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5 In-Demand App Development Languages Should Get to Know

The world of technology is a web-based world. Thus, the top five programming languages are internet programming languages used by most, if not all, of the apps and sites you visit from your devices.

Java

All Android apps are Java apps. Over ninety percent of corporate America uses Java to develop their business systems (Stackify). Java is based on C++ so by learning that language, you already have the fundamentals of Java in your arsenal. Java is platform-independent and is also one of the most secure languages, making it ideal for smart phone apps. The majority of all open programming jobs now require at least some Java.

JavaScript

JavaScript is the premier internet programming language. Nearly all websites utilize JavaScript. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the three pillars of the internet. JavaScript is likely to only grow in popularity as the internet continues to grow. React and AngularJS are structural front-end frameworks for adding dynamic logic to sites. If you can only learn one new language this year, learn JavaScript (JS). Angular JS JavaScript HTML framework courses are readily available online, so you are out of excuses.

C++

C++ is built on the C programming language. C++ is a more robust, object-oriented environment for intermediate level developers. C++ has a set of predefined classes that can be instantiated multiple times and inherited by other classes. Although not as popular as it once was, C++ is still a desired skill in over a quarter of the job market (IT Skills in a Tough Job Market).

C#

C# (C sharp) is used in a variety of ways. It is a Microsoft language that utilizes the Microsoft.NET framework. If you are a video game developer or aspiring video game developer, you should learn C and C#, as these are the two preferred languages in that industry. C# developers make up just slightly fewer than C++ developers in today’s IT job market.

Python

In the era of “big data,” it is a valuable skill to be able to perform data-mining and scientific computing. Python is a tried and true language that is well-known and capable of completing these tasks. As the desire for machine-learning grows, so will Python’s popularity. Python is easy to use and has been around since the early 90’s. It is an object-oriented, imperative, functional and procedural language. It is highly extensible and has a large standard library. It is also available on several different operating systems.

April 27, 2018
Congrats, You Have a Company Blog…Now What?

Congratulations! As part of growing your business and expanding your digital marketing strategy, you added a blog to the company site. Now all you need to do is decide what to write… Feeling the writer’s block yet? If you’re not sure how to connect with your audience on this new platform, here are some ideas to get you started.

Highlight the Highlights

Capitalize on business success by recapping it in your blog. If possible, connect a company highlight to a current event, either national or local. For example, if your business was named a top performer in its sector, and that sector is doing well on Wall Street, that could serve as a casual link to grab reader attention. Promotions, retirements, and other noteworthy events that are not confidential can be publicized on the blog to tout company personnel while piquing public interest.

Spoilers

If your company is planning an expansion, developing a new product, or moving to a new location, these are events worth mentioning on your blog. News that is not controversial or negative can help to build public relations for the business and keep the company name in the public eye, or at least those who find your company on the web. If your company plans to participate in an expo or send a speaker to a conference, that is worth mentioning, too.

You might also wish compare your company’s progress to that of local competitors — not in a mean-spirited way, but as a means of placing your company in context within the industry.

Brag a Little

Posting about how your company is involved in the community is a great way to connect with readers on a personal level. Whether it’s making a donation to the Little League team or offering space for the Girl Scouts to sell cookies, positive interactions and connections with the public make favorable impressions on readers. They appreciate reading blog posts about how the company gives back to the community that supports it, either through monetary donations or volunteer hours.

Many charitable organizations are happy to partner with businesses in exchange for a steady stream of volunteers. For example, the Humane Society of Greater Miami has a specific corporate volunteer program for this purpose.

Blog What You Know

Finally (and most importantly), keep it relevant. It may seem tempting to write a piece on whatever’s trending, but any traffic you attract is unlikely to linger on your site or help generate leads. Unless you can find a way to make that trendy thing tie in to your industry, stick to what you and your company do best. For example, this SEO company wrote an article explaining what they do to introduce readers to their services.

But First…They Need to be Able to Find You!

