Monthly ArchivesJune 2022

Shipping and delivery methods play a fundamental role in the success of an online business. A recent quantitative analysis by the Baymard Institute reveals that 48% of U.S. adults abandon their shopping carts due to extra costs such as shipping and handling fees.

Furthermore, they also found that 28% abandon their carts due to slow delivery.

If you’re a Magento store owner, you have access to some of the most comprehensive shipping features available on an ecommerce platform.

You can use the default Magento 2 shipping methods to configure everything from simple free shipping to complex conditional rates without a shipping extension or third-party integrations.

Want to learn how? Keep reading.

An Introduction to Magento 2 Shipping Methods

There are four primary shipping methods in Magento:

1. Free Shipping.

2. Flat Rate.

3. Table Rates.

4. In-Store Delivery.

Here’s a brief explanation of each Magento 2 shipping method:

Free Shipping

The free shipping method in Magento 2 is the best way to offer no-charge shipping to your customers. You can use it to set up shipping promotions for orders over a certain amount to boost the average order value of your store.

It’s worth noting that even though you can set up free shipping using Magento 2 cart price rules, the shipping method takes precedence over the price rule when applied to the same order.

Flat Rate

The flat rate shipping method allows you to charge customers a fixed price per item or on the cart subtotal. It helps you standardize the cost of shipping products and simplify logistics using prepaid packages from providers such as FedEx, DHL, and USPS.

Table Rates

The table rate shipping method in Magento 2 calculates shipping rates based on conditions such as:

1. Number of items vs. destination.

2. Price vs. destination.

3. Weight vs. destination.

You only need to upload a .csv file of shipping rates to your store, and Magento 2 will estimate shipping charges using that file during checkout. This method allows you to charge customers more accurately and pass on shipping cost savings.

In-Store Delivery

In-Store Delivery in Magento 2 lets you offer customers the flexibility to collect their orders from your store during checkout. It helps you create a seamless omnichannel shopping experience and offer customers more control over their shopping experience.

How To Set Up Free Shipping in Magento 2

Before setting up free shipping, make sure you configure a shipping carrier to support this Magento 2 shipping method. Then, follow these steps:

1. Go to Stores > Settings > Configuration > Sales > Delivery Methods in the Magento admin panel.

2. Expand the Free Shipping section and set Enabled to Yes.

3. Enter identifiers for the method in the Title and Method Name areas.

4. Enter a value (without special characters) for Minimum Order Amount to define the free shipping threshold.

5. Set Include Tax to Amount to Yes to include tax in the minimum order amount. Alternatively, set it to No to exclude tax from the qualifying amount.

6. Enter a message in the Displayed Error Message to show when free shipping is unavailable.

7. Choose a value from the Ship to Applicable Countries dropdown. You can continue with the default shipping settings or manually select countries from the Ship to Specific Countries list.

8. Set Show Method if Not Applicable to Yes to display the free shipping option even when unavailable, or set it to No to show it only when available.

9. Enter a value for Sort Order to define the position of the option in the list of shipping methods during checkout. For instance, a method with sort order “0” displays first, “1” second, and “2” in the third place.

10. Click Save Config.

How To Set Up Flat Rate Shipping in Magento 2

The Flat Rate Magento 2 shipping method is a simple and predictable way to charge a shipping fee on your store. Here’s how you can set it up:

1. Go to Stores > Settings > Configuration > Sales > Delivery Methods in the Magento admin panel.

2. Expand the Flat Rate section and set Enabled to Yes.

3. Enter a custom shipping method title in the Title area to display during checkout on the frontend.

4. Enter a custom Method Name to display next to the rate in the shopping cart. This value is “Fixed” by default, but you can replace it with something like “Shipping Fees.”

5. Choose how shipping is calculated using the Type dropdown. You can select None to disable Flat Rate shipping, Per Order to charge a flat rate on the entire cart value, or Per Item to charge for the total number of items in the cart.

6. Enter the shipping price you want to charge next to Price.

7. Expand the Calculate Handling Fee dropdown and choose how you want Magento to calculate any extra handling fees: Fixed or Percent.

8. Enter the value for handling fee calculation in the Handling Fee area. If you chose Fixed in the previous step, enter a number rounded up to two decimal places, such as 9.90 or 10.00. If you chose Percent, enter a number without decimals.

9. Enter a custom error message in the Displayed Error Message text area or proceed with the default message.

10. Set Ship to Applicable Countries as All Allowed Countries or Specific Countries. If you choose Specific Countries, manually assign countries for this method using the Ship to Specific Countries list.

11. Set Show Method if Not Applicable to Yes or No.

12. Set the Sort Order.

13. Click Save Config.

How To Set Up In-Store Delivery in Magento 2

Before using the In-Store Delivery Magento 2 shipping method, make sure you’ve configured a source as a pickup location and a Distance Priority Algorithm. Then, follow these steps:

1. Go to Stores > Settings > Configuration > Sales > Delivery Methods in the Magento admin panel.

2. Expand the In-Store Delivery section and set Enabled to Yes.

3. Enter a descriptive Method Name to display in the shopping cart.

4. Enter a Title to display during checkout.

5. Set the Price for your in-store pickup service. Leave it as “0.00” to offer it for free.

6. Enter the Search Radius (in Kilometers) to search for a pickup location during the customer checkout process.

7. Enter an error message in the Displayed Error Message text area or proceed with the default message.

8. Click Save Config.

Final Thoughts: A Beginner’s Guide to Magento 2 Shipping Methods

Magento 2 shipping methods help you offer a unique shopping experience to your customers. They support complex use cases and can help you create the ultimate omnichannel shopping experience.

Besides shipping, Magento 2 performance also plays a crucial role in improving the customer experience. Don’t let website performance hurt your online conversions. Migrate to Managed Magento Hosting by Hostdedi and enjoy the convenience of performance-optimized servers.

Browse our plans and get started today.

What are your top business goals? For most online store owners, customer acquisition is a top goal. Acquiring customers usually requires many tweaks on your online store’s front and back end.

But once you have great WooCommerce hosting and a fantastic WooCommerce store that offers website visitors a pleasant and reliable customer experience and achieve your sales targets, what’s next?

Successful businesses don’t stop at acquiring customers. They strive to give their customers a great post-purchase experience. You need to nurture your customers even after they click that ‘buy’ button on your website.

After all, the post-purchase experience can define how customers feel about your store and brand. And these feelings will likely determine whether they’ll visit your store again to make repeat purchases or recommend your brand to their friends and family.

A 2022 Emplify survey backs that up, finding that 63% of people leave brands due to poor customer experience, making the customer experience one of the keys to customer retention.

With that in mind, let’s see how you can ensure a great post-purchase experience for your customers. Here’s what we’ll cover:

Importance of a Great Post-Purchase Experience

According to Brain & Company, 5% customer retention results in a 25% increase in business revenue. That means existing customers offer a higher return on investment than new customers.

It’s not just about the repeat purchases; loyal customers often become brand ambassadors, bringing in more revenue through their friends and family. Overall, positive post-purchase experiences result in increased brand reputation and revenue.

In a competitive market, it’s not easy to gain customers’ loyalty. Hence, it’s not just sufficient to understand the customer’s needs. You need to follow their customer journey and strive to offer a positive experience at every stage of it.

Customer’s Journey

Understanding your customer journey helps you improve the marketing and sales efforts across its stages. Let’s explore the main stages in a customer’s journey.

1. Awareness

In this stage, customers identify they have a problem to solve or an opportunity to pursue. The customer is aware that they need to make a purchase to fulfill their need, but they aren’t sure what could be a possible solution.

The customer starts gathering information about how others have solved this issue. They might seek referrals from their friends or search on the internet.

2. Consideration

In this stage, the customer has already defined their need or problem and has identified multiple solutions. The customer carefully evaluates the pros and cons of each solution. They will also check how cost-effective each solution is.

3. Decision

Now, the customer knows what product or service they need. The decision stage is where they assess several brands and choose the specific brand that best fits their needs.

Post-Purchase Evaluation

The customer’s journey doesn’t end when they make a purchase. Soon after the purchase, the customer starts evaluating their purchase decision. They don’t just consider the quality of the service or product. They also reflect upon:

• The check-out process
• Shipment tracking
• Communication with customer representatives
• The onboarding process

Based on their evaluation, they soon come to a verdict about their new purchase. That verdict affects the customer’s future purchases and engagement with the brand.

