Feeling Behind The Times? Getting Additional Help To Make Your Blog Sparkle

There are so many great things about running a blog, you get plenty of freebies after a while, and it’s very fulfilling to see your blog reach so many people, and connect with them on a personal or emotional level. But what happens when this connection tails off, you’re not getting the same amount of traffic as you were, or you feel that your content is stagnating somewhat? When it comes to making your blog sparkle, there is nothing wrong with additional help now and again. And the great thing about blogging these days is that help takes numerous forms… G

Guest Content

We see it more and more these days; people need to keep their blog up and running, either because they are finally monetizing it, or they are trying to keep the audience engaged. And this is where guest posts become invaluable. Because guest content works in so many ways for one simple blog, it’s definitely worth trying. Even if you don’t agree with the concept or the idea of getting someone in, even one simple blogpost can inspire you to go in a completely different direction. In one respect, having someone else write similar content gives you a different perspective, but also, it’s networking common sense. By having others come in to put forth different ideas can help reinvigorate your blogging capabilities. Even if you want to tackle new issues yourself, https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-write-about-things-you-know-nothing-about/ can provide a few handy hints to writing about things that are somewhat alien to you!

Altering Your Entire Strategy

We all have issues now and again when it comes to getting new audiences. Sometimes, we can rely on our dedicated followers and fan base. If you’re not able to, try and ascend to the next level it may be worth embracing some form of business acumen. And this may go completely against your ethics. Having someone come in and look at altering your content management strategy, or even implementing one, can make you realize where you’re going wrong. On https://www.templafy.com/blog/cmo-vs-cto-vs-cio-whos-job-to-create-content-management-strategy/ you can see who is responsible in a business framework. And if you are looking at making your blog more of a business, especially when it comes to guest posting and sponsored reviews, it’s important to get into this mindset. Sometimes we need an entire shake-up of our infrastructure, but not necessarily the content.

Do You Want To Start All Over Again?

Are you bored of your content? Is there something wrong with how you are engaging with your followers? Sometimes it’s better to rip it up and start again. But you can run the risk of losing your current fan base, but at the same time, you could gain new followers. It’s something that many businesses do, having a rebranding. And this could be the change that you need to rethink your entire blog, but also, learn from the mistakes you’ve made in the past.

There’s a lot of help, regardless of where you look. And blogging is such a big market now, that you can find resources pretty much anywhere. And if you’re looking to make your blog sparkle, it can be either to do with the content you’re creating, the strategies you’ve implemented, or it could be time to start all over again. The choice is yours.

3 Essential Features That Every Business Website Needs

Your business website is one of the best tools that you have at your disposal. The majority of people will search online when they’re trying to find products and it’s essential that, when they find your website, you catch their interest and convince them to stick around. People have a short attention span online and if your website doesn’t impress within the first 30 seconds, they’ll just go elsewhere. In fact, a bad website can make it so difficult for a business to make any sales at all, so it’s important that you’re putting enough time and money into creating an amazing one. If you’re starting a business and building your first website, or you’re just looking at a redesign, these are the features that all good business websites have.

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A Good Navigation System

When people enter a site, they don’t want to spend ages clicking around and visiting lots of different pages before they find what they’re looking for. They want to be able to look at the site for a few seconds and then find the section that they need right away, which is why navigation is so important.

A big mistake that a lot of people make is having too many different pages, which makes navigating the website a lot harder.

Try to have as few pages as possible and just include what is actually necessary on there. Good menus with clear categories are important as well, and you need a search function for people that can’t immediately see what they’re looking for on the menu.

You also need to consider the ‘F pattern’ of reading a website. Studies show that people read a webpage in an ‘F’ shape. That means the first place they look is the top left hand corner, that’s where your logo usually goes. Then they’ll scan along the top, usually at the menu, before looking down the sidebar until they find what they need, and then reading across the page.

It’s important that you use these areas wisely and put the most important information in the places where people will read them. Visit https://webdesign.tutsplus.com/ for a more in depth look at the ‘F pattern.’

