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You’ve probably gotten used to my simple blog posts for regular followers of this blog. Today, I have decided to touch on the more technical stuff. I will simplify data masking to the best of my ability.    What is Data Masking? Data masking is the process of modifying sensitive data to be of no or little value to unauthorized intruders while still being usable by software or authorized personnel. It is a data-security practice that uses encryption, tokenization, and data obfuscation to create data that appears different from data that an individual did not mask. In data masking, masked data replaces the original data. The masked data contains similar characteristics but cannot compromise security. Some experts use the terms data masking and data obfuscation interchangeably. History  Data masking started in the 1990s as a data security best practice that evolved from […]

Mobile apps aren’t a new development in the modern-day technological space. However, there is a renewed conversation concerning their role in business and society day by day. Therefore, there is a lot to discuss mobile apps. As I was brainstorming what to write about concerning mobile apps, as there’s a lot to discuss, I got my light bulb moment. A client sent me an e-mail. He wanted to know whether, aside from a website, it’s necessary to develop a mobile app for his laundry business. It isn’t the first time a client was unsure whether mobile apps were necessary to achieve their business goals. Whether mobile apps would give their business competitive advantage is always doubt. In addition, companies, including mine, strive to achieve their goals at minimum cost. Therefore, it would be a waste of resources investing in developing […]

Logos are essential for a company’s brand identity. When I mention brand identity, I refer to the visible features that clients identify as your business. They include colours, slogans, shapes that distinguish one’s business from the competitor’s business. When establishing your brand, you initially want your clients to identify and differentiate your products and services from competitors. You then wish your clients to be loyal to that brand and, after that, satisfy your clients by consistently offering the expected quality. You can check my previous post on brand consistency and the steps I took to achieve it. The logo is vital in constantly growing your brand, and today, I will highlight the logo design process I follow to meet clients’ needs. Research The first step of the logo design process, in my opinion, is always research. Some suggest that consultative […]

Reviews in e-commerce are an essential feature of e-commerce websites. E-commerce, best understood as commercial transactions done across the internet, has experienced steady growth over the past few years. The increasing penetration and reducing internet costs in developed and developing countries have contributed to this continued growth. Recent estimates suggest that e-commerce’s share of global retail trade rose from 14% in 2019 to about 17% in 2020. In addition, recent studies indicate that there will be 2.14 billion international digital buyers in 2021. This is out of an estimated 7.87 billion people. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more businesses have opted to invest in purchasing their goods and services online. This is why companies that intend to transact online should always include the reviews and ratings on their websites. UNDERSTANDING YOUR CLIENT AND MARKETING INSIGHTS The client is always […]

The Frequently Asked Questions Page or FAQs page is an essential element of your website. We are aware that some have a difference of opinion as to its importance. However, at Softlink Options, we always recommend that clients include the FAQs page on their website. We will give reasons why below. However, before you proceed, ensure you check out some of our previous articles on critical elements of a website and tips to protect your website. Okay, now that you’ve done that, let us give you our reasons behind why we are big advocates of the Frequently Asked Questions Page. Customer Satisfaction There is a standard business cliché; the client is king; therefore, we make business decisions to meet the customer needs. Often, there are general queries that every client will have before they buy your product or service. It […]

First of all, let me wish all of you a Happy New Year. The past two years have been very challenging as we adjusted to new ways of working and living. I sincerely wish you have sailed through the new year healthy and well-motivated to achieve your 2022 business goals. As you begin setting up your websites to leverage the internet, there are specific vital questions to ask your web developer. I will discuss five of the most critical. How long will the web development process take? This is one of the most critical questions to ask your web developer as it serves both the client and service provider. The web developer should analyze the scale of the job; the amount of text, images and features on the website determines the scale of the job. More pictures and text will […]

As mentioned previously, affiliate marketing is when an organization will pay commission to an affiliate to promote their products through a website, blog, email, or social media. It has become a common trend for organizations to engage in affiliate marketing to leverage the internet. In the US, affiliate marketing spending is expected to reach $8.2 billion by 2022, compared to $5.4 billion in 2017. Therefore, it isn’t wrong to conclude that it is a thriving industry with a lot of room and opportunity for growth. Marketers who have understood the proper techniques and principles have raked in enough income to sustain and grow their businesses. There are several assumptions of affiliate marketing. That will be a discussion for a later date. Today, I will focus on common affiliate marketing mistakes people make as they begin their journey. Not having sufficient […]

Affiliate marketing is when an organization will pay commission to an affiliate to promote their products through a website, blog, email, or social media. Affiliates mostly use the same internet marketing methods that regular companies use, such as Search Engine Optimization, Email marketing, social media marketing etc.  Affiliate marketing is a very low-risk, low-reward business. Most of the time, all a salesperson needs is a blog or a YouTube channel. To understand affiliate marketing better, let me use an example. As a salesperson, you are interested in selling body creams. Therefore, you begin a skincare blog to attract potential clients. After that, you give them a link to an online retail store like Amazon to buy their skincare products. The Amazon website’s cookies trace the link back to the blog, and the salesperson earns their commission.  It has increasingly become […]

Web traffic is the amount of data visitors send and receive to a website. Tracking web traffic is the act of monitoring and evaluating the visitor’s data on your website. It is critical in determining whether clients are interested in your products or services. With the growth of the internet, websites have become an essential facet for most companies. A company without a website has limited growth as there are only so many clients a company can attract physically. The internet offers exponential growth to forward-thinking companies that take advantage of it. Many clients often wonder about the most critical data to monitor on your websites. Below is a summary of the vital information when tracking web traffic. Pages Per Visit Many websites comprise several pages that contain different company information. First, the Home page summarises all the company’s products […]