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Migration cost and timelines Magento 1 to Magento 2
You know you’re running out of time to migrate your e-commerce operation to Magento 2.0. That raises two questions: How much does a Magento 2.0 migration cost, and how long is the timeline?
For small- to medium-sized e-commerce operations with limited customizations and integrations, upgrading to Magento 2.0 can cost about $5,000 to $50,000. The timeline for these kinds of upgrades is about two to five months. The cost of your current Magento install may provide a ballpark estimate (plus about 10 percent) if you don’t plan to change much.
Magento 1.9 and previous versions reach their end-of-life deadlines at the end of June 2020. That’s a fairly narrow window to find a Magento developer and implement a version 2.0 migration. You have to make a lot of smart decisions soon to ensure a smooth transition.
This blog post from the Magento development experts at Exinent explains your three most critical concerns:
Part 1: Advantages of upgrading and the downside risk of not upgrading
Part 2: Variables that impact the cost and timeline of an upgrade to Magento 2.0
Part 3: A 12-point checklist for a typical Magento 2.0 migration.
Let’s dive into these sections now.
Part 1: Advantages of Magento 2.0 — and risks of skipping the upgrade
We’ll start with some of the greatest benefits of upgrading to Magento 2.0 and the consequences of not doing it. If you’re already sold on the benefits, feel free to skip to Part 2.
Site architecture: Magento uses the newest generation of PHP, which boosts site speed, power and flexibility.
Speed: Improved caching brings faster page downloads. Pages that previously took 3 seconds to download might take only 1 second after the upgrade. Optimized checkout means fewer clicks to close the sale — a six-click process on Magento 1.9 shrinks to two clicks in version 2.0.
Mobile: Support for responsive mobile sites elevates the user experience for people shopping with smartphones and tablets.
SEO: Faster page downloads and responsive mobile themes can improve your search page rankings because search engines place a priority on speed and mobile experience.
Security: Staying up-to-date with software patches helps keep intruders out.
All these factors help you elevate and streamline the shopping experience, which makes it easier to outmaneuver your competition.
Risks of letting your Magento support expire
Support for versions of Magento before 2.0 expires after June 2020. Staying on 1.9-or-earlier versions after the deadline means if your site crashes or gets hacked, you lose access to the experts at Magento who could help figure things out. There’s no telling how much that could cost in immediate cash flow and long-term customer relationships — but it won’t be cheap.
Moreover, you won’t get new security patches to keep hackers out. Hackers hunt for out-of-date sites because they’re easier to break into. Running unsupported software is like waving a red flag to cybercriminals. And if you suffer a breach that triggers a lawsuit, you could face an expensive court settlement.
Now, let’s move on to the costs and timelines for Magento updates.
Part 2: Variables that Affect Magento 2.0 Costs and Timelines
A basic, small-business Magento installation could cost as little as $5,000 and take only a couple months. A medium-sized e-commerce site might cost $50,000 and take five months to implement. Keep in mind that these figures apply to websites with a minimum of customizations. A simple rule of thumb is to dig out your records, see how much you paid to develop your current Magento environment and add another 10 percent.
But just as trading in your car for new one lets you upgrade your driving experience, a Magento 2.0 migration opens you up to a world of enhancements. Of course, adding new services or features adds hours and days to your development timeline. And, naturally, extra time means higher costs.
What kind of factors have the biggest influence on Magento 2.0 costs and timelines? These are the most prominent ones:
Customizations
Sales tax and seasonal shopping patterns vary widely from one e-commerce business to the next. The online grocer that ships perishable foods in blocks of dry ice has different shipping concerns than the company shipping cast-aluminum engine blocks. Every online business has to tweak its Magento 2.0 migration to account for specific situations like these. Each customization adds development time and cost.
Extensions
Third-party developers have created a Magento extension ecosystem that numbers in the thousands. These extensions help e-commerce companies give their customers exactly what they want, which is great for business.
Unfortunately, some extensions aren’t compatible with Magento 2.0. If this applies to your website, then you have to convert Magento 1.0 extensions to Magento 2 extensions. Then your developers have to build the extensions themselves, adding time and costs.
Integrations
APIs and other technology tools let you connect Magento to your software for customer relationship management (CRM), inventory control, accounting, analytics and other vital business functions. Each integration adds cost and lengthens your timeline.
Site redesigns
Magento 2.0 uses a new site structure that requires a rebuild of your website. Naturally, rebuilding a website must include its design — colors, fonts, layouts and so on — but that does not necessarily require a redesign. You may be able to replicate your current site design at little or no extra cost.
