What is WordPress Image Optimization? Why is it Important?

10 février 2022/par Service comm.

WordPress Website Analysis: Before & After ImageEngine

WordPress is by far the world’s most popular CMS. Not only does it dominate the CMS market with a 64% market share, but it also powers 39.6% of all websites. It has taken the internet by storm by democratizing the web for all. Now, anyone can build, manage, and host a successful website without needing a college degree or coding expertise.

However, while WordPress is great at managing many technical aspects, it still can’t do everything for you. Built mostly on PHP, there are often concerns regarding how performant WordPress is. And, with performance impacting everything from bounce rates to SEO rankings to conversions, it’s something that should be on your radar too.

If you don’t know it yet, images are one of the main causes of slow-loading websites. In recent years, WordPress has stepped up its efforts to try and help users with image optimization out-of-the-box.

Still, as we’ll show, it’s not a total solution, and there is still plenty you can do to deliver better experiences on your WordPress website through image optimization.

What is WordPress Image Optimization? Why is it Important?

Simply put, image optimization is anything you do to make images load faster on your website pages. Almost all websites that use images can benefit from some form of image optimization, even those using WordPress.

Why?

Well, performance is a hugely significant factor when it comes to the competitiveness of your website today.

Google has also made performance an increasingly important factor when it comes to SEO rankings. In fact, performance is a direct ranking signal that carries significant weight.

Google’s Page Experience Update that went live in 2021 has been the biggest move in that direction yet. Soon, Google might even use visual indicators in SERP results to distinguish high-performing websites from the rest.

In Google’s own words, “These signals measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page and contribute to our ongoing work to ensure people get the most helpful and enjoyable experiences from the web.”

So, Why Should We Target Images For Performance Optimization?

According to Google, images are the largest contributor to page weight. Google has also singled out image optimization specifically as the factor with the most untapped potential for performance optimization.

This problem isn’t going away soon. According to data by the HTTP Archive, there are roughly 967.5 KB bytes of image data on desktop web pages and 866.3 KB of image data on mobile pages. This is an increase of 16.1% and 38.8%, respectively, over the last five years.

Thanks to popular e-commerce tools like Woocommerce, it’s estimated that up to 28% of all online sales happen on WordPress websites.

And don’t forget, images are both a key part of conveying information to the user and integral to the design of your website. If they take significantly longer to load than your text, for example, it will negatively impact the user experience in a variety of ways.

In summary, optimized images help your WordPress website by:

Improving user satisfaction.
Improving various traffic metrics, like bounce rates, time-on-page, etc.
Boosting your SEO rankings.
Contributing to higher conversions (and sales).

How Does Image Optimization in WordPress Work?

WordPress is so popular because it’s a CMS (content management system) that allows anyone to build, design, and manage a website without any coding or advanced technical experience. Advanced features can be installed with just a few clicks, thanks to plugins, and you rarely have to touch the code behind your website unless you want to make some unique modifications.

In short, using a CMS like WordPress shields you from many of the day-to-day technicalities of running a website.

WordPress Image Optimization: What It Can Do

As we mentioned, one of the main reasons WordPress is so popular is because it takes care of many of the technical aspects of running a website. With that in mind, many think that WordPress should also automatically take care of image optimization without them having to get involved at all.

Unfortunately, that’s not really the case.

True, WordPress does offer some built-in image optimization. Whenever you upload an image to WordPress, it currently compresses the quality to about 82% of the original (since v4.5).

In v4.4, WordPress also introduced responsive image syntax using the srcset attribute. This creates four breakpoints for each image you upload according to the default WordPress image sizes:

150px square for thumbnails
300px width for medium images
768px max-width for medium_large images
1024px max-width for large images.

Here you can see an example of the actual responsive syntax code generated by WordPress:

<img loading="lazy" src="https://bleedingcosmos.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/33-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9" width="610" height="406" srcset="https://bleedingcosmos.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/33-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://bleedingcosmos.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/33-300x200.jpg 300w, https://bleedingcosmos.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/33-768x512.jpg 768w, https://bleedingcosmos.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/33-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px">

Depending on the screen size of the device from which a user visits your webpage, WordPress will let the browser pick the most appropriately sized image. For example, the smallest version for mobile displays or the largest for 4K Retina screens, like those of a Mac.

While this may seem impressive, it’s only a fraction of what can be achieved using a proper image optimization solution, as we’ll show later.

Lastly, WordPress implemented HTML native default lazy loading for all images starting with version 5.5.

So, in short, WordPress offers the following image optimization capabilities baked-in:

Quality compression (limited)
Responsive syntax (up to 4 breakpoints)
Lazy loading

WordPress Image Optimization: What it Cannot Do

There are other issues many have with both the implementation of image compression and responsive syntax as it’s used by WordPress. This leads to some users even purposefully deactivating WordPress’ built-in image optimization so they can fully take control of it themselves.

Here are some of the reasons why:

WordPress uses a very basic form of quality compression. It does not use advanced technologies like AI and machine learning algorithms to compress images while maintaining maximum visual quality. It’s also lossy compression, so the quality is lost for good. You can clearly see the difference between an original HD image and the compressed version created by WordPress.
WordPress only compresses most images by up to 20%, while advanced image optimization tools can reduce all image sizes intelligently by up to 80%.
Responsive syntax can provide significant performance improvements over simply uploading a single HD image to be served on all devices and screens. However, it’s still only limited to a set number of breakpoints (typically 3 or 4). Since it’s not dynamic, a whole spectrum of possible image sizes is not created or used.
Responsive syntax code is not scalable and can quickly lead to code that’s bloated, messy, and hard to read.
WordPress doesn’t accelerate image delivery by automatically caching and serving them via a global CDN, although this can be done using other tools.

Another important optimization feature that WordPress does not have is auto-conversion to next-gen image file formats. Different image formats offer different performance benefits on different devices. Some formats also enable higher levels of compression while maintaining visual fidelity.

Next-gen formats like WebP, AVIF, and JPEG-2000 are considered to be the most optimal formats on compatible devices. For example, until recently, WebP would be the optimal choice on Chrome browsers, while JPEG-4000 would be optimal on Safari browsers.

However, WordPress will simply serve images in the same formats in which they were originally uploaded to all visitors.

How to Measure the Image Performance of a WordPress Website?

As the undisputed king of search engines, we’ll base most of our performance metrics on guidelines established by Google.

Along with its various performance updates, Google has released a number of guidelines for developers as well as the tools to test and improve their websites according to said guidelines.

Google introduced Core Web Vitals as the primary metrics for measuring a web page’s performance and its effect on the user experience. Thus, Core Web Vitals are referred to as “user-centric performance metrics.” They are an attempt to give developers a testable and quantifiable way to measure an elusive and abstract concept such as “user experience.”

Combined with a number of other factors, Core Web Vitals constitute a major part of the overall page experience signal:

You can find a complete introduction to Core Web Vitals here. However, they currently consist of three main metrics:

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): The time it takes the largest above-the-fold element on your page to load. This is typically a full-sized image or hero section.
FID (First Input Delay): The delay from the moment a user first interacts with an element on the page until it becomes responsive.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): The visual stability with which the elements on a page load.

Here is an illustration of how these metrics are scored:

While these are the three most important metrics to optimize, they are not the only ones. Google still measures other metrics like the FCP (First Contentful Paint), SI (Speed Index), as well as the TTFB (Time to First Byte), TBT (Total Blocking Time), and TTI (Time to Interactive).

A number of these metrics are directly affected by the images used on your web pages. For example, LCP, FCP, and SI are direct indicators of how fast the content of your web page loads and depends on the overall byte size of the page. However, it can also indirectly affect FID by keeping the main thread busy with rendering large amounts of image content or the perceived CLS by delaying the time it takes large images to load.

These metrics apply to all websites, whether they are custom-made or built using a CMS like WordPress.

When using tools like Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights, you’ll also get scored based on other flags Google deems important. Some of them are specific to images, such as properly sizing images and serving images in next-gen formats.

If you only use built-in WordPress image optimization, you’ll get flagged for the following opportunities for improvement:

Some of the audits it will pass, however, are deferring offscreen images (lazy loading) and efficiently coding images (due to compression):

A Better Way to Optimize WordPress Images: ImageEngine

Billions of websites are all vying for prime real estate on Google SERPs, as well as the attention of an increasingly fussy internet-using public. Every inch matters when it comes to giving your website a competitive advantage.

So, how can you eliminate those remaining performance flags and deliver highly optimized images that will keep both your visitors and Google happy?

Sure, you could manually optimize images using software like PhotoShop or GIMP. However, that will take you hours for each new batch of images. Plus, you still won’t benefit from any automated adaptive optimization.

A more reasonable solution in today’s fast-paced climate is to use a tool developed specifically for maximum image optimization: an image CDN like ImageEngine.