Visual Stimulus

If people are presented with a big block of text, they’re quickly going to lose interest in your site, which is why visual stimulus is so important. If you don’t have good quality images and videos on the site, people will get bored and leave.

You should feature some professional images of your products on the front page so people can see them as soon as they enter the site. Video demonstrations are also a more interesting way of showing them the benefits of your products. Visit https://setapp.com/how-to/record-edit-share-videos-on-mac for more tips on how to create and edit good quality videos.

If you don’t offer people some sort of visual stimulus and your site is just a big block of text, it appears very daunting and people won’t even bother reading it.

Security

Online security is a massive concern for businesses and their customers, especially if people are sharing their credit card details with you. That’s why it’s so vital that your website has plenty of good security features. If your website doesn’t have HTTPS, for example, users are likely to leave straight away because they don’t want to put their computer at risk.

Any website that doesn’t have these features is not going to benefit your business and it won’t generate sales.

4 Security Features That Every Business Website Needs

A good website is essential if you’re running a graphic design business. It’s a place for you to showcase your work to potential customers and it’s a vital part of your marketing strategy. But running a business website comes with a lot of dangers. Online security is a big concern for any business these days because the risk of cyber-attack is always looming. If you are the victim of an attack, you may lose personal information that could damage the business or the site could be shut down entirely.

You’ll lose business until you get it back online again so it’s essential that you protect yourself online. People may also try to copy your work and pass it off as their own so they can attract customers themselves. That’s why you need to make sure that you’re taking all of the necessary security measures when you’re setting up a website. These are the features that you must include if you want to ensure that your website is secure.

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HTTPS

When you go on most websites, the web address has HTTPS at the beginning and you’ll see a small padlock icon next to it. HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It sounds complicated but in basic terms, it just means that the connection between your computer and the website is secure and encrypted and nobody can tamper with data while it’s being sent between the two.

In real terms, that means it’s safe to make a transaction on the website or send personal information without anybody getting hold of that information. If you don’t set up HTTPS on your site, the connection won’t be secure and any visitors will be wary. Most sites have it these days so people will notice if yours doesn’t and they might think twice about using the website at all.

Customer Verification

If you’re dealing with any personal information from customers or taking payments from them, it’s important that they know they can trust you, but it works the other way around as well. Sometimes, people may try to pose as customers and attempt to get you to share sensitive information with them. That’s why it’s important that you have a good customer verification service in place so they can prove they are who they say they are.

There are a lot of regulations about data usage as well so if you accidentally share information with the wrong person, you can end up on the wrong side of the law. Luckily, it’s easy for people to comply with regulations using your phone or computer. There are some great services that offer document verification so customers can scan their driving license or passport in to prove that they are who they say they are. There are even facial recognition services available for an extra level of security.

Copyright Protection

This is important on any websites but it’s especially important if you’re creating a lot of original work. There are always people that will try to pass it off as their own and that can have a big negative impact on your business. Always use watermarks on any original images that you put on the site so it’s harder for people to pass them off as their own. You can also add copy and paste protection to any text so if somebody lifts an article off your site and posts it on their own website, it’ll show up with a few lines at the bottom directing them to the original source.

It’s important to remember that copyright protection works both ways as well. If you aren’t careful, you might find yourself on the wrong side of the law. If you’re using any pictures or videos that you’ve found online, for example, it’s important that you only use ones that are free to use and not ones that are copyrighted. You could end up having to pay a large legal settlement if you make a mistake, even if it was a genuine accident.

Security Testing

It goes without saying that you need proper cyber-security measures in place to protect against hacking attacks on the site, but how can you be sure that they’re working. Hackers are constantly coming up with new ways around security software so there’s always the chance that you have gaps that make your vulnerable.

That’s why it’s absolutely vital that you have security testing software in place. It will constantly scan the website and pick up on any weak spots that need attention. That way, you can ensure that the site is always safe.

If you make sure that you have all of these security measures in place, your website should be safe.

