Ecommerce trends come and go like many other faucets of marketing. Here are the ecommerce website features we think will become more prevalent in 2020: 1. Social Selling Social media is an important part of any business’s digital marketing strategy. That said, bringing social referral traffic to your website and boost your sales is more possible than ever. There are numerous plugins that present your Instagram feed on your site and link the products in the photo, allowing customers to browse your feed without ever leaving your site. 2. Availing Video on Product Pages Aside from user-generated video, utilizing professionally-shot videos in addition to product photos is on the rise. This is especially popular with clothing stores. Showing a piece of clothing on a model helps shoppers understand how a garment fits and moves on a real person. This helps them make a more informed purchase and could sway someone who was on the fence. 3. User-Generated Content and Reviews on Product Pages Social proof, the concept that people will do what others are doing, is a powerful marketing tool. Putting user-generated reviews and content (photos & videos) right on your product pages shows potential customers that people have not only purchased your product, but that they’re enjoying it! 4. Progressive Payment Options We’re well into the 21st century and online shoppers expect more payment options than debit or credit. A 2017 study shows that while credit cards are still the preferred method of payment online, electronic payment via services like PayPal are a close second. In 2019, it was predicted that 55% of online purchases will be made with these services.  State-of-the-art payment options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and even cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are becoming more commonplace due to demand. If your online store doesn’t use any of these payment portals, make adding a few options a priority in 2020. 5. Confidential Messaging and Chatbots Chatbots have been one of the most popular ecommerce features over the past few years and think they’ll continue to grow in popularity in 2020. These bots are computer programs that simulate conversation with humans. They’re typically used to help customers solve a problem, but they can also serve as virtual personal shoppers.  6. Displaying Customers' Related Items Showing related items is the digital version of cross selling, that age-old sales tactic that recommends additional products to customers that are already interested in one of your  items. Follow our blog to learn more aboutmarketingdesigning, and crafting ecommerce websites using top platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify.  View the entire article here: Ecommerce Trends: Must Have Website Features in 2020​ ...read more

Digital marketing for your dentist office offers a variety of ways to grow your practice. With the combination ofdental SEO,dental web design, anddental PPC, there are plenty of opportunities to gain new patients for your dental practice. But, let's not forget about one other important factor that helps potential patients choose your practice over your competition: your reviews. Reviews for dental practices can be found all over the web. The top 3 places that patients will look are Google, Yelp, and Facebook. These 3 platforms are commonly reviewed by patients before they make their decision on who they will trust with their teeth. If you dental practice could use additional reviews (all practices could), then follow this guide on tips & tricks for increasing your dental office’s SEOwith more reviews. 1. Generate a Google Review Link A quick and easy method of getting more Google reviews, is by providing your customers with a direct link to your Google My Business profile. This might be hard to find, as Google does not make it easy to share your profile. Lucky for you, we created a Google Review Link Generator tool to make this easier for you. Here is how to access our tool: Head over to our review link generator. Type in your company name and choose your business from the options that appear. Your Google review link will automatically appear in the box beside the field that you typed your company name into. 2. Print Review Cards For this tip, we are taking it back old school. Review cards are a great way to remind patients to leave a review (hopefully a good one) after they receive a service. Here is how to do that: Create a business card template or use one on a printing company's website Include a message, asking for a review Add the Google review link that you generated in step 1 It should look something like: These review cards can be dropped into the post-care bags that you hand to patients on their way out of your office. When they take out the toothbrush, flush, and whatever else you provide them with, they will also have a quick and easy method of leaving a review about your dental practice. 3. Use an Email Template If you are using a client relationship management tool, chances are, you have a database full of patient emails that could be used to help you gather more reviews for your dental practice. While this might seem to be a daunting task, we have a method of streamlining your email outreach campaign. You don't have time to email patients individually so we created a simple email template that will save you time and allow you to send out to large quantities of patients at a time. Keeping this email concise (we advise them to be) will ensure that the email does not appear to require a lot from you patients. Providing them with a direct link to leave a review on your Google My Business will make it very easy on them to leave you a 5-star review! We created a simple template that you can feel free to use for your email review outreach: Hi, Thank you for choosing [DENTAL PRACTICE NAME]! It’s a pleasure serving you and we look forward to seeing you again. If you have a moment, would you leave a brief review on our Google Business page? Your feedback is important to us and we look forward to sharing it with the team. You can leave a review at the following link: [INSERT LINK] Once again, thank you for choosing [DENTAL PRACTICE NAME]. Sincerely, [NAME] Additional Tips For Getting More Dental Office Reviews Positive reviews are critical to acquiring new dental patients. Check out the full article here for additional methods of getting more reviews for your dental practice. ...read more