ImageEngine is an automated, cloud-based image optimization service using device detection as well as intelligent image compression using the power of AI and machine learning. It can reduce image payloads by up to 80% while maintaining visual quality and accelerating delivery around the world thanks to its CDN with geographically dispersed PoPs.

Why is ImageEngine Image Optimization Better Than WordPress?

When making a head-to-head comparison, here are the reasons why ImageEngine can deliver better performance:

Device Detection: ImageEngine features built-in device detection. This means it picks up what device a visitor to your website is using and tailors its optimization strategy to what’s best for that specific device.
Client hints: By supporting client hints, ImageEngine has access to even more information regarding the device and browser to make better optimization decisions.
Next-gen formats: Based on optimal settings, ImageEngine automatically converts and serves images in next-gen formats like WebP, AVIF, JPEG2000, and MP4 (for GIFs).
Save data header: When a Chrome user has save-data mode enabled, ImageEngine will automatically compress images more aggressively to save on data transfer.
CDN with dedicated edge servers: ImageEngine will automatically cache and serve your optimized image assets using its global CDN. Each edge server has device awareness built-in to bring down latency and accelerate delivery. You can also choose to prioritize specific regions.

So, the key differentiator is that ImageEngine can tailor optimizing images for what’s optimal for each of your visitors. ImageEngine is particularly good at serving mobile visitors thanks to WURFL device detection, which can dynamically resize images according to most devices and screen sizes in use today. As of now, this is a completely unique capability that none of its competitors offer.

It allows for far better and more fine-tuned optimization than WordPress’ across-the-board approach to compression and responsive syntax.

If you want, you could turn off WordPress responsive syntax and compression, and you would still experience a performance increase using ImageEngine. However, ImageEngine also plays nice with responsive syntax, so it’s not completely necessary unless you want to serve the highest-fidelity/low-byte-size images possible.

How Does ImageEngine Work with WordPress?

The process ImageEngine uses to integrate with WordPress can be broken down into a few easy steps:

Sign up for an ImageEngine account: ImageEngine offers three pricing plans depending on the scale and features you need as well as a no-commitment 30-day free trial.
Specify your image origin: This tells ImageEngine where to find the original versions of your images. For a WordPress website, you can just use your domain, e.g., https://mywordpresswebsite.com. ImageEngine will then automatically pull the images you’ve uploaded to your WordPress website.

Copy the Delivery Address: After you create an account and specify your image origin, ImageEngine will provide you with a Delivery Address. A Delivery Address is your own unique address that will be used in your <img> tags to point back to the ImageEngine service. Delivery Addresses may be on a shared domain (imgeng.in) or customized using a domain that you own. A Delivery Address typically looks something like {random_string}.cdn.imgeng.in. If your images are uploaded to the default WordPress folder /wp-content/uploads/, you can access your optimized images from ImageEngine simply by changing your website domain. For example, by typing {imageengine_domain}.cdn.imgeng.in/wp-content/uploads/myimage.jpg into your browser, you’ll see the optimized version of that image. Just press the copy button next to the Delivery Address and use it in the next step configuring the plugin.

Install the ImageEngine Optimizer CDN plugin: The plugin is completely free and can be installed just like any other plugin from the WordPress repository.
Configure and enable ImageEngine Plugin in WordPress: Just go to the plugin under “ImageEngine” in the main navigation menu. Then, copy and paste in your ImageEngine “Delivery Address,” tick the “Enabled” checkbox, and click “Save Changes” to enable ImageEngine:

Now, all ImageEngine basically does is replace your WordPress website domain in image URLs with your new ImageEngine Delivery Address. This makes it a simple, lightweight, and non-interfering plugin that works great with most other plugins and themes. It also doesn’t add unnecessary complexity or weight to your WordPress website pages.

ImageEngine vs Built-in WordPress Image Optimization

So, now let’s get down to business by testing the performance improvement you can expect from using ImageEngine to optimize your image assets.

To do this test, we set up a basic WordPress page containing a number of high-quality images. I then used PageSpeed Insights and the Lighthouse Performance Calculator to get the performance scores before and after using ImageEngine.

Importantly, we conducted this test from a mobile-first perspective. Not only has mobile internet traffic surpassed desktop traffic globally, but Google themselves have committed to mobile-first indexing as a result.

Here is a PageSpeed score using the Lighthouse calculator for WordPress with no image optimization:

As we can see, both Core Web Vitals and other important metrics were flagged as “needs improvement.” Specifically, the LCP, FCP, and TBT. In this case, both the LCP and FCP were a high-res featured image at the top of the page.

If we go to the opportunities for improvement highlighted by PageSpeed, we see where the issues come from. We could still save as much as 4.2s of loading time by properly resizing images and a further 2.7s by serving them in next-gen formats:

So, now let’s see how much ImageEngine can improve on that.

The same test run on my WordPress website using ImageEngine got the following results:

As you can see, we now have a 100 PageSpeed score. I saved roughly 2.5s on the SI (~86%) as well as roughly 1.7s on the LCP (~60%). There was also a slight improvement in the FCP.

Not only will you enjoy a stronger page experience signal from Google, but this represents a tangible difference to visitors regarding the speed with which your website loads. That difference will lead to lower bounce rates, increased user satisfaction, and more conversions.

There was also a 53% overall reduction in the total image payload. This is impressive, considering that it’s on top of WordPress’ built-in compression and responsive syntax.

Conclusion

So, as someone with a WordPress website, what can you take away from this?

Well, first of all, WordPress does feature some basic image optimization. And while not perfect, it should help you offer reasonable levels of performance, even if you use a lot of image content.

However, the caveat is that WordPress applies aggressive, across-the-board compression, which will lead to a noticeable reduction in visual quality. If you use WordPress for any type of website where premium quality images are important, this is a concern — for example, as a photography portfolio, exhibition, or image marketplace like Shutterstock.

By using ImageEngine, you can reduce image payloads and accelerate delivery even further without compromising too harshly on visual quality. What’s more, ImageEngine’s adaptive image optimization technology will provide greater improvements to more of your visitors, regardless of what device(s) they use to browse the web.

Whether or not you still want to use WordPress’ built-in optimizations, ImageEngine will deliver significant improvements to your user experience, traffic metrics, and even conversions.

Plus, true to the spirit of WordPress, it’s extremely simple to set up without any advanced configuration. Just sign up for ImageEngine in 3 easy steps, install the plugin, integrate ImageEngine by copy/pasting your image domain, and you’re good to go.

[ This is a sponsored post on behalf of ImageEngine ]

The post WordPress Website Analysis: Before & After ImageEngine first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

8 février 2022/par Service comm.

L’industriel METEX NØØVISTAGO s’appuie sur SAP Analytics Cloud Planning pour son élaboration budgétaire

Actualités, ERP & Applications, SAP

Après avoir adopté l’ERP SAP S/4HANA, METEX NØØVISTAGO a souhaité améliorer son processus d’élaboration budgétaire. Une tâche confiée à SAP Analytics Cloud Planning, déployé par le Groupe KPC.

METEX NØØVISTAGO est un acteur industriel à la pointe de la bio-industrie.L’entreprise produit des ingrédients fonctionnels (principalement des acides aminées à ce jour) par fermentation pour le marché de la nutrition animale et bientôt de la cosmétique : 1 usine, 100KT d’acide aminées par an, 200M€ de CA annuel, et 350 salariés.

En juin 2020, METEX NØØVISTAGO a déployé un nouveau système d’information en mode greenfield, comprenant l’ERP intelligent SAP S/4HANA, un data warehouse SAP BW/4HANA et l’outil d’analyse de données SAP Analytics Cloud. « Un changement de taille pour METEX NØØVISTAGO,qui avait travaillé pendant 35 ans sur IBM AS/400 », explique Paul Stoffaes, DSI de l’entreprise.

Reste un processus qui n’avait pas été refondu : la planification budgétaire. « Le processus de forecast était réalisé sur Excel, ce qui était long, laborieux et source de nombreuses erreurs. Le contrôle de gestion passait plus de temps à consolider les données qu’à les analyser. Quant au processus d’élaboration budgétaire, il était encore plus fastidieux ».

METEX NØØVISTAGO a donc décidé de mettre en place une solution capable de livrer des prévisions au mois, à l’année et sur plusieurs années, avec une agilité permettant l’intégration aisée de nouveaux produits ou de nouveaux processus. L’objectif est de libérer du temps au contrôle de gestion, afin qu’il puisse se focaliser sur son cœur de métier, l’analyse et le pilotage.

