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Please note: this article does not constitute legal advice. It is meant only to educate.

Learning about website privacy policy requirements isn’t top-of-mind when website owners launch an online business. However, if you’re handling users from countries with strict data protection laws, a website policy statement is an important part of the legal process.

What Is a Website Policy?

A website policy (more often referred to as a privacy policy) is a statement that discloses your website’s practices regarding the collection, use, and handling of your site visitors’ personal data. It is mandatory if you’re collecting personally identifiable information or use data to identify specific persons.

Examples of these types of information include:

• First and last names
• Contact information such as shipping or billing addresses
• Email addresses
• Birthdates
• Social Security numbers
• Financial information (i.e., credit card numbers)

A privacy policy also applies to “anonymous data.” This data isn’t personally identifying when used alone but can identify a user when used in connection with other data. IP addresses are a prime example. All the data collected in Google Analytics is another.

You should inform users if you’re sharing their data with third-party services.

In addition to making sure your website is PCI compliant to protect financial information, you need to follow website privacy policy requirements to keep your website visitors’ data secure.

Why You Need A Website Policy

Personal data is a big business. Companies like Google and Facebook made a fortune selling their users’ data.

Having a website policy is a legal requirement, especially in countries with strict privacy laws. In the U.S., government agencies including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the statutes of individual states mandate the website privacy policy requirements. Most states base their privacy laws on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

You are legally obligated to follow these laws if your website visitors live in the countries they apply to. For instance, if your ecommerce store is in Asia, but you serve customers in California, you must comply with the CCPA’s website privacy policy requirements.

Having a website policy also keeps things transparent for consumers, who are now taking a more active role in understanding how businesses use and store their information.

Website Privacy Policy Requirements

Writing a privacy policy does not have to be a complicated affair; there are several privacy policy generators online that can help you out. A basic privacy policy details the following information:

• Type of information collected
• Methods for collecting information
• Uses for the information
• Measures to ensure information is secured
• Disclosures on which third-parties the information is shared with
• Controls users have over their information

However, GDPR compliance necessitates stricter website privacy policy requirements than other national or local policies.

GDPR Compliant Privacy Policy

For a privacy policy to be GDPR compliant, it needs to be written in a straightforward and easily understood way — don’t fill it with legalese or jargon that would confuse a layperson. Be clear about how you use and protect your users’ data and think in terms of information accessibility. Here are some sections to include when writing a GDPR-compliant privacy policy:

• Introduction
• Definition of terms
• Principles for processing data
• User’s rights under the GDPR
• Your legal basis for processing data

1. Introduction

Every data privacy policy starts with basic information. Your introductory section should include:

• Legal name and business address of your company
• What the privacy policy is about
• The date the policy takes effect
• Name and contact number of your data controller
• Name and contact number of your data protection officer (DPO)

Data controllers and DPOs are responsible for ensuring data complies with the applicable data protection laws. The difference between them is that the data controllers do not necessarily have to be from the organization they’re monitoring.

“Data controller” is a general term that refers to the person responsible for data security. For instance, if you collect personal information for your or another company’s use, you can be considered a data controller.

2. Definition of Terms

According to Article 12 of the GDPR, an accessible privacy policy is clear and easy to understand. Thus it is vital to include a definition of terms.

3. Principles for Processing Data

Article 5 of the GDPR includes six principles by which personal data must be processed:

• Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency
• Purpose limitation
• Data minimization
• Accuracy
• Storage limitation
• Integrity and confidentiality

This section isn’t mandatory. How you share it in your privacy policy depends on you. Some companies simply share a list and declare their compliance, while others take a personal approach.

Coca Cola shares their principles for data collection and processing in a fun graphic.

4. Users’ Rights Under the GDPR

Users should be made aware of their eight rights under the GDPR:

• The right to be informed
• The right of access
• The right to rectification
• The right to erasure
• The right to restrict processing
• The right to data portability
• The right to object
• Rights related to automated decision making and profiling

AEG shares users’ rights on their privacy policy:

5. Your Legal Basis for Processing Data

Article 6 of the GDPR only allows you to process data on these six legal bases:

• Consent: The subject has permitted their data to be processed.
• Contract: Data processing is necessary to fulfill a contract.
• Legal obligation: Processing of data is required by law.
• Vital interest: The state of someone’s life depends on the data being processed.
• Public task: The data processed is required to protect or execute a situation of public interest.
• Legitimate interest: The data is processed for legitimate interests; fundamental rights or freedoms are not infringed.

Shopify’s privacy policy includes a section on their legal basis for processing data:

Where to Put Your Privacy Policy Disclaimer?

Once you have drafted a complete website privacy policy, place it in the most conspicuous areas of your website, such as:

• Website footer: This is usually where all your navigation links are located.
• About section: This is where many visitors check for a privacy policy.
• Web forms: Web forms are used to collect personal information, making them the perfect place to ask for consent to process customers’ data.

Consider using a GDPR plugin to initiate a cookie consent popup so that users can opt to disable cookies and protect their private data as these privacy laws intended.

Final Thoughts: Website Privacy Policy Requirements

Websites that process data from persons living in countries with strict data protection laws must comply with a website policy. You can write your policy from scratch or use a free privacy policy generator, but make sure you are legally protected.

If you’re a busy entrepreneur, take the worry of data security off your list of concerns. Get your website in a compliant hosting environment with Hostdedi today.

Check out our hosting plans to get started today.

Selling courses online is a great way to monetize your brand. It allows you to earn passive income and serve more people without increasing your client workload. Plus, selling courses online is profitable.

According to SkillScouter, the eLearning industry has grown more than 900% since 2000. Not to mention, 42% of companies who use eLearning generate more income, according to TechJury.