Post-Purchase Behavior

The post-purchase behavior defines how customers feel and what actions they take after a purchase. Along with the product/service quality, several other factors affect a customer’s post-purchase behavior. Customer behavior could be positive or negative based on how a brand stays true to its claims and treats its customers.

Positive vs. Negative Post-Purchase Behaviors

On one end of the spectrum, you have highly-satisfied customers who will write ravishing reviews and endorse your brand. On the other end, customers might regret their decision to purchase.

Highly-satisfied customers display positive post-purchase behaviors such as writing positive reviews, making repeated purchases, and recommending the brand to others. Customers disappointed with their purchase will show negative behaviors — writing bad reviews and switching brands.

It’s crucial to observe and influence your customer’s post-purchase behavior to improve your customer retention rate and revenue.

How To Ensure Customers Stay in the Post-Purchase Loyalty Loop

The customer loyalty loop is the path customers take when they make repeat purchases. Getting customers into the loyalty loop is highly rewarding for brands as it increases customer lifetime value and brand reputation.

A positive post-purchase experience urges customers to stay in the loyalty loop. Let’s see how you can create a customer experience that results in positive post-purchase behaviors and retains them in the loyalty loop.

Post-Purchase Communication

The moment a customer makes a purchase, the post-purchase communication channel opens. Prompt and transparent communication plays a great role in creating a positive post-purchase experience.

Most brands communicate with their customers through post-purchase emails. Crafting personalized and engaging emails is key for effective post-purchase communication.

There are multiple types of post-purchase emails.

Welcome Emails

A well-crafted welcome email is a crucial touchpoint in communicating with customers. You need to leverage the welcome mail to build brand loyalty.

To do that, you can:

• Personalize your welcome email and address the customer by name.
• Ensure the welcome mail has helpful information for the customer.
• Invite the customer to your brand and make them feel special.
• Ensure the mail is clutter-free and focus on a single call to action.

You may want to create multiple welcome mail templates for different customer segments.

Food52 sends a welcome mail that offers customers some great deals. They also include the founders’ image, which will help them earn the customer’s trust.

Other Types of Email Communication

Having a post-purchase email marketing strategy to keep your customers engaged is crucial. Include the following in your emails to build a community of loyal and engaged customers:

• Information about exclusive deals and offers.
• Suggestions on how to make the best use of their purchase.
• A curated list of products that will complement their current purchase.
• Invitation to special events.
• Timely reminders for refills and subscription renewals.
• General follow up emails about customer experience.

You can also use a newsletter builder to create engaging newsletters and develop rapport with customers.

Post-Purchase Customer Support

The quality of your customer support influences how customers feel about your brand. Customers feel valued when you help them solve their issues and ease them into your products.

Streamlined Omnichannel Support

Customers prefer communication through different channels. So you need to extend your support through channels such as:

• Live chat.
• Video/audio calls.
• Face-to-face consultations.
• Social media.

Providing omnichannel support reduces friction between your customers and the support team. It also helps streamline support workflows and achieve quick resolutions to any issues, thus empowering your support teams to take quick, actionable steps.

Demos and Tutorials

Some customers prefer to do things themselves without contacting a customer support representative. Tutorials and how-to guides are a great way to communicate with this customer group.

Ensure your tutorials and guides are:

• Tailor-made for different customer segments.
• Available in different formats, online and offline.
• Capable of solving very specific questions.

Offering top-notch customer support is essential to avoid customer dissonance and negative post-purchase behaviors. Hence, post-purchase customer support should be crucial for your customer retention strategy.

Post-Purchase Customer Service

Customer support only kicks in when a customer has a question or issue, but customer service accompanies your customers 24/7. In that sense, the importance of customer service can’t be understated.

Soon after their first purchase, customers might feel anxious about their decision. Uncertainties around shipping and their knowledge about alternate choices might increase their anxiety.

Customer service should alleviate that anxiety by answering questions about:

• Product specification and usage.
• Product compatibility.
• Shipping and package tracking.
• Return and refund policy.

Customer support should also help the customers return or exchange the product if they wish. The brand should have a transparent return policy and a hassle-free refund process to make this process easy.

Contact Options for Customers

It’s doubtful whether machines can fully take over human interactions in customer service. While human-to-human interactions could be more authentic, you may want to use artificial intelligence-based customer service for simple service questions.

Just like your customer support, customer service should also be available through various channels such as:

An excellent post-purchase service will help new customers connect with your brand and feel confident about their purchase decision.

For example, Ohlolly is a beauty brand with exemplary customer service. They keep customers engaged and informed by offering seamless customer support.

Post-Purchase Loyalty

Good customer service, communication, and support will ensure satisfied customers, but you need a few more ingredients to nurture customer loyalty. Customers who feel connected with a brand will help the brand grow through word-of-mouth publicity.

Businesses often have customer loyalty programs to build a pool of dedicated customers.

However, you need to go above and beyond the standard loyalty schemes to earn your customer’s loyalty and turn them into your brand promoters.

Here’s how you can do it:

• Create and manage a customer community around your brand.
• Nurture conversations and companionship within your customer community.
• Empower customers with information about your products.
• Create a positive brand image that’s inclusive and diverse.
• Create an innovative loyalty program with great offers and incentives.

For example, the Harley Owners Group is a community nurtured by Harley-Davidson for its loyal customers.

Measure Post-Purchase Satisfaction

We’ve discussed methods to ensure customer satisfaction. It’s not just enough to make your customers happy. You also need to understand what they feel about your brand.

Requesting customer reviews is the best way to measure their satisfaction. It also makes the customers feel valued.

However, collecting customer reviews may not be easy, and you need to strategize how you want to approach customers for their feedback. Here are some tips for asking for reviews:

• Ask for reviews at the right time, especially after the customer had a positive experience.
• Make it super simple to leave reviews by offering omnichannel support and templates.
• Ask for reviews in person or send them a personal note.

Amazon is a classic example of creating an extensive review ecosystem for its customers. They have made product reviews an integral part of the business process.

Another method of gauging customer satisfaction is by asking for their suggestions. You must have an open channel for suggestions on your website, like the suggestion boxes in physical stores. Forms are an excellent way to collect customer feedback.

Final Thoughts: Enhance the Post-Purchase Experience for Customer Retention

A brand’s job isn’t done when they acquire new customers. The post-purchase experience is crucial for customer retention, future revenue, and the brand’s reputation.

Exceeding customer expectations will encourage customers to stay in the loyalty loop and display positive post-purchase behavior.

Brands can create a positive customer experience by:

• Offering excellent post-purchase communication.
• Enabling quick customer support and service.
• Nurturing post-purchase loyalty.
• Measuring customer satisfaction.

However, keep in mind that incorporating these customer retention efforts won’t yield positive results if they aren’t paired with a reliable ecommerce platform. Try out Hostdedi’ WooCommerce Hosting and give customers and prospects the environment they need to become loyal, long-lasting customers.

You’ve probably come across many ecommerce sites that have a blog. It’s an important part of an ecommerce content strategy. Blogging is also an excellent way to inform your audience about the products and services your store offers. A blog also allows you to develop your brand voice or share your story with your audience.

Keep reading to learn why blogging for ecommerce is important and how to write a blog for an ecommerce website.

Why You Should Be Blogging for Ecommerce

Blogging for ecommerce helps you drive organic traffic to your site from new sources. It’s relatively straightforward — the more pages on your website, the more likely potential customers will find those pages and get familiar with what you’re selling.

Blogging for ecommerce can also boost your SEO. Search engines “reward” websites that offer answers to digital questions users have. Not only that — you actually offer your potential customers extra value by giving them free, useful information. Also, offering free and useful content adds extra value to your customers’ experience which, in the end, positively affects your overall business results.

Developing Ecommerce Blog Content

What to Write About?

When blogging for ecommerce, do keyword research first. Get familiar with terms your potential buyers search on the internet. You can then use these search terms in the content you create.

When you’re looking for ecommerce content ideas for blog posts, try to stick to evergreen topics. You may also want to refer to relevant current events. Keep an eye on news sites and create posts where you incorporate your views on novelties in your niche.

Interact With Your Audience Through the Blog

Another great way of getting ideas for ecommerce blog posts is to invite your visitors to share their thoughts in your blog’s comment section. This method may not give results right away, but you can get insight into what they want to read about.

