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Your worst fear comes true. You make a small change to your website, like updating a plugin, and your entire site crashes.

When you ask for help, the first thing someone asks is, “Did you test the change on your staging site first?”

Wait, what is a WordPress staging site?

A WordPress staging site is a test environment where you can change your website without impacting the live website. Staging sites help prevent catastrophic website crashes by allowing you to preview changes before making them live.

In this post on WordPress staging environments, you’ll learn:

• When to use a WordPress staging site.
• Benefits of a WordPress staging site.
• How to set up WordPress staging.

What is a WordPress Staging Site?

A WordPress staging site is a replica of your live website that you can use to test any changes before making them visible to the public.

Typical WordPress development workflow includes three versions of your website:

• Dev or Development. Developers often test changes by setting up a copy of WordPress on their computers, then pushing the changes from their local development environment to the live site.
• Staging. This is a test version on your site. Unlike a development environment, staging sites run on your actual web server, making it easier to test changes to dynamic elements that require a live server.
• Production. This is the live version of your website that visitors see.

If you’re just getting started with WordPress, you don’t need to mess with setting up a local development environment. A staging site provides all the testing functionality you’ll need.

When syncing between staging sites and production sites, you’ll see the terms push and pull used. You push changes from stage to production. If you want to start working on new changes, you’ll pull the current version of your site from production to stage.

This process ensures that any edits someone made on the live site sync to the staging site. Otherwise, you could write over those changes the next time you push to production.

When to Use a WordPress Staging Environment

As a best practice, use a staging site for any change you’d like to make to your website. Make the change on the staging site first and then push it to your live site.

Not everyone follows this best practice, especially for minor copy edits. That’s why we recommend syncing your live site to your staging site before beginning any work.

Reasons to use a WordPress staging site include:

• Installing New Plugins or Themes. Plugins and themes impact the layout and functionality of your site. Installing them on your staging site allows you to check to see how the new theme or plugin will affect your site.
• Updating Core System, Themes, or Plugins. Updates to your WordPress core system or themes or plugins have the potential to affect your site’s appearance or function. Test the updates first on a staging site.
• Adding or Modifying Custom Code. Custom modifications to your site’s code can crash or slow down your WordPress site. The staging site gives you a safe place to test the alterations before pushing them to the live site.

Benefits of Using a WordPress Staging Site

The most obvious benefit of using a WordPress staging site is to prevent crashing your live site. In today’s digital-first world, websites provide the majority of many businesses’ sales or leads. In addition to the technical headache, crashing your website negatively affects your bottom line.

Another benefit of using a WordPress staging site is it allows you to test new designs and layouts. You can try different versions of new designs before selecting the one you like best.

If you’re still new to WordPress, a staging site also offers a safe place to learn and try new things in the system. If you mess something up, you can always download a clean version of your live production site.

For freelance web developers, a staging site allows you to complete an update and get client approval before making it live.

How to Setup a WordPress Staging Site

Setting up a WordPress staging site is surprisingly simple when you have the right tools.

Three methods of setting up a WordPress staging site:

1. Web Host Staging. Top-quality managed WordPress hosting will often include a staging site. Setting up your staging site and syncing between stage and production only requires clicking a button. This is the best option for WordPress beginners.

2. WordPress Staging Plugin. If your host doesn’t offer a staging environment, you can use a plugin like WP Staging. Plugins work similarly to the functionality provided by good web hosts.

3. Manual Staging Sites. If all else fails, you can create a copy of your website on a subdomain and migrate the site manually or with a site migration plugin. Check out our guide on switching web hosts for more details about how site migration works. This option is tedious and why we recommend selecting a host with one-click staging.

Easy WordPress Staging Sites from Hostdedi

At Hostdedi, all of our managed WordPress hosting plans include one-click staging environments.

We understand your focus is on building your business. You don’t have time to troubleshoot website crashes. Not only can you quickly set up a staging site with our hosting plans, each plan includes automatic updates with visual comparison.

When your site updates or installs new plugins, our system scans your site to show you any changes, so you can correct them right away if something goes wrong.

Sign up today and experience the difference in premium hosting designed for WordPress sites.

So you’ve decided to launch a new ecommerce store. One of the first decisions facing you is which ecommerce platform to base your store on. There are many excellent ecommerce applications to choose from, including Magento, Craft Commerce, and WooCommerce, among others.

You may be wondering, What is WooCommerce?

Before making a choice, you should understand what the options are and how they differ.

WooCommerce Is Free

The first things to know about WooCommerce are that it is free and open source. You don’t have to pay anything to use WooCommerce, and its code can be examined and edited by anyone. You might not understand why this matters, but if you use WooCommerce for your ecommerce store, you own and control the store and its data.

That’s not true of many ecommerce platforms — such as Shopify.

WooCommerce is based on WordPress, so before we move on to talking about it, let’s take a brief WordPress refresher. WordPress is a content management system. In fact, it’s the most popular content management system in the world by a large margin. A content management system makes it easy to publish content on the web. Rather than writing code, CMS users interact with an intuitive interface. Content management systems make web publishing accessible to everyone.

WooCommerce and WordPress

One of WordPress’ most important features is its plugin system. WordPress itself provides a core set of features for managing and publishing content, including a text editor, taxonomies for organizing content, and under-the-hood systems for interacting with web servers and databases. Plugins extend that basic functionality in interesting ways. For example, the Yoast SEO Plugin adds features that help WordPress users optimize content for search engines. There are many thousands of WordPress plugins.

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that modifies WordPress’ behavior and adds features that transform it into a powerful eCommerce platform. WooCommerce can support ecommerce stores that range from single-product stores to stores with thousands of products. WooCommerce brings to WordPress catalogue management features, navigation interface elements suitable for ecommerce stores, integration with payment gateways, tools for managing shipping, and many other features.

WooCommerce Features

WooCommerce is scalable; it’s capable of supporting very busy online retailers. It’s also mobile friendly: many shoppers make purchases on their mobile devices and mobile-friendliness helps to build great experiences for shoppers and with search engine optimization.

Just like WordPress, WooCommerce has its own plugin ecosystem, with a mixture of paid and free plugins. The plugins — or extensions as they’re called in the WooCommerce community — add features to WooCommerce, including payment gateways, analytics integrations, dynamic pricing, among others.

WooCommerce Hosting

To use WordPress and WooCommerce, you’ll need a hosting account that supports WordPress. Performance and support are especially important where ecommerce is concerned, so you should make sure you choose a hosting provider that understands ecommerce hosting and offers performance-optimized WooCommerce hosting specifically engineered to make the most of WooCommerce. Look for a host like Hostdedi.

Check out Hostdedi’ fully managed WooCommerce hosting plans to get started today.

WordPress is rightly famed for the vast array of WordPress plugins and themes it makes available to site owners. If you want to add a feature to your WordPress site, you will almost certainly find a plugin that does the job.

But, on occasion, you may need to tweak a WordPress function. Sometimes there isn’t a plugin available to do this. The solution is to add a snippet of custom code to the site. Learning how to create custom function PHP in WordPress will be key.

Related reading: WordPress Cleanup: 9 Easy Ways To Clean Up and Optimize Your WordPress Site >>

WordPress is a PHP application and WordPress plugins and themes are written in the PHP programming language. As a WordPress hosting client, you have access to the same hooks and tools WordPress developers use.

You don’t even have to be a PHP expert to do this. There are thousands of pre-made snippets around the web that you can adapt to your own purposes.

Take care though — there are security implications to adding code to your site and badly written code can stop your WordPress site from working altogether. Make sure you know what a WordPress function does and that it is compatible with your version of WordPress before you add it to your site.

Once you have discovered the need for a function and written it from scratch or adapted a prewritten function, where should you put it?

There is a wrong way and a right way to do this. If you do it the “wrong” way, your WordPress function may work initially, but it is likely to stop working when you update your site.

Related reading: How to Customize a WordPress Theme >>

The Wrong Way to Create Custom Function PHP in WordPress

You want to learn how to create custom function PHP in WordPress. When creating custom WordPress functions, don’t use these two methods. The two most common “bad” ways to add custom functions to WordPress are editing an existing plugin or editing the functions.php file.

