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How the Success of WordPress is Due to its Plugin Ecosystem



WordPress’s plugin ecosystem is one of its greatest strengths. As we write, there are over 50,000 plugins in the official repository, a number that doesn’t include premium plugins and custom plugins created for individual WordPress sites. Plugins range in functionality from tiny interface tweaks to full-featured ecommerce applications, all taking advantage of the hooks and frameworks built into WordPress by its developers.
About a third of the web runs on WordPress — tens of millions of sites — so we’re used to statistics about WordPress involving big numbers. However, it’s worth taking a moment to think about what a staggering achievement the WordPress plugin ecosystem is and how many thousands of hours of developer time have been dedicated to creating plugins, the vast majority of which are free and open source.
When Matt Mullenweg started work on WordPress in 2003, it was by no means a certainty that there would be a plugin ecosystem. Many early blogging engines were not designed with a modular architecture. Towards the end of 2003, Ryan Boren joined the nascent WordPress project and his work led to the creation of the plugin system we know today.
Mullenweg created Blogtimes, one of the first useful plugins which is still in the plugin repository, although it was last updated 14 years ago. He also created Hello Dolly, which was bundled with WordPress installations to demonstrate how to build plugins.

What Makes Plugins So Powerful?

Plugins are powerful because they allow anyone to create a feature for WordPress without it having to be included in every WordPress site. WordPress’s history would be very different if every possible feature had to be included in WordPress Core. It would be bloated beyond recognition if even a tiny fraction of the features available as plugins were installed as part of the application, not least because it would lead to a horrendously complex interface.
Plugins serve a purpose beyond allowing WordPress to maintain a slimline application and a manageable user experience. The WordPress 5.0 release lists 12 lead developers and 423 contributors. That’s a lot for an open source project, and it’s challenging to organize so many people, especially when most contribute for free. However, a conservative estimate for the number of people working on plugins is hundreds of times the number working on WordPress itself.
For all practical purposes, it’s impossible to organize that many people to work on a monolithic application while hitting deadlines, maintaining security, and adhering to quality standards. Plugins can be developed independently of the core application, by organizations and individuals that manage themselves, that aren’t tied to the needs and release schedules of the main application, and that can create features that are useful to thousands but that aren’t a good use of the core developer’s time.
Without the plugin system, WordPress as we know it wouldn’t exist. It may not have existed at all in 2019, perhaps being remembered only by historians of content management systems. How many WordPress users are familiar with b2/cafelog, the CMS that WordPress replaced?
Thanks to its modularity and the dedication of thousands of developers, WordPress went from strength to strength and is today one of the most important pieces of software in the world.

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How Can Ecommerce Help Reduce Transaction Costs?

While ecommerce stores can reduce transaction costs, and so the overhead of running a business, transaction costs still have enough of a presence to chip away at your profits.

Transaction costs traditionally refer to any cost incurred by an entity that maintains or processes the exchange of currency for goods and services. It is not necessarily synonymous with business overhead, defined as the sum of all expenses attached to the day-to-day operations of your business, though transaction costs contribute to it. 

What is Transaction Cost in Ecommerce?

The big pro of ecommerce is reduced transaction costs and overhead for both merchants and consumers. Merchants without a physical storefront need not bother with cashiers, warehousing, rent, or the limitations of their geographic location. Consumers, too, enjoy less overhead because online purchases require less time spent browsing and no need to bother with crowds, traffic, or gas. 

However, ecommerce stores are not immune to overhead, and a sizeable portion of this overhead comes from transaction costs. 

In online stores, transaction costs include fees and expenses associated with the following :

  • Credit cards Customer using credit card online
  • Payment gateways
  • Ecommerce platforms
  • Returns and exchanges
  • Shipping

Let’s take a closer look at each.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are a creature of convenience for many consumers, which is why merchants accept the fees. In theory, the cost of not providing a credit card payment option—lost revenue—exceeds the cost of processing fees.

These fees represent the cost of the infrastructure making such transactions possible, and involve numerous parties. The credit card processor, credit card association and the issuing bank all look to get paid for the effort.

These fees are determined by your risk profile, interchange rates, and various other factors. You pay a percentage of each transaction, a per-transaction dollar amount, or a combination of both (for example, 1.80% + $0.10). In addition, some cards may incur a flat monthly charge. 

Typical Cost Breakdown by Card Type

Card type Per-transaction fee
American Express 2.5% to 3.5%
Discover 1.5% to 2.3 %
Mastercard 1.5% to 2.6%
Visa 1.43% to 2.4%

Many online retailers accept these fees as part of the cost of doing business, but some choose to disallow credit cards in their stores and avoid the fee. 

Payment Gateways

PayPal, Stripe, Square, Authorize.net, and the like are payment gateways that handle your customers’ credit card payments. paypal logoFor a fee, they transmit the card data from their payment portal to the credit card processor.paypal logo

It is somewhat less convenient than a credit card because it requires the customer to 1) create an account for that payment gateway if they don’t already have one, and 2) log in to that account during checkout. Both prolong the process, and long checkout times tend to produce abandoned shopping carts. These represent a constant source of irritation in an industry where the worldwide cart abandonment rate in 2018 was at 75 percent (Statista). 

PayPal, a popular choice, is one of the more expensive options. PayPal charges a flat base rate of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction (4.4% plus fixed fee for international). While numerous other options are available, PayPal offers brand recognition that other options may not. As with credit cards, payment gateways charge a mix of percentage, per-transaction flat rates, and monthly fees.

Ecommerce Platforms

Ecommerce platforms are the lowest-hanging fruit of store-creation. Relatively simple to deploy and customize, they remove multiple barriers to entry that would otherwise require a developer. Inventory tracking, payment, coupons, shipping, and countless other features are easily made available to your shoppers.

As you might expect, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and other platforms want to get paid, and these fees are in addition to fees incurred by credit cards and payment gateways.

WooCommerce Shopify BigCommerce
Transaction fees None 0.5% to 2% unless using Shopify Payments None
Account fees Free, plus hosting (upwards of $7 per month) $29 to $299 per month $29.95 to $249.95 per month
Payment Options Many Many Many
Customization Unlimited themes; may require dev assistance 10 free themes; others require $ 7 free themes; others require $

Returns and Exchanges

Although this is outside of the initial transaction, the threat of chargebacks involves the same payment entities and therefore warrants inclusion.

