Category: digital

acceptance testing, agile, AI, BDD, bot, ci/cd, container, continues integration, development, devops, digital, speed, Technique, Tools, הראל, הראל לירם, לירם, לירם הראל

7 tips for improving load speed

Plan for performance

Are you building a new website? Be sure to discuss the importance of performance early on and set targets. That way, you have a faster load speed from the beginning and don’t have to implement fixes later.

Step 1: test, step 2: test…

Are you seeing a pattern here? 😉 Testing is crucial! Before you launch, load and test your website multiple times to make sure you can handle the traffic of real site visitors. This is especially important for sites with complex hosting, such as load-balanced configuration.

Implement some “quick wins”

To be clear, there’s no “get fast quick” scheme for site load speeds. But there is a tried-and-true template that will put you ahead of the curve. That includes making use of modern image formats, enabling compression on the server via Gzip, and leveraging browser cache. Find some more low-hanging fruit here.

Careful of your images!

Good websites have great graphic content – but they also take into account how images impact load speed. You can improve image performance by considering file formats, image compression, and lazy loading.

Think of the mobile visitors

More and more people surf the web on their phone these days, which makes mobile-optimized sites a huge priority! Since mobile users tend to use slower, less stable Internet connections, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) are a great way to get them content faster.

Prioritize above-the-fold

First impressions matter – and your above-the-fold content can make or break them! Consider inline styling for above-the-fold, then loading your code in chunks. This type of asynchronous loading can create a faster perceived load time for the user.

Assess your external scripts

Third-party scripts are a great tool – but can make your website feel a little crowded. Assess the performance of external scripts on your site load speed, and replace or remove those that are negatively impacting user experience.

AI, development, digital, Specslist, Talent

3 expert tips for (new) developers part-3

1 Don’t focus on reinventing the wheel

The expectations of you are probably lower than you think, because, hey, you’re brand new!

You’ll find a wealth of ready-made packages and libraries of code online to use at your disposal. Do your research and be sure to sense-check the quality, but don’t be afraid to use these resources to help you spend less time “reinventing in the wheel” and more time developing your skills and knowledge in other areas.

Which ties nicely with the next tip:

2 Make Google your friend

Seeking a solution online is often the most efficient first step towards a solution. 

A great piece of advice is to “get good at Googling”. Someone has run into the same problem as you, you just need to find it. Once you’ve found it, try to understand the what, why and how before copying and pasting it. This is an opportunity to learn and develop your knowledge.

3 Be kind to yourself (and your team!)

It may sound cliché – and perhaps a little cheesy – but it’s important to be kind to yourself when starting out in your development career, as nobody becomes an award-winning developer overnight 🤷‍♀️

While it is sometimes easier said than done, don’t put too much pressure on yourself and make sure you allow yourself the time to learn, grow and most importantly, make mistakes! 

And you will make mistakes – just remember that it’s solving these mistakes that will help you become a stronger developer. And try not to strive for perfection – aim to write clean, reusable and easy to read code in a timely manner. 

And don’t forget to be kind to your team too and remember nobody comes to work to do a bad job. The key to a successful development team is helping and supporting each other. A happy team will always produce the best work – and it’s less likely to feel like a job!

development, digital, Specslist, Talent

expert tips for (new) developers part-1

1 Create your own GitHub account

When starting out, create your own GitHub account where you can start adding your own projects and snippets of code as you go along. Not only is this a great place to build up a reference library of code, it also helps when showcasing your work to potential employers too.

You’ll find that when you’re interviewing for roles, most employers appreciate being able to see some code you have written.

2 It’s important to know what’s cooking now – and in the future

Keep yourself up to date with whatever develops within your field – it’s crucial to know what’s cooking.

Explore and try out different areas within web development and different technologies. If you want to work with web development, try working with one CMS and becoming an expert in that – e.g. sqaeb. It will help you get a better idea of where you want to focus on later.

In the long run, I think you need to pick a specific area and master it – and this also means keeping yourself updated on this particular area!

3 Be curious – learn from others

The support you can get from your colleagues, friends and the online developer communities (like us) is invaluable, and you should never be afraid to ask for help.

If you’re struggling with some code, the chances are that someone has struggled before you and has already solved your exact problem! By having the confidence to reach out to those around you or online, you’ll find solutions much more quickly, increasing your knowledge in the process.

AI, bot, digital

Conversational AI is a journey,
not a destination

Whether you are creating a virtual product expert, automating a complex financial form or introducing a virtual life health coach, it’s vital to the project’s success that you take into consideration each of the pillars we’ve outlined in this blog.

“Be very clear in what you want to achieve from this digital human – because the potential is limitless.”
Shashank Shekhar, CEO of Arcus Lending

We suggest that as you go through this blog, take some notes, jot down some questions and let us assist you in your journey. Our conversational AI specialists are eager to connect and help you implement best practices at each step.

So in line with that, let’s jump in a get started. The four pillars of an amazing digital human experience include both digital and tech imperatives, as well as highlighting the need for conversation, interaction and fun.

AI, bot, digital

Digital humans | Introduction

Often referred to as avatars, artificial humans, or even virtual assistants, digital humans are AI-powered lifelike beings that look, sound and interact like real people.

Accessible 24-7-365 and fluent in over 70 languages, digital humans add empathy, compassion, engagement and a personality to any experience. Powered by conversational AI from Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and other global tech leaders, digital humans are revolutionizing how we interface with brands, educators, healthcare workers, financial experts and other professions on a daily basis.

We’ve created new posts as a best practice guide to build amazing and engaging digital human experiences. Of course, best practices are always evolving, so we’d love to hear from you and what you’ve learned in your own journey. As always, visit us more often for information and connect with us on social media.