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How to Build a Multi-Vendor Marketplace on Laravel

Laravel is one of the most popular web frameworks for creating engaging and large-scale web applications. One of its many uses is making multi-vendor marketplaces like Amazon or Ikea. Even though creating such a complex platform can be a daunting experience, thanks to Laravel, you can get there much faster.

This article shares all there is to know about Laravel and provides you with a solid foundation to kickstart your next business adventure.

Why Start a Multi-Vendor Marketplace?

First off, why even bother creating such an extensive marketplace? Some of the reasons may include encouraging sellers from different categories to sell products using one integrated storefront, boosting product offers and sales, and expanding your market worldwide.

More importantly, by starting a multi-vendor marketplace, you make shopping more convenient for customers. They can sign in to their accounts and shop for the items they need from a variety of sellers. Buyers don’t want to spend too much time searching for products. Multi-vendor e-commerce is a powerful tool that makes shopping easier for everyone. Amazon is a perfect example of how convenient this type of marketplace is.

Things to Know Before Starting a Multi-Vendor Marketplace

Before you start your own e-commerce venture, you should know about different types of multi-vendor marketplaces. There are vertical, horizontal, and global multi-vendor marketplaces. Vertical markets focus on selling specific product types, like smartphones, furniture, etc. Horizontal multi-vendor marketplaces target buyers from particular industries but sell products from different categories. One example is SupplyCore, a logistics marketplace for government suppliers. Finally, global marketplaces include Amazon, Alibaba, that address both B2B and B2C customers.

Also, before finding an e-commerce platform to build your marketplace, you want to determine its purpose. Find your marketplace niche and participants, identify the monetization methods, and develop a minimum viable product to help you minimize up-front costs. After you get these details together, you can continue to build your marketplace.

One framework that helps marketplace owners start a multi-vendor store is Laravel.

Introduction to Laravel

Laravel is a popular web application framework known for its expressive and elegant syntax. It makes web development a creative, enjoyable, and fulfilling experience. The main idea is to simplify the execution of commonly used tasks in web projects, including authentication, sessions, routing, and caching.

The developers make the development process more straightforward, leaving the application functionality untouched. That’s why the creators of Laravel combined the best elements of other popular frameworks such as SP.NET MVC, Ruby on Rails, and Sinatra. The platform features a superb migration system, control container inversion, and fantastic unit testing support with just enough tools to create any application.

Using Laravel to Build a Multi-Vendor Marketplace

How exactly can Laravel help you build a multi-vendor marketplace? Thanks to a single extension! They have an excellent open-source e-commerce framework extension called Bagisto. Bagisto is suitable for all e-commerce businesses, and it’s easy to set up even for non-tech users.

This hand-tailored e-commerce framework helps business owners cut the time, cost, and workforce by creating an online store and migrating from physical stores. On a multi-vendor marketplace like Bagisto, multiple vendors sell the same product with different stock units and prices. The customers can see these offers along with their respective ratings.

However, before you get started with Bagento, you have to take care of web hosting. You want to make sure you have dedicated servers to operate such a marketplace. Once you choose an appropriate cloud infrastructure (recommended) for your marketplace, you can turn to Bagisto.

There are specific requirements you have to meet before installing this framework:

Apache 2 or NGINX server
4GB+ RAM
Node - 8.11.3 LTS or higher
PHP - 7.3.0 or higher
Composer - 1.6.5 or higher
Php-intl and php-gd extensions
The php.ini configuration file should be changed to “memory_limit = 4G”, “max_execution_time = 360,” and “date.timezone = [your timezone]”
MySQL 7.7.23 or higher
MariaDB 10.2.7. or higher

One of the best things about Bagisto is that it’s packed with customization options. You can tweak your marketplace any way you want and are in total control over the tiniest details.

Using Laravel to Build a Multi-Vendor Marketplace

Bagisto Admin Features

Bagisto is highly customizable. It lets you set up the marketplace however you want, with as many sellers as you need.

Here are some basic features for Bagisto multi-vendor marketplace admins:

Inventory Management – upload the vendor products manually or let the vendor do so
Commission Management – attract sellers to sell on your marketplace by offering them commissions
Easy Product Assigning to Sellers – see a list of sellers and their assigned products and allow customers to compare products sold by different sellers
Landing Pages – design engaging landing pages for merchants
Review Management – manage the vendor reviews systematically, and provide the best combination of positive and negative feedback to boost sales
Separate vendor and seller profiles with dedicated shop URLs
Product approval, so you are in control of which products can make it into the marketplace
Approve or disapprove transaction status
Make a payout for the seller for completed orders
Generate invoices and ship the seller’s products
Update or delete seller profiles and products

Bagisto Seller Features

Selling on a multi-vendor marketplace is super convenient with Bagisto. Vendors have the freedom to customize their shops, build their reputation, track orders, and much more.

Here’s a detailed overview of the seller privileges:

Manage orders from the dashboard
Add banners, social links, and URLs to promote their brand
Add return and shipping policy along with shop descriptions for more transparency
Include multiple images for the same product
Have access to total sales payout and remaining payout
Add new products or tweak the details of existing ones
Dedicated view for their product collection
Receive special pricing for adding date filters
Tweak or delete products from their product collection
Cancel orders
Create invoices and shipments (under admin permission)

Now that you know what your possibilities are with Bagisto, it’s time to get practical.

Installing Your Multi-Vendor Marketplace on Laravel

To install Bagisto, you first have to purchase and download the extension from this link. After you do, you’ll receive a zip folder you’ll need to install the multi-vendor marketplace. The first thing you want to do is unzip it, then merge the following folders into your project root directory: “packages” and “storage.”

Next, navigate to the “config/app.php” file, find “webkul packages,” and add this line under it:

“Webkul\\Marketplace\\Providers\\MarketplaceServiceProvider::class“

Next, navigate to the “composer.json” file inside your Bagisto root directory, and paste this line under the “psr-4” section:

"Webkul\\\\Marketplace\\\\": "packages/Webkul/Marketplace"

Finally, run the following command to finish the setup in the Bagisto root directory:

“composer dump-autoload

php artisan migrate

php artisan route:cache

php artisan db:seed --class=Webkul\\Marketplace\\Database\\Seeders\\DatabaseSeeder

php artisan vendor:publish”

Publish the configuration by pressing the zero key, then enter. That’s it! After you run these commands, you’ll be able to see the “Marketplace” icon on the left-hand of your Bagisto menu bar.

For more details on installing Bagisto, visit this page.

Configure Your Multi-Vendor Marketplace on Laravel

Now that you installed the Multi-Vendor Marketplace, you can further configure it to match your needs. Navigate to the “Configure” option on the Admin dashboard in the bottom left-hand of the screen. You’ll arrive at the Marketplace Configuration section.

First, in the “General Settings,” you can choose the channel and the locale of your marketplace. The first “default” field right next to “Configuration” depicts the channel, while the “English” next to it refers to the English locale setting.

In the “General” tab, you can set the commission percentage for sellers, turn on the seller and product approval features, let sellers create invoices, shipments or cancel orders, and more.

As for the landing page, you can tweak the title, banner options, and content.

Configure Your Multi-Vendor Marketplace on Laravel

Admin View

You can explore more admin features in the “Marketplace” section. Click on “Sellers” for an overview of registered sellers for your marketplace, along with their status. You can change the commission rates and assign different percentages for particular sellers by clicking on their names.

Also, you can assign a product to a particular seller in the “Add Product” section.

The next tab under “Sellers” is the “Products” tab. Here, you can access a list of all products on your marketplace from different sellers, along with the seller status. Update or change product information by clicking “Delete” or “Update” from the drop-down menu.

Next, under “Seller Reviews,” you’ll find product reviews left by customers for each seller. Review status is set on “unapproved” by default. You can approve the comment by selecting it and choosing “Approve” from the drop-down menu.

The “Order” tab shows the list of orders on the website along with their status. You can generate invoices or ship products by clicking on the eye icon to the far right hand of the screen.

Finally, the “Transactions” tab provides a list of payout transactions to the sellers along with the paid amount. You can perform a payout in the “Order” section by clicking on “Pay” next to the particular order.

Get Additional Support

Building your first multi-vendor marketplace from scratch isn’t always easy. Fortunately, Bagisto has a well-developed system for helping beginners in their new e-commerce venture. You can use their Helpdesk, create a ticket request, follow their tutorials, or check the official forum. One of the best ways to start your Bagisto journey is to schedule a live demo. You can also visit the official GitHub page for all documentation and installation information.

Starting Your Own Multi-Marketplace With Laravel

There’s no better place for starting a multi-marketplace than Laravel’s Bagisto. Thanks to an intuitive interface and an array of privileges for both admins and sellers, creating your very first multi-marketplace has never been more appealing. Hopefully, this article helped you grasp the basics of how to build your next successful e-commerce marketplace.

December 20, 2021

How to Differentiate Your Brand in an Overflowing Market

The e-commerce market is overcrowded. Imagine a shopping street in a city center. Businesses pay enormous monthly rents knowing someone will inevitably visit their store as the number of outlets is limited. Now, imagine this street is literally endless – that’s the modern internet and the level of competition. To succeed, you must set your brand apart from others.

In this guide, we’ll share the best tips for building a strong brand identity and gaining customer recognition. We’ve also included tips suitable for businesses of all sizes and within all industries. Read on to discover how to stand out in this highly competitive web world.

1. Strong Content

A content strategy helps to establish brand identity and supports an omnichannel business model. Most successful online businesses offer something more than a nice site design. They create useful or fun, but most importantly, unique and engaging content that draws customer attention. Interesting content posted across your business channels helps to keep existing customers hooked and sparks interest in only those considering purchasing from you.

Disney is a good example of how content helps to sell even overpriced products. However, in the case of Disney, content came first. As an online business owner, all you need to strive for is high-quality content that provides information different from the product description on your site. The possible content may include infographics, comics, videos, images – anything that’s suitable for your chosen platform and speaks the language of your target audience.

2. Bring Value Other Than Your Product

Your product will likely sell without this point given it’s of high quality and adequately priced. However, bringing customers something more valuable, such as informative blog posts, is a great way to upsell products and gain customer trust. Furthermore, informative articles are useful for SEO purposes.

Naturally, informative blog posts aren’t a great fit for any business type. In this case, you can bring value to society rather than a single customer to improve brand recognition and image. For instance, the Innocent smoothie brand actively takes part in charity initiatives and ensures their packaging and production is sustainable. Without supporting the reputation of an ethical brand, Innocent would likely sell significantly fewer smoothies, no matter how tasty they are.

3. Provide Great Customer Service

Time for some quick stats. A report by Microsoft shows that 90% of US residents consider customer service an important factor in deciding whether a business is worth their attention. Furthermore, 58% of the same respondents would turn to a different company if they aren’t satisfied with the provided service. The good news is, three out of five customers say customer service is the key to loyalty. Lastly, 78% of consumers are ready to tolerate operating mistakes if the company’s customer service is excellent.

It’s time to start paying attention to your customer service level to improve customer retention. Ensure that your contact details are easily accessible across all your channels and improve your response times. Take advantage of technological progress – self-service is gaining popularity. Implement chatbots and create a detailed FAQ section.