Therefore, if you’re knowledgeable about a particular topic, there’s never been a better time to create your course. And thanks to platforms like WordPress, you can easily create a course website, even if you’re a beginner.

In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of how to build a course website so you can start selling your online course.

How To Build a Course Website

Let’s go over those steps more in-depth below.

Step 1: Choose a Domain Name

The domain name is what your visitors will type into their browser’s address bar to reach your site. If you’re launching a single course, it makes sense to use the course name as the domain name.

But if you plan on selling multiple courses or setting up a small business for eLearning, you might opt for a more general or unique name.

A few tips for choosing a good custom domain name include:

• Keep it short if possible.
• Make it easy to spell.
• Make it easy to remember.

Step 2: Sign Up for a Web Hosting Plan

Once you’ve decided on your domain name, the next thing you’ll need is a web hosting plan. Hosting refers to the disk space where your website files will live. It’s what makes it possible to access your domain and the content of your website.

There is no shortage of hosting companies out there, so it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But it’s crucial to choose a hosting company that offers plans designed with speed and security in mind.

Both of these options are crucial for course websites as you’ll want to ensure your visitors have an easy time accessing and viewing your course lessons. You’ll also want to ensure that their financial and other sensitive information is protected.

Hostdedi has hosting plans optimized for faster speeds and better WordPress security. Take a look at our pricing plans and choose one that fits your budget. Then go through the process of creating your account and submitting payment.

Step 3: Install WordPress

After you have bought your domain name and hosting plan, the next step is to install WordPress. WordPress is the best open source ecommerce platform to create your course website for several reasons.

For starters, it’s easy to use. Secondly, there are numerous high-quality themes for WordPress that make it easy to create the web design you want without having to code everything in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from scratch.

Thirdly, there are thousands of plugins that empower you to add different functionality and features to your site, like Yoast for SEO, Easy Digital Downloads or WooCommerce for ecommerce, and Jetpack for on-page optimization. Thanks to these plugins, you can easily create a course website.

Fourth, there’s a robust WordPress community to lean on should you ever have questions about the setup. Some of these WordPress resources include forums, the WordPress Codex, full WordPress news websites with the latest happenings, and WordCamps, which are local events where WordPress experts gather to learn from one another.

Lastly, WordPress is so popular that many hosting providers pre-install WordPress when you purchase a hosting package.

However, if your host doesn’t offer pre-installed WordPress, WordPress offers a one-click installation process — or you can go to WordPress.org and download it yourself. All you have to do is provide your desired username, site title, password, and the installer will take care of the rest.

When the WordPress installation process is complete, log into your WordPress dashboard. Then, go to Appearance > Themes.

You can search for a theme designed with an online course or eLearning websites in mind. Or, you can opt for a more general theme. Once you’ve found a theme you like, install it, and activate it.

Step 4: Install an LMS Plugin

To sell your course or courses, you’ll need an LMS plugin to serve as an online course platform for your WordPress site. LMS stands for Learning Management System.

An LMS plugin will give you the necessary custom features for creating modules and lessons for your course, applying whatever customization you’d like, and controlling who can access the course materials.

Here are the top course plugins for WordPress users:

1. LearnPress

LearnPress makes it easy to create a course curriculum with lesson and quiz templates included. It has an intuitive interface. You can use it to create an online course website, sell a single course, and create a full-blown online school.

2. LifterLMS

LifterLMS is one of the most popular LMS plugins for WordPress websites. It works with any WordPress theme and makes it easy to create online course websites and membership websites.

LifterLMS also works with other popular WordPress plugins for even more features for your course website.

3. TutorLMS

Next, we have TutorLMS. It allows you to create an online course website and use quizzes, challenges, and other gamification features to make online learning fun and enjoyable.

4. LearnDash

Lastly, we have LearnDash. This award-winning plugin is the only WordPress LMS created by e-learning experts. It allows you to easily create an online course website with user management tools, drip feed content options, and plenty of payment methods to offer.

Step 5: Promote Your Courses

Once you’ve created a website and added course material, the last step is to spread the word and enroll potential students.

A few marketing ideas include:

• Promoting your course on social media platforms where your target audience spends time.
• Offering a small part of the course in exchange for an email address to build your list and inviting them to sign up for the full course. That can help build up your email marketing strategy over time.
• Offering a discount code or a limited-time sale price for the course.
• Becoming a blogger and posting content related to your course topic to get people interested.
• Investing in paid ads such as Google AdWords or Facebook Ads.
• Optimizing your site for search engine optimization (SEO) with keywords related to your course.

Final Thoughts: How To Build a Course Website: A Quick-Start Tutorial

Learning how to build a course website is not an easy task. But once you know what is involved and have the right tools for the job, it’s a lot easier to get started.

In this post, we’ve shared the necessary steps to build a course website and the top three LMS plugins to facilitate the process.

The only thing left to do now is to get started to sell your online courses.

Get started with a WordPress hosting plan from Hostdedi to ensure your course content is secure, accessible, and ready to serve new students.

Magento 2 makes it easy to build an ecommerce store and sell globally. But this ease of use comes at a cost. Store owners aren’t webmasters and don’t always know how to secure a Magento site from security risks and cyberattacks.

A security breach can result in expensive lawsuits, crippling fines, and permanent loss of reputation. A 2021 report by the Ponemon Institute found that the average cost of a data breach is approximately $4.24 million globally.

Do you want to learn how to secure a Magento website?

Here’s what you need to know:

How To Secure a Magento Website in 4 Ways

Operating an online store without securing it can lead to a data breach. Here are four simple Magento security tips to help you curb cyber threats.

