If you are looking for some work-from-home productivity tips, you are at the right place. At Cosmic Development, we have practiced remote work in various formats for years and our employees are sharing their experiences and tips on staying productive.

In the past two and a half years, the way we work and live has dramatically transformed. The pandemic has normalized remote and flexible work. Cloud technology and advanced communication and collaboration tools have allowed companies to embrace remote work and reap the benefits it can bring. Instead of being a temporary pandemic measure, work from home has become a lasting feature of the modern workplace.

Despite the apparent benefits of remote work, like freedom and flexibility, no commute, a higher quality of life, and better work-life balance, working remotely is more complex than it seems and can bring many unexpected challenges. This perk can turn into a missed opportunity if not handled carefully, and you can become your own worst enemy,

Productivity is one of the biggest challenges, especially if you are new to remote work. Having that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some essential remote working productivity tips from our employees. We also asked a few to share their personal experience in working remotely and explain how they navigate the pitfalls and ensure they stay focused, productive, and happy.

Set up a home office space that limits distraction

Whether a corner in your living room or a separate room turned into an office, it is crucial to designate an official home workspace where you can comfortably work without noise and distractions.

Create a healthy, stimulating environment that best suits your personal ergonomic and productivity needs. Keep it clutter-free and organized. Add houseplants to boost your mood, and if possible, put your desk by the window to have access to natural light because it will improve your mental alertness and focus. Invest in equipment that will enhance your performance – adjustable desks, ergonomic desk chairs, spacious monitors or laptop stands, and noise-cancelling headphones. A dedicated workspace will give a sense of legitimacy to your work environment and help you maintain boundaries between home and work life.

Define boundaries

Besides having a separate workspace where you can concentrate and minimize disruptions, it is equally important to put clear boundaries between work time and family. It can be hard to separate your work from your personal life, especially if you have children.

However, everything is possible with a little more pre-planning and communication.

Work out a schedule with your household members and inform them of your working schedule and that you are unavailable during this time. Ensure that your home office is off-limits when working and that your work does not intrude into other people’s lives. Learn to say no, because you can easily become stressed and overwhelmed by others’ demands, which will definitely affect your productivity.

The opposite is also true, setting healthy work boundaries to avoid overworking. Stick to your work schedule, do your work as best as possible, and once your work day is over, switch off, put away your work tools and enjoy your free time.

And remember – setting your boundaries is in your own hands. If you don’t respect them, no one else will either. It is a battle you’ll need to fight for yourself, but with time you’ll become a master of juggling work and family.

Set up a work schedule and maintain a daily routine

The best thing when working from home is the flexibility to establish a routine that’s ideal for you. Creating and following a work schedule will save your sanity and boost your productivity. 

Here are some steps you can follow:

• Maintain consistent working hours. Decide the time when you will start and finish working each day and commit to it. Plan for virtual meetings with others in your schedule, childcare, or any other responsibilities you may have throughout the day. Be aware that you’ll need to be flexible from time to time and that there will be exceptions to your rules. Sometimes you’ll have to give extra time to your work and sometimes to your personal life. 

• Discover your most productive time of the day. Some people peak in the morning, others in the afternoon or night. By aligning your schedule with your peak energy times, you make it easier to focus on work when you feel the most energized and motivated, thus being more productive, focused, and quicker.

• Track your time. Time tracking can help you be more aware of how you spend your time during the day and how much time you spend on each assigned task. This practice will give you valuable insights into your productivity and help you find ways to improve and optimize your workflow. If you’re unsure how to do that, Forest, RescueTime, and Toggl are just some of the many time-tracking apps you can use. They will tell you how you spend your time, analyze your work trends and help you make smart decisions. 

Set priorities

Taking a proactive approach will give you a sense of accomplishment and put you in control of your day. 

One of the biggest productivity mistakes you can make is focusing on getting as many tasks as possible instead of doing the most important ones. So start by identifying your main to-do’s for the day, and qualify them by their urgency. Try the Rule of Three – a simple but effective productivity hack that requires you to focus on accomplishing only three essential goals every day. You can apply this rule not only for your day but also for your week, month, and year. Our brains are not evolved to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, so by engaging in fewer tasks, you increase your focus and are more efficient. Similar productivity methods you can also try are the Pomodoro Technique or the Zen to Done Rule. 

Take regular breaks and practice self-care

Working remotely and sitting all day can harm your body and mind. Don’t hesitate to take a break and recharge. Regular micro-break breaks throughout your working day will lower the risk of burnout, reduce stress levels, and increase overall productivity. They are good for both your physical and mental well-being. A play with your kids or pet, a short conversation, listening to music, stretching, breathing, whatever you like, as long as it is a break from screen time and gets you moving.

Incorporate self-care into your daily routine, whether that is walking in the park, regular exercise, spending time in nature, contacting loved ones, watching a good movie, reading a book, cooking a fun meal, or spending virtual social time with colleagues. These activities will lower your stress, help you relax, and clear your mind.

Stay engaged in company life

Working from home can get boring and lonely. If you feel isolated, you will not be happy or productive. Fortunately, with the technologies today, you can easily stay engaged with the team and be involved in daily company life. Stay in touch with your colleagues via Slack or similar cloud-based collaboration tools. Try video chats, participate in different events and activities and stay connected.

The Bottom Line

Working from home has many great advantages, but when it comes to productivity, it certainly has its drawbacks. It’s challenging to maintain an excellent work-life balance and stay productive. But with proper planning and the right tools and techniques, you can create space and time to be effective without letting work interfere with your personal life. 

Staying productive while working from home is different for everyone. What works for you might not work for somebody else. Find what works best for you, stay productive, and keep your head up no matter what.

Come work with us and join our team of great people!

We offer a hybrid work culture flexibility that combines the benefits of both remote and office work. Check out our current openings and learn why Cosmic Development is the right fit. 

The post Productivity Tips: How to Stay Productive While Working from Home appeared first on Cosmic Development.

You’ve probably heard about the newest trend among remote employees and companies – workation. For those unfamiliar with the term, workation (work + vacation) describes the practice of combining working remotely and vacation. This is not a completely new notion. However, it became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when remote work became ‘a new normal’. The pandemic changed how we work for the better, and now it’s changing how we vacation. Now, with the advancement in remote work tools and technologies, it is easier for employees to work on projects from remote locations while enjoying a break from the regular daily routine.

The possibility of working and vacationing at the same time may sound unbelievable, but we can assure you it’s reality. We are one of the few companies that adopted this hybrid work model that allowed working remotely even before the pandemic. Our people are free to create a work schedule that suits them best. They are able work from wherever they want, as long as that doesn’t interfere with their tasks and duties. The well-being of our people is vital to our company culture. For that reason, along with the flexible work schedules and relaxed working atmosphere, we introduced remote work options long before it became a trend.  

In this article, we’ll share with you how our Cosmic citizens enjoyed their summer while working from various locations and why embracing a remote work policy and flexible working hours is the way to go. 

The Benefits of Summer Workations 

Why work from one place when you can take your work anywhere? Why not?

