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Drupal Vs WordPress- All you Need to Know

Posted on January 23, 2020 by probytesnextjs

Drupal Vs WordPress – It’s a point that all developers ponder over when they start strategizing a website development plan.

The content management system (CMS) is the backbone of the website, and hence deciding on the right one can determine the look and function of your website.

want-to-fully-customize-your-website-solution

In this blog, we will look into the major similarities and differences between these two popular CMS.

Drupal Vs WordPress – Similar Features

Both Drupal and WordPress are open-source platforms that can be developed and customized as per your requirements. These two content management systems boast of a strong community of developers.

Another point of similarity is that the two CMS have user-friendly interfaces with propriety solutions. Also, both these platforms have Schema.org that allow you to hard code templates or add schemas to the website framework.

Before we go into the technical details of Drupal Vs WordPress, let’s take a look at the famous websites that are powered by these content management systems.

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Websites that have Drupal CMS

economist.com
tesla.com
wmg.com
wholefoodmarket.com
nasa.gov

Websites that have WordPress CMS

techcrunch.com
time.com
nationalarchives.gov.uk
thenewyorker.com
sony.com

Drupal Vs Word Press – The Differences

Stats

Drupal was launched in 2000 while WordPress was launched three years later in 2003. Though Drupal is an older system, WordPress seems to be the more popular one.

A market study shows that Drupal websites account for around 3 to 4% of global websites while WordPress supports around 35% of websites.

Interface and Learning Curve

While discussing the merits of WordPress Vs Drupal, the first thing that most developers talk about is the interface and its ease of use. WordPress is a beginners-friendly website, which means even those with nil or minimal coding knowledge can build a website using WordPress CMS.

However, you will need to have coding knowledge of HTML, CSS, and PHP while using Drupal. WordPress has WYSIWYG Theme Customizer and Gutenberg editor, which you can use to create a theme.

Another argument that Drupal is a little difficult for beginners is because of its Drupal nodes and relationships. A developer needs to have an in-depth understanding of the blocks, views, content types, and taxonomies to use the Drupal CMS.

Security

While the WordPress CMS scores high in terms of user-friendly features, Drupal ups the ante with its security features. Statistics show that WordPress sites are more prone to hacks compared to Drupal sites.

However, the core of the WordPress website is quite secure. It is the plug-ins and extensions that are not coded properly, which could make your website vulnerable to cyber attacks. The latest version – Drupal 8 was released recently.

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This version has more security features than the previous version of Drupal 6. Plus, it has community support. So, if you are already using a Drupal CMS or planning for it, go for the updated version.

While opting for Drupal CMS, if you go for Pantheon or Acquia hosting, you can also protect your website from server hacks.

Themes and Plug-ins

When it comes to themes and plug-ins, WordPress has the lead with nearly 6800 free themes. Drupal, on the other hand, has only about 2700 themes. Also, WordPress has a whooping 54,000 plug-ins whereas Drupal has nearly 42,000 plug-ins.

It’s not just the numbers that tilt the scales in favor of WordPress, but also the ease with which these themes, plug-ins, and extensions can be incorporated into the website framework. Integrating plug-ins and extensions in Drupal CMS is a little difficult and time-consuming.

Speed

When it comes to website loading speed, Drupal CMS is a clear winner. WordPress sites are also fast, but when we compare both, we find that Drupal sites are faster. When the loading speed is high, your website performs well on search engines and also ranks higher.

Mobile Interface

WordPress has a native mobile app that allows you to edit content right on the mobile device itself. This option is not available with Drupal as it doesn’t have a native mobile app. Other than this fact, both the content management systems have dedicated themes and interfaces for the mobile device.

Search Engine Optimization

Every website wants to rank high on the search engine results. With a higher loading speed, Drupal has a better performance on the search engines. But, WordPress is more mobile-friendly, which improves search engine ratings.

