need to ask your dentist about Digital Smile Design right away.

If you have some dental issues and are clear about the solution you need to achieve to improve your smile, you may consult your nearby dentist.

How to measure your content marketing ROI: A simple guide

Digital World

Reena Aggarwal

How to measure your content marketing ROI: A simple guide

You spend hours and hours writing targeted content for your blog posts and promoting it on social media. But do you know whether or not your content creation and distribution efforts are paying off?

According to a 2019 study, 36% of B2C marketers do not measure the return on investment (ROI) of their content marketing efforts.

Worse still, 13% are not sure if they measured their content marketing ROI.

But why should you care about your ROI?

Evaluating your ROI can help you analyze what you gained for the amount of time and resources you invested in content creation and distribution.

It is crucial to track and measure the ROI of your content marketing efforts to analyze if you are on the right track.

But how can you measure it successfully?

Read on for more insights.

Content marketing ROI: A guide to effective measurement

When executives demand to see the ROI of a marketing campaign, they think of it in terms of numbers. They want to see the revenue generated, profits earned, total cost, and overall business growth.

But this may be difficult to track in terms of content marketing.

Because some content marketing benefits such as building trust, awareness, relationships, and customer loyalty are hard to quantify in dollar amounts. It is also hard to evaluate the value of thought leadership, increased visibility, and increased engagement.

What’s more?

It can sometimes be hard to determine which content pieces convinced the customer to convert.

Was it the call from the sales rep or the testimonial from another client?

But even with all of these obstacles, it’s still possible to track the performance of your content marketing initiatives.

How can you tie in all these benefits of content marketing into a quantifiable ROI?

Let’s find out.

1. Define your purpose and determine what to track

Before you can accurately track your content marketing ROI, you need a marketing plan that ensures that every activity you do generates positive ROI.

And what will this plan entail?

An understanding of your target audience
Your content marketing goals
Key performance indicators (KPIs) you will use to track performance
A timeframe

Understanding your audience and goals can help you decide on the content types you will publish and the platforms you will use.

Some common content marketing goals include:

Boost traffic to the website
Increase brand awareness
Boost reach
Enhance brand loyalty
Increase retention rates
Manage brand reputation
Increase sales

What about the KPIs of content marketing?

These depend on your content marketing goals.

For example:

If you want to increase brand awareness, the content marketing KPIs you can track include article views, social engagement, and follower growth.

If you want to increase sales, you can track KPIs such as the length of your sales cycle and conversion rates.

Note: Every content marketing campaign you run should have clearly defined goals. You should also define the metrics to track performance and a timeline for achieving your goals. Doing this can make it easier to track your campaign ROI.

Now that you have the basics at hand, let’s find out how you can effectively measure your campaign ROI.

2. Calculate content creation cost

Do you produce content in-house or outsource?

Whichever the case, there’s a cost attached.

Calculate the cost incurred when paying for:

The salaries of all content creators
Outsourced content assets like video or images
Work from other departments
Consultation fees
Tools used

3. Calculate the cost of content distribution

This amount will include all expenses incurred while publishing and distributing content.

It will include money paid for:

Domain and hosting purchases
Content creation and distribution tools
Guest posting
Social media advertising and any other paid promotions

Your total expenditure when calculating content marketing ROI will include the amount spent on creating, distributing, and publishing content.

4. Calculate your returns

Sometimes when you publish a blog post or video, it can take months to identify if it reached your target audience and whether or not they took action.

However, in some cases, the conversion is immediate.

For example, you can post a shoppable image on social media with a call-to-action that directs viewers to buy. If users make a purchase, you can easily track conversions driven by this piece of content.

The total will be the total returns you get from that piece of content.

5. Calculate the ROI of content marketing

To effectively demonstrate value, calculate the ROI of each campaign.

Subtract total expenses from total revenue earned and divide this number by the total expenses. You can then multiply this by 100 to get your ROI as a percentage.

[(Revenue generated – Total expenses) / Total expenses] x 100 = ROI%

For example:

If you generated $3,000 sales from a campaign you executed spending $500 on content creation and publishing, your campaign ROI will be 500%.

However, this formula will only apply to measure the ROI of content campaigns that drive direct sales.

For those benefits you cannot quantify in terms of cash, you should:

Track performance using Google Analytics

Start by setting up goals in Google Analytics.

Then, track metrics such as:

The number of people visiting the desired pages and taking actions like subscribing to your newsletter and downloading your ebook.
Landing pages with the highest traffic
Traffic sources
Session time
Pages per session
Bounce rate

Leverage social media analytic tools

These tools can help you track the performance of your social media posts. Tools like BuzzSumo, Hootsuite, etc. can help you track the number of clicks, views, comments, shares, and reach received per content piece.

Use SEO audit tools

How can you track your SEO results?

You can track the search performance of your content through manual searches on Google and other search engines. Use the incognito mode to search for targeted keywords and check which position your content shows up in.

But doing this can be challenging, especially if your content is not on the first pages of search results.

In this case, you can leverage SEO audit tools such as Moz and SEMrush to track your domain authority, backlinks, and search rankings.

Assess your exposure offline

Are you being invited to interviews in your area of expertise?

Or maybe you’ve spoken at several events, contributed to popular media houses, and featured as a guest on popular podcasts.

