In such a highly commoditized (and competitive market) A Specialty Box’s core competency lies almost entirely within their ability to customize their client’s orders. 

Unfortunately, their previous eCommerce platform was severely limiting, specifically with respect to capabilities regarding the visualization of their custom offerings and product options. 

Consequently, the company partnered with us for a migration to BigCommerce paired with custom site redesign and development. 

Shift4Shop to BigCommerce Migration

One of this client’s biggest concerns with their preexisting eCommerce platform, Shift4Shop, was that it was highly limiting with respect to the way product options were visualized. 

That puts it lightly. Their previous platform actually offered no visualization functionality for prospective clients. Even to get a quote for a custom box required prospective customers to actively reach out to them.

You can see this illustrated in the image below. Requesting a specific customization is not possible from the product page and worse, there is no visualization feature for the product requested.

This resulted in a poor customer experience and an ineffective, unpleasant journey, to say the least. 

We worked closely with A Specialty Box to migrate their data over to a newly designed BigCommerce website. This was not a standard migration and to execute it we needed to work hand-in-hand with them to make sure their data populated appropriately. 

Because of the non-typical nature of this eCommerce data migration, we had to perform a series of quality control checks to ensure that their data synched and populated properly during the course of the migration.

Fortunately, thanks to the native product options functionality of BigCommerce, no particularly heavy custom development lift was necessary in order to fix this shortcoming. The data migration and re-platforming initiative alone redressed most of the concerns here. 

It was also the case that on the old website, product options that were displayed as available (without requesting direct outreach and a custom quote) populated as entirely different products, not as options. This was confusing and made for a cumbersome user interface. We condensed the website hierarchy to minimize this conflict so that each product option would be nested under the product and not listed separately as a unique one.

The new BigCommerce storefront, that we redesigned for them, addressed these concerns. 

Custom Homepage Redesign and Optimizations 

For this project, we redesigned the company homepage and also redesigned the product page template to make it more user friendly. 

As for the homepage, we didn’t overhaul the design or rebrand anything; we just worked with what we had to modernize it. As you can see from the image below, the new interface of the homepage simply has a more modern look and feel. We also updated navigation by prominently featuring main and top categories on the homepage just below the banner. 

We also improved the dynamic slider banner which lives on the homepage just under the megamenu; on this banner their custom product options and capabilities are prominently displayed to drive engagement and conversions. 

In addition, we improved the categorization and visual aspect of the mega menu, including images to streamline the customer journey, while also making the overall interface afforded by the menu more succinct, more accessible, and less overwhelming.

The new website design, built on BigCommerce, also offered a much better mobile experience than their old storefront did, with visual elements and text that scale more appropriately and responsively to the screen used to view the website. 

This aspect of the migration and redesign strongly benefits the user experience, but it also benefits the domain’s overall SEO score, which is a big consideration since our digital marketing team is also undertaking an eCommerce SEO campaign for them, which was running concurrently with the design and development work. 

Otherwise, we kept the bones of the branding and store design fairly intact, at least on the homepage. 

Product Page Redesign and Doogma Integration

Our most extensive redesign efforts were to the product page template, which, as stated, previously had no visualization functionality to showcase the company’s product customizations and options. 

Doogma offers fairly robust product visualization functionality; we integrated this tool with their BigCommerce website, but otherwise, our designers and developers took the initiative to build the product page customization features for customers to utilize. 

This joint effort between our designers, developers and the basic functionality of Doogma enabled us to create a conversion-optimized product page template for A Specialty Box that offers a pleasant, streamlined user experience, as depicted below.

Altogether, these changes we made to the product page, on our end and through partnership with and integration of Doogma, significantly improved the customer experience and journey,  better positioning A Specialty Box to meet the changing needs of prospective customers, while also ensuring it occupies a more competitive position to address unseen future challenges. 

Explore Our Other eCommerce Case Studies 

This strategic initiative we undertook for A Specialty Box, though impactful, only represents a handful of our technical and digital marketing capabilities. To learn more about other client transformations we have authored in the past, please see our full collection of eCommerce case studies.

The post Improving Product Option Visualization and UX: A Case Study appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

SEO is also, technically, free (it just costs your time) in contrast to other models like pay-per-click search and social media marketing. 

That makes SEO highly attractive to startups, especially since it is also scalable, and the results build on themselves.

That is to say, when you stop running a paid search marketing or social media campaign, results stop dead. With SEO, the work you put in today will continue to bring in leads for months, if not several years down the line. 

So if you landed here because you have just launched a startup or have not yet done so, here’s some useful information on how to run SEO for a startup venture. 

Set Some SEO Goals 

First, you need to be clear about goals. SEO is a largely decentralized process, so if you don’t define your efforts with some goals, it will feel like you’re just throwing money in the wash. 

Don’t get too ambitious. Set a few attainable goals so you don’t lose your drive. 

For startups, practical goals might be something like these: 

• Ranking on page one for 5 of your target keywords within a year

• Generating 5%-10% organic growth per month after the first 6 months of intensive efforts.

• Increasing time on page by a little bit each month. 

• Capturing at least 10% of organic visits as leads, in some capacity or other. 

When you’re really just starting out, it’s helpful not to think in terms of dollar values as you probably won’t see organic marketing really bringing in conversion value for close to a year – in some cases a little bit more or less. 

But what you can follow are user metrics and shifts in keyword rankings (see below for what SEO tools to use).

Do a Little Keyword Research 

Once you’ve established some basic goals, it’s time to figure out what specific keywords you want to target. Everything else you do in SEO will be, for the most part, an extension of this. 

But how do you go about it? 

Well, think about terms you imagine users would be searching for to find your business, or businesses like yours. Pop these into Google and see what comes up. 

Take some search terms from the titles and headers of the top three results, and search those, too. 

For the next part you’ll need the help of a keyword research assistant like SEMRush. Put these keywords into a tool like this and take a look at what comes up. 

First, take a look at search intent. For most businesses, you will want to target keywords with either commercial or transactional search intent; these are keywords people are looking for when they want to buy things. 

Since this is SEO for startups, you will want to target keywords that have very low difficulty and a low number of results. Try to keep your target keywords at difficulty scores of less than 25. 

Volume is another thing. Ideally, you should target keywords with more than 50 searches per month, but higher is better, as long as difficulty is low. 

Also, if you use a tool like SEMRush, you can see in the tool what keywords other people are searching that are similar to the one you entered, and you can filter by difficulty. This can make it a lot easier for you to look through a ton of results at once.

Another tip: for startups that have physical locations, try to find some valuable local SEO related keywords to bring foot traffic to your sites. 

Pick a Suitable Domain Name 

If you haven’t built a website yet, think about the domain name you want to use. Ideally, it should be one that contains keywords that are central to your model. 

Think about your business. What does it sell, or what services does it offer? Your domain should contain some relevant keywords because it will make it much easier for you in the long run to rank for keywords that are similar if your domain name links up.

To be blunt, a company that sells shirts will rank much more easily for clothing keywords if its domain is “shirtoutlet.com” than it would with a domain name like “modernbazaar.com” even though the latter is very much more interesting than the other.

That’s just a very coarse example, though. 

Invest in SEO-Friendly Design 

Once you’ve selected a few target keywords and settled on a domain, you need to determine whether you want to choose a SaaS model, like Shopify or BigCommerce, or use an open-source platform like Magento or WordPress that will give you total flexibility, but will also require you to get your own hosting. 

I won’t give advice on that here, but once you’ve launched a website, you need to think about design. One little secret of SEO is that website design and UX have big impacts on it. 

For this part, I recommend working with a professional eCommerce web designer/developer if you don’t have a lot of experience with it. Don’t get me wrong, anyone can build a functional website on WordPress or one of the SaaS platforms, but little errors or lapses in judgment may compound into bigger SEO issues down the line. 

Either way, here are some best practices for an SEO and UX-friendly design:

• Whatever theme you use, make sure it is both responsive and mobile-optimized. Mobile shoppers account for an increasing majority of online shoppers and SEO requires a high level of mobile-friendliness. 
• Make sure that content elements (pictures/copy/banners) don’t take up too much of any portion of the screen, regardless of device. 
• Include contact information at the top or bottom of the page (or both).
• Include a cart icon at the top of the page; top right is a basic standard. 
• Use brand colors in your homepage design and on all of your other templates. 
• Build a well-categorized mega menu from which users can get to all of your main pillar pages. 
• Invest in search functionality, whether that means you use a native feature, a plug-in, or hire a developer for a custom job.
• Don’t use massive image files, as that will slow down speed (see below).
• Don’t rip copy from any other websites, write all your own, even if it takes a little longer (duplicate copy will hurt SEO).

I could go on, but taking a high-level view of SEO for startups, this should suffice to get you off the ground. 

Build a Fast Website (Use Tools to Check for This)

One of the most important (if not the most important) technical SEO ranking factors is site speed. 

For one thing, slow load speeds are a conversion-killer and a bounce machine. If your pages take 3 seconds or longer to load, you can forget about it. It isn’t 1997 anymore. 

