Category: How To

How To Create a Big Website Like Udemy?

Posted on by probytesnextjs

Smart e-learning portals and sites that offers online courses are nowadays becoming prominent.

The success of such a site like Udemy is certain as it appears like every year investors are flooding more and more funds into the venture.

If you are in the process or even thinking about building up an e-learning site like Udemy out of the blue, clearly, you would have a plenty of questions rushing through your mind, for example, – “How long will it take to create?”, “What would be the requirements to develop adequately?”. These are the issues that strike a chord of every person thinking to develop their own e-learning website.

Creating Your Own e-learning Website

Every e-learning site is varied from each other still there are a few basic functions within all of them.Three of the principal features are

  • Online course offering
  • User interaction
  • Certification

What do you need to create an e-learning website?

  • A domain name which will be your website’s address.
  • A WordPress hosting account to store your website’s files.
  • A learning management add-on to build and maintain courses.

You can easily create your online course with WordPress within an hour.

Let’s get started further with theactual important steps to develop your site for online learning course like Udemy.

You’ll realize that it is very easy to build your own e-learning site like Udemy, with the help of Learn Dash.

Set Up WordPress

First, you’ll require to install WordPress which is quite easy.

Login to your web host’s cPanel.

In Databases, you must see the ‘MySQL Database Wizard ‘. Utilize this wizard to make a MySQL database as well as a database user.

Note: Write down the database name, username, and password. These details will be needed later for installing WordPress.

You’ll mark a WordPress installation wizard already in the cPanel if you’ve already bought WordPress. This wizard will direct you to WordPress installation.

Go to the wizard, configure the language WordPress requires to be installed. Insert the noted database name, username, and password. Add the table prefix to a little value of your choice, add website details, and form a user.

Installing a WordPress LMS theme

This is the time to convert your WordPress theme to a premium e-learning WordPress theme.LearnPress premium has pre-designed LMS WordPress themes.After all, to create a site similar to Udemy you need a solution that is robust enough to work like it. After choosing the theme begin installing it on your WordPress.

Go to your WordPress back-end. Afterwards, to Appearance > Themes > Add New> Choose Upload Theme > Select the theme.

After the uploading process, you’ll be redirected to a Thim Core Installation. Here the site will install every needed demo content and plugins automatically. It will change your site into an impressive design similarto the Udemy.

Then, add some details: site’s title, pick your desired demo and sign in to the Envato account to verify your theme license. When the process completes, click on the Next button.

You’ll be having a stunning website design similar to the demo site that you selected. Now you’re almost near to the completion stage of building an e-learning site comparable to Udemy.

ConfigureLearnDash

Log in to yourWordPress admin panel.

Then, Go to Plugins -> Add New

Upload the LearnDash plugin’s zipped copy – > Activate it.

A LearnDash LMS menu will be created.

Create your online course

Go to Courses menu, tap on Add new which will add a new course for you.

In the course editor page, you can add your course title, course description, and anything about the course, such as educational modules, course length, course setting, course installment or also terms for passing the course.

You can simply include the name of the lessons in the curriculum modules setting option. You can tap on Choose Lesson to pick your prepared lesson.

Later, pick a Category for the course, include a few tags, a feature picture, and click on Publish option to activate the course.

Add a Lesson

After naming a course and adding its details, go to the Visual Course Builder. Name a lesson to add it, then simply drag and drop it to the particular course.

The setting for a lesson has four main segments:

Associated Course: Initiate the course for which the lesson is a section.

Forced Lesson Timer: It’s used to set the minimum time a student can spend on a lesson before it can be noted as finished.

Read also : How To Make a Social Media Website? Points to Consider

Upload Assignment: Use this option when your course needs a student to upload an assignment on completing a lesson. Uploaded assignments can be accessed in LearnDash LMS -> Assignments panel.

Sample Lesson: This option is checked to make a lesson accessible to students even though the course is paid.

Edit the Lessons

By preview the course you can edit all the lessons or evenfrom the course editor page. You can add anything to your lesson in the lesson editor.

Furthermore, you can edit the lesson name, change the lesson’s content based on the requirements of the course, add images, videos, texts and also PowerPoint slides. You can additionally include the duration of the lesson.

Check the Media box in the lesson setting and append an embed iframe tag to your video, in case you want the lesson in a video format.

Including a Certificate

To make and adda new certificate follow these steps –

Make a certificate image in size 21.5 x 28cm.