Workations come with huge benefits that are difficult to ignore. When you are not tied to your working desks all day and don’t waste time commuting, you have more freedom and flexibility to explore other options while performing your professional responsibilities and earning money. And, if you are working from home most of the time, you know that it can become quite tedious and leave you feeling stuck after a while.

Workations are an excellent opportunity to enjoy a much-needed change in scenery while you work. And you can use your spare time to relax and explore new places,. This is a great motivator and it promotes well-being. It can also enhance your productivity and creativity, give you a different perspective and encourage new ideas.

Waking up by the sea or in the mountains, drinking your coffee with a panoramic view of nature, and working online with your work desk pointing towards your favorite mountains or beaches, is definitely far better than spending eight hours in the office staring at a blank wall or working in a busy, stressful environment. However, workations shouldn’t be regarded as a substitute for actual holidays because you still need time to shut off from work completely.

How Cosmic Citizens Enjoyed Remote Work Perks This Summer

The Cosmic team took full advantage of their freedom and flexibility this summer and combined work and lovely summer sceneries. Besides working from the comfort of their gardens and balconies, our employees enjoyed the benefit of working from their hometowns and different distant getaway locations in nature while still getting the work done. 

Here’s how some of our employees spend the summer and the beautiful sights they visit.

Are Summer Workations Good for Companies?

Yes! It’s not only the employees that reap the benefits from the workations; it’s the company too. Business success, job performance, and employee well-being are closely connected. 

When companies invest in their people’s mental and physical well-being and trust them to work from anywhere, they have happier employees. And happy employees work harder and better than those who aren’t. 

The benefits of flexible work schedules and workations include better productivity and creativity. It also boosts employee satisfaction, motivation, and morale. Moreover, it is a great way to build employee loyalty and retention because the new generation of workers puts great value on flexibility. 

However, companies should establish a clear remote work policy and outline expectations that everyone in the company can rely on. With a solid work-from-home policy, teams are more likely to achieve their goals, keep productivity, and be satisfied with their work. This includes performance expectations, availability expectations, working hours, expected response time for each communication channel, client confidentiality, cybersecurity, and equipment requirements. 

In our company, summer benefits are a way to reward hard work and give people a break they need. But, remote work and summer workations come with a responsibility to deliver high-quality work to benefit our clients. Our employees have the flexibility to work from home. However, we still sometimes require that they are available during certain core hours that overlap with their team members. That way, we ensure that everyone is available for team meetings or clients in certain time zones. 

Join Cosmic Development and enjoy the freedom of choosing your workspace.

Freedom and flexibility are perks at the core of our company culture, and we are really proud of having them.

We at Cosmic believe that personal well-being is essential for top job performance. Which is why we have the option to let our employees choose their work locations. However, we are still keeping our offices open for those that want to work from an office setting.

Your work setting is irrelevant as long as you are an engaged and productive team member. You’ll have the freedom and tools to get the job done regardless of your position or location.

Cosmic Development may be the answer if you are looking for a place where you can take advantage of countless benefits like combining work and travel. You can check our current job offers here.

The post The Perks of Remote Work: Summer Workations at Cosmic Development appeared first on Cosmic Development.

We witness an age of amazing technological breakthroughs, increasing demand for new software, and higher customer expectations, so having a QA engineer in a software development team is becoming increasingly necessary for successful software businesses. It saves time, money, nerves, and a company’s reputation. 

Quality assurance (QA) engineers monitor every stage of the development process of a product. They oversee production, design and implement tests, debug and recommend improvements, making sure that the product operates on the highest quality level before it is released to the public.

Although some software companies take QA lightly and don’t have QA engineers in their development team, Cosmic Development is quite the opposite. We recognize the true value of quality assurance and believe that building high-quality, stable, and safe products for our clients requires a competent QA engineer. For that reason, today, we spotlight our talented Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer, Kosta Terziski, and discuss the details of his journey, day-to-day tasks, and advice he would offer to aspiring QA professionals. 

Who is Kosta?

Kosta is QA Automation Engineer. He joined Cosmic Development in 2014, and since then, he has quickly become an integral part of our development team. He plays a crucial role in Cosmic’s software development process, delivering high value to our company and clients. Apart from having enviable skills for tracking down the bugs that undermine a product’s performance and an excellent eye for detail, he is a proud father of a 4-month baby boy, Filip.

How did you join Cosmic Development, and what’s your overall experience in a few words? 

I joined Cosmic on an Internship program back in October 2014. I have been in the company ever since. It’s a fantastic experience, to say the least, considering that I have worked on many great projects with a great group of people.

Why did you opt for a career as a QA engineer?

There are numerous reasons why I opted for a career as a QA engineer. It’s challenging, valuable, creative, you are constantly learning, and most importantly, it’s in demand. Testing is not easy, and it requires excellent problem-solving skills. But I enjoy solving complex problems, looking at products from different angles, and giving developers a new perspective on their work. Each day is a new challenge and brings something new. This is not a job for those who prefer boring and simple jobs and should think twice before choosing a career path in software testing. 

Can you describe your role as a QA Engineer at Cosmic Development? What does a ‘typical’ day look like?

Coffee first. Always. And at least 15 minutes to go with that coffee of reading emails and Slack messages just to catch up on what is expected of you in the day ahead. Next in line are daily meetings, which usually don’t last longer than 15 to 20 minutes. And after that – work!

What skills did you bring to the team, and what skills have you developed since joining?

Back when I joined Cosmic, I can hardly say that I brought a lot of skills, but I can certainly say that I was a good listener. This was an opportunity for me to learn from a great group of mentors, most of whom I am still working with. Throughout the years, I have worked on many challenging projects that made me who I am today. 

Can you explain the difference between manual testing vs. automation testing? Can automation testing replace manual testing?

Automation testing will not replace manual testing. It would be best if you had both manual and automation testing skills. Manual testing handles complex test cases, while automated testing handles simpler, more repetitive tests. So, manual testing is still important. But adding automated testing makes your manual tests more efficient.

How do you keep up with the latest trends and technologies? 

Keeping up with the latest trends and technologies is important in this business line. There are numerous ways I do that: join tech forums, do my own research on the internet, and attend seminars. Plus, Cosmic provides us with access to many online learning tools and resources, and we always have the opportunity to take a course online or with a physical presence, if possible.

What advice would you give to young people keen to pursue a career as a QA engineers? 

A job in QA is rewarding and impactful. Take pride in your work and the people you work for because you are essentially changing the world for the better and making sure we live in a bug-free world. It doesn’t matter what product you’re working on. By finding and preventing errors, you are making people’s lives better, and you could even save lives. Be flexible, adaptable, and disciplined. Have patience and trust yourself. Think outside the box and pay attention to details. Be a good team player, and most importantly, never stop learning and improving. 

If you aspire to collaborate with inspiring teammates and create and support products that make a difference, we want to hear from you! See our open positions and join our team. 

The post From Beginner to Pro: What it is like to be QA Engineer in Cosmic Development appeared first on Cosmic Development.

This article will share some full-stack developer tools to help you level up your web development skills and become a better web developer.