For another, Google will directly test your web page speeds before determining how to assign rankings. All else being equal, the slower web page loses. 

You can even use some of their official tools. Visit Google’s Page Speed Insights and you can run your URLs through them to see how they stack up. 

Page Speed Insights monitors a web page for speed according to several criteria, including time to first byte, first and largest contentful paint, first input delay, and cumulative layout shift. 

Much of the time, if not most of the time, the culprit for failures is image size. One of the easiest things you can do to speed up your web pages is to compress images before uploading them. 

There are lots of free optimizers and compression tools you can use. Just make sure to do this before building each page because it is a manual process and will take a lot of work to go back, remove, compress, and re-upload images. 

Do it from the start. 

Optimizing for Local Search 

Unless you serve the national market, which, of course, is possible, you should make location specific landing pages. These will come in handy for optimizing for local search and voice search, as well as for if and when you run any local PPC campaigns. 

Make a location landing page for each of your physical brick and mortar locations, or a single page about the market you serve if you are eCommerce only but serve a specific market. Make sure specific, physical addresses and phone numbers are listed on each of these pages. 

This will help with Google’s local and voice searches. When a user searches for something near them, Google checks the searcher’s IP address and then cross-references listings on the web that might be a match, according to the voice query and the location. 

If you have location pages optimized for these searches, your business will be more likely to rank. 

Also, make sure you create a Google My Business profile and update it with names, locations, address, phone numbers, email addresses, and hours. Make sure it is linked to your website as well. This will also help you rank for local searches. 

Optimizing at the Page Level for on-Page SEO

Once you have built a website, optimized for speed, partnered with a qualified eCommerce web designer for a custom, brand-integrated design, and optimized for local searches, you can start building out your category, service, CMS, and product pages. 

This is where the value of your target keywords will really shine. Assign one or a few keywords to each target page that you really want to rank for it, then as you build the page, you can optimize in a piecemeal fashion. 

For one, include the target keywords in page titles and page headers. This simple optimization is one of the most impactful ones you can make, hands down. 

Go back and add target keywords into the alt text fields of your image files, and write custom meta descriptions for each page. 

For each page, category and product pages, write a custom section for the description. Do not use duplicate for the product and category pages as this will not improve your rankings. It can even incur a penalty, in which case it will harm your rankings. 

On pages where it makes sense, include internal links to other pages that present cross-selling opportunities. Where you link to these pages, use anchor text in the link for the page that you want to rank for that keyword. That transfers authority and context to Google and can help your rankings. 

These are the most basic optimizations you can make at the page level with respect to SEO for startups – but you know what? If you picked quality target keywords with low difficulty, it will work. 

Plus, going over the points mentioned here and implementing them will lay the foundation for more intensive SEO efforts in the future. 

Content Marketing and SEO 

If you’re looking at SEO for startups just to get an idea for how to begin your efforts, you might not have the time or bandwidth to sink into a full-blown content marketing SEO campaign. 

But the truth here is that good content marketing fused with SEO best practices will have more of an impact on SEO for startups than all of the other things mentioned here, combined. 

Those target keywords you uncovered for your key URLs are great keywords to include in blogs, guest posts, CMS pages like FAQ pages, and other content marketing efforts. 

In fact, one good blog, ranking for one of those keywords, with a link to the target page, can vastly improve the number of impressions and clicks your pages get. Remember, a good blog can get thousands, if not tens of thousands of views per year, and in some cases even more. 

So, if you can, in any way, budget time to run content marketing efforts, strongly consider doing so. 

To come up with ideas for what to publish, reflect on questions customers have asked you. For startups that might not have a lot of history, check out your competitors’ blogs and CMS pages, and see what questions they’re answering in them. 

Compile all of the information from two or three pages that are ranking well on your competitors websites, and then organize them in your own blog or on one of your own CMS pages. This is called skyscraping and it is an effective tactic to summarize a lot of helpful information in one place that online shoppers can easily find. 

It can also increase your website’s chances of ranking for relevant and competitive search queries, even if it is new.

Monitoring Performance 

After all the dust has settled and you’ve done the hard work, you’ll want to know if it’s working or not, won’t you?

There are lots of tools that eCommerce SEO experts use, and there are two free ones that you can use, which are among the most helpful of all: Google Search Console and Google Analytics. 

Configure your website so you can set up your account with both of these, and watch closely to see how your campaigns are performing.

Google Analytics is the best tool for monitoring traffic, sessions, time on page, pages per session, and for seeing what actions users took when they actually got to your page. 

You can also use Google Analytics to see how many users bounced, as well as how many users converted, how much they bought, and how much each page produced. 

As for Google Search Console, this is the tool to use to see how many impressions each page gets (useful to see which impressions your pages are getting clicks for as well as those that aren’t producing any) as well as clicks. 

You can also use Google Search Console to see click-through rate, average position, and to sweep your website for links to each page. Through it, you can see which websites eventually send you referral traffic, and you can also disavow toxic backlinks that might be hurting your website. 

Give your efforts a good six months and you should start to see increases in impressions, clicks, time on page, and if you’ve done good keyword research, conversions and sales. 

Baby Steps in SEO for Startups: Start with a Free SEO Audit 

SEO for startups will help your website rank higher in the search results and will help bring you more potential customers over the long term. 

But it can be hard to start out, especially if you don’t know where or you’ve never developed a marketing strategy before. 

One viable step that won’t cost you anything, at least if you already have a website built, is to get a free SEO audit. 

One of these will show you how your competitors are performing and what specific opportunities there are for you to pursue with respect to search engine optimization. 

Consider taking this as a first step toward SEO for startups if you don’t know where to start, then set the wheels in motion. It’s a lot of work, but you can do it.

The post SEO for Startups: What to Do appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

After all, with easy-to-use and customize platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify, anyone can do it, from anywhere in the world. 

There’s just one catch. This is not a get rich quick scheme. Anyone who tells you it is has lied to you. 

You can absolutely run a profitable online business, and you can do it from anywhere in the world, but you still need to know how to build an eCommerce strategy. 

If you didn’t, anyone would do it, and they’re not. So let’s cover some of the absolute fundamentals of succeeding in eCommerce. 

Know Yourself, Know Your “Enemy” 

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu quipped, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” 

Why do I bring up this trite wisdom in a blog about eCommerce strategy? Because knowing what you don’t do well is as important as knowing what you do. 

And, of course, so is knowing what your enemies do well. No business succeeds by being exactly like its competitors. That is a textbook-perfect example of fleeing towards the average. 

So, what you need to do is figure out what your core value propositions are. Some of these might be: 

• A low-cost advantage or price match guarantee

• Fast or free shipping

• The ability to reliably provide very esoteric or niche quality

• Superior customer service 

• A unique product or service that can’t be gotten elsewhere

• An easier-to-use website 

• A larger product catalog than competitors 

• Access to industry experts for content marketing 

• And much more, I can’t cover it all here

These are only a few of the items you might list as core competencies or competitive advantages, and it is entirely conceivable that your model might offer more than one, but you must offer at least one if you plan to succeed in the long run. 

Once you identify what your core competencies are, you need to understand what your biggest competitors offer, too. For instance, two separate entities in one market cannot both offer the lowest prices. 

If you can’t compete on price, compete on selection, or service, or shipping, or a personalized shopping experience. But whatever you choose, make sure that the combination is unique to your model. 

Get to Know Your Target Audience

Once you settle on an industry and a model, and know what you’ll be selling, you have to know who you’ll be selling to. That means you need to take some time to get to know your target market so you can define your ideal buyer persona and find your potential customers. 

What you offer will have a profound impact on who your ideal customer is. Do not be lured into the idea that you can sell to anyone. Very few markets if any are actually universal, and even products that all people use are often segmented by brand. 

So, you need to consider what sort of emotional impression your brand makes and form your target buyer around that. Is your target buyer male or female? How old are they? Where do they live? Is what you sell a common necessity, or do buying patterns indicate seasonal demand? 

These are the basics, however. There are other ways you can segment your target market to help drive a more refined understanding of who they are and why they would want to buy from you. 

Consider the customer’s needs. They’re buying something from you to solve a problem. What is it? 

What would make them start their search for a product like yours? How likely are they to research before buying? Questions like this will help you define marketing strategies as you move forward. Customers who are going to be buying based more on reviews and testimonials will need to see those on your site or on social media. Others that are more interested in content marketing will likely find you on YouTube or through your blog. But more on that in a moment. 

You have also to consider what the budget of your target market is and how important the shopping experience will be. If your products are highly commoditized, then it is essential to offer a seamless, easy shopping experience. Think of any opportunity your website produces for a bounce or abandoned cart as one that will result in as much. 

One thing to remember about building an eCommerce strategy is that you are never done. Brands that do not invest in market research, social listening, or periodic updates will soon fall prey to newer, leaner competitors – or old ones, for that matter. 

As you define your target market, remember that the process is one of give and take. As you amass followers on social media, see what you can about what their impressions are of your brand. Offer something – like a discount or free shipping –  in exchange for the customer to fill out a survey after a purchase. 