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In terms of SEO, it is difficult to say which of the two platforms is the winner. However, WordPress has an edge because the margin of errors that could arise during development is lesser. This in turn, impacts the website’s performance on search engines.

Database and Code

In WordPress, the code and the database are regularly updated, approximately once in 3 to 4 months. When a release happens, WordPress automatically updates the database and code in the background without affecting your website.

However, you may have to update the plug-ins, if necessary. In Drupal, the code is not upgradable, but the database is. So, if there are any upgrades, then you may have to redesign the website and re-write the code if needed.

Flexibility and Customizability

WordPress has plenty of flexibility with customizable themes and extensions. Though Drupal also has plenty of themes and modules, finding the right one and customizing it for the website is a little daunting. Developers can easily explore the different themes and functions in a WordPress CMS.

Functionality

In terms of functionality, Drupal is better suited for complex apps. It also has advanced functionality, which makes it a good option for enterprise websites that have multiple templates or page types.

The user permissions are also more advanced in Drupal than WordPress. Drupal allows you to customize content access to site admin, content editors, and other stakeholders. It enhances security and privacy.

Affordability

The cost is the major determining factor. Both the content management systems are open source and free to download. However, you may have charges for customizations.

You will also incur expenses in building a website. If you are planning to outsource your website development, then you should know that Drupal developers charge higher than WordPress developers. It is because Drupal requires higher coding expertise than WordPress.

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Drupal Vs WordPress – The Comparison Table

The below table will give you a summary of the differences between the two huge content management systems – Drupal and WordPress

Features	Drupal	WordPress
Installation Time	10 minutes	5 minutes
Free Themes	Around 2700	Around 6800
Languages	Nearly 100	Nearly 70
No. of plug-ins	Approximately 42,000	Approximately 54,000
Requires coding skills	Yes, requires basic knowledge of CSS, PHP, and HTML	No
Ease of Use	Moderate	Easy
Security	High	Moderate
Loading Speed	High	Moderate
User Interface	Tad difficult	Easy to use
Responsive Design	Responsive sizes can be set in the Image Style module	functions.php file has the image sizes breakpoints
Suitable for	Web applications and enterprise-level websites that require very high-security features	Blog sites and simple websites

Conclusion

Drupal and WordPress, both have their own sets of pros and cons. You need to choose a content management system based on the web application that you are planning to develop.

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Go for the Drupal CMS, if you are want to build an enterprise website with high security. Also, Drupal is an ideal choice if you are planning to hire a developer or outsource website development to a website development agency.

However, if you are looking for a simple and effective blog site or website, you can use the WordPress CMS. To customize the features of the WordPress CMS and enhance its security features, you can avail the services of a website development company.

Latest Ecommerce Trends For 2020

Posted on January 3, 2020 by probytesnextjs

The Ecommerce industry has been steadily developing over the last few decades. Initially, when the digital boom began, only certain industries and sectors used the digital media for selling and marketing their services and products.

But, now every sector, from agriculture to education and even government has climbed on the World Wide Web bandwagon. Ecommerce goes beyond geographical boundaries and breaks physical constraints, enabling even small and medium sized businesses to operate on a global scale.

In this blog, we will look into the rapid development of the Ecommerce sector and the latest Ecommerce trends for 2020.

Market research shows that the total value of online sales is estimated to top $3.4 trillion by the end of this year. Secondly, more Asian customers are leveraging the online space, leading to a shift in purchasing power from the United States and Europe to Asia, especially China.

Thirdly, the number of competitors on the online space is going to increase at a rapid rate in the next few years. All these facts point to the need for businesses to adapt themselves to the fast changes in Ecommerce.

Online businesses should continually develop, evolve and upgrade themselves to stay ahead of the competition. Let’s take a look at the top 20 Ecommerce trends for 2020 that you need to add to your online marketing plan for the coming year.

