Machine Learning with IoT: Exploring Future Possibilities

The fusion of machine learning with IoT signifies the start of a new technological era. Machine learning has brought about a sea change in many work processes by automating repetitive processes. In the same way, IoT has brought in significant changes in many processes by enabling machines to communicate with one another.

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Now, imagine the scope for growth and development when the two self-developing technologies are brought together. Though IoT and ML are being used across horizontals and vectors, data scientists believe that we are still in the nascent stage and there’s a whole new world of opportunities that we need to explore.

What is IoT?

Internet of Technologies or IoT can be described as a network of machines that can be programmed to work in synchrony. The devices are also programmed to interact with the external and internal environment and react accordingly. The number of devices that can be connected in an IoT network can be anywhere from 2 or 3 to hundreds.

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The entire network is built based on sensor technology. IoT finds applications in smart homes, automated cars, precision farming, connected grids, smart retail, and lots more. Market research by Grand View Research shows that the market size of IoT has been gradually growing from 2012 in sectors such as healthcare, consumer electronics, manufacturing, transportation, retail, and others.

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The largest utilizer of IoT technology is the consumer electronics sector, which is projected to go up by nearly 100 percent by 2022.

What is Machine Learning?

The term “Machine Learning” was coined by its inventor Arthur Samuel who described it as a part of artificial intelligence that deals with machines that are able to self-learn and don’t need expressive coding. Machine learning is used to automate work processes, engage visitors to a website, and work on repetitive tasks.

The neural network is a part of machine learning. It is a relatively new domain and a lot of experiments are being done to build neural networks that replicate the functions of the human nervous system. We are still in the beginning stages of research and application in this field and have a long way to go.

Market research by Market Research Future predicts the proposed growth of the ML applications in the market. In 2017, the value of ML applications was less than 2,000 USD million. It is predicted that the value of this market will increase to almost 15,000 USD million by 2024. The top applications of ML will be in hardware, followed by software applications and service applications.

IoT and ML – A Symbiotic Relationship

An IoT network contains embedded technologies that are connected using both wired and wireless communications. One of the most important components for the development of an IoT network is data. The system should be able to access raw data from different sources and then processes it to gauge the internal and external parameters.

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This where the contribution of Data Science and its subset Machine Learning becomes important. For an IoT network to work efficiently, it requires the right information, which can be collated using data science techniques and models such as neural networks, clustering methods, classification methods.

We need to explore and experiment with different ML algorithms to find precise high-volume data that can be used to gain insights for informed decision making and efficient automation.

IoT with Machine Learning – What are the future possibilities?

There are so many possibilities that we can expect to see in the future by bridging ML and IoT. Let’s take a look at a few possibilities here:

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Self-driving cars

The concept of autonomous or self-driving cars has been around for quite sometime now. In fact, the first semi-autonomous car was developed by Tsukuba Mechanical Engineering Laboratory in Japan in 1977. Since then, a lot of research and development have gone into building such cars.

Now, automated cars are being developed with sonar, radar, odometry, GPS, lidar and other sensors for better navigation and vehicle control. A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) in Singapore was the first research institute to get approval for road testing of an autonomous vehicle.

As of now, the development of the connected car is still in the laboratory stage. Whether it will become a reality is something we need to wait and watch.

Robotic Vacuum Cleaners

Compactly designed, these robotic vacuum cleaners can navigate their way around your home and vacuum it for you. They can easily reach out to those hard corners and crevices and remove dust. Originally, these robotic cleaners were designed to be operated using a remote control.

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However, now they are being designed with ML algorithms to self-operate. The advantage of using robotic cleaners is that they need no supervision. The downside is that this automated appliance takes a long time to clean and also comes with a huge price tag.

Smart HVAC

The heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system consist of all the appliances that are used to heat, cool and ventilate the space. A smart thermostat automatically adjusts the temperature of the air conditioner or heater based on the external conditions.

The system sends your connected device a notification when it’s time to replace the air filter. It also identifies possible problems in the system function and updates you regarding that.

Risk Management

IoT and ML not just find application in product development, but also in service management. The two technologies can be used in tandem to identify possible causes of system or hardware failure in advance and prevent them. It will help avert conditions that could cause operational problems.

Smart Energy Management

Another of the sectors where IoT and ML can be applied together is in smart energy management. These technologies can be effectively used to optimize energy consumption, which can be done by building smart grids.

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Sensors can be used in the electric grid to divert electricity based on consumption. Data can be used to monitor areas of high consumption and regions of low energy consumption and accordingly divert the electricity. Sensors can also be used to detect energy leaks and take preventive action.

Smart Cities

One of the most ambitious futuristic applications of the fusion of the two technologies is the development of Smart cities. These futuristic cities will have smart energy, smart traffic management, smart mobility, smart transportation, and smart agriculture.

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ML algorithms such as Classification, Clustering, and anomaly detection can be used to smartly monitor and regulate traffic. Linear regression is the ML algorithm that can be used for real-time prediction of market and economics. Principal component analysis and canonical correlation analysis can be used for monitoring public places.

Final Thoughts

Data analytic techniques and tools can be used to effectively analyse data and gain insightful information. This information can be applied by ML algorithms to build self-learning machines, which can be used to build an integrated Internet of Things network.

There are numerous opportunities for research and development in the field of IoT and machine learning. The future is in Machine Learning and IoT.

Top 15 Guidelines for a Thriving Dashboard Design

The dashboard is designed to offer a comprehensive visual display of status and real-time performance updates. A thriving dashboard design will be functional, purposeful, and relevant. It needs to be regularly updated so that the users will be able to view the latest information at any point in time or any state of the work process.

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The dashboard design should serve its purpose. If it is designed for the operations team, then it should have all the relevant project details and updates, status of work completed by all the people involved in the project. In case, the dashboard is created by business leaders, then it should have all the relevant information that the senior management will need to know about the health, performance, and issues in the company.

In this blog, we will look into the top 15 guidelines to keep in mind while designing a thriving dashboard design.

1. Do essential research before designing the dashboard

Before you start working on the dashboard design, you need to have all information about the stakeholders, the end-users, budget, timeline, technology constraints, security, and level of interaction. You should also find out the function and purpose of the dashboard and the data that needs to be displayed on the dashboard.

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Before the designing process begins, you should have decided on the key metrics and benchmarks that need to be displayed. You should also know where all the data is being collected, and if the data is cross verified before being presented on the dashboard.

Details such as complete or partial access for different users and technology to be used while building the dashboard should all be finalized before creating the dashboard design.

2. Decide on the type of dashboard

It is essential to have a definite idea of the purpose of the dashboard before it is designed. The major types of dashboards generally used in most applications are operational, tactical, strategic, and analytical.