Blogging for ecommerce is the fastest way your audience can learn more about your store as well as get familiar with how your products can help them. It’s also where they can leave feedback, constructive criticism, or mention things they like about your brand. Check social media platforms too. People there discuss their habits, tastes, experiences with certain products, and preferences, which can help you understand their perspective better.

Integrate Your Ecommerce Blog With Email Marketing

The point of using multiple ecommerce marketing strategies is to get customers into your sales funnel. Generally speaking, a sales funnel is the journey your potential buyers go through on their way to finalize a purchase.

For instance, choose email marketing to be at the top of your funnel. The next step would be growing your email list by sprinkling CTAs for newsletters throughout your blog. Then, you can announce new blog posts through structured email campaigns and, by that, follow up with your email leads. This way, you increase your brand’s awareness among people from your email list so they remember your store the next time they want to make a purchase.

Beyond Blogging for Ecommerce: Other Types of Content

Utilize Video

More than 82% of the internet traffic in 2021 was video content. This means many internet users prefer this form of content over traditional blog posts. Adding videos to your blog can help you reach a wider audience with different habits and preferences. Plus, 55% of customers in general watch videos before they make purchase decisions. Thus, video for sales can be a great asset for your site.

Video is a great way to:

• Tell a story. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish a brand from one another, so creating video content helps you tell the company’s story from your perspective. This form of content can also evoke the user’s emotion if you, for example, use soothing sounds and heartwarming visuals.
• Present your product. A demo video helps users understand your product better and saves them time reading long technical descriptions related to it.
• Incorporate tutorials. How-to is definitely one of the most sought-after types of content. This type of video is vital for a brand because it helps you generate traffic as more and more users look for tutorials and problem-solving guidelines.
• Improve interaction with the audience. How about adding some interactive videos too? Insert a CTA people can click right away. Having interactive videos could be an interesting part of the ecommerce content marketing plan, where users can get familiar with your product as well as make a decision on the spot.

Share on Social Media

With more than 53% of the world’s population on social media, it’s essential to develop an effective marketing strategy that covers platforms where your intended audience is active.

Here are some of the ways you can use social media platforms.

Build Brand Awareness

If you’re launching a new product or even a store, you can start building buzz on social media platforms even before you’re ready to go live. Share your ecommerce blog content and engage with followers. Be consistent and patient because building brand awareness is a process that takes time.

Advertising

Developing blog content for your store can help broaden your audience over time, but if you want to speed things up a bit, opt for paid ecommerce ads. Most social media platforms offer advanced targeting tools to select your target audience according to location, gender, age, and other relevant elements. This way you don’t direct your efforts, money, and ads in general to people who are probably not interested in it in the first place.

Direct Sales

Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest allow you to sell your products directly on your social media accounts. Social commerce definitely has some good sides:

• You can set it up for free.
• It provides your customers with an interactive and memorable shopping experience.
• It simplifies the sales process because customers don’t have to click through an external site. They shop directly from their feeds which can positively affect your ecommerce conversion rates.
• 70% of shopping enthusiasts discover new products and brands over Instagram. Why not help them find some of your products?

Managing Your Content

Here are some of the things to consider when managing your content.

Use a Content Calendar

Content calendars are a vital tool companies use to keep their content strategy on track. They help you stay organized and accountable on your blog and on social media. Rather than just focusing on your next post, you’ll develop a more holistic understanding of the topics and the overall content plan.

Plan Around Big Business Initiatives

Your company’s schedule is definitely one of the best places to search for blog content ideas. Plan your content around product launches, events, sales, and other happenings that are important for your business.

Be Consistent

When you create content in advance and stick to a schedule, you can keep a consistent flow. This is important because your audience then knows they can come back at any time to consume more new content.

Quality Over Quantity

There are a lot of ecommerce blog examples out there, which means your visitors have a wide choice when it comes to picking sources of the information they need. So, if they see long, boring, technical content that’s hard to read or filled with numerous grammar errors, they’re likely to go somewhere else. Use different services like Essay Writing Service or Grammarly.

Try to keep every post on point and skip the fluff. Break complicated topics into multiple posts or create a small series. It’s better for your readers and also gives you multiple pages which can improve your rankings in the SERPs as well.

The Best Platform for Ecommerce and Content

WordPress is still the best choice for blogging for ecommerce — as well as for your next online project in general. WordPress is a simple, yet scalable solution everyone can use for starting websites, online courses, membership sites, blogs, and ecommerce stores.

Plus, it’s open source, which means that WordPress doesn’t lock you into a private, inflexible platform with exorbitant fees. Instead, WordPress is a free, highly secure, and SEO-friendly tool you can modify however you want, whether you’re a beginner or professional. It offers over 50,000 plugins, including those that will power your ecommerce store.

Hostdedi offers hosting specifically optimized for WordPress. For you, this means a scalable, faster, and more secure website with smart monitoring tools built in.

Check out our Managed WordPress Hosting and Managed WooCommerce Hosting plans. The latter is the first-ever hosting created specifically for the unique needs of WooCommerce stores.

You’ve probably heard the adage, “You have to spend money to make money.”

But is it true?

Starting an online store with no money can be a viable alternative to the overhead expenses that brick-and-mortar shop owners face. But what does it take to start a business with no money?

Before you dive into building an ecommerce website, check out all the ways you can make money online. Here’s what you need to know before you start.

Is Starting an Online Store With No Money Possible?

If you’re interested in how to start a business with no money, there are some tried and true methods to make it happen. Not every option will work for all online entrepreneurs, so finding what works for your particular skill set is crucial.

Blogging

If you enjoy writing and understand search engine optimization, blogging can be a great way to earn some money online. Pick a blogging niche you have some knowledge about, find an online platform (like WordPress) to manage your content, and start writing posts. You can earn money through affiliate marketing, which is when you get a commission when you link to products that your readers purchase. You can write sponsored posts for companies on your blog or use ads in your content. You can even sell digital services or products related to your niche.

Web Design

Freelance web design can be a fun and lucrative business if you enjoy creating websites. While web design takes a significant time investment to learn how to create the layout, theme, and color palette that correctly conveys a brand’s tone, it’s also a skill that can pay off. Most web designers need subscriptions to the Adobe Suite of products, which aren’t cheap. But it’s a business you can start at no additional cost if you own those programs.

Podcasting

Much like blogging, podcasting requires you to pick a niche and create content for it. But, rather than writing content, you record it. You can start a podcast if you have access to a microphone, computer, and sound editing software.

To monetize your podcast, make a website for your podcast with a membership program where your audience pays to listen. You can join an advertising network to quickly and easily put ads on your podcast. You can also sell advertisements or allow sponsors to pay to be mentioned in the podcast.

If you find your podcast does well for free, you can create a premium version. You keep offering the regular podcast for free but put additional content behind a paywall.

Consultant

If you have experience in a particular industry, you could offer your guidance as a consultant. You can help those starting in your industry, or you could offer more in-depth help. Your skills and expertise are invaluable to those who don’t have them, so why not sell them? Your industry and experience determine your prices and who you work with, but the good news is there are no startup fees with consulting. All you need to do is share about your new venture on a social media platform and have an email where potential clients can contact you.

Online Retail

Online shopping is practically the norm now, so if you want to create a website to sell products online, there’s already a customer base. Selling print-on-demand products is a great way to make money without investing in a large stock of products that you pay for upfront and store in your home. To set up your online store, you’ll need a website and a store manager on the backend, like BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or StoreBuilder.

Virtual Assistant Services

If you’re an organized person who likes to multitask, virtual assisting may be a great career. There are tons of business owners and professionals who need your skills. Virtual assistants do many things, from helping with the backend of ecommerce sites to managing email inboxes to scheduling social media to even answering online chat questions. Your particular skills will determine what kind of virtual assisting you do. Picking a specific niche of people you work with is an excellent way to build even more expertise.

Steps to Open Your Own Store

Once you’ve figured out what kind of business you want to start, it’s time to determine how to start an online business with no money. Every industry is different, but some general guidelines apply to every online business.