How Freelancers Can Stand Out From The Crowd

The way that people work is changing a lot. Obviously, most people still work a normal job but more companies are moving toward hiring people on a temporary basis as and when they need them. This gig economy has created a huge influx of freelancers which is great for people that don’t always have time to work to a standard 9 to 5 schedule. Work is opened up to more people through freelancing because they can work from home and fit their hours around the rest of their responsibilities. That’s why it’s often better than starting your own business if you want to work on your own terms.

Image From Flickr

That all sounds pretty great but don’t get ahead of yourself, there is a downside. More work available for freelancers means that loads more people are doing it and that means the competition is a lot stiffer. If you want to get work as a freelancer you need to do something special to make yourself stand out from the crowd. These are just some of the ways you can do it.

Be Bold With Your Website

On average, people view 89 different websites each month and thousands of pages on those sites. Most of those sites are going to have a pretty similar layout and people will get bored of them. If they’re on a site that they visit regularly then they’re there for the content and it doesn’t matter if the layout isn’t that exciting. But grabbing people’s attention on a new site is a tall order. People are very fickle and you’ve only got a couple of seconds to grab them before they leave the site and go elsewhere. The best thing to do is get a good website design company and work with them to come up with something new and fresh. Here are a couple of examples to help you get started. A layout that doesn’t follow the standard format is a good way to entice people but always keep in mind that it still needs to be functional. If the design is so out there that people can’t even work out how to access the information that they need, that’s worse than having a boring website.

Be Selective With Work

This is a difficult one to get your head around when you’re first starting out. When you’ve got bills to pay, the idea of turning down work seems insane. You’ll want to take on any work that you’re offered, even if it doesn’t pay that well. All that will happen is that you’ll end up struggling to finish on time and the quality of work will suffer. It’s better to be selective and take on higher quality work, it’ll be harder in the short term but you’ll be more successful in the end.

Have A Niche

The best way to win work is to be the very best person in a certain area, rather than being pretty good at lots of different things. If you find a specific niche and stick to that, you can build a reputation as a leader in that area. Eventually, you’ll be the go-to person for any customers that need work in that field.

Freelancing is a great way to make money on your own terms but the competition is fierce so follow these tips to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

Respecting Modern Laws While Knowing Your Rights

It’s everybody’s civic duty to abide by the law of the land; without doing so, society crumbles and anarchy replaces it. Laws were designed and put into place to not only protect people from other people who may wish to do them harm in many different ways but also to protect the citizen from the state. Legal issues about our rights aren’t always clear, and with hundreds and hundreds of years of modern civilization, comes with it, quite literally hundreds of thousands of laws, amendments, re-wordings, and abolishments. It’s in your best interest to keep up to date with the modern legal issues of the world and how they might affect your life one day.

Image by – PDPics

Copyright infringement

With the advent of social media, website likes Facebook, Twitter and video sharing platforms like Vimeo and YouTube, the lines of content appropriation have been blurred. Just by doing something trivial or typical you may be breaking the law. If you use a copyrighted song in a video, you upload to YouTube you could be infringing on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. However, most of the time, if you have not just picked up and placed down material you don’t own onto your various accounts in their raw form, you are safe. The ‘Fair Use Act’ is there to protect you from hungry wolves who just want to make an example of you. If you have edited, spoken over, or demonitized a video which contains other people’s or entity’s works, you are not liable to legal action because you have made it uniquely your’s.

Photo source – succo

Fighting for your rights

Being arrested is one of the most stressful experience you’re likely to face. Although the police should be revered for all the hard work they do, and men and women in blue, put their lives on the line for all of us, it doesn’t mean you should roll over whenever they ask. If you’re pulled over wrongfully, and without proper cause, you should be suspect of what’s going on. If a policeman or woman, arrests you on drink driving offenses but you feel you’re innocent, do not suffer in silence because once an offense is recorded, your record will be tarnished for life, affecting your job prospects. Speak to somebody like DWI attorney Grant Scheiner, who has the knowledge and experience to respectfully fight for your rights, using evidence and logical argumentation.

