By: Nicole Martins Ferreira
Congratulations on becoming a store owner. Building your own business is a fun experience that pays off – literally. Being a new entrepreneur is exciting because everything is new. However, sometimes, new entrepreneurs get a little too excited about the wrong things. As an experienced entrepreneur, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. That’s why I created these 50 ecommerce tips for new entrepreneurs like you, so you can get on the right track from the beginning and actually make some money on your new store.
Ecommerce Tips (#1): Experiment like your business depends on it.
To really succeed, you’re going to need to experiment a lot. You’ll need to create ads for different products. Test different copy, formats, and images. Experimenting with ads is what will eventually bring in customers and drive sales. Once you’ve created profitable ads you can start experimenting on your website. Many people focus on improving their website first. However, you don’t know how customers are responding to certain features if you don’t have any yet. Avoid making assumptions about your customers. Be open to being wrong about what really works – you won’t know the truth until you look at the data.
Ecommerce Tips (#2): Don’t pocket the profits just yet.
It can be tempting to keep any profit you make. However, if you want your business to grow, you’ll need to reinvest money into your business. Money makes money. Instead, of making a purchase to buy new equipment, spend your profit on advertising. You’ll probably want to create several $5 ads at first to see which product people respond to best. However, once you’ve found your winning product, you’ll need to spend a lot more than $5 to make the kind of money people dream of.
If your goal is to make $3000 profit each month, you’ll need to spend about $3000 on ads, which will bring in roughly $9000 in revenue. Boosted Facebook posts convert best for my business but you’ll need to find the type of ad that works best for you. By reinvesting the profit for several months, you give your business a chance to grow and become sustainable. Eventually, you’ll be able to live off the money you’re making.
Read More >> https://www.oberlo.com/blog/25-ecommerce-tips
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
“Tips from eCommerce Pros: Making the Most Out of Shopify Plus”
By: Ron Dod
The eCommerce industry is booming. In 2017, global sales reached upwards of $2.3 trillion–a near 25 percent increase over 2016. That figure is predicted to skyrocket to $4.88 trillion by 2021.
However, with the incredibly lucrative opportunities presented by the exponential growth of the eCommerce sector comes increasingly fierce competition.
For all entrepreneurs and enterprises in the space, the prospect of potential sustainability through unbridled success is incredibly exciting. To effectively capitalize on the expanding eCommerce ecosystem and grow customer bases to untold levels, it is essential to create the best possible customer experience. And that all begins with leveraging the right platform.
For enterprise organizations and rapidly expanding operations, Shopify Plus is a premier platform that helps to maximize a store’s potential and scalability. But, to effectively maximize the performance of a superior platform such as Shopify Plus, merchants are wise to look to industry experts to help guide their efforts.
With that said, here are seven preeminent pieces of eCommerce advice for making the most out of Shopify Plus.
MINIMIZE SHOPPING CART FRICTION
“Surveys show that shoppers’ most desired features are related to convenience and time saving, and the checkout process is a major cause of friction for ecommerce sites. In fact, 68% of online shopping carts are abandoned… If customers are forced to fill in too many fields, move through too many pages, and perform too many actions, the customer will lose patience, and leave… To get the most out of their online store, ecommerce retailers need to focus on reducing the rate of abandonment and increasing sales by streamlining the checkout process. For example, e-commerce sites can reduce shopping cart abandonment by allowing consumers to buy goods as guest visitors, instead of needing to create an account.” – Bart Mroz, CEO of SUMO Heavy
With cart abandonment rates at near an industry-wide 70 percent, this is a major issue for retailers. Because of that, merchants should simplify the process as much as possible to maximize potential sales.
Shopify Plus assists this goal with enabling users to pay with their Amazon info–nullifying the creation of yet another account–or by utilizing social media login info to speed up the process.
Additionally, shop owners do have the power to make account creation optional, thereby implementing a guest checkout function to help maximize sales potential.
And since Shopify Plus features a highly customizable checkout process, merchants should have no problem removing any potential friction.
OPTIMIZE USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN ELEMENTS
“Designing a new ecommerce brand is a unique challenge, distinct from other types of branding mediums like packaging or print. People’s digital attention spans are growing shorter, so you need to be clear, concise and engaging in your brand’s message. From the moment someone arrives at your ecommerce store, they need to know where they have arrived and want to stay.” – Josh Williams, Co-Founder of W&P Design
User experience (UX) is a critical component to today’s eCommerce operations–and Google’s algorithms, for that matter. When it comes to crushing your search competition on Shopify Plus, UX matters.
Because of the speed with which people make judgments about sites these days, you need to capture them from the moment they land. A great way to do that is by deploying a slideshow near the top of your store’s homepage as this allows a shop proprietor to display a myriad of popular or promoted items in just a moment, without forcing visitors to dig deeper into the site.
By employing high-quality product photos in this manner, you are more likely to convert a consumer into a customer.
Read More >> https://www.visiture.com/blogs/tips-from-ecommerce-pros-making-the-most-out-of-shopify-plus/
The eCommerce industry is booming. In 2017, global sales reached upwards of $2.3 trillion–a near 25 percent increase over 2016. That figure is predicted to skyrocket to $4.88 trillion by 2021.
However, with the incredibly lucrative opportunities presented by the exponential growth of the eCommerce sector comes increasingly fierce competition.
For all entrepreneurs and enterprises in the space, the prospect of potential sustainability through unbridled success is incredibly exciting. To effectively capitalize on the expanding eCommerce ecosystem and grow customer bases to untold levels, it is essential to create the best possible customer experience. And that all begins with leveraging the right platform.
For enterprise organizations and rapidly expanding operations, Shopify Plus is a premier platform that helps to maximize a store’s potential and scalability. But, to effectively maximize the performance of a superior platform such as Shopify Plus, merchants are wise to look to industry experts to help guide their efforts.
With that said, here are seven preeminent pieces of eCommerce advice for making the most out of Shopify Plus.
MINIMIZE SHOPPING CART FRICTION
“Surveys show that shoppers’ most desired features are related to convenience and time saving, and the checkout process is a major cause of friction for ecommerce sites. In fact, 68% of online shopping carts are abandoned… If customers are forced to fill in too many fields, move through too many pages, and perform too many actions, the customer will lose patience, and leave… To get the most out of their online store, ecommerce retailers need to focus on reducing the rate of abandonment and increasing sales by streamlining the checkout process. For example, e-commerce sites can reduce shopping cart abandonment by allowing consumers to buy goods as guest visitors, instead of needing to create an account.” – Bart Mroz, CEO of SUMO Heavy
With cart abandonment rates at near an industry-wide 70 percent, this is a major issue for retailers. Because of that, merchants should simplify the process as much as possible to maximize potential sales.
Shopify Plus assists this goal with enabling users to pay with their Amazon info–nullifying the creation of yet another account–or by utilizing social media login info to speed up the process.
Additionally, shop owners do have the power to make account creation optional, thereby implementing a guest checkout function to help maximize sales potential.
And since Shopify Plus features a highly customizable checkout process, merchants should have no problem removing any potential friction.
OPTIMIZE USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN ELEMENTS
“Designing a new ecommerce brand is a unique challenge, distinct from other types of branding mediums like packaging or print. People’s digital attention spans are growing shorter, so you need to be clear, concise and engaging in your brand’s message. From the moment someone arrives at your ecommerce store, they need to know where they have arrived and want to stay.” – Josh Williams, Co-Founder of W&P Design
User experience (UX) is a critical component to today’s eCommerce operations–and Google’s algorithms, for that matter. When it comes to crushing your search competition on Shopify Plus, UX matters.
Because of the speed with which people make judgments about sites these days, you need to capture them from the moment they land. A great way to do that is by deploying a slideshow near the top of your store’s homepage as this allows a shop proprietor to display a myriad of popular or promoted items in just a moment, without forcing visitors to dig deeper into the site.
By employing high-quality product photos in this manner, you are more likely to convert a consumer into a customer.
Read More >> https://www.visiture.com/blogs/tips-from-ecommerce-pros-making-the-most-out-of-shopify-plus/
Monday, August 20, 2018
8 Essential Tools You Need to Grow a Booming eCommerce Business
By: Timothy Masek
At Ladder, we’ve had the pleasure of working with dozens of eCommerce businesses. Every day we hear problems that founders and marketers face in building successful online eCommerce store.
Very often, we find that they get caught up in finding the right tech stack. They get very excited upon finding a shiny new niche analytics tool. They spend hours on the phone with sales reps from every social listening tool available. They burn through countless free trials of software tools they don’t fully understand.
We understand that pain.
We went through it in building the essential eCommerce tech stack you’ll read about below.
This post is geared towards putting an end to tech stack confusion and helping early-stage eCommerce businesses get their stores off the ground and start selling their products cost-effectively. (Note: This stack also works for late-stage eCommerce businesses by removing inefficiencies).
At a high level overview, here’s what you need to create a perfect eCommerce business that is set up for success:
> An online store: Shopify/Cratejoy
> A way to analyze how people behave on your store: Google Analytics
> A way to install tags on your website: Google Tag Manager
> A way to test different interfaces to get more conversions: VWO
> A way to capture emails: Sumo
> A way to send emails: MailChimp
> A way to incentivize referrals: ReferralCandy
BONUS: A way to tie it all together: Zapier
Which shopping platform should l use?
Shopify (non-subscription based store)
Cratejoy (subscription based store)
Use Shopify.
They’re hands-down the most advanced platform for eCommerce. On the surface you might find that Shopify has similar capabilities as other players like Magento, WooCommerce, and others. It’s Shopify’s deep integration with thousands of tools that makes it stand out.
Once you’re done with the basic setup for your store, Shopify will take you a LOT further than any other tool. Most importantly, it has the most user-friendly dashboard, making it super-simple to set up a store.
So you want to start an eCommerce store, eh?
Here are the basic features you need and the basic features that Shopify provides:
> Inventory tracking
> The ability to sell physical or digital goods, in categories of your choosing and using shipping rates / methods of your choosing
> A wide range of themes to choose from
> Credit card processing via Shopify Payments (Stripe) or a third party payment gateway
> PayPal integration
> Blogging functionality
> Customer & order tracking: import / export of customer data
> Content management (CMS) functionality
>Good search engine optimization (SEO) options – easy to add relevant keywords to your products and site pages
> Integration with MailChimp
Discount codes / Coupon codes
> Ability to edit CSS and HTML: For custom design work
> Point-of-sale integration: Hardware to ensure you’re using the same technology online/offline
> Abandoned cart functionality (more on this below).
> 24/7 Support: Don’t beat yourself up reading through thousands of blog posts. Hit them up – they’ll fix it.
Read More >> https://blog.ladder.io/ecommerce-business/
At Ladder, we’ve had the pleasure of working with dozens of eCommerce businesses. Every day we hear problems that founders and marketers face in building successful online eCommerce store.
Very often, we find that they get caught up in finding the right tech stack. They get very excited upon finding a shiny new niche analytics tool. They spend hours on the phone with sales reps from every social listening tool available. They burn through countless free trials of software tools they don’t fully understand.
We understand that pain.
We went through it in building the essential eCommerce tech stack you’ll read about below.
This post is geared towards putting an end to tech stack confusion and helping early-stage eCommerce businesses get their stores off the ground and start selling their products cost-effectively. (Note: This stack also works for late-stage eCommerce businesses by removing inefficiencies).
At a high level overview, here’s what you need to create a perfect eCommerce business that is set up for success:
> An online store: Shopify/Cratejoy
> A way to analyze how people behave on your store: Google Analytics
> A way to install tags on your website: Google Tag Manager
> A way to test different interfaces to get more conversions: VWO
> A way to capture emails: Sumo
> A way to send emails: MailChimp
> A way to incentivize referrals: ReferralCandy
BONUS: A way to tie it all together: Zapier
Which shopping platform should l use?
Shopify (non-subscription based store)
Cratejoy (subscription based store)
Use Shopify.
They’re hands-down the most advanced platform for eCommerce. On the surface you might find that Shopify has similar capabilities as other players like Magento, WooCommerce, and others. It’s Shopify’s deep integration with thousands of tools that makes it stand out.
Once you’re done with the basic setup for your store, Shopify will take you a LOT further than any other tool. Most importantly, it has the most user-friendly dashboard, making it super-simple to set up a store.
So you want to start an eCommerce store, eh?
Here are the basic features you need and the basic features that Shopify provides:
> Inventory tracking
> The ability to sell physical or digital goods, in categories of your choosing and using shipping rates / methods of your choosing
> A wide range of themes to choose from
> Credit card processing via Shopify Payments (Stripe) or a third party payment gateway
> PayPal integration
> Blogging functionality
> Customer & order tracking: import / export of customer data
> Content management (CMS) functionality
>Good search engine optimization (SEO) options – easy to add relevant keywords to your products and site pages
> Integration with MailChimp
Discount codes / Coupon codes
> Ability to edit CSS and HTML: For custom design work
> Point-of-sale integration: Hardware to ensure you’re using the same technology online/offline
> Abandoned cart functionality (more on this below).
> 24/7 Support: Don’t beat yourself up reading through thousands of blog posts. Hit them up – they’ll fix it.
Read More >> https://blog.ladder.io/ecommerce-business/
Saturday, August 18, 2018
7 Excellent eCommerce Providers and Applications That Will Get You Selling Online Fast
By: Catherine Hernandez
Worldwide ecommerce sales are growing by the year. In 2014, businesses made $1.4 trillion in eCommerce sales. By 2021, that number could increase by nearly 250% to $4.5 trillion.
It’s clear that businesses literally can’t afford to avoid integrating ecommerce into their business models.
Maybe your business has recently added an ecommerce option, or maybe you’re just looking for a way to scale your current operations. Either way, there are ecommerce providers that will suit your needs.
Read on to learn about seven of the best ecommerce providers out there and discover what they can do for your business.
1. Shopify
If you want to start an online store, Shopify is one of the best options out there. This is one of the best-known providers when it comes to integrating an ecommerce platform into your website.
Their platform is incredibly customizable and helps you create an interface that will maximize sales. Whether you want the shopping carts to be more responsive or the ability to create personalized discount codes, Shopify can easily accommodate your needs.
It’s also a very scalable platform, so your online store can grow as your business grows. You won’t have to worry about completely changing over your system if you experience unexpected growth.
2. Gumroad
What if you just need a very small, simple store? Let’s say you’re a freelance photographer looking to sell your prints or a local mom-and-pop store who needs a way to conduct business online.
In this case, Gumroad can serve your needs. It’s meant to sell just a few products and is geared towards people with minimal programming experience. Just drag and drop a picture of your product into the editor, type up a description and price, and you’re done!
However, if you anticipate your business growing over the years, this is probably not the choice for you. Since it’s designed to be a simple ecommerce platform, you won’t be able to scale it up to fit your changing needs.
3. Squarespace
If you want to easily and quickly build a website as well as an online store, Squarespace might be a good decision. You can build a business website that looks modern and professional with minimal effort. Plus, Squarespace’s ecommerce platform is equally sleek.
This is a good option if there won’t be an IT professional or programmer dedicated full time to the website and store. A business owner with no programming experience could still easily run the store.
The editor is easy to learn and the pricing is reasonable — you can run a basic store for as little as thirty dollars a month. If you get a lot of mobile traffic, the interface also looks great on Apple and Android devices.
4. YoKart
In some cases, you may want a store that can support multiple vendors. Maybe you’re not just selling your own products or services, but those of other businesses, too.
In that case, you would definitely want to consider YoKart. It’s one of the best ecommerce platforms for multivendor stores since this is what it specializes in. While other platforms offer a multivendor option, this is YoKart’s main focus.
This is also a good option for people who aren’t interested in doing a lot of programming or code work. Similar to Squarespace, it offers various design options for those who aren’t interested in the smaller tasks associated with establishing an ecommerce store. Just choose a theme template that fits your branding and get started.
If you do prefer a more customizable experience, though, that option is still available. You’ll need a developer for that.
5. Magento
Magento has been around for a decade this year and it continues to stay relevant in the world of ecommerce platforms. This is a particularly great platform if your business needs to handle a lot of traffic and individual customers. Global organizations like Burger King and Liverpool F.C. use Magento for their ecommerce needs.
One thing to note — even though Magento is a powerful system, it might not be the best choice for you if your business doesn’t have an employee who is familiar with coding. In that case, you might want to outsource to a programmer or support service. (Read more here about when you should do that.)