SAP Analytics Cloud Planning déployé sur l’élaboration budgétaire

La société a confié la modélisation de son processus à l’un des modules de SAP Analytics Cloud, le module de Planning. « L’utilisation de SAP Analytics Cloud Planning permet de faciliter l’intégration avec l’ERP SAP S/4HANA, constate Paul Stoffaes. Il y a également une certaine logique à l’utiliser, car nos collaborateurs connaissent déjà SAP Analytics Cloud dans le cadre de la Business Intelligence. »

Le déploiement de la brique Planning de SAP Analytics Cloud a été confié à KPC : « Ils ont bien compris nos enjeux et ont su proposer un déroulé de projet et une méthodologie adaptés, ainsi qu’un chiffrage lisible. Leur capacité à s’engager au forfait sur un planning serré a également été une des raisons du choix de KPC. » METEX NØØVISTAGO avait en effet fixé comme contrainte une réalisation du projet dans un délai restreint de 5 mois.

Le cœur fonctionnel de la solution mise en place est un P&L présenté par produit, accompagné de plusieurs modèles de simulation. Chaque équipe dispose de son propre accès à la solution, afin d’y faire remonter ses données et prévisions : commerciaux, production, achats, logistique… Les informations sont synchronisées chaque jour – dans les deux sens – entre les référentiels SAP S/4HANA, SAP BW/4HANA et SAP Analytics Cloud, au travers de SAP Data Hub.

Voici le détail du processus mis en place :

L’équipe de vente fait remonter ses informations : volumes, prix, commissions…
L’équipe en charge des achats définit les prix moyens pondérés.
L’équipe de production travaille en parallèle sur la définition des nomenclatures.
Le contrôle de gestion pilote l’ensemble du processus, en intervenant lorsque nécessaire.

Un projet réussi, qui renforce l’adoption de SAP Analytics Cloud

« De notre point de vue, le projet est une réussite, résume Paul Stoffaes. Il a été mené à bien dans les délais, avec un budget maîtrisé. KPC a su faire preuve d’une solide expertise fonctionnelle et technique. Nous avions séparé le projet sous forme de lots, permettant de dispatcher les livrables tout au long du développement, ce qui s’est avéré très confortable. »

Quels bénéfices a identifié METEX NØØVISTAGO?

Des gains de productivité, avec une réduction de la durée du processus et une plus grande autonomie des parties prenantes.
Des gains en fiabilité, les données étant extraites puis remontées directement depuis et vers l’ERP SAP S/4HANA.
Des gains de flexibilité : « Auparavant, évaluer chacune des hypothèses pouvait tourner rapidement au cauchemar. Aujourd’hui, nous sommes beaucoup plus sereins. »

Le tout avec comme résultat global une amélioration des prévisions. Mais aussi un bénéfice inattendu : un intérêt renouvelé des collaborateurs pour SAP Analytics Cloud. « L’utilisation de SAP Analytics Cloud Planning a poussé certains utilisateurs à se pencher sur SAP Analytics Cloud BI », confirme Paul Stoffaes. La DSI s’attendait à une adoption rapide de SAP Analytics Cloud Planning par les utilisateurs de SAP Analytics Cloud BI. La fertilisation a finalement aussi été constatée dans l’autre sens !

The post L’industriel METEX NØØVISTAGO s’appuie sur SAP Analytics Cloud Planning pour son élaboration budgétaire appeared first on SAP France News.

17 janvier 2022/par Service comm.

SAP, Google Cloud et delaware accompagnent la marque de prêt-à-porter Gémo dans sa stratégie omnicanale

Actualités, ERP & Applications, SAP

Paris, le 10 janvier 2022 – Gémo se dote aujourd’hui de nouvelles solutions technologiques centrées sur la data, avec l’offre de migration RISE with SAP. Objectif : développer une approche omnicanale de pointe, conjuguant parfaitement ses lieux de ventes physiques et son commerce en ligne. Le maillage de ses entrepôts et de ses magasins représente en effet un atout clé pour l’enseigne familiale du groupe Eram, qui entame, grâce à SAP S/4HANA, une stratégie d’accélération de sa transformation numérique pour en faire un véritable levier de croissance.

SAP, Google Cloud et delaware, trois acteurs au service de la simplification

SAP, fidèle à ses ambitions, démontre une fois de plus sa capacité à apporter tous les outils nécessaires pour s’adapter aux évolutions du marché et notamment à celui du prêt-à-porter. Fort de son expertise de leader des logiciels de gestion d’entreprise sur de multiples industries, SAP a en effet toutes les cartes en main pour accompagner Gémo dans le challenge que l’enseigne souhaite relever à horizon 2025.

Le choix de Google Cloud s’inscrit dans une logique de capital technologique. A travers cette migration dans le cloud, réfléchie, progressive et déterminée, Gémo souhaite valoriser la stratégie de big data déjà engagée avec Google. Pouvoir intégrer parfaitement les données SAP, tout en bénéficiant de la sécurité, de la flexibilité, des capacités d’analyses et de la résilience de l’infrastructure, a été décisif dans la sélection de Google Cloud.

Pour intégrer SAP S/4 HANA et ses modules spécialisés, Gémo s’adosse à un acteur local et international reconnu sur le marché SAP. delaware, est un expert de l’intégration SAP dans l’industrie du retail / fashion et est notamment présent à Nantes près du siège de Gémo. Il a su démontrer la valeur ajoutée de la solution SAP pour Gémo et déployer les équipes d’experts nécessaires pour accompagner cette transformation.

Avec 440 magasins, 4 000 collaborateurs et plus de 12 000 références produits, l’enseigne Gémo habille aujourd’hui 1 français sur 5, et ambitionne d’entrer dans le top 5 des acteurs du marché de l’équipement de la personne. La modernisation des outils, basée sur un cœur SAP, doit permettre de répondre aux ambitions de croissance omnicanale, en France et à l’international, en intégrant de nouveaux modèles de business.

Une transformation numérique engagée pour soutenir la croissance à venir

Les technologies proposées aujourd’hui par l’offre « Business Transformation as a Service » de RISE with SAP ont été bâties dans le but de soutenir cette croissance et d’apporter les solutions innovantes afin :

d’accélérer le Time To Market de l’ensemble des projets : les distributeurs producteurs se doivent d’être rapides pour répondre immédiatement aux demandes des consommateurs ;
de tenir les engagements dans le taux de service ;
de personnaliser l’expérience client ;
d’assurer la fluidité et l’efficacité de la chaîne d’approvisionnement et de distribution ;
d’apporter le meilleur sur la disponibilité des collections selon les saisons et sur la centralisation de l’offre ;
et de garantir la pérennité de l’entreprise et préserver sa rentabilité.

« L’accompagnement de la stratégie de transformation de Gémo est la raison d’être de ce partenariat à haute valeur ajoutée avec SAP, Google Cloud et delaware. C’est en effet en trouvant de nouveaux relais de croissance avec une approche omnicanale, en améliorant l’expérience de nos clients et en garantissant l’excellence opérationnelle de nos chaînes logistiques que nous assurerons à notre groupe une place de leader dans le secteur hautement compétitif de l’équipement de la personne en France, et à l’international, pour les prochaines décennies », annonce Philippe Thirache, Directeur Général Gémo.

« Accompagner l’enseigne Gémo dans sa transformation numérique est une grande fierté pour nous aujourd’hui. D’autant que nous avançons avec la même vision, toujours tournée vers le client et avec l’ambition d’améliorer et de simplifier la vie de chacun. Nous avons hâte de constater le fruit de ce nouveau partenariat et de permettre à Gémo de déployer sa stratégie omnicanale.» précise Frédéric Chauviré, Directeur Général SAP France

« Nous sommes fiers d’accompagner une marque comme Gémo et un groupe comme Eram, fleurons de la distribution française, dans leur accélération numérique, et de démontrer notre pertinence technologique dans leur stratégie de croissance, de soutenir l’enrichissement constant de leur expérience et de leur satisfaction client. » explique Anthony Cirot, Directeur général de Google Cloud France.

« Gémo est une entreprise engagée, ancrée sur son territoire, et fait partie des leaders sur son marché. Nous sommes ainsi particulièrement fiers de participer à la transformation de cette enseigne française reconnue. Les experts et la direction de delaware sont mobilisés pour faire de ce projet une réussite à la hauteur des ambitions de Gémo. A travers ce programme et avec le concours du groupe Eram, nous continuerons de favoriser la démarche invest in digital people en faveur de la reconversion professionnelle dans le secteur du numérique » complète Aymeric Fosset, associé delaware.

The post SAP, Google Cloud et delaware accompagnent la marque de prêt-à-porter Gémo dans sa stratégie omnicanale appeared first on SAP France News.

10 janvier 2022/par Service comm.

8 Reasons Your Site Is Slow + How To Fix Them

1, 2, 3 – That’s exactly how long it takes you to start losing visitors if you have a slow-loading website.

Hold on! Surely, the only thing that matters to users is that your website works flawlessly and looks great… right? Wrong!

The fact of the matter is that we’ve all become accustomed to instant access to information and content. The average internet user today places a lot of value on speed, and the bar is continually being raised.

If you are like most people, you probably feel an immediate sense of dread at the thought of optimizing your website. Where do you start? How can you make the most impactful improvements? What makes your website slow in the first place?

