Category: Ecommerce

20 Reasons Why WooCommerce Is the Ultimate eCommerce Platform

Posted on by Jay

In the rapidly evolving landscape of eCommerce, choosing the right platform is crucial for the success of any online business. Among the myriad options available, WooCommerce stands out as a leading choice for entrepreneurs and established brands alike. 

Powered by WordPress and renowned for its flexibility, scalability, and extensive feature set, WooCommerce development has established itself as the go-to solution for creating powerful and customizable online stores. 

Let’s delve into the 20 compelling reasons why it is widely regarded as the best eCommerce platform:

20 Reasons Why WooCommerce Is the Best eCommerce Platform

1. Seamless Integration with WordPress: As an extension of WordPress, it seamlessly integrates with the world’s most popular content management system, providing users with the combined power of eCommerce functionality and robust website management capabilities.

2. Open Source and Customization: Being open-source software, WooCommerce offers unparalleled customization options, allowing businesses to tailor their online stores to meet specific branding, design, and functionality requirements.

3. Large Developer Community: With a vast community of developers, designers, and users contributing plugins, themes, and extensions, the eCommerce benefits from extensive community support, ensuring continuous innovation and improvement.

4. Scalability: Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, it scales effortlessly to accommodate businesses of all sizes, from a few products to an extensive product catalog with thousands of items.

5. Extensive Plugin Ecosystem: The CMS platform boasts various plugins and extensions, providing users with endless possibilities to enhance their store’s features, from payment gateways and shipping methods to marketing tools and analytics.

6. User-Friendly Interface: Despite its advanced capabilities, the eCommerce platform maintains a user-friendly interface that simplifies store management tasks, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.

7. SEO-Friendly: It inherits the SEO-friendly nature of WordPress, offering features such as customizable permalinks, metadata control, clean code structure, and integration with popular SEO plugins, facilitating better search engine visibility and ranking.

8. Security: With regular updates, secure payment gateways, SSL support, and a vigilant development community, it prioritizes security to protect online stores and customer data from potential threats.

9. Cost-Effectiveness: It in itself is free to use, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to establish an online presence. While there may be costs associated with premium extensions, themes, hosting, and other services, WooCommerce’s open-source nature minimizes initial investment.

10. Global Reach: The CMS platform WooCommerce supports multiple languages, currencies, and tax configurations, enabling businesses to cater to diverse audiences worldwide and expand their reach across borders.

11. Mobile Responsiveness: With an increasing number of consumers shopping on mobile devices, it offers mobile-responsive themes and interfaces, ensuring a seamless and optimized shopping experience across all devices.

12. Analytics and Reporting: It provides robust analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to track sales, monitor performance, analyze customer behavior, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their store’s performance.

13. Inventory Management: From managing product variations and stock levels to setting up backorders and low stock notifications, It offers comprehensive inventory management capabilities to streamline operations and ensure efficient stock control.

14. Flexible Payment Options: WooCommerce supports a wide range of payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, Square, and more, giving customers flexibility in payment methods and facilitating secure transactions.

15. Customer Relationship Management (CRM): With built-in customer management features and integration options with CRM software like HubSpot and Salesforce, It enables businesses to nurture customer relationships, personalize communication, and drive repeat purchases.

16. Abandoned Cart Recovery: WooCommerce offers tools to track and recover abandoned carts, allowing businesses to send automated emails or reminders to customers who have left items in their carts, thereby increasing conversion rates and recovering potentially lost revenue.

17. Product Reviews and Ratings: User-generated content such as product reviews and ratings play a crucial role in building trust and credibility. It includes built-in features for customers to leave reviews and ratings. Fostering transparency and helping other shoppers make informed purchasing decisions.

18. Inventory and Sales Forecasting: With the help of advanced reporting and analytics tools, WooCommerce enables businesses to forecast inventory needs and sales projections, allowing them to optimize stock levels, reduce overstocking or stockouts, and improve inventory management efficiency.

19. Subscription Services: For businesses offering subscription-based products or services, It provides plugins and extensions to facilitate recurring billing, subscription management, and automatic renewals, streamlining the subscription process for both businesses and customers.

20. Community Support and Resources: Finally, the eCommerce platform offers extensive community support through forums, documentation, tutorials, and online resources, empowering users to learn, troubleshoot, and grow their online stores with confidence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it WooCommerce stands out as the ultimate eCommerce platform for its unparalleled flexibility, scalability, customization options, and robust feature set.

Whether you’re a startup entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner. It provides the tools and resources you need to build and grow a successful online store that meets your unique needs and objectives.

WooCommerce is the leading CMS for eCommerce development but it requires experienced professionals to craft a truly unique shopping experience. Hire Andolasoft WooCommerce development services to craft an optimized and engaging shopping portal.

Top 10 Shopify Development Companies in 2023

Posted on by Jay

Shopify has become a popular platform for entrepreneurs who want to develop their own ecommerce stores. Its user-friendly interface and extensive customization option has made it a popular option to craft engaging online stores. 

Although Shopify provides all the features to build a store without writing a single line of code, to create a truly niche-differentiating shopping portal you will need to hire a professional shopify development company. 

More than just creating an ecommerce store, a Shopify development company can customize the theme, develop plugins, create an engaging UI and UX, and craft a SEO optimized store. 

