NWTC College of Business

October 8, 2024October 8, 2024

Top 5 Reasons to Choose Shopify?

Are you looking for the last reason as to why you should choose Shopify over something free? Well here are 5 more reasons why you should choose Shopify.

Price:

Money is always the first thing that comes to mind when you are going to start a business. How much is this going to cost? So the last thing that you may want to do is pay for someone else to do something that you could be doing for free. Before looking further, you probably assumed that Shopify was going to charge you an arm and a leg. But the major benefit of paying Shopify is that it is only going to cost you $5/month. You are probably like no way is this real. Well since you are a small business that is just starting out on Instagram, this is exactly how much it is going to cost you. This is Shopify’s Starter Plan that easily allows you to set up payments right through your messaging app. To dive deeper into what the full details are, you can click the link directly below!

https://www.shopify.com/starter

Customizable Website:

Shopify offers you artistic freedom when it comes to customizing the website that you are looking for and one that shares the brand that looks and sounds exactly like what you are trying to portray. You can edit the free themes that they offer, otherwise, you can extra fees for some of the other themes that they offer. This is also a no-code website builder, so you won’t have to worry about any of the back-end formality of setting up your website.

24/7 Support Team:

You are able to put your mind at ease when it comes to needing help. Shopify offers a support team that is there for you 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. So if there is ever anything that you need help with you can call their support team and someone will help you with your issue. Not only do they provide a support team, but you can hire someone from the support team to help you build your website if you are struggling with how or where to start. They can also recommend some of their resources like webinars, blog posts, and online courses that are free to use.

Buy Wholesale:

Shopify offers an online wholesale marketplace that you can use to discover and buy new products that will help make your brand stand out. Often times it is hard to find the wholesaler that fits exactly what you are trying to find in a product and this website will help expedite that process. This is also great for someone who is just starting out, so they can find good quality wholesalers that others might have already reviewed. To learn more about buying wholesale with Shopify, you can visit the website below.

https://apps.shopify.com/faire-buy-wholesale

Logo Creation and Business Name:

Shopify also offers a great program that you can use to create a logo. It takes you through a process that will help to design the logo for your business. It will ask you a couple of questions like what kind of business you are, the name and slogan, and what kind of vibe you are looking for, and then it will generate ideas for you. You are able to choose one and customize it a little further if it is not exactly what you are looking for, like colors and shapes, moving things around a little. Then finally you are able to download it and it gives you ways that you can use this logo. Shopify also offers an AI-generated system to help you come up with the name for your business if you are struggling. You can enter details about your future business into the search bar and it will populate names for you to test out.

October 8, 2024

WooCommerce VS. Shopify

Are you interested in starting an online store, keep on reading to decide if you should go with WooCommerce or if you are someone who will get my use out of Shopify?

WooCommerce:

WooCommerce is a free extension or plug-in that you can add to your website to turn it into an online store. You are able to sell just about anything from simple products, and customizable items, to downloadable items. The opportunities are endless. WooCommerce is also extremely customizable, you are able to change/tweak so many different aspects of the site to match the exact aesthetic you are going for. Having this customizational freedom, you are also able to connect with customers on a much deeper level, by providing exactly what they are looking for. You will also be able to provide an easy journey as they are shopping through your site. And finally, because WooCommerce is an open source you can take your data anywhere with you, no matter where your business may take you. You will always have complete access to the date and make necessary changes when needed. And may I remind you, up to this point everything has been free! Now there are some aspects that you can add on, for a price. They offer themes for an annual purchase, so many additional extensions at a wide variety of prices based on what you may be looking for. And so many other things, it is really up to you as to what customizations you are looking for.

Shopify:

Shopify is a major site that does many different things. There are so many of your favorite sites/brands that use Shopify, they are probably one of the most well-known companies in the website business. They offer just about everything under the sun, from starting up your business to selling, marketing, and managing. There are also different price levels for what kind of business you are. The major difference between something like WooCommerece and something like Shopify is that you are paying for much more utilization. Shopify offers monthly and annual payments for solo entrepreneurs, small teams, something for as your business grows, and a complex business.

Each section dives into what it provides, but we will just be looking at the solo entrepreneur section since that is what I am. The cost associated with this is $39/month. As you can see off the left here, many things come along with this plan. This plan also comes with a free trial, so you are able to test it out to see if this is really something you are interested in purchasing.

Shopify also promotes that it has the “World’s best checkout,” converting 15% better than any other commerce site. It also offers in-person selling for each of its business types. You will be able to sell on a diverse amount of platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Shopify also provides you with an extremely in-depth analytics report so you can see where you are succeeding and what areas may need some help.