WooCommerce is the top-performing platform for online stores, as it powers over 30% of ecommerce websites, from national brands to entrepreneurs who are just starting out. It's intuitive, easy-to-use, and offers a wide array of customization options. TheeCommerce, an ecommerce marketing and WooCommerce development agency, has compiled a list of plugins that may make lives easier and increase overall ecommerce performance. WooCommerce Twilio SMS Notifications Providing your customers with SMS updates is an excellent way to make contact with them. With an open rate of over 90 percent, this triples the average open rate of emails while offering a simple way to offer a personalized message. This plugin is most commonly used when pairing it with the WooCommerce Order Status Manager to notify your customers of changes in their order status. You can also send personalized messages and coupons to your customers, or use it as a notification system to your team members. This extension is powered by Twilio, so it does require a free Twilio account. Price: $49/year PLUS a separate fee for SMS pricing through Twilio Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/twilio-sms-notifications/ WooCommerce Slack Seamless communication among your team is imperative to making sure everyone is on the same page and is up to date on any changes or issues in the business. Luckily, the WooCommerce Slack plugin makes it easy to keep up with real-time conversations, share information to several people at once, and have one-on-one discussions. This easy-to-use communication tool is one of the top WooCommerce plugins because it’s user-friendly. Everything about this plugin is easy, from creating event specific channels or custom channels for your team to submitting notifications that allow you to stay on top of important events, including: Out of Stock Notices New Customers New Reviews New Orders Items on Backorder Low Stock Notices Price: $29/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-slack/ Live Chat You can offer immediate assistance to your customers via a chatbox with LiveChat. Whether you wait for visitors to reach out to your or you approach them with a pop-up box, you're making it much easier to provide quality customer service and resolve problems in the moment. That translates into more sales and improved goodwill for your business! You can "see" into your customers' carts while you chat to modify your interactions, as this plugin goes above and beyond what others are able to do. This plugin also lets you hold multiple live chats at once, automate responses to common questions, and include a ticket form that allows your customers to ask questions even when you're offline. Price: Premium plans begin at $16/month Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/livechat/ Postcode/Address Validation Several ecommerce businesses are faced with shipping complaints and roadblocks. Mitigate and reduce address errors and eliminate the issue of invalid addresses with this plugin Because it allows the customer to validate their address, look up their postal codes, and use an auto-complete function, this plugin is becoming more and more popular as time goes on. The time and money you save from having to resend orders makes this one of the best plugins for WooCommerce. This plugin requires signing up for a Loqate account for address auto-completion and SmartyStreets to validate addresses. Price: $49/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/postcodeaddress-validation/?aff=4166 Social Login Making it simpler for your customer to create an account, log in to your site, and check out, you’re increasing the likelihood of a sale or many sales over time. Simplified processes are all the rage, and Social Login is one of the top WooCommerce plugins for making this happen. With Social Login, customers can log in to your store using Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, and several other login options instead of having to create an entirely new user account. Your business is benefiting because customers save time on their first time signing up and each time visiting your ecommerce store as most customers stay signed in to their social media accounts. It’s more convenient than having to remember an additional user ID and password. Plus, customers are familiar with logging in to sites with their social accounts and are using this option more than ever before. Price: $79/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-social-login/ WooCommerce QuickView Making the shopping process faster and more convenient is definitely a trend this year thus far when it comes to WooCommerce plugins. It’s not an accident – today’s customer wants speed, convenience, and ease of use. To offer that to your customers, check out WooCommerce Quick View. Adding this plugin makes a pop-up window appear when the customer clicks on a product, Rather than sending them to a separate product page, utilizing this plugin makes a pop-up window appear when the customer clicks on a product. These windows load quickly, and as soon as the customer adds the item to the cart, the window closes. There are no additional page loads, unlike traditional workflows where there may be three or more different page loads between finding a product, adding it to the cart, and continuing to shop. Price: $29/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-quick-view/ Google Product Feed Google Shopping Ads makes it simple and convenient to drive traffic to your ecommerce site by putting your products in front of the people searching for the exact items you sell, kind of like exact match in a Google Ad campaign. In order to promote your products with Google Shopping Ads, you have to upload a product feed to Google Merchant Center. Fortunately, you can save time with Google Product Feed.  Rather than having to upload a large, in-depth spreadsheet that needs regular updates, this extension lets you create a real-time feed to add product information to Google Merchant Center.  