Finding the best Shopify development company from thousands across the world can be a daunting task. So, we have curated a list of top Shopify development companies who specialize in providing a tailored solution to their customers. 

  1. Andolasoft
  2. Techtic Solutions
  3. Openxcell
  4. Ziffity Solutions
  5. Instinctools
  6. Mobikasa
  7. JPLoft Solutions
  8. Magneto IT Solutions
  9. Emizen Tech
  10. CartCoders

  11. Andolasoft:

Andolasoft takes the top spot on our list as the best Shopify development company in the world. The company has received numerous awards and accolades for its bespoke ecommerce solutions and has consistently delivered top-notch solutions to its global customers.

The company has a team of certified Shopify developers who have the expertise in crafting a unique solution for their customers.

Their experienced team follows agile methodology to meet client requirements efficiently.

Here is a comprehensive list of Shopify development services offered by Andolasoft.

  • Shopify Store Setup:
    Andolasoft expert team will configure your store’s settings, set up your custom domain, and assist with the initial setup, enabling you to start selling products or services quickly and seamlessly.
  • Custom Theme Development:
    Andolasoft’s team of designers and developers can create a tailor-made Shopify theme that aligns perfectly with your brand identity and business goals.
  • ECommerce App Integration:
    Integrating e-commerce apps and third-party tools is crucial for enhancing the functionality of your online store. Andolasoft offers seamless integration services, enabling you to connect your Shopify store with payment gateways, inventory management systems, marketing automation tools, and more to optimize your e-commerce operations.
  • Mobile Responsive Design:
    With the ever-increasing use of mobile devices for online shopping, having a mobile-responsive design is paramount. The Shopify development company ensures that your store is visually appealing and fully functional on smartphones and tablets, providing a seamless shopping experience for mobile users.
  • SEO Optimization:
    The Andolasoft team understands the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) for online visibility and customer acquisition. They optimize your Shopify store for search engines, helping you improve your search rankings, drive organic traffic, and increase the chances of being discovered by potential customers.
  • Performance Optimization:
    A slow-loading website can lead to lost sales and frustrated customers. Andolasoft offers performance optimization services to ensure your Shopify store loads quickly and efficiently, providing a smooth user experience that encourages conversions.
  • Data Migration:
    If you’re transitioning from another e-commerce platform to Shopify, Andolasoft’s team can help you migrate your data seamlessly. This includes transferring product listings, customer data, order histories, and other critical information to your new Shopify store.
  • Support and Maintenance:
    To keep your Shopify store running smoothly, Andolasoft provides ongoing support and maintenance services. Their team is available to address any issues, update your store, and assist with daily maintenance tasks, ensuring a hassle-free e-commerce operation.

  1. Techtic Solutions:

Techtic Solutions is recognized for its commitment to delivering scalable and high-performance Shopify websites. They prioritize understanding their clients’ businesses and goals, ensuring that the solutions they build drive success in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

  • Shopify Store Setup and Customization:
    Techtic Solutions assists with store setup and provides customization options to make your Shopify store visually appealing and user-friendly.
  • Theme Development and Customization:
    They specialize in creating and customizing Shopify themes to match your brand’s aesthetics and enhance user experience.
  • App Development and Integration:
    Techtic can develop custom apps and integrate third-party apps to extend the functionality of your Shopify store.
  • Performance Optimization:
    They optimize store performance for faster loading times and a better customer experience.

  1. Openxcell:

Openxcell is a global software development company that excels in Shopify development. They provide end-to-end e-commerce solutions, including store setup, customization, and seamless integration of apps and features.

  • Store Setup and Configuration:
    They assist in setting up your Shopify store, configuring essential settings, and getting it ready for business.
  • Customization and Theming:
    Openxcell customizes Shopify themes to align with your brand identity and create a unique online presence.
  • App Integration:
    They integrate and configure third-party apps to enhance your store’s functionality.

  1. Ziffity Solutions:

Ziffity Solutions stands out for its ability to create e-commerce platforms that drive growth and revenue. Their comprehensive services cover design, development, optimization, and more, ensuring clients have a holistic Shopify experience.

  • Design and Development of Shopify Stores:
    Ziffity Solutions focuses on creating visually appealing and high-performance Shopify stores that attract and retain customers.
  • Theme Customization:
    They customize Shopify themes to reflect your brand’s unique style and requirements.
  • App Integration:
    Ziffity integrates and configures apps to add features and functionalities to your store.
  • Performance Optimization:
    They optimize store performance for faster loading and better customer experience.

  1. Instinctools:

Instinctools combines creativity and technology to craft exceptional Shopify stores. They specialize in custom theme development, app integration, and performance optimization, helping clients achieve their unique business objectives.

  • Custom Theme Development: Instinctools specializes in developing custom Shopify themes tailored to your brand’s identity and user preferences.
  • App Integration and Customization: They integrate and customize Shopify apps to meet specific business needs and enhance functionality.
  • Performance Optimization: Instinctools optimizes store performance for faster loading times and improved user experience.
  • Ongoing Support and Maintenance: They offer continuous support and maintenance services to keep your Shopify store running smoothly.

  1. Mobikasa:

Mobikasa is a recognized player in the Shopify development industry, known for designing websites that captivate visitors and drive conversions. They have expertise in both B2B and B2C e-commerce, making them a versatile choice for businesses of all types.