Full-stack web development is a complex job that requires building complicated applications from scratch. Full-stack developers work on both frontend and backend projects and need to use both frontend and backend programming languages and tools. Besides having fundamental web development skills, every aspiring full-stack developer should master various tools and technologies. Knowing which tools to use will make their work easier and enable them to provide high-quality work, land higher-paying jobs, and faster career growth in web development.

The number of full-stack web development tools available on the Internet is overwhelming, and finding the best ones can sometimes be challenging. To help, we’ve created a list of some of the best tools you can use and master to become an effective full-stack web developer in 2022.

What are full-stack developer tools?

Full-stack developer tools are programs, apps, and software designed to increase the productivity and efficiency of web development projects. They allow web developers to work with numerous frontend and backend technologies, frameworks, and libraries to create a fully-functional, visually appealing, and user-friendly websites.

Why are they important?

Although tools don’t make the programmer, they can be a game-changer in the development process. The right full-stack development tools aid in developing, testing, designing, and maintaining the websites. They speed up the development process, eliminate redundancies, automate processes, and lower the project’s cost. Learning powerful and advanced tools will empower developers improves their skills and productivity.

List of useful full-stack developer tools:

• Visual Studio Code – code editor

VSCode, a Microsoft product, is one of the most popular web application development tools among full-stack developers. It is a fast and lightweight code editor used for writing modern web and cloud applications and is available for Linux, Windows, and macOS. The best thing about Visual Studio Code is that it is free and open-source and that it encompasses tons of features like code refactoring and syntax highlighting, along with many more. It is easy to use and beginner-friendly. It is also customizable, including many extensions that range from debugging, connecting, or deploying into the cloud. Plus, it integrates with GitHub and can be utilized with various languages and frameworks, such as Ruby, JavaScript, Typescript. Rust, Node.js, etc.

• Chrome Developer Tools – debugging tool for web developers.

Browser developer tools are built into most modern browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari and are a preferred tool of most developers. Google Chrome Developer Tools or Chrome DevTools are debugging tools built into the Chrome browser designed to help you in front-end development. These are some of the most useful tools that allow web developers to edit their code in real-time, diagnose issues, and debug their code quicker, thus building better websites faster. Visit the Google Developers YouTube channel regularly to keep your skills up-to-date.

• Docker– an open-source containerization platform

Another excellent tool for full-stack developers is Docker. It is an open-source software platform used for creating, deploying, and running applications in a lightweight virtual environment called a container. Packing up application code and all the dependencies used in the application into a single package improves application performance and allows it to run efficiently in different environments. It also makes your applications more portable and scalable.

And why every software developer should learn Docker in 2022?

Docker is a technology that transformed the tech industry in the past years by making containerization the new norm. As organizations are moving toward the Cloud environment, the use of containers is growing rapidly and is now part of the standard architecture for businesses with a cloud-first approach. According to Gartner, 85% of organizations will be using containers by 2025 (up from less than 30% in 2020.) Undoubtedly, the container model will be critical in the coming years, meaning tools like Docker are a must for modern-day developers.

• GitHub – code hosting platform

GitHub is the world’s largest online software development platform used by software developers to store, track, manage and control changes to their code. As of November 2021, it has over 73 million developers and more than 200 million repositories, making it the most extensive web-based hosting service for IT projects. By using GitHub, you’ll simplify the process of developing code and mitigate errors.  GitHub also works as a social networking site with a large active developer community where developers can collaborate on projects in real-time, network, and help each other. Whether you are new to coding or have solid coding experience, GitHub is a tool you should leverage.

• Postman – API testing tool 

Postman is an open-source collaboration tool for API development used to create, test, design, modify, and document APIs. With Postman, you can create and save complex HTTP/s requests, inspect responses, build and manage collections, and support every stage of the API lifecycle. It supports manual and automated API testing and all kinds of APIs like REST, SOAP, etc. Besides a testing tool, Postman is also a collaborative tool. You can invite team members to communicate and work together on your API work.

Of course, this is not an extensive list, and there are many other tools full-stack developers can learn to sharpen their skills and stay ahead of the curve. Other tools worth mentioning include collaboration tools like Slack and Asana, which are essential in every developer’s job, and online learning platforms like Codecademy, Freecodecamp, and Dev Challenges.

Conclusion

Building a website takes time and involves a large number of tools. The above-listed full-stack development tools are designed to help you and your team be more productive in the long run and develop full-fledged web applications.

Choose the tools that work best for you and enjoy the process of learning and designing web applications and websites. They have the power of helping you stay up-to-date as a developer and take your full-stack development career a bit farther.

Ready to join Cosmic Development?

Cosmic Development is your place if you want to join a professional team to work on big and exciting projects! We have several open positions for software developers and engineers, including Full-Stack Software Engineer. Go ahead and apply.

The post Top 5 Full-Stack Developer Tools in 2022 appeared first on Cosmic Development.

What started as a concept turned into multiplied success stories!

When Cosmic Development was founded back in 2011, it was based on the principle of helping businesses of various sizes grow. All by providing the best tech talent solutions tailored to every client’s needs and budget.

But that’s the one side of the story. The other and not that widespread story is that Cosmic Development has strived to establish itself as a modern and prosperous workplace from day one. 

After over a decade-long tenure, we are looking back on several inspirational employee stories at our company. 

From Tech Internships to Fulfilling Careers

From Intern to CTO – Vladimir Novachki

The story of Vladimir Novachki begins with his internship at Cosmic. For Vladimir, this wasn’t just an ordinary internship experience. He was excited that as an intern he had the opportunity to work on real applications, used by real people. After completing his internship, he was more than willing to take the job offer. Novachki had a chance to lead tech teams and work on various projects before landing the Chief Technology Officer position. For young developers, Novachki has simple advice: “Magic wands don’t exist in real life, when it comes to programming it’s really important to stay up-to-date with the newest technology. Make sure to fully dedicate yourself to continuous learning in this profession and the success is yours!” Novachki has practical ways of getting the right sources of information regarding the latest technology trends. He uses Practical Dev, Hacker News, Reddit, etc. His favorite technology stack is LEMP and he highly recommends it.

From Intern to Web Developer – Viktorija Velichkovska

This is the sixth year of Viktorija working at Cosmic. She started her career as an intern, had successful cooperation with her mentors there, and was more than willing to continue her journey with Cosmic. As a developer, she faced a lot of obstacles but managed to overcome them. Her main challenges were associated with the lack of a standardized development process. Velichkovska started to notice this phenomenon while working on projects with different teams. “Every individual has a specific work approach, which is great but has an impact on the complexity of the work, therefore it’s more time-consuming.” Instead of being discouraged, Velichkovska became more proactive. For the less experienced developers, she recommends building experience through open-source projects.