If you do have programmers on board, though, this could be a great option. It’s open-source, so there are countless third-party extensions and modifications available. Plus, you can handle a lot of your data analysis within the platform itself.
6. WooCommerce
If your website is already hosted using WordPress, this is a no-brainer. WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin, so integrating it into your existing website should be seamless.
You’d be one of the millions of pages already using this plugin — it’s been downloaded more than 49 million times!
It’s a good choice for both established businesses and those who are just getting off the ground. Plus, if you’re already very familiar with coding for WordPress, this is a perfect choice. Like WordPress itself, it’s open-source. This opens the door for lots of free extensions created by third-party developers, in addition to the free and paid options offered by WooCommerce.
Read More >> http://www.itbriefcase.net/7-excellent-ecommerce-providers-and-applications
Worldwide ecommerce sales are growing by the year. In 2014, businesses made $1.4 trillion in eCommerce sales. By 2021, that number could increase by nearly 250% to $4.5 trillion.
It’s clear that businesses literally can’t afford to avoid integrating ecommerce into their business models.
Maybe your business has recently added an ecommerce option, or maybe you’re just looking for a way to scale your current operations. Either way, there are ecommerce providers that will suit your needs.
Read on to learn about seven of the best ecommerce providers out there and discover what they can do for your business.
1. Shopify
If you want to start an online store, Shopify is one of the best options out there. This is one of the best-known providers when it comes to integrating an ecommerce platform into your website.
Their platform is incredibly customizable and helps you create an interface that will maximize sales. Whether you want the shopping carts to be more responsive or the ability to create personalized discount codes, Shopify can easily accommodate your needs.
It’s also a very scalable platform, so your online store can grow as your business grows. You won’t have to worry about completely changing over your system if you experience unexpected growth.
2. Gumroad
What if you just need a very small, simple store? Let’s say you’re a freelance photographer looking to sell your prints or a local mom-and-pop store who needs a way to conduct business online.
In this case, Gumroad can serve your needs. It’s meant to sell just a few products and is geared towards people with minimal programming experience. Just drag and drop a picture of your product into the editor, type up a description and price, and you’re done!
However, if you anticipate your business growing over the years, this is probably not the choice for you. Since it’s designed to be a simple ecommerce platform, you won’t be able to scale it up to fit your changing needs.
3. Squarespace
If you want to easily and quickly build a website as well as an online store, Squarespace might be a good decision. You can build a business website that looks modern and professional with minimal effort. Plus, Squarespace’s ecommerce platform is equally sleek.
This is a good option if there won’t be an IT professional or programmer dedicated full time to the website and store. A business owner with no programming experience could still easily run the store.
The editor is easy to learn and the pricing is reasonable — you can run a basic store for as little as thirty dollars a month. If you get a lot of mobile traffic, the interface also looks great on Apple and Android devices.
4. YoKart
In some cases, you may want a store that can support multiple vendors. Maybe you’re not just selling your own products or services, but those of other businesses, too.
In that case, you would definitely want to consider YoKart. It’s one of the best ecommerce platforms for multivendor stores since this is what it specializes in. While other platforms offer a multivendor option, this is YoKart’s main focus.
This is also a good option for people who aren’t interested in doing a lot of programming or code work. Similar to Squarespace, it offers various design options for those who aren’t interested in the smaller tasks associated with establishing an ecommerce store. Just choose a theme template that fits your branding and get started.
If you do prefer a more customizable experience, though, that option is still available. You’ll need a developer for that.
5. Magento
Magento has been around for a decade this year and it continues to stay relevant in the world of ecommerce platforms. This is a particularly great platform if your business needs to handle a lot of traffic and individual customers. Global organizations like Burger King and Liverpool F.C. use Magento for their ecommerce needs.
One thing to note — even though Magento is a powerful system, it might not be the best choice for you if your business doesn’t have an employee who is familiar with coding. In that case, you might want to outsource to a programmer or support service. (Read more here about when you should do that.)
If you do have programmers on board, though, this could be a great option. It’s open-source, so there are countless third-party extensions and modifications available. Plus, you can handle a lot of your data analysis within the platform itself.
6. WooCommerce
If your website is already hosted using WordPress, this is a no-brainer. WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin, so integrating it into your existing website should be seamless.
You’d be one of the millions of pages already using this plugin — it’s been downloaded more than 49 million times!
It’s a good choice for both established businesses and those who are just getting off the ground. Plus, if you’re already very familiar with coding for WordPress, this is a perfect choice. Like WordPress itself, it’s open-source. This opens the door for lots of free extensions created by third-party developers, in addition to the free and paid options offered by WooCommerce.
Read More >> http://www.itbriefcase.net/7-excellent-ecommerce-providers-and-applications
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
5 Ways To Improve Your Ecommerce Store’s Security
By: Colliers News
14th August 2018
With endless advancements in technology, it’s more important than ever to increase your security, keeping both you and your customers safe from online harm.
As a business, you can’t compromise on top-quality security. Keeping your website secure for your customers can be the difference between a steady stream of daily site visits and a user leaving your page at the drop of a hat. We’ve all been there. You click on a link that looks reputable on the surface, only to find that when you do get there, you get a warning from Google or you’re overloaded with pop-ups. Not ideal as a first impression!
It’s the responsibility of the business and its website to provide a safe and secure environment for a potential customer. Not only does a website give you access to a range of products and services, it’s also the shop front for your business; the first thing a customer will see and experience before they make a purchase. How can you ensure that your window of opportunity stays open, and how can you create that secure business environment online? SEO Yorkshire, digital experts in Rotherham ecommerce website design, explain the different ways you can improve your website’s security.
1. HTTPS: Get an SSL Certificate!
Choosing the right certification and switching your site from HTTP to HTTPS enables a secure connection and transaction. As your ecommerce site will deal with online transactions daily, a user’s confidential information is of utmost importance. Securing this information in the right way will prevent unauthorised users from accessing it and from using it without permission. Sticking with HTTP could have a negative impact on your site, especially since Google and other search engines favour secure sites over insecure ones when ranking sites online. However, it’s worth noting that you’ll have to continue to update your certification when it expires.
2. Choose a secure CMS.
A reliable business needs the right content management system to run their ecommerce site efficiently without any hiccups. With so many to choose from, each claiming that they are the go-to system for your business, it can be very difficult to place all your trust in a particular platform. If we’re narrowing it down a little, Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce are some top secured platforms/plugins. They can not only give you a safe and secure platform to run your ecommerce website from but they can make the task of organising your products and payments so much easier, giving you the time to focus more on what matters; running your business!
3. Only store necessary information on site.
The less information you have about an individual, the better. If you collect and store the credit card details of a customer, you’re immediately giving potential hackers more information to get their teeth into if the opportunity did arise. A single slip where information is accessible for an unauthorised user could be the end of your business and the faith of your customers. Avoid any nasty surprises by eliminating the need to store card numbers and by introducing safer ways to pay. PayPal and Apple Pay for example hold a customer’s card details securely, so no sensitive information has to be held on your website.
4. Take extra precautions by layering your security.
It’s not just a CMS and HTTPS that completes your ecommerce site security. Taking other measures to ensure you cover all bases is essential if you want to maintain your credibility and keep the trust of your loyal customers. Begin with a firewall; it creates a barrier, which monitors your networks and ensures any traffic that reaches your site is trusted. Additionally, boosting your Content Delivery Network (a group of servers working to deliver speedy content on the web) can help improve a site’s loading time, as well as the security of your pages. It’s also worth researching and staying up to date with what a potential attack can look like, so you can put necessary precautions in place.
5. Back up your site’s information.
It’s strange isn’t it? We all know how important it is to back up our data, but it’s a common problem to forget to do it regularly. It’s up to you to make sure your information is backed up, either manually or through an automated back up service. It’s recommended to do an automated back up to eliminate human error and to ensure you have the time to concentrate on other important tasks. Platforms such as Shopify can carry out this automated backup through a plugin, helping to keep all of your data safe and securely stored.
And finally, don’t forget to encourage customers to help themselves.
As an extra precaution to help customers keep their information safe, there are ways you can encourage best practice when setting up their own personal customer accounts. Despite you being responsible for the safety and security of all personal information on your site, there’s still a possibility of misuse on an individual customer’s account. Encouraging the use of strong passwords with a variety of characters or allowing a customer to sign in through an external site, such as Google or Twitter, makes it easier and safer for both parties. These external sites have high website security themselves and saves a customer creating multiple accounts.
Monday, August 13, 2018
WooCommerce or Shopify Which Ecommerce Platform to Choose?
By: Paul Simmon
Coke vs. Pepsi, KFC vs. McDonald, DC vs. Marvel, Adidas vs. Nike, there are some fierce rivalries in almost every field of business. When it comes to shopping carts, the biggest rivalry is between WooCommerce and Shopify; two of the most popular and powerful e-commerce platforms, each offering fanatical features and a unique approach to usability which makes it almost impossible to decide which platform is the best.
As a beginner in the industry, choosing between WooCommerce and Shopify may appear to be a daunting task. To be honest, the solution is entirely subjective and depends upon the nature of your business which is why it is essential to take a look at strengths and weaknesses of both solutions before getting along with any of it.
In this article, we are going to analyze the strengths and weaknesses as well as the competitive advantages of two outstanding e-commerce platforms to give you a better picture so that you can make your decision more wisely.
WooCommerce Vs Shopify Overview
WooCommerce is an open source low priced and easy to use solution for building a professional and online Store in just a few clicks. It is downloadable for free and is ideal for small business as there is no coding involved. Flexible, easy to use, easy to maintain, support various payment gateways and thanks to extensions like WooCommerce product add-ons you can add a variety of product options.
Shopify, on the other hand, is the hosted solution. Like WooCommerce Shopify is also designed in a way that no coding is required to establish the store; however, a little knowledge of HTML and CSS can undoubtedly help you accentuate your store from thousands of other stores using Shopify. The best thing about Shopify is that you don’t have to face issues like PCI compliance or finding a hosting server.
User Friendliness
Owing to a subscription-based service, Shopify user has a slight edge over WooCommerce as it doesn’t require you to get a hosting and install software. Whereas, the WooCommerce user has to follow a series of steps that can be a bit frustrating, i.e. find a reliable e-commerce hosting, install WordPress on it and then install WooCommerce plugin.
Designs and Themes
The design of WooCommerce depends on the WordPress theme you install. There are dozens of free as well as premium WordPress themes available at the marketplace that provides a seamless experience along with a great looking design.
Shopify has its own official Shopify theme store where more than 100 beautiful themes are available. 9 of them are free whereas the rest of them range from 140-180$.
Loading Speed
Loading speed plays an important role in the success of a website. Shopify has dedicated servers that offer its webmaster’s rapid loading pages. Whereas; the speed of a WooCommerce store entirely depends upon the web hosting service you choose.
Support
Shopify has deployed a dedicated support team for its customers and you can contact them 24/7.WooCommerce users mostly rely on the community, however, WooCommerce community is very active and helping.
Pricing
WooCommerce is a low budget solution and cost-effective as a setup cost for the first month is approximately 24$ which makes it an excellent choice for startups and small businesses.
Shopify is an expensive solution and the setup for the first month is 42$ as is suitable for enterprise-level solutions.
Conclusion
It’s a tough call obviously like I said it depends upon the nature and scope of your business. If you are a beginner, I would suggest you to go for WooCommerce. If your startup has a bigger scope then I would recommend you to consider Shopify.
Source >> https://wpdoctor.press/woocommerce-shopify-ecommerce/
Coke vs. Pepsi, KFC vs. McDonald, DC vs. Marvel, Adidas vs. Nike, there are some fierce rivalries in almost every field of business. When it comes to shopping carts, the biggest rivalry is between WooCommerce and Shopify; two of the most popular and powerful e-commerce platforms, each offering fanatical features and a unique approach to usability which makes it almost impossible to decide which platform is the best.
As a beginner in the industry, choosing between WooCommerce and Shopify may appear to be a daunting task. To be honest, the solution is entirely subjective and depends upon the nature of your business which is why it is essential to take a look at strengths and weaknesses of both solutions before getting along with any of it.
In this article, we are going to analyze the strengths and weaknesses as well as the competitive advantages of two outstanding e-commerce platforms to give you a better picture so that you can make your decision more wisely.
WooCommerce Vs Shopify Overview
WooCommerce is an open source low priced and easy to use solution for building a professional and online Store in just a few clicks. It is downloadable for free and is ideal for small business as there is no coding involved. Flexible, easy to use, easy to maintain, support various payment gateways and thanks to extensions like WooCommerce product add-ons you can add a variety of product options.
Shopify, on the other hand, is the hosted solution. Like WooCommerce Shopify is also designed in a way that no coding is required to establish the store; however, a little knowledge of HTML and CSS can undoubtedly help you accentuate your store from thousands of other stores using Shopify. The best thing about Shopify is that you don’t have to face issues like PCI compliance or finding a hosting server.
User Friendliness
Owing to a subscription-based service, Shopify user has a slight edge over WooCommerce as it doesn’t require you to get a hosting and install software. Whereas, the WooCommerce user has to follow a series of steps that can be a bit frustrating, i.e. find a reliable e-commerce hosting, install WordPress on it and then install WooCommerce plugin.
Designs and Themes
The design of WooCommerce depends on the WordPress theme you install. There are dozens of free as well as premium WordPress themes available at the marketplace that provides a seamless experience along with a great looking design.
Shopify has its own official Shopify theme store where more than 100 beautiful themes are available. 9 of them are free whereas the rest of them range from 140-180$.
Loading Speed
Loading speed plays an important role in the success of a website. Shopify has dedicated servers that offer its webmaster’s rapid loading pages. Whereas; the speed of a WooCommerce store entirely depends upon the web hosting service you choose.
Support
Shopify has deployed a dedicated support team for its customers and you can contact them 24/7.WooCommerce users mostly rely on the community, however, WooCommerce community is very active and helping.
Pricing
WooCommerce is a low budget solution and cost-effective as a setup cost for the first month is approximately 24$ which makes it an excellent choice for startups and small businesses.
Shopify is an expensive solution and the setup for the first month is 42$ as is suitable for enterprise-level solutions.
Conclusion
It’s a tough call obviously like I said it depends upon the nature and scope of your business. If you are a beginner, I would suggest you to go for WooCommerce. If your startup has a bigger scope then I would recommend you to consider Shopify.
Source >> https://wpdoctor.press/woocommerce-shopify-ecommerce/
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Ecommerce Marketing Essentials: 17 Actionable Tactics to Drive More Sales
By: Dan Wang
Every online store wants to increase traffic and conversions. But even after you’ve put together a basic strategy it can still be challenging to decide on which marketing tactics you should try.
That’s why we put together an overview of effective marketing tactics along with ideas to help you implement each approach. The ideas themselves run the gamut from straightforward acquisition to generating more repeat purchases from the customer base you already have.
Try to implement one of these ideas every day for the next few weeks. On the last day of your sprint, take stock and figure out which tactics worked best to drive new sales.
What is ecommerce marketing?
Ecommerce marketing is the practice of using promotional tactics to drive traffic to your online store, converting that traffic into paying customers, and retaining those customers post-purchase.
A holistic ecommerce marketing strategy is made up of marketing tactics both on and off your website. A sound marketing strategy can help you build brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, and ultimately increase online sales.
You can use ecommerce marketing to promote your online store as a whole or to drive more sales for specific products. Below is an overview of a few practical ideas to try.
17 ecommerce marketing ideas to increase online sales
1. Upsell your products
Most of us have heard some variation of the famous, “Would you like to supersize your order?” It’s an example of upselling, or the approach of selling a slightly more premium product than the one the customer was originally considering.
For many businesses, upselling can be more effective than acquiring a net new customer. Sometimes your customers don’t know that a premium product is available, or they may simply need more evidence to understand how an upgrade (or package) is a better fit for their needs.
For example, is one of your product models made of slightly better leather? Or does one carry a special component that’s handmade? Make sure to emphasize the difference and ask, in the right places, if the customer might want to upgrade.
There are two main considerations when using upselling to increase sales:
>> Make sure your upsells are related to the original product
>> Be sensitive to the anticipated price range of your customers
Your product has to fit the customer’s original needs, and they may not be enthusiastic about a higher price point once they have an anchor price in mind. An anchor price is often the first number a customer sees, and it’s the number against which they compare other price points. The new product must be a discernibly better fit than the original for it to be worth the additional cost.
