Incorporation Documents: What are the Articles of Incorporation?

In eCommerce, fast delivery is essential, because ensuring customers receive their orders on time will undoubtedly help your fledgling eCommerce business gain a good reputation, new customers, and more sales. If you are looking for a metric you can improve to appease your client base, look no further than your eCommerce’s transit times. Let’s discuss all you need to know about them and how they can be improved to gain some happy customers and stand out from the competition. What Are Transit Times in Shipping? In shipping, transit is the length of time it takes the courier to deliver the order to your customer's doorstep. It starts when they pick up the order and ends when it arrives at the final destination. ECommerce transit times vary depending on multiple factors and can take up a few hours to several months. However, according to the 2020 statistics from ShipStation's Last Touch, Lasting Impact ebook, users expect to have their packages arrive within eight days. It is safe to say that the participants were being generous about it and that they actually expected their packages to get to them within five days at most. The Benefits of Fast Transit Times It boils down to this: ECommerce success is all about convenience. For example, eCommerce statistics show that 28% of shoppers abandon their cart if the store requires them to make an account. Every eCommerce business owner should prioritize convenience when planning their business, and fast ​​delivery of products to customers plays a key role there. Being able to meet, if not top, your customers’ expectations is essential for your business. 85% of consumers will abandon the cart in search of faster shipping options, and an extra day of delivery can make or break the deal. Therefore, fast shipping leads to higher conversion rates, which every business needs. Considering the percentage of customers you could be losing, taking the time to improve the transit times in shipping will undoubtedly pay off. What Factors Play Into Transit Times? Several factors affect transit times. Some of them you can work on; others might be above your pay grade and will require a plan B. Here are some of them: Service Level Often, service levels can be the most crucial factor to consider when figuring out how to deliver ordered products. Ground shipping is usually the cheapest option and can take a few days longer to arrive than other shipping methods. However, with ground product shipping services, you can provide lower prices and even free shipping to your customers without affecting your margin. Flat-rate shipping costs the same regardless of how much you order and is a good option if you want to make it affordable for your customers to purchase a lot from the same place. Freight shipping is usually the most expensive but can be faster than ground shipping. If you want to provide next-day shipping, you might consider this option. International shipping can take even longer than ground shipping and may have additional costs like customs fees. However, this is frequently the only option for dropshippers to deliver goods crafted abroad to their customers. Destination Zone The destination zone can play a crucial role in eCommerce transit times. For example, sending something to a rural area may take longer because the infrastructure for shipping is not as developed as in more urban areas. Additionally, if you are sending something to an international destination, it will almost always take longer to arrive than if you were sending it domestically. Time of Year or Weather-Related Issues Packages sent during the holiday season may take longer to arrive because of the increased volume of mail. That’s when accurate and fast shipping times are the most important metric to your customers.  If your goods are holiday-centric, you should consider using an eCommerce shipping solution that can guarantee delivery by a certain date and have a plan B ready. Having a fallback option is essential for any business that values its customers. Providing your customers with free shipping or offering discounts for their next order to remedy a bad experience are just some of the best practices you can implement for your eCommerce business. Weather can play a role in how long it takes for a package to arrive, too. For example, if a snowstorm closes down the airport, obviously, packages won't be able to get through. However, this is not something you can influence. So, being prepared to remedy the situation will be crucial for customer retention. You can achieve this by offering free goodies or refunds - something most eCommerce website builders will let you integrate. How To Decrease Your eCommerce Transit Times Decreasing your transit times typically boils down to two things: Carefully planning your shipping strategy and paying a bit extra for faster delivery. Let’s discuss both. Shipping Strategies If your existing delivery plan isn’t bringing in the sales you’ve expected, maybe it is time to reconsider. You can employ same-day, two-day, and overnight shipping, as well as expedited delivery. All of these shipping strategies are great options for eCommerce owners who want to ensure customers receive their orders as quickly as possible. Same-day shipping is excellent because eCommerce owners who offer it can benefit from increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, offering this option can help you compete with other eCommerce stores that do the same. However, its main drawback is that it requires significant resources from business owners and is often something only top eCommerce stores can afford. Overnight shipping is still pretty fast, but you can get it without breaking the bank. Most product shipment carriers offer these services, but their rates can differ significantly, so make sure to look into multiple options. Two-day shipping is slowly but surely becoming the norm. It’s a good option for eCommerce stores that don't have the resources to offer shorter transit times, but still want to provide their customers with a fast shipping option. Paying a Bit Extra for Your Shipping Each option above can help you speed up the delivery process, but will also likely require you to raise your prices to accommodate the higher shipping fee. It can also make a significant dent in your profits if you offer free shipping for your goods. That’s why small businesses can transfer costs for expedited eCommerce shipping options to their customers. In eCommerce, expedited shipping is a service that allows customers to receive their orders sooner than the standard delivery time. Expedited shipping is usually available for an additional fee, and the delivery time varies by shipping company and destination. This can be a valuable option for your customers who need their items quickly, such as those who are buying a gift or need the items for a special event - without requiring you to pay extra for fast shipping for every product you send out or implement other delivery solutions for eCommerce.