However, your Magenta 2.0 upgrade presents an excellent opportunity to update the look and feel of your site. It’s an ideal time, for example, to remove points of friction that slow users down and discourage them from finishing their transactions. However, opting for a more sophisticated site design may require additional hours of development, which would add to costs and timelines.
Now that we’ve covered Magento 2.0 costs and timelines, let’s move on to our migration checklist.
Part 3: A 12-Step Magento 2.0 migration checklist
These are all the jobs your development team needs to get done along the way to migrating to Magento 2.0:
Create a development environment
Your developer needs a safe place to build an exact replica of the Magento system that will eventually replace your current install. A separate development environment helps ensure your site goes live with a minimum of glitches.
Install the latest version of Magento 2.0
Your developer installs the newest Magento version into the development environment. This includes the newest security patches, bug fixes and service enhancements.
Create all the required attributes and categories
Every product variable in your e-commerce operation must be replicated in the new version of Magento. In this step, your developer documents all your attributes (price, color, size, etc.) and categories (men’s, women’s, indoor, outdoor, etc.) and adds them to your new Magento configuration.
Migrate all data
This task is especially important: All data must be migrated to the new Magento 2.0 database, including products, category mapping, customers, orders, invoices, shipments, coupon codes, cart rules and so on.
Install required extensions
All the Magento 2.0-compatible extensions get added in this step. If you have incompatible extensions, they’ll be installed later because the development team needs more time to rebuild them for Magento 2.0.
Implement the design
This step is where your new site starts taking shape — with a new mobile-responsive Magento 2.0-compatible theme. Any changes to your user interface get added at the design implementation stage
Add blog and all static pages
Your blog and static pages must reflect the overall look, feel and user experience of your new site, so they must be added after the design phase.
Implement extensions that are not compatible with 2.0
Because incompatible extensions must be reconstructed from scratch, your developers need more time to finish this phase. Thus, these extensions get implemented in the last step before the testing phase.
Test everything
Once the development team has a working replica of your new Magento 2.0 install, it’s time to make sure everything works as expected. The developers can anticipate the most common bugs and work them out here.
Conduct UAT (User Acceptance Test)
This phase puts actual users to work finding bugs the developers missed.
Make changes found in testing
Bugs and tweaks found in steps 9 and 10 get corrected in this step.
Plan go-live and do final data sync
Your developer establishes a go-live date and a final data sync to ensure that every change to your site — purchases, customers, discounts, etc. — gets included on the go-live date.
Pulling it all together on Magento 2.0 migration
The speed and power of Magento 2.0 will bring welcome improvements to site speed and mobile user experience. And including the latest security patches reduces your risk of downtime from hacker intrusions.
Small to medium e-commerce operations with limited customizations may need to spend from $5,000 to $50,000 to upgrade to the latest version of Magento. The timeline for operations in this size range is usually two to five months. All this depends on how many integrations and customizations you have. More sophisticated migrations take longer and cost more.
Given that the support for older versions of Magento expires in June 2020, you have more than enough reasons to upgrade as soon as possible.
Magento 2.0 Migration FAQs
How long does it take to migrate my e-commerce website from Magento 1 to Magento 2?
Magento 2 migration timelines depend heavily on the size and complexity of a website. As discussed earlier, a basic Magento website with fewer products and functionalities needs just a couple of months for migration. It may take up to six months for a medium-sized site with a decent amount of data and slightly advanced features. A functionality-rich and heavy Magento installation usually need more time, often in excess of six months.
How much does it cost migrate my website from Magento 1.x to Magento 2.x?
Many factors such as the size of data, functionalities, and your migration project timelines influence costs. Small e-commerce website owners may need to shell out $5000. Those who are run medium-sized Magento stores are expected to spend around $50000. Successful ecommerce business owners with large inventory may have to spend in excess of $100000.
What happens to Magento 1 extensions?
Many of the popular Magento extensions that you may be currently using on your Magento 1 installation would be available for Magento 2. In case if the extension is unavailable, the extension specialists in a development team build them from the scratch to ensure any functionality isn’t missed out.
Will there be downtime during migration?
No, Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration doesn’t cause downtime.
Will my current hosting environment support Magento 2?
In most cases, yes. If your current server doesn’t have latest versions of PHP and MySQL, Magento professionals ensure that the stack is fully compatible for Magento 2 beforehand.
An experienced partner for your Magento 2.0 migration
Art-D developers have extensive Magento 2.0 experience with a broad range of e-commerce companies. Everything we’ve learned in building Magento sites goes into ensuring our clients — and their customers — enjoy a smooth transition to the latest, greatest version of Magento.
Talk to us today about migrating your e-commerce operations to the speed and power of Magento 2.0.