4. Create a Story

Storytelling is one of the best ways to differentiate your brand. Often, consumers don’t buy the product but rather the ideas and emotions tied to it. That’s especially applicable to luxury goods where people want to buy a certain lifestyle along with a new bag or car. One thing to keep in mind is that your story must be not only inspiring but also true, or at least seem as such.

A great example is Victoria’s Secret. The founder’s inspiration to launch the brand, so the story goes, was an uncomfortable trip to a department store to buy underwear for his wife. Roy Raymond decided to open a lingerie store targeted at men. By using designs that were considered risky at that time and promoting them with a team of models named “Angels”, the brand constantly fueled the core idea. These elements helped to build a strong brand identity and today every second man knows Victoria’s Secret even if they have never shopped there.

5. Unique and Consistent Branding

Unsurprisingly, branding is what differentiates you from competitors the most. It’s the very thing that helps the public recognize your products in marketplaces and in real life. There’s no simple and universal definition of branding, though. It’s a scope of business, design, marketing, and relational factors tied to one goal. In other words, all the points mentioned in this guide relate to branding. In this case, however, we talk about the visual part of the concept. It consists of logotype and slogan, site, social page, and product design, and other visual elements.

Consistency of branding means that all visual elements should feature the same style. Utilize similar or matching colors and materials in your products, use similar fonts for your site and promotional e-mails. Customers should understand which brand an ad or product belongs to even before they look at the logotype.

Some business owners strive to stand out by incorporating lots of visual elements into one logotype or site. However, that’s not a good way to go about it. The perfect style is easy to remember and recreate. Everyone knows how Nike’s logo looks and what its slogan is. But can you remember what the logo for the FIFA World Cup 2018 looks like? There are examples of famous companies with overly complicated identity elements. However, most of them exist for multiple decades and are known for anything but the logo.

6. Build Customer Loyalty

Loyal customers are the cheapest and most effective means of advertisement. Satisfied shoppers are happy to tell others about your brand and bring continuous profit. They will instantly recognize your brand among all others. Furthermore, acquiring new customers is 5-25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones.

Customer loyalty must be deserved, though. It builds from positive shopping and customer service experience, satisfaction with product quality, and a strong marketing strategy. You should offer your consumers some value in exchange for their loyalty. A good method of gaining a loyal customer database is offering them a discount program or early access to promotions. It’s also crucial to keep track of customer feedback to determine issues that need improvement. This can be done by monitoring brand mentions across the web or asking site visitors to complete a survey or leave a review.

7. First Impression Is Important

The first impression with online shopping actually occurs twice – when the customer first visits your site and when they receive their first order. A unique and user-friendly site design has apparent importance for brand identity. However, focusing on the product and site’s visual part, many businesses forget about the packaging and extras.

Make your customers feel like it’s Christmas when they receive your product. Choose a unique branded design and nice-to-the-touch materials for the packaging. You may also include a small surprise gift. For instance, clothing brand GCDS adds a bag of branded candies and lipstick to all first-time purchases and packs the clothing in sealable freezer-style bags. Such a small touch makes the customer feel special and the unusual packaging boosts brand recognition.

8. Be Innovative

Businesses that undertake the risk to be different and utilize new technology always stand out. The most successful companies were once industry pioneers. It’s easy to get lost in the market if you prefer to go a familiar path tried out by hundreds of businesses before you.

One of the latest e-commerce trends not yet widely used is augmented reality. Only 1% of retailers utilize this technology even though 61% of consumers prefer stores offering such an experience. The development of AR enables users to visualize how your product will look on them or in their homes and interact with it. Implementation of this trend helps to reach new audiences by creating a buzz, increase engagement, and reduce returns.

Smart artificial-intelligence-based chatbots are another newly emerged trend that aligns with the growing importance of personalization and the popularity of self-service. Modern consumers prefer to serve minor queries on their own. Instead of calling or emailing you, they’re more likely to read the FAQ section or chat with a robot. Utilizing AI ensures your customer receives high-quality help rather than repetition of what’s written in the FAQ. Furthermore, it helps to reduce costs on customer service employee wages.

Branding Is King

Brand identity is a wide concept that can’t be built in a week’s time. Customer recognition requires constant work and a strong strategy, but it always pays off in the end. Brands wishing to differentiate from competitors must be patient and implement a professional approach to every process. Our team’s mission is to help you provide an excellent customer experience and seamlessly integrate innovation into your online business. Contact us for a consultation or quote to start building your brand’s success today.

December 10, 2021

How to Utilize Analytics Extensions for Data-Driven Decision Making

There’s no place for speculation when it comes to business decisions. Every large investment or customer-related change should be evaluated to maximize profits and minimize risks. Analytics extensions are of great help here, enabling you to automatically collect and compare the necessary data for informed decisions.

In this guide, we’ll explain how analytics can help improve your business and how to utilize dedicated extensions correctly for data-driven decision-making. Additionally, we’ll list the best Magento 2 analytics extensions to improve your e-store performance.

How Analytics Help to Run a Business

Let’s start with why exactly you should gather data on your website. In this section, we’ll list the three main reasons for utilizing analytics extensions to improve your business performance.

1. Keeping Track of Consumer Behaviors to Offer Personalized Experience

Today, high competition dictates trends, making businesses more and more consumer-oriented. People prefer a personalized approach in terms of advertisement and customer service. Analytics help to keep track of consumer behaviors such as buying patterns, website navigation paths, and measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Naturally, analytics is also crucial to determine the demographics of your audience and create correct market segmentation. The gathered information can be used to make the most tempting offers, determine when and which promotions bring the most profit, and which sales channels work the best with certain customer groups.

Stats show that businesses utilizing data for decision-making are 23 times more likely to attract customers and six times more likely to retain them compared to those that don’t. A great customer experience is essential for making sales and acquiring loyal customers who will bring regular profit. Only a 5% increase in customer retention can increase the company’s profit by 25%.

But what exactly makes a good customer experience? Studies indicate that 91% of consumers prefer shopping with brands providing relevant, personalized offers. Furthermore, 72% of consumers will only respond to an advertisement that is tailored to their personal preferences. In other words, it’s crucial to implement analytics at every stage of the sales and interaction process to improve the customer experience.

2. Driving Performance

Sales and customer retention aren’t the only factors important for business performance. Decisions remotely related or not related to consumers may also affect business efficiency and consequently profits. Analytics extensions help to identify operating issues and improve their streamlining. They provide insights into data correlations useful for cost evaluations, benchmarking, pricing segmentation, and other essential business processes. Naturally, you can also get seasonal performance reports to see how successful your previous decisions were and compare periods. Using sales forecasting, you can make informed decisions about investments.

Let’s take the supply chain as an example. If you have multiple suppliers and delivery channels, keeping track of each one is an intricate task. Analytics extensions can help to identify which channels work slower or bring more expenses than profit. You can perform cost analysis for each existing or potential logistics channels and choose the most beneficial option.

3. Risk Management

Running a business always involves some degree of risk, especially when it comes to large investments or major customer-oriented decisions. Managing risks is essential to minimize losses. To evaluate the risk of a specific decision, you need to gather former and present data. Doing so manually, however, requires a large investment of time and labor. Analytics extensions automate the risk management process, eliminating the need for extensive labor. They help to not only collect data but also to forecast results accurately, based on figures rather than speculations.

How to Utilize Analytics Correctly

Now that you know why analytics are beneficial for running a business, it’s time to find out how to utilize them the right way. Below, we’ll provide the most important points to keep in mind when shifting to data-driven decision-making.

1. Define the Purpose for Analytics

Don’t collect data just for the sake of having it. You should have a clear purpose for gathering it in the first place. Consider how you’re going to utilize the acquired information. To do so, you must first understand which part of your business has an issue and identify your goals. Do you wish to improve the customer service, operation, risk assessment, or something else? Do you strive to reduce costs, drive revenue, shorten delivery times, or find the optimal pricing? You may need to improve everything at once, but you should still differentiate between the required metrics and purposes.

2. Choose the Right Tools and Metrics

Different analytics goals require different metrics and ways of calculation for accurate evaluation. You may get tons of data, but there’s no sense in gathering it if it’s irrelevant or inaccurate. For instance, your goal is to make the most effective discount offers. In this case, you should collect data about customer shopping behavior and preferences. The necessary metrics include but are not limited to sales by product and category, sales seasonality, previous ads performance, and market segmentation. There’s no need to collect information about delivery times or customer navigation paths on your website as these metrics are not related to the purpose.

The way you use data to make decisions also plays a role. In the same example, you should understand why you track every of the chosen metrics and which figures you strive for. Let’s assume you see that product A sells best during wintertime, and product B’s selling pattern doesn’t fluctuate depending on the season. How will you use this data for promotion-related decision-making? Collecting data is the first and easiest step. Your decision success depends merely on your approach to data analysis and creativity.

3. Don’t Rely Solely on Rough Figures

The most common mistake of data-driven businesses is relying solely on analytics, neglecting the human factor. Data doesn’t equal truth; it’s a fragment of truth taken out of context and evaluated subjectively. In other words, data may be misleading. Consider what could go wrong due to unplanned circumstances, human error, or unexpected customer response when making any data-driven decision. You need to see the complete picture with long-term consequences and place data in context to make informed decisions.

Often, businesses start overfocusing on KPIs and other performance metrics after implementing analytics extensions, which leads to a fall in product and customer service quality. This way, instead of improving profitability, businesses only reduce it due to a drop in customer retention. The core objective is to provide the best possible customer experience and learn to look beyond numbers.

4. Value Your Customer’s Privacy

A large portion of consumers reportedly enjoys getting personalized product suggestions. However, not everyone likes sharing their personal data. Stats show that 40% of consumers have found personalized marketing creepy due to wrongful assumptions made from their behavior analytics. If there’s no universal concept of privacy, you must be careful collecting customer data. The ways you’re gathering data and the specific metrics you analyze should be transparent, and site users must have a choice to agree or decline sharing it.

Best Magento Analytics Extensions

If you already own a Magento 2 store and wish to try out analytics extensions, you may appreciate some of the options listed below:

1. Advanced Reports by Aheadworks

Advanced Reports is an analytics extension for Magento 2 sites that features numerous monitoring and reporting tools for different performance metrics of your store. The extension presents data in user-friendly visual charts and tables for easy assessment. The available reports include:

This analytics extension is the perfect choice for website owners who wish to boost their revenue by making informed decisions regarding promotions, targeting, and product catalog content.

2. Advanced Reports by Mirasvit

This Magento 2 analytics extension provides detailed insights on e-commerce site performance metrics and lets you create custom reports. The gathered data can later be easily transferred into CSV or Excel XML format for further analysis. One feature that will be especially useful for mid- to large-scale businesses is international KPI monitoring. You can analyze store performance and customer behaviors by country, state, town, or postal code.

3. Feedback by SMAC Softwares

Collecting customer feedback in addition to rough data is the best way to improve customer experience. This extension enables you to add a “Feedback” button to your Magento 2 store and gather customer opinions to determine what needs improvement. You can make the reviews appear on the website or only be visible to the admin.

Make Informed Decisions

Collecting customer and operational data is crucial for providing the best user experience, reducing costs, and maximizing profits. Thus, the power of big data can help business owners gain a competitive advantage over their peers. Those who aren’t yet utilizing analytics for data-driven decision-making fall behind, and our mission is to help you stay afloat. Our team will ensure you choose the best suitable analytics extension and implement it correctly in your Magento 2 store. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a consultation to start improving your site today.