A refund is a voluntary return agreement between the customer and the merchant. A chargeback occurs after a customer asks a bank or payment processor to forcibly undo the purchase. If that bank or processor investigates the complaint and deems it valid, they forcibly withdraw money from the merchant’s account.

It is designed as a failsafe against dishonest merchants, but any customer dissatisfied with your product and return policy can make use of it. Merchants can dispute the claim, but if the claim sticks, they often pay an additional and expensive fee.

Shipping

Although shipping falls outside of the direct purview of “payment processors,” it’s essential enough for ecommerce to be Semi in transitconsidered a transaction cost. Complicating the matter is the general expectation of rapid time-to-delivery. Gone are the days of “please allow 6 to 8 weeks of shipping, and good riddance. 

You may be tempted to simply pass these costs along to your customers, but exercise caution. Most customers expect to pay shipping, if reasonable. Even so, if you can find a way to offer free shipping, it will encourage customers to spend more at your store.

How to Reduce Transaction Costs

While transaction costs are unavoidable, here are some measures to take beyond just throwing up your hands and taking your lumps.

Know your needs, then shop around for non-credit card payment providers 

As noted above, you have multiple options. The time you spend learning about your options will save you money. If your store uses a specific application like Magento, WooCommerce, or something similar, engage the community, and even consider attending a larger expo like MagentoLive or WordCamp. If your store does considerable volume, you also may be able to negotiate lower rates with banks and credit card companies.

Look for options, but remember the cheapest service may not be the best solution. Investigate the service’s reputation for support, security, and reliability before committing.

Once again, however, removing the in-store option to pay via credit card will likely irritate some customers. 

Pay respect to customer service

Brand loyalty lives and dies on the hill of customer service. Taking extra steps to keep your customers happy. It will helpprevent costly chargebacks and provide the organic, cost-free marketing otherwise known as positive word-of-mouth. 

support scrabble tiles

The definition of “good customer” service has risen in the age of ecommerce. It need not necessarily be “24/7/365,” but most customers expect:

  • A prompt response, usually within 1 business day
  • A response that doesn’t sound like a script
  • An honest effort to remedy the issue
  • An apology in some shape or form
  • Reasonable transparency

If you’re unable to consistently provide all of the above, it may be time to hire someone that can. It’s a “symptom” of growth and a good problem to have. Embrace it. Resist the urge to outsource the cheapest option available, as you want your representatives to know your product and the fundamentals of customer service.

And if you’re unwilling to provide all of the above… good luck. You’re gonna need it.

Ship smart

Shipping is arguably the biggest cause of transaction cost in ecommerce, as every transaction demands it. As noted earlier, free shipping is a powerful incentive. Even reduced shipping will help your conversion rate. Try some of these tactics to reduce shipping for yourself and your customers:

  • Negotiate with your carrier. The more you ship, the more you save. 
  • Use third party insurance. Carriers generally charge first-rate prices for second-rate coverage. Stick with third party insurance companies, who tend to provide much better value. 
  • Watch for fees. Don’t let yourself be surprised by charges for Saturday delivery, delivery signature, and fuel surcharges. Know before you ship.
  • Use online shipping. Order and print your postage online and it’s almost always cheaper and quicker than doing it all over the counter.
  • Use size-appropriate packaging. Use the smallest you can without compromising the integrity of the product.
  • Buy shipping supplies in bulk. Buy in bulk online. That one-time expense translates to long-term savings.

 

Need other ways to prep for the holiday season? See our Black Friday Ecommerce prep Guide.

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20 Ways to Get Your Store Ready for Black Friday

It’s not too late to start circling the wagons the holiday season. Here’s 20 ways to make the most of your Black Friday that don’t involve new code or massive retooling. Use one, or all, or mix and match for maximum effect.

#1 Enable Hostdedi Cloud Auto Scaling

One of the main arguments to go cloud is flexible, on-demand scaling. Auto Scaling temporarily assigns more resources to your site when there’sHostdedi Auto Scaling an unexpected uptick in concurrent users, defined as users actively engaging with your content (as opposed to “idling” on your site). 

How much does it cost? Not much, unless your site suddenly experiences a prolonged surge in traffic. All Hostdedi Cloud accounts get 12 free hours of Auto Scaling. Beyond that, you’re billed only for what you use in 10-minute increments. The cost depends according to your plan, but range between $0.03–$0.16 cents per increment. 

To put it into perspective, a store with a plan charging $0.10 per increment, using 24 hours of Auto Scaling, would incur an additional charge of $14.40 ($0.60 per hour X 24 hours). This makes it a cost-effective stopgap measure against unexpected surges in traffic, though extensive use usually points to a need for a service upgrade.

#2 Add Product Bundles to Your Store

Package complementary projects together and offer a small discount. As noted by a Harvard Business School study, customers are quick to perceive value in bundles, IF the business in question continues to offer “standalone” units. In the study, Nintendo reported a massive increase in sales when they added bundles (video game + console) to their store, but reported a 20 percent decrease if they sold only bundles.

How much does it cost? Only the “cost” of the discount, but if a 20 percent discount adds 40 percent sales, then it’s a win.

#3 Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)CDN icon

Shopping is a visual experience. At least 90 percent of all site data transfers involve images, video, and other content that take seconds to load in a browser. A wait of 3 seconds or longer tends to send a shopper elsewhere, never to return. While nearly every ecommerce site can benefit from a CDN, shops with international appeal stand to benefit most. 

How much does it cost? No, but it’s definitely affordable even before calculating the potential cost of lost business. Plans start at $25 per month.

#4 Creating Some Solid Long-Form Content

Yes, attention spans are short, but shoppers are motivated when they’re researching possible purchases. These shoppers tend to be hungry for deeper content, provided it’s free of fluff and filler. The benchmark for “long-form” varies, but generally in the 1200–1800 word range. 

The idea is to give potential buyers a reason to visit and remember your site. The topic can be anything, provided the author’s an expert on the topic and it doesn’t sound like 1500-word infomercial. 

How much does it cost? It ranges between “free” (if you write it yourself) and “more than a few beans” (if you outsource). Outsource with caution. Despite the long-form label, the emphasis should be on quality content, not quantity of content. In either case, having a clear goal and knowing your audience will do much for your cause. 

#5 Check Your SSL CertificateSSL certtificate icon

Don’t wait until zero-hour to discover problems with your SSL certificate. Browsers notify visitors about sites without them, and the warning sends them packing. In most cases, a standard SSL certificate will be more than adequate, and whether or not Extended Validation (EV) certificates provide value is a matter of some debate.