  • B2B and B2C E-commerce Solutions:
    Mobikasa provides comprehensive e-commerce solutions for both B2B and B2C businesses.
  • Shopify Theme Design and Customization:
    They design and customize Shopify themes to create visually appealing and functional online stores.
  • App Integration:
    Mobikasa integrates third-party apps to enhance store functionality and meet specific business needs.
  • Performance and SEO Optimization:
    They optimize store performance and implement SEO best practices to improve visibility and rankings.

  1. JPLoft Solutions:

JPLoft Solutions is dedicated to creating Shopify websites that stand out in terms of design, functionality, and user experience. They have a skilled team that excels in crafting unique and compelling e-commerce solutions.

  • Custom Shopify Store Development:
    JPLoft Solutions specializes in developing custom Shopify stores tailored to your business goals and target audience.
  • Theme Customization:
    They customize Shopify themes to match your brand’s aesthetics and create a unique user experience.
  • App Integration:
    JPLoft integrates and configures apps to extend your store’s functionality and meet specific requirements.
  • Ongoing Support and Maintenance:
    They offer ongoing support and maintenance services to ensure your Shopify store runs smoothly and stays up to date.

  1. Magneto IT Solutions:

Magneto IT Solutions is a global company offering a wide range of Shopify services, including store setup, custom app development, and digital marketing. Their extensive experience and global presence make them a reliable partner for e-commerce projects.

  • End-to-End Shopify Development:
    Magneto IT Solutions provides complete Shopify development services, including store setup, customization, and ongoing support.
  • Custom App Development:
    They can develop custom Shopify apps to add unique features and functionalities to your store.
  • Digital Marketing for Shopify Stores:
    Magneto IT Solutions offers digital marketing services to boost the visibility and reach of your Shopify store.
  • Performance Optimization:
    They optimize store performance to ensure fast loading times and an excellent user experience.

  1. Emizen Tech:

Emizen Tech is known for its comprehensive and scalable Shopify solutions. They focus on tailoring their services to the specific requirements of their clients, ensuring that each e-commerce project is unique and effective.

  • Comprehensive Shopify Development Services:
    Emizen Tech offers a wide range of Shopify development services, covering store setup, customization, and ongoing support.
  • Customization and Theming:
    They customize Shopify themes to create visually appealing and user-friendly online stores.
  • App Integration:
    Emizen Tech integrates and configures third-party apps to enhance store functionality.
  • Performance Optimization:
    They optimize store performance for improved loading times and user satisfaction.

  1. CartCoders:

CartCoders is a leading Shopify development agency with a strong technical focus. They are committed to delivering outstanding e-commerce solutions that meet the diverse needs of businesses, ensuring growth and success in the online marketplace.

  • Custom Shopify Theme Development:
    CartCoders specializes in creating custom Shopify themes that align with your brand and engage your target audience.
  • App Integration and Customization:
    They integrate and customize Shopify apps to enhance store functionality and meet specific business requirements.
  • Performance Optimization:
    CartCoders focuses on optimizing store performance for faster loading times and improved user experience.
  • Ongoing Support and Maintenance:
    They offer ongoing support and maintenance services to keep your Shopify store running smoothly and up-to-date.

What are the Benefits of Shopify for Ecommerce Development

  • Ease of Use:

    Shopify is a CMS platform that provides a user-friendly interface and a simple setup process. You don’t need any technical skills to create and manage your online store. This ease of use makes it accessible to beginners and experienced users alike to create engaging online stores.

  • Hosting and Security:

    It provides secure and reliable hosting, ensuring your website is always up and running. They also handle security features like SSL certificates and compliance with industry standards, alleviating security concerns.

  • Mobile Responsiveness:

    The themes on Shopify are designed to be mobile-responsive, which is crucial in an era where mobile shopping is on the rise. This ensures that your store looks and functions well on smartphones and tablets.

  • App Store:

    The App Store offers a wide range of apps and plugins that extend the platform’s functionality. You can find apps for everything from marketing and sales to inventory management and customer support.

  • Customization:

    The CMS platform provides a high degree of customization. You can choose from a variety of themes, and if none suits your needs, you can create a custom design. Additionally, the platform allows for custom app development and integration with third-party tools.

  • Scalability:

    Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, the platform can accommodate your needs, and you won’t need to worry about server management or performance issues as you expand.

  • SEO-Friendly:

    It is designed with SEO best practices in mind. It offers features such as customizable meta tags, clean URL structures, and quick loading times, all of which contribute to better search engine rankings.

  • Payment Gateway Integration:

    It supports a variety of payment gateways, including its own (Shopify Payments). This flexibility allows you to choose the payment processing option that best suits your business and customers.

  • Customer Support:

    Shopify offers 24/7 customer support, which is invaluable if you encounter any issues with your online store. They also provide resources, tutorials, and a community forum for self-help.

  • Analytics and Reporting:

    The built-in analytics tools help you track your store’s performance. You can monitor traffic, sales, and customer behavior, enabling data-driven decisions and strategic improvements.

  • Dropshipping Capabilities:

    It has features and apps that make it easy to set-up and manage a dropshipping business, allowing you to sell products without holding inventory.

  • Abandoned Cart Recovery:

    The platform offers automated email reminders to customers who have abandoned their shopping carts, which can help recover potentially lost sales.

  • Multi-Channel Selling:

    Shopify allows you to sell your products not only through your online store but also on various social media platforms and marketplaces like Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon.