November 30, 2021

The Limitations and Benefits of WooCommerce

WooCommerce is the world’s largest e-commerce platform for WordPress websites. Thanks to its versatility and ease of use, over four million websites use it as a retail shop plugin of choice.

But what are the advantages and disadvantages of this platform? This article shares the benefits and limitations of WooCommerce you should know about before signing up.

WooCommerce Basic Facts

It’s important to know the difference between e-commerce and WooCommerce. The former is a model allowing for the exchange of goods and services online. It’s a broad term that refers to all online businesses. WooCommerce, on the other hand, is a plugin for WordPress websites that allows them to start an online shop.

Users can sell different types of products with WooCommerce, including physical and digital products, tickets, external products such as Amazon affiliates, or protected member areas like online training.

So what are the technical requirements for using this plugin? Well, you need a PHP version 7 or greater, MySQL 5.6 or MariaDB 10.0 or greater, a WordPress memory limit of 128 MB or more, and an SSL certificate.

Now that we know what WooCommerce is, what it can do, and what you need to install it, let’s move on to the benefits.

Benefits of WooCommerce

Twenty years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that a single plugin could allow millions of shops to thrive. But the large-scale use is only one of the many benefits of WooCommerce. Here are some more.

Enhanced Flexibility

WooCommerce is best-known for its flexibility and versatility. Users can sell virtually any type of services and products, regardless of the business model. Whether you’re selling downloadable products, eBooks or physical books, webinars, or silverware, you can create a fabulous online store.

Plus, it lets businesses of all sizes (from small to large) set up their shops successfully. There are just enough plugins to cover the needs of any business size.

Free, Open Source Platform

Other than being free, WooCommerce is also open source. Users can create new extensions, add new features, or design custom themes to match their logo and website layout.

Many competitors’ e-commerce platforms have trouble finding developers who can do this kind of work. Basically, as a WooCommerce store owner, you benefit from plenty of professionals who create a top user experience for you. And if you ever want to tweak your WooCommerce shop, there will always be someone to help.

Plenty of Customization Possibilities

The fact that the platform is open-source directly impacts its customization options. Even as a first-time user, you’ll have an easy time installing themes and customizing headers, footers, checkout pages, or product sheets. Users have free access to HTML, CSS, and PHP style codes, making the platform suitable for professionals and beginners.

Also, there’s an almost infinite number of plugins in the WordPress directory. All it takes is navigating to the plugin section and typing “WooCommerce.” Users will be welcomed by tons of marketing, product management, shipping, analytics, payment integration, and other extensions.

As for the selection of themes, you can choose from thousands of designs. Even if the one you like doesn’t fit the store 100%, all sections are easily customizable to fit your needs to the tiniest detail.

High-Security Levels

WooCommerce is used for selling products, meaning plenty of sensitive information is entered onto its websites daily. Without a proper security system, your store risks being the victim of hacker attacks, identity thefts, and other cybersecurity threats.

The platform developers do regular updates to prevent cyber-attacks. Users can also install additional security plugins that scan the shops for viruses or add a backup to store the user information in the encrypted form.

Large Community

There are currently almost four and a half million active websites using WooCommerce. This supreme user base spreads across several blogs and forums where they share tips and guides on e-commerce configuration.

Tons of daily posts and comments are a great sign that the plugin is alive and that it isn’t going away anytime soon. If you’re interested, here’s a short list of popular online get-together places for WooCommerce users:

WooComerce Community – a closed Facebook group with almost 47k members where you can find answers to questions even Google doesn’t have.
WooCommerce Help and Share – yet another closed Facebook group with over 40k members mostly suited for beginners and intermediate users.
WooCommerce Forum – this is the official WooCommerce support forum that requires you to log in with WordPress first. Developers are always there to lead discussions and answer questions. However, the waiting time is a bit longer compared to Facebook groups.

Powerful Analytics

Running an e-commerce is not only about selling products. It’s about understanding what your customers want and learning how to solve their problems. Fortunately, WooCommerce is designed to work through analytics. A built-in system allows users to get to know their customers and learn how they interact with their products. Insightful data business owners receive can help retarget their products or present them in a better light.

Plus, users can always integrate the online store with Google Analytics or other popular analytics services.

Smooth UI

WooCommerce is designed to offer the best experience to store owners and shoppers. Customers have access to warehouse management and Point of Sale (POS) systems allowing a smooth purchase process. They can also track orders and delivery status with a single click.

It’s All About Selling

WooCommerce has just about any feature retailers need to start their business. With over 100 payment gateways, plenty of shipping methods with configurable shipping classes and zones to intuitive stock, refund, order, and email management, running an online store doesn’t get any better.

Limitations of WooCommerce

Even though it seems like a perfect platform, WooCommerce comes with a few limitations. Although not severe, they could eventually be the make-or-break point for some users.

Specific to WordPress

In the end, WooCommerce is only a plugin. This means it can only be used by WordPress website owners. Businesses from other CMS platforms that consider running an e-commerce store with WooCommerce would have to migrate to WordPress. This would cause too much trouble, and they’d be better off using the e-commerce plugins available at their marketplace.

Hidden Expenses

WooCommerce is a free plugin on the surface. There’s zero cost associated with downloading and installing the software. However, many extensions require one-time or monthly payments to run at full capacity. For example, installing PayPal as a payment getaway is free. But to add other solutions, you have to subscribe to the service and pay from around $40 to $250 per year, depending on the store size.

Naturally, you may wonder whether it’s necessary to pay all these fees. In short, if you want your online business to grow and develop, at some point, you’ll have to pay a subscription to use advanced features. But whether you’re just starting a business and want to avoid costs or have a big volume of sales and want to pay for premium features, WooCommerce can deliver.

Potential Steep Learning Curve

Users experienced with WordPress will have no problem acquainting themselves with WooCommerce. And since the e-commerce plugin is only available for WordPress, there’s a chance you already know how to run a website with this CMS.

However, those without knowledge of WordPress may experience a steeper learning curve when getting used to WooCommerce. These users have to get familiar with terms such as checkout flow, listings, payment tokens, plugins, permalinks, posts, but also some self-hosted jargon such as page load speed, differences between HTML and CSS, and more. At this point, Weebly, Wix, and even Shopify have an easier onboarding and setup learning process.

Regardless of your level of experience, it’s well worth investing the time to learn the ins and outs of WooCommerce, especially if you want to be the sole person in charge of your online business.

WooCommerce Alternatives

It’s hard to beat WooCommerce in most categories. However, some users may not need all the features of this giant platform, or they run a business on a non-WordPress website. If you belong to any of the two categories, check out some noteworthy alternatives.

Shopify – the main WooCommerce competitor that can be used on non-WP websites, with automatic updates and backups, starting at $29.95 per month.
Wix – best for small-scale businesses on a budget and those who don’t need too many features.
MemberPress – a WordPress plugin built for selling paid memberships. It beats WooCommerce for this business model.
BigCommerce – offers a $29.95 monthly subscription perfect for businesses that operate on eBay and Instagram, but it still doesn’t beat WooCommerce in selling small-scale products.
Volusion – a solid e-commerce solution for non-tech-savvy business owners with 24/7 support, with the cheapest plan of $15 per month for selling up to 100 products.

Is WooCommerce Right for You?

WooCommerce is packed with possibilities. This open-source e-commerce platform has everything you need to get your business up and running – plenty of customization options, full-scale order management tools, analytics, interactive community, and ease of use. One major downside is that it’s only suitable for WordPress websites, so Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, and other site management platform users will get no use from it.

Be that as it may, there’s no denying the power of WooCommerce, and hopefully, this article has helped you better understand the qualities of this platform.

November 30, 2021

A Beginner’s Guide to JavaScript

JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. It’s used in a variety of applications, especially in web development. However, learning JavaScript can be challenging if it’s the first programing language you tackle. But don’t worry. Even though it comes with a steep learning curve, JavaScript is a highly rewarding and dynamic language to learn.

This article outlines the essential information you should know before diving any deeper into the language itself. As a bonus, we’ll share some of the most commonly used terminologies in the program to help you kickstart your learning experience.

What Is JavaScript?

JavaScript is a programming language created to run in a web browser. Due to its nature, it’s also known as a client-side language. If you want to design an interactive web page, JavaScript should be your go-to language of choice. Some adjectives that describe JavaScript include:

High-level. This means you can code JS without access to host computer details, including memory, processor, pointers, etc.
Untyped. There are two types of programming languages – typed and untyped. The former requires programmers to declare variable types. Untyped languages are more flexible about defining types. JS can pass a number or a string to the same function, but more on the terminology later.
Dynamic. JavaScript allows programmers to change object structure or add new code while running the program.
Interpreted. JavaScript’s codes are run by an interpreter software, which is a part of the web browser. The interpreter reads the code and converts it to machine instructions so it can be run.
Standardized. JS’s official name is ECMAScript, a standard programming language that makes sure JavaScript is operable in any browser.

Why Learn JavaScript?

If you’re an aspiring web developer, learning JavaScript is a great step towards a new career. It’s one of the most commonly used and dynamic languages. In fact, JS is used to create an array of web, tablet, mobile devices, and desktop experiences. JavaScript is the essential code behind many games, apps, and even web page layouts requiring interaction with users. YouTube, Netflix, Google Maps, your phone’s operating system, and even your smart TV have JavaScript interpreters installed.

JavaScript is also one of the most natural languages to learn. Anyone can do so, with or without a Ph.D. Needless to say, tons of job opportunities are open for JavaScript developers of all levels. You could start applying for JS jobs within a year of learning, as this is how long it takes to grasp the basics on average.

JavaScript Disadvantages

Before you start learning JavaScript, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with a few of its limitations.

Performance. JS doesn’t come with the same level of performance as other traditional programming languages. Writing complex programs in JS would just be too slow. However, JS is mainly used for performing simple tasks inside a browser, so this issue shouldn’t be a significant restriction.
Potentially steep learning curve. JS is a scripting language and requires a deep understanding of the core concepts, server and client-side objects, and more. Without the proper knowledge, writing advanced scripts in JS would be virtually impossible.
It has no access to databases.
JS doesn’t allow reading or writing files.
It can’t be used for networking applications due to a lack of support.

Even though JavaScript has limitations, it’s still the most popular programming language for web development. The vivid community and a plethora of frameworks and libraries only go in its favor. But more on that below.

JavaScript Frameworks

JavaScript frameworks help developers build interactive applications with ease. Developers don’t have to start from scratch for every single line of code but can rely on a functional base to achieve their goals faster. As for JS, that base consists of code libraries that compile codes eliciting specific functionalities for a particular app. JavaScript has different frameworks, and they all serve different purposes.

For example, creating a new website from scratch would take a tremendous amount of work. Thanks to the frameworks, developers can get a skeleton for the website to support its overall structure.

Some popular frameworks include React, Vue, NextS, and Angular.

IDE and Libraries

Integrated Development Environment (IDE) or JavaScript IDE allows developers to run functions in their browsers using a keyboard or mouse. The IDE provides quick application programming as it eliminates the need for configuring many utilities manually.

On the other hand, libraries are compilations of code snippets developers can use to run JS functions. Plenty of code lines are run repeatedly for the same tasks, so the JS community developed the frameworks and libraries to make programming easier.