How much does it cost? The annual charge ranges between about $40–$300 per year, depending on the type of certificate. Standard SSL certificates are often adequate, but offer a substantially lower warranty than other, more expensive options. However, Let’s Encrypt is free and will work in a pinch for some websites. Such certificates have various limitations, but they meet the minimum standard of assigning your website the “Secure” browser label and preceding the address with “https://”. 

#6 Implement Live Chat

A properly implemented live chat system can increase sales, customer loyalty, and even reveal flaws in your site design or user experience. If you’re using Magento, WooCommerce, or another popular ecommerce platform, several plug-ins are available and relatively easy to deploy. 

If you’re instead relying on your own platform, it may be best to table starting development until after the holiday at this point.

How much does it cost? Per-month licenses range between roughly $15 to several hundred dollars, with variances for number of “seats,” types of features, and other trimmings. Some, like Livechat for Magento 1, offer a 2-week free trial.  

#7 Kick off a social media campaign

If you’re not already tapping social media for a boost, then you’re missing out. One need not be a Social Media Manager to reap the benefits of

social media examples

Facebook, Twitter, and friends. Run a contest, or otherwise give people a reason to share your product. Showcase your best products and services. Tie in with a discount (see #11) and let digital word-of-mouth do the rest. 

How much does it cost? It’s free for starters, but you’ll reach more eyes by paying for promotion status. On Twitter, these are “Promoted Tweets. On Facebook, they’re ads. Both can pay for themselves, provided you’re willing to put a little time and effort into it. 

#8. Showcase User-Generated Content

Designating a space on your site for honest reviews is a good start, but this really refers to engaging with and showing off your customers’ stories about your product or service. These are authentic testimonials and consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view them than marketing content

It takes a little time, but as shown by the below example, it’s not hard. Combine with a giveaway to give it extra traction.

Share your favorite (YOUR_STORE) products with us and you could be featured on our social and website! 

  1. Follow @YOUR_STORE
  2. Post a photo of your favorite YOUR_STORE product
  3. Tag @YOUR_STORE and #YOUR_STORE

How much does it cost? Like all social media campaigns, it can be free, but consider paying for promotional fees to cast a much wider net. 

#9 Create a Cart-Abandonment Email Campaign

The bad news is about 70 percent of all shopping carts never see conversion. The good news is you have a way to bring some of those shoppers back. An effective Black Friday cart-abandonment email campaign is all about timing and presentation. Timing means sending 2–3 emails from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Presentation means branding that sets you apart from the other marketing emails flooding mailboxes.

Find a perfect subject line, perhaps offer a 10% discount, provide a visual of the item, and include a strong call-to-action, like a BUY button.

How much does it cost? This is more feasible if you already have a graphic designer available, since raw text isn’t a good option. Hiring one just for your campaign might be worthwhile, but if you already have one available, consider making this a priority if you haven’t already.

#10 Use Hostdedi DNSHostdedi DNS icon

If you’re already our client, using our DNS streamlines support efforts and gives your customers a reliable and fast way to find your site. Repointing your domain name to our nameservers is relatively quick and easy, and our support team is more than happy to help.

How much does it cost? If you’re a Hostdedi client, it’s free!

#11 Create Discount Codes

Nearly every major ecommerce platform provides the means to create discount codes. Combined with other options from this list, they encourage sharing between friends and acquaintances, otherwise known as free marketing.

Concerned about overuse? Link the discount to a minimum-spending trigger, as in “spend $75, Get 15% Off” or something similar. Remember you’re not limited to sharing on social media. Also consider email, catalogs, and advertisements.

How much does it cost? Again, it depends on how you view the “cost” of a discount. Most shoppers expect to find discounts on Black Friday, so consider the cost of ignoring discounts. 

#12 Make Sure Your Site is Optimized for Mobile

When was the last time you visited your store on a phone or tablet? Over half of all Black Friday shopping occurs from a mobile device. Most

mobile phone

modern ecommerce applications were built with mobile in mind, but don’t forget about emails, checkout, and any other late-season change pushed by your developer. Even if you’re using Magento 2, avoid surprises and explore the common paths for your visitors, from item-selection to checkout. 

How much does it cost? If you’re using a credible ecommerce solution, your storefront is likely ahead of the game. If your site is a trainwreck on mobile, then it’s time to hustle, and hustling usually means taking a financial hit. Still, it may be better than frustrating over 50 percent of all visitors to your site on Black Friday.

#13 Expand Your Store’s Search Function

Your store’s search function is the equivalent of a store clerk. The less time it takes a customer to find what they want, the more time they’ll spend in your store and the better things they’ll have to say about it afterward.

While many options exist, current Hostdedi Cloud clients using Magento 2 can take full advantage of Elasticsearch, a flexible search engine capable of handling large amounts of both structured and unstructured data. 

How much does it cost? If you’re currently a Hostdedi Cloud client, we provide Elasticsearch for no additional charge. It does, however, require some knowledge of MySQL and the command line interface, so take proper care or contact our support team for assistance.

#14 (Magento 2 Only) Follow Our Optimization Guide

magento 2 icon

Our team sensed a shortage of concrete optimizations for Magento 2 developers, and our Definitive Guide to Magento 2 Optimization was theresult. Filled-to-the-brim with how to get the most from your Magento 2 store, the guide includes proven optimizations for PHP, PHP-FPM, Apache, MySQL, Varnish, as well as benchmarks to back up our conclusions.

How much does it cost? It’s free!

#15 Consider Upsells and Cross-sells for Your Products

Consider implementing up-sells and cross-sells for your products. Upselling is encouraging customers to buy a higher-end variant of their current selection. Cross-selling means making the most of opportunities to sell related products. Most popular ecommerce platforms offer out-of-the-box ways to achieve both, though extensions grant additional functionality.

For cross-selling, borrow a page from Amazon’s book and find a way to present a variant of “Customers who bought this product also bought” to buyers. 

How much does it cost? Similar to #6, the cost of applicable extensions ranges between roughly $10 to hundreds. Ask the community surrounding your ecommerce platform to suggest extensions, which can provide exceptional value for their cost. 

#16 Create Banner Ads for Your Site and Social

One need not be a graphic designer to design attractive visuals. It’s not too early to start promoting Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and many free templates are available online, like Canva, Bannersnack, and many others. A few hours’ work can generate buzz and get you ahead of the game. Consider combining with discounts and promoted social media posts for extra effect.

How much does it cost? Free to less free, depending on whether you enlist the services of a graphic designer, provide discounts, or pay for promotional placement in social media.