Don’t edit plugin files. If your snippet changes the functionality of a plugin, it might seem sensible to add the new code directly to the plugin. But, when you update the plugin, the files you have changed will be overwritten and your code will disappear.

The functions.php file is not a general purpose dumping ground for custom code. The functions.php file belongs to your theme. If the code you want to add is theme-specific, then functions.php is a good place to put it. But, when you switch themes, the new theme will not have the custom code. Avoid putting general-purpose custom code in functions.php.

The Right Way To Add Custom WordPress Functions

There are a couple of ways to add custom functions to WordPress that will last beyond your next update or theme switch.

The Code Snippets Plugin

The Code Snippets plugin is designed for exactly this purpose. It provides a graphical interface for adding code snippets to a WordPress site. You can add as many snippets as you want, enable and disable them easily, and export them in a format that can be imported into other WordPress sites with the Code Snippets plugin.

The Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Performance Optimization >>

Build A Custom Plugin

You might find the idea daunting, but it is not difficult to build a custom plugin that can be installed on a WordPress site alongside third-party plugins. The basic structure of a minimal plugin looks like this:

• A folder with the same name as your plugin, e.g. my-plugin. This is not essential but it’s useful if you want to add more files in the future.
• A PHP file inside that folder called my-plugin.php

In the my-plugin.php file, add the following text:

/* Plugin Name: Example Plugin */

That is essentially all you need to create a plugin, although it won’t do anything yet. To make it useful, you need to add your custom function to the PHP file and then upload the folder to the plugin directory of your WordPress site, usually wp-content/plugins/.

If you need to add new WordPress functions, you can simply overwrite the old version with your changes.

Power Your WordPress Site With Fully Managed Hosting

If your WordPress host is not providing you with the speed, scalability, and support you need, consider fully managed WordPress hosting from Hostdedi.

Hostdedi can make your WordPress site faster with:

• A built-in CDN with 22 locations.
• Advanced caching for ultra-fast loading.
• Image compression to lower browser load times.
• And much more.

Get started with fully managed WordPress. Check out our plans to get started today.

First impressions matter and nothing shows that more clearly than a 2021 study conducted by Top Design Firms (and quoted by HubSpot). The study states that 50% of website users believe web design is critical for your overall brand.

With such little margin of error, you can’t afford to have a mundane portfolio website. The success of your design business depends on it.

Most of your website visitors will be other designers, prospective clients, and employers. To capture their attention and keep them engaged, you must build your design portfolio website the right way. But how do you go about that?

Read on to find out:

Why You Need a Design Portfolio

If you’re a designer of any kind, here are some reasons you need a portfolio:

• Your portfolio acts as a professional resume. Most recruiters will find you fit for a full-time job by first looking at your portfolio.
• You can show your design skills and unique expertise as a designer with your portfolio.
• A portfolio helps you keep your work relevant and up-to-date with market standards.
• You can use your portfolio to get freelance projects. Besides adding to your experience, side projects will make you an extra income on the side.

How To Create a Design Portfolio

1. Ensure people can easily access your portfolio.

2. Showcase your most outstanding and excellent work.

3. Go for high-resolution designs.

4. Show how passionate you are about your work.

5. Use client recommendations and case studies.

6. Showcase side projects and non-client work.

These six tips will improve the overall quality of your design portfolio. Let’s have a closer look at them.

1. Ensure People Can Easily Access Your Portfolio.

You can get as creative as you want with your portfolio website. In fact, you can show a bit of personality and expertise by building an innovative portfolio. You can also experiment with creative layouts on your website’s UX design experience.

However, you must always remember your online portfolio isn’t just for you. Many people will explore your work. That includes other designers, family, friends, potential employers, and partners.

Always choose intuitive UI designs and user-friendly website templates. That way, users can scroll through your portfolio website with little effort.

You should also keep in mind that 42% of users leave a website with poor functionality. So, make your website responsive.

Think about it. If the creative director of your dream web design firm opens your portfolio website on their smartphone, they can quickly scroll through your designs.

That’s not all. You can also take advantage of other digital platforms to enhance your portfolio. For example, a well-curated Dribbble or Behance profile is just as powerful as your portfolio. So are your social media pages. Try whatever works. You can have them all at once.

2. Showcase Your Most Outstanding Work.

Your portfolio allows you to showcase your finest work to the world in a unique way. Unless you’re Michelangelo, take some time to select your best work out of everything you’ve ever created.

Only display work you’re proud of from past projects. That helps you communicate professionalism. It also justifies new projects from employers — and incredible rewards for it.

Here, you can also curate your work based on your career prospects. Do you like building UI/UX for mobile apps? Then fill your portfolio with mobile app mockups. It doesn’t hurt to be a generalist either.

A diverse portfolio can help you show off a versatile skillset. It also displays your ability to fit into dynamic design teams.

3. Go for High-Resolution Designs.

If you’re looking to build an eye-catching portfolio, use high-quality images of your designs. High-quality visuals tie into the user experience of your portfolio website homepage.

Many people will look at them from different devices. And while an image may appear sharp on your smartphone, it may appear blurred on a large computer monitor.

If you’re a multimedia artist, always render your videos in the best quality available. Close-up images of your product designs make them appear lively. Moreover, you can always compress media files to make your website more responsive.

4. Show How Passionate You Are About Your Work.

Does design work excite you? Do you love to create beautiful redesigns or flashy fonts and typography? Then talk about it.

Potential clients and employers love designers who enjoy their work. Being a creative professional gives you room to express yourself and advertise your personal brand.

Use your passion to display your authenticity across all your design projects. It doesn’t just show confidence in your own abilities, but it also helps people connect with your work.

5. Use Client Recommendations and Case Studies.

Have you worked with other clients in the past? What did they think about your work? Client reviews can be a potent addition to your portfolio page. It’s an excellent way to show experience and expertise.

Testimonials also give your potential employers confidence about your work ethic and results.

The same goes for case studies. Use two or three previous visual design projects to discuss your design process with your potential clients. Talk about your successes and failures and how you solved critical design problems. After all, aren’t all employers looking for solutions?

Case studies also allow you to prove your ability to develop innovative solutions.

6. Showcase Side Projects and Non-Client Work.

If you’re new in the design industry, that’s okay. Any side projects, non-profit work, and collaborations can work as content for your portfolio.

Non-client work works the same way client jobs do — it gives your customers a sense of your skills and style. If you’re fresh out of design school, use the best designs you created while there. If you helped with logo design for your friend’s online store, that counts too.

Try, where possible, to only showcase real-world designs. Side projects can give you real experience working with people. Besides that, you can turn them into case studies.

What Are Hiring Managers Looking for in Design Portfolios?

Here are some key things Creative Managers look for in successful graphic design portfolios:

• Self-Awareness and a Growth Mindset: Are you aware of your strengths and weaknesses? Are you working to improve your profession and yourself as a person?
• Excellent Problem-Solving Skills: Can you identify problems and create a coherent plan to solve them? Recruiters find that skill valuable.
• Collaboration: How well do you work with others in teams? In many cases, you’ll have to work with other people to achieve company goals.
• Experience: Many recruiters prefer candidates with experience. However, you can still build it by taking internships, joining communities, and freelancing.

Final Thoughts: A Quick Guide on How To Create a Design Portfolio

If you want to enjoy success as a creative designer, ensure you add all these features to your new portfolio website. Giving recruiters and clients a seamless portfolio experience will improve your reputation and increase your income.

Are you planning to sell design assets like logos, typography, or product designs? Create your first online store using the Hostdedi StoreBuilder and go straight to market where your clients are.

According to W3Techs, WordPress powers over 40% of all websites on the internet, making WordPress the most popular global content management system.

But that also makes WordPress the world’s favorite platform for hackers to attack.

In 2020, Patchstack found 582 unique security vulnerabilities in WordPress core and third-party themes and plugins. This means you need to prioritize your website security.

How can you improve your website security?

You can use the best WordPress security plugins. Read on to find out more:

WordPress Security Plugins 101

WordPress security plugins protect your website from malware attacks. Think of them like antivirus software, but for your website. They also help improve your SEO and website rankings.

Security plugins help you:

• Prevent brute force hack attempts on your website from bots.
• Prevent your core PHP and database files from being corrupted by malicious code.
• Audit your WordPress site for security threats and clean up infected files.
• Perform malware removal and repair corrupted files.
• Create real-time backups for your website in case you lose your data.

