GoDaddy Sends Small Business WordPress Developers Back to School — Sort Of

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY), a leading web host and domain name registrar, has entered into partnerships with OSTraining.com and WP Elevation to offer web developers and designers free WordPress educational content.

OSTraining.com provides online and live training for open source Content Management Systems (CMS) worldwide while WP Elevation claims to be the world’s biggest business community for WordPress consultants.

Free GoDaddy WordPress Educational Content

GoDaddy’s says it hopes the partnership with WP Elevation provides WordPress developers with free training on business communication, practices and workflow. The companies will provide that training through monthly webinars, videos and content.

GoDaddy and OSTraining are also rolling out a jointly-sponsored 40-episode series of WordPress Training videos for beginner WordPress developers. Topics range from creating a staging site for development and testing to navigating the WordPress dashboard.

“One of the biggest challenges for web pros servicing multiple clients is the time and money spent on administrative tasks,” GoDaddy’s SVP of Hosting Raghu Murthi said in a press release. “These educational resources help web pros work smarter and provide outstanding service and support to their clients.”

GoDaddy says other resources will complement GoDaddy’s Pro Program. Pro Program members get immediate access to the content made available by the partnership as well as additional tools that can help them manage client’s accounts, the company says.

“We’re very proud to be partnering with GoDaddy to help web pros better serve their clients,” said WP Elevation co-founder Troy Dean in a prepared statement. “I’ve been very impressed with the improvements GoDaddy continue to make to the Pro Program and the whole team at WP Elevation is excited to be bringing some of our best training and education to the GoDaddy community.”

Other enticements GoDaddy is offering with the deal include WordPress site management tools to assist with ongoing maintenance, access to 24/7 expert technical support, access to rewards programs, expert level support, and more.

Image: GoDaddy

This article, "GoDaddy Sends Small Business WordPress Developers Back to School — Sort Of" was first published on Small Business Trends

Battling traders spell out the deadly cost of business rates hike

SMALL firms facing colossal hikes in their rates together with business groups are predicting a bleak future for the independence and individuality of England’s high streets unless radical action is taken to reduce the burden.

Moneypenny app aims to be the missing link for travelling traders

A NEW app designed to capture the phone calls sole traders and small firms miss when they are on the road has just been launched by reception service Moneypenny.

State pension age will be higher than life expectancy if 'triple lock' not axed, say MPs

THE state pension will have to rise above the age of expected life expectancy in parts of the country if it is to keep rising at its current rate, MPs have warned.

Snap: Rewriting ‘Art of War’ for social networking — by not documenting anything

 Social networks may be the most valuable and durable types of businesses powered by “network effects,” the phenomenon of products or services becoming more powerful the more people use them. This is one reason the imminent IPO of social/mobile app Snap, which thrives on network effects, is being so closely watched. Another is that Snap represents the first credible threat to Facebook. Read More

Wendy’s Automates the Food Ordering Process (Watch)

Wendy’s is the latest fast food chain to automate the ordering process. The restaurant announced this week that it will add self-order kiosks to about 1,000 of its restaurants by the end of the year. McDonald’s and Panera Bread also have similar features.

This move, of course, makes some workers nervous about job loss in the fast food industry. But the restaurant claims that it should improve productivity by allowing more workers to focus on actually making the food.

In addition, a consulting firm that does research in the foodservice industry has found that younger consumers actually prefer automated ordering over dealing with an actual cashier. So this may just be the way that all restaurants are headed eventually anyway.

Sometimes It’s Adapt or Die…

It’s important for restaurants and all different types of businesses to keep an eye on trends like this. It’s possible that automation and different tech innovations could make restaurants like Wendy’s and McDonald’s stand out. And those that don’t adapt may be left behind.

…But Not Always

This doesn’t mean, however, that businesses should jump on every single trend right away. Kiosks that don’t work properly or that customers don’t actually want could hurt these early adopters. But if they’ve done the research and come up with a system that will actually work for their specific customers, it’s likely to be a move in the right direction.

Wendy’s Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Wendy’s Automates the Food Ordering Process (Watch)" was first published on Small Business Trends

Virtual Assistants and Connected Devices Direct the Future of Search (Infographic)

According to the Insights Team at Bing Ads “Search is literally breaking out of the box” as marketing is no longer just about the 4Ps anymore: Price, Product, Promotion and Placement. To explain this, the team put together an infographic (PDF) that highlights Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) vision for the future of search, the new 3Ps of marketing and how you can prepare your business for the change.

The Future of Search

According to the infographic, “search” will become more personal and predictive since people prefer personalized experiences. The team states that about 145 million people actively use the intelligent virtual assistant Cortana to store personal information, reminders and contacts among other things and as of now, the personal assistant has been asked over 17 billion plus questions since its launch.

The infographic further states that 75 percent of online customers get frustrated when content appears that has nothing to do with their experiences. And this simply means that accurate personal and predictive searches will get more popular in days to come. As a business, you should, therefore, start investing more in learning your customers’ needs other than reacting to their requests.