  • Marketing and SEO Tools:

    It provides built-in marketing and SEO tools, including the ability to create and manage ad campaigns, send newsletters, and optimize your website for search engines.

  • Community and Resources:

    It has a thriving community of users, developers, and experts, providing an extensive knowledge base, tutorials, and resources for users to tap into.

Conclusions

These top 10 Shopify development companies in 2023 have earned their reputation through years of dedicated work, innovation, and excellence.

When choosing a Shopify development partner, be sure to consider your specific requirements, budget, and project scope to find the perfect match for your e-commerce journey.

With the right Shopify development company by your side, your online business can thrive and achieve new heights of success in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Which is Better For Your Online Store?

Posted on by Jay

Are you thinking about starting your own ecommerce store or want to upgrade your existing ecommerce to a newer more dynamic platform then WooCommerce or Shopify are the two best options you have at your disposal.

WooCommerce and Shopify are the two most popular and biggest ecommerce platforms existing today. Together they enjoy nearly 80% of all ecommerce stores in the world.

As per market share WooCommerce is the most popular and the easiest-to-use ecommerce platform but Shopify is not to be ignored as it provides many features that are on-par or in some areas surpass WooCommerce.

Today, in this blog we are going to weigh WooCommerce vs Shopify, listing out their offerings across various categories so that you can make an informed choice when opting for an ecommerce platform for your next website.

WooCommerce vs Shopify – Side-by-Side Comparison

WooCommerce Shopify
Number of users 6.5 million users 4.4 million users
Market share 64.39% in ecommerce platforms 15.60% in ecommerce platforms
Number of Themes 5562 free and paid themes 133 free and paid themes
Plugins and extensions 700+ WooCommerce extensions 8000+ applications for Shopify store
Cost WooCommerce is free to use but customers pay for hosting, domain name, and extensions. Three pricing plans – Basic ($39/mo); Shopify ($105/mo); Advanced ($399/mo)
Free Trial Length WooCommerce is a free and open-source software 14 days free trial, no credit card required
Hosting Hosting is not included Hosting is included
Blog Best in class blog content creation Limited blogging features
Mobile Version Depends on the theme Yes
Email Newsletter Yes, but using a plugin Yes
Help and Support An active community publishes help content on forums and blogs. Support from theme and plugin editors Support over phone, chat, email, documentation, forum
Sales Commissions No From 0.5% to 2%
Storage Space Depends on Server size Unlimited

An Overview (WooCommerce vs Shopify)

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source platform which is a plugin for WordPress to turn any WordPress site into an ecommerce store.

It was launched in 2011 where WooCommerce quickly gained popularity in the eCommerce industry and has since then become world’s most popular eCommerce solution with over 6 million users and counting.

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The CMS (Content Management System) provides easy-to-use content addition features to store owners. This open-source platform comes with tons of advanced features and unlimited customization options; making it a great option for first-time store owners who want to set-up their online store with-in a budget and want to be able to scale-up or down when needed.

Shopify

Unlike WooCommerce, Shopify is not an open-source platform but provides tons of powerful features to meet various needs such as payment gateways, dropshipping, blogging, website security, SEO optimization, marketplace connection and more.

Shopify charges a monthly fee to set-up its store: Basic ($39/mo); Shopify ($105/mo); Advanced ($399/mo). Compared to WooCommerce, Shopify is much easier to set-up and is easier for beginners to build an online store from scratch.

Note: Both Shopify and WooCommerce feature easy store setup and don’t require coding skills. New users can easily set-up a basic store but for store customization you would need to hire WooCommerce development company or Shopify development agency.

Ease of Use

WooCommerce (4/5)

WooCommerce has a steeper learning curve; creating a basic ecommerce site is not biggie but to develop a professional looking online site with all its bells and whistles you will need the help of a professional.

Because WooCommerce is an open-source platform a number of editors from around the world develop WooCommerce plugins and extensions for the store which can be cumbersome if you are new to WooCommerce.

Shopify (4.5/5)

Shopify is the easiest-to-use of the two ecommerce platforms. Once you become familiar with the ecommerce platform it becomes fairly easier for new users to get things around in Shopify.

Moreover, Shopify is a hosted ecommerce platform which means it takes care of a ton of technicalities for you. A few aspects of ecommerce hosting such as domain name, hosting, and security (SSL) certificates are taken care of by Shopify.

With Shopify you don’t have to install, manage or update any software so there is no worry about security and backups.

Store Build Time & Themes

WooCommerce (3.5/5)

If you start from scratch or build on your own, WooCommerce can be challenging to set-up. Its basic store set-up has an amateur storefront which may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

To create a truly stunning online store you would need to buy themes, integrate SEO plugins, payment gateways, and other additional functional modules to improve your site features and capabilities.

Although it’s easier to begin with, getting a fully-functional eCommerce store on your own using WooCommerce is rather difficult. But store owners have a ton of creative control when using WooCommerce.

WooCommerce’s entry theme is fully responsive on mobile devices but to make your online store truly stand-out you need to put in hours of coding for customization.

Shopify (4.5/5)

Shopify is the best option for store owners who want to make their ecommerce store live faster and quicker.

Unlike setting up a store with WordPress the process is not manual and there is no dependency on external agencies like hosting providers, and data servers to manage your store.

