First, let’s define cloud-based and self-hosted LMSs.

A cloud-based LMS is hosted on the vendor’s servers, and users can access it via the internet. With this option, there is no need to purchase or install any software, and the vendor handles maintenance and updates. Users only pay a subscription fee to access the system.

On the other hand, a self-hosted LMS requires a separate server to be installed on the organization’s premises. The user organization is responsible for purchasing, installing, and maintaining the software. This option provides more flexibility and control over the system, but it requires more technical knowledge and resources.

Now, let’s dive into the advantages and disadvantages of both types of LMSs.

Cloud-Based LMS

Advantages:

Accessibility: A cloud-based LMS is accessible from anywhere in the world, as long as there is an internet connection. This means that users can access their courses and materials on any device, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, or desktop computers.

Scalability: A cloud-based LMS can easily accommodate a growing user base, as the vendor’s servers can be upgraded to handle more users. Additionally, users only pay for what they need, making it more cost-effective than a self-hosted LMS for smaller organizations.

Ease of Use: Since the vendor handles maintenance and upgrades, users don’t need to worry about technical issues. The LMS provider takes care of everything, making it a simple and user-friendly option for organizations that don’t have an IT department.

Disadvantages:

Security: Since data is stored on the vendor’s servers, there is always a risk of a data breach. While reputable LMS providers have strong security measures in place, some organizations may prefer to keep their data on their premises.

Limited Control: With a cloud-based LMS, users have limited control over the system’s functionality and customization. The vendor may not allow certain integrations or customization, which can limit the user experience.

Dependence on the Vendor: Organizations that use a cloud-based LMS are dependent on the vendor for system uptime, maintenance, and updates. If the vendor experiences downtime or technical issues, it can affect the organization’s ability to deliver courses and manage student data.

Self-Hosted LMS

Advantages:

Control: With a self-hosted LMS, users have complete control over the system’s functionality and customization. The user organization can modify and extend the LMS as needed, making it more flexible and customizable. /p>

Security: Since data is stored on the organization’s server, there is more control over security measures, making it easier to implement and maintain security protocols. This option is ideal for organizations that handle sensitive data.

Cost-Effective: Although there are initial costs associated with purchasing and installing the software, self-hosted LMSs can be more cost-effective in the long run. Organizations only need to pay for maintenance, upgrades, and hosting, which can be less expensive than a subscription-based cloud LMS.

Disadvantages:

Technical Knowledge: Setting up a self-hosted LMS requires more technical knowledge and resources than a cloud-based LMS.

Maintenance: Maintaining a self-hosted LMS can be time-consuming and requires technical expertise. Organizations must ensure that the software is up-to-date and secure, which can be a challenge for organizations with limited technical resources.

Limited Accessibility: Since a self-hosted LMS is hosted on the organization’s server, it is only accessible within the organization’s network. This means that users cannot access the LMS outside of the organization’s premises, which can be a drawback for remote learners.

Now that we have discussed the pros and cons of both cloud-based and self-hosted LMSs, let’s consider some factors that can help you decide which one is right for your organization.

Budget: The cost of implementing and maintaining an LMS is a crucial factor for most organizations. A self-hosted LMS requires an upfront investment in software, hardware, and technical resources, whereas a cloud-based LMS is subscription-based and can be more cost-effective for smaller organizations.

Technical Expertise: Implementing and maintaining a self-hosted LMS requires technical expertise, while a cloud-based LMS requires minimal technical knowledge. If your organization has an IT department, a self-hosted LMS might be a good option, while a cloud-based LMS might be better for organizations without technical expertise.

Security Requirements: If your organization handles sensitive data, a self-hosted LMS might be a better option. Organizations can control the security measures and protocols for their data, ensuring that it is secure. However, cloud-based LMS providers often have strong security measures in place, making them a safe option for most organizations.

Scalability: If your organization anticipates significant growth in the number of users or courses, a cloud-based LMS is a more scalable option. Cloud-based LMS providers can easily accommodate a growing user base, while a self-hosted LMS may require significant upgrades to handle increased usage.

Accessibility: If your organization has remote learners, a cloud-based LMS is a better option. Cloud-based LMSs can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, making it more accessible for learners who are not on-premises.

In conclusion, choosing between a cloud-based and self-hosted LMS depends on several factors, including budget, technical expertise, security requirements, scalability, and accessibility. While both options have their advantages and disadvantages, organizations should consider their unique needs and requirements before making a decision. We hope this article has provided you with the information you need to choose the right LMS for your organization.

Do you need further assistance in selecting the appropriate LMS hosting option for your online courses? Feel free to reach out to us for support.

The post Cloud-Based Vs Self-Hosted LMS: What You Need To Know appeared first on Perception System.

Understanding LMS

First, let’s define what an LMS is. A Learning Management System is a software application that allows users to create, manage, and deliver digital content and educational courses. It can be used for a variety of purposes, including employee training, professional development, and academic courses.

Benefits of LMS

LMS has become increasingly popular over the years because of its numerous benefits. It can help organizations save time and money by automating the process of course creation, tracking, and reporting. LMS can also provide learners with a more engaging and interactive learning experience, with features such as quizzes, games, and multimedia content.

Building Your Own LMS

Now, let’s explore the option of building your own LMS. This can be an attractive option for organizations that have specific needs that cannot be met by existing LMS providers. By building your own LMS, you have complete control over the system’s functionality and can customize it to fit your organization’s unique requirements.

Pros of Building Your Own LMS

Customization: As previously mentioned, building your own LMS allows you to customize the system to meet your specific needs. You can add features and functionality that are not available in third-party providers.

Control: You have complete control over the LMS, including its development, maintenance, and upgrades. This means you can make changes and updates at your own pace without relying on a third-party provider.

Ownership: Building your own LMS means you own the system and its data. This can be an advantage if you have sensitive data that you do not want to share with a third-party provider.

Cons of Building Your Own LMS

Cost: Building your own LMS can be expensive, especially if you do not have the necessary technical expertise in-house. You will need to hire developers, designers, and other technical staff to build and maintain the system.