If you have, it means that you’ve become a thought leader or are on your way to becoming one. It also indicates that your content is driving returns.

The more people who see you as an authority on a subject, the more exposure you can get. This can then lead to more traffic, leads, sales, and positive ROI.

Time to start measuring your content marketing ROI the right way

The benefits of measuring your content marketing ROI go beyond analyzing whether it offers good returns. It also helps you identify who views your content, whether or not they like it, and which platforms they use.

You can then use these insights to make your content powerful and boost your return on investment.

Have questions about measuring your content marketing ROI? Share them with us in the comments below.

Protect your business and assets with this security features

Business
Management

Julia

Protect your business and assets with this security features

Are you taking every preventative measure with the best security features to protect your business building as well as assets? In 2019-2020 there were 6,697 non-dwelling burglaries and 1,453 robbery cases in Western Australia. Cases of theft also increased from 76,643 in 2011-2012 to 79,807 in 2019-2020 according to Western Australian police crime statistics.

The saying “prevention is better than cure” certainly rings true here. Better to be overly cautious and ensuring that, firstly, you have all the necessary security features and, secondly, that anyone can see your security features installed in your business from a mile away. You can even take it a step further and put up signs listing all of these security features in the building.

We break down the different measures you can take in order to avoid burglaries at your business, as well as what to do when the unfortunate break-in does occur.

Big Brother is Watching – Install CCTV Cameras, Alarms and Security Lighting

Needless to say, CCTV cameras can be majorly beneficial not only to catch thieves on camera but to deter them from breaking in in the first place. The same goes for security lighting as no one would want to break in when illuminated by bright light – the chance of someone spotting them is generally too much of a risk. In contrast, keep indoor lighting to a minimum to avoid visibility of any valuables.

Alarms can be both a deterrent as well as a measure to chase burglars away when they attempt to enter the building. If they do get inside and the alarm starts screeching, it will draw attention to them and what they are attempting to do. They will then most likely flee the scene and you as well as your security company will be alerted of the attempted burglary. It is also important to have your alarm switchboard out of sight or possibly even off-site in order to avoid tampering.

You should also consider the surrounding landscapes and rubbish bins as these could be potential hiding places for burglars. Try to keep the area clear in order to avoid this.

Under Lock and Key – Place all Valuables and Cash in a Safe

How and when you are handling your business’ money and valuables should be carefully considered. Remember to always close the cash drawer right after you’ve used it and remove the key, hiding it if possible.

You should also only count and move the cash when you are out of sight from customers and anyone passing by. If possible, always empty out cash drawers and leave them open in plain sight to deter burglars. You should also anchor your safes to the counter in order to avoid easy removal.

Always be alert and aware of what is happening in your surroundings and what you are doing while you are handling the money. If you see anything or anyone acting suspicious, listen to your gut and rather be safe than sorry.

Pack away any valuables that could be seen from the outside of your business. Do not tempt criminals, you will pray the price!

Never have your personal contact details or address on your keys. If your keys do get stolen or lost, always change all the locks – immediately! If someone finds your missing keys, request that they drop it off at their nearest police station where you can then collect it.

Slammed Shut – Security Screens

Security screens are excellent security features for both businesses and homes. They will more likely deter burglars from afar already as trying to break past security screens can be a tricky, time-consuming job. Covering all your windows with security screens will immediately make your business look like it’s properly locked down and that it’s difficult to break through the windows to enter the building.

Locked up – Security Doors

Did you know that most break-ins happen from a side or back door? You therefore need to address all the possible points of entry, not just the front door. By installing security doors, you ensure that all possible points of entry are shut and locked. This will certainly deter burglars and – even if they are still not deterred – will take them longer to break in, causing them to possibly give up or be spotted by someone. Alternatively, your alarm might alert you of their presence before they can steal anything.

You might want to seal these security doors with heavy-duty locks – just in case, and to scare burglars off and delay them even more.

Body Language – Behavioural Measures

Also pay close attention to your customers’ behaviour. Do they seem agitated or in a hurry? This could be a clear indication that they are hiding or planning something. As soon as you feel like something is off with a customer, request further identification. This will either scare them off or give you peace of mind.

Be Prepared – Paperwork and Marking Belongings

Always double-check that your insurance is up to date and includes every little detail. Also consider upping your insurance game if necessary.

Another measure you can consider is to mark any valuables. Although this might not necessarily deter burglars, it will make it easier for your belongings to find their way back to you if they are stolen.

What to Do in the Event of a Business Break-In

Oh, no… you are a victim of a business burglary. What to do? Even if you took all the preventive measures, it can be a shock when this occurs. We break down what to do to ease the pain.

First things first, avoid touching anything! Do take note of some of the details the police and insurance provider will need. For example, time of the burglary and any witnesses, if you have any cameras, any possible descriptions you could give of the offender as well as whether they used any weapons or left any evidence at the scene.
Contact the police on 000 or 131444
File a report. You will require this report as well as a case number for when you claim from your insurance.
Only then should you contact your insurance provider to give them all the above details and file the claim.

Going Forward

Connect with other businesses in your street or area and agree to keep an eye out for one another. Always ensure that your security systems, as well as your business insurance, are up to date and of the best possible quality in order to avoid or diminish the negative effects of a business break-in.

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