Besides protecting you from hackers, malware, and DDoS attacks, WordPress security plugins track other installed plugins on your website to auto-update and avoid security vulnerabilities.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=90t_GVnZjy4%26quot%3B+title%3D%26quot%3BYouTube+video+player%26quot%3B+frameborder%3D%26quot%3B0%26quot%3B+allow%3D%26quot%3Baccelerometer%3B+autoplay%3B+clipboard-write%3B+encrypted-media%3B+gyroscope%3B+picture-in-picture%26quot%3B+allowfullscreen%26gt%3B%26lt%3B

Choosing the Best WordPress Security Plugins for Your Website

While choosing the best WordPress website security plugin, keep the following things in mind:

• Customer support — Choose a plugin that offers excellent customer support. You may need its services to recover from a security breach.
• Extensive features — Make sure the plugin has all the essential features, including a firewall and two-factor authentication.
• Frequent updates — Choose a plugin that frequently updates to tackle the latest threats.
• Optimized code — The plugin should protect your website without interfering with your website’s speed or core functionality.
• Regular notifications — The plugin should regularly notify you about your website’s health.

Best WordPress Security Plugins

1. Sucuri.
2. Wordfence.
3. Jetpack.
4. iThemes Security Pro.
5. All in One WP Security & Firewall.

Sucuri

Sucuri is a popular WordPress security plugin. With its core functionality, you can detect malware, monitor the integrity of your website, and protect your website from attacks.

As a cloud-based solution, Sucuri makes for a great supplement to your existing web security. It also comes with an intuitive interface that’s easy to learn for beginners and professionals alike.

Key Features

• Blacklist Monitoring.
• Security hardening and file integrity monitoring.
• Quick website security audits.
• Access to advanced DDoS protection.
• Several SSL certificate packages.
• Instant email notifications upon unusual website activity.
• CDN performance optimization and bot blocking.
• Beginner tutorials and guides.
• Enhanced login security.

Best WordPress security plugin for: Larger websites and ecommerce storefronts.

Price: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $199/year.

Wordfence

Wordfence is another excellent WordPress security plugin, especially if you’re looking for website firewall protection. Unlike Sucuri, Wordfence is local to your website and can perform deep scans and provide end-to-end encryption for connections to your website.

Wordfence has one of the best user interfaces as far as security plugins go. You can navigate complicated security functions easily and manage your website from the Wordfence dashboard.

Key Features

• User-friendly dashboard to manage website’s activity, scans, and login attempts.
• Malware scanner that protects against real-time threats.
• Malware signature updates, IP blacklists, and firewall rules.
• Two-factor authentication.
• Free web application firewall (WAF).
• Brute force protection.
• IP address blocking.

Best WordPress security plugin for: Small businesses and WooCommerce websites.

Price: Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $99/year.

Jetpack

Jetpack offers a suite of security tools for your WordPress website. When you activate the protection module, Jetpack instantly secures your login page.

Jetpack’s anti-spam feature blocks malware and gives you regular reports of on-site activity.

Key Features

• One-click website backup and restore.
• Priority support for premium users.
• Downtime monitoring.
• Activity logs and plugin updates.
• 30-day archive.
• Brute force attack protection.
• Jetpack Anti-spam.

Best WordPress security plugin for: Customers looking for all-round security and SEO functionality.

Price: Free with limited features. Premium version plans start at $4.92/month when billed annually.

iThemes Security Pro

iThemes Security Pro protects your website by stopping automated attacks, monitoring your website, and enforcing strong passwords. It also scans for plugin security vulnerabilities and offers brute force protection to secure your website further.

Key Features

• Google authenticator and CAPTCHA integration to add extra security for your login page.
• File change detection for files ruined by malware.
• Back up for .htaccess and wp-config files.
• Bot blocking and spam protection.
• Two-factor authentication.
• Malware scanning.

Best WordPress security plugin for: Customers looking for a beginner-friendly solution.

Price: Free plugin with limited features. Premium plans start at $60/year.

All in One WP Security & Firewall

All in One WP Security & Firewall plugin offers bulletproof security for your website. You can get security similar to pro versions of other security plugins. Its intuitive interface makes this plugin easy to use.

All in One WP Security also displays visual data using graphs and meters, which suits beginners and new users.

Key Features

• Malicious PHP code and SQL injection protection.
• Secure data backups and database.
• Comment spam protection.
• Blacklist tool and brute force protection.
• Bot blocking.

Best WordPress security plugin for: Customers looking for a free security plugin.

Price: Free.

Final Thoughts: 5 Best WordPress Security Plugins for Your New Website

Securing your WordPress website is a straightforward process if you have the right tools.

By choosing a plugin from the list, you can secure your WordPress website with just a few clicks. While no security plugin can make your website 100% safe, these plugins give you robust security against most of the WordPress threats you face every day.

Are you looking to move your business online? Use the Hostdedi StoreBuilder to build your ecommerce business on a secure web hosting platform.

Adobe deprecated the Web Setup Wizard in Magento 2.3.6 and later versions. You can no longer install a theme in Magento using the web browser. You can only do it from the command line in one of two ways: using an archive file or Composer.

The primary difference between the two methods is that theme files installed using an archive file are generally placed in the app/design directory. In contrast, those installed using Composer are loaded from external sources and placed in the vendor directory.

We’ll go through the steps for both methods. No matter which one you use, make sure you backup your website and set pre-install file permissions before you begin.

Ready to learn? Here’s what we’ll cover in this step-by-step tutorial:

• How To Install a Theme in Magento 2
• How To Install a Magento Theme Using Composer
• Final Thoughts: How To Install a Magento Theme

How To Install a Theme in Magento 2

1. Upload the Magento theme files to your server.
2. Extract and copy the theme files to the Magento filesystem.
3. Clear generated data and switch Magento to developer mode.
4. Disable the cache and install the theme.
5. Verify the installation and apply the theme.

The steps to install a theme in Magento using an archive file can vary based on how the Magento developer has packaged their custom theme files.

Here’s how to install a Magento theme from a zip file:

Step 1: Upload the Magento Theme Files to Your Server

Log in to your server as the Magento file system owner and upload the theme files archive to the Magento file system owners home directory using an SFTP client such as FileZilla.

You can also upload the files to the Magento root directory directly. But uploading the theme files to your home folder lets you extract and verify the files before transferring them to the Magento filesystem.

Step 2: Extract and Copy the Theme Files to the Magento Filesystem

If you’ve uploaded the theme files as a tar archive (.tar or .tar.gz), use the following command to extract the theme files to a new subdirectory called theme-files:

<pre><code>

$ mkdir -p theme-files && tar -xf <archive>.tar -C theme-files

</pre></code>

If you’ve uploaded the files in a zipped folder, use this instead:

<pre><code>

$ unzip <archive>.zip -d theme-files

</pre></code>

After extracting the files, copy them to the Magento filesystem.

Magento theme files are generally placed in the app/ and pub/ folders.

Based on the folders in your extracted Magento theme, copy them to the root directory of your Magento installation using these commands:

<pre><code>

$ cp -R <path-to-extracted-folder>/app/* <magento-root>/app

$ cp -R <path-to-extracted-folder>/pub/* <magento-root>/pub

</pre></code>

Make sure you replace all placeholders before you copy and paste the commands in the terminal.

Step 3: Clear Generated Data and Switch Magento to Developer Mode

Clear previously generated classes and proxies to avoid errors when you install a theme in Magento using:

<pre><code>

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

</pre></code>

Switch Magento to the developer mode using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento deploy:mode:set developer

</pre></code>

You can also put your ecommerce store in maintenance mode to disable bootstrapping during the Magento 2 theme installation:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento maintenance:enable

</pre></code>

Step 4: Disable the Cache and Install the Theme

Disable Magento cache and install the theme using the following commands:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento cache:disable

$ php bin/magento setup:upgrade

</pre></code>

Once complete, you can safely disable maintenance mode before proceeding.

Step 5: Verify the Installation and Apply the Theme

Log in to the Magento admin panel and go to Content > Design > Configuration.

You’ll see the different store views listed in the Design Configuration section. Click on Edit under the Action column.