Top 100 Amazon searches 2018
Right away, you can see that searches for gadgets dominate this list—laptops, bluetooth speakers, smartwatches, SSDs, gaming controllers and so on.
| # | Keyword | Search Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | nintendo switch | 4,110,000 |
| 2 | fidget spinner | 3,290,000 |
| 3 | laptop | 2,680,000 |
| 4 | headphones | 1,730,000 |
| 5 | fitbit | 1,690,000 |
| 6 | ps4 | 1,570,000 |
| 7 | external hard drive | 1,550,000 |
| 8 | bluetooth headphones | 1,540,000 |
| 9 | instant pot | 1,540,000 |
| 10 | kindle | 1,510,000 |
| 11 | tv | 1,350,000 |
| 12 | fire stick | 1,350,000 |
| 13 | tablet | 1,280,000 |
| 14 | micro sd card | 1,270,000 |
| 15 | ipad | 1,260,000 |
| 16 | ssd | 1,230,000 |
| 17 | roku | 1,180,000 |
| 18 | toilet paper | 1,170,000 |
| 19 | backpack | 1,150,000 |
| 20 | wireless headphones | 1,080,000 |
| 21 | game of thrones | 1,080,000 |
| 22 | iphone 7 case | 1,070,000 |
| 23 | books | 1,070,000 |
| 24 | monitor | 1,060,000 |
| 25 | bluetooth speakers | 1,010,000 |
| 26 | essential oils | 960,000 |
| 27 | pop socket | 939,000 |
| 28 | air fryer | 937,000 |
| 29 | paper towels | 931,000 |
| 30 | desk | 930,000 |
| 31 | iphone charger | 925,000 |
| 32 | water bottle | 918,000 |
| 33 | doctor who | 905,000 |
| 34 | xbox one | 902,000 |
| 35 | iphone 7 plus case | 896,000 |
| 36 | switch | 891,000 |
| 37 | alexa | 886,000 |
| 38 | harry potter | 884,000 |
| 39 | coffee maker | 884,000 |
| 40 | hdmi cable | 867,000 |
| 41 | lego | 859,000 |
| 42 | shoes | 854,000 |
| 43 | kindle fire | 847,000 |
| 44 | iphone x case | 846,000 |
| 45 | wireless mouse | 832,000 |
| 46 | printer | 828,000 |
| 47 | iphone 6 case | 824,000 |
| 48 | iphone 6 | 818,000 |
| 49 | iphone 7 | 815,000 |
| 50 | gaming mouse | 812,000 |
| 51 | office chair | 807,000 |
| 52 | star wars | 806,000 |
| 53 | shower curtain | 800,000 |
| 54 | mouse pad | 789,000 |
| 55 | iphone 6s case | 779,000 |
| 56 | gift card | 775,000 |
| 57 | keyboard | 769,000 |
| 58 | yoga mat | 769,000 |
| 59 | gaming chair | 767,000 |
| 60 | sd card | 759,000 |
| 61 | earbuds | 756,000 |
| 62 | echo | 753,000 |
| 63 | socks | 747,000 |
| 64 | xbox one controller | 734,000 |
| 65 | apple watch | 729,000 |
| 66 | protein powder | 722,000 |
| 67 | camera | 720,000 |
| 68 | solar eclipse glasses | 720,000 |
| 69 | mouse | 711,000 |
| 70 | drone | 709,000 |
| 71 | eclipse glasses | 691,000 |
| 72 | projector | 690,000 |
| 73 | iphone | 689,000 |
| 74 | iphone 8 plus case | 681,000 |
| 75 | mattress | 674,000 |
| 76 | playstation 4 | 672,000 |
| 77 | microwave | 671,000 |
| 78 | coffee | 670,000 |
| 79 | dash cam | 667,000 |
| 80 | smart watch | 657,000 |
| 81 | fidget cube | 649,000 |
| 82 | vacuum cleaner | 647,000 |
| 83 | laptops | 645,000 |
| 84 | nerf guns | 643,000 |
| 85 | bluetooth earbuds | 640,000 |
| 86 | ps4 games | 640,000 |
| 87 | router | 639,000 |
| 88 | echo dot | 636,000 |
| 89 | fan | 632,000 |
| 90 | gtx 1070 | 623,000 |
| 91 | computer desk | 622,000 |
| 92 | ps4 controller | 621,000 |
| 93 | blender | 620,000 |
| 94 | wireless earbuds | 614,000 |
| 95 | iphone 6s | 614,000 |
| 96 | snes classic | 613,000 |
| 97 | prime video | 612,000 |
| 98 | hard drive | 610,000 |
| 99 | luggage | 608,000 |
| 100 | gtx 1080 | 606,000 |
So much so, that 53/100 of our top searches are (almost ⅔) are for gadgets.
