As the holiday season approaches, many Nigerians will be scouring local shopping sites for the best deals. With improved customer service, you can order food online and have it delivered within an hour. 1000 Naira is enough to buy a few items on any of the top biggest websites.
But as a recent study shows, Nigerians have increased their online shopping habits. 49% of Nigerians shop online while the remaining 51% still prefer conventional shopping. Nigerians and South Africa lead the African continent in online shopping. Morocco Kenya and Ghana follow closely.
While local e-commerce businesses keep growing in the country, Nigerians are also embracing international service providers. In 2015, the country spent $819 million (327 billion Naira) on PayPal payments. The number is expected to hit $1 billion before the end of 2018.
Why the sudden adoption of International shopping? Is it even safe?
Lots of Safe Websites Ship WorldwideOnline safety used to be the big reason people feared shopping online. A high number of scam websites, poor customer service, and generally poor service has always shunned shoppers from the Internet. These days, the Internet is where people want to buy things.
There is a huge number of service providers known to service all countries around the world. If you want to buy electronics, clothes and household items, you can trust Amazon or eBay to ship to Nigeria. If you want your website designed, you can hire international designers on sites like Upwork.com
All the top 10 service providers in any niche serve Nigerian customers. Whatever you can buy online these days, there is an international website willing to serve it to you.
They are Cheap and they deliverAmerican based online retailers sell American products like electronics and clothes at a lower cost than local retailers. Their transportation costs are less and they often buy the items at much lower prices compared to African based retailers.
In fact, you will often find manufacturers like Microsoft partner with Amazon to sell their products. Microsoft products like Xbox are cheaper on Amazon than on most African retail shops. Nike clothes and shoes are cheaper on the company’s official website than on any Nigerian shop.
Sometimes, the products also have free shipping fees. You can save 20% buying something on the International retailer and don’t have to pay for its shipping. The sheer ability to save money with no catch is a great reason to love international retailers.
For a start, most people buy something cheap. You can get a smartphone charger for $10. Provide your shipping address and wait to get the item. If everything works out fine, you purchase a more expensive item. With time, you’ll buy everything you dream about online and save money in the process.
You can easily get your Money BackIn addition to low prices, international websites make it possible to get your money back if you are not satisfied with the services provided. That way, you can take the risk of buying on a foreign retailer for the first time. If you are not satisfied with what you get, you ask for your money back.
With some payment methods like PayPal and credit cards, you don’t need to make any arrangements with the retailer. If you sign up for a move streaming channel and regret the decision the second day, you can easily cancel the payment through your credit card. The streaming service will discontinue their services to you and you get your money back.
Before you shop on any website with the belief you can ask for a refund, read the company’s policies. Also, know whether your payment method accepts chargebacks. Many companies have a time limit of when you can ask for a refund. If the deadline is two weeks, you can only ask for your money back within that period.
Some Products are Delivered InstantlyIf you don’t trust a foreign-based retailer to deliver a car to your home country, there are numerous products you can get immediately. Most of the products are cheap and worth risking. Let’s say eBooks. Your favorite romance novel is available as an electronic book. It probably costs $5 and you are not required to provide any shipping addresses.
Simply pay for the book and you get access to download it. A lot of services delivered online work that way. If you want an upgrade to your video game vehicles, you pay and the features are instantly unlocked. Some mobile apps are only accessible if you pay for them. They mostly cost $20 or less and you gain access to them immediately.
Testimonials and Online ReviewsNot every international website is as big as Amazon and eBay. And even on the biggest websites, you may need proof that a product is worth buying. Online review websites buy and test the products to give you an honest assessment before you spend your money.
Customer reviews help you learn from other people’s experience with the product. If you want to buy a ‘how to make money’ book, you learn whether other buyers benefited from the book or not. When buying a refrigerator, reviews help you understand how the product works.
Website Guides help you Shop on Trusted WebsitesWebsites such as https://www.thetop10sites.com/ help you find the best 10 websites for almost anything. Want to buy an antivirus? Visit the website and find their list of the most recommendable antivirus companies. Looking for a dating website? Avoid the hassle, use the same website for recommendations.
