Author: Jason Stokes

Node Package Manager, commonly known as npm, is a popular package manager used by developers to download and install open-source packages for their projects. But did you know that you can also create your own npm package? In this article, we will explore how creating your own npm package can benefit your organization.

What is an npm package?

Before we dive into the benefits of creating an npm package, let’s first define what it is. An npm package is a collection of files that contain reusable code, assets, and documentation. These packages can be installed by other developers and used in their own projects, saving time and effort in developing new functionality from scratch.

Benefits of creating your own npm package

1. Code reuse and consistency
Creating your own npm package allows you to package and share reusable code within your organization. This can be particularly useful if you have a lot of common functionality that is used across multiple projects. By encapsulating this functionality in an npm package, you can ensure consistency across all your projects and reduce the likelihood of errors.

2. Speed up development
By leveraging your own npm packages, you can speed up development by reducing the amount of time spent on repetitive tasks. This is because you can reuse code and functionality that has already been developed and tested, rather than starting from scratch each time.

3. Encourages collaboration
By creating and sharing your own npm packages within your organization, you can encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing between developers. This can lead to increased productivity and better code quality as developers can learn from each other and contribute to a shared codebase.

4. Eases maintenance
Maintaining code can be a time-consuming and challenging task, particularly when multiple projects are involved. However, by creating your own npm package, you can ease maintenance by ensuring that updates and bug fixes are made in one central location. This makes it easier to keep your codebase up-to-date and reduce the risk of introducing bugs into your projects.

5. Simplifies deployment
When you create your own npm package, you can easily deploy it to your production environment. This is because npm packages are designed to be easily installed and updated, which makes the deployment process much simpler and more streamlined.

Conclusion

In conclusion, creating your own npm package can provide numerous benefits for your organization. By sharing reusable code and functionality, you can speed up development, encourage collaboration, and ensure consistency across all your projects. Additionally, creating your own npm package can make maintenance and deployment easier, which can ultimately lead to better code quality and increased productivity. So, if you haven’t already done so, why not consider creating your own npm package today?

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We’re all familiar with the concept of a job search page. A website where you can post your resume and send out emails to prospective employers. These have replaced the more traditional job-hunting techniques involving much legwork. Are job search pages similar to job boards? Well, not exactly. A ‘job board’ is more niche-focused. An example is Upwork for freelancers or QuirkyCoders for the tech community.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, here is a 5-step guideline for creating your job board.

1. Pick a Niche

The first step toward building a job board is settling on a niche. This involves extensive research on under-served sectors. Unlike job search engines, you’ll focus on a specific niche, meaning standing out is key for your website to attract recruiters and job seekers alike.

Next, you should brainstorm ways to increase your site’s visitors. You may include a blog with optimized articles that improve the site’s ranking on search engines.

2. Choose a Name and Hosting Services

Once you have settled on a site niche, pick a domain name that clearly describes its goal. If the intention is to connect programmers to prospective employers, the domain name should be something tech enthusiasts can relate with.

Come up with a list of favorable names and conduct a web search to find out if they’re available. After settling on a name, register it and find a hosting provider for your site.

While hosting is relatively cheap, you must settle on a package that comes with 24/7 support and large dedicated space.

3. Building Your Site

After paying for your domain name and hosting services, the next step is setting up the website. This involves choosing a Content Management System (CMS) that reduces the website building cost to almost nil.

I would recommend WordPress if you have little or no programming experience. WordPress offers a high degree of customization using themes and plugins so you can alter the front end of your website to your liking.

4. Setting Up a Job Boards Software Provider

You can choose from several different job board software options, so it’s important to do your research before making a decision. There are several key features that you should consider when selecting a job board solution:

• Responsiveness – How fast does the site load on your computer? How quickly does it respond to user interactions and updates? This is important because users will likely leave and never return if you have an outdated or otherwise slow website.
• Ease of use – Is the interface intuitive enough for potential applicants and recruiters? If someone is unsure about how to use your site or what they should be looking for when searching for jobs in their industry, then chances are high that they’ll abandon their efforts quickly (and possibly never come back)

Open-Source Job Board Software

This is considered the more affordable option and is easier to set up if you have no programming experience. However, this may depend on your choice of CMS as some do not support either job boards or plugins.