Time: Developing an LMS from scratch can take a lot of time, especially if you do not have experience in software development. This can be a significant investment of time and resources, which may not be feasible for some organizations.

Support: If you build your own LMS, you will be responsible for providing technical support to your users. This can be a significant burden on your IT staff, who may not have the necessary expertise to support the system.

Outsourcing to a Third-Party Provider

The other option is to outsource to a third-party provider. This can be an attractive option for organizations that do not have the technical expertise or resources to build their own LMS.

Pros of Outsourcing to a Third-Party Provider

Cost: Outsourcing to a third-party provider can be more cost-effective than building your own LMS. This is because the provider can spread the cost of development and maintenance across multiple clients.

Time: Outsourcing to a third-party provider can be faster than building your own LMS. Providers already have an existing platform that they can customize to meet your organization’s needs, saving time and resources.

Support: Third-party providers typically offer technical support to their clients. This means you do not have to worry about providing support to your users, as the provider will take care of it.

Cons of Outsourcing to a Third-Party Provider

Customization: Sometimes Third-party providers may not be able to meet all of your organization’s unique needs.

Cost and Time Analysis

Now that we have explored the pros and cons of both options, let’s conduct a cost and time analysis to help you make an informed decision.

Building Your Own LMS:

Cost: Building your own LMS can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000, depending on the complexity of the system and the expertise of your technical staff. This includes development, design, maintenance, and upgrades.

Time: Developing an LMS from scratch can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, depending on the size and complexity of the system. This includes research, development, testing, and implementation.

Outsourcing to a Third-Party Provider:

Cost: Outsourcing to a third-party provider can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 per year, depending on the number of users and the features included in the package.

Time: Outsourcing to a third-party provider can take anywhere from 1 to 3 months to implement, depending on the customization required.

Conclusion

As we have discussed, outsourcing to a third-party provider can be a cost-effective and efficient solution for LMS development. By partnering with a trusted third-party provider like Perception System, you can benefit from their expertise, experience, and resources without the high investment of building your own LMS.

In addition, by outsourcing to Perception System, you can benefit from our proven development methodology, agile approach, and quality assurance processes. We ensure that your LMS is tested and optimized for performance, security, and user experience.

Outsourcing to a third-party provider like Perception System can be a smart choice for LMS development. By partnering with an experienced and trusted provider, you can benefit from their expertise, resources, and customized solutions without the high cost and investment of building your own LMS. Contact us today to learn more about our LMS development services and how we can help you achieve your training and development goals.

The post Building Your Own LMS vs Outsourcing to a Third-Party Provider: A Cost and Time Analysis appeared first on Perception System.

While counties are at their different phases from Coronavirus Pandemic, more than 1.2 billion students in 186 countries are affected by schools and university closures. Most of the organization institutes roll out their calls from their online teaching.

With this sudden shift away from the classroom in many parts of the globe, some wonder whether the adoption of online learning continues to persist post-pandemic and how much such a change would affect the worldwide educational sector.

Even before COVID-19, there was already high growth and adoption in education technology, as the global EdTech investments reached $18.66 billion in 2019. The overall market for online education is projected to reach $350 billion by the end of 2025.

Whether it is a language app, virtual classrooms, video conference rooms, or online learning software, there has been a massive surge in education technology since the Coronavirus outbreak.

Perception System has helped hundreds of educational institutes, including Harvard Medical School, to create a robust online presence. Our feature-rich academic portals enabled organizations to address their operations with an uninterrupted interface.

If you are considering bringing an online presence to your educational institute, then read this article.

Types of Educational Websites

The website can be versatile; it can be dynamic or straightforward. There are hundreds of themes that you can go with. Here are a few types of websites that are ruling the current education sector.

E-learning web portals

An e-learning web portal is a website or application that lets you to deepen your knowledge in a specific field. This way of mastering new skills and learning new concepts is trendy this year.

Digital Content Serving Sites

Digital content is any content that exists as digital data. Also known as digital media, digital content is stored on digital or analog storage in specific formats. Formats of digital content include information contained in digitally transmitted, streamed, or digital files.

School Educational Video Websites‎

Educational websites may include games, videos, or websites with resources related to the subject that serve as tools to enhance learning and teaching in the classroom. These websites help make the student entertaining and engaging, especially in today’s age.

Language-Learning Website

This type of website offers many language learning courses with a variety of educational materials. Notable universities that teach lessons in this language have professional-level courses for stage professors. You can learn the general language or get specialized language courses.

Online Courseware

Online courseware is an electronic learning material used in online learning or e-learning, a learning tool that is a reality in the modern education system. Built as software, the digital courseware works standalone or is delivered via a learning management system or LMS.

Tertiary Educational Websites

Higher education, also known as tertiary education in some countries, refers to all secondary education, including all public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes, and vocational schools.

Learning Management System

Learning Management System (LMS) is software designed specifically to create, distribute, and manage educational materials’ delivery. LMS can be hosted as a standalone product on a company server or a host-based platform by a software firm.

One of the better option for creating custom LMS software is Moodle. It is an open-source platform designed to create e-learning solutions. You can connect with Perception System for robust moodle development services.

Why Your Educational Institution Needs a Website?

A great website can address many challenges facing colleges and universities. The first is an increase in costs. As the cost of college leases increases, so will the pressure to control these costs by optimizing operational efficiency. The web offers better services, more functionality, faster release cycles, wider availability, and significant cost savings.

Easy Interaction with Students

A website represents your online presence. With the student’s web portal’s help, your students can quickly login to their account to check out their academic activities.

Keep Parents in-Touch

The parent’s portal on your website enables parents to check out their kids’ overall curriculum and activities. Thus, they can stay updated with the results, events, syllabus, and everything for their needs.

Better Learning Experience 

A web portal ultimately enhances the overall learning experience for your students. It facilitates them to learn their desired courses at their convenience.

Serve fresh content for teaching material online.

With the help of an educational web portal, you can easily update course material online, right from your computer screen. The new teaching material can be easily accessible to your students, and they can download it with a single click.