That’s excluding searches for iPhone accessories too, of which there are many.
What’s the most popular iPhone accessory? Cases.
Here are the most popular iPhone case models and their search volumes:
| # | Keyword | Search Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | iphone 7 case | 1,070,000 |
| 2 | iphone 7 plus case | 896,000 |
| 3 | iphone x case | 846,000 |
| 4 | iphone 6 case | 824,000 |
| 5 | iphone 6s case | 779,000 |
| 6 | iphone 8 plus case | 681,000 |
(It looks like a lot of people are still rocking iPhone 6’s and 7’s.)
Speaking of iPhone accessories, there are 1.54M monthly searches for “Bluetooth headphones,” which makes it the 8th most popular product search on our list. That’s no doubt down to Apple (and other phone manufacturers) removing headphone jacks in recent years.SIDENOTE. There are a further 1.08M searches for “wireless headphones” and 640K for “Bluetooth earbuds.”.
Amazon also appears to be a popular place to purchase games consoles and games.
The Nintendo Switch tops the list with 4.1M monthly searches, followed by the PS4 with 1.57M, then the Xbox One with 902K, and finally the Snes Classic (ooh, retro!) with 613K.
Gaming mice and chairs are popular too with almost 1.58M combined monthly searches.
But what else is popular on Amazon besides gadgets and games?
Well, there are still a fair few searches for “books” (1.07M) which, of course, is what started this whole thing for Amazon back in the ’90s. But it looks as though most people prefer to do their reading on electronic devices these days as there are 1.51M searches for “kindle.”
The Kindle isn’t the only one of Amazon’s branded devices that’s popular either—their Fire Stick and Echo products get millions of combined monthly searches.
Other than that, there are many searches for everyday essentials and other “basic” items:
| # | Keyword | Search Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | toilet paper | 1,170,000 |
| 2 | paper towels | 931,000 |
| 3 | water bottle | 918,000 |
| 4 | shower curtain | 800,000 |
| 5 | coffee | 670,000 |
| 6 | fan | 632,000 |
Oh, and one non‐physical product made it to the list too: “prime video” (612Kmonthly searches).
Is Amazon catching up with Netflix? Maybe.
Either way, one thing is for sure: Amazon is genuinely an everything store. It’s no longer just about books.
Now let’s see how the most popular Amazon searches in the US compare to the rest of the World.
Guest post resources
| # | Blog Title | DA | Contact | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forbes | 97 | Submit | Business |
| 2 | Tech Gadgets | 97 | Submit | Technology |
| 3 | The Guardian | 96 | Submit | Entertainment, finance, business, sports |
| 4 | Mashable | 94 | Submit | Social media, technology, business, entertainment |
| 5 | Business Insider | 93 | Contribute | News, business, sports, etc |
| 6 | Tech Crunch | 93 | Submit | Technology, finance |
| 7 | Politico Magazine | 93 | Submit | Politics |
| 8 | eLearn Magazine | 92 | Submit | Education, reviews |
| 9 | Moz | 91 | Submit | SEO, marketing, blogging |
| 10 | Fast Company | 91 | Submit | Business, finance, technology |
| 11 | Entrepreneur | 90 | Contribute | Marketing, social media, business, finance, news |
| 12 | Search Engine Land | 90 | Submit | SEO, marketing |
| 13 | Inc Magazine | 90 | Submit | Finance |
| 14 | Hubspot | 89 | Submit | Marketing |
| 15 | Venture Beat | 89 | Submit | Technology |
| 16 | Smashing Magazine | 89 | Submit | Web design |
| 17 | A List Apart | 88 | Submit | Web design, content |
| 18 | Psychology Today | 88 | Submit | Psychology, self improvement |
| 19 | Copyblogger | 87 | Submit | Blogging, marketing |
| 20 | Read Write | 86 | Submit | Technology |
| 21 | Creative Bloq | 85 | Submit | Blogging, web design |
| 22 | Health Line | 85 | Submit | Fitness, health |
| 23 | Investopedia | 85 | Submit | Finance |
| 24 | Social Media Examiner | 84 | Submit | Social media |