If you settled on WordPress, setting up a job board plug is relatively simple and comes with pre-installed features such as a job search bar and a file upload section where applicants will drop their resumes.

Despite the relatively easy setup, open-source job software may require maintenance and debugging, so have a techie on speed dial just in case!

Software As a Service

Using SAas reduces the hustle of constant maintenance required by open-source software. While it is slightly more expensive, it frees you up, letting you work on getting more job listings and visitors to your site.

Search for a reliable SAaS provider and get a package with mobile responsiveness and full-time support.

5. Publish Job Listings

You’re almost done with setting up a jobs board. It’s time to publish your first job listing! You’ll need to do a lot of networking to kickstart your site.

At first, you may be forced to select relevant jobs from job search engines so that you don’t start with a blank jobs board.

Reach out to employers in your particular niche and get them to post vacancies on your job board. You can do this through sites such as LinkedIn or social media. You’ll also need to advertise your site to job seekers aggressively.

Now that you know the basics of creating a job board, it’s time to start! While getting a techie to help you build yours may seem like a hustle, placing a job vacancy on our site will get you one in no time. You know what to do!

Months of sleepless nights developing the next big thing in the rental space are almost coming to an end. Your rental platform is nearly ready for a production environment, but getting users to install and use your app might be the hardest thing you’ll ever do. Amazing software applications have been built, only to end up as catastrophic failures with minimal user engagement. CNN, the most recognizable name in news streaming, had to scrap their $350 million streaming service a month after launching because of dismal subscriptions. In a competitive space like rental apps, you’ll need to pull out all the stops to stand out from the crowd. A cursory glance on Google Store reveals thousands of rental apps, all with decent ratings and users. To get your foot in the door, and guarantee your app gets at least a few thousand downloads within the first month – a key metric in any application’s long-term performance – here’s what you need to do.

Choose the right name

The words you use can make or break your rental application success. Think about it. When users are searching for a rental platform, either through a search engine or on an app store, their use specific words. If the name of your app doesn’t make use of these search words, it’ll be increasingly difficult for users to find your app. This doesn’t mean that you cram each high-value search word into your rental apps name. A name like “World’s Best Rental Platform” won’t win the user base over. You want to strike a balance between the search words and uniqueness to improve the chances of your rental application standing out. You can use SEO tools to discover words popular with users in the rental market and combine those with a unique word that describes your rental application.

Interact with your user base

If you haven’t already, its time to know your audience. The best products are those that address the needs of their targeted consumers. Read through user reviews of various rental applications and ask yourself how your app addresses their needs, how it improves on current offerings, and if it addresses any gaps. Asking yourself these questions helps you come up with a description that makes your rental application stand out from the rest. A rental application that helps New Yorkers find homes and apartments by their preferred neighborhood will attract more users than non-specific apps. Being specific also guarantees your app engages with your targeted user base, making it stand out from the rest.

Focus on your UI/UX

The user interface and user design experience can make or break a platform. As a software developer, you know or have used Vim. But given the choice between Vim and a graphical text editor, which one would you prefer? Sure, Vim has tons of functionalities and is more productive than graphical text editors. But the fact that Vim lacks a populated graphical interface and has a steeper learning curve than graphical text editors makes it a less popular choice, with only 25% of software developers using it. Vim is a great tool, but its user interface and user experience design are not. Your rental application might be on the bleeding edge of technology, but if it doesn’t have an equally impressive graphical interface and user experience design, not a lot of people will want to use it.

Spread the word

You can’t sit back and wait for users to download your rental application. With dozens of new apps being published each month, you need to make users aware of your app every chance you get. That means you’ll need to spend a lot of time on social media channels marketing your app and interacting with potential users. If your budget allows, you might also want to spend some money on social media and search engine advertising. Advertising on digital channels and social engagements will create a buzz around your app that should snowball into active users, provided you’ve completed the steps above.