1. Mobile commerce

The number of people using Smartphones is easily ten times higher than the number of people using desktops and laptops. With Smartphones now being sold at affordable prices, the number of people who access the internet via their mobile devices is higher.

Mobile commerce is a trend that is here to stay. A study shows that 80% of Americans shop online, and nearly 50% use their mobile phones for online shopping. In Europe, almost 55% of online shopping is done via mobile phone.

It is estimated that the size of the mobile market could be as high as 3.3 billion by 2023. The development of progressive web apps has also accelerated the expansion of the mobile Ecommerce industry. We shall look into the progressive web app trend later in this blog.

2. Mobile payments

The advent of mobile payment services such as GPay, RuPay, Amazon Pay, Paytm, and lots more have made it easy for customers to make online payments.

These one-click payments are quicker and easier than having to log onto internet banking to make payments. Plus, cash backs, discounts and other special offers provided by these mobile payment service providers have encouraged the widespread use of mobile payment methods.

This trend is to grow larger by the coming year. Websites that want to capture this sector should integrate mobile payment options in their Ecommerce platforms.

3. Social media commerce

The social media commerce trend started a few years back and has been steadily gaining popularity since then. Users can explore products on social media sites and make their purchases directly from there. Instagram shopping is one such model of social media Ecommerce.

4. IoT commerce

2020 will see an increase in the Internet of Things Commerce. Online businesses will provide multiple touch points or sales points where customers can make their purchases.

The sales are expected to be done through cars, appliances, voice devices, and social media platforms in the coming year.

5. Flexible payment options

Ecommerce businesses that offer flexible payment options, especially for larger purchases will see more conversion. EMI payments make it easier for customers to spend large amounts. Businesses that offer flexible payment options found the conversion rate increase by up to 30%.

6. Personalized and Customized Products

Personalization and customization are the buzzwords in the Ecommerce trends for 2020. These terms refer to both the products/services purchased and the shopping experience.

Ecommerce businesses can leverage information collected by data analytics to provide personalized recommendations based on preferences, search history, and past purchases. Suggestions can also be provided based on the information shared by the customer.

7. PWA for Ecommerce

Progressive Web apps are the latest trend in the online sector. Web apps are an amalgamation of websites and mobile apps. Designed to load fast, even when network speed is less, these web apps perform well even in regions that have just 2G internet speed.

These web apps are also designed to load in offline mode. It is paramount to invest in a progressive web app to improve your online business sales and performance.

Read our blog on “What are Progressive Apps?” to know more about this emerging trend.

8. Headless Ecommerce

The headless Ecommerce platform is one of the latest Ecommerce trends for 2020. This Ecommerce trend is about creating content once and then tailoring it to the specifications of different platforms.

Headless content allows you to create a seamless Omnichannel experience. You don’t need a separate storefront in headless commerce. All the data is in the backend, which can be shared on different platforms using APIs.

Unlike traditional Ecommerce, headless Ecommerce doesn’t have any design constraints or need for creating a front-end from scratch. It also allows you to create different interfaces and experiences for the admin and the users.

9. Voice Search

It is predicted that voice assistants will be used in more than 8 billion devices by 2023. Also, market studies show that voice commerce will grow up to 40 billion in the next two years.

Voice shopping opens up a huge segment of the market. Already, millions are using Alexa and Siri for internet searches. The dependence on voice assistants is only expected to increase in the coming years. So, it is essential to equip your website for voice searches.

10. AR and VR Imagery or Visual Commerce

Visual commerce or visual imagery is one of the latest Ecommerce trends for 2020. Displaying 3D images has become old news now. Websites use AR and VR to deliver an interactive visual experience.

Furniture and home décor e-stores use VR to help customers get an idea of how the furniture will look in their home space. Similarly, online stores selling glasses, accessories, and more use visual imagery to help customers have a more immersive shopping experience.

11. Drone Delivery

Over the last few years, top Ecommerce retailers like Amazon, Dominos, and UPS have been experimenting with drone delivery. They have also been successful in some regions.