Unlike ten years ago, shopping online is easier than it has ever been. There are a lot of safer websites to buy on. People’s confidence in online retailers has increased. You can easily get recommendations on where to buy whatever you want to buy online. Website guides also review the service providers in detail. By the time you buy something, you know everything about it.
To ConcludeThe Internet isn’t entirely safe for online buyers but there is a lot more information to help you shop safely. International retailers make efforts to boost confidence in shoppers by shipping worldwide. They provide refunds to disgruntled buyers and give you tips to shop safely.
Related Topics Best eCommerce Software Benefits of Selling Online Building an eCommerce Site for Business Buy & Sell Online in Nigeria Best Web Hosting Online Stores in Nigeria Shopping Online is SafeThe post Can you Trust Online Service Providers from Outside of the Country appeared first on Nigeria Technology Guide.
Have you been thinking about replacing your TV antenna? You’ve probably already tried changing its location with no avail. Don’t buy a new one yet. There are multiple reasons why you could be experiencing weak TV signals. Get tips on how to improve your TV’s signals before deciding whether to buy a new one.
Find the Nearest Broadcast TowersBefore you condemn your current TV antenna for poor signals, find out where the nearest broadcast towers are located. Your TV antenna will likely improve its signal if you place it facing the broadcast towers.
You don’t need to ask anyone where the broadcast towers are located. US citizens can use a tool like otadtv.com to instantly find the nearest broadcast towers. All you need to do is enter your street address and the sites display all the towers in your area.
If you are planning to buy an antenna, the more important to learn about nearby broadcast towers. You’ll be able to know the signal strengths of those towers in your home and purchase a strong enough antenna.
Place the Antenna HighThere is a reason why some broadcast tower finders ask you to input your antenna’s height. Usually, the higher the antenna, the better it detects TV channels.
If placing the antenna near a window isn’t working, move it outside. Find a pole to uplift it and place it about two meters high. Chances are you’ll get a much better signal than you previously got.
It’s worth noting some antennas are affected by heat. During the summer, you’ll receive weaker signals and broadcast interruptions. The weak signals during warm seasons mostly come from transmitters traveling farther than intended and causing interferences with other transmitters.
In spite of occasion weather disruptions, your antennas work better when placed outdoors or near the windows. With a good digital TV, you shouldn’t experience any of the disruptions. Your signals remain strong whether it rains or shines.
Avoid InterferingIf your antenna faces an area people pass through frequently, you’ll often experience periods when the signal is good. But when anyone passes in front of the antenna, the signal weakens. If the signal is blocked by walls, outside trees or anything else, its signals will likely also be weak.
Find out whether anything could be interfering with your antenna before making any changes. Test your antenna in different locations inside your house. Settle for a place with no interferences and you should get better signals.
One of the things that interfere with your TV signals the most is metal. If your antenna is placed on top of a metallic stand or table, that could be the interference. Avoid any metallic gadgets, tubes and stand near your antenna and you should see an improvement in the signals.
Invest in an AmplifierMany TV antennas these days come with amplifiers. The job of the amplifier is to increase your antenna’s TV signal especially if you live farther from a broadcast tower. An amplifier improves the signal if there already exists one. If you totally can’t get a TV signal, the amplifier doesn’t have a lot of use.
Another downside to amplifiers is that they can amplify noise and in the process distort the signals in your area. Buy an amplifier if all other alternatives don’t work for you. Research to find the best brands and only use them when it’s absolutely necessary.
RescanRescanning allows your TV to search channels afresh. While you won’t get many channels added, you get a few more channels than you previously had. The signal strength also increases, ensuring you have a better TV experience than before.
With digital TVs, also try double rescanning. Unlike regular rescans, this type of scanning aims to erase your digital TV set-box of existing channels. You do that by disconnecting the TV antenna. Scan your TV with the antenna absent. Unplug the set-top box or digital TV from the power outlets. Reconnect everything back and scan again.
Keep off Wireless DevicesWe are currently living in a world of wireless devices. From your digital TV to your wireless Bluetooth mouse, there are many devices constantly fighting for frequencies in your home. While you can’t do without devices, you can turn them off at times.