Now that we’ve covered the basic information about what JavaScript is and how it can be used, it’s time to tackle the programming language from up close.

Popular JavaScript libraries include Bootstrap and jQuery.

An Introduction to JavaScript’s Syntax and Terminology

Here are some terms you’ll need to grasp as you start exploring JavaScript.

White Space

White space refers to JS characters used to provide vertical and horizontal space between other characters.

Case Sensitive

JavaScript is case-sensitive. This means the variables, keywords, functions, and other identifiers need to be typed with consistent letter capitalization.

Literals

Literals refer to values written in the source code. Literals can be assigned to a string, Boolean, numeric, array, or other constructs and are considered their syntactic representations.

Comments

Many programming languages support the comment feature. JavaScript supports comments to add information or annotate a code. They can be used on single- or multiline codes. Comments are added by inserting “//” before single code lines or “/*” before and “*/” after multiple lines.

Semicolons

Semicolons are used to end the lines in JavaScript. However, JS interpreters, which are computer programs that convert high-level language code into a machine format, can do that for you.

Values

Values represent the common data types in JS, like strings and numbers. For example, “thanks” and “7” are values, the former being a string and the latter being a number.

Identifiers

An identifier in JavaScript is a sequence of code characters that identifies a function, variable, or property. In JS, identifiers are case-sensitive, may contain Unicode letters and digits, but never start with the latter.

Variables

Variables are values assigned to identifiers. Once developers name a variable, they can search for it and quickly access the value stored under its name. Before using variables, they have to be declared as “let,” “var,” or “const,” where the latter can’t be reassigned a new value, but the first two can. Many JavaScript developers use “const” more to avoid bugs. However, if the value is going to be changed later on, “var” and “let” should be used instead.

Expressions

Expressions are JavaScript units that the JS engine evaluates, then returns a value. There are different types of expressions, including primary, arithmetic, string, or logical expressions. Some complex expressions can also involve functions, objects, and arrays.

Types

There are two main types in JS: primitive and object types. Primitive types include strings, numbers, Booleans, and symbols. Objects represent a collection of methods and properties. They include a number, a string, a Boolean, undefined, or null. Programmers can assign a value to a specific variable, then reassign that variable to another value. But note that variables in JavaScript are untyped.

Objects

Objects in JS are non-primitive values, including numbers, strings, Boolean, symbols, null, and undefined values. We pass objects by references. All objects have Methods, Properties, Inheritance, and Classes. You can consider functions and arrays as objects in practical terms.

Strings

Strings in JavaScript store character sequences inside single or double quotes. You can use an addition operator (+) to join two strings together. We can define strings with the help of template literals. They make multiline strings simpler and provide a straightforward way to interpolate expressions and variables into strings.

Arrays

The term “arrays” refers to a collection of elements. Acting as objects, arrays can hold values of different types. They are also multi-dimensional, meaning one array can be put into another, making them great for creating a matrix.

Operators

JavaScript programmers use operators to combine simple expressions into more complex ones. We classify operators following the operands they work with. Some can work with one, but most of them work with two. Only one operator can work with three operands. Check the list below to see what operators are used in JS. Don’t be surprised if you get random Algebra class flashbacks.

Addition
Subtraction
Division
Remainder
Exponentiation
Multiplication
Conditionals
Comparison

Loops

Loops are used to repeat blocks of codes and are part of JS’s control structures. The most common loops are “while” loops, “for” loops, and “for..of” loops.

Functions

Functions are the building blocks of JavaScript and feature a self-contained block of code. In JS, we can define functions inside other functions. However, the nested function needs to be called only from the inside of the enclosing function, never from the outside.

Variable Scope

A scope represents a set of variables visible to one section of the program. There are global, block, and function scopes in JavaScript. When a variable is defined outside of a function, its scope is global, and it’s available everywhere in the program.

These are some of the most popular terms you’ll encounter as you start exploring the dynamic world of JavaScript. Fear not – everything will make more sense once you start getting some practice. For now, it’s enough to have an idea of what’s ahead.

Ready to Learn JavaScript?

JavaScript is a golden ticket to the web developing world. If you have some programming experience, learning JS won’t be too challenging, but first-time programming language learners should be prepared for a steeper learning curve. Fortunately, the thriving JS community has developed many frameworks and libraries to make coding more dynamic and straightforward, especially for beginners. Hopefully, our guide has given you with a better understanding of what JavaScript is, how it works, and the basic terminology around it.

November 20, 2021

A Full Guide to E-Commerce Shipping and Fulfilment

You’ve created a brand identity, the perfect product, a marketing strategy, and designed a beautiful online store. The next steps are less exciting, as you must set up operational processes. Order shipping is an essential part of any e-commerce business. However, finding a shipping strategy that’s beneficial both for you and the customer isn’t a simple task.

In this guide to e-commerce shipping and fulfillment, we’ll define the importance of these operational processes. We’ll also discuss the main points to consider and describe the most common shipping methods in detail. Read on to make your store functional and profitable by utilizing the right shipping strategy.

What Is Shipping and Fulfillment and Why Is It Important?

Before we dive into the topic, we must first differentiate between fulfillment and shipping and understand why a strategy for these processes is important.

Despite a common misconception, shipping involves more processes than packing and delivery. Order shipping is the complete path of operations leading from the warehouse to the end customer. It includes warehousing, order processing, packing, labeling, shipping, and processing the payment. Order fulfillment is a type of shipping strategy typically used in e-commerce where all the processes are conducted by an external company. Sometimes, the term fulfillment is used instead of shipping, which may be confusing. However, in this guide, we’ll refer to fulfillment as a shipping method.

Statistics show that 65% of cart abandonments are associated with overly high shipping prices. Free shipping, on the other hand, persuades nearly 80% of US shoppers to purchase from an online store instead of an offline retail outlet. However, only 15% are satisfied with the delivery speeds provided by e-commerce businesses. In other words, while consumers place great importance on shipping in their decision-making, many companies fail to meet their needs.

It All Starts With a Strategy

Before we get into detail, you should determine which shipping strategy best suits your business. E-commerce shipping can be divided into two large categories: outsourced and internal.

With an internal or in-house strategy, businesses organize all shipping processes on their own. Internal shipping is best suited to enterprise-level companies that need their own warehouses, individual delivery trucks, and require full control over every step of the process. While the internal shipping strategy provides independence, it also requires more material resources and labor from the business’ end.

Outsource shipping is also known as drop shipping or order fulfillment and is provided by external companies. This shipping method has emerged relatively recently and is rapidly gaining popularity. The reason for this is reduced costs, scalability, and convenience. Furthermore, all processes in companies providing outsource shipping are organized by industry professionals. Small and mid-level online businesses utilize outsource shipping fully or partially by renting warehouses and using third-party logistic companies.

An important factor to keep in mind when choosing a third-party shipping provider is return processing. You can’t avoid them with e-commerce, so the ease of this process plays a crucial role in customer experience. Potential shoppers may decide not to purchase from a store that requires them to pay for the return or that has lengthy refund processing times. Ensure the third-party warehouse puts returns back on the shelf within few days and evaluates product condition beforehand.

Shipping Rates and Methods

After determining your shipping strategy, it’s time to set your shipping rates and methods. Your choice should be based on the product size and weight, availability of delivery methods in your area, legal requirements, and customer expectations.

As most customers are attracted by free shipping, some e-commerce businesses decide to absorb the shipping costs. However, businesses choosing this model face two challenges. Firstly, to balance assets, such companies include the shipping costs in the product price. This may be unnoticeable in the case of a unique product. But if other stores are offering the same item for a lower price, that’s not the best strategy. Secondly, it’s hard to integrate the shipping costs into the product price in a way that benefits both the company and the customer. Store shoppers don’t all reside in the same area, so businesses must find an accurate average shipping cost.

While free shipping is attractive, shoppers also like to be given multiple shipping options, such as standard, express, and next-day delivery. These options typically differ in price. For instance, some businesses only offer free shipping for standard times or set different free shipping thresholds. International companies also often divide the shipping prices by countries or zones. The trick here is not to overcomplicate the final product price estimation for the customer. Shoppers prefer to know in advance how much they will have to pay for the delivery. Ideally, the shipping price information must be clearly stated on the site rather than be calculated individually at the checkout.

The shipping method depends on whether you offer only domestic or international services, and what are the desired delivery times and product quantities. You may opt for sea, air, or land transport, deliver orders on multiple pallets, or one by one in an envelope. Some businesses use post or local courier services, others enterprise-level services such as DHL or UPS.

Packaging

Packaging is what your customer sees first when receiving their order. It also protects the order during shipping. Thus, packaging may both establish your brand identity and build consumer trust or ruin the experience. Your package choices should be based not only on cost and product size but also on design and social considerations.

While branded packaging is pricier than regular cardboard boxes, it’s worth the investment. Unique packaging with a convenient way of unpacking enhances customer experience and boosts brand recognition. Some exclusions apply, though. If you sell sensitive products, such as adult toys, you should use discreet packaging to avoid embarrassing the consumer. A great way to go about it is to provide the shopper with a choice between branded and discreet packaging at the checkout. Gift wrap is also a great idea as many people now shop for presents online and send them directly to the recipient’s address.

Sustainability is on the rise, and it’s no longer reserved for unique brands. Today, excessive and environmentally harmful packaging is considered unacceptable by many consumers. Thus, ensure you use packaging wisely and that it can be recycled.

Shipment Tracking

Insurance and shipment tracking may be a great bonus or a necessity depending on the value of your goods. Most carriers offer relatively inexpensive order tracking and insurance, providing both you and the customer with peace of mind. Tracking ensures the order gets delivered on time and helps to resolve customer service queries related to late delivery. If something happens along the way with an insured order, you won’t get in trouble and the consumer will get their money back, so don’t neglect this point.

Customs Declarations and Additional Taxes

This point is especially relevant for international and US-based companies. You can either include the tax calculation at the checkout or pass it on to your customer.

Naturally, the former is cheaper and easier for the business. There’s no need to purchase site extensions for personal tax calculation and fill in customs forms. However, this means extra work for the customer, which leads to a drop in satisfaction and retention. Tax-calculating tools are a smart long-term investment that improves customer experience and ensures tax is paid according to legislation.

You should also be aware of international regulations related to specific product types. What’s legal in your country may cause legal issues to a customer residing somewhere else. It’s better to check the legislation in advance and restrict access to prohibited products than to let the customer buy them and resolve complaints later.

Best Magento Shipping Extensions

If you own a Magento-2 online store, we suggest considering some of the best shipping extensions to minimize costs and improve customer experience. And if you don’t, our list may provide you with an idea of what’s possible with a Magento-2 store.

1. Mageworx Shipping Suite Ultimate

This extension provides a set of tools for complete control over all shipping processes in your store. It enables you to set diverse and accurate shipping rates specified by regions, times, carriers, product or customer group, and other factors. Furthermore, you can assign specific shipping rules to products and define rule priority.

2. Mageworx Store Locator & In-Store Pickup

This extension is a lifesaver for businesses running both online and offline retail outlets. Utilizing Google Maps, this extension lets the customer review and pick up the chosen product from one of the available offline stores. The tool adds a pick-up option as a new shipping method at the checkout and offers advanced customization capabilities.

3. Webkul Dropship Extension

If your business follows a drop shipping model, this extension may be the right fit. The tool enables you to import products from AliExpress into your stores or warehouses and customize product information. You have full control over the marketing and sales while the extension handles all the shipping processes including inventory management, delivery, and tracking.

