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‘The legacy I want to leave': How a Maine teen is helping with concussion research

A high school senior from Bangor, Maine, has decided that when the time comes, he will donate his brain to science. Fionn Parker-Cummings is the youngest person to donate his brain to the University of Pittsburgh National Sports Brain Bank. Researchers will check in with him every year for the rest of his life. Parker-Cummings said he hopes the contribution will advance traumatic brain injury research to protect players like NFL quarterbacks Drake Maye and Tua Tagovailoa, who have recently suffered concussions.




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13 Awesome Tools & Resources for Designers and Agencies for 2023

Web design tools and resources, both free and premium, are designed to help you take full advantage of your creativity. Thereby enhance your ability to create stunning websites. There is a huge variety of products and services to choose from. They are ranging from complete platforms to specialized software applications. Just like design frameworks, wireframing […]




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10+ Best WooCommerce Themes for 2023

Are you looking for the best WooCommerce theme to help you build your online store, but are afraid of making a wrong choice? For starters, you want to select a WordPress WooCommerce theme since not all WordPress themes offer complete WooCommerce support. If a theme doesn’t support WooCommerce, it won’t support all the available addons […]




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10+ Excellent Web Design Tools & Resources to Use in 2024

It’s a New Year, but one thing hasn’t changed. The number of web design resources and tools just keeps on increasing. That’s a good thing. But it does make it that much more difficult to find a theme, plugin, or resource you really have a need for if you are to stay abreast of or […]




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Webdesigners Favorite Comfort Purchases

Burts bees




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Data Cuisine: Barcelona

I am *ridiculously* excited to announce a new edition of data cuisine workshop. This time, it is the Data Cuisine Workshop Barcelona! The workshop is happening in coordination with CCCB, the Big Bang Data exhibition, and Sónar. For the culinary side of the project, we will collaborate with Sebastian Velilla — a chef who has […]




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Data Cuisine Workshop Barcelona: The results

The Data Cuisine Workshop Barcelona was fantastic, we had a really great time. Big thanks to my collaborators Dr. Susanne Jaschko and Sebastian Velilla, thanks to Jose Luis de Vicente and Olga Subiros for bringing us over, and last but not least for our great participants for the crazy dish ideas they came up with! […]




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Beautiful Japanese Watercolours

Sous les mains expertes de l’artiste serbe Endre Penovác, l’encre coule. Vivant son histoire naturellement, elle occupe l’espace sur le papier. Le peintre vient ensuite souligner quelques traits, dessiner des yeux, apporter une touche de couleur ou ajouter des détails qui viennent créer une texture. En ressortent des animaux sauvages et domestiques à l’allure quasi […]




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The Impact Of AI Software On Architecture And Design: Revolutionizing Creativity And Efficiency

The emergence of AI software in the field of architecture and design has sparked a significant shift in how professionals approach their work. With advancem ...




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10 Must-Have WooCommerce & Shopify Themes

You know you have a product line that will sell but you also know that the niche you’ve chosen will probably be extremely competitive. For your online busin ...




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New Ajax Ecommerce Theme

Check out my latest WordPress theme, ShopDock, an ecommerce theme that replicates the Ajax features as seen on IconDock. Not only does it look cool, but also provides a pleasant user experience. Buyer can easily add or remove items to the cart with a single mouse click. No more “back to shop” or page reloading every time […]




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How Woo merchants can use NFTs

Capitalize on NFTs for a quick boost. How to do it on WooCommerce. Learn the basics with examples, top tools, & tips for a successful NFT sale.




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How to hire a WooCommerce developer

Hire a WooCommerce developer who's reliable, affordable, & gets the job done on time. 4 ways to find the right fit. Here’s what to ask first.




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WordPress ecommerce plugins: The top platforms and tools for launching a successful store

Find the best WordPress ecommerce plugins. Compare top options: Are they worth the cost? Proven tools for a profitable online store.