In the future, we can see drone delivery being used for isolated places. It is predicted that there could be more than 2.6 million drones in operation by 2020. Estimations also show that drone delivery could save up to $50 million in shipping costs.

12. Dynamic pricing model

The Ecommerce sector is highly competitive. So, businesses should continually monitor demand, competitor’s prices, and other factors and create a dynamic pricing model. Ecommerce companies need to determine an optimal price that will give them the best chance of sale while still ensuring that they meet the profit margins.

13. Privacy, Security, and Trust

Ecommerce platforms need to first gain the trust of customers to survive the market. As customers provide more information to gain a personalized shopping experience, they also expect the highest security and privacy of their information. Users should have full control of the information they want to share or delete.

Websites that have the best security options and trust of customers are more likely to succeed.

14. Subscription business model

The subscription business model is profitable both for the business and the customer. It ensures guaranteed monthly revenue for the business while customers get the best value for their money. However, Ecommerce companies need to regularly monitor the subscription model and make revisions based on competitor analysis, seasonal demands and other factors.

15. Customer Analytics

Big Data is growing bigger and bigger year by year. Customer analytics has become a necessity for Ecommerce platforms. These insights about customer preference, demographics, abandoned cart, search history and more help businesses gain a deeper understanding of customer expectations.

The information derived from these insights can be used to create marketing campaigns and also provide a personalized shopping experience. The insights can also be used for programmatic and contextual marketing.

16. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Ecommerce companies stand to gain a lot by leveraging the right AI-based tools and platforms. From automating certain processes to enhancing customer experience, AI and ML tools offer a wide range of technology-based solutions. AI chatbots have brought about conversational marketing, which has increased customer engagement by nearly 48%.

17. B2B commerce

Initially, Ecommerce only focused on the business to customer model. But now, B2B Ecommerce platforms are also gaining traction. B2B commerce is developing at an even faster rate than B2C commerce. Companies that used traditional marketing methods are now adapting the digital platform. This trend is expected to accelerate in the coming year.

18. Multi-platform commerce

Multiplatform commerce or Omnichannel marketing has been around for quite some time and is still one of the leading trends. Ecommerce platforms should offer multiple channels such as website, mobile app, PWA, social media sites, email, messages, and even phone calls for customers to interact with them.

Ecommerce businesses that have multiple platforms have a wider reach and higher level of conversion.

19. Content Repurposing

Content has been the king of Ecommerce trends for eons. High-quality and informative content is one of the key elements of a website. Purposeful content repurposing refers to the use of the same content in different formats for different platforms. It also refers to the process of personalizing content for each customer based on their shopping experience and preferences.

20. E-commerce to brick and mortar

From brick and mortar to Ecommerce and now back to brick and mortar! This Ecommerce trend has come to a full circle. Many Ecommerce retailers are partnering with existing stores or sponsoring events and putting up stalls in exhibitions to reach out to this segment.

These retail outlets also act as pick up and drop points for online purchases and returns and enhance the personalized shopping experience.

What to do?

Regardless of what kind of industry you operate in, setting up a base in the Ecommerce sector helps your business spread wings and grow faster. Whether you are an established online business or a newbie in the segment, we can help you expand your Ecommerce business. Contact us for a personalized consultation.

10 Ways Blockchain Technology Will Change E-commerce Business

Posted on April 26, 2018 by probytesnextjs

Blockchain! The technology gained its fame after the pandemonium created by the crypto currency Bit Coin. The story of people became millionaire in a fortnight has given the technology stardom like none of its counter parts.

But What Exactly is Block Chain?

Blockchain technology is a decentralised digital ledger of economic transactions, which is specifically designed to record not only the final transaction but also everything that goes in it.

In simple terms, everything is out on display to the public but in a series of complicated code, which you can find out after a lengthy and challenging calculation, making it one of the safest ways to transact money.

