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Setting Up an eCommerce Site With WordPress

by allinwebit | Oct 18, 2023 | All Posts, Ecommerce

There’s never been a better time to open an online business, and WordPress makes it easy, with an array of tools and themes to help website owners set up a complete eCommerce store for selling physical and digital products of all kinds. Whether you’re an experienced web developer or a complete newcomer to the world of online selling, you can turn your WordPress website into an online storefront in just a few steps, with options to suit every budget.

Why Use WordPress?

WordPress powers nearly a third of the world’s websites, ranging from personal blogs and small businesses to many of the Internet’s top 100 websites. This free and open source site-building platform consists of a set of core code that defines the basic framework of a website, which can be developed in virtually limitless ways to create unique sites of all kinds with thousands of WordPress themes, plugins, and plugin extensions.

The “mix and match” versatility of WordPress makes it possible for users of all skill levels to build a fully functioning online storefront on an existing WordPress site in almost no time, and to customize it for selling all kinds of goods. Because WordPress is the world’s most popular site builder and content management system, users can also choose from a multitude of premium and free WordPress themes and plugins, as well as compatible eCommerce platforms to optimize any WordPress site for showcasing goods, services, and memberships.

Online Storefront Essentials

The configuration of your WordPress eCommerce site depends of course on the nature of your business, your goals, and the kinds of products and services you plan to sell. In general, though, a full-service e-commerce website needs a set of core functions that make it easy for site owners to manage the store, and for visitors to find and buy what they’re looking for. To do that, your WordPress eCommerce solution should offer:

Easy to manage product pages, with options for promoting featured products and special opportunities.
Shopping cart and checkout pages that include essentials like currency converters and shipping calculators for physical goods or download links for digital products.
Secure payment portals that protect buyers’ payment information.
Full customization that reflects the business brand.
Contact features, such as contact forms, live chat, or a support number for handling customer issues and questions.
Mobile responsiveness to reach the growing number of users who shop for tablets and smartphones.

The best eCommerce setup for your WordPress site depends on your budget, technical skills, and the scope of your eCommerce venture, but whether you’re an absolute beginner with no web design skills who is preparing to launch a business or you’re a developer creating a storefront for an established retailer, WordPress hosting can turn your dreams into a reality.

WordPress eCommerce Themes

Themes are a core component of the WordPress system, and thousands of them are available in both free and premium versions from the WordPress theme directory, and from third-party developers all over the world. Themes define a site’s appearance and layout, and some themes are designed to support specific functions, including eCommerce.

eCommerce friendly free themes, like the mobile responsive Shop Isle and The Store, offer users different ways to showcase products, add landing pages and featured product images in galleries, and even run a blog. Premium versions of these and other themes include more features to round out the essentials of an online store, but users may still need to add some essential functions with plugins, such as shopping carts and payment portals. Some, such as the Storefront eCommerce theme, is directly compatible with WooCommerce, the most popular WordPress eCommerce plugin of them all.

eCommerce Plugins

Along with themes and the core code, eCommerce plugins for WordPress round out the list of essentials that make up a site. And like themes, there are countless plugins set to perform specific functions of all kinds on a basic WordPress site. eCommerce related plugins for WordPress range from full storefronts to dedicated plugins that allow you to set up individual features like shopping carts, payment portals, and more.

The most famous WordPress e-commerce plugin is WooCommerce, which powers over 40 percent of the web’s e-commerce community. WooCommerce can be installed on any compatible WordPress site and adds the full spectrum of research related features to a basic site and theme. The free version of WooCommerce offers all the essentials, and the premium version adds additional features, plus extended support.

WooCommerce may be the best known and most widely used WordPress e-commerce plugin, but it isn’t the only one. A large and growing number of other plugins such as WP eCommerce and EStore also add a fully functioning online store to WordPress sites of all kinds. Some, like Easy Digital Downloads, support a particular kind of product or service, while others are designed for building a membership or subscription site.

Integration With eCommerce Platforms

eCommerce themes and plugins work to turn a basic WordPress site into an online store, but it’s also possible to integrate a WordPress site with popular standalone eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify and Ecwid.

Sites like Shopify offer a full-service e-commerce solution that also includes managing all the associated store functions from a single dashboard. That makes these sites appealing to new users looking for a no-fuss way to run a store. But WordPress users can also add the platform’s plugin to an existing site, which adds e-store functionality. Although adding the functions of an e-commerce host to your own site can help to extend the reach of your brand, it can also add additional costs. Although Ecwid is free to set up, Shopify charges a monthly fee to host your shop.