1. Secure the Server Environment

A Magento store is only as secure as its weakest link. As a platform that relies on several technologies such as PHP, MySQL, and Elasticsearch, Magento is susceptible to compromise from multiple sources.

A vulnerability in any of its associated applications can compromise your online store. Therefore, before you secure your Magento installation, secure its associated applications and hosting environment.

Here’s how:

• Use SSH and SFTP to access your remote servers over an encrypted connection.
• Use unique and strong passwords for each application.
• Change passwords every three to six months.
• Set secure filesystem permissions with core Magento files set to read-only.
• Check access and error logs regularly.
• Set up local and remote backups for better reliability.
• Modify the Magento docroot to improve security.
• Use a web application firewall.

Once you’ve secured the Magento hosting environment, you can move on to securing the core application.

2. Apply Security Patches on Time

The best way to secure your Magento store is with security patches. These patches help protect your store from security loopholes without risking the compatibility issues of an upgrade.

Adobe recently identified critical vulnerabilities affecting Magento Commerce and Open Source versions 2.3.3-p1 to 2.3.7-p2 and 2.4.0 to 2.4.3-p1. It released two security patches, MDVA-43395 and MDVA-43443, to resolve the security vulnerabilities.

Applying a security patch is easy. You only need command line access to the Magento server and you’re good to go.

Here’s how to secure a Magento website by applying the latest security updates:

1. Upload the Magento security patch file to the Magento root directory.

2. Run the following command:

<pre><code>

$ patch -p1 < %patch_name%.composer.patch

</pre></code>

If “-p1” doesn’t work, try “-p2” instead.

3. Refresh the Magento cache from the CLI using:

<pre><code>

$ bin/magento cache:clean

</pre></code>

Make sure you test all patches in a staging environment before applying them to your production server.

3. Configure & Enforce Two-Factor Authentication

The Magento admin holds all your store data, including customer data and order information. To help merchants protect this information from unauthorized access, Adobe introduced Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in Magento versions 2.4 and above.

Magento’s 2FA security module supports authentication using Google Authenticator, Authy, Duo Security, and Universal 2nd Factor devices such as Yubikey. You can enable them in the Magento admin panel from Stores > Settings > Configuration > Security > 2FA.

You can also force a global authenticator for all admin accounts by navigating to Stores > Settings > Configuration > Security > 2FA and following these steps:

1. Expand the General section, uncheck the Use system value checkbox.

2. Select a provider from the Providers to use section.

3. Click Save Config.

4. Change The Encryption Key Frequently

Magento 2 uses an encryption key to encrypt sensitive information. It uses the industry-standard AES-256 (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithm to encrypt data such as payment and integration passwords and SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm) for all other data.

The Encryption Key tool in the Magento admin can and should be used to change the encryption key intermittently and in the event of a security breach. That ensures hackers can’t decode your encrypted store data should they gain access to it.

Are you wondering how to secure a Magento site by changing its encryption key?

It’s easy. First, update the file permissions for the app/etc/env.php file and make it writable. Then, go to System > Other Settings > Manage Encryption Key in the Magento admin and follow these steps:

1. Set the Auto-generate Key option to Yes.

2. Click Change Encryption Key.

3. Copy the new encryption key and save it in a safe location.

Make sure you change the app/etc/env.php file permissions to read-only when you’re done.

Popular Magento 2 Security Extensions

Using a Magento 2 security extension doesn’t guarantee online security. However, it can help simplify securing your Magento store. Here are three popular extensions you can consider.

1. Security Suite for Magento 2 by Amasty

Security Suite for Magento 2 helps you monitor admin activity and protects your store from spam and bots. It also includes 2FA support for an extra layer of security and allows you to manage user permissions.

Price: $419 for the first year and $255/year after that.

2. Magento 2 Security by Mageplaza

The Mageplaza Magento 2 Security extension keeps the bad guys out of your store with features such as a security checklist, brute force protection, login logs, and file change detection to identify suspicious activity.

Price: Community at $99 and Professional at $149 for the first year.

3. Watchlog by Wyomind

Watchlog by Wyomind is a free Magento 2 security extension that tracks traffic on the backend of your Magento site and protects it from brute force attacks. Its paid version, Watchlog Pro, adds blacklisting, automation, and reporting functionalities.

Price: Free, Pro at $151.

Final Thoughts: How To Secure a Magento Site

Business owners aren’t online security experts. And the rapidly evolving threat landscape makes it challenging to secure Magento from exploits. Basic security best practices such as SSL certificates and a unique admin URL can only take you so far.

We’ve shown you how to secure a Magento site in four ways. Besides these tips, you can also use the free Magento Security Scan tool to set up security alerts for common security threats.

Managed Magento hosting by Hostdedi simplifies Magento store protection. Our plans include automatic malware monitoring, proactive security patches, and 30-day backups.

Sign up for a plan today.

You’ve been working on a client’s project for the last couple of hours. It’s a section of the backend you’re struggling to fix. But you feel like you’re close. You were supposed to finish at 5:00 pm. It’s now 6:30 pm.

A thought flickers in your mind, “I should really stop working.” But you think you’ve nearly cracked it. So you turn back to your code and continue.

That is the reality for some of us — a web developer work-life balance struggle. And it’s not just the case for web developers or software engineers. You could be a writer finishing your last chapter or a CEO trying to clear down the numerous emails that have been sent to you.

It’s hard to want to stop when you feel like you’re in the flow. That next feature, that next HTML webpage. It’s also hard when you’re trying to grow a business as a freelance web developer so you can enjoy the freedom it should give you, but your free time goes to working on your projects.