Delivering Success

Hopefully, our guide has made the e-commerce shipping clearer and provided you with points for consideration. The secret to minimizing operating costs and maximizing customer satisfaction is through research and a professional approach. Our team can help you find the most suitable shipping management extensions and optimize the processes for efficient performance. Contact us for a consultation or to request a quote.

November 20, 2021

How to Organize Your E-Store Navigation and Search

Efficient and intuitive web-store navigation and search are crucial aspects of user experience. If a visitor gets confused as soon as they enter the store, they will most likely leave without checking any of the products. Therefore, you must ensure that your site’s navigation and search are well-optimized and provide relevant results. Thankfully, winning this game is easy enough if you know the rules.

In this guide, we’ll share the best tips for organizing online store navigation and search. From designing a correct user interface to implementing artificial intelligence, we’ve listed effective solutions for any e-commerce business. Read on to find out how to convince your site visitors to explore your offerings and make a purchase.

E-Store Navigation Best Practices

Every site starts with navigation. To be more specific, the entire front page of any site is a navigation page. Its main objective is to introduce your brand to the customer and get them deeper into your store. Let’s look at the best tips for creating clear and user-friendly site navigation.

1. Meaningful Categorization

This is an obvious tip for improving site navigation, however, many site owners fail to make convenient categorization. The products should be divided following clear and predictable logic. Avoid adding too many main categories to your primary navigation, consolidate them as much as possible. As a rule of thumb, the simpler your navigation, the better. You should also look out for overlapping categories. Here are few examples of bad and good product categorization.

Imagine a sustainable footwear store. It may use traditional category labels such as Women’s, Men’s, and Sale, and product type subcategories such as Boots, Heels, Sneakers. In this case, the site user will know exactly what to expect on the page they click on. However, you can also divide the products by material: Apple Skin, Eco Leather, Recycled Plastic. The site users won’t know what awaits them under each label and may decide not to spend their time checking it.

The second example is a women’s apparel store. Most users expect to see standard classification by clothing type: Dresses, Jeans, Tops. However, some sites also add occasion or style categories, such as Wedding, Summer, Party. Products in these categories will likely be overlapping, furthermore, the user won’t know what to expect.

Typically, the primary category indicates a product class (e.g. Women’s or Footwear). General product details such as type can be added as subcategories (Boots or Swimwear). It’s best to avoid dividing products into overly specific subcategories. Categorization by occasion, brand, color, or size works best as a filter.

2. Use Clear Language

Getting creative in your wording may be tempting, but don’t overcomplicate things when it comes to site navigation. Product category names must be clear and standard, indicating a predictable path. Choose descriptive category names. No matter if the category labels seem boring. For instance, categories such as Learn or Discover on a university’s website will be a mystery for most potential students. But if they were named “Courses” and “About Us,” the page content would be easier to predict. The same goes for vague product categories such as Lifestyle.

3. Use Subcategory Dropdown Indicators

Don’t divide your products into too many categories, as a crowded menu will make the navigation confusing. However, overly broad categories aren’t better, so you need subcategories that are typically placed in an expandable menu under the main categories. Some sites feature expandable non-clickable main category buttons. This may be confusing if the dropdown menu fails to appear right away. On the other hand, if your main category buttons are clickable, the user may not understand that they can shop based on more detailed categorization.

Dropdown indicators make the navigation clearer, showing the user that they can shop by product details rather than its general type.

4. Choose Standard Placement

Creativity may be great with site visual design, but when it comes to button location, the best practice is to stick with a generally accepted standard. Naturally, not all sites are the same, though there’s a limited number of layouts users are familiar with. By placing navigation elements where users expect to find them, you’re improving the user experience and boosting your chances to make a sale.

Eye-tracking analytics used by UI design professionals show that most site visitors look at the upper left corner of the screen first. It’s a perfect place to locate the most important navigation elements, such as the main category menu or the “Home” button. Then, the sight moves to the upper right corner, afterward to the bottom left, and finally, to the bottom right. The best practice is to categorize your site elements by importance and place them in accordance with it.

The above-mentioned placement, however, is a standard for desktop site versions. Mobile devices have their own specifics, one of which is a lack of space and consequently a need for expandable menus. In this case, it’s also best to locate the menu button in the upper left corner, but it should be noticeable. A small button tucked in the right corner will be hard to find and thus confusing.

5. Utilize Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are a secondary means of website navigation. As you may have guessed, the name originates from the fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel who used breadcrumbs to find their way back home. Breadcrumbs on a website work the same way, showing the user their current location and a path to it. Typically, the indicator is located under the primary navigation menu and above the page content.

Breadcrumbs enable the site user to quickly get back to the previous page or the starting point. For instance, someone browsing footwear who is currently viewing a specific pair of boots. The breadcrumb menu in this case will indicate something along the lines of Home > Footwear > Boots > [Product name]. To return to the main Footwear category, the user can simply click the indicator instead of hitting the Back button several times.

Breadcrumbs can be added to your website using a plugin or by writing them into your custom code.

E-Store On-Site Search Optimization Tips

Users who know exactly what they’re looking for are unlikely to use even the most convenient navigation menu. Typically, they use the site search instead. In this section, we’ll list five essential features of an effective and user-friendly site search optimization.

1. Make the Search Bar Clearly Visible

We’ve mentioned the importance of taking into account the standard user eye path when talking about navigation optimization. The same rules apply to search bar locations. Most users look at the upper left corner first, then move to the upper right corner, bottom left, and bottom right. If you hide the search bar at the bottom of the page in an attempt to make the site design unique, most users won’t find it. And even if you locate the search bar correctly but match its color with the background, it will be nearly invisible.

An easy-to-spot search bar is essential for any fairly complex site, and any e-store can be considered as such. Make your search bar large enough, use a standard magnifying glass icon and engaging text, and ensure that the bar is available on every page of your site.

2. Typing Error Tolerance

Your site user should never see a “0 search results” page, even if they have misspelled a brand’s name or product type. Instead, your site should offer a fixing suggestion. Let’s assume someone wrote “Nuke” instead of “Nike.” You may not sell nukes, but the result page would suggest “Did you mean Nike?” rather than be blank. Create a list of common spelling mistakes for your product searches.

3. Search Query Suggestions

Search query autocomplete helps to save time typing and avoid spelling mistakes. Think of searching for something in Google – the algorithm predicts what a user will type next based on popular queries. In an online store, search suggestions can offer your visitor a close alternative if there are no exact matches to their query. The problem here is, although autocomplete can be found on 82% of the leading e-commerce sites, 36% of them use it incorrectly. The best practice is to:

Avoid redundancies
Highlight differences rather than similarities with customer typed query
Keep it simple – avoid visual content in suggestions, stick with text
Define the search suggestions list visually, making it stand out from the background
Ensure suggestions list doesn’t overlap with other site elements (mobile-specific)

4. Enable Search Within Categories and Filtering

Ensure your site user can search for specific details within a category or all departments. This can be done by adding a search suggestions dropdown list. It helps to save time on filtering and gets more relevant results. For instance, your fashion e-commerce site visitor is typing “green.” The suggestions list should contain “Search for ‘green’ in Dresses/Tops/Swimwear/All Departments.” Very specific details, however, work best as filters. Within the Green Dresses search query, your site users should be able to choose the required size, occasion, brand, or length.

5. Optimize Search for Natural Language

Natural Language Processing (NLP) helps to understand the user intent to interpret their search query correctly. Standard site search is based on keywords. Put simply, what you type is what you get. But NLP takes more factors into account when issuing recommendations and results, such as context and previous searches. Therefore, the search results are more personalized and specific, which leads to a better user experience. With NLP, site visitors don’t have to rephrase their query endlessly to find what they’re looking for.

Professional Approach

Creating convenient, intuitive, and effective site navigation and search on your own isn’t easy. Our mission is to collaborate with your team to ensure your site follows the best UI practices. By trusting the technical part of your online store to professionals, you can rest assured the user will find exactly what they’re looking for.

November 10, 2021

Shopware vs. Magento

Owning an e-commerce store has plenty of benefits. The most important is selling products day and night, regardless of where your audience is located. But things can get confusing when it comes to choosing an e-commerce CMS to run your business. With plenty of options out there, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd.

If you’re having doubts about two e-commerce CMS giants, Shopware and Magento, you’ve come to the right spot. This article compares the two solutions and helps you decide which one will bring success to your business.

Shopware vs. Magento Overview

Shopware and Magento are open-source CMS platforms, and both come with tons of customization and scaling options for growing businesses. Magento has 12% of the e-commerce market, powering more than 250,000 businesses. We can go as far as calling it the industry standard.

Magento is most popular in the US and UK. Some of their most noteworthy customers include Burger King, Nike, and Rosetta Stone.

As for Shopware, it has over 80,000 active installations, and it’s primarily popular in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Shopware has a 6.17% market share in Germany alone, with over 5,500 websites active there. Recently, business owners have recognized the power of Shopware and started using it as an alternative to Magento, which is more complex and expensive. But not only do Magento users switch over to Shopware. Many businesses from osCommerce, PrestaShop and other platforms have done the same.

Popular Shopware customers include the Discovery Channel EU Store, M&Ms, L’Oreal, Aston Martin, and Philips.

Now that we’ve introduced both platforms, let’s get into more details about each.

Let the Battle Begin

We’ll compare the two popular e-commerce CMS platforms in the following categories:

Cost

The cost is among the most important factors to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform.

Shopware

Shopware is a more affordable solution for businesses looking for a simpler and quicker start. There are three options available: Starter Edition, Professional Edition, and Enterprise Edition.

The Starter Edition is free until a business starts making sales, and then it shares a small amount of revenue with the platform. It’s best for small businesses due to its limited features.

The Professional Edition starts from $231 for a set of six features and additional tools to manage the online shop. Noteworthy tools include Custom Product, CMS extensions, and Social Shopping.

The Enterprise Edition is a large-scale business platform where all features are unlocked. It’s pretty much a singular system to run your B2B or B2C business. However, the version is only available on request.

Magento

Magento is available in a free and premium version. The free, open-source version works as a downloadable platform. Installing the app is free, but you have to purchase a domain, hosting, and security.

The Magento Commerce, on the other hand, is a hosted solution with a minimum yearly cost of $22,000. The premium version is mainly used by big businesses that rely on advanced development and power. The exact pricing for this platform depends on the business’s gross sales revenue. For example, a company making less than $1 million per year will pay the minimum price. A business making $10 million in revenue will pay $75,000 per year.

The last option, Magento Commerce Cloud, starts at $40,000 per year for businesses generating less than $1 million yearly and has a lot in common with Magento Commerce. In this version, the company stores its data on a cloud. The business generating $10 million dollars per year would have to pay $120,000 to use this version.

Ease of Use

Both platforms let users tweak their websites however they want, but which one is more user-friendly?

Shopware

If we talk in terms of User Interface (UI), Shopware takes the lead here. It offers a simple and intuitive interface that will make running an e-commerce business easy for anyone. The platform has been bragging about its easy-to-use admin panel ever since the initial release. Also, business owners can use the backend with any browser and OS.

Users have an overview of all settings in a single window, making it more straightforward to manage the customers, check new orders, and add new items to the store. There are also drag-and-drop features to create new pages that don’t require coding skills.