If you don’t need your WiFi router on when watching sports, turn it off. It will reduce the signal traffic in your home and allow your TV antenna to give you better signals. Try finding out what wireless devices interfere with your signals the most before switching everything off.
Invest in a Coaxial CableIf your TV antenna has a short coaxial cable, you probably can’t relocate it. And unsurprisingly, your TV’s signal will continue being weak. If the coaxial cable is short, buy a longer one and move your antenna to a higher point. While you may be forced to buy an amplifier in the future, investing in a longer coaxial cable can get you a dozen more channels.
Buy a new TV AntennaThe modern TV antennas are modified to have amplifiers and signal boosters. They have long coaxial cables and are more resistant to interferers like metal. Buying an ultra-modern antenna may be better than making some of the aforementioned changes.
Again, the cost of buying an antenna with an amplifier and everything else is cheaper than buying each part independently. When buying the device, check its mile range. The standard mile coverage is 30-50 miles. Copper cables are known to improve signals while the coaxial cable length should be 10 feet or more.
Additional features to check include whether the antenna supports HDTV and its frequency range. Can it rule out noise and distortions? Shop around also and set for a device that offers great value for money.
You get better value for your money when you buy the best-rated antennas. That’s because already thousands of people have used them before and enjoyed their services. Find the best-rated antennas on Amazon and eBay here, https://www.bestreviews.guide/tv-antennas. Go through them. Review their features and decide whether to buy.
To ConcludeThere could be a number of reasons why your TV signal is weak. For a start, try changing its location. If nothing improves, consider buying an amplifier. Face the antenna to the nearest broadcast antenna and preferably install it at a high position.
If all that fails, invest in a good-quality, new antenna. The modern antennas are much better in transmitting TV signals than older generations. You should get an improved TV experience with a new antenna.
Related Topics Samsung LED TV Price in Nigeria (32-inch) Best 55-inch TV Best 70-inch, 75-inch, 78-inch, 79-inch TV TV How to Buy a TV Best 65-inch TV Best 49-inch, 48-inch, 47-inch TV 24-inch LED TV Price in Nigeria LED TV Price Compare Prices of TVsThe post Get Better Signal for your TV appeared first on Nigeria Technology Guide.
You may have already come across numerous articles recommending VPNs for all your internet needs and requirements. What these articles fail to do is to give you an in-depth explanation as to how VPNs can actually help you, and in what cases in particular. Seeing how Black Friday is around the corner, you may know it is necessary to use a VPN, but how will it actually help you at all? If you want to learn more about it, read on.
What is a VPN?VPNs are tools that allow you to use an IP address from any other part of the world. This way you will appear as though you are in country you are connect to. This means your own IP address is hidden, thus allowing you to remain safe and secure online.
How does a VPN keep you Safe and Secure Online?As mentioned above, when connected to a VPN server, you get a new IP address. Since your own IP address is masked, your internet traffic cannot be hijacked. Hackers, cyber-criminals and even your own ISP will have no access to your internet traffic, thus keep your secure like never before.
Most VPN providers offer additional features like Internet Kill Switch, Secure DNS Protection and Military Grade Encryption to ensure there is absolutely no way your personal and confidential information lands in the wrong hands.
Why is a VPN a Necessity this Black Friday?Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas are those times of the year where cyber-criminals are looking for ways to trick you into giving out you private and confidential information.
How they make this possible is by creating fake landing pages and apps for popular brands or stores you normally shop at online.
These sites and apps look just as good as the original, and when the time comes to make a purchase, you are in fact giving them your credit card information without even knowing about it.
With a VPN, there is no way a hacker or cyber-criminal will be able to intervene your internet traffic. In other words, they can’t replace the original site you plan to visit with their own.
If you have a good VPN, cyber-attacks may not even make it your way. There are numerous VPNs out there which offer network level security, where threats of any kind are dealt with before they even make their way to your device or computer.
Other Use Cases for VPNs on Black FridayIn case you don’t know, there are a few amazing VPN Black Friday deals that can also save you a lot of money. Surprised much?
Basically, how it works is that if you are in another region altogether, all you need to do is to connect to a VPN server where there is an amazing sale or deal going on. For instance, Amazon UK or US already have some fantastic deals lined up, so all you need to do is to connect to a US or UK server.
