Posted on June 21, 2018 by admin

Website Trends For 2018

Search engine optimization was, still is, and will continue to unequivocally be one of the most effective ways that a business can use to ensure that their online marketing initiative and presence remains relevant. Search engine marketing is a growing practice that gives organic channels the proper attention that all businesses can’t afford to ignore as far as using Google or other search engines to push quality over quantity for users.

With an emphasis on a more experience-centric web, businesses are more aware of user behavior trends, which has forced them to create novel experiences through various product and content innovation. Therefore, for your website to do what you intended it for and for it to be functional, but most importantly, convert visitors, the following are website design trends that may help you accomplish this goal:

Mobile-Friendly Website Design

Mobile browsing has become more popular than desktop, therefore, minimizing the menu to fit mobile screens as well as using responsive designs, as well as including a viewport meta tag and condensing your font and button sizes will make your website more mobile-friendly.

Using Animated or Particle Backgrounds

Using eye-catching animation or movement as part of your background as opposed to the traditional photos or videos is huge this year, particle animation being the most popular choices in website design. It livens up your dull site and often static background to give it a 3D feel that provides users with an exciting experience while on your website.

Bold Typography

Your typography of choice can be an effective tool to use that will both garner attention and pull visitors in. The oversized, interactive, and visible text is the first thing that users see, and it is a simple website design that will not only provide a clear message, but also an easy navigation that leads your visitors exactly where you want them to be and see.

Bold Color Schemes

Bold colors are known to communicate with a region of the brain known as the hypothalamus, which has a direct influence on our mood, emotion, behavior, and user interaction. Utilizing brighter tones in web design is more likely to entice users to interact with content and respond to calls to action (CTA).

Grid-Based Web Design

Utilizing a grid-based website design allows for a clean, well-organized design and user-friendly navigation, which basically portrays balance and symmetrical layout that users are likely to interact longer with.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com. To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

Posted on June 13, 2018 by admin

The Many Benefits of Outsourcing Your Company’s IT

Outsourcing is becoming more common nowadays, especially with employees choosing to branch out on their own and work for more than one company at a time. This trend is quite popular in corporate IT, where technology changes in the blink of an eye, so if you are looking to outsource anything, that is the place to start.

Here are some of the many benefits of outsourcing your company’s IT:

Save Money

You, like many other business owners, like to save money when you can, as it allows you to increase profits and put extra money back into growing your business. When you outsource your managed IT services, you will not need to worry about paying for the training that your employees would continuously need to keep current with technology. You will also see savings from not needing to pay additional employee benefits, which can include medical and paid time off.

Efficiency is Increased

Professional IT workers have much more knowledge than any employee that you can hire, unless you are willing to pay at least two times the amount of money as you would for an outsourced employee and decide to hire for in-house services. This additional knowledge and experience that an outsourced IT employee has will allow them to complete the work faster than any of your regular employees.

Availability

When a large corporate IT job needs to be done, it is always better to have it completed when you are closed for business. Not too many regular employees are going to want to give up their non-working hours to complete a project, but an outsourced IT employee will not think twice about it. The work can get finished when your business is closed, and you will be up and running and ready to continue making money by the start of business the next day.

Flexibility in Amount of Employees

You have control over when you outsource your corporate IT projects, which means that you can have one contractor working on IT issues when they arise or four people working on replacing your entire operating system. This flexibility will allow you to save money when possible, instead of paying for employees that you do not need every day of the year.

Use Your Employees Wisely

Since everyone is not a technological wizard, it will obviously take them longer to solve IT issues that arise. By outsourcing this type of work, you can utilize the skills your employees already have and allow them to perfect them even further. If you didn’t outsource the IT work, your employees’ other roles may suffer, because they are focusing on work that they do not excel in.

Everyone needs managed IT services, but that doesn’t mean that you need to have a dedicated employee in house. Instead, you can choose to outsource your corporate IT services, and reap the many benefits that comes with that option.

Posted on June 6, 2018 by admin

Custom App Programming Vs. Platform App Development

Anyone that tells you that they aren’t dependent on technology to fulfill virtually every purpose in their daily life is probably lying. It is quite evident that software development technology is rapidly growing and it’s not pausing for a breather anytime soon because the demand for it is on the increase. In fact, almost every electronic device, machine, or equipment that we use is a by-product of some software development.