Anyone who’s ever purchased a computer is familiar with the screen below. Once you’ve selected a particular model, companies will usually highlight upgrades for performance (upselling) or additional accessories (cross-selling) for you to consider.
2. Integrate Instagram
With over 500 million daily active users, Instagram is one of the fastest growing social apps around, connecting consumers, influencers, and brands.
If you take compelling photos, use hashtags strategically, and post at the right times then you’re well on your way to building a large Instagram following of people who are interested in your products. The key to mastering your organic Instagram presence is engagement with your followers.
What are some ways to engage with your audience on Instagram? You may try running contests or going behind the scenes to showcase your product development process. You can also pay to play on Instagram. For ecommerce marketing, creating shoppable Instagram posts gives your followers a direct path to purchase, which is key for increasing your online sales.
3. Reduce abandoned carts
Harsh truth: You’re losing money every time a visitor abandons their cart without purchasing.
This phenomenon is well-studied. Visitors add items to their carts, but abandon their carts during the checkout process. According to the Baymard Institute, 69.23% of shopping carts are abandoned.
Read More >> https://www.shopify.com/blog/14512237-13-actionable-marketing-tactics-to-drive-sales-and-apps-to-execute-each-of-them
Every online store wants to increase traffic and conversions. But even after you’ve put together a basic strategy it can still be challenging to decide on which marketing tactics you should try.
That’s why we put together an overview of effective marketing tactics along with ideas to help you implement each approach. The ideas themselves run the gamut from straightforward acquisition to generating more repeat purchases from the customer base you already have.
Try to implement one of these ideas every day for the next few weeks. On the last day of your sprint, take stock and figure out which tactics worked best to drive new sales.
What is ecommerce marketing?
Ecommerce marketing is the practice of using promotional tactics to drive traffic to your online store, converting that traffic into paying customers, and retaining those customers post-purchase.
A holistic ecommerce marketing strategy is made up of marketing tactics both on and off your website. A sound marketing strategy can help you build brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, and ultimately increase online sales.
You can use ecommerce marketing to promote your online store as a whole or to drive more sales for specific products. Below is an overview of a few practical ideas to try.
17 ecommerce marketing ideas to increase online sales
1. Upsell your products
Most of us have heard some variation of the famous, “Would you like to supersize your order?” It’s an example of upselling, or the approach of selling a slightly more premium product than the one the customer was originally considering.
For many businesses, upselling can be more effective than acquiring a net new customer. Sometimes your customers don’t know that a premium product is available, or they may simply need more evidence to understand how an upgrade (or package) is a better fit for their needs.
For example, is one of your product models made of slightly better leather? Or does one carry a special component that’s handmade? Make sure to emphasize the difference and ask, in the right places, if the customer might want to upgrade.
There are two main considerations when using upselling to increase sales:
>> Make sure your upsells are related to the original product
>> Be sensitive to the anticipated price range of your customers
Your product has to fit the customer’s original needs, and they may not be enthusiastic about a higher price point once they have an anchor price in mind. An anchor price is often the first number a customer sees, and it’s the number against which they compare other price points. The new product must be a discernibly better fit than the original for it to be worth the additional cost.
Anyone who’s ever purchased a computer is familiar with the screen below. Once you’ve selected a particular model, companies will usually highlight upgrades for performance (upselling) or additional accessories (cross-selling) for you to consider.
2. Integrate Instagram
With over 500 million daily active users, Instagram is one of the fastest growing social apps around, connecting consumers, influencers, and brands.
If you take compelling photos, use hashtags strategically, and post at the right times then you’re well on your way to building a large Instagram following of people who are interested in your products. The key to mastering your organic Instagram presence is engagement with your followers.
What are some ways to engage with your audience on Instagram? You may try running contests or going behind the scenes to showcase your product development process. You can also pay to play on Instagram. For ecommerce marketing, creating shoppable Instagram posts gives your followers a direct path to purchase, which is key for increasing your online sales.
3. Reduce abandoned carts
Harsh truth: You’re losing money every time a visitor abandons their cart without purchasing.
This phenomenon is well-studied. Visitors add items to their carts, but abandon their carts during the checkout process. According to the Baymard Institute, 69.23% of shopping carts are abandoned.
Read More >> https://www.shopify.com/blog/14512237-13-actionable-marketing-tactics-to-drive-sales-and-apps-to-execute-each-of-them
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Top 5 e-commerce development platform one can choose from in 2018
By: Brianna Castro
You should always be aware of what your business needs are. You need to align your business needs with your marketing plan. This is where eCommerce comes into the picture. You can make continual progress without the need to invest in ongoing marketing activities.
When it comes to running a business, there are no guarantees. Every business owner has his or her own idea of how to run their business. There is no guide to tell anyone what needs to be done and what needs to be avoided.
However, the one thing that is a surety is the development of an eCommerce platform. While everyone may have a divided opinion regarding their business strategies, everyone agrees on eCommerce being part of their strategy.
This craze for eCommerce development has led a number of businesses looking for the best eCommerce development platform. There are many players in this market; however, there are a few that are better than the rest. Here are the best eCommerce development platforms that you can sign up for in 2018.
Magento
The system of Magento has an excellent administrative area that enables you to modify everything as per your requirement. You can add product features, content for different age groups and even categories specific to demography. This robust Ecommerce website Development system is capable of handling all of this with just the click of a button. Magento also helps you customize prices on your website as per your customer. For example, retailers would not get to see what price is being offered to wholesalers and vice versa. You can also add discounts based on the loyalty of each customer towards your product. With Magento, the scope for customization is endless. The last thing you would need to worry about is your website when you have Magento creating it for you.
The design of Magento is impressive and responsive. It does not provide a standard template as this does not add much to your brand value. Many ecommerce solutions in the market have now adapted to the changes needed. With Magento, you do not have to worry as it is constantly evolving. Magento is definitely the best solution to help your business grow in the right direction.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is another leading name when it comes to an ecommerce development company. The best part about WooCommerce is it works perfectly well with WordPress and this is the perfect solution for all websites. Since WordPress is preferred by most website developers, integrating with WooCommerce is not a problem at all. WooCommerce is available as a free plug-in for all WordPress users. It comes with an array of features. When you get WooCommerce, you can get online payment, page customization, shopping cart and many more things on your website.
WooCommerce is open source and this gives you the maximum customization capability. It is easy to maintain. The admin panel of WooCommerce is said to be the best in the industry. You will get support for all payment gateways. You can even get more out of WooCommerce functionalities with other add-ons provided from time to time.
OpenCart
Most business owners want their website to be lightweight and low on maintenance. However, when you are getting an eCommerce website, there are a number of add-ons that come in. These make the website heavy to handle. This is where OpenCart comes into the picture. OpenCart is an ecommerce app builder that is extremely lightweight. Since OpenCart is open source, you can customize it as per your requirements. It is supposedly the best platform for all start-ups. There are no hiccups when you use OpenCart for development and the business can function smoothly. With the admin panel of OpenCart, you can perform a number of functions. OpenCart supports reports, payments and even shipping for your products. The platform is mobile responsive and there are many modules to choose from. You can even include 3rd party integrations if you need it.
Shopify
Shopify is a well known name in the eCommerce solution business. Based in Canada, it is one of the oldest eCommerce developers. It has been around for a while and is currently one of the best platform developers. The best part about Shopify is it has kept on evolving and has stood the test of time. However, the only drawback to Shopify is it is not open source. This means that a number of functionalities are limited. However, that does not stop it from offering a number of plug-ins, themes as well as extensions. Shopify also offers abandoned cart recovery support. All eCommerce websites that are created using Shopify are mobile friendly.
X-Cart
Another excellent eCommerce platform developer is X-Cart. X-Cart is open source as well as free to use. It is said to be one of the fastest eCommerce platforms that are available today. The best part about X-Cart is you can upgrade to a premium plan that will offer optimum features as well as support. With X-Cart, you can install all the packages that you need. You will receive support for all the major payment gateways. X-Cart is also PCI compliant.
Conclusion
Getting ahead of the competition is not that easy. People today are looking for the best solution. Gone are the days when someone walked to a store and purchased what they needed. In the 21st century, everything needs to happen at the click of a button. You can give your customers that power with an eCommerce platform. Choose your platform developer wisely and you will reap the benefits of a growing business.
Source >> https://yourstory.com/mystory/4b71f1b42a-top-5-e-commerce-devel
You should always be aware of what your business needs are. You need to align your business needs with your marketing plan. This is where eCommerce comes into the picture. You can make continual progress without the need to invest in ongoing marketing activities.
When it comes to running a business, there are no guarantees. Every business owner has his or her own idea of how to run their business. There is no guide to tell anyone what needs to be done and what needs to be avoided.
However, the one thing that is a surety is the development of an eCommerce platform. While everyone may have a divided opinion regarding their business strategies, everyone agrees on eCommerce being part of their strategy.
This craze for eCommerce development has led a number of businesses looking for the best eCommerce development platform. There are many players in this market; however, there are a few that are better than the rest. Here are the best eCommerce development platforms that you can sign up for in 2018.
Magento
The system of Magento has an excellent administrative area that enables you to modify everything as per your requirement. You can add product features, content for different age groups and even categories specific to demography. This robust Ecommerce website Development system is capable of handling all of this with just the click of a button. Magento also helps you customize prices on your website as per your customer. For example, retailers would not get to see what price is being offered to wholesalers and vice versa. You can also add discounts based on the loyalty of each customer towards your product. With Magento, the scope for customization is endless. The last thing you would need to worry about is your website when you have Magento creating it for you.
The design of Magento is impressive and responsive. It does not provide a standard template as this does not add much to your brand value. Many ecommerce solutions in the market have now adapted to the changes needed. With Magento, you do not have to worry as it is constantly evolving. Magento is definitely the best solution to help your business grow in the right direction.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is another leading name when it comes to an ecommerce development company. The best part about WooCommerce is it works perfectly well with WordPress and this is the perfect solution for all websites. Since WordPress is preferred by most website developers, integrating with WooCommerce is not a problem at all. WooCommerce is available as a free plug-in for all WordPress users. It comes with an array of features. When you get WooCommerce, you can get online payment, page customization, shopping cart and many more things on your website.
WooCommerce is open source and this gives you the maximum customization capability. It is easy to maintain. The admin panel of WooCommerce is said to be the best in the industry. You will get support for all payment gateways. You can even get more out of WooCommerce functionalities with other add-ons provided from time to time.
OpenCart
Most business owners want their website to be lightweight and low on maintenance. However, when you are getting an eCommerce website, there are a number of add-ons that come in. These make the website heavy to handle. This is where OpenCart comes into the picture. OpenCart is an ecommerce app builder that is extremely lightweight. Since OpenCart is open source, you can customize it as per your requirements. It is supposedly the best platform for all start-ups. There are no hiccups when you use OpenCart for development and the business can function smoothly. With the admin panel of OpenCart, you can perform a number of functions. OpenCart supports reports, payments and even shipping for your products. The platform is mobile responsive and there are many modules to choose from. You can even include 3rd party integrations if you need it.
Shopify
Shopify is a well known name in the eCommerce solution business. Based in Canada, it is one of the oldest eCommerce developers. It has been around for a while and is currently one of the best platform developers. The best part about Shopify is it has kept on evolving and has stood the test of time. However, the only drawback to Shopify is it is not open source. This means that a number of functionalities are limited. However, that does not stop it from offering a number of plug-ins, themes as well as extensions. Shopify also offers abandoned cart recovery support. All eCommerce websites that are created using Shopify are mobile friendly.
X-Cart
Another excellent eCommerce platform developer is X-Cart. X-Cart is open source as well as free to use. It is said to be one of the fastest eCommerce platforms that are available today. The best part about X-Cart is you can upgrade to a premium plan that will offer optimum features as well as support. With X-Cart, you can install all the packages that you need. You will receive support for all the major payment gateways. X-Cart is also PCI compliant.
Conclusion
Getting ahead of the competition is not that easy. People today are looking for the best solution. Gone are the days when someone walked to a store and purchased what they needed. In the 21st century, everything needs to happen at the click of a button. You can give your customers that power with an eCommerce platform. Choose your platform developer wisely and you will reap the benefits of a growing business.
Source >> https://yourstory.com/mystory/4b71f1b42a-top-5-e-commerce-devel
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Ecommerce Marketing Essentials: 17 Actionable Tactics to Drive More Sales
By: Dan Wang
Every online store wants to increase traffic and conversions. But even after you’ve put together a basic strategy it can still be challenging to decide on which marketing tactics you should try.
That’s why we put together an overview of effective marketing tactics along with ideas to help you implement each approach. The ideas themselves run the gamut from straightforward acquisition to generating more repeat purchases from the customer base you already have.
Try to implement one of these ideas every day for the next few weeks. On the last day of your sprint, take stock and figure out which tactics worked best to drive new sales.
What is ecommerce marketing?
Ecommerce marketing is the practice of using promotional tactics to drive traffic to your online store, converting that traffic into paying customers, and retaining those customers post-purchase.
A holistic ecommerce marketing strategy is made up of marketing tactics both on and off your website. A sound marketing strategy can help you build brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, and ultimately increase online sales.
You can use ecommerce marketing to promote your online store as a whole or to drive more sales for specific products. Below is an overview of a few practical ideas to try.
17 ecommerce marketing ideas to increase online sales
1. Upsell your products
Most of us have heard some variation of the famous, “Would you like to supersize your order?” It’s an example of upselling, or the approach of selling a slightly more premium product than the one the customer was originally considering.
For many businesses, upselling can be more effective than acquiring a net new customer. Sometimes your customers don’t know that a premium product is available, or they may simply need more evidence to understand how an upgrade (or package) is a better fit for their needs.
For example, is one of your product models made of slightly better leather? Or does one carry a special component that’s handmade? Make sure to emphasize the difference and ask, in the right places, if the customer might want to upgrade.
There are two main considerations when using upselling to increase sales:
>> Make sure your upsells are related to the original product
>> Be sensitive to the anticipated price range of your customers
Your product has to fit the customer’s original needs, and they may not be enthusiastic about a higher price point once they have an anchor price in mind. An anchor price is often the first number a customer sees, and it’s the number against which they compare other price points. The new product must be a discernibly better fit than the original for it to be worth the additional cost.
Anyone who’s ever purchased a computer is familiar with the screen below. Once you’ve selected a particular model, companies will usually highlight upgrades for performance (upselling) or additional accessories (cross-selling) for you to consider.
2. Integrate Instagram
With over 500 million daily active users, Instagram is one of the fastest growing social apps around, connecting consumers, influencers, and brands.
If you take compelling photos, use hashtags strategically, and post at the right times then you’re well on your way to building a large Instagram following of people who are interested in your products. The key to mastering your organic Instagram presence is engagement with your followers.
What are some ways to engage with your audience on Instagram? You may try running contests or going behind the scenes to showcase your product development process. You can also pay to play on Instagram. For ecommerce marketing, creating shoppable Instagram posts gives your followers a direct path to purchase, which is key for increasing your online sales.
Read More >> https://www.shopify.com/blog/14512237-13-actionable-marketing-tactics-to-drive-sales-and-apps-to-execute-each-of-them
Every online store wants to increase traffic and conversions. But even after you’ve put together a basic strategy it can still be challenging to decide on which marketing tactics you should try.
That’s why we put together an overview of effective marketing tactics along with ideas to help you implement each approach. The ideas themselves run the gamut from straightforward acquisition to generating more repeat purchases from the customer base you already have.
Try to implement one of these ideas every day for the next few weeks. On the last day of your sprint, take stock and figure out which tactics worked best to drive new sales.
What is ecommerce marketing?
Ecommerce marketing is the practice of using promotional tactics to drive traffic to your online store, converting that traffic into paying customers, and retaining those customers post-purchase.
A holistic ecommerce marketing strategy is made up of marketing tactics both on and off your website. A sound marketing strategy can help you build brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, and ultimately increase online sales.
You can use ecommerce marketing to promote your online store as a whole or to drive more sales for specific products. Below is an overview of a few practical ideas to try.
17 ecommerce marketing ideas to increase online sales
1. Upsell your products
Most of us have heard some variation of the famous, “Would you like to supersize your order?” It’s an example of upselling, or the approach of selling a slightly more premium product than the one the customer was originally considering.