• Do Your Research. See who is already running a business like the one you want to start and how they do it. Do some networking and meet with business owners to get their insider information and learn about the struggles they faced.
• Identify Your Skills. Brush up on any skills you’ll need to run your business, especially if you plan to work with clients. You won’t be able to keep clients long if you can’t properly serve them.
• Keep It Lean. Until you’re making money, use all the free tools at your disposal. Google has a great suite of office products for free, and Canva’s free tier will allow you to create graphics. Use PayPal to take money, and network with customers using free social media. Many email marketing platforms like MailChimp and MailerLite offer a free tier to use while you’re getting started.
• Don’t Over Stock. Purchase as little stock as possible while building up your audience and customer base. Until you develop your audience, you won’t know exactly what your customers want. Use the profits from initial sales to reinvest in more stock.
• Make Your Platform User Friendly. Your website should be clear and easy to understand. Your customers should be able to navigate it. Don’t overdesign. That can lead to confusion in your customers, leading to a lack of sales.
• Do It Yourself. There are tons of plugins and tools at your disposal. Learn as much as you can at the beginning until you have time to invest in someone to do the work for you.

StoreBuilder Can Help

You know how to start an online business with no money, so it’s time to take the leap. StoreBuilder can help you take your business idea and make it real. It’s the best ecommerce website builder for building your business in WordPress. You can sell products online easily and worry-free without learning code or web design.

Try StoreBuilder and see how easy it can be to build your online store.

Ecommerce is growing. Adobe estimates U.S. ecommerce spending to pass the trillion-dollar mark in 2022 based on data from Adobe Analytics.

This growth means you’re likely to spend more time trying to keep up with the latest ecommerce marketing trends, reducing the time for critical tasks.

Tracking what you should be targeting or measuring can be exhausting and time-consuming.

Here’s the good news. You can rely on marketing automation solutions to make the job easier and focus on other activities that drive revenue.

Read on to learn about the five best ecommerce marketing automation software to make your marketing campaigns more productive.

What Does Marketing Automation Do for Your Business?

Lead generation and customer engagement throughout the buyer’s journey are the most common challenges for ecommerce businesses.

And marketing automation is the answer. According to the 2022 Ascent2 survey of 393 marketers, more than one-third of marketers say that marketing automation helps them improve customer experience and optimize lead generation.

The benefits of marketing automation don’t end at lead generation. Here’s what ecommerce marketing automation can do for your business:

• Improves lead nurturing efforts.
• Increases your sales and marketing teams’ productivity.
• Helps you optimize the marketing strategy.
• Enhances customer experience, increasing the chances of retaining clients.
• Boosts your conversion rates and revenue.

Choosing the Right Marketing Automation Software for Your Store

Email marketing is one of the most effective channels to reach your audience, sell your products, and build relationships with customers. But email isn’t the only channel available.

When looking for your ecommerce automation platform, consider the following factors to ensure you get the most out of your choice.

Ease of Use

The platform should be easy and intuitive to use for your team. Ask for a demo and see if you can perform frequent tasks seamlessly. If you have to ask for external help to finish simple tasks, that could be a red flag.

Functionality

Note down the features you need at the start to focus on selecting the right platform. Choose an automation software that natively integrates with your existing technologies. Integrations will save you time and money and reduce the time spent on retraining staff.

Customer Support

Ideally, you should have access to multiple customer support channels — live chat, chatbots, phone, email, and knowledge base. This omnichannel support ensures you always get help when needed.

5 Best Ecommerce Marketing Automation Platforms for Your Business

Every marketing automation platform has its benefits and drawbacks. Make sure to define your company’s needs before choosing any marketing automation software.

That said, here are the five best marketing automation platforms for ecommerce stores.

1. HubSpot

HubSpot is the king of marketing automation, topping the automation charts globally with a market share of 35.47%.

HubSpot is a complete package with analytics reports, blog publishing, and email marketing support. You can also use HubSpot API to create custom integrations for other ecommerce platforms.

Integrations: Magento, BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce.

Key Features

• Landing pages builder.
• Automated blog publishing features.
• Social media management tools.
• Automated email campaigns.
• Lead scoring.

Best ecommerce marketing automation software for: Ecommerce businesses focused on inbound marketing and content marketing.

Pricing: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $45/month.

2. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a three-in-one tool, offering digital marketing automation, email marketing, and small business CRM.

ActiveCampaign helps you map out the automated workflows with its powerful visual editor. Besides that, you can access 600+ prebuilt automation recipes for powerful personalization and segmentation across email, social, chat, and text messaging.

Integrations: Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Stripe, and BigCommerce.

If you use other platforms (such as StoreEnvy or BigCartel), you’ll need Zapier to pull ecommerce data.

Key Features

• Website tracking.
• Prebuilt automation workflows — for tasks including abandoned carts and multiple visits to specific products.
• Custom forms.
• Efficient email marketing.

Best ecommerce marketing automation software for: Small- and medium-sized ecommerce brands that want automation features to grow.

Pricing: Premium plans start at $9/month (when billed annually).

3. MailChimp

MailChimp is one of the best ecommerce automation tools for setting up and managing email campaigns.

Business owners can easily design and launch email marketing campaigns using the built-in campaign manager, helping them attract new subscribers and follow up with existing customers through targeted emails.

MailChimp also helps you manage ads on major social media channels — Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Integrations: Shopify, BigCommerce, BigCartel, Magento, WooCommerce, Salesforce, XCart, and OpenCart.

Key Features

• Email reporting elements — click maps and subscriber activity.
• Analytics360 module.
• Robust API.
• Industry trends review.

Best ecommerce marketing automation software for: Small- and medium-sized ecommerce businesses.

Pricing: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $11/month.

4. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is an ecommerce marketing platform that enables brands to deliver personalized experiences across multiple marketing channels, like SMS, email, in-app notifications, and the web.

Klaviyo offers many pre-designed templates to help you create emails quickly and provides additional data analysis and segmentation based on your email list.

Integrations: Shopify, BigCommerce, BigCartel, Magento, WooCommerce, Salesforce, XCart, and OpenCart.

Key Features

• Replenishment.
• Cross-sell.
• Win-back.
• Cart abandonment.
• Custom templates.

Best ecommerce marketing automation software for: Ecommerce businesses focused on email marketing.

Pricing: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $20/month.

5. Omnisend

Omnisend helps marketers increase sales by connecting them with their customers on more touch points than before and offering a personalized experience.

Omnisend gives you the functionality you need to increase sales by triggering campaigns based on customer data and behavior. It also sends reports on how your marketing automation impacts sales.

Integrations: All major ecommerce platforms, including custom platforms, through their API.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop newsletter builder.
• Pop-ups.
• A/B testing.
• Segmentation.
• Comprehensive reports.

Best ecommerce marketing automation software for: Ecommerce marketers.

Pricing: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $16/month.

Final Thoughts: 5 Best Ecommerce Marketing Automation Software for 2022

To sum it up, marketing automation streamlines many business operations and saves you time to focus on priority tasks. You can go with Klaviyo if you’re focused on email marketing or HubSpot if you need a robust marketing automation solution.

To benefit from ecommerce marketing automation tools, you’ll need an optimized online store that pulls its weight in converting the leads.

Build your online store with StoreBuilder by Hostdedi today. Hubspot comes included free, along with premium shopping cart solutions, online store marketing, product management, and much more.

Check it out and see why it’s the best ecommerce website builder to sell your products worry-free.

Whether you loved The Jetsons or feared The Terminator, we bet you were expecting that robots would be doing everything for us by now. In some ways, they are. If you’re running an ecommerce business, you’re used to having a lot of irons in the fire. Using artificial intelligence for ecommerce can help you streamline your online business operations, saving you both time and money.

What is Artificial Intelligence in Ecommerce?

When you hear artificial intelligence, you might be thinking about robots that have gained thoughts and feelings. It’s a little less science fiction than that. Artificial intelligence, or AI, refers to systems or machines that complete tasks normally completed by humans.

A cash register adds up several totals, adds tax, and adjusts for any coupons. Store employees don’t have to do that math — that’s AI. Imagine how much longer lines would be if everything was calculated manually.

AI is “programmed” by the data it is fed. The more information an AI system has, the more knowledge it gains. AI can be applied to every part of the customer journey — and utilizing it impacts data analysis, lead generation, customer satisfaction, and more.

That being said, you’re not “using AI” so much as you’re using a solution developed with it. There are a couple of terms that are sometimes used interchangeably with AI — but there are subtle differences within them. Let’s talk about machine learning and marketing automation.

Machine Learning for Ecommerce

Many of the solutions you’re using likely utilize machine learning to determine results. Machine learning is the process wherein the AI is trained by the actions taken or within data collected. That training helps to inform results that relate to your business.