An operational dashboard is time sensitive and needs to have updated and critical data that will allow users to know the status of any task or resource at any point in time. Analytical dashboard, on the other hand, is more focused on providing pertinent information required for decision making.

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This dashboard is not time sensitive, and will feature more tools for analytics. Tactical dashboards are generally designed for upper management. The data in this dashboard will help them get a deeper understanding of the results of the company’s actions. A tactical dashboard will have visual data and trends that will help the stakeholders to make informed decisions.

A strategic dashboard will have key performance indicators, performance metrics, or goals that the senior executives of a company need to reach. The dashboard will help the executives know the status of their projects in terms of the strategic goals at any point in time. Depending on the purpose and audience, you need to decide on the type of dashboard.

3. Have only essential components in the dashboard

It can be tempting to put in a lot of components in a dashboard, but that will completely defeat the purpose of creating it in the first place. So, depending on the type and purpose of the dashboard, you need to add only the key components.

The dashboard can have essential data of the project or the process, visualized forms of the data like tables, charts, and graphs, and links for those who want to check the data in-depth.

4. Have a responsive dashboard design

A dashboard that has too many data visualization elements can become overwhelming and confusing for the user. So, instead of spending a lot of time deciding which elements you want to have on the dashboard, you can hand over the control to the user.

You can create an interface that allows the user to see the key data in the main window and drill-down data in the sidebar or pop-up windows. A dashboard with responsive design allows the user to decide what information he/she wants in the main window and what data in the sides.

5. Offer different views of the dashboard

Offer different display views that the user can select based on his/her preferences. An online bank account can have different views – a view that allows the user to check the account balance, deposits, payments, and more or a view that gives them the account summary and the latest transactions.

Similarly, the dashboard of an online restaurant booking application can show a view of the current reservations, upcoming reservations, payments made, and such or a view that allows the admin to filter details by date or view employee shifts and vendor details.

6. Design the dashboard based on the audience

In general, a hierarchy is followed in all companies. The hierarchy not only determines the roles and responsibilities, but also the extent of data that they can access.

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You should create a pyramidal structure based on the management structure. It will allow you to design the dashboard layout based on the specific audience.

7. Choose the right forms of data visuals

Data visualization is one of the key components of a dashboard, especially while displaying multiple types and forms of data. Whether you have a static or a dynamic dashboard, it is important to choose the right kinds of graphs and charts to visually display the data. Here are some suggestions for using the right kind of data visualization elements:

  • While comparing data, line and column graphs are best. Also, while creating these graphs, make sure that the data is sorted from highest to lowest or lowest to highest and not in some random order
  • Preferably, line graphs should not have more than 5 values and bar graphs not more than 7 values
  • If you have a graph that shows the change of a value over time, you should always plot time along the horizontal axis, in increasing order
  • For correlation and distribution analysis, use scatter plots
  • To show connections between data points, use a network diagram
  • Though pie charts and donut charts look very pretty on the screen, they may not be useful as understanding the data they represent is very difficult. So, preferably avoid these types of charts

8. Be consistent in naming conventions and date formatting

The naming convention that you use in the dashboard should be consistent with what is being used in the process or the project. If you are labelling data using a particular format in the process, then the same should be followed in the dashboard.

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The same rule works for date formatting. Whether you use dd/mm/yy or mm/dd/yy, be consistent with the format on the dashboard.

9. Focus on the layout and flow

While designing the layout of the dashboard, pay attention to the alignment and flow. You need to first create a grid or a basic skeleton that will have the details of the components of the dashboard. The layout should be designed in such a manner that the user can smoothly “read” the data and the interpretation.

10. Make optimum use of white space

Negative space or white space is an essential component of the dashboard design. A balanced white space makes it easy for the user to navigate the dashboard and read the data.

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11. Allow for personalization of the dashboard

For the dashboard to be useful, it needs to have the information that the user is looking for. The user should be able to customize the layout, content, and data visualization elements according to their role, preferences, and requirements.

12. Use tables for large data chunks

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Tables are a convenient way to display large volumes of data in an organized manner. Moreover, most users will have experience in working with MS Excel. So, they will find it easy to manage and read tables in the dashboard. Also, a table doesn’t take up a lot of the space and allows for extension, if required.

13. Automate data collection

To ensure that the dashboard is always up to date, automate the data collection process. If you collate data using an excel sheet, then you can build the dashboard such that the data from the excel sheet can be directly uploaded to the system. You can also use integrations to directly upload data to the system.

14. Use the design-led development process

The agile development process recommends creating the design first and then moving on to the development process. The initial planning phase should focus more on the design elements of the dashboard.

Once the layout and flow are finalized, the development process can be initiated. This method reduces the time required to build the dashboard. At the same time, it also reduces the unnecessary change in the codes and algorithms if the design needs to be changed.

15. Save Dashboard designing for the last

A dashboard will have a summary view of all the tasks and data from the process. So, it is important to do the dashboard design at the last after the entire website or application has been designed.

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This way is more practical as you will have an idea of all the components you should integrate into the dashboard design. If you work on the dashboard first, then you should go back and forth, making changes in the dashboard as you develop your application

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Conclusion:

A thriving dashboard design has all the essential visual elements that allow the user to easily read the data. The layout and flow should be smooth so that the user can interpret the data and gain the information that he/she is looking for.

Finally, the design should be simple, minimalistic, and purposeful. Probytes can design a unique and functional dashboard for your application or work process. Contact us to know more

Who’s Who?: Structure & Roles of a Web Development Team

If you are a client who have already made an order with a web development agency based on a Web application for your business, it’s good to know about their team for further business communication. Understand Who’s Who? the structure & roles of a web development team

We’ve written this info-graphic to help you figure out the precise roles of each person of the Web Development Team – in other words, what each person is actually responsible for

A Web Development Team Consist Of

  • Requirements analysts
  • UX and UI designers
  • Web developers
  • Quality Assurance specialists

Typical Responsibilities of Requirements Analyst

  • Eliciting project requirements
  • Communicating requirements to other team members
  • Analyzing product requirements
  • Developing necessary documentation
  • Managing the project’s scope

UX Designers are Responsible for

  • Create information architecture
  • Develop wireframes
  • Create prototypes for user testing

Duties of Web Developers

  • Write server-side scripts
  • Create and manage databases
  • Integrate the application with cloud computing services
  • Develop or integrate a Content Management System
  • Implement security standards

Important Responsibilities of a QA Engineer

  • Write tests
  • Test software quality
  • Performing regression and negative tests
  • Test the user interface and app compatibility with various browsers
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Top 20 Tools to Check Your Website Health

You would have spent a lot of time, effort, and money in building a website. In fact, now you can even call it as an important asset of your company. It is necessary to regularly check the health and performance of your website, right from the time you are developing it. Website maintenance and upgradation is an on-going process.