Things like these will take extra effort from you and your marketing team, but they will also furnish you with valuable insights about how to manage and position your brand, and what efforts, if any, you need to make to adjust your marketing to remain competitive. 

Define Your Goals 

After defining your target market and your core competencies, you need to define your goals. You can’t really build an eCommerce strategy without doing so. 

There are a lot of criteria you can apply, but make sure to keep it realistic, especially if you are just starting out. You can aim for a specific number of sales in a given period, define success by revenue, or go by the number of leads or new customers captured. 

Just make sure you start somewhere, and track the data. Most importantly, remember that any time you fall short is an opportunity for growth. Just like no business can grow forever, there’s only one way to go from rock bottom. 

Creating a “Shoppable” Online Store 

With your core competency and target market defined, you now need to build and launch an eCommerce website.

There are two main types of software you can use, unless your venture has deep enough pockets to develop your own platform, host it and manage it. I have to assume you’ll fall into the former camp, though, and so your options are to use an open-source platform or a SaaS, or software-as-a-service, platform.

Open-source platforms, like WordPress and Magento, will require you to secure your own hosting. These platforms are literally limitless when it comes to making customizations and integrations since the source code is available. However, be aware that managing a large website built on one of these platforms can amount to the full-time jobs of several skilled developers. 

On the other hand, there are SaaS platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify that charge subscription fees for access to pre-configured, templated platforms. These are not as customizable as open-source software platforms, but they can be managed much more easily by a much smaller team. In fact, small stores on SaaS platforms might not even require the help of a full-time developer since the subscription model provides hosting, security, and a whole bunch of out-of-the-box features for building and running a basic eCommerce website. 

Here’s some fairly impartial advice. Go with a SaaS platform if you need a templated solution and don’t have resources to devote to development. If you do have resources to devote to website maintenance and development, and customization is an absolute priority for you, go with an open-source platform. Just recognize that website maintenance with an open-source platform will be more expensive and time-consuming than it will be with a SaaS platform. 

Once you have chosen a platform, you need to design a website that will offer a high-quality customer experience, support an effective eCommerce strategy, and increase sales in the long run. Here are some vital bits of insight for eCommerce success with respect to design: 

• Keep all web page elements consistent and brand-integrated across all pages on your website. 

• Make sure you have CTAs and urgency plays embedded in your design, preferably near the tops of pages.

• The fewer the steps in your checkout process, the better chance you have of bringing down cart abandonment. 

• Your website must be fast-loading and secure.

• Your design needs to be responsive as an increasing number of shoppers are shopping on their phones and other mobile devices. 

• The website should be easy to navigate and there should be options for visitors both to search or shop through a menu. Most visitors will look for search bars and menus at the top or the left side of a page.

• Contact information should be plainly visible at the top and bottom of the page.

• Make sure your website has a clickable logo that brings users back to the homepage. 

• Embed clickable “sign-in” and shopping cart icons on the homepage at the top right; this is where most users will look for them. They should be visible at the top of the page not only on the homepage but on all product pages.

• Ensure all visual elements are not overwhelming and scale properly given the size of the screen. It’s hard to navigate websites with overwhelming large hero banners, for instance. 

• Balance your content and visuals. Most shoppers are visual-oriented but a page with mostly pictures and almost no copy can really produce a terrible experience. 

These are some of the easiest-to-follow, top-level guidelines for producing a high-quality online shopping experience, but there are many, many others, and an eCommerce website designer can make personalized recommendations on what tips you should follow. There is no one-size-fits-all design for all industries and brands. 

One more suggestion I have is to practice A/B testing. This will help you make changes to areas of your website that are not performing as well as you expected, enabling you to run continuous design optimizations over time. 

Identify the Opportunities Each Marketing Channel Offers 

The next step in building an eCommerce marketing strategy is identifying what mix of marketing channels will work best for your model, given what you sell and the “who,” the target customers to whom you intend to sell it. 

Coming up with the right mix of channels will help you produce a unified marketing campaign that will bring you leads, resulting in higher long-term conversion rates over time, and happier customers, some of whom might become repeat customers. 

The main digital marketing channels are as follows: 

• Search engine optimization: I’m leading with this because it is by far the most important digital marketing channel of them all. It is the sum practice of optimizing your website by changing “ranking signals,” the cues that Google uses to assign authority and rankings. Search engine optimization, better known as SEO, takes the longest to start producing results, but efforts compound on themselves over time, making this the most sustainable channel. Even though it can also be one of the most expensive, most digital marketers agree that SEO produces the highest ROI of all marketing channels. Also, SEO is the main marketing channel for eCommerce businesses that serve PPC-restricted businesses. 

• Pay-per-click: Pay-per-click advertising, also known as PPC, is an excellent marketing strategy for businesses to follow, especially when they have just started out. Whereas SEO requires a website to “earn” its position in the search engine results pages, by bidding on keywords with PPC, you can “pay to play” and get Google to show your ads at the top of the SERPs. When run properly, PPC can be continuously optimized and produce a high ROI, but once efforts stop, revenue will fall off dramatically. It’s also important to remember that some businesses cannot run PPC campaigns. 
• Social media marketing: There are two main prongs of social media marketing, being paid and organic. Paid social media marketing is like conventional PPC, and some industries are also restricted, but it can still be a viable way to improve visibility, traffic to your main website, and sales. As for organic social media, the main intention is to increase visibility, brand awareness, and traffic. Both of them increase exposure to your brand’s product and service offering and can be highly effective at reaching users across many markets. When building an eCommerce strategy, consider your model and target market. The users of the different (major) social media platforms, like TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), Instagram, and Pinterest are all different and are there for different reasons. It is critical to tailor the strategy to the platform and to avoid wasting resources on platform-centric strategies and marketing creative assets that will not result in the desired return (for instance, do not advertise long-form copy on Pinterest).
• Email marketing: Email marketing is a great way to increase conversions among existing customers, as well as to convert new leads. The great thing about email marketing is that you can personalize the content and promotional offers you send out based on past behavior, using email marketing apps like MailChimp. 
• Content marketing: Content marketing is a bit of a gray area, because what is used in email marketing, SEO, and on social media can also be considered content marketing. However, if it doesn’t neatly fit into one of those categories (for instance, a video embedded on your homepage or a blog that doesn’t have a clear keyword strategy but is highly valuable from a user’s perspective, would be considered content marketing). Content marketing often does not drive conversions and sales in the same way as these other channels, but it has greater potential to improve customer engagement than all of these other channels. It can also make your brand seem more authoritative, more credible, and increase customer loyalty. There are multiple prongs of content marketing, too, including but not limited to long-form copy, short-form copy, video content, guest posts, and podcasts. 

Most online businesses follow some mix of the above strategies, and some follow some cultivated mix that includes all of them. That is something you will have to evaluate as you build your eCommerce strategy. 

Custom Projects That Will Give You the Edge 

The last component to address here in building an eCommerce strategy is to make sure your website has the functionality necessary to encourage conversions, sales, and growth. 

It is the functionality of a website that will attract and retain customers, and which will conclude sales. Fortunately, many platforms come with serviceable functionality built-in, but there are other things you can do to give your website custom functionality that will differentiate it from the competition. 

For instance, you could work with an eCommerce website developer to: 

• Integrate apps with your website, or customize them. Most major eCommerce platforms have open APIs that allow for easy integrations, but customization is not so easy.

• Code custom apps that deliver completely unique functionality to your website. For instance, if you sell furniture or clothing, you could have a developer create an app that uses AR and allows users to see what the furniture would look like in a specific room, or what the clothing might look like on them. 

• Integrate different payment gateways with your website. The more payment options you accept, the higher your chances are of increasing sales. 

• Develop a responsive design that will produce a high-quality shopping experience on mobile devices. 

• Ensure that your website is ADA-compliant and make changes where necessary.

• Scan your website for out-of-date plugins and excess code that are hindering site speeds and harming SEO and UX.

• Create login authentication tools that improve website security, benefiting both you and your customers. 

These are only a few of the many customizations that a website developer can create for your website, but they are some of the most important. 

Why It’s Important to Build an eCommerce Strategy 

Before parting, let’s cover some of the basic reasons it’s important to build an eCommerce strategy in the first place. Doing so can help your business:

• Set a framework for growth, helping to eliminate uncertainty about goals and directions. 

• Set benchmarks that are trackable so you can measure success.

• Create a more competitive landscape for new entrants into your market. 

• Create operational and cost-efficient protocols. 

• Set realistic objectives.

• And become more competitive over time. 

There are, of course, other advantages, but these are some of the main ones and should create a favorable enough argument in their own right for why you should set a strategic course from the outset. 

Now that you have a framework, it’s time for the heavy lifting.

The post Building an eCommerce Strategy: How to Do It appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

Search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo use complex algorithms to analyze and rank websites based on various factors. By understanding these algorithms and implementing SEO strategies, website owners and digital marketers can increase the chances of their websites appearing higher in search results, making it more likely for users to discover and click on their links.