| 25 | Content Marketing Institute | 84 | Submit | Content marketing |
| 26 | Site Point | 83 | Submit | Web design, technology |
| 27 | Kissmetrics | 82 | Submit | Web Analytics, case studies, landing page optimization |
| 28 | GetResponse | 82 | Submit | Marketing, productivity, platform, automation |
| 29 | The Kitchen | 82 | Submit | Food |
| 30 | Small Business Trends | 82 | Submit | Business |
| 31 | Edutopia | 81 | Submit | Education |
| 32 | Marketing Land | 81 | Submit | Marketing, SEO |
| 33 | Life Hack | 81 | Submit | Self improvement |
| 34 | Open Democracy | 80 | Submit | Politics |
| 35 | Social Media Today | 79 | Submit | Business, social media, marketing |
| 36 | Sonic Bids | 79 | Submit | Music |
| 37 | Web Designer Depot | 78 | Submit | Web design |
| 38 | CoSchedule | 77 | Submit | Content marketing, blogging, social media |
| 39 | MarketingProfs | 77 | Submit | Marketing |
| 40 | Benchmark | 77 | Submit | Marketing, social media, SEO |
| 41 | Travel Blog | 77 | Submit | Travel |
| 42 | Manning | 76 | Submit | Technology |
| 43 | OutBrain | 76 | Submit | Blogging, marketing |
| 44 | Pole Position Marketing | 75 | Submit | Digital marketing, marketing, analytics, SEO, social media, web design |
| 45 | Convince & Convert | 75 | Submit | Social media, online marketing |
| 46 | Greatist | 75 | Submit | Health, relationships |
| 47 | Oil Price | 75 | Submit | Finance |
| 48 | Hello BC | 75 | Submit | Camping |
| 49 | Hongkiat | 74 | Submit | Web design, technology |
| 50 | Digital Photography School | 74 | Submit | Photography |
| 51 | Colossal | 73 | Submit | Photography |
| 52 | Digital Inspiration | 73 | Submit | Web design, blogging, technology |
| 53 | Cafe Mom | 72 | Submit | Family |
| 54 | Daily Blog Tips | 72 | Submit | Blogging, marketing |
| 55 | Above the law | 71 | Submit | Law |
| 56 | Hostel Bookers | 71 | Submit | Travel |
| 57 | Go Abroad | 70 | Submit | Travel |
| 58 | Get Rich Slowly | 70 | Submit | Finance |
| 59 | Contact Music | 70 | Submit | Music |
| 60 | Thesitegirls | 69 | Submit | Blogging, social media |
| 61 | Money Crashers | 69 | Submit | Finance |
| 62 | One Green Planet | 65 | Submit | Environment |
| 63 | Advanced Web Ranking | 64 | Submit | Marketing, SEO |
| 64 | B2Bmarketing | 63 | Submit | Blogging, marketing |
| 65 | Pick The Brain | 63 | Submit | Self improvement |
| 66 | The Blog Herald | 63 | Submit | Marketing, blogging |
| 67 | Bigger Pockets | 63 | Submit | Finance |
| 68 | Search Engine People | 62 | Submit | SEO, social media |
| 69 | Design Shack | 62 | Submit | Web design |
| 70 | Money Saving Mom | 62 | Submit | Finance |
| 71 | Post planner | 61 | Submit | Social media |
| 72 | Killer Startups | 61 | Submit | Entrepreneur |
| 73 | Socialnomics | 60 | Submit | Business, social media |
| 74 | The Bark | 60 | Submit | Pets |
| 75 | Instant Shift | 60 | Submit | Web design |
| 76 | Mailjet | 60 | Submit | Email marketing |
| 77 | Curbly | 59 | Submit | Home design |
| 78 | TheplanetD | 59 | Submit | Travel |
| 79 | TechWyse | 58 | Submit | SEO, social media, marketing |
| 80 | Escape Artist | 57 | Submit | Real estate |
| 81 | Travel Supermarket | 57 | Submit | Travel |
| 82 | Shout Me Loud | 56 | Submit | SEO, marketing |
| 83 | Inspiration Feed | 56 | Submit | Web design, SEO, social media |
| 84 | Modest Money | 54 | Submit | Finance |
| 85 | Men With Pens | 53 | Submit | Business |
| 86 | eDreams | 53 | Submit | Travel |
| 87 | Kikolani | 53 | Submit | Blogging, marketing |
| 88 | Addicted 2 Success | 52 | Submit | Entrepreneurship |
| 89 | Well-BeingSecrets | 52 | Submit | Well-being |
| 90 | Brain Blog | 51 | Submit | Health |
| 91 | Marketing Tech News | 51 | Submit | Marketing |
| 92 | Crazy Leaf Design | 51 | Submit | Web design |
| 93 | Sociable Blog | 51 | Submit | Social media, marketing, growth hacking |
| 94 | Craftbits | 51 | Submit | Craft |
| 95 | Craft Gossip | 51 | Submit | Craft |
| 96 | Hinge Marketing | 51 | Submit | Marketing |