Over a Decade-Long Careers at Cosmic Development

Atanas Arizanov – Tech Coordiantor

Atanas Arizanov joined Cosmic eleven years ago. He remembers his humble beginnings as a software engineer, PHP developer, and later on tech coordinator. From the very beginning, Arizanov was well aware of the challenges that are an integral part of this industry. As a tech coordinator, Arizanov has many responsibilities including managing multiple projects, regular and consistent communication with internal teams, while simultaneously controlling the system and network performance. This job position is quite demanding, as Arizanov states “It’s a race with time.” Nevertheless, Arizanov knows that having an internal feeling of peace is the key to overcoming any job deadline. With a smile on his face, while drinking his favorite cup of coffee Arizanov shares some very interesting pieces of advice. “Make sure to organize your day in such a productive manner, that you’ll become faster and more efficient even when your projects and virtual meeting are overlapping.”

Emilija Nikoloska – BD Consultant

Emilija Nikoloska started to work for Cosmic back in 2011. At that period, the company had just started with only six employees. She worked with only one client, just like everyone else. Due to her hard work and determination, she became a Team Lead and then an Office Manager. She was quite successful in that field but strived for more. Later on, her proactive attitude and diligence brought her into the Business Consultant role. It proved to be the right fit for both parties. Nikoloska shares that she finds inspiration and limitless energy from motherhood.

Bookmark’s Success Stories

Bookmark is one of the loyal clients that Cosmic has had since the very beginning. Here are some interesting stories from some of the best employees there.

Atanas Krangov [CTO] and Petar Shokarovski [VP of Engineering]

Atanas Krangov started as a PHP developer for Cosmic ten years ago. Since then, he made a drastic step in his career and progressed to a Chief Technology Officer for Bookmark. Krangov says that it’s not a role without challenges but he most certainly likes to overcome them. He found his passion for programming at a very young age. He soon realized that he is good at solving problems, and when it comes to software development simplifying the problem means everything. Apart from his professional life, Krangov likes to spend his free time motorcycling and having some leisure time with his family.

Petar Shokarovski became part of the Cosmic family more than seven years ago. He started as a web developer with a previous experience of almost 12 years. This is the reason why he is regarded as one of the MVPs in the company. His professional experience gave him the opportunity to progress as a VP of Engineering for Bookmark. A job title that he holds so proudly. Shokarovski is a dynamic person he has a food blog, likes to spend some time in the wild, and enjoys biking.

If you enjoyed reading these employee success stories and want to learn more about Bookmark and its CEO – David Kosmayer, please visit this page.

These are unique experiences that turned into realities. It seems that Cosmic thrives on giving its employees chances, guiding them in their professional path, and nurturing their potential. I hope this article gave you a glimpse of a few individual success stories, yet we are proud of every single career path and milestone.

If you are eager to join us and grow with us, go ahead and check out our most recent job openings.

Our employees are our greatest asset!

The post Employee Success Stories at Cosmic Development appeared first on Cosmic Development.

1. You recently celebrated your 5th work anniversary in Cosmic Development. So first of all, congratulations, and let us say we are thrilled to have you on the team! In that spirit, could you tell us the story of how you joined the Cosmic family?

First, let me thank you for your congratulations and especially for the fantastic gift you sent me for my fifth anniversary. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I am so happy to have such helpful and thoughtful coworkers and managers.

My career path in Cosmic Development started at the beginning of 2016. At first, I was mentored by the more experienced colleagues who unselfishly shared their knowledge with me. I am thankful beyond words for the advice and support they gave me and how they assisted me in going outside of my comfort zone and being the best version of myself every day.

I love working at Cosmic Development, which fosters a positive work environment where everyone feels safe, engaged, motivated, and productive. An environment where employees are valued and recognized for their excellent work and where they can unleash their full potential.

2. What is the most challenging part of your job? Can you describe how you approach the challenges you face as a web developer?

The challenges I come across daily are approximately the same challenges you face in almost every profession in this industry – task prioritizing, time management, staying on top of the new technologies.

However, if you ask me about the technical challenges I have faced so far, I can mention a few, but the most important one would be not having a standardized development process. This happens when more people work on a project, and everybody delivers a product that meets the requirements but uses a different approach. That results in a far more complex and time-consuming process than it should be. The solution, of course, would be identifying the issue and standardizing the processes.

3. In your opinion, what are the top technical skills needed to be a successful web developer?

This is obvious; you must be familiar with HTML and CSS. JavaScript is also at the top of the list of necessary web developer skills and qualifications. A web developer can use a source control system to track, regulate, and revise code changes. Git is an excellent example of an open-source version control system that allows you to identify and rectify errors quickly.

Another crucial skill for a web developer is Testing and Debugging. It might be considered a time-consuming and complicated process, but for me, it’s like solving a puzzle, and slight alterations can make everything work. Of course, besides object-oriented programming (OOP), I’d add Libraries and Frameworks, which are critical elements for developing a more organized project. As a crucial factor, I would also mention Web Optimization and Teamwork and Time Management (or Project Management), which are vital.

4. Tell us more about your expertise and how do you hone your skills?

As I mentioned earlier, thanks to the mentorship of my senior colleagues, I can advance my skills and knowledge. The short courses we often organize, the informal discussions we have during break time, or the online meetings we now have during the COVID-19 pandemic helped me develop my skills over time. Teamwork is an invaluable learning experience for me. When we work on big projects, we learn a lot from each other- professionally and personally.

Another rewarding way to learn, teach, share, and build experience is through open-source projects. I often find some open-source projects and create my version. As we turned to remote working and online learning, I also found inspiration watching YouTube videos by interesting tech content creators. One example is Povilas Korop, an experienced developer and YouTuber who shares invaluable Laravel tips and tricks, tutorials, and demo projects with the Laravel framework. In the end, I would add WPBeginner as a great source of inspiration and learning.

5. What are you working on right now?

In all these years at Cosmic Development, I’ve had the chance to work on different projects that required the use of various technologies and services. I started with building WordPress themes, development plugins, restful API services, then on to implementation, optimization, and maintenance of the implemented services. Later I started working with specific PHP frameworks like Laravel, Codeigniter, Yii…. This basically means that my day-to-day work is based on PHP, Javascript, CSS, and HTML. Throughout the projects, I’ve encountered many challenges that helped me grow as a developer. Currently, I am working on a lengthy project in which we develop a product for a distinguished company. However, I can’t give you more details because of the product development non-disclosure agreement.

We are also preparing for DIGIT (Design and Interactive Graphics in IT), which is an educational workshop for students in the field of design and programming. There, we will share our expertise and hands-on experience with the teams taking part.

6. Why events like DIGIT are important, and who is it for? 

Digit is a workshop that is of great importance to all participants, i.e., students, mentors, and organizers. It is a great event where people can exchange knowledge and experiences and network with like-minded individuals from the IT community.

As a company that has outsourced top-notch professionals worldwide for over ten years, we are honored to participate in this year’s DIGIT Web – Angular Edition. Through mentorship and presentation, my colleague Bojan and I will do our best to share our knowledge and personal experience with students and junior developers. All to assist them in gaining the skills they need for successful career development.

Bojan, who is a Senior Developer and Angular professional, will guide and assist the participants in building a website in Angular. Whereas, I will share details about my career path at Cosmic Development.

