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Backend Framework Development – Nuxt vs. Magento 2
An app’s framework is the skeleton that holds the entire thing together. Frameworks are all about the backend, so regardless of the PWA that you’re aiming to make, you’re going to need a solid framework.
Nuxt and Vue are both popular frameworks used in eCommerce app development, in particular Magento 2. Here’s all you need to know about Vue, Nuxt, Magento 2, and backend framework development.
In frontend development, the developers are responsible for everything that the user (webpage visitor) sees. They tend to work with CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. Although you could become a successful developer by knowing only one of these languages just a few years ago, you need to know all three today.
The main goal of frontend development is to create a website with great UX (user experience). Ensuring that the layout and the design of the website/web apps remain cohesive through and through.
For instance, when you press the Add to Cart button and go through the purchasing process, it’s not the frontend that does the job for you. Every single button is wired to a chain of programming commands that are instructed to do what they do. In the shopping cart instance, it’s these commands that allow the user to add a product to the cart, enter their information, sign in, purchase the product, and do pretty much everything else.
Backenders operate with the framework chosen to develop an app. Often, this coincides with the frontend, which may complicate things.
What’s interesting about Vue is that it isn’t backed by a prominent tech conglomerate, unlike React (Facebook) or Angular (Google). Vue is completely open-source. In other words, it’s created, maintained, and operated by the community.
So, Vue is a backend framework, right? Not exactly. Think of Vue as a large umbrella type of a framework that can be used as a backend framework, but not strictly. Although there are various backend choices, the de-facto would be Express.js. It’s a microframework within Vue for Node.
These include animations, state management, and composing components. The Vue mentality is as follows: Why reinvent the wheel when you can improve it?
But let’s get a bit more technical. For starters, vue-cli (CLI – Command Line Interface) is a useful tool that allows for an easy start in development.
There’s also Vue GUI (Graphical User Interface), which allows even more ease – you don’t have to start typing cryptic commands from the get-go.
There are also various toolboxes, extensive functionalities, Vue Storefront (which is why Vue is a common choice for eCommerce platforms like Magento 2), and so on.
On top of that, the documentation is comprehensive.
In essence, Nuxt is a combination of Vue and four Vue features: Vue Router, Vue Server Renderer, and Vue Meta.
So, is Nuxt a backend framework? Unlike Express, the go-to choice for Vue backend framework, Nuxt doesn’t work like this. It’s even better in these terms. Nuxt works server-side – it comes as with a pre-configured server renderer for Vue. This is called SSR or Server-Side Rendering.
Here’s an example that will help you understand. Let’s say that you want to build a webstore from scratch. Great. No problem. Hire a developer or learn how to do it yourself. It will take time, it will take a lot of coding, tweaking, and testing. But in the end, you’ll have a store to brag about. This is how it used to be.
But why would you struggle to reinvent the wheel when you can have it already pre-made? Of course, we’re talking about Magento 2. It’s a brilliant eCommerce platform that already comes set up for you to use. No coding, no programming. Well, you’re going to need development expertise to an extent, but nowhere near before.
Magento 2 is often integrated into a PWA or a webpage using Nuxt or Vue, which are frameworks themselves. Both can be used for frontend and backend purposes. But Magento 2 is a tool that gives you a pre-set webstore.
So, in the game between Nuxt and Magento 2 – there is no winner. But do they work hand in hand in eCommerce backend development? Absolutely.
November 15, 2020Nuxt and Vue are both popular frameworks used in eCommerce app development, in particular Magento 2. Here’s all you need to know about Vue, Nuxt, Magento 2, and backend framework development.
Backend vs. Frontend
You’ve probably heard about the terms backend and frontend. In fact, you may even know the gist of each. Regardless, if you want to understand the rest of this entry, you should start with the backend and frontend. Here we go.Frontend
Although frontend development isn’t necessarily the subject matter of this entry, knowing what it is essential to understanding backend development.In frontend development, the developers are responsible for everything that the user (webpage visitor) sees. They tend to work with CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. Although you could become a successful developer by knowing only one of these languages just a few years ago, you need to know all three today.
The main goal of frontend development is to create a website with great UX (user experience). Ensuring that the layout and the design of the website/web apps remain cohesive through and through.
Backend
The backend of web development, on the other hand, is about the nuts and bolts of web development. In other words, it’s what happens behind the scenes of a webpage or web app. You can’t expect web design to be all visual.For instance, when you press the Add to Cart button and go through the purchasing process, it’s not the frontend that does the job for you. Every single button is wired to a chain of programming commands that are instructed to do what they do. In the shopping cart instance, it’s these commands that allow the user to add a product to the cart, enter their information, sign in, purchase the product, and do pretty much everything else.
Backenders operate with the framework chosen to develop an app. Often, this coincides with the frontend, which may complicate things.
Full Stack
Are all developers versed in frontend and backend? No, they are not. Some specialize in the frontend, while others are more into the backend. Can a developer learn about both? Sure. Many actually do. These are called full stack developers who are much sought after.Backend Frameworks
Both Nuxt and Vue are popular framework choices for eCommerce PWAs (Progressive Web Apps). Developers use either of the two when integrating Magento 2. To understand how backend framework development works with Nuxt and Magento 2, you’re going to need to understand more about these tools.Vue
Vue or Vue.js is a tool that allows you to make modern apps with as little resources as possible. Yes, it’s a framework. A progressive JavaScript framework that’s probably the most popular of all. This is why JavaScript programming skills are prized.What’s interesting about Vue is that it isn’t backed by a prominent tech conglomerate, unlike React (Facebook) or Angular (Google). Vue is completely open-source. In other words, it’s created, maintained, and operated by the community.
So, Vue is a backend framework, right? Not exactly. Think of Vue as a large umbrella type of a framework that can be used as a backend framework, but not strictly. Although there are various backend choices, the de-facto would be Express.js. It’s a microframework within Vue for Node.
Flexibility
Vue is scalable and flexible, which makes it a popular choice for SPAs (Single Page Apps) and also for constructing smaller, interactive, and integrative parts. Vue can be a small project library, but it can also be tweaked into a full-blown backend framework (Express, for example).Maintenance
Future-proofing your webpage or web app is something a newbie developer may forget to do. Still, this is an important aspect of web development. Unlike some other frameworks, Vue makes updating very easy and straightforward. Each new release is a significant update with as much backward compatibility as possible (around 90%).Conventions
Boilerplate coding might seem like a good thing to non-developer types, but it’s actually a time-consuming programming style. Vue makes sure that you avoid such tedious work. With a lot of built-in solutions that help you save time and effort.These include animations, state management, and composing components. The Vue mentality is as follows: Why reinvent the wheel when you can improve it?
It’s a Developer’s Tool
Although developers use various frameworks, not all frameworks are built particularly for devs. As for Vue, a bunch of developers from various corners of this Earth decided to create a useful, friendly, and growth-inclined environment. This is the birthplace of Vue.But let’s get a bit more technical. For starters, vue-cli (CLI – Command Line Interface) is a useful tool that allows for an easy start in development.
There’s also Vue GUI (Graphical User Interface), which allows even more ease – you don’t have to start typing cryptic commands from the get-go.
There are also various toolboxes, extensive functionalities, Vue Storefront (which is why Vue is a common choice for eCommerce platforms like Magento 2), and so on.
On top of that, the documentation is comprehensive.
It’s an Overall Market Improvement
Vue was, in part, made out of frustration with older frameworks. This is one of the things that prompted the creation of the Vue Open-Source network. What this also means is that all the annoying mistakes, AngularJS 1.x for example, have been ironed out and done away with.Nuxt
Nuxt is an improved version of Vue, at least in some instances, which may include eCommerce platforms such as Magento 2. Still, Vue remains the go-to choice of many developers.In essence, Nuxt is a combination of Vue and four Vue features: Vue Router, Vue Server Renderer, and Vue Meta.
So, is Nuxt a backend framework? Unlike Express, the go-to choice for Vue backend framework, Nuxt doesn’t work like this. It’s even better in these terms. Nuxt works server-side – it comes as with a pre-configured server renderer for Vue. This is called SSR or Server-Side Rendering.
All Vue Benefits
As long as you’re working on eCommerce webpages, web apps, or similar, Nuxt basically borrows every single Vue characteristic that you might find useful for eCommerce integration (for instance, Magento 2). This is why Nuxt is a very popular choice for Magento 2, among other eCommerce platforms.Magento 2
So, where does Magento 2 fit in all of this? Can you use Magento 2 as a framework? Absolutely not. Magento 2 isn’t a tool used for web development. It’s a tool used in web development.Here’s an example that will help you understand. Let’s say that you want to build a webstore from scratch. Great. No problem. Hire a developer or learn how to do it yourself. It will take time, it will take a lot of coding, tweaking, and testing. But in the end, you’ll have a store to brag about. This is how it used to be.
But why would you struggle to reinvent the wheel when you can have it already pre-made? Of course, we’re talking about Magento 2. It’s a brilliant eCommerce platform that already comes set up for you to use. No coding, no programming. Well, you’re going to need development expertise to an extent, but nowhere near before.
You Can’t Compare It to Frameworks
Whether we’re talking about frontend frameworks, backend frameworks, full stack frameworks, or any kind of server-side rendering operation, you can’t put Magento 2 in the same basket with Nuxt and Vue.Magento 2 is often integrated into a PWA or a webpage using Nuxt or Vue, which are frameworks themselves. Both can be used for frontend and backend purposes. But Magento 2 is a tool that gives you a pre-set webstore.
Backend Framework Development, Nuxt, Vue, and Magento 2
People often mistakenly compare Magento 2 to frameworks. Nuxt and Vue, however, are vastly different web development tools. In fact, Nuxt and Vue aren’t really competitors, as Nuxt is essentially Vue but stripped down to its eCommerce-necessary functions.So, in the game between Nuxt and Magento 2 – there is no winner. But do they work hand in hand in eCommerce backend development? Absolutely.
How to Upsell Your Products on Magento
Getting customers to buy higher-end products over the products that they have their minds on is a great way to increase your revenue. It’s also one of the trickier sales strategies to get right since a lot of times you risk coming off as pushy.
That said, this is still a technique that you should adopt if you want to hit it big in ecommerce. It’s also one that you can apply whether you’re selling goods or services. For this, Magento makes product selection and upsell very easy. But there’s more to it than just displaying comparable products (including the higher-end and pricier) if you want to upsell with consistency.
From the Catalog page, you should see a list of all the available products. Next to each one there should be an Edit button. From the Edit menu, you should see a section called Related Products, Up-Sells, and Cross-Sells.
Click on the Add Up-Sell Products button. Use a filter to sort out what products you want to promote or simply scroll through the list manually and check the box in front of the products you deem appropriate to upsell. Click the Save button and you’re done.
As you can see, the part where you actually add upsell products couldn’t be simpler. The strategies used in coming up with those products are another story. That’s the part that real magic happens and which you can make or lose money in the process.
First of all, it’s important to understand that not all products should have upsells. Some are simply that good on their own and any alternative or minor upgrade is unlikely to justify the cost and may only serve to turn off the customer.
To appear as transparent as possible, it’s best if you describe all upsell products accordingly and explain why they’re better than the customer’s initial choices. Otherwise, you’re just linking a more expensive product that the customer will have to research on his or her own.
Secondly, if the upsell product doesn’t offer true value, customers won’t buy it. That doesn’t mean that they will also abandon their existing cart. But it’s a possibility if your store page is designed in a way that blatantly pushes customers towards buying more expensive items and for no good reason.
One trick for doing this right is displaying only best-selling products or the ones with the highest number of reviews. You could also configure your store so that it presents specific high-end products as alternatives whenever customers are browsing your store.
To make sure that you get as much information as possible regarding client tendencies and shopping patterns, you want to also implement Checkout Fields Manager. A must-have Magento feature in any online store, this allows you to get more information from your buyers.
Other extensions and plugins are also available and help with the automation process.
The platform allows you to target previous customers or even customers that have abandoned carts and never returned. In those emails, you can promote pricier products that do a better job.
Offering a small discount may also help seal the deal. Needless to say, the new product should ideally still bring a higher profit than the original product after the discount.
All of these are common and effective upselling techniques that even the biggest ecommerce platforms use to get more out of their customers. Why are they effective? Because they add value and so customers don’t feel foisted upon if they end up spending more than planned.
It then displays those products as suggestions to the new buyer. It offers automation to the upselling strategy.
The cons include the potential to give your store a pushy or expensive vibe, but that’s only if you don’t approach upsells the right way. Not all products need to be linked with upsell products and even then, you don’t have to make the upsells intrusive. If your customer doesn’t feel like he or she has a choice in the matter, your strategy could fail.
It will take some time and effort to configure all your upsell products and how you want them to appear on the store pages. But if you keep in mind that the customer experience matters most, it’s not that difficult. It certainly beats losing out on 10-30% of revenue in opportunity costs, which is the range that upselling strategies are known to secure.
October 30, 2020That said, this is still a technique that you should adopt if you want to hit it big in ecommerce. It’s also one that you can apply whether you’re selling goods or services. For this, Magento makes product selection and upsell very easy. But there’s more to it than just displaying comparable products (including the higher-end and pricier) if you want to upsell with consistency.
Setting Up Upsell Products on Magento
To start adding products to the upsell list, first go to the Admin Panel. From there you can navigate to the Product page and then the Catalog page.From the Catalog page, you should see a list of all the available products. Next to each one there should be an Edit button. From the Edit menu, you should see a section called Related Products, Up-Sells, and Cross-Sells.
Click on the Add Up-Sell Products button. Use a filter to sort out what products you want to promote or simply scroll through the list manually and check the box in front of the products you deem appropriate to upsell. Click the Save button and you’re done.
As you can see, the part where you actually add upsell products couldn’t be simpler. The strategies used in coming up with those products are another story. That’s the part that real magic happens and which you can make or lose money in the process.
Key Upselling Strategies
There are a couple of strategies that you need to be aware of when trying to upsell products in your online store. Magento makes configuring upsells very simple but there are other principals involved if you want to get your customers to actually buy the more expensive products.First of all, it’s important to understand that not all products should have upsells. Some are simply that good on their own and any alternative or minor upgrade is unlikely to justify the cost and may only serve to turn off the customer.