Speaking of SEO — there’s no point to having a blog if no one is reading it. Using search engine optimization (SEO) techniques like keyword research, meta titles, meta descriptions, and image alt text are basic ways to help people find your blog next time they do a Google search. Once they’ve landed on your domain, they may end up browsing the site itself and become interested in your products or services.

Need a little help getting your blog off the ground — or maybe updating your company site? Let Eleven Tree Media be your guide. Check out our FAQs here!

March 28, 2018
Sizing and Compressing Images for WordPress

We have been getting a lot of questions lately regarding image sizes for website design and WordPress posts so I decided to create a quick rundown regarding sizing and compressing images for WordPress. Oftentimes people simply upload an image into their WordPress media library without a second thought, not realizing that image size plays a huge part in website speed, SEO and overall optimization.

What Does Sizing and Compression Do For Me?

Sizing and compressing your images for WordPress has several benefits, but the two we want to focus on are site speed / load time and SEO… both of which are very important when it comes to the overall standing of your website. Google continues to penalize sites for slow load times and image issues. Sizing your images properly and then using some sort of compression plugin or online compression tool keeps your site speed up and makes sure your SEO optimization is on point.

High resolution images that are too big can really lower your page speed to the point where Google will start to hit you hard. Not to mention that the slower the site speed the less likely your visitors are to stay on your site. Wasting page speed and site resources is a great way to really push people away from your site.

Sizing and Compression Plugins and Online Tools

Basically you have a couple different ways to go here. You can either decide to get a WordPress image optimization plugin, or you can find and use one of several high quality online tools. I have done both, and while both have their advantages I have settled into using an online image compression tool that is fast, easy and free. Now, you may choose to go the plugin route for one reason or another. Depending on your situation and what all you are trying to accomplish with your images will determine what type of image compression plugin you use.

If you are interested in some of the best WordPress image optimization plugins available, then check out Raelene Morey’s “10 Best Image Optimization Plugins to Speed Up Your WordPress Site.” She has already laid out and given a ton of information on what she thinks are the best WordPress image optimization plugins.

When I work with clients and whenever I am teaching them how to configure images I usually always use an online tool called Tiny PNG. While there are other online tools available for this type of compression I have found Tiny PNG to be the best for what we are usually doing for clients. Not only is it very easy to use, but the tool always works and of course…. it is free, which obviously attracts a lot of people.

How To Size and Compress Images for WordPress

Let’s just go through the routine we use here more often than not at Eleven Tree Media. Unless you are using a huge image for some front page across site image, or huge header image for something, then you really don’t ever need to upload images that are any bigger than 1000px X 1000px… and that is pushing it. This goes for images used in everything… posts, pages, WooCommerce… etc.

Step 1: Image Sizing

Apple: Open your image up and size it down using your tool of choice. On a Mac you simply open the image in “Preview” and in toolbar area you will see a “Tools” option. Click on tools > adjust size and adjust the size accordingly. Again, anything over 1000px across is overdoing it and more often than not your image needs will be smaller. Once you adjust the size your image will be ready for compression.

PC: If you are using a PC there are a few different options, but the easiest way to size an image quickly is to follow the steps in the video below.

Step 2: Image Compression

At this point your image is now sized down and is ready for compression. Take the image or images you recently sized and head over to Tiny PNG You will immediately see where to drag and drop images. You simply drag your images into the drop area and Tiny PNG will do the rest. You will see the compression numbers and be able to see the amount of space that the compression engine is saving you.

There is also detailed documentation about image quality and how your images remain high quality even after the compression, so feel free to view that. If you are skeptical go ahead and download the newly compressed file, open it, and compare it to the image that hasn’t been compressed. You will not see a difference. I have run a sample for you and posted the results in the screenshot below.

Final Thoughts

These days it isn’t enough to just add images to your website. Whatever type of website you are running it is very important to address the issue of sizing and compressing images for WordPress. Whether you are running an online eCommerce site, a business site with a blog, or a full online blog, making sure your images are nice and tight will insure that you are not sacrificing site speed, SEO or site resources.