Magento

Compared to Shopware, Magento is a more complicated platform. It requires some basic technical knowledge in installing and setting up the store. This is partly because the CMS is loaded with features.

If you opt for Magento and don’t have any technical skills, it may be better to hire a freelancer to set up the store for you.

However, running the daily operations is relatively simple. The latest Magento version has a more user-friendly Admin Panel, making it easier to create new content.

Overall, with the new version (Magento 2 vs. Magento 1), the platform has become easier to navigate, but Shopware still gets the point in the ease-of-use category.

Features

Both e-commerce CMS platforms have just enough features to satisfy the needs of most retail stores. But there are some differences.

Shopware

Shopware is known for its excellent features:

Product Management, for presenting all essential product details clearly and consistently. Thanks to this feature, it’s easy to create item variants with different images and prices. Large online stores can promote their products above those of other brands and much more.
The Customer Stream allows e-commerce owners to create criteria like the gender or desired amount to spend. For example, you can search for customers who spent under $10,000 in your store in the last two years. All customers meeting the criteria will make it to the customer stream, and you can launch marketing newsletters or similar campaigns that require a targeted audience.
Shopping World is one of the latest features designed for product promotion. It lets users create landing pages and visually tweak the content. There’s a drag-and-drop feature to arrange the products, blog posts, or banners.

Magento

Magento wins the race in terms of features, but that’s only understandable due to the price. Some of the most popular features include:

Inventory management to track inventory quantities, ideal for sellers with one store and multiple warehouses and pickup locations.
Report and Analysis for insights on orders, products, customer data.
Check out and Payment to control the checkout page, allow guest checkout, etc.

SEO and Marketing Tools

Every online store needs a proper SEO and marketing strategy to attract customers. But how do Shopware and Magento perform in this category? Let’s find out.

Shopware

Shopware has a robust SEO and Marketing set of tools to help users rank high on Google. Their SEO settings are configured automatically during the initial setup but can be easily modified. There are SEO plugins to help boost traffic and make more conversions, but none are free.

Magento

Magento is currently the fourth-best e-commerce CMS regarding SEO and marketing. It lets users create coupons for online stores, export them for email and marketing campaigns, assign reward points to encourage them to come back, etc. They have a special plugin designed to boost SEO and Marketing. There are free and premium solutions, so you can pick the one according to your needs and budget.

Support and Community

Who can you turn to if you run into a problem or have questions about your e-commerce CMS?

Shopware

Shopware requires monthly payments for customer support, resulting in a relatively high-quality service. They have a technical account manager covering store-related issues as well as general inquires. There’s also an online forum, but it’s only available in German.

As for the community, Shopware has around 40,000 active developers.

Magento

You may be surprised to learn that Magento doesn’t have live chat, email, and phone support for their merchants in their basic versions. You have to get a Magento Commerce Cloud deal to avoid solving technical issues by yourself. Fortunately, there are plenty of blogs where merchants help each other should any problem arise. With over 150,000 developers, Magento surely has a larger community.

However, in this round, Shopware scores higher due to more sophisticated customer support.

Apps

Shopware and Magento let users develop models and extensions available in the free and premium versions. Overall, both CMSs are relatively extensive in terms of apps and functionality.

Shopware

Shopware’s target audience is located in German-speaking countries. Hence, many plugins are only available in the German language. They have a Shopware Marketplace where you can browse for extensions. If you don’t speak German, make sure to check whether the app supports English.

There are over 3,500 modules in their inventory and cost from zero up to $9,000.

Magento

Ever since it was updated, Magento 2 keeps growing. There are over 3,000 extensions on the Magento Marketplace in the major categories such as accounting, content, marketing, payments, etc. The price range for the extensions varies from zero to $10,000 dollars.

Performance

The page load speed is a huge part of the user experience on any website, and e-commerce is no different. Slow loading speeds result in abandoned carts and lower conversion rates. Luckily, both Shopware and Magento have Varnish Cache, an HTTP accelerator essential for any website. Also, they both have a CSS and JS file merging and image compression to further improve user experience. However, online tests show that Shopware has a faster response time.

Shopware vs. Magento Game Over

Hopefully, the differences we’ve identified between Shopware and Magento have provided you with a better understanding of which platform better fits your needs. Shopware is mainly suitable for small to medium businesses since it’s a more affordable and straightforward solution. Magento is better for those with large-scale online shops that need plenty of features to manage their business.

Regardless of the platform you choose, you’ll get to work with one of the e-commerce CMS giants that have well deserved reputation.

November 10, 2021

JavaScript vs. Python, the Battle of Titans

JavaScript and Python are two of the world’s most popular programming languages. Anyone interested in exploring a tech career is sure to hear their names a lot. Both are robust tools for creating websites, web applications, and software. But what makes them different?

This article answers just that. We’ll have a look at each language’s basic applications and features, discuss their scalability, learning curve, and provide practical examples in terms of the differences in syntax and functions.

Real-World Applications

Let’s start with an overview of the real-world application of each programming language.

Python

Thanks to its versatility, Python is an essential tool in almost any scientific application worldwide. It belongs to the general-purpose language category supporting plenty of programming paradigms.

Python is often used in artificial intelligence, data science, computer science education, machine learning, image processing, astronomy, biology, medicine, etc. Web developers also use it to create websites, and this is where this programming language approaches the usage of JavaScript. Developers mostly use Python for the backend, which are the sections invisible to the users. These include servers, accessing data from databases, and processing webpage requests.

JavaScript

JavaScript’s popularity skyrocketed in 2009 when Node.js appeared as a backend language. The developers could now start using this language both in the frontend and the backend side. The frontend refers to the elements of a website the users can see and interact with, such as buttons, headers, images, and similar. Overall, JavaScript has extensive usage in web development, and there’s a chance you’re using this language when interacting with most of your mobile apps.

Which Language Is Easier?

Those who have never studied programming before often start with “the easiest language.” The truth is, all new programmers will be confronted with a learning curve. However, Python’s is less steep compared to the JS. Python was created as a beginner-friendly language and mainly works with simple functions and variables. On the other hand, JavaScript is more complex and includes class definitions that take longer to grasp.

If you’re wondering how long it will take you to learn JS, know that you can master the basics in a matter of months to a year. You can take online classes or be your own teacher – there are plenty of resources for both. As for Python, the learning time is almost the same and mostly takes from a few months to a year.

Which Is More Scalable?

Before we answer this question, let’s explain what makes a programming language scalable. First, it’s the ability to deal with a large number of users and handle large volumes of data without relying on the servers too much. Node.js, for example, is created for scalability, as it supports asynchronous programming. This means a specific work unit can run separately from the main application thread. Python doesn’t support this kind of programming, but it can run with co-routines, which do support asynchronous programming.

Overall, Python’s architecture is less scalable, but it has all the right tools to reach scalability. YouTube and Instagram, which both use Python, are great examples of its scalability.

Which Language Is Faster?

JavaScript is one of the fastest programming languages because it’s created on Chrome V8, a super-fast engine. Due to its inherent speed, it’s a preferred language in constructing real-time applications.

What About the Job Opportunities?

At the time of writing, Indeed.com featured almost 13,000 job offers for Python developers and 9,500 listings for JavaScript specialists. However, both programming languages are extremely popular. Job offers range from entry-level to advanced. Most Python jobs are in the Machine Learning, Data Analytics, and Data Science sectors, while JS is more popular for frontend developer roles and full-stack engineers.

Overall, if your main goal is to get into the tech world, JS is your most worthy ticket. Any website can use a good frontend developer, and these professionals all need at least basic JavaScript skills.

JavaScript vs. Python Application Differences

Both programming languages can be used in backend web development. But Python is mainly used for scientific applications, while JavaScript is more oriented towards servers, user functionality, and web development.

Syntax Differences

As for the syntax, there are plenty of differences between the two programming languages.

Code Blocks

Python relies on indentation to define code blocks. when a series of code lines are indented at the same level, they take part of the same code block. JavaScript uses curly brackets to group the same code block statements.

Also, Python uses a newline to terminate a statement, while JS uses the “;” sign.

Encoding

As for the encoding format, JavaScript uses the UTF-16 format, although it comes without in-built support for manipulating raw bytes. Python uses the ASCII format by default unless there’s a specified encoding format.

Constructor and Attributes

The constructor is a method used to create new instances of objects or classes. The primary purpose of a constructor is to initialize the instance attributes. The constructor in Python is called “init” and is named automatically as a class instance gets created. The parameters list the values programmers need to pass to create an instance. That list begins with “self,” much like the first parameter.

JavaScript’s constructor method is named “constructor,” and it also uses the parameters list. The instances in Python are referred to as “self,” while in JavaScript, programmers use “this.”

Lists and Arrays

Python uses lists to store sequence values in a data structure. These lists can be indexed, modified, sliced, or used in programs. The JavaScript equivalent of a list is called an array.

Hash Tables

Programmers can map values to each other and make key-value pairs using specific data structures called dictionaries, working as a hash table. JavaScript has no such data structure, but there are other ways to reproduce the functionality of hash tables.

Comments

Comments are essential in writing clean and readable codes. Python uses a hashtag (#) to add a single-line comment, while JS uses two slashes (//). For multi-line comments, Python programmers start each line with a hashtag, while JS’s multi-line comments begin with a “/*” and finish with “*/”. Characters between the two symbols are part of the comment.

Function Arguments

If Python programmers call a function using incorrect parameters, the language will raise an exception. Also, it may accept additional parameters passing syntax. Missing parameters in JavaScript are treated as “undefined” values, and the language doesn’t care what the function is called using proper parameters. Additional arguments can be treated as special arguments.

Implicit Conversion

In Python, implicit data type conversions never happen in the programming language itself, making this a strongly-typed language. JavaScript, on the other hand, is weakly typed and supports implicit data type conversions.

Inheritance

JavaScript and Python both support inheritance. JavaScript runs on the prototype-based model, while Python uses a class-based approach.

Mobile Application Development

JavaScript can be used both for frontend, backend, and mobile development. Python, however, isn’t suitable for mobile application programming.

Numeric Type

JavaScript only uses floating-point variables, while Python uses a more diverse type of numeric data, including int, float, and fixed-point decimals.

Read-Eval-Print-Loop (REPL)

Programmers get the REPL once they install Python on their systems. JavaScript doesn’t have a built-in REPL. Instead, developers can access JS inside their browser. Alternately, they can install Node.js if they want a REPL for this programming language.

Programming Approach

Both languages offer imperative, functional, and object-oriented approaches to programming. On top of that, Python has a few aspects of procedural programming, while JS doesn’t.

Mutability

Python divides data types into mutable and immutable. A set is mutable, while a list is an immutable type of data. Mutable objects’ values can be tweaked when they become assigned values. Immutable objects can’t be changed.

JavaScript doesn’t have this mutability concept.

Operators in JS and Python

Expressions in JS and Python, much like in any other programming language, are written using operators. Here are the key differences between JS and Python in this regard.

Floor Division

Most arithmetic operators work the same way in Python and JS. However, the floor division is slightly different. In Python, we represent this operator using a double slash: “//”. In JS, there’s no specific floor division operator. Instead, the “Math.floor ()” method is called to round the result to its nearest integer.