On the edit page, assign the theme using the Applied Theme dropdown menu that lists the installed themes in Magento, and click Save Configuration.

Make sure you update the file system permissions, switch the store back to production mode, and clear the cache after you’ve installed the theme using its archive file.

How To Install a Magento Theme Using Composer

Here’s how to install a theme in Magento from the Magento Marketplace — a repository of over 3,740 Magento extensions and themes.

Step 1: Get the Theme’s Composer Name and Version

Log in to your Magento Marketplace account. Go to [Your name] > My Profile using the menu on the top-right corner of the screen.

Click on My Purchases located under Marketplace > My Products.

Find the Magento 2 theme you want to install and locate its Component name.

To install a specific version of the theme, expand the Versions available dropdown and find the version number.

Step 2: Clear Generated Data and Switch Magento to Developer Mode

Log in to your Magento server using SSH and clear previously generated classes and proxies to avoid errors during the Magento theme installation using:

<pre><code>

$ rm -rf <magento_root>/generated/metadata/* <magento_root>/generated/code/*

</pre></code>

Switch Magento to the developer mode using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento deploy:mode:set developer

</pre></code>

You can also put Magento in maintenance mode to restrict access to the frontend during the installation process using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento maintenance:enable

</pre></code>

Step 3: Update the Magento Composer File

Log in to your Magento server as the filesystem owner and update the composer.json file using:

<pre><code>

$ composer require <vendor>/<name>

</pre></code>

For example:

<pre><code>

$ composer require demo/theme-blank

</pre></code>

If prompted to enter your access keys, use the public key from your Magento account as the username and the private key as the password.

After this, Composer will update the Magento project dependencies.

Step 4: Disable the Cache and Install the Theme

Check the theme status before you install it using the following command:

<pre><code>

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

</pre></code>

If it’s disabled, enable it using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento module:enable <VendorName>_<ComponentName>

</pre></code>

Then, clear the cache and install the Magento theme, using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento cache:disable

$ php bin/magento setup:upgrade

</pre></code>

If you switched Magento to the maintenance mode in the previous step, disable it using:

<pre><code>

$ php bin/magento maintenance:disable

</pre></code>

Step 5: Verify the Install and Apply the Theme to the Storefront

Log in to the Magento admin and go to Content > Design > Configuration.

Click the Edit button for your preferred store view.

Assign the new theme using the Applied Theme dropdown, and click Save Configuration.

Make sure you switch back to production mode and clear the cache after installing a Magento theme.

Final Thoughts: How To Install a Magento Theme

We’ve described the steps to install a theme in Magento. But these steps may vary based on the theme you’re installing.

Some Magento themes may need additional extensions. Check the theme developer’s documentation besides our installation guide to avoid unexpected errors after installation.

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How much effort have you put into your ecommerce product pages?

Yes, I know you found information and images from the manufacturer and added them. Sure, you named the product and maybe if you were really trying to make the best product page, you took an extra picture of the product in use to highlight what it really looks like to your customers.

Most ecommerce sites don’t even go that far, which is a shame.

Putting time and effort into your ecommerce product pages is important — because the best product pages are optimized to sell.

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About 10 years ago I worked in retail and one of my jobs was to add products to our site, but only after everything else was done and if the boss couldn’t find anything extra for me to do. This was shortsighted and meant that they didn’t see much business from their online store.

But if you don’t put any effort into your ecommerce product pages, the natural outcome is little traction with your site.

It’s important to remember that your online users can’t touch your product. They can’t ask a salesperson a question or get specific feedback on how the product worked for someone they can talk to. Customers are reliant on the information you provide them to help them make a purchase.

Remember, from the product name to the reviews, your ecommerce product page is a landing page. Its job is to sell your products to your customers.

Keep reading to learn how to design the best product page.

What the Best Product Pages Have In Common

Descriptive Product Names

If your ecommerce product page is a landing and sales page, then the first thing you need to look at is the name of your product. This is the title of your page and you should spend just as much time thinking about this as you would for any blog post you want to rank well in search engines. The more descriptive your product name is, the better it is, at least up to a point.

We’ve all seen ridiculously keyword-stuffed Amazon product titles. We want to use a descriptive product name, but not crossover into the realm of these overloaded titles.

When you’re looking at your product names use the Google Keyword Planner to investigate what terms are ranking well for your product. Use these terms to help you craft a well-optimized title that will bring customers to your landing page.

Thorough Product Descriptions

When it comes to your product description, the first thing to ask yourself is “what questions will my customers have?”

A description that answers your customer’s questions poorly will mean they make a purchase they’re not happy with. Then they’ll want to return it, and you may get a poor review on the product.

According to Nielsen Group, 20% of missed purchases were because a product didn’t have the information a customer was looking for in the description. If users don’t see the information they’re looking for in your product description, they’re going to turn to Google. That means you risk having them find the product at a better price elsewhere. Making your customers search to get more information is just like losing the purchase and all future purchases from your customer.

Related reading: How to Write a Product Description >>

As you write your product description, ask yourself what questions the customer will have about your product. Your goal is to answer the questions and deflate the objections that customers will have so that they feel confident in their purchase. The best product pages instill confidence and excitement in customers.

Good product descriptions are jargon-free. They’re not heavy on marketing text, but are to the point and clear. If you’re talking about 5 different feature highlights, use bullet points so that readers can scan to get the information they need quickly.

If you’ve got many of the same types of products, say dishwashers, then take the time to standardize the language across suppliers. Don’t list measurements in inches for one product and then centimeters for other products. Standardize on one method, or if you deal with international clients let them choose what measurement they want to see.

High-Quality Product Images

After your product name and description, it’s important to focus on the images you provide to your customer. Remember, they can’t touch the product. They can’t tell how big it is, or exactly what shade of blue it is. They are relying entirely on you to provide this information with your images.

Related reading: 5 Tips For Snapping High-Quality Product Images on a Budget >>

There are two ways to go with product images. You can choose to use a backdrop with other stuff that matches the product, or you can go with a flat white version. Keep the style consistent including the dimensions used with the final images. I think the best option is to have a combination of both of these options.

Bellroy uses both methods combined. They show you several images of their products on a flat white background. They also add it with known items, like physical bills and blank cards that are the same size as credit cards. You get to see high-quality uncluttered photos to judge color and texture, then clean photos that help you get an idea of the size of items you’re looking at.

Bellroy also provides high-quality images for each color option for a product. You don’t have to guess based on a color swatch, you can see exactly what you’re choosing as you make changes.

While this may look like a lot of work, it’s just a bit of work and a small investment. You don’t need a fancy camera. Any smartphone in the last few years will do. If you don’t have natural light, then you will need to purchase a consistent light source.

Related reading: Product Photography Lighting: Should You Choose Studio Lighting or Natural Light? >>

You can usually find the Godox SL60W for under $200. If you’re dealing with small products and want to have an extra clean background, then look at a softbox. You can find these on Amazon for as little as $30.

With a light source and a softbox, all it takes is a bit of practice. Take a bunch of test images from different angles. If you spend a weekend playing around you’ll improve greatly so that you can get good images for Monday.

Once you’ve got the images, take a few minutes to edit them for color and contrast. Most people use a sized template so that every image on the site is the same size.

If you’re not sure what this means, it’s like having a company letterhead you always use. In this case, it’s a Photoshop file that’s 2000X2000 and every image you take goes on the same template so that your site images look uniform.

Then once you have your images on the template looking how you want them, save them out in a web format. Look to keep them under 700kb if possible. To help with this at the final stage you can use tools like Kraken to optimize the images as you upload them.

Putting some effort into your images will help you create the best product pages so your store will stand above the competition.

Clear Cart Experiences

Next, your add to cart button. There are a few mistakes that many sites make with this crucial interaction.

First, make sure that users can see the button without scrolling across all devices. The best product pages have a very obvious button with a contrasting color from the rest of the site so that it stands out.

You also need to make sure that it’s clear to the user something happened when they add something to the cart. Luckily, WooCommerce has this as a default with a banner being displayed to a user after a product has been successfully added to the cart.

Related reading: Streamlining your WooCommerce Checkout Process to Increase Sales >>

The second most important interaction after your main purchase button may be the option to add a product to a wishlist. A good spot for this is just below the main purchase CTA.