With this plugin, every bit of product information is easily transferred and any updates are automatically reflected in your feed. Plus, your feed resides at a permanent URL, so you can automate Google to update your information daily. Price: $49/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-products-compare/ WooCommerce Recommendation Engine Both recommended and suggested products are great ways to increase sales while simultaneously improving customer service. The WooCommerce Recommendation Engine plugin automatically suggests specific items based on a customer’s search history, the products they’ve already viewed, and related items to what is already in their cart. For example, if your customer added a knitted scarf to their cart, the Recommendation Engine may suggest a coordinating knitted hat. This WooCommerce plugin allows you to customize recommendations in one of three ways: View: Shows products that other customers also viewed that are related to what the customer is looking at or has in their cart. Purchase History: Shows products that relate to a product already purchased and is a great way to get returning customers to buy. Purchased Together: Recommends products that are often purchased at the same time as add-on sales Price: $79/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/recommendation-engine/ WooCommerce Order Status Manager With this handy plugin, you can create detailed order statuses and easily include them in your ecommerce order management system. Out of the WooCommerce plugins for WordPress we’ve discussed, this streamlines your fulfillment process by improving communication between departments while also automating communication with your customers. You're able to send automated emails when an order status changes to notify your customers of the updates. Or if you have several steps in your fulfillment process, such as a printing business, you can communicate when orders travel from pre-press to ready-to-print to ready-to-ship. This eliminates confusion and misunderstandings and ensures everyone is on the same page. Price: $49/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-order-status-manager/ Read 15 Top WooCommerce Plugins to Improve Your Website blog here. ...read more

PERSONAL CREDIT SOLUTIONS IS CELEBRATING 20 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS! With 20+ Years of Mortgage Loan Experience, we specialize in assisting clients with obtaining Home Mortgages. Repair your credit in as little as 30-90 days. (Avg. is 3-6 mos.) We perform 1-on-1 ongoing live consultation, this is what has made us Great!  We can stand behind what we offer, we won't make unrealistic claims, only what we know we can do.  Our 5 Main Services Include:  1. Removing inaccurate, non-verifiable, erroneous, incomplete & outdated negative accounts  2. We typically get 100+ Score Increases, often 200+ (this may vary per client)  3. We will get 3-4 New Credit Accounts for each client (when needed)  4. We help acquire Financing. (We are NOT loan officers but assist with all Loans Types & pre-approvals:  Mortgages, Refi's, Auto, Personal, Credit Cards, Credit Lines, etc...) 5. If needed, we'll negotiate settlements for our clients as well.  Improve your Credit Scores and get your financial credibility back! Affordable, Experienced, & Professional Credit Restoration Services!  Give us a call TODAY for a FREE CONSULTATION. 919-864-2199 ASK FOR DURELLE ...read more

Receiving compensation for a workplace injury or a work-related occupational disease is a bad deal for the worker. In North Carolina, the injured worker gets only a portion of their average weekly wage for the weeks they miss from work. The amount of injured workers receive is only 2/3 of their average gross weekly pay amount. This often places a strain on the injured worker financially and raises all sorts of questions when it comes to paying taxes. Generally, No Taxes are Paid for Workers’ Compensation Benefits The good news about receiving weekly workers’ compensation benefits is that they are generally not taxed by either North Carolina or the Federal Government. Pursuant to IRS publications, amounts received as workers’ compensation for an occupational sickness or injury are fully exempt from tax as long as those benefits are paid pursuant to a State’s workers’ compensation act or statute. This places benefits paid pursuant to North Carolina’s Workers’ Compensation Act squarely in the NOT taxable category. There is, however, one exception to this general rule, and it happens fairly often. The Social Security Disability Exception to Taxing Workers’ Compensation Benefits Some injured workers suffer injuries at work that are so catastrophic that they are eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits in addition to workers’ compensation benefits. While the weekly workers’ compensation benefits continue, the Social Security Administration will reduce the amount of monthly Social Security Disability benefits. This offset, or reduced Social Security Disability amount, is the result of rules that prevent injured workers from receiving more than 80% of their preinjury wages through a combination of Social Security Disability and workers’ compensation benefits. The tax issues come into play when a combination of half of your Social Security Disability benefits combined with the entire amount of the workers’ compensation benefits amount to more than $25,000 for an individual or $32,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly. The amounts that the Social Security Disability benefits are reduced might become taxable at that time! In that situation, the workers’ compensation benefits can become taxable income. Tax Issues and Attorneys Surviving on workers’ compensation benefits and a portion of your Social Security Disability benefits is hard enough without worrying about taxes. The attorneys at Cardinal Law Partners are all Board Certified in North Carolina Workers’ Compensation law. We all have experience explaining how the benefits an injured and disabled individual may be eligible for interact and affect each other. Workers’ compensation attorneys may not be experts in tax laws, but experienced workers’ compensation attorneys should be able to point their clients in the right directions when it comes to how workers’ compensation benefits and settlements are taxed. It is important to find an attorney that does not get scared off from the tax questions. If you have questions about your workers’ compensation claim, call the attorneys who have likely handled a case like yours before. We work hard for our clients and try to get every dollar they deserve. Call us at 833-444-4257. ...read more

DELAYED SYMPTOMS The attorneys at Cardinal Law Partners have spoken to hundreds of clients about their workplace and motor vehicle accidents. We understand that not all the injury symptoms appear immediately. Sometimes, the effects of an accident manifest themselves hours or days later. Cardinal Law Partners has years of experience helping clients develop strong cases where the symptoms that result in disability did not immediately materialize. Insurance Companies Fight Delayed Injury Symptoms After a car accident, the insurance company looks at several key components of the accident report to determine their liability for a claim. Early documentation is instrumental in deciding whether an insurance company pays or fights.  