Have no fear, as we’ll be answering all of your questions below as well as putting you on your way to a website that loads with blazing speed.

Why Should You Be Worried About A Slow-Loading Website?

Good question!

As many as 53% of visitors abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load. Even worse, 1 in 3 shoppers will leave a website if it takes longer than 5 seconds to load.

So, performance plays a huge role in the user experience of your website and whether your visitors will stay on your website or be converted into customers.

For some time, Google has been keenly aware of this fact. As a search engine, Google knows that it’s counterproductive to recommend content to users if they won’t stick around to consume it.

That’s why they’ve continually been increasing the role performance plays when ranking websites for their SERPs (search engine results pages).

In recent years, Google has introduced core web vitals. These are metrics they hope will help quantify how performance affects the user experience. In general, they measure how fast, stable, and interactive a page is while loading. This will be more important than ever after Google announced its Page Experience update, which started its global rollout in June 2021.

As you may know, ranking highly for Google is vital for your website’s visibility. For one, 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine, of which Google has a 92.7% market share. Even if you manage to land on the coveted first page of Google, the first five results get over 70% of all clicks (28% to the first result alone).

So, to recap why a fast loading website is so desirable:

It directly affects your ability to keep, satisfy, and even convert visitors to your website.
It impacts your search engine rankings which impacts your “findability” and organic traffic.

8 Reasons Your Site Is Slow + How to Fix Them

O.K., so now that we’re all on the same page regarding the importance of your website performance, let’s look at common issues slowing down your website + how to fix them.

1. You’re Using A Sub-Par Hosting Service

As the party responsible for making your website available to the outside world, your hosting service can be a make-or-break factor. Not only should you pick a host that has a good track record when it comes to uptime a performance, but also one that’s suitable according to your needs.

Even if you take all the steps below to optimize your website’s performance, it may still load slowly if traffic to your website is overwhelming your available bandwidth or your host’s server capacity. If that happens, some users may experience extremely slow loading times, broken features, or even complete unavailability.

For most personal, blog, or local/small business sites, a respectable hosting provider like Bluehost or GoDaddy should be good enough. However, if you plan on running any type of large-scale, high-traffic webstore, business portal, or other type of website, you’ll want premium hosting, such as WPEngine (for WordPress), VPS hosting, or even a dedicated server.

2. You’re Not Optimizing Your Media Assets

As you probably know, media like images and videos take up significantly more space than most other types of content, such as text, code, stylesheets, or other static files. Even a single image has the potential of consisting of more data than dozens of website pages containing nothing but the underlying HTML and text.

In a Speed Essentials presentation, the Google team identified images as the largest contributor to page weight. In fact, they have the potential to consume a website’s entire performance budget if left unoptimized. Images can also directly impact all three of Google’s core web vitals – key metrics Google uses to measure the performance of a website.

However, the use of images and video is likely to continue growing, heightening the importance of finding a sustainable solution. According to HTTPArchive, images have increased by 19.3% on desktop and 42.7% on mobile.

For now and the foreseeable future, optimizing your images carries the greatest potential for improving performance.

The problem is that optimizing image assets requires multiple steps. Most importantly:

Using the appropriate next-gen formats which can differ depending on the user’s device, OS, or browser.
Appropriately compressing the size and quality of images to reduce payload without affecting visual quality too badly.
Using the optimal display size and density based on the accessing device to reduce payloads further.
Using lazy loading to only load images as needed.

As you can see, manually going through these steps for every single image on your website can be extremely labor-intensive. This is especially true if you consider that you somehow need to create the optimal variants for different users based on what device, OS, or browser they are using.

In-code strategies, like a JS plugin, responsive images, or CSS media queries tend to bloat your code and lead to other performance issues we’ll discuss below.

Luckily, there are plenty of CDN services available designed specifically for providing some degree of automated image optimization. These platforms analyze the context (i.e., a specific mobile device model, OS version, and browser version) of the user trying to load one of your images and try to serve them a version of the image that’s ideally optimized for them.

However, any media optimization platforms still require installing a small JavaScript plugin to dramatically improve the image and video optimization capabilities.

The one exception here is ImageEngine. ImageEngine uses WURFL device-detection to pick up every possible detail of the user’s device. The logic is built into their device-aware edge servers and doesn’t rely on you adding any additional code or markup to your website pages.

So, not only does it reduce your image payloads by up to 80% and serve them via a global CDN, but it doesn’t leave a footprint in your website’s code. As a bonus, it also happens to support the widest range of image/video formats, including animated GIFs, as well as client hints and save-data mode.

3. Render-Blocking JavaScript And CSS Is Delaying Page Loads

JavaScript is the de facto programming language for adding interactivity and advanced features to websites today. Likewise, CSS is the standard for adding styling. Both are critical components for almost any modern website.

However, nothing good comes free, and both may impact the performance of your website, particularly when used carelessly.

The following are some steps you can take to minimize the impact of these assets on your website performance:

Minify your JavaScript and CSS files.
Combine a large number of JS/CSS files into fewer files.
Replace some of your external JS and CSS files with inline JS/CSS. (Don’t overdo this! Inline JS and CSS is only suitable for small code snippets).
Defer loading JavaScript until after all your content is loaded and use media queries for CSS files.

Because media can have a more significant impact on your page weight, this leads some to believe that adding more JavaScript is the lesser of two evils.

However, depending on whether you already have render-blocking JS, Google might flag this as a completely new issue. Regardless, it will negatively impact your performance score in tools like PageSpeed Insights:

You can avoid it altogether by using an optimization engine like ImageEngine that doesn’t require any JavaScript.

4. You’re Not Using A Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A CDN is a network of servers spread across various regions all over the globe. What it basically does is store a copy of your website on each of these servers. When an internet user visits your site, the CDN automatically serves your website from the nearest server to that user.

What this does is allow your website to load faster, no matter where in the world people are visiting it from. If your website was only hosted on a single server, say somewhere in the U.S., then it could take much longer to load for a visitor located in Asia than one in the U.S.

While they all basically do the same thing, different CDNs are better at handling different types of content. Cloudflare, Fastly, and Akamai are just some of the most popular general-purpose CDNs around. Image CDNs like ImageEngine are purpose-built to not only serve image and video assets but to also optimize them using compression, formatting, etc.

So, the two main factors to consider are the type of content you want to deliver via the CDN and its global coverage. However, it’s usually possible to use multiple CDNs in tandem to cover different types of content and reach a wider area.

5. There’s Excessive Overhead In Your Database

If you have a website with any type of complexity, you probably have a corresponding database. In fact, all WordPress websites require a database to function.

Over the years, a lot of information moves in and out of the database. Sometimes, the data can get lost along the way or become obsolete. If you don’t regularly spring-clean your database, then this can really start to add up. Not only will it bloat the storage size of your database, but it will start to impact the speed of database queries and requests.

CMS users are especially prone to racking up these kinds of artifacts from plugins and themes that have been installed and removed over the years.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many easy fixes for this issue available. With most hosting providers, you’ll probably need to use phpMyAdmin to manually check and scrub your data. If you have a managed hosting solution, the host’s support team might be able to help you out. In the event that you have a locally installed database, there are some tools you can use, although they’re not 100% effective.

The best way to avoid any issues is to make database maintenance part of your routine and to learn the basics of how databases work.

6. You Have Too Many Plugins Or Themes Installed

For CMS users, plugins or themes offer near-limitless potential to spruce up the design and functionality of their website. However, each plugin or theme comes with additional code and content that add to the overall complexity and size of your website.

If you have a hand-coded website, the same goes for any additional applets or libraries you want to add to your site.

The best way to combat this is to be conscientious when adding any extras to your website. Only install what you really need or want, and make sure to uninstall and properly remove them if you don’t need them anymore.

As mentioned, they might leave various transients or artifacts behind, so you should keep an eye out for them throughout your website files (not just the database) whenever you do some spring cleaning.

7. You Aren’t Utilizing Caching

Caching is often one of the most effective yet ignored techniques for improving website performance. Caching stores your website content in fast-access memory in the user’s browser, allowing it to be loaded near-instantaneously by users. This can include everything from text to stylesheets to images to JavaScript files.

Without caching, a user will need to redownload everything when they navigate to or reload a page — whether or not anything has changed.

However, not properly configuring caching on your website can lead to issues, such as users only loading out-of-date content. Most high-quality caching tools have built-in features that automatically clear the cache when you make changes to a specific website page or content. So, users will only reload content once it has been modified.

Some hosts offer out-of-the-box caching tools with their hosting service. CMS can also usually find plugins for this, such as WPRocket for WordPress.

8. Ads Are Dragging You Down

In the end, ads are just another form of media that increases the overall weight of your website pages. While they are typically small and lightweight, multiple ad placements can really start to add up.