To appear as transparent as possible, it’s best if you describe all upsell products accordingly and explain why they’re better than the customer’s initial choices. Otherwise, you’re just linking a more expensive product that the customer will have to research on his or her own.
Secondly, if the upsell product doesn’t offer true value, customers won’t buy it. That doesn’t mean that they will also abandon their existing cart. But it’s a possibility if your store page is designed in a way that blatantly pushes customers towards buying more expensive items and for no good reason.
Limit Product Options
If you offer your clients a never-ending supply of products that do the same thing, you can’t control what they’re going to buy. For upsells to be successful, you need to limit the available options.One trick for doing this right is displaying only best-selling products or the ones with the highest number of reviews. You could also configure your store so that it presents specific high-end products as alternatives whenever customers are browsing your store.
Always Use Customer Analytics
Upselling is a sales strategy. And to develop a good sales strategy, you need to understand what your customers want. This means using data related to previous purchases to promote specific high-end products that would appeal to customers.To make sure that you get as much information as possible regarding client tendencies and shopping patterns, you want to also implement Checkout Fields Manager. A must-have Magento feature in any online store, this allows you to get more information from your buyers.
Other extensions and plugins are also available and help with the automation process.
Email Marketing Is a Great Tool Still
Never underestimate the power of email marketing when done right. It’s a perfect opportunity to upsell some products and Magento makes personalized email marketing very easy.The platform allows you to target previous customers or even customers that have abandoned carts and never returned. In those emails, you can promote pricier products that do a better job.
Offering a small discount may also help seal the deal. Needless to say, the new product should ideally still bring a higher profit than the original product after the discount.
Offer Bundles and Upgrades
Upselling is the art of selling alternative, better products or in a more attractive package or configuration. As an example, if you’re selling gaming monitors, you could also display bundles that contain the following:- Monitor and peripherals
- Monitor and cleaning accessories
- Monitor and extra HDMI cables
All of these are common and effective upselling techniques that even the biggest ecommerce platforms use to get more out of their customers. Why are they effective? Because they add value and so customers don’t feel foisted upon if they end up spending more than planned.
Magento Extensions That Help
There are a couple of Magento extensions and plugins that you can use to perfect your upselling strategy.Featured Products 3
This is an extension that allows you to highlight upsell products with ease. It also allows you to set specific parameters to block the wrong products from appearing on your website and allows you to configure all store pages individually.Customers Who Bought This Also Bought
Another important extension for any Magento online store. This is a record-keeping extension that records and tracks previous purchases. At the same time, whenever a buyer looks at a new product, the extension scours the records for complementary products that other customers bought.It then displays those products as suggestions to the new buyer. It offers automation to the upselling strategy.
Mass Product Linker
This is the extension that you need if you want to offer as many alternatives as possible, such as upsell and cross-sell products.Mass Product Relater
A similar extension to Mass Product Linker, this will allow you to generate links between products and designate them as upsells, cross-sells, or related products. The two extensions work very well together and come with user-friendly interfaces.Upselling Pros and Cons
The pros of using an upsell strategy include increasing your revenue, selling more expensive slow-movers, and helping customers find better solutions for their problems while saving them time on browsing store pages.The cons include the potential to give your store a pushy or expensive vibe, but that’s only if you don’t approach upsells the right way. Not all products need to be linked with upsell products and even then, you don’t have to make the upsells intrusive. If your customer doesn’t feel like he or she has a choice in the matter, your strategy could fail.
Upselling with Magento – Is It Worth It?
Overall, there are more benefits than disadvantages to implementing an upsell sales strategy for some of your goods and services. When done right and taking customer feedback and analytics into account, it could drastically increase your revenue.It will take some time and effort to configure all your upsell products and how you want them to appear on the store pages. But if you keep in mind that the customer experience matters most, it’s not that difficult. It certainly beats losing out on 10-30% of revenue in opportunity costs, which is the range that upselling strategies are known to secure.
How to Take Advantage of the Growing Ecommerce Market
The growing ecommerce market can be scary for newcomers. Some may not understand the concept of online sales while others fear that everything is progressing too fast. No one says that it’s an easy endeavor but it sure is lucrative and worthwhile for a number of reasons.
There are many things that you can do to scale a business and build a successful brand if you adopt ecommerce or even shift to ecommerce completely. Here are some of the benefits that you may not fully understand yet.
Social media advertising through platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can help with customer acquisition and increase your sales. It’s one of the staples of ecommerce. And you don’t have to do much but set up a profile or business page and run automated ads to gain traction for your store.
Ecommerce platforms like Magento have seamless social media advertising features built-in. More awareness means more traffic, which in turn leads to more sales. While social media advertising may work for physical retail businesses too, its full potential comes to the forefront for digital stores.
For example, affiliate marketing is something that works in both the B2C and B2B spheres. As you operate your store and sell your own products, you can also recommend the goods and services of other businesses for a cut.
Any sales that convert from links accessed through your own ecommerce website would earn you a commission. Don’t think of it as promoting potential competitors either. You can always find complementary products to what you’re selling and cross-sell them to your customers, and you’re also helping your buyers to find everything they need in the process.
Promoting products outside your niche may also help to drive more traffic to your website, assuming that you make use of the right SEO tools and SEO content.
But ecommerce may offer a great advantage in this area. Ecommerce platforms offer automated shipping software tools that handle order management, shipping, and other repetitive tasks that can be automated for your convenience.
Not only does this save time but it can also save money and reduce the chances of mistakes. How does it save money? Automated shipping can be configured to compare rates before sending out orders.
This means that you don’t have to qualify for special rates to find the best shipping company for both domestic and international orders. Ultimately, this can help to free up more resources for you that you can devote to other aspects of your company.
Ecommerce platforms now allow you to customize and optimize your website for mobile users. That’s important and necessary seeing as they make up at least half of the shoppers in the developed world, the United States included.
Shopping on mobile devices is comfortable and can be done 24/7. That’s why customers prefer it and why more businesses are trying to get in on the action.
Mobile shopping offers another great benefit in the form of varied payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Braintree, Stripe, Dwolla, and more. Some customers may prefer these to the traditional credit card payment, which can also be more secure for the merchants than processing international credit cards that don’t support the US verified address system.
Customers expect to find their favorite payment methods and it’s never been easier for you to accommodate their wishes.
Ecommerce platforms offer simplified checkout pages where your customers can place an order and pay for it with just a few clicks. And it’s even easier for return customers who have created accounts and saved their address and payment information.
This is one of the things that you must take advantage of to keep customers happy and increase your customer retention. It’s often the repeat customers that bring in the bulk of any online store’s revenue. It’s the building blocks that help with a company’s growth, not to mention that it’s several times more economical to retain an existing customer than to attract a new customer.
Digital catalogs and automated pricing and marketing software allow you to add relevant products and services to your lineup without manual input. This means that you don’t have to hire more people to do inventory, set prices, or even advertise products.
Social media advertising, email marketing, and unlimited shelf space are among the best features of any ecommerce platform. Since many of the processes can be automated, either for free or at a minor cost, depending on the extensions and software used, hiring employees is not as relevant as a few years ago.
What this means is that you can increase your revenue and keep your operating costs down for higher net revenue and profit numbers.
However, the costs of hiring can be considerably lower. You can afford to hire people who live in different time zones. In some countries, the labor costs are much lower than others.
You can also save money on insurance, office space, and other perks if you hire virtual or remote employees. And since so many people prefer to work remotely these days, the ability to work from home can make your job offer more attractive without regard to the salary. You might be able to hire highly qualified people at a discount.
The two actually complement each other and adopting an ecommerce revenue stream for your brand is something that can only help rather than hurt your business. Adding to that are the exponential growth of ecommerce and the available ways to raise brand awareness and reach customers.
October 15, 2020There are many things that you can do to scale a business and build a successful brand if you adopt ecommerce or even shift to ecommerce completely. Here are some of the benefits that you may not fully understand yet.
Take Advantage of Online Advertising
Driving traffic to your website has never been easier and harder at the same time. While the ecommerce market is highly competitive, there are many ways to advertise your products to a wider audience.Social media advertising through platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can help with customer acquisition and increase your sales. It’s one of the staples of ecommerce. And you don’t have to do much but set up a profile or business page and run automated ads to gain traction for your store.
Ecommerce platforms like Magento have seamless social media advertising features built-in. More awareness means more traffic, which in turn leads to more sales. While social media advertising may work for physical retail businesses too, its full potential comes to the forefront for digital stores.
Find New Ways to Monetize Your Website
Just because you’re selling your goods or services online, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do more. The beauty of ecommerce is that it’s easier to score multiple revenue streams.For example, affiliate marketing is something that works in both the B2C and B2B spheres. As you operate your store and sell your own products, you can also recommend the goods and services of other businesses for a cut.
Any sales that convert from links accessed through your own ecommerce website would earn you a commission. Don’t think of it as promoting potential competitors either. You can always find complementary products to what you’re selling and cross-sell them to your customers, and you’re also helping your buyers to find everything they need in the process.
Promoting products outside your niche may also help to drive more traffic to your website, assuming that you make use of the right SEO tools and SEO content.
Manage Wholesale and Shipping Fulfillment
It was never easy to keep track of multiple orders spread across dozens of marketplaces, and multiple shipping companies only add to that.But ecommerce may offer a great advantage in this area. Ecommerce platforms offer automated shipping software tools that handle order management, shipping, and other repetitive tasks that can be automated for your convenience.
Not only does this save time but it can also save money and reduce the chances of mistakes. How does it save money? Automated shipping can be configured to compare rates before sending out orders.
This means that you don’t have to qualify for special rates to find the best shipping company for both domestic and international orders. Ultimately, this can help to free up more resources for you that you can devote to other aspects of your company.
Be More Accessible to Your Customers
Ecommerce can give your brand a global presence. But there’s more to it than that. Another benefit of the growing ecommerce market is that you can target mobile users easier than ever.Ecommerce platforms now allow you to customize and optimize your website for mobile users. That’s important and necessary seeing as they make up at least half of the shoppers in the developed world, the United States included.
Shopping on mobile devices is comfortable and can be done 24/7. That’s why customers prefer it and why more businesses are trying to get in on the action.
Mobile shopping offers another great benefit in the form of varied payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Braintree, Stripe, Dwolla, and more. Some customers may prefer these to the traditional credit card payment, which can also be more secure for the merchants than processing international credit cards that don’t support the US verified address system.
Customers expect to find their favorite payment methods and it’s never been easier for you to accommodate their wishes.
Make Purchases Easier with Simplified Checkout Pages
For some buyers, finding the right products and loading up their shopping cart takes enough time as it is. It’s no wonder that no one appreciates lengthy checkout processes that ask for too much unnecessary information. It only makes the process feel intrusive as if standing in line at a retail store.Ecommerce platforms offer simplified checkout pages where your customers can place an order and pay for it with just a few clicks. And it’s even easier for return customers who have created accounts and saved their address and payment information.
This is one of the things that you must take advantage of to keep customers happy and increase your customer retention. It’s often the repeat customers that bring in the bulk of any online store’s revenue. It’s the building blocks that help with a company’s growth, not to mention that it’s several times more economical to retain an existing customer than to attract a new customer.
Scale Your Business Without Hiring More Employees
With the almost unlimited reach of ecommerce, it’s never been easier to scale a business without having to hire more people.Digital catalogs and automated pricing and marketing software allow you to add relevant products and services to your lineup without manual input. This means that you don’t have to hire more people to do inventory, set prices, or even advertise products.
Social media advertising, email marketing, and unlimited shelf space are among the best features of any ecommerce platform. Since many of the processes can be automated, either for free or at a minor cost, depending on the extensions and software used, hiring employees is not as relevant as a few years ago.
What this means is that you can increase your revenue and keep your operating costs down for higher net revenue and profit numbers.
Even If You Hire, You Can Hire Cheaper
There are still departments where you will need actual employees. Having a more global brand means that you need to be aware of the various taxation and customs requirements of different countries. You may also have to provide customer support in multiple languages. That’s on top of a larger shipping department.However, the costs of hiring can be considerably lower. You can afford to hire people who live in different time zones. In some countries, the labor costs are much lower than others.
You can also save money on insurance, office space, and other perks if you hire virtual or remote employees. And since so many people prefer to work remotely these days, the ability to work from home can make your job offer more attractive without regard to the salary. You might be able to hire highly qualified people at a discount.
Grow Your Business Beyond What You Thought Possible
Physical retail stores are still very popular and make up more than 85% of retail sales in the United States as recently as the first quarter of 2020. Be that as it may, there’s a misconception regarding ecommerce and traditional commerce.The two actually complement each other and adopting an ecommerce revenue stream for your brand is something that can only help rather than hurt your business. Adding to that are the exponential growth of ecommerce and the available ways to raise brand awareness and reach customers.
Rise of the Headless PWA – Using Magento 2 on Your Vue Storefront
PWAs or Progressive Web Apps have never been more popular. Unlike regular apps, PWAs rely on an existent technology that allows people to construct an original app.
As of recently, there is more and more talk about headless PWA technology that has made quite a stir in eCommerce. Every time a new trend strikes, it goes without saying that you should stay informed on it. So, here it is – the rise of the Headless PWA and how it pertains to Magento 2 on a Vue storefront.
Although a PWA isn’t an actual native app, its goal is to achieve the functionality of a native app. With a couple of smart extensions and additions, nowadays you can turn pretty much any website into a PWA.
With headless PWAs, however, there is no escaping API or Application Programming Interface. Essentially, an API defines the interactions of two or more software intermediaries.
In this case, the API helps the app communicate with the server. The app sends data to a server, which retrieves and interprets the data, performs the required actions, and sends it back to the app or device.
The thing is that PWAs don’t require APIs. It’s only recently that API technology has been introduced in the development of PWAs. The result is what’s known as headless PWAs.