| 97 | Incomediary | 51 | Submit | Make money online |
| 98 | Inc 42 | 50 | Submit | Blogging, marketing |
| 99 | Love My Dress | 50 | Submit | Wedding |
| 100 | Viral Blog | 50 | Submit | Social media, technology |
| 101 | Video Brewery | 50 | Submit | Video |
| 102 | Traffic Generation Cafe | 49 | Submit | Traffic generation strategies |
| 103 | Today’s Mama | 49 | Submit | Food, lifestyle |
| 104 | Basic Blog Tips | 49 | Submit | Blogging |
| 105 | Growmap | 48 | Submit | Marketing, SEO |
| Famous Bloggers | 48 | Submit | Blogging, social media, SEO | |
| 106 | Blog Engage | 48 | Submit | Blogging |
| 107 | Ecopreneurist | 48 | Submit | Entrepreneur |
| 108 | AppendTo | 47 | Submit | Programming, education |
| 109 | Opportunities Planet | 47 | Submit | SEO, social media, blogging |
| 110 | The Work at Home Woman | 47 | Submit | Social media, blogging, business |
| 111 | Tutora | 47 | Submit | Education |
| 112 | Fine Craft Guild | 45 | Submit | Home, craft |
| 113 | Work in Sports | 45 | Submit | Sports |
| 114 | Global Grasshopper | 45 | Submit | Travel |
| 115 | SEO Hacker | 44 | Submit | Marketing, SEO |
| 116 | Smart Hustle | 44 | Submit | Entrepreneur |
| 117 | PR Couture | 43 | Submit | Fashion |
| 118 | Mirasee | 42 | Submit | Marketing, business growths |
| 119 | Off the Post | 42 | Submit | Sports |
| 120 | Birds on the Blog | 41 | Submit | Blogging |
| 121 | Sports Networker | 41 | Submit | Sports |
| 122 | Beating Broke | 41 | Submit | Finance |
| 123 | Money Mini Blog | 41 | Submit | Finance |
| 124 | iBlogzone | 40 | Submit | SEO, marketing, blogging |
| 125 | Brand Driven Digital | 40 | Submit | Social media, marketing |
| 126 | Making Different | 40 | Submit | Blogging, technology |
| 127 | Hellbound Bloggers | 39 | Submit | Blogging, social media, technology |
| 128 | Mookychick | 38 | Submit | Home |
| 129 | Internet of Things News | 38 | Submit | Technology |
| 130 | Dealer Marketing | 37 | Submit | Marketing |
| 131 | Outdoorzy | 37 | Submit | Hunting |
| 132 | Lift for Life | 36 | Submit | Fitness |
| 133 | Six Suitcase Travel | 36 | Submit | Travel |
| 134 | Sports Then & Now | 36 | Submit | Sports |
| 135 | Ms tech | 36 | Submit | Technology |
| 136 | Be a Better Blogger | 36 | Submit | Blogging |
| 137 | CollectiveRay | 36 | Submit | Web Design |
| 138 | In The Know | 35 | Submit | Travel |
| 139 | We Are Holidays | 34 | Submit | Travel |
| 140 | High Def Geek | 34 | Submit | Technology |
| 141 | Techlila | 34 | Submit | Technology |
| 142 | The Finance Wand | 33 | Submit | Finance |
| 143 | FitAthletic | 32 | Submit | Fitness |
| 144 | Vector Central | 32 | Submit | Home |
| 145 | iTech Code | 32 | Submit | Blogging, SEO, social media |
| 146 | Entrepreneurship Life | 31 | Submit | Entrepreneur |
| 147 | Tech Patio | 31 | Submit | Marketing, SEO, technology |
| 148 | One Fitness | 30 | Submit | Fitness |
| 149 | Hello Vancity | 30 | Submit | Fashion |
| 150 | Entrepreneur Mom Now | 30 | Submit | Entrepreneur |
| 151 | TQS Magazine | 29 | Submit | Fashion |
| 152 | Lake View Studios | 26 | Submit | Web design, online marketing |
| 153 | Elise Dopson Blog | 27 | Submit | Productivity, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Blogging |
| 154 | Travel Tamed | 25 | Submit | Travel |
| 155 | CareKees | 17 | Submit | Health |
So far, you might have selected a few sites from the above list to target, but make sure to visit the sites and check what type of posts they are accepting. If you think i have missed any relevant sites please let me know in the comments and I will update it.
What are Freight Classes?
Freight classes are designed to help you get common standardized freight pricing for your shipment when working with different carriers, warehouses and brokers. Freight classes are defined by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) and made available through the NMFC or National Motor Freight Classification.