Each app development company: custom or platform follows a series of steps known as the software development life cycle. This includes planning, analysis, design, development & implementation, testing & deployment and maintenance. Each of these steps is vital for the success of app development. Once the software pass through all the stages without any hiccups, then the apps can be placed in the market place for our daily use.

Custom app programing entails designing software applications for a specific user or group to address their needs. For example, customized software development can be tailored to a single or specific entity such as iPhone app development, to be used by that company for which it was designed, in this case iPhone. Companies that require custom app programming work done for them are in control of how the app is configured, which can be anything from the look, feel, functionality, dashboards, etc. to match their businesses’ unique needs and operations.

When it comes to platform app development, there are businesses that need a space where they can not only manage multiple projects within the organization in one central place, they need a platform where they can also monitor their team. A platform app can also have features where a business can upload vital documents within the organization. Such an app can also allow them to keep track of their customers, including tracking the performance of the team and the time they spend on their tasks. A platform app is designed to be an app that can be used across multiple platforms.

Designing a custom application with an organization’s needs in mind can increase levels of productivity because it provides features that an off-the-shelf software probably wouldn’t. Also, some of mobile apps we use every day have changed the way we conduct business and enabled us to engage in more interesting and innovative ways than ever before. Additionally, the Android app development platform is open source, dynamic and collectively enriching, which simplifies the job of the users and can be used by multiple people in ways that are dynamic to their needs.

Posted on May 23, 2018 by admin

7 Reasons Why Your Company’s Website Needs Professional Search Engine Optimization

In order to get your website coming up in the first few pages in Google when someone searches for services or products your company provides, you’ll need to have it optimized. These are certain keywords that will get your company’s website to the top of Google’s searches so that customers find you faster. Here are reasons why your company’s website needs professional SEO services:

Increased Reach online customers

Online shopping is huge right now and in order to get potential customers to your website, you’ll need the right keywords on your site so that when they enter one into a search engine, your website will be one of the first to come up.

Increased Organic Traffic

By optimizing your website, you will be able to increase your sites organic traffic, which is the number of visitors that come to your page without having to spend money on advertising. To do this, you’ll need to know what keywords to use for best search engine optimization.

Increased Return on Investment

By hiring SEO professionals, you’ll be able to get more eyes on your website, which will mean more ROI.

Increased Advantage Over Competition

To have an advantage over your competitors, a professional SEO company will make sure your website is SEO optimized so that you rank before your competitors.

Increased Online Presence

With the help of an SEO specialist, you’ll have a stronger online presence and become a preferred brand when users are looking for services or products that you offer. The right SEO help will put you front and center in the eyes of consumers and helps your brand become more credible.

Professional Results

Even though you might attempt to do your site’s SEO yourself, you might not know how to properly do it which is why you’re not getting the results you want. It’s best to have a professional SEO company do it since they know the ins and outs of all things SEO related.

Dedicated Online Marketing

The right search engine placement is important for your business and having a professional do all your SEO needs is like having your company’s very own dedicated SEO person on staff.

Posted on April 25, 2018 by admin

The Importance of a User-Friendly Website Design

Your website is one of your company’s biggest asset. It’s the one place where anyone from across the globe can come across and see what your company has to offer. A website is essential for business these days and the importance of that website rests upon its design. The average person has a short attention span and with so much competition on the Web, your site needs to have an eye-catching design and be user friendly to really grab someone’s attention enough to make customers navigate to other pages.

This means it’s practically essential that a company’s website provides an easy-to-use and positive experience for customers. A user-friendly website will convince potential customers to navigate into the site away from the initial landing page. If your website doesn’t feature a user-friendly design, your web-sites bounce rate will be high, meaning clients will be looking elsewhere.

What does a user-friendly website consist of?

It’s a combination of things like easy-to-use navigation tools, readability, load time, and mobile-optimization. These are all aimed at allowing users to efficiently and quickly navigate a website and locate what they want or need to find without any challenges or delays.

Readability

A site’s readability refers to it’s easy scan, meaning they can easily and quickly look for a keyword to see an answer to a question they have about your brand, site, offerings, etc. To achieve this, it’s best to use spacing, bullets, short paragraphs and subheadings, as well as play close attention as to what fonts you use.