The cybercrime spectrum is very wide, and attackers have numerous tools at their disposal when planning a system attack. A dangerous tool that’s hard to protect against is a DDoS attack.  There’s no guarantee that your small business will not be affected or that you as an individual user will not be targeted. But what is a DDoS attack, and why is it so dangerous? In this article, we’ll provide you with all the necessary information about this particular threat and will offer a few tips on how to protect yourself.  The Definition of a DDoS Attack DDoS attacks can be used for various reasons, including penetrating supposedly secure systems to make a statement or the hacker getting money to immobilize and cripple a particular website. In some cases, rogue disgruntled employees can use this attack to harm their employer. Often, the hackers just want to show off their skills or it’s part of a larger-scale attack. DDoS stands for “Distributed Denial-of-Service,” and the name explains it well: it’s an attack that overloads the website with false traffic, so the users cannot access its services. Such attacks are all too common these days, and even some of the most reputable companies have fallen victim to them. One DDoS attack took place in 2020, and it targeted Amazon Web Services. This shows that even high-profile companies with high-end security systems are not immune. The number of attacks increased after the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of remote work and Internet of Things devices.  How Does a DDoS Work?  DDoS attacks work by taking control of a network of machines that function as a botnet. The primary purpose of the botnet is to overload the target sites with traffic, so they cannot function properly.  These machines can be smartphones, Internet of Things devices, PCs, laptops, or servers. They are controlled remotely, and there can be thousands of them. The more devices get involved, the stronger the attack will be. Cybercriminals must first compromise the devices they will use for the DDoS attack.  One high-profile attack was performed in 2016, taking down popular websites such as The Guardian, Netflix, and Twitter, using malware and a botnet of IoT devices. These companies have a set of cybersecurity measures in place, so there’s no doubt that these distributed denial-of-service attacks were planned and carried out by experienced professionals.  So, let’s see how the attack is carried out. The first step is infecting the devices with malware. Once the attackers do this, the botnet is created, and each bot device gets instructions. They then send requests to the server’s address, which is how the attack overflows the targeted website or server.  How To Recognize a DDoS Attack A DDoS attack must be identified immediately so that the damage can be controlled. Protecting your website from DDoS starts by knowing how to recognize it. Unlike ransomware, where the attacker informs the victim that they’ve been hacked the moment the system is successfully penetrated, DDoS attacks can go unnoticed until it’s too late. Look for the following signs, as they could tip you off about an attack: Technical problems on the website, HTTP Error 503, Frequent ‘time to live’ times out, Slower performance, Traffic is higher than usual, Users have difficulties accessing the website, Problems with loading files. DDoS attacks can cause severe financial and reputational damage and immobilize business operations for a time. However, there are ways to protect yourself and get early notifications that something fishy is going on, so you can react in time. Types of DDoS Attacks  DDoS and DoS attacks can be divided into different types depending on the criteria we use to sort them. Three categories are most common, though, so here they are: Application Layer Attacks include GET/POST floods, Apache attacks, OpenBSD or Windows attacks, and low-and-slow attacks. Since bot use is legitimate, these attacks seem like regular requests, but they can eventually disrupt entire networks.  Protocol attacks can be fragmented packet attacks, Smurf DDoS, Ping of Death, and SYN floods. The goal of this attack type is to consume the server's resources. Volume-based attacks employ spoofed-packet floods, UDP floods, and ICMP floods to disrupt and saturate the server bandwidth.  DDOS Attack Examples Now that we’ve covered the broad types let’s talk about a few of the most common and dangerous attacks. One typical DDoS attack example is a UDP Flood. The other two include Ping of Death and HTTPS Flood. UDP Flood is a type of DDoS attack that uses User Datagram Protocols to flood the victim. This attack aims to target the remote host’s ports.  Ping of Death is an attack that works by sending malicious pings to the user’s device. The goal is to freeze or crash the system. Some of the attackers opt for this type of hacking because their identities can easily remain concealed. If the attackers decide on a distributed denial-of-service attack, they don’t need to have exceptionally detailed information about the device they’re attacking - only its IP address.  