Broadcast Information and Updates Seamlessly

The web portal facilitates the management to update information about examinations, results, events, admission, and many other things.

Attracting more Students

A user-friendly educational website is the best way to attract more students and their parents, as it allows them to view everything right from their dashboard.

Importance of having Websites for Universities

Because the younger generation uses social media extensively, many universities turn towards Instagram and Twitter to attract new students. But the recent study shows a different result. The current statistics revealed that it is not just social media that individual international students turn to when checking out a university; it is the website that plays an integral part in enrolling international students.

The report states that 90% of international students apply for admission without contacting the university. Their decision to apply for a particular university is primarily based on the university website. Thus, having a website for university is extremely important for attracting national and international students. Besides, the website can yield fruitful results when it comes to,

Faculty Accomplishments

A website is the best way to show faculty accomplishments and achievements to attract new students. You can easily edit the photos, biographies, and achievement without any technical knowledge.

Student life at the University 

An easy way for universities to weave on the website is to set up a student portal page. The inclusion of all information in one portal/page allows students to access information related to their educational journey quickly.

Campus Amenities 

With the user-friendly CMS, you can edit campus amenities showing the best facilities in your university. This can save valuable time for international students during the research process.

Alumni Networking & Community 

The website enables the students to share a strong bond by connecting through the alumni network. Your website can be a strong link between old friends and their community.

Athletics Recruitment

Students interested in athletics can easily find their desired sports on the list through an educational web portal.

Blogging 

The consistent blogging on the website helps the students to stay updated with the latest educational trends. Besides, it can also serve your purpose for getting good results in SERPS.

Role of Online Learning Solutions in the Education Industry

Today’s learners want relevant, mobile, self-propelled and personalized content. This need is met through online learning; students can learn according to their convenience and necessity. Let’s take an analytical look at the benefits of online learning solutions in the education sector.

Scalability

E-learning helps create and communicate new training, policies, concepts and ideas. Whether it’s for formal education or entertainment, e-learning is a great way to learn!

Compatibility

E-learning enables teachers to achieve a high level of coverage to send a consistent message to their target audience. This ensures that all learners receive the same type of training with this learning mode.

Low Investment 

E-learning is effective when compared to traditional learning. The reason this value is reduced is that learning through this mode is done quickly and easily. A lot of training time is reduced about trainers, travel, course materials and accommodation.

Impactful Online Presence 

E-learning has a positive impact on the organization’s profits. Makes this content easy to understand and digest: It gives a better score on a certificate, test or another type of assessment. Increase the ability to learn and apply new processes or knowledge in the workplace. It helps maintain information for longer.

Less Impact on the Environment

Learning is a paperless way of learning, so it saves the environment to a great extent. According to a study conducted on e-learning courses, distance learning programs consume about 90% less electricity and generate 85% less CO2 emissions than traditional campus-based educational methods. With e-learning, it is not necessary to cut down trees to get paper. Thus, eLearning is an environmentally friendly way of learning.

Articulating your Institutes’ brand values

The website not only informs your potential students but also shows that you are there over time. When you have a website and use internet marketing strategies, likely students will understand that you are interested in your school’s development and innovation. And, as said, you can use it as a place to display information. It’s like an ad that anyone gets when they want. You can use it to post testimonials from alumni.

Learn as per Convenience 

Unlike the classroom, learning with online classes, you can access a wide range of content. This is especially necessary at the time of revision during exam preparation. In the traditional form of teaching, if you cannot participate in lectures, you have to prepare for the subject on your own; In e-learning, you can engage in open classes whenever you want.

Sourcing Accessible Information to your Students

The main advantage of online learning is that it ensures that you are in sync with modern learners. This allows the learner to access the updated content whenever they want.

Address your Educational Website Challenges with Perception System

There is a significant risk on a poorly presented college ledge website. While many focuses on legal risks such as copyright piracy and privacy, there is also a considerable reputation risk. A poorly designed website harms the organization and is beyond the brand and message. Having broken links, ending content, false words, etc., is a feature of a site that does not receive proper care and nourishment, damaging credibility.

Perception system is an award-winning agency when it comes to providing technological solutions to diverse industries. Right from e-learning websites to language learning mobile apps, we have successfully delivered 100+ e-learning solutions to our global clientele.

Connect with us at info@perceptionsystem.com for discussing the endless possibilities of online educational web portals for your educational institute.

The post Importance of An Educational Website Post Pandemic appeared first on Perception System.

WordPress VIP is a cloud-based WordPress hosting services designed for enterprise-level firms. It is a high-end platform that caters to enterprise needs regarding security, support, flexibility, scalability, and multiple technologies to achieve your business goals. Facebook, New York Post, Deadline, VentureBeat are some of the giants using WordPress VIP as their hosting solution. 

WordPress.com has already hosted millions of sites throughout the Internet. But WordPress VIP was launched to serve the websites with higher profiles and massive traffic, offering them additional flexibility with premium services. Generally, it is designed for sites that get millions of views every month. 

Unlike WordPress.com and WordPress.org, hosting facilities for WordPress VIP is very different. As it is designed for the premium members with premium services, you need to register to get the hosting services. We at Perception System are here to help you with your hosting requirements when it comes to getting enterprise-level WordPress. 

What is WordPress VIP?

WordPress VIP is a high-end, managed WordPress hosting platform aimed to target large-scale and enterprise level WordPress websites. It is considered the fastest, most secured, and hassle-free WordPress hosting you can buy. Apart from the WordPress VIP hosting price, it has rigorous coding standards and processes that are not suitable for most companies.

Why do you need to use the WordPress VIP?

WordPress VIP is a great hosting plan designed to manage high-traffic volume without compromising performance and security. It is suitable for enterprises having high traffic with tens of millions of page views every month. Here are some of the top brands using WordPress VIP –

• TechCrunch;
• Spotify
• Quartz
• US Today

How much does WordPress VIP cost?