Magento 2 is an eCommerce platform. It helps merchants by providing them with automated universal tools. For instance, a flexible shopping cart system and control over the aesthetics, functionality, content, and so on.
With Magento 2, it’s much easier to build a personalized eCommerce webpage. Instead of having to build a lot of unique content from scratch, you and your developer(s) can use Magento 2 to get things started quickly and easily.
And modern Magento 2 development makes use of headless PWAs. Just as Magento 2 makes it easy to create the essential parts of a webstore, headless PWA helps to integrate Magento 2 better and faster.
Now, select Add New Integration. Enter all required info, such as the name and your password, to confirm everything. Now, navigate to the API Permissions tab. Check Catalog, Sales, My Account, and Carts. Then, go to Stores, followed by Settings, Configuration, and check Inventory Section. Now, in the Stores section, check Taxes. Finally, go to Attributes and check Product.
Confirm changes by clicking Save.
Magento 2 data import tools are integrated into Vue Storefront’s API. Although it still uses mage2vuestorefront, it’s pretty much automated.
magento: {
url: process.env.MAGENTO_URL || "http://your-magento-url.com/rest/", <- change to your Magento 2 URL,
consumerKey: process.env.MAGENTO_CONSUMER_KEY || ’alva6h6hku9qxrpfe02c2jalopx7od1q’,
consumerSecret: process.env.MAGENTO_CONSUMER_SECRET || ’9tgfpgoojlx9tfy21b8kw7ssfu2aynpm’,
accessToken: process.env.MAGENTO_ACCESS_TOKEN || ’rw5w0si9imbu45h3m9hkyrfr4gjina8q’,
accessTokenSecret: process.env.MAGENTO_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET || ’00y9dl4vpxgcef3gn5mntbxtylowjcc9’,
},
To commence the full import, run the following commands in this order:
node cli.js taxrule
node cli.js attributes
node cli.js categories
node cli.js productcategories
node cli.js products
Feel free to run these commands as many times as you want, seeing as how they will insert updates to the existing records every time there’s a change.
"magento2": {
"url": "http://your-magento-url.com",
"imgUrl": "http://your-magento-url.com/media/catalog/product",
"assetPath": "/../var/magento2-sample-data/pub/media",
"api": {
"url": "http://your-magento-url.com/rest/",
"consumerKey": "alva6h6hku9qxrpfe02c2jalopx7od1q",
"consumerSecret": "9tgfpgoojlx9tfy21b8kw7ssfu2aynpm",
"accessToken": "rw5w0si9imbu45h3m9hkyrfr4gjina8q",
"accessTokenSecret": "00y9dl4vpxgcef3gn5mntbxtylowjcc9"
}
},
Now, you’ll probably want to allow the vue-storefront-api tool to resize the Magento images. Add Magento’s domain to the whitelist using this command:
"imageable": {
"namespace": "",
"maxListeners": 512,
"imageSizeLimit": 1024,
"timeouts": {
"convert": 15000,
"identify": 300,
"download": 5000
},
"whitelist": {
"allowedHosts": [
".*your-magento-url.com",
".*divante.pl",
".*vuestorefront.io",
"localhost"
],
"trustedHosts": [
".*your-magento-url.com",
".*divante.pl",
".*vuestorefront.io",
"localhost"
]
},
Now, run the Order2Magento worker – this tool will process all user-made orders. Enter this command:
Yarn o2m
You’re going to want to keep the cart current at all times.
To do this, go to vue-storefront/conf/local.json and enter the following command to the cart section:
synchronize: true;
What’s the big idea here? Division of labor division for backend and frontend developers. Frontend devs have the freedom to use any framework of their choice (in this case, Vue), while the backenders will proceed with their part of the job in their own way.
There aren’t any real downsides of headless eCommerce, although it is unnecessary if you are or have hired a full stack dev. Still, the ability to separate the frontend and the backend is a very good thing. Just ask any developer.
If you’re looking to use Magento 2 on a Vue Storefront, get familiar with headless PWAs. It’s high time.
September 30, 2020As of recently, there is more and more talk about headless PWA technology that has made quite a stir in eCommerce. Every time a new trend strikes, it goes without saying that you should stay informed on it. So, here it is – the rise of the Headless PWA and how it pertains to Magento 2 on a Vue storefront.
Explaining the Terms
The terms that we’re going to be using might not be everyday stuff. You could go on Google and dig around for more information individually, but it’d much easier to have everything in one place. So, here are some of the technical terms and acronyms that we’re going to cover.PWA
PWAs are apps built for languages such as JavaScript, CSS, and/or HTML. Pp until the arrival of PWAs, you couldn’t exactly make a native-looking app using regular methods.Although a PWA isn’t an actual native app, its goal is to achieve the functionality of a native app. With a couple of smart extensions and additions, nowadays you can turn pretty much any website into a PWA.
API
Now, API isn’t necessarily a vital piece of information as relates to PWAs. Some developers may consider it so, but understanding PWA technology can be achieved without knowing about what API is.With headless PWAs, however, there is no escaping API or Application Programming Interface. Essentially, an API defines the interactions of two or more software intermediaries.
In this case, the API helps the app communicate with the server. The app sends data to a server, which retrieves and interprets the data, performs the required actions, and sends it back to the app or device.
The thing is that PWAs don’t require APIs. It’s only recently that API technology has been introduced in the development of PWAs. The result is what’s known as headless PWAs.
Magento 2
You probably know what Magento 2 is. But bear with us.Magento 2 is an eCommerce platform. It helps merchants by providing them with automated universal tools. For instance, a flexible shopping cart system and control over the aesthetics, functionality, content, and so on.
With Magento 2, it’s much easier to build a personalized eCommerce webpage. Instead of having to build a lot of unique content from scratch, you and your developer(s) can use Magento 2 to get things started quickly and easily.
And modern Magento 2 development makes use of headless PWAs. Just as Magento 2 makes it easy to create the essential parts of a webstore, headless PWA helps to integrate Magento 2 better and faster.
Vue Storefront
Vue Storefront is a headless, backend-agnostic PWA that helps you, the user, to come up with a webstore quickly and easily.Backend-Agnostic
This term refers to an app that doesn’t require frontend project integration via a node, rails, python, or any other app. Although backend-agnostic apps are written in node, they are still backend-agnostic.Integrating Vue Storefront with Magento 2
Now, let’s get a bit more technical. Here’s how to integrate Vue Storefront with Magento 2.The Magento 2 Module
First off, you’re going to need a tool that syncs the Vue Storefront data store with Magento 2 source data. Fortunately, Magento 2 comes with a native module that does this called Magento 2 VSBridge Indexer. It’s fast, reliable, and fully-integrated with Magento 2.Magento 2 API and OAuth Authorization
Magento 2 VSBridge Indexer uses the Magento 2 API through OAuth authorization. This means that you need to prepare Magento integration access. To do this, navigate to the Magento 2 admin panel. Then, click System, followed by Integrations.Now, select Add New Integration. Enter all required info, such as the name and your password, to confirm everything. Now, navigate to the API Permissions tab. Check Catalog, Sales, My Account, and Carts. Then, go to Stores, followed by Settings, Configuration, and check Inventory Section. Now, in the Stores section, check Taxes. Finally, go to Attributes and check Product.
Confirm changes by clicking Save.
Syncing Magento 2 with the Local Instance
There are two integration options here. There are the old manual way and a fast integration method.Magento 2 data import tools are integrated into Vue Storefront’s API. Although it still uses mage2vuestorefront, it’s pretty much automated.
Fast Integration
To sync Magento 2 with your local instance, set config.magento2.api. Use the Magento 2 OAuth credentials when prompted. To import all products, categories, and all other stuff, use the yarn mage2vs import command. Alternatively, you can use the same command, but with a specified parameter, by adding –store-code=de to the command.Manual Integration
As mentioned, the old way of integration is still available. Start by installing the mage2vuestorefront tool and edit the src/config.js file in it to:magento: {
url: process.env.MAGENTO_URL || "http://your-magento-url.com/rest/", <- change to your Magento 2 URL,
consumerKey: process.env.MAGENTO_CONSUMER_KEY || ’alva6h6hku9qxrpfe02c2jalopx7od1q’,
consumerSecret: process.env.MAGENTO_CONSUMER_SECRET || ’9tgfpgoojlx9tfy21b8kw7ssfu2aynpm’,
accessToken: process.env.MAGENTO_ACCESS_TOKEN || ’rw5w0si9imbu45h3m9hkyrfr4gjina8q’,
accessTokenSecret: process.env.MAGENTO_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET || ’00y9dl4vpxgcef3gn5mntbxtylowjcc9’,
},
To commence the full import, run the following commands in this order:
node cli.js taxrule
node cli.js attributes
node cli.js categories
node cli.js productcategories
node cli.js products
Feel free to run these commands as many times as you want, seeing as how they will insert updates to the existing records every time there’s a change.
Syncing Orders and Images
You’re probably going to want to sync the shopping carts and images in real-time now. To do this, you’re going to use the vue-storefront-api tool. Edit the conf/local.json file inside the vue-storefront-api directory. This will set the OAuth Magento API access:"magento2": {
"url": "http://your-magento-url.com",
"imgUrl": "http://your-magento-url.com/media/catalog/product",
"assetPath": "/../var/magento2-sample-data/pub/media",
"api": {
"url": "http://your-magento-url.com/rest/",
"consumerKey": "alva6h6hku9qxrpfe02c2jalopx7od1q",
"consumerSecret": "9tgfpgoojlx9tfy21b8kw7ssfu2aynpm",
"accessToken": "rw5w0si9imbu45h3m9hkyrfr4gjina8q",
"accessTokenSecret": "00y9dl4vpxgcef3gn5mntbxtylowjcc9"
}
},
Now, you’ll probably want to allow the vue-storefront-api tool to resize the Magento images. Add Magento’s domain to the whitelist using this command:
"imageable": {
"namespace": "",
"maxListeners": 512,
"imageSizeLimit": 1024,
"timeouts": {
"convert": 15000,
"identify": 300,
"download": 5000
},
"whitelist": {
"allowedHosts": [
".*your-magento-url.com",
".*divante.pl",
".*vuestorefront.io",
"localhost"
],
"trustedHosts": [
".*your-magento-url.com",
".*divante.pl",
".*vuestorefront.io",
"localhost"
]
},
Now, run the Order2Magento worker – this tool will process all user-made orders. Enter this command:
Yarn o2m
Syncing Shopping Carts
In Magento 2, shopping carts aren’t synced in real-time by default. The cart is created only when an order is placed.You’re going to want to keep the cart current at all times.
To do this, go to vue-storefront/conf/local.json and enter the following command to the cart section:
synchronize: true;
What Is Headless eCommerce?
To put it simply, in headless eCommerce the backend and content or data management systems are stored separately from the interface.What’s the big idea here? Division of labor division for backend and frontend developers. Frontend devs have the freedom to use any framework of their choice (in this case, Vue), while the backenders will proceed with their part of the job in their own way.
There aren’t any real downsides of headless eCommerce, although it is unnecessary if you are or have hired a full stack dev. Still, the ability to separate the frontend and the backend is a very good thing. Just ask any developer.
Headless PWAs, Magento 2, and Vue Storefront
As you can see, the three are intertwined and dependent on one another. While separate, the technology used is interconnected and unified under the great banner of headless eCommerce.If you’re looking to use Magento 2 on a Vue Storefront, get familiar with headless PWAs. It’s high time.
Enhancing Customer Choices on the Magento Shop
What does it mean to enhance customer choices? In a way, it has a lot to do with enhancing the customer experience. But as is the case with customer segmentation and advertising, it focuses on a specific segment of customer actions, i.e. the choices that they can make.
Enhancing customer choices has to do with fine-tuning some navigational aspects of your website and making the most of Magento extensions to give your customers a personalized experience. Especially one that they can share with others and that will translate into repeat business for your store.
Check out some of the most useful tactics you can deploy if you’re a Magento store owner.
With Magento, you have a variety of ways to optimize the website’s search engine feature. You can either hire a developer to fine-tune it, you can customize it yourself, or you can use a search engine extension available at the Magento marketplace.
With some extensions, you can make typos irrelevant. You can link certain keywords and associate synonyms so that users are more likely to find what they’re looking for. That’s even when they’re not typing the exact product name.
This automatic search engine and association process helps potential customers to find the products that they’re looking for and incentivizes them to add more products to the cart. Who doesn’t want to get done with shopping faster?
To address the issues of people who aren’t sure what they want to buy, you can expand the range of filters. Keep in mind that even store visitors that didn’t come in looking for a quick buy still want instant gratification.
One way to provide this is to give them multiple choices for searching for products and filtering the results.
In these cases, having a wishlist feature is great for both the customers and yourself. Furthermore, you can find through keeping track of wishlists the products that are most desired by customers. Or perhaps what products you should hurry to bring back in stock.
It’s also a great choice for customers if they can share their wishlists. Maybe someone needs some items and wants to share that wishlist with friends and family, prior to their birthday. All you want is sales. So it doesn’t matter if the actual visitor makes a purchase or someone else on their behalf.
Even better, implementing sharable wishlists alerts others to your store. So there’ a chance to secure new repeat customers. Make the most out of the social media integration extensions that Magento has to offer.
Customer choice doesn’t strictly depend on how big your catalog is and how many products you offer. You need to offer potential customers more choices than that. Case in point, offering a shopping cart, a better checkout process, and a wishlist.
A live chat feature makes sense too. This is so that you don’t drive away customers who encounter problems. A live chat feature is a sign that help is just around the corner. This means that whatever issue your customers have can be addressed quickly.
The competition is fierce in every niche and there are alternatives to your store. So make sure that you let customers know that you can intervene and help at a moment’s notice.
First of all, some customers know exactly what they want. They go for the products that they know or have heard about and buy them without looking any further.
Conversely, other customers don’t know what products or brands to trust. While curious about getting as much information as possible, they’re also easily overwhelmed by too many choices.
Listing fewer products in your store’s categories can make some customers more likely to buy. Another thing that happens with this tactic is that it inspires more trust in the listed products. It says to some customers that you know what you’re selling and that you stand by what you’re pushing. It says that you’re convinced those products are what your customers need.