Fortunately, there are numerous tools, both free and paid, you can use to periodically evaluate your website’s health. A few tools check the website’s overall health and performance based on pre-determined metrics every minute.

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There are a few tools that check your website’s performance on search engines. Also, there are tools that check your website for vulnerabilities and help you identify them before the hackers do. In this blog, we will look into the top 20 tools that you can use to check your website’s health. 

  1. Google Webmaster’s Tools 

Google Webmasters is one of the basic tools that every website owner uses to evaluate the performance and health of a website.

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The search console has a host of tools that allow you to submit pages for indexing on Google, screen backlinks, learn about keywords that brought visitors to your website, and do lots more. This free website analysis tool also helps you check if all the pages of your website are being crawled and if there are any broken links and errors in your website.  

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  1. Check My Links 

Check My Links is a tool that helps website owners optimize links and check if both external and internal links are working fine. The best thing about this tool is that it can be used even on a live page.

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When the page is run in the tool, it will immediately highlight all good links in green and broken links in red. This tool is available for free. 

  1. HubSpot’s Website Grader 

HubSpot’s website grader is a website audit tool that was released in 2007. Since then, the tool has undergone many upgrades and now delivers personalized reports based on pre-determined metrics. This website analytics tool evaluates your website for mobile readiness and checks the security features.

It also analyses the page’s speed, size, and other SEO metrics to evaluate the website’s performance on search engines. This grader tool has more than 70 metrics to evaluate the various components of a website. It is available for free. 

  1. Browser Shots 

Browser Shots helps developers check the website’s compatibility with different types and versions of browsers. You need to submit your website link to the tool and it will be added to the queue.

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The tool will then open your website on different browsers and take screenshots of it. The screenshots will then be uploaded on a server where you can check the results. 

  1. Moz’s Pro Tools 

Moz’s Pro Tools can help identify duplicate content, SEO elements, and other crawlability factors that can influence your website’s performance on search engines. This website analysis tool has a web crawler called RogerBot that analyses up to 3,000 links. Once the analysis is complete, it will send a report with detailed information regarding all links analysed via email to the registered mail ID. 

  1. Web Page Speed Test 

Web Page Speed Test is a website analysis tool that will allow developers to test the website loading speed using real browsers from multiple locations across the globe. The test also evaluates multi-step interactions, content blocking, video capture, and more. The results include page speed optimization suggestions and waterfalls chats. 

  1. Pingdom 

Pingdom is available for free for 14 days, after which you can choose either the Standard or the Premium account if you are happy with the services. This website monitoring tool checks website performance every minute. Its website speed test is available for free and notifies you in case of any problems. This tool also checks website uptime and performance from different servers set in different parts of the globe. The downside is that its SMS capabilities are not that good and its coverage in the Asia Pacific region is less. 

  1. Linkody 

Linkody is a tool that will help you check the performance of the backlinks. This tool has an easy-to-understand interface that gives you detailed backlink metrics such as Google indexation status, domain authority, Alexa score, ‘rel’  score, Spam score, and other features for backlink tracking.

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It also allows you to check your competitor’s backlinks. Enter the competitor’s website URL in the tool, and get all the ‘niche’ information you will need to build backlinks for your website. Another feature is that this website helps you generate reports that you can share with your team or use for presentations.  

  1. Buzzstream 

If your website has inbound links from numerous sources, then Buzzstream is the right tool to evaluate the health of those inbound links. This tool will be helpful when you are building backlinks with guest blogs, social media platforms and other sources.

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The dashboard lists all the sources to which you have requested backlinks. It will also let you know if the link has been accepted or if it is in inactive state. The tool also helps you identify platforms from which you can build inbound links. This tool is available for free for 2 weeks after which it converts to paid model. 

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  1. Woorank 

Woorank is a website audit tool that has a 14-day free trail. This tool does in-depth analysis of the website and also evaluates its performance on search engines and social media platforms.

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It also monitors the usability of the website. The report generated by the Woorank tool has 8 sections, which include – Marketing checklist, SEO, Mobile, usability, technologies, social, local, and visitors.  

  1. Intruder 

Intruder is a cloud-based website vulnerability testing scanner that checks your website for more than 900 features including misconfigurations, CMS issues, cross-site scripting, SQL injections, misconfigurations, missing patches, configuration weakness, and more.

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This tool comes enterprise ready and can be directly used with large websites. It has different packages for small businesses, developers, and enterprise websites.  

  1. DNS Health Checker 

The DNS Health Checker offers a suite of website performance checks such as uptime monitoring, page speed monitoring, transaction monitoring, server monitoring, and visitors’ insights. 

You can use the 14-day free trial to check if the website monitoring services are what you are looking for. If they meet your preferences and requirements, then you can go for the Standard, Advanced, Professional or Enterprise package. 

  1. Ahrefs 

Ahrefs is more of a SEO diagnostic tool that lets you check if your website is performing well on search engines. You can do a complete site audit using this tool. In the audit, the tool will crawl the page and let you know if there are any technical issues in the page.

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Also, this tool helps you check if your website is performing well for certain keywords and gives you the click-through rate.  

  1. Sucuri 

Sucuri is a website vulnerability testing tool that will check your website for malicious code, out-of-date software, website errors, defacements, viruses, spam, and malware. It will also check if any links of your website are blacklisted.

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It helps you clean your website and protect it from cyber threats. This tool is compatible with Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, Magento, and more. 

  1. Montastic 

The free version of Montastic tool is great for small businesses and individuals who want to track their website’s health and performance. This tool doesn’t have a dashboard, but sends notifications when it identifies something going wrong on the website.

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In the free version, the tool evaluates the website’s performance every 30 minutes. In the paid version, you can expect a more frequent check. It has widgets for Android, Mac, and Windows. 

  1. StatusCake 

StatusCake has a host of tools to monitor website health and performance. This tool is available in both free and paid versions. In the free version, it monitors up to 10 systems in 5-minute intervals. In the premium paid version, up to 300 systems are monitored in 30-second intervals.

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The Superior Plan offers monitoring services for up to 100 monitors in 15-minute intervals. The page speed test feature is available in the free version, while domain monitoring, server monitoring, and SSL certificate monitoring are available only in the paid version. StatusCake has 48 test locations located across 28 countries.  

  1. New Relic 

New Relic is built on a SaaS model and helps track your website and web application performance. This cloud-based platform supports 8 languages – MS.NET, Java, PHP, Ruby, Node.js, C SDK, Go, and Python. It monitors response time, database, website uptime, website speed, browser, infrastructure, application performance, error rates, and synthetics. 