Online shopping is the fastest growing retail sector worldwide, and many users of online retail outlets say they’d never shop any other way. Now, anyone with products to sell can set up an online store – and WordPress makes it easy, with eCommerce options to suit every budget and level of expertise.

To learn more about our web hosting packages, check out our extensive resources on Allinwebit.com.

Is WordPress Only for Blogs?

by allinwebit | Oct 18, 2023 | All Posts, Wordpress

WordPress powers over a quarter of the world’s websites, including many, ranked in the web’s top 100. Although this free, open source site builder was originally designed for blogging, WordPress is now the platform of choice, not only for personal and business blogs but also for many other kinds of sites.

With the help of thousands of WordPress themes, plugins, and extensions, users of all skill levels can build in all the functions they need to create online stores, portfolios, membership sites, professional pages, and more. Versatile, flexible, and endlessly customizable, WordPress isn’t just for blogging anymore.

WordPress Makes Publishing Possible

WordPress was developed back in 2003 as a tool intended for bloggers – a way to make online publishing accessible to everyone, according to its founders Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. That’s why WordPress remains free, an open source software platform that can be modified and shared by anyone in the worldwide WordPress community.

In the years that followed, WordPress was welcomed not only by bloggers looking for flexibility and control in a full-featured content management system, but also by entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals in fields of all kinds who found that the basic WordPress platform could be adapted to meet the needs of many different types of sites. That’s because the three core WordPress elements – source code, themes, and plugins – can be modified, mixed, and matched to create unique, highly customized websites, even by users with no experience in website development.

WordPress Has Tools for Blogging – and Beyond

Many site owners do use WordPress for blog posts, and the origins of WordPress as a blogging tool is clear in its content editor, which is oriented toward creating text. With a clean, minimal text box that comes in both visual and HTML formats to meet the needs of both new users and experienced developers, the content editor is the key to fleshing out the basic WordPress structure with a full complement of pages, blog posts, and other elements. The basic WordPress content editor reflects its origins as a blogging tool with its array of text formatting tools, but it also offers options for adding images and embedding the video.

The content editor can be extended with plugins that add a variety of other content management tools for further customization options like visual elements through slideshows and galleries. And as WordPress has evolved toward a wider functionality, tools, such as the plugin Elementor and the new block-based editor Gutenberg, allows users to take a more visual approach to create content overall.

The WordPress Code Provides the Structure

The basic WordPress “package” is always free, and it can be downloaded from WordPress.org and installed on any web host. It consists of a set of HTML files that define the core functions of a WordPress site, and that includes the content editor – the essential tool for creating a site’s posts and pages.

In all its forms, though, WordPress remains an open source software, which means that individual WordPress users are free to modify it as needed for their own sites or to share those modifications with others. Experienced web developers can work directly with the source code to add features or alter the appearance of the site through different customization options, and new users can use preset customization features available with WordPress themes and plugins to get the look and feel they want.

WordPress Themes Customize the Look

The WordPress source code establishes the structure and essential functionality of your site, but its appearance is defined by its chosen theme – and there are thousands of WordPress free and premium themes to choose from. Many are available from the official WordPress theme directory, but more can be purchased – or downloaded for free – from WordPress developers around the globe.

WordPress themes allow users to expand the functionality of a site in many different directions, with themes designed for blogging, e-commerce, creative portfolios, and more. New users can customize a theme’s presets through settings on the site’s admin dashboard, while more experienced developers can make changes directly to its style sheets and scripts.

Plugins and Extensions Add More Functions

Plugins are the third essential element of the WordPress blogging platform, and they can be installed in any WordPress site to add niche-specific functions that turn a basic WordPress install into an online store, photo gallery, landing page, or any other kind of business or professional site.

Plugins allow WordPress users to add contact forms, collect money, create social networks, display their social media, and build online magazines. For example, e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce can add a complete online shop to your WordPress site. Gallery plugins allow photographers, artists, and other creatives to showcase their work. Additionally, a variety of business-oriented plugins add functions such as statistics, database management, and other functions for small and large companies.

Plugins can be installed directly into your WordPress theme from the official Plugin Directory, or they can be purchased separately from developers and asset marketplaces, and then uploaded to your WordPress install. Plugins can be customized through their setting options, and premium plugins typically offer user support, tutorials, and other features.

