The Advantages of Microsoft Azure for Businesses Apps

With the evolution of IT services, the industry came to introduce the concept of cloud computing. Being the pioneer of the IT industry, it was about time Microsoft took a leap into this. This led to the introduction of Microsoft Azure.

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service that can be used for creating, testing, and managing applications through a global network of data centers managed by Microsoft. It supports numerous programming languages, tools and frameworks which include those that are specific to Microsoft and even third party software and systems.

The benefits of Microsoft Azure are plenty. A few of them are as follows:

1. Speed

Speed is an important aspect for all businesses. It is a key marker of competitive leverage and performance. In terms of speed, Azure beats the other major cloud services. Azure provides an environment for high speed application development, deployment, operation and scalability. It provides a lot of resources for developers to achieve this. For instance, if you hire dot net developers to develop an application, they will have access to a lot of pre-built dot net components from the marketplace which can be used for development. 

2. Security

Security is another crucial aspect for a business and Azure was created with security as its first priority. Microsoft ensures that its security framework is compliant is up to date with the regulatory compliance requirements. Apart from this, Azure has a token system that is used by applications to determine whether a user is allowed access to the particular application or not. This eliminates the chances of someone else accessing the application in unacceptable ways.

3. Deep Insights and Analytics

One thing that Microsoft Azure always ensures is that you have a deep understanding of your application. It provides a deep insight into your application with its advanced analytics system. It provides you with a detailed insight about your application's health, performance, response times, CPU and memory utilization, error trends etc. All of this collectively aids you to make well informed decisions in development to ensure the application remains at its highest quality. 

4. Global Reach

As mentioned earlier, Microsoft is a pioneer of the IT industry and has its data centers spread across the world. this allows businesses to deploy their applications manually or automatically anywhere around the world on any of the data centers. This gives Azure another advantage of being in accordance with the performance and utilization requirements of the region the application is being hosted in. The user experience of the application is not at all affected by the location.

5. Cost Efficiency

Cost is another crucial aspect for businesses and another great advantage of Azure. Firstly, since you will be using the resources in the cloud, your cost of infrastructure setup and maintenance is reduced drastically. Secondly, the best thing about Microsoft Azure in terms of its cost is its pricing model. Azure makes sure that businesses only pay as much as they use and nothing more. The cost of creating, debugging or testing your application depends on the time of your usage and follows a pay per hour model. For the storage services, it follows a pay per month model which is based on the size of the space used.

Collectively, Azure is no doubt one of the best cloud computing services available. There are a lot more advantages of Microsoft Azure apart from these which become major points of leverage over others. The ones given above are just a select few. This is why Microsoft Azure is the fastest growing cloud computing service even today while others remain at a stable level. 

Benefits of using Asp.Net MVC

In the previous article, we looked at what Asp.Net MVC was and in a brief overview. From the previous article, it became clear that Microsoft launched the Asp.Net MVC framework for the sole reason to provide developers using Asp.Net Web forms a more efficient and easy to use framework. Microsoft most definitely succeeded in this attempt of theirs.

The MVC architecture has a number of benefits. Some of the benefits that Asp.Net was able to provide with the help of this architecture are as follows:

Faster Development

The MVC architecture allows developers to carry out parallel development. Hence, with the help of this, few of the Asp.Net developers you hire can work on the "View" of the web application being developed, while a few other developers can work on the "Controller" creating the logic of the working of the application. This allows developers to create web applications with Asp.Net MVC at twice the speed than would have been possible with other frameworks.

SEO Friendly Development

SEO is of utmost importance to any business. The better your web application's SEO strategy is, the better it ranks in Google's organic searches. One integral aspect of SEO that Asp.Net MVC takes care of is the URLs. It creates simple human readable ids during sessions that perform the required actions and calls, unlike other gibberish that most frameworks create. URLs that can easily be read by humans is very important for Google in terms of SEO.

More Control to Developers

When you hire dot net developers, you obviously expect them to deliver your project with the specifications you mention. Asp.Net MVC aids these developers to be able to do exactly this. As mentioned earlier, the MVC architecture allows parallel development giving developers complete control over all aspects of the application. This means that no HTML code is generated automatically when the code is written or changed, unlike in other frameworks. This way, the developer has complete control over the HTML of the application.