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While the monitoring capabilities are good, navigation between services can be difficult. This website health analysis tool is available for free for 14 days after which can choose one of the payment plans depending on your usage and monitoring requirements.  

  1. Uptime Robot 

Uptime Robot launched in 2010 is available in both free and paid versions. The free version lets you monitor up to 50 systems and stores up to 2 months of log.

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On the other hand, the paid version lets you monitor up to 1000 systems and maintains 24 months of log. In the free version, website check is done once in five minutes, while it is once in a minute in the paid version.  

  1. DotCom-Monitor 

DotCom-Monitor was established in 1998 and has more than 25,000 customers now. It is one of the earliest companies to provide 1-minute website checking service. The monitoring services that it offers include mail monitoring, uptime, transaction, FTP, and web page analysis.

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It has a real-time dashboard where you can check the status of your website performance at any point of time. It also sends notifications via SMS, mail, and phone. The entire platform is available for free for the first 30 days. After the free trial ends, you can decide on the services you need and pay according to the services you choose. 

Read Also: 7 Web Development Strategies To Take Your Business To The Next Level

  1. Monitis 

Montis is a cloud-based IT solution provider that does a complete website check once in five minutes. The various attributes that it checks includes website uptime, response time, server health, network performance, and bottlenecks before they arise.

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You can also customize metrics based on your preferences and requirements. It is available for a free trail for 15 days, after which it turns into a paid subscription service. You can choose from one of the plans based on your needs and your website health goals. 

Conclusion

The tools that we’ve discussed here are just a few of the top-notch website analysis tools available in the industry. There are lots more that you can use based on your website’s requirements and your preferences.

To ensure that your website’s health-o-meter is always in the top, get support of professionals for website maintenance. Contact Probytes, a reputed website development company for professional website development and maintenance services. 

20 Designs Tips to Improve your Ecommerce UX in 2020

When running an ecommerce website, the most important thing needed to become successful is the ability to grab the attention of web users and get them to buy your products.

The user must feel comfortable when using your services and their experience on the website should be good. Therefore, ecommerce UX is the biggest contributor to the success of your ecommerce business. 

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User Experience, more commonly referred to as UX, is the experience and the feelings generated in the user while using your services. After visiting a website, UX plays a very important role in the users deciding whether to visit that same website again or not.  

Users will return to the same website repeatedly only if their first experience on the site was good. Therefore, UX should be given priority when designing a website. It should be pleasing to the eye, easy to navigate and comfortable to use. 

The following are ways to create a design that can improve your ecommerce UX in 2020

1. UX research

Before developing anything, research has to be done on it so that it can be properly planned and executed without any wastage of time or money. It is the same for ecommerce UX. 

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Before designing a website and making it go online, proper research has to be done to see the requirements of the users, their needs and behaviour. Websites built based on this information can provide the best UX to its users.

2. Mobile optimisation

Nowadays, mobile phones are more in use than the desktop and it is increasing day by day. All online activities, be it shopping, browsing, social media etc are easier on the mobile than on a desktop. 

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The desktop being bigger allows for more data on the screen. The mobile cannot carry so much data on the screen because it creates clutter and difficulty in use. Therefore, when designing a website, make sure it is optimised for both desktops and mobiles. 

3. Use minimalistic design on the home page

Rather than having bright colours and fancy fonts, what attracts users nowadays is minimalistic design. The key is to keep it simple. Every element on the screen should be useful and have a specific purpose. Do not clutter a page by adding too many pictures and text.

The homepage is the first page that a user visits. The page should clearly show what you are selling and put up relevant CTAs. If you are having any kind of sale, put a banner in the homepage itself to attract users. 

4. Product images

The quality of your product images should be very high. You are running an ecommerce business. People buy your products based on the images that they see online. 

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Therefore, the quality of your images is a huge factor contributing to sales. Images from multiple angles and images that can be clearly zoomed in is the way to go.

5. Dark themes

Another upcoming trend in any apps is dark mode. Users like it when there is dark mode and light mode in a website. 

Therefore, having a dark mode in your website can help give users a better experience. It is both visually appealing and less of a strain to the eye.

6. Product search bar

One of the most basic features that an ecommerce website should have is a properly optimised product search bar. Often, the users that come to a website know what they are searching for. 

The absence of a visible and well placed search bar can annoy users. Also make sure that the search bar has additional features like auto-complete and predictive search.

7. Filter system and faceted search

Faceted search is a technique used to help users narrow down their search results by applying multiple filters.  When creating filters, general filters like size and price and also specific filters for each category of product should be made. 

This way, users can point out and actually get what they want. They should be able to easily apply and remove filters.

8. Discovery mode

Many shoppers are not sure of what they want when visiting an ecommerce website. Some users are simply browsing the site and trying to find something interesting. 

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Therefore, every ecommerce website should have a discovery mode which clearly shows new arrivals and also best selling products. Product categories should be specified. 

Having a discovery mode is your chance to make a sale. You have to make it appealing to the user and provide them a great UX so that they will be persuaded to buy what you got them interested in while on your website.

9. Provide detailed and relevant information on product page

On the product page, information given on each product should be detailed and also relevant. The information should be given in an appealing and user-friendly manner so that users won’t get bored. 

Read Also: 13 Frequently Asked Questions On Python Web Development

10. Checkout page

Users should find it easy to place an order. One way to make it prominent is by putting a solid coloured button on the screen beside the product image.

Make the checkout process quick and efficient. Complicating it can result in the customer leaving your page. If they have come so far, it is your responsibility to make sure that they don’t abandon their purchase and leave.

11. Checkout as guests

Allow the users to checkout as guests. Do not force them to register or become a member of your website. It can be very displeasing to the customer.

When they are checking out, you can give them the option of creating an account on your website but only at their discretion. It is good to coerce them. Most of the people who had no intention of registering might do so if it is not very forceful and the process is easy and quick.

12. Shopping cart

A link for the users to view their shopping carts should be visible in all the pages that the user visited.  The cart should clearly show the items selected, images of products, the price of each item, the total cost and any additional costs including shipping charges. 

Customers should also be able to remove anything they do not want from their cart easily and if they want to add more quantity of the same item, they should be allowed to do so within the cart itself.

13. Payment methods

Use common payment methods so that users will not feel uncomfortable paying the money. Besides credit cards and debit cards, other payment methods like Paytm and PayPal should be allowed. 

20 Designs Tips to Improve your Ecommerce UX in 2020-2

Giving different payment options can get users to feel more comfortable paying as some do not like to give out their credit card details.