SEO is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring, analysis, and adaptation. As search engine algorithms evolve, SEO practices also need to adapt to ensure websites remain optimized and maintain or improve their search engine rankings. By investing in SEO, businesses and website owners can attract organic traffic, increase visibility, and achieve their online objectives more effectively.

User Experience

User experience (UX) has a direct impact on SEO. Algorithms take into account a number of factors when ranking websites, including user engagement metrics such as bounce rate, time on page, and pages visited. A website with a poor UX will have lower engagement metrics, which will hurt its SEO ranking.

In the dynamic and ever-evolving realm of search engine optimization (SEO), staying ahead of the game requires a comprehensive understanding of various factors that influence search rankings. While technical optimization and quality content have long been the focal points of SEO strategies, an often underestimated yet indispensable element is user experience (UX). In this blog post, we delve into the significance of user experience and its impact on SEO success.

What is User Experience (UX)?

User experience encompasses the overall perception and interaction a visitor has while navigating a website or utilizing a digital product. It encompasses elements such as design, accessibility, usability, functionality, and the emotions evoked during the interaction. A positive UX aims to provide users with a seamless, intuitive, and satisfying experience, leading to increased engagement, conversions, and, ultimately, improved search engine rankings.

Bounce Rates and Dwell Time

Search engines, such as Google, are continually refining their algorithms to prioritize user satisfaction. Bounce rates, the percentage of users who leave a website after viewing only one page, and dwell time, the length of time users spend on a website, have become critical indicators of user engagement. A well-optimized UX encourages users to explore and interact with a website, reducing bounce rates and increasing dwell time. These positive signals communicate to search engines that the website is relevant and valuable to users, thus improving its ranking potential.

Mobile Responsiveness

With the increasing dominance of mobile devices in internet usage, search engines have shifted their focus to mobile-first indexing. Websites that offer a seamless experience across different screen sizes and resolutions have a competitive advantage. Responsive design, intuitive navigation, fast loading times, and mobile-friendly interfaces contribute to an optimal UX. By providing a positive mobile experience, websites are more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Website Speed

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, users expect instantaneous results. Website speed plays a pivotal role in delivering a satisfactory user experience. Slow-loading pages frustrate visitors and increase the likelihood of abandonment. Moreover, search engines, including Google, consider page speed as a ranking factor. Websites with faster load times not only cater to user expectations but also enjoy improved visibility in search results, thus driving organic traffic.

Readability and Content Presentation

High-quality content has always been essential for SEO, but the way content is presented and consumed is equally crucial. Users appreciate content that is easy to read, scannable, and visually appealing. Utilizing clear headings, subheadings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs enhances readability. Engaging visuals, multimedia elements, and well-structured content layouts contribute to a positive UX, encouraging users to stay longer, consume more content, and share it across various platforms, ultimately benefiting SEO efforts.

Website Navigation and Information Architecture

Intuitive website navigation and well-planned information architecture are integral to a seamless user experience. A well-structured website with clear and logical navigation paths enables users to find the information they seek effortlessly. User-friendly menus, search functionalities, and internal linking facilitate exploration and engagement, leading to higher user satisfaction. Search engines reward websites that provide exceptional navigational experiences by improving their visibility in SERPs.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

Inclusivity and accessibility are fundamental principles of user experience. Websites that accommodate individuals with disabilities, such as providing alternative text for images, closed captions for videos, and keyboard-friendly navigation, not only cater to a broader audience but also gain SEO benefits. Search engines promote accessible websites, considering them more user-friendly and prioritizing them in search rankings.

Social Signals and Branding

User experience extends beyond the confines of a website. Positive experiences foster brand loyalty, encourage social sharing, and attract natural backlinks. By engaging with and sharing content across various social media platforms, users contribute to social signals, which search engines consider when determining a website’s relevance and authority. Thus, an excellent UX can indirectly influence off-page SEO factors, further enhancing search engine visibility.

User experience has emerged as a vital aspect of successful SEO strategies. The increasing focus on user satisfaction by search engines necessitates the optimization of UX elements to maximize organic visibility. By prioritizing a seamless, intuitive, and engaging experience, websites can reduce bounce rates, increase dwell time, improve mobile responsiveness, enhance readability, facilitate navigation, and foster inclusivity. Implementing UX best practices not only benefits users but also elevates search engine rankings, driving organic traffic and boosting online visibility. In the pursuit of SEO success, remember that optimizing for users is optimizing for search engines.

The post Enhancing SEO Success: The Role of User Experience appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

But what happens if you want to edit Shopify CSS to change something small, like banner dimensions or the color of a small element? Do you really need to be a Shopify whizz to make these changes?

This guide will explain how to edit your Shopify theme files so that you can make small adjustments to things like text styling and element colors, so you can get the most out of your Shopify site without always having to rely on a developer.

How to Open and Edit Your Shopify Theme Files

To open and edit a Shopify theme file, follow these simple step-by-step instructions:

1. Log in to your Shopify admin panel: Open a web browser and go to your Shopify store’s URL (e.g., yourstorename.myshopify.com/admin). Enter your login credentials (email and password) and click “Log In.”
2. Navigate to the “Online Store” section: Once logged in, you’ll be in the Shopify admin dashboard. From the left-hand sidebar, click on “Online Store.” This will open a drop-down menu with additional options.
3. Access the “Themes” section: In the “Online Store” section, click on “Themes.” You’ll be taken to the “Themes” page, where you can manage your store’s themes.
4. Choose the theme to edit: On the “Themes” page, you’ll see your current active theme listed. To edit it, click on the “Actions” button (represented by three dots) beside the theme and select “Edit Code” from the drop-down menu.
5. Familiarize yourself with the theme files: In the theme editor, you’ll see a list of files on the left-hand side. These files represent different sections and components of your Shopify theme. The primary file you’ll likely edit is the “theme.liquid” file, which controls the overall structure and layout of your store.
6. Edit the theme file: Locate and click on the file you wish to edit (e.g., “theme.liquid”). The contents of the file will appear on the right-hand side of the editor. You can make modifications to the code here, such as adding HTML, CSS, or JavaScript.
7. Save your changes: After making the necessary edits, click on the “Save” button located at the top right corner of the editor. This will save your changes to the theme file.
8. Preview and test your changes: To see how your modifications look on your live store, click on the “Preview” button. A new window or tab will open, displaying your store with the applied changes. Ensure everything appears as intended and functions correctly.
9. Publish your changes: If you are satisfied with the changes and want to make them live on your store, click on the “Publish” button. This will update the active theme with your modifications.

Remember to exercise caution while editing theme files and keep a backup of your original theme files in case you need to revert any changes.

The important thing to note here is that you always want to have an idea in mind as to what you want to adjust before actually going in to edit the theme. On a live environment, you don’t want to experiment or add code just for the sake of testing.

So what exactly can you do with this knowledge? Now that you know how to get into the theme code, I will explain how to edit Shopify CSS so you can style certain elements the way you want.

How to Style Shopify Buttons Using CSS

To change a plain “Add to Cart” button into a rounded button with a blue to purple gradient and a transparency effect on hover using CSS, these simple CSS changes will do the trick:

Identify the class or ID of the “Add to Cart” button: Inspect the HTML code of your button element using your browser’s developer tools. Look for the class or ID attribute that identifies the button. For example, let’s assume the class is “add-to-cart-button”.

Define the CSS styles for the button:

.add-to-cart-button {

border-radius: 25px;
background: linear-gradient(to right, blue, purple);
transition: background 0.3s ease-in-out;
}

.add-to-cart-button:hover {

opacity: 0.8;
}

Apply the CSS styles to the “Add to Cart” button: In your theme’s “theme.liquid” file or any relevant CSS file, add the above CSS code targeting the class or ID of your button. For example:<button class=“add-to-cart-button“>Add to Cart</button>

Save the changes and preview: Save the modified CSS file and refresh your store’s page. You should now see the “Add to Cart” button with the rounded shape, blue to purple gradient, and a transparency effect when hovered.

Feel free to adjust the CSS properties such as border radius, colors, and transition duration to fit your desired brand style.

How to Resize Your Shopify Homepage Banner Using CSS

Homepage banners are one of the single most important pieces of real estate on your whole eCommerce store. Being able to adjust them to your needs is an important part of making your online store as responsive as possible for your visitors.

Here’s a simple guide on how to resize your banner using CSS:

Open the CSS of your theme as before, and search for the CSS selector that targets the homepage banner. This selector will vary depending on the specific theme you’re using. Common selectors might include .banner, .hero, or .homepage-banner.

Once you find the selector, add the following CSS code to resize the banner the way you want:

.banner {

width: desired-width;
height: desired-height;

}

Replace desired-width and desired-height with the specific dimensions you want for your banner. You can use values like pixels (px), percentages (%), or any other valid CSS unit.

Save the changes to the file.

Go back to your Shopify admin panel and preview your website to see the updated banner size. If it looks as expected, publish the changes.