In a nutshell Shopify will let you get your store live quicker than WooCommerce. When you have limited technical skills, Shopify is the best option.

Shopify theme stores have over 100+ free and paid themes to choose from. Moreover, Shopify themes are very polished – created with the latest design trends in mind.

Plugins & Integrations

WooCommerce (4.5/5)

Installing apps and plugins enables you to add more features to your store. On both platforms you can install apps to add extra functionality such as payment integration, SEO optimization, marketing metrics, social media and more.

Being an open-source platform WooCommerce relies on plugins to improve store features and there are over 50,000+ different plugins across various categories to choose from.

This enables you to build a bespoke website without any limitation. And if you hire a professional WooCommerce development agency you can bring your wildest ecommerce ideas to reality.

Shopify (3.5/5)

Shopify is a paid platform which suggests the brand has its own set of guidelines for plugins which is why there are only 1200+ free and paid apps in contrast to WooCommerce’s 50,000+ different plugins.

With Shopify, you can integrate marketing features such as email marketing, social media integrations, store locator features, drop shipping, analytics, and marketing plugins.

Payment & Transactions

WooCommerce (4.5/5)

When it comes to payment integration WooCommerce offers the best support hands-down. It has support for over 50 extensions in payment processors and gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.Net, Cryptoniq, and more.

WooCommerce supports all popular payment methods such as credit cards, bank transfer, Apple Pay etc.

Shopify (4/5)

Shopify supports major payment methods such as Shopify Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.Net, Opayo, Verifone, WorldPay, Klarna, Square etc.

SEO Optimization

WooCommerce (4.5/5)

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the key to attracting new customers and is a must needed feature in any ecommerce platform. When it comes to WooCommerce it offers the most comprehensive SEO optimization capabilities than Shopify.

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With WooCommerce you can install plugins to optimize store URLs, optimise meta titles and descriptions, enable breadcrumbs, add product descriptions, images, tags and more.

Shopify (4/5)

Shopify offers multiple SEO optimization features but not to the extent WooCommerce provides. With Shopify you can optimize store links, remove duplicate URLs, set-up store blog, and page redirects.

Data Security

WooCommerce (3.5/5)

Providing high-level security to your customers is an important aspect of being a trust-worthy eCommerce store as you will not only be processing customer’s money but also holding their personal information.

When it comes to security Shopify offers better security features with built in SSL certificate and PCI-DSS compliance.

WooCommerce is not automatically PCI-DSS compliant and doesn’t have its own SSL.

Shopify (4.5/5)

It takes care of store security for you because it’s a hosted platform. Shopify has built-in SSL (Secure Socket Layer) providing security when processing customer’s payment and personal information.

It is also PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant and there is no additional effort required from store owners to set up any other security features.

Pricing

WooCommerce (4.8/5)

WooCommerce is free to use where store owners have to pay only for hosting and other plugins and themes they install to improve website performance.

Because WooCommerce is free to use it offers a wider scope of store customization options.

Shopify (4/5)

Shopify offers only a 3-day trial and three pricing plans.

  • Basic ($39/mo) – $1/month for the first 3 months
  • Shopify ($105/mo) – $1/month for the first 3 months
  • Advanced ($399/mo) – $1/month for the first 3 months
  • Get 10% discount on annual plans

Final Thoughts

When we weigh in all the features they both stack-up close to one another. So, which eCommerce platform really is the best option for? The answer is it depends!

If you want a ton of customization options and can cough out thousands of dollars WooCommerce is the best solution for you. The platform itself is free to begin with but to avail advanced store features you need to hire a professional WooCommerce development agency. Who can set-up a powerful eCommerce store and can customize it as per your business requirement.

On the other hand, Shopify doesn’t provide much customization option but you can set-up a trend-setting ecommerce store in a few clicks. Shopify provides built-in hosting, and payment gateway integration which makes it easier for store-owners, who don’t have coding skills, to set-up and make their online store go live in a few days if not hours.

Andolasoft is a leading WooCommerce development agency providing custom ecommerce development solutions to global customers. If you are looking for an ecommerce development partner we can collaborate to bring your ideas to reality using the latest open-source technology.

How to Start an eCommerce Store for Your Brick and Mortar Shop?

Posted on by Jay

Running a brick and mortar shop is challenging enough; operating a physical store requires in-person customer interaction, staff management, security expenses, online store maintenance, and vulnerability to sales loss during a pandemic. Which gives you all the more reasons to start an ecommerce online store.

Expand profits by taking your brick-and-mortar business online and targeting local customers. Setting up and managing an online store is cost-effective; reaching your target customers is easy; running marketing campaigns, accepting payments and managing your inventory is more effortless than it was for running a physical store.

In this article you will learn how to set up your own ecommerce store and our suggestions on the top ecommerce platforms and technologies to choose. I will explain in detail the steps to follow while taking your business online.

How To Start Your eCommerce Business?How To Start Your eCommerce Business

We have written this blog assuming that you have a brick-and-mortar store and are well aware of your target customers. This blog help you to take your business online using industry best practices that many successful business owners followed.

  • Step 1: Determine the products you want to sell
  • Step 2: Run a competitor research to know what you’re up against
  • Step 3: Register a domain and choose an ecommerce development platform
  • Step 4: Upload and publish the products you want to sell online
  • Step 5: Create a maintenance plan for your online store

Determine the Products You Want to Sell Online

If you have a brick and mortar store you are already clear about what you will be selling online on your ecommerce store. But ecommerce is a vast space where your competitors will be selling a lot more variations of the products you are selling. Moreover you have to look into the possibility that selling the products you want to sell online is a viable option?