But then there are products that people might not have heard of. Or perhaps they’re not sure what they do better than the alternatives. One way of enhancing customer choices in this instance is to offer detailed information on the products.
This works even better when combined with the previously mentioned tactic of listing fewer products. An informed product page lets the customer know what he’s buying into. The customer feels informed and not like they could be taken advantage of.
It also shows a motivation on your part to inform and educate your customer to make a good purchase. Simply listing specifications or copy-pasting what’s on the label is not enough.
If you’re selling products with great reviews, make sure you design the product page in such a way that you can highlight user reviews. With that out of the way, your customers don’t have to spend too much time finding those second opinions.
Identify the customer segments that are most important to you. Either big spenders, indecisive shoppers, loyal customers, and so on.
Use customer segmentation to offer and display specific deals to your customers based on the tracked behaviors. Besides generating interest, this also ensures that you’re not flooding your customers with irrelevant notifications.
Every audience gets its own personalized message, coupon, discount, and so forth. Lots of people hop to another online shop whenever they get overwhelmed by ads, pop-up notifications, and even too many discounts, especially if there are no perceived savings.
Allow your customers to make more choices and do your best to track analytics, ask for feedback, and do anything else you can to find out what your customers want. No consumers want to feel overwhelmed by the options they have in an online store, but they don’t want to be overwhelmed either. If you can find a balance, you’ll be one step closer to success.
September 15, 2020Enhancing customer choices has to do with fine-tuning some navigational aspects of your website and making the most of Magento extensions to give your customers a personalized experience. Especially one that they can share with others and that will translate into repeat business for your store.
Check out some of the most useful tactics you can deploy if you’re a Magento store owner.
Improve the Search Engine
An optimized search engine is where it all starts. You can’t list all your products on one page. It doesn’t look professional and it may not even be possible if you’re running a big online shop.With Magento, you have a variety of ways to optimize the website’s search engine feature. You can either hire a developer to fine-tune it, you can customize it yourself, or you can use a search engine extension available at the Magento marketplace.
With some extensions, you can make typos irrelevant. You can link certain keywords and associate synonyms so that users are more likely to find what they’re looking for. That’s even when they’re not typing the exact product name.
This automatic search engine and association process helps potential customers to find the products that they’re looking for and incentivizes them to add more products to the cart. Who doesn’t want to get done with shopping faster?
To address the issues of people who aren’t sure what they want to buy, you can expand the range of filters. Keep in mind that even store visitors that didn’t come in looking for a quick buy still want instant gratification.
One way to provide this is to give them multiple choices for searching for products and filtering the results.
Optimize the Wishlist Feature
You need to understand the importance of wishlist implementation for a few reasons. Some potential customers aren’t looking to shop when they first visit an online store. But they might be willing to come back to complete a purchase at a later date.In these cases, having a wishlist feature is great for both the customers and yourself. Furthermore, you can find through keeping track of wishlists the products that are most desired by customers. Or perhaps what products you should hurry to bring back in stock.
It’s also a great choice for customers if they can share their wishlists. Maybe someone needs some items and wants to share that wishlist with friends and family, prior to their birthday. All you want is sales. So it doesn’t matter if the actual visitor makes a purchase or someone else on their behalf.
Even better, implementing sharable wishlists alerts others to your store. So there’ a chance to secure new repeat customers. Make the most out of the social media integration extensions that Magento has to offer.
Add a Live Chat Feature
Magento comes with a variety of live chat extensions. Some are free and others are paid extensions. Nevertheless, this is one feature you definitely need to consider adding to your Magento shop at some point in time.Customer choice doesn’t strictly depend on how big your catalog is and how many products you offer. You need to offer potential customers more choices than that. Case in point, offering a shopping cart, a better checkout process, and a wishlist.
A live chat feature makes sense too. This is so that you don’t drive away customers who encounter problems. A live chat feature is a sign that help is just around the corner. This means that whatever issue your customers have can be addressed quickly.
The competition is fierce in every niche and there are alternatives to your store. So make sure that you let customers know that you can intervene and help at a moment’s notice.
List Fewer Products
Ever wondered why some businesses only sell a handful of products but they’re highly successful anyway? Displaying fewer products has some interesting benefits in ecommerce.First of all, some customers know exactly what they want. They go for the products that they know or have heard about and buy them without looking any further.
Conversely, other customers don’t know what products or brands to trust. While curious about getting as much information as possible, they’re also easily overwhelmed by too many choices.
Listing fewer products in your store’s categories can make some customers more likely to buy. Another thing that happens with this tactic is that it inspires more trust in the listed products. It says to some customers that you know what you’re selling and that you stand by what you’re pushing. It says that you’re convinced those products are what your customers need.
Use Unique Product Descriptions
Many online stores adopt the idea of generic product descriptions. You see this on large online marketplaces. Some popular brands and products don’t need an introduction. That’s clear.But then there are products that people might not have heard of. Or perhaps they’re not sure what they do better than the alternatives. One way of enhancing customer choices in this instance is to offer detailed information on the products.
This works even better when combined with the previously mentioned tactic of listing fewer products. An informed product page lets the customer know what he’s buying into. The customer feels informed and not like they could be taken advantage of.
It also shows a motivation on your part to inform and educate your customer to make a good purchase. Simply listing specifications or copy-pasting what’s on the label is not enough.
If you’re selling products with great reviews, make sure you design the product page in such a way that you can highlight user reviews. With that out of the way, your customers don’t have to spend too much time finding those second opinions.
Take Advantage of Customer Segmentation in Magento
Magento makes customer segmentation very simple. This is a must-have in ecommerce and something you should use for more than just your advertising campaigns and newsletters.Identify the customer segments that are most important to you. Either big spenders, indecisive shoppers, loyal customers, and so on.
Use customer segmentation to offer and display specific deals to your customers based on the tracked behaviors. Besides generating interest, this also ensures that you’re not flooding your customers with irrelevant notifications.
Every audience gets its own personalized message, coupon, discount, and so forth. Lots of people hop to another online shop whenever they get overwhelmed by ads, pop-up notifications, and even too many discounts, especially if there are no perceived savings.
Never Stop Thinking About the Customer
If you want to make money, you need happy customers. Even more so, you need repeat customers and not necessarily new ones. With the tactics outlined in this article, you can enhance your customer’s choices. In doing so, you’re increasing the store’s chances of securing repeat business and even arousing the interest of new visitors.Allow your customers to make more choices and do your best to track analytics, ask for feedback, and do anything else you can to find out what your customers want. No consumers want to feel overwhelmed by the options they have in an online store, but they don’t want to be overwhelmed either. If you can find a balance, you’ll be one step closer to success.
How to Encourage Repeat Business on Your Magento E-Shop
Drawing in customers for the first time is often quite hard. It can also be expensive if you add up the advertising costs. In most situations, it’s the repeat customers or repeat business that has the most to contribute to an online store.
That’s because whether or not you can bring in a high influx of new customers, repeat customers give you guaranteed sales. Bringing in thousands of visitors to your store every day won’t automatically translate into thousands of sales. Securing repeat customers is essential if you want a successful store.
Here are some of the things that you can do toward this end (for those who run Magento e-shops).
Saving a few bucks on shipping is enough to make some customers come back for more. What’s also interesting is the fact that free shipping also encourages shoppers to add more items to their carts. So, this is a move that can increase your revenue in two ways.
First by securing repeat customers and second by increasing the average number of items sold per order. With increased sales, you can also negotiate lower shipping rates so offering free shipping may not cost as much as you think.
People today may be keeping money on various platforms. Some people just don’t feel secure with traditional credit card payments. So, how can you encourage repeat business on your E-store? Give your customers more payment options.
Integrating PayPal payments is a great way to create repeat business as some prefer it for online payments. Also, accepting more than one type of credit card or debit card is also appreciated by customers.
Someone that’s happy with the accepted payment methods is more likely to shop again at your store.
Besides optimizing your filters and shop’s search engine, you’ll want to take care of mobile users. Make the site as user-friendly as possible and focus on smooth navigation.
Include specific promotions for mobile users so that they know they’re getting a royal treatment. You can even have targeted advertising campaigns directed at mobile users.
Use the customer analytics provided by Magento’s platform to understand what your customers need and keep them engaged. The goal is to keep them coming back for more purchases.
Accessibility is one of the keys to success for an e-shop. And with more and more users relying on their smartphones and tablets for shopping, a mobile-friendly store is a must.
Secondly, a simple one-step checkout process allows customers to save time while shopping online. As a result, they’re more inclined to revisit your store because they know they can get what they want in record time.
This is something you can do with the One-Step Checkout Extension that’s easy to implement on the Magento platform.
You can set one up so that your customers get rewards based on how much money they spend and how often they shop, among other behaviors and metrics. Reward points can then be turned into discounts or store credit. This incentivizes customers to come back to your store more often.
Another tactic you can use is offering refunds. But, if you can’t afford to offer cash refunds you can always offer store credit. In most cases, this is enough to show customers that you value them and that you want to keep them happy.
Even if customers won’t get their money back they still get a chance to use that money and purchase another product. Magento has pre-built store credit and virtual gift card extensions.
Use those analytics and create professional and customized marketing campaigns. Target user groups that haven’t shopped on your store for a while. Offer them unique discounts that will incentivize them to revisit your store and buy one or more items.
What’s great about Magento is that it allows you to use live store data when creating dynamic campaigns.
It’s best to take advantage of the fact that many customers give out their email addresses in exchange for newsletters. Set up an automated newsletter system where you share new product information or limited-time discounts.
Enable RSS feeds too and make sure than any subscribers get real-time alerts on products that might interest them, as well as coupons, discounts, and other promotional items.
In this way, your past customers know what’s happening even when they’re not visiting your store.
Research has shown that this would actually encourage people to spend a lot more. To the tune of 457% according to a study. That’s going to easily cover the cost of return shipping and returned products with a lot more to spare.
It also builds a higher level of trust with customers and consumers. They won’t hesitate to purchase anything on their mind and the odds are they might ignore sending the items back even if they’re not suitable.
Find out how they market their products, the demographics targeted, and the things that you and your competitors are doing similarly that might not appeal with shoppers. Go beyond simple website navigation and functionality.
Are your competitors offering frequent sales? Are they running marketing campaigns at the same time as you? If possible, find out if they’re stealing clients from you. Is your competition offering in-demand products that you neglected?
By keeping tabs on your competitors, both good and bad, you know what you need to improve. And also the tactics to avoid if you want to secure more repeat business.
You have to look beyond analytics and popular customer retention tactics to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to keep your customers happy. In some cases, this involves asking your customers what you can do for them to enhance their experience.
August 30, 2020That’s because whether or not you can bring in a high influx of new customers, repeat customers give you guaranteed sales. Bringing in thousands of visitors to your store every day won’t automatically translate into thousands of sales. Securing repeat customers is essential if you want a successful store.
Here are some of the things that you can do toward this end (for those who run Magento e-shops).
Consider Free Shipping
One of the things that please customers more than anything is free shipping. You don’t have to offer this for all your products. But you should at least make it an option for some product categories or orders that reach a certain price threshold.Saving a few bucks on shipping is enough to make some customers come back for more. What’s also interesting is the fact that free shipping also encourages shoppers to add more items to their carts. So, this is a move that can increase your revenue in two ways.
First by securing repeat customers and second by increasing the average number of items sold per order. With increased sales, you can also negotiate lower shipping rates so offering free shipping may not cost as much as you think.
Integrate Multiple Payment Options
Offering safe payment options is one of the cornerstones of operating a successful E-commerce business. But apart from security, you also need to offer your customers enough variety. Not everyone shops with credit or debit cards.People today may be keeping money on various platforms. Some people just don’t feel secure with traditional credit card payments. So, how can you encourage repeat business on your E-store? Give your customers more payment options.
Integrating PayPal payments is a great way to create repeat business as some prefer it for online payments. Also, accepting more than one type of credit card or debit card is also appreciated by customers.
Someone that’s happy with the accepted payment methods is more likely to shop again at your store.
Optimize Your Store for Mobile Visitors
This is almost a no-brainer. People want their online shopping to be as simple as possible. They want a fast-loading website that they can access from anywhere.Besides optimizing your filters and shop’s search engine, you’ll want to take care of mobile users. Make the site as user-friendly as possible and focus on smooth navigation.
Include specific promotions for mobile users so that they know they’re getting a royal treatment. You can even have targeted advertising campaigns directed at mobile users.
Use the customer analytics provided by Magento’s platform to understand what your customers need and keep them engaged. The goal is to keep them coming back for more purchases.
Accessibility is one of the keys to success for an e-shop. And with more and more users relying on their smartphones and tablets for shopping, a mobile-friendly store is a must.
Implement a User-Friendly Checkout Process
Having a user-friendly checkout process accomplishes two things. Firstly, it can secure sales as customers won’t be as likely to abandon their shopping carts. This often happens due to complex checkout pages.Secondly, a simple one-step checkout process allows customers to save time while shopping online. As a result, they’re more inclined to revisit your store because they know they can get what they want in record time.
This is something you can do with the One-Step Checkout Extension that’s easy to implement on the Magento platform.
Offer Rewards and Store Credit Refunds
Customer retention is often best achieved with incentives. You need to show them that your store values their business. One way is to set up a rewards system.You can set one up so that your customers get rewards based on how much money they spend and how often they shop, among other behaviors and metrics. Reward points can then be turned into discounts or store credit. This incentivizes customers to come back to your store more often.
Another tactic you can use is offering refunds. But, if you can’t afford to offer cash refunds you can always offer store credit. In most cases, this is enough to show customers that you value them and that you want to keep them happy.
Even if customers won’t get their money back they still get a chance to use that money and purchase another product. Magento has pre-built store credit and virtual gift card extensions.
Start an Automated Email Marketing Campaign
Email marketing is still very effective, especially in terms of low costs and the attendant outsized ROIs. As an E-store owner or manager, you have access to many email addresses. Use Magento to its fullest potential by tracking important customer analytics.Use those analytics and create professional and customized marketing campaigns. Target user groups that haven’t shopped on your store for a while. Offer them unique discounts that will incentivize them to revisit your store and buy one or more items.