Simple driving errors can cost you

Equally, don’t do silly things like wearing headphones while you drive, and don’t text or speak to someone on the phone either. You can, however, pull over to the side of the road and text or call someone; just make sure that your engine is off, and for extra measure, the key is not in the ignition. Some national, region or city-state laws allow for tinted windows, but most do not as a safety hazard for the police. Check the regulations out for yourself via a website or town hall before getting a fine. Equally important is to fight laziness. If you have a balding tyre with little to no tread, this is dangerous for you and the people around you, when driving in the rain. Fight the urge to stave off fitting new tyres and play it safe.

The Top Three Gadgets That Will Help You Stay Fit And Healthy

Keeping our weight in check: just how to do it seems to be the question of the century. If you asked a room full of regular women if they spend a lot of time workout out, most would say yes. If you asked them, however, whether they saw any results from their fitness regime, many people would also give a resounding ‘no’. The health and fitness industry is so convoluted these days that we tend to find it hard to create a workable and realistic plan when it comes to our health. Many of us might work out three or four times a week, given the chance, but see little to no changes in our bodies. This can be very disappointing and frustrating, especially when we have been working really hard. But interestingly, a lot of this boils down to a lack of education on the root basics of weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Thankfully, technology is here to help us out. With the help of some handy gadgets, you can get back on track with your fitness regime, and hopefully start to see some real changes soon.

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A step tracker

Often feel lethargic and ‘out of it’ when you are at the gym? This could well be because you have already walked miles in one day, meaning you are low on energy reserves. If you are already exhausted before you even get to the gym, you won’t get much out of your workout, and your body will try and retain all the fat it can to keep itself running efficiently. As moms, we spend a lot of time rushing around after our kids – so why not count this as exercise too? Remember, you don’t always need to be in the gym to have a workout. Get yourself a step tracker – either one for your phone or one designed like a wristwatch – and see how many steps you can take in a day.

Smart scales

We all know the dreaded feeling of stepping onto a pair of scales. But what baffles many women who have embarked on a regime of health is how even though they are eating less and moving more, the dial on their scales remains the same. This is because the only thing regular scales are capable of measuring is your basic weight. A pair of smart scales, however, can measure other factors such as bone mass, muscle weight, and water retention. So if you have been working out with a lot of weights, you may have lost body fat, but increased your muscle mass – hence why on the scales your weight is the same. If you want to understand your weight better, it is definitely worth getting a pair of smart scales. You can pick them up from stores such as www.fitnessmusthaves.com.
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Speed controlled fork

Are you one of those people who is always tempted to wolf their food down? There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a good meal, of course. But eating your food too quickly can be disastrous for your waistline. It takes around twenty minutes for our stomach to signal to our brain that it is full. Therefore, if you eat too quickly, you may actually be ingesting more than you need to. The ‘Hapi Fork’ is an electronic fork that vibrates when you are eating too fast, reminding you to slow down. Staying fit and healthy can be done alone, but a little extra help from some handy gadgets can never go amiss.

Help Your Children Use Modern Technology Wisely!

http://www.schooltechnology.org Photos of elementary students using iPads at school to do amazing projects.

Flickr

This is not an article condemning the act of giving your child gadgets like smartphones and tablets. Indeed, these gadgets can be very cool tools for you and your child. But let’s face it: it comes with a bunch of risks. (To be honest, a lot of these risks are affecting adults, too!)

The good news is that you can tackle all of these. You don’t have to banish gadgets from your house in order to rid your kids of any of these problems. You just have to be wary and alert. Let’s have a look at some of the ways these gadgets can bring negative aspects into the family life.

A lack of concentration

It’s actually somewhat of a myth that today’s kids are any worse at keeping concentration than any previous generation of kids. The problem with smartphones and tablets is that they’re great tool for facilitating a lack of concentration. Helping kids concentrate needs to be done regardless of whether they’re exposed to these devices. Developing your child’s concentration skills can actually ensure that they use these devices in more beneficial and educational ways. This being said, occasionally taking the gadgets away for a moment when they’re not pulling their concentration from them won’t hurt! Read more at successconsciousness.com.