14. Single column forms for getting user data

The data given on forms with multiple columns can get cluttered and untidy. Users also tend to miss certain fields when filling out a form with multiple columns. Therefore it is better to use forms having single columns. Users can fill it out easily and move on.

15. Fonts 

One of the easiest ways to grab user attention is to use bold and big fonts. Users find it easier to read and they are also tempted to read it. Having headlines in bold and bigger fonts will catch their attention. When deciding on fonts for your website, do not use very fancy ones as it gets tiring. 

16. Product thumbnails

Product thumbnails should be added in each and every page of the website. These thumbnails should be clear pictures and should not be too big. If possible, the thumbnail should have an entire view of the product. 

Even in the cart, product thumbnails should be visible so that users can have a quick overview of what they are going to buy.

17. Mobile phone friendly

Most people using phones use their thumbs for all the control. There are certain regions on a phone which is easily accessible by thumbs and therefore all the buttons have to be consciously placed in those regions. 

Read Also: 7 Web Development Strategies To Take Your Business To The Next Level

The buttons should not be too small to click, but make sure that it is not too large to look visually displeasing. 

18. Build trust

20 Designs Tips to Improve your Ecommerce UX in 2020-5

To build the trust of the users, reviews left by previous users should be placed in different parts of the website, especially in the product page and the checkout page. Also add financial security certificates and logos to gain their trust.

19. Personalise the UX

Try and personalize the UX for each user so that they will have a great experience on your website. Personalization can be done on the basis of previously viewed products and search history. Offer links to similar products or combo offers for users to have a unique and enjoyable experience.

Having engaging quizzes and polls will help you identify your user requirements and provide services accordingly.

20. Visual content

Insert engaging visual content like GIFs, small video clips, animations and images for users to have a pleasant experience. Make sure that the video clips inserted are not too long to hog the time of the users. Animations can be fun. 

The designers have to place it in such a way that the shopping experience is more fun but it doesn’t get in the way when things have to be done.

Conclusion

When building your website, you have to ensure that the users will have a great experience on your site. The above design ideas can be kept in mind to enhance ecommerce UX. Use of minimalistic designs, large and classy fonts, filters and dark mode can help you provide a better service.

 Always remember that the possibilities in design are limitless. Your creativity and imagination will definitely help you create better and more exciting ecommerce UX.

Top 10 Front-end Frameworks for Web Development in 2020

Choosing the right Front end Frameworks for Web Application development is not an easy task when you have thousands of them on the market. When you are making the right choice for selecting the right framework you have to consider both the development and user perspectives. The decision should be made final only after close considering the following factors.

  • Aesthetics of the website
  • Security
  • Database mapping
  • Web API’s
  • Database Configuration

You should also keep the future in mind so that you can adapt to the latest trends and keep developing. A correct choice of web development framework will accelerate you process with more efficiency.

Want-to-Develop-a-High-Converting-Website,-Contact-Us

Let’s have a look into the top front end frameworks for web development in 2020

  1. React
  2. Angular
  3. Vuejs
  4. jQuery
  5. Emberjs
  6. Backbonejs
  7. Semantic-UI
  8. Foundation
  9. Svelte
  10. Flutter
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API in Web Development-Best Practices for You

There’s a lot of buzz about API’s in the web development domain. Many organizations are also planning to build API’s for their existing digital portals. Are you wondering what API is all about and if you need to build an API for your online business?

In this blog, we will first look into the features and principles of an API before we go into detail about the best practices for building an API in web development.

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What is an API?
Application Programming Interface or API is an interface or a library that connects machines and software applications. APIs can be designed based on the purpose of the application/website, its architecture, network, and servers.

Another purpose of these interfaces is that they allow developers to access data and functions. An API can be a beneficial add-on to your existing product. If it has unique features and functions, then an API itself can function as a separate channel or product.

Key Features of an API

  • Should have a business plan and model
  • Should be manageable
  • Should be measurable
  • Should be simple and flexible
  • Should provide valuable service
  • Should provide developer support

Best Practices for Creating API in Web Development

1.Create a document

Documentation is one of the most important practices you need to follow before building an API. The document should contain all the methods, requests, responses, and other functions of the API and details on how to call them.

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It should have all the details that will make it easy for the user to understand your application and also make the most of it. If you are not really clear about what all you should include in your document, you can just search for API guides and templates online and customize it for your product.

2.Garbage in Garbage Out

In API designing, Garbage in Garbage out refers to having a rigid approach when it comes to requesting validation. You should also keep in mind that it is not practically possible to anticipate all the needs of a user.

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So, you need to ensure that there is flexibility in input and output constraints. Ensure that your API has multiple ways to input and output variables.

3.Platform Independence

It is vital to build an API that works on all kinds of platforms, independent on how it is implemented internally.

4.Security

More than best practice, Security is a must-have in your API. Provide usable and secure methods to authorize and authenticate your application. A couple of the popular authentication methods that you can use are token-based authentication and OAuth + SSL.

Protection from Cross-Site Request Forgery is another important security feature that you need to have in your application, especially if you have cookie or session authentication.

While building the API for Web development, you should ensure that proper access validation is provided. This means that the user will only be able to access the resources that they are authorized to use and not any other information on the application.

5.Data Format

The application programming interface should preferably support JSON, XML, or other proprietary formats.

6.Consistency

While talking about API for web development best practices, we should definitely discuss about stability and consistency. Once you launch your API, you may update it and publish the updated versions.

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In such cases, connection with the user may break. To prevent this, you need to version the application right at the start. So, the URL will also have the version details, which can be updated.

7.Easy to Access

The product that you design should have an easy-to-access source code and a simple registration process.

Read Also: 7 Kick-ass Games Built Using Python Language

8.Naming Conventions

While naming fields, actions, and controllers, preferably use plurals rather than singular. For example use /products or /GET/cars rather than /product or /GET/car.

Also, while naming, don’t use full action words or verbs like /GET/addnewproducts or POST/Deletebooks. The right way to name is GET/Newproducts or POST/Books. Preferably use nouns instead of verbs while naming resources.

9.Pagination

By paginating the application program interface, you can help limit the response results. It can be done by using offset and count in the query string. Pagination also gives you more control over how the data is displayed.

10.Sorting

data format

When there are multiple fields, use ascending or descending sort based on the fields. This sorting method will make it easier for the user to access relevant data.

11.HTTP Status Codes

Choose relevant HTTP status codes and use them consistently throughout the application. Also, ensure that you use the standard HTTP return codes for best results. A few of the standard HTTP status codes that you can use in your API are:
400 – Bad Request
401 – User authentication required
403 – Forbidden
404 – Page not found
200 – Everything is good
201 – New Request has been created
202 – Request has been accepted

12.Field Selection

This method lets you get requests with only particular fields. You can customize the field selection based on the platform or other attributes. Enabling all field selections for every query could slow down the speed of your API.