Initially, you will do have to a bit of research to determine where you are getting the best deals. Compare prices and noted them down. Once that is done, you can decide where to buy stuff from.
On the other hand, while looking into for airline tickets and hotel bookings, checking a site more than once will increase prices. This happens because said sites store cookies to charge a higher price every time you check. In this case, you can use a VPN to avoid getting a higher price. Also, you can check out prices from different regions to see where you are getting the best deal.
ConclusionAll in all, if it isn’t obvious enough, VPNs are a must these days. Apart from providing you with impenetrable security and anonymity, you can use it to score deals and discounts online. The resulting savings can then be used to make purchases that you have been holding out on. In fact, these savings pay for the price of a VPN subscription, if you are not using a free one that is.
This Black Friday make the most of your shopping experience to get the best discounts by using a VPN. But don’t just use any VPN, as not every one of them will meet your needs and requirements. If you want the best VPN out there, you will need to do your homework online. Ask around and check out reviews for potential VPNs to get a better understanding of what you are getting yourself into.
When you are confident you are making the right decision regarding a potential VPN, take advantage of its trial account, if any. Even if there isn’t a trial account, popular VPN brands offer a money back guarantee in case you are not satisfied.
Whatever you do, make sure you remain safe and secure online while shopping for items this Black Friday, Cyber Monday or Christmas.
Related Topics Best VPN for Tor Speed Up your VPN Mistakes to Avoid when Buying Proxies Best Web Hosting PIN Security Basics Internet Security BasicsThe post Why You Need A VPN This Black Friday? appeared first on Nigeria Technology Guide.
Vitalik Buterin in 2015 made a cryptocurrency called Ethereum. Ethereum is a public blockchain-based platform inspired by the Bitcoin platform. One of the main differences of Ethereum from bitcoin is that it has entirely different blockchain.
Ether uses a Proof-of-Work (PoW) system. Proof-of-work (PoW) requires solving algorithmically challenging puzzles and miners work to earn Ether, a type of crypto token that fuels the network. On the other hand, Bitcoin offers one particular application of blockchain technology, a peer to peer digital cash system used for online Bitcoin payments.
Ether is also used by application developers to pay for transaction fees and services on the Ethereum network.
Gas is used to pay miners fees for including transactions in their block, and every smart contract execution requires a certain amount of gas to be sent along with it to lure miners to put it in the blockchain.
Another innovation that Ethereum introduced is the concept of smart contracts. Smart contracts are programs that live on the Ethereum network that can be used to verify conditions for trades and to act as an escrow for both parties in a transaction.
What this means is that instead of introducing more risk into a trade or sale by adding a third party (which would be an authoritative source).
What’s groundbreaking about this innovation, is that the smart contracts can also hold the Ethereum within itself and distribute payments at a set time, or once all conditions are met.
This becomes useful for plans of insurance, for secure company payments, and even as a way to create an inheritance for generations to come.
Smart contracts are fuelled by gas, which you can pay in tiny fractions of ether. Depending on how busy the Ethereum network is with transactions, the price of gas that you decide to send with your purchase will determine how quickly your transaction will be validated.
The other insight into Ethereum was the ERC20 contract. It created a method for hundreds of tokens, which use the Ethereum network, but act as branded coins with their values to emerge. Many of the top altcoins in the crypto verse are ERC20, while the amount of Proof of Work or Bitcoin-based cryptocurrency variants has declined over time.
Understanding what Ethereum is for EeginnersEthereum is not just a cryptocurrency, is a blockchain of its own where other applications are built on called DAPPS (Decentralized applications.). For a clear understanding, we will use real cases to explain this.
What would you do with your iPhone if Apple had not put an operating system on it? And what be the purpose of that operating system if there were no applications? This is the essence of ethereum.
The blockchain and the miners which support it are like your iPhone. Ethereum is like iOS. And the actual applications that you use every day are called “DAPPs”. This is short for Decentralized Applications, and basically encompasses all of the interactions that you will have with the platform.
For all intents and purposes, you can think of a DAPP as the same thing as a smart contract, although technically a smart contract is just one piece of a DAPP.