Your email account uses machine learning. Every time you mark something as spam, your email provider recognizes the domain the spam was sent to and what content it contains. As you continue to mark items as spam, the provider can more easily identify potential spam and route it to your junk folder instead of your inbox — it’s why order and password emails often end up in spam, because they use common phrases found in phishing attempts.

Machine learning for ecommerce is incredibly helpful because it can predict customer behavior. This can be incredibly useful — what business wouldn’t love to know what you want even before you do? It can also border on being creepy, so it’s important to toe the line between personalization and intrusion.

Another application of machine learning is within direct customer interactions. If you’ve ever used automated assistants — or had Google ask you “Did you mean…?” — then you’re familiar with being asked to confirm information and say a few words about what you need. The system you’re communicating with “learns” from your input and continues to interact and make decisions based on that input.

There are two main types of machine learning: supervised and unsupervised. The main difference between the two is that supervised uses already labeled data, while unsupervised uses algorithms to categorize the data it analyzes. If you’re really interested in machine learning, IBM is a great resource.

Machine learning, therefore, is how AI becomes AI. You can’t automate tasks without a system having “learned” what it needs to do.

Marketing Automation

If machine learning is driver’s education, and AI is getting your license, then marketing automation is the car you take to work.

There are countless software solutions that automate your ecommerce tasks. Some are free, some are expensive, and some you may not even realize count as automation. So, what is marketing automation?

Marketing automation is a tool or software that produces a result that’s beneficial to your online business. Think of marketing automation tools as the Alexa for your ecommerce store. You give it a task, and it does it for you. Marketing automation utilizes AI to automate different tasks that span each part of the customer journey. It may rely on data analyzed by machine learning.

Running an online business means doing a lot of different work simultaneously. You need a website, social media presence, and customer support — just to name a few. Marketing automation helps you do the smaller tasks so you have more time for the work that can’t be automated.

Any actions you can automate that will streamline your workload will not only save you time, but money, too. Let’s talk about why and where you should be using artificial intelligence in ecommerce.

Should You Be Using AI?

We know running a business can be difficult and confusing, especially if you’re brand new to running an online store. Wondering if AI is right for your ecommerce business?

You’re probably already using it! Whether you’ve sent a bulk email, used a SaaS tool to analyze customer satisfaction, or checked what product sells the most this month — you’re using AI in your stores already. Let’s talk about how and where you should be (or already are) implementing AI in your ecommerce strategies.

Why Should I Use Artificial Intelligence for Ecommerce?

Many business owners map out their strategy, see what needs to be done, and think “Oh! I can do that myself.” Sometimes you can — but utilizing AI-based technologies for your ecommerce store will supercharge your efforts. With artificial intelligence for ecommerce, you can:

1. Make better marketing decisions faster.

2. Enhance customer experience with faster, more focused support.

3. Segment data more easily for better targeting and positioning.

4. Experience higher-quality lead generation and management.

5. Enable your team to focus on the more important work that can’t be automated.

… and a lot more! Technology is always advancing so the possibilities are endless. Right now there are still a lot of ways AI can benefit your ecommerce business.

Where Do You Use AI for Ecommerce?

AI and marketing automation fits into every area of your business. A lot of the following ways to use AI work for one particular part of your company — but affect your team as a whole. Check out where you are (and should be) using AI and pay attention to how each part of your business works with the other.

Lead Generation

Marketing automation tools can help your team get better leads, leading to more conversions for less effort (and ad spend). Tools like Marketo, Constant Contact, and HubSpot help marketing teams track campaigns, manage leads, gain insights, and create better campaigns in general.

AI assisted solutions don’t just capture data — they analyze it. They can track patterns in purchasing, similarities between customers, and even qualify leads. AI can determine who, if, and how often leads open or click through emails. This can aid in increased accuracy in segmenting and improved targeting — and better targets make for informed positioning.

You can also automate email campaigns, minimize repetition, and improve your speed in converting leads to customers.

Content Marketing & SEO

Content creation can be automated, though you can judge for yourself whether or not the quality is what you’re expecting. Options like Copy.ai and Anyword are tools that generate copy. Some of them even let you create personas to generate copy for. If you have a few different types of customers you market to, you’re able to auto generate the best copy for them.

While this can reduce the workload for your content team, if it’s drawing on the most popular phrases to get results, it can sometimes come off as noticeably not-human. However, depending on your needs, it may be the right solution for you (and much more affordable).

Services like Grammarly can help your copy (or even just emails to your team) sound more professional. Nobody likes being called on a typo! When you run your copy through a service like this, it not only catches spelling errors, but it also makes suggestions for grammar and sentence structure, ensuring you always sound your best.

Tools like BrightEdge and SEMrush help you conduct keyword research, audit your site’s SEO, and help you improve your page ranks with the data it produces. SEO is one of the most important parts of your marketing strategy. Without showing up in the search engine results pages, you’ll be hard pressed to turn a profit.

Social Media

Every brand has a social media presence. The more channels there are to advertise on, the more of a strain it is on your team. You need to schedule and publish posts, track interactions, reply to questions, and even mitigate reputation management issues. Automated solutions, such as Sprout Social or HootSuite, let you drive all the cars at once.

Social listening is an important part of marketing tasks — and it’s time consuming to do manually. Automating social listening means you can set up software to alert you for brand mentions, keep an eye on competitors, and track relevant keywords so you can focus your content on what’s trending for your industry. Sprout Social does a great job of integrating all your social channels and monitoring.

You can utilize chatbots to assist with getting sufficient information before connecting them to a sales rep. This can eliminate wasting time if there’s a solution the chatbot can provide (like business hours) allowing your staff to focus on more important work. There are great options like ChatBot.com and HubSpot that offer low cost or free, easy-to-integrate options.

Sales

Let’s face it. You’re in ecommerce because you want to sell something. The hardest part of any transaction is getting the “yes.” Luckily for us, there are plenty of ways AI can assist your business with sales.

If you’ve been in ecommerce a while, you’re familiar with Customer Relationship Management software, or CRMs. Solutions like Salesforce analyze leads for you and prioritize them — meaning your reps will talk to the people most likely to result in a sale first.

Sales forecasting can be seriously improved when you’re usings software that takes a look at your sales history, trends, and customer activity. If you know exactly when products are selling their best, you know when to order inventory. It can help you navigate when you need to advertise, when you should plan sales, and ultimately save you money by not wasting time or budget. Salesforce has Sales Cloud Einstein that does exactly that.

Much like social media’s use of chatbots, using them can also be of great benefit for your sales team. Getting information ahead of time lets you route them to the right people. Maybe they need support — but maybe they actually need sales. Having an AI-enabled chatbot means customers aren’t being sent to several different people, and therefore they’re less frustrated with the process.

Your Business In General

Whether your business has 10 employees or 1000, you want everything to run smoothly. With so many different processes going on, it can feel overwhelming. Let’s talk about where AI can help your ecommerce business in a more general sense.

Not every business can afford an entire HR department. Zenefits and ADP are HR management solutions that automate tasks for your business. Zenefits is more geared towards smaller businesses, while ADP is a better fit for larger organizations. Whether it’s benefits, payroll, or taxes — automated solutions mean your business can focus on selling instead of paperwork.

You’ve probably heard of task management software like Asana. While it enables your team to organize their tasks and communicate through each step of the process, it also has features that measure how long tasks take to complete, which enable you to plan better for future tasks.

If you’re working remotely, you’re probably using communication software like Slack. While it is primarily a chat service — there are apps (just like a WordPress site!) that enhance functionality. You can install Clockwise to connect your Google Calendar to Slack, set work hours, and optimize focused time. Reminders of when you are about to start a meeting are super helpful when you’re heads down on a big project. Slack also integrates with Asana, Trello, Jira, and other task management software.

Hosting Your Business In The Age of Science Fiction

We’re doing things today that our grandparents likely never thought possible. Everything is instant, virtual, and improving all the time. Now that you know lots of ways to bring your ecommerce business into the future with AI — you’re going to want a host that matches your energy!

Hostdedi doesn’t just have lightning fast speeds and top notch security — we’re here to support your business in smart ways.

Our Managed WooCommerce and StoreBuilder hosting plans are built on WordPress, which has a giant library of extensions that help automate processes in your store.

We’re a proud partner with HubSpot — an industry leader in marketing software and marketing automation options.