What’s great about Magento is that it allows you to use live store data when creating dynamic campaigns.
Update Past Customers with Newsletters
No matter how great your store is, you can’t hope that all your customers are going to come back without sending them some interesting promotions or updates.It’s best to take advantage of the fact that many customers give out their email addresses in exchange for newsletters. Set up an automated newsletter system where you share new product information or limited-time discounts.
Enable RSS feeds too and make sure than any subscribers get real-time alerts on products that might interest them, as well as coupons, discounts, and other promotional items.
In this way, your past customers know what’s happening even when they’re not visiting your store.
Offer Free Returns
If you want to go a step further to show your customers how much you value them, you may want to offer more than store credit. Accept free returns like most online stores in the US are offering.Research has shown that this would actually encourage people to spend a lot more. To the tune of 457% according to a study. That’s going to easily cover the cost of return shipping and returned products with a lot more to spare.
It also builds a higher level of trust with customers and consumers. They won’t hesitate to purchase anything on their mind and the odds are they might ignore sending the items back even if they’re not suitable.
Research Your Competition
Unless you’re dominating your niche, chances are you need to constantly research your competitors. Follow up regularly with your direct competitors and check out the products that they offer.Find out how they market their products, the demographics targeted, and the things that you and your competitors are doing similarly that might not appeal with shoppers. Go beyond simple website navigation and functionality.
Are your competitors offering frequent sales? Are they running marketing campaigns at the same time as you? If possible, find out if they’re stealing clients from you. Is your competition offering in-demand products that you neglected?
By keeping tabs on your competitors, both good and bad, you know what you need to improve. And also the tactics to avoid if you want to secure more repeat business.
Never Forget to Ask for Input
Maybe some of your customers haven’t been coming back for a while. There’s no guarantee that they would let you know what happened. But just as you can use newsletters and customer segmentation and dynamic marketing campaigns, you can also ask your customers for input.You have to look beyond analytics and popular customer retention tactics to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to keep your customers happy. In some cases, this involves asking your customers what you can do for them to enhance their experience.
How to Create an Engaging Magento Shop
How do you set up an engaging Magento shop? If you’re already set on using Magento as your platform, then you can already check one important item off your list. It comes down to configuring your store and making the most of what Magento has to offer for ecommerce businesses.
In all honesty, creating an engaging online shop is a combination of a good number of things. You need to account for customer feedback, constantly adapt to customer behavior, use specific extensions and apps, and make the most of your content. Here are some tips that should help you start out with a bang.
So, the first step in creating an engaging Magento shop is using a modern Magento theme that’s aptly optimized for ecommerce.
You want a theme that’s responsive on even lower-end devices. You also want something that’s compatible with all popular browsers to make it accessible to a wider range of visitors.
It’s also great if your theme has premade layouts for the important pages. But, you may also need a customizable theme. So be sure that you can input your own ideas.
What’s important is for visitors to have well-defined and easily accessible store pages, search engine features, filters, galleries, and so on. It’s probably a good idea to implement layered navigation into your theme as soon as possible. Even if you’re not launching your store with hundreds of products.
One way of keeping customers engaged is to set up a blog. Many Magento themes feature dedicated blog sections. Monetize all that space. Don’t hard-sell products though, but focus more on providing unique insights, tips, advice, and news for customers and consumers.
It can be about the brands you’re promoting, your own store, future product releases, and a variety of things. You can also offer information that helps customers shop smarter and easier. One example of that, of course, would be using your store.
There’s only so much engagement that you can attract with product descriptions and catchy sales pitches. Some shoppers are content-driven and they want more than the basic sentences and spec sheets. Give your visitors a chance to do more than just shop on your store’s page and you’ll keep them engaged and coming back for more.
There’s no room for fluff in targeted advertising. But with Magento’s analytics and customer segmentation extension, you can do just that. You can offer specific user groups a personalized experience whenever they visit your shop.
This means that their eyes would constantly land on things of interest. Customers never get bored or overwhelmed by the number of ads and notifications regarding products they have no history of buying.
To create the best customer segmentation, make use of Magento analytics, customer transaction history, behavior patterns, and wishlists. It’s not as hard as it sounds since most of these can be automated.
Why? Because it makes shopping easier. Potential customers won’t have to open up dozens of new browser tabs and switch between them to compare products. It also allows you to showcase multiple products at the same time, and doing so in a manner that keeps store visitors engaged.
How do you do this? Well, Magento offers various ways to optimize a website for mobile devices. One is through specialized templates, skins, and layouts.
Mobile themes allow you to showcase everything you have to offer but in a way that’s not overwhelming for mobile device users. Not to mention that mobile themes are designed for functionality and fast navigation too.
If you’re not able to optimize your store’s page and make it fast-loading, visitors won’t stay long enough on it to be engaged by whatever content and products you have to show them.
Also consider being more selective about what you display on your store page for mobile users. Start with the best-looking or best-selling products first.
Limit the number of photos to speed up the loading times and highlight the most important bits of content. In other words, don’t rely just on the backend or on your developers. Get more creative with garnering interest from your mobile visitors.
Some of the things you may want to highlight include payment methods. You would be surprised to see how many customers you can get by offering multiple payment methods. But, in most cases, they never find out about them until they reach the checkout page.
Pique their interest to spend more time on your store by showcasing some of the features or benefits of shopping there. Putting up icons for a few payment methods and payment processors won’t take up much screen space. This may even make some visitors more inclined to shop there even if you may not carry their favorite items.
If you have reward programs, free shipping, and other types of campaigns, make sure to highlight them. Also, use notifications so that they appear from time to time on all sections of your website. Remind potential customers that there are some cool benefits waiting if they stick with you and shop on your online store.
Some things should be highlighted for every customer. Things like free shipping, merchandise returns, gift cards, and returns for store credit. These are benefits that every customer would like to know about.
But, remember the customer segmentation feature on Magento. Use it to display specific discounts for high-volume buyers or niche customers.
While some may be impressed, keep in mind that the heavier your website is the slower it loads. You really want to avoid this because there’s no way to keep people engaged if your pages won’t even load properly.
August 15, 2020In all honesty, creating an engaging online shop is a combination of a good number of things. You need to account for customer feedback, constantly adapt to customer behavior, use specific extensions and apps, and make the most of your content. Here are some tips that should help you start out with a bang.
Pick the Right Theme
Engaging customers and potential customers is not all about being flashy. Yes, an aesthetically pleasing storefront matters. But an ecommerce shop is not like a blog. It’s a website on which navigation is very important.So, the first step in creating an engaging Magento shop is using a modern Magento theme that’s aptly optimized for ecommerce.
You want a theme that’s responsive on even lower-end devices. You also want something that’s compatible with all popular browsers to make it accessible to a wider range of visitors.
It’s also great if your theme has premade layouts for the important pages. But, you may also need a customizable theme. So be sure that you can input your own ideas.
What’s important is for visitors to have well-defined and easily accessible store pages, search engine features, filters, galleries, and so on. It’s probably a good idea to implement layered navigation into your theme as soon as possible. Even if you’re not launching your store with hundreds of products.
Never Underestimate the Power of a Blog
Customers can only shop for items for this long or often. If you’re not selling daily consumables, you might want customers to revisit your store often and not only when they’re looking to buy. Keep them always apprised of new products and they may have more ideas to buy more frequently.One way of keeping customers engaged is to set up a blog. Many Magento themes feature dedicated blog sections. Monetize all that space. Don’t hard-sell products though, but focus more on providing unique insights, tips, advice, and news for customers and consumers.
It can be about the brands you’re promoting, your own store, future product releases, and a variety of things. You can also offer information that helps customers shop smarter and easier. One example of that, of course, would be using your store.
There’s only so much engagement that you can attract with product descriptions and catchy sales pitches. Some shoppers are content-driven and they want more than the basic sentences and spec sheets. Give your visitors a chance to do more than just shop on your store’s page and you’ll keep them engaged and coming back for more.
Customer Segmentation
Targeted advertising works for one simple reason. You’re speaking directly to a specific audience or demographic. You’re not just talking about everything you have to offer. More targeted than that, you’re promoting the products that those customers need and want the most.There’s no room for fluff in targeted advertising. But with Magento’s analytics and customer segmentation extension, you can do just that. You can offer specific user groups a personalized experience whenever they visit your shop.
This means that their eyes would constantly land on things of interest. Customers never get bored or overwhelmed by the number of ads and notifications regarding products they have no history of buying.
To create the best customer segmentation, make use of Magento analytics, customer transaction history, behavior patterns, and wishlists. It’s not as hard as it sounds since most of these can be automated.
Offer Important Shopping Tools
Speaking of wishlists, this is definitely a tool that you should implement in your shop. Along with it, you can also include the following:- Sizing options
- Quick buy button
- Picture zoom
- Product ranking
- Product comparison
- Stock availability
- Emailing the link
Why? Because it makes shopping easier. Potential customers won’t have to open up dozens of new browser tabs and switch between them to compare products. It also allows you to showcase multiple products at the same time, and doing so in a manner that keeps store visitors engaged.
Mobile Optimization
When creating a mobile page for any sort of online store, the presentation space you have to work with is much smaller. This means you have to do more with less and keep visitors engaged.How do you do this? Well, Magento offers various ways to optimize a website for mobile devices. One is through specialized templates, skins, and layouts.
Mobile themes allow you to showcase everything you have to offer but in a way that’s not overwhelming for mobile device users. Not to mention that mobile themes are designed for functionality and fast navigation too.
If you’re not able to optimize your store’s page and make it fast-loading, visitors won’t stay long enough on it to be engaged by whatever content and products you have to show them.
Also consider being more selective about what you display on your store page for mobile users. Start with the best-looking or best-selling products first.
Limit the number of photos to speed up the loading times and highlight the most important bits of content. In other words, don’t rely just on the backend or on your developers. Get more creative with garnering interest from your mobile visitors.
Showcase Important Features on the Home Page/Landing Page
Every online store has a home page or a landing page. It’s where potential customers first land on your website, provided that they don’t get redirected from a product link elsewhere.Some of the things you may want to highlight include payment methods. You would be surprised to see how many customers you can get by offering multiple payment methods. But, in most cases, they never find out about them until they reach the checkout page.
Pique their interest to spend more time on your store by showcasing some of the features or benefits of shopping there. Putting up icons for a few payment methods and payment processors won’t take up much screen space. This may even make some visitors more inclined to shop there even if you may not carry their favorite items.
If you have reward programs, free shipping, and other types of campaigns, make sure to highlight them. Also, use notifications so that they appear from time to time on all sections of your website. Remind potential customers that there are some cool benefits waiting if they stick with you and shop on your online store.
Some things should be highlighted for every customer. Things like free shipping, merchandise returns, gift cards, and returns for store credit. These are benefits that every customer would like to know about.
But, remember the customer segmentation feature on Magento. Use it to display specific discounts for high-volume buyers or niche customers.
Sometimes Less Is More
Obviously, there’s a lot of information you have to display on your webstore to drive interest and keep customers engaged enough to continue shopping and make a purchase. However, don’t mistake highlighting key aspects of your store with flooding every page with photos, fancy graphics, animations, and other things of that nature.While some may be impressed, keep in mind that the heavier your website is the slower it loads. You really want to avoid this because there’s no way to keep people engaged if your pages won’t even load properly.
Advantages of Constant Client-Side Operation – Magento 2 vs. Nuxt
Nuxt and Vue (on which Magento 2 is based) work on very different logic principles. Although there are other discrepancies, the primary distinction is that Vue is continually running on the client side, while Nuxt also uses server-side rendering.
Both rendering types come with advantages and disadvantages. It’s up to the developer to decide which method they’ll use and which would fit the situation best. Here are some of the client-side advantages of Vue vis-à-vis Nuxt.
To begin with, Nuxt’s mixed operation can be the underlying cause of a variety of problems. This is best explained in the simplest of examples – DOM (Document Object Model) elements. Let’s say that you want to select one of the DOM elements immediately after the app is loaded. Whether the DOM is working on the client or the server side, one thing is for sure – Node.js doesn’t support DOM elements.
This is the main reason why Nuxt resorts to using cookies over local storage – without DOM support, the next best thing is cookies. This method, although widely used in the past, is severely outdated these days, which is why Vue is overall a better client-side operation choice.
Yes, the cookies are always accessible and held in local storage, but they can take a while to load, which is a pitfall of server-side operations. On the other hand, you won’t run into this sort of problems with Vue. It’s always running on the client side, which makes things much easier.
Let’s say that you have code that is tasked with managing socket connection. If you are running on-server, updating the DOM on the receiving socket events is out of the question – the server side does not support DOM elements. This “problem” is one that you can work around.
However, speed is critical to modern web development, and you don’t want to find yourself in the tedium of switching things on or off.
Now, if you try doing the same thing in Vue, you won’t have to input any different code. In fact, the code would be the same… or almost, as you wouldn’t need the early-return part. How come? The process has to run on the client side, so there’s no need to check any statements.
Although server-side operations do have benefits, let’s explore the client-side first.
This is particularly important in instances of slow internet connections. For example, if a user is trying to access your website using data, they will get the benefit of lazy loading, where only small amounts of data are loaded as they scroll through a page.
Sure, it may not sound like much, but not knowing whether a page is loading or frozen can be very frustrating. This is possible thanks to modern UI frameworks, which aren’t readily available on server-side frameworks.
Keep in mind that this isn’t limited to gray-out operations. Any similar update on server-side pages will require extra interaction.
With client-side scripting, you get a lot of help with SEO. It’s more modern and it works, provided that your users have good connections.
But what if the client’s target group is mostly mobile users? Sure, sticking with Vue will provide better, more dynamic pages. But once a user connects to data, things become tricky. Even more so if they’re loading the site for the first time. This is not an issue with server-side compilation. The page will load quickly and allow you to move around almost instantaneously. This is not something that client-side compilation will catch up to anytime soon.