  • Go to WordPress admin panel, then click LearnDash LMS -> Certificates -> Add New
  • Add the desired title, and install the featured image as certificate image you created for your course.
  • For the classification, go to the plain text editor and appropriate spacing. Lastly, present the student’s name applying the shortcode: [usermeta field=”display_name”]
  • To show quiz details like course title, or score or percentage, use the [quizinfo] shortcode, for instance:

[quizinfo show=”course_title”] to display the title of the course

[quizinfo show=”quiz_title”] to display the title of the quiz

[quizinfo show=”percentage”]% to display percentage obtained

[quizinfo show=”score”] to display the score of a student

Preview the modifications and click Publish option to publish your certificate.

Read also : Top 10 Web Development Companies In India

Create a Menu

You need to create a menu to make it simple for students to search through available courses.You have to give a link to the course archive page that actually lists all the courses.

So, create a navigation menu.

Go to Appearance -> Menus from your admin panel.

Create a new menu, give it the desired name.

Add pages you made, for instance, home, blog, contact, from the pages list etc.

Then for the course archive page, you have to add a ‘Custom Link‘ to ‘/courses/‘

Introduce this menu as the “Primary Navigation Menu” and click on Save.

Registration & Signing in Setup

The plugin that manages this job is Theme My Login. The plugin can add a personalized widget for login wherever on your website. You can redirect users to sign in and sign out as per on their user role.

How To Make a Social Media Website? Points to Consider

Posted on by probytesnextjs

The Fame that social media possess need no description. It is a platform where different people meet to share their ideas, thoughts, and give an insight of their social life.

But have you ever thought of making a social media platform of your own?

The idea of creating a social media website might sound crazy. But have your ever thought about the factors that need to be considered?

Let’s have a look.

1. Determine Your Target Audience and Develop a Concept Based Upon Their Value

Considering this first most step will give you a push towards the journey of creating a website.

Moreover, this start-push does not show result instantly but will surely pay off after you are finished.

Once you think of getting started with creating your website, you must define your target audience, i.e. determine what kind of audience you intend to attract and influence.

This phase is very important as it helps you establish your social media network on solid ground for the future.

Additionally, this approach reduces the level of failure in the future. You can either choose online research or create a demo version of your website to determine the target audience.

However, it is suggested to choose the first option because a demo version includes many additional costs attached to it.

When creating a social network site, you get limited resources; therefore, the demo version method might show a consequent increase in your respective budget.

However, one should not forget that the approach is capable to provide you with 100% reliable results.

2. Development of Your Social Network Based On Your Audience and a Proper Growth Strategy

In the presence of so many competitors in the market, it is quite a struggle to come up with a website that is unique and out-of-the-box.

In order to stand and make a separate identity of your own, you need to prepare a good growth strategy.

Till now, you must be finished with the determination of your target audience. Its time, you make them aware of your services.

The future of your social network site’s success depends highly on your definition of a consistent growth strategy.

The choice is on you, whether you want a site or a mobile app as your platform. However, either of them is highly effective and successful nowadays.

The choice further depends on if you want it to be operative on Android, iPhone or both. Moreover, you can start with locally and on a small scale and then expand slowly.

Or otherwise, you can proceed further focusing your efforts on big demographic and get started with marketing on large scale at the very beginning.

However, what is suggested is to always start with a small base- in the absence of a unique idea.

Beginning with an approach to the large base will increase your presence in the market more quickly, as a result of which, you will be exposed to other competitors. Hence, the growth of your social network site will become tougher than usual.

3. Consider Determining Various Checkpoints Prior To Getting in Touch With Your Developers

A social network site is a complex programme that requires a right team of experts to be developed successfully. The next step towards creating a social media website is to get in touch with developers and discuss everything with them. But prior to it, you must consider determining certain checkpoints which are as follows:

The Money:

This step towards development is all about the money. For a site similar to Instagram, the cost can easily run up to $300,000 while social media websites like Facebook can go to $500,000. The cost of your website depends on how complex features you want to develop on your website. For a site with fewer complex features, the cost will be down to somewhere around $1, 00,000. Always remember that a site with low complex features will always be low in cost.

Traffic Estimation:

It is quite a difficult task. Moreover, it is impossible to evaluate or judge the traffic of a website with full accuracy. Hence, if your development team could manage to estimate somewhere to the closest number of the actual traffic, wouldn’t it be wonderful? Therefore, once you are finished with a proper marketing research, its time you give a rough number, pertaining to the estimation, to your respective developers. This rough estimation will help you determine your database and cost. Following are the choices:

  • You can start with MySQL or PostgreSQL for your structured data.
  • You can start with NoSQL databases, like MongoDB which supports high-traffic and high-load surges.

You need to discuss with your development team about which one to consider. You would not want to spend on something which is expensive and does not show the expected result.

The Platform:

The next following decision involves whether you want a mobile app or a website. You need to determine such things before you sit for the big talk with your developers. The data from the Research can be taken into account to support the decision.