What aggravates the issue is that ads are loaded from external sources. This means they’ll take longer to render, generate more requests, and may mess with how stable your pages load — affecting your core web vitals.

Depending on how important ads are to your revenue stream, you’ll want to carefully consider how many ads you use on your site, where to position them, and when they load. If possible, avoid loading ads at the same time as the rest of your page, especially interstitials.

Conclusion

As you can see, website performance is a multi-faceted subject. Although some may be worse than others, you can’t just address one area and expect your website to suddenly be performant.

However, some general principles apply:

Keep HTTP requests low by limiting the number of files required for each of your website pages.
Maintain proper code hygiene and spring clean transients and leftover artifacts.
Invest in proper hosting infrastructure as well as a CDN for your website.
Optimize your media assets to significantly bring down payloads without sacrificing engagement.

The final point deserves another shoutout. As we’ve pointed out, finding an optimization solution for your media, particularly images, is probably the best thing you can do to improve your website performance. From purely a performance perspective, there is no service quite as effective as ImageEngine. It’s also the one that requires the least amount of technical expertise and ongoing maintenance.

Regardless, you’ll want to run some tests using tools like PageSpeed Insights so you can gather data on what issues your website is facing. From there, you can prioritize fixes to make your website more competitive.

[– This is a sponsored post on behalf of ImageEngine –]

The post 8 Reasons Your Site Is Slow + How To Fix Them first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

28 octobre 2021/par Service comm.

SAP réitère son engagement envers l’entrepreneuriat social en accompagnant sa 3ème Promotion 2021 avec les incubateurs makesense France et La Ruche

Actualités, ERP & Applications, SAP

Depuis 2017, la fondation de SAP poursuit sa démarche de mentoring social et renouvelle cette année son accompagnement pour la 6^ème fois avec programme Test & Learn de l’incubateur de startups sociales de makesense partenaire de la Fondation SAP France. Pendant 3 mois, d’octobre à décembre, une trentaine de collaborateurs bénévoles de SAP en France s’engagent à soutenir 7 startups “early stage” via un programme de mécénat de compétences.

Un accompagnement d’experts en soutien au développement des startups

A cette occasion, un groupe de collaborateurs bénévoles de SAP France accompagnera les startups sociales sélectionnées sur un volet technologique précis, afin de les aider à tirer le meilleur de leur phase de prototypage. L’objectif ? Qu’elles puissent consolider leur business model grâce au catalyseur de compétences que représente SAP.

La particularité de cette promotion se trouve dans les différents niveaux de maturité des startups : des projets jeunes, qui ont besoin de soutien pour se positionner sur leurs marchés. Ainsi, les mentors SAP les accompagnent, les challengent et affinent leurs projets afin de les aider dans la transformation d’idées en projets viables.

1 entrepreneur mentoré sur 2 estime que l’apport de SAP est déterminant dans son prototypage ou dans l’identification des besoins de compétences pour sa startup. 30% d’entre eux estiment avoir progressé en communication ou marketing grâce à l’accompagnement des collaborateurs SAP et 25% affirment que le mentoring leur a permis d’obtenir un partenariat commercial ou stratégique.

« Ce programme est une fierté pour SAP. Il en va de notre responsabilité d’acteur installé de la Tech d’accompagner des projets innovants et des équipes motivées. Plus que jamais nous sommes prêts à apporter notre expertise sur des idées allant dans le sens du progrès social ou environnemental. L’engagement des collaborateurs SAP pour participer à ce programme de mécénat de compétences est toujours plus grand et je suis très fier de voir nos équipes se mobiliser pour le progrès », déclare Frédéric Chauviré, Directeur Général SAP France.

Pour la première fois, la Fondation SAP France propose d’accompagner des entrepreneurs sociaux de deux associations partenaires et avec plusieurs niveaux de maturité pour coller aux aspirations et mobiliser un maximum de collaborateurs autour du projet :

3 projets du programme Test & Learn de makesense, en phase de déploiement.
2 projets du programme Les Ambitieuses de La Ruche en phase de déploiement. En tant que partenaire engagé en faveur de l’entrepreneuriat Tech au féminin, SAP France confirme son ambition de réduire les inégalités femmes/hommes au sein du secteur des nouvelles technologies.
Et 2 projets du programme Sprint de makesense, en phase de prototypage.

Des startups reconnues pour leur impact social et environnemental

Les 7 startups qui composent cette 8^ème promotion, sélectionnées par makesense, La Ruche et la Fondation SAP France, font partie de Tech For Good. Pendant 3 mois, elles seront suivies par 4 à 5 collaborateurs SAP :

Tangata : Acteur de l’accompagnement des référents en entreprise afin d’identifier rapidement des solutions en faveur de leur politique d’inclusion.
Transonore : Podcast de proximité pour favoriser l’expression et l’inclusion grâce au reportage radio et à l’Economie Sociale et Solidaire.
Refunk : Transformation les vêtements en nouvelles pièces en favorisant l’insertion professionnelle par la créativité et la confection textile au sein du 93.
Green City : Conception de solutions low tech et smart visant à supprimer la pollution marine issue de la terre, et notamment D’Rain, une technologie brevetée qui capte les déchets avant qu’ils n’atteignent la mer, là où ils se concentrent, à la sortie des exutoires d’eaux pluviales et qui collecte des données sur la qualité de l’eau.
Les Apprêtés : 1er service éco-responsable de location de vêtements et accessoires de marques éthiques, pour hommes et femmes.
Bon Week : le voyage « lowcal », partir en week-end à côté de chez soi pour soutenir le patrimoine local, l’économie locale
So/co : un studio d’impact social favorisant les synergies entre entreprises et associations.

« Ma mission est de développer les synergies entre les associations et les entreprises car je suis persuadé qu’ensemble, ces deux acteurs ont le pouvoir de changer notre société. L’accompagnement de SAP est une opportunité extraordinaire car il va me permettre de tester mon offre auprès d’un grand Groupe, et co-construire ma solution grâce au soutien des collaborateurs. Je réfléchis notamment au développement d’une plateforme digitale, un sujet sur lequel SAP possède une grande expertise. Cette collaboration va donc me permettre d’augmenter considérablement mon impact ! » Victor Cœur, co-fondateur So/co

« Le programme de mentoring SAP, c’est l’opportunité d’être challengé et de bénéficier des conseils de mentors aux expertises variées pour optimiser notre parcours utilisateur. » Anne Claire Chanvin, co-fondatrice Les Apprêtés.

L’implication de SAP dans ce partenariat permet au leader des progiciels européen, d’avoir à la fois un fort impact externe auprès de l’écosystème des startups, ainsi qu’un impact en interne en créant une expérience collaborateur unique. L’initiative fournit en effet aux collaborateurs SAP des opportunités de développement et en même temps libère leur potentiel.

A travers sa Fondation SAP France, SAP s’engage activement pour l’essor de l’entreprenariat social en France. Grace à ses 5 partenariats associatifs pour soutenir la cause « Entreprendre autrement », ce sont près de 70 startups chaque année, qui bénéficient du mécénat de compétence spécialisé de 150 collaborateurs SAP. En effet, en parallèle de l’engagement de SAP aux côtés de makesense et de La Ruche, on retrouve au sein de l’écosystème, Enactus, les Déterminés et Entreprendre dans la Ville. Ces acteurs de l’ESS en France permettent à SAP d’impacter le plus grand nombre de porteurs de projets sociaux de toutes générations et horizons.

À propos de SAP

La stratégie de SAP vise à aider chaque organisation à fonctionner en “entreprise intelligente”. En tant que leader du marché des logiciels d’application d’entreprise, nous aidons les entreprises de toutes tailles et de tous secteurs à opérer au mieux : 77 % des transactions commerciales mondiales entrent en contact avec un système SAP®. Nos technologies de Machine Learning, d’Internet des objets (IoT) et d’analytique avancées aident nos clients à transformer leurs activités en “entreprises intelligentes”. SAP permet aux personnes et aux organisations d’avoir une vision approfondie de leur business et favorise la collaboration afin qu’elles puissent garder une longueur d’avance sur leurs concurrents. Nous simplifions la technologie afin que les entreprises puissent utiliser nos logiciels comme elles le souhaitent – sans interruption. Notre suite d’applications et de services de bout en bout permet aux clients privés et publics de 25 secteurs d’activité dans le monde de fonctionner de manière rentable, de s’adapter en permanence et de faire la différence. Avec son réseau mondial de clients, partenaires, employés et leaders d’opinion, SAP aide le monde à mieux fonctionner et à améliorer la vie de chacun.

Pour plus d’informations, visitez le site www.sap.com.

Contacts presse SAP

Mathilde Thireau : mathilde.thireau@publicisconsultants.com

Robin Legros : robin.legros@publicisconsultants.com

SAP News Center. Suivez SAP sur Twitter : @SAPNews.

