Page 51 – Practical Ecommerce

Category

Code
11 Free Websites to Learn Code in 2022

October 31, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Learning code has never been easier. Many free resources can help a beginner master a programming language or build a new web project. For online merchants, a better understanding of code means less reliance on third-party developers. Here is a list of resources to learn code in 2022.
Business
21 Years In, 2BigFeet Charts Opportunities, Growth

October 29, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Where can you find a size 24 men's shoe? At 2BigFeet.com. Brandon Eley co-launched the business in 2000, before Google AdWords and long before Facebook and Shopify. "We've seen a lot of changes in 21 years," he told me. "Keyword stuffing was legitimate search engine optimization back then."
Business
Ecommerce Briefs: Walmart; Amazon Logistics; Holiday Shopping

October 28, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

"Ecommerce Briefs" is my occasional series on news and developments that impact online merchants. In this installment, I'll focus on Walmart's ecommerce activity, Amazon's parcel delivery, and consumers' holiday shopping intentions.
Google Ads
4 Reasons to Use Dynamic Search Ads

October 27, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Dynamic search ads access your website content and deploy artificial intelligence to generate headlines, bids, and targeted search terms automatically. These easy-to-employ text ads are the Swiss Army knife of digital promotion: They work well in many situations.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 11: Image Editing

October 26, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Editing is a critical step in producing product photos that engage ecommerce shoppers. If you can’t make what you’re selling stand out, consumers will not likely buy it. This is the 11th installment in my series on helping ecommerce merchants create better product images.
Design & Development
The Trade-offs of Third-party Add-ons

October 26, 2021 • Lori McDonald

Third-party apps and add-ons can enhance an ecommerce platform. Examples include exit popups, customer reviews, product recommendations, and marketing automation. But third-party add-ons can create more problems than benefits.
Payments
Here’s Why PayPal Should Acquire Pinterest

October 25, 2021 • Armando Roggio

PayPal has denied published reports that it is interested in acquiring Pinterest. Nonetheless, if consummated, the transaction might be the first of many similar acquisitions as platforms seek vertical integration. In this post, I'll address why it makes sense for PayPal to buy Pinterest.
Product Pages
Conversion Lessons from the Luggage Industry

October 24, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

The pandemic challenged online luggage merchants to find unique ways to entice consumers to purchase items they might not put to immediate use. Led primarily by independent, direct-to-consumer manufacturers, successful mid-priced luggage and travel-bag sites are setting the pace for conversion practices.
Business
Gas Station Coffee Spurs Golden Ratio Founder

October 22, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Solving a personal hardship may be the most common motivator for starting a business. Clark Nowlin's hardship was acidity in coffee. It wrecked his stomach. Golden Ratio Coffee is Nowlin's answer. It's a producer of low-acid coffee.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 10: Lines as Design Elements

October 21, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

The design elements of a photo include lines, color, shapes, light, texture, and negative space. The use of such elements in product photography can make or break its appeal to shoppers. This is the 10th installment in my series to help ecommerce merchants take better product images.
Email & Text Marketing
Digital Creators Need Email Marketing

October 20, 2021 • Armando Roggio

A list of engaged email subscribers is among the best promotional tools for creators who sell digital products. For many of those creators, it could also be a path toward earning a living. The creator economy has a problem.
Social Media
My 3 Rules for Social Media Success

October 19, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Roughly 4.2 billion people worldwide use social media. In 2021, all ecommerce businesses should attempt to connect with prospects on those platforms. This is my first post to help merchants utilize social media for brand awareness and sales.
Email & Text Marketing
Navigating Email Marketing without Open Rates

October 19, 2021 • Carolyn Nye

Apple rolled out iOS 15 on Sept. 20, 2021. The release provides users of iOS devices — iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch — the ability to load remote content privately, blocking the sender's ability to track opens. I've addressed iOS 15 twice.
Business
13 Examples of Sustainable Ecommerce

October 18, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of sustainable ecommerce sites, for inspiration. These sites create change through environmental, economic, and social action and awareness.
Payments
Stablecoin, CBDCs Could Improve Ecommerce

