Design & Development
The nuts and bolts of an ecommerce site are design and development. We address design innovation and trends — including layouts, colors, photography, logos, video, and more. We explain the basics of code — HTML, CSS, JavaScript — as well as platforms, themes, plugins, open source, and related topics.
Code | Design & Dev Tools | Platforms & Apps | Schools & Resources | Typography & Fonts | User Experience-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: November 16, 2020
November 16, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-November from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on product videos, social commerce, holiday promotions, live-streaming, logistics, shipping, and wearable payments.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: November 2, 2020
November 2, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for late October from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on social commerce, discounted shipping, holiday deals, live chat, analytics, and content creation.
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Schools & Resources
20 Free Tutorials to Learn WordPress
October 27, 2020 • Sig Ueland
WordPress is a free content management system to power a simple blog, complex website, or online store. WordPress also supports an active development community that provides instructional tutorials for users at all levels. Here is a list of free tutorials to learn WordPress.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: October 15, 2020
October 15, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-October from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on voice commerce, social commerce, customer-support texting, cybersecurity, on-demand fulfillment, and holiday shipping.
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Platforms & Apps
8 Marketplaces for Themes, Templates, Plugins
October 12, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Themes, templates, and plugins can simplify the creation and customization of a website. Here is a list of marketplaces to access themes, templates, and plugins. Several of these marketplaces also offer other digital assets, such as graphics, fonts, and videos to create and customize a website.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: October 1, 2020
October 1, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for late-September from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on social commerce, AI marketing, live streaming, personalization, conversational commerce, and installment payments.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: September 15, 2020
September 15, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-September from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on social commerce, cybersecurity, international payments, product personalization, holiday shipping, artificial intelligence, and automated delivery drones.
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Schools & Resources
13 New Ecommerce Books for Fall 2020
September 15, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here's a batch of new ecommerce books for your autumn reading list. There are titles on buying and selling a business, producing and fostering creative work, monetizing your podcast, live video marketing, Amazon, and the blockchain.
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Platforms & Apps
Is JAMstack Right for Your Ecommerce Business?
September 8, 2020 • Armando Roggio
Looming changes in ecommerce development could provide a short-term competitive advantage for some businesses. Many platforms give a business just about everything needed to build an ecommerce site. They are comprehensive and monolithic. But they are also restrictive, or so JAMstack proponents imply.
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Design & Dev Tools
21 Free Web Design Tools from Summer 2020
September 7, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Free resources from the design community can add value to an ecommerce site. Here is a list of new web tools and design elements from summer 2020. There are designer and developer apps, coding resources, color tools, fonts, and more. All of these tools are free, though some also offer premium versions.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: September 1, 2020
September 1, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for late-August from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on social commerce, brand building, shopping in augmented reality, live-streaming premium events, and ecommerce for social good.
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Platforms & Apps
23 Chrome Extensions for Productivity
August 24, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Looking to supercharge your workflow? Consider installing productivity extensions on your Chrome browser. Here is a list of useful extensions from Google’s Chrome Web Store. There are tools to keep you on task and block distractions, utilize video and audio, distribute content, automate, and reduce digital clutter.
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Schools & Resources
13 Logo Galleries for Inspiration
August 17, 2020 • Sig Ueland
A logo is an opportunity to establish your brand and convey your company’s unique identity. A logo gallery can help via examples and inspiration. Here is a list of helpful logo galleries.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: August 16, 2020
August 16, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-August from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on virtual conferences, international payments, ad tracking, carbon-neutral deliveries, returns automation, and seller financing.
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Platforms & Apps
13 Platforms for Shoppable Video
August 3, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Video is increasingly impacting ecommerce. Consumers use it for purchase decisions. Influencers live-stream product endorsements. And brands deploy video for engagement and product offerings. Here is a list of platforms for shoppable video.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: August 2, 2020
August 2, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for late July from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on live commerce, installment payments, cross-border sales, packaging, targeting, and omnichannel services.
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Platforms & Apps
23 Useful, Free Plugins for WooCommerce
July 28, 2020 • Sig Ueland
The WooCommerce plugin launched in 2011, enabling users to turn their WordPress sites into ecommerce storefronts. Today, approximately one-fourth of all online stores use WooCommerce, which is now owned by Automattic, parent of WordPress. Here is a list of useful plugins to enhance your WooCommerce store.
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Schools & Resources
Reading List: Charlie Casey of LoyaltyLion
July 23, 2020 • PEC Staff
"Reading List" is an occasional series where we ask ecommerce professionals to name some of their favorite books and blogs and tell us why. For this installment, we corresponded with Charlie Casey. He is CEO and co-founder of LoyaltyLion, a data-driven loyalty and engagement platform.
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Platforms & Apps
Evolving Tech Stack Enables High Performance Ecommerce
July 22, 2020 • Armando Roggio
The technologies powering the web and mobile applications never stop evolving. Each new phase creates opportunities for businesses. The latest iteration is the expansion of so-called edge network capabilities, which help online merchants improve performance and user experience. Both are fundamental to Google's new "web vitals" initiative.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: July 15, 2020
July 15, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-July from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on social commerce, live streaming, payments, experience optimization, and augmented reality storefronts.
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Schools & Resources
To Master Data Visualization, Start with These 3 Books
July 14, 2020 • Rebeca Pop
Your boss requested an urgent report that shows the trends of key metrics in Google Analytics. You need to locate the data and create a few charts. What kind of charts should you choose? What colors? Here are three books to get started with data visualization.
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Schools & Resources
13 Free Themes for Publishing on Ghost
July 13, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Ghost is an open-source publishing platform. Started as a Kickstarter campaign by a former developer with WordPress, Ghost offers simple content management and built-in features for search engine optimization and email newsletters. Here is a list of free templates to publish content on Ghost.
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Design & Dev Tools
Drag-and-drop Ecommerce Tools Are on the Rise
July 8, 2020 • Armando Roggio
For years, ecommerce platform providers have sought to make it easy for SMBs to present and sell products online. Current offerings from Shogun, BigCommerce, and Wix demonstrate that ease-of-use and lack of coding are still in demand.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: July 1, 2020
July 1, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for late June from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on website builders, logistics tools, free product listings, predictive artificial intelligence, product recommendations, social commerce, and shoppable videos.
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Design & Dev Tools
3 Excellent Performance Testing Tools from Google
June 24, 2020 • Armando Roggio
How quickly a web page loads and becomes interactive is closely related to user experience and conversions, and thus sales and profit. Google has three helpful testing tools to understand how well a website is performing and, also, how to improve it.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: June 14, 2020
June 14, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-June from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on visual search, lending, loyalty programs, payments, fraud protection, and gaming.
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Schools & Resources
14 New Ecommerce Books for Summer 2020
June 8, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here's a batch of new ecommerce books for summer and early fall reading. There are titles on startup funding, podcasting, branding, entrepreneurialism, international trade, the psychology of social networking, and the science of happiness.
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Design & Dev Tools
20 Free Web Design Tools from Spring 2020
June 2, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Free resources from the design community can add value to an ecommerce site. Here is a list of new web tools and design elements from spring 2020. There are designer and developer apps, coding resources, color tools, fonts, and more.
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: June 1, 2020
June 1, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for late-May from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on social commerce, financial products for merchants, self-service ad platforms, selling on Amazon, and quick-launch commerce services.
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Schools & Resources
14 YouTube Channels to Grow an Ecommerce Business
May 26, 2020 • Sig Ueland
Ecommerce merchants can get plenty of free help on YouTube — from step-by-step software tutorials to strategies from entrepreneurs. Here is a list of YouTube channels for ecommerce merchants.