Of course, there are differences as well. Nobody actually goes out and buys an ethereum blockchain at the Apple store. Instead, it is a pay as you go system. When you run a program or DAPP on ethereum, you pay for the cycles and storage you use in a currency called gas.
The price of gas fluctuates just like it does in the real world. It is priced high when the computer is very busy and falls when demand drops. This is why you need an ethereum wallet. It holds the gas that must pay when you use ethereum resources.
What kinds of DAPPs have people written for ethereum? Pretty much anything you can think of at this point. There are well over a million accounts on Etherscan.io that all have some kind of interaction with a smart contract.
Just imagine what kind of things you do with your smartphone. Now consider all of the institutions you trust with your personal data or your financial information when you use that service.
All of these types of applications are candidates for being decentralized and implemented on ethereum instead.
So next time, when you hear people talking about ethereum and wondering what that actually is, just remember the immortal words of Forrest Gump regarding Apple. “He got me invested in some kind of fruit company.” That is really all you need to know.
Who is the inventor and what inspired him to create EthereumVitalik Buterin is the inventor of Ethereum. Vitalik was inspired by bitcoin but due to the difficulties experienced by developers on the bitcoin-blockchain network, Vitalik created ethereum to solve this predicament.
Prior to the creation of Ethereum, bitcoin-blockchain applications were made to do extremely constrained tasks like to act as peer-to-peer digital currencies.
Developers confronted an issue. Either extend the functions offered by Bitcoin and different sorts of applications, which is extremely confused and tedious, or build up another blockchain application and a totally new platform too.
Due to this problem associated with bitcoin blockchain network, Ethereum’s creator, Vitalik Buterin built up another methodology to curb this problem.
Here the creator stated.
“I thought [those in the Bitcoin community] weren’t approaching the problem in the right way. I thought they were going after individual applications; they were trying to kind of explicitly support each [use case] in a sort of Swiss Army knife protocol.”
Vitalik Buterin, inventor of Ethereum.
The Technology behind Ethereum.According to Wikipedia, Ethereum is an open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract
(scripting) functionality. It supports a modified version of Nakamoto consensus via transaction-based state transitions..
What is Ethereum used for and How does it workAs we stated earlier, Ethereum isn’t just a cryptocurrency, is a blockchain where Dapps are built on. Using Ethereum, the app doesn’t require one to censor its data.
To accomplish this, Ethereum borrows from bitcoin’s protocol and its blockchain design but modified it to support applications called DAPPS beyond just peer-to-peer cryptocurrency.
Ethereum helps developers to build and deploy decentralized applications to Ethereum network. Dapp serves some particular purposes to its users.
For instance, bitcoin is a Dapp that provides its users with a peer-to-peer digital cash system that enables online Bitcoin payments or generally any financial transaction thereby eliminating third-party intermediary.
Because decentralized applications are made up of code that runs on a blockchain network, they are not censored by any central authority nor individual.
Ethereum came about so that developers can create applications or agreements that have additional steps, rules of ownership, alternative transaction formats or different ways to transact.
The goal of ethereum blockchain is to allow developers to write more programs in which blockchain transactions could govern and automate specific outcomes.
Generally, Ethereum makes any centralized services become decentralized. Ethereum can also be used to build Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO). A DAO is fully autonomous, decentralized organization with no single leader.
“A DAO consists of one or more contracts and could be funded by a group of like-minded individuals. A DAO operates completely transparently and completely independently of any human intervention, including its original creators. A DAO will stay on the network as long as it covers its survival costs and provides a useful service to its customer base”
Stephen Tual, Slock.it Founder, former CCO Ethereum.
What are the benefits of Ethereum decentralized Platform?Since decentralized applications run on the public blockchain, they benefit from all of its usefulness.
Immutability – No third party can make changes to data.
Zero downtime – Apps never go down nor go off.
Incorruptible – Apps are based on a network formed around the principle of consensus i.e each must check and agree that it’s coming from the verified network, thereby making censorship impossible.
Secure – It’s secured using cryptography and no point of failure, applications are well protected against hacking attacks and fraudulent activities.
What’s the drawback of decentralized applications?Regardless of the advantages of Ethereum blockchain, decentralized applications aren’t impeccable. Since smart contract codes is written by humans, they are prone to mistakes in code.