4. Development Phase 2 i.e. the Design and Features

In this phase of development, you must focus on implementing designs on the website that are functional and user-friendly.

It is recommended to use less and simple designs in order to increase the efficiency of your social media website. User experience is what matters after all. Remember to use an approach which is user-oriented.

The design and features should be easy to use and capable to provide an enjoyable experience. A good development team is what might come of a great help in achieving this.

They must keep the architecture, the overall design, and layout consistent and logical. You are required to include some basic elements prior to starting your social network site’s advanced design and features such as Chat option, Connect Buttons, Comment Section, Standard profile elements, News Feed, Engagement Buttons, and Social Group options.

Additionally, In order to successfully create a user-friendly social media website, you must heavily invest in your app or website’s architecture.

5. Development Phase 3 i.e. Assembling a Good Team

Generally, a social media website includes a Senior/Middle UX developer, Junior UI, Senior and Middle Back-end developers, 2 QA’s, Senior/Middle UI designer, 2 Senior/Middle Front-end developers, DevOps, and last but not the least, a Project Manager who oversees and supervise the whole project.

Here again, you get a choice between if you want to hire all the above mentioned, or you want to contract with a site development firm.

For your information, the average cost of hiring these in-house (depends on your locale) can get to some around $250,000 per year. Moreover, outsourcing is far cheaper.

Read also : Top 10 Web Development Companies In India

6. Effective Promotion and Marketing of Your Social Media Website

This is the time when you will be holding the final product in your hands. Just like any other business, it is time to promote and do the marketing of the product. Consider using the AIDA marketing model.

AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. This will ensure that your efforts on the targeted audience meet their desires and needs. In this phase too, you again get options to choose from i.e.

  • Develop marketing expertise
  • Consider the use of SEO tools
  • Include taking lead from LinkedIn with any of the above options

7. Monetizing the Efforts

A social media website business is a serious affair. It involves struggles and efforts with an aim to earn money. Moreover, it requires a lot of investment. This is the phase where all of your efforts and investments will finally pay off.

Seek partnership opportunities. Look out for a retailer who might be interested in advertisement their business in your website.

Considering this will relate to the fact that when followers see brand name and placements, they get an impression of being in a popular place, thus, get encouraged to join in.

You can also pursue potential advertiser. This can be done by mentioning their products and services on your website.

Furthermore, through following and publishing their content on your site, and stating comments with back-links to your website, and many more.

However, if you don’t want to do all this by yourself, then you can consider hiring a marketing/promotion specialist. Be careful and hire reputed advertisers as it holds the ability to directly impact your website.

8. Maintenance and Scaling of the Website

If you have considered in-house staff, then you don’t really need to consider this phase. However, if you have outsourced the development of your social media website, then you must ensure that the firm you hire offers you maintenance, solutions and scaling whenever needed.

A good firm posses and follows such approach and provide you with regular recommendations and consults, whenever required.

Developing a social media website can take up to six months. The steps, mentioned above will allow you to create your own website successfully, effectively and efficiently.

A website is nothing without its users. Therefore, always remember to focus on meeting the demands and desires of your target audience.

Read also : How To Create A Chat Application Successfully

How to Create Vivid graphs using Python Language

Posted on by probytesnextjs

Plotting graphs in python can be a tricky affair, but a few simple steps can help you generate a graph easily. To generate graphs in Python you will need a library called Matplotlib. It helps in visualizing your data and makes it easier for you to see the relationship between different variables. Before starting with the graph, it is important to first understand Matplotlib and its functions in Python.

Why is data Visualization needed?

Visualization of data is a practice of presenting the data in a simple manner (in graphical or pictorial format), through which even a non-technical person can understand it easily as the human brain can process information easily when it is in pictorial or graphical form.

It allows us to quickly interpret data and adjust different variables to observe their effects. You can simply interpret the information from data visualization which is very helpful for a person (a Non-technical person) to understand.

Introduction to Matplotlib

Matplotlib is a library used in Python to generate graphs and lines for 2D graphics. Matplotlib package is totally written in Python. Matplotlib uses simple commands to generate simple plots for your data.

Installation

The first step is to install the Matplotlib using the pip command given below.

pip install matplotlib

Using pip command it will take care of dependencies while installing the library in Python.

Matplotlib Python Plot

You might be thinking, to start with the plotting graphs in python there would be some typical commands which you will be using to generate graphs. Matplotlib has tremendously reduced that effort which provides a flexible library and much built-in defaults to simply generate graphs. You need to make sure that you make the necessary imports, prepare data and start with the plot() function.

Use this import to get started with your Matplotlib plot:

>>> import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

To generate data later also NumPy import will be used. To import NumPy use this syntax:

>>> import numpy as np

Also, use show() function to show the resulting graph. Let us see a simple example of how we can start generating a graph.