Value and Type Comparison

Python uses the “==” operator to check if two values and data types are the same. JavaScript’s operator works differently. It converts objects to the same type, and then it performs the comparison. To check whether the value and type of data are equal, JS uses the “===” operator. Basically, the “==” in Python and “===” in JS work in the same way.

Logical Operators

Python has the following logical operators: “and”, “or”, and “not”, while JS uses “&&”, “||”, and “!”.

Type Operators

Python uses the “type()” function to verify the type of an object, while JavaScript uses the “typeof” operator.

JS vs. Python – Which One Will You Learn?

Now that the showdown between the two popular programming languages is over, you should have a clearer picture of which one will be more convenient to learn. There’s no denying that they both come with a learning curve and a variety of applications.

However, there are some crucial differences that make one stand out from the other. Python is mainly used in AI, while JavaScript is indispensable for most developers. The bottom line is, whichever one you choose, you’ll embark an exciting new career packed with job opportunities!

October 30, 2021

What Is a Domain Authority and How to Improve Yours

Site owners who have only started their SEO journey often come across a mysterious metric called Domain Authority. This index is surrounded by plenty of misapprehension and the way it’s calculated isn’t fully disclosed to the public. However, it can serve as a useful indicator of your SEO effort success.

In this guide, we’ll explain what Domain Authority is and how it is calculated. Additionally, we’ll share the best tips for improving your site’s SEO. Scroll down to immerse yourself in the unexplored world of search engine algorithms.

What Is a Domain Authority?

Domain Authority (DA) is an SEO metric evaluating the chances of a website ranking in search engine results (SERP). The rating ranges from 0 to 100, with higher marks indicating a higher likelihood of ranking first in the results.

A common misconception is that DA is Google’s metric. But it’s actually an artificial third-party indicator initially developed by Moz. Currently, DA is used by most industry-leading companies to keep track of website performance and analyze SEO efforts. However, a high DA doesn’t guarantee a high ranking in search results. The truth is, search engines change their ranking algorithms faster than professionals develop an understanding of how they work. Thus, relying solely on DA when estimating your site’s chances of appearing in SERP is reckless.

Don’t hurry to close this page, though. DA isn’t useless. It helps you evaluate whether a site is good enough to partner with and provides you with a general idea of how good your site SEO is. Another reason for using DA is competitor analysis. The core factor to keep in mind here is that site analytics aren’t black and white like many SEO experts try to portray them. They don’t consist of rough figures alone, either.

Often, sites with a DA <30 appear on the first page of Google’s results, or those with excellent DA don’t appear at all. That’s because search engine result ranking comprises many factors which aren’t known to the general public. And yet, DA remains one of the most trustworthy SEO metrics, showing a high correlation with actual page rankings observed.

How Is Domain Authority Calculated?

Now that you know what a DA is and how reliable it can be, let’s take a look at how it’s calculated. Perhaps, we should establish right away that there’s no universal formula, and every SEO tool uses different factors in calculations. Moz, the initial DA creator, uses 40 factors to evaluate the DA.

In this section, we’ll share the site elements used to provide you with a single figure indicating the effectiveness of your SEO actions. That’s only a small part of all site components SEO experts speculate to impact the DA. We’ve gathered ones that are proven by studies or confirmed by Google.

Backlinks

Backlinks are also known as incoming or inbound links. These are site mentions found on other sites. Studies found that Google considers pages that are often linked to other sites trustworthy and authoritative, typically ranking them higher. However, the number of referring domains isn’t the core metric here. Instead, you should strive to get mentions from high-DA sites. Backlinks from low-DA sites are called “no-follow” links and can reduce your own DA. Links from ads may also hurt your page.

SEO experts claim that links from competitor domains are more valuable for a site’s SERP than those from irrelevant domains. In contrast, links from guest posts may be ignored by Google if they can be recognized as an advertisement. A large number of links coming from the same source may be considered spam and be a bad sign for search engines. Finally, the best practice is to embed the links within page content rather than place them outside of context.

Site Structure and Optimization

Your site’s back end is one of the crucial DA factors, invisible to everyone except search engines and site developers. Your site must have HTTPS security protocol, proper silo structure, and high loading speeds. Breadcrumb navigation is a front-end navigation structure that also helps to improve the DA. Additionally, your site should be optimized for mobile devices and have “Terms of Service” and “Terms of Privacy” pages. Duplicate meta descriptions, even if they’re lightly modified, lower the site’s DA. Finally, the server location may increase your site’s visibility in certain regions

Content and Other Page-Level Factors

Content is key to high DA. Pages containing more words typically rank higher in Google results. Long articles are more convenient to read when a table of contents is present, and it can also improve your DA. Plus, your content must be regularly updated, as Google tends to hide outdated information. Naturally, your site content must feature excellent grammar and spelling and be original. Relevant multimedia, especially infographics, are another thing that may help you improve the SERP position.

The most important thing to consider with keywords is their density and placement. Don’t mention the same keyword too often, as Google may see it as spammy behavior. Sometimes, you may even get penalized for overusing the same keywords. The best practice is to place keywords in the H1 tag, subheadings, the opening and closing paragraph, and a few times throughout the content.

Domain Factors

Matt Cutt, a software engineer for Google, states that the company considers a domain’s age in ranking, though it doesn’t have a significant effect. Still, an established domain will have a higher DA than a new one. Domain registration time frame, in fact, has a larger impact on the DA. Google’s opinion is that valuable domains are often paid for years in advance. So, if your site’s domain is close to expiring, it may not rank as high in the search results.

Most SEO experts agree that a keyword appearing in a domain’s name can boost the search result ranking. What you should be aware of when purchasing a domain is its history. Previous penalties may affect the site’s ranking long after they have been lifted.

Competitor DA

SEO tools utilize scaling to calculate DA, otherwise, the first pages of Google results would be filled with sites with a 100-point DA. For this reason, your site’s DA may drop or grow due to external factors, such as a change in competitor DA.

Tips for Improving Your Domain Authority

Some tips for improving the site’s DA are apparent from the previous section. However, in the section below, we’ll provide a list of the steps you should undertake right now to improve your site ranking.

Conduct a site SEO audit. It will provide you with an insight into the issues with your site’s back and front end, the quantity and quality of backlinks, and the overall DA. An audit is the first and most important step that helps to understand how your site can be improved.
Create high-quality content that brings value to site visitors. Site ranking is important, though you shouldn’t disregard users focusing solely on search engine algorithms. Google rewards sites that produce original, engaging, and informative content that explores the main topic in-depth. Ensure your content is free from grammatical errors and don’t forget to link to trustworthy sources when mentioning facts and stats.
Earn backlinks. That’s the hardest step, as convincing authoritative sites to mention your site isn’t easy and Google is well aware of backlink speculations. The best way to convince someone to mention your site is to create linkable assets, such as pieces of software, quizzes, and infographics. In other words, your content should be worth linking to. Alternatively, you may write to large site owners directly asking for a mention or suggest your readers share your articles and hope for luck. What you shouldn’t do is buy backlinks or engage in any sketchy activity that may lead to a penalty.
Optimize your site for mobile. As of today, mobile search share accounts for 55.4% of all searches globally. No wonder Google places special importance on how responsive the site interface is and on mobile loading times. You can test whether your site complies with the requirements in a few seconds’ time using Google’s new tool.

Opt for Quality, See Results

Hopefully, our guide has given you a brief understanding about the nature of a DA. If you still have questions that remain unanswered, that’s only natural. After all, Google isn’t very transparent about their algorithm and SEO experts have to theorize about how it works for the most part. However, there’s no doubt high-quality, user-friendly, and mobile-optimized sites with valuable content have a higher chance of ranking on the first pages.

Industry professionals can tailor your site to search engine requirements and help create content that’s worth linking to it. Our experts are dedicated to assisting site owners in reaching top SERPs and providing the best experience to the site users.

October 20, 2021

Top 10 Websites Built on React JS and What Makes the Framework Great

One of the most important steps in creating your own application is finding a suitable framework. This choice affects your application’s look, performance, stability, scalability, and functionality. React leads the community recommendations list for this purpose. To understand whether the advice is valid, it’s worth checking out some examples of applications built on React.

In this guide, we’ll explain what React.js is and why it’s favored by developers worldwide. We’ll also share the 10 best applications and sites built using React. Read on to find out which famous companies prefer React and why.

What Is React.js?

Before we dive into the topic, let’s determine what exactly is React.js. It’s an open-source front-end JavaScript library created by Facebook employee Jordan Walke back in 2011. That’s right, React is a library rather than a framework. It’s focused on visual interface development and requires additional libraries for extensive functionality. However, for the end-user, this distinction makes no difference. The developer strived to create a lighter version of the Angular framework while retaining its best features and succeeded.

Benefits of React

Now, let’s look at why so many enterprise-level companies favor React. Below, we’ll list the core features of React and explain why they matter.

Virtual DOM

DOM stands for document object model, which refers to a visual representation of application page components. Virtual DOM is similar to a family tree by structure, as every page is divided into components and every component into its attributes (functionality, style). With plain code, the entire page must be re-rendered when the user interacts with a single element. But thanks to DOM, React only renders the page components that have been triggered. This improves the user experience and app loading speed, as well as reducing the odds of rendering mistakes.

One-Way Data Binding

In React’s DOM, data flows one way, from the parent component to the child component. In other words, when user interaction with the parent component also triggers the child component if so predefined by code. Naturally, there’s a way to make changes in the child component and trigger the parent one if you need it. However, we didn’t mention unidirectional data binding to get into the details of coding. The reason one-way data binding is great is its improved stability compared to two-way data binding. By default, changes in the child component don’t affect the parent component, so no rendering errors occur.

Reusable Components

React’s code components can be easily reused for other code parts or testing, thanks to CBA or component-based architecture. In CBA, each component is stored in a separate cell and can be easily located due to organized structure. Furthermore, React enables developers to reuse only specific functions or attributes instead of the whole component. This significantly saves time on the development front. With the JSX extension combining JavaScript with HTML, developers get clues during coding that additionally ease the process. Furthermore, JSX protects code from external injections.

Wide Toolset

React has been around for 10 years and is now one of the most popular frameworks according to a StackOverflow 2019 study. Community support and a wide toolset that appeared during these years make React ideal for applications of all sizes and purposes. Furthermore, React offers excellent scalability, so you can start with a small app and add functionality later on.

The Top 10 Sites and Applications Built on React

Finally, let’s look at the best sites and applications developed with React. We’ve included sites of different scales and purposes to show you how versatile the library is.

1. Yahoo

One of the most famous search engines worldwide utilizes React, along with Redux, Node.js, and other popular frameworks. Yahoo’s additional services, such as Yahoo Mail, are also built using the library. React’s qualities that convinced Yahoo developers to use the library are easy debugging, stability, and independence from larger platform libraries. Especially important for applications such as Yahoo is scalability, as the application’s user number is constantly growing.

2. PayPal

PayPal is the world’s leading digital wallet service that provides customers with a convenient and safe alternative payment method. React is an excellent choice for an application requiring a high level of security and stability. PayPal’s user-friendly interface and extensive functionality are also possible thanks to React. Today, you can seamlessly integrate the PayPal checkout option into any React application by adding a small chunk of code.

3. BBC

The UK’s national broadcasting corporation has existed for nearly 100 years, founded in 1922. Such a well-established media outlet must meet reader expectations both in terms of content quality and website performance. While the first point is fully BBC employee responsibility, the second depends on the framework. React offers a wide designing toolset, stability, and scalability necessary to store a constantly increasing amount of news.