Test Driven Development

The best part of Asp.Net MVC is that it perfectly adopts the test driven development approach. In this approach, your expert .Net developers will write a test case first and then write the code for the implementation. This block of code goes through the test case again and if it passes it this time, the developers re-factor the code and move on to developing the next function or unit in the same way. This also ensure unit testing which means that the whole program is divided into small units and each unit goes through an intense testing phase. This way, when the program is completed, there stand no chances of errors in the application. This helps you create error-less applications more seamlessly and efficiently.

Apart from these, there are numerous other benefits that Asp.Net MVC has to offer to developers. These were just a few of the major ones that have a significant impact on the project and its development cycle. In conclusion, Asp.Net MVC can rightly be regarded as one of the best and most efficient development framework available.

What is Asp.Net MVC: A brief Overview

Asp.Net is a framework that was created by Microsoft and is maintained by it. It is regarded as one of the most efficient and feature rich framework that even Microsoft itself relies on for its web applications.

Asp.Net MVC is an evolution of the Asp.Net framework that is based on the MVC architecture. The MVC architecture is the most effective technique of the Agile methodology that allows expert Asp.Net developers split a project into modules and work on them in parallel and deliver dynamic and incredible results.

What is Asp.Net MVC?

MVC stands for Model View Controller which is a programming architecture which is built on top of the Asp.Net framework. As the name suggests, the architecture consists of three main parts which are described below:

Model: 

This component of the architecture is a set of classes that define the logic of the program. It also includes the data that will be used by the program. It is accessible by both the controller and the view components of the architecture. The data that is to be used is extracted by this set of classes for further use.

View:

The view is a simple ASPX page with no code behind. It controls how the user interface of the whole application will be displayed. It is a pure HTML page that decides the look of the page. The view component can only be accessed by the controller. The page specific HTML generation and formatting can be done in the view itself though.

Controller:

This is basically the heart of the architecture. This is a set of classes that control all the functions of the application and the way each component of the architecture communicate. It includes the application specific logic and controls the overall application flow. The Asp.Net developers you hire will use the controller to extract data from the model and send it to the view. This is exactly how the application is configured to respond to various user requests.

So in an overview, this is how Asp.Net MVC applications work and are configured to deliver robust solutions with efficiency and within a short time period. It is absolutely no wonder why this always tops the lists of experienced asp.net developers as a choice of their framework.

Top 5 Features Every Product Page Must Have

In terms of design, product ages are equally important and the same amount of thought and effort should be put in designing them too as much as the homepage or other landing pages. This is because the product page is where the transition of a user converting to a customer happens. Thus each product page should be carefully designed.

Although, a lot of creativity can be put into a product page, there are some very basic and incredibly important feature each product page must have.

High Quality Product Images

When buying something online, product images help establish credibility of a product and make the user want to buy it. Hence, there are no two ways about the importance of the images that should be used. It should be made sure that the images are clear, able to be magnified and in the right contrast with the background colors. Taking it a step further, you could also hire some eCommerce designers and have them include 360 degree views of your products allowing users to have a much better idea about it.

Elaborate Product Description

Another aspect of your product page that will help establish the product's credibility is the product description. The product description is what defines the products in text and helps users understand it better. Since they can't touch the product, the description is what helps them understand the product, its benefits and hence convinces them buy to it. Apart from this, your product description is also incredibly important for SEO purposes. If you have a well written description, your products will be visible on the top of search queries of that product which automatically will increase your sales. If you're unsure about it, you can hire eCommerce data entry experts to help you out with this.

Unbiased Product Reviews

Now product reviews are another aspect that help establish the user's trust over the product. Users always tend to prefer buying products that have been bought earlier by other people and has been rated well by them. this makes them more confident about the purchase. So make sure to include elaborate and unbiased reviews for your prospects to see. They will feel more compelled to buy the product after reading them.

Distinctive Add To Cart Button

The Add To Cart button is obviously the most important part of your product page. However, the more important part of it should be that the button should be distinctly visible. the page should be designed in such a way that the Product image and the Add to Cart button are the first things a user notices. Plus, its always a great way to ensure that the button is always clear and visible even if the user scrolls down the page to read the reviews and other details. You should make sure that the button is available for every split second the user is on the page as one of these might be the ones they might click it.