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Expensive damage

We want to believe that our kids will take good care of the devices we give them. But hey, let’s be honest: damage to a device is much more likely to occur when it’s in the hands of a child! It’s not so much that your child doesn’t respect the property. Kids just tend to be a bit more clumsy than adults, as their coordination skills simply aren’t as developed as ours. The best thing to do is to teach your child about the things that can damage a device and to use protective cases on them. (The devices, not the kids.) If something does happen to the devices, then work with a responsible repair company. See baltimorecellphonerepair.com for more info.

Reduced sleep

This is actually something that seems to be a concern for all of us. Exposure to the sort of light that these devices emit actually keeps our brains a bit too active for proper sleep if you’re using these things too late into the night. None of us should be using these devices within the hour before we go to bed. As for kids, as you can imagine, these devices affect them even more. We often think about whether or not our kids can get to sleep – but it’s also important that the quality of that sleep is good. It’s what keeps them sharp and able to learn! So it’s best that you keep them from using these gadgets too close to bedtime. Read more about improved sleep at psychologytoday.com.

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A lack of appreciation for books
Okay, so maybe this is only going to be a concern for book nerds. But hey, books have been shown time and time again to improve your mood and brain function, and it’s especially important that a child spends more of their spare time reading rather than surfing the Internet.

Your First Smart Home: The Ultimate Guide

Imagine being able to walk into your home, tap your mobile device, and then have the lights turn on, your favorite TV show flicker up, and the heat adjust to just the right temperature. A few years ago, this may have sounded like science fiction, but now it’s happening all over the world! Today, it’s easy to set up a home where almost everything can be controlled from a single, user-friendly interface on your smartphone or tablet. However, like any new technology, there are a number of pitfalls and mistakes that some people make. Here’s a guide to setting up your first smart home the right way.

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Plan Ahead

When you’re taking your first steps into the exciting world of home automation, it’s important to look ahead, and really think about what you need in your first system. Do you just want your lighting and heating to be controlled from your mobile device, integrate your home security system, or go all-out with a home entertainment system? Before you start ordering all kinds of smart home devices and contacting installers, think about how much it will really benefit you. If you don’t think this through, you could just end up with a load of useless, techy gimmicks cluttering your home, and a pretty big dent in your bank account!

Review and Update Your Wi-Fi Router

A good Wi-Fi router is vital to a smart home. When you have a fast and reliable one, everything will work smoothly and exactly as it was intended to. Get a sub-standard one, and you’ll run into all kinds of frustrating problems. Countless people have leapt onto the smart home bandwagon without considering the quality of the Wi-Fi in their home, and ended up having to deal with countless signal drop-outs or packet loss. If you want the commands you’re sending out through your mobile device to work instantly every time, it’s a good idea to change an old router out for the newest, most reliable model you can afford.

Work Around the Rules When Renting

If you’re living in a pre-existing dwelling, particularly in an apartment which is controlled by the rules of a corporate or strata body, there are going to be certain restrictions compared to if you owned the property yourself. The proper processes needed for the installation and integration of smart home technology can often conflict with the rules set out by the governing body. Before you make any major changes to your home, make sure to contact them and ask specifically what you can and can’t do. Bringing these kinds of ruling bodies down on your head really isn’t worth it!

Choose the Appliances and Components You Want, But Don’t Go Crazy!

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There are a lot of smart home devices and brands on the market today, with more and more being developed and released all the time. As with any niche, some of these appliances and components are better than others, so make sure you’re finding a detailed review for every little thing you consider buying. Aside from that, you should educate yourself and take steps to ensure that you’re not paying too much for what you want. It’s just the controlling interface that really matters in your home, not so much the devices and appliances. The air con system, lighting and so on in your home don’t necessarily have to be smart for you to have a smart home. For example, it’s generally more affordable and just as effective to have good old-fashioned lighting in your home and control it from your device, rather than splash out on a completely new array of bulbs and lamps.