How to Change Your Navigation Font in Shopify

Let’s say you wanted to change the font in your main navigation without it changing the way your font looks anywhere else on your website. Maybe you want it to match your logo’s font, but would rather not convert the font elsewhere on the website or in any other navigation areas.

Inside the file, search for the CSS selector that targets the navigation menu. This selector will vary depending on the specific theme you’re using. Common selectors might include .site-nav, .main-navigation, or .nav-menu.

Once you find the selector, add the following CSS code to change the font.

.navigation-selector {

font-family: desired-font, sans-serif;

}

Replace .navigation-selector with the actual CSS selector you found in the previous step. Replace desired-font with the name of the desired font you want to use.

You can use web-safe fonts or include custom fonts using the @font-face rule. The sans-serif part is a fallback font that will be used if the desired font isn’t available.

Save the changes to the file and check to see if it looks the way you want.

Want a Full Re-Design or Added Functionality?

Once you get a gist for finding which CSS selectors belong to which elements on your Shopify pages, it’s fairly easy to make small tweaks to the CSS in order to style the website how you like.

This is a great approach if you are comfortable working in the theme files and want to make small changes, but what if you are looking for a larger redesign or non-native functionality?

When it comes to making any significant changes on your Shopify store, you’re likely going to need the help of an experienced Shopify web developer.

Custom coding in order to develop a unique-looking page or special functionality is an in-depth process that can’t be handled by CSS tweaks alone.

You also want to make sure that any functionality you add mirrors the design of your Shopify website. If either one or the other is implemented without its counterpart, the whole experience will appear unpolished and may not look or function how your customers expect.

Is it worth making aesthetic and functionality changes to your Shopify store?

This is a question that many merchants wrestle with, but one good indication that your store is in need of some design or development help is if there is a high bounce rate. If traffic is coming to your site but isn’t converting for one reason or another, this is also a sign.

There can be several reasons for this. Your Shopify store might not be mobile friendly enough, which may require a responsive design overhaul. Perhaps it doesn’t speak strongly to your target audience and needs to be changed strictly from a design standpoint. This would require a branding update.

Either way, these are much more intensive projects than just changing out some CSS, so if you are looking to make a significant change on your Shopify website, you may want to get in touch with us first so we can guide you to the right choice!

The post How to Edit Shopify CSS appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

Mobile phones have become an essential part of people’s lives. Using mobile devices to browse the internet, shop online, and do business is now more than common. Many businesses need to ensure that their websites are optimized for mobile devices if they want to capitalize on people’s desire for accessibility, mobility, and ease. This is where mobile first design comes into play.

But what is mobile first design and how can it benefit businesses?

Defining Mobile First Design

Mobile first design is an approach to website design that prioritizes the mobile user experience over the desktop experience. Instead of designing for desktop first and then scaling down to mobile, mobile-first design starts with designing for mobile devices and then scaling up to desktop. 

This approach ensures that the website is optimized for mobile devices, providing a seamless experience for users on smaller screens.

It has become increasingly important for businesses because of the rising trend of mobile usage. In 2022, 58.99% of website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones.

For many businesses, this means that mobile-optimized websites are not losing out on a significant chunk of their potential customer base.

Understanding the Mobile First Strategy

The first step in understanding the principles of this design is to have a thorough grasp of two fundamental concepts: Responsive Web Design (RWD) and the methodologies of “Progressive Advancement” and “Graceful Degradation.”

Responsive web design is a technique that facilitates websites to automatically adjust to diverse screen sizes and resolutions. It mitigates the need for users to manually pan, zoom, or scroll.

Progressive advancement involves crafting a mobile browser version with basic functions and features first and then expanding upon it to develop a version for a tablet or PC, complete with more intricate and interactive features to enrich the user experience. 

Graceful degradation entails starting with a desktop version and creating a version with all-encompassing features before reducing certain functions or content to suit mobile devices.

Both progressive advancement and graceful degradation ensures the compatibility of app interfaces for mobile devices and desktops. 

Progressive advancement is the most commonly used approach, as commencing with the mobile version allows designers to focus on the salient features of a product and prioritize its essential functionalities.

As they proceed to expand an app or website to tablets or PCs, designers can leverage the advanced platforms’ unique features to gradually enhance the app’s performance and quality.

Benefits of Mobile-First Design for Businesses

Mobile-First Design has several advantages that can benefit businesses, including:

Responsive Design

One of the key advantages of Mobile first design is that it ensures your website is responsive and accessible across all platforms. With the increasing number of users browsing the web on mobile devices, it’s crucial for businesses to have a website that is optimized for mobile.

Simplified Information

This approach also allows businesses to compress and simplify their information, making it easier for users to navigate and find what they need. This can improve the user experience and increase engagement with the website.

Efficiency

Designing first for mobile gadgets allows businesses to focus on the main functionality of the website first, and then add more features for larger devices later. This can save time and resources in the long run.

Easy Navigation

It can improve navigation on the website. With mobile devices having limited screen space, businesses must prioritize the most important information and make it easily accessible to users.

Improved User Experience

One of the primary benefits of mobile-first design is that it leads to an improved user experience. Mobile-first design takes into account the limitations of smaller screens and slower internet speeds, resulting in websites that are faster, easier to navigate, and more user-friendly.

Better Search Engine Ranking

Search engines like Google are now emphasizing the importance of mobile-first design. If a company has a  website that is mobile-optimized, they are more likely to rank higher in search engine results.

Increased Conversion Rates

Mobile-first design can also lead to increased conversion rates for businesses. When websites are optimized for mobile, users are more likely to stay on the website longer, engage with the content, and ultimately make a purchase or take the desired action.

How to Implement Mobile First Design for Your Business

Implementing Mobile first design for your business is a crucial step in optimizing your website for mobile users. Here are some steps you can take to implement it for your business website:

Conduct Research

Start by researching your target audience and how they interact with your website on mobile devices. Analyze your website’s traffic data to understand user behavior and identify areas for improvement.

Prioritize Content

Prioritize the most important content and features for your mobile design. This includes the primary call-to-action, navigation, and content that is most relevant to your mobile users.

Design for Mobile First

Design your website for mobile devices first and then add additional features for larger screens. This ensures that your website is optimized for the majority of your users who access your website through mobile devices.

Optimize for Speed

Mobile users are often on-the-go and have limited time to wait for a website to load. Optimize your website for speed by compressing images, minimizing code, and using caching techniques.

Test and Iterate

Test your  design across various devices and screen sizes to ensure it is responsive and user-friendly. Collect user feedback and analytics to identify areas for improvement and iterate your design accordingly.

Implement Responsive Design

Finally, ensure your website is responsive to different screen sizes and devices. This will ensure your website is accessible and user-friendly for all users, regardless of their device.

Use the Mobile First Design Approach for Your Website

Mobile-first design is a critical aspect of website design in today’s mobile-dominated world. When you prioritize the mobile user experience, your business can get better search engine ranking and increase conversion rates. Mobile first design is a strategy that can give due importance to mobile devices in the web and business landscape. 

Contact 1Digital and work with our Custom Website  Development Team to give your eCommerce site the design that will boost your website presence on every platform.

The post Mobile First Design: Enhancing Business Opportunities appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

I’ve also heard a lot of things said about WordPress, some good, some not so good. But I’m no stranger to the platform and have done my share of work in the backend, so I think I should address some of these – especially the critiques.

There are approximately 800 million websites built on WordPress, right now. That number accounts for over 40% of all websites on the internet. It is insane. 

And, by the way, it’s not for lack of options. Off the top of my head, I can rattle off close to ten: Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, Drupal; and then there are the eCommerce-specific platforms, like Volusion, Magento, BigCommerce, and Shopify.

People don’t use WordPress because they have no choice. They use it because there is nothing better. 

Now let me back that up. 

Why WordPress?

WordPress is just about to celebrate its 20th birthday. It was developed in 2003 as a CMS platform, but today, it can be used to create any sort of website imaginable. 

The platform is open-source, which means that anyone can access the code used to build it. This means that it’s endlessly possible to make customizations to the interface and design of a WordPress website. It also means your ability to integrate the platform with other apps and tools is limited only by your skill with code. 

Speaking of apps and tools, at the beginning of this year, there were more than 60,000 free apps and tools that are so easy to use with WordPress, literally, anyone can execute the integration. All you have to do is search, click, install, and configure. It takes a few keystrokes. On other platforms, integration is nowhere near as simple and can even require you to write custom scripts. 

On that note, there are apps for WordPress that can do almost anything. I’ll be the first to admit, looking at a blank WordPress page, and having minimal coding experience, the platform can be daunting. But there are free plugins like Elementor that convert the WordPress interface to a drag-and-drop editor that anyone can use. 

There are also free tools for WordPress analytics and reporting, SEO plugins, apps, and tools that can sequester bots to prevent attacks, compress images, improve site speed and security, improve the user experience, and so much more. 

I don’t have the time and you probably don’t have the patience for me to enumerate 60,000 different types of WordPress apps, but you get the picture. 