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For example: if you sell low-cost items, you have to attract customers who will purchase in bulk so that you can reduce the shipping charges; otherwise it will become an unprofitable business.

Another example: if you want to sell ceramic items, which are expensive and fragile, you will have to find logistic partners who can guarantee secure shipping of your products without mishandling the items.

Which is why it becomes essential that you determine the products you want to sell online and ensure that you can fulfill your customers’ orders without fail.

Run a Competitor Research to Know What You’re Up Against

When you have already figured-out the products you will be selling online, the next step would be to run a thorough competitor analysis and find out ways they run their online store.

Starting from your local businesses to global stores, you can derive a ton of insights into how they run their online business.

Here are a few pointers to look into when researching your competitors:

  • What products they are selling online
  • Learn about their shipping partners and how they fulfill their orders
  • Payment gateways they employ to accept payments
  • Technologies your competitors are using to run their store
  • Figure-out their marketing strategies and ways they engage with their competitors
  • Most importantly, find out your unique selling point and how you can compete in the market to win

You may already know how to run a brick-and-mortar store; however, running an ecommerce store is a completely different business model. Researching your competitors’ business will guide you into figuring out the right approach you can follow to make your ecommerce business a success.

Register a Domain and Choose an eCommerce Development Platform

At this stage you need a hosting provider who can host your website as well as store and manage your online store data. There are over 300,000 hosting providers in the world to choose from but there are some hosting services who are ecommerce friendly.

Here are top 5 ecommerce hosting providers:

  • GoDaddy Hosting
  • DreamHost
  • SiteGround
  • Hostinger
  • InMotion
  • Bluehost

Top Factors to consider when choosing your hosting provider

  • Scalability

Ensure that your ecommerce hosting provider offers a higher scalability option so that you can keep your store up and running 24/7 with little to no downtime. You don’t want your store to crash during peak shopping seasons!

  • Data security

On top of server scalability you will also need rock-solid security on your store. You will be handling thousands if not millions of customer data and payment details which you need to ensure never gets stolen. Opt for PCI compliant hosting providers who follow industry best practices to store and process customer credit cards data.

  • Faster page loading

eCommerce stores typically have a heavy font-end where a single page contains hundreds of images and integrated apps that need to load faster. This makes it essential for ecommerce stores to opt for hosting providers that can facilitate faster page loading.

The next step is to hire the right ecommerce development company, who can guide you to choose the best ecommerce platform for your online store.

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We suggest opting for CMS (content management systems) platforms which enables store owners to create their online store without having any coding skills, they can use their content management systems to upload product items and publish their store in 24 hours, literally!

Here are a few eCommerce platforms to choose from:

  • BigCommerce
  • WooCommerce
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
  • Magneto
  • Shopify
  • Wix

Upload and Publish the Products You Want to Sell Online

After selecting the ecommerce development platform for your online store, you can upload and publish your products with ease using the content management system.

At this phase you will need to opt for a professional eCommerce development company who can upload, populate and publish your products to make your ecommerce site live.

An ecommerce development agency can prepare upload files with all product details which can be employed to bulk upload products.

Create a Maintenance Plan for Your Online Store

To keep your online store running smoothly, create a maintenance plan now that it’s up and running. Stay current with market trends to thrive in eCommerce.

A maintenance plan for your online store is to ensure that you stay ahead in the market and your customers derive a better shopping experience:

The benefit of site maintenance includes:

  • Update store security features to keep it secure from trespassers
  • Give your customers a better user experience
  • Update store UI and UX to give your customers a better shopping experience.
  • Make your online store search engine friendly

Top ways to maintain your eCommerce site:

  • Update CMS version and themes
  • Update site plugins
  • Back up your store regularly
  • Monitor store analytics to find ways to improve customer experience
  • Maintain site security
  • Monitor server performance to prevent server downtime
  • Optimize website speed
  • Update and optimize store contents
  • Update product SKUs and descriptions
  • Keep and follow a maintenance schedule

Wrapping Up!

Setting up an online store is basically the same everywhere in the world. You have to stock-up your inventory, buy a domain name, choose a hosting provider, choose an ecommerce platform, upload product details and publish.
To accomplish all the above actions efficiently you should hire an eCommerce development agency who can set-it-up for you at a fraction of the cost.

If you can do all that as well as manage to sell your products, your ecommerce store business will take care of its own; you only have to take care of maintaining the site and implementing marketing strategies to keep your store going.

What Makes WooCommerce the Best eCommerce Platform?

Posted on by Jay

To be able to adapt to the changing eCommerce space and meet increasing customer demands is not an easy feat to achieve. You will need more than just a sales strategy, you also need to leverage the technology available in the market. You need a flexible and cost-effective platform to create your online store that gives you the flexibility to customize your store to meet your business goals.

Today, we have over 24 million ecommerce sites across the globe with WooCommerce powering nearly 13% of all ecommerce sites on the internet. So, what makes WooCommerce so popular among business owners?

If you are unfamiliar with WooCommerce and want to know more about it, then you have come to the right place. In this blog I will write in detail about what WooCommerce is? And why should you choose WooCommerce for your online store?
Lets explore the top factors that make WooCommerce the best platform for online stores.

