Post pobrano z: Why Website Designers Need to Create Visual Dashboards for Their Clients

Website design clients need visuals to fully understand results. The most obvious example of this is that you can’t just tell a client their website has been built and it looks great – they need to see it for themselves.

When you’re helping web clients get results with marketing, sales, and SEO, looking at raw data won’t tell them much. Your web clients rely on you to tell them what the information means.

Raw data is useless without context

Raw data is important, but it doesn’t mean anything until it gets processed and analyzed within a specific context. One way to help clients see the meaning of data is to design a visual dashboard for their project.

With a visual dashboard, you can display information through helpful charts, graphs, and other visual elements. Everything the client sees will have already been processed and presented in a specific context.

For example, one graph might display their conversion rate as a percentage, which is derived from their visitor count and sales. Knowing their conversion rate makes it easy to set a goal to increase their conversions.

If you just tell your clients how many sales and visitors they get each month, they’ll struggle to create a worthwhile goal.

Giving clients raw data can move them in the wrong direction

Do you give clients reports with raw numbers pulled from all their accounts? Sometimes creating reports with a bunch of numbers seems like the right thing to do. Clients deserve to know everything about their progress, right?

While clients do need to know where they stand, raw data isn’t going to tell them where they stand for several reasons.

The complexity of raw data can be overwhelming for clients. No matter how much information a client wants, they won’t get that information from raw data. All raw data needs to be processed into useful information and interpreted.

Some clients won’t know what to do with raw data, but others might start making the wrong moves. For instance, when a client sees raw traffic data, they might start trying to generate more traffic when they really just need to convert more of their existing traffic.

In light of a low conversion rate, many people mistakenly believe they need more traffic. However, most of the time, conversion rates are low because the target audience is wrong or the sales copy needs work. The solution is to generate targeted traffic, not generate more traffic.

A visual dashboard will communicate what’s important

When you’re dealing with traffic, many clients become fixated on inflating traffic numbers. Ultimately, traffic doesn’t matter – conversions matter. If they’re not converting at 100%, traffic isn’t their problem.

It’s better to display a conversion rate alongside traffic and sales stats. When a client knows their conversion rate is 5%, and they’re generating 10,000 visitors per month, it will be clear that 95% of their visitors aren’t buying. This will help them see the value in increasing their conversion rate.

Visual dashboards are highly customizable

Visual dashboards can be customized however you want and can be as simple or complex as you’d like. Most dashboard applications come with pre-made templates that you can modify by swapping out or eliminating widgets. Or, you can use a drag-and-drop feature to build your own dashboard from scratch.

Visual dashboards can be simple, yet useful

Sometimes clients don’t want to know all of the details. When they’ve hired other people to do the work, they just want to know progress is being made. For these clients, a simplified visual dashboard is ideal.

For clients with simple needs, you can skip displaying minutia like daily/weekly/monthly email signups, various PPC stats like cost-per-click, and new Facebook fans.

Instead, construct a basic dashboard to display broad, important figures like daily/monthly/weekly/yearly revenue, returns, and SEO rankings for their top 10 keywords.

Remember to secure your clients’ dashboards

However you create your clients’ dashboards, remember to secure them from public view. If you use an application to build a dashboard, make full use of their security features.

If you create your own dashboards by embedding data, make sure you password-protect the directory where the dashboard is located. Better yet, add another layer of security by requiring a username and password to access the webpage.

Give clients what they need through visual dashboards

Your clients deserve to see their most important stats in an easy-to-use visual interface. If you haven’t yet, start creating visual dashboards to help your web clients set and achieve important goals.

Post pobrano z: Valuable Heritage: How to Care for Vintage Photographic Collections

Do you have old photos of your loved ones that you would like to store in good condition for years? Well, of course you do. Everybody has photographs they cherish. This especially applies to older, vintage photos from our childhood, or the childhood of our parents. Relatives and family friends who have passed away can be remembered through these images. Unfortunately, old paper photos can be easily damaged. But there are certain ways to help them shine for years. This article discusses the most effective methods to prolong the lives of precious memories.

The delicate nature of vintage photographs

Print photos are easily susceptible to damage. They are responsive to many physical conditions.

Damage can occur to your vintage photos regardless of whether they are antique Victorian shots, or family images from the 1980s and 1990s. All photos developed on traditional photographic paper will deteriorate with time. What can be done to prevent this deterioration?

5 ways to preserve vintage photographs for future generations

1. Controlling humidity in air. The air in which your photographs are stored affects them and how long they last. A high level of moisture can create the growth of mold, make your photos stick to each other causing tearing and damage, or it can cause photographic boards to warp. The lack of humidity can cause brittles and cracks. Try to avoid storing your images in your cellar or attic. These places can be either very damp or very dry. Do not store your photos in a kitchen or bathroom either. Try to avoid hanging them on north facing walls as these are often colder than other walls. Also, do not store them at floor level.

2. Changes in temperature and storing at a high temperature. Try to store your vintage photos in a cooler part of your home, not in damp areas as stated above. A higher temperature will lead to your photos falling apart, and it also incubates many insects that will happily feast on your images. Try to keep them as cool as possible without leading to damp conditions. This will help preserve your precious photographs.

3. Digitally scanning and upscaling images. Perhaps the best way to preserve treasured and delicate images for future generations is to create digital copies of the photos. Most all-in-one printers are low-cost and feature a digital photographic scanner. It may take a few hours to digitize a large collection, but the benefits are incredible.