Code bugs can lead to unfriendly adverse actions being taken. If any mistake in the code gets exploited, there is no efficient way in which an attack can be stopped other than obtaining a network consensus and rewriting the underlying code.
This goes against the essence of the blockchain which is meant to be immutable. Additionally, if any action was taken by a central authority, then the decentralized nature of an application will be questionable.
I want to develop an app. How do I access Ethereum?There are numerous ways you can connect to the Ethereum network, one of the simplest routes is to utilize its native Mist browser.
Mist provides a user-friendly interface & digital wallet for users to trade & store Ether as well as write, manage, deploy and use smart contracts.
Like web browsers give access and help people navigate the internet, Mist provides a portal into the world of decentralized blockchain applications.
There is also the MetaMask browser extension, which turns Google Chrome into an Ethereum browser. MetaMask allows anyone to easily run or develop decentralized applications from their browser.
Read a complete guide on how to develop an app on ethereum;
https://hackernoon.com/getting-started-as-an-ethereum-web-developer-9a2a4ab47baf
What apps are currently being developed on Ethereum blockchain?The Ethereum platform is being utilized to make applications over an expansive scope of administrations and enterprises. In any case, developers are in the uncharted area, so it’s difficult to know which applications will succeed and which ones will fail.
Here are a few exciting projects being executed on the Ethereum-blockchain network.
Liquineq is an Ethereum-based financial software solution to be used by banks and other financial institutions. It enables real-time, peer-to-peer value exchange and payment services across borders and other silos, and between fiat money, other asset classes, and decentralized currencies.
It’s designed to enable financial inclusion and partnering with existing banking institutions, access will be made available to everyone via the Liquineq network.
Augur is an open-source prediction market platform that enables anyone to forecast events and obtain rewarded for predicting them accurately.
Bitcademy is a great example, where sports meets blockchain – and real academies meet virtual marketplace. The project is aimed to support underdeveloped communities and young athletes and decentralizes whole industry by connecting football fans and allowing them to sponsor young players.
ShelterZoom is the first real estate technology company that has successfully delivered a blockchain-based real estate offer and acceptance platform.
The platform allows sellers, buyers and their realtor representative to see all of the offers and transactions at the same time and in real time.
Blockchain’s use in smart contracts, which automatically executes a transaction once parties have agreed on its conditions solves the confirmation and verification process. Read about how blockchain can be used in land registry.
An Ethereum forkWe will look into the case of DAO attack which was one of the reasons that led to Ethereum fork. You remember that I stated how Ethereum can be utilized to develop Decentralized Autonomous Organizations like DAO?
Well in 2016, An issue arose. A start-up working on one particular DOA project, named ‘The DAO’ got hacked. Having raised $150 million in a token sale, an unknown attacker made away with $50 million.
The attack was made as a result of a technical flaw in The DAO software, not the Ethereum platform itself. As a result of this issue, the developers and founders of Ethereum took it upon themselves to were to deal with it.
The DAO was a project developed by a team behind another start-up called Slock.it. Their aim was to build a human less venture capital firm that would allow investors to make decisions through smart contracts.
As a result of these issues, there came a forum discussion where the Ethereum community voted and decided to retrieve the stolen funds by executing what’s called a hard fork or a rewriting of code.
The hard fork moved the stolen funds to a new smart contract designed to let the original owners withdraw their tokens. But these decision made things get more complicated since Ethereum blockchain protocols are designed to make all transactions irreversible and immutable which is the main essence of the blockchain. Apply hard fork will endanger the essence of blockchain and ultimately lose its main value.
This led to a less aggressive solution called soft fork, the Ethereum community and its founders were placed in a threatening position. Using a hard fork or soft fork has its flaws and the community are of different opinion.
If they didn’t retrieve the stolen investor money, ether could lose its trust. On the other hand, applying hard fork as a way of recovering investor money will make ether lose its value.
Eventually, the majority of the Ethereum community voted to apply a hard fork, and retrieve The DAO investors funds being stolen.
But many disagreed with this decision. This led to a split where two parallel blockchains now exist. For those group of people who blatantly disagree with any changes to the blockchain even when hacking occurs there is Ethereum Classic.