There are also compatibility issues. As a rule, server-based operations are more robust. Think of it as a giant transport ship. It is slow, difficult to operate, but stable. Client-side frameworks like Nuxt might be modern, quick, and great-looking, but they might encounter browser compatibility issues.
On the other hand, most modern needs dictate readily-accessible and aesthetically-pleasing web access, which is exactly what client-side frameworks like Vue excel at.
But then again, you have to consider if it matters. Sure, speed definitely matters but what sort of differences are we talking about? Even with client-side operations, you shouldn’t expect more than one second of load time. In fact, even if a device is not connected to Wi-Fi, data is still able to handle it.
Keep in mind that we’re talking about the era of 4G and 5G technology. Unless you’re in the middle of nowhere, you won’t notice too much of a difference between server-side and client-side loading times.
Not exactly. With Nuxt, you get the benefits of a universal app but without the headaches that a server brings, which is great. Add the auto-update server options, single-file component creation, and auto code-splitting and you get a pretty decent framework.
However, the problem here lies in the fact that Nuxt is more maintenance-heavy. This is not something that an end-user will appreciate. Plus, there are all the other benefits of client-side compilation.
You can’t use Nuxt as a client-side-only option. It requires a mixed server- and client-side use. With that said, Vue is popular but not ubiquitous.
July 30, 2020Both rendering types come with advantages and disadvantages. It’s up to the developer to decide which method they’ll use and which would fit the situation best. Here are some of the client-side advantages of Vue vis-à-vis Nuxt.
Different Mindsets
As mentioned, Nuxt and Vue use entirely different means of handling logic. Vue is the better option, thanks to its client-side operation.To begin with, Nuxt’s mixed operation can be the underlying cause of a variety of problems. This is best explained in the simplest of examples – DOM (Document Object Model) elements. Let’s say that you want to select one of the DOM elements immediately after the app is loaded. Whether the DOM is working on the client or the server side, one thing is for sure – Node.js doesn’t support DOM elements.
This is the main reason why Nuxt resorts to using cookies over local storage – without DOM support, the next best thing is cookies. This method, although widely used in the past, is severely outdated these days, which is why Vue is overall a better client-side operation choice.
Yes, the cookies are always accessible and held in local storage, but they can take a while to load, which is a pitfall of server-side operations. On the other hand, you won’t run into this sort of problems with Vue. It’s always running on the client side, which makes things much easier.
An Example
As a developer (or someone interested in development), you can probably appreciate a clarifying example.Let’s say that you have code that is tasked with managing socket connection. If you are running on-server, updating the DOM on the receiving socket events is out of the question – the server side does not support DOM elements. This “problem” is one that you can work around.
However, speed is critical to modern web development, and you don’t want to find yourself in the tedium of switching things on or off.
Now, if you try doing the same thing in Vue, you won’t have to input any different code. In fact, the code would be the same… or almost, as you wouldn’t need the early-return part. How come? The process has to run on the client side, so there’s no need to check any statements.
The Beauty of Client-Side Operation
Things couldn’t be clearer in this regard. Vue operates exclusively on the client side and Nuxt shuffles between the server and the client.Although server-side operations do have benefits, let’s explore the client-side first.
Page Reloading
The main advantage of client-side rendering is that you don’t have to wait for your page to be completely reloaded. You don’t have to re-render the entire page if you don’t want to. This may not seem that essential, but if you have a large number of elements, you might want to have one part of the page update instead of the whole thing. This makes the client-side operation method more user-friendly than the server-based alternative.This is particularly important in instances of slow internet connections. For example, if a user is trying to access your website using data, they will get the benefit of lazy loading, where only small amounts of data are loaded as they scroll through a page.
Speed
You’ve probably heard that client-side operations are faster. This is because templates, business logic, and other data are loaded in entirety. Instead of having to confer with the main server, webpage info is stored locally. As such, you can get a page loaded quickly unless you’re accessing something for the first time.Feedback
Having more animation might seem resource intensive. However, sometimes advanced animation options can help provide the necessary feedback to a user. The best example is the ability to notify you that the page hasn’t frozen and is working.Sure, it may not sound like much, but not knowing whether a page is loading or frozen can be very frustrating. This is possible thanks to modern UI frameworks, which aren’t readily available on server-side frameworks.
Easier User Interaction
Let’s say that the user wants to delete an item from their store. The item has sold out, and graying it out would add to the visual functionality of the storefront. Achieving this on the server side is not impossible. However, this action requires extra code maintenance (on both the client and server sides). This translates to labor costs and complications. With client-side operations, all the client needs to do is to gray out an item.Keep in mind that this isn’t limited to gray-out operations. Any similar update on server-side pages will require extra interaction.
Server-Side Benefits
Some people stick with the server-side of things for primarily two reasons. The first is that more advanced storefronts may require a combination of the two operation types. The second benefit is that static websites are still around, and as long as this is the case, server-side scripting is the better answer.With client-side scripting, you get a lot of help with SEO. It’s more modern and it works, provided that your users have good connections.
But what if the client’s target group is mostly mobile users? Sure, sticking with Vue will provide better, more dynamic pages. But once a user connects to data, things become tricky. Even more so if they’re loading the site for the first time. This is not an issue with server-side compilation. The page will load quickly and allow you to move around almost instantaneously. This is not something that client-side compilation will catch up to anytime soon.
There are also compatibility issues. As a rule, server-based operations are more robust. Think of it as a giant transport ship. It is slow, difficult to operate, but stable. Client-side frameworks like Nuxt might be modern, quick, and great-looking, but they might encounter browser compatibility issues.
On the other hand, most modern needs dictate readily-accessible and aesthetically-pleasing web access, which is exactly what client-side frameworks like Vue excel at.
Is Speed That Important?
When you think about it, the main benefit of server-side rendering appears to be the speed. Sure, client-side frameworks will get you to a previously visited page faster, but they are significantly slower with a brand-new webpage.But then again, you have to consider if it matters. Sure, speed definitely matters but what sort of differences are we talking about? Even with client-side operations, you shouldn’t expect more than one second of load time. In fact, even if a device is not connected to Wi-Fi, data is still able to handle it.
Keep in mind that we’re talking about the era of 4G and 5G technology. Unless you’re in the middle of nowhere, you won’t notice too much of a difference between server-side and client-side loading times.
Magento 2 vs. Nuxt
Where Magento 2 is based on Vue, which operates on the client side, Nuxt uses a combination of both. So, why not opt for the latter? It allows you to choose, right?Not exactly. With Nuxt, you get the benefits of a universal app but without the headaches that a server brings, which is great. Add the auto-update server options, single-file component creation, and auto code-splitting and you get a pretty decent framework.
However, the problem here lies in the fact that Nuxt is more maintenance-heavy. This is not something that an end-user will appreciate. Plus, there are all the other benefits of client-side compilation.
You can’t use Nuxt as a client-side-only option. It requires a mixed server- and client-side use. With that said, Vue is popular but not ubiquitous.
Which One to Go with?
If you’re looking for a dynamic webpage solution, Vue (Magento 2) can be a brilliant choice. However, even if you expect your clients to try and access your webpages using data, you’re probably better off with Vue as well. Still, you’ll want to consult with the experts and work with them to find the perfect solution for your needs.
Nuxt vs. Magento 2 Integrated Vue Storefront
Nuxt.js and Vue.js are often seen as eCommerce competitors. If you’re a consumer, you won’t care all that much. If you are in development, though, you’ll want your team to make the right choice between the two.
Although both Nuxt and Vue are often used for creating storefronts, they are different beasts. Here is a bit more about both of these.
Nuxt uses SSR or Server Side Rendering to improve SEO. What SSR does is fetching AJAX data and rendering Vue.js components to turn them into HTML strings. This is where Vue and Magento overlap; it’s all happening on the server, or Node.js. When the asynchronous logic is completed, the strings are sent directly to the browser. Only then is the fully-interactive app made available to the client.
But what about Vue? How does it work? Well, Vue.js fetches data from the backend using AJAX. This happens only after DOM is loaded. Unfortunately, this means that the SEO parser doesn’t parse every single DOM element. Simply because they have yet to be rendered. Where AJAX fetching is asynchronous, SEO parsing is a different story.
So, if you’re to compare Nuxt’s SEO audit grade with that of Vue, you’ll get much better results with the former (60% range vs. 100%).
Vue always runs on the client side as it concentrates on client convenience. On the other hand, Nuxt isn’t always on the client side, and this can definitely lead to unwanted and unnecessary issues. Here’s an example.
After your app is loaded, you might just want to select a DOM element, right? By the time the app is ready for the client, you’ll want to be able to do this. However, the app might be running on Node.js. As you presumed, you can forget about the DOM elements here – there aren’t any on Node.js.
Another example would be accessing the local storage of a browser. It’s the same thing, i.e. no DOM elements on Node.js. So, how does Nuxt handle its storage needs? Cookies. This is how Nuxt deals with its storage deficiencies.
Although people do use Nuxt logic, Vue is a much better choice for storefronts. Vue.js is running on the client’s side at all times, which essentially avoids this kind of problem.
Nowadays, though, Nuxt has really upped its game. Typescript support for it is now much better. You can find new start-kits, as well as configurations, relatively easily. Most importantly, you can find reliable ones.
What did it look like? You don’t want to know... but when executing code on Node.js, the odds were such that the app would throw a series of unrelated error messages at you. Debugging this and fixing genuine errors could be a nightmare, as you can imagine.
Today, Nuxt is much better at making sense of SSR. Its server error communication is finally fully functional.
Still, the two app structures aren’t precisely spitting images. They are different in two rather significant aspects.
For instance, let’s say that you’ve created a directory that contains a file called “about/index.vue.” Nuxt would create an /about route automatically that, of course, leads directly to that page. It may not sound like much, but it can be a huge timesaver.
This works with nested routes as well. Create an “about/client/index.vue” directory, and an “about/client” route will be generated automatically. Nuxt even allows you to create dynamic nested routes. To do this, simply name the subdirectory using the lodash prefix. If you create a “user/_id/index.vue” directory, the framework will automatically create a nested route based on the user ID in question.
Of particular brilliance is that Nuxt is structured almost identically to Vue. The environment is very similar. The default Nuxt structuring isn’t obligatory, although it’s highly recommended. It will allow for easier code maintenance and better structuring.
You get all the benefits of a universal app, only without a server. This is simply fantastic. It also makes universal app creation seamless and straightforward.
And then there are the auto-update server options, automatic code-splitting, and ease of single-file component creation. Add this to the list of benefits and you get one hell of a framework.
This is the mentality of Nuxt nowadays. It isn’t the most bug-free environment. It’s not a framework that works perfectly. But it does make certain actions significantly easier compared to Vue. The main disadvantages of Nuxt are no longer of concern. Its primary advantages, on the other hand, put it in front of the race.
Nuxt is very focused on frontend dev. It’s better structured and makes structuring much more straightforward. There is also the aspect of layouts, which every frontender falls in love with.
But this isn’t the most common reason for those who choose Nuxt over Vue. In terms of SEO, Nuxt comes out on top in every respect, from advertising to things as basic as social media sharing. Granted, all of this is doable in Vue, but it’s just going to take longer.
July 15, 2020Although both Nuxt and Vue are often used for creating storefronts, they are different beasts. Here is a bit more about both of these.
The SEO Side of Things
Competent developers know the importance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to storefronts. This comes down to marketing. In this respect, the two frameworks are significantly different. And yet, they overlap.Nuxt uses SSR or Server Side Rendering to improve SEO. What SSR does is fetching AJAX data and rendering Vue.js components to turn them into HTML strings. This is where Vue and Magento overlap; it’s all happening on the server, or Node.js. When the asynchronous logic is completed, the strings are sent directly to the browser. Only then is the fully-interactive app made available to the client.
But what about Vue? How does it work? Well, Vue.js fetches data from the backend using AJAX. This happens only after DOM is loaded. Unfortunately, this means that the SEO parser doesn’t parse every single DOM element. Simply because they have yet to be rendered. Where AJAX fetching is asynchronous, SEO parsing is a different story.
So, if you’re to compare Nuxt’s SEO audit grade with that of Vue, you’ll get much better results with the former (60% range vs. 100%).
Polar Logics
In web development, logic is one of the most critical elements. This is where Nuxt and Vue are vastly different. They are opposite polarities in this respect.Vue always runs on the client side as it concentrates on client convenience. On the other hand, Nuxt isn’t always on the client side, and this can definitely lead to unwanted and unnecessary issues. Here’s an example.
After your app is loaded, you might just want to select a DOM element, right? By the time the app is ready for the client, you’ll want to be able to do this. However, the app might be running on Node.js. As you presumed, you can forget about the DOM elements here – there aren’t any on Node.js.
Another example would be accessing the local storage of a browser. It’s the same thing, i.e. no DOM elements on Node.js. So, how does Nuxt handle its storage needs? Cookies. This is how Nuxt deals with its storage deficiencies.
Although people do use Nuxt logic, Vue is a much better choice for storefronts. Vue.js is running on the client’s side at all times, which essentially avoids this kind of problem.
How Does Nuxt Handle Enterprise-Scale Applications?
Up until recently, very badly. Nuxt was inefficient at handling larger chunks. And make no mistake, as there was a good reason for this. Two, actually. These are often why people jettison Nuxt for another framework. They are not very valid reasons, though.The Lack of Typescript Start-Kits Misconception
The first perceived problem with Nuxt and enterprise-scale applications is the lack of reliable Typescript start-kits. That’s not to say that it was impossible to find start-kits, just not anything reliable.Nowadays, though, Nuxt has really upped its game. Typescript support for it is now much better. You can find new start-kits, as well as configurations, relatively easily. Most importantly, you can find reliable ones.
The Bad Error Handling Misconception
Another big issue with Nuxt was the bad error handling on the part of the server. If you’ve ever developed a Nuxt.js app, you know all the frustrations related to error handling.What did it look like? You don’t want to know... but when executing code on Node.js, the odds were such that the app would throw a series of unrelated error messages at you. Debugging this and fixing genuine errors could be a nightmare, as you can imagine.