  • # Make sure to import the necessary packages and modules
  • import pyplot as plt
  • import numpy as np
  • # Prepare your data
  • z = np.linspace(0, 10, 100)
  • # Plotting the data
  • plot(z, z, label=’linear’)
  • # Adding a legend
  • legend()
  • # Result
  • plt.show()

Run your code and see the resulting plot.

Result:

plotting graphs in python

You can also look for another example to generate a most simple graph using Matplotlib.

Simple graph

  • from Matplotlib import pyplot as plt
  • # Plotting of graph
  • plot([1,2,3],[4,5,1])
  • # Showing the result
  • plt.show()

Result:

plotting graphs in python

In the above example, we’ve just plotted a simple graph without any title, x-axis or y-axis. Moving forward we will be learning how to add title and labels to the graph.

Adding label and titles to your graph

  • from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
  • x=[5,8,10]
  • y=[12,16,6]
  • plot(x,y)
  • title(‘info’)
  • ylabel(‘Y axis’)
  • xlabel(‘X axis’)
  • show()

Result:

plotting graphs in python

In the above example, we’ve shown the x-axis and y-axis by a simple command plt.ylabel() and title by plt.title(). We have used plot(x,y) instead of using direct numbers for plotting the X and Y axis.

 This graph doesn’t include any style or color. What if you want to add some style or change the width of the line or add color to the graph? We’ll see a simple code to generate a graph with different styles and colors.

Adding style to the graph

  • from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
  • from matplotlib import style
  • use(‘ggplot’)
  • x=[5,8,10]
  • y=[12,16,6]
  • x1=[6,9,11]
  • y1=[6,15,7]
  • plot(x,y,’g’,label=’line one’,linewidth=5)
  • plot(x1,y1,’c’,label=’line two’,linewidth=5)
  • title(‘Epic info’)
  • ylabel(‘Y axis’)
  • xlabel(‘X axis’)
  • show()

Result:

plotting graphs in python

To introduce color in different lines we have used ‘g’ for green and ‘c’ for cyan. We can also introduce the thickness of the line by using linewidth function. As we have only used default grid lines, to change the color of the grid line use this simple command before plt.show()

Result:

plotting graphs in python

If you want to add a highlight to the graph which shows the details of the line you can use legend() function by using this simple command.

Result:

After adding legend() and grid() function code will look like this.

  • from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
  • from matplotlib import style
  • use(‘ggplot’)
  • x=[5,8,10]
  • y=[12,16,6]
  • x1=[6,9,11]
  • y1=[6,15,7]
  • plot(x,y,’g’,label=’line one’,linewidth=5)
  • plot(x1,y1,’c’,label=’line two’,linewidth=5)
  • title(‘Epic info’)
  • ylabel(‘Y axis’)
  • xlabel(‘X axis’)
  • grid(True,color=’K’)
  • legend()
  • show()

In the above examples we have learned how to change width line, style, and grid or add a highlighter and now we’ll see how we can plot different types of graphs using Matplotlib in Python

Types of plots

There are several types of the plot which we will generate in this section using Matplotlib.

  • Bar Graph
  • Histograms
  • Scatter Plot
  • Stack Plot
  • Pie Plot

Bar graph:

Bar graphs are used generally to compare different groups using visualizations. Whether it be a change of market or change in revenue, using a bar graph we can easily determine and compare the actual results.

Code to generate Bar graph in Python:

  • Import pyplot as plt
  • bar([1,3,5,7,9],[5,2,7,8,2], label=“Example one”)
  • bar([2,4,6,8,10],[8,6,2,5,6], label=“Example two”,color=‘g’)
  • legend()
  • xlabel(‘bar number’)
  • ylabel(‘bar height’)
  • title(‘Bar Graph’)
  • show()

Result:

plotting graphs in python

Histogram: Histogram graph is generally used to display the statistical information or the distribution of successive process data set. The histogram is generally used for continuous data. Histogram or Bar graph may seem similar but a general difference between histogram plot and bar graph plot is that a histogram plot is used to display the distribution of variables while bar graph is used to display the comparison between variables.

Code to generate the Histogram graph in Python:

  •  import matplotlib pyplot as plt
  • population_ages=[22,55,62,45,21,22,34,42,42,4,99,102,110,120,121,122,130,111,115,112,80,75,65,54,44,43,42,48]
  • bins = [0,10,20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90,100,110,120,130]
  • hist(population_ages, bins, histtype=’bar’,r width=0.8)
  • xlabel(‘x’)
  • ylabel(‘y’)
  • title(‘Histogram’)
  • legend()
  • show()

Result:plotting graphs in python

  1. Scatter Plot: Using a scatter plot you can compare two variables and can determine the correlation between them. The values of the variables are represented in the form of a dot. Example of a scatter plot is shown in the image.