Many plugins also come with the option of extensions: add-ons that provide even more functions on top of the basic ones. Plugins combined with extensions allow users to customize sites even more, so that it is possible to create virtually any kind of site, for any purpose, from a basic WordPress install. As the digital world evolves, new plugins are constantly being developed to add even more options for customizing WordPress sites.
WordPress may have started as a blogging platform to make the tools of online publishing available to anyone, not just experienced website developers, but thanks to its flexibility it has become much more than that. Today’s WordPress users range from newcomers to denizens of the blogosphere, to multinational corporations with complex websites that don’t even include a blog. All of these unique sites are based on the WordPress source code. With the core code files combined with themes and plugins that add the specialized functions you need, your WordPress website can be anything you want it to be – even a blog.

5 Tips To Start Preparing Your Business Website For The New Year

by allinwebit | Oct 18, 2023 | All Posts, The New Year

We’re saying goodbye to 2022 and looking ahead to a year that is going to bring more business, web traffic, and growth for your website. The new year provides an opportunity to build your brand and acquire new customers to keep your business flourishing all year long.

Are you ready to be one step ahead of the competition in 2019? Here are 5 tips to consider when preparing your business website for the new year.

1.) Review Your Site’s User Experience (UX)

Having a user-friendly site with optimal UX is essential for creating a positive online experience for your visitors. When a user is on your site, anything that conveys a message like an image, video, or product description can influence how they interact with your site. Are your visuals appealing? Is your site mobile responsive? UX has become increasingly vital to a site’s success because a visitors opinion of your business can be directly impacted by what they are experiencing on your site. These are a few factors that can change a negative UX to a positive one.

Increase your site speed
Update your website design
Make sure you have a readable font
Ensure your site is accessible for physically disabled and visually impaired

Reviewing user comments or common issues people can experience on your site will help determine your site’s functionality. Usability testing is also a method of evaluation that can help you identify more finite issues a user could be experiencing with your site. Tweaking site components for your visitors to have a favorable UX has the potential to grow your traffic in 2023.

2.) Protect Your Customers With Security SiteLock (SSL)

As a business website selling goods or products, keeping your customer’s information protected is of top importance. Installing an SSL certificate on your site lets customers or visitors know that any personal information they submit through your site is protected. An SSL certificate also helps enhance customer trust on your site, improve conversion rates, and increase your Google rankings.

If you plan to process any credit card or personal information through your site, you will need an SSL certificate in order to be Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI) compliant. Being PCI compliant is essential to help protect your site and the customers who are sharing their credit card information. Whether you are a small or large business, your goal should be to build and maintain a secure network for visitors.

There are several types of SSL certificates you can add to your site and Bluehost offers a great variety for our customers. An SSL certificate can appear as an image at the bottom of a webpage indicating the certificate, a padlock, or the words “SSL,” or “Security.”

3.) Increase Your Site Visibility With Relevant SEO keywords

Making your website search friendly in 2023 is an actionable goal that you can conquer with a little help from search engine optimization (SEO). SEO has become increasingly important to how a site ranks on a search engine because it can increase site awareness and drive traffic to your site. Keeping track of SEO on your site is an excellent way to generate traffic that is organic and free without depleting your wallet.

Creating quality content with natural keywords or phrases helps people to find your site via search engines. Developing a list of relevant keywords specific to the product or services you offer is the best way to ensure potential visitors land on your page versus a competitor. There are several SEO search tools that can you use to find the best and most relevant keywords to assist with traffic and conversions on your site. Relevant keywords are always changing so setting up a weekly or monthly schedule to review your words for SEO visibility is imperative to keep your site ranking high.

4.) Use A Staging Site To Test New Plugins Or Themes

The new year is the perfect time to update your theme or install new plugins on your site. A website refresh is a great way to introduce new products and services, but you want to ensure your existing site content is compatible with any new installs. Bluehost customers have the opportunity to test out their site before making any final changes that can affect their public site.

The AllinwebIT staging environment allows customers to test and see if any new themes and plugins will work on your site. A staging site allows you to make and save changes without your public site being affected. Once you’ve perfected your site in the staging environment you can publish it to your live site. You can use this opportunity to be creative and experiment with an updated design or install a plugin you’ve been itching to try without any worry it will cause your site to crash or malfunction.