Today, Nuxt is much better at making sense of SSR. Its server error communication is finally fully functional.
App Structure
Although Nuxt and Vue are significantly different, they share a very similar architecture. This is why developers are often familiar with both frameworks – who knows when you might need one or the other.Still, the two app structures aren’t precisely spitting images. They are different in two rather significant aspects.
Routes
An experienced developer would know the importance of routes, especially with frameworks. Get sloppy with your routes and you’ll find yourself in a labyrinth. This is not to say that Vue doesn’t offer flexibility, but Nuxt enables you to do it quicker.For instance, let’s say that you’ve created a directory that contains a file called “about/index.vue.” Nuxt would create an /about route automatically that, of course, leads directly to that page. It may not sound like much, but it can be a huge timesaver.
This works with nested routes as well. Create an “about/client/index.vue” directory, and an “about/client” route will be generated automatically. Nuxt even allows you to create dynamic nested routes. To do this, simply name the subdirectory using the lodash prefix. If you create a “user/_id/index.vue” directory, the framework will automatically create a nested route based on the user ID in question.
Layouts
Layouts are one of the main advantages of the Nuxt framework. Where Vue apps are based on the main file App.vue, Nuxt uses layouts, which significantly simplifies things for the developer. Each layout is a wrapper for app components. This allows you to designate pages with particular CSS styles, UI libraries, fonts, meta tags, and any number of other elements.Of particular brilliance is that Nuxt is structured almost identically to Vue. The environment is very similar. The default Nuxt structuring isn’t obligatory, although it’s highly recommended. It will allow for easier code maintenance and better structuring.
Other Nuxt Benefits
There are a plethora of benefits that Nuxt brings to the table. Taken together, they make for a superior framework that often works better than Vue.You get all the benefits of a universal app, only without a server. This is simply fantastic. It also makes universal app creation seamless and straightforward.
And then there are the auto-update server options, automatic code-splitting, and ease of single-file component creation. Add this to the list of benefits and you get one hell of a framework.
Efficiency
Back in the day, web development wasn’t all in on speed and efficiency. It was tilted toward attention to detail and finding the best (and the least resource-demanding) way to do something. This has changed today when everyone is in a hurry. Dither for too long and you’re left in the dust. Make mistakes and adapt.This is the mentality of Nuxt nowadays. It isn’t the most bug-free environment. It’s not a framework that works perfectly. But it does make certain actions significantly easier compared to Vue. The main disadvantages of Nuxt are no longer of concern. Its primary advantages, on the other hand, put it in front of the race.
Why Use Nuxt?
We live in an age of frontend developers. Full-stack dev actually takes the cake, but the frontend is where it’s at. Backenders resolve problems – problem-solving is a common soft spot for them.Nuxt is very focused on frontend dev. It’s better structured and makes structuring much more straightforward. There is also the aspect of layouts, which every frontender falls in love with.
But this isn’t the most common reason for those who choose Nuxt over Vue. In terms of SEO, Nuxt comes out on top in every respect, from advertising to things as basic as social media sharing. Granted, all of this is doable in Vue, but it’s just going to take longer.
Optimizing Your Magento 2 Store
eCommerce is an immensely popular way of buying things. Many people are browsing items to buy online almost all the time. Speed and reliability are crucial aspects of every eCommerce platform. Magento has been the primary choice of many retail websites and webstores for a while now.
Magento 2 has improved upon the original in all aspects, streamlining the online retail process of all webstores that use this software platform.
Knowing how to work it and optimize it, however, is critical to eCommerce success.
With this in mind, here are some optimization tips that will help your Magento 2 store.
Plus, Magento 2 brings a lot of cool new things, without taking away any key feature.
Even if you’ve already upgraded to Magento 2, you can expect frequent updates. You don’t have to update the moment an update becomes available. Maybe choose a low-traffic day based on site analytics.
Oh, and bear in mind that migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 isn’t straightforward. You may actually need some outside technical help. It’s worth it, though – upgrading to Magento 2 is the pillar of Magento optimization.
The compiler will create an index of all application files. This allows the website to skip looking through the data, which speeds things up. The best part: The compiler will cache the files that aren’t used often.
To enable this tool, navigate to System on the platform, select Tools, click Compilation, and then Run Compilation Process.
Fortunately, Magento 2 has a feature that allows you to merge the two files into one. Here’s how to do it.
On your Magento interface, navigate to the Stores tab and then click Configuration. Then, select Advanced and go to Developer. Under CSS Settings and JavaScript Settings, change the dropdown menu settings to Yes. Confirm by clicking Save Config.
You’re not done just yet. You’re going to need to clear the cache if you want the changes to go into effect. To do this, go to your Magento root directory and run these two commands: “php bin/magento cache:clean” and “php bin/magento cache:flush.”
To use Varnish to configure Magento, you’ll need to first log into Magento as an administrator. Then, navigate to Stores, followed by Configuration. From this menu, go to Advanced and click System. Finally, navigate to Full Page Cache.
Then, from the Caching Application list, select Varnish Caching. Select the TTL for public content field and enter a value. Now, expand Varnish Configuration and enter your information for the Varnish configuration.
Identifying problematic modules and getting rid of them is crucial to optimizing your Magento 2 store.
Using a profiler is the best way to go here. This tool will help you catch up with the number of MySQL queries on a page. Take a look at the identical queries and you can compact them into one, thereby significantly speeding up Magento.
Some third-party modules can ravage the performance of your webstore. Therefore, you’ll want to identify and remove them, if any.
You need to think about a multitude of platforms, as well. For instance, the average desktop internet connection may not have a hard time downloading 30Mb of data. However, try opening this page on a smartphone with limited data available, and it’s a whole other story.
This is why you need to check whether your images are optimized. There has to be a good ratio of image size and quality. If you’re using a small image with a huge resolution, it’s not going to look any different at a lower resolution and the file will be way smaller.
Alternatively (although you can use these two optimization methods in combination), you can resort to the “lazy loading” technique. You’ve probably seen it countless times on various webstores. It means instructing Magento to load your images after the page is loaded. In other words, as a user is scrolling through the catalog.
Applying both of these techniques will help you optimize the images and improve user experience.
Fortunately, Magento 2 is fully equipped to handle the optimization of your webstore. All you need to do is look into the details. And, check for potential bottlenecks every so often.
June 15, 2020Magento 2 has improved upon the original in all aspects, streamlining the online retail process of all webstores that use this software platform.
Knowing how to work it and optimize it, however, is critical to eCommerce success.
Optimization Tips
As mentioned, speed and reliability are vital in eCommerce. If a webstore is slow and causes users to go back through the purchase process, many of them will turn away, maybe even never to come back. This cannot happen if you want your webstore to turn a profit.With this in mind, here are some optimization tips that will help your Magento 2 store.
Get the Latest Version of Magento
If you are still using Magento 1, you probably know that the support for this platform ends at the end of June. Sure, you may be reluctant to upgrade to Magento 2 because Magento 1 seems to work great for your business, but it won’t for much longer.Plus, Magento 2 brings a lot of cool new things, without taking away any key feature.
Even if you’ve already upgraded to Magento 2, you can expect frequent updates. You don’t have to update the moment an update becomes available. Maybe choose a low-traffic day based on site analytics.
Oh, and bear in mind that migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 isn’t straightforward. You may actually need some outside technical help. It’s worth it, though – upgrading to Magento 2 is the pillar of Magento optimization.
Update Extensions
Besides migrating to Magento 2, the reason why your platform is underperforming may be because the extensions aren’t updated. Make sure that you scroll through your extensions and third-party add-ons every now and again. Although these should update automatically, sometimes this doesn’t happen.Enable Magento Compilation
The updated compilation is a brilliant feature on Magento 2. It can actually give you a speed boost of up to 50%.The compiler will create an index of all application files. This allows the website to skip looking through the data, which speeds things up. The best part: The compiler will cache the files that aren’t used often.
To enable this tool, navigate to System on the platform, select Tools, click Compilation, and then Run Compilation Process.
Revamp JavaScript and CSS
Consider merging your CSS and Javascript file into a single one. This will help reduce HTTP requests, which further improves your page loading times. Speeding things is vital for any webstore.Fortunately, Magento 2 has a feature that allows you to merge the two files into one. Here’s how to do it.
On your Magento interface, navigate to the Stores tab and then click Configuration. Then, select Advanced and go to Developer. Under CSS Settings and JavaScript Settings, change the dropdown menu settings to Yes. Confirm by clicking Save Config.
You’re not done just yet. You’re going to need to clear the cache if you want the changes to go into effect. To do this, go to your Magento root directory and run these two commands: “php bin/magento cache:clean” and “php bin/magento cache:flush.”
Enable Full-Page Cache with Varnish
Instead of allowing files to handle full-page cache, use Varnish for this. You could also use integrated caching, but that’s a much slower method. Varnish, on the other hand, has been designed for this purpose – to boost HTTP traffic.To use Varnish to configure Magento, you’ll need to first log into Magento as an administrator. Then, navigate to Stores, followed by Configuration. From this menu, go to Advanced and click System. Finally, navigate to Full Page Cache.
Then, from the Caching Application list, select Varnish Caching. Select the TTL for public content field and enter a value. Now, expand Varnish Configuration and enter your information for the Varnish configuration.
Find Bottlenecks in Third-Party Modules
Like with most platforms, third-party modules and add-ons may not be fully agreeable with Magento 2. Third-party modules may turn into bottlenecks and do more harm than good for your webstore.Identifying problematic modules and getting rid of them is crucial to optimizing your Magento 2 store.
Using a profiler is the best way to go here. This tool will help you catch up with the number of MySQL queries on a page. Take a look at the identical queries and you can compact them into one, thereby significantly speeding up Magento.
Some third-party modules can ravage the performance of your webstore. Therefore, you’ll want to identify and remove them, if any.
Optimize Images
Every website is impacted by the size of the images used. The higher the resolutions, the slower the load times will be. For example, if there are 30 products on a page and each of them features a 1 MB image, 30 MB needs to be downloaded. This number can go much higher, depending on image sizes and resolutions.You need to think about a multitude of platforms, as well. For instance, the average desktop internet connection may not have a hard time downloading 30Mb of data. However, try opening this page on a smartphone with limited data available, and it’s a whole other story.
This is why you need to check whether your images are optimized. There has to be a good ratio of image size and quality. If you’re using a small image with a huge resolution, it’s not going to look any different at a lower resolution and the file will be way smaller.
Alternatively (although you can use these two optimization methods in combination), you can resort to the “lazy loading” technique. You’ve probably seen it countless times on various webstores. It means instructing Magento to load your images after the page is loaded. In other words, as a user is scrolling through the catalog.
Applying both of these techniques will help you optimize the images and improve user experience.
Making the Most Out of Your Magento 2 Store
There are many things that you can do to improve the user experience of your Magento 2 store. Always keep in mind that the attention span of the typical buyer is very low – they will give up on a purchase if things aren’t going smoothly. No one likes to spend more time than necessary on online purchases.Fortunately, Magento 2 is fully equipped to handle the optimization of your webstore. All you need to do is look into the details. And, check for potential bottlenecks every so often.
Is Dropshipping Dead in 2020?
The dropshipping industry was worth $102.2 billion back in 2018. In the period that started in 2019 and ending in 2025, the industry is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 28.8%. This growth is anticipated because people are increasingly shopping online. This, plus the rise in cross-border eCommerce trading.
So, not only is dropshipping not dead in 2020, it’s at the beginning of exponential growth. But why are people raising this question? Perhaps it’s because of a wariness that innovative business models give way to new advancements.
Dropshipping became popular with eCommerce store owners in the early 2000s, but it’s actually much older than that. It’s been around since the days of catalog shopping in the 60s and 70s. Why buy inventory when you can ship directly from the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer, right? But then, people are still doubtful that this model is lucrative to get into.
It doesn’t help that there are misconceptions that cause people to think that dropshipping is a dead business model.
They think that dropshipping is no longer a buzzword is enough to mean that the hype is gone. In a sense, yes, the hype is gone but only for people who fall out of the dropshipping target group. This means that dropshipping has actually found its target audience and it’s being pitched to the appropriate people.
Every trend takes time to find its target group. Dropshipping has been successful in this department.
So, how is the dropshipping hype doing? The frequency of dropshipping keyword searches has grown a lot in the past few years.
Whenever you go through AliExpress looking for the best possible deals, guess what? That’s dropsurfing.
This, in effect, means that dropsurfing is nothing more than a part of the dropshipping business model. It’s a branch of dropshipping that calls for having multiple suppliers lined up.
So, if someone bought a fancy refrigerator for $1000 on your eCommerce store that uses the dropshipping model and you have multiple potential suppliers, you’d select the supplier that has the lowest price (to you) to fulfill the order. That fridge is going to get shipped out from the supplier directly to the buyer and you keep the difference for doing practically no work.
If anything, dropsurfing is going to promote dropshipping even more.
Since there are so many people engaged in dropshipping, the competition has gone through the roof, right?
Not exactly, as you only have to worry about online shoppers. And the number of online shoppers is only going up. As long as digital commerce lives, dropshipping will too.
Also, dropshipping won’t work for any retail business out there. However, as long as the dropshipping method fits your needs, there is no reason to go around it.
If this doesn’t clarify things for you, let’s take a look at the numbers. By 2021, it is estimated that global dropshipping sales will go over $1.5 trillion. There is definitely enough to go around.
Dropshipping isn’t an end to itself but a means to an end. It can be an invaluable asset for market research if used properly. For instance, instead of stocking inventory, you can use dropshipping to “test drive” a product. If it proves to be a hot seller, you can consider stocking it.
With dropshipping, you don’t have to worry about this too much. It’s a perfect solution for those locations that fall outside of your target regions. For example, if you have a French supplier, you’d be able to fill orders in most parts of Europe relatively affordably.
Dropshipping allows eCommerce companies to avoid inventory costs. Unlike physical retail stores, which have to pay employees and rent, inventory costs are usually by far the biggest cost for online stores. By virtue of cutting these costs out, dropshipping can help you to maximize your eCommerce efforts.