WordPress VIP pricing is unknown as the website does not have any public pricing page. Our expertise and research show that the WordPress VIP hosting plan might range from $5,000 to $30,000 per month for up to 5 websites with a minimum set up fee of $5,000 per site. The WordPress VIP prince will also include bandwidth, unlimited storage, CND, and dedicated customer support. 

Benefits of WordPress VIP

A high traffic content-rich website is very critical to manage. Here are some of the benefits that are associated with the WordPress VIP. 

Fully managed WordPress

WordPress VIP is beyond a managed WordPress hosting platform, as it also offers versatile services like,

• Proactive security and scanning
• Automated hourly backups for data protection
• Custom code for third party plugins
• Timely performance monitoring
• Automatic scaling to handle massive traffic
• Automatic update of core software

WordPress VIP is like having your very own development team taking care of everything for you without any downtime to your website. 

Planning and training

Every WordPress VIP plan starts with a detailed strategy and assessment of your website. The WordPress VIP team will work with your team to review your needs and what your requirements are. You are allowed to pick up the website design and WordPress VIP plugins for your project. 

The WordPress VIP team will also review every line of code if you want a custom website design. The same quality standard goes to the third-party plugins and all custom codes that ensure excellent compatibility and enhanced coding standards. 

Besides checking the codes, the team will also train your developers about the specifications of Platform, security, and performance. The training also extends to your website’s editors, admins, and authors to make the most out of the WordPress VIP’s sturdy content management and publishing features. 

High performance and speed

The entire hosting platform for WordPress VIP is optimized for the best performance. You don’t have to worry about coding optimization, CDN service, and caching and plugins. Enterprise WordPress is served by the delivery network of 20 data centres all around the world. Thus, you will get the best time-to-first byte result, SSL security, latency, and protection against the DDOS attacks. 

Encrypted with Custom Security

The risk of cybersecurity is increasing due to the global connectivity and usage of cloud services. According to Statista, more than 164.68 million sensitive records were exposed, with 1473 data breaches in the US. The IT sector is the most vulnerable to data breaches, with an average loss of $28 million yearly. 

But with WordPress VIP, you don’t need to worry about any data breach, cyberattacks, and malware. Your WordPress VIP websites are protected by the world-class custom-built security and best practices to block brute force and other types of malware proactively. All your website traffic will be fully protected from click to code. Every custom code is reviewed manually, adding an extra layer of security to your website and avoiding vulnerable codes. 

Number of Data breaches in US

(Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/273550/data-breaches-recorded-in-the-united-states-by-number-of-breaches-and-records-exposed/)

What’s the difference between WordPress and WordPress VIP?

To understand the difference between the WordPress VIP and self-hosted WordPress, let’s break it down into the key differences between them. 

Hosting

WordPress VIP is a fully managed hosting service to host your content without any hassle. For WordPress.com, you need to find out a third-party hosting service provider and pay for the hosting. 

SSL security and backups

VIP offers encrypted security with SSL security along with manual code review, depending on the price up to unlimited bandwidth, storage, & CDN. In WordPress.com, all of these depend on the hosting service you opt for. You need to pay for extra security with a third-party plugin. 

Themes

A limited number of themes to choose for WordPress VIP, and any custom theme or design will also undergo rigorous review before any changes go Live. In contrast, you can select many unlimited free & premium themes from WordPress.org theme repository or other sites like Codecanyon & Themeforest.

Customizing Options

WordPress VIP offers limited customizing options for users to maintain quality control and legality. However, users can add custom CSS manually, which will go through the review process before going Live. With universal themes, there are countless possibilities of customizing the content. It includes Live Customizer, which you can use to edit and view any of the changes you live your website.

Third-party Plugins

All of the third-party plugins all undergo strict pre-deploy checks making it more effective and efficient in WordPress VIP. However, the extent of the numbers is comparatively less than the official WordPress.org repository. A vast range of third-party plugins, both free and paid to extend features, are available.

Pricing Range

Enterprise WordPress ranges from $5000 to $25000 per month, depending on the site’s requirements. In WordPress.com, price depends on the hosting, domain name, premium plugins & themes enabled.

Additional Features

In enterprise WordPress, planning, strategizing, and training are done according to a specific site’s needs. It features blazing fast speed delivered with the 20 data centres all over the world—strict coding standards. It is best suited for large businesses and extremely high-traffic websites. While WordPress.com is suited for all levels of sites. It is extremely versatile with customizing options and easy to work with. 

What does the WP VIP team do at each stage of the project?

Once you decide, the whole process goes through several methods to ensure the best operation wise fit and future performance.

Evaluation

Planning to ensure optimal fulfilment usually begins with intensive planning. Once you decide to join, WP VIP representatives go to your website and discuss an in-depth plan and strategies for the next step.

Planning and development

After evaluating your existing website, the team calls in all parties involved and resources and finalizes a plan for further development. They train your developers about platforms, performance, and security. They also help you choose the best theme and design or evaluate existing website designs. They also optimize your existing UI, content, and content to plan migration. They follow your company’s goals and requirements and examine existing codes for security and compatibility with the new plan.

Implementation and launch

When you discuss, evaluate, and set everything up, your project will be sent to a new platform. They do the final investigation and start the project. In the latter, the evaluation is performed after the launch and is completed with further customization if necessary.

Development

They provide the seamless performance and top-notch security for the website every day. Their developers deal with cloud hosting, handling all updates, backups, and unique requirements. If there is a requirement, users have expert support staff available.

Conclusion

So, with all the comparisons and overall reviews, WordPress.com VIP is an excellent wicket platform aimed at high traffic sites. However, with limited freedom to customize and add third-party themes and plugins, it guarantees a very high-security level. By comparison, prices seem a bit more expensive than other self-hosted sites. However, with the degree of flexibility and scalability, it seems reasonable that it costs a lot. Because it also handles maximum traffic spikes easily, this is the best fit for sites with at least a few million-page views per month.

This post is just dedicated to helping users find the right platform and in no way to recommend one over the other. Thus this, concludes our post today about WordPress VIP. Hopefully, we’ve listed everything that comes up in the search for answers. But we value your feedback! So, are you planning your own enterprise WordPress development project? You can connect with us if you want us to help you with the development.