So, isn’t it obvious that the technology can be used in e-commerce industry which has got huge amount of risk especially when it comes to transaction?

Let’s See How..

1. Authentic Transactions

Using blockchain technology your customer will be able to transfer the amount directly from his bank account to yours without any middlemen like Visa, MasterCard or PayPal taking a share of your profit. This is how blockchain technology and crypto currencies can change the e-commerce industry:

Customers don’t have to provide any financial or personal information
Can be used worldwide unlike specific platforms like PayPal
Low transaction fees
Easy user experience

2. Accuracy

Every shipment has a code, which the customers can track using blockchain technology. The accuracy of the tracking is very more advanced than what is available right now.

For example, if you are at a supermarket buying an apple, using the code you can find out from where is that apple and when was it harvested or whether it is fresh or not. Online customers are increasingly concerned about the source of the product, emphasising only on ethically sourced products

Blockchain technology will make the tracking process completely paperless, which will massively benefit the environment and there will be complete transparency between customers and retailers as well.

3. Health Hazards

Tracking shipments using blockchain technology is very beneficial for food products. For example, companies like Hello Fresh that sell ready to make food and their customers can use the technology to monitor health, contamination, and safety requirements of the ingredients. It can be used in continents like Europe where contamination is widespread, especially when it comes to eggs.

The technology can save people from epidemics and millions of money spent to cure all of them.\

4. E-commerce and Payments

Cryptocurrency payments can help e-commerce companies to keep track of all transactions, which will be very useful if a customer asks for the refund.

Expedia, an international travel operator, is one of the first companies who have started accepting payments in Bitcoins for hotel bookings. Shopify also has a Bitcoin payment option for its customers.

5. Proof of Ownership

Counterfeiting will no more be an issue for brands because blockchain technology will help them prove that the designs belonged to them and the ability to do so will increase the product’s worth and the brand’s value.

Ascribe is an ownership company that helps companies and artists register themselves as product creators using blockchain technology. Using your dashboard on the company’s website, you can track sales of your products and is aimed at reducing copyright claims.

6. Human Resources

Now you might wonder how to make the hiring process technological? However, you can use a lot of technology for hiring, retaining, compensating, evaluating, and firing.

According to Society for Human Resource Management, human resource department can use blockchain technology for modernising parts of the hiring process such as verifying credentials of existing employees and job applicants.

Multinational companies will benefit the most from the technology when it comes to handling payrolls as it can standardise payments across various currencies.

Travis Parker, COO, IRA Bitcoin LLC, feels that blockchain technology is also changing how employees plan their retirement as it diversifies their investment portfolio and has more control over their assets.

7. Advertising and Marketing

According to the Juniper Research, advertisers lose $51 million every day, totalling to $19 billion every year because of fraudulent activities. If not controlled, the amount will reach $44 billion annually by 2022.

Blockchain technology can help reduce click fraud and thereby helping marketing and advertising reach their targets.

Amir Jan Malik, digital marketing expert, Accenture Interactive, said that blockchain technology was developed to prevent fraud in banking, so the same can be applied the e-commerce level.

8. Cybersecurity

Even the most famous companies including Target, Yahoo, and Equifax have been victims of data breaches by viruses and hacking causing the release of personal information of millions of customers.

With e-commerce industry becoming increasingly, it becomes essential to protect it from frauds.

David Schatsky, managing director, Deloitte US, said that blockchain technology provides a way of recording transactions or digital interactions in a very transparent, secure, efficient, auditable and highly resistant to outages way.

It is necessary for every cybersecurity system to have these features. In simple words, blockchain technology will help protect the critical intellectual property of the e-commerce world.

9. Managing operations

Old companies are facing severe problems adjusting to operation management online. Eastman Kodak, a 129-years old firm, is going through the same struggle and finally decided to invest in developing an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership, called KODAKOne.