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform built on WordPress. It encompasses over 27% of the market share, powering nearly 13% of all eCommerce sites on the internet. WooCommerce Website in one of the of the easiest platforms for store-owners to create and manage online products, content, user data, and all other elements in an ecommerce business. It is a plugin for WordPress that helps you create and manage online stores using a simple and intuitive interface

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It offers a range of features that enables online stores to manage inventory, manage tax, accept payments, manage shipping and more business functions from one portal. WooCommerce is an open-source platform which makes the eCommerce platform, free-to-use and allows access its source code. You also get the support of the community who are passionate about WooCommerce and contribute to improve its capabilities.

Top Features that make WooCommerce One of the Best eCommerce Platforms

  • Integrates with WordPress content
  • Enable guest checkout
  • Built-in geolocation support
  • Automate taxation
  • Reduce page loading speed
  • Provide a variety of products
  • Manage inventory effortlessly
  • Enable shipping options on your store
  • Enable shipping calculator on your page
  • Offer multiple shipping methods
  • SEO optimization of site
  • Enable coupons and discounts on your ecommerce store
  • Add product reviews
  • Sales reports
  • Send refunds with a single click

and more….

Why Should You Choose WooCommerce for Your Online Store?

It’s Free and Open Source

WooCommerce is free to use and is an open-source platform where you have access to the source code. Store owners can get started on WooCommerce without having to subscribe to any extensive support contract or license. Moreover, they can customize their store interface and functionality with ease.

Storefront Customization:

Storefront UI and UX play an important role in acquiring and retaining your customers. It also enables your store-owners to determine how they present the products they are selling. An optimized storefront can significantly increase your brand appearance and sales revenue. Which makes it important for business owners to opt in for online store platforms that offer higher customization.

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Modular Platform with Built-in Features and Plugins:

WooCommerce is a modular platform where you can upgrade your store’s capabilities with plugins and add-ons. Although the add-ons are premium it provides reliable scalability of site performance and feature offerings to the customers.

Search Engine Friendly Platform:

SEO is a significant part of getting a website ranked in the search engine result pages. If you want your store to drive more traffic, you have to optimize your eCommerce store and rank your website and store products higher in SERP.

Top SEO features in WooCommerce:

  • Page title optimization
  • Use breadcrumbs for easy site navigation
  • Write meta description for every product
  • Image optimization, add alt text in your image
  • Use SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO to check your page and product performance

Sell All Types of Products on WooCommerce:

With WooCommerce you can sell both physical and digital products; you can sell subscription-based products, provide online bookings, Amazon affiliate products, online auctions, and set appointments.

Support From One of the Largest Communities:

WooCommerce is an Open-Source platform and supported by a large community who contribute to develop the platform. You can join community meet ups to learn more ways to optimize your WooCommerce site.

Powerful Analytics to Measure and Improve Your Site:

WooCommerce’s default report and analytics tools provide important insights into your store’s performance on metrics such as cart abandonment tracking, shopping behavior monitoring, sales report, average order value, average cart value, refunds, revenue and tax reports, discount reports, and more.

For more in-depth analytics, you could install a third party plugin, below are mentioned  some of the best analytics and reporting add-ons for WooCommerce.

Conclusion:

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin, which enables businesses to start their online stores in a short time and with the least investment. WooCommerce plugins make it possible for online store owners to scale up their online store offerings without having to invest in store feature development. As WooCommerce is an open source platform, business owners can opt for more customized store features from professional WooCommerce developers.

Andolasoft is a leading WooCommerce development company, developing bespoke solutions for businesses who want to take their brick-and-mortar store online. We have a holistic approach to WooCommerce development incorporating various industry-standard design elements, and security features to deliver a high-performing online store for our global customers.

How To Customize WordPress Website Theme

Posted on by Jay

It’s always great to have a website for your business and if that is with WordPress, then you are one step ahead of your competitors. Because the CMS WordPress offers easy customization options with outstanding features and plugins to make your website user-friendly and search engine friendly.

After successful installation of WordPress theme, if you find it’s not the right fit for your business and needs customization for an engaging website. I’m sure it’s not annoying, as there are several options available for you to customize your WordPress themes.

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Here are some facts and figures of WordPress below,

  1. WordPress commands 39.6% of the internet in 2021, it was 35% in 2020. Thus the growth of nearly 5%, which is also 1% better than the previous year.
  1. If you count only CMS-build sites, 64.1% of them are powered by WordPress – a 4% increase from 2020 (60%)
  1. Over 60 million websites are hosted on the Custom WordPress Development Services platform.
  1. The website base of WordPress increased by nearly 3.2% between 2019 and 2021.
  1. Some of the popular WordPress plugins such as WooCommerce get as many as a million installations per week.
  1. Over 14% of the top 100 websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.
  1. As of 2021, WordPress.org has more than 54,000 plugins and over 7,000 themes.
  1. Over 13% of all WordPress websites use the WooCommerce plugin. The plugin has been downloaded over 60 million times and installed by 3 million websites worldwide.
  1. WordPress is preferred and recommended by over 50% of CMS users and web designers.

(Source – blog.sagipl.com)

But the major challenge is finding the most right way.

So here are several options that you need to follow for the customization of your WordPress theme. This article definitely helps you to identify the right one for you.