#17 Load-Test Your Store

It’s best to know the limits of your site before Black Friday, not during. The results can give you some idea of whether or not to pursue an upgrade, or just rely on something like Hostdedi Auto Scale (see #1). If possible, prioritize the specific URLs of your homepage and checkout page.

If you’re a Hostdedi client and are unsure to do with this information, try contacting our support team first. While some of your issues may require a developer’s touch, you may have other options to help optimize site performance.

How much does it cost? Many free options are available. However, prioritize ones that test for “concurrent users,” which refers to the number of users on your site that are actively engaging with your content. Possible candidates include Load Impact, Flood IO, and Loader, among many others.

#18 Make Returns Easy 

Provide a clear return policy. Try to keep “no hassle” at the forefront, though reasonable restrictions on timelines are usually acceptable. Your policy should give answers to:

  • What items can be returned
  • What items can be exchanged
  • Which items are non-returnable and non-exchangeable
  • What options are available for reimbursement (refund, exchange, store credit)
  • How to ask for a return or exchange
  • Whether customers will pay for return-shipping
  • What condition returns and exchanges can be in to qualify (tags, worn, so on)
  • How long customers from the date of purchase to ask for returns or exchanges 

How much does it cost? Returns are arguably the cost of doing business, so we’re marking this one “free.”

#19 Track Everything

Chances are, your store already has tracking tools in place, though most platforms also provide  various plug-ins available to expand these tools.

web tracking on monitor

The right tool gives you invaluable data about how customers interact with your site: what they buy, where they spend their time, and how long they visit each page. Like any data, it requires analysis to be useful, but even an hour or two can provide actionable information for 2020 and beyond.

How much does it cost? It depends on your platform and how deep down the rabbithole you want to go. Start with what’s already available in your store and go from there.

#20 Check Out Your Competition

Spy on your competition so you can outdo them! We’re not recommending anything illegal or unethical. The easiest way to do so is to subscribe to their mailing lists and social media feeds. Fair warning: resist the urge to take too many queues from them, or you risk the “cookie cutter” effect of being too similar to your competition. Finding the balance between “inspired by” and differentiation will spell success for your store.

How much does it cost? Unless you’re buying from your competitors, it’s free!

 

 

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6 Magento Alternatives You Should Be Considering After Magento 1

Magento 1 (M1) will be sunsetting June 2020. While the eCommerce platform will still be accessible and usable by both merchants and devs, it will no longer receive official support from either Magento or Adobe. That means that for the 180,000 merchants running M1, the hunt for Magento alternatives is on. 

Are you unsure where to go once M1’s life draws to a close? Here, we’ll cover some of your options, along with the pros and cons of each. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll have a clearer idea of where your next step on your ecommerce journey will take you. 


Don’t have time to read this now?

Download the After M1 eBook for a complete list of your best options – for when you do have time.


WooCommerce

You may be surprised by the first alternative on this list. You’re probably thinking that WooCommerce just doesn’t have the capabilities you’re looking for in a Magento alternative. This is especially true if you have any experience in WooCommerce and the WordPress space. And you may be right; WooCommerce isn’t as functional as Magento. However, it does have its advantages. 

WooCommerce sits perfectly between being a SaaS product like Shopify, and being a self-hosted ecommerce CMS you have full control of like Magento. It plays a fine line between ease of use and feature sets, and it does so brilliantly. You may be surprised by the types of stores that are on WooCommerce. It’s not all small businesses. 

In 2018, WooCommerce looked into its user base in more detail. They analyzed stores to see where they are coming from and their size. What they found was surprising

WooCommerce is not the ecommerce platform of small merchants some developers think it is. There are a number of larger stores using it as well. 

A large number of WooCommerce stores actually fall between the $100,000 to $500,000 range, with some extending as far as $1 million in annual revenue. Brands that have made WooCommerce their ecommerce platform of choice include Blue Star Coffee, Weber, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and Singer.

WooCommerce is not the best choice for large stores that involve a lot of moving parts. But it is a great Magento alternative for smaller and medium-sized stores looking to take control.

Why use WooCommerce instead of Magento?

  • It’s very easy to use, while still offering impressive flexibility for developers
  • It offers a large number of plugins to increase functionality
  • It has a large selection of themes and templates
  • It’s lightweight, so can load content faster

Why use Magento instead of WooCommerce

  • WooCommerce, while flexible, doesn’t have the ecommerce functionality of Magento
  • Magento is better for growing merchants
  • Magento has a great community that supports ecommerce specifically

 

Stay on Magento 1

Your second alternative isn’t an alternative, and comes with a question. Why make the move at all? Have you thought you need to make the move because of the warnings you’re seeing from the community and in your installation? 

Sentiment regarding the Magento 1 End Of Life is split in the community. Fears regarding security vulnerabilities, loss of PCI compliance, and more are on one side. While devs offering continued support and security updates are on the other. 

As a hosting provider, we will continue to support merchants that wish to stay on Magento 1, by making sure to keep our web application firewall up to date to help with security. We’ll also continue to maintain server-side performance optimizations for the first version of Magento. 

Staying on Magento 1 means doing everything you can to secure your site. From hosting to development, don’t cut corners when the future of your store is at stake. 

If you decide that staying on Magento 1 – even if just for the time being – is the right move for your store, then there are a few things you’re going to want to do. Firstly, upgrade your store to Magento 1.9. Unlike replatforming, this does not require much work or expense and is a simple patching process.

You’re also going to want to upgrade any other software you’re running as part of your application stack. This includes your PHP, MySQL, and Apache versions, along with any other applications you’re running as a part of your stack. The Hostdedi support team can help with this. Get in touch and we’ll make sure your hosting environment is as secure as possible. 

Finally, don’t forget to communicate with your developer (if you have one) about what they think staying on Magento 1 means for your store. Some developers will try their best to accommodate you and put in place safeguards so your store isn’t exposed to vulnerabilities. 

Why Stay on Magento 1 instead of moving to Magento 2?

Download and read After M1 to find out more detailed reasons for why staying on M1 may be the right option for your store. 

 

BigCommerce (For WordPress)

Perhaps WooCommerce isn’t the right fit for your store. Maybe Staying on Magento 1 is out of the question. Where do you go next? 

BigCommerce started out as a SaaS application but has since expanded into the headless (decoupled) market. We offer this as an option in the form of BigCommerce for WordPress. The Advantages? Merchants can use both the backend of BigCommerce for ecommerce management and the frontend of WordPress for displaying it. 