Veuillez tenir compte de notre politique de confidentialité. Si vous avez reçu cette alerte de presse dans votre courriel et que vous souhaitez vous désabonner de notre liste d’envoi, veuillez communiquer avec presse-sap@publicisconsultants.com et écrire Désabonnement dans la ligne Objet.

The post SAP réitère son engagement envers l’entrepreneuriat social en accompagnant sa 3ème Promotion 2021 avec les incubateurs makesense France et La Ruche appeared first on SAP France News.

7 octobre 2021/par Service comm.

Lindt modernise sa supply chain avec SAP IBP

Actualités, ERP & Applications, SAP, Supply-Chain

Lindt & Sprüngli France a été l’un des premiers industriels hexagonaux à basculer vers SAP IBP pour moderniser sa supply chain. Un pari pour le chocolatier, qui a été accompagné dans sa démarche par TeamWork. Lindt France compte sur ce socle modernisé pour refondre ses processus de prévision et accélérer sur le terrain de l’analytique.

Célèbre chocolatier suisse fondé en 1845, Lindt est classé dans le top 10 mondial des fabricants de confiseries. L’industriel a enregistré un chiffre d’affaires 2020 de 4 milliards de francs suisses. Il compte environ 14 500 collaborateurs dans le monde. Par ailleurs, le chocolatier est très présent en France. En effet, Lindt dispose d’une usine à Oloron-Sainte-Marie et d’un réseau composé d’entrepôts et de 26 magasins.

Lindt France utilisait la solution SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization (SAP APO) pour assurer la planification de la demande. Cet outil arrivant en fin de vie, Lindt lui a cherché un successeur au travers d’un appel d’offres, avec un regard particulier porté sur SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain (SAP IBP).

« Dans le même temps, nous avons mené une réflexion autour du métier de prévisionniste et sur la mise en place d’un processus S&OP, chargé de faire le lien entre les équipes commerciales et celles travaillant sur notre site de production, explique Jean-Pascal Auge, Chef de projet fonctionnel IT chez Lindt & Sprüngli France. L’enjeu informatique était donc aussi doublé d’un enjeu métier. »

Le choix s’est rapidement porté sur SAP IBP et TeamWork, un spécialiste de la supply chain. Ce dernier est venu présenter la solution SAP IBP au travers de son préconfiguré, Step In for SAP IBP by TeamWork. Lindt a apprécié d’entrée de jeu l’intégration avec Microsoft Excel. Un outil bien connu des planificateurs : « L’interface Excel est un atout pour gagner en efficacité lors du déploiement de la solution », confirme Jean-Pascal Auge.

Un accompagnement permanent assuré par les équipes TeamWork

Lindt a été un des premiers acteurs à implémenter SAP IBP en France pour moderniser sa supply chain. Un risque d’autant plus grand que l’industriel disposait déjà d’une solution fonctionnelle, quoique manquant d’agilité. L’expertise de TeamWork a été cruciale afin de déterminer quelles parties d’IBP utiliser, complétées par son préconfiguré. TeamWork a su également enrichir SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI), afin de créer des interfaces stables, robustes et adaptées aux besoins de Lindt.

Le projet a démarré en octobre 2019 et s’est déroulé sur 8 mois. La mise en route fut réalisée avant l’été 2020. Le tout dans un contexte difficile lié à la crise sanitaire. TeamWork s’est appuyé sur les conclusions de l’audit fonctionnel pour bâtir une solution SAP IBP, en se concentrant sur le Demand Planning. Un travail facilité par la proximité des processus gérés par les deux solutions.

Durant la première année d’exploitation, Lindt et les équipes de TeamWork se sont concentrés sur l’optimisation de la solution déployée. « La montée en régime s’est très bien passée et les métiers se sont approprié SAP IBP très rapidement, explique Jean-Pascal Auge. Dès la première utilisation, les résultats étaient déjà supérieurs à ceux de SAP APO en termes de temps de traitement du cycle mensuel et de fiabilité de la prévision. Les équipes de TeamWork ont su nous accompagner tout au long du projet et nous aider à franchir chaque étape. »

Améliorer le travail des prévisionnistes

La solution SAP IBP mise en place se veut plus flexible. Elle apporte plus d’agilité aux équipes métiers que SAP APO, tout en offrant de nouvelles fonctionnalités. Elle est également capable d’interagir avec les autres solutions de planification de Lindt & Sprüngli France. « Le résultat est concluant, résume Jean-Pascal Auge. TeamWork continue à nous accompagner sur le support de deuxième niveau, le premier étant assuré en interne. Il prend ainsi le relai de notre DSI sur les questions nécessitant une expertise avancée. »

La phase de stabilisation de la solution a permis aux équipes supply chain de souffler après ce long travail de 8 mois. Mais d’autres projets sont déjà sur la table. Des évolutions régulières de la solution sont ainsi programmées, afin d’accompagner la transformation de l’activité des prévisionnistes. Les nouvelles fonctionnalités apportées par SAP IBP permettent de faciliter le reporting opérationnel. Mais, Lindt France souhaite aller plus loin en termes de consolidation de données et de reporting.

The post Lindt modernise sa supply chain avec SAP IBP appeared first on SAP France News.

7 septembre 2021/par Service comm.

7 Landing Pages Comparisons To Improve Your Conversions in 2022

Landing pages are crucial for conversions. User-friendly landing pages rank higher in the search engines and generate the maximum leads.

Interestingly, user behavior changes every year, and new website design trends should be kept in mind to continue acquiring sales from your existing landing pages.

If your high-performing landing pages in 2019 have suddenly started underperforming in 2021, then it is a clear indication that your landing pages need a strategic revamp to record higher conversions.

Landing page revisions are necessary for reduced bounce rate, more visitor time on the page, and better user actions.

This article will discuss some of the top web design trends of 2021 that brands have adopted to revamp their landing page designs. You can learn from the trends and apply your own custom design intelligence to redesign your landing pages for 2022 and convert the maximum number of visitors.

Let’s begin…

Why Landing Page Design Is Crucial For Conversions

Landing pages are the first stop on your consumers’ online buying journey and the first chance to put an impression.

People on the internet are becoming less patient. It takes only about 50 milliseconds for a visitor to form an opinion about a brand and decide whether they want to stay or leave the website.

Convincing modern customers to buy products or fill up query forms on a landing page is not easy with traditional website elements.

In 2021, it is now harder to impress visitors landing on your website than in 2019. Keeping in mind the audience of 2021 and beyond, an ideal landing page should be user-friendly, engaging, innovative and should encourage users to take action.

Here are some of the top reasons why landing page design is so crucial for conversions:

You get barely 7 seconds to create a strong impression. It is a time span in which visitors roughly scan the page and make their decisions.
Publishing 40+ effective landing pages at regular intervals can generate 12X more leads.
The average conversion rate from the landing page across all industries is only 2.35%.
Using the right types of targeting and testing can boost landing page conversion rates by up to 300%.

Considering the above stats, it can be easily said that a landing page has to be impressive and quick enough to impact the visitors positively.

7 High Converting Landing Pages & Lessons You Can Learn From Each

Below are some of the best high-converting landing pages, which were just updated recently in 2021. For each page, we list a lesson you can learn to inspire your next design revision in 2021 and ahead:

Example #1 – Replace Boring Customer Info Forms With An Interactive Quiz

Landing Page: Nextiva’s Unified Communications Readiness Quiz Landing Page

Industry: Voice Over IP software

Conversion Measured By: Leads fill out a form if they are interested

Redesign focus: Improve the quantity and quality of leads

Solution: Substitute online form with an interactive quiz

In 2019 and even 2020, many businesses were practicing the trend of including a customer form on their landing pages as a call to action to initiate a quick customer action.

The customer information form was useful for businesses because it helped them generate quick leads. However, at the same time, there was no real reason pushing the customer to fill in the lead forms especially if it consisted of more than 2-3 fields.

Nextiva used its creativity to replace boring lead forms with interactive quizzes. In its 2021 page design, the company added a quiz for visitors to participate in.

The aim is to have interactive pages to keep visitors engaged and persuade them to stay on the page.

Here are the comparisons of both the designs:

2019

2021

Key Takeaways:

The 2021 landing page now has a free Unified Communications Readiness Quiz that allows business owners to fill the form interactively. Adding a quiz with the number of pages mentioned at the top tells the user how many steps are left to complete the quiz, making their waiting time easier.
The background image is replaced with communication icons to simplify the message of the kind of services they offer.
The page looks neater and appears to be easier to scan at a glance.

Example #2 – Emphasize Strong Visuals and Copy that Stresses on Product Details

Landing Page: Western Rise Homepage Variation

Industry: Ecommerce

Conversion Measured By: Apparel purchase

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of leads

Solution: Improve the copy and visuals

Western Rise, a clothing eCommerce company, realized the importance of having impressive images and detailed product information on its landing page.