How to Decide:

If you are an independent person and someone who likes to do things on their own, with full creative power, and it doesn’t cost you a lot of money. Then WooCommerce is going to be the pathway for you.

If you are someone who likes to be creative but likes a helping hand once in a while. You appreciate when something is simple and straightforward. And you don’t mind paying a little extra so that you don’t have to do as much work? Then Shopify is going to be the one for you!

October 8, 2024

All-In-One Security Review

All-In-One Security (AIOS) is the plug-in that I choose to protect my site. I chose this plug-in because it was highly rated on the plug-in site right within WordPress but then after visiting their website, I also noticed how highly rated they were on there. While I was reviewing their website I noticed how straightforward it was to set up, so I decided to install and activate it on my WordPress site.

I must say that it was super easy to activate, from what I could tell you just need to click the setup button that it first prompts you with, and then you should go into each section to make sure that it is doing exactly what you want it to do. Of course, I am only using the free version, so there are many things that I was not able to access. But below I will discuss what comes along with the free version and further into why this plug-in is the one that I choose for my site.

The main reason that I chose this plug-in was because it requires the use of strong passwords. they offer a tool that helps you to come up with a good and strong password to use. The second reason that I chose this plug-in was because it has a feature called login lockout. This feature limits the number of attempts for external users. This feature also can lock out users with invalid usernames. And lastly, it also offers unique administration accounts, they call this feature Role Specific Configuration. They require their Admin to have Two-Factor Identification so that others can’t log in to their role.

https://aiosplugin.com

October 8, 2024

Password Manager Comparison

After doing some research, the two password managers that I’ve decided to compare are 1Password and Dashlane. These were two highly rated managers from what I could tell. 1Password was higher rated than Dashlane in the particular article that I was reading, but when I did a simple search on the internet, 1Password was also one of the top “sponsored” applications.

Let’s dive a little deeper into these password managers so that we can get a good understanding of both and see which one you would choose over the other.

1Password:

The first one we will discuss is 1Password since it seems rated higher. The price of the tool depends on what you will be using it for, either business or personal. Since I would only be using it for myself, we will select personal. Then from this point, it is a family plan, costing $4.99 per month, or an individual plan, costing $2.99 per month. With both of these options, there is also a 14-day trial to test out and see if it is the password manager for you. One of the Pros of this password manager is that it is trusted by over 150,000 businesses such as Canva, Under Armour, Salesforce, and so many more. There are also plug-ins for this application, which makes it easy to generate and edit new passwords on the go. Another major pro for those who frequently travel internationally, or just travel in general, there is a feature called “Travel Mode” that you can switch on so that you can delete any sensitive data from your devices before you travel and then restore it with a click after you’ve crossed a border or gotten to your destination.

One of the main cons of 1Password is that they use combination keys to unlock your passwords. The first of the combination is your password, then the second is an addition;a generated secret key. While it may add an another layer of protection, it also means that in order to access your passwords your using something that you did not create.

The level of ease is very easy. It doesn’t seem complicated to get started and it is very nice that they offer a trial run. This makes it seems way less intimidating and if you were to try it and find that you did like it, to set up your payment is very simple. The site is also very straightforward as to what comes with your package that you choose.

https://1password.com

Dashlane:

The pricepoint of Dashlane also has a business and personal use, so like we did before we will just be looking at the personal use. This one is set up a little differently than 1Password. There is a free version, a premium version, and a family and friends version. Free is obviously free, but there is limited access with this version. The premium version is $4.99 per month and you get a much greater access. And finally the friends and family version costs $7.49 per month.

One of Dashlane’s biggest pros is that it now has a feature, that many other’s have addaptived since, that it can detected any stolen or leaked personal information. It will then aleart you so that you can either remove the data and/or change your passwords. Dashlane also offers a 30-day free trial to test out it’s offerings. Like 1Password it is among one of the most trusted password managers, and is used by companies such as Sephora, BBC Studios, AirFrance, Michelin, and so many more.

One of the main cons is that Dashlane doesn’t offer a desktop model for it’s application. You are only able to use it once you open a web browser. Another con is that you are only able to try out the 30 day free trial on the premium and on the business section, the business plan. For the business plus, you must request a demo.

Overall, the password manager seems incredibly user friendly and the site provides an abundance of information along with a chat bot for questions. They even provide a contact button at the top of their page if you were not able to find the answer that you were looking for.

https://www.dashlane.com

NWTC College of Business, IT, and Digital Arts Career Fair