October 18, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Digital currencies have the potential to expand ecommerce, lower transaction fees, eliminate chargebacks, and prevent fraud. So far, however, volatility and its fear have stopped most merchants and brands from accepting cryptocurrencies. But this could be changing.
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: October 17, 2021

October 17, 2021 • 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 email marketing, digital payments, subscription tools, social commerce, Amazon integration, WooCommerce, and live video shopping.
Business
Amid Facebook Ad Turmoil, Supply.co Retrenches

October 15, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Patrick Coddou is a direct-to-consumer pioneer, having launched Supply.co in 2015. The company designs, manufactures, and sells premium shaving products — all to great success. Until April 2021. That's when Apple launched iOS 14.5, upending Facebook's ability to hyper-target ads. Coddou's company relied on sales from those ads.
Payments
Are Stablecoin and CBDCs the Future of Digital Currency?

October 14, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Stablecoin and central bank digital currences may offer the benefits of buying and selling with cryptocurrencies without the worrisome price swings. Blockchain-driven transactions could benefit the ecommerce industry.
Finance
Latin America Fintech, Ecommerce Awash in Startup Funding

October 14, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

During the pandemic, Latin America became a hot market for tech startups, with foreign venture capital flooding the region. Latin America now hosts 23 private "unicorn" companies — valued over $1 billion — according to Crunchbase. Overall, these companies have raised more than $15 billion. Roughly two-thirds of them are based in Brazil, but data indicates other countries are catching up.
Influencers & Affiliates
Influencer Marketing, Part 7: Your First Campaign

October 13, 2021 • Joe Sinkwitz

You've hired your first influencer and have received a draft of her initial promotion, a review of your product for her social media followers. This is "Part 7" of my influencer marketing series.
Google Ads
Google Ads Promotion Extensions Can Boost Holiday Sales

October 12, 2021 • Armando Roggio

The Google Ads promotion extension attaches a clickable discount offer to search ads and could boost sales for some merchants this Christmas season. Click-through rates and conversion rates vary greatly from one business or one ad to the next. Thus one cannot say definitively that using a promotion extension would drive more traffic or sales.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 9: Advanced Composition

October 12, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

I discussed in my previous post two compositional rules that could make your product photography more engaging. I'll expand on that subject in this article. This is the ninth installment of my series to help ecommerce merchants take better product images.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Is Last-mile Delivery Ripe for Disruption?

October 11, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Competition, profit-taking, and emerging technologies may contribute to rapid and disruptive changes in last-mile package delivery worldwide. For online sellers, the "last mile" describes the final leg of a product's journey to a customer.
Customer Service
13 WordPress Plugins for Customer Support

October 11, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Offering support throughout your shoppers’ purchase experience is a good way to ensure their return. If you have a WordPress site, there are a variety of customer-support plugins to help. Here is a list of plugins for customer support on WordPress.
Google Ads
Google Ads Updates Search Terms Report, Keyword Match, More

October 10, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads released a slew of updates in September to provide advertisers more clarity into ad auctions, performance metrics, and more. This transparency is welcome, especially as the holiday season is around the corner.
Business
Mental Conditioning Is Vital for Entrepreneurs

October 8, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Lauren Johnson says high-performing entrepreneurs have similar characteristics as professional athletes. Both have mental traits that lead to inevitable success.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Getting Started with In-house Fulfillment

October 7, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Many emerging ecommerce businesses start in someone's garage or kitchen. They store, pack, and ship from a home base and control all the activities. But even established sellers sometimes opt for fulfilling in-house.
Product Pages
3 Rule-breaking Product Pages, Designed for Conversions

October 6, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

Most ecommerce platforms have a standard layout. Their product page designs are relatively conventional, with a left-to-right display and a dominant image. Calls-to-action almost always appear near the top, especially on mobile. But the norm isn't always the best.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 8: Composition Essentials

October 5, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Photo composition refers to the arrangement of an image's items and elements. For product photography, composition has one goal: create an image that draws a shopper closer to purchase.
Business
5 Content Marketing Ideas for November 2021

October 5, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Comparisons, top 10 lists, customer stories, an old mystery, and Thanksgiving leftovers are all topics that could influence your company's content marketing in November 2021. Content marketing is the act of creating, publishing, and promoting content with the express purpose of attracting, engaging, and retaining customers.