WordPress is so widely used, by so many different people and organizations around the world, that the WordPress economy is worth well over $600 billion. That’s worth more than some countries. Actually, that’s worth more than a lot of countries. 

So, basically, if you can’t do it with WordPress, you can’t do it at all.

Still, that makes WordPress custom development services all the more valuable. 

How WordPress Custom Development Services Benefit eCommerce Merchants 

As endlessly customizable and widely useful as WordPress is, it can be difficult to create custom solutions without a good degree of coding experience.

There are good plugins you can use to make the platform more manageable, but these limit you to preconfigured customizations. 

A true customization is something that hasn’t been made or done before. 

So, that said, here are some of the top reasons WordPress custom development services can help an eCommerce store. 

1. Custom App Development 

As I already covered, there are more than 60,000 extant apps that are expressly compatible with WordPress. They can do everything from converting the backend to a drag-and-drop editor (as in the case of Elementor) to streamlining SEO optimizations (such as in the case of Yoast).

There are WordPress apps and plugins that can streamline the production and management of forms, categorize and filter analytics, backup the website, cache data and improve speeds, and so much more. 

If you can dream it, there is probably already a WordPress app or plugin. 

Then again, the human capacity for dreaming is surprisingly profound. Maybe you have a dreamt of something and determined that there indeed is not an existing WordPress app for it. 

This very condition is the reason there are providers of WordPress custom development services. They can write custom scripts and code custom apps and then integrate that customized functionality, seamlessly, with your WordPress website. 

2. Custom Theme Development 

To be frank, there are more themes compatible with WordPress than you will ever have time to look through in a calendar year. Even so, the best way to ensure proper, complete brand integration is by creating a truly custom theme.

And that, unfortunately, requires no small deal of coding experience. Drag and drop editors are nice, but they only get you so far and when you use them, they’re not good for much more than making basic customizations. 

If you want a truly custom theme, you will need to work with a team of WordPress designers and developers. 

3. Site Speed Optimization 

There are lots of things that your average WordPress entrepreneur can do to improve website speeds. 

For instance, you can use plugins to compress images, or use tools like TinyPNG to compress them before uploading. There are plugins you can use that will implement lazy-loading functionality. You can even access your page’s code and scrub it for bits and pieces that are not necessary. Those things slow websites down. 

But, at a certain point, it’s hard to know what code is and is not necessary, as well as if there are other aspects of the website that are hindering its speed. I myself am the first to admit that my technical knowledge is somewhat limited here. 

Skilled developers can look at a website’s code on a granular basis and see where resources are being taxed before taking concrete efforts to improve speed, which, by the way, boosts both SEO and UX. 

4. Mobile Optimization 

Many WordPress themes are pretty mobile-friendly out of the proverbial packaging, but there are still things you can do to improve the layout of a page to make it more usable on a smaller screen. 

Responsive developers are specifically skilled in this arena and can write the code necessary to create favorable layout shifts and ensure that page elements, like menus, images, and blocks of text, display properly on smaller screens. 

Some themes need help with this. WordPress custom development services are the solution. 

5. WooCommerce Integration/Development 

Speaking of plugins, there is a plugin specifically for WordPress that converts it into an eCommerce store. Perhaps you’ve heard of it – it’s called WooCommerce. 

WooCommerce is the world’s most popular eCommerce platform/plugin. Don’t tell that to the people at Shopify and BigCommerce, but it’s much more popular, even, than both of these. 

Why? Because it’s free, it’s usable, and it’s endlessly customizable. It also enables you to leverage the power of the most robust CMS system on the planet: WordPress. 

Like WordPress, WooCommerce uses open-source code and is endlessly customizable. But, being open-source, making customization means that making changes to themes, interface, checkout options, payment collection, and things like that, will require the skills and experience of a developer. 

And since WooCommerce is technically just a plugin, not a platform, that means what you’ll need is the help of an experienced provider of WordPress custom development services, by extension.

6. Support and Maintenance 

Sometimes you don’t need a custom theme developed or have your website’s speed increased. Maybe you have a stellar WordPress eCommerce site. That’s fine, surely some merchants do. 

Sometimes WordPress development services have more to do with peace of mind than an actual, concrete project. 

Because time is money, and if something breaks on your WordPress site and you don’t know how to fix it, well, you’ll be paying to keep the lights on until you can get things back up and running. 

7. Brand Integration 

Many WordPress developers offer brand appraisal, logo design, and brand integration services. 

It takes a creative eye to manage a brand, and designers and developers have special creative skills. That’s why they went into that line of work. 

They use rubrics that can quantify your brand efforts and integration, outlining just how well your website is brand integrated. 

And, if there are areas for improvement, they can suggest and implement them. 

8. Blog Development/Content Marketing 

Before you savage me for suggesting this, let me explain. 

I know WordPress has a built-in blog; like, the whole thing is just a blog. 

I know, I know. But if you want any customizations made to the blog page itself, for instance, changing the layout, font sizes, colors, or integrating a social feed, custom WordPress development services may be necessary. 

There are tools and plugins, as well as basic code, you can implement to make some of the changes I mentioned, but just how easy (or not) it will be is largely a product of your theme.

Also, some WordPress developers also work with digital marketing teams that offer content marketing teams, and content marketing, being an extension of your brand, is also a valuable investment. 

So while it may not be expressly development-related, it’s a worthwhile add-on service.

WordPress: Still Got It 

You know the expression, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? Well, WordPress ain’t broke. 

There may be better platforms out there that are more convenient to use for eCommerce than WordPress, but nothing is as customizable or robust, and nothing even comes close to the same community of support that WordPress offers. 

It is the be-all, end-all of website platforms. 

So, if you’re thinking about migrating, keep that in mind. Maybe you don’t need to. Maybe you just need WordPress custom development services to help you scale.

The post WordPress Custom Development Services That Pay for Themselves appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

However, despite all the potential benefits of the platform, it can be challenging to set up and manage a successful online store. That’s why it’s crucial to hire the right BigCommerce developer to ensure your store is optimized for success.

If you’re looking to get the most out of the Bigcommerce platform and grow your eCommerce business, hiring a Bigcommerce developer is a great way to make it happen. Our team members are experts in helping customers customize their store to meet their specific needs. We also help customers optimize their store for search engine optimization (SEO) so that it appears higher in search engine results for relevant and transactional keywords. We can assist customers by integrating third-party applications and services, such as payment gateways, shipping services, and email marketing tools, so they can get the most out of the platform.

At 1Digital, we specialize in BigCommerce development and have the experience and knowledge to help you get the most out of your online store. Here are five reasons why you should hire us as your BigCommerce developer:

1. We’re Experienced in BigCommerce Development

At 1Digital, we’ve been developing eCommerce stores for over a decade. We have a team of experienced BigCommerce developers who have a deep understanding of the platform. We have the expertise to help you customize your store to meet your needs.

1Digital is committed to providing the highest level of customer service when it comes to building functional eCommerce stores for our clients. Our team is always available to answer any questions you may have and provide guidance throughout the BigCommerce development process. Making sure our customers have a visually appealing, conversion-optimized, and user-friendly website is vital. 

2. We’re Fast

Time is of the essence when it comes to getting your eCommerce store launched. That’s why we work quickly and efficiently to get your store up and running in a timely fashion. We use the latest technologies and tools to ensure your online store is optimized for success. We are transparent about every aspect of our process and will be able to walk you through each part of your BigCommerce store’s development. 

3. We’re Cost-Effective

We understand that cost is always an important consideration when launching an eCommerce store. That’s why we offer competitive prices and provide cost-effective solutions to meet your needs. We provide a range of BigCommerce developer services to fit any budget so you can get the most out of your investment. Whether you’re looking to create a simple website or a more complex one, 1Digital has the skills to make it happen.

4. We’re Reliable

When hiring someone to create your eCommerce store, it’s vital to find a reliable BigCommerce developer. We are committed to making sure your store is optimized for success. We provide regular maintenance and support to ensure that your store is running smoothly and efficiently. We are quick to respond to any communication and will provide you with an answer as fast as possible. 

5. We Have a Proven Track Record

We have a wide range of experience in helping eCommerce businesses optimize their stores for success. We have a proven track record of helping businesses increase their revenue and reach their goals across a diverse portfolio of industries. We’re confident that we can do the same for you as your BigCommerce developer. We keep performance and speed in mind when developing websites for customers.

Whether you’re a new eCommerce business or an established one, we’re ready and able to serve your needs. Providing users with an intuitive experience is a key factor in our BigCommerce development process. 

At 1Digital, we understand how essential it is in today’s online landscape to have a successful eCommerce store. That’s why we specialize in BigCommerce development and provide a range of services to help you get the most out of your store. We have the knowledge and expertise to help you customize your store to meet your needs and optimize it for success. 

What About the Freelance Route? Which is the Better Option?

When it comes to website development, you have a lot of options. You can go with a freelancer from Fiverr or another freelance website, you can hire an agency, or you can even try to do it yourself. Each of these options have their own pros and cons, but if you’re looking for the best results, an agency is the way to go.