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WooCommerce stores are revving up for Black Friday: The 2024 holiday trends survey

As ecommerce revs up for the holidays, it's time to prepare. Brand new survey data for Black Friday 2024 stats and trends from your friends at Woo.




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How to customize the WooCommerce checkout page

Beautiful, high-converting checkout pages: Customize your WooCommerce checkout page with these tools and tips! Video + step-by-step instructions.




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Spain-based DOMMA sees 350% YoY growth with WooCommerce and Google

How the wellness brand DOMMA achieved 350% year-over-year growth with one key tool. Can’t-miss success tips from a successful women-owned brand.




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Migrating from GoDaddy Website Builder to WooCommerce

Ready to migrate from GoDaddy to WooCommerce? 6 signs you should make the move. GoDaddy vs Woo comparison chart. Pros & cons. 3 ways to switch.




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Kellox and Maksimer: Speeding up 800,000 SKUs with WooCommerce

How one of Norway's largest importers migrated to WooCommerce and scaled an 800k SKU operation for a better user experience, performance, and results.




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Ecommerce business models: Which is best for you?

Which ecommerce business model is best for your idea? Long-term and short-term strategies for operations, profits, and a successful launch.




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Ten tips for reducing ecommerce fulfillment costs 

Control fulfillment costs by using 3PL services, rethinking packaging materials, using scalable warehouse space, and automating processes.





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A Guide to Accessibility Resources for Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is May 16, 2024! GAAD was created to help bring attention and awareness to digital inclusivity. No matter your role on a project team, digital accessibility should always be a priority from start to finish. Why is accessibility so important?

  • Over 1 billion people worldwide have a disability, and that number is growing every day
  • 15% of people with disabilities say they never go online, compared to 5% of people without disabilities, according to Pew Research Center
  • According to a survey by Click-Away Pound, 71% of disabled users are forced to leave a website if they find it difficult to use

Digital accessibility directly impacts people’s ability to access information, buy products, apply for jobs, engage in discussion, and everything else that people do online that is becoming critical for modern life. Accessible spaces even benefit people without disabilities, as it allows anyone to take in content though their preferred method (reading the captions on a video instead of listening in a noisy environment, for example), and often breeds innovation as engineers work to find the best way to be sure everyone can access information equally.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in an effort to standardize digital accessibility. However, many websites unfortunately fail to meet these standards, leading to a lesser-quality user experience. WebAIM’s yearly report has highlighted some surprising statistics about WCAG across the top 1,000,000 home pages:

  • The most common accessibility failure across home pages is low contrast text
  • 98.1% of home pages have at least one WCAG 2.0 failure
  • On average, there are 56.8 accessibility errors per page (this increased 13.6% from 2023!) 
  • 16.8% of home pages had more than one <h1> tag

As you can see, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to create a more accessible web for everyone. If you’re interested in learning more about digital accessibility and how to improve accessibility on your own projects, there are plenty of resources and online courses available. Resources range from free, to paid courses, to professional certifications. Below are some courses and resources that we recommend.

Free Courses and Resources

If you’re looking to introduce yourself to digital accessibility, these free resources are a great place to start:  

  • A11ycasts with Rob Dodson - A series of video tutorials on YouTube that highlights topics including semantics, focus, the correct way to use a button, and a11y testing
  • The Beginner’s Guide to Web Accessibility - An article by Dequeue University that summarizes why digital accessibility should be a priority, and how to determine if your website is accessible
  • Common Mistakes with Using Colour in Accessibility - Digital designer Andrée Lange provides insights into how to take color contrast into consideration when designing for the web
  • Deque Accessibility Resources - Dequeue offers a variety of free accessibility resources, including webinars, blog posts, and their accessibility testing browser extension, axe DevTools
  • HTML Semantics and Accessibility Cheat Sheet - WebAIM provides a list of the most common HTML tags that have an impact on digital accessibility
  • MDN Accessibility Tutorials - MDN is an open-source project documenting web technologies, which also includes an informative section on web accessibility documentation and best practices
  • Section 508 ICT Testing Baseline - Outlines minimal accessibility testing requirements for federal agencies subject to Section 508
  • WCAG 2.2 Quick Reference - WCAG are a series of web accessibility guidelines released and maintained by the W3C, with 2.2 being the current version of the guidelines. This page provides a reference to standards that websites should meet in order to meet current accessibility standards
  • Web.dev Learn Accessibility Course - A series of informative articles ranging from beginning a11y topics, to more advanced topics including animation and motion