I have many wishlists on Amazon for when I’m ready to revamp parts of my office. I already have my desk video setup all picked out in a wishlist. When it’s time to purchase I just need to add all those products to my cart, and then checkout.

Demonstrative Product Videos

Showing your product in use can show how easy it is to use to customers that are concerned about that. Yes, it might mean some duplicate information, but highlight the benefits and deflate the objections with your videos, just like you do with your marketing copy.

Some studies suggest that a good product video increases conversion to sale by 84%. Videos are also known to have higher click through rates in search.

You can see this if we head back to Bellroy. The first thing that comes up with their products is a video of their product in use.

Just like good product photos don’t have to be a huge investment, decent video doesn’t have to be a huge investment. Your smartphone is a decent video camera. Add a lavalier microphone to this setup for $50 and you’ve got a good video setup.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, it’s pretty straight forward. Make sure you don’t hide any price increases from your users. If the blue version is more expensive, change the price when the user selects the blue version (don’t worry, both WooCommerce and Magento do this out of the box).

Related reading: How to Price Your Products: 10 Retail Pricing Strategies Ecommerce Shops Can Adopt >>

Just under the price is also a good place to add product availability information. Don’t let your customers try to add something to the cart only to find that the product isn’t available in their chosen combination of size and color.

Social Proof: Reviews

Did you know that user reviews are 12 times more powerful at convincing people to purchase than your marketing copy is? That means you need to employ ratings on your ecommerce product page. Display the overall rating, usually stars, at the top near your product title and description. Then, after all the product information, display the reviews you’ve gathered from users.

It’s important to make your reviews filterable, and don’t censor bad reviews. I’ve often read the bad reviews for a product to find the pain points and then purchased because I don’t care about any of the major issues with it.

One great plugin to help enhance the reviews on your site is WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro. This plugin will let you add product photos and user videos to your reviews to supercharge your social proof.

Remember, your ecommerce product page is a landing page and should be optimized for search engines and to convert visitors to customers.

Make sure that you A/B test the changes you’re making to your ecommerce product pages to help ensure that they’re having the effect you expect. If you can put a bit of effort into your product pages, you’ll see big rewards in your sales.

Leave the Design to Us

Now you know how to make the best product page and stand out from the competition.

If you don’t already have an online store, consider StoreBuilder.

Built on a platform trusted by experts, StoreBuilder by Hostdedi allows you to reap all the benefits of our Managed WordPress and WooCommerce without the complexity.

As the fastest and easiest way to create an online store with WordPress, our online store builder enables you to create a fully customized site with preconfigured Woo + premium plugins.

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There’s a new generation of online shoppers in town — and flexible payment options are their calling cards. At the top of the stack are “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) payment options, which have managed to capture the attention (and wallets) of buyers across the country since the beginning of the pandemic.

As the name implies, BNPL enables customers to purchase products without paying for them in their entirety at the time of the transaction. Instead, the customer only pays a portion of the total price during checkout, and the remainder of the cost is spread out equally across several installments over a designated period.

This type of point-of-sale (POS) installment loan typically features a quick and easy approval process. BNPL often charges zero interest, making it one of the most attractive payment options out there. According to PYMNTS, BNPL nearly doubled in growth during the 2021 holiday season regarding shoppers’ preferred payment methods.

PYMNTS research also found that BNPL is most sought after by two key demographics entering their peak spending and earning years: millennials and bridge millennials. Each group showed a 30% preference for BNPL, whereas only 22% of all age groups and 13% of baby boomers and seniors expressed the same interest.

As more online retailers introduce BNPL options to satisfy customer demands, it’s essential to consider how this payment option can help keep you competitive and boost sales. Let’s walk through how BNPL works for ecommerce businesses, a few real-world examples of BNPL in action, and why online shoppers love it. We’ll also break down key advantages, disadvantages, and some of the most popular BNPL apps out there.

How Does Buy Now, Pay Later Work?

Online shopping with buy now, pay later works seamlessly during the customers’ online checkout process. Once a customer is instructed to enter a form of payment for their purchase, they’ll be given a BNPL option that enables them to put down a smaller initial deposit and break up the rest of the cost over a fixed period.

When choosing a BNPL option, a customer will be directed to fill out a brief application, typically without leaving the checkout page. This application commonly requires the customer to provide their general information (e.g., full name, address, birth date, phone number, and email address) and a preferred payment method, such as a credit card or debit card.

Some BNPL providers instantly conduct soft background checks on customers and approve or deny their applications on the spot. Each provider maintains its criteria for BNPL loan approval, but even customers that have a bad credit score or no score at all could still be eligible.

Once a customer is approved, the BNPL provider will dictate how much is due during the initial transaction, how the rest of the payments will be split up over a fixed period, and whether interest will accrue on the loan. Many providers break charges into equal parts, with each payment due every two weeks.

For ecommerce businesses, the BNPL loan provider typically handles the financial risk, while the business owner is paid for the total amount of the product upfront. However, business owners generally are required to pay transaction fees to a BNPL provider for each BNPL-related sale.

3 Buy Now, Pay Later Online Stores

Online retailers, small and large, are jumping into the world of BNPL. Here are some of the most prominent buy now, pay later online store examples out there:

1. Adidas

Adidas partners with several different BNPL providers to offer their customers options for installment loans. When prompted to enter a payment method, customers can choose BNPL options like Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay. Check out this example of the Affirm BNPL option on the Adidas website, which offers four interest-free payments and an approval process that doesn’t impact a customer’s credit score.

2. Purple

Purple, creators of the GelFlex Grid purple mattress, also offer BNPL options when customers purchase through their website. When a customer lands on the site’s checkout page, they have the option to choose the BNPL provider Affirm. Here’s a quick breakdown of the Affirm and Purple BNPL partnership.

3. Target

Target is one of the many big-box department stores that offer BNPL as an option during the online checkout process. However, Target requires customers to purchase $100 or more to be eligible for the Affirm, their primary BNPL partner. Here is an example of Affirm BNPL payment options with Target for an item that’s priced at just over $100.

Why Customers Love Buy Now, Pay Later

Buy now, pay later is not a new concept. Similar payment installment plans were introduced to the average person as early as the 19th century (between 1840 and 1890) for furniture, pianos, farming equipment, and sewing machines.

One of the most prominent organizations to offer payment installment plans was Singer Sewing Machines, which started the “dollar down, dollar a week” selling tactic in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Not surprisingly, the company tripled its sales in just one year due to this strategy.

But if payment installment plans are over a century old, why are they just now gaining popularity again? Several factors are contributing to the current rise in BNPL. Most notably, the explosion of ecommerce and the convenience it provides for shoppers has created the perfect environment to introduce even more convenient payment methods to attract consumers.

Many shoppers are also steering clear of racking up balances on credit cards that charge high-interest rates and fees, which means they are looking for other ways to finance their purchases. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), average credit card balances were roughly 8% lower in April 2021 compared to April 2020 — and balances in April 2020 were already substantially lower than they were in April 2019.

Because BNPL purchases are typically geared towards smaller-ticket items, many shoppers can avoid accruing interest or fees like they would with other types of credit or loans. What’s more, BNPL can lower purchase apprehensions for many.

Between instant credit approvals, soft credit checks, no interest or fees (as long as payments are made on time), and flexible payment schedules, cost-conscious shoppers gain a sense of control with BNPL. Plus, it enables them to get “must-haves” or exclusive items quickly without having to fork over the total cost upfront.

Benefits of Buy Now, Pay Later Plans

As an ecommerce business owner, offering buy now, pay later plans to your customers can provide you with a wide range of benefits.

Maintain your competitive edge: More ecommerce businesses are introducing BNPL options for their customers. To stay competitive in your market or niche and meet customer demands, it’s also essential to offer BNPL. Not only will this help you even the playing field, but it will give you an advantage over competitors that have yet to provide BNPL plans.

Boost sales: According to a study by PYMNTs that surveyed 360 businesses that generated $10 million or less in revenue, 33% stated that offering BNPL increased their revenues from 2019 to 2020. Not only are customers responding positively to ecommerce businesses providing multiple payment options, but they are more likely to move forward with a purchase if they feel confident in their ability to pay for it — and BNPL makes this a reality.