It’s such a different life compared to a job as a software developer, working somewhere Amazon or Microsoft, who offer a structured career path with health care benefits.

If work’s been taking up most of your time, don’t fret. We’re going to look at why a work-life balance is so important and how saying no, setting yourself a hard stop, and getting extra help will improve your work-life balance.

The Importance of a Web Developer Work-Life Balance

As you begin, everything seems ok to say yes to. Project after project is coming your way. You have the benefit of remote working.

You’re waking up early to chip away at your workload and work late into the night. It’s starting to become more than a full-time job when really you wanted it to be just part-time. And running your startup is coming at a cost.

If you don’t get the right work-life balance, it can harm your personal life.

Your relationships between your family and friends can suffer due to the lack of time and attention you spend on them.

You can suffer burnout, not wanting to do anything, feeling unmotivated to do the simplest of tasks, not having the creative spark you used to have, which is essential for web development.

It may be hard to imagine, but spending less time working can actually make you more productive. In Iceland, the think tank Autonomy ran experiments reducing the number of working days.

In multiple businesses, they reported improvements in wellbeing and “similar levels of service provision that were maintained in participating workplaces even though fewer hours of work were required to deliver them.”

But how can you achieve that for yourself?

Web Developer Work-Life Balance

To help achieve a web developer work-life balance, it’s important to prevent work from taking over your time. You need to remember that YOU come first, and you need to prioritize that.

Here are three ways to improve your work-life balance as a front end developer or a full stack developer.

1. Saying No

Landing your first job is one of the best feelings. Someone has put their trust in your talents and skills to produce a website for them. And you earn money while doing something you love.

After time you get more people wanting your services, and before you know it, you don’t have the time in the day or even the week to manage it all.

That is where the power of saying no comes in. It can be easy to say yes to every project that comes your way, but when will you get the work done? By working overnight for days?

Create a filter so you know when to say yes or no to a job. Do you say yes only to certain types of companies? Say yes to jobs that pay over a certain amount? Do you say no if you have X number of jobs you’re currently working on?

These filters can prevent you from being overwhelmed and stressed and help with your web developer work-life balance.

2. Setting a Hard Stop

Being a freelance web developer means that you’re your own boss. You can plan your own work time. If you want to wake up at 10 am and start working, you can. If you’re going to take on a particular project so that you can learn a new programming language, you can.

The problem with being your own boss is there is no one closing up the office, asking you to leave. Or, if you’re a remote worker, no one is messaging you to stop working. Your web developer work-life balance isn’t being looked after by anyone other than yourself.

As mentioned before, working long hours is not good for your productivity or health. It can be easy for your working hours to be over 12 hours a day. Working 12 hours a day, where are you finding time to eat healthily, exercise, and spend time with your friends?

That is why you need to set your hard stop. At a particular time of the day, or after so many hours have passed, you stop what you’re doing, put down your CSS and JavaScript, turn off your computer and go unwind.

Watch Netflix. Go rock climbing. Do some watercolor paintings.

Whatever it is, make sure it’s not work-related and gets you out of your work environment. You need to give yourself the time to recharge your batteries and reset your mind.

3. Get Some Extra Help

Another way of working on your web developer work-life balance is by getting help in your work. That could be in various ways.

It could be outsourcing admin to someone to give you more time on the vital work.

It could be using tools such as Hostdedi StoreBuilder to reach your end goals faster. Or use a service like Zapier to automate some of your work.

Related reading: 10 No-Code Tools To Improve Your Freelance Business >>

Or using frontend frameworks such as Reactjs or Angular to help speed up development.

Make a list of the actions that you carry out daily or weekly and per project so you can see what you could outsource, automate or get help with.

Final Thoughts: 3 Ways To Achieve a Healthy Web Developer Work-Life Balance

It can be easy when starting as a freelance web developer to take on as many jobs creating web applications as possible and work for as long as it takes to complete the project. Still, the reality is that it will affect your life negatively in the long run.

Just remember to take time out for yourself.

If one of your projects is to help a client build an online store, Hostdedi StoreBuilder can get you up and running without writing a single line of code and using the power of WordPress.

Kadence is a WordPress theme with a supporting collection of plugins used to create beautifully effective websites. The theme is a flexible design tool in and of itself allowing for infinite possibilities of customization using the familiar WordPress interface.

While the advanced themes of the past tried to provide their own customization interface, Kadence is on the edge of modern WordPress design pushing the boundaries of what the WordPress block editor has to offer.

What Does Kadence Offer?

The Kadence theme for WordPress installs as a typical WordPress theme with a clean, modern style similar to what you would expect from the new Twenty Twenty-Two default theme. Out of the box the theme is unassuming and a clean slate for customization.

To get you started, Kadence offers many starter templates. Unlike traditional WordPress child themes that must be installed alongside a parent theme, these starter templates are pre-configured layouts and designs using the Kadence theme itself. Use these starter templates to make a lot of progress quickly and then use the theme to customize as needed to create your unique website.

Starter Template designs cover a large range of categories from shopping, to blogging, to agencies, and SaaS sites. There are also starter templates for specific business types like law firms, real estate, and web agencies. To name a few more there are also templates for churches, non-profits, and a playful design for a children’s museum.

How the Kadence Blocks Work

A major feature of the Kadence theme is the Kadence Blocks plugin, which provides common elements of website design as powerful blocks which can be used in the WordPress Block Editor.

How Kadence Differs From the Block Editor

The Block Editor (introduced as the Gutenberg editing experience) is the blocked-based layout and design system included with WordPress. Out of the box, the block editor includes the most common elements used in website design, such as paragraphs, headings, images, etc.