This means is more flexibility, better potential user experiences, and the ability to ramp up your content marketing strategy. Remember, content and product SEO are different, so don’t charge in head-first if your not as experienced with content SEO. 

BigCommerce is the Magento alternative for merchants looking for both great content and product management capabilities.

BigCommerce for WordPress also comes with premium support from both Hostdedi and BigCommerce. In the event something goes wrong on either the application or the hosting side, you’ll immediately be able to reach out to a relevant member of the support staff to resolve your problem. The faster it’s resolved, the quicker you’re going to be able to start selling again. 

Why choose BigCommerce instead of Magento?

  • It offers both great ecommerce and content functionality
  • Both BigCommerce and your hosting provider are able to offer support

Why choose Magento instead of BigCommerce?

  • Magento still offers more in terms of functionality
  • BigCommerce charges transaction fees
  • BigCommerce is a closed source application without the development community of Magento

 

Sylius

Perhaps you’re a developer or merchant that loves to live on the bleeding edge. Maybe you’ve always prided yourself on staying up to date with the latest and greatest. Or perhaps you’re all about taking the reins when it comes to functionality. 

If that sounds like you, then Sylius is probably your platform of choice. 

Sylius is an open source ecommerce platform that runs on Symfony. That means more customization, more functionality, and stronger alignment with dev best practices. Plus, with it being open source, the community for support only continues to grow. 

Currently available in standard and enterprise forms, Sylius is a good option if you’re looking to stay ahead of trends in web development. However, if your store needs to remain reliable, then it may be better to look elsewhere. 

Why choose Sylius over Magento

  • Sylius is cutting edge in ecommerce web development
  • It allows merchants to create a heavily customized ecommerce experience

Why choose Magento over Sylius

  • Magento has a longer history and is a more secure foundation
  • There is a larger selection of extensions for Magento
  • You may be limited by your programming expertise

 

Shopify

On the other end of the functionality spectrum is Shopify; a SaaS application built to make ecommerce easy. 

Shopify is one of the more popular options around, and it’s easy to see why when you take a look at its ease of use. For small merchants, the process of going from store idea to selling is quick and easy. However, this ease of use isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – especially when a store starts to grow. 

Shopify is a good option for merchants getting started in ecommerce, but as they grow its limitations become increasingly apparent. 

Shopify comes with a number of limitations that can ultimately hurt a merchant’s bottom line. 

One of the most significant of these limitations is transaction fees. While alternatives like WooCommerce and Magento let merchants use a number of different payment processors without needing to pay transaction fees, Shopify only allows you to avoid them if you use Shopify’s payment service. This can cause problems with lock-in once you start needing an alternative. 

Other limitations also start to appear when considering Shopify SEO. These include:

  • A rigid URL structure
  • Limitations to meta titles and descriptions
  • A locked robots.txt files
  • An inability to edit tag pages
  • No good way to handle duplicate content

For merchants that want their store to rank for important search terms, these SEO limitations can quickly outway the advantages that come with Shopify’s ease of use – especially if you’re a merchant with a lot of products. 

Why choose Shopify over Magento?

  • It’s easier to use and get started with
  • It comes with a large selection of templates and themes

Why choose Magento over Shopify?

  • Magento offers more in terms of flexibility and functionality
  • Magento doesn’t have transaction costs
  • Shopify has some serious SEO limitations

 

Prestashop

Prestashop is another option that works well for merchants looking to leverage a platform that offers ease of use. 

Originally released in 2008, Prestashop comes in both self-hosted and SasS forms. While the user base for both has diminished over the last few years, it’s still a strong competitor for small stores.

Moreover, perhaps because of its self-hosted background, when compared with other SaaS platforms, it manages to hold its own in terms of functionality. Some of the main reasons you may decide to use Prestashop include: 

  • Easy to use and intuitive interface
  • A good selection of themes and templates
  • Over 3,900 extensions for expanding functionality
  • A lightweight platform that is usually fast

Despite these advantages, Prestashop, like Shopify, just can’t compete with some of the bigger players in terms of functionality and flexibility. For medium stores or those that expect to grow, it quickly becomes a bottleneck that prevents continued growth. 

Prestashop is a good option if you’re looking for a platform that offers ease of use. But it trails behind some of the more powerful options in terms of functionality. 

Magento, for example, offers a number of complex options and tools for managing omnichannel customer journeys and multi-site stores with localization requirements. This is an advantage that can particularly help stores with international customers. Localization with Prestashop doesn’t offer the same level of detail or a truly “local” experience. 

Prestashop – just like Shopify-  also falls down in terms of SEO. In fact, stock Prestashop doesn’t even have some SEO features you would expect to see, like meta titles and descriptions. To gain access to that functionality you have to download an extension. 

Overall, Prestashop isn’t the best option on this list. It does, however, offer a suitable alternative to Magento for merchants looking to simplify their commerce experience. 

Why choose Prestashop over Magento?

  • Prestashop is easier to use and develop with. 
  • Prestashop offers a large number of themes and add-ons

Why choose Magento over Prestashop?

  • Prestashop has terrible SEO features
  • Magento offers more in terms of features and functionality

 

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8 Common Hosting Problems (and How to Avoid Them)

In our annual State of Hosting, we found that uptime remains the chief concern for most merchants. Uptime, though critical, is one of only many things that can go wrong with web hosting, and the measure of a solid web hosting provider often means more than 99% uptime. 

Within, we highlight how to resolve or prevent common web hosting errors like poor uptime, slow performance, and other key areas.

Slow Performance

Visitors have little patience for a slow site. Your product, customer service, and deals won’t matter much if it makes users wait. Over half of visitors leave a site when a page takes more than 3 seconds to load, and most of them will not return

A slow site may not always be the fault of your hosting provider, though a credible one will do everything they can, such as:

  • Providing optimized environments for your chosen application (Magento, WordPress, WooCommerce, Drupal, and so on)
  • Current technology, though unproven “bleeding edge” tech can be cause for concern
  • Provide scalable solutions that can temporarily or permanently meet the needs of your growing business

What to Do About It

If your site sputters, start with your hosting provider’s support team. Competent support teams will investigate the issue and resolve it if they can. If the cause is beyond their control—poorly written website code, an unpatched Magento installation, unexpected surges in your site traffic—they can help diagnose the problem and suggest options for resolving it.