For many businesses, upselling can be more effective than acquiring a net new customer. Sometimes your customers don’t know that a premium product is available, or they may simply need more evidence to understand how an upgrade (or package) is a better fit for their needs.
For example, is one of your product models made of slightly better leather? Or does one carry a special component that’s handmade? Make sure to emphasize the difference and ask, in the right places, if the customer might want to upgrade.
There are two main considerations when using upselling to increase sales:
>> Make sure your upsells are related to the original product
>> Be sensitive to the anticipated price range of your customers
Your product has to fit the customer’s original needs, and they may not be enthusiastic about a higher price point once they have an anchor price in mind. An anchor price is often the first number a customer sees, and it’s the number against which they compare other price points. The new product must be a discernibly better fit than the original for it to be worth the additional cost.
Anyone who’s ever purchased a computer is familiar with the screen below. Once you’ve selected a particular model, companies will usually highlight upgrades for performance (upselling) or additional accessories (cross-selling) for you to consider.
2. Integrate Instagram
With over 500 million daily active users, Instagram is one of the fastest growing social apps around, connecting consumers, influencers, and brands.
If you take compelling photos, use hashtags strategically, and post at the right times then you’re well on your way to building a large Instagram following of people who are interested in your products. The key to mastering your organic Instagram presence is engagement with your followers.
What are some ways to engage with your audience on Instagram? You may try running contests or going behind the scenes to showcase your product development process. You can also pay to play on Instagram. For ecommerce marketing, creating shoppable Instagram posts gives your followers a direct path to purchase, which is key for increasing your online sales.
Read More >> https://www.shopify.com/blog/14512237-13-actionable-marketing-tactics-to-drive-sales-and-apps-to-execute-each-of-them
Thursday, July 26, 2018
20 Best Shopify Themes With Beautiful eCommerce Designs
By: Brenda Barron
When it comes to eCommerce, the design of your site plays a crucial role. It can make or break your website—leading to sales either falling flat or converting profitably.
Even though you are probably eager to get your new site up and running as quickly as possible, it’s important to first make sure you pick the right eCommerce platform and best site theme to work with.
Shopify is a leading eCommerce website solution and we have a number of beautiful, feature-rich themes to work with. Whether you need a theme for your own online store, or to use for your next client website project, we have you covered.
Shopify eCommerce Theme Features
Aside from blending in with your brand, your online store should have a few important features that will make your website stand out and delight your visitors. When shopping for a Shopify eCommerce theme make sure they have the following features:
>> modern, clean and easily customizable
>> cross-browser compatibility, responsive design, and SEO-friendly
>> customer support, quality coding, and great reviews
>> built-in custom settings panel which will allow you to modify the template to your own liking
You can find all of these features and more in our eCommerce Shopify themes on Envato Market and Elements. Here’s a quick look at our best-selling Shopify themes from the last year:
With a quality Shopify theme in hand, you’re starting your online store with a great eCommerce design solution. All you need is to set it up, add your branding, custom product information, and start optimizing for online sales.
Best Shopify Themes
In this post, we’ve updated our list of the 20+ best Shopify themes on Envato Market and Elements from the last year, all of which are sure to make your website stand out and help you drive eCommerce sales.
1. Cosmify
Cosmify is a responsive Shopify theme ideal for fashion, cosmetic, and fragrance stores. It’s crisp, it’s clean, it’s glamorous.
Its impressive list of features includes the powerful layered navigation sidebar; an off-canvas and therefore unobtrusive way to filter your search criteria. Check out the product page for more!
2. Fastor
Under the moniker of Fastor 2.0 this multipurpose theme has seen plenty of updates since the original version. It’s now faster, with less complexity, and has seen support for Shopify features (like Shopify Sections) added too. Choose from a multitude of skins, including five recently added examples, such as the sports demo seen below. The team behind Fastor have also released improved documentation with video walkthroughs and tutorials.
Read More >> https://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/20-best-shopify-themes-with-beautiful-ecommerce-designs--cms-26547
When it comes to eCommerce, the design of your site plays a crucial role. It can make or break your website—leading to sales either falling flat or converting profitably.
Even though you are probably eager to get your new site up and running as quickly as possible, it’s important to first make sure you pick the right eCommerce platform and best site theme to work with.
Shopify is a leading eCommerce website solution and we have a number of beautiful, feature-rich themes to work with. Whether you need a theme for your own online store, or to use for your next client website project, we have you covered.
Shopify eCommerce Theme Features
Aside from blending in with your brand, your online store should have a few important features that will make your website stand out and delight your visitors. When shopping for a Shopify eCommerce theme make sure they have the following features:
>> modern, clean and easily customizable
>> cross-browser compatibility, responsive design, and SEO-friendly
>> customer support, quality coding, and great reviews
>> built-in custom settings panel which will allow you to modify the template to your own liking
You can find all of these features and more in our eCommerce Shopify themes on Envato Market and Elements. Here’s a quick look at our best-selling Shopify themes from the last year:
With a quality Shopify theme in hand, you’re starting your online store with a great eCommerce design solution. All you need is to set it up, add your branding, custom product information, and start optimizing for online sales.
Best Shopify Themes
In this post, we’ve updated our list of the 20+ best Shopify themes on Envato Market and Elements from the last year, all of which are sure to make your website stand out and help you drive eCommerce sales.
1. Cosmify
Cosmify is a responsive Shopify theme ideal for fashion, cosmetic, and fragrance stores. It’s crisp, it’s clean, it’s glamorous.
Its impressive list of features includes the powerful layered navigation sidebar; an off-canvas and therefore unobtrusive way to filter your search criteria. Check out the product page for more!
2. Fastor
Under the moniker of Fastor 2.0 this multipurpose theme has seen plenty of updates since the original version. It’s now faster, with less complexity, and has seen support for Shopify features (like Shopify Sections) added too. Choose from a multitude of skins, including five recently added examples, such as the sports demo seen below. The team behind Fastor have also released improved documentation with video walkthroughs and tutorials.
Read More >> https://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/20-best-shopify-themes-with-beautiful-ecommerce-designs--cms-26547
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
28 Shopify Technology Themes For Hi-Tech Online Stores 2018
By: rokr
To start selling electronics and gadgets online, use any of our best Shopify technology themes picks. With these, you will have a professional looking online store up and running in no time at all. While there are many solutions available to get yourself in the online retail world, Shopify is one of those which make it all happen in a breeze. Very little is on you, more or less, everything is ready and set for you to take it to your advantage.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced eCommerce entrepreneur, you can both see much success with our list of top electronics Shopify themes. The former can start an online project quickly and very efficiently. While the latter, he or she can update the existing web store with something unique. Or in case you are a serial entrepreneur, you can start hammering out website after website and have many making you money at the same time.
Each of the theme listed here gives you the opportunity to construct a modern and advanced way of showcasing your tech products on the internet. Fully functional and following all the web standards and rules, our Shopify technology themes will help you turn visitors into customers (yes, even the pickiest ones).
Select the theme you fancy, check the live preview and start selling online.
E-come
E-come is a Shopify technology theme perfect for selling all types of electronic devices. But to be frank, E-come is capable of managing and pushing any kind of product due to its multi-purposefulness. It is a clean, minimal and modern tool with five front page designs and more dropping in the near future. On top of that, E-come also has other internal pages and a ton of great features and assets for you to take to your advantage.
With its mobile-first web design, E-come will beautifully display all your items on smartphones for shoppers on the go. Other fantastic features are live smart search, product quick view, horizontal and vertical mega menu and the cool product pin mapper. You can also start writing a blog and get on a more personal level with all your customers. Get your online store up and running quickly with E-come.
Read More >> https://colorlib.com/wp/shopify-technology-themes/
To start selling electronics and gadgets online, use any of our best Shopify technology themes picks. With these, you will have a professional looking online store up and running in no time at all. While there are many solutions available to get yourself in the online retail world, Shopify is one of those which make it all happen in a breeze. Very little is on you, more or less, everything is ready and set for you to take it to your advantage.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced eCommerce entrepreneur, you can both see much success with our list of top electronics Shopify themes. The former can start an online project quickly and very efficiently. While the latter, he or she can update the existing web store with something unique. Or in case you are a serial entrepreneur, you can start hammering out website after website and have many making you money at the same time.
Each of the theme listed here gives you the opportunity to construct a modern and advanced way of showcasing your tech products on the internet. Fully functional and following all the web standards and rules, our Shopify technology themes will help you turn visitors into customers (yes, even the pickiest ones).
Select the theme you fancy, check the live preview and start selling online.
E-come
E-come is a Shopify technology theme perfect for selling all types of electronic devices. But to be frank, E-come is capable of managing and pushing any kind of product due to its multi-purposefulness. It is a clean, minimal and modern tool with five front page designs and more dropping in the near future. On top of that, E-come also has other internal pages and a ton of great features and assets for you to take to your advantage.
With its mobile-first web design, E-come will beautifully display all your items on smartphones for shoppers on the go. Other fantastic features are live smart search, product quick view, horizontal and vertical mega menu and the cool product pin mapper. You can also start writing a blog and get on a more personal level with all your customers. Get your online store up and running quickly with E-come.
Read More >> https://colorlib.com/wp/shopify-technology-themes/
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Tips to Drive Success with Your Ecommerce Store
By: Tanuj Rastogi
Opportunities are being created every second with a rise in consumer demands and the market. People are constantly attracted to newer ideas and innovations. Moreover, technology has enabled easy trade via the world wide web. This has only accelerated the emergence of start-ups and ecommerce platforms.
While more and more businesses are building an ecommerce presence, planning an ecommerce start-up is not a cakewalk. It requires taking important decisions which may give rise to several risks. To reduce risks and hassles down the road and distinguish your ecommerce start-up from others, you must keep in mind the following aspects.
1. Marketing
Having an attractive assortment of products is one thing and getting people to buy it is another. For people to buy a product or service, they must be informed of its availability. Awareness and appeal is created through smart marketing strategies, both online and offline. Some of the common marketing strategies are:• Sending newsletters and messages
> Creating pop-ups with specials and offers
> Creating online ad campaigns
> Automated marketing to send customised emails or push to customers who visit the website
> Creating & managing social media
> Collaborating with complementary websites
2. Attractive Website
Assuming that a customer has successfully landed on your website, what next? For customers to explore the website, search for products, and actually buy them, the website must be easy-to-use and visually attractive.
There are different platforms out there that allow you to create intriguing and functional eCommerce websites. It is advised to hire professionals that specialise in Shopify, BigCommerce or magento development and more depending on the platform you wish to build your website on. Remember, be it a Magento website or a Shopify e-store, everything from the website theme to content used across web pages, should be well-designed and organised to deliver a user-friendly experience.
3. Analytics
> Analysing visits to the website is important. Newer technologies enable individual tracking of all customers. There are specialised analytics tools that provide insights into popular products, target audience, traffic sources and more. When combined with automated marketing, analytics can help boost customer visits. Moreover, analysis of customer testimonials, reviews, and emails is also important as it provides a third-party view of the workings of the website and products, which further suggests required modifications for better function.
Read More >> https://articles.abilogic.com/293911/tips-drive-success-your-ecommerce.html
Opportunities are being created every second with a rise in consumer demands and the market. People are constantly attracted to newer ideas and innovations. Moreover, technology has enabled easy trade via the world wide web. This has only accelerated the emergence of start-ups and ecommerce platforms.
While more and more businesses are building an ecommerce presence, planning an ecommerce start-up is not a cakewalk. It requires taking important decisions which may give rise to several risks. To reduce risks and hassles down the road and distinguish your ecommerce start-up from others, you must keep in mind the following aspects.
1. Marketing
Having an attractive assortment of products is one thing and getting people to buy it is another. For people to buy a product or service, they must be informed of its availability. Awareness and appeal is created through smart marketing strategies, both online and offline. Some of the common marketing strategies are:• Sending newsletters and messages
> Creating pop-ups with specials and offers
> Creating online ad campaigns
> Automated marketing to send customised emails or push to customers who visit the website
> Creating & managing social media
> Collaborating with complementary websites
2. Attractive Website
Assuming that a customer has successfully landed on your website, what next? For customers to explore the website, search for products, and actually buy them, the website must be easy-to-use and visually attractive.
There are different platforms out there that allow you to create intriguing and functional eCommerce websites. It is advised to hire professionals that specialise in Shopify, BigCommerce or magento development and more depending on the platform you wish to build your website on. Remember, be it a Magento website or a Shopify e-store, everything from the website theme to content used across web pages, should be well-designed and organised to deliver a user-friendly experience.
3. Analytics
> Analysing visits to the website is important. Newer technologies enable individual tracking of all customers. There are specialised analytics tools that provide insights into popular products, target audience, traffic sources and more. When combined with automated marketing, analytics can help boost customer visits. Moreover, analysis of customer testimonials, reviews, and emails is also important as it provides a third-party view of the workings of the website and products, which further suggests required modifications for better function.
Read More >> https://articles.abilogic.com/293911/tips-drive-success-your-ecommerce.html
Monday, July 23, 2018
Aurora Cannabis Selects Shopify to Power Global ECommerce Platform
By: Ryan Allway
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (“Aurora” or the “Company”) (TSX: ACB) (OTCQB: ACBFF) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) announced today that it has reached an agreement with Shopify Inc. (“Shopify”), one of the world’s leading multi-channel, online commerce companies, to leverage the Shopify platform as Aurora’s ecommerce engine for medical and recreational cannabis distribution globally.
Working closely with Aurora Cannabis’ industry-leading software engineering team, Shopify will assist in transitioning Aurora’s current ecommerce site to a new, Shopify-developed platform, improving the customer experience for Aurora’s current medical and future adult consumer use customers. One of the key benefits of the Shopify platform is its rapid and seamless scalability as Aurora executes on its domestic and international expansion strategy.
“Selecting Shopify allows Aurora to bring a world-class ecommerce solution to our patients and future adult consumer use customers,” said Darryl Vleeming, CIO of Aurora Cannabis Inc. “Shopify’s unique, industry leading platform provides a safe, secure and flexible ecommerce site that we can build on as we execute our global growth initiatives and enter new markets.”
Loren Padelford, VP at Shopify, added: “While both companies originate in Canada, this is a true global success story, combining our industry-leading technology, helping to power the international expansion of one of the global leaders in the exciting and rapidly growing cannabis industry. The Shopify platform will allow Aurora to provide a tailored customer experience that embraces and adapts to the unique demands of both consumers and regulators, adapted to the specific needs of the various jurisdictions in which Aurora operates.”
About Aurora
Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, with funded capacity in excess of 430,000 kg per year and sales and operations in 14 countries across five continents, Aurora is one of the world’s largest and leading cannabis companies. Aurora is vertically integrated and horizontally diversified across every key segment of the value chain, from facility engineering and design to cannabis breeding and genetics research, cannabis and hemp production, derivatives, high value-add product development, home cultivation, wholesale and retail distribution. Aurora, from day one of its existence, has been steadfast in its respect for the cannabis community, the culture and its pioneers, as well as has been a strong supporter of and advocate for access to cannabis.
Highly differentiated from its peers, Aurora has established a uniquely advanced, consistent and efficient production strategy, based on purpose-built facilities that integrate leading-edge technologies across all processes. Intended to be replicable and scalable globally, these production facilities are designed to produce cannabis of significant scale, with high quality, industry-leading yields, and ultra-low per gram production costs. Each of Aurora’s facilities is built to meet European Union (EU) GMP standards, and both its first production facility and its wholly owned European medical cannabis distributor Pedanios have achieved this level of certification.
In addition to the Company’s rapid organic growth and strong execution on strategic M&A, which to date includes nine companies acquired – CanvasRX, Peloton Pharmaceutical, Pedanios, H2 Biopharma, Urban Cultivator, BC Northern Lights, Larssen, CanniMed Therapeutics, and Anandia Labs – Aurora is distinguished by its reputation as a partner of choice and employer of choice in the global cannabis sector, having invested in and established strategic partnerships with a range of leading innovators, including: The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD), Radient Technologies Inc. (TSXV: RTI), Hempco Food and Fiber Inc. (TSXV: HEMP), Cann Group Ltd. (ASX: CAN), Micron Waste Technologies Inc. (CSE: MWM), Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO), Namaste Technologies Inc. (TSXV: N), Evio Beauty Group (private), and Alcanna Inc. (TSX: CLIQ).