This new editing experience for WordPress is visual and flexible in a way that the TinyMCE was never intended to achieve. It also provides a framework for WordPress plugins to extend the editing capabilities of the Block Editor — this is where themes like Kadence and plugins like the Kadence Blocks plugin come into play.

The Kadence Blocks plugin builds upon the core WordPress Block Editor to provide more control and customization. Some of the Kadence blocks are more powerful versions of the default blocks (with extra settings and configuration options), while others offer new functionality that isn’t default behavior of the Block Editor.

How to Use the Kadence Blocks Editor

Advanced Heading Block

The Advanced Heading Block builds upon the Block Editor’s Heading Block adding advanced typography settings, spacing control for padding/margin, and inline highlighting controls for selected text within the Advanced Heading block.

The highlighting feature is particularly interesting and unexpected. Bringing attention to particular words within the heading is a design feature that is difficult to achieve with a block setting for it, which Kadence makes very easy.

Row Layout Block

The Row Layout Block builds upon the Block Editor’s Columns and Column Blocks, adding draggable resizing, background overlay settings, and column divider controls. Additionally, the Kadence Blocks plugin adds support for a design library of pre-built row layouts that can be customized in full.

Defining layouts can be difficult to implement with any specificity, but the Kadence row layout block provides a draggable interface for setting column width in relation to the other columns. This is especially helpful when designing specific layouts for specific text.

In the screenshot below, the heading text was slightly too wide for a 2 column layout, but with Kadence you can expand the width of the column as needed by the design.

Advanced Button Block

The Advanced Button Block builds upon the Block Editor’s Buttons Block by adding container margin control for a group of buttons — as well as icon support and hover styles for each individual button.

A great addition to the Buttons Block is the ability to set hover styles for the buttons using the Advanced Button block. This is a great improvement over the default Buttons Block.

Use Kadence Blocks With Hostdedi Hosting

The Kadence theme and the Kadence Blocks plugin offer powerful, flexible control over a WordPress website with advanced styling options, starter templates, and blocks that extend the WordPress editing experience.

Kadence is a great tool and it comes built into Hostdedi plans, such as StoreBuilder for ecommerce website design and fully managed WooCommerce for secure, performant online stores. Your store’s online presence is ready to scale to meet customer demand with Hostdedi hosting.

StoreBuilder includes both Kadence Theme PRO and Kadence Blocks PRO to create beautiful online stores with advanced sales tools that are easy to manage. Get the flexibility of Kadence with reliable and powerful hosting from Hostdedi.

Get started with Hostdedi today.

What is cross-border ecommerce and how can I tap into that growing market?

Expanding into new geographic markets can increase your sales. But selling across international borders introduces new complexities to your business.

When you have the right information and a robust cross-border ecommerce strategy, you can overcome the challenges and boost your profits.

Keep reading to learn about cross-border ecommerce, anticipated growth and challenges, and how to get started with it.

What is Cross-Border Ecommerce?

So what is cross-border ecommerce? It’s as simple as it sounds. Cross-border ecommerce is an online transaction where the buyer and seller are in different countries.

Types of cross-border ecommerce include:

• Business-to-Consumer. B2C transactions cover traditional retail where companies sell directly to consumers.
• Business-to-Business. In B2B ecommerce, another business is the customer instead of a consumer.
• Consumer-to-Consumer. The rise of selling marketplaces created a new C2C ecommerce market where consumers sell to one another.

For more about the types of ecommerce and how they compare to ebusiness, read our post on the difference between ecommerce and ebusiness.

A Look at the Cross-Border Ecommerce Market

Analysts predict cross-border ecommerce will account for 22% of all ecommerce shipments of physical products worldwide in 2022. In 2016, cross-border transactions only accounted for 15% of the market.

Cross-border ecommerce is growing at twice the rate of domestic commerce, according to Accenture. What’s driving this growth? Consumers are showing an increasing willingness to purchase goods from foreign websites. Just look at the stats below from Cross Border: The Disruptive Frontier.

Examples of consumers’ high adoption of cross-border ecommerce include:

• 62% of German consumers buy from abroad.
• 63% of Dutch shoppers buy from cross-border retailers.
• 75% of U.K. consumers buy from overseas retailers.
• 84% of Irish shoppers buy abroad, the highest percentage of cross-border ecommerce shoppers in the world.

Cross-Border Ecommerce Growth

Improvements in technology and logistics make cross-border shopping easier for consumers. With the rise of marketplaces, many consumers may not even realize they’re buying something from a cross-border retailer.

Reasons more consumers are completing cross-border ecommerce transactions include:

• Cheaper Prices. As more logistics and shipping companies enter the international shipping marketing, prices for cross-border shipments decrease. High shipping costs used to offset any pricing advantage a foreign retailer had. But now shoppers find better prices on items from international sellers, especially if the item is lightweight. Nearly 72% of cross-border purchases weigh less than 1 kilogram, according to Accenture.
• Access to Different Brands. Expats or frequent travelers are looking for brands they can’t buy domestically.
• Unique or Specialty Products. So, you can’t compete on price. Cross-border expansion could still be profitable if you offer specialty or custom products shoppers can’t find elsewhere.

Issues Facing Cross-Border Ecommerce

Entering international markets adds a layer of complexity to your ecommerce business. Figuring out how to create an ecommerce website is complicated enough before you add multiple languages and currencies into the mix.