Beyond contacting support, you can try:

  • Using a CDN service
  • Limiting your use of dynamic content in favor of static content, especially on your high-volume landing pages
  • Enlisting the services of a developer, or having conversations with your current one
  • Patching the platform running your site
  • Limiting your use of third-party extensions, and make sure the ones you keep are current
  • Simplifying your web design
  • Enabling caching on your content management system of choice, if available

Poor Security or PCI Compliance

secured safeWith security, you have enough to worry about on your end without wondering whether your hosting provider is holding up theirs. No security system can claim perfection, but consider any of the below to be hosting provider red flags:

  • Irregular or missing maintenance windows; though sometimes inconvenient, these represent a commitment to providing a secure and stable service
  • Inability to provide secure file transfer protocol (SFTP); FTP is generally considered unsecure
  • Failure to provide their AoC upon request (see below)
  • Support can’t answer your questions about SSL, a fundamental need of nearly every legitimate website
  • Unclear backup policy; while it’s best not to rely only on your hosting provider’s backups, every reputable provider will provide them
  • Outdated versions of PHP or MySQL; your provider should be using versions well outside end of life (EoL). 

What to Do About It

The best policy here is prevention. Don’t wait until your host fails at security to verify its effectiveness. Ask your hosting provider for their Attestation of Compliance (AoC), and consider any resistance to providing it to be a huge red flag. And always remember that as a merchant, you must do your part for PCI compliance even after rolling with a PCI compliant hosting provider.

Beyond the AoC, check the hosting provider’s website, followed by their reputation. If they provide a fair amount of original content about PCI and security, then they likely have some experts on their team. If the hosting provider specializes in a particular platform, ask other people using that platform about that provider. People that experience problems with web hosts are rarely shy about sharing their story.

Cost 

Although “high cost” is a common complaint, it’s usually more productive to think in terms of value. For example, unmanaged hosting is usually cheaper than managed hosting because the former offers little more than a power source, the network, and a secured facility. Support is usually not on the menu.

The end result is a low-cost hosting provider. This can suit the needs of some, but others would be wise to consider the value of well-managed hosting, even if it costs more in strict dollars. Managed hosting with a good provider means less maintenance, hands-free updates to server operating systems, and dedicated 24/7 support.

What to Do About It

If you feel your hosting provider doesn’t provide enough to justify their cost, it’s probably time to find another. Again, word-of-mouth and reputation go a long way here. Talk to others in your community—merchants using the same platform with similar needs—and ask them for suggestions. Go to a convention or two, spend some time on GitHub, or find a forum. Sure, it takes time, but it can save you downtime and headaches down the road.

Slow Support

When it comes to web hosting, troubleshooting is essential and expected. It is perfectly reasonable to expend your hosting provider to respect your time, and to respond to any service disruption to your service with urgency. Even if an outage is beyond the control of your hosting provider, they should be willing to communicate and sympathize with your situation throughout.

Ideally, the more ways to reach support, the better. 24/7 support is pretty much the standard for modern managed web hosting, with reasonable allowances for shopping-season ramp-ups. 

What to Do About It

Assuming a slow response isn’t an outlier, express you dissatisfaction with a member of support leadership. Even when you have justifiable cause to be upset, keeping your temper in check while expressing your irritation often yields more desirable results. Humans act more efficiently when treated well and support teams are no exception. 

Hostdedi support team

However, if they’re grossly incompetent, then it’s time to shop around using the same method described in the above “Cost” section.

Unclear Limitations

When it comes to hosting, nobody likes surprises. This applies to uptime, bandwidth, storage, scalability, and many other facets of your service. Reputable web hosts will be up front with how they distribute resources and bill for their services, and provide additional details when asked. 

That said, take the time to read the provider’s Service Level Agreement, which tends to provide reasonable legal wiggle room in the event of unavoidable disruptions to your service. The presence of an SLA is not in-and-of-itself a red flag—nearly every hosting provider has one—but taking the time to read it can give you a better understanding of what to expect.

What to Do About It

Prevention does a lot. Do your homework on your hosting provider and ask their sales or support teams plenty of questions. If they break a promise or guarantee, hold them to it!

Site outages and downtime

Downtime costs you money. Most web hosts recognize this, and adopt proactive measures to minimize downtime as much as they can. “One hundred percent” uptime is strictly impossible, as even the most conscientious web host must perform occasional maintenance, failing upstream providers, and other issues beyond their direct control.

You should know about every planned maintenance window capable of affecting your service well in advance. The rare hiccup to your service is inevitable; the real tell is how your hosting provider reacts to it. 

What to Do About It

The more times you answer “no” to these questions after any given outage, the more you should consider heading for another host.

  • Are disruptions and outages a rare event for this provider?
  • Are they reasonably transparent? 
  • Did they apologize (even if not directly their fault)?
  • Did they respond to you in a reasonably prompt manner?
  • If they proposed a timeline, did they honor it?
  • Did they avoid accusing you of “breaking something”?
  • Did they resolve your issue, or at least guide you toward a solution?
  • If it was an extended outage, did they compensate you somehow?
  • If they required action on your part, did they provide clear instructions?

Poor Scalability

Ideally, your web host will make it relatively easy for your service to grow with your business. One of the major selling points of cloud services is quick-and-painless scalability. Cloud technology makes it easier to allocate extra resources to your service on-demand, as well as provides a cleaner, migration-free path to permanently upgrading (or downgrading) your service.

If you’re married to a non-cloud solution and need to migrate, your hosting provider should be discussing options with you before pushing for migration. Respectable hosting providers look for ways to improve your service before upselling. If migration is necessary, they are transparent about the process, listening to your needs, and keeping you informed every step of the way. 

What to Do About It

Cloud hosting is the answer in most cases. Yes, it tends to cost a little more than non-cloud hosting, but in exchange you receive flexibility. Your site will respond better to sudden, unforseen surges in traffic and be easier to move when your business outgrows your website.

Inadequate Tech Stack 

tech stackA stack is a bundle of software designed to run a server. They range in complexity and purpose, and not so long ago a Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP (LAMP) stack was considered adequate for hosting purposes. As modern web applications have risen to prominence and in complexity, this is no longer the case.

In 2019, stacks also serve to accelerate performance for the web applications running on those same servers. At Hostdedi, our cloud web application draws on 20 years of experience to build a stack with components that work together to provide enough resources for modern web applications. While established players like Apache and PHP play undeniable roles, we’ve expanded it with several other technologies, most notably Nginx, Varnish, and for Magento, ElasticSearch.