5.) Identify The Best Social Media Platforms For Your Site

Social media has become an essential component of how brands market themselves to billions of users across each channel. Having a social media platform is vital for marketing and promoting your company, but not every social platform is best for your business. If you spent this past year scrambling to post on multiple platforms, now is the time to focus on what social media can best support your business.

Here are a few suggestions to find the best social media channels for your brand.

Write out your social media goals
Establish a publishing cadence and how you’ll identify whether you are successful or not.
Understand your industry
Doing your market research can help develop brand awareness and identify your target audience.
Know the purpose of each platform
Each platform has different benefits that can strengthen your social media presence.
Go where your audience is
Only use your time on social platforms where your customers frequent.

Once you are able to identify which social media accounts are helping to enhance your business goals you’ll be able to work on strengthening your online presence. You can invest your efforts into growing those accounts by creating a social media strategy that will engage conversation and make the best use of your ad dollars for marketing.

As we transition into the new year, preparing your business website for the new year can set you up for long-term success. Using the holiday to identify the strengths of your site can help you take the first step to make small tweaks or updates you need in 2023

WordPress vs Wix Why WordPress is Better

by allinwebit | Oct 17, 2023 | All Posts, Wordpress Vs Wix

WordPress is the most popular website builder in the world, but it isn’t the only one. Easy to use, drag and drop page builders like Wix offer site owners with no technical background the tools to create attractive, fully functional sites within minutes. Wix and self-hosted WordPress both make beautiful sites, but they are very different in terms of features and costs. Here’s a look at the differences between WordPress vs. Wix and what they both have to offer.

Website Builders and Content Management Systems

Wix is a full-service site builder that makes it easy for even the newest of users to quickly set up a website in a variety of different niches. The self-hosted version of WordPress from WordPress.org makes a number of different page builders such as Elementor, Gutenberg, and Divi available to its users – but WordPress was conceived as a content management system that features a bare-bones content editor and can be populated with text, media, and links. Both Wix and WordPress can be used to set up a working website without knowledge of code, but there are significant trade-offs between the fully hosted Wix and the mix and match the flexibility of self-hosted WordPress that new site owners may want to consider.

Ease of Use

As many already know, there are many benefits of using WordPress, which is why so many users turn to this platform. However, it’s also important to note that Wix also offers a variety of features that are highly desired among website owners as well. Wix advertises itself as a full-service site builder that anyone can use. Using one of the more than 500 website templates Wix offers, users can drag and drop elements to create a site in minutes without any coding. Because Wix is a hosted platform, its developers maintain control over all the available tools and applications, so users can’t import outside tools from other sources. Once a new site owner chooses a template, they’re stuck with it. Website templates can’t be quickly changed as a site’s identity evolves, but the Wix interface is user-friendly, made with beginners in mind, and it offers round the clock support for troubleshooting and answering questions.

With WordPress, many more functions are left up to the user. Self-hosted WordPress sites come with an administrative dashboard that provides access to the tools needed to install a theme, make basic customizations, compose a page or post, and add any plugins needed for added features.

Learning to work with the WordPress dashboard and the many available theme and plugin options requires a somewhat steeper learning curve than Wix does. Additionally, finding support can be a do-it-yourself effort that involves sifting through thousands of forums, tutorials, and websites devoted to the workings of WordPress. However, although WordPress users don’t have direct access to a dedicated user support portal, the worldwide WordPress community offers advice and information on just about any aspect of using WordPress.

Flexibility and Versatility

Depending on your website’s purpose, you may need to consider future expansion and the ability to scale up to meet additional demands as your business grows. Although Wix offers tools for creating and running a fully functional website, it may not include all the features you need to accommodate growth. Wix is fully hosted, which means that its shared platform allows storage and bandwidth among Wix users, depending on the hosting plan they have purchased. This could be a problem for a site that experiences a sudden surge in traffic or needs more resources to run secondary applications.

Wix also limits a user’s options for customizing the site. Although Wix users have access to hundreds of well-crafted templates for setting up a site, it isn’t possible to import one from an outside source. And although Wix allows users to add extra functions by choosing from its library of “applications” (analogous to plugins in WordPress), users may have to pay additional monthly fees to use them and, again, they are limited to only those applications provided by Wix itself.

One reason for the enduring popularity of WordPress is its virtually limitless versatility. Once the core WordPress code is installed, users can draw from the official WordPress theme and plugin directories, as well as from the products of