Slash shopping cart abandonment rates: Just like BNPL plans can boost sales, they can also slash shopping cart abandonment rates. According to a study conducted by Mastercard using their transaction data, the Mastercard Installments BNPL program reduced shopping cart abandonment by 35% after it was implemented. Most shoppers abandon their carts because extra costs are too high, and BNPL plans help spread out these upfront costs.

Increase customer loyalty: As an ecommerce business, it’s essential to do everything you can to keep your customers happy and increase their loyalty. By offering multiple payment options — including BNPL programs — you’re showing your customers that you value them and their needs. And the more valued your customers feel, the more loyal they will be — which means higher customer lifetime values (CLV).

Drawbacks of BNPL Plans

BNPL plans can offer serious advantages for both online shoppers and ecommerce business owners, but that doesn’t mean they come without any disadvantages.

Increased transaction fees: BNPL providers can charge merchants anywhere from 2% to 8% of the product purchase value (including taxes) for each BNPL-related transaction. On the other hand, the fees associated with standard debit or credit card transactions can reach 2.9%.

Installment loan caps for customers: BNPL providers can implement a cutoff for the number of BNPL loans a customer can have. This means that it could be difficult for ecommerce business owners to maintain repeat-customer relationships with those who are only interested in purchasing products using BNPL. What’s more, once BNPL is introduced, it could break consumer trust if it’s removed from your ecommerce site.

BNPL replacing other payment options: When customers reach for interest-free BNPL payments, they are avoiding other available payment options that could cost significantly less for online business owners to use (e.g., debit or credit card transactions that typically charge lower fees). This means an online business could lose money in the long run from absorbing higher transaction fees from BNPL providers.

Complicated return processes: Because a third-party BNPL provider handles BNPL-related transactions, your ecommerce shipping strategy can get complicated when it comes to returns. For example, some providers could hold your customers responsible for the total purchase cost after an item has been returned, which could lead to broken consumer trust and loyalty.

Is Buy Now, Pay Later Right For Your Business?

There are a few key factors to consider when determining whether BNPL is right for your ecommerce business.

For example, BNPL is typically a suitable payment option to offer your customers if you operate in a high-margin vertical, such as fashion, consumer electronics, cosmetics, or other retail businesses. This is because any transaction fees you incur from BNPL providers can more easily be rolled into the actual costs of your products.

However, if your business has lower profit margins, it’s wise to consider if the transaction fees you’ll pay to offer BNPL for your customers are worth it.

Other questions to consider when deciding if BNPL is right for you include:

How easy is it to integrate your preferred BNPL program into your current checkout process?

What payment plans does your preferred BNPL provider offer customers, and how does each affect the transaction fees you’ll pay?

Does your preferred BNPL provider take full responsibility for financial risk and fraud for each transaction?

Popular BNPL Apps: A Breakdown

You can consider several BNPL providers that can help you seamlessly integrate BNPL options into your ecommerce store’s checkout process. Below, we’ve detailed some of the apps on the market today based on annual percentage rates (APR), loan periods, loan amounts, and late fees.

Buy Now, Pay Later Apps	APR	Loan Periods	Loan Amounts	Late Fees
Affirm	0% to 30%	1 to 48 months	Up to $17,500	$0
Sezzle	0%	6 weeks (8 weeks including free one-time payment reschedule)	Based on financial eligibility	$10
Afterpay	0%	6 weeks	Starts at $500 and increases based on financial eligibility	Up to 25% of the transaction amount
Splitit	0%	3 to 24 months	Uses existing credit card limits	$0
Perpay	0%	4, 8, 16, or 18 payments	$500 to $2,000	$0
PayPal Pay in 4	0%	6 weeks	$30 to $1,500	$0
Klarna Pay in 4	0%	4 weeks	Based on financial eligibility	$7
Zip	0%	6 weeks	$35 to $1,500 (Maximum dependent on merchant)	$5, $7, or $10 based on state of residence

Launch Your Ecommerce Site and Get Started with BNPL

Buy now, pay later plans are increasing in popularity, especially with younger generations entering their prime earning and spending years. As an ecommerce business owner, offering BNPL options to your customers enables you to accommodate their needs while giving you a competitive edge.

Including these POS installment loans in your online checkout process can also help you boost sales and average order value (AOV), reduce shopping cart abandonment rates, and build customer loyalty with a new generation of online shoppers.

If you’re still in the planning phase of your ecommerce business, you need a well-designed website that can streamline online sales and seamlessly incorporate BNPL options for your customers.

With StoreBuilder by Hostdedi, you gain access to a WordPress online store builder that lets you create a retail site or start a membership site without any coding knowledge required. Our powerful ecommerce engine provides things like premium WooCommerce plugins, next-gen themes, and automated site maintenance right out of the box.

Check it out to get started today.

Ecommerce is booming, and that upward trend isn’t dying out any time soon. The pandemic led to an unexpected boost in ecommerce sales. Many people found themselves trying out new hobbies and finding ways to make money and find a profitable niche. Maybe you’re like a lot of folks that recently opened an online store — or you’re thinking about how you can start an ecommerce business.

If you’ve opened an ecommerce store, you’re expecting to turn a profit. You’ve probably gotten some sales and have a base of customers, but you’re hitting a sales plateau when you really want to keep climbing.

From which core ecommerce KPIs to track to which ecommerce plugins to use — there’s a lot to consider if ecommerce is new territory for you. You might have a business plan already. Maybe you’ve already chosen a platform or are considering whether a website builder or WordPress is right for you.

When you know the steps to starting an online business, it’s easy enough to spin up a website. But then what?

What you need is a growth strategy for ecommerce.

There are four main areas you should be thinking about when you are strategizing for your ecommerce store’s growth:

4-Part Growth Strategy for Ecommerce

Optimizing Your Site

Why is SEO (search engine optimization) important? Because ecommerce SEO directly affects how your site shows up in the search engine results pages (SERPs). If nobody can find your site when they search, you’ll have less traffic and fewer conversions.

When we say you need to optimize, we are primarily talking about performance and the SEO-friendliness of your ecommerce site. Ecommerce optimizations for speed and performance are adjustments you make that directly affect page speed and load times.

Google’s guidelines on what determines page rank changes often enough that optimization isn’t one and done. Optimization is an ongoing process, so keeping the future of SEO in your sights is a sure win for success.

Everyone wants to know how to speed up page load times, and for good reason: it can impact your page rank. There are countless ways to make your site faster, but some of them are easier than others.

Having a robust digital content strategy, posting and updating content often, and implementing a link building strategy are also important. So is ensuring that your site is mobile friendly.

If you’re a bit more tech savvy, technical SEO for WordPress is something to consider. Minifying code, ensuring your site navigation is user friendly, and implementing a silo structure for your page structure are all areas that you can optimize.

These ecommerce website features are part of what customers expect to see when visiting your site. Many of these suggestions can be implemented using WordPress performance plugins.

Constantly auditing the SEO for ecommerce websites helps you to climb the ranks, stay competitive, and keep your site fresh.

Improving Your Customer’s Experience

Even though page speed and performance are crucial to the customer experience, that’s not all that matters. The way your site looks and functions has a lot to do with how your customers decide to make a purchase. That’s why taking steps to improve your WordPress UX is important for ecommerce.

First and foremost, the design of the website is crucial. What your site looks like is the first impression customers get. Stay current on popular website design trends. Your site’s design should be both eye-catching and simple enough for anyone to navigate through.

You can learn how to design a website or outsource the work. Either way, you want a site that isn’t just pretty — it needs to work. When a customer can’t find the item they’re looking for, they’re likely to go to another website, even if pages load instantly. This website design client checklist provides some great guidelines.

All your sales revenue depends on your checkout pages working. Streamlining your checkout. Adding a WooCommerce cart popup can help you increase sales.There are plenty of options for online payment methods you can include on your site, but if customers can’t checkout, they won’t.

Testing regularly ensures your customers never see the tiny, preventable issues before you do. Hostdedi provides WooCommerce Automated Testing to run daily checks, including on your checkout page. Or, you can create a test plan for your ecommerce website.  Ecommerce UAT, or User Acceptance Testing, is also crucial to your site’s functionality.