Code to generate Scatter plot:

  • import pyplot as plt
  • x=[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
  • y=[5,2,4,2,1,4,5,2]
  • scatter(x,y, label=’skitscat’, color=’k’, s=25, marker=“o”)
  • xlabel(‘x’)
  • ylabel(‘y’)
  • title(‘Scatter Plot’)
  • legend()
  • show()

Result:

plotting graphs in python

Stack Plot: Stack plot or area plot is similar to the line graphs. They can be used to track changes of one or more variables. Stack plot is good to use when you are tracking changes in two or more related group that make up a whole category. Example of stack plots:

plotting graphs in python

Code to generate Stack Plot

  • importpyplot as plt
  • days = [1,2,3,4,5]
  • sleeping =[7,8,6,11,7]
  • eating = [2,3,4,3,2]
  • working =[7,8,7,2,2]
  • playing = [8,5,7,8,13]
  • plot([],[],color=’m’, label=’Sleeping’, linewidth=5)
  • plot([],[],color=’c’, label=’Eating’, linewidth=5)
  • plot([],[],color=’r’, label=’Working’, linewidth=5)
  • plot([],[],color=’k’, label=’Playing’, linewidth=5)
  • stackplot(days, sleeping,eating,working,playing, colors=[‘m’,’c’,’r’,’k’])
  • xlabel(‘x’)
  • ylabel(‘y’)
  • title(‘Interesting Graph\n Check it out’)
  • legend()
  • show()

Result:

 

Pie Chart: Pie chart is used to display the statistical data in the form of a circular Different variables are represented in the form of ‘pie slices’. Pie chart generally shows the percentage of different categories by dividing the circle into proportional pie slices. A pie chart can be useful to show the exact quantity which has been consumed by the category with representation. It is also useful when comparing more than two variables using a graph.

Code to generate Pie chart:

  • Import pyplot as plt
  • x=[7,2,2,13]
  • activities=[‘sleeping’,’eating’,’working’,’playing’]
  • cols=[‘c’,’m’,’r’,’b’]
  • pie(x,
  • labels=activites,
  • colors=cols,
  •  startangle=90,
  •   shadw=True,
  •   explode=(0,0.1,0,0),
  •    autopct=’%1.1f%%’)
  • title(‘Pie Plot’)
  • show()

Result:

Working with Multiple Plots

As we have discussed various types of plots in the above section, we are going to see how we can work with multiple graphs.

Code:

  • import numpy as np
  • import pyplot as plt
  • def f(t):
  •  returnexp(-t) * np.cos(2*np.pi*t)
  • t1 = np.arange(0.0, 5.0, 0.1)
  • t2 = np.arange(0.0, 5.0, 0.02)
  • subplot(221)
  • plot(t1, f(t1), ‘bo’, t2, f(t2))
  • subplot(222)
  • plot(t2, np.cos(2*np.pi*t2))
  • show()

Result:

plotting graphs in python

Now, you have learned how plotting graphs in python used to be done and what are the various types of plots which you can generate using Matplotlib in Python.

How To Make Your Business Smarter With Odoo

Posted on by probytesnextjs

ERP systems, since its discovery, have greatly reduced the need for manually managing and interpreting data. The system streamlines business processes and various functionalities making it easier and efficient to collect data

With the outbreak of new technologies and possibilities in the ERP world, Odoo’s combined and real-time project management helps you get your work done in a more systematic way. It keeps the track of every minute detail from customer contacts to office billings.

Let us discuss some important things Odoo can do to make your business smarted and efficient:

Warehouse Management

The traditional accounting system saw the need for an efficient system that keeps track of the Inventory and supply chain when a single warehouse/store was occupying products of 2 or more different suppliers. How would you distinguish between which store brought in which product and when?

Odoo provides a way of optimizing the warehouse management with accounting principle. The tool provides a double entry system which keeps records of every transaction in 2 different accounts. For eg. When you enter an order in the system, you will have a separate entry for incoming stock, and a separate entry for outgoing stock. This system has been widely accepted and praised for its efficiency and accuracy.

Human Resource Management

Whether you have a single department in your business or multiple departments, Odoo can help you oversee information of your employees at a single glance. The system consists of the all-in-one module which takes care of recruitment, attendance, leaves, appraisals and much more.  Alerts can be set for new leave requests, applications and appraisals.

The human resource module can be customized according to your business requirement. You can easily track and monitor employee attendance, easily evaluate administrative duties streamline expense management and a lot more. You can also improve communication with your employees through social media through one single interface.