Common pain points for cross-border ecommerce include:

• Logistics and Delivery. Most ecommerce businesses have domestic shipping partners. To sell internationally, you may need additional shipping and logistics vendors. You also need a way to reliably calculate and display shipping charges and times during checkout. And you need to figure out how to manage the customs process.
• Exchange and Returns. How will you handle exchanges or returns? When you research shipping partners, ask about return services.
• Payments and Currencies. What payment methods will you accept? Can you display prices in the local currency?
• Taxation. U.S. businesses are already familiar with the headaches of different sales tax rates and rules by city or state. International commerce adds the possibility of paying sales tax, value-added tax, and tariffs or duties.
• Data Protection. Security is a top priority for all ecommerce businesses. You need to think carefully about protecting your new international customers’ data. For example, if you sell in Europe, you must ensure your policies and practices comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
• Regulatory Compliance. In addition to data privacy regulations, your business needs to comply with local regulations and the company’s customs laws.

Why Cross-Border Ecommerce is Essential to Your Business

Despite the additional technical, regulatory, and logistical requirements, cross-border ecommerce is worth the investment. Companies that fail to develop cross-border capabilities will fall behind competitors that enter foreign markets.

Cross-border ecommerce is growing much faster than domestic ecommerce. The best chance for growing your business could be in a global market.

Steps to Succeeding in Cross-Border Ecommerce

To improve your odds of success and ROI, take the time to develop a cross-border ecommerce strategy. Follow these steps to create your plan:

1. Do Your Research

2. Plan to Meet Consumers’ Expectations

3. Pick the Right Partners

Do Your Research

Start by researching which international markets make the most sense for your products. What is the state of the economy? Are consumers shopping cross-border ecommerce stores? Can you compete with local products and pricing?

Once you decide which markets make the most sense, research the country’s regulations, tax, and shipping options.

Plan to Meet Consumers’ Expectations

Buyers won’t cut you a break just because you’re shipping internationally. Many of the same expectations of domestic ecommerce consumers, like fast and free shipping, apply to cross-border ecommerce.

In a survey of cross-border shoppers, the most common expectations were:

• Clear and upfront information about delivery charges
• Simple, free returns process
• Free delivery after meeting a minimum purchase threshold

Pick the Right Partners

To meet consumers’ expectations, you need to find the right vendors for shipping and logistics. For tips on shipping internationally, read our ecommerce guide to international shipping costs. It covers saving money on shipping, including the cheapest way to ship to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia — three of the hottest markets for cross-border ecommerce.

Tools for Cross-Border Ecommerce

Expanding to a global ecommerce enterprise is difficult enough without technical issues. Before you can enter a new market, you need a fast, reliable, and well-designed ecommerce website.

With StoreBuilder by Hostdedi, our AI engine does the hard work of setting up a new WooCommerce website. We’ve already vetted and selected the plugins you need to get your store up and running. And because StoreBuilder runs on WooCommerce, you can add any additional integration and features you need to begin selling across borders.

Try this innovative online store builder risk-free for 30 days.

Sometimes things happen. Sometimes things happen for no reason at all. However, most likely things do happen for a reason — even if that reason isn’t immediately obvious. When something does happen there is usually an error code that helps to point us in the right direction.

You might be familiar with the 404 Not Found or maybe the 301 Redirect (which isn’t an error at all, but redirect too many times and you’ll be in for a surprise!). Sometimes things go wrong and all you get is a “Something is broken!” message… Ah, our old friend 500 Internal Server Error.

Keep reading to learn about the 500 Internal Server Error on WordPress. Learn the steps you can take to fix an Internal Server Error on WordPress in this blog.

What Is A 500 Internal Server Error?

A 500 Internal Server Error is a message you’ll see on some websites when something unexpected happens. It means that there is something wrong with the website — not your browser or internet connection.

While the specific wording varies by server, for a 500 Internal Server Error on WordPress

you should see something like:

• 500 Internal Server Error
• Error 500
• Internal Server Error
• Server Error 500
• HTTP 500 Error

What Are The Causes Of an Internal Server Error 500?

When something unexpected happens, and there is not a more fitting error code you will see a 500 Internal Server Error. Causes include file corruption, permission errors, plugins, and more. This can seem intimidating, but at this point at least you know that there is a problem — and you can go about fixing it.

Steps To Fix A 500 Internal Server Error On A WordPress Website

Plugins Causing a 500 Internal Server Error

With a plugin-based system like WordPress, plugins written by different authors (and at different points in time) can conflict with each other. This is certainly the kind of thing that can cause unexpected errors. In this case, in order to identify the problem, you will need to disable all of your plugins and then re-enable them one-by-one until the error is reproduced.

If you have access to the wp-admin, then you can log in to your WordPress dashboard and using the plugins menu screen deactivate all plugins in bulk. If you do not have access to the wp-admin (presumably because of the 500 error) then you can disable plugins manually by temporarily renaming the plugin folders on the server.

Once you find the plugin that is causing the error you can try rolling back the plugin version to a previous version that does not cause the error. If rolling back the plugin version resolves the issue, then it would be helpful to reach out to the plugin developer to let them know of the error.

Check the Error Logs

Even though the server error is unexpected, there are often troubleshooting notes in the error log. These errors are not publicly visible and can only be accessed via the server.

Developers add these private error messages as breadcrumbs so that they can trace a problem (such as a 500 error) related to the server without accidentally exposing secret server information, such as the server configuration.

This information is very valuable to both developers and hackers, so these error messages are kept privately in the error log on the server.

If you are not seeing anything listed in the error log, you will want to make sure that WP_DEBUG is configured correctly on your site to log errors. This can be helpful to get troubleshooting information without displaying the error message publicly.

Be Proactive

Perhaps the best advice for preventing unexpected errors on your website is to be proactive and check for errors yourself before publishing changes.

When you make a change to your website, such as installing a new plugin, test out common features of your website. You can take this a step further and use what is called a development environment or a development site.

Can A Server Error 500 Be Prevented?