The 2021 page replaced ordinary product images with strong visuals of the models wearing Western Rise clothing. Also, the product image includes extensive product details, which were missing on the older page.

Here is a clear comparison of the 2019 vs. 2021 landing pages of Western Rise:

2019

2021

Key Takeaways:

The new landing page has a powerful headline – Performance Clothing for Travel, Work, and Play. In just a couple of words, the brand tells everything about itself. ‘Performance Clothing’ is their unique selling proposition (USP) that tells the customers that their product is durable. Besides, the caption ‘Travel, Work, and Play’ tells what the product is about. Modern customers like products that fulfill a particular need, and Western Rise made it easier for the users to realize the importance of their products which fulfilled their specific needs.
The bold visuals in the new page capture contemporary shots of the models that put a strong impression on the audience. Every image is clicked mindfully to explain the style and quality of the Western Rise clothing line.
The products displayed on the new page include every minor detail and feature that often other clothing brands ignore, such as the specialty of the product, occasions to wear, and weight other than colors, fabric, fitting, etc.

Example #3 – Use Strong Social Proof To Increase Conversions

Page: Aura Save 50% Landing Page

Industry: Identity Theft Software

Conversion Measured By: Online registration or an inbound call

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of signups

Solution: Add strong social proof

It is a known fact that social proof on sales pages is essential for increased conversions. But in 2021, the importance of social proof has gone too far.

Aura is an identity theft protection service that aims to build trust with its prospective customers when they first browse their landing page. Take a look at how Aura displays customer reviews above the fold to catch user’s attention.

Unlike others, Aura combined the rating stars and the review to prove customer satisfaction and emphasize their expertise in the field.

BONUS:

Another example of using strong social proof is the Exploding Topics newsletter landing page.

Exploding Topics is a newsletter with a pro subscription for content marketers and anyone interested in trending topics about any topic. It’s an excellent example that uses a lot of social proof on landing pages that give something away for free, like a weekly newsletter or an eBook.

If you could notice, the latest landing page below has multiple forms of social proof on a single page. First, they feature a list of brands that trust Exploding Topics. Secondly, they quote Wired Magazine founder Kevin Kelly’s feedback, followed by the logos and tweets praising the newsletter.

Key Takeaways:

Exploding Topics uses several different types of social proof that appeal to different demographics.
Their “trusted by” logos of world-renowned companies stand out to potential B2B subscribers.
Kevin Kelly’s quote is catching the attention of tech-savvy readers.
Despite packing the page with social proof, the opt-in form is still well above the fold. It is the best landing page practice that applies to nearly all pages.
The landing page uses actually embedded tweets (not screenshots), which help demonstrate that the tweets are legit.

While Exploding Topics have smartly used social proof on its page, the ideas of leveraging social proof are not limited to this only.

Example #4 – Focus On Visually Appealing Above the Fold Content

Landing Page: Perfect Keto Homepage Variation

Industry: Supplements

Conversion Measured By: Online purchase

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of purchases

Solution: Improve Above The Fold Content

Above the fold content greatly impacts customer’s decision-making. Perfect Keto lacked that appeal on its 2019 landing page design.

Hence, the 2021 design was revamped with better visuals and more professional looks.

The 2021 page received major changes in above-the-fold content, such as the top menu bar with the brand name not losing the user’s attention anymore and an additional menu bar giving a quick overview of what the brand offers.

The older page did have many social proofs, but those were limited to customers only. The 2021 design also highlighted the publications where the brand appeared, which proved exceptional in building customer trust.

Take a look at the two landing pages of Perfect Keto in 2019 and 2021:

2019

2021

Key Takeaways:

The 2021 landing page heading is more compelling because it clearly conveys what their product is all about. The older page was missing the actual purpose of the product.
An additional section on the new page to educate customers about the Keto diet and how to start it helps visitors understand the product even better.
The inclusion of a product image above the fold attracts user attention and makes the product trustworthy. People now know what they will be buying right at first sight of the page.
The new page proudly displays the products featured in the publications, such as Women’s Health, Healthline, Reader’s Digest, and Popsugar, which again helped customers trust the brand.
The page also features a video of the Perfect Keto founder that is brilliantly working in gaining visitor’s attention and faith.

Example #5 – Make The Call to Action More Compelling

Landing Page: Zendesk HelpDesk Softwage Landing Page

Industry: SaaS

Conversion Measured By: Online registration

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of registrations through the website

Solution: Make The CTA More Compelling

Zendesk did a clever job by replacing the sign-up form with a single button. On the older page, it was unclear to the user if the company has a trial option for free unless they move to linked pages. Such confusions often resulted in traffic bounces.

Adding the start free trial button on the 2021 page makes it easier for the users to understand that the product comes with a free trial. At the time, it helps the user take quick action.

Similarly, the ‘Get started’ button at the top was replaced with ‘Free trial’ with the same intention.

Moreover, chat support was added to guide users at any stage of the buyer journey. Live chats are vital to help visitors better understand the product and move a step ahead in the customer journey.

Take a look at below two images:

2019

2021

Key Takeaways

The CTA buttons have more actionable text and look more prominent.
The color choice for the button is in contrast with the background but matches the page theme.
The older page missed sales support, which is included in the new page for a better customer experience.
The tabs in the menu bar were reduced to four to make the page simple to use for users.

Example #6 – Use Contrast To Highlight Specific Copy On The Page

Landing Page: GetResponse Website Building Landing Page

Industry: Online Software

Conversion Measured By: Online signup

Major redesign focus: Improve the number of signups

Solution: Use contrast around important copy on the page

GetResponse focuses on attracting visitors’ attention towards the offerings from their business. Starting from above the fold section, the landing page highlights the texts that are important and need the visitors’ attention.

The infographic on the landing page is the next thing that promises to grab user attention while beautifully describing how this website builder works and is useful to the user.

Key Takeaways:

The text highlighted on the landing page draws the user’s attention towards what the business has to offer or unique selling points.
The infographics briefly explain the working of the tool in an easy-to-understand manner.
The Yellow color is used prominently on the landing page to attract user attention and persuades users to try the tool by listing its advantages.

Summary

Landing pages provide the first opportunity to create an impression in the minds of the consumers. A well-structured and mindfully designed page sets the right tone for your brand message and encourages users to choose your business.

However, the strategy for landing pages needs innovations from time to time for better results. The examples and tips shared above prove how landing pages in 2019 have seen significant improvement in 2021.

In the coming year, use these ideas to create landing pages that influence customer decisions and encourage them to take quick actions.

The post 7 Landing Pages Comparisons To Improve Your Conversions in 2022 first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

20 août 2021/par Service comm.

SAP acquiert la propriété intellectuelle de SwoopTalent pour renforcer ses capacités d’analyse des données sur les talents

Actualités, ERP & Applications, Ressources Humaines, SAP

SAP NEWSBYTE – 16 août, 2021 – SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) a annoncé aujourd’hui avoir acquis la propriété intellectuelle de SwoopTalent, un leader de la gestion des données sur les talents, dans le cadre d’une acquisition d’actifs.

L’intégration des données et de la technologie d’apprentissage automatique de SwoopTalent aux solutions SAP® SuccessFactors® renforcera la vision de SAP en matière de gestion de l’expérience humaine (HXM), qui donne la priorité aux expériences individuelles des employés et aux opportunités dynamiques qui stimulent l’engagement, améliorent l’agilité organisationnelle, permettant ainsi d’alimenter la transformation de l’entreprise.

« L’individualisation à grande échelle nécessite une plateforme de données sophistiquée et puissante qui s’étend sur plusieurs systèmes « , explique Meg Bear, directrice des produits SAP SuccessFactors. « En rendant les données plus fiables et plus accessibles, nous pouvons aider nos clients à acquérir des connaissances approfondies sur la main d’oeuvre afin d’améliorer, de renouveler et de redéployer efficacement les compétences et de préparer l’avenir de leur entreprise. Les fondateurs de SwoopTalent sont des leaders d’opinion de l’industrie avec une expertise avérée dans l’utilisation des données, l’apprentissage automatique et l’analyse visant à perfectionner la gestion des ressources humaines et rendre les organisations plus compétitives. Nous sommes ravis de les voir rejoindre SAP pour faire avancer notre stratégie HXM. »

Fondée en 2012, SwoopTalent a développé une plateforme alimentée par l’IA qui combine, analyse et entraîne les données provenant de différents systèmes et flux de travail RH. SAP prévoit d’utiliser la technologie de SwoopTalent pour renforcer ses capacités d’IA et fournir aux clients un regard holistique et continuellement mis à jour sur leurs main d’oeuvre – des compétences et capacités aux intérêts et préférences d’apprentissage – afin qu’ils puissent mettre en accord les compétences de chacun aux emplois internes, aux projets, aux formations, aux tuteurs et bien plus encore. Plusieurs employés de l’ingénierie de SwoopTalent rejoindront également l’équipe SAP SuccessFactors.