13.Filtering

While creating query for filtering, use a unique parameter for each field. For example, if you want the search to return only products that are black in color, you can use the filter query
GET /api/v0/products?color=black Returns a list of products(Id, Name, Description, Color, Code, Price).

http source code

However, if you want the filter query to return only products that match the code 112, and then query will read like:
GET /api/v0/products?code=112 Returns a list of products(Id, Name, Description, Code, Price) which code is “112”

14.Resource Nesting

Resource Nesting can be used to show the relationship or functional hierarchy of resource objects. While creating the nesting levels, you need to maintain a balance between having too little or too much. Too few nested levels may not give you the right responses while too many may clutter and look inelegant.

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15.Error Handling

It is best not to have any errors in the API, but then that is not possible. So, the next best option is to clearly inform in case of any error. There are three ways in which error handling can be done.

One is by using the HTTP status codes that we discussed above. The second method is to give a readable message in text. The third method is to use an internal code ID that you have described in the documentation.

So, are you interested in building an API? Get the support from experts to build an API. Our web development team has experts who can build customized Application Programming Interface for your company based on your specifications and requirements. Contact us to book a consultation.

Top 15 Web Application Security Practices You Should Know

Are you sure that your web application meets the cybersecurity standards? With increasing development in cyber technology, the incidences of data breach and cyber-attacks are also rising. To protect your web application from such threats, you should implement some Web Application Security Practices.

However, many web application owners are more focused on building the application and making it live before evaluating and checking all the possible security gaps.

The decision-makers look into the user interface, user experience, stability, and other factors that influence the marketability of the web application. All these practices increase the vulnerabilities in the web application

A recent survey by Juniper Research has found that the average expenses involved in managing data breach problems are expected to be more than $150 million in 2020.

This figure underlines the importance of focusing on security features and following the best security practices right from the time the website architecture is being constructed.

In this blog, we will find out more about web application security and the top 15 practices that you can follow to make your web application more secure.

What is Web Application Security?

Before we go into details about the best security practices, let’s understand more about web application security. The security features form the central component around which the other attributes of the website are built.

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Web application security deals with following protective measures and reducing possible threats in the core and supported assets of an application including web services, APIs, website architecture, framework, and database.

The most vulnerable sections of a website are its content management system, server, database administration system, and associated applications.

The four major aspects of web application security are:

Availability: The web application needs to be available for the authorized user with the specified time after request.

Integrity: The web application should not be modified by any unauthorized user

Confidentiality: All the sensitive data in the web application should be exposed under any condition

Non-repudiation: It means that an authorized user should not be able to deny any changes made to the data

The most common forms of cyber threats are SQL injection, Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), DDoS attack, broken authentication, Cross-site scripting (XSS), and Exploiting inclusion vulnerabilities.

Your website application should have security features that protect your application and prevent the above listed and other threats.

Top 15 Web Application Security Practices You Should Know and Follow

1. Evaluate your Application

An enterprise web app can have hundreds of mission-critical applications. In order to set up an effective web application security program, you need to have a detailed application infrastructure. While building the application infrastructure, list all the components and attributes.

IMS_Applistructure-v4

Consider all components as vulnerable and analyze them from the perspective of security. While creating the layout of the network infrastructure, also consider the people who have network access controls. As a proactive practice, you can create a document of all the components and extensions of your application.

Update the document every time you make a version update, add a new extension or API, or change the existing components. It will help you when you do your regular vulnerability check.

2. Build A Web Application Threat Model

After creating a blueprint of the application infrastructure, build a threat model that will have all the details of possible threats for each component.

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This document should include details of the components, the version, usage, as well as access details. While creating the vulnerability list, make sure to cover all the layers of your web application.

3. List And Sort The Applications

Now that you have all the pertinent data, you need to list them and sort them into different buckets such as critical, serious, and normal.

list-and-sort-application

The critical bucket list should have all components that are customer-facing, contain sensitive information, and payment details. Most hackers try to break into components that give them access to personal details and bank details. So, it is essential to have a high level of security for the components in this list.

The serious vulnerabilities bucket list will include components that contain both company and customer information. They need to be tackled once the critical list is managed.

The normal bucket list will contain components that hackers may not have any knowledge of. However, it is a good practice to check these components for vulnerabilities during your regular check.

4. Do a Software Security Risks Assessment

Have a systematic assessment plan to evaluate all the risks or vulnerabilities in the system. It is a good practice to have a security check protocol in place. The security protocol should have detailed security policies that are shared with all the stakeholders, employees, and users, when needed.

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Carefully profile all users who have access to the web application. For short-time users, create guest network access with guest authentication. You should have a foolproof plan to identify and isolate any particular system or login that faces a cyber attack.

5. Identify New Application Vulnerabilities

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It is not just enough if you do a vulnerability check of the existing components. You should also have a plan to protect your application from possible sources of threats, in the future. To do this, you need to stay updated about the latest developments in cybersecurity.

6. Follow Secure Coding Standards

Developers are more focused on building the application as per the specified architecture. So, they may not pay attention to codes that could become a weak link in the app. The factors that developers need to consider while coding are:

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  • Location of session information
  • Possibility of remote code execution
  • Access management
  • Authentication and password management
  • Input validation
  • Error handling and logging
  • System configuration
  • Security extensions that servers use
  • Software language access to system
  • File management
  • Communication security

7. Limit Access & App Permissions

One of the most important web application security practices that you need to follow is limiting network access. You need to give minimum access required just to do the task.

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While developing the app, you should ensure that the super administrator is able to define the permissions and access provided to the stakeholders, users, or clients. Also, regularly check the access list to ensure that no one is misusing their permissions.

While checking the permission and access list, also check for users who are no longer in the system and remove those accounts. These accounts could provide hackers with backdoor access to your website application.

8. Follow Proper Session Handling

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Session is the time that a user interacts with the application. A unique ID is created for each session. This ID connects the user credentials with the traffic and access controls. A session ID needs to belong so that hackers cannot easily break it.

Read Also: 13 Frequently Asked Questions On Python Web Development

Also, the ID should not have any sensitive information. A normal session handling process has the following steps – Pre-Authentication session; Authentication; Session management; Access control; and Session finalization. Session handling allows you to track anonymous users and apply security access controls wherever necessary.

9. Encrypt the Data

To safeguard your website application, use encryption in as many layers of the application as possible. The basic encryption technologies that you can implement are HTTPS, HSTS, and SSL. Encryption is of two types – symmetric and asymmetric encryption.