The post WordPress VIP: A Detailed Hosting Guide for Your Next Website appeared first on Perception System.

In a recent study, it was found that the millennials of today prefer to invest more of their income on experiences rather than on purchasing material pleasures. The average Joe of today will travel more in his lifetime than his predecessors, and this trend is quickly catching up across the rest of the world. Keeping this fact in mind, this is indeed a great time in history to invest in technologies to better your travel and tourism business.

If you have been in the industry for some time now, you would know the huge impact technological investments can have on the revenue generated by a business. Along with this, other features like greater mobility and better management, are part and parcel of these technologies. Thus if you have a travel and tourism business, now is the time to invest in travel web portal software development.

In this article, we will talk in-depth about the various aspects of travel web portal software development and what it means for your business. Let’s Begin!

What is a Travel Web Portal?

Before we explore the depths of developing a travel web portal, let us first understand what this actually means. A travel web portal can be defined in simple terms as being a powerful as well as a comprehensive web portal that allows users to avail services offered by your business.

In terms of category, as a business owner, you have the ability to develop software for all aspects of your business, be it Business to Consumer B2C as well as Business to Business B2B. Along with this, you have the added option of including API for services like railway ticket bookings, air travel bookings, hotel reservations, tour packages, and much more.

The integration of all these into your travel web portal software will not only enhance your capabilities of providing a better service to your users but also gives you the ability to serve multiple clients from different parts of the globe at the same time.

Features of Travel Web Portals

Now that you know the basic definition of a travel web portal let us understand the features it comes with.

1. Most of the travel web portal software is available in the market today comes with an inbuilt admin dashboard, which lets you monitor as well as control all aspects of your travel and tourism business. Be it monitoring the number of users currently on your portal, the number of reservations made, the total revenue generated, or the payouts to be made, all of these and more can be achieved quite easily on these intuitive platforms.

2. On the client end of your travel web portal, users will have the option of making bookings online, see the status of the bookings made previously, track their travel dates, find the best hotel rates, book a packaged tour, and much more. All these features combined in one will give the user a greater amount of flexibility when it comes to making travel plans online and thus convert them into a loyal customer for your business.

3. Another great feature available in most travel web portals is the option of adding multiple administrators and share unique credentials with each of them. With the help of this feature, you can assign one or multiple of your employees to manage the admin section of the web portal while you can conveniently oversee their activities from the master dashboard while addressing other aspects of your booming business.

The Benefits of investing in Travel Web Portal Software

By now, it must be clear that investing your money in developing a travel web portal software will give you more capabilities and benefits than you could imagine. For your convenience, here are the major benefits, a travel web portal software will have for your business.

1. The only major investment is in developing this software in the initial stages by customizing its features for your business. Once the software has been developed, there is close to no investment in training your employees with all the functionalities of this portal. This is largely due to this software being very user-friendly as well as easy to learn and use both for amateurs as well as professionals.

2. In any business, be it travel and tourism or something, there is always a large operation cost that is involved. With a travel web portal, your operation costs will severely reduce as you will make a one time upfront investment in developing the software, and the rest of the processes thereafter can be automated.

3. Along with this, you have the added option of creating intuitive and interactive reports so that you can understand the ongoing trends in your business and decide upon the areas where you need to improve.

4. You will also have the facility of interacting with your customers and clients in a much easier and simpler manner, given the fact that the majority of the task will be handled by the web portal and not your employees.

5. The travel web portal will give you the option of expanding your business to new horizons, thereby giving you more visibility online and get more coming to your business.

Conclusion

From this article, one aspect that can be concluded is the fact that the development of a travel web portal will give your new business new dynamics to explore upon, while at the same time give you multiple options to grow your business to new heights.

Reach us at Perception Systems to develop an interactive and intuitive Travel Web Portal for your business establishment today.

The post Expand Your Online Business with Travel Web Portal Software Development appeared first on Perception System.

Let’s see how the top ten essential features in a real estate portal in this Infographics

Conclusion:

With the advent of digitalization of the real estate industry, web portals are changing in many respects. However, we have seen core features in the Infographics to assure success in the competitive market.

Furthermore, the mere inclusion of advanced features is not guaranteed for the smooth running of your real estate business. What you need is proper functioning and regular updates. Therefore, Perception System, USA offers exclusive real estate portal development & maintenance services through outsource website maintenance packages. Would you like to know more about it? Let’s have exchanges of a few words about it.

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Over the past couple of decades, a number of major industries have been coming to terms with how the internet is affecting their marketing and business strategies. One of these key areas has been healthcare.

How we source and interact with our healthcare options has changed hugely over time. Where once upon a time our local doctor or GP was our conduit to further healthcare options, these days we are able to go straight to the source using the internet. This has meant that healthcare websites have had to change the way they market themselves as the target audience has changed from healthcare professionals to ordinary members of the public.

Of course, healthcare is a complicated topic, often involving complex scientific principles. So, you need to make sure that your website design and content can simplify complicated material and make it available to a wider range of potential customers. With this in mind, here are some top ways that you can use website design to maximise your digital healthcare marketing strategy.

A website can be an education tool

As we mentioned, customers are now looking directly to healthcare websites for answers to their healthcare issues. Even though these issues can be complex, you should use this opportunity to offer education about the healthcare issues that you aim to treat.

Turn your website into a source of information about the areas of medical care you cover. Try and contain guides about the conditions and potential treatments and ensure that all information is accurate. Think of your website not just as a marketing function but also as a tool to educate.

Social media

The potential of social media should never be underestimated. Use platforms to help you reach out to the people who need your services. Some healthcare organisations can stay away from social media, thinking it’s not the place to discuss what they do, but the more information you can get out there, the better it will be for people who need your help.

Clarity, hierarchy and simplicity build trust

Healthcare presents a whole different series of challenges to other forms of digital marketing. People who come to you looking for answers or services need help and are often very eager. However, the last thing they need is to end up feeling confused or overwhelmed. Even though the products or services you offer may be complex, you need to keep things simple.