HTTP Flood is an attack that takes advantage of HTTP GET or POST requests. They are sometimes SSL-based. (SSL is a digital certificate used for authenticating a website’s identity.) Unlike some threats on this list, HTTP floods do not employ malicious packets. This attack is effective because it makes the server use a lot of its resources for each request, which typically results in a network crash.  DDoS vs. DoS Attack These two attacks can cause incredible damage and lead to astronomical financial losses. It is estimated that a successful DDoS attack can cost a company anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 per hour.  A DDoS attack is a subtype of the DoS attack. The difference lies in the way the attack is performed. With a Denial of Service or DoS attack, a single internet connection is used to flood traffic, whereas the Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attack employs thousands of remotely controlled devices for the same purpose. In other words, it’s much more deadly and trickier to guard against. Risk Management and Damage Control  If you suspect you’re about to be exposed to a DDoS attack, there are a few things you can do to prepare and mitigate the damage.  Detecting the Attack  Early detection is paramount, as the damage can be prevented if the attack is caught in the nascent stages. With a DDoS, attacking devices cannot be stopped by legacy anti-malware tools, and it becomes almost impossible to stop the attack if it is not noticed on time.  It’s not always possible to detect the attack without the assistance of proper software, so many businesses rely on user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) which detect any unusual system behavior. These tools rely on machine learning and are usually very successful in detecting abnormalities.  Prompt Response If an attack occurs, the victim needs to respond as quickly as possible. The best way is to absorb or divert the malicious traffic from the target website with the help of CDN services. You should also look into blacklisting offending IPs so that attacking computers cannot keep flooding your servers. Filtering  What is a DDoS protection option that is easy to implement but works well? Traffic filtering. It can be very helpful because it distinguishes legitimate from malicious traffic and can be done without a significant effect on the legitimate users visiting the website.  How To Protect Yourself From a DDoS or DoS Attack You can do a few things to protect yourself from a DDoS or DoS attack. Prevention is essential because the damage can be immense even if you manage to stop an attack in its early stages.  With secured networks, you’ll guard your network against DDoS, meaning that you won’t have to go through the incredibly costly and time-consuming procedure of dealing with the attack once it happens.  Increasing Bandwidth There are steps you can take to prevent the attack from damaging your network, and they’re not expensive, nor do they require complex solutions. One simple one is increasing the available bandwidth.  By doing this, you’re making your hosting “DDoS resistant” and providing enough bandwidth in case there is a surge in traffic when the attack takes place. It’s not as good as an entirely blocked DDoS attack, but it’s still an essential layer of protection. It is usually advised that you combine this tactic with several others, as increasing bandwidth itself will usually not be enough, especially against large botnet attacks. Use a CDN Solution A content delivery network (CDN) can provide you with multiple protection features, one of which is safeguarding from DDoS attacks.  CDN also balances website traffic, so your servers are not overwhelmed and eventually crash. Combined with IP address filtering, you can really put a damper on any hacker’s plans to flood your main website server.  Expect a DDoS Attack and Prepare for It What is DDoS protection without preparation? By expecting an attack and preparing for it, you’ll be one step ahead if the attack takes place.  This process involves training your employees or coworkers to deal with the effects of a potential attack. You’ll have a chance to plan and organize the protection of sensitive data and find alternative ways of keeping essential services online. This way, your networks won’t collapse even if an attack does go through.  Choose a Cloud-based Solution This way, you’ll be provided with unlimited bandwidth. If your resources are limited, you won’t have much chance of protecting yourself from a DDoS attack, and you will likely get “DDoS-ed.” A cloud-based solution can help you avoid that scenario, and, luckily, there are many excellent cloud hosting providers to choose from these days. Bottom Line  While DDoS attacks can be extremely dangerous and sometimes hard to guard against, there are ways to prevent them and reduce the damage they can do. This threat is not limited only to large businesses, and almost anyone can fall victim to it.  Advance planning and preparation for an attack is always a good strategy, but once the attack happens, you have to act quickly. The goal of this article was not only to help you answer the question “What is a DDoS attack?” but also to give you essential information about this threat and tips on how to fight it. Good luck!