Accounting management

Any business small or big knows the importance of revenue and cash flow.  Odoo has made sure that you reap the benefits of the integrated business solution, with different module interlinked under one single roof. But when it comes to accounting, Odoo has everything from automobile manufacturers to snack food companies.

Odoo accounting software is beautifully designed keeping the hassles of 21st-century accounts in mind. It can connect directly to your accounting system and synchronizes with it every hour to give you very clear and precise data you need. You can find everything from legal statements to executive summaries, which is quick and dynamic.

Reports and Dashboards

Like any other successful ERP system, Odoo makes sure you have a complete business solution. It offers you statistical reports and documents to represent your business data in real time. The data is calculated and represented in the form of graphs and charts which are dynamic and changes with your everyday business process.

Odoo also provides the possibility to develop your own analysis to meet your demands. The dashboards are an important aspect to visualize data in a better way. You can also export the report to a pdf to view it offline on your personal devices.

What are the other benefits of using the platform?

A comprehensive tool

Odoo is known to be a comprehensive platform that effectively manages diverse business applications through a single interface. It is available in 3 variants viz. an enterprise one, a community version and an online model which are all open source. Compared to all the other open source ERP systems, Odoo is right now the fastest growing ERP’s.

Odoo handles a wide range of business needs ranging from E-commerce, project management, CRM, billing, accounting, inventory management and much more. The platform is very user-friendly and always includes innovative applications and updates to improve its performance in the long run.

High on modules

Odoo is highly modular where you can find various modules needed for the much-needed support for your business processes. It has advanced and up-to-minute technology track and releases new modules for every new technological advancement in the market. These modules are upgraded whenever necessary and adapt to the changing paradigms.

Odoo has a wide variety of other features which are perfect fit modules for different modules. Every module is capable of streamlining an entire process of a business. Therefore, ERP customization with high-end Odoo for each and every module can be modified to fit the business needs. Odoo also transforms and completely secures and safeguards your business from falling apart.

User-friendly:

Small-scale industries sometimes do not possess the required skills or manpower for training and development. When any company implements an ERP system, it is expected that the employees and management are well trained in using it.

Odoo offers a user-friendly and smooth experience to its users, without having much need for training, to ensure a seamless performance.

Flexibility and full integration cover almost all expect of the small-scale industries making it understandable and user-friendly. Odoo is very flexible and offers several innovative applications.

Easy upgrades

One of the biggest areas of any ERP system is its upgrades. The industry keeps changing trends and organizations find more and more ways to expand its horizons. Companies on an average upgrade their ERP system 2 times in its lifespan. Odoo upgrades do not affect the existing customization and don’t require data migration.

Read also : Top 10 Insane Benefits of Odoo eCommerce Platform

With Odoo, you can control of when and what to upgrade. You need not depend on any other system available to guide you through the process. That’s how you utilize technology as a strategic advantage for your company. If you are still running on the outdated technology, then it is a good time to shift your gears.

Invoice & Sales Order Templates:

Invoices and sales order helps your organization to view and keep a track of what you’re getting for your money. If you sell any kind of products or services, it is required that you provide the invoice by law. Odoo provides you with visually appealing and professionally designed invoice templates for sales orders/quotations.

The Odoo invoices are simple, clean and beautiful with full features like taxes, terms, multiple taxes, discounts and price list. It also supports multiple currencies and payments for a single invoice. You can select the fonts & colors to personalize it according to your brand.

Lead Management

The first thing any small-scale organization must do to survive in the market is generating value leads. Odoo offers 8+ plugins and apps for efficient management of leads and customers. Comparing other CRM’s like Zoho, Sugar CRM etc. Odoo has an advantage over all. It offers stunning features like lead tracking quote and invoice generation, social networking integration, signature etc.

Creating leads and retaining existing customers in Odoo is simple and easy. The converted leads are considered as an important entity to track the sales pipeline of your organization. Odoo can prioritize activities and keep a track of your sales activities and leads. You get all the necessary information in a single dashboard making it easier for analysis and benchmarks.

Conclusion

Every organization need is different and Odoo can be customized for their size, type, and leads. When you look for customization in your system, first make sure you are clear on why you need the system. Also, look out for industry-specific tools you require for carrying out your business.

We have listed just a few main important Odoo features, but Odoo is a vast subject and has over 30 applications, solutions, and factors that you need to understand before making the final go.

Read also : All About Odoo Accounting Software

Take your time and try out Odoo’s free trials to make sure it fits your business well.