The design of your site should be simple and clean. Keep the initial amount of information easy to digest, placing more detailed pages inside the site. You should try and get as much feedback as you can about your design before the site goes live. Make sure that potential users are able to find what they are looking for and try and establish a good design methodology from the outset. If you have a clear goal in mind before you start the project this will help to realise a clearer end product.

If you’re unsure about how to achieve the best results, it’s always a good idea to enlist the support of a website design company. Specialist healthcare development services will help you to focus and deliver your main message.

Quality content

As well as keeping it simple, you also need to make sure you are offering high-quality content. In the world of healthcare, people need clear and concise information that is well written, easy to understand and 100% accurate. Too much detail or scientific language can be confusing so you need to find ways of distilling big ideas into easy to swallow chunks. If you are not able to do this in-house, then it may be a good idea to use the services of a healthcare development company or professional medical copywriter.

Don’t make users think

As a healthcare company, you’re not there to make users think. You’re there to provide answers, support, and assistance. The information you provide needs to be clear and concise, and each page needs to have an obvious purpose and be self-explanatory. Use a clear structure that is easy to follow and use recognisable links and buttons where required.

You need to keep an eye on the analytics and find the areas where you are losing users. These are the areas of your site where you are not providing the right information.

Don’t bury your CTAs

Calls to action are essentially the main purpose of any website where goods and services are on offer. Sure, you need top-quality content to engage the reader and you should always aim to be an authority in the area in which you work. But without the calls to action to turn this authority into results, this is an engagement that is being wasted.

Your CTAs should be front and centre. Once you have got a potential user’s attention, you need to guide them clearly and with a minimum of fuss to the place you need them to be. Big and bold buttons on all pages, well-placed links – whether it’s a link to the sales page or simply to a vote or stats analysis – whatever you want to achieve the CTA is the main way of making this happen. Bury them away in small and difficult to find places and you won’t be achieving your potential.

Test, measure and re-design often

Once your site is live and operating, that is far from the end of the story. Like a high-performance car, you need to keep tweaking and testing your site to make sure everything is running the way it should. You can’t afford to have bad links or pages not working. In healthcare, everything depends on your reputation for reliability. So, use the tools at your disposal to make sure it is all working the way it should. Analyse, test and make the necessary changes to ensure your site is running at top speed. And if you need help to do this, then get in touch with a healthcare website and app development company.

Your website is the front end of the business. It is the way your users perceive your whole operation to be. So, you need to make sure that it is absolutely on point. Everything from the color scheme to the branding needs to make sense. Healthcare is changing, but the fundamentals remain the same. People need reliable, informative and easy to access services that can help them to solve their issues. Focus on these goals and you can develop a site that really works.

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It doesn’t matter what the nature of your business is these days, you need a website in order to maximise your potential. Short of having the required skills to design and develop your own web platform, you’re almost certainly going to need the services of a web development company. But how do you go about choosing the right website design agency to help you meet all your online needs?

Finding a web development service that understands your requirements and can deliver the best solutions within your budget is not always easy. But use our following top tips and you’ll increase your chances of finding developers who are a good match for your brand, budget and working methods.

Work out what kind of site you want

Before deciding to work with any other design partners, you need to have at least some idea of the kind of site you need. Will you need an ecommerce platform to sell direct to customers or is the site purely for information? Will you need a contact form or chat bot service? Do you need a site with responsive design and will you need web hosting? You need to think about all these things and they will help to inform your decision.

How much support do you need?

As well as working out what kind of site you want, you also need to think about how much support you need from a web development company. Is it just a site design you need or do you require a much more intensive level of support? For example, will you need ongoing web hosting? Do you require assistance to set up websites, chat portals and more? Will you require ongoing maintenance or content creation? These are all questions you need to ask yourself before looking for a web design agency.

Portfolio

Once you have an idea in mind of the kind of site that you need you should look at the portfolio of any website design company that you’re considering working with. This will give you a greater insight into the work they do and the type of clients they work with. If possible, try to choose an agency that has worked with similar clients to your own business. That way you can be sure that they understand the needs and challenges you face on a day-to-day basis.

Social media presence and website

As well as the work they have done for other businesses, you can tell a lot about any agency by looking at their own website and social media presence. Look at their Facebook or Twitter accounts and try to get a feel for their personality, check reviews and see if you can see any feedback. This should also give you more of an idea of the kind of company they are, how they operate and whether they will be a good fit for your business.

See the bigger picture

Of course, the main goal of your project may be to establish or renew your web presence. But you should also try and see this as part of a bigger marketing strategy. The website will be the face of the company online and is an essential tool for marketing, but it is also just one piece of your marketing plan. As well as the look and functionality of your site, you need to be asking questions about other marketing features such as search engine optimisation, blog outreach, interaction, communication and more.

Cost

Of course, the bottom line is always the bottom line when it comes to any business decision. However, what you should really be focused on is value rather than cost. Yes, you need to have a realistic budget, but you should also shy away from scrimping on your online presence.

Try to find web development services that offer great value, providing all the services you need for the cost. You may need to be willing to sacrifice some things in order to get value, particularly around showy or flashy web designs. What you really need is functionality. You need a site designed with the user experience at its core component. All the flashy design elements can be an unnecessary cost. Ultimately your money should be spent on a site that’s easy to navigate and provides great content.

Problem solving

Great web design and marketing is not easy and you will inevitably come up against a number of problems throughout the process. You need to try and identify designers who are skilled problem solvers and who can find ways to overcome the obstacles and hurdles you encounter. The capacity for developers to be successful trouble shooters is very important. So, try and ask for examples and instances when they’ve been able to find positive solutions.

Communication

Any kind of successful collaboration is all about effective communication. How your partner expresses their ideas and how well they are able to understand your point of view are essential for developing a successful project. If they’re slow to respond or communicate poorly from the outset, this is a sure sign that there are going to be issues along the way.

Professionalism

The way a development company behaves, communicates and performs should always be professional. With any luck your business will be able to build good relationships for an ongoing project, but these should always be defined within professional boundaries.