While for those who agreed to rewrite a small part of the blockchain and return the stolen money to their owners, there is Ethereum.
The future of EthereumDespite all the flaws, Ethereum is heading forward and has more value compared to others. By providing a user-friendly platform that enables people to harness the power of blockchain technology, Ethereum is speeding up the decentralization of the world economy.
Decentralized applications have the potential to revolutionalize how we conduct our everyday business in all the sectors.
The post What is Ethereum? Beginners Guide appeared first on Nigeria Technology Guide.
If you’re running a company or have a business that relies extensively on a schedule for everyday operations, then you probably already maintain a calendar. Sometimes keeping track of all your appointments and schedules manually isn’t the right way, not to mention ineffective, unreliable, and cumbersome.
Managers and business owners are always looking to make their lives easier. What if we told you there are scheduling software that helps you automate and organize your schedule efficiently and quickly? Yes, you can do that by using a good customer scheduling software.
There are plenty of customer scheduling tools on the market and all of them have developed to make your work a little easier. This scheduling software assists you in filling up your calendar, prevent double booking, and automating replies of email and messaging.
Here are the 10 best appointment scheduling software that you can consider using for your business or company. Most come with a free trial option and a paid subscription. Let’s get started:
Why Use Customer Scheduling Software?Keeping track and scheduling meetings is hectic and time-consuming. Sometimes there is plenty of back and forth communication, missed communication, as well as miscommunication because you’re trying or miscalculated to find the perfect time for both parties via email.
With client scheduling software you can easily book meetings with clients. The software also allows customers to choose a time on the client’s calendar. The whole process is simple. All you need to do is to send a link, your client will select a time, and, presto, the meeting is set.
10 Customer Scheduling Software Tools
Drift is used by businesses to buy from other businesses. It is first conversational sales and marketing platform with over 50,000 businesses using it globally.
Drift eliminates the barriers between the client and the customer by having 1-on-1 conversations. Drift’s chatbots, messaging and email tools are all designed for this core purpose.
2. CalendlyIf you’re scheduling meetings with millions of people without dealing with back and forth emails, then Calendly is a great option for you.
Calendly is a powerful, yet easy to use scheduling tool for business professionals that save time, manage their schedules, and communicate with invitees.
3. AppointyGoogle has partnered with Appointy to help business owners get new customers. This is an all-in-one online scheduling software that is being used and trusted by over 110,000 customers worldwide.
Customers also have the option to self-schedule 24×7 from anywhere. Appointy also helps clients to manage multiple staff and locations, improve productivity, and run promotions via Facebook, Twitter, and email.
4. vCitavcita is another all-in-one online scheduling and client management software which helps small businesses and service providers to gain a competitive edge and attract more clients. vCita does this by providing instant online appointment scheduling.
In addition, vCita can also connect to your website, local listings, social media, and email marketing. With vCita, users can also invite clients to schedule free consultations, book various services or register for an event. vCita also helps small businesses manage their leads, clients, appointments, payments, and invoices,
5. ScheduleOnceScheduleOnce is a great customer scheduling software tool allowing businesses to manage a schedule with your customers online.
This scheduling tool comes with an easily integrated scheduling platform helping business owners and companies to make more connections with customers. The software is functional, robust, and intuitive.
ScheduleOnce can connect with all major calendar platforms and also provides feature-rich integrations with CRM, and other online channels.
6. MyTimeMyTime is an online appointment booking and scheduling software developed for business. Again like most other customer scheduling software tools, it features an appointment calendar, and client manager, and communication center.
Scheduling appointments are intuitive and straightforward and accessing and managing schedules can be done from anywhere at any time. Communicating with MyTime is easy and effortless.
7. Acuity SchedulingAcuity is well-known as a personal assistant for managing schedules. With Acuity Scheduling, booking appointments with your customers and clients are fast and can be done within minutes.
This software allows your clients to see your real-time availability and schedule a date and time that is ideal for them. Your customers can also pay you in advance through Square, Paypal, Stripe, or Authorize.net. They can cancel and reschedule their appointments on their own.