Hostdedi also exclusively offers Sales Performance Monitor with every WooCommerce and StoreBuilder plan — which tracks trends and alerts you to when something changes. We also offer WooCommerce Automated Testing, which runs important tests daily to ensure your store is always working and problems are caught before your customers encounter them.

Want to stay on the cutting edge? Try Hostdedi StoreBuilder today.

You see it all the time — someone you follow on Instagram posts about a sale, product, or event. They’ll talk about the details and then encourage you to check it out via the “Link in bio!”

We’re betting you’ve clicked on that once or twice. 

If you’re a creator, you’re already setting yourself apart from others by making unique, quality content. You’re also being strategic about what content you put on display. Your social channel bios don’t have a lot of room — there’s usually only space for a link or two. How do you make it easy for followers to find your best content or offers fast — before losing interest and clicking away?

Social media is where you develop your brand. If you want your audience to remember you, why are you using a cookie cutter approach?

You’ve probably seen a LOT of profiles with LinkTree links in the bio. Let’s talk about what LinkTree is, how to create the best social bio link alternative to LinkTree, and what using a link landing page can do for your business.

What’s LinkTree?

The concept of LinkTree is pretty smart. It’s a landing page with every link you want to feature in one handy spot. You might know them as social bio links, link landing pages, social media reference pages, or a link in bio tool. It’s all navigation without hosting any of the content directly. These pages are used to promote your additional websites or content.

Who Uses Link Landing Pages?

While overwhelmingly used by creators, just about everyone is using LinkTree or LinkTree alternatives. Influencers use them to promote their other social media channels. Restaurants use them for quick links to their various menus and deals. Artists use them to showcase artwork. Bloggers can easily point to their most popular articles. Web designers can host every link in their portfolio — all at the same time and right at your fingertips.

What Goes On a Link Landing Page?

You can put whatever you want in your link landing page. Some folks put tip jars or “buy me a coffee” style CTAs. You can connect all your social media pages, your store, your resume — whatever content you want followers to see. You can also collect subscriber data using a social bio link.

Why Do I Want a Social Bio Link?

We know that half of visitors will leave a page if it doesn’t load in 6 seconds, so we can imagine the same frustration applies to them not being able to find the content they want easily. Unless the single link you have in your bio points directly to the product, event, or service you’re guiding your customers to, they’ll have to navigate themselves. The longer it takes to get what they’re looking for, the more you risk losing their attention.

Social bio links allow you to put your most wanted content on display — and can help you figure out what’s performing the best, too.

What Are The Cons to Using LinkTree?

LinkTree’s most basic plan is free, so if your needs aren’t too complicated, it may be the right solution for you. Free plans have the core functionality but none of the bells and whistles. As your brand grows, so will your needs.

When you use LinkTree’s free plan, you only gain access to Lifetime Analytics, which track total clicks, not clicks for individual links or social icon clicks. There are no marketing tool integrations until you reach the Pro level subscription, so if you use Mailchimp, Zapier, or even Google Sheets, you’re out of luck. 

What you’ll notice a bit quicker is that the free plan has limited customization options. If you pay for premium subscriptions, you can use whatever themes or background images you want. You can’t hide the LinkTree logo on either the free or starter plans.

Free plans look like free plans for a reason. They want you to pay for the top tier subscriptions. You’re already paying for hosting for your site — adding another service is just one more cost to add to your marketing budget.

What Are Some Alternatives to LinkTree?

There is no shortage of options to create a great social bio link. Social commerce is responsible for nearly $27 million in sales for the US alone — so making it quick and easy to find what you’re selling is vital. It’s easy to do that with one quick link. What are some alternatives to LinkTree?

Linkin.Bio

Later’s Linkin.Bio is fully customizable and also has a free plan. Their paid plans offer in-depth analytics as well as “Best Times To Post” suggestions.

SeedProd

SeedProd is listed among some LinkTree alternatives — and one of its unique features is that it allows you to pick a custom URL for your business or brand. That’s true, but it’s also because you’re just paying for a whole new WordPress website.

Koji

Koji is a far more dynamic option that allows animated backgrounds and uses apps to offer additional features. You can host Ask Me Anything sessions, load a Spotify playlist, receive tips, and a lot more. It’s free to use, but Koji takes a percentage of any transactions originating from your account.

Wait, I’m Already Paying For A Site!

We didn’t want to remind you — but if you’re paying for hosting, you’re paying for the same capability LinkTree and its alternatives give you. If you can create a LinkTree page, you can certainly make and host your own social bio link.

Whether or not you’re budget-minded, keeping track of another subscription and another system you have to worry about updating and integrating feels like a lot of work. Unless you’re paying for top tier plans, you’re also not going to stand out nearly as much.

There’s a simple way to get the same function of LinkTree — but with unlimited customizability. You can make your own social bio link by creating a social media landing page on the plan you’re already hosting on. 

How To Create Your Own Social Media Landing Pages

You may be wondering about the best link in bio options for your social accounts. The best option is to make your own customized page for visitors to peruse. There are two ways to create your own social media landing pages.

Create A Social Media Landing Page From Scratch On WordPress

1. Confirm your plan allows you to add an additional site. Register the domain of your choice and point the A records to your host.

2. Pick a template for your landing page. There are several free one-page templates available.

3. Customize the content to add all your relevant links.

4. Select your background image, color palette, and any other customization you want to implement.

5. Publish your site and start putting the link in your social media bios.

Create A Social Media Landing Page With An Existing Plan On WordPress

1. Create a new page on your existing website.

2. Customize the content to add all your relevant links.

3. Select your background image, color palette, and any other customization you want to implement.

4. Publish the page, and utilize a link shortener like bit.ly to create your URL for social. Place the shortened link in your social media bios.

Worried about analytics? There are free plugin options available in the WordPress Plugin Library, as well as integrations for Google Analytics.

Fast and Easy Link in Bio, Meet Fast and Easy Hosting

Sending your customers to a link in your bio is a great idea. Don’t let your business acumen stop there. If you’re sending your customers to sale items, videos, or your blog, you’ve got to pair that with fast-loading pages.

When you host with Hostdedi, you’re not just getting superfast loading and a rock star built-in CDN, you’re also gaining access to analytics like Plugin Performance Monitor, Sales Performance Monitor, and WooCommerce Automatic Testing. All plans include an array of curated, premium plugins and add-ons that make running your site easy peasy.

Take charge of your social media bio and get the best hosting for digital commerce all in one. Try Hostdedi today!

You’re going to build a website. With so many options available, making a choice just keeps getting harder. You’re probably familiar with household names and why some of them just aren’t for you, and still have some questions.

You know the WordPress name, but maybe you’ve never used it for page-building. Exactly what is WordPress? You may also be wondering, Isn’t WordPress just for blogs?

Oh, no. There’s a reason 44% of all content management systems rely on WordPress.

When it comes to building a website, WordPress gets stereotyped as the “best for writers and bloggers” when its versatility is one of its biggest strengths.

That’s because there are two versions of WordPress: WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org. WordPress.com is geared towards blogging and WordPress.org is the open source powerhouse we’re really talking about.

You want to know why WordPress? Let’s find out. Keep reading to learn some of the benefits of WordPress and why you should choose it.

Why Use WordPress? 8 Good Reasons

1. WordPress is Easy to Use Without Sacrificing Quality

It may have been a fashion designer that said, “simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance,” but the same is true for running a website. The more complicated your CMS, the harder it is to update, edit, and keep your site looking great.

If you are looking to launch a WordPress website, the good thing is that you aren’t starting from scratch. You technically get a fully composed website to work with that you pull elements into and customize the way you want.

You pick a theme, select plugins, edit code if you want, and pretty much start adding content. It can get as technical as you want, or you can keep it super simple. The beauty of WordPress is that you make it your own and it’s really not that hard to do.

The interface is user friendly and navigation is intuitive. If you find yourself in a bind, there is a robust support community both within WordPress itself and externally. If you use Managed WordPress, there’s even more support available to you. There are many advantages of WordPress hosting.

Outside of the domain itself, everything you need to manage your site is at your fingertips.

Just because it is simple doesn’t mean it is “less.” The elegance within WordPress is in its simplicity because it doesn’t take a lot to understand how to make it great. That in itself makes it a huge asset.

2. Like it Custom? Have it Your Way

With so many options available for making a website, you may be wondering, why WordPress? Well, it’s highly customizable — which is a huge draw.