Working with an agency for website development offers a number of advantages over freelancers or DIY. Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect when you hire an agency like ours:

1. Expertise and Experience

When you hire a BigCommerce agency, you’re getting access to a team of experts with a wealth of experience in website development. This means that you’ll get a website that’s built with the latest technologies and techniques, and you can rest assured that your website will be secure, user-friendly, and compliant with the latest industry trends and standards. 

2. Quality Assurance

When you work with a professional agency like ours, you get quality assurance throughout the entire process. This means that your website will be thoroughly tested and any issues will be addressed before launch. This is something you won’t get with a freelancer or DIY, which may add to the costs down the road.

3. Professional Service

When you work with a proven agency, you’ll get a much more professional service than with a freelancer. For instance, here at 1Digital, we have processes in place to ensure that projects are completed on time and to the highest standards. We also offer ongoing support after the website is launched.

4. Scalability

When you work with an agency, you can be confident that they’ll be able to scale up or down as your needs change. This means that you won’t have to worry about finding new freelancers or doing the work yourself if your website grows or changes.

A BigCommerce Development Agency You Can Count On

By using the latest tools and technologies and optimizing for conversions and search engine rankings, we are able to provide a BigCommerce development service that sees great results. We help provide customers with a BigCommerce website that is both visually appealing and technically sound. By hiring 1Digital as your BigCommerce developer, you will have a great-looking and easy-to-use website that is optimized for success. 

If you’re looking for a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective BigCommerce developer to help you launch and manage your eCommerce store, look no further than 1Digital. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get the most out of your online store.

The post 5 Reasons Why You Should Hire 1Digital as Your BigCommerce Developer appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

1. Mobile-First and Responsive Design

As more and more users access the internet from their smartphones, it’s increasingly important for eCommerce websites to be optimized for mobile devices. This means using responsive design techniques to ensure that the website adjusts to the size of the user’s screen and using mobile-friendly design elements such as large buttons and easy-to-read text.

2. Personalization and Customization

In 2023, it’s likely that we’ll see a rise in personalized and customized eCommerce experiences. This could include recommending products based on a user’s browsing history, allowing customers to customize products before purchase, or offering personalized discounts and promotions. To achieve this level of personalization, eCommerce developers will need to be proficient in machine learning and data analysis techniques.

3. Chatbots and Voice Assistants

As artificial intelligence and natural language processing improve, we’ll see more online shops using chatbots and voice assistants to improve the customer experience. These tools can be used to answer common questions, offer assistance with the purchase process, and provide support after a sale.

4. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

While still in the early stages of adoption, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have the potential to revolutionize the way we shop online. With AR, customers can see how a product would look in their home before making a purchase, while VR allows them to virtually try on clothes or test out products in a simulated environment. Any eCommerce web developers with expertise in AR and VR technologies will be in high demand as these trends continue to grow.

5. Payment Options and Security

With the proliferation of online payment options, it’s important for eCommerce websites to offer a range of options to their customers. This could include traditional options like credit cards and PayPal, as well as newer options like mobile payments and cryptocurrency. At the same time, developers must ensure that these payment systems are secure and compliant with industry standards to protect both the business and the customer.

6. Social Media Integration

Social media is an important channel for eCommerce businesses to connect with their customers and promote their products. In 2023, we’ll likely see more websites integrating social media elements such as product reviews, social sharing buttons, and even live streaming and shoppable posts. Developers with experience in social media API integration will be well-suited to take on these projects.

7. Interactive Content

To stand out in a crowded market, eCommerce websites will need to offer more than just static product pages. Interactive content such as quizzes, polls, and games can help to engage users and keep them on the website longer. Developers with a background in front-end development and user experience design will be well-equipped to create these types of interactive features.

8. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning have already begun to transform the eCommerce industry, and this trend is likely to continue in 2023. These technologies can be used for tasks such as personalization, fraud detection, and inventory management. Developers with expertise in these areas will be in high demand as businesses look to leverage the power of AI and machine learning to create a superior environment for purchasing online.

9. Video Content

Video is an increasingly popular medium for eCommerce businesses to showcase their products and tell their brand story. In 2023, we may see more websites using video content in the form of product demonstrations, explainer videos, and even live-streaming events. Expect that eCommerce web developers with video editing and production skills will be well-suited to help businesses create and implement video content strategies.

10. Progressive Web Apps

Progressive web apps (PWAs) are a hybrid technology that combines the best of native mobile apps and traditional web apps.

eCommerce Web Development: Platforms and Technologies

There are several popular eCommerce platforms available, each with its own unique set of features and technologies. Here are a few examples:

1. Shopify: This is a cloud-based platform that allows users to set up an online store, manage inventory, process payments, and track orders. It uses a proprietary language called Liquid for template customization and also supports the use of other programming languages such as Ruby and Python.
2. WooCommerce: This is an open-source WordPress plugin that turns a WordPress website into an eCommerce store. It is highly customizable and can be extended with extensions and integrations.
3. Magento: This is another open-source platform that offers a range of features for small to large businesses. It uses the PHP programming language and has a large developer community that creates extensions and customizations.
4. Salesforce Commerce Cloud: This is a cloud-based platform that provides tools for managing orders, shipping, and payments, as well as analyzing customer data. It is primarily used by large enterprises and is highly customizable with the use of various programming languages.
5. BigCommerce: This is a cloud-based platform that offers a range of features for small to medium-sized businesses. It uses a proprietary language called Stencil for template customization and also supports the use of other programming languages such as CSS and JavaScript.

In terms of technology stack, most eCommerce platforms use a combination of front-end technologies (such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) and back-end technologies (such as PHP, Ruby, or Python) to deliver a seamless and dynamic shopping experience for users. Some platforms may also utilize databases, server-side languages, and caching technologies to improve performance and scalability.

In terms of developer requirements, it will depend on the specific platform and project at hand. In general, eCommerce developers should have a strong understanding of front-end and back-end development technologies, as well as experience with databases and server-side languages. They should also be comfortable with version control systems and have strong problem-solving skills.

As for support, most eCommerce platforms offer a range of support options such as documentation, forums, and dedicated support teams to help developers troubleshoot issues and get the most out of the platform. Some platforms may also offer training programs or certification programs to help developers stay up-to-date on the latest technologies and best practices.

The Role of Search Engine Optimization in eCommerce Web Development

SEO can impact eCommerce web development in a number of ways, while also supporting other digital marketing initiatives. Here are a few:

1. Site structure: The structure of your website can have a big impact on your SEO. An eCommerce website needs to have a clear and logical hierarchy, with product categories and subcategories that are easy for both users and search engines to understand.
2. Product pages: The content and formatting of your product pages can also impact your SEO. You should include relevant and unique product descriptions, as well as relevant and high-quality images. Properly formatting your product pages with headings, subheadings, and bullet points can also make them easier for users to read and for search engines to understand.
3. URLs: The URLs for your product pages should be descriptive and include relevant keywords. This can help search engines understand what your pages are about and can improve your rankings for those keywords.
4. Site speed: As mentioned earlier, page speed is an important factor for SEO. This is especially important for eCommerce websites because slow-loading pages can impact the user experience and lead to a higher bounce rate.
5. Mobile optimization: More and more users are accessing the web on mobile devices, so it’s important that your eCommerce website is optimized for mobile. This includes having a responsive design and fast loading times on mobile devices.

Overall, incorporating SEO best practices into your eCommerce website development can help improve your visibility in search results and drive more qualified traffic to your site.

The Importance of Page Speed for SEO

Page speed is a ranking factor in search engines, including Google. This means that faster-loading pages generally rank higher than slower-loading pages. This is because faster pages provide a better user experience, and search engines aim to provide their users with the best possible results.

There are a few ways that page speed can impact your SEO:

1. User experience: As mentioned, faster pages provide a better user experience. If your page takes too long to load, users may become frustrated and leave the page before it even finishes loading. This can increase your bounce rate and decrease the amount of time that users spend on your site, both of which are factors that can negatively impact your SEO.
2. Crawl budget: Search engines have a limited amount of resources that they can use to crawl and index websites. If your pages are slow to load, it can take longer for search engines to crawl and index them, which can impact the coverage of your site in the search engine’s index.
3. Conversion rate: Faster pages may lead to a higher conversion rate because users are more likely to stay on the page and complete their desired action if the page loads quickly. This can have a positive impact on your SEO because it indicates to search engines that your site is providing value to users.

Overall, it’s important to optimize your page speed as much as possible in order to provide a good user experience and improve your SEO.

As eCommerce continues to grow and evolve, website development for online stores is also changing. In 2023, it is important for eCommerce web developers to consider SEO from the very beginning of the development process. This includes ensuring that the site structure is clear and logical, that product pages are well-written and formatted, that URLs are descriptive and include relevant keywords, that the site is mobile-optimized, and that the site loads quickly. This invokes not only development but also eCommerce website design.