   Not only will you be able to view digital versions, but you will have the ability to post these memories on social media or websites, and use them within any digital or physical design elements you create. By utilizing an online photo upscaler, you can enhance the quality of these old images to be in line with your digital photographs. The flexibility and durability of this method make it an extremely attractive prospect.

   You can use many types of software to digitize your photograph collection, from free apps to more expensive ones. PC Magazine has a whole article dedicated to methods of digitizing your old pictures.

4. Keep your vintage photos away from direct light. Light, in particular bright sunlight, is a nemesis to old photographs. The original method of creating these photographic prints in the past included light, but prolonged exposure to light can cause the photos to lighten and fade. This slowly destroys photographs.

   Light that is high in the ultraviolet spectrum damages your precious photos more than other types of light. So, it’s better to avoid fluorescent lamps. You can store your photos in boxes, therefore in darkness, or you can also fit ultraviolet filtering glass to your photo frames. Unfortunately, light can make photos brittle, and this damage is irreversible.

5. Keep away from chemicals and pollutants. A pollutant, in relation to the preservation of photographic images, can be skin cells, hair and fibres, dust, as well as pollen spores that cause abrasion, attract dirt, insects, or mold. They can also be particles from aerosol sprays. Micro-fibre cloths and vacuum cleaners can be extremely effective at removing dust.

Conclusion

Beautiful works of art and priceless family memories can be found in vintage photographs. However, they need to be properly cared for and stored in order for future generations to cherish and appreciate them as much as we do.

Following the advice above will extend the life of your precious photos, and scanning them will also prepare them for a variety of uses . Vintage photography is a tangible connection to the past that needs to be preserved.

Post pobrano z: How to protect data while using board software?

When it comes to storing and sharing sensitive data online the topic of security is extremely important.

Paperless meeting solution helps reduce the security risk around the physical loss of documents, and other targeted attacks that aim to get access to sensitive organizational board information.

Recognizing the risks associated with potential data leakage allows the board members to determine whether it’s worth allocating resources for board management software. Before integrating a board portal into your organization, you should first learn about which documents will be shared within the platform and most importantly about security features and certifications the virtual board software should have.

What kind of documents should be protected in the board portal

The virtual board software is a place where you can share different types of documentation depending on which is the most relevant. Here are the main types of documentation that can be uploaded into the board portal:

• Committee reports and white papers
• Meeting agendas and resolutions, which may include:
  • Corporate performance
  • Strategy, budgets, and R&D
  • Acquisitions and business portfolio adjustments
  • Executive compensation
  • Regulatory, legal compliance, and government relations and policies, etc
• Reports with sensitive information and strategic operational plans
• The results of voting on specific questions and analyst reports
• Advanced reports with the statistics about all the documents within the board portal
• Investor presentations
• Risk management reports
• Remuneration policies
• External audit results

The majority of internal documentation shared within board management software should be protected in the most reliable way. Luckily, board portals offer safe solutions where documents can be shared without any fears.

How exactly board portals are protecting the user information

It’s crucial to keep the board members informed about the importance of data protection and compliance. It can be challenging, however, it’s worth adding the topic of privacy to the agenda to effectively communicate the organization’s needs to implement a sustainable privacy program. When using an online board meeting platform, it’s important to know the main factors of data protection this software uses:

• Access management. Board portal software provides various access management features so that the admins of the portal can have full control over the file exchange within the platform.

• Different access levels for different people. The most secure board management software offers custom-permission settings. Administrators of the board portal can give users access to view, edit, or delete files. Also, only certain individuals can have access to the documents within the portal depending on their roles and existing board structure.

• Encryption of the data. Data within virtual board software is encrypted using 256-bit SSL/TLS protocol and using RSA 2048-bit keys encryption. Encryption of data ensures that board information remains secure even if it gets to the wrong people. With robust encryption methodologies for the confidentiality of data, documents shared through secure board portals are fully protected by access controls and users’ unique decryption keys.

• ISO certification. The board management software has to stay on top of constantly changing security regulations and laws, as it serves as a matter of good governance. The ISO 27001 certification shows that a cloud-based or SaaS board portal provider meets the global security standard for managing data security. That includes all data assets that are entrusted to the organization like for example board-related information. Users of the ISO 27001 certified board portal can be assured that they are using a trustworthy provider with the needed infrastructure, systems, and policies to ensure data protection.

• Remote locking. This is a restriction of access to files after they have been shared. You can also revoke file access permission across all devices users used to sign into the board portal.

• E-signature. Getting information approved by directors has become much easier with e-signatures. You can send documents for board meetings and get them immediately approved, as directors get an email notification about the request.

• Multi-factor authentication. It protects user data in the virtual boardroom, as besides a strong password this feature requires a texted code. Multi-factor authentication prevents your data from being accessed by an unauthorized third party, which has access to a password.

With these security practices, you can be sure that with your paperless meeting solution you will be able to effectively manage threats and vulnerabilities and prevent costly data breaches.

Conclusion

Security should always stay a top priority when it comes to managing an organization’s confidential information. That’s why it’s essential that the virtual board software you choose for managing board director meetings follows strict security standards.

The boardroom compliance with data protection and privacy regulations will prevent your organization from data breaches and unexpected leaks of critical information. It’s important to pay attention to data security, as there are many data breach risks you may face. However, by using security features and checking data protection practices that the virtual boardroom offers, you can share your information, be sure that it’s protected, and the risks of data leakage are minimized.