Don’t Mix Up Brands Too Much

Obviously, you don’t need to keep all your devices within the same brand. A Samsung TV doesn’t necessarily need a Samsung Blu-ray player for the two to work together. However, when you want to control everything through a smart-home interface, it may be worth buying within the same families for the proprietary networking standards. If you’re planning to make networked audio speakers part of the whole system, for example, you’ll have to buy all the devices within the same brand.

Send in an Expert

Like most people, you probably feel that you’re pretty clued up when it comes to technology. However, smart home tech is uncharted territory. Home automation can be pretty complex to someone who’s never had any experience with it before, so if you want the best possible experience it’s probably a good idea to reach out for some expert help. This is especially true if you’re planning to go all-out with your smart home, making more complex systems like irrigation, solar panels or pool pumps part of a single interface. Most smart home tech companies offer installer services when you buy their components, but at the very least you should make sure you have a number to call if you ever need help with steps in the process.

Leave Wiring to The Pros

This is a piece of advice which applies to all kinds of things pre-dating the dawn of the smart home. However, it can’t hurt to reiterate one more time! If you’re setting out plans for your smart home, and realize that you’ll have to touch your phone line or any 200+ volt wiring, then you need to get a pro to take care of it. Depending on your state, there may be bylaws that say installing certain devices and appliances needs to be carried out by a licensed electrician. Aside from the risk of a fine, I’m sure you don’t want you or your partner to be electrocuted!

Go the Extra Mile with New-Build Homes

Perhaps you’re reading this because you’re fulfilling your dream of building a home from scratch. If this is the case, then planning it out with durable and reliable fittings and fixtures will help you, and your poor installer, immeasurably. For example, even if you know the area’s good for Wi-Fi and you’ll have access to a great model of router, consider getting an Ethernet networking cable installed for at least one smart component in the home. Obviously, this will mean a greater investment, and your budget may be fairly stretched as it is. However, it will also mean that smart home installation, both now and in the future, will be much more flexible and easy.

Remember that Updates Don’t Have to be Done in Person

In a smart home, if you update the model of your TV, for example, from one brand to another, you’ll have to re-program your smart home interface. This is due to it having to accommodate for a new IP or infrared control code. There are various guides and tutorials out there for doing tasks like this, but none of them are going to be exactly straightforward! If you’re struggling, however, don’t think that you need to get the original installer out to your home straight away! Get in touch with them, and there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to update your smart home interface remotely. If your system doesn’t support this feature, you’ll need a visit from the installer, but this is expected to become less and less of a necessity as the technology develops.

If you’re finding the concept of your first smart home to be a little daunting, I hope this guide has smoothed things out somewhat. Although there can be hiccups and minor issues in the early stages, the convenience of a functional smart home is well worth it. Follow these tips, and you’re sure to have a smooth transition!

Needs Vs. Wants: The Conundrum Of Technology And Your Kids

Most homes have a computer and the internet now. A lot of you are probably pretty tech savvy. But there’s a difference between being good with tech and making sure that tech is good for your family. Here, we’ll be looking at the needs and wants of your family. How to make sure you’re using what’s best for the kids in approaching the digital world.

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The needs of the family

When it comes to a family all using devices, you’ll find they have a lot of needs. In particular, most of our devices, even our TVs, are connected to the internet. So you want to make sure you have the right device and internet package to give access to the whole family. If you find your internet connection is getting slow, it could be due to overuse. You might want to think about getting in touch with your provider to find a higher-speed deal. Or looking at routers better suited to more users from places like the Smart Future.

Browsing in the night

In the evening is when we all tend to chill and relax in front of a computer screen or the television. However, it can lead to some health risks if you’re not keeping it in check. For instance, if someone’s using a computer or a tablet, make sure they’re doing it in a well-lit room. Try to keep them from browsing an hour before bedtime, as well. Eyestrain and migraines might see a lot of pain and even glasses down the line for your family. Meanwhile, too much artificial light at night makes sleep significantly harder to find.