Those first components include: What was the damage estimate from law enforcement? When a police officer arrives on the scene of an accident, they often estimate the vehicle damage. Insurance companies use this estimate to evaluate what types of injuries are a reasonable consequence from the impact. If the first responding police officer estimates $200 of damage but the driver is claiming seven fractures, the insurance company will pump the brakes on payment. The initial accident report also outlines the participants in a motor vehicle accident who needed medical attention. When a person was involved in a motor vehicle accident due to the negligence of another driver, they often communicate whether they need medical attention. If they simply walk away, the insurance company will hesitate to take responsibility for delayed symptoms that could have been treated or evaluated immediately after the vehicular accident. The third component of an insurance company’s decision to assume liability for a negligent driver is what is discussed at the first doctor/hospital visit. Red flags are raised with the insurance company If the injured person only discusses a knee injury, but six weeks later then they talk about neck and back pain. Insurance companies are always going to suspect delayed symptoms with a tinge of suspicion and often treat delayed symptoms with complete disbelief. Medical support of the delayed injury symptoms is an important part of any car accident claim. The Common Types of Delayed Symptoms Delayed symptoms are actually quite common after a motor vehicle accident. Immediately after a car crash, people tend to experience an adrenaline rush. It may take hours or days to begin feeling all the effects of the accident. Below are some common delayed symptoms that Cardinal Law Partners has seen over and over again: Headache Headaches occur frequently after a car accident. Many are mild and go away in a couple of days. However, some headaches are more severe and can get worse. Headaches can also be a sign of something more serious such as concussion, blood clots, or even a brain injury. It is crucial to get examined despite the slow onset of headache symptoms after a car accident. Related symptoms include lightheadedness, sensitivity to light, and fainting. Medical specialists are the best bet to accurately determine what the symptoms are signaling. Neck and Shoulder Pain Neck and shoulder pain are another common delayed symptom after a car accident. Pain in the neck and shoulders could indicate whiplash or soft tissue damage. It is crucial to see a physician that can read x-rays or other imagining studies to properly diagnosis and treat pain after a car accident. It is especially important to get treatment if that neck and shoulder pain is coupled with arm or leg numbness, tingling, and weakness. This can be a sign of spinal cord impingement. Abdominal Pain Abdominal pain is the third type of delayed symptoms that sometimes occurs after a car accident. Abdominal pain can be a sign of internal bleeding. Other signs of internal bleeding are swelling and bruising. It is important to understand that internal bleeding can be life threatening and it is necessary to undergo a complete medical workup when signs of internal bleeding are present after a car accident. Emotional Symptoms Including PTSD Car accidents can be traumatic physically, but they can also manifest emotionally. Sometimes the emotional toll of an accident is not recognized until days or weeks after an accident. Often, the person in the accident does not even realize differences in their emotions until friends or family raise concerns. Some victims experience real fear or anxiety about driving in traffic. Flashbacks can occur and are a recognized symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Contact Cardinal Law Partners Today! Cardinal Law Partners takes the time to listen to victims of motor vehicle accident negligence. We understand that not all injury symptoms are immediate. We also understand victims of negligence should not be deterred from recovering all the compensation they are due, even if some of the problems arise later in time, and symptoms are delayed. If you require legal assistance with a personal injury claim that involves delayed car accident injury symptoms in North Carolina, do not hesitate to schedule a FREE case evaluation with one of our attorneys today. ...read more

AMC Lighting and Decor is your '1-call' lighting and decor provider, serving Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cary, Apex, Durham, Fuquay-Varina and surrounding areas. We are your all-inclusive provider, offering lighting and decor products for any area of your home or business.  Raleigh, NC (919) 231-8455 Our Website About Us Contact Us Home Decor ...read more

...read more

Located in Douglessville, PA, Park Lane Hobbies was in dire need of a new user-friendly website to promote their remote control hobby shop and help them sell products online. The website needed to be modern, responsive, and something that would help them stand out amongst their competitors. After searching they decided to partner with TheeDigital to help them build a Shopify website that would appeal to a audiences both young and old, make inventory and product management more straightforward and simplified, and be user-friendly on tablets, phones, and also desktop computers. The Challenge Required hearty and convenient search functionality to help customers quickly find product(s) Required the functionality to display videos on pages throughout the site, including product pages Required mobile-friendly design to appeal to the youth and capitalize on mobile shoppers Required appropriate ecommerce SEO optimization for their site to rank well in Google, Bing, and other search engines The Solution A Shopify ecommerce website and POS system to connect sales to their inventory management system and scale with their business growth Mobile-friendly design to attract and engage their younger target audience to achieve results like Park Lane Hobbies did for their online store, contact the ecommerce marketing experts at TheeCommerce. ...read more