Look and feel are what make your site better and different from everyone else in your space. If you want to stand out, you’re going to have to do more than just load a basic template.

There are themes to suit everyone’s purposes and tastes. Better ones are highly customizable. You can pick one that’s gorgeous from the get-go, or use a tried and true one that you truly stamp your brand on. Some WordPress themes are faster than others. A little research goes a long way with WP.

Don’t like where you’ve ended up? You can customize a WordPress theme to your liking. You can even customize your WordPress dashboard to have it set up however you want.

Whatever vision you have for your site, there’s a path forward using WordPress, and that’s why more people select it for their sites.

3. Tools? Try a Utility Knife

Plugins can increase and alter the functionality of your site, change how you monitor or otherwise interact with it, or even add ways to communicate with you.

The Essential Guide to WordPress Plugins >>

Whether you want to add images, give visitors a way to contact you, or supercharge your performance — there’s a plugin for that. Here are some of our recommendations:

Of course, you’ll want to monitor your site performance closely when adding plugins. There are a number of tools that can help you detect slow WordPress plugins dragging down your site.

With simple, easy integrations, and constantly becoming more innovative, WordPress is simply Stellar at making your experience better than the rest.

There are free plugins, paid plugins, and even add-ons to those plugins that enhance the functions of those plugins. Think of add-ons as DLC for a game you’ve already installed.

Not only are there countless great plugins available, but a great combination can take your site from iron-tough to Iron Man. Test different combinations and see what works best for you, or leave it to the pros.

For example, Plugin Performance Monitor by Hostdedi compares site performance before and after plugin updates have been made, so you can keep your site fast and high-performing.

4. Great for SEO. No Quip — It’s Just True

When it comes to search engine optimization, it’s more than just about keywords. Think of it this way.

If Google is a highway, your website is a driver. WordPress is the car flashing lights, honking horns, making turns, and (hopefully not) crashing with other cars on the road trying to get other drivers’ attention. But that’s not all!

WordPress is also being monitored by some cameras that are keeping an eye on the road to ensure everything is going smoothly, nobody is driving erratically, and figuring out who shows up at the green light first.

With fantastic plugins like Yoast SEO, your digital content strategy, and the simple fact that so many WP themes are SEO friendly to begin with — WordPress already has a leg up with SEO. It’s one of the key benefits of WordPress.

Further capabilities make it even more valid of a choice. Compression tools like EWWW Image Optimizer, compatibility with a variety of page builders like Beaver Builder and Elementor, and features like autogenerating a robots.txt file are important for your SEO efforts.

The Top 5 SEO Plugins for WordPress Compared >>

Site structure, page load time, and crawl are all affected by the way your site is designed and the size and quality of your resources. That all affects your page rank. WordPress helps make it a breeze.

5. Support So Robust, Emeril Issued A Cease And Desist

As WordPress is free, you’re going to have a ton of people both asking questions and looking for help on the internet. One of the best parts of choosing WordPress to build your site is its enormous support community.

Chances are, if you’ve run into an issue, someone else has too. Simply running a search will likely find you an answer or point you in the right direction.

If you’ve gone with managed, secure WordPress hosting, you’ve got access to an even more extensive panel of experts. There are even companies that provide WordPress Support Services because, as you might expect, with so much of the web dominated by WP, there’s absolutely a need!

As with any open source software, there are limits to what you can get for free on demand — but between YouTube and web forums, you can find an answer to nearly all your questions.

So why choose WordPress? Why do a bit more work? Frankly, everything looks and works better when you’ve put effort into it, and your website’s visitors can tell.

Taking the time to look through support pages and learn can be the difference between staying and leaving when UX means so much to users.

6. More Secure Than That Password You’re Never Going To Remember

Let’s face it. You can really bungle some things up pretty easily if you try. Keeping your site updated (not a problem with Managed Plans, by the way), installing SSL certificates, and enabling security options will go a long way.

There are some vulnerabilities on your site — and that is usually within maliciously-coded themes and plugins. How do you avoid that? Research. There are also a number of ways for hardening WordPress and keeping your site safe.

If your theme or plugin has malicious code, it can affect visitors of your site and potentially people sharing resources on your server. Protect yourself with plugins and software that detect that right off the bat like iThemes.

7. Flexibility That Makes Yoga Enthusiasts Jealous

Why choose WordPress when there are so many other options? Well, the flexibility of the CMS makes it an ideal choice for just about anyone.

Want a blog? Done. Want a site for your business? That’s easy. Heard membership sites are all the rage and want to build a subscription business? WordPress ticks that box, too.

Beginner? No problem. You don’t need to have coding experience. Veteran? Even better. There are options for you, too. There are countless plugins, tools, and interfaces available for transforming your site into virtually whatever you want.

Migrate your existing site over or start fresh. Want to take it a step further? There are plenty of coding tutorials available to guide beginners, and seasoned professionals will be right at home.

With all the resources available online, nothing can stop you from building a site the way you want it because it’s capable of being anything. And really, if you don’t want to learn but have the vision, you can also hire a skilled WordPress developer too.

If you’re wondering, why WordPress? just think of it this way. WordPress is a site builder tofu: it’s got all the important core elements you need. All you need to do is add your flavor.

8. It’s So Reliable, This is Almost a Car Commercial

It’s hard to believe WordPress has only been around since 2003 when it feels like it’s been around forever. With WordPress history going back to almost 20 years, you can’t go wrong with a classic.

Nearly half (44%) of all of the websites on the internet were built on WordPress. If you’ve visited a site today — you’ve probably seen a WordPress site (hint: you’re on one right now).

Why do people use WordPress? Easy. Because it’s great.

People trust WordPress because it consistently performs well. You can create beautiful, functional sites with it. Thanks to it being open source and highly customizable, it’s become the powerhouse that it is, and it’s only gaining more territory.

Generally speaking, people trust what is familiar. WordPress isn’t just familiar, it is used extensively and by industry leaders.

Don’t believe us? Some of the most recognizable brands and hottest celebrities have dropped sites built on WordPress: Clorox, Snoop Dogg, BBC America, Felicia Day, The Walt Disney Company … even The Official StarWars.com blog is built on WordPress.

I Don’t Think You’re Ready For This Query

Why use WordPress? Now you have eight great reasons. And we’re just scratching the surface of all the benefits of WordPress. There are countless reasons why you should use WordPress for your website.

If you want a powerful, customizable site that won’t look like anyone else’s, WordPress is for you.

If you have tried drag and drop interfaces and feel like you’re playing a kid’s game instead of building a professional website, WordPress is for you.

If you want a simple, but elegant solution that doesn’t compromise on the tech flavor that today’s devs can offer, WordPress is for you.

Are you ready to try WordPress yet? Power your site with fully optimized WordPress hosting by Hostdedi.

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If you’re a talented crafter or vintage reseller, Etsy may seem like the only option for making an ecommerce store. An Etsy shop is easy to set up, and you don’t need to know anything about building a website. It would seem like a no-brainer. But then you ask yourself, “Should I sell on Etsy or my own site?”

The ease of setting up your ecommerce store may not be the only factor to consider. Earlier this year, Etsy raised its transaction fees for sellers to 6.5%. And while Etsy’s CEO claims it was to improve marketing and the tools they provide to their sellers, the sellers organized a strike in protest.

Before you decide if you should sell on Etsy or your own site, consider the benefits and limitations of selling on Etsy, and compare them to selling from your own website.

Selling on Etsy

Etsy is a well-known online marketplace for unique handmade and vintage items. Etsy offers brand recognition and other benefits.

Benefits of Selling on Etsy

For sellers looking to hit the ground running without worrying about building their own website, Etsy offers a quick and easy setup. And the setup itself is free, so there’s no web hosting fees or web design costs. Plus, the Etsy platform gives sellers tools to help track their statistics, enabling sellers to better understand and track their sales data.

For new sellers, Etsy can be a great place to build community. Not only does Etsy already have an established audience that is actively searching for products to buy, but sellers help each other and even forge marketing partnerships. For sellers who aren’t sure if their products are viable yet, Etsy is a great place to learn more about ecommerce, as well as a place to refine their process and how they market their work.

Limitations of Selling on Etsy

Unfortunately, there are also limitations to the Etsy platform. Even though it can be a great place to build community, millions of Etsy sellers exist, which means tons of competition for your shop. It’s almost impossible to stand out against the more established sellers. There’s also the threat of copycats since Etsy doesn’t stop other sellers from stealing your designs.