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How much is healthy?

Then there’s the important question of how much tech in the home is good for the family. We’re not suggesting you get rid of your kids’ video games. The science shows that an hour of it a day can actually be beneficial for them. It can even improve how they do in school. A lot more than that can have a negative effect, however. It can lead to problems with paying attention and social situations. There’s also the obvious fact that a sedentary lifestyle is good for no-one.

Making sure your tech is kid friendly

If your children are going to use it, you’re going to want to pay close attention to what they’re able to access. The internet has no filter unless you put one on it. Many internet providers have options to block sites that you wouldn’t want your kids accessing. As far as videogames and television is concerned, you should pay attention to the content of what your kids are watching and playing. Don’t assume that all video games are for kids. There’s plenty of content that’s perfectly fine for adults, but not for kids. You might get some complaints for mothering them, but it’s worth it.

You want to make sure that your home has good access, but it’s also important to make sure your family is using their tech in healthy, helpful ways. With the tips above, you should find there’s plenty to help you do that.

Do Home Gadgets Really Make Your Life Better? You’d Be Surprised

The tech revolution has come to your pocket in the form of your smartphone. It’s coming to your car in the shape of EVs and autonomous vehicles. But is it coming to your home? You bet it is! Nothing can stop the march of technology, not even the four walls of brick and mortar that surround you right now.

The cool thing about home gadgets that is there’s something for pretty much everybody. Things are changing fast in the home space, so you’re bound to love the latest tech. It’s all designed to make our lives more convenient, more secure and more entertaining. Here’re some of our favorite picks.

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3-Pound Printers

If you do a lot of travel, or you have a cluttered house, the last thing you want is a large printer. You want something that does everything a regular printer does but at a fraction of the size. Well, you’re in luck. Companies, like Primera, have made printers that you can pop in your suitcase or on the bookshelf. These printers don’t just print either. They scan and copy too, which is useful if you can’t get to the office. What’s more, they weigh less than 3 pounds. Dell’s smallest business-class printer weighs nearly 30 pounds. So it’s a big difference.

Arguably, the biggest benefit of these printers isn’t in the home; it’s while you’re traveling for work. Small printers can be unpacked on long plane trips, and you can get on with work as if you were in the office. Printing on the move is something business travelers have been begging for for years.

Smart Frying Pans

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If you’ve ever tried to pan fry a piece of meat at home, you know how difficult it can be. Knowing when the meat is done on the inside is next to impossible, and relies on the instincts of a seasoned chef.

Or at least it used to until the smart frying pan came along. Companies have started making frying pans with a basic level of understanding of the food that they’re cooking. Smart pans use temperature data to tell you when the piece of meat you’re cooking is ready to eat. This way, you know exactly when to dump it on the plate.

Think about how this could really help you in your own family life. It’s rare that you get to stand vigil in front of the pan for the whole time that the food is cooking. Instead, you have to attend to kids, answer the door, check your social media – whatever. Often this results in disaster. But if you’ve got a pan that alerts you via your smartphone app the moment your food is cooked, the problem goes away.

Wi-Fi Video Monitor

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If you care about home security, you’ve probably already read some DIY home security system reviews. One of the products doing the rounds at the moment is Wi-Fi video monitors. The idea here is to connect video cameras to your home’s Wi-Fi router and then watch your home through a smartphone app. As long as your router is on and your phone is connected to the internet, you can watch what happens in your house.

Wi-Fi video monitors are great for two types of people. They’re great for people who worry about their pets being left in the house without them all day. And they’re also great for people who tend to travel a lot and want to keep a beady eye on their property.

The best systems are those that come with wall plugs where you don’t have to worry about batteries.

Emergency LED Flashlights

Ten to fifteen years ago, unless you were a tech enthusiast, you hadn’t heard of LEDs. The top of the range torch, used by boy scouts, was the incandescent bulb Maglite. And it was huge.