Industry knowledge

No one knows your industry better than you, so it’s unlikely that a development team is going to fully understand what you do and how you operate. But if they have experience in your industry or demonstrate that they will make a big effort to work closely with you then you stand a much better chance of getting the kind of site you need. The more they understand your operation the more they will be in tune with the requirements of your site, so any developer who takes the time to get to know you is one who’s going about things the right way.

Follow all the above top tips and you should be able to find web developers and designers who understand what you need and how to deliver it. Take the time to understand your needs and requirements first, and this will make the process easier. And do your research in the right way and you can create working relationships that have a big impact on the future success of your business. Finding the right partner doesn’t always have to be difficult.

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During the first few years of running a salon, you need to generate a positive cash flow while facing high overhead costs and an inconsistent revenue stream. This is not an easy task!

Financing the ebb and flow of a salon traditionally required taking out bank loans. That is assuming that the bank approved your loan for an infusion of liquidity to keep your salon moving forward.

These days obtaining money from traditional lending sources, such as banks, is becoming increasingly difficult. Thus many salon owners, like you, are searching for alternative methods to finance their salon operations.

Here are the major overhead costs for operating a salon:

• Payroll
• Equipment
• Inventory
• Real Estate

Unfortunately, many banks consider beauty salons to be high-risk investments. Similar to a restaurant, a beauty salon is highly vulnerable to the state of the economy.

Decreases in consumer purchasing power lead to fewer visits to salons for not only nail and facial services, but also basic services such as haircuts. Salons typically require several years to build up a loyal base of customers. If a salon cannot receive approval for one of the best loans for beauty salons, how does a salon weather the inevitable financial storm?

The answer lies in seeking funding from alternative sources.

The Best New Ways to Finance Your Salon in 2018

From purchasing new equipment to making payroll during the slower months of the year, raising capital for operating a salon requires outside the box financial thinking.

Alternative Online Loans

Over the past decade, the online lending industry has grown enough to compete with traditional brick and mortar lenders. Online lender Kabbage approves loan amounts between $2,000 and $250,000, which offers your salon the liquidity it needs to pay taxes or expand the size of the building where you conduct business.

Repayment terms run between six and 12 months, with no origination or account maintenance fees. Funding takes up to two days, which makes the online lender ideal for salons that require emergency cash.

Fundbox operates a different type of online lender model. The user-friendly system, which you can run on a mobile phone app, processes cash advances that your salon pays back by transferring unpaid customer invoices.

Connected to your accounting software and business checking account, the automated system used by Fundbox increases the productivity of your salon. You spend less time crunching numbers and more time developing a regular customer base.

Merchant Cash Advance

When you need money to pay for unexpected expenses, a merchant cash advance provides the capital you need to keep the business door open.

Merchant cash advances work best for small businesses that generate most of its revenue from debit and credit card sales. Retail businesses like salons can go hours per day without ringing up a cash sale.

Merchant cash advance providers approve access to money in return for a percentage of future sales or weekly withdrawals from the salon bank account.

Rollover for Business Startup

You are aware that taking money out of a retirement account such as a 401K generates substantial penalties and tax charges. However, a rollover for business startup (ROBS) represents a creative option to tap into a 401K for a cash infusion to improve the financial health of your salon.

You do not have to pay an early withdrawal penalty or any taxes on the money withdrawn. Setting up a ROBS typically requires the expertise of a certified financial planner that specializes in helping small business owners acquire more liquidity.

Accounts Receivable Financing

For a salon, cash flow gaps occur for several reasons. Sales decline after holidays such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Summer can usher in a period of slow sales as well. If your salon experiences a deficit caused by declining sales and an increase in expenses, accounts receivable financing might be the alternative way to finance your salon in 2018.

Lenders analyze your salon’s financial metrics not only to decide whether to approve accounts receivable financing, but also to determine how much money to approve. kabbage is an excellent account receivable financing option for salon owners.

Does Invoice Financing Work for Salons?

Your salon has a short window between approving a credit card and receiving the cash derived from the credit card sale. Does this mean invoice financing is not for salon owners?

Also referred to as factoring, invoice financing involves lenders approving cash advances up to 80% of your outstanding invoices. Many salon owners have company accounts, which send several customers to the salon from the same company.

Payment for the entire account occurs during an established billing cycle, which usually lasts 30 days. If you have numerous company accounts and you have to wait up to a month to receive payment for the accounts, then invoice financing is a viable option to finance your salon in 2018.

So, what is the next thing for you should do after having a beauty salon registered under your name. Well, the best thing you can to do is to get a salon website designed or a salon mobile application developed by the Online Salon Design Development Team. This for sure will get you close with your customers, get new clients, over all the better and bigger saloon business.

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If you are striving towards becoming a successful business owner and want an event that can help boost your business, I don’t see any reason why you should miss a tech and web event. As a business owner, there are so many great ways you can benefit from attending events like these.

Attending a tech event is one of the fastest ways to boost your business and also another way to stay up to date in the tech world. Just one event or conference can bring a positive turn-around in your business.

If you are still doubting whether to attend any upcoming tech and web event in your community or city, I want to share with you 10 reasons you should attend and how it can boost your business.

1. You Are Updated About Coming Trends

No matter how knowledgeable and current you are at your business, you can’t be able to predict or be up-to-date about every coming trend in your niche. We are in the technological times where technologies are changing the way businesses operate.

There is one thing that is constant and that is change. There are some changes that can take place in your market space that can be so costly and can destroy your business if you are caught unaware.

Attending events like these where smart and like-minded people are gathered is one way to stay updated about coming trend so you don’t get caught unaware and end up losing your market share to your competitors because they did attend such events and were prepared for such changes.

Also, there is no one better to get information from than from the person speaking at the podium. These people are regarded as professionals, experts or leaders in the tech and web industry.

These kinds of events provide you access to expert speakers who will help turn your business around positively in terms of providing you with useful information you will need to move forward in your business.

You will agree with me that keeping up with technological change involves significant research and time which you as a business owner doesn’t have. Attending such events exposes you to the latest changes that can help you save cost, time and boost your business.