Encrypt-the-data

In symmetric encryption, the same set of keys is used for both encryption and decryption while two different sets of keys are used for encryption and decryption in an asymmetric encryption. You should also regularly check if there is any vulnerability in the encryption and decryption process.

10. Use A Web Application Firewall

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A firewall application adds a layer of security to your website application. All traffic to your application can be routed through this web application firewall, which filters out possible threats. A firewall can protect your web application from SQL injection attacks and Cross-site Scripting attacks.

11. Use Only Authorized APIs

APIs help enhance the stability and performance of your web application. However, as most APIs are third-party software solutions, they can make your application vulnerable.

Use only authorized APIs

Poorly coded APIs or those from unverifiable sources can harm your website. So, make sure to use only authorized APIs for your website application.

12. Ensure Secure Data Storage

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The database is a vulnerable component of your website application. Preferably, data storage should be internal and private. You can use database libraries with an additional layer of encryption to store data.

13. Update Your Server Regularly

The server is another vulnerable component of your website application. While checking the server for vulnerabilities, you can take a top-to-bottom and end-to-end approach to ensure that you have covered all the components.

update-your-server-regularly

Also, regularly update the server to the latest cybersecurity standards. Server updates can be done to add new features or to check for bugs. Create a document of the updates installed and the fixes made, so you can refer to it every time you update the server.

14. Do An Intensive Testing

Stringent and intensive testing is one of the best website application security practices. It is essential to test the structure and function of each and every component of your web application.

do-an-intensive-testing

Based on the application and function, you can go for manual or automated testing. The common types of software testing are static testing, dynamic testing, interactive testing, and mobile testing.

Another type of testing is the penetration testing. It is done by ethical hackers to evaluate the security of the application.

15. Automate Vulnerability Management

The growing cyberscape has brought with it a whole range of risks and cyber threats. It can be difficult to manually check all components for vulnerabilities and fix them.

automate-vulnerability-management

The best solution is to automate repetitive tasks and implement security solutions. Analytics-based automation solutions not only help you identify and fix the threats, but also help you analyze the source of the threat.

Read Also: Web Development Vs Web Design – Want To Know The Difference?

Organizations that are looking to build secure website applications should think of implementing the best web application security practices right from the development stage.

If you are looking for a reliable technology partner to help you build a robust and secure web application that meets the highest security standards, contact Probytes.

Website Architecture Design- A Complete Guide

Have you seen buildings being constructed? The first step of constructing a building is creating a blueprint of the building design and structure. A similar logic can be applied when it comes to building a website. The architecture defines the layout of the website that acts as the foundation on which the entire website is built.

Want-to-Develop-a-High-Converting-Website,-Contact-Us

In this blog, we will delve into detail about the website architecture design, how architecture differs from the design and the various processes involved in website architecture designing.

What is website architecture design?

According to Techopedia, “Website architecture is used in creating a logical layout of a website in line with the user and/or business requirements.” A website architect while creating the website architecture design defines the various components of the website, describes the relationship between the components, and connects the components with the services delivered by the website.

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The components of website architecture are:

  • Interaction design
  • User interface design
  • Usability
  • Web design
  • Graphic design
  • Content strategy

What is the need for website architecture?

Imagine you need to visit an office in a new city. Can you reach your destination if there are no directions or landmarks to guide you? That will be a very difficult task. So, you need a map, signposts or a guideline that will help you reach your destination.

The website architecture design works in a similar manner. It helps users find the products or services that they are looking for and make navigation to the right page seamless and straightforward.

A market study by Hubspot has found that 55% of website visitors don’t spend more than 15 seconds on the website.

This means that you have less than 15 seconds to give the information that your visitor is looking for. It is possible only if the website navigation is effective. This, in turn, can happen only if the website architecture design is robust and effective.

How is website architecture different from website design?

Though website design and website architecture are used interchangeably or as a composite term, there are a few basic differences between the two. Both design and architecture have similar goals and are presented in almost a similar manner.

Both website design and architecture revolve around the look and feel of the website. The various steps involved in the designing process are strategizing, storyboard creation, graphic designing, layouts, effects, components, and user experience.

On the other hand, website architecture deals more with user interface, usability, and user experience.

While the design focuses on technical aspects of the front of the website, architecture concentrates on the concept of the website and how it relates to the business goals.

Conceptually, both the processes are similar. Website architecture is about strategizing the website creation process and its presentation, which forms the basis for the website design.

The Process of Building Website Architecture

The process of creating the website architecture design involves the following steps:

1.Understanding the Requirements

The first step is to understand the business goals, the purpose of the website, audience, and all the other details that are essential to create the architecture.

In this step, the website architects also find out about the expected outcomes of the project and the evaluation criteria. It is also a good idea to do a comprehensive brainstorming with the client to cover as many details and specifics as possible.

2.Determine the Target Audience

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The next factor that is considered before creating the architecture is the audience or the end user. The website architect needs to have a clear idea of the target audience so as to create the layout, usability, and user experience accordingly.

Information regarding the target audience can be gathered via demographics, psychological characteristics, need characteristics, geographic location, and user personas.

3.Competitor Analysis

After the basic details are obtained, the architect studies the direct and indirect competitors. This research will give an idea on the concepts to focus on and things that the target audience expects.

4.Defining User Goals

In order to define the user goals, we need to first identify the user problems and possible and probable solutions. While identifying the solutions, the architect thinks from the perspective of the target audience.

5.Scenario Mapping

Now that all the basic research and analysis is completed and all the required data is collected, scenario mapping needs to be done. Scenario mapping is a process that is used to reveal possible user flows.

It creates numerous scenarios that could occur while a user navigates the website. These scenarios are created based on the user goals that were defined in the previous step.

6.Mind Mapping

Till now, all that the architect had is a whole suite of ideas and information. Now all that has to be collated to form is a cohesive picture. This can be done by Mind Mapping. It is a design conceptualizing tool that can be used to create a logical outline of all the available information and ideas.

Website-architecture-design-A-complete-Guide-mind-mapping

Some architects use Mind Mapping tools to create the outline while others go for the traditional pen-and-paper or whiteboard method. After Mind Mapping, the architect will have a clear idea of the categories, subcategories, and interconnections on the website.

7.Information Architecture

The information architecture is basically a foundation for the prototype of the website. A part of the interaction design, information architecture can be defined as the wireframe on which the entire product is built.

While talking about the need for a website architecture design, we spoke about how signposts or a map helps you find your destination in a new city.

In website building, the placement of the sign posts and navigation element is determined in the information architecture. Business goals, user needs, user experience, and all kinds of content are taken into consideration while creating information architecture.

Components such as documents, text, media files, headings and subheadings, and URLs are considered while creating the website’s information architecture.