Deep Dives with Paid Tutorials

If you’re a developer who has experience in accessibility and want to dig more into the topic, these comprehensive tutorials will help you improve your a11y knowledge:

  • Accessible Web Academy - Accessible Web Academy includes more focused a11y courses for designers, developers, content creators, and marketers looking to target specific topics 
  • Inclusive Components - There is a free online summary of Heydon Pickering’s Inclusive Components, but you can also purchase an eBook on the topic. Heydon’s blog provides examples of a pattern library that bakes accessibility into each component
  • Practical Accessibility by Sara Soueidan - Sara Souedien is a prolific front-end developer who specializes in accessibility. Her course, Practical Accessibility, is a comprehensive guide for all developers, from those looking to familiarize themselves with accessibility, to experienced developers looking to expand their a11y knowledge.

Advanced Knowledge with Certifications

As the world’s population and number of disabled users continues to grow, it’s clear that implementing digital accessibility in your products is more important than ever. By implementing the information from these lists, you can help users of all abilities access the content that you share, ensuring a better internet for everyone.




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Handling Spelling Mistakes with Postgres Full Text Search

Background #

Postgres Full Text Search (FTS) is a great way to implement site search on a website running Postgres already, without requiring additional infrastructure.

On a recent engagement with a client, we were deciding between Postgres FTS and ElasticSearch. Ultimately we chose FTS because we could spin it up without having to add extra infrastructure, as we would with ElasticSearch.

Since the project was written in Ruby on Rails, we were able to use the excellent PgSearch gem to implement FTS in ActiveRecord.

Multisearch #

As we wanted a general site search, we needed to utilize multisearch. Multisearch combines multiple ActiveRecord models into one search 'document' table that you can search against. For example, if a user searches for some search term, and the search is configured for multisearch, then every single model that we mark as multisearchable will be searched for that term at the same time. See here for more detail.

Search Features #

PgSearch allows for different search features, tsearch, trigram, and dmetaphone. The default is tsearch, which uses the built-in Postgres Full Text Search.

This was great for our use case, since it also comes with highlighting, a feature that was required. The highlighting is from a field returned by Postgres FTS, where it returns the text around the search term for context and bolds the search terms.

Spelling Mistakes #

Unfortunately, tsearch does not handle misspelled words. However, as I mentioned before, PgSearch allows for other search features!

And trigram is a feature that can be installed via a Postgres extension (pg_trgm) that does just that.

Trigram #

  • The idea behind trigram search is to split pieces of text into sets of three-letter segments, and compare the sets to one another
  • If two trigram sets are similar enough, we assume there was a spelling mistake, and return the document with the correctly-spelled term.
  • As a quick example (ignoring whitespace): Consider the word Viget. Viget would make trigrams:
[vig, ige, get]
  • Now, consider our evil twin agency, Qiget. They would make trigrams
[qig, ige, get]
  • The two trigram sets match very closely, with only one of the trigrams not being the same. Thus, if we were to compare these with pg_trgm, we could reasonably tell that anyone typing 'Qiget' must have been actually looking for 'Viget', and just misspelled it.

Working Trigram into our existing solution #

PgSearch allows us to use multiple search features at once, so we can use tsearch and trigram side by side. Note that we cannot just replace tsearch with trigram due to needing some features in tsearch that are exclusive to it. Here is what an example configuration might look like.