« Les organisations sont à un moment charnière, car le travail est redéfini autour de l’agilité, de l’objectif et de la culture« , a déclaré Stacy Chapman, PDG et fondatrice de SwoopTalent. « Avec le HXM, SAP a la bonne vision et la bonne stratégie pour fournir une technologie qui permet aux individus de se perfectionner et de construire une carrière en phase avec leurs intérêts et leurs compétences. SAP et SwoopTalent sont en parfaite adéquation culturelle et partagent les mêmes valeurs. Nous sommes ravis de continuer à faire progresser le HXM ensemble« .

SAP et SwoopTalent ont convenu de ne pas divulguer le prix d’achat ou d’autres détails financiers de cette transaction.

Pour en savoir plus, lisez « Empowering a Future-Ready Workforce : Why Data and Our Latest Asset Acquisition Are Key » et notez bien la date de l’événement SuccessConnect le 13 octobre 2021.

À propos de SAP

Pour plus d’informations, visitez le site www.sap.com .

Contacts presse SAP

Anne Le Bacon-Gaillard : SAP, Directeur de la Communication EMEA North – anne.le.bacon-gaillard@sap.com
Mathilde Thireau: Publicis Consultants 06 49 68 42 72 – presse-sap@publicisconsultants.com
SAP News Center. Suivez SAP sur Twitter : @SAPFrance.

The post SAP acquiert la propriété intellectuelle de SwoopTalent pour renforcer ses capacités d’analyse des données sur les talents appeared first on SAP France News.

19 août 2021/par Service comm.

How to Work for Free Without Wrecking Your Career

Choosing to work for free, pro bono, gratis, without charge is something that most of us find ourselves doing at one time or another. Whether we’re filling a hole in our portfolio, there’s a friend or relative we feel beholden to, or because there’s an opportunity to aid a cause we value.

Recently, I agreed to take on some work, free of charge, for a charity whose goals I share. Because it’s a cause I believe in, I enjoyed the idea of being able to contribute in a more meaningful way than donating money. But my initial goodwill rapidly diminished as the project spiraled out of control, leaving me resenting the time I spent on it.

No one should feel obliged to give away their time for free, but if you do choose to, there are rules you can apply to ensure that everything runs smoothly and you’re left with a positive experience.

1. Be Specific in What You’re Donating

The most obvious problem with working pro bono is that there is no correlation between cost and value.

Budget reins in project ambitions in a regular designer-client relationship; the more you ask for, the more it costs. Everyone encounters clients who want an ecommerce store “just like Amazon,” only to then rapidly downscale their plans when the actual development cost of a site on that scale is made clear.

working pro bono…there is no correlation between cost and value

But when there is no development budget, ambitions quickly escalate. Clients do not necessarily understand the work involved, and if they’re not footing the bill, there’s no incentive to learn.

As the professional, you need to guide them. Set limits on what you’re expecting to donate, and use that to frame what is reasonably achievable.

“I’m donating 40 hours of my time, which normally costs $3000.” Or, “I’m donating my SEO package, which is enough to meet your initial goals as discussed.” They are both perfectly fine.

The purpose is not to highlight your generosity; it’s to establish clear boundaries to prevent scope creep.

2. They’re Not Doing You a Favour

Any client who suggests that their project will be good for your portfolio or gain you “exposure” knows they’re underpaying you. When you hear it from a pro bono client, walk away immediately.

The client needs to understand you are donating your expertise, not because you need to, not because you’re expecting something in return, but because you’re an awesome human being who wants to make the world a little better.

A client who thinks you’re getting something out of the arrangement does not understand your commercial value and will treat you as a novice. Your evidence will become guesses, your decisions will become suggestions, and the client will have little faith in the project outcome.

Clients, whether paying or not, need guidance. If they don’t respect you and believe in your guidance, they will start to cast around for other opinions to the detriment of the project outcome and your relationship.

This brings us neatly on to…

3. Everyone’s an Expert

Q. What’s the difference between an amateur and a professional? A. Professionals get paid.

You’re not getting paid, so in the client’s eyes, you’re now an amateur. Hey, guess what? Their 12-year-old daughter is an amateur too, and her views are now equally valid.

When you’re working pro bono, you can expect a lot of “help.” You’ll find that someone’s niece is planning to major in graphic design…when she graduates high school…in four years. You’ll find that someone’s partner has a hiking blog, read an SEO article, and is happy to “give it a try.” You may even find that the client themselves fancies a career switch to web design and doesn’t think it looks too hard.

Shut that **** down immediately. Smile, be gracious. Explain that, of course, you’re happy for contributions, and then avoid them like the coronavirus.

You’re donating a professional service that you’ve spent years developing, and you’re donating it to a cause that you value. You’re not there to increase someone’s chance of getting into college or to distract someone from their boring day job. If you do want to mentor people, there are places you can do that.

Everyone Actually Is An Expert

The nature of pro bono work is that more often than not, the people involved actually are experts. The simple truth is that people who aren’t experts in something tend to be in low-paying employment and are too busy trying not to be in low-paying employment to donate their time.

Like you, the people volunteering their time are doing so because they can afford to. For example, you may find that the organization’s head of accounts spends Monday–Friday as a tax advisor; the head of outreach is a project manager at a construction firm; the head of safeguarding is a school teacher.

People bring transferable skills to pro bono roles. Be sensitive to the fact that just as you are an expert in your professional context, so may they be. Simply not being an expert in design does not make them an idiot.

4. Do Not Foot the Bill

It’s tempting to simply donate everything to do with the project: the domain name’s going to cost $10? Well, it’s only $10; hosting’s $5/month? Well, it’s not too arduous to set up a small space on your own server.

imparting your experience sets the organization up for future success

However, when you give everything away, the client doesn’t understand the cost or value they’re receiving. As a professional, it’s part of your job to educate the client on the costs of a project like this; imparting your experience sets the organization up for future success.

Be clear at the start of the project that the client will be responsible for all expenses.

If you wish to — and you should not feel obliged — you are always free to make a financial donation equivalent to the expenses.

5. Stick to Office Hours

When you agree to do pro bono design work, the chances are that you know the person or organization you’re doing the work for. There’s almost always a personal connection of some kind, which means that the person or organization doesn’t see you in the professional context that normal clients see.

All good clients will respect the fact that you don’t answer emails on a Sunday morning. Not so the charity client. Not only will the charity client assume that you’re available outside of office hours, they may even think they are doing you a favor by not disturbing you during your regular office hours.

It’s important that you find some downtime outside of work to live your life. If you don’t want your evening out with friends to descend into an impromptu planning meeting (you don’t), set clear boundaries about when and how you’re prepared to work on the project.

Unless you’re self-employed, you can’t donate time when you should be working; what you can do is append pro bono work to your paid employment — do an hour after work, on weekday evenings, for example.

If you are literally doing this in your spare time, then allocate a specific time slot, such as a Saturday afternoon, and stick to it.

7. Stick to the Plan, and the Deadline

It is a universal truth that projects run better when there’s a structured approach. It doesn’t matter if it’s lean, agile, waterfall, or whatever you want to dub it. What matters is that you have a plan that works for you and is suitable for the project goals.

A structured approach, especially one that includes a timeline, will combat most disruptions. On the project I was working on recently, I was preparing for final sign-off when one volunteer announced it was time to “start thinking about what pages we need on the site.”

Discipline is crucial in pro bono work because different stakeholders will have different levels of commitment; some people will be full-time volunteers, others will be donating an hour per week. What matters is that the project that you are responsible for runs on your schedule.

8. You Have Zero Availability

Non-profits tend to talk to one another. When your friends and family see what you’ve done for Joe’s startup, they will start having ideas of their own. The client you’re completed the project for will have other projects lined up. When you aren’t charging, there’s no shortage of clients.

be prepared to say, “no,” at some point

Before you agree to do any pro bono work at all, be prepared to say “no,” at some point.

The simplest way out is to say you have zero availability: you’re already booked up with paying work, or your boss has let you know she needs you for overtime next month.

Don’t feel bad about it. It’s probably true. There are only so many hours in the day, and even if you do have some time to spare, doesn’t your partner, dog, or social life deserve some attention?

There’s No Profit In Non-Profits

Working for free is not transactional. It probably won’t benefit your portfolio. It definitely won’t lead to paying work. Any skills or experience you acquire probably won’t be transferable. (It might give you the topic for a blog post.)

If the work were meant to benefit you, it would be called personalis bono.

Nevertheless, many of us will find ourselves agreeing to do pro bono work, either out of obligation or idealism. It’s not something to shy away from; changing the world — whether for a group or an individual — is a noble pursuit.

The key is that while you will not profit, neither should you suffer a loss. Volunteering your time, skills, and experience should be a sustainable process. One that you will not come to regret.

Featured image via Unsplash.

The post How to Work for Free Without Wrecking Your Career first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.