You should also consider investing in chatbots since 50 percent of customers would like to make a purchase via message.

Essentially, to be a successful business in the future you need to think of “search” throughout a customer’s journey, use the power of search data outside your campaigns as well as create personal experiences by leveraging targeting features such as demographic targeting and remarketing.

Image: Bing

This article, "Virtual Assistants and Connected Devices Direct the Future of Search (Infographic)" was first published on Small Business Trends

Pound forecast to bounceback against dollar as Brexit fears fade

THE pound has been forecast to surge in the coming months, as Brexit fears begin to fade and investors look for value.

Watch Out For Fake Fonts! And Other Small Business Tech News This Week

(This post originally appeared on Forbes)

Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 – A new form of ransomware centers on a fake font update.

If you’re a Google Chrome user, you might get an update asking you to update your fonts. Don’t do it. The bogus update leads to a compromised website that claims the “HoeflerText font was not found” and displays “version numbers that make it appear as though Chrome is somehow out-of-date.” If the user takes the bait, a “font installer” begins to install a file that is full of Spora ransomware. Jerks! (Source: Forbes)

Why this is important for your business:

Ever been hit with a ransomware attack? Then you definitely know how important this advice is to your business.

2 – Lyft is expanding to 54 new cities and four new states.

Ordering a ride from your mobile device just got easier. Uber-competitor Lyft has announced that it is launching in 54 new cities and four new states in its “largest expansion to date.” (Source: The Verge)
Why this is important for your business:

Uber is fast becoming the number one expense for business travelers (outside of plane fare and hotels). But what with all the recent negative publicity about the popular ride-sharing service, many business travelers are looking for alternatives. Lyft is rising to meet that need.

3 – BambooHR now offers payroll.

Human resources technology is exploding this year, and services like BambooHR are providing platforms that help small- and medium-sized businesses manage their employees for everything from interviewing and onboarding to benefits and paid time off. The company this past week announced full-service online payroll features to complement these existing offerings. (Source: BambooHR press release)

Why this is important for your business:

If you’ve got more than five employees, I recommend that you seriously consider an HR platform for your business – many of my clients are doing so this year. The best offer payroll functionality in addition to HR management features.

4 – It’s getting easier to do business with the government.

GovBizConnect, a social network that connects small and large government contractors, has expanded its features to include “tens of thousands of business profiles, a powerful search capability, and a full suite of social networking features enabling companies to find and contact the right teaming partner,” according to its CEO. (Source: GovBizConnect press release)
Why this is important for your business:

It’s not just what you know – it’s who you know. Many of my clients have been frustrated with the bureaucracy in their attempts to do business with the government. Others have discovered that working with firms that are already doing business with the government is an easier path to working on government contracts. This service will make it easier to find those potential partners.

5 – DocuSign has a new way for your customers to sign and pay.

According to the company, when you send a document to a customer using their popular e-signature service, you can now include with it a form to accept payment at the same time. (Source: DocuSign press release)

Why this is important for your business:

We love using DocuSign to get our agreements signed fast. Now we can ask for payment from our customers at the same time? Sign me up!

Reflect drops public beta to power developer-first data visualization

 Data visualization has been done — we have publicly traded, interactive, real-time and heck even artificially intelligent companies promising data visualization. But despite all the noise, Portland-based Reflect is making a go of it in the space, opening up its public beta today. By putting developers first and letting them integrate and customize visualizations in their own… Read More

Breather wants to save you from unwanted office distractions with the Nope button

 In what is clearly a marketing ploy from workspace rental service Breather, the company is launching a Chrome plug-in called the “Nope Button.” The idea here, according to the company, is to help people avoid distractions in the office, even if they can’t reserve a private Breather to get some alone time. With open work spaces becoming the standard in startup offices (and… Read More

eMarketer: Snapchat growth driven by older users, as usage among young adults declines

 Snapchat has a reputation for being an app that’s confusing to the “olds” – something the company tried to address with a redesign just ahead of filing for its IPO. In addition, the app has expanded beyond its original use case, which focused on communication, and now includes short, easily digestible content from a number of sources, including media and… Read More

Lux Capital closes $400 million fund to back startups “inventing the future”

 Lux Capital’s portfolio companies sound like they ripped their product concepts from the pages of science fiction. Among these are self-driving car startup Zoox, a company gathering oceanographic data from fleets of autonomously operating boats called Saildrone, Desktop Metal whose 3-D printers that can make objects out of alloys on the spot, and 3Scan, a startup that makes detailed… Read More

Savers warned: Pension tax relief could be SLICED in March Budget

SAVERS have been urged to invest into pensions ahead of next week's Budget, amid fears the Chancellor could slash tax relief.

Pypestream raises $15M for its customer messaging platform

 Pypestream is announcing that it has raised $15 million in Series A funding. When the startup launched more than a year ago, founder and CEO Richard Smullen was pitching text messaging as the best way for customers to communicate with businesses — specifically, through the Pypestream app, where businesses can create their own accounts with a variety of different “pypes”… Read More