Read More >> http://www.cannabisfn.com/aurora-cannabis-selects-shopify-power-global-ecommerce-platform/
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (“Aurora” or the “Company”) (TSX: ACB) (OTCQB: ACBFF) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) announced today that it has reached an agreement with Shopify Inc. (“Shopify”), one of the world’s leading multi-channel, online commerce companies, to leverage the Shopify platform as Aurora’s ecommerce engine for medical and recreational cannabis distribution globally.
Working closely with Aurora Cannabis’ industry-leading software engineering team, Shopify will assist in transitioning Aurora’s current ecommerce site to a new, Shopify-developed platform, improving the customer experience for Aurora’s current medical and future adult consumer use customers. One of the key benefits of the Shopify platform is its rapid and seamless scalability as Aurora executes on its domestic and international expansion strategy.
“Selecting Shopify allows Aurora to bring a world-class ecommerce solution to our patients and future adult consumer use customers,” said Darryl Vleeming, CIO of Aurora Cannabis Inc. “Shopify’s unique, industry leading platform provides a safe, secure and flexible ecommerce site that we can build on as we execute our global growth initiatives and enter new markets.”
Loren Padelford, VP at Shopify, added: “While both companies originate in Canada, this is a true global success story, combining our industry-leading technology, helping to power the international expansion of one of the global leaders in the exciting and rapidly growing cannabis industry. The Shopify platform will allow Aurora to provide a tailored customer experience that embraces and adapts to the unique demands of both consumers and regulators, adapted to the specific needs of the various jurisdictions in which Aurora operates.”
About Aurora
Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, with funded capacity in excess of 430,000 kg per year and sales and operations in 14 countries across five continents, Aurora is one of the world’s largest and leading cannabis companies. Aurora is vertically integrated and horizontally diversified across every key segment of the value chain, from facility engineering and design to cannabis breeding and genetics research, cannabis and hemp production, derivatives, high value-add product development, home cultivation, wholesale and retail distribution. Aurora, from day one of its existence, has been steadfast in its respect for the cannabis community, the culture and its pioneers, as well as has been a strong supporter of and advocate for access to cannabis.
Highly differentiated from its peers, Aurora has established a uniquely advanced, consistent and efficient production strategy, based on purpose-built facilities that integrate leading-edge technologies across all processes. Intended to be replicable and scalable globally, these production facilities are designed to produce cannabis of significant scale, with high quality, industry-leading yields, and ultra-low per gram production costs. Each of Aurora’s facilities is built to meet European Union (EU) GMP standards, and both its first production facility and its wholly owned European medical cannabis distributor Pedanios have achieved this level of certification.
In addition to the Company’s rapid organic growth and strong execution on strategic M&A, which to date includes nine companies acquired – CanvasRX, Peloton Pharmaceutical, Pedanios, H2 Biopharma, Urban Cultivator, BC Northern Lights, Larssen, CanniMed Therapeutics, and Anandia Labs – Aurora is distinguished by its reputation as a partner of choice and employer of choice in the global cannabis sector, having invested in and established strategic partnerships with a range of leading innovators, including: The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD), Radient Technologies Inc. (TSXV: RTI), Hempco Food and Fiber Inc. (TSXV: HEMP), Cann Group Ltd. (ASX: CAN), Micron Waste Technologies Inc. (CSE: MWM), Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO), Namaste Technologies Inc. (TSXV: N), Evio Beauty Group (private), and Alcanna Inc. (TSX: CLIQ).
Read More >> http://www.cannabisfn.com/aurora-cannabis-selects-shopify-power-global-ecommerce-platform/
Sunday, July 22, 2018
How to Make Shipping Part of Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy
By: Kristina Lopienski
A company’s ecommerce website should emphasize the factors that make prospective customers want to buy. In general, both convenience and cost savings tend to resonate with consumers, especially those who shop online. Just as you’d write about the features and benefits that appeal to your target audience in your product descriptions, you should also promote any shipping offers that cater to people who want the fastest and/or cheapest deliveries.
Why should you promote the shipping options you offer on your ecommerce store?
> To make website visitors aware that they can save money
> To give shoppers confidence that there won’t be any surprises at checkout
> To turn more browsers into buyers and/or increase the amount of money customers spend
The most popular shipping-related promotion is to offer free shipping, which can be a huge differentiator over your competitors. In fact, 60% of ecommerce companies cite “free shipping with conditions” as their most successful marketing tool, finding that many customers would rather get free shipping (e.g., a $6.99 value) over a discount that saves them $10 on their purchase.
But if your customers don’t associate your store with free shipping or know you’re offering it, it’s possible only a select few will accidentally qualify for it. The more people that realize you offer free shipping, the more you can get to the checkout process. Learn what you can do to capture more sales by incorporating your shipping offering into your marketing efforts.
How to promote free shipping for your online store
Build a customer email list and send free shipping offers
If you have your own ecommerce website, rather than just selling on a third-party marketplace, you can build an email marketing list and communicate directly with your customers. To grow a list of shopper email addresses, try offering different promotions directly to their inbox in exchange for their email address. As many as 85% of people who have subscribed to an email list did so to receive a discount.
Another study found that 57% of shoppers would not have made a first-time purchase from a new retailer without a coupon, and 91% of coupon redeemers say they will revisit an ecommerce website after being offered a coupon. Additionally, if you send abandoned cart emails, you can mention any special shipping offers to help convince visitors to place an order.
Add a banner on your ecommerce website to promote free shipping
Having a banner at the top of every page on your ecommerce website is a great way to display your free shipping offering. This helps call attention to all visitors — not just existing customers — so they are aware of it well in advance of getting to the checkout page.
The message on the banner should be as clear as possible without needing visitors to click the banner to get the full story. Be clear about any restrictions, thresholds, or other requirements. A small asterisk might not be enough (or even be seen). For example, if your free shipping offer only applies to people in the continental US or only those who spend a minimum amount of money, make sure that is referenced in the banner to avoid disappointment or abandoned carts.
Read More >> https://www.shipbob.com/blog/shipping-ecommerce-marketing-strategy/#.W1VmgNIzat8
A company’s ecommerce website should emphasize the factors that make prospective customers want to buy. In general, both convenience and cost savings tend to resonate with consumers, especially those who shop online. Just as you’d write about the features and benefits that appeal to your target audience in your product descriptions, you should also promote any shipping offers that cater to people who want the fastest and/or cheapest deliveries.
Why should you promote the shipping options you offer on your ecommerce store?
> To make website visitors aware that they can save money
> To give shoppers confidence that there won’t be any surprises at checkout
> To turn more browsers into buyers and/or increase the amount of money customers spend
The most popular shipping-related promotion is to offer free shipping, which can be a huge differentiator over your competitors. In fact, 60% of ecommerce companies cite “free shipping with conditions” as their most successful marketing tool, finding that many customers would rather get free shipping (e.g., a $6.99 value) over a discount that saves them $10 on their purchase.
But if your customers don’t associate your store with free shipping or know you’re offering it, it’s possible only a select few will accidentally qualify for it. The more people that realize you offer free shipping, the more you can get to the checkout process. Learn what you can do to capture more sales by incorporating your shipping offering into your marketing efforts.
How to promote free shipping for your online store
Build a customer email list and send free shipping offers
If you have your own ecommerce website, rather than just selling on a third-party marketplace, you can build an email marketing list and communicate directly with your customers. To grow a list of shopper email addresses, try offering different promotions directly to their inbox in exchange for their email address. As many as 85% of people who have subscribed to an email list did so to receive a discount.
Another study found that 57% of shoppers would not have made a first-time purchase from a new retailer without a coupon, and 91% of coupon redeemers say they will revisit an ecommerce website after being offered a coupon. Additionally, if you send abandoned cart emails, you can mention any special shipping offers to help convince visitors to place an order.
Add a banner on your ecommerce website to promote free shipping
Having a banner at the top of every page on your ecommerce website is a great way to display your free shipping offering. This helps call attention to all visitors — not just existing customers — so they are aware of it well in advance of getting to the checkout page.
The message on the banner should be as clear as possible without needing visitors to click the banner to get the full story. Be clear about any restrictions, thresholds, or other requirements. A small asterisk might not be enough (or even be seen). For example, if your free shipping offer only applies to people in the continental US or only those who spend a minimum amount of money, make sure that is referenced in the banner to avoid disappointment or abandoned carts.
Read More >> https://www.shipbob.com/blog/shipping-ecommerce-marketing-strategy/#.W1VmgNIzat8
Saturday, July 21, 2018
12 eCommerce Entrepreneurs That Will Inspire You
By: Holly Cardew
Running an online business isn’t easy. It takes a lot of patience, determination and hard work, and you need to remember that success doesn’t magically happen over night. On top of that, the industry is growing fast and constantly changing; new trends are emerging left, right, and centre and it’s not always easy to stay ahead of the game.
Whether you’re new to eCommerce or have been in the industry for years, we believe that a little inspiration can go a long way. So, we’ve put together a list of 12 eCommerce entrepreneurs that will inspire you.
Check them out, read their success stories, and as they say, learn from the best.
1. Daniel Beauchamp
We love VR at Pixc and think it’s going to be huge for online shopping — I tried the VR display at the Shopify Unite conference and came away incredibly impressed.
Meet the man behind Shopify’s VR efforts: Daniel Beauchamp. His official title is the Head of Virtual Reality, and he’s the guy that helps position Shopify at the forefront of the coming vCommerce (virtual commerce) movement.
If you want to stay updated with VR, stayed tuned on his Twitter, @pushmatrix.
2. Carl Hartmann
Carl is the CEO of Temando, a company that helps companies optimize product delivery to customers. He’s won many awards for his work, including the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year in Australia.
As Carl says, if you want to sell online, you need to get three things in order: a place to sell, a method of accepting payments, and a way to ship your products. If you’ve ever tried to ship a product (especially internationally), you understand that it can sometimes be a struggle. Temando lets store owners ship from anywhere in a streamlined fulfillment process.
3. Steve Chou
Steve is the founder of My Wife Quit Her Job, a blog with a catchy name and incredibly valuable tips for eCommerce.
When Steve’s wife became pregnant, Steve set out to replace her $100K salary within a year. He’s achieved that goal, and now he teaches budding entrepreneurs how to start their own eCommerce businesses.
If you’ve ever thought about creating an online store, start at Steve’s website. You’ll find a treasure trove of information about getting your business set up, as well as a popular blog with plenty of eCommerce tips.
Steve also publishes a small business podcast that continually features eCommerce influencers like Andrew Warner of Mixergy, Tony Horton of P90X, and Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income.
4. Linda Bustos
Linda Bustos is the genius behind the GetElastic blog, the number-one subscribed eCommerce blog in the world. It offers incredibly valuable advice on everything from multi-channel management to conversion optimization.
In October 2015, Linda co-founded Edgacent, a firm that advises and creates strategy for eCommerce brands. Along with her partners Matt Dion and Mark Miller, Edgacent has a power-packed 50 years of experience under its roof.
Read More >> https://pixc.com/blog/ecommerce-entrepreneurs-that-will-inspire-you/
Running an online business isn’t easy. It takes a lot of patience, determination and hard work, and you need to remember that success doesn’t magically happen over night. On top of that, the industry is growing fast and constantly changing; new trends are emerging left, right, and centre and it’s not always easy to stay ahead of the game.
Whether you’re new to eCommerce or have been in the industry for years, we believe that a little inspiration can go a long way. So, we’ve put together a list of 12 eCommerce entrepreneurs that will inspire you.
Check them out, read their success stories, and as they say, learn from the best.
1. Daniel Beauchamp
We love VR at Pixc and think it’s going to be huge for online shopping — I tried the VR display at the Shopify Unite conference and came away incredibly impressed.
Meet the man behind Shopify’s VR efforts: Daniel Beauchamp. His official title is the Head of Virtual Reality, and he’s the guy that helps position Shopify at the forefront of the coming vCommerce (virtual commerce) movement.
If you want to stay updated with VR, stayed tuned on his Twitter, @pushmatrix.
2. Carl Hartmann
Carl is the CEO of Temando, a company that helps companies optimize product delivery to customers. He’s won many awards for his work, including the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year in Australia.
As Carl says, if you want to sell online, you need to get three things in order: a place to sell, a method of accepting payments, and a way to ship your products. If you’ve ever tried to ship a product (especially internationally), you understand that it can sometimes be a struggle. Temando lets store owners ship from anywhere in a streamlined fulfillment process.
3. Steve Chou
Steve is the founder of My Wife Quit Her Job, a blog with a catchy name and incredibly valuable tips for eCommerce.
When Steve’s wife became pregnant, Steve set out to replace her $100K salary within a year. He’s achieved that goal, and now he teaches budding entrepreneurs how to start their own eCommerce businesses.
If you’ve ever thought about creating an online store, start at Steve’s website. You’ll find a treasure trove of information about getting your business set up, as well as a popular blog with plenty of eCommerce tips.
Steve also publishes a small business podcast that continually features eCommerce influencers like Andrew Warner of Mixergy, Tony Horton of P90X, and Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income.
4. Linda Bustos
Linda Bustos is the genius behind the GetElastic blog, the number-one subscribed eCommerce blog in the world. It offers incredibly valuable advice on everything from multi-channel management to conversion optimization.
In October 2015, Linda co-founded Edgacent, a firm that advises and creates strategy for eCommerce brands. Along with her partners Matt Dion and Mark Miller, Edgacent has a power-packed 50 years of experience under its roof.
Read More >> https://pixc.com/blog/ecommerce-entrepreneurs-that-will-inspire-you/
Saturday, July 14, 2018
An Online Store: How to Choose Your Best Ecommerce Platform
By: Sawaram Suthar
Running an online store can be considered even more difficult than managing a real-life store, as you have to think not only about the goods that you want to sell but also about the ways to present these goods.
If you are just starting your online business, the first thing you have to do is to choose the online best ecommerce platform. Nowadays, a wide selection of best ecommerce platforms allows you to select the one which will best meet your needs.
To help you choose best ecommerce platform, let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of the most popular platforms.
If you want to run an e-store, the first and foremost thing you care about is conversions, i.e. sales. Will the template help you in this regard? The answer to this question is ‘Yes’.
1. Impressive UI:
With a modern e-commerce template, your store will nudge the competition aside and impress your client pool with its inimitable present-day UI. Nobody likes shopping within the cramped, obsolete or impersonal interfaces that you end up with without a good theme.
On the contrary, with a top-notch e-commerce template, you create a memorable interface that goes in line with your brand identity and distinguishes your website among the others.
2. UX boost
Provided strong competition on the market, where do people choose to shop? Of course, where it is convenient to shop! A well-thought template comes with a pre-built extension pack that takes shopping experience up a notch. A theme can deliver you extended catalog filtering, sorting and categorization options out of the box.
What’s more, such features as 360-degree product presentation, smart product image zoom and lookbook functionality create an unparalleled experience that would be hard to foster without a template.
3. Conversion boosting
Conversion optimization is a tricky matter that takes a lot of time and effort. With a conversion-optimized template, you get half of the job done. CTAs and CTA buttons are smartly placed and shaped within such themes, driving more sales and getting more income for your business.
4. SEO optimization
If you go without a template, you’ll have to master SEO optimization from ground zero. On the contrary, with a SEO-optimized e-commerce theme, you start out with a sound basis that helps your website thrive on SERPs and get discovered by more online shoppers.
Read More >> https://thenextscoop.com/choose-best-ecommerce-platform/
Running an online store can be considered even more difficult than managing a real-life store, as you have to think not only about the goods that you want to sell but also about the ways to present these goods.
If you are just starting your online business, the first thing you have to do is to choose the online best ecommerce platform. Nowadays, a wide selection of best ecommerce platforms allows you to select the one which will best meet your needs.
To help you choose best ecommerce platform, let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of the most popular platforms.
If you want to run an e-store, the first and foremost thing you care about is conversions, i.e. sales. Will the template help you in this regard? The answer to this question is ‘Yes’.
1. Impressive UI:
With a modern e-commerce template, your store will nudge the competition aside and impress your client pool with its inimitable present-day UI. Nobody likes shopping within the cramped, obsolete or impersonal interfaces that you end up with without a good theme.
On the contrary, with a top-notch e-commerce template, you create a memorable interface that goes in line with your brand identity and distinguishes your website among the others.