How To Calculate The Cost of Inventory of Your Retail Store

Posted on by probytesnextjs

Everyone has a vision – a passion – that becomes the story of their life. Some bury their desire in the depth of their mind while other started to work on it. There are no words to elaborate the feel of your own start-up launch. There is so much to do, starting from business planning to asking the experienced person for some great advice and jumping in the market to have a deep knowledge. Yes, it will require a huge amount of energy and time but in the end, it will all be worth it.

You passed the initial stage, now the second hurdle is around the corner. You might be confused even after all the knowledge you have in your hands. The big question above you

What to do next?

The thing to keep in mind is that the start-up cost of retailer store and other business are different. It depends on various factors such as location and size of the store. Since business is different, you need to take a piece of paper and get started with the total cost that you need to invest in it. This will fall under business accountancy plan which will include monthly expenses and cost of starting a retail business. Not only this, it will also show the break-even point of your business and the time to reach there. Break-even point is a certain point at which the expenses, cost and revenue are equal to each other with no profit or loss.

Well, you need to stock your inventory in order to get started with your retail start-up. The cost of inventory will be among those prices that you might have come across while planning your business. This will determine the actual cost that you will need to start your own business. Additionally, it is not an easy cost to estimate as it will affect the entire cost of your new business.

Challenges of estimating inventory cost for retail start-up

Few retailers find it difficult to estimate the cost of start-up. Since you know that inventory is the basic thing that you need to run your business, it is essential to estimate the cost as soon as possible. It is beneficial to plan the cost during the time of business planning to get an idea about future expenses.

Here is the main struggle. No one knows the actual or exact cost to buy inventory. The reason is simple. Every business requires a retailer business licence so that they can talk to a vendor to stock the items. This must be included in your business plan as well.

It will be like a wrench to your business plans because there is no point in visiting a bank without figures, facets and numbers. This will be a disadvantage to know whether the business plan is feasible or not. Your vision is just an idea and nothing else without facts supporting it.

Estimating Inventory Costs for Start-up

Another problem that you will face is that suppliers and vendors only send their catalogues with the price list to the well-established businesses. Nevertheless, if you share your idea with them, it is possible that few of them can share their price list with you, while others will simply reject your offer.

This will make your job a daunting process. Still, there are ways by which you can calculate the actual cost of inventory. Kick in the side of a business accountant, which will be your future once you start the business).

All you need is few facts that can guide you to estimate the accurate cost.

  • What will be your product line?

  • How many products of each product line must you have during the start of your business?

  • How much will each product cost?

Make sure that the retail markup is between 30 and 40 percent as per the industry segment.

  • Essential and basic product have small profit margins.

  • Hand-crafted and luxurious items have higher markup

Basic Mathematics can go a long way

The basic maths can decide the cost in which you will be selling an item or which deal will be beneficial for your account while purchasing an item. Since you might know the selling cost of a particular item. This will give you an estimate of the wholesale price of one product. Simply multiply the cost of one product from wholesale market to the total number of items. This will give you the cost of your first product.

For instance, if you want to purchase a number of scarfs from an online store. They offer the wholesale service but you won’t receive any information until you make an account. The account will require your personal details and licence which is not an option for you. If the cost of one scarf is $30. Then the cost of 20 scarfs will be?

Estimated markup: $30 X .50 = $15

Estimated wholesale cost: $30 – $15 = $15

Estimated Cost for 20 scarfs: $15 X 20 = $300

  • This will give an insight of the total cost you will require on one product. You can use this method to determine the estimated cost of other products that you are incorporating in your business.

  • Also, add additional costs such as handling, shipping, and other expenses that are associated to acquirethestock.

There are industry research and trade association’s details that can be helpful and give you an idea about markup used by other retailers.

Conclusion

You will get a more accurate idea when you are all set to open your own store. When you purchase an inventory, you will get more idea about things and cost. It is always helpful to go for over-estimating as it will ensure that you have enough money to easily start your shop without worrying about capital. Even if you have few bucks left, you can invest them in other expenses that will come along in an unexpected way while you open your retailer store.

How To Build An Ecommerce Website [Step By Step Guide]

Posted on by probytesnextjs

It has been a while since online sales are registering more traction when compared to physical sales. Sparing you the physical effort and strain of running from pillar to post in search of your choicest merchandise, you can now order any product under the sun from the comfort of your living room; all in a jiffy.

All thanks to a host of e-commerce websites that attract online shoppers through attractive themes, product listings, offers and discounts that you can make the most of online shopping.

If you as a digital marketer are planning to host your e-commerce website, here is a 10-pointer step-by-step guide that will handhold you to build an online shopping interface that will boost your bottom-line.

Step 1. Select And Book a Domain Name

First and foremost, it is important to choose a perfect domain registrar. You should keep in mind that the domain name will remain the same and that you cannot change it in the future just like you wish to change the theme of your website. So it is very important to be choosy with the domain name.