When you consider that Etsy now allows dropshipping — a way to fulfill orders where sellers don’t actually create or house the products — there are concerns that Etsy allows sellers to circumvent the handmade, custom-made, or vintage prerequisite for selling on the platform.

And at the end of the day, Etsy isn’t an ideal platform for building a brand. Your Etsy shop is limited in how much you can brand it, meaning your customers won’t remember you and are unlikely to remain loyal. There’s no easy way to get your customers to sign up for your email list through your Etsy shop, so you can only really contact them through Etsy’s messaging system.

Even though it’s cheap to set up a store, Etsy charges transaction fees, many of which are higher than most common payment processor fees. Sellers pay a flat rate of 20 cents per listing, 6.5% of the total payment collection, and a 25-cent fee when the sale processes through Etsy’s Direct Checkout.

If that weren’t enough, Etsy sellers don’t actually own their stores. So, if Etsy decided to close your shop at any time, you’d lose the entire store and all your reviews and data. So when someone asks if they should sell on Etsy or their own website, what they’re really asking is, “Is Etsy worth the risk?”

Selling on Your Own Site

With all those limitations, it’s good that Etsy isn’t the only option for selling online, especially if you’ve done the “Etsy vs. my own website” cost benefit analysis. Selling on your own website may have a bigger learning curve, but the benefits far outweigh the obstacles.

Selling on your own site allows you to build customer loyalty. You can design the look and feel of your website and use forms to collect customer emails to reach out when you have a new product. This access allows you to create more targeted marketing campaigns because you can collect customer data and create ads and email sequences based on that information.

And even though your site is one of many on the internet, your customers won’t be distracted by sellers with similar products or product copycats because you won’t be sharing a site with other sellers. Since you own the site, you get to determine the rules you operate by. You won’t be subject to arbitrary fee increases or the high fees Etsy charges on sold items. Most payment processors tend to charge smaller fees than Etsy.

When you build your store, you’re in charge of the content you put on the site, the product descriptions, the design of the store, and the search engine optimization. Selling on your own site puts the power back in your hands.

StoreBuilder is an Easy Option

If you’re ready to build your own ecommerce store and avoid Etsy’s fees and lack of transparency, StoreBuilder is an easy way to create your own online store with all the best features already included.

Learn more about StoreBuilder and how you can quickly and easily build your own online store.

Don’t let the fear of not knowing how to create an ecommerce store hold you back. And don’t get stuck selling your products on a platform with arbitrary fees and no customer loyalty. Get started with StoreBuilder today.

As your business grows, you’ll likely install Magento themes and extensions to improve your ecommerce store design and functionality. But when you add new modules, it’s also essential to remove old ones to avoid code conflicts and performance issues.

The steps to uninstall an extension in Magento 2 vary based on the installation process.

If the extension was installed using a Composer metapackage, you could uninstall it with the Magento module:uninstall command. However, if the extension was installed using an archive file, you must uninstall it manually.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you both methods to uninstall Magento 2 extensions.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Preconditions

No matter which method you use to uninstall extensions in Magento 2, follow these steps before you start:

Back Up Magento

Actions such as removing a Magento 2 theme or extension alter the Magento database and codebase. Creating a backup before making such changes ensures you can roll back to a functional version of your site if things go wrong.

Adobe deprecated the built-in Magento backup functionality in Magento versions 2.1.16, 2.2.7, 2.3.0, and above. Thus, we recommend consulting your hosting service provider to explore code and database backup options for your Magento store.

Hostdedi customers can back up their Magento store by logging in to the Client Portal and initiating an on-demand backup from Plan Dashboard > Backups > Create Backup.

Change the Magento Operation Mode to Developer

Before turning on developer mode, clear all generated classes and proxies to prevent unexpected errors during the uninstallation process using:

<pre><code>

$ rm -rf <magento-root>/generated/metadata/* <magento-root>/generated/code/*

</code></pre>

Then, switch the Magento operation mode to developer using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento deploy:mode:set developer

</code></pre>

How To Uninstall an Extension in Magento 2

1. Log in to your server and enable maintenance mode.

2. Disable the extension, update dependencies, and clear the Magento 2 cache.

3. Verify the uninstallation.

4. Remove the directory of module files from the “app” folder.

5. Disable maintenance mode.

Let’s explore the steps to uninstall an extension in Magento 2 manually.

1. Log In to Your Server and Enable Maintenance Mode

Log in to your Magento 2 server over SSH, navigate to the Magento root directory, and enable maintenance mode using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento maintenance:enable

</code></pre>

2. Disable the Extension, Update Dependencies, and Clear the Magento 2 Cache

Disable the Magento 2 extension using the following command:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento module:disable <ExtensionProvider_ExtensionName> –clear-static-content

</code></pre>

For instance, here’s the command we’re using to disable our custom Magento 2 module:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento module:disable Nexcess_CustomModule –clear-static-content

</code></pre>

Once you’ve disabled the custom module, update the Magento project dependencies using the following command:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento setup:upgrade

</code></pre>

As an added measure, clear the Magento cache using the following command:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento cache:flush

</code></pre>

3. Verify the Uninstallation

You can verify if the extension uninstallation is successful using the following command:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento module:status <VendorName>_<ModuleName>

</code></pre>

The output should state “Module is disabled.”

4. Remove the Directory of Module Files From the “app” Folder

To complete the extension removal process, remove extension files from the Magento file system as follows:

<pre><code>

$ rm -R app/code/<extension-folder-name>

</code></pre>

5. Disable Maintenance Mode

Disable the maintenance mode using the command below:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento maintenance:disable

</code></pre>

Open your Magento storefront in a web browser and verify everything is working normally.

If you notice any issues, roll back to a previous version. Additionally, reach out to your third-party extension developer to help you uninstall the extension in Magento 2.

How To Uninstall a Composer Extension in Magento 2

If you install a Magento 2 module via Composer, you can remove it using either the “composer remove” command or Magento’s “module:uninstall” command.

It’s easier to uninstall Magento extensions using the uninstall script as it automates all the steps you would need with the “composer remove” command.

Here’s how you can uninstall an extension in Magento 2 using the module:uninstall command.

1. Log In to Your Server

Log in to your Magento server and navigate to the Magento installation folder via the command line interface. We don’t need to put Magento in maintenance mode because the uninstall script does that automatically.

2. Uninstall the Magento 2 Extension Using the module:uninstall Command

Execute the following command in your terminal:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento module:uninstall <Vendor_Name> –remove-data –clear-static-content

</code></pre>

The Magento module:uninstall command performs the following tasks:

1. Checks if the extension is defined as a Composer package.

2. Checks for dependencies.

3. Asks for confirmation before proceeding if there’s no dependency.

4. Puts Magento in maintenance mode.

5. Removes database schema and data defined in the extensions Uninstall classes.

6. Removes the extension from the setup_module database table.

7. Removes the extension from the app/etc/config.php file.

8. Executes the composer remove command and updates the Magento project requirements in the composer.json file.

9. Cleans Magento cache, updates generated classes, and clears static view files.

10. Disables maintenance mode.

Here’s what successful execution of the Magento uninstall command looks like in the terminal:

In case of errors, the command returns an output detailing the error. Troubleshoot the error based on the output received and rerun the module:uninstall command.

3. Check the Extension Status

You can verify the extension is uninstalled using the following command:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento module:status <VendorName>_<ModuleName>

</code></pre>

After verifying the module is disabled, switch Magento to the production mode, access your storefront in a browser, and verify everything works correctly. If you notice any errors, try clearing the Magento cache and running the setup:upgrade command.

If that doesn’t fix it, roll back to a previous version and reach out to your extension developer for assistance.

Final Thoughts: How To Uninstall an Extension in Magento 2

In addition to our guide, make sure you reference the extension documentation for extra steps to uninstall the extension in Magento 2.

Removing unwanted extensions can help you improve Magento store performance by reducing code conflicts. It also lowers the chances of your store being hacked due to unknown vulnerabilities in an outdated extension.

If you’re looking for more ways to secure Magento 2 and optimize its performance, sign up for Managed Magento hosting with Hostdedi. Our plans include Magento-optimized hosting environments, nightly backups, and 24/7/365 security.

Browse our plans to get started today.