2. UX boost
Provided strong competition on the market, where do people choose to shop? Of course, where it is convenient to shop! A well-thought template comes with a pre-built extension pack that takes shopping experience up a notch. A theme can deliver you extended catalog filtering, sorting and categorization options out of the box.
What’s more, such features as 360-degree product presentation, smart product image zoom and lookbook functionality create an unparalleled experience that would be hard to foster without a template.
3. Conversion boosting
Conversion optimization is a tricky matter that takes a lot of time and effort. With a conversion-optimized template, you get half of the job done. CTAs and CTA buttons are smartly placed and shaped within such themes, driving more sales and getting more income for your business.
4. SEO optimization
If you go without a template, you’ll have to master SEO optimization from ground zero. On the contrary, with a SEO-optimized e-commerce theme, you start out with a sound basis that helps your website thrive on SERPs and get discovered by more online shoppers.
Read More >> https://thenextscoop.com/choose-best-ecommerce-platform/
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
What Are The Basic Ecommerce Metrics I Need To Focus On First?
By: Desirae Odjick
Welcome to Ask Shopify, a series where ecommerce experts tackle real questions and challenges from store owners who are trying to launch, build, and scale their stores. We’re here to help with every aspect of your store, from marketing to HR to accounting.
Who’s we? We’re the ecommerce experts both inside and outside of Shopify. Between our team, who spend all day immersed in the world of ecommerce (and who sometimes run stores themselves!) our squad of Shopify Experts, and our amazing customers, we have access to world-class expertise—and now you do too. So let’s dig in and get to your questions, because they’re good ones.
Question
It feels like there are a zillion numbers I can look at to measure my store, from social media to Google Analytics to email and more. I’m a bit overwhelmed and can’t figure out where to start. Do I need to track everything if I’m just getting started? What are the metrics that will actually help me grow my business?
Answer
It’s easy to fall into a love-hate relationship with metrics when you’re trying to grow your ecommerce store.
You love that there’s a number for everything, and you can clearly see your progress on just about any variable—but you hate that you could spend a full week just pouring over data trying to make sense of it all.
Luckily, digital data about your business is something that can scale with you. There’s no need to dive into the deep end when you’re just getting started, and those custom Google Analytics reports will be there for you when you’re ready.
As a new ecommerce store owner, there are a few numbers you’ll want to make sure you keep an eye on to grow your business, says Shannon Gallagher, Product Manager for Merchant Analytics. She narrowed it down to five key metrics that provide actionable, concrete information to help you grow your store.
“Your key metrics are the ones that help you understand every step a customer takes on their way to a sale,” said Shannon.
Traffic
“First and foremost, you want to understand your traffic,” says Shannon. “It’s important to monitor the number of visitors that you're getting to your shop.”
The high-level overview of how many visitors you’re driving to your store in total is undeniably important, but there are key metrics hidden within your total traffic that can be even more useful for spotting opportunities for growth.
“It’s about understanding your visitors. Where are they coming from, and how many are there? That might be in terms marketing channels, which tells you how they found your store, but it’s also where in the world they’re living. Those two pieces of information can help you plan and target your advertising.”
Read More >> https://www.shopify.com/blog/basic-ecommerce-metrics
Welcome to Ask Shopify, a series where ecommerce experts tackle real questions and challenges from store owners who are trying to launch, build, and scale their stores. We’re here to help with every aspect of your store, from marketing to HR to accounting.
Who’s we? We’re the ecommerce experts both inside and outside of Shopify. Between our team, who spend all day immersed in the world of ecommerce (and who sometimes run stores themselves!) our squad of Shopify Experts, and our amazing customers, we have access to world-class expertise—and now you do too. So let’s dig in and get to your questions, because they’re good ones.
Question
It feels like there are a zillion numbers I can look at to measure my store, from social media to Google Analytics to email and more. I’m a bit overwhelmed and can’t figure out where to start. Do I need to track everything if I’m just getting started? What are the metrics that will actually help me grow my business?
Answer
It’s easy to fall into a love-hate relationship with metrics when you’re trying to grow your ecommerce store.
You love that there’s a number for everything, and you can clearly see your progress on just about any variable—but you hate that you could spend a full week just pouring over data trying to make sense of it all.
Luckily, digital data about your business is something that can scale with you. There’s no need to dive into the deep end when you’re just getting started, and those custom Google Analytics reports will be there for you when you’re ready.
As a new ecommerce store owner, there are a few numbers you’ll want to make sure you keep an eye on to grow your business, says Shannon Gallagher, Product Manager for Merchant Analytics. She narrowed it down to five key metrics that provide actionable, concrete information to help you grow your store.
“Your key metrics are the ones that help you understand every step a customer takes on their way to a sale,” said Shannon.
Traffic
“First and foremost, you want to understand your traffic,” says Shannon. “It’s important to monitor the number of visitors that you're getting to your shop.”
The high-level overview of how many visitors you’re driving to your store in total is undeniably important, but there are key metrics hidden within your total traffic that can be even more useful for spotting opportunities for growth.
“It’s about understanding your visitors. Where are they coming from, and how many are there? That might be in terms marketing channels, which tells you how they found your store, but it’s also where in the world they’re living. Those two pieces of information can help you plan and target your advertising.”
Read More >> https://www.shopify.com/blog/basic-ecommerce-metrics
Monday, July 9, 2018
How to Launch Your Own Ecommerce Store from Home
By: Lance McHenry
The world of Ecommerce has developed rapidly over the last 10-years with all major global brands now actively selling their services and products online. In mature Ecommerce markets like the United States, Business Insider states that over 17% of sales will happen online by 2020, and this figure could even go up at the rate it is going.
With the trend steadily moving towards more Ecommerce sales, aspiring entrepreneurs all over the world and have many different Ecommerce platforms to choose from. In India, Flipkart is leading the way. It’s India biggest Ecommerce platform and currently commands around 57% of the market ahead of Amazon. It’s a large market share if you compare it to the North American market, although the US and Canadian markets are obviously a lot more competitive.
Magento is the most popular with 29.1% with other platforms such as ZenCart and Big Commerce following close behind. Canadian Ecommerce platform Shopify accounts for 10.9% of the market. This is mainly due to it being one of the most “hassle-free to set up” for first digital marketing entrepreneurs venturing into Ecommerce, according to a Shopify review by Ecommerce Guide.
But regardless of the major brands hoovering up the majority of consumers with their large-scale digital marketing campaigns, the market in general also has areas of opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to seize on. After all, the global Ecommerce market was predicted to reach $1.9 trillion by the end of last year – it will undoubtedly surpass that mark this year.
Startup Freak has covered many inspirational stories about how entrepreneurs have built their businesses up from the ground. But just because you’re looking at starting your own business from home, doesn’t mean you can’t someday realize your dreams of establishing your own brand among the elite. You’ve probably heard of the story behind Google, starting off in a garage, as well as Steve Jobs and Apple building the early computers from his parents’ house. Well, take those as inspirational stories to start making your dreams a reality.
Why Ecommerce Could Work For You
The best part about an online business is its practicality and flexible nature. A physical office usually means a sizable financial outlay to begin with not to mention office equipment and any legalities that come with renting space. Additionally, it can become a financial burden or even a limitation if you’re pinned to a long-term contract that doesn’t allow you the scope to down size or scale up. Online, the world is your oyster and you can react more fluidly depending on how your business is performing.
Read More >> https://startupmindset.com/how-to-launch-your-own-ecommerce-store-from-home/
The world of Ecommerce has developed rapidly over the last 10-years with all major global brands now actively selling their services and products online. In mature Ecommerce markets like the United States, Business Insider states that over 17% of sales will happen online by 2020, and this figure could even go up at the rate it is going.
With the trend steadily moving towards more Ecommerce sales, aspiring entrepreneurs all over the world and have many different Ecommerce platforms to choose from. In India, Flipkart is leading the way. It’s India biggest Ecommerce platform and currently commands around 57% of the market ahead of Amazon. It’s a large market share if you compare it to the North American market, although the US and Canadian markets are obviously a lot more competitive.
Magento is the most popular with 29.1% with other platforms such as ZenCart and Big Commerce following close behind. Canadian Ecommerce platform Shopify accounts for 10.9% of the market. This is mainly due to it being one of the most “hassle-free to set up” for first digital marketing entrepreneurs venturing into Ecommerce, according to a Shopify review by Ecommerce Guide.
But regardless of the major brands hoovering up the majority of consumers with their large-scale digital marketing campaigns, the market in general also has areas of opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to seize on. After all, the global Ecommerce market was predicted to reach $1.9 trillion by the end of last year – it will undoubtedly surpass that mark this year.
Startup Freak has covered many inspirational stories about how entrepreneurs have built their businesses up from the ground. But just because you’re looking at starting your own business from home, doesn’t mean you can’t someday realize your dreams of establishing your own brand among the elite. You’ve probably heard of the story behind Google, starting off in a garage, as well as Steve Jobs and Apple building the early computers from his parents’ house. Well, take those as inspirational stories to start making your dreams a reality.
Why Ecommerce Could Work For You
The best part about an online business is its practicality and flexible nature. A physical office usually means a sizable financial outlay to begin with not to mention office equipment and any legalities that come with renting space. Additionally, it can become a financial burden or even a limitation if you’re pinned to a long-term contract that doesn’t allow you the scope to down size or scale up. Online, the world is your oyster and you can react more fluidly depending on how your business is performing.
Read More >> https://startupmindset.com/how-to-launch-your-own-ecommerce-store-from-home/
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Online Shopping Trends in 2018 and Beyond: Ecommerce’s 11 New Realities
By: Aaron Orendorff
It’s easy to confuse trends … with fads. Both drive profitability, make headlines, and light up social media.
They also both end up in 30 point roundup posts every January with clickbait headlines promising you a crystal ball.
But, there’s one fundamental difference: fads fade, trends endure.
Trends create lasting changes that reshape not just how people shop, but how they live. Online shopping trends, in particular, leave behind a residual effect that makes them worthy of the hype.
Of course, differentiating between a trend and a fad is challenging. Fortunately, there are telltale signs and underlying principles if you know where to look.
To help guide you, we spent the last six months pouring over data and isolated three categories along with …
11 online shopping trends shaping ecommerce in 2018 and for years to come
Mobile Commerce
>> Browsing Does Not Equal Buying
>> Multi-Channel Ecommerce Starts Onsite
>> Culminate in a Mobile-Optimized Checkout
Social Selling
>> Social Selling Shortens the Funnel
>> Make Your Ecommerce Native
>> Integrate with Built-In Listing Tools
>> Take “Symbiotic” Advantage of Amazon
Borderless Business
>> Follow the Money Across Borders
>> Anticipate the Common International Problems
>> Take Taxes “Off the Table”
>> Create Local Shopping Experiences Online
Mobile Commerce
By now, it’s common knowledge that mobile browsing exceeds desktop. This long-awaited inversion is due primarily to the proliferation of devices. As the Pew Research Center found, the typical American household contains around four connected devices.
Read More >> https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/online-shopping-trends-ecommerce
It’s easy to confuse trends … with fads. Both drive profitability, make headlines, and light up social media.
They also both end up in 30 point roundup posts every January with clickbait headlines promising you a crystal ball.
But, there’s one fundamental difference: fads fade, trends endure.
Trends create lasting changes that reshape not just how people shop, but how they live. Online shopping trends, in particular, leave behind a residual effect that makes them worthy of the hype.
Of course, differentiating between a trend and a fad is challenging. Fortunately, there are telltale signs and underlying principles if you know where to look.
To help guide you, we spent the last six months pouring over data and isolated three categories along with …
11 online shopping trends shaping ecommerce in 2018 and for years to come
Mobile Commerce
>> Browsing Does Not Equal Buying
>> Multi-Channel Ecommerce Starts Onsite
>> Culminate in a Mobile-Optimized Checkout
Social Selling
>> Social Selling Shortens the Funnel
>> Make Your Ecommerce Native
>> Integrate with Built-In Listing Tools
>> Take “Symbiotic” Advantage of Amazon
Borderless Business
>> Follow the Money Across Borders
>> Anticipate the Common International Problems
>> Take Taxes “Off the Table”
>> Create Local Shopping Experiences Online
Mobile Commerce
By now, it’s common knowledge that mobile browsing exceeds desktop. This long-awaited inversion is due primarily to the proliferation of devices. As the Pew Research Center found, the typical American household contains around four connected devices.
Read More >> https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/online-shopping-trends-ecommerce
Saturday, July 7, 2018
SHOULD YOU RE-PLATFORM YOUR ECOMMERCE?
By: Bret Williams
For various valid reasons, we have been getting a lot of inquiries from merchants considering changes to their eCommerce system. I say “system,” because today’s eCommerce is more than just an online storefront. Most merchants are selling on Amazon, eBay or other channels in addition to their website. B2B businesses are exploring ways of integrating with their resellers, as well.
In addition, many small and medium sized merchants — both B2C and B2B — who are currently using Magento as a platform are facing tough decisions relating to upgrading to Magento 2: is Magento 2 worth the expense given that it’s not a “one-click” upgrade, but, rather, a completely new installation?
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
According to a survey by Internet Retailer in October, 2016, 89% of merchants asked were either currently or planning to re-platform within the next two years. That’s a lot of changing!
The primary reason for considering a re-platforming is to add more features and functionality, increase user interaction (particularly mobile), and improve integrations with selling channels, back-office operations and reporting. As the online field has become even more competitive, it’s important for merchants to continue innovating — both products and technology.
Undoubtedly, you’ve read in news media of the many, many brick-and-mortar stores that are closing. Traditional retailers have not been able to innovate well enough to keep those channels profitable. The same fortune could hit online merchants if they adhere to the “build-it-once” mentality. Today’s retail and wholesale industries are evolving at a dizzying pace, and only those merchants willing to constantly review and revise their merchandising operations will survive.
A PHILOSOPHY FOR CHANGE
First, let me say that not all merchants need complete overhaul changes. Often times, we find that new clients who are perplexed by a decline in sales or other under-performance simply need some tweaks to their eCommerce system. It might be an additional integration, the creation and management of a targeted marketing campaign, or a design “facelift” to improve conversions.
But, the determination as to whether change at any scale is necessary is based on a 4-step philosophy we’ve honed from over 20 years of experience.
1. COMMERCE UNIFICATION
Today’s merchants are using multiple selling channels, integrated fulfillment operations, inventory tracking, accounting, social media and PPC marketing, and on and on. Too many are relying solely on their storefront platform (e.g. Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, etc.) to act as the central “hub” for all this activity. Yet, none of these platforms truly perform this function well. If you add more complexity to Magento, for instance, the system slows down and becomes more and more expensive to maintain. Shopify and BigCommerce are SaaS platforms; any additional functionality comes by way of third-party add-ons which may or may not play nicely with other add-ons or deliver the level of sophistication required to run a growing online business.
We prefer to unify all commerce into a singular backend platform — one that can consolidate orders from all channels, maintain the inventory “master,” and coordinate shipments, returns and stock ingests. We call this Commerce Unification, a term I coined several years ago. Using a central system to tie everything together, your online store becomes just one more selling channel like Amazon or Walmart. You’re now bringing into one tool all the key data and transactions across your entire operation.
Read More >> https://www.novusweb.com/should-you-re-platform-your-ecommerce/
For various valid reasons, we have been getting a lot of inquiries from merchants considering changes to their eCommerce system. I say “system,” because today’s eCommerce is more than just an online storefront. Most merchants are selling on Amazon, eBay or other channels in addition to their website. B2B businesses are exploring ways of integrating with their resellers, as well.
In addition, many small and medium sized merchants — both B2C and B2B — who are currently using Magento as a platform are facing tough decisions relating to upgrading to Magento 2: is Magento 2 worth the expense given that it’s not a “one-click” upgrade, but, rather, a completely new installation?
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
According to a survey by Internet Retailer in October, 2016, 89% of merchants asked were either currently or planning to re-platform within the next two years. That’s a lot of changing!
The primary reason for considering a re-platforming is to add more features and functionality, increase user interaction (particularly mobile), and improve integrations with selling channels, back-office operations and reporting. As the online field has become even more competitive, it’s important for merchants to continue innovating — both products and technology.
Undoubtedly, you’ve read in news media of the many, many brick-and-mortar stores that are closing. Traditional retailers have not been able to innovate well enough to keep those channels profitable. The same fortune could hit online merchants if they adhere to the “build-it-once” mentality. Today’s retail and wholesale industries are evolving at a dizzying pace, and only those merchants willing to constantly review and revise their merchandising operations will survive.