PgSearch.multisearch_options = {
  using: {
    tsearch: {
      prefix: true,
      highlight: {
        MaxFragments: 1
      }
    },
    trigram: { 
      only: [:content]
    }
  }
}

Trigram (and timelines) causing issues #

While it was easy to slot Trigram into our multisearch, it caused a pretty serious performance hit. We were seeing 50x-75x slower searches with both features combined than with just tsearch. We needed to find a way to balance performance with handling misspellings

At the point that handling misspellings became prioritized, the entire search feature was almost fully QA'd and about ready to go out. There wasn't much time left in the budget to find a good solution for the issue.

This thread from the PgSearch repo sums it up pretty well – there were multiple other users that were/are having similar issues as we were. The top-rated comment in this thread is someone mentioning that the solution was to just use ElasticSearch ('top-rated' is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It did have the most likes...at two). We needed to find some sort of middle ground solution that we could act on quickly.

Postgres Documentation saves the day #

In the docs for the Trigram Postgres extension, the writers give an idea for using Trigram in conjunction with Full Text Search. The general idea is to create a separate words table that has a Trigram index on it.

Something like this worked for us. Note that we added an additional step with a temporary table. This was to allow us to filter out words that included non-alphabet characters.

execute <<-SQL
  -- Need to make a temp table so we can remove non-alphabet characters like websites
  CREATE TEMP TABLE temp_words AS
    SELECT word FROM ts_stat('SELECT to_tsvector(''simple'', content) FROM pg_search_documents');

  CREATE TABLE pg_search_words (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    word text
  );

  INSERT INTO pg_search_words (word)
    SELECT word
    FROM temp_words
    WHERE word ~ '^[a-zA-Z]+$';
  
  CREATE INDEX pg_words_idx ON pg_search_words USING GIN (word gin_trgm_ops);
  
  DROP TABLE temp_words;
SQL

This words table is therefore populated with every unique word that exists in your search content table. For us, this table was pretty large.

result = ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM pg_search_words").first['count']
puts result.first['count']
# => 1118644

Keeping the words table up-to-date #

As mentioned in the docs, this table is separate from your search table. Therefore, it needs to be either periodically regenerated or at least have any new words added to search content also added to this table.

One way to achieve this is with a trigger, which adds all new words (still filtering out non-alphabet characters) that are inserted into the documents table to the words table

create_trigger("pg_search_documents_after_insert_update_row_tr", generated: true, compatibility: 1)
  .on("pg_search_documents")
  .after(:insert, :update) do
  <<-SQL_ACTIONS
    CREATE TEMP TABLE temp_words AS
      SELECT word FROM ts_stat('SELECT to_tsvector(''simple'', ' || quote_literal(NEW.content) || ')');

    INSERT INTO pg_search_words (word)
      SELECT word
      FROM temp_words
      WHERE word ~ '^[a-zA-Z]+$';

    DROP TABLE temp_words;
  SQL_ACTIONS

end

Note that this does not handle records being deleted from the table – that would need to be something separate.

How we used the words table #

Assuming for simplicity the user's search term is a single word, if the search returns no results, we compare the search term's trigram set to the trigram index on the words table, and return the closest match.

Then, we'd show the closest match in a "Did you mean {correctly-spelled word}?" that hyperlinks to a search of the correctly-spelled word

Given more time, I would have liked to explore options to speed up the combined FTS and Trigram search. I'm certain we could have improved on the performance issues, but I can't say for sure that we could have gotten the search time down to a reasonable amount.

A future enhancement that would be pretty simple is to automatically search for that correctly-spelled word, removing the prompt to click the link. We could also change the text to something like "Showing results for {correctly-spelled word}".

Ultimately, I think with the situation at hand, we made the right call implementing Trigram this way. The search is just as fast as before, and now in the case of misspellings, a user just has to follow the link to the correctly-spelled word and they will see the results they wanted very quickly.