Navigation

Navigation is how easy it is to move around in your site, providing organized content that and menus so that they can find what they need. Organized menus help users go through your site to see what it’s, how to purchase or contact you for more information.

Mobile-Optimization

And since many users are using their mobile phones it is important your site is mobile friendly and optimized for use on a smart device. Mobile-optimization refers to where your website ranks within mobile search engines. Much of where your site will land on a mobile search engine has to do with how is easy your website is to see while on a tablet or smartphone. If your company’s site takes too long to load it is not considered user friendly. A websites mobile upload should take no more than five seconds. Anything over this and your site needs to be updated.

Posted on April 18, 2018 by admin

Tell Tale Signs Your Computer Has a Virus

It’s true, our lives have come to revolve around a variety of technological devices; the computer and phone being the most common. Face to face meetings, previously requiring a person’s physical presence, have been replaced by computers as well as shopping, banking, paying bills, and so many other tasks that happen in our day to day lives.

Many of the websites that we visit to perform these common tasks are prone to popups and links are secretly hidden within advertisements that an unintentional or oblivious click may be installing a virus or malware on your computer. Even If you consider your computer entirely virus free you should still go through the signs below that will help you decide if your pc is malware free, or that you need a visit to the computer repair shop.

Performance Monitoring

One of the many ways to determine if your laptop has been infected with a virus or other type of malware is to keep track of the life of the battery. Is the battery life less than what you are used to experiencing? This can give you an idea if a virus is slowing your computer down. Other than that, you can take a look at the hard drive activity through the administrator folder to see what applications are running. Do you spot any suspicious programs that you don’t recall using? Moreover, if the pc is running but has no programs currently opened and the light on the modem happens to be flickering, it means there is a certain unidentified malware residing on your pc consuming or transferring data using

Out of the Blue Pop-Ups

If the computer has no programs currently running and a series of unidentified popups appear on your desktop then, believe me, they are a courtesy of virus seeking refuge inside your computer files. With the popups, it is enough confirmation that a virus is present, head off to the nearest computer repair shop for a virus removal solution.

Missing File and Changed Content

If your PC is behaving weirdly such that you cannot locate certain files in your folders and they happen to be missing or in another folder, you never put them in the first place. Viruses are often responsible for such instances, or it might just be a rare moment you can blame your own memory.

Involuntary messages

A very common sign of your PC being hacked by a virus is when your colleagues and friends, to whom you remain connected by your email, locate any emails or messages not physically forwarded by you. A virus has been communicating in your place instead, spreading its wings onto your colleague’s computers as well.

A Shockingly Perfect Computer

This probably sounds like coming from a paranoid person but there is very much a chance to have a virus infected PC that shows none of the signs above. Hackers and Cybercriminals are sneaky with their methods such that the virus is hard to locate because it is hidden with perfect precision. The best defense mechanism is to install an antivirus software that scrutinizes all your files for an accurate virus removal.

Data on computers is personal and important, therefore it needs to be protected. If you sense even the slightest threat of virus infestation on your device, wait no more because your information is at stake.

Local computer repair shops will perform a diagnosis on your computer to determine if it has been infected. If it is determined that malware or a virus is present, they will run a variety of scans to remove the infection and perform a tune-up on the computer to ensure all your protection is running the most up to date version. If a virus is not the cause of your issues, a diagnosis can be done to ensure that your computer is running its best.

Posted on March 27, 2018 by admin

How Does an IT Consultant Save Your Business Time and Money?

IT is something that every company uses daily in the work that they perform. From staying in contact with business associates, clients, sharing information between one another, and marketing services, business owners rely on IT services. There are several reasons IT services are needed and hiring consultants that specialize in IT are a necessity.

This is also true of start-ups, which can sometimes struggle to know exactly what they need regarding an IT service or which technology and software can help in the endeavors. Here are some of the main areas that an IT consulting company can help any new business get off to a good start in.

How IT Services Can Help A New Company

As mentioned above, it can be difficult for new businesses to know where to start when it comes to implementing IT solutions in their company. Hiring a professional IT consultant can help a great deal in providing commercial IT support through installing this essential infrastructure that will pave the way for success in business. Another prominent issue most small-scaled & moderate companies confront is making the most of their existing assets without disrupting employee effectiveness and functional productivity. When hiring and training extra employees is a choice, a highly effective solution to company management necessities can be achieved by working with managed IT services.