8.Building the Wireframe or Prototype

Now that the information architecture and Mind Map are ready, the next step is to build the wireframe or prototype. All architects may not work on the Home Page prototype first.

The web page to prototype first depends on the kind of website and the deliverables. Typically, the landing page that will attract the target audience is prototyped first. While building the prototype, the header section is created first.

It usually contains the company logo and contact details, primary navigation menu, and search form. Next, the contextual areas and the footer are designed.

9.Testing

Read Also: 13 Frequently Asked Questions On Python Web Development

Once the prototype is created, it needs to be tested for bugs, errors, and usability.

First, the prototype is compared with the Scenario map to check if all the possible scenarios are covered and if there are any gaps in the navigation. Next, the usability of the architecture is tested using tools to ensure it meets the business goals.

10.Project Specification

It is the document that the website designers and developers need to follow to create the website. The project specification is created after the prototype is positively tested and approved by the client.

This document will contain detailed specifications about each webpage prototype, navigation, software required, technologies needed, user flow, and other information that designers and developers need to build the website.

Website-architecture-design-A-complete-Guide-wireframe

Probytes is a website development company based in India that offers a wide range of website designing and development services. Our team of experienced architects, developers, and designers can build a website customized for your business goals and target audience. Contact us to know more about our services.

Web Development with MEAN Stack- The Complete Guide for your Business

Web development with MEAN Stack is one of the leading trends increasingly being used to develop dynamic websites, mobile applications, and web applications. In this blog, we will look into what is MEAN stack and its components. We will also explore the advantages of using MEAN Stack for web development.

Want-to-develop-a-website-implemented-with-MEAN-Stack-technology,

What is MEAN Stack?

MEAN is an acronym of

MongoDB

Express JS

AngularJS

Node.js

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MEAN Stack can also be defined as an open-source software toolkit that can be used for full-stack development of prototypes and website applications. This stack contains all the technologies essential for building a website, right from database system to the execution environment.

This JavaScript-based development toolkit enables developers to seamlessly and efficiently work on both the front end and backend of a website.

Architecture of MEAN Stack

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The architecture of a MEAN Stack application includes 4 major components:

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Angular JS – It is the front end of the website framework and accepts client requests and displays the results.

Node.js – This server-side platform handles requests from the client and the server

Express JS- This framework is used for building web application APIs. It forwards requests to the Database and gets the response.

MongoDB- It is the database that stores all the data and retrieves when needed.

The MEAN Stack architecture operates in the following way:

Request from the Client is sent to Angular JS, which makes the request. The request is then transferred to NodeJS Server, which parses the request to the Express.JS that transfers the request to MongoDB.

The processed request is then transferred back from MongoDB to Express JS, and from here to NodeJS server and back to Angular JS. The response is displayed on the client interface.

Components of MEAN Stack

In this section, we will look into detail about each component of MEAN Stack.

Angular JS

This open source JavaScript MVW (Model-View-Whatever (works)) framework maintained by Google was developed by Miško Hevery. It is used to design web applications that can be personalized.

This framework offers a complete client-side solution with its Document Object Mode (DOM). Angular JS is built on HTML templates and can be used to bring in Model View Controller architecture to browser-based applications.

As it is based on HTML, this UI framework can be used to express application components with ease. Features such as data binding and dependency injection reduce the need for extensive coding.

The Library of Angular JS consists of functions that can be used for creating web applications. The frameworks help in calling and implementing the web code.

The basic features of Angular JS framework include form validation, reusable components, dependency injection, data binding, routing, and deep linking.

All these features enable the creation of a CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) application. DOM can be decoupled from the app logic, which enhances code testability including end-to-end testability, unit-testing, mock testing, and test harness. Moreover, Angular frameworks support HTTP, AJAX, and Observables.

Node JS

Node JS has an event-driven non-blocking I/O model that makes it perfect for building data-intensive web servers and web applications in real time. This multi-platform language is compatible with OS X, Linux, and Windows.

The best feature of this asynchronous language is that it allows for 2-way communication between server and the client. Node.js finds application in construction of client-side applications, game servers, chat applications, streaming servers, and other real-time applications in a collaborative environment. The in-built server of the Node.js makes it easy to deploy Mongo database to Cloud.

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Express JS

Express JS in the backend enables seamless interaction between the database and the client interface. This lightweight server-side framework can be used for building single page, multi page, or hybrid websites.

It is a single-threaded asynchronous language that features an MVC structure. This framework is coded in JavaScript and uses Pug engines to support templates.

One feature of Express.js is that it prevents the overwriting of variables, which can save time and effort while building a website. Express enables the dynamic rendering of HTML pages by passing arguments to templates. It also features multiple APIs for easy routing.

MongoDB

MongoDB is an open source database written in C++. Compatible with multiple platforms, this database stores data in binary format. The document-oriented NoSQL database can easily handle large tables that have up to millions of data.

This database allows you to use different fields and data structures for each document that resembles an OOPS object. MongoDB doesn’t update the entire data every time you enter a new field, which is one of its highlighting features.

The biggest advantage of using MongoDB is that it is document oriented. As all the data is stored in documents rather than a relational format, it is flexible and high performing. This database has an index, which speeds up search and response time.

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MongoDB splits data while storing. This method enables load balancing and also manages the system in high load or when there is a lot of duplicate data. This storage process also ensures data protection in case of hardware failure.

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Why should you use MEAN Stack for website development?

Quick Turnaround

This comprehensive tool kit has all the necessary software programs and tools to quickly build a website or application. So, developers can complete even complex applications with the shortest possible turnaround time.

Build Cloud-based applications

MEAN Stack is perfect for building Cloud-based applications. It also enables end-to-end encryption, which is one of the most important attributes of Cloud applications.

Quality Interface

The MVC model of the MEAN architecture ensures high-quality user interface.

Seamless Operation

The core of the stack is Node.js, which ensures smooth deployment of the application. Also, the complete application can be run using Javascript, so there is no need for any intervention for the smooth running of the application.

Flexible Structure

The flexible JSON document structure of the database used in MEAN stack lets you store huge volumes of data as Mongo DB features load balancing. This database allows the integration of new fields without any change or update in the existing structure.

Scalable Structure

All the four components of the MEAN Stack are open source and are highly scalable. These components also feature reusable modules and additional libraries, which speed up the website development process.

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Decreased Costs

MEAN Stack brings together the core Java languages, which greatly reduces the cost of building an application. Also, the number of developers required for web development using MEAN Stack is lesser compared to other website development techniques.

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If you are planning to build a website for your company, you will greatly benefit by going for Web Development with MEAN Stack. Probytes is a reputed website development company with ample experience and expertise in building websites for all kinds of businesses and platforms.

Get in touch with us to create the best website for your business within your budget.