Nginx

Nginx is a full-featured, high-performance web server that excels at serving static content. In our cloud stack, it also handles Transport Layer Security (TLS) decryption necessary for HTTPS connections, and does so much more efficiently than other possible alternatives, like the web server itself. 

Varnish

When properly configured, Varnish takes over caching requests normally handled by Apache and Nginx, and so provides fast delivery of static and dynamic content.

ElasticSearch (Magento only)

ElasticSearch is a search engine that allows customers to quickly find one product among thousands. Available as part of our Magento cloud service, Elasticsearch is fast and scalable for both structured and unstructured data, with support for 34 languages.

What to Do About It

Before drawing any conclusions about a hosting provider’s tech stack, engage with their support or sales team to explore their other offerings. Be wary of any effort that doesn’t ask specific questions about your goals or business. Ethical hosting providers will work with you to identify and fulfill your needs, as opposed to just offering a knee-jerk upgrade.

Each content management system had different needs. What works best for Magento often isn’t ideal for WordPress, and so on. Experienced web hosts know the “what” and “how” of these optimizations more than players new to the game. If your store uses Magento 2, ask your provider how long they’ve been hosting Magento 2 sites, and what they can offer you that other hosts can’t.

 

Need help finding a web hosting solution that works for you? Contact our sales team between 9 a.m.– 5 p.m. eastern time, Monday to Friday.

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Content + Commerce: A Magento 1 End of Life Discussion

At the beginning of the year, the Hostdedi research team put together a report on the State of Hosting at the start of 2019. In it, we predicted that Data Protection would only increase in importance, headless implementations would become more mainstream, and development would improve as hosting infrastructure continued to decrease in visibility. 

It’s now approaching the end of 2019, and many of these predictions have come to fruition. Most vitally, for ecommerce stores, this has meant an increased lack of division between content and commerce.

In 2018, 67 percent of Magento store owners stated that they plan to adopt PWA at some point in the future. Their reasons for doing as such were the improved development capabilities of headless implementations, and the ability to stay ahead of the curve. This wasn’t just because of infrastructure. It was also because of content. 

The division between content and commerce isn’t what it once was. This means more opportunities in a wild west-esque content landscape.

According to Technavio, a leading market research company, the content marketing industry is set to grow by 16 percent between 2017 and 2021. According to their lead researcher, the reason for this is that “The effectiveness of traditional marketing is decreasing by the day. Companies must adopt the latest marketing trends to enhance their business and increase their consumer base.“ 

The important takeaway here is that companies are trying to adopt the latest marketing trends to stay ahead. In 2019 and 2020, that means content. 

 

 

Is Content Marketing New?

Content Marketing is nothing new. According to the Content Marketing Institute, one of the first recognized examples of content marketing was from none other than Benjamin Franklin. In 1732, he published the yearly Poor Richard’s Almanack. The reason? To promote his publishing business. 

Then, in 1801, the bookstore Librairie Galignani recruited a content strategist to help them grow their business. Most significantly, this meant creating a newspaper that featured excerpts from famous writers and books. And then there were many, many other content marketing efforts from companies around the world. Each more innovative and influential than the last. 

Content Marketing has been around for a long time, but it’s only relatively recently that commerce businesses have started to ramp up its importance in the digital space. 

Enter the digital age. Content marketing experts initially continued to invest heavily in traditional forms of content marketing. Then SEO started to make an appearance, and those strategies changed. Then Marketing automation and personalization appeared. Again, those strategies changed. 

Today, content has become an important part of the buyer’s journey. It does more than just provide reading material. It helps to shape a brand, build advocates, and create a community that rallies around the same beliefs and ideas. 

 

Enter Magento PWA and the Magento 1 End of Life

With the Magento 1 End of Life fast approaching, merchants now have an opportunity. Moving to a progressive web application is a very real possibility, and comes with a lot of advantages over current, single application deployments. A few of those advantages include:

  • More front-end control
  • The ability to create improved user experiences
  • Reduced cost of development
  • Cross device communication and mobile-first design
  • Continued engagement through automated push notifications
  • Improved multi-team collaborative processes

With these advantages, it almost seems as though PWA is the obvious choice for moving forward. Increasingly, hosting providers are also ramping up support for PWA application stacks. This means faster deployments, quicker page load times, and optimized development environments. 

 

 

The Content + Commerce Mix: Magento Alternatives

Magento isn’t the only player in PWA. Also known as headless and decoupled, Drupal and WordPress have both been making strides into the space. Commerce platforms have also made a play, providing headless architecture as a way to satisfy the growing content demands of merchants. 

There are headless and decoupled alternatives for several content platforms – most notably WordPress and Drupal.

One company doing this very well is BigCommerce. Their BigCommerce for WordPress (BC4WP) implementation has come a long way to offering merchants a reliable and scalable headless option. Moreover, with WordPress a well-known and well-used application, merchants are easily able to adapt their internal teams to the content management process. 

 

 

The Possibilities of a Post-Magento 1 World

Now is the time to get your store ready for the next stage of its lifecycle. Now is the time to explore the possibilities open to you as a merchant for both improving the buyer’s journey on your site, and managing the complex range of development and content curation processes that already exist within your organization. 

Interested in learning more about your options after Magento 1? Learn everything you need to know about the Magento 1 End of Life. Thinking of just moving to Magento 2? See how the two platforms compare and judge whether replatforming is right for your business. Alternatively, download our guide to After M1, offering a list of viable alternatives and why you should choose them. 

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How to Get Ready for MagentoLive Europe 2019

MagentoLive Europe comes arrives in only a few weeks, bringing Magento merchants and innovators from around the globe to Amsterdam, arguably the biggest ecommerce hub on the continent. 

What and When is MagentoLive?

The Magento community hosts various global events designed to connect and educate developers, merchants, and ecommerce influencers. The largest of these is Imagine, amsterdam at nightenvisioned as the definitive global gathering of the Magento community. MagentoLive serves as a complement to that event, in essence a more “localized” version of Imagine.

The short version is almost anyone involved with Magento—in any capacity—will benefit from attending. Adobe, who purchased Magento last year, will have a significant presence with four Keynote and over two dozen Breakout Session speakers (out of 8 and 48 total, respectively). Add to this sessions from Magento Masters, Google, and other big players from the ecommerce space, and it’s impossible not to leave with new knowledge and inspiration.

MagentoLive Europe 2019 takes place between October 22–23 at the RAI Exhibition and Conference Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Magento expects over 2000 commerce professionals to attend—here’s how to get the most out of the event.