A PHILOSOPHY FOR CHANGE
First, let me say that not all merchants need complete overhaul changes. Often times, we find that new clients who are perplexed by a decline in sales or other under-performance simply need some tweaks to their eCommerce system. It might be an additional integration, the creation and management of a targeted marketing campaign, or a design “facelift” to improve conversions.
But, the determination as to whether change at any scale is necessary is based on a 4-step philosophy we’ve honed from over 20 years of experience.
1. COMMERCE UNIFICATION
Today’s merchants are using multiple selling channels, integrated fulfillment operations, inventory tracking, accounting, social media and PPC marketing, and on and on. Too many are relying solely on their storefront platform (e.g. Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, etc.) to act as the central “hub” for all this activity. Yet, none of these platforms truly perform this function well. If you add more complexity to Magento, for instance, the system slows down and becomes more and more expensive to maintain. Shopify and BigCommerce are SaaS platforms; any additional functionality comes by way of third-party add-ons which may or may not play nicely with other add-ons or deliver the level of sophistication required to run a growing online business.
We prefer to unify all commerce into a singular backend platform — one that can consolidate orders from all channels, maintain the inventory “master,” and coordinate shipments, returns and stock ingests. We call this Commerce Unification, a term I coined several years ago. Using a central system to tie everything together, your online store becomes just one more selling channel like Amazon or Walmart. You’re now bringing into one tool all the key data and transactions across your entire operation.
Read More >> https://www.novusweb.com/should-you-re-platform-your-ecommerce/
Thursday, July 5, 2018
What is Ecommerce?
By: A Better Lemonade Stand
For those who have never heard of the term ecommerce before, the first question that comes to mind may be, what is ecommerce? In this article we discuss in detail what exactly ecommerce is, how to start an ecommerce business, how to run an ecommerce website and much more. If you’re interested in anything to do with ecommerce or just need the question, “What is ecommerce?” answered, then this is the article for you!
What is Ecommerce
Ecommerce is a shortened version of the phrase “electronic commerce” which essentially describes any type of exchange of currency for goods or services online.
Ecommerce is an umbrella term that covers everything there is to do with buying or selling online, and can sometimes be otherwise written as “E Commerce,” “e-commerce,” or “eCommerce.” Any variation of the spelling is correct, and it all describes the same act of performing business via the internet.
Since the definition of ecommerce is so open-ended (it literally includes any type of buying or selling of goods or services online) there are so many different types of ecommerce businesses that exist. In this article we dive deeper into the different options that are available for ecommerce business owners to run ecommerce businesses.
The Types of Ecommerce Business Models
First things first, when you ask yourself, “What is ecommerce?” the best way to begin to describe different ecommerce businesses, and the different types of ecommerce businesses, is to break them down into the types of ecommerce business models that exist.
Ecommerce business models can be differentiated into three main categories:
>> What types of products are sold
>> Who the products are sold to
>> Where the products are sold on
Let’s look into these three identifiers further:
WHAT TYPES OF PRODUCTS ARE SOLD
Every ecommerce business can be differentiated by the types of products that it sells. There are four main products that any ecommerce business can sell and they are:
>> Physical Products
>> Digital Products
>> Services
>> Affiliates
Every single ecommerce business online can fit into one or more of these categories, and this basically just tells you what type of products they sell to their customers.
Some ecommerce businesses sell physical products which means that the business has actual tangible products that they ship to their customers, and when their customers open the shipping package there will be a physical product they can touch, feel and see.
Read More >> https://www.abetterlemonadestand.com/what-is-ecommerce/
For those who have never heard of the term ecommerce before, the first question that comes to mind may be, what is ecommerce? In this article we discuss in detail what exactly ecommerce is, how to start an ecommerce business, how to run an ecommerce website and much more. If you’re interested in anything to do with ecommerce or just need the question, “What is ecommerce?” answered, then this is the article for you!
What is Ecommerce
Ecommerce is a shortened version of the phrase “electronic commerce” which essentially describes any type of exchange of currency for goods or services online.
Ecommerce is an umbrella term that covers everything there is to do with buying or selling online, and can sometimes be otherwise written as “E Commerce,” “e-commerce,” or “eCommerce.” Any variation of the spelling is correct, and it all describes the same act of performing business via the internet.
Since the definition of ecommerce is so open-ended (it literally includes any type of buying or selling of goods or services online) there are so many different types of ecommerce businesses that exist. In this article we dive deeper into the different options that are available for ecommerce business owners to run ecommerce businesses.
The Types of Ecommerce Business Models
First things first, when you ask yourself, “What is ecommerce?” the best way to begin to describe different ecommerce businesses, and the different types of ecommerce businesses, is to break them down into the types of ecommerce business models that exist.
Ecommerce business models can be differentiated into three main categories:
>> What types of products are sold
>> Who the products are sold to
>> Where the products are sold on
Let’s look into these three identifiers further:
WHAT TYPES OF PRODUCTS ARE SOLD
Every ecommerce business can be differentiated by the types of products that it sells. There are four main products that any ecommerce business can sell and they are:
>> Physical Products
>> Digital Products
>> Services
>> Affiliates
Every single ecommerce business online can fit into one or more of these categories, and this basically just tells you what type of products they sell to their customers.
Some ecommerce businesses sell physical products which means that the business has actual tangible products that they ship to their customers, and when their customers open the shipping package there will be a physical product they can touch, feel and see.
Read More >> https://www.abetterlemonadestand.com/what-is-ecommerce/
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
The Quick Guide to Ecommerce Website Design
By: William Harris
If you want to create a successful ecommerce business in 2018, you have to be willing to compete with other business owners like yourself. We live in an exciting time period—it’s never been easier to create and launch an ecommerce brand than it is today. As more people leave their traditional 9-5 jobs to create and grow ecommerce businesses, it’s up to you to do what you can to make sure that your business stands out from all the others that pop up in your space every month.
Consumers today have more options to choose from than ever before. It’s no longer big business against the small mom and pop shop—it’s everyone against everyone. The playing field has been completely leveled.
As a business owner, you have to work harder than ever to reach your target audience, successfully engage with and nurture them, and convince them to buy products from you.
Your website is an important tool in the never-ending battle for customer loyalty and conversions.
A well-designed ecommerce website can put you at the front of the pack in your industry, while a poorly designed website can leave you in the dust and struggling to survive.
So, the question is, what makes an ecommerce website great? Here are 13 essential components that you need to work into your website in order to retain visitors, boost engagement, and drive conversions:
1. Rich Photography and Video
To drive engagement and sales for your ecommerce business, you need to place rich, high-quality photos throughout your website. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, your prospective customers don’t usually have the opportunity to see, feel, or try your products in person before they buy. As a result, you have to work harder than the traditional brick-and-mortar retailer to build trust with people and convince them that your products are worth buying.
That’s where photos and videos come into play. They allow your website visitors to see your products up close and make it easier for them imagine what it would be like to own and use your products in daily life. The right photos can also help you build a distinct brand that looks and feels different than your competitors.
2. Compelling Headlines
In ecommerce, you only have a few seconds to convince people that they should stay on your website and spend more time exploring and learning about your products. Photos and videos will help convince them that your site is worth their time, but it’s only half of the equation. You also need to incorporate compelling headlines on your homepage that help people understand what to expect and what they will get if they stick around.
To write compelling headlines, think about who your audience is, what they are looking for, and how your products help solve their problems. Focus on what makes your brand and your products unique.
3. Distinct CTA Buttons
To get your visitors to explore past your homepage, you need to design distinct CTA buttons that entice people to take action. A well-crafted CTA button utilizes color, size, placement, and language to persuade visitors to take whatever action you’re trying to get them to take. To design CTA buttons that boost conversions with your specific audience, you need to be willing and able to test different variations using tools included with your ecommerce website platform, or a 3rd-party tool like Optimizely.
Examples of common CTA button tests you can run on your website include things like making a button bigger or smaller, using a brighter color or one that offers more contrast, or using contextual language that helps your audience understand what you want them to do (like the 1800Flowers example below).
Read More >> https://www.sellbrite.com/blog/the-quick-guide-to-ecommerce-website-design/
If you want to create a successful ecommerce business in 2018, you have to be willing to compete with other business owners like yourself. We live in an exciting time period—it’s never been easier to create and launch an ecommerce brand than it is today. As more people leave their traditional 9-5 jobs to create and grow ecommerce businesses, it’s up to you to do what you can to make sure that your business stands out from all the others that pop up in your space every month.
Consumers today have more options to choose from than ever before. It’s no longer big business against the small mom and pop shop—it’s everyone against everyone. The playing field has been completely leveled.
As a business owner, you have to work harder than ever to reach your target audience, successfully engage with and nurture them, and convince them to buy products from you.
Your website is an important tool in the never-ending battle for customer loyalty and conversions.
A well-designed ecommerce website can put you at the front of the pack in your industry, while a poorly designed website can leave you in the dust and struggling to survive.
So, the question is, what makes an ecommerce website great? Here are 13 essential components that you need to work into your website in order to retain visitors, boost engagement, and drive conversions:
1. Rich Photography and Video
To drive engagement and sales for your ecommerce business, you need to place rich, high-quality photos throughout your website. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, your prospective customers don’t usually have the opportunity to see, feel, or try your products in person before they buy. As a result, you have to work harder than the traditional brick-and-mortar retailer to build trust with people and convince them that your products are worth buying.
That’s where photos and videos come into play. They allow your website visitors to see your products up close and make it easier for them imagine what it would be like to own and use your products in daily life. The right photos can also help you build a distinct brand that looks and feels different than your competitors.
2. Compelling Headlines
In ecommerce, you only have a few seconds to convince people that they should stay on your website and spend more time exploring and learning about your products. Photos and videos will help convince them that your site is worth their time, but it’s only half of the equation. You also need to incorporate compelling headlines on your homepage that help people understand what to expect and what they will get if they stick around.
To write compelling headlines, think about who your audience is, what they are looking for, and how your products help solve their problems. Focus on what makes your brand and your products unique.
3. Distinct CTA Buttons
To get your visitors to explore past your homepage, you need to design distinct CTA buttons that entice people to take action. A well-crafted CTA button utilizes color, size, placement, and language to persuade visitors to take whatever action you’re trying to get them to take. To design CTA buttons that boost conversions with your specific audience, you need to be willing and able to test different variations using tools included with your ecommerce website platform, or a 3rd-party tool like Optimizely.
Examples of common CTA button tests you can run on your website include things like making a button bigger or smaller, using a brighter color or one that offers more contrast, or using contextual language that helps your audience understand what you want them to do (like the 1800Flowers example below).
Read More >> https://www.sellbrite.com/blog/the-quick-guide-to-ecommerce-website-design/
Monday, July 2, 2018
147 Handpicked Ecommerce Tools To Help You Succeed [2018]
By: Arun Kothapally
Here is a collation of ecommerce tools I have used and see it work for my digital marketing peers and clients. This is a long list and something you want to come back to repeatedly. I suggest you bookmark this blog post for future reference.
Idea Generation
Ideas by themselves don’t hold much value. The work is to bring them to life by making it concrete. These apps help you put your idea on paper and communicate it better with your team.
Milanote – Milanote is a tool for planning creative projects. You can collaborate your ideas, notes, and research with your team in a single place. If you are brainstorming about your online store design or your latest marketing campaign or creating your own new product then you can use Milanote as a place to brainstorm your ideas and give shape and structure to your creative research process. Milanote is a free tool.
Curator – Curator lets you collect visuals, graphics, websites, sketch intro text. Once you have all the necessary information you can organize and present your data in the form of a PDF presentation. You can even share your ideas with your team and client if you have their email ID. Curator has an IOS app if you want to ideate on the go. Curator is a great option if you are planning the launch of a new collection of products on your online store.
Xmind – Xmind is the perfect mind mapping tool. If you have a vague idea of a concept then Xmind helps you make it concrete by means of a mental mapping structure. You can pick a mental map template from the library and start putting your thoughts along with rich clipart and text. You can export your ideas in the form of PDF, PPT, Word and HTML documents. If you are writing a business plan or an article on your blog and still in the ideation stage then Xmind is a good tool to get started.
Skitch – Skitch is my favourite tool and I use it often for my blog. Skitch is the best tool to capture screenshots and annotate and give commentary in the form of text, sketches, shapes, and pointers. You might get many ideas for your online store while browsing your competitions online store or reading blog articles. You can take a screenshot of all such ideas, annotate and share it with your team or explore the idea at a later date. Skitch integrates with Evernote so all your notes are stored in a single place.
Design
The design is a critical aspect of an online store. As an online store entrepreneur or marketer, you might want to communicate certain aspects of design to your implementation team. You might want to provide all the necessary resources possible to your design team to execute on your idea. Following are few tools which will help you with the same.
UI Cloud – If you are designing anything on the web then you will need a bunch of UI elements like buttons, breadcrumbs, dropdowns, forms, navigation, and menu. UI Cloud is a search engine for all such elements. UI elements are also available for mobile and desktop apps, HTML5 and Vectors. The best part is these UI elements are available for free download as long as you give credit to the original work.
Read More >> https://www.ecommerceyogi.com/ecommerce-tools-resources/
Here is a collation of ecommerce tools I have used and see it work for my digital marketing peers and clients. This is a long list and something you want to come back to repeatedly. I suggest you bookmark this blog post for future reference.
Idea Generation
Ideas by themselves don’t hold much value. The work is to bring them to life by making it concrete. These apps help you put your idea on paper and communicate it better with your team.
Milanote – Milanote is a tool for planning creative projects. You can collaborate your ideas, notes, and research with your team in a single place. If you are brainstorming about your online store design or your latest marketing campaign or creating your own new product then you can use Milanote as a place to brainstorm your ideas and give shape and structure to your creative research process. Milanote is a free tool.
Curator – Curator lets you collect visuals, graphics, websites, sketch intro text. Once you have all the necessary information you can organize and present your data in the form of a PDF presentation. You can even share your ideas with your team and client if you have their email ID. Curator has an IOS app if you want to ideate on the go. Curator is a great option if you are planning the launch of a new collection of products on your online store.
Xmind – Xmind is the perfect mind mapping tool. If you have a vague idea of a concept then Xmind helps you make it concrete by means of a mental mapping structure. You can pick a mental map template from the library and start putting your thoughts along with rich clipart and text. You can export your ideas in the form of PDF, PPT, Word and HTML documents. If you are writing a business plan or an article on your blog and still in the ideation stage then Xmind is a good tool to get started.
Skitch – Skitch is my favourite tool and I use it often for my blog. Skitch is the best tool to capture screenshots and annotate and give commentary in the form of text, sketches, shapes, and pointers. You might get many ideas for your online store while browsing your competitions online store or reading blog articles. You can take a screenshot of all such ideas, annotate and share it with your team or explore the idea at a later date. Skitch integrates with Evernote so all your notes are stored in a single place.
Design
The design is a critical aspect of an online store. As an online store entrepreneur or marketer, you might want to communicate certain aspects of design to your implementation team. You might want to provide all the necessary resources possible to your design team to execute on your idea. Following are few tools which will help you with the same.
UI Cloud – If you are designing anything on the web then you will need a bunch of UI elements like buttons, breadcrumbs, dropdowns, forms, navigation, and menu. UI Cloud is a search engine for all such elements. UI elements are also available for mobile and desktop apps, HTML5 and Vectors. The best part is these UI elements are available for free download as long as you give credit to the original work.
Read More >> https://www.ecommerceyogi.com/ecommerce-tools-resources/
Sunday, July 1, 2018
What Makes Shopify the Best Ecommerce Platform to Migrate to?
By: Charlotte Head
Shopify is arguably the fastest, most flexible and most user-friendly ecommerce platform on the market to use and manage. The process of migrating to Shopify from a different hosted platform is no different.
One of the many benefits of Shopify is that there are already many measures in place to make migration as hassle-free as possible. After all, it’s in Shopify’s interest to encourage migration to their platform, and some of the biggest selling points for any customer are ease and convenience. Shopify goes above and beyond in this regard.
Will I lose any of my store’s data when migrating to Shopify?
The main concern of many ecommerce store owners when beginning any online migration process will be the potential loss of essential storefront features.