4. Airbnb

If you aren’t familiar with the application, Airbnb offers online booking of accommodations, hospitality, and entertainment services. Released in 2008, Airbnb has also migrated to React from a mix of plain HTML and JavaScript. The service is constantly growing and requires a reliable framework as it involves payments. React was chosen for its scalability, stability, and excellent performance. Features such as maps, calendars, and advanced filters are also based on React.

5. Netflix

Although Netflix’s popularity has surged only recently, the company was founded back in 1997. Today, the service utilizes React for both site and application front-end rendering. The library was chosen in 2015 for its modularity, excellent stability, and speed. Like with any large service, scalability also plays a role. React enabled Netflix devs to solve numerous issues with performance such as slow diffing, merging property interception. Custom playlists also wouldn’t be possible without the library.

6. Facebook

As mentioned, React was created by an ex-Facebook employee, so it’s no wonder the platform utilizes this library. Today, Facebook’s database contains over two billion accounts, and React can handle even these numbers without crashes and rendering errors. Facebook mobile is built on React Native, a library version dedicated to building iOS and Android applications. In 2017, Facebook introduced React Fiber, a new foundation for all React developments, which made the library architecture more responsive. Facebook’s push notifications that appear without reloading the page are also possible thanks to React.

7. Instagram

Instagram, first launched in 2010, is currently owned by Facebook. But unlike Facebook, Instagram utilizes solely React along with its JSX extension. Instagram is a single-page application that features only one entry point. Simply put, instead of reloading the entire page, Instagram only re-renders page components that were triggered. This helps to improve the application’s loading times. Scalability supports constantly growing user community and content amount. React enabled devs to implement numerous features such as geolocations, tags, photo editing, reels, and media storage.

8. New York Times

The New York Times online edition was created in 1996. Naturally, as React didn’t exist at that time, the site was built on other frameworks. After 2011, the site moved from PHP, HTML, and plain JavaScript to React, Node.js, and GraphQl combination. Thanks to React, the visual aspect of the site changed drastically. Apart from introducing an appealing new design, the company managed to improve the site’s stability and add new features such as photo galleries.

9. DropBox

DropBox was introduced in 2007 and initially ran on a combination of Python, Go, and Rust. Today, cloud storage, file sync, and client software services are widely used around the globe. After 2011, the company moved the application’s front-end to React. As the user number grew and so did the amount of stored data, DropBox needed a stable and scalable front end. React is the perfect option for this matter.

10. Asana

Asana is a platform dedicated to helping users stay focused and keep track of their daily work tasks and goals. The developer’s main objective was to build a user-friendly site with a unique design and great performance. Asana must also support a high user number along with their individual data. React helps Asana to implement best UI practices along with numerous animations and leave the site lightweight, improving loading speeds. React’s stability is ideal for handling payments and keeping user data secure.

Reactive Solutions

Now that you know which famous sites and applications were built using React, is there any doubt left about its scalability and capabilities? The library keeps evolving, as React’s community keeps developing new tools and introducing updates to further improve the performance. React is a great choice for application of any scale and purpose. Our team’s goal is to help you bring our business ideas to life by finding the most efficient solutions and utilizing the latest technology.

October 10, 2021

E-Commerce Trends to Follow in 2021

During the past year, the e-commerce sector has grown rapidly. Higher competition leads to new trends constantly emerging. If you don’t keep up with the times, you’ll inevitably fall behind.

In this article, we’ll list the 10 e-commerce trends of 2021 that you should pay attention to. Most of these trends are versatile and can be implemented in any industry. Read on to find out how to provide the best online shopping experience and overcome competitors this year.

1. Customers Shift Focus to Marketplaces Instead of Individual E-Stores

The leading factor fueling all changes in the modern e-commerce industry is customer convenience. People seek fast and simple ways to shop. Even though more and more brands are opening their own online stores, the majority of consumers don’t want to spend time investigating dozens of different sites. They would rather browse a single marketplace in search of the perfect item. Think of it as an individual store in a city center versus a shopping mall. If you need a specific item from a specific brand, you’d have no problem going to an individual store. However, if you’re searching for new shoes in general, you’d likely go to a mall.

For this reason, companies like Amazon and ASOS continue to gain popularity. They gather plenty of different brands under one domain, offering a convenient interface and, most importantly, the ability to easily compare offerings.

But how do you take advantage of this trend if you already own an individual brand? View marketplaces as another sales channel. They can bring you a massive new wave of traffic and loyal customers. When listing your products on marketplaces, don’t forget to keep improving your own site. If you offer customers something that marketplaces don’t – exclusive promos, for instance – they might purchase directly from you next time.

2. The Rise of D2C Model

Typically, e-stores operate following the business-to-customer (B2C) model. But amid global changes, consumers have started purchasing more essentials online. These include food, vehicle and digital device parts, furniture, cleaning, and hygiene products. The Direct to Consumer (D2C) business model is based on delivering goods to the consumer right out of the factory, skipping the distributors and retailers.

By cutting out the middleman, businesses can save on the supply chain and operating costs and offer more appealing prices. Furthermore, manufacturers gain full control over their product reputation and activities. While new D2C companies often struggle with the delivery process, implementing such a model also means having all supply chain processes in your own hands. No disruptions in operations of retail outlets or logistic services affect D2C businesses.

If you’re a manufacturer, strive to improve your product availability to the end consumer. Start by creating a catalog and making contacting you directly easy.

3. Self-Service Is the New Customer Service

Traditional customer services that can be reached via phone or e-mail are giving way to self-service. Consumers don’t like waiting for a response and prefer to solve minor issues themselves. According to Microsoft’s report, 77% of consumers have used a self-service support portal at least once. IBM report 70% of consumers preferring messaging to customer support over calling. Finally, over 90% of organizations consider self-service a worthy investment, and you should too.

The ways to implement self-service in e-commerce include chatbots and detailed FAQ pages. Utilize advanced artificial intelligence technologies to teach your chatbots to communicate like real people rather than repeat FAQ page content.

4. Shoppable Video Ads

Social media is one of the largest traffic sources for e-commerce businesses. While some companies still don’t take advantage of shoppable links on images on Instagram, shoppable video links are already taking over. Younger generations, commonly called Zoomers and Gen-Z, spend hours browsing TikTok and Instagram reels. If your target audience is aged under 30, following this trend is not an option but a necessity.

You can take advantage by developing your brand’s social channels or by partnering up with influencers. Film unpacking videos, ways to use your product, reviews, or funny reels – anything that draws attention.

5. Influencers Becoming Brand Ambassadors

Social media usage is constantly growing, so it’s no wonder a marketer’s attention is shifting towards social channels. In 2019, the share of US marketers using influencer marketing amounted to 55%. In 2021, it grew to 67.9%. Analytics forecast this figure to exceed 72% by 2022. Many brands struggle to create engaging and interesting content on their own. Beautiful pictures without context don’t work today. Influencers, on the other hand, bring personality to the brand’s marketing efforts and boost consumer engagement. They are trusted by the public and can effectively drive sales. The core objective here is not to make the promotion too obvious. This may undermine not only your credibility but also the bloggers.

To use this trend for improving your sales, research which influencers your target audience follows the most. Upon contacting them, don’t hesitate to request their profile analytics such as overall engagement rate, number of saves, organic audience, and previous promotions results. Finally, give the influencer the freedom to tailor the promotion to their personal style. That’s the very reason their audience follows them.

6. Go Green

Sustainability isn’t a new trend and looks like it’s here to stay. According to IBM’s 2020 research, 57% of consumers are willing to change their shopping behaviors to reduce the negative environmental impact. Sustainability transforms from a unique feature of select brands to a generally adopted practice. Even enterprise-level companies such as Amazon and H&M have shifted their focus to environmentally-friendly production, supply chain, and recycling. Despite a common misconception, sustainability isn’t solely environmental. It also involves societal and economical factors.

Product sustainability comprises many aspects and a complete lack of environmental impact is hard to achieve. However, you can start by taking small steps. Analyze the traceability and manufacturing processes of your current offerings, choose recyclable packaging, and focus on the product’s lifespan. Poor quality and low prices of products lead to more frequent shopping and more waste.

7. Omnichannel Marketing

Omnichannel marketing is a way of integration and cooperation between different brand channels, such as social media, e-store, offline store, and customer service. Modern customers are seeking seamless navigation between all brand channels and efficient communication. For this reason, omnichannel marketing is becoming a norm rather than a bonus.

Let’s imagine you launch a Facebook ad. It attracts potential customers but there is no direct link to your store on the ad. A customer visits your general Facebook page to find the link but it’s not there either. They have to Google your brand name to find the website. Then, they finally find your product but there’s no description, so they have to contact customer service. However, there’s no contact form on your website, so they have to copy your e-mail and navigate to Gmail to contact you. Sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it? In fact, most customers wouldn’t even get to the second step. That’s an example of failed omnichannel customer experience.

In a good omnichannel experience, the customer should follow a quick and obvious path from seeing an ad to making the purchase. If you add a direct link to your e-store to the ad image and a detailed product description, the whole process will take much less time. Adding a contact form to your site in this case is beneficial both for you and the customer. For instance, you can make certain fields mandatory to save time on waiting for the customer to provide the required info.

That’s only a brief example of omnichannel customer experience. In practice, this trend is more complex and requires extensive analytics. Invest in UI and UX and A/B testing to replicate common user paths and tailor your channels to the results.

8. Personalized Approach

Customers prefer their shopping experience to meet their personal needs. While this is hard to implement with offline shopping, with e-commerce, modern technology capabilities make it easier than ever. From thoughtful customer service representatives to personalized ads, everything should indicate that you truly care about your customer. A good example of a personalized approach is Enfamil, a brand selling baby products. When new users sign up, the site requests is the baby’s due date to offer relevant products and issue recommendations.

9. Alternative Payment Methods

Recent Statista research has shown that over 41% of online purchases were made using digital wallets. Consumers prefer this payment method to traditional card payments due to time efficiency and better data encryption. Another payment method gaining popularity is buy now, pay later, offered by services such as Klarna and Afterpay.

Despite a growing interest in alternative payment methods, only 72.5% of businesses offer PayPal payments option, 15.4% Amazon pay, and 11.7% Apple Pay. Lack of payment options is a leading reason for shopping cart abandonments. If you don’t want to lose customers at the final stage of shopping, invest in implementing alternative payment options.

10. Product Visualization in Augmented Reality

Augmented reality technology erases the border between online and offline shopping, helping customers to better visualize the product. It’s especially relevant for the interior design, beauty, and fashion industries. People can see how their home would look with specific furniture or how they would look with different colored hair. Statistics show that 71% of consumers think they would shop online more often if they could use AR. At the same time, less than 50% of businesses are ready to implement the technology, and only 1% are already using it. Could you be among the pioneers?

Be a Pioneer

The world is constantly changing, and so is e-commerce. It’s hard to keep up with consumer behavior and preference swings, but now you should have an idea of which path to follow. Our mission is to collaborate with your team to bring new ideas to life. By investing in modern e-commerce trends, you can gain an advantage in the market and bring utmost satisfaction to the customer.

September 30, 2021

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Interactivated Growth Lab:Tech, Design & Business Insights

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