Last, I would like to invite all fellow developers interested in becoming a part of our international company to send their CVs to careers@cosmicdevelopment.com. For the latest job positions, you can get more details here.

The post Employee Spotlight: Web Developer Career Path appeared first on Cosmic Development.

What is Website Traffic, and How is it Measured?

The number of visitors that come to a particular website is called website traffic. It is measured in visits or sessions recorded on the site’s server that communicate with the user’s device. Website traffic depends on the website’s purpose, the visitors’ goals, and how they discovered the site. There are many ways to measure traffic. By using web analytics tools like Yandex Metrica, Google Analytics, and Alexa Rank, you can measure several different aspects of your website traffic like visits, sessions, page views, unique visitors, etc.

Why is it Important?

Website traffic is an essential metric for online business effectiveness because it gives businesses valuable insights into the interests of their visitors or potential customers. Regular website traffic analysis will help you make better future marketing decisions and grow your business by giving your customers what they want. For a high-performing website, both quantity and quality are essential. However, high-quality traffic is what will get you customers and increase conversion and sales. Quality traffic is targeted traffic. That means that targeted visitors that come to your site have a particular objective and have already shown interested in your products and services, thus more likely to convert and make a purchase. Plus, those visitors are more likely to stay with your business and refer your website to others.

By getting more website traffic, you get more opportunities to convert users and sell your product or service.

Finally, high traffic will get you a higher page rank, higher domain authority, and better search rankings.

When it comes to ranking, the most crucial aspect of website traffic is organic traffic. 53.3% of all website traffic comes from organic search. That is because Google and other search engines rank websites based on the keywords and SEO tactics that are used. The better the description and use of keywords, the more organic traffic a website gets. SEO or search engine optimization is the process of optimizing a website to rank as high as possible in organic search engine results. And you know the rule, the higher you appear in the search results, the more relevant and authoritative your site is. 

An effective SEO strategy should create compelling on-page content, gain backlinks and improve the site’s architecture. Websites that are well-optimized get more traffic and generate more leads and sales. 

How to Increase Website Traffic?

You can apply many strategies to increase your traffic, and here are some helpful tips that can help.

1. Create a powerful SEO Strategy

A strong SEO strategy involves planning, outlining, and implementing steps designed to boost search engine rankings. And you need both on-site SEO and off-site SEO to be successful. Here are some helpful tips that you can try for SEO success.

• Analyze Google’s first page
• Build relevant and high-quality links
• Create a list of keywords
• Define your target audience and their needs
• Hire an expert in SEO strategy
• Use keywords in your website page URLs.
• Implement user-friendly site architecture
• Improve and update your content
• Improve load times and user experience
• Use local SEO to attract local customers
• Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
• Publish high-quality original content
• Publish relevant content
• Use social media

2. Use Paid Advertising

Paid (or PPC) advertising is an excellent way to increase traffic and jump to the top of search results. Paid advertising means buying traffic with online ads, or putting it in other words; you pay each time someone engages with your content.
The key to any successful advertising campaign is getting high-targeted keywords. Choosing the right keywords to bid on you is targeting the right people, which is most likely to result in clicks, conversions, and consistent traffic to your page. It is an excellent solution if you’re looking to increase website traffic fast, but it can also be expensive, especially for small businesses.

3. Use Video Marketing 

Video content and organic rankings go together. Search engines are looking for highly engaging content, and Google’s algorithms are increasingly prioritizing websites with video content.

The audience is engaging with video content more than ever before. According to the most recent marketing statistics, 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, up from 63% over the last year. 93% of marketers say that it’s an integral part of their marketing strategy. Also, we need to mention that by 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic.

As a part of a comprehensive content strategy, video marketing is an excellent tool for increasing website traffic. Video content is entertaining, engaging, and easy to consume. Additionally, it will increase CTR, lower bounce rates, and increase dwell time. Having that in mind, don’t hesitate to invest in high-quality video content and get more traffic.

Why is Website Maintenance Important?

We explained above that getting on the front page of Google top results is not an easy task, and it requires hard work, dedication, and knowledge. But getting to the top is only half the battle. Staying on top and maintaining high traffic is equally as hard and brings additional challenges.

To maintain your top position and high volume traffic, you need to invest in good website maintenance services. Website maintenance is the process of regularly analyzing your website for problems and making sure that it remains updated, safe, and secure. High traffic indicates a well-performing website, but it needs careful management to provide the proper visitor engagement and positive user experience. If your website is not adequately maintained, too many requests can crash it and slow down your page load time. That will affect your marketing data and search engine results page ranking.

A well-maintained website has many benefits – it will encourage traffic growth and boost your SEO and search engine rankings. A seamless user experience will motivate your customers to buy and promote your products and services. And it will save you money.

In the long run, website maintenance is always less expensive than website repair. The cost of customer acquisition is significantly higher than the cost of customer retention.

And remember, it doesn’t matter if you decide to create a website with the help of a website developer or a professional web builder. Website optimization and maintenance is still one of the most important things you can do for your business. However, if you are a small business with a limited budget, you may consider a website builder for developing a website. Here you can read more about their benefits.

Helpful Tips for Managing High Traffic Websites 

Our best advice for avoiding task build-up is to make regular improvements to your website. Let’s look at eight ways to prepare your website for heavy traffic and create the best possible user experience.

• Compress your files
• Install a caching plugin
• Make sure you are taking backups
• Make sure your applications and software’s are up to date
• Optimize your images
• Perform a regular SEO audit
• Test it frequently
• Upgrade your server

Stay tuned for Part Two of The Importance of Website Maintenance blog series, where we will explain each tip thoroughly.

We Can Help You Increase and Maintain High-Volume Website Traffic

Managing high-traffic sites requires lots of work after your site is up and running. To optimize your website for high volume traffic, a reliable web maintenance company is a smart option. A good maintenance plan will ensure your website is securely backed up, adequately updated, tested, and optimized each month. The result keeps it up to the most current search engine standards for Google and others, a better user experience for consumers, and a better ROI for the website.

At Cosmic Development, we have an experienced team of dedicated web developers for website maintenance services. Our team is highly qualified to comply with the highest standards. We offer complete website support and maintenance solutions despite your size, industry, or environmental location.

We have effectively supported websites for clients like Rumble, AFV, Some Spider, Nas Daily, and many more.

Take care of your brand and make sure your website is responsive and modern. Your customers will appreciate it and won’t leave you for the competition. Contact us today and learn more about website maintenance services and how to get it right (with the help of our web developers).

The post The Importance of Website Maintenance: How to Increase Your Website Traffic? appeared first on Cosmic Development.

When hiring a web developer, you need to find the most suitable candidate with strong technical experience. However, it is also very important that the web developer you want to hire possesses a set of basic soft skills. Acquiring a web developer on your team, who has not only the technical abilities to get the work done but is an ongoing person with excellent communication skills, is the key that might bring success to your business. 

During a time when many IT companies have the “work from home” policy, abilities like clear and tactful communication with colleagues within or outside of the department who are also remote can determine whether someone fits for the job position.