As the leading platform for online stores, WooCommerce powers over 30% of ecommerce websites.It's simply to use, user-friendly, and offers a wide array of customization options. TheeCommerce, an ecommerce marketing and WooCommerce development agency, has compiled a list of plugins that may make lives easier and increase overall ecommerce performance. WooCommerce QuickView Today’s customer wants speed, convenience, and ease of use. To offer that to your customers, check out WooCommerce Quick View. Making the shopping process faster and more convenient is definitely a trend this year thus far when it comes to WooCommerce plugins. It’s not an accident. Adding this plugin makes a pop-up window appear when the customer clicks on a product, Rather than sending them to a separate product page, utilizing this plugin makes a pop-up window appear when the customer clicks on a product. These windows load quickly, and as soon as the customer adds the item to the cart, the window closes. There are no additional page loads, unlike traditional workflows where there may be three or more different page loads between finding a product, adding it to the cart, and continuing to shop. Price: $29/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-quick-view/ Google Product Feed Google Shopping Ads makes it simple and convenient to drive traffic to your ecommerce site by putting your products in front of the people searching for the exact items you sell, kind of like exact match in a Google Ad campaign. In order to promote your products with Google Shopping Ads, you have to upload a product feed to Google Merchant Center. Fortunately, you can save time with Google Product Feed.  Rather than having to upload a large, in-depth spreadsheet that needs regular updates, this extension lets you create a real-time feed to add product information to Google Merchant Center.  With this plugin, every bit of product information is easily transferred and any updates are automatically reflected in your feed. Plus, your feed resides at a permanent URL, so you can automate Google to update your information daily. Price: $49/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-products-compare/ WooCommerce Recommendation Engine Both recommended and suggested products are great ways to increase sales while simultaneously improving customer service. The WooCommerce Recommendation Engine plugin automatically suggests specific items based on a customer’s search history, the products they’ve already viewed, and related items to what is already in their cart.  For example, if your customer added a knitted scarf to their cart, the Recommendation Engine may suggest a coordinating knitted hat. This WooCommerce plugin allows you to customize recommendations in one of three ways: View: Shows products that other customers also viewed that are related to what the customer is looking at or has in their cart. Purchase History: Shows products that relate to a product already purchased and is a great way to get returning customers to buy. Purchased Together: Recommends products that are often purchased at the same time as add-on sales Price: $79/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/recommendation-engine/ WooCommerce Order Status Manager With this handy plugin, you can create detailed order statuses and easily include them in your ecommerce order management system. Out of the WooCommerce plugins for WordPress we’ve discussed, this streamlines your fulfillment process by improving communication between departments while also automating communication with your customers. You're able to send automated emails when an order status changes to notify your customers of the updates. Or if you have several steps in your fulfillment process, such as a printing business, you can communicate when orders travel from pre-press to ready-to-print to ready-to-ship. This eliminates confusion and misunderstandings and ensures everyone is on the same page. Price: $49/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-order-status-manager/ WooCommerce Slack Seamless communication among your team is imperative to making sure everyone is on the same page and is up to date on any changes or issues in the business. Luckily, the WooCommerce Slack plugin makes it easy to keep up with real-time conversations, share information to several people at once, and have one-on-one discussions. This easy-to-use communication tool is one of the top WooCommerce plugins because it’s user-friendly. Everything about this plugin is easy, from creating event specific channels or custom channels for your team to submitting notifications that allow you to stay on top of important events, including: Out of Stock Notices New Customers New Reviews New Orders Items on Backorder Low Stock Notices Price: $29/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-slack/ Social Login With Social Login, customers can log in to your store using Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, and several other login options instead of having to create an entirely new user account. Your business is benefiting because customers save time on their first time signing up and each time visiting your ecommerce store as most customers stay signed in to their social media accounts. It’s more convenient than having to remember an additional user ID and password. Plus, customers are familiar with logging in to sites with their social accounts and are using this option more than ever before. Price: $79/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-social-login/ Live Chat You can offer immediate assistance to your customers via a chatbox with LiveChat. Whether you wait for visitors to reach out to your or you approach them with a pop-up box, you're making it much easier to provide quality customer service and resolve problems in the moment. That translates into more sales and improved goodwill for your business! You can "see" into your customers' carts while you chat to modify your interactions, as this plugin goes above and beyond what others are able to do. This plugin also lets you hold multiple live chats at once, automate responses to common questions, and include a ticket form that allows your customers to ask questions even when you're offline. Price: Premium plans begin at $16/month Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/livechat/ WooCommerce Twilio SMS Notifications Providing your customers with SMS updates is an excellent way to make contact with them. With an open rate of over 90 percent, this triples the average open rate of emails while offering a simple way to offer a personalized message. This plugin is most commonly used when pairing it with the WooCommerce Order Status Manager to notify your customers of changes in their order status. You can also send personalized messages and coupons to your customers, or use it as a notification system to your team members. This extension is powered by Twilio, so it does require a free Twilio account. Price: $49/year PLUS a separate fee for SMS pricing through Twilio Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/twilio-sms-notifications/ Postcode/Address Validation Several ecommerce businesses are faced with shipping complaints and roadblocks. Mitigate and reduce address errors and eliminate the issue of invalid addresses with this plugin Because it allows the customer to validate their address, look up their postal codes, and use an auto-complete function, this plugin is becoming more and more popular as time goes on. The time and money you save from having to resend orders makes this one of the best plugins for WooCommerce. This plugin requires signing up for a Loqate account for address auto-completion and SmartyStreets to validate addresses. Price: $49/year Get it here: https://woocommerce.com/products/postcodeaddress-validation/?aff=4166 Read 15 Top WooCommerce Plugins to Improve Your Website blog here. ...read more