8. mHelpDeskmHelpDesk is an all-in-one customer scheduling software solution enabling field service companies in managing everything from leads to customers, jobs, work orders, scheduling, dispatching, estimates, and invoicing, mHelpDesk also has a mobile app enabling field technicians, staff and customers communicate and make customer payments on the field.
mHelpDesk is used by more than 20,000 service professional customers worldwide.
9. BookerBooker is another customer scheduling software that has the capability to do a little bit of everything including customer management, booking, payment, and marketing.
In addition, Booker is also an all-in-one solution for CRM, staff management, and POS which helps business to operate and expand their businesses efficiently. It’s used by over 128,000 professionals in more than 11,100 locations.
10. Setmore AppointmentsUnlike others, Setmore is free online customer appointment scheduling that is developed for businesses of all sizes.
With Setmore Appointments, it is easy to book appointments, send reminders automatically, coordinate with staff calendars, and much more. As the software is online-based, it can be used no matter where you’re located in the world.
Author BioShawn T. Thompson
He is the content developer and freelance writer. He writes a lot of article on his carrier. Last one year he is working with Appointment Care as a content developer and a writer. He has a expertise on writing an article on various types of online tutorial. He also wants to promote such kind of work to develop the skill.
Related Topics Sage One Sage 50 Best Accounting Software Sage Business Cloud Accounting Sage Pastel Best Online Accounting Software Peachtree Accounting SoftwareThe post 10 Customer Scheduling Software Tools that you need to use in 2019 appeared first on Nigeria Technology Guide.
If you are a gamer and finding an application to communicate with your teammate easily while playing games then Discord will be the best option for you.
Discord can help you to enjoy games in multiple ways. This can be used on a PC computer, Mac, or Android and iOS application available as well. The browser version of discord is unavailable for the mobile devices.
For this reason, you need to download the application on your phone and create an account. Here I will talk about how to create an account on discord, it benefits, how to join discord server and how to use it.
Joining discord simplifies your gameplay experience with great features. The platform has a comprehensive user interface which is reportedly known to serve more than 90 million users so far.
It is the stand alone place where players love to socialize and enjoy the games in depth. Discord is mainly used by gamers.
How To Create Account On Discord App Launch discord application on your phone and look out for the blue circle having a white game controller on it. Choose the login screen located at the lower left corner of the computer. Sign up using your credentials and choose username field while you sign up. your username is visible to the chat buddies in discord chat room. Therefore choose it carefully. Input your email address and enter your password carefully in a way that you don’t forget it in future. Re-enter your password and hit upon register button for completing the signup process Why use Discord?Discord makes it easier for you to chat during gameplay. It has specific search functions that let you add friends for an immediate communication.
It is an organizing tool that has a wide variety of features to give you next level versatility in digital gaming. People having a similar interest in gaming can club together and enjoy things in a like-minded way.
Even if you are not using your personal computer, the application version of discord helps you to interact with people using discord chat servers. In other words, the application is meant to enhance your gaming capacity in one and more way.
How To Join In Discord ServerThe application helps you to set up a chat room that lets you invite people having the like-minded approach. You can simply send an invitation to them or verbally ask to join discord.
Every server is divided into multiple channels which are secured for particular topics. Overall, discord is a live giant platform that allows you to get in touch from people belonging to different parts of the world. You can be a part of multiple servers at a single time there were making yourself more socially interactive.
On the other hand, you can simply use a single server and limit your conversation to your friend. There is literally no limit to the number of servers you join in.
The list of servers in which you have participated is displayed right beside your screen. In order to join a server, simply click invitation link that you have received from your friend. Servers that are publicly available can be found out by simply initiative a simple research.
Issues On Discord:Most of the gamers use Discord server to communicate with their teammate. Sometimes users not able to listen on discord. So, If you are facing the same issues you can check these solutions:
Solutions 1: Can’t Hear People on Discord (How To Fix)
Solutions 2: Can’t Hear People on Discord
I had face similar issue a few days back. So, After following these steps, my problem has been solved. I highly recommend to use discord if you are gamer. The sound quality is great and interface is also good.
Related Topics Sony PS4 Pro Buying a Gaming Chair XBox One X Sony PlayStation VitaThe post How to Create Account on Discord appeared first on Nigeria Technology Guide.