Below you can find several questions that you can ask your candidate when hiring a web developer at a job interview:

1. Ask the candidates to explain to you a project they have worked on and the approach they took from start to finish.

Interview questions for a web developer’s position will help you learn more about the candidates’ work mindset — how they are gathering requirements, solving problems, managing user feedback, handling QA, and collaborating in a team setting. This way, you can also see whether they pay close attention to user experience.

2. Do some roleplay. Pretend you are a tech novice and ask the candidates to explain something in plain English.

Your candidate will likely work closely with other departments of your company. In other words, they will need to communicate effectively with their colleagues who are not tech-savvy, such as colleagues from marketing, sales, corporate communications, and other company areas. Ask the candidate to describe a topic all web developers should be familiar with, and look for their ability to communicate in non-tech terms. Some concepts to choose from are: Microservice architecture, AWS/Azure, Responsive design, MVC model, APIs, etc.

It would be of great help if you ask them to compare web development-related terms, for instance, to make a distinction between UI and UX or between front-end and back-end, depending on the candidate experience.

3. Ask if they have ever given a presentation.

The web developer you hire will play an important role in your company, so public speaking is a must-have skill. You will want to hire someone who feels comfortable when giving a presentation. And bonus points will definitely go to those who have spoken in front of large non-tech groups. After the presentation, ask them some follow up questions on how they gathered and organized information, and what they did to keep their audience’s attention. 

4. Ask them to name a website or app that annoys them and let them describe what was wrong with it.

Here is how to get an insight into your candidate’s awareness of current issues in web development, as well as their problem-solving abilities. We consider the right answer to be the one where they do more than just gripe about someone else’s work. They also need to offer real solutions to practical issues.

5. Find out what they do when an application stops working.

Problem-solving is at the very core of web development, so pay attention to how candidates talk about fixing things that go awry. Do they prefer to break down the situation and analyze potential causes? Are they able to ask for help when needed, and do they know where to find answers? How do they respond if their initial idea for a solution does not work out? 

6. Make them tell you about a time they have had to respond to negative feedback.

Your candidate will have to deal with many comments from beta testers and actual users of your product. The web developer you are looking for needs to know how to take that feedback, analyze it, and turn it into an action step. Listen to them and, if needed, ask them how they would walk through the issue and arrive at a conclusion.

7. Ask if they have ever been blamed for something that was not their fault.

This is a very challenging question. However, it is a good way of catching the candidate’s attitude towards teamwork. If your candidate is quick to throw a team member under the bus, that is a red alert. You need to hire a diplomatic person who does not get frustrated quickly and concentrates on working toward a solution.

8. Find out what was the biggest challenge of working on the front end of an application.

Your candidate would have worked closely with the rest of the development team. Find out if they understand how data is structured, what functions are available, how APIs are called, and how web services are configured. The chosen candidates should be capable of discussing the entire development lifecycle. They also need to show an understanding of where do they fit in. These inquiries will help you find out if you are talking to a web developer or a web designer who has a little Java knowledge.

9. Ask them to tell you about the projects they are working on (or have worked on) in their spare time.

Technology is moving fast. Therefore, when hiring a web developer, you need to be aware that you are looking for someone who invests some of their spare time in growing their skills and staying on top of current trends. Your candidate should be able to discuss their personal projects (past or present), and if possible, show you some of their work.

10. Ask what APIs have they worked with.

All applicants should have worked with APIs, at least for well-known commercial services, like those offered by Twitter, Slack, Dropbox, and the APIs suite that Google offers. The candidate you choose to join your team should demonstrate knowledge on API functions and should know how to integrate results into their design. Bonus points would go for the candidate that has helped to develop and document their own APIs. They need to be able to talk about how they worked with the development team to create secure and useful interfaces.

11. Find out what do they think will be the biggest trends in future web development.

This is an excellent open-ended topic you can begin when hiring a web developer. Your candidate may talk about technologies like Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages technology, Motion UI, AI-powered customer service chatbots, voice search, emerging cybersecurity threats, or advanced analytics techniques. Notice what they focus on and ask them about their genuine opinion on how this will improve, for example, user experience, what kind of challenges this technology brings, and how they would integrate the latest technology with their current work. By doing so, you can also find out whether they have the basic five personality traits that every web developer must possess.

12. Try and discover their SQL skills.

Maybe the web developer you currently need in your team does not interact directly with a database, but they must understand how data is structured. Any practical SQL experience, such as having worked as a database administrator, is highly valuable. 

13. Ask them what the most significant difference between developing for mobile and desktop is.

As you know, the most significant portion of your users browse on mobile, but the majority of the development work happens on a desktop. Your perfect candidate should know how to develop for both. They need to be able to name some crucial differences, such as screen size, touch input, limited multitasking, and variation in browser plug-ins. Candidates must know how to create a great user experience on any platform.

14. Show them a code, and ask them to find the error in it.

When hiring a web developer, try not to ask your candidate to write code by hand during an interview, because it is not an ideal setting for code-writing. We suggest you show your candidate a piece of code — such as a Java class and the JavaScript that invokes it — with some strategic errors in it and ask the candidate to debug it. This is a quick way to check their technical knowledge and find out their attention to detail.

While hiring a web developer at Cosmic Development, these 14 questions help us narrow down our list of candidates to those with the best technical qualities and strong interpersonal skills. For us, hiring candidates with balanced skills has been a great way to get ahead of hiring high-quality web developers in recent years. Using staff augmentation, we select top-notch developers and create high-performing dedicated teams for our clients and business partners. We can hire the most suitable candidates for you. Let us know by clicking here.

Sources:

• codementor.io/blog/web-developer-interview-questions-3ey8yl7epg
• theappsolutions.com/blog/development/tips-how-to-hire-web-developer/
• medium.com/@arun_goyal/how-to-hire-a-web-developer-7ee05caf5519

The post 14 Questions You Need To Ask When Hiring A Web Developer appeared first on Cosmic Development.

While remote work is the new trend of work of the future, building a business with website expertise is the right thing to do. There are several services and positions that might help you discover or carve out your next career, start building a business, and do global tech for good within the new marketplace needs. To achieve this, we suggest you take the following steps:

1. Create Niche Websites
2. Deal in Domains
3. Membership Site
4. Web Development
5. Reseller Hosting
6. Website Maintenance Service
7. WordPress Expertise
8. WordPress Theme Creator 
9. Website Consultant
10. Quality Assurance

1. Create Niche Websites 

What is a niche or specifically targeted website? 

A niche website is a website which targets a narrow group of people in a broader market, similar interests. While focusing on a particular keyword that people use on search engines, a niche or specifically targeted website provides its visitors helpful and quality content that answers a question or solves a problem connected to the term or searched keyword. 

How to build a niche site? 

Building a niche website takes work, but it is not impossible. It will be necessary to invest a little in it, but it can give you a lot of profit once it is settled. 

How to earn from a niche site? 

Building a specific niche website when building a business is an excellent way to make a decent income. Many people worldwide have been able to grow their Niche or custom targeted websites into a passive income that minimizes effort. However, there is the right amount of effort involved, and it might take a year or more to start seeing reliable earnings. You can monetize your site with ads, sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, and more.