Dr. Rebecca Schmorr and the team atSix Forks Smiles in Raleighprovide a full-range of dental services that include cosmetic dentistry, restorative dentistry, and general dentistry. Six Forks Smiles approached TheeDigital in 2011 to build a dental website as well as build up theirdentist office's SEO. Six Forks Smiles wanted to maximize their search results, as well as provide a user-friendly website to provide to their current and future patients. TheeDigital worked with the dental team at Six Forks Smiles to develop a new, easy-to-use website on WordPress which also functioned very well across mobile devices. This new website design would provide patients with a resource for learning more about Six Forks Smiles dental services, the team, and ultimately would allow visitors to schedule an appointment for their dental services. Web Design Challenges Six Forks Smiles turned to TheeDigital to create a stunning website that would be informational, but also help to convert visitors on the website. The Six Forks Smiles team wanted something modern, fresh, and inviting to the users of the site. Six Forks Smiles also presented TheeDigital with the challenge of building a website that kept up with technology and trends in thedental web designindustry. An outdated website was an opportunity for other dentists in Raleigh to impress a potential patient and bring them on as a patient to their practice, versus choosing Six Forks Smiles. Dental Marketing Challenges Dr. Rebecca Schmorrrebranded her personal dental practice into Six Forks Smiles as well as relocated the business to a new location in Raleigh. With this big move change, Six Forks Smiles faced two big digital marketing challenges: name, address, and phone (NAP) listings as well as external links pointing to the old domain. Six Forks Smiles were using Google AdWords when they approached TheeDigital, but did not have a marketing strategy in-place to properly spend their advertising budget. The Solution Now that the challenges that Six Forks Smiles were facing had been presented to TheeDigital, they developed a digital marketing strategy to accommodate the needs of the dentist office in Raleigh. TheeDigital created a custom WordPress website that fit with the fun personality of Dr. Rebecca Schmorr. The website highlighted the services offered, provided helpful information to patients, and allowed patients to book an appointment right from the website. Secondly,TheeDigital developed an online marketing strategy to clean up the NAP listings due to the location change as well as re-pointed the external links to bring users to the new website. Lastly, TheeDigital took over thedentist office's Google AdWordscampaigns and began to fine-tune and optimize the budget to generate leads at a low cost. Read the full Six Forks Smiles case study! ...read more

There are several reasons why you may not have been contacted by anyone concerning yourinjury at work after reporting the injuryto your employer: 1. Your employer may not have reported your injury to their workers’ compensation insurance carrier. Just because you reported the injury at work to your employer, this does not mean that they have taken the appropriate actions to address the possible benefits owed for the work injury. For employers with 3 or more employees, the employer is required to provide workers’ compensation coverage for its employees. When an employer obtains workers’ compensation coverage for its employees the insurance carrier providing this coverage will charge the employer premiums in order to provide this coverage for its employees. When an employer reports an injury at work to their insurance carrier for workers’ compensation coverage this can result in the employer having to pay more for their premiums to the insurance carrier in the future. There are some employers who in order to avoid a possible increase in their workers’ compensation insurance premiums will choose not to report the injury to their insurance carrier. In these situations, a claim for workers’ compensation benefits needs to be filed with the N.C. Industrial Commission in order to ensure proper notice to the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier and address benefits which may be owed to the injured worker. 2. The individual who you reported your injury to may not have alerted the appropriate individual with the employer. In the past I have run into instances where a client reported the injury, on the date of the injury, to their supervisor but the supervisor never alerted the appropriate individual of this injury. For some employers, the human resources director or risk manager for the employer is responsible for reporting work injuries to their workers’ compensation insurance carrier. If this is the case, then there could be delay in the workers’ compensation claim. 3. There has been no official claim for benefits filed with the N.C. Industrial Commission The only time that an employer or insurance carrier is required to notify an injured worker of the employer or insurance carriers agreement or refusal to provide workers’ compensation benefits is when the injured worker has filed an official claim for workers’ compensation benefits. In some instances when an injured worker reported an injury to the employer and even when the employer reports the injury to their workers’ compensation carrier, no actions are taken by the employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier until the injured worker files an official claim for workers’ compensation benefits. In these instances, before the employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier takes actions regarding the injury at work, they wait to see if they injured worker plans to pursue possible benefits owed for the injury at work. The filing an official claim for workers’ compensation benefits is sometime the action required in order to prompt actions by the employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier in addressing the possible benefits owed due to the injury at work. Anytime you are injured at work and report the injury to your employer, but you have not heard from anyone about the work injury, I recommend you speak with an attorney in order to understand what legal rights you have and what actions can be taken in order to address the possible benefits owed due to the injury at work. If you ever experience this situation following your injury at work, contact Cardinal Law Partners and speak with one of our board certified workers’ compensation specialists, at no cost, in order to obtain information about your legal right and what actions can be taken in order to address the possible benefits owed due to your work injury. ...read more