Finally, customer service is important for growth strategy because if your customers are upset, nobody is coming back. In this day and age, most people aren’t quiet about poor customer service either. Getting feedback from customers and analyzing it improves the customer service experience.

You’ll want to:

• Train employees on best practices for customer service
• Hire customer support staff if you need to match demand
• Implement a customer support system
• Exploring the best live chat for ecommerce options
• Conduct customer satisfaction surveys
• Analyze customer feedback

At the end of the day, happy customers mean increased sales and customer loyalty. You can’t grow your business without customers.

Fine Tuning Your Marketing Strategy

Opening an online store is a great way to make money, but without an ecommerce marketing strategy, it’s hard to net a profit. Learning how to market a product to your target customers is another important way to strategically grow your business.

Growing your business online often means changing up your strategy and trying new marketing ideas. Wondering how to increase sales online? You may want to offer coupons, run sales, or hold contests.

For many businesses, ecommerce content marketing is responsible for the majority of the traffic that their online stores receive. Increasing ecommerce sales can be as simple as gearing your ecommerce content marketing strategy to utilize keywords strategically and provide breadcrumbs for customers to follow to your website.

Setting goals and tracking results is also part of an effective marketing strategy. Do you know the top ecommerce metrics to track? When you’re focused on what you’re doing well and where you need a boost, you can make more informed decisions about your ad spend budget and which ecommerce channels are of benefit to you.

Ramping up social media efforts is an important growth strategy for ecommerce. As part of your content strategy, a strong social media presence for your small business can be an excellent way to increase sales.

How do you improve conversion rates? You’ve got to be seen before you get a sale! When you post high quality content on a regular basis, you give yourself more chances for people to see your brand. Brand awareness comes before consideration and decision in the buyer’s journey.

Paid marketing strategies, like boosted posts or display ads, can be a very effective marketing tactic. There’s a lot you can do to grow your business with social media.

Some other “free” strategies include crafting better product descriptions. If you don’t know how to write a product description, take a look at your favorite store. Do they get straight to the point, or use flowery language?

When a customer understands what they’re buying, it’s easier to make a purchase sight unseen. Depending on the nature of your business, you can also have fun with it — and possibly go viral for your creative approach.

Great salesmanship can sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman wearing white gloves, but in the ecommerce world, it’s all about targeting your audience. Large companies develop customer profiles so they not only understand their customers better, but they’re also able to fine tune their targeting. Learning how to create a customer profile means learning about your customers and conducting sales data analysis. Sourcing customer feedback and conducting market research is also helpful.

The more effectively you market your ecommerce site, the more your business will grow.

Building Up Community

Everyone from Sephora to your local grocery store has apps, membership communities, and “Top Fan” badges on Facebook. Every one of these items is a way your customers are connected to your brand. It’s how individuals go from customer to ambassador. Ecommerce social media marketing is a jumping off point for building brand awareness.

The most successful ecommerce businesses have legions of fans. Whether official or not, having brand ambassadors means people are talking about your business, your products, and your content. A strong community behind your store is a hallmark of successful ecommerce  growth strategy. Enhance your ecommerce store’s social commerce platform and grow your business by generating additional ways for you to connect with customers.

An easy way to do this is by creating a customer loyalty program. It’s a highly successful model. How many of us have Kohl’s Cash burning a hole in our pockets? Customers are incentivized to spend more to get more “points,” and then return to utilize those points. Whether or not they’re actually saving money is often secondary to the perception that they’re getting a deal.

Referral programs are also a great way to build awareness and create conversions. Offer a credit for a specific dollar amount if a friend places an order. It can get you twice the revenue bang for your ad spend buck.

Using social media as a social commerce platform engages with your customers — both potential and existing. Video and carousels on platforms like Instagram for WooCommerce are highly successful and give customers a chance to preview an item before ever getting to your site.

While video content is a big thing right now, another common trend is the VIP group. There are many small businesses that utilize Facebook Groups for their customer base to interact, announce sales, allow customers to ask questions, and ultimately make your business more approachable to customers.

Focused on Ecommerce Growth? Start Planting Now!

There’s nothing more frustrating than doing everything right only to see your efforts dead on the vine. Use these tips in your ecommerce growth strategy to build your customer base and sales. You’ll also want to choose a host that’s made for ecommerce to lay the foundation for success.

When you choose Hostdedi, you’re getting curated tools that’ll help you grow your business — not just start it up. With high speeds, tight security, and instant scalability, Managed WooCommerce by Hostdedi is just the fertilizer you need for a great season.

Try fully managed WooCommerce hosting today, and let your business grow with us.

Becoming a digital entrepreneur in today’s ecommerce-driven economy isn’t for the faint of heart. To stand out in a sea of online businesses, it’s essential to offer a one-of-a-kind product and build an engaging, intuitive website that delivers a unique brand experience.

Even that’s not always enough to draw customers in, though.

Many online businesses also must implement omnichannel marketing and advertising strategies that capture the attention of their target audience and drive customers to their shop. From learning the nuances of all the social platforms to reviewing 404 page examples for inspiration, there’s a ton you’ll have to consider.

Whew. Who knew so much goes into starting an ecommerce business?

We hate being the bearer of bad news, but there’s another really important component of starting an ecommerce business that’s often overlooked — and it could make or break the success of your online operations.

It’s your ecommerce shipping strategy.

Your online store could offer the most innovative product out there and feature the best design on the block. But if your shipping strategy isn’t on point, your customers will likely abandon their shopping carts and say “sayonara” for good.

As a new ecommerce business owner, hitting a bullseye with your shipping strategy on the first go-around can be difficult. From the fees you charge to the promotions you offer, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to optimizing one of the last ecommerce customer touchpoints before they convert.

In this ecommerce shipping guide, we’ll walk you through how to take shipping into your own hands to ensure your customers’ experience is a positive one — and that you’re shipping costs aren’t eating into your bottom line.

Not only will we break down a few common ecommerce shipping strategies and best practices, but we’ll fill you in on some handy shipping solutions that can help streamline the process.

But first, let’s look at the main reason why shipping plays such a significant role in a customers’ online shopping experience.

How Your Ecommerce Shipping Strategy Affects Business Success

Today’s average online shopping cart abandonment rate is roughly 70%.

Shocked? We were, too.

Due to the nature of ecommerce sites, a large portion of this abandonment rate can be attributed to users simply browsing or “window shopping.” However, if we look at the reasons for cart abandonment outside of this more browsing-oriented fact, 49% of U.S. adults surveyed by the Baymard Institute claimed to have ditched their carts due to extra costs — including shipping, taxes, and fees — being too high.

When shipping costs are too expensive, customers are deterred from completing their purchases. This means how much you charge for shipping plays one of the most critical roles in customer conversion rates. While shipping speed is primarily affected by the carrier, offering the correct shipping prices and options can help you boost sales and satisfy customer demands.

With the proper shipping prices and options in place, you can:

Now that you understand how influential shipping prices can be in the customer conversion process, let’s look at a few of the most common shipping strategies you can utilize for your online store.

4 Common Ecommerce Shipping Solutions for Online Stores

Several factors influence the success of your shipping strategy. These include the shipping carriers you choose, how you package your products, and any delivery insurance you include with higher-value items (more on these three factors later).

But the most influential is how much the customer will have to pay — and how this affects your business’s bottom line. Below, we will break down four common ecommerce shipping strategies related to the shipping costs you charge your customers:

1. Offering free shipping
2. Charging real-time carrier rates
3. Providing flat-rate shipping
4. Offering free in-store pickup or local delivery

1. Offering Free Shipping

According to the latest Consumer View survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, 83% of consumers say convenience while shopping is more important now than it was five years ago. What’s more, 52% say that half or more of their purchases are influenced by convenience — and offering free shipping in your ecommerce store provides the ultimate online shopping convenience.

Is Free Shipping Really Free?

Free shipping is not really free — not for your business, that is.

Offering free shipping means that delivery costs are put on you, which means you’ll need to take a closer look at your profit margins (i.e., the average cost to ship a product and the profit you’d make selling that product). You’ll also need to learn more about your customers and analyze your competition to uncover if this shipping strategy is right for the products you offer.

In general, free shipping is best for high-margin products that you can easily roll shipping costs into.