A lot of businesses currently depend on IT systems to offer essential services to bodily users and consumers. From basic network coverage to remote data access and cloud computing solutions, a correctly managed IT ecosystem can substantially improve performance and efficiency during the corporation. Nevertheless, IT systems require continuous tracking and control that can be a time in addition to resource-consuming exercise for companies with limited economic and staff.

Managed IT services are organized to dominate an organization’s everyday IT control steps. Based on a company’s demands, managed IT firms can manage sections of their commercial infrastructure or supply an end-to-end way out that takes care of all facets of their IT infrastructure.

Advantages of Outsourced IT

Outsourcing IT control duties to expert IT consultant provides many distinct benefits over maintaining a large pool of in-house IT experts. In-house IT staff frequently need to multi-task and utilize restricted tools and skill to control an organization’s IT system. This could certainly result in an extra reactive IT management set about in which personnel only handle issues since they occur. Skilled managed IT services will enhance the capabilities of in-house IT divisions, together with enable the institutions to apply an aggressive IT approach where probable IT difficulties are instantly disclosed and dealt with before they impact procedures.

Hiring even more workforce to maintain the support requirements and IT system of an expanding business can be a pricey strategy. By leveraging the skill and systems of a managed IT services source, companies can stay away from the expenses of recruiting and coaching staff to handle specialized IT activities.

Protection and Maintenance Needs Delivered Efficiently

Failure to upgrade software program and appliance can result in severe safety and operational dangers. Managed IT firms through their commercial IT support ensures that their clients’ IT systems are currently the moment application patches. This limits the liability of process downtime and protection vulnerabilities.

Fast-growing businesses in high-demand industries will be able to outstrip their accessible IT options. Processing energy, storage space, ram, and data transfer are elements which could affect the effectiveness of a corporate data system. Expert managed IT services can keep track of the condition of an organization’s system and supply necessary info that IT supervisors will use to figure out long-term capability requires and performance fads.

Posted on March 26, 2018 by admin

Why is Commercial IT Support Essential for Your Business?

If you run a business, you may reach the point where you need an IT department to help manage your commercial IT support. Yet this is one of the most expensive departments to manage. Even if you manage to get it up and running, you’ll need to attract and draw talent to manage it. It’s not as highly competitive as your other business departments. And besides retaining the best talent, how will you keep up with the escalating expenses of maintaining servers and equipment?

The best solution is to hire managed IT services. These are maintained by a business that focuses on commercial IT support and is run by fully qualified IT consultants. They have the expertise you need to run the business technology aspect of your business, so you can stop worrying about it and do what you do best.

These types of solutions are best for the small and medium sized commercial business. Each business may have different requirements or set budgets. You can work with IT consultants who will give you experienced, professional, and affordable commercial IT support.

There are certain commercial businesses that can benefit from managed IT services. These can include health clinics or beauty care businesses. They may also include trades-oriented businesses, or household products and services. Retail establishments and restaurants may also benefit. Basically, any type of commercial business that you have that requires the exchanges of goods or services to the general public is who our commercial IT support business focuses on.

These types of businesses may need a variety of different services. Cloud- based solutions may be right for you, particularly if you must connect with other clinics, stores, or franchises. Software will work through the internet but still keep data safe and secure.

One benefit of a Cloud-based software solution is also that your valuable customer data is kept in the Cloud. Even if your establishment suffers a theft, fire, or flood, this valuable data is stored in the Cloud and won’t be compromised. It can also be doubly backed up in the event there is a malware attack.

Other services provided by managed IT services may also involve the sales, installation, and maintenance of required hardware. Regular maintenance can be performed at intervals. This is ideal for when you must hire specific expertise for your business, but when your own staff may not have the knowledge for the backend IT support.

Software may also be required for your business that needs to be configured and maintained. And even something as simple as providing wireless access for customers may still need to be purchased, setup, configured, monitored, and maintained.

If you own any type of commercial business, please contact us today if you need assistance with commercial IT support. If you’ve been tackling this important task yourself because you can’t afford to create your own IT department, the solution is to hire managed IT services. Now your business can still stay one step of the competition by utilizing only the latest and best IT technology, and IT consultants.