3 Reasons to Get Excited About MagentoLive Europe 2019

Get excited! It’ll make it easier to find time to plan ahead, and you’ll get significantly more return on your investment.

1.  Session Variety

Whether you’re a Magento fanatic, developer, merchant, or even just considering adopting it for your storefront, there’s something for everyone at MagentoLive Amsterdam. Session topics include hands-on labs, marketing strategies, product reviews, technical solutions, and countless other options. Most sessions last an hour or less, but they can overlap. 

You can get started prioritizing your favorites by viewing the MagentoLive agenda. Note that some events, hands-on labs and certifications, require registration in advance.

2.  Networking Opportunities

Keep an eye on social media, starting with #MLEU, #nexcesslive, and feeds of your other favorites. Put names to faces in an environment where every vendor is putting their best foot forward to earn your business!

Not sure about how to handle Magento 1 end-of-life in June 2020? Read our blog post, Magento 1 vs Magento 2: Should You Stay or Should You Go.

If you’re a developer, consider arriving a day early to take part in Contribution Day. See the Session Highlights section below for more information

3. Adobe’s Roadmap for Magento

Adobe’s 2018 acquisition made waves in the Magento community. Although they’ve integrated the platform into their Experience Cloud, they’ve also declared their intent to roadmap sticky noterespect and utilize Magento open source community in this effort. 

Judging by the volume of Adobe presenters at MagentoLive Europe 2019, the company appears intent on showing, rather than just telling, how they plan to proceed. President Paul Robson is only one of several members prominent keynote speakers from Adobe, and it’s fair to say they’re expecting your questions about what lies ahead.

Session Highlights

Your mileage may vary according to your role and needs, but here’s some highlights of the wall-to-wall events at MagentoLiveEurope 2019. The variety caters to tech-savvy developers, commerce-focused merchants, and everything in between.Space is limited for some events, so register early whenever possible!

Contribution Day

Monday, October 21, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Technically, this is pre-game as it starts a day before the official MagentoLive Amsterdam festivities. Contribution Day allows you to rub shoulders with talented members of the community, where you can learn about how to submit contributions or find solutions to your most pressing challenges. The event spans 7 hours, though day-long attendance is not required. Unwind afterward by closing with their cocktail hour.

Early Adopters of Progressive Web Apps

Tuesday, October 22, 9–10 a.m.Magento PWA logo

New to the ecommerce landscape in 2015, progressive web apps (PWAs) are now an industry standard. PWA Studio is a collection of tools designed to make the most of the technology on the Magento 2 platform. It’s a relatively pain-free way to learn from other people’s mistakes. Both presents are Adobe representatives: James Zetlan, Sr. MTS Architect and Eric Erway, Sr. Manager, Product Management.

How to Digitally Transform and Scale a Traditional B2B Business

Tuesday, October 22, 1:30–2:15 p.m.

The need to scale is usually a welcome symptom of success, yet still capable of causing headaches and sleepless nights for unprepared stores. Featuring the founder of Juzo, a medical compression manufacturer, and the Founder/CEO of Techdivision Gmbh, their developer, learn about how they addressed the challenge of configuring 50,000 product variants for their Magento store in less than 6 months.

Hands-On Labs: Get to Know Adobe Target and Adobe Analytics

Tuesday, October 22, 1:30–3 p.m. (arrive 15 minutes early)

As Magento is now part of the Adobe Experience Cloud, why not learn more about two other tools already optimized to work with this platform? Like all hands-on labs at these events, you’ll get your hands dirty with firsthand experience creating reports, dashboards, and analytics.

Migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2: Strategic Planning for Business Leaders

Tuesday, October 22, 9–10 a.m.

Magento 1 end of life is just around the corner (June 2020). Whether you’ve settled on Magento 1 or not, this session will guide your strategy away from common mistakes and into the clearer waters of realistic timelines. Presented by the tandem of Ray Bogman, Adobe Sr. Business Solutions Architect, and Jos Pieters, Jac Hansen Ecommerce Manager & Product Owner.

Winning Loyalty on the Shipping Battleground 

Tuesday, October 22, 2:30–3:15 p.m.

Remember the days of “Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for shipping?” Neither does anyone else. After quality, customer care, and shipping are the Big Three of sustainable growth. This session highlights the latest innovations from three presenters: Matthew Waslet, Adobe Product Marketing Manager; Aynsley Peet, Cox & Cox Head of Ecommerce; Leedert van Delft, DHL VP Global Sales & Digital Marketing.

Magento Product Roadmap 

Tuesday, October 22, 3:45–4:30 p.m.

Want to know what the future holds for Magento and Adobe Experience Cloud? This is the place. Four Directors of Product Management from Adobe give you the scoop on Magento Commerce, Order Management, Business Intelligence, and Cloud.

Hands-on Labs: Getting Started with PWA Studio

Wednesday, October 23, 9–10:30 a.m. (arrive 15 minutes early)

Another hands-on lab, where attendees will set up Venia PWA on Magento 2, use Graph QL, and work with PWA Studio. Hosted by Adobe Sr MTS Architect James Zetlan.

Commerce Obsessed: How to Map a B2C Customer Journey

Wednesday, October 23, 10–10:45 a.m.

For consumers, the “cost” of your product also extends to the time involved paying for it. The more efficient and dare-we-say fun you can make your store experience, the more customers will tend to spend. Expect to learn about trends, but also to see real-world examples of customer journey experiences. Led by Ryan Green, Adobe Senior Manager of Strategy.commerce logos

Expanding the User Experience: Site Reviews

Wednesday, October 23, 10–10:45 a.m.

Let the Magento UX experts review your store and provide constructive feedback on how to increase customer satisfaction. Almost any store has room for improvement. The emphasis is on “actionable advice,” so you stand to benefit as long as you  check your ego at the door. 

Secure Commerce with Magento

Wednesday, October 23, 10–10:45 a.m

Magento’s popularity makes it a prime target for bad actors. The good news is that Magento is well aware and working hard to stay ahead of the game. Topics include PCI compliance, cloud security, and general best practices for keeping your store secure. Led by Adobe Senior Product Managers Yevhenii Pyltiai and Piotr Kaminski,.

DevExchange & Networking Event

Wednesday, October 23, 3:30–5:30 p.m.

A laid back session that serves as last call to share brains with fellow developers. Compare war stories. Learn from each other. Meet awesome people. Led by Sherrie Rohde, Magento Community manager for Adobe.

 

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