It is not an overstatement to quote that the domain name is the visiting card of your e-commerce website. Meaning, you as an online salesman will make your presence felt in the online shopping sphere only by virtue of your domain name.

Hence, you need to come up with a domain name that is easy and unique. Care should be taken to keep the name as short as possible, avoiding the use of hyphens in between. Short names are easy to recall. Customers who visit your online store will find it easy to locate your website with a short domain name.

Step 2. Scout For Server Space For Your Domain

Your next step to building an online store will be to trace out web hosting options and service providers that will offer a server space for your domain. It pays to make a right choice in selecting a befitting server for your e-commerce site.

It is important to select a server that can be scaled to your requirements. You should strike a deal with a web hosting services provider who guarantees you 24/7 technical support.

You know for a fact that a minute of downtime to your e-commerce website can cost you loads of money and reputation as well.

Hence it calls for a great deal of forethought to pick a provider who promises you a good connectivity speed; a feature that does not drain your customers’ time and patience with a slow-loading website.

You can check out the dedicated hosting option to that of a shared hosting option and pick the one that suits your requirements.

Step 3.Choose a Website Developer

Website developers are a dime a dozen. Hence, it pays to exercise caution while signing up with a website developer who has the power to make or mar your e-commerce website.

You need to take into consideration a number of functional and technical parameters that will help you zero in on a good e-commerce website developer.

You need to identify the most promising source that is backed up by professional qualifications and previous experience of churning out e-commerce sites to other clientele.

The number of years of experience in e-commerce website building can also become a yardstick for selection. Every website designer has his own style. Alongside checking out his style, you can delve deep into his programming capabilities.

A website designer who is abreast of the latest technological trends in website building can be your top choice. Identify his strengths with regard to SEO and whether he can build a responsive site that can be viewed effortlessly on any smartphone.

Pricing is another parameter that you should look into along with the hiring cost of engaging a copywriter who delivers crisp and attractive marketing content. It is important that you strike a deal after understanding the payment terms between you and your developer after assessing his ongoing support capabilities.

Step 4. Simulation of Your E-Commerce Site

After you have developed your online shopping interface by a professional source, the next step is to check out the functionality of your website. You can simulate your online store by placing a couple of demo products while setting up product options.

You can append discounts and coupons along with the operations of shipping and payment gateways. Additionally, you can also incorporate and check whether your site is delivering notification alerts.

Step 5. Get Into the Shoes of  Your Potential Customer

This is another test for your e-commerce site to familiarize yourself with the website layout. This step will acclimatize you to your online store functions.

Step 6. Website Aesthetics – Attach a Logo and a Banner

This step is all about providing an aesthetic appeal to your e-commerce website. You can avail the benefits of a various open-code CMS themes that promise you a multi-functional online store.

You can select and place a befitting logo on your website while you extend efforts in matching the colors in the logo to the layout of your website. Banners can attract the attention of online customers.

You can go ahead and standardize the layout of every page whether it is your home page, your category page or the product page. This way, customers will find it easy to navigate to the page of their choice without any hassles.

Step 7. Backup Your Entire Website Building Project

It is recommended that you take a backup of the entire website building project. When you do this, you will be able to retrieve your website along with your demo products and all the basic steps that were initiated earlier.

Step 8. Edit Your Website

Editing your website is the next step that features in the step-by-step guide to help you build an e-commerce website. Under this step, you will have to remove and replace all the demo products with your original online merchandise.

You can use the export/import feature to feed your original products and categories and then your website will feature your online offerings.

Step 9.Market Your Website with SEO

Now it is time for you to promote your e-commerce website. Promotions via Google Adwords in the form of banner ads, video ads and search ads will fetch you more customers. You can also resort to email and SMS marketing while focusing on SEO.

Step 10. Initiate Marketing Automation Strategies

After completing the above mentioned 9 steps, your e-commerce website reaches a stage when it starts accumulating orders from online shoppers. This should ring the bell that the stage is not set to initiate the procedures of business automation. How do you do this?

You can bank on a plethora of marketing automation tools that are not only powerful but also easy to use. These tools help you enhance your digital presence through well-chalked out marketing campaigns that you can run online and reap the benefits of a customer-centric and sales-oriented e-commerce site.

Closing Thoughts

As a digital marketer, your primary responsibility would be to develop, implement and manage marketing campaigns that will enhance the online presence of your company’s offerings.

And the pre-requisite to help you deliver your responsibilities in the best possible manner is to have an e-commerce site that speaks volumes about your brand equity.

The above 10-pointer guide thus handholds all digital marketers to show up effective and aesthetically-designed e-commerce websites for their employers alongside simplifying the lives of online shoppers in more ways than one.