Dropshipping lives on!
May 30, 2020So, not only is dropshipping not dead in 2020, it’s at the beginning of exponential growth. But why are people raising this question? Perhaps it’s because of a wariness that innovative business models give way to new advancements.
Dropshipping became popular with eCommerce store owners in the early 2000s, but it’s actually much older than that. It’s been around since the days of catalog shopping in the 60s and 70s. Why buy inventory when you can ship directly from the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer, right? But then, people are still doubtful that this model is lucrative to get into.
It doesn’t help that there are misconceptions that cause people to think that dropshipping is a dead business model.
Dropshipping Misconceptions
Misinformation is how misconceptions are born. And here are the most common to keep in mind.The Hype Is Gone
As mentioned, dropshipping is a trend that has been around for quite some time. Now, this misconception is spread by people who have a superficial knowledge of dropshipping.They think that dropshipping is no longer a buzzword is enough to mean that the hype is gone. In a sense, yes, the hype is gone but only for people who fall out of the dropshipping target group. This means that dropshipping has actually found its target audience and it’s being pitched to the appropriate people.
Every trend takes time to find its target group. Dropshipping has been successful in this department.
So, how is the dropshipping hype doing? The frequency of dropshipping keyword searches has grown a lot in the past few years.
Dropsurfing Will Replace It
Some think that it already has. But what is dropsurfing? Well, it isn’t really a thing. This term means sourcing products with the best prices and fulfilling incoming orders. Yes, it does sound interesting, perhaps more lucrative than dropshipping even. Which would be great if dropsurfing was unique.Whenever you go through AliExpress looking for the best possible deals, guess what? That’s dropsurfing.
This, in effect, means that dropsurfing is nothing more than a part of the dropshipping business model. It’s a branch of dropshipping that calls for having multiple suppliers lined up.
So, if someone bought a fancy refrigerator for $1000 on your eCommerce store that uses the dropshipping model and you have multiple potential suppliers, you’d select the supplier that has the lowest price (to you) to fulfill the order. That fridge is going to get shipped out from the supplier directly to the buyer and you keep the difference for doing practically no work.
If anything, dropsurfing is going to promote dropshipping even more.
Extreme Competition Has Killed Dropshipping
In business, the fear of competition is real. Although it is a healthy thing that pushes companies forward and fuels the consumer-driven US economy, competition is a clear and present threat to many businesses.Since there are so many people engaged in dropshipping, the competition has gone through the roof, right?
Not exactly, as you only have to worry about online shoppers. And the number of online shoppers is only going up. As long as digital commerce lives, dropshipping will too.
It’s Dead Because There’s No Money in It
Dropshipping is quick to start and easy to run. Most entrepreneurs are taught that nothing easy can last or stay profitable. First of all, this is because people think that running a dropshipping business is all about dropshipping. In reality, there are many other aspects to consider.Also, dropshipping won’t work for any retail business out there. However, as long as the dropshipping method fits your needs, there is no reason to go around it.
If this doesn’t clarify things for you, let’s take a look at the numbers. By 2021, it is estimated that global dropshipping sales will go over $1.5 trillion. There is definitely enough to go around.
Ad Costs Are Destroying It
Facebook and Google ads are necessary for a dropshipping business. These ads were cheap 10 years ago but not anymore. But you’ve just got to understand that this is the reality of things. 10 years from now, you’ll probably find yourself thinking, “Damn, Facebook and Google ads were so cheap in 2020.” If you really think about it, ad costs on Facebook and Google are underpriced. That’s why everyone uses them and many of them get a positive ROI. Of course, you’re going to have to know what you’re doing with your dropshipping ad campaign to do the same.Dropshipping Tips for 2020
There is always a right and a wrong way of doing things. The wrong way, in the case of dropshipping, is doing it differently than the right way. If you pay attention to the following tips and apply them, you can succeed in dropshipping in 2020 and beyond.Market Research
Market research is a crucial aspect of doing business. Whether you’re trying to get into the market, come up with business ideas, or introduce an innovation, you can’t do it without market research.Dropshipping isn’t an end to itself but a means to an end. It can be an invaluable asset for market research if used properly. For instance, instead of stocking inventory, you can use dropshipping to “test drive” a product. If it proves to be a hot seller, you can consider stocking it.
Strategic Shipping
Ideally, you’d love to be able to ship to every single corner in the world. And you can, but you’re going to have to earn shipping discounts and do it affordably. That may not be possible in the beginning.With dropshipping, you don’t have to worry about this too much. It’s a perfect solution for those locations that fall outside of your target regions. For example, if you have a French supplier, you’d be able to fill orders in most parts of Europe relatively affordably.
Maintenance Avoidance
By not storing certain high-maintenance products in your warehouse, you are cutting a lot of costs. This includes heavy items, fragile products, valuables, etc. With dropshipping, this isn’t something you have to worry about.Dropshipping Lives On!
As you can see, dropshipping is far from dead. It’s starting yet another upward spiral. Of course, what you need to understand is that dropshipping may not be for you. Another important thing to keep in mind is that dropshipping is best used tactically and intelligently.Dropshipping allows eCommerce companies to avoid inventory costs. Unlike physical retail stores, which have to pay employees and rent, inventory costs are usually by far the biggest cost for online stores. By virtue of cutting these costs out, dropshipping can help you to maximize your eCommerce efforts.
Dropshipping lives on!
Does Migrating to Magento Commerce 2 Help Grow Your Revenue?
Magento is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms for a reason – many people use it because it’s exceptional. Although many users don’t have much to complain, Magento 1 is nearing its long-awaited retirement. Support for Magento 1 is officially going to end in the coming June (2020).
Fortunately, its successor, Magento 2, is better than ever. It’s not going to be hard to use and it brings with it a lot of cool things. Migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 has never been more critical. Even if you’ve never used Magento, you should consider switching to Magento Commerce 2.
Either way, Magento 2 is very capable of growing your online store’s revenue. This research should be enlightening.
The participants were retailers that used either Magento 1 or another eCommerce platform.
78.9% of respondents reported an efficiency improvement in content creation with Magento 2 to the tune of 60.6% time savings. It translates to monetary savings as the productivity increase allowed them to cut back on staff.
The best way to take note of how much Magento 2 has progressed from the original is to observe the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). In the Stax Inc. study, the KPIs of downtime, site traffic, conversion rates, average order value, and mobile revenue all improved.
Before upgrading to Magento 2, the participants experienced significant downtime, especially when there’s heavy traffic. This is particularly problematic, as you can imagine. Outages make tracking target customers more difficult, if not impossible.
After moving to Magento 2, they saw a whopping 92.9% decrease in average downtime in the first year. This is owing to Magento 2's scalable architecture, which maintains superior performance under heavy site traffic.
Increasing site traffic is a major challenge for eCommerce companies. In this regard, the participants were pleased with Magento 2’s “out-of-the-box SEO tools.” They cited this feature as most responsible for improving site traffic.
Another great thing about Magento 2 regarding site traffic is that it allows eCommerce store owners to come up with personalized buyer journeys. In the case of the study participants, this feature helped them to keep customers on their site longer, which usually results in a proportional increase in the number of conversions.
Once again, this sizable increase was achieved through Magento 2’s support for more personalized buyer journeys. In addition, extensive checkout optimization and instant purchases also boosted buyer experience.
Generally speaking, the more user-friendly and the easier the checkout process is, the better the conversion rate. Therefore, you should never underestimate the effects of a seamless checkout process. Shopping cart abandonment goes down if you can provide a smooth checkout. This is what Magento 2 brings to the table: A user-friendly checkout experience that alleviates shopping cart abandonment.
The best way to track the effectiveness of upselling is to track the average order value. If this KPI goes up, customers are buying more per order (in terms of total dollar value). A number of things can affect this but perhaps none as significant as upselling and cross-selling.
How does Magento 2 help with this? By offering automated cross-sell and upsell features that help businesses improve average order values.
The respondents achieved a 4.8% increase in average order value after migrating to Magento 2. This increase is achieved solely as a result of Magento 2’s automated cross-sell and upsell features.
It’s a 4.8% increase in revenue, and if you’re able to upsell and cross-sell higher profit margin items, your profits will go up more than that. Amazon, for example, is believed to generate up to 35% of company profits as a result of cross-selling – that’s according to Forbes.
Additionally, some B2B respondents found Magento 2’s wholly integrated features hugely helpful for average order value improvement. Case in point, the advanced search helps customers to find everything that they’re looking for on the eCommerce site.
Although an equilibrium has not been agreed upon, Magento 2 allows users to have a unified desktop and mobile experience. Believe it or not, this is a critical factor in revenue increase.
The research participants saw a 29.1% increase in mobile revenue post-migration. The unified desktop and mobile experience enabled in Magento 2 was quoted as a major contributing factor.
Moving to Magento 2 can be a good idea for eCommerce store owners, which is why many have done their research and went ahead. In any event, those who have yet to do so are going to have to get started, as June 2020 is the last month that Magento 1 support will be available.
Be that as it may, migrating to Magento Commerce 2, whether it’s from Magento 1 or another platform, can be pretty involved and should not be taken lightly. Fortunately, there are professional agencies that have executed this many times before and may be of help.
May 15, 2020Fortunately, its successor, Magento 2, is better than ever. It’s not going to be hard to use and it brings with it a lot of cool things. Migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 has never been more critical. Even if you’ve never used Magento, you should consider switching to Magento Commerce 2.
Either way, Magento 2 is very capable of growing your online store’s revenue. This research should be enlightening.
The Data
An early 2019 study, done by global consulting firm Stax Inc., shows the benefits of migrating to Magento 2.The participants were retailers that used either Magento 1 or another eCommerce platform.
78.9% of respondents reported an efficiency improvement in content creation with Magento 2 to the tune of 60.6% time savings. It translates to monetary savings as the productivity increase allowed them to cut back on staff.
The best way to take note of how much Magento 2 has progressed from the original is to observe the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). In the Stax Inc. study, the KPIs of downtime, site traffic, conversion rates, average order value, and mobile revenue all improved.
List of Revenue Growth KPIs
You might not be certain of how migrating to Magento 2 can help your eCommerce store. To provide some clarity, let’s have a look at how the above five KPIs behaved going from Magento 1 to Magento Commerce 2.Downtime
In this study, downtime pertains to any period of time where customers couldn’t complete transactions due to outages or platform failures. This, of course, excludes updates and maintenance.Before upgrading to Magento 2, the participants experienced significant downtime, especially when there’s heavy traffic. This is particularly problematic, as you can imagine. Outages make tracking target customers more difficult, if not impossible.
After moving to Magento 2, they saw a whopping 92.9% decrease in average downtime in the first year. This is owing to Magento 2's scalable architecture, which maintains superior performance under heavy site traffic.
Site Traffic
Site traffic is a highly important KPI in eCommerce. After migrating to Magento 2, the respondents reported a 24.8% increase in average site traffic.Increasing site traffic is a major challenge for eCommerce companies. In this regard, the participants were pleased with Magento 2’s “out-of-the-box SEO tools.” They cited this feature as most responsible for improving site traffic.
Another great thing about Magento 2 regarding site traffic is that it allows eCommerce store owners to come up with personalized buyer journeys. In the case of the study participants, this feature helped them to keep customers on their site longer, which usually results in a proportional increase in the number of conversions.
Conversion Rates
This KPI might be even more important than site traffic. The study participants reported an average increase of 16.1% in conversion rates after the migration. This was during the first year.Once again, this sizable increase was achieved through Magento 2’s support for more personalized buyer journeys. In addition, extensive checkout optimization and instant purchases also boosted buyer experience.
Generally speaking, the more user-friendly and the easier the checkout process is, the better the conversion rate. Therefore, you should never underestimate the effects of a seamless checkout process. Shopping cart abandonment goes down if you can provide a smooth checkout. This is what Magento 2 brings to the table: A user-friendly checkout experience that alleviates shopping cart abandonment.
Average Order Value
Although conversions and sales are the leading metrics for eCommerce stores, a lot of people fail to recognize the importance of upselling. A proper upsell strategy can help a business improve its revenue model and profitability.The best way to track the effectiveness of upselling is to track the average order value. If this KPI goes up, customers are buying more per order (in terms of total dollar value). A number of things can affect this but perhaps none as significant as upselling and cross-selling.
How does Magento 2 help with this? By offering automated cross-sell and upsell features that help businesses improve average order values.
The respondents achieved a 4.8% increase in average order value after migrating to Magento 2. This increase is achieved solely as a result of Magento 2’s automated cross-sell and upsell features.
It’s a 4.8% increase in revenue, and if you’re able to upsell and cross-sell higher profit margin items, your profits will go up more than that. Amazon, for example, is believed to generate up to 35% of company profits as a result of cross-selling – that’s according to Forbes.
Additionally, some B2B respondents found Magento 2’s wholly integrated features hugely helpful for average order value improvement. Case in point, the advanced search helps customers to find everything that they’re looking for on the eCommerce site.
Mobile Revenue
The world is moving to universal responsive design. The technology is geared for a seamless experience from a smartphone/tablet to a PC.Although an equilibrium has not been agreed upon, Magento 2 allows users to have a unified desktop and mobile experience. Believe it or not, this is a critical factor in revenue increase.
The research participants saw a 29.1% increase in mobile revenue post-migration. The unified desktop and mobile experience enabled in Magento 2 was quoted as a major contributing factor.
Is Magento 2 That Good?
Yes, Magento 2 is going to help eCommerce stores to grow revenue. As demonstrated in the above study, this lies in Magento 2’s enhanced eCommerce capabilities. The cost of the migration is low enough compared to the outsized advantages that higher revenue for the study participants should also result in increased profits.Moving to Magento 2 can be a good idea for eCommerce store owners, which is why many have done their research and went ahead. In any event, those who have yet to do so are going to have to get started, as June 2020 is the last month that Magento 1 support will be available.
Be that as it may, migrating to Magento Commerce 2, whether it’s from Magento 1 or another platform, can be pretty involved and should not be taken lightly. Fortunately, there are professional agencies that have executed this many times before and may be of help.
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