Freight classes (there are 18 of them) are based on weight, length and height, density, ease of handling, value and liability from things like theft, damage, break-ability and spoilage. For the most part, the lower the NMFC class number, the lower the freight charge. Part of FML’s job is to help you figure out your NMFC freight class, insuring the specialized code is correct. This insures that you get correct and consistent pricing for your freight. The following table describes the NMFC classes and is meant for general guidance in picking your freight class, a number of factors influence what class your shipment ends up in. You should contact FML Freight Representative to determine an accurate freight class.
| Class Name | Cost | Notes, Examples | Weight Range Per Cubic Foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 50 – Clean Freight | Lowest Cost | Fits on standard shrink-wrapped 4X4 pallet, very durable | over 50 lbs |
| Class 55 | Bricks, cement, mortar, hardwood flooring | 35-50 pounds | |
| Class 60 | Car accessories & car parts | 30-35 pounds | |
| Class 65 | Car accessories & car parts, bottled beverages, books in boxes | 22.5-30 pounds | |
| Class 70 | Car accessories & car parts, food items, automobile engines | 15 to 22.5 pounds | |
| Class 77.5 | Tires, bathroom fixtures | 13.5 to 15 pounds | |
| Class 85 | Crated machinery, cast iron stoves | 12-13.5 pounds | |
| Class 92.5 | Computers, monitors, refrigerators | 10.5-12 pounds | |
| Class 100 | boat covers, car covers, canvas, wine cases, caskets | 9-10.5 pounds | |
| Class 110 | cabinets, framed artwork, table saw | 8-9 pounds | |
| Class 125 | Small Household appliances | 7-8 pounds | |
| Class 150 | Auto sheet metal parts, bookcases, | 6-7 pounds | |
| Class 175 | Clothing, couches stuffed furniture | 5-6 pounds | |
| Class 200 | Auto sheet metal parts, aircraft parts, aluminum table, packaged mattresses, | 4-5 pounds | |
| Class 250 | Bamboo furniture, mattress and box spring, plasma TV | 3-4 pounds | |
| Class 300 | wood cabinets, tables, chairs setup, model boats | 2-3 pounds | |
| Class 400 | Deer antlers | 1-2 pounds | |
| Class 500 – Low Density or High Value | Highest Cost | Bags of gold dust, ping pong balls | Less than 1 lbs. |
Getting it wrong will cost you. If you incorrectly classify your item to be shipped it can be reclassified by the freight carrier. Disputing this is difficult, time consuming and you will be charged the difference (usually without a discount).
Courtesy: Fmlfreight.com
A Practical Example to Determine LTL Freight Class
To properly freight class a shipment of 1 pallet of plastic hose (BO528112035PSL), we need to know the pallet dimension and weight. This product ships on a standard pallet that can be double stacked for shipment. The dimensions are 48”Lx40”Wx45.5”H and the weight including pallet is 243.2 lbs. Using the formula shown above (and repeated below with the numbers from our example) we derive a PCF of 4.8 PCF. Therefore using the table above our freight would be NMFC class 51140-4 rated at class 150.
- PCF calculation for a full pallet of 32 cartons of BO528112035PSL
- Length x width x height = cubic inches (48”x40”x45.5”=87,360 cubic inches)
- Cubic inches/1728 = cubic feet (87,360/1728 = 50.6 cubic feet)
- Divide weight of the packing unit by the volume. (243.2 lbs /50.6 cubic feet = 4.8 pounds per cubic foot)
Again, it is VERY important as a shipper of freight you understand freight class. Getting it wrong will cost you. If you incorrectly classify your item to be shipped it can be reclassified by the freight carrier. Disputing this is difficult, time consuming and you will be charged the difference (usually without a discount).
Courtesy: Cerasis.com
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How to Add Social Media Links to Your Google Search Profile
Google recently published instructions for adding code to your nonprofit’s website so that your social media profiles will appear in your website’s Google Profile, like in the example below.
Currently, Google only supports these social profiles:
- Google+
- YouTube
- Myspace
To add your social media profiles to your website’s Google Profile, follow these simple steps:
- Make sure you have the ability to add script to your website’s backend. If you don’t, send these instructions to your website developer.
- Copy and paste the following code into a plain text document:
<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "Your Organization Name", "url" : "http://www.your-site.com", "sameAs" : [ "http://www.facebook.com/your-profile", "http://www.twitter.com/yourProfile", "http://plus.google.com/your_profile"] } </script> - Add the name of your organization to the ”name” section of the script.
- Add your website to the “url” section of the script.
- Add your social media links to the ”sameAs” section of the script.
- Copy and paste your edited script into the head or body of your webpages. If you use WordPress, you should place this script where you place analytics or retargeting scripts.
- Troubleshoot your script with Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.
How can social media help your business?
People buy from people, not from websites. Shocker? Come on… you all know it’s true. But what does “people buy from people” really mean, and how can you take action now so that your business can benefit from it?