Hiring an eCommerce Web Development: Partnering for Success

1Digital^Ⓡ Agency can assist with these and other eCommerce web development challenges for eCommerce stores. We offer a range of services, including custom eCommerce web development, design and branding, digital marketing and eCommerce SEO. We have experience working with a variety of eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce, and can help you choose the right platform for your business. Whether you are just starting out or looking to improve an existing online store, we can help you succeed in the competitive world of eCommerce by creating a store that offers a superior user interface and experience and is designed and developed according to the latest trends and best practices. If you would like to learn more about how we can help with your eCommerce web development project, contact us at 888-982-8269.

The post Maximizing Your eCommerce Success: 10 Trends in eCommerce Web Development in 2023 appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.

Immersive User Experience

Arguably the most important trend in eCommerce web design in 2023 will be creating an immersive experience for users. As more people shop online, they expect an e-Commerce website to be intuitive and easy to navigate. To do this, designers will focus on using product images, videos, and animations to make the user experience more interactive and more appealing to the target audience. For example, when shoppers land on a product page, they should be able to see multiple images and videos of the product from different angles. This will allow them to get a better sense of what the product looks like in real life. Additionally, designers will focus on using interactive elements, such as hover effects, to make the website more engaging and user-friendly. Bright colors, clear calls to action, and custom apps and tools also can make an eCommerce website more engaging and immersive. 

Leveraging AI and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning will be key trends in eCommerce web design in 2023. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants will be used to help customers find the products they’re looking for and provide personalized recommendations. Additionally, machine learning algorithms will be used to track user behavior and make suggestions based on their past purchases. This will allow companies to create a more personalized shopping experience and increase the likelihood of a customer making a purchase.

Data-Driven Design

Data-driven design is another trend that will be popular in 2023. By analyzing data, designers will be able to create more effective website layouts and features. For example, they can use data to determine which page elements are the most effective at driving conversions. Additionally, they will be able to use data to optimize the user experience by making changes to the website based on user feedback. This will help ensure that the website is designed in a way that is most beneficial to customers.

Mobile-First Design

Mobile-first design is one of the most important web design trends for eCommerce in 2023. With more and more people shopping online from their phones and tablets, it’s essential that your website is optimized for mobile devices. This means designing a website that looks great on all devices, from desktop to mobile. To do this, designers should focus on using responsive design techniques and utilizing tools like Bootstrap and Flexbox to ensure that the website looks great on any device. It’s also important to note that for a website to be fully search engine optimized, it must be mobile-friendly, too.

Voice-Activated Shopping

Voice-activated shopping is one of the most exciting trends in eCommerce right now. With the rise of voice assistants like Alexa and Google Home, shoppers are now able to shop and make purchases directly from their devices. To take advantage of this trend, designers should focus on creating voice-enabled experiences that make shopping easier and more intuitive. This could include using voice commands to add items to the cart, search for items, and even complete the checkout process.

Personalization

Personalization is another key trend in eCommerce for 2023. With more and more customers expecting personalized experiences, it’s essential that your website is able to provide tailored experiences for each customer. To do this, designers should focus on using personalization tools like AI-powered recommendations and dynamic product categorization. These tools can help create a more personalized shopping experience that will keep customers coming back.

What Sorts of Tools Will an eCommerce Design Agency Use?

When it comes to web design, the tools used by web designers can be the difference between a good website and a great one. In today’s digital world, having a website that stands out from the competition is essential for any business, and the best way to achieve this is to have a web designer who knows the ins and outs of the tools they’re using.

Every web designer needs a good text editor to write the code that will form the backbone of the website. Popular choices include Notepad++, Sublime Text, and Atom. An eCommerce design agency might also use Adobe Photoshop to create graphics and images for the website, as well as Adobe Illustrator to create vector graphics.

Once the website’s design is complete, web designers turn to the development side of things. They use HTML and CSS to create the structure and styling of the website, and JavaScript to add interactivity and dynamic content. They may also use frameworks like Bootstrap and Foundation to speed up the development process and make it easier to create responsive websites that look great on any device.

Finally, they lean on content management systems (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal to create websites that are easy to manage and update. These systems allow web designers and developers to quickly add new content and features to the website, as well as customize the design with plugins and themes.

How Does the eCommerce Platform Affect Web Design?

Platforms like Shopify and Magento are popular with eCommerce businesses because they offer a wide range of features and customization options. Both platforms have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages when it comes to web design. Shopify is great for small businesses, as it’s easy to set up and use, but it’s limited when it comes to customization options. Magento, on the other hand, is more complex, but it offers a lot more flexibility when it comes to designing and customizing your website.

Another popular eCommerce platform is WooCommerce, which is a free WordPress plugin that allows you to turn your WordPress site into an online store. WooCommerce is a great option for businesses that want to use WordPress as their content management system, as it’s easy to set up and use. However, it’s not as feature-rich as Shopify or Magento, and customization is limited.

There’s also BigCommerce, which is a powerful platform that offers a lot of features and customization options. It’s great for large businesses that need a lot of customization options.

No matter which platform you choose, it’s important to keep in mind that the design of your website should be tailored to the platform you’re using. For example, if you’re using Shopify or BigCommerce, you’ll be able to use their templates, theme editors, and design tools to create a website that looks great and functions properly. On the other hand, if you’re using an open-source platform such as Magento, you’ll have more freedom to customize your design, but you’ll need to be familiar with HTML and CSS to make the most of it.

One of the main advantages of using a platform like Shopify or BigCommerce is that they offer a wide range of themes and templates that you can use to quickly create a professional-looking website. These themes and templates are designed with eCommerce in mind, and they make it easy to create a website that looks great and functions properly.

Shopify vs. BigCommerce Website Design: What Are the Differences?

Both Shopify and BigCommerce are extremely popular subscription-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms that are specifically designed for eCommerce. But when it comes down to Shopify and BigCommerce website design, what are the key differences between the two?

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a comprehensive eCommerce platform that offers users a wide range of tools and features to create and manage an online store. The platform offers a variety of design options, from simple, one-page stores to complex, multi-page stores.

For users who want an easy-to-use and customizable design, BigCommerce offers a number of templates and themes. These templates are designed to make creating a store easy and can be customized with images, colors, fonts, and more. Additionally, BigCommerce offers users the ability to customize the HTML and CSS of their store, giving them full control over the look and feel of their store.

BigCommerce also offers users the ability to create a custom store design from scratch. This feature allows users to create a unique look and feel for their store that is tailored to their needs.

Shopify

Shopify is another popular eCommerce platform that offers users a variety of features and tools to create and manage an online store. Like BigCommerce, Shopify offers users a range of templates and themes to choose from. These templates are designed to make creating a store easy and can be customized with images, colors, fonts, and more.

Shopify also offers users the ability to customize the HTML and CSS of their store, giving them full control over the look and feel of their store. However, unlike BigCommerce, Shopify does not offer users the ability to create a custom store design from scratch.

BigCommerce and Shopify Custom Designs: Does Custom or Prebuilt Templated eCommerce Web Design Offer the Greatest ROI and Customizability?

When it comes to creating a website, businesses often face a difficult decision: should they choose a prebuilt template or invest in a custom web design? After all, the cost of a BigCommerce or Shopify custom design project can be significantly more than a prebuilt template, so it’s important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both options.

First, let’s look at prebuilt templates. Prebuilt templates are a great option for businesses that are on a tight budget and need a website up and running quickly. Prebuilt templates are typically much cheaper than custom web designs, and they can be easily customized with your business’s branding.

However, prebuilt templates can also have some disadvantages. For one, the design options are limited, so you may not be able to get the exact look and feel that you’re looking for. Additionally, prebuilt templates may not be optimized for SEO, and they may not offer the same level of functionality as a custom web design.

Now, let’s look at BigCommerce and Shopify custom designs. Custom web designs offer more flexibility and functionality than prebuilt templates, and they can be tailored to your specific business needs. Custom web designs are also typically optimized for SEO, so they can help you get more visibility in search engine results. Customizing themes can also give your online store a bespoke look and feel that cannot be imitated easily.

The downside of custom web designs is that they can be more expensive than prebuilt templates. Additionally, custom web designs may take longer to develop and launch, so if you’re in a hurry to get your website up and running, a prebuilt template may be a better option.

So, which option is the best for your business? Ultimately, it depends on your budget and timeline. If you’re on a tight budget and need a website up and running quickly, a prebuilt template may be the best option. However, if you have the budget and timeline to invest in a custom web design, it may offer better ROI and custom functionality in the long run. A web design agency with experience can also serve as a key strategic consultative resource to help you make that decision.

Working with an eCommerce Design Agency 

1Digital^Ⓡ Agency is an eCommerce design agency with over 10 years of experience working with all the major platforms, including both Shopify and BigCommerce in addition to WordPress, Magento, Volusion, and others. We are also BigCommerce Elite Partners and have a vibrant client portfolio showcasing the proof of our works. 

Take a look through our many examples of eCommerce web design and digital marketing success and then get in touch with us at 888-982-8269 or at Info@1DigitalAgency.com if you have any other questions. 

The post Top eCommerce Web Design Trends to Keep Your Eye on in 2023 appeared first on 1Digital® Agency.