Fast forward to the present and LEDs are invading our homes in new and exciting ways. Take the Satechi LightMate, for instance. This is a LED flashlight that is brighter than the previous generation of torches but in a much smaller package. These torches can also often be used to charge your phone since their battery packs are so large.

For people who live in areas with lots of power outages, LED torches are a godsend. Because LEDs use so much less energy than regular flashlights, the batteries last a long time. And because the batterings are large, they can be used to charge you other gadgets in the event of a prolonged power cut.

Needless to say, these types of torches are also suitable for people who spend a lot of time camping and going away on weekend breaks.

Smart Hand Luggage

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Clever startups are now looking for ways to get smart tech into the luggage industry. One player, called Bluesmart, has succeeded to some extent. The idea here is to connect luggage to the smartphone. People who use smart luggage can lock and unlock their suitcases through their smartphone apps. And they can also use the integrated GPS readers to precisely locate where their suitcase is. You can imagine just how useful GPS tech in luggage would be if your bags just happened to get send on to another airport. In a word: smart hand luggage is a godsend.

Smart hand luggage is for people, again, who do a lot of traveling. It’s also for those who get easily stressed while waiting for their baggage to appear on the conveyor belt.

Systems That Prevent Break In

There is a whole raft of companies who have systems that allow you to monitor your home in real time. These are marketed as security devices. And while they do help you keep an eye on what’s going on in your home, they don’t prevent criminal activity.

But now there’s a breed of security system that goes beyond just passively recording an intruder’s actions. These systems actively work to prevent crimes and scare criminals away. Currently, many of the world’s top security systems connect directly to the police. But new sensor technology is making it possible to scare burglars off before they enter your home. For instance, MyFox comes with a system that allows homeowners to track when their windows and doors have been opened.

If you’ve got the money, these systems are an excellent investment. According to the data, 80 percent of intruders will give up if they hear the alarm go off. That’s a seriously good deterrent from a home security system.

TV Sticks

It’s amazing how many channels there are but how little stuff there is to watch. If you’re one of those people who always flicks through channels, consider getting a TV stick. These TV sticks, like the Amazon Firestick, connect to your Wi-Fi. Then they present a bunch of on-demand programming designed to meet your particular tastes. You can choose from films, soaps, game shows, and drama series.

If you’re a person who is disillusioned by the quality of programming on the TV, this is the product for you. TV sticks are also a great product for people who spend a lot of time traveling. You can use these devices in hotel rooms, so long as the hotel has Wi-Fi. You can also take it to other people’s homes if you all want to watch something in particular together.

Couch Keyboard And Mouse

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One of the big downsides of PC gaming is that you have to sit on a PC chair in front of your desk. It’s not exactly comfortable. You could move into the living room and game on your Playstation. But then you’d have to give up your keyboard and mouse and use a clunky controller. It’s a nightmare.

Well, it was a nightmare. Now companies are building ergonomic keyboards and mice designed to be used on your lap. Gaming giant Razer has made it’s own. Essentially it’s an RGB keyboard, with an extended area to act as a mousepad.

If you’re a fan of Steam, this is a great device to have in your living room. Until now, Steam Machine users had to make do with Steam controllers. They found it difficult to compete with other players in games like CS: GO. But with couch keyboards and mice, keeping pace has never been easier. It hardly feels as if they have left the PC behind.

The Smartmat

It seems that today, everything is going smart, even the very floor on which we walk. Smartmats are no joke. They contain thousands of tiny sensors. And these sensors are designed to tell you whether you’re doing your exercises correctly. If you’re a big yoga fan, this is definitely the gadget for you. These mats connect to an app on your phone via Bluetooth. The app then keeps track of your position, weight, and other metrics. If you’re not doing moves correctly, the software is intelligent enough to be able to tell you.

For busy people. The smartmat is a great substitute for having to go out to yoga classes at the local gym. You can simply lay out the mat, and get expert coaching in the privacy of your own home.