By their nature, 500 errors are reserved for the unexpected and it is difficult to prepare for the unexpected. However, you can update your workflow to catch potential 500 errors by using a development site.

Before you make changes on your website, like installing a new plugin or changing the theme, making those changes on a development site will allow you to check for errors before migrating those changes to your public website.

Consider WordPress Hosting With Hostdedi

Sometimes things happen. The important part is how we react to things when they happen.

A host offering fully managed WordPress hosting will provide the tools that you need to handle errors as they happen — because at some point they will happen.

Check out fully managed WordPress hosting plans by Hostdedi to get started today.

You can uninstall a Magento 2 theme in two ways:

• By removing it from the Magento codebase and database manually.
• By using the Magento theme uninstall command.

The method you can use depends on multiple factors, such as:

• How the Magento 2 application was installed — using Composer or cloning GitHub.
• How the theme was installed — using Composer or by uploading theme files.

If you installed the theme by uploading the files, you need to uninstall it manually regardless of how you installed Magento. But, if you installed it using Composer, then the removal method varies based on the Magento installation process.

Keep reading to learn:

• Prerequisites for Uninstalling a Magento 2 Theme
• Steps To Uninstall a Magento 2 Theme Manually
• Steps To Uninstall a Magento 2 Theme Using Composer
• Final Thoughts: How To Uninstall a Magento Theme

Prerequisites for Uninstalling a Magento 2 Theme

Follow these steps before you remove a theme in Magento 2.

1. Ensure the Theme Isn’t Applied to a Store View

Go to Content > Design > Configuration in the Magento admin. Ensure the theme you wish to uninstall isn’t assigned to a store view. If it is, follow Adobe’s guide demonstrating how to change a theme in Magento 2 and assign an alternate theme.

2. Verify the Theme Isn’t Set as a Parent Theme

Go to Content > Design > Themes in the Magento admin panel. Check the Parent Theme column to verify your custom theme isn’t listed there. If it is, uninstall the child theme first and then the parent theme.

3. Back up the Magento Database and Filesystem

Adobe deprecated Magento’s inbuilt backup functionality in Magento 2.3.0 and later versions. Although you can still use it from the command-line interface (CLI), they no longer recommend using it.

Consult your hosting provider for options to back up your Magento store and explore an alternative binary backup tool such as Percona XtraBackup to backup the database.

If you’re a Hostdedi customer, you can take an on-demand backup of your Magento store in addition to the free 30-day incremental backups. Log in to your Client Portal and go to Plan Dashboard > Backups > Create Backup to back up your store.

4. Change the Magento Operation Mode to Developer or Default

Clear generated classes and proxies from the Magento CLI using the following command:

<pre><code>

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

</pre></code>

Then, switch Magento to the developer mode using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento deploy:mode:set developer

</pre></code>

Steps To Uninstall a Magento 2 Theme Manually

If you’re using a custom Magento theme, you may have installed it manually by placing the theme files in a directory in the app/design folder in the Magento root.

Here’s how you can manually remove a theme in Magento 2:

Step 1: Enable Maintenance Mode

Put your store in maintenance mode to disable bootstrapping when you uninstall the Magento 2 theme.

Log in to your Magento 2 server as the Magento file system owner and run the following command to enable maintenance mode:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento maintenance:enable

</pre></code>

Step 2: Remove the Theme Directory From the Magento Filesystem

Manually installed Magento themes are usually placed in the app/design directory in the Magento root. Find the path to where the theme files are placed in the Magento root and delete the theme folder.

For example:

<pre><code>

$ rm -rf <magento-root>/app/design/frontend/<vendor-name>

</pre></code>

Step 3: Remove the Theme Record From the Magento Database

Next, to remove the Magento 2 theme, delete all records and references to the theme inside the store database using the following command:

<pre><code>

$ mysql -u <user> -p -e “delete from <dbname>.theme where theme_path ='<vendor>/<theme>’ AND area =’frontend’ limit 1”

</pre></code>

Replace the following placeholders before executing the command:

• <user>: Enter the Magento database username.
• <dbname>: Enter the Magento database name.
• <vendor>/<theme>: Enter the relative path to the theme directory.

Step 4: Clear Caches and Disable Maintenance Mode

To complete the uninstallation process, clear all Magento caches using the following command:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento cache:clean

</pre></code>

Finally, disable maintenance mode using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento maintenance:disable

</pre></code>

If you notice any errors on the frontend, clear the cache of other caching applications such as Varnish or Redis.

Steps To Uninstall a Magento 2 Theme Using Composer

The steps to uninstall a Magento 2 theme using Composer vary slightly based on the Magento 2 installation method. If you installed Magento using Composer, you can uninstall the theme using a CLI command.

However, if you installed Magento by cloning its Git repo, you’ll need to remove the theme from Magento’s composer.json file before using the command.

Here’s how to uninstall a Magento 2 theme using Composer:

Step 1: Remove the Theme From the Magento composer.json File (GitHub Install Only)

Note: This step is only required if you’ve installed Magento by cloning its Git repository.

Log in to the Magento file system and go to the Magento root directory.

Edit the Magento composer.json file using your preferred text editor and delete the line referencing the theme package.

Here’s a composer.json file with sample data for reference:

After removing the reference to the theme package from the “require” section, update the Magento project dependencies via the CLI using:

<pre><code>

$ composer update

</pre></code>

Now, you can safely run the Magento theme uninstall command as described in the next step.

Note: You can also remove the dependency using the composer remove command. However, in that case, make sure you delete the theme record from the Magento database manually.