Every internet user wants to find their desired content easily and have it quickly load when browsing the web. We also wish to stay secure from spam and other malicious online attacks. Moreover, content owners and service providers strive to improve the user or customer experience and increase ad revenue and client retention. CDNs help us find the page or video we are after and protect us from web-based attacks. But what is a CDN, and how does it do all that? Let’s find out. CDN Definition CDN is a group of geographically distributed and interconnected servers that provide efficient web content delivery. They transfer content from an origin server to the one nearest to the user that requested it. The internet service provider (ISP) delivers the requested content to the user the rest of the way.  Some common types of content that CDNs transfer are: Videos Images Stylesheets HTML pages JavaScript files Besides bringing the desired content close to the user, CDNs also improve the user experience (UX) and overall web security.  Before moving forward, let's see how CDNs developed and what we can expect from them in the future. History of CDNs: A Brief Overview The history of CDNs kicked off during the late 1990s when the need to deliver vast amounts of data to internet users first started becoming a problem. Thus, the Content Delivery Network, which CDN stands for, came into existence. CDNs made over 20 years ago still handle between 15% and 30% of online traffic globally. The first generation of CDNs managed both static and dynamic content, while the second generation focused on streaming audio and video material. The third generation is currently in development. We can expect it to be simple enough to be run by individuals with no tech experience. In other words -  mostly self-configured and capable of autonomic content delivery in the future. Here are some key historical events regarding the evolution of CDNs: The event that considerably accelerated the development of CDN technology was the 9/11 attack in 2001. Many people tried to access news websites at once on that day, which led to severe caching problems. Big internet service providers started creating their own CDN functionalities before 2002 started. In 2004, over 3,000 companies used CDNs. Amazon launched its own CDN in 2008.  In 2011, a newly-introduced CDN reduced delays in page loading (latency) by enabling the content to flow across its 38 data centers worldwide.  How CDNs Work: Everything You Need To Know Besides merely bringing desired content to end-users, CDNs have other equally important goals: providing that content quickly, affordably, and securely.  Content delivery networks manage that by placing linked servers strategically at the points where different networks exchange data. In other words, CDNs connect to Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), where various internet providers converge to provide traffic originating from their networks. That way, CDNs take over the content and deliver it as close as possible to the interested user.  When a user makes a request, the specialized CDN management software determines which server is the closest to the point where the request originated. Then, it delivers the desired content to such a server, which we call a CDN edge server.  This strategy allows CDNs to reduce latency – the annoying delay when the page is loading – thus preventing time-out and load errors. The wider a CDN distribution in the physical world is, the shorter loading times for the end-user will be, regardless of where they are in the world.  Since we keep mentioning servers, let's define what they are before moving forward. What Is a CDN Server? In short, servers are high-powered computers or programs capable of: Storing, Processing, Managing data we can find on a network.  CDN servers provide services to other computer programs and their users, offering scalability and efficiency at the same time. They also deliver cached content stored on a CDN when a user request appears.  Caching Caching is a temporary file storage process that CDNs perform to let us access the requested content quickly. CDNs cache content at the edge of the network; thus, we can't speak of CDN hosting since CDNs can't replace traditional web hosting, only complement it. CDNs can help websites struggling with performance issues since caching reduces hosting bandwidth. It can prevent service interruptions, making CDNs a desirable option for handling the inconveniences related to traditional web hosting. What Is a CDN Provider? A CDN provider is a business that owns data centers with servers located throughout the world. Their job is to store and load content on their servers upon user request. There are countless time-saving CDN services these days, and they make fast browsing possible by saving website copies on thousands of proxy CDN servers worldwide. Thus, website owners that struggle with their website performance find CDN hosts very useful since visitors tend to leave the page if it doesn't load in a few seconds. What Does a CDN Do? CDNs bring all sorts of content to web users in every corner of the world. This content could be pretty much anything, including: Images, Audio streams, HD-quality videos, Software such as OS, games, and applications. In short, content delivery networks deliver everything you can expect to find online.  