August 20, 2016
The 5 Most Popular Types of Logo Designs
So, you are looking into having a logo design done but you are not sure where to start. It can be confusing at times, especially with all the “contest sites” out there. Not knowing who to go to or where to start can be tough. Even after you figure that part out you will have arguably the biggest decision left…. what type of logo design do I want?

They key to a good logo centers around a number of things, most of which are personal to your own taste, preference and customer base you are trying to reach. A visually stunning design is important, but don’t get carried away, as sometimes you may get something that is just too busy looking. Take a moment and think about some of the most popular logos in the world. I bet the top three in your mind right now are all simple, fresh and clean. There is a reason for that. Most, if not all successful brands and companies realize that 3d, animation and super busy logos are not going to be memorable. Sure, they may be nice to look at for a minute, but I guarantee your mind is still on that Nike “Swoosh” logo or thinking about the black and white apple with a bite mark that Apple, Inc has always used.

That is one of the main reasons we concentrate on 4 simple aspects of logo design here at My Logo Tree.
- Clean
- Simple
- Fresh
- Professional
You may get a different viewpoint from another logo design company, but we prefer to stick with those 4, as we think they are an unstoppable combination in the logo designing process.

Remember, your logo (more often than not) will be the very first thing your customers see, so it is important to catch their eye without being too overbearing, which is what happens with many poorly thought out logo designs. S0 what type of logo design are you looking for? Again, there are a number of issues to look at, all of which are addressed on our Start Your Logo Design Project form. Once you have those things squared away you can narrow it down to what type of logo design you want.

There are basically 5 types of popular logo designs. Sure, there are alway more combinations and other ways to venture out and design, but these 5 popular logo designs are the backbone of most logos and chances are you will end up with one of these when you are done with your logo design. Here are the 5 most popular types of logo designs along with some samples for each. These are in no particular order.

Letter Mark Logo Design

A letter mark logo is exclusively typographic in nature. A font is chosen and a unique way to layout that font is designed. The letter mark logo is an abbreviation, usually the company’s initials. Letter mark logos are popular with companies or brands that that have hard to pronounce names, or that have names that are very long. It is also popular with companies and brands that do a lot of business internationally. The letter mark logo helps with this aspect. The use of the letter mark logo can be very effective, but it isn’t right for everyone. Usually companies on a marketing budget will go this route simply because it usually costs them a little less. Here are a few of the more popular letter mark logos that you will know immediately.

Word Mark Logo Design

Think of a word mark logo as an extension of the letter mark logo. Same type of concept, except the entire name or text of the company, organization brand or product is used in the design. With a word mark logo, the company or product name is set in a specific typeface, often with some special treatment such as manipulated letters or other simple yet effective graphics as part of the logo. Here are three famous word mark logos.

Combination Mark Logo Design

The combination mark logo design style combines word mark together with some sort of symbol or icon. This allows for use of either the word mark portion, the symbol portion, or both…. depending on the advertising situation. Here are some of the more popular combination mark logos out there. You would recognize these brands with or without the words.

Symbol and Icon Logo Design

Perhaps the most bold way to represent a company is by a symbol or icon that stands alone. You are counting on your customer base and everyone else to remember who you are without any words or initials. Some of the biggest companies in the world are represented by symbols or icons and everyone knows who they are. However, this kind of brand recognition does not happen overnight. If you choose to go the route of a stand alone symbol or icon make sure you have a great marketing campaign ready to go. Recognize any of these symbols and icons?

Emblem Logo

Last on the list but certainly not least is the very popular emblem logo design. An emblem logo takes the company name and places it within the design in some aspect. There are a number of ways this can be accomplished and the emblem logo is actually one of the more popular logo design types. Most view it is a way to have everything put together in one place. Oftentimes emblems become so popular that you would recognize them without the name. Here are some of the most popular emblem logo designs that have been created.

Hopefully you will better understand what types of logo designs and combinations are available to you. Really, the sky is the limit, as just about anything can be created. Are you ready for a clean, simple, fresh, professional logo design. My Logo Tree can help you with that. You can check out our pricing info or jump “Start Your Logo Design Project” form.
August 11, 2015