From experience, many big companies like SpaceX do announce their biggest new projects at these kinds of events which business owners can take advantage of. You don’t want to miss out, do you?

2. For Networking Purpose

There is so much to an event than just sitting and listening to the expert speak. Business is not just about what you know but who you know. Events such as these create rooms for networking with other business owners in the tech and web industry.

Web Summit is the largest tech conference in the world attracting world’s top tech experts to come speak. Web Summit do host event annually with over 50,000 attendees and over 400 speakers. You can particularly go to such event to network if listening to what they have to say is not important to you.

With over 50,000 attendees, you have the golden opportunity to connect with smart people like you. You can make connections during break time after a session and exchange contacts. You can never tell; you may find yourself sitting next to your future supplier or customer.

Moreover, people you meet in these events can end up becoming a great source of business referral or open you to new opportunities.

3. Meet with Investors

Apart from making connections with valuable prospects, you can also meet with investors who are looking for profitable ventures to invest their money in. If you are one of those business owners looking for investors that will invest into your business, here is why you should attend these events.

Most tech and web events usually invite investors and do create pitch sessions for business owners to utilize. This is one way to raise fund for your business to boost your business if you need one.

Aside from pitching your business idea to investors, you can still keep close contact with them for future purposes.

Tech conference like Web Summit does have a program called “Office Hour”. This program helps to connect business owners with investors for a 15-minutes meeting and most startups have closed a lot of deals with this opportunity.

If at last, you don’t get to win any investor, you see get to learn from others that did and also know what you did wrong.

Not still convince why you should attend these events to boost your business? Not to worry, I have more for you.

4. Inspiration

This is one benefit of attending these kinds of events. Entrepreneurship is a lonely road and most times we all get so isolated that what we need is some little inspiration to fell inspired, refreshed and energized to carry on.

The idea and concept that is always been shared on tech and web events are incredibly exciting. Hearing the achievement of others can inspire you to want to do more and apply their strategy to your business.

The inspiration you get from these events will challenge you to become more productive which can lay the foundation for growth. Attending these events can introduce you to inspiring people you would want to connect with for their inspiration.

Many business owners have come back from events like these with new ideas, creativity, and innovation for their business. If you are looking for a life-changing experience to boost your business, you should never miss these events.

5. You Become a Thought Leader

With lots of experience and information that will be gotten from these events, you automatically become a thought leader in your niche or industry. Some of these events come with a certificate from programs you can attend while at the event if it is not a 1-day event.

The speakers at these events are among the best in their industry. Learning from them by listening and jotting down means you are duplicating their brain which normally is not easy to access anywhere except these kind of events.

What you will learn will not only take you out of your comfort zone but, will raise your perspective about your business and the industry at large.

When top leaders discover that you attend these events regularly, they will want to invite you as a keynote speaker at their own event because they believe you must have learned something and you have enough to share with their audience. This alone position you as an authority in your industry.

As usual, when you become a thought leader or an authority in your industry, other top business owners and investors will know you and want to connect with you. You may eventually end up as a speaker in any Web Summit event or other large tech events.

6. You Are Introduce to New Tools which can Boost your Business

At any tech or web event, companies always have new tools that you have not seen before to display whether at the expo floor or few tables near your coffee table.

Most times it is either an App or a new productivity gadget. Sometimes a software. Companies will give you access to these new tools to try and see if you will like any. Some just came for user’s experience and feedback to know if they should push further and launch the product.

Though, you can easily hear of new tech tools online if you are subscribed to any tech site for updates. But, these events give you the access to try the product right there. You may even be the first to know and use a product before it goes viral giving you an edge over your competitors.

These companies have representatives who will always educate you on the importance of their products to your business and how it can help boost your business.

7. You Get Solution to Problems

As an entrepreneur, I understand that there are sometimes some problems that require out-of-the-box thinking and most times we don’t get to know the solution ourselves. These events can offer you the opportunity to address any challenges you may be experiencing in your business.

During the Q & A session, you will be given the chance to ask questions that you need clarity to regarding your business and you will be given the perfect answer to your questions.

Aside from the question to answer method of getting solutions to your problems, you can network with experienced professionals who may help you out if you are a shy person that find it difficult to talk in public.

8. You Have Got Nothing to Lose

An event with so many activities? You have nothing to lose I tell you. No matter what industry you are, there is something I guaranty that you must pick up at these events.

You can be introduced to a software that you can use in your business which can help you save time, cost and boost your business.

They are so many potential benefits such as;

With thought leaders sharing their amazing success stories, secrets to business growth and success, you can’t tell me you will be wasting your time attending these events. It is definitely impossible!

9. You Are Investing in Yourself

Whether you are going for networking purpose, inspiration, to get updates on upcoming trends, meeting with investors, or just to get yourself away from your hustle, attending these events means you are investing in yourself.

I know somehow I have covered it above but I just have to make it separate so you see it alone and get the message differently.

Attending these events is an investment in your business, in yourself and in your employees. This is because, during the course of working with them on some projects, you will be teaching and sharing with them some vital things they need to know to become more productive.

If only you can see it this way, you will want to carry your top executives along so they too can upgrade their knowledge.

10. The Energy of Like-Minded People

Lastly, attending these events can ignite energy in you when you see lot of people with like mindset and energy sitting close to you striving to learn and be better. When you discover that you are not alone in the quest for knowledge, it motivates you to grow and challenge yourself in your business.

You can’t get this energy from an online event no matter the app or software used to host the event. The atmosphere at these events enlighten your spirit and you will be praying it doesn’t end.

With this same energy, as you go back to your office, productivity is increase and you start evaluating your business to see if you are on the right track as you don’t want to be behind.

Are you still doubting if you should attend these events to boost your business? I know you are not because with the above reasons I have shared, you have now seen what you must have been missing not attending these events.

All the reasons explained above are very beneficial to your business if you are looking at boosting your business.

Be on the lookout for any of these events so you don’t miss any update on coming event. You can subscribe to any sites that can be getting you updated for such kind of events.

Contact us for any mobile and web development services.

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