Wednesday, June 28, 2017

3 Super Tips to Develop a Killer Web Page

Web designing and development is progressing at a rapid pace, particularly in US states such as Florida, now one of the emerging tech hubs in the country. A killer web page design is something businesses look for when it comes to greeting first-time visitors. Your web pages are digital welcome signs for users showing interest in your products or services. So, if you want to keep your prospective customers glued to the web pages and retain them, look for a web development firm in Tampa that has the knowledge and expertise in creating clean, non-intrusive page designs, and user-friendly navigation menus. Here are three top tips to build a killer web page:

1. Use the Right Colors

Colors have an important part to play in web page design and development.  While designing pages for the global audience, you must use colors carefully because different colors have different connotations. Therefore, while planning the color scheme of the pages, focus on color symbolism. For example, if you have a website selling kid’s toys, use bright yellow as it signifies cheerfulness.

2. Keep the Page Layout Clean

Design pages that are clean and clutter-free. That’s because visitors are often puzzled if they are bombarded with chunks of content and images. Your website will look cleaner, professional, and organized if the layout is neat and tidy. Always place all content and visuals above the fold to grab visitor attention.  Avoid cluttering the pages with too many pictures, clip arts, icons, and texts.


3. Improve Navigation

If users are not presented with a smooth browsing experience, they will leave your site. Therefore, design navigation menus and buttons that are direct, clear, and easy to understand and use. Your visitors must not be confused while navigating your site.

If you are a Florida-based business, hire a professional web development company in Tampa to design your website. An experienced web development firm will not only take care of the proper designing aspect but will also look after the functionality of every element. In a world where the customer is king, websites rule. After all, a proper website is the first step to creating a wonderful user experience.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Why is it Better to Hire a Third-Party IT Consultant than a Full-Time Employee?


Every business relies on a sound IT infrastructure to maintain efficiency and performance. They seek to create a careful balance of hardware and software to benefit the organization. However, not all entrepreneurs are comfortable in looking after the IT needs and hence hire dedicated teams to take care of these aspects. But often this is not the best solution because such full-time dedicated employees often do not have enough contribution to the day-to-day functioning of the organization and simply maintain the business’ status quo in operational effectiveness – a task that doesn’t really require full-time workers.The solution? IT outsourcing to capable IT consulting firms at places such as Tampa where the technology sector is booming.  Do you why you should do that?Find out below:

More Disciplined, More Efficient


If there’s one thing IT consultants excel at, that’s discipline. Most SMBs require their employees to wear two hats and call upon them to perform tasks outside their job description. While this isn’t a problem per se, it does cut into the time allotted to the employees for gaining IT-related experience. Hiring an IT consultant solves this problem since most of them are experts specializing in a particular set of technical skills.


Flexible Services


The nature of service offered by IT consultants is flexible, which means business stakeholders can ask them to drop by when needed. This is beneficial for the company as the consultant’s know-how and talent can be put to good use on important projects without paying a fixed salary.

Cost-Efficient


From a financial standpoint, hiring an IT consultant makes more sense. Full-time employees tasked with handling IT needs within the organization need to be paid a sizable salary with benefits. These benefits cost the business a lot of money – something that can be avoided if the company hires an IT consultant. Third-party IT specialists charge by the hour for the work they perform.

When it comes to overall effectiveness, IT consultants have the edge over regular staff. They are more proficient, more experienced, and they encounter different types of IT infrastructure on the job, which makes them perfect for handling any IT crisis. No wonder, so many companies are opting for IT consulting in Tampa and other places known for their technological expertise and advancement. If clean and prompt troubleshooting of your business’ IT problems is something that interests you, you should contact a good IT consultant now. You won’t regret it!

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Necessary Security Measures to Implement During Web App Development


While web application development continues to progress at a rapid pace in prominent tech hubs like Silicon Valley and Florida, the recent spate of malicious cyber-attacks has cast a shadow over the industry. No longer can tech companies postpone the implementation of security measures until the app goes live. Unless suitable precautions are taken during the developmental stages, not only does the program remain susceptible to outside threats but fixing any problems after deployment becomes extremely difficult. Some of the necessary security measures web developers need to adopt are discussed below:

Implement a Content Security Policy


Integrate an alert system into your application. Turning on alerts allows you to keep track of the possible security loopholes of your web application. When it comes to building an app retroactively into your website, you can proceed in two ways –  you either can build an expansive inventory, poring through every aspect of your application to ensure nothing’s missing, or add so many whitelists that it hampers the functionality.

Switch X-Frame-Options to Block Mode


Prevent framing attacks and clickjacking attacks by putting your X-Frame-Options HTTP response header into block mode. Complete this step during development. Otherwise, sites start framing your app over time and using it for launching clickjacking attacks (the malicious practice of hiding hyperlinks beneath the clickable content in your app, thereby inducing your users into performing some undesired actions).



Add Nonces to Your App


Your app should have anti-CSRF cryptographic nonces for all secure functions. What are nonces? Well, they are one-time tokens connected to user sessions. You need to place these nonces in every form and validate them to prevent your app from performing undesired actions. Retrofitting these tokens means touching a shared memory or database on each hit, aside from having to insert the code into every page with a form and subsequent function to validate the nonce.

Improve Security for Sensitive Information


The moment an app is compromised, all sensitive information – passwords, credentials, secret questions in the answers storage –  is up for grabs. So, unless you want hackers and other malicious parties to get their hands on these details, do away with plaintext and obsolete hashing algorithms like MD5. Introduce contingencies during the development stage so that even if the whole database gets copied, the attackers cannot access the info without cracking the codes in individual rows.

Modern web applications facilitate the growth and success of an organization and help achieve its objectives quickly. As a result, web application development has surged in popularity, in Florida and other emerging techhubs. These thriving IT destinations are home to numerous app development companies that employ highly skilled development professionals.  Their understanding of the local markets help them tailor the apps to the unique needs of their clients.