Options To Customize Your WordPress Theme:

Before diving in and start making changes to your theme, you need to know the best options that are available for customizing of your WordPress themes.

Here you go,

  • If you want to add functionality to your WordPress theme, install WordPress Plugin.
  • Use the customizer to your WordPress admin screens for customizer fonts, colors, and layouts, depending on the theme you choose.
  • If you work on a page builder theme, use its feature for customizing the design of your WordPress website.
  • When you install a framework theme, you can use a child theme that is available to customize your site.
  • As your theme is specific to your site and you are comfortable with it. You can edit the theme’s code directly.
  • As you want to edit the code of the third-party theme, you can go with the child theme.

If you want you can edit the code, there are a number of options available to you. You can go with the block editor, to the customizer, all you need to do is some editing.

Why Do You Need To Customize Your WordPress Theme?

With a customized WordPress theme you can change the website appearance completely. It is a great form of promoting your own unique style. It will help you to stand away from the crowd.

Most of the top brands make sure to have distinct designs of their website. Their unique touch helps them emerge as a unique brand. With WordPress themes, you are not only adding design and features to your websites but it is also a way of promoting your business.

Also, sometimes you come across many themes that have poor design layout, poor build, bad color combination, and are not well optimized. All these factors may impact website’s performance.

No single theme available which can be 100% perfect to fulfill all the requirements. However, customization helps here.

How To Customize WordPress Themes?

There are many ways, you can customize your WordPress theme but the only effective method is the one on which you are comfortable with. Some of the common methods are:

  • Default WordPress Customizer
  • Customization with codes
  • Customizing WordPress theme with a page builder tool

By default, WordPress provides an inbuilt WordPress customization feature that helps the website admins to customize some part of the website easily. But if you have WordPress developer who is good enough with coding, then you can do endless modification according to your need.

Premium WordPress themes are also allowing to do customization.

But before you move into customizing your WordPress themes and start using codes. It is better to develop a child theme first and do changes whatever you want rather than creating any kind of mess by editing the parent theme file.

Create A Child Theme And Make Your Changes To It:

It is the best solution to avoid any kind of data loss to your WordPress theme customization or update to develop a child theme. It is one of the best ways to have custom codes or snippets and avoid them from being erased.

The child theme has all the same functions and features as that of a parent theme. But the WordPress theme will read the archive.php file from the child theme and not from the parent theme.

Also if you don’t want to mess with any theme files and codes, you can start the customization of your WordPress theme by using the default customizer.

How To Customize Your WordPress Theme With A Default Customizer?

Instead of getting into the coding and all, you can use the theme customization tools. All you need to do is, first visit your WordPress Theme repository and select a theme that you will use for installation and customization.

Then go back to the WordPress dashboard, go to the Appearance menu section to get more options on the left side of your dashboard menu.

Theme Customization(Source: Stack Overflow)

Taskbar, Appearance > Themes> Select Theme> Install > Customize

Some common features that you can customize in the WordPress theme by using WordPress customizers are:

Add Identity To Your WordPress Website:

Adding an icon, title, and logo to your WordPress website will help in promoting and developing a brand with a tagline that will highlight the motto of your brand.

Customize Your WordPress Theme Color:

There are some WordPress premium themes available that don’t allow the users to customize the theme. They may ask extra money for the customization. It completely depends on the theme you are choosing.

If your theme allows you can easily get colors and dark mode options available in the WordPress customizer panel.

Lots of customization you can do with your personal and business website. Some themes allow you to add widgets while some other allows homepage settings. With WordPress any type of customization you can do based on your requirements.

FAQ:

How To Create A Custom WordPress Theme?

To create a custom WordPress theme

  • Go to WordPress Admin Panel
  • Then go to pages
  • Click on Add New.

You can see the new custom page template that is listed on the right side. There you can create a new page and set the template in the page with outside bar. Once you are done, publish it.

How Can You Change Your WordPress Theme Without Losing Your Content?

To change your WordPress theme without losing your content by following the simple steps:

  • You need to set a staging copy of your website
  • Install the new theme and preview it.
  • You can activate the new theme
  • Solve the issue and replace the missing elements
  • Push the staging website into live.

Can You Customize Your WordPress Theme?

Yes, WordPress themes can be customized in many ways. It depends on the extent to which you want to change your theme look and feel.

I’ve worked with the team at Andolasoft on multiple websites. They are professional, responsive, & easy to work with. I’ve had great experiences & would recommend their services to anyone.

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Salesforce, Houston, Texas

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You can develop powerful theme customization settings that are built right into the WordPress customizer, to add WordPress plugins and have real-time CSS Editors such as Site Origin CSS

Conclusion:

One of the best parts of building a website with WordPress is you can take control over the way you are developing it and this will let you know how much customization is required.

A theme is an important part of your website. Also, many users stick with the same WordPress theme for a very long period. Minimal things like breadcrumbs and schema markup can do a lot more to your WordPress Website’s Dedicated wordpress app developer and rankings.

There are lots of things to customize in your WordPress website.

You can customize your WordPress on your own, but if you feel difficulty in doing so, we are here to help you. With Andolasoft dedicate WordPress developers, you can customize as per your business requirement.

Are you looking to customize your WordPress theme or want more information on WordPress website customization! Book a free consultation with Andolasoft experts.