Comprehensive Product Comparison

Now this is a feature that not many stores pay attention to and they couldn't be more wrong. Your prospects come to your store hoping to get the most at the least price possible. A product comparison table is the best way to help them ensure this. Plus a comparison table also enhances their shopping cart experience and allows them to view products they may be considering to buy side by side instead of having to go back and forth through multiple pages. Sweeping through multiple pages and being confused about a purchase often leads to users exiting the site without buying anything. So if you don't have this feature, it's at best that you hire experienced eCommerce developers and integrate it to your store.

Have anything to change on your site? Get in touch with us to hire eCommerce developers and get started on your project today.

How to beat large eCommerce businesses like Amazon: A checklist!

The eCommerce industry is a multi-trillion dollar industry with a plethora of opportunities. As of now, the eCommerce industry is one of the most lucrative ones that is easy to get into. However, this ocean of opportunity is dominated by a few big fish like Amazon, Alibaba, Walmart etc. This makes it a little bit of a bigger challenge for smaller fish to come out on top and get a bit of that opportunities.


However, this doesn't really mean that it is not possible for newly launched stores to acquire large profits in any way. they just need more smarter ways to compete with established businesses like these. Given below is a checklist of five smart ways you can enhance your potential.

1. Content Personalization

Personalization is crucial not just for eCommerce stores but for any kind of business that functions online. Content personalization not only engages users better but also helps business create a more efficient customer journey map that leads to a purchase.


Personalizing content is simply a matter of writing extra lines of codes. You first divide users into various categories based on their history and behaviour and then create a customer journey map. This will look something like this:

Based on this, you can modify the code of your platform display content in a way that engages the website visitors and guides them towards the purchase. Personalization doesn't just stop at the content of the website but also extends to the content of the email newsletters, social media posts etc. With a few extra coding or a custom plugin, all of it can be personalized.

2. Don't Sell through Marketplaces

Conventional methods dictate that you should sell your products through all marketplaces to reach out to a large number of audience. This definitely is true if your sole aim is to make money. However, to increase your brand's awareness, you should stick to selling products only through your site.

Marketplaces work for their own profit and not yours. they definitely expose your products to many but never your website or your brand. If you analzyze the way the product pages of such marketplaces are designed, you'll notice that your website is not as conspicuous as it should be. This way, a lot of prospective audience won't even come to realize your website and will ultimately refer the marketplace to buy your product.

3. Include a Unique Functionality

There is one flaw that large eCommerce businesses can't do with ease and that is implement a new and unique technical functionality on their site. This is because of their large customer base, they will initially have to go through an extensive amount of beta testing, work with the variety of customer feedback to ensure whether the functionality works well etc. However, with small stores, this doesn't pose much of a problem.

Small eCommerce stores can easily create and launch custom functionalities such as AR product view, virtual try on, product customization etc. Such features will ultimately become a unique selling point for businesses to market on. With an efficient strategy of marketing, this feature alone will be able to attract a plethora of customers to your store and establish an impactful presence in the market.

4. Make Something Exclusive

To stand out of the crowd, small stores should try to create something exclusive to sell. Something that connects with users more deeply and is available solely on your store.

For instance, one of the clients at an eCommerce development company: Matrid Technologies, was an online clothing retailer. He collaborated with a Non Profit Organization to help them sell their merchandise through his store. He also promoted his store by stating that all the proceeds from the merchandise of the organization bought exclusively from his store are donated. This helped him create a product that was exclusive to his store. It also resulted in a significant upsurge in traffic and conversions.

A unique method of selling or creating something unique from an existing product is all you need to make something exclusive to your store. With a little work put in, the rewards can be substantial.

5. Go Mobile

Although this is a pretty obvious strategy, there are still a vast number of small stores that ignore this. Mobile phones contribute a significantly large market to eCommerce businesses. This why all major stores have their native mobile apps.

A custom mobile app for your store is a highly beneficial strategy that opens up another medium of sales and another point of marketing. Reaching out to customers through a mobile app becomes a lot easier thereby making it easier for you to promote your products. A mobile app shortens a customer journey from visiting your store to a sale which directly increases your sales. So no matter the reason, always have a mobile strategy for your store. If you don't have the budget for native apps, hire xamarin app developers to launch a cross platform and then later launch native apps when it fits the budget.

Conclusion

In the end, we can say that competing with large and established eCommerce stores won't be as hard as it may seem. Sure going head to head competing with them won't is not possible in early stages. But it isn't necessary as well as you're not aiming to be exactly like them.

So with just a little smart work, no matter how big the other fish are, nothing will be able to stop you from getting a significant chunk of the prize.