It’s all about getting your business out into the sphere of social media and then WORKING IT.
How social media affects your business is completely up to you. Regardless of whether you sell your products or services out of a storefront or online, you have the potential to build a strong social media presence that will help you grow and connect with your audience, convert more leads into actual customers, AND get those customers to refer their friends and colleagues to you. (In case you didn’t catch that, getting customers to refer business to you is like having people PAY YOU to market your business for you… pretty cool, right?!)
How does this happen? Well, social media is pretty cool in that it makes it possible for you to be everywhere. Peoples social networks are massive, and so for every one person you can connect with on social media, you’re opening a door to potentially connecting with their social network as well. It also provides you with a platform to build strong relationships with your audience and your current customers – relationships that can be very valuable.
Picture a virtual snowball – what I like to call the “social snowball”. You start a business, have a website up and running (your “hub” or homebase), and you’re ready to start getting the word out. You start a Facebook page and you tell five of your friends about it. They’re supportive and love what you’re doing, and so they go to your Facebook page and they “like” it.
Those five friends you told about your page have an average of 150 Facebook friends each (150 x 5 = 750 friends). Let’s say 5% of those 750 friends notice in their Newsfeed that their friend “liked” your page, and it’s now being recommended by Facebook that they like it, too – and they do. So, hypothetically, just by telling five of your friends about your Facebook page, you have about 40 “likes”.
See how fast word travels on social media, and why it’s important for you to get out there already? This example is just related to building your audience and getting page “likes”, but it also holds true for people referring their friends and colleagues to you for any number of things: products, services, etc.
Now that you know it’s important to get your social media presence rockin’ and rollin’, let’s take a look at how you can do this from the ground level up: from building your audience to connecting with and nurturing your audience.
Let’s break down each of these steps:
Step 1: start building (or enhancing) your audience
1. If you haven’t already, create a business page or profile on each of the main social media platforms:
- Google+
2. Think about how you want your business to be viewed on these sites. It’s important to know what message you’re sending and how you’re going to send it. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who is your ideal audience? (Who are you trying to reach?)
- What will your voice “sound like” across your social networks? (Will you be to-the-point, all business? or will you have some fun with your social media pages?)
- What are your marketing goals on each platform? (i.e. Facebook: to attract more email subscribers; Twitter: to attract more followers; LinkedIn: to gain more authority in my niche; Google+: to drive more awareness.)
3. If you’ve already started building your social media presence, then try some different tactics to enhance it, like running a campaign on Facebook, (example: to get more page likes, or maybe to get more interactions). This will help increase the number of fans and followers you have, giving you a broader social media presence.
Step 2: start connecting and nurturing relationships
Now that you have fans and followers, think about how you can really engage and connect with them.
1. Be open
- People want to get to know you, trust you: be transparent.
- Care about your social networks, and they’ll care about you: don’t always post about you and your business – post about others and what they’re doing. What does your audience care about and what would be interesting to them?
2. Provide value
- Create a give-away or offer a special. This will help attract more people to your business, plus, who doesn’t like give-aways and specials? If you’re an online business, offer a free eBook or webinar series to your audience and post about on your social media sites. If you’re a brick and mortar business, run a special: “stop in today to receive 10% when you mention this post!” This will not only provide value to your audience, it will also provoke action/engagement with your business on their part.
3. Don’t stop
- The important thing to keep top-of-mind when you’re getting into social media is that it takes time, and you simply have to be consistent. Be sure you’re monitoring your pages and responding to inquires, messages and posts. If you want people to engage with you, then you have to engage with them, too!
Building a strong social presence and connecting with your audience on social media is time consuming and can be tough. These platforms are constantly changing, and so it’s not something you can just put up and expect it to run itself. Continue the conversation and you will continue to build relationships with your audience and your potential customers. If you take the time to nurture those relationships and provide value, then your business will benefit as a result.
Social networks are powerful, and in a world where people buy from people, the relationships you build online can mean everything for your business.
What’s one thing you’ve done on social media that has really helped your business?
Source: www.eofire.com
How much? A survey of salaries in 2002
It’s not something we talk about, except during job interviews or divorce proceedings. Very occasionally, we’ll lower our voices, scan the room and tell someone what we earn. But it would be far easier to confess anything else. In compiling R.O.B. Magazine’s first salary survey, covering 21 professions and a list of famous Canadians, we encountered a lot of reticence, along with the common request: “Please don’t use my name.” Some didn’t mind, like the painter, the rock singer and Cody Todd of the Vermilion Standard in Alberta, who averages $7 an hour for his job as a reporter, photographer, designer and PR person. “I’m a busy guy with little money,” he says. Here, a look at other busy people, up and down Canada’s pay ladder. Read more