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Squared Circle Pit #77 – Justin Whang talks old-school ECW and his favorite wrestlers

Internet sensation Justin Whang enters the Squared Circle Pit. He talks about his favorite wrestlers and metal bands growing up, staying up late to watch ECW, his thoughts on the […]




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The Psychology of Colour in Web Design: How to Influence Customer Perception

There are over 7000 languages spoken in the world today, and it’s constantly increasing. Without the help of translation tools, many of us would not be able to make friends or do business with people beyond our geographical borders due to language barriers. However, if there is one language everybody on this planet speaks fluently […]




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Spring Cleaning: Five Ways to Improve Your Ecommerce Site

Spring is on the horizon, so you know what that means. Spring-cleaning time is coming soon too. This yearly refresh is more than just a reminder to dust your home; it’s also a chance to revitalize your ecommerce business, attract new customers and delight loyal shoppers. Here are five easy ways to improve your ecommerce … Continue reading Spring Cleaning: Five Ways to Improve Your Ecommerce Site

The post Spring Cleaning: Five Ways to Improve Your Ecommerce Site appeared first on Design Shard.




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Automattic raises $288m ????, WooCommerce growth continues ????

Earlier this year, Automattic raised $288 million in a funding round that valued the company at $7.5 billion. This impressive valuation was in part due to the growth of WooCommerce, which has seen a boost during the pandemic. With this new investment, Automattic had the opportunity to conduct a $250 million share buy-back. This gave…




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WooCommerce turns 10 ????

Ten years ago today, WooThemes launched WooCommerce, a plugin that allows WordPress users to easily sell products on their websites. This was a significant development for WooThemes, as it allowed the company to expand beyond just selling premium themes and into the world of eCommerce. In late 2010, the team at WooThemes set out a…




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Remote Work ????????‍???? at WooCommerce

As someone who works remotely at WooCommerce and Automattic, I get a lot of questions about the tools that we use to stay productive and connected. Recently, Beau wrote an extensive post about the tools we use for remote work, which does a great job of summarizing our setup. In his post, Beau covers everything…




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How to Alert Your Customers of a Price Drop in WooCommerce

Are you looking for a way to alert your customers about a discounted price in your WooCommerce store? Price drop campaigns show popup notifications when your brand reduces the price of a product. Sending your visitors alerts allows you to improve engagement and maximize sales on your website. In this tutorial, we’re going to show […]

The post How to Alert Your Customers of a Price Drop in WooCommerce first appeared on IsItWP - Free WordPress Theme Detector.





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Awesome list of top 28 social marketing resources

The content provides a detailed list of tools essential to digital marketing including areas of social automation, organic outreach, content creation, research, content discovery, and search engine optimization. Key tools like Hoot Suite for scheduling social media posts, Social Quant for driving engagement, Buzzsumo for content popularity, Envato for content creation, and SemRush for SEO analysis were highlighted as particularly useful in their respective fields.

The post Awesome list of top 28 social marketing resources appeared first on WPCult.





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Do Smart Research on Keywords for Better Search Engine Optimization

                        Would you like a recipe, if it doesn’t contain salt? Of course not, as it is one of the most important ingredients of food. So does ‘Keywords’ for Search Engine Optimization. This is the reason, that researching keywords is very crucial for your online marketing, as this […]

The post Do Smart Research on Keywords for Better Search Engine Optimization appeared first on WPCult.




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New website design launched for Community Presbyterian Church, Englewood Florida

Brief The team at Community Presbyterian Church in Englewood, Florida came to us with an outdated website that they struggled...continue reading

The post New website design launched for Community Presbyterian Church, Englewood Florida first appeared on Website Design in Naples, Fort Myers Florida | Logo Design | Brian Joseph Studios.




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La route et le chemin de fer se croisent en formant ce qui ressemble à une fourche

Cette photographie aérienne capture l’essence d’un paysage rural, baigné de lumière sous un ciel parsemé de nuages floconneux. Les vastes étendues de champs verts se déploient à perte de vue, bordés par des rangées d’arbres aux teintes automnales, où le jaune et l’orange s’entrelacent avec le vert foncé des sapins. Au cœur de cette composition,...