Posted on March 6, 2018 by admin

What an IT Consultant does for your business

Information technology plays an essential role in the business plan of an organization by improving productivity, creating opportunities, and refining customer-business interactions. Most businesses make use of internal talents in their company to take charge of installation and management of new technology. Since most professionals have basic IT training, this strategy may prove to be effective. However, an IT consultant with specific skills may be required in some situations to implement detailed processes so your business can remain at the top of the game.

Cost Effective

A commercial IT consultant can prove to be effective in the long run especially for startups. Hiring a permanent IT consultant can be really expensive since the expert will be on your payroll even when there is no major need for his/her skill set. Since a business may not need highly skilled IT services every month, hiring a commercial IT consultant to install a new technology and train employees on how to use it would prove to be effective for the growth of your business.

Data Security

Technology is constantly advancing and so is the need to continually update the data security of your business systems. Adopting a new business technology can prove to be a challenge especially when there are no IT experts to handle such system. When you hire the services of a commercial IT support, they will take care of the data security of your new technology, advise you on the best and safest technologies specific for your business, and identify and potential loopholes that could compromise the security of your technology.

Improving Customer Service and Enhancing Productivity

Customer satisfaction is a priority for every business owner. Hence, it is very normal for them to look out for new ways to continually improve the customer service of their business. Modern technologies make communication between businesses and customers to be very easy and efficient, thereby improving productivity. With the advent of new and improved technologies today, an IT consultant is best placed to advise your business on the technology that best fits your service. This conclusion is arrived at after studying the nature of the business, the target market, and the number of users.

Technological Crisis

Over time, systems may experience technical issues. Some may be easily handled by the internal IT staffers, while others may prove to be too challenging. In cases where a natural disaster affects your business technology or hackers breach the business system, the internal IT department may find it pretty difficult to take charge of the situation. Hiring an IT consultant support is a no-brainer in such cases. They will help you resolve the issue, restore normalcy, and even do their best to prevent such mishap in the future.

Whether your business is a small or large one, IT consulting is beneficial for the handling of technical tasks. It would never be ideal to wait until there is a technology crisis in your business before you invite an expert. When you call for the services of an IT consultant to conduct checks regularly, your systems will be in top conditions at all times.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com. To contact one of our IT experts call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

Posted on March 1, 2018 by admin

IT Consulting Can Save Your Company Time and Money

Information technology, IT, is the use of any computers, storage, networking and other physical devices and infrastructure processes to create, process, store, secure, and exchange all forms of electronic data.

IT Consulting

IT consulting is a field of study that focuses on advising organizations on how best to use technology (IT) in achieving their business objectives. In addition to providing advice, IT consultants often estimate, manage, implement, deploy, and administer IT systems on behalf of their client organizations, a practice known as “outsourcing”. Information technology changes so rapidly, that it can be difficult for businesses to keep up especially in a tight economy but with the help of IT consulting company, these businesses can save both time and money by optimizing their systems. With the help of IT consulting services businesses can standardize their technology systems to align with industry best practices. It also improves workforce productivity by streamlining processes, reducing the risk of error or failure and enabling the company to better plan for future changes.

IT Managed Services

IT professionals can help spot inefficiencies and suggest areas where tasks can be automated to free up employees time and money. Similarly, by partnering with an IT managed services provider, companies can offload many of those tedious yet essential tasks that suck up valuable company time and resources. Instead of paying costly full time employees to perform grunt work, you can have an IT managed services firm take care of it in a much more efficient and cost effective manner. Network security, data backup, software update, and strategic planning can be handled by an IT consulting professional.

Commercial IT Support

Commercial IT support takes care of the nuts and bolts problems before even thinking about IT strategy.

Commercial support helps in:

Meeting the needs and budget of businesses by providing IT services and support at an affordable rate.
They help out when an ongoing contract just doesn’t make sense; also, they get big projects done as quickly as possible.
They think ahead to maximize potential IT issues and downtime for businesses
They design and maintain a streamlined network solution unique to the business so you see performance and reduced IT issues every day.
They utilize regular maintenance, monitor and ensure best practices for your business.
They help to leverage connections and experience with software and hardware vendors to help get the right technologies at the right price.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com. To contact one of our IT experts call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.