Never ignore customer feedback

Once you have the first few users, you’re bound to get feedback on your app. Some of the feedback will be critical and even down right disheartening. Don’t get discouraged by the feedback. Instead, use the critical feedback as motivation to improve your rental application. When users realize developers actually care, they are bound to let others know, driving your rental platform to the number one spot. The developers of No Man’s Sky, the video game, are a perfect example of how to turn negative feedback into a strength. Within a year of releasing the game, No Man’s Sky developers received a lot of flak from the online community. Rather than giving up on the game and writing it off as a failure, the developers used the criticism to improve their game. Four years later, No Man’s Sky is a fan favorite and the developers willingness to continue improving on the game has endeared them to their entire user base.

Introduction

Non-profits have a lot of competition for attention. The web is full of sites that look like they’re trying to sell you something and make money off your time and donations. So how do you stand out from the crowd? You need a website that’s focused on serving the needs of your members and donors, not just making a profit.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to build an effective non-profit website without spending a fortune on design services or software solutions. This post will explore some essential elements for building an effective non-profit website.

Choosing a domain name

Choosing a domain name is an essential step in the process of building your non-profit website. It’s also one of the most challenging parts because it can be very tricky to figure out what you want and how much it will cost.

A good rule of thumb is that “easy-to-remember” and “easy-to-spell” domains make for better choices than those that are hard to remember or spell (i.e., .gov). You don’t want either end of this spectrum—you want something memorable but not overly complicated. Hence, people remember what they see on your site without having trouble remembering how exactly it’s spelled or pronounced!

Setting up hosting

Once you’ve settled on a domain name and confirmed its availability, it’s time to get a hosting provider. When deciding on a web host, it’s crucial to consider what your non-profit needs and how much money you want to spend. Here are some things to consider:

• How long do I need my website up? Free hosting may be okay if the site is only up for one night. But if there’s any reason that someone might want access 24/7 (for example, there’s an emergency), then having unlimited access is worth paying for.
• How many people will use this website? The more traffic your site gets, the more resources (bandwidth) it takes up on its server providers’ end—and these costs can add up quickly over time! So if someone wants their dedicated server but doesn’t mind how much they’ll cost per month/yearly total amount paid out each year, then go ahead because those services generally come with lower prices than shared ones do since they aren’t shared between multiple users.

Build Your Website Structure

A website structure is a way you organize your content on a website. Your website’s user interface largely depends on your choice of a Content Management System. If you settle on a CMS such as WordPress, choosing a theme that works for you is a simple case.

The first step in deciding how to build your non-profit’s website is understanding the pages your site should have. A basic non-profit page should have the following:

• Home Page
• About Us
• Services
• Support Us
• Contact Page

Implement a Membership Management Software

The next step in setting up your non-profit website is integrating membership management software.

The benefits of using membership management software include:

• Easy signup process for new members.
• Automatic updates on the status of your memberships (new member, renewal, etc.).
• Tracking all communications from donors.                                     
• Offline payment processing with credit card/debit card support.

A sound membership management system is easy to use for both the donors and your staff.

Create Content for the website

The most important part of your website is content. Without it, you have nothing to show visitors and potential donors. Content makes your non-profit unique and defines who you are as an organization. It drives traffic to the site and ensures that people are reading about the causes that matter most to them. Content may be in the form of blogs or a well-described gallery of photos.

Content is also crucial because it can be used as a foundation for building other aspects of a non-profit’s online presence:

• It helps people understand why they should donate money or time
• It gives them an inside look at how the organization operates (or doesn’t)
• It encourages them to take action by clicking on links related to their interests

Implement SEO practices for website

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a process by which a website, or web page in general, is optimized for online search engine queries.

The goal of SEO is to make your content more visible through search engines so that it can be found when someone does an internet search for what you have to offer. Implementing good SEO practices can help you get more visitors and improve your rankings on Google and other major search engines.

Implementing good SEO practices in your blogs will raise your site’s search engine ranking making it more visible to potential donors.

Building a non-profit website is a great way to fundraise and promote your organization. If you’d like a professional touch on your non-profit website, get in touch with us and we’ll set up your site in no time!