I often receive phone calls frominjured workersbecause the adjuster is not returning phone calls or responding to emails. In many of these situations I hear from the injured worker that everything was going okay until the claims adjuster stopped returning phone calls and responding to emails. There are several reasons why this situation may happen: 1. There was a change to the adjuster handling the claim but notice of this change was not provided to the injured worker. Many insurance companies will have an adjuster assigned to the claim during the investigation period following work injury to gather information and make a decision on accepting the claim and initiating benefits or denying the claim and refusing to provide benefits for the injury. Once this decision is been made the file may be transferred to another adjuster who will address the benefits. The file could be transferred to another adjuster if the case is denied and the claim moves forward to a hearing before the N.C. Industrial Commission. All too often, these transitions are not communicated to the injured worker. Other times, the lack of communication is because the adjuster is no longer working for the insurance company. From time to time, I receive notice that an adjuster has left one insurance company to work for another insurance company. In these situations, the injured worker is sometimes the last person to find out about this change. Sometimes, I am involved in the injured worker’s claim to address the issue and make sure lines of communication are restored to avoid significant delay in the claim. 2. There are certain benefits at issue in the injured workers’ claim and the insurance company is waiting to see if the injured worker pursue the benefits. Some potential clients tell me that the insurance company was providing benefits and there were no issues until a recent Doctor’s appointment and then the adjuster failed to return phone calls or respond to emails. In some instances when an individual is injured at work, the insurance company will begin benefits, both weekly checks and medical treatment, but only on a conditional basis while they investigate the claim. Sometime the willingness of the insurance company to provide conditional payment of benefits ends when the treating Doctor recommends surgery or removes the injured worker from all work. The failure to respond to the injured worker’s phone calls or emails could indicate that insurance company/claim adjuster is waiting to see if the injured worker is willing to push this issue by retaining an attorney to address these issues and possible benefits owed with the N.C. Industrial Commission. I encourage injured worker’s in this situation to reach out to an attorney in order to receive advice on their legal options in pursuing the possible benefits owed in order to understand the options in addressing the possible benefits at issue in their claim. I am always willing, at no cost, to talk with a potential client about these options. 3. The insurance company has retained an attorney to represent the insurance company regarding the injured worker’s claim. In a workers’ compensation claim any time a party or the other retains an attorney, that party will no longer communicate with the other party and the attorney will address any further communication between the parties. In some circumstances, the fact that the insurance company has retained an attorney could be a sign that they expect contested issues or the denial of benefits and the insurance company is retaining counsel to represent them before the N.C. Industrial Commission in term of these issues. Any time an insurance company has retained any attorney in the injured worker’s claim I always recommend the injured worker at least speak with an attorney about the facts of their case and possible contested issues in order to understand their legal rights and possible actions the attorney for the insurance company could take regarding the injured worker’s claim. If you ever experience any of these issues, have any questions about these issues or to speak with any attorney about what legal rights you have regarding these issue, please feel free to contact Cardinal Law Partners in order to have a free consultation and speak with one of our board certified workers’ compensation specialists. ...read more

When an employer orworkers compensation insurancecarrier accepts liability for an injury or is ordered to provide benefits by the N.C. Industrial Commission for a work place injury, the injured worker is entitled to receive 2 sets of benefits, disability compensation and medical compensation. Disability compensation takes 3 different forms: total disability, partial disability or a disability rating. Total disability: When the injured worker is removed from all work he or she may be entitled to a total disability benefits based on 2/3rd of the wages the injured worker was earning during the year before the date of injury. When the injured worker is assigned work restrictions that prevent the injured workers’ return to work for the employer or any other employer, the injured worker may be entitled to total disability check based on 2/3rd of the wages the injured worker was earning for the employer leading up to the date of injury. Partial disability: When the injured work is assigned work restrictions, which do not prevent the injured worker’s return to work for the employer or another employer, but due to the work restrictions the injured worker is earning less than before the injury, the injured worker may be entitled to a partial disability check. The amount of the partial disability check is calculated by comparing the wages the injured worker earned from the employer before the injury to the wages after the injury and the injured worker may receive a check for 2/3rd of the difference between the pre and post injury wages. Disability rating: When the treating physician has reached a point that all of the treatment which can be provide has been provided and any recovery for this treatment would be realized, the treating physician will place the injured workers at what is known as maximum medical improvement (MMI). At this point the treating physician can assign a percentage of disability to the injured body part. Under N.C.’s workers’ compensation law each body part is assigned a certain number of weeks of potential