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Researchers Use Augmented Reality to Teach Kids About Climate Change

By The University of British Columbia While Pokémon Go has helped to bring augmented reality to everyday life, UBC researchers are using similar technology to teach high school students about climate change. Based on the community of Delta B.C., the … Continue reading




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Trump to Name Marco Rubio as Secretary of State

President-elect Donald Trump reportedly plans to name Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) as his secretary of state, The New York Times reported Monday night.




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Kingfisher Perched


Kingfisher Perched, originally uploaded by Kevin.Grace.




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Expedition Antarctica

traveled a long way back home




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Getting the Urban Into Nature: New Research and New Thinking

By Susan Bales Courtesy of Children & Nature Network Some years ago, I worked as a “nature lady” at a Y camp in the San Bernardino Mountains above Los Angeles. Urban kids who had no experience in nature came to … Continue reading




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The Complete 2022 Guide to Search Engine Optimization

Starting an SEO campaign in 2022 can be a daunting task. Many SEO landscapes are highly competitive, SEO campaigns take a long time to gain returns, and many different types of optimization can be done. But don’t worry, we’re here to help! This guide will give you all the information you need to get your […]

The post The Complete 2022 Guide to Search Engine Optimization appeared first on Snap2objects.




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How to Boost Search Visibility With Life Science SEO

In today’s constantly evolving digital landscape, search engine optimization (SEO) has emerged as a critical tool for enhancing online visibility and bringing more eyes to your content.  Implementing SEO strategies in life science marketing goes beyond simple rankings and clicks, though. It’s about providing valuable, user-focused content that resonates with the target audience you want […]

The post How to Boost Search Visibility With Life Science SEO appeared first on 3.7 Designs.




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From Research to Revenue: A Complete Guide to B2B Software GTM

Launching a new B2B software product requires a different approach than traditional go-to-market strategies. The business model you choose should align with varying types of products and market conditions, as it significantly influences overall sales success and the structuring of sales teams. The software space is crowded, and your potential customers are likely already using […]

The post From Research to Revenue: A Complete Guide to B2B Software GTM appeared first on 3.7 Designs.




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The Mammoth Cost of Operating America's Combat Aircraft

The Mammoth Cost of Operating America’s Combat Aircraft shows the operating cost per aircraft in 2018. Statista created this infographic when the non-partisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an overview of mission capable rates and the cost of operating U.S. military aircraft in 2020. Over 40 aircrafts were examined, Statista chose to highlight these 15 in their infographic.

The non-partisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released an overview of mission capable rates and the cost of operating U.S. military aircraft. It examined more than 40 different aircraft types, finding that only three of them reached their mission capable goals between fiscal years 2011 and 2019. In total, the report put the collective cost of operating all of the U.S. military's aircraft fleets at $49 billion in fiscal year 2018, taking operational & support (O&S) costs such as maintenance as well as supply support in account. O&S generally makes up 70 percent of a weapon system's total life cycle costs and it includes spare parts, depot and field maintenance, contract services, engineering support and personnel, amongst other factors.

It would be nice to see how many we have in service too. The stacked bars work well. As a reader you can tell the values between operating/support and maintenance, but the total is what matters.

Read more at Statista




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How to Set Up Test Purchases Using PayPal on Your Sell Media Powered Website

Setting up a trouble-free payment process can be nerve-wracking. It must be completely secure and fully tested before going live in order to give the customer zero problems and total confidence in their purchase. Any issues with the checkout process, and it could end up with a potential refund to the customer, or no sale at all. Sell Media incorporates a testing […]




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How To Run WordPress on a Subdomain to Power Your E-Commerce Online Store

Setting up your site on platforms such as Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly have their benefits – but they’re not necessarily set up for selling your work online. To do that, you’ll have to turn to a more powerful combination of tools. Setting up a subdomain to run an online store may seem like reinventing the […]




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Searching For a Premium WordPress Theme? Use This Checklist

WordPress boasts thousands of free themes, some of which are pretty darn good. But it also offers the option of installing premium themes. They say that you get what you pay for, and this often holds true with premium themes. Your website’s design is your company’s virtual storefront. To mark your presence in the real […]