However, luckily, Shopify has a very strong CSB tool, which moves products and customers in and out seamlessly. There are also RSS feeds in place to transfer blog posts correctly and APIs set up for the smooth transfer of orders. You can therefore rest safe in the knowledge that nothing on your website will be lost or destroyed.
In addition, any data being transferred is carefully regulated by Shopify. While some open-source platforms (and indeed closed-source platforms) will let you move data that is not necessarily compatible with their format, meaning that your data will not work properly on your new website or that you may be left vulnerable to security threats, Shopify does not allow any data through that does not correlate into their platform. This means you will not need to fix any layout or security issues later down the line. Shopify is therefore much more functional and safe than other hosted platforms in this respect.
What aspects of my store can I keep intact during the transfer?
With Shopify, you can seamlessly migrate the following aspects of your store:
>> Products (with variants, images and meta info).
>> Product categories (with all images and meta info).
>> Customer data.
>> Orders and order statuses.
>> Customer reviews.
>> Manufacturers.
You can therefore maintain your storefront, keeping it just the way you want it, but also instantly customise your website to both work and look better using the wide range of Shopify apps available to you. In fact, Shopify’s quick and easy customisation features are what really sets it apart from other ecommerce platforms.
Read More >> https://www.shopping-cart-migration.com/blog/61-must-know-tips/what-makes-shopify-the-best-ecommerce-platform-to-migrate-to
Shopify is arguably the fastest, most flexible and most user-friendly ecommerce platform on the market to use and manage. The process of migrating to Shopify from a different hosted platform is no different.
One of the many benefits of Shopify is that there are already many measures in place to make migration as hassle-free as possible. After all, it’s in Shopify’s interest to encourage migration to their platform, and some of the biggest selling points for any customer are ease and convenience. Shopify goes above and beyond in this regard.
Will I lose any of my store’s data when migrating to Shopify?
The main concern of many ecommerce store owners when beginning any online migration process will be the potential loss of essential storefront features.
However, luckily, Shopify has a very strong CSB tool, which moves products and customers in and out seamlessly. There are also RSS feeds in place to transfer blog posts correctly and APIs set up for the smooth transfer of orders. You can therefore rest safe in the knowledge that nothing on your website will be lost or destroyed.
In addition, any data being transferred is carefully regulated by Shopify. While some open-source platforms (and indeed closed-source platforms) will let you move data that is not necessarily compatible with their format, meaning that your data will not work properly on your new website or that you may be left vulnerable to security threats, Shopify does not allow any data through that does not correlate into their platform. This means you will not need to fix any layout or security issues later down the line. Shopify is therefore much more functional and safe than other hosted platforms in this respect.
What aspects of my store can I keep intact during the transfer?
With Shopify, you can seamlessly migrate the following aspects of your store:
>> Products (with variants, images and meta info).
>> Product categories (with all images and meta info).
>> Customer data.
>> Orders and order statuses.
>> Customer reviews.
>> Manufacturers.
You can therefore maintain your storefront, keeping it just the way you want it, but also instantly customise your website to both work and look better using the wide range of Shopify apps available to you. In fact, Shopify’s quick and easy customisation features are what really sets it apart from other ecommerce platforms.
Read More >> https://www.shopping-cart-migration.com/blog/61-must-know-tips/what-makes-shopify-the-best-ecommerce-platform-to-migrate-to
Saturday, June 30, 2018
“10 Reasons Why Shopify Plus is great for eCommerce SEO”
By: Ron Dod
Shopify has answered the call of entrepreneurs who want to become successful in eCommerce. The company’s Shopify Plus is the enterprise offering that goes to the next level. If you are trying to build your business into something big, you need to pour petrol onto your SEO. To get scorching hot results, Shopify Plus could be the tank that you need to open today.
Shopify Plus is rich with plugins and apps
When you need that SEO boost to grow your business, Shopify Plus is the platform to begin with because of its dedication to SEO. You can see this through the various plugins it offers that are SEO-focused. These include plugins such as:
>> Smart SEO
>> SEO Doctor
>> SEO Image Optimizer
Plugins are important because they add that extra push that your site needs to stand on its own two feet without requiring you to be an expert coder. This is why Shopify Plus is well-suited for eCommerce. Building an eCommerce business requires you to be quick and fast because the competition moves fast. These Shopify plugins will help increase your speed on your journey to success. Choose the SEO plugins that suit the needs of your site.
Use multiple sales channels to grow your brand
One of the elements that make Shopify Plus unique is the fact that it has multiple sales channels offerings that are suited for different kinds of digital shopping brands. You can launch multiple sales channels across social, mobile and marketplaces. By launching through various sales channels, you give yourself the chance to improve on the SEO for your website and your brand. Take a look at how it can be done all through Shopify Plus with mobile and sales examples:
>> Mobile Sales Channel: When you focus on mobile via the enterprise platform, you can improve on mobile SEO by increasing the amount of content that you have targeting mobile shoppers. You can also edit and include new mobile product descriptions that are faster to read.
>> Social Sales Channel: If your eCommerce brand is powered by social media, you can also build it through the Plus platform. You can include as many social platforms as you want, and as long as you create a solid strategy, you will watch them grow through Shopify. The more people who connect with your social sales channel through Shopify, the more visible your brand will be.
REad More >> https://www.visiture.com/blogs/10-reasons-why-shopify-plus-is-great-for-ecommerce-seo/
Shopify has answered the call of entrepreneurs who want to become successful in eCommerce. The company’s Shopify Plus is the enterprise offering that goes to the next level. If you are trying to build your business into something big, you need to pour petrol onto your SEO. To get scorching hot results, Shopify Plus could be the tank that you need to open today.
Shopify Plus is rich with plugins and apps
When you need that SEO boost to grow your business, Shopify Plus is the platform to begin with because of its dedication to SEO. You can see this through the various plugins it offers that are SEO-focused. These include plugins such as:
>> Smart SEO
>> SEO Doctor
>> SEO Image Optimizer
Plugins are important because they add that extra push that your site needs to stand on its own two feet without requiring you to be an expert coder. This is why Shopify Plus is well-suited for eCommerce. Building an eCommerce business requires you to be quick and fast because the competition moves fast. These Shopify plugins will help increase your speed on your journey to success. Choose the SEO plugins that suit the needs of your site.
Use multiple sales channels to grow your brand
One of the elements that make Shopify Plus unique is the fact that it has multiple sales channels offerings that are suited for different kinds of digital shopping brands. You can launch multiple sales channels across social, mobile and marketplaces. By launching through various sales channels, you give yourself the chance to improve on the SEO for your website and your brand. Take a look at how it can be done all through Shopify Plus with mobile and sales examples:
>> Mobile Sales Channel: When you focus on mobile via the enterprise platform, you can improve on mobile SEO by increasing the amount of content that you have targeting mobile shoppers. You can also edit and include new mobile product descriptions that are faster to read.
>> Social Sales Channel: If your eCommerce brand is powered by social media, you can also build it through the Plus platform. You can include as many social platforms as you want, and as long as you create a solid strategy, you will watch them grow through Shopify. The more people who connect with your social sales channel through Shopify, the more visible your brand will be.
REad More >> https://www.visiture.com/blogs/10-reasons-why-shopify-plus-is-great-for-ecommerce-seo/
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Which eCommerce Platform is the Best Choice
By: Mark Tillison
Starting an eCommerce business sounds like it should be easy, but users quickly get stuck on which eCommerce platform is the best choice for their business.
Around 75% of the world’s eCommerce stores are based on just five eCommerce platforms, the most widely used being Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, 3dcart and PrestaShop. In addition to those, you’ve the question of whether you go hosted, or self-hosted, not forgetting which payment gateway you should choose and even where to host your eCommerce platform.
Given the multitude of options, which eCommerce platform is the best choice for your business?
Which eCommerce Platform is the Best Choice
Let’s start with narrowing the options to create an eCommerce shortlist. Remember that you need to consider where your business will be in 2-5 years, not just for launch:
>> How many different products do you expect to list on your store?
>> Will you need the eCommerce platform to integrate with other systems you use for processing, shipping and accounting?
>> Are the products simple – a book or a DVD is easy, but what about clothes which come in different sizes or colours? How about products which can be ordered by length?
>> Do you have a heap of data which you need to import from an existing system, and will your choice of eCommerce platform support the importing of that data?
>> How portable is your data once you’ve chosen the eCommerce platform – if you need to move later on, how easy or tough is that going to be?
>> How strong are your technical skills? Some platforms could be implemented yourself with some skills, whereas others will need services from an experienced specialist to both implement and support.
>> How many orders do you expect to process per month and what do you expect the annual eCommerce turnover to be?
>> What budget do you expect to spend building an eCommerce store such as Everything5Pounds, migrating or populating data and on hosting, maintenance and support?
Knowing the answers to those questions before you start comparing different eCommerce platforms will help make your journey more productive, help you avoid wasting time investigating the wrong platforms, talking to the wrong providers and worse still, ending up with an eCommerce platform that doesn’t support your needs.
eCommerce Platform Comparison
We checked out a few of the primary eCommerce platform candidates to compare the offerings and find out what eCommerce platform is the best choice for each business situation.
Magento
Starting with what many may argue is the market leader, Magento has been around for many years and has a huge developer community. In terms of customisation and scalable performance, Magento is among the best your search for an eCommerce platform is likely to reveal.
We caught up with Adam King, co-founder and Magento guru at Bournemouth-based Media Lounge, where a team of 15 have been working with the Magento platform for 8 years since it was launched. They’ve designed, programmed and supported over 160 Magento eCommerce websites to date. They’re fully Magento certified and also run their own eCommerce store so truly practise what they preach!
Read More >> https://tillison.co.uk/blog/which-ecommerce-platform-is-the-best-choice/
Starting an eCommerce business sounds like it should be easy, but users quickly get stuck on which eCommerce platform is the best choice for their business.
Around 75% of the world’s eCommerce stores are based on just five eCommerce platforms, the most widely used being Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, 3dcart and PrestaShop. In addition to those, you’ve the question of whether you go hosted, or self-hosted, not forgetting which payment gateway you should choose and even where to host your eCommerce platform.
Given the multitude of options, which eCommerce platform is the best choice for your business?
Which eCommerce Platform is the Best Choice
Let’s start with narrowing the options to create an eCommerce shortlist. Remember that you need to consider where your business will be in 2-5 years, not just for launch:
>> How many different products do you expect to list on your store?
>> Will you need the eCommerce platform to integrate with other systems you use for processing, shipping and accounting?
>> Are the products simple – a book or a DVD is easy, but what about clothes which come in different sizes or colours? How about products which can be ordered by length?
>> Do you have a heap of data which you need to import from an existing system, and will your choice of eCommerce platform support the importing of that data?
>> How portable is your data once you’ve chosen the eCommerce platform – if you need to move later on, how easy or tough is that going to be?
>> How strong are your technical skills? Some platforms could be implemented yourself with some skills, whereas others will need services from an experienced specialist to both implement and support.
>> How many orders do you expect to process per month and what do you expect the annual eCommerce turnover to be?
>> What budget do you expect to spend building an eCommerce store such as Everything5Pounds, migrating or populating data and on hosting, maintenance and support?
Knowing the answers to those questions before you start comparing different eCommerce platforms will help make your journey more productive, help you avoid wasting time investigating the wrong platforms, talking to the wrong providers and worse still, ending up with an eCommerce platform that doesn’t support your needs.
eCommerce Platform Comparison
We checked out a few of the primary eCommerce platform candidates to compare the offerings and find out what eCommerce platform is the best choice for each business situation.
Magento
Starting with what many may argue is the market leader, Magento has been around for many years and has a huge developer community. In terms of customisation and scalable performance, Magento is among the best your search for an eCommerce platform is likely to reveal.
We caught up with Adam King, co-founder and Magento guru at Bournemouth-based Media Lounge, where a team of 15 have been working with the Magento platform for 8 years since it was launched. They’ve designed, programmed and supported over 160 Magento eCommerce websites to date. They’re fully Magento certified and also run their own eCommerce store so truly practise what they preach!
Read More >> https://tillison.co.uk/blog/which-ecommerce-platform-is-the-best-choice/
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
5 Benefits of Working with a Shopify Plus Partner Agency
By: Fatema Mulla
As a high growth Shopify Plus merchant, you face unique challenges when making the most of your eCommerce store - with inherent complexities. That means you may require expert level help from a dedicated, experienced eCommerce agency that understands the platform and can help drive your success.
So what better option than to work with a Shopify Plus Partner agency?
Shopify Plus Partner agencies are specially selected Shopify experts recognised by Shopify themselves. They can massively benefit your eCommerce store in a number of different areas, from web development and design to marketing.
Here are five benefits of working with a Shopify Plus Partner agency, and how they can be of advantage for your eCommerce brand.
1 - They have more experience working with a variety of different Shopify clients.
Shopify Plus Partners earn their partner status based on key factors, like their portfolio of enterprise level Shopify projects and clients.
Shopify Plus partner selectors require evidence of successful high growth projects created by agencies wishing to achieve Shopify Plus partner status.
Plus, thanks to the experience of working with a variety of influential, award winning Shopify Plus clients, they’ll know exactly how to help your store thrive and flourish. They’ll be familiar with the platform and the complexities of high-growth stores and will be able to understand the limitations as they will most likely have encountered any problems previously.
2 - They can implement Shopify Plus features
Shopify Plus partner agencies can help to improve your store with Shopify Plus’ exclusive tools and features, designed specifically to grow your business across different marketplaces and channels.
Shopify Plus Partners will be able to understand and implement exclusive Shopify Plus features such as Flow, Scripts, Launchpad and more complex project elements such as internationalisation and system integration.
This will provide your store with powerful automation features, customisations and integrations to help you adapt and grow across all channels, transforming your store into a successful and captivating business that excels in all areas.
3 - Shopify Plus Partners focus on helping you grow
Partner agencies will understand just how to help your store grow and reach its full potential.
Shopify Plus Partners are able to identify key areas for development, and will build and guide development projects to help you optimise and improve your eCommerce store.
You’ll also be able to build an ongoing relationship with your partner agency, and work with them to keep your store as optimised and successful as ever as opportunities come up in the future - through CRO and ongoing optimisation.
Read More >> https://www.statementagency.com/blog/2018/05/5-benefits-of-working-with-a-shopify-plus-partner-agency
As a high growth Shopify Plus merchant, you face unique challenges when making the most of your eCommerce store - with inherent complexities. That means you may require expert level help from a dedicated, experienced eCommerce agency that understands the platform and can help drive your success.
So what better option than to work with a Shopify Plus Partner agency?
Shopify Plus Partner agencies are specially selected Shopify experts recognised by Shopify themselves. They can massively benefit your eCommerce store in a number of different areas, from web development and design to marketing.
Here are five benefits of working with a Shopify Plus Partner agency, and how they can be of advantage for your eCommerce brand.
1 - They have more experience working with a variety of different Shopify clients.
Shopify Plus Partners earn their partner status based on key factors, like their portfolio of enterprise level Shopify projects and clients.
Shopify Plus partner selectors require evidence of successful high growth projects created by agencies wishing to achieve Shopify Plus partner status.
Plus, thanks to the experience of working with a variety of influential, award winning Shopify Plus clients, they’ll know exactly how to help your store thrive and flourish. They’ll be familiar with the platform and the complexities of high-growth stores and will be able to understand the limitations as they will most likely have encountered any problems previously.
2 - They can implement Shopify Plus features
Shopify Plus partner agencies can help to improve your store with Shopify Plus’ exclusive tools and features, designed specifically to grow your business across different marketplaces and channels.
Shopify Plus Partners will be able to understand and implement exclusive Shopify Plus features such as Flow, Scripts, Launchpad and more complex project elements such as internationalisation and system integration.
This will provide your store with powerful automation features, customisations and integrations to help you adapt and grow across all channels, transforming your store into a successful and captivating business that excels in all areas.
3 - Shopify Plus Partners focus on helping you grow
Partner agencies will understand just how to help your store grow and reach its full potential.
Shopify Plus Partners are able to identify key areas for development, and will build and guide development projects to help you optimise and improve your eCommerce store.
You’ll also be able to build an ongoing relationship with your partner agency, and work with them to keep your store as optimised and successful as ever as opportunities come up in the future - through CRO and ongoing optimisation.
Read More >> https://www.statementagency.com/blog/2018/05/5-benefits-of-working-with-a-shopify-plus-partner-agency
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