How Do I Get Started with Free Shipping?

For new digital entrepreneurs interested in offering free shipping with their products, it’s best to start by applying this incentive under specific conditions.

For example, you could begin by offering free shipping on all orders of $50 or more. But make sure you understand the average cost to ship your items and your AOV before establishing this minimum. Once your ecommerce store receives a good chunk of orders, you can better calculate your AOV and set your free shipping minimum based on that amount.

If your ecommerce store sells higher-end or “luxury” products, it will likely be easier for you to roll shipping costs directly into the higher prices of your products.

However, if you’re selling products in a highly competitive niche where several of your competitors offer low product costs and free shipping, rolling shipping costs into your products might scare off customers.

Customize Your Free Shipping Options

You can customize your free shipping strategy based on the products you sell and the sustainability of absorbing shipping costs.

For example, you can offer free shipping for shorter promotional windows to boost sales during slower times or when clearing out older inventory. You can also only offer free shipping on certain products, particularly those that aren’t larger, heavier items that would cost more to ship.

Related reading: How to Ship Large and Heavy Items >>

Free Shipping and Delivery Timelines

When absorbing shipping fees for your customers, you’ll likely choose the most economical shipping options with the carriers you select. This means that delivery timelines could be extended, which means customers would have to wait longer to receive their products.

Fortunately, most of today’s online shoppers appear to have patience when waiting longer for product delivery rather than paying for shipping.

According to a 2021 BOXpoll survey conducted by Pitney Bowes regarding shipping expectations, 72% of consumers would rather wait 5-7 days for free shipping than pay to upgrade to 2-4 day shipping.

However, if the delivery timeline exceeds seven days, the number of consumers willing to purchase tapers off. This is important to consider if the most economical shipping options take longer than seven days, on average.

2. Charging Real-Time Carrier Rates

This strategy is where giving your customers options comes into play. When charging real-time carrier rates, customers will typically pay the exact price carriers charge to ship their orders and choose their delivery timeline.

For example, if a customer wanted to expedite shipping with your chosen carrier, they could select this option and agree to pay higher shipping costs. If another customer isn’t worried about the delivery timeline, they could choose the most economical choice and pay the lowest price.

When offering real-time carrier rates, it’s essential to have a real-time shipping calculator on your site that breaks down the current fees associated with each delivery option. This transparency can help you earn trust with your customers, as it lets them know you aren’t charging prices that are higher than the current standard carrier rate.

If need be, you can include shipping surcharges on top of the standard carrier rates to account for any fees you pay associated with fulfillment, such as packaging.

3. Providing Flat-Rate Shipping

Flat-rate shipping can be another effective shipping strategy for your online business. Unlike standard shipping, flat-rate shipping means that the costs associated with delivery aren’t directly tied to individual package dimensions or weight. This means you can offer flat-rate shipping based on specific rules or stipulations you set, such as how far a package needs to travel, the maximum size or weight a package can be, or order totals.

This shipping strategy offers an uncomplicated shipping option to your customers — but much like offering free shipping, it’s important to understand the average cost of shipping a package before implementing it. Understanding this average will help to ensure you’re not cutting into your bottom line by charging too little for flat-rate shipping.

It’s important to note that flat-rate shipping can be a great option if your ecommerce business sells products on the heavier side, as long as they fit within weight limitations set by the carrier.

Note: If your products or customer order totals exceed the standard weight limitations set by carriers, less-than-truckload (LTL) freight shipping could be the best shipping option for you. LTL freight shipping enables you to deliver products that weigh more than 150 pounds via truck and trailer — and shipping costs are based on the portion of the trailer used to hold your products.

4. Offering Free Local Pickup or Local Delivery

You can avoid third-party carriers by offering free local pickup or delivering your products to customers yourself. Sometimes referred to as “click and collect,” buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) continues to entice online shoppers. According to estimates from Insider Intelligence, U.S. click-and-collect sales are expected to reach $140.96 billion by 2024.

Click-and-collect enables consumers to combine the ease of online shopping with the convenience of same-day delivery. While BOPIS typically entails customers navigating to a designated in-store or curbside pick-up area, ecommerce business owners are beginning to use secure smart retail lockers for order fulfillment, as well.

Outside of click-and-collect, offering local delivery can set you apart from your competitors while increasing sales. By delivering your products directly to your customers’ doorsteps yourself, you can save money by avoiding third-party carrier fees and even avoid increased shipping delays due to COVID-19.

Ecommerce Shipping Best Practices

As you develop your ecommerce shipping strategy, it’s important to keep these ecommerce shipping best practices in mind to ensure your delivery options meet customer demands and that your profit margins remain strong.

1. Choose a trusted shipping carrier
2. Package your products well
3. Include insurance on high-value items
4. Establish a return shipping strategy

Choose a Trusted Shipping Carrier

The shipping carrier (or multiple carriers) you choose plays an integral role in your shipping strategy.

When searching for carriers, it’s essential to consider shipping factors such as the types of products you’re shipping, where you plan on shipping to (e.g., nationally or internationally), the average weights and sizes of your packages, and how much you’re selling your products for. These factors will be your baseline when you start researching which carrier to use. A few of the most major carriers to consider include:

As you compare the pros and cons of different carriers, pay close attention to the costs they charge and delivery timelines or guarantees they offer. It’s also important to consider their reputability, the supply chain technology they use, and any promotions they offer to business owners.

Package Your Products Well

The packaging you choose influences the prices you or your customers will pay to deliver products via third-party carriers. Carefully consider how much and what type of packaging you need based on the size and weight of your products.

More delicate items might need heavier-duty packaging, while less-fragile or smaller items could use more lightweight packaging. Some carriers even offer free packaging solutions, such as USPS’s flat-rate packaging.

Include Insurance on High-Value Items

While some carriers automatically include insurance on shipments, they often have limitations.

If your products are valued higher than those limitations, it’s vital to add shipping insurance to safeguard them from loss, theft, or damage during the shipping process. This ensures the customer experience remains seamless, even if any issues occur during the delivery.

Establish a Return Shipping Strategy

Your product return shipping strategy is nearly as influential as your product delivery strategy. If a customer needs to return a product (regardless of the reason), the return process should be effortless.

According to a survey conducted by Power Reviews, 79% of consumers consider free returns the most important option to have when shopping online.

As a new ecommerce business owner, choosing a flat-rate return shipping fee could be an excellent place to start. It doesn’t take from your bottom line as much as offering free return shipping does, as it splits the financial burden between you and your customer.

Determining your return shipping strategy is a mixture of understanding your profit margins, what your competitors are doing, and what type of customer service you want to offer.

Available Ecommerce Shipping Solutions

Establishing a rock-solid ecommerce shipping strategy can sometimes feel overwhelming, but thankfully you don’t have to go at it alone. There are several ecommerce shipping solutions out there that can help you automate the process.

Many of the solutions listed below enable you to print shipping labels on-demand, compare shipping rates, track packages, and earn discounts with major shipping carriers.

• Shippo
• ShippingEasy
• Ordoro
• ShipStation
• 2Ship
• Veeqo
• OrderCup
• PayPal Shipping

If you use WordPress with WooCommerce, you can also use several plugins to expedite the shipping process. WooCommerce comes standard with WooCommerce Shipping, which connects directly to USPS and enables you to compare rates, purchase postage and print labels, and ship internationally. There are also several single-carrier WooCommerce plugins (e.g., UPS and FedEx) you can find from sources like PluginHive.

Build Your Ecommerce Site and Start Shipping with Help from StoreBuilder

The ecommerce strategy you choose influences both the customer experience and your business’s bottom line.

As you begin to build out your strategy, pay close attention to your product prices, profit margins, AOVs, average package dimensions and weight, and what shipping programs your closest competitors offer. All five of these factors will be instrumental in deciding the best shipping strategy for your business and what carrier you’ll choose.

If you’re breaking into the ecommerce industry and don’t know where to begin, StoreBuilder by Hostdedi can help you get your feet on the ground.

Our online store builder can help you get a WordPress ecommerce store or membership site up and running quickly and easily. Featuring preconfigured WooCommerce plugins, customizable templates, and fully managed WordPress hosting, you can get your products in the hands of your customers faster than ever.

Check out StoreBuilder to get started today.