CDN providers make the content available by: Hosting it on their server, Hiring internet service providers or network operators to host CDN servers. However, answering the question "What is a CDN about?" in more detail calls for a broader overview. So, let's dive in. Improves Load Times As we mentioned, one of the key goals for CDNs is quick loading of desired content. And they make it possible by placing servers and storing cached content as near as possible to people browsing the internet. That way, the request doesn't need to travel to the origin server and back, which could take a while.  Moreover, CDNs compress files or minimize codes and markups in script files and web pages to speed up their travel time. Furthermore, they perform software and hardware optimizations. Finally, CDNs give a performance and security boost to websites using TLS/SSL certificates that keep the internet connection secure. Reduces Data Transfer (Bandwidth) Costs CDN servers enable the origin server to provide a reduced amount of data through caching. This lowers the bandwidth costs, which is one of the most significant expenses for website owners.  Enhances Website Security CDNs also help secure sensitive information against hackers and online attackers during web transactions. They do it by providing DDoS mitigation – a set of techniques and tools that block and absorb malicious spikes in traffic.  Increases Content Availability Traffic spikes and hardware malfunctions are inevitable. They can cause various inconveniences, including disabling visitor access to the website or bringing the web server down. Yet, a well-balanced CDN system can minimize the damage thanks to the following features:  Load balancing spreads online traffic across several servers, successfully handling traffic spikes. To illustrate, think of several routes from point A to point B in the real world. When the quickest way gets congested, commuters take alternative routes, allowing everyone to get from point A to point B more quickly. Even if a server malfunctions due to technical issues, users won't notice that anything's wrong with the data distribution. That's because the intelligent failover system redistributes traffic to other available servers nearby, maintaining the service uninterrupted. Another significant CDN benefit for end-users is undisturbed internet access, even in the unlikely event of the entire data center experiencing technical issues. If it comes to that, the system routes the online traffic to another available data center.  Who Uses CDNs (and Who Probably Shouldn’t)? Almost everyone uses CDNs. When you, for instance, stream a TV show on Netflix, buy something on Amazon, or post on Facebook, you harness the power of the CDN.  However, it wasn't like that in the early days of the tech. At the turn of the 21st century, only large companies could afford to use CDNs due to their high costs. Thankfully, those times are long gone, and everyone can benefit from the content distribution network technology at affordable prices today. There are even some free options available, though they are not as good as their paid counterparts, obviously. So, which types of websites could make use of CDN? Lots, actually, but the two most common types would be: eCommerce websites that sell goods nationally and internationally, News websites because they tend to experience traffic spikes in case of breaking news and generally have large volumes of traffic, especially in the morning. On the other hand, companies that do business locally should refrain from using a CDN for two good reasons:  It can worsen the website's performance by adding an unnecessary connection between the visitor and a nearby server. There is the possibility of getting extra visitors that are highly unlikely to buy anything and will just clog up the server bandwidth. With CDN explained this way, we can conclude that content delivery networks may be the right choice for you to promote your business globally, especially if it falls into one of the following categories: Media Mobile Healthcare Advertising eCommerce Entertainment Online gaming Higher education Summary To sum things up, here’s everything you need to know about CDNs in six short bullet points: They can handle any file in a digital format, including videos, images, stylesheets, games, and many other types of software. CDNs provide efficient data transfer by compressing files and connecting internet users to a data center closer to them from an origin server.  CDN service provides uninterrupted internet access if the nearby server or the entire data center experiences technical difficulties. They decrease loading times by caching (storing) files on servers located near the end-users. CDNs improve website security by keeping malicious attackers, spammers, and bots at bay. A content delivery network can help promote your business beyond your local city and state. But it would be best to take this opportunity cautiously because some businesses are best suited to local operations, and a CDN could make things worse.