2. Deal in Domains 

What is dealing with domains? 

Your website’s address is the domain name, and this is what people write or type in the browser URL bar to go to and visit your website. Explained more quickly, if your website was a house, your domain name would have been the address. Dealing Domains is buying, parking, and selling domains. 

How to start dealing in domains? 

The truth is that anyone can buy a domain. The trick is knowing which domains are worth buying to make a real profit from them. The number one thing to know when building a business is how to choose the right names; the searched words that will bring you revenue are most likely to get traffic. This means that the most valuable terms are those that: 

1. Include popular keywords
2. Are generic and category-defining
3. Are short
4. Are a .com.  

3. Membership Site 

What is a membership site? 

A site with membership is a part with a gate from your online business where only those who subscribe can access the content you have placed behind the gates. 

How to build a membership site? 

A “gate” is the barrier you create into your website using a plugin. The important thing is that you offer valuable information to your audience in exchange for a small fee. For example, you can offer them downloadable documents, eBooks, newsletters, interactive live and recorded webinars, video content, training programs, and anything that moves your soul! 

How to earn with a membership site? 

This one is pretty easy. You charge your audience a fee in exchange for “backstage” access. This means having access to information products, exclusive content or interaction, and more. Exclusivity comes at a price. You can also earn affiliate marketing, sell an online course, and more. 

4. Web Development

What is web development? 

Web development indicates to creating, building, and maintaining websites. It involves aspects such as web design, web publishing, web programming, and database management. Front-end web programmers are responsible for how the website looks in the end. They create the website’s layout and integrate graphics, applications – such as a retail checkout tool, and other content. The backend is like the portion of the iceberg below the surface. Without it, the website cannot function. The backend deals with servers, applications, databases, etc. 

How to become a web developer? 

Working as a web developer comes with many benefits and challenges, and it takes a lot to learn and effort on how to do it right. Thankfully, there are many online courses you can take to learn all you need to know. With the proper knowledge and practice, you could find yourself halfway to your dream job.

How to earn with web development? 

It will depend on your experience and expertise, but even a one-time gig can make you earn some good money. Most of the web development jobs that you’ll find online charge per project, but many clients offer long-term projects at a much higher rate, and these can last months and even years. Start composing your portfolio and building a business today. 

5. Reseller Hosting 

What is a hosting reseller? 

Web hosting reseller is an option that involves one hosting provider, the company renting hard drive space and bandwidth to another small or middle-size business company which then leases the room to another party – entrepreneur or small business. The reseller hosting can provide hosting to your current clients as if you are the web hosting company. 

How to start a reseller hosting business? 

According to some research, this business works like this, basically:

• Research and select a hosting company
• Buy the package for a reseller that meets the goals of your business
• Understand and know your target market to locate your new customers 
• Create your own branded hosting packages
• Decide your price
• Sell hosting packages to your clients
• Earn profit 

The plans for resellers are created for earning are often the least expensive and easiest way to start a hosting business. This option lets you set up, control, and manage the backend of the websites, emails, and domain management for your business and your clients. 

6. Website Maintenance Service 

What is website maintenance? 

Website maintenance is a service that includes regular website check-ups for issues and mistakes and also keeping the website updated and relevant. Website maintenance services include editing, revising, and changing existing web pages to keep the website brand new. 

How to start a website maintenance service? 

Websites are like homes; someone needs to look after them on an ongoing basis, so they do not fall apart. Websites need to be taken care of; that is what is right for any business. 

How to earn with website maintenance services? 

Charging for website maintenance service packages is the best way to make a profit. The benefit is that the people willing to invest in your services are the kind of clients you want to keep close. Ensuring a good business relationship with them might land you a long-term job, making perfect money. Freelancers do great in this area. 

7. WordPress Expertise

What is a WordPress expert? 

This term refers to everyone who is well-experienced in WordPress and can create a high-quality WordPress website, stay on top of platform-related updates and news, and actively participate in the community. 

How to become a WordPress expert? 

If you have used or heard about WordPress in the past, you must know that it is not exactly easy to handle without help. “What is the right theme? What is the right package? Should I change this or that?” A WordPress expert can charge a fee to help people understand the magic of WordPress. Although you should get your training first if you haven’t already. 

How to earn as a WordPress Expert? 

One of the simplest ways for earning online using WordPress is to offer consulting services. If you are good at WordPress and can build and create custom designs for clients, you can record and teach WordPress tutorials to beginners or advanced users. Set up a business as a freelancer, or offer your services through your website or social media. You can read more about how to build a WordPress and Shopify website here.

8. WordPress Theme Creator

What is a WordPress Theme Creator? 

WordPress’s themes are a collection of templates and stylesheets used to define a WordPress-powered website’s appearance and display. 

How to become a WordPress Theme Creator? 

If you are a Front-End web developer or a Web designer, you might earn more by creating WordPress Themes. You do not have to be a top-class designer or programmer to design a great looking WordPress theme, but you need to know your targeted audience preferences. 

How to make money as a WordPress Theme Creator? 

You may sell your WordPress themes at Template Monster, Themeforest, Creative Market, or sell and resell them from your site. Just like WordPress plugins, you might also work on custom WordPress theme projects for clients to make some extra dollars. See how our Bookmark developers do this.

9. Website Consultant

What is a Web Consultant? 

A web advisor and consultant is someone who provides expert insights and advice. In most cases, these experienced web developers and consultants are trained and have exceptional knowledge of a particular interest point. A good website advisor and a consultant should have experience and be knowledgeable in all the major areas of a website. This includes branding, marketing, analysis, research, and design. The website consultant’s primary role is to oversee and plan the finalization of the online website project. They provide security for the delivery of a successful website to the client. 

How to become a web consultant? 

A web consultant is engrossed mainly on the website’s information architecture, ensuring that all the technical facets are in place. Web consultants do not have to build an online application or website. Their work is to coordinate and oversee the whole process. So, a web consultant does a little bit of everything. That is why they should know a bit about everything. 

How to earn as a web consultant? 

Web consultants get hired by many companies and brands every day. Usually, they work independently, but some companies offer these services that can employ you. If you want to see how a web consultancy looks, schedule a free consultation with our Cosmic experts here and see how we can improve your website and help you with the process of building a business. 

10. Quality Assurance 

What is Quality Assurance? 

Quality Assurance is someone who gives their opinion about a random website. Some companies may require you to install software, which will enhance your activity to be recorded. You might be informed to talk about the design of the site, quality, and ease-of-use. 

How to become a Quality Assurance? 

Many businesses save time by hiring quality assurance and people to test out their websites. These users earn money to find flaws in websites and apps. Some of the best things about quality assurance are that you do not have to know about tech to become a website tester, but you have to understand how the websites work. 

How can this apply to your business?

Discover more about outsourcing technology for good if you want to learn how building a business can bring you success.