Step 2: Run the Magento Theme Uninstall Command

Execute the following command in the CLI:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento theme:uninstall –backup-code –clear-static-content {theme path}

</pre></code>

This command:

• Checks if the theme exists at the defined theme path.
• Verifies the theme is a Composer package.
• Checks for dependencies, verifies the absence of a virtual theme, and that the theme isn’t currently in use.

If all checks are successful, it will:

• Put the store in maintenance mode and back up the codebase if the –backup-code command is used.
• Remove the theme from the Magento database tables first and then from the codebase with composer remove.
• Clear cache files and generated classes. If –clear-static-content is specified, it will also clear static view files.
• Disable maintenance mode once the process is complete.

If dependencies exist, you may see an error such as:

Resolve the dependency issue and rerun the uninstall command. If the theme relies on another theme, you can remove both simultaneously as follows:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento theme:uninstall frontend/SampleCorp/SampleModuleTheme frontend/SampleCorp/SampleModuleThemeDepend –backup-code

</pre></code>

Final Thoughts: How To Uninstall a Magento Theme

No matter how you uninstall a Magento 2 theme, make sure you consult your theme developers’ documentation for extra steps such as removing any associated extensions. It also helps to take a backup of your Magento store to avoid data loss.

Get access to on-demand backups at the click of a button and simplify operating a Magento store by signing up for Managed Magento hosting with Hostdedi today.

Everyone hates it when they can’t find what they’re looking for in a store. It’s even worse when you can’t find a product online and end up with the old 404 “page not found” error. Unfortunately, 404 pages are a fact of life for ecommerce websites.

To ensure yours help instead of hinder your shoppers, we’ve assembled this list of the best 404 page examples for ecommerce.

In this post, we explain the importance of a 404 page, examine seven examples of 404 ecommerce pages, and highlight the best practices you can implement on your site.

Importance of a 404 Page

If someone gets lost in a store, they can always look for overhead signs or ask an employee. But what happens online? Yes, there’s a search function, but even so, people often end up lost on a 404 page.

What Causes 404 Errors?

A 404 error refers to the numerical error code a web server sends when a page can’t be found. At some point, every website will experience a 404 page.

Ecommerce websites or other high traffic and high page volume sites tend to be more likely to experience 404 errors. The sites have more links and therefore more chances for something to go awry.

Reasons customers land on a 404 page on an ecommerce website include:

• Typing Error or Misspelling in the URL. If someone types the link directly into the address bar, it’s easy to make a mistake or miss a letter, especially if they’re typing on their phone.
• Server Issue. Technical difficulties can cause 404 errors.
• Deleted Page or Product. If you remove and delete a page or product, the link will no longer work. While your website knows you deleted the link, you can’t change all the places people saved it.
• Changed URL. If your URL changed, anyone who saved the old link ends up on a 404 page unless you set up a redirect. For example, if your ecommerce site uses categories in your link structure and you change your category names, all your URLs will change.

Related reading: 14 Modern Website Design Trends for 2022 >>

Impact on Conversions

A page not found error creates a negative impression of your business. Customers get frustrated when links don’t work, and they can’t find what they are looking for. You could have customers falling in love with an item on a Pinterest board only to be disappointed when they click through to discover the link doesn’t work.

A well-designed 404 page can turn the experience around. A good 404 page should help salvage the customer’s experience. If you redirect the customer to the item they were searching for or something else they’ll be interested in, you can still convert them into a customer.

Examples of Ecommerce 404 Pages

So what does a good 404 page look like on an ecommerce website? Let’s look at some of the best 404 pages in ecommerce.

Academy

The sporting goods retailer’s self-deprecating humor about their aim being off and landing in a sand trap fits their brand perfectly.

Urban Outfitters

The gif is funny and matches their brand while a selection of their most popular products tries to steer customers back to a product page.

Sur la Table

The joke about a recipe not turning out matches the brand. The selection of featured products with a prominent search bar make this page funny and helpful.

Birchbox

This 404 page from Birchbox shines for its simplicity by giving you two options to continue your search for the right product.

Bonobos

Men’s clothing company Bonobos adds a custom touch by giving people contact information for personal assistance finding what they need.

DSW

Simplicity reigns supreme on this 404 page with three options to go back, go to the homepage, or try a search.

The Container Store

While not as visually appealing as some of the other 404 pages on this list, The Container Store’s page takes the cake for usability. The five options give customers the widest selection of ways to find what they’re searching for.

Ecommerce 404 Page Best Practices

What’s the takeaway from these 404 page examples for ecommerce? To make your page stand out from the rest, you need to incorporate ecommerce best practices.

Best practices for 404 pages include:

• Humanize the Message. “Sorry, page not found” sounds bland. Use creative and catchy copy that matches your brand. Academy and Sur la Table played to their brand’s strengths with their 404 page copy.
• Keep It Simple. All the examples we reviewed kept their design and user experience simple. If someone is lost, redirect them as quickly as possible. Provide concise options to help them locate the page they want.
• Include Search and Contact Information. The Container Store page excelled at providing customers with different ways to find what they need, including search, top category links, and contact information. Don’t leave people without a clue as to where to go next. Letting them reach out to a person is a great option.
• Promote Products. Most shoppers, at some point, click on something in the “recommend for you” section of an ecommerce site. So consider adding product recommendations to your 404 page. You could also use the space to promote options like buy now, pay later.

Get Help Building Your Ecommerce 404 Page

A well-designed 404 page for ecommerce starts with a well-designed ecommerce site. StoreBuilder by Hostdedi simplifies the design and setup of your WooCommerce store.

Just answer a few questions, and StoreBuilder will create a beautiful and functional ecommerce site. You’ll be on your way to adding products in just a few minutes.

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