Photographers that work for the company can register their existing or new work on it and license them using the platform.

The system allows them to participate in secure payment and receive money immediately through the technology and never worry about their work being stolen.

10. Safer Web World

Blockchain technology with its unlimited benefits makes the web world a safer place. It will some time for people to adjust to the new technology but it won’t be long before they understand its value.

E-commerce shopping will become trustworthy, with very fewer chances of your package not showing up or your personal information getting leaked. It will speed up the time taken for e-commerce companies to reach business goals.

Why Magento Is The Perfect Platform For Your E-Commerce Business?

Posted on September 29, 2014 by probytesnextjs

Magento is without doubt one of the most powerful open source E-commerce software platforms, and has earned the trust of leading brands in the world.

Online E-Commerce businesses require a smart CMS platform. Magento is an open-source PHP and MySQL platform that has the enterprise-class features and the flexibility you need to create an E-Commerce solution tailored to your unique needs. According to the report from W3Techs, Magento is used by 24.2% of all the websites, which is a content management system market share of 60.4%.

A number of Magento development services prefer working with Magento too, as it is a feature rich platform that is also user friendly. Along with its rich features, this platform offers users with unparalleled flexibility to manage the content, looks and functionality of their online store. Unmatched among its competitors, Magento offers more than 1,900 themes, along with thousands of modules available for download.

Recommended Read:How to Start a Magento Website?

Reasons to choose Magento as the CMS for your next e-Commerce website:

Created Specifically For E-Commerce – Compared to other CMS, Magento has all the features and specifications necessary to create an amazing online store. This is the major reason why Magento scores over WordPress, WooCommerce, Drupal and Drupal Commerce combos.
It is SEO Friendly – Magento also offers tools for online marketing and SEO. These tools will help to promote your E-Commerce store and thus get higher positions on various search engine results pages (SERP). Its SEO tools include
- Metadata for products and categories
- Site maps for Google and other search engines
- Full control over URLs
Cost Effective – This open source PHP based e-commerce platform is completely free to install, modify and use. While its Community Edition is a free version, especially for smaller shops, Enterprise Edition is a premium pay for use version mainly for larger merchants. Businesses can also benefit from a library of extensions in the Magento’s website, both free and pay for use. This can enhance functionality of your E-Commerce store. Experienced Magento development services will provide you the right services at right costs.
Robust And User Friendly – This platform is dynamic and fast, making it extremely easier for buyers to search and buy products through website. Its advanced features ensure an enjoyable online shopping experience. Magento E-Commerce platform can also be conveniently integrated with your existing online shopping website. Its dynamic interface not only sells and compels, but also offers an out of the world User Experience to your visitors.
Security – This full featured E-Commerce software provides secure payment processing. Magento Secure Payment Bridge enables merchants to efficiently attain PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance and also offers stronger data encryption. Customers can choose from multiple payment-processing options offered by this platform or use their preferred payment gateways such as Simple Pay, PayPal, Amazon Payments, Google Checkout, and Authorize.net.
Includes Analytics And Reporting– With this Open source platform, you can also measure your online store’s performance with full analytics and reporting. Its options include
- Traffic monitoring with Google Analytics integration
- Ability to generate detailed sales reports, shopping cart reports, most-viewed and best-purchased product reports, stock and inventory reports, search term reports, coupon usages, best customers, and many more

Read Also: Things to Consider While Planning a Magento Store

High Performance – The speed of a site is important for all internet users, especially online stores. Any delay in processing user requests can slow down the E-Commerce website’s potential to convert site visitors into customers. This platform with high-end caching techniques such as Varnish and other DB optimization techniques ensures error free and timely results.

The success of your online store also depends on your choice of Magento development company. With professional Magento development services, it is easily possible to handle your website design, hosting, functionality and features. While choosing a developer, make sure to evaluate their portfolio, evaluate the development team and check out the costs.