Sources:

• medium.com/med-daily/seek-out-the-right-expertise-for-your-business-c4402afee699
• medium.com/swlh/how-to-sell-your-expertise-in-three-easy-steps-1f5dd5c01f99
• connectedwomen.co/magazine/5-in-demand-skills-for-remote-workers-this-2020/
• themuse.com/advice/7-skills-youll-need-to-land-a-workfromhome-job
• wifitribe.co/blog/best-remote-jobs/

The post Building a Business with a Website Expert appeared first on Cosmic Development.

Python is an interpreted programming language that marked a significant rise in the past decade. Web developers who choose Python as their programming language are enabled to integrate their systems more effectively and work at a faster speed. Moreover, when programmers utilize Python, they opt for an increase in the users’ productivity and a decrease in their maintenance costs. Programmers use Python for the web development of various types of desktop and web applications, mobile apps, websites, and others. 

Python was invented in 1989 by Guido Van Rossum, who wanted to reduce the flaws of the ABC programming language, especially its lack of extensibility. His personal experience with error handling and with ABC made him become “aware of the importance of exceptions as a programming language feature”. Therefore, he decided to develop a new programming language, which he named “Python”. Many people think that the inspiration for the name of this programming language comes from the snake python, but instead, its name comes from the BBC show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”.

Python is an interactive programming language that uses very clear syntax combined with remarkable power. It is extensible in C or C++ and has interfaces to many libraries and system calls. This programming language is created to incorporate different modules, classes, exceptions, as well as high-level dynamic data types. Developers can use Python for big data analytics, but it also has many other advantages, which is why it is considered as the programming language of the new decade. These are only a few essential advantages of using the Python programming language in the new decade:

• Easy-to-Use and Highly-Effective Programming Language
• Adaptive Nature
• Open-Source Programming Language
• Numerous Python Libraries
• Plentiful Python Frameworks
• Strong Online Community

Easy-to-Use and Highly Effective Programming Language

Technology is improving with every passing day, and people try to make their lives less complicated. Python is a programming language that simplifies coding due to its easily readable syntax and easy-to-use features. The simplicity of Python is one of the most important reasons why it is the main programming language used for Machine Learning (ML). Python’s syntax may be easily used by both experienced developers, as well as by beginners or students. Developers who use the Python programming language can focus on solving potential difficulties with ML instead of wasting their time on understanding the technical problems that might happen. 

In addition to the ease of using Python as a programming language, developers can say with pride that this language is also highly effective. Other programming languages usually require the writing of countless lines of code. However, Python offers developers the possibility to finish a larger number of tasks with fewer lines of code. In addition, the code written in Python is easily readable and understandable. This is another of the reasons why this programming language is ideal for ML and creating such models. 

Adaptive Nature

Python is one of the most eminent programming languages which will continue trending in the new decade, thanks to its adaptive nature. In the past few years, developers have wasted a lot of their time on programming in different languages. With Python, this loss of time will be reduced to a minimum. Why is that? Because Python is a programming language that easily performs cross-language operations. The adaptiveness of Python and its portable nature allow data scientists to train their ML on their machines. Furthermore, Python’s adaptive nature allows integration of the Python libraries with Java, .NET, and C/C++ libraries.

Open-Source Programming Language

One of the main reasons Python is so popular today is because of its distributive nature. Many open-source projects are done in Python because creating Python packages and installing them is easy. Python developers install packages via pip (Pip Installs Packages), which downloads and installs packages from PyPI – an online repository of Python packages. Additionally, most Python projects contain a setup script that is easy to use. According to Nikola Dokoski, our Python expert who works in our company, this makes it easy to write a git project in Python and have other people contribute to it. There are over a million Python projects in Github alone. 

Numerous Python Libraries

With the rise of Python’s popularity as one of the most dynamic programming languages, the number of libraries has increased. Nowadays, there are hundreds of Python libraries that developers may use to save their valuable time spent on programming. Some of the Python libraries have been specially created for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). For instance, Keras is one of the open-source libraries written in Python, which focuses mainly on neural networks. In addition, there are also other libraries written in Python, such as:

• Pandas
• Matplotlib
• SciPy (Scientific Python)
• NumPy (Numerical Python)
• Scikit-learn

Pandas is the most widely-known open-source library written in Python for data analysis, which handles the basic maintenance and operation of structured data. Moreover, Matplotlib is a Python library that is excellent for data visualization and which enables its users to plot graphs in numerous types (pie charts, histograms, bar graphs). That is the main reason why Matplotlib is considered as the best plotting library for Python programming that any person can easily understand. SciPy is a library that deals with science, engineering, and mathematics. NumPy deals with numerical functionalities mainly, but also with linear algebra and other number capabilities. Scikit-learn is an open-source library for ML, which enables classification, regression, and clustering algorithms and which can be integrated with SciPy and NumPy.

Plentiful Python Frameworks

When it comes to Python frameworks, we asked again our colleague Nikola to share his favorite ones from his personal working experience. According to him, several frameworks make Python a competitive programming language in today’s web development sphere. Some of the more popular frameworks of his choice are Django, Flask, and Tornado WebServer.

Nikola’s first choice is Django – the most popular web development framework for Python. It is an MVC (Model View Controller) framework that standardizes a project’s layout by separating the project into apps but still utilizes Python’s flexible nature by allowing the developer to use third-party packages, or even to write their own. On the other hand, he considers Flask as a much simpler framework which does not limit the developers by having a specific project structure, but still allows many options for organizing their code. This leaves the developers with more freedom of how they will organize their code and what modules they will use. Finally, his third choice is Tornado WebServer – a very bare-bone framework that implements web server functionalities and leaves the business logic to the developer, allowing them a great degree of freedom.

Strong Online Community

One of the main advantages of the Python programming languages lies in its strong online community and the immense public support. The corporate and public support of the Python programming language only enables programmers to increase their knowledge of Machine Learning (ML), regardless of whether they are experienced or inexperienced developers. Moreover, thanks to the enormous online community, both Python and ML get easily promoted. Therefore many tutorials can be found on the internet. Corporate support has also played a great part in the online expansion of Python for ML. For instance, Google is one of the corporate supporters that have created many Python libraries.

If you believe that Python is the future of web development, hire us and get the best Python experts like Nikola to work for you. They will tell you how to implement the advantages of the Python programming language and to transform them into beneficial aspects for your business.

Sources:

• docs.python.org/3/faq/general.html#what-is-python
• docs.python.org/2/tutorial/appetite.html
• gvanrossum.github.io/
• medium.com/@mindfiresolutions.usa/python-7-important-reasons-why-you-should-use-python-5801a98a0d0b
• dev.to/atahanceylan/why-python-so-popular-now-4d6c
• dev.to/sintanoria/5-reasons-why-python-is-best-4k4f
• dev.to/cathysmith/why-python-is-a-good-choice-for-data-scientists-advantages-of-python-544f
• dev.to/bibrainia/13-reasons-why-you-should-choose-python-for-big-data-analysis-5gl8
• economist.com/science-and-technology/2018/07/19/python-has-brought-computer-programming-to-a-vast-new-audience
• pypi.org/
• github.com/trending/python
• github.com/search?q=python

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