benefits. The percentage of disability is applied to the number of weeks assigned to the injured body part in order to determine the additional weeks of disability check owed due to the assigned disability rating. For medical compensation, the injured worker may be entitled to the employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier’s payment to the medical providers for any medical treatment for which the physician feels is necessary due to the injury at work. This medical compensation provide to the medical provide as the injured worker receives the medical treatment from the medical provider. Including in medical compensation is also the injured worker’s potential entitlement to mileage reimbursement for travel for medical treatment and reimbursement for any out of pocket expense incurred by the injured work for prescriptions. If there are ever any questions about these possible benefits owed or if you are receiving all the benefits you may be entitled to as the result of your injury at work, please feel free to contact Cardinal Law Partner and speak with one of our board certified workers’ compensation specialists in order to obtain a free case evaluation so that we can determine what additional benefit you may be owed due to your injury at work. ...read more

When I talk with clients about the idea ofsettlementof a workers’ compensation claim, there are several things I always need to address. First, an injured worker does not have to settle his or her workers’ compensation claim and the employer and their workers’ compensation insurance carrier cannot make the injure worker settle your workers’ compensation claim. In workers’ compensation claims, neither party can ever be forced to settle the claim. What I mean by this is if a case goes to hearing before the N.C. Industrial Commission, the Deputy Commissioner presiding over the hearing can not order a settlement. At the hearing, the Deputy Commissioner can address the issues of payment for any past owed medical bills, payment of any past owed disability compensation, whether further medical treatment is needed due to the injury at work in which case the medical providers will be paid as the injured worker receives the treatment from the medical provider and whether weekly disability checks are owed based on the injured workers’ inability to work or ability to only work at reduced wages. However, the Deputy Commission can never order a settle be paid based on the facts of the case. The only time a settle occurs in the context of a workers’ compensation claim is if 2 things occur: 1. Both parties are interested in exploring settlement options. If an employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier for the employer approaches an injured worker about settlement and the injured worker is not interested in exploring settlement, then it goes no further. The same also holds true if an injured worker approaches an employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier for the employer about settlement and they have no interest in settlement. Therefore, in order to have a settlement for a workers’ compensation claim, both parties must be interested in exploring a possible settlement for the workers’ compensation claim. 2. Both parties agree to the terms of settlement. In this situation, both parties agree to a certain amount the employer or workers’ compensation insurance carrier is willing to pay and a certain amount the injured worker is willing to accept in order to agree to settle the worker’s compensation claim. What I always tell clients is the same way that a client would never just have me go to the other side right off the bat and just give them our lowest number in order to settle the claim, the other side will not just come forward right off the bat and provide us with their top number to settle the claim. The only way the parties are able to determine whether or not they can agree to terms of settlement is via negotiations. The way these negotiations occur is that the injured worker will provide a settlement demand in order to begin the settlement negotiations. This initial settlement demand will be a figure which is higher than the injured workers’ bottom line number and a figure which is higher than what the other side is willing to pay to settle the claim. This done because the first figure from the other side is inevitably a low-ball offer. This creates a situation where all these first two figures from the parties tell us is we know a number the other side will not pay and they now know a number we will not accept to settle the claim. Whether or not that case settles really depends on what occurs with the further negotiations between the parties. Each round of the further settlement negotiations, in order to keep this process moving forward we have to lower our settlement demand and in order to keep this process moving forward the other side has to increase their settlement offer. With each round of settlement negotiations the gap between the respective parties settlement demands and settlement offers gets smaller and smaller and these figure are getting closer and closer together. Ultimately, every time you attempt to negotiate settlement of a claim you will reach a point where one side of the other stops. Sometimes it is us noting we do not want to go below a certain figure in order to settle the claim. Other times it is the other side indicating that they are not willing to pay more than their current figure to settle the claim. At that point in the negotiations there will still be a gap between the figures from the respective parties. It is not so much of an issue that there is a gap between the figures, the main issue is how much of a gap is there between the figures. In an instance where there is a small gap between the respective figures from the parties, sometime a little bit of compromise between the parties allow them to bridge the gap and agree to terms of settlement. However, when there is a significant gap between the respective figures from the parties this often highlights that there is no amount of compromise that allows the parties to bridge the gap between the figures and results in a case the case may not be able to settle at that point in time. Any time there may be a potential settlement for a workers’ compensation claim I advise the injured worker to consult an attorney in order to understand what benefits they are waiving as part of the settlement and understands what benefits they can seek as part of the settlement. If there are ever in questions about the issue of settlement in your case, please feel to contact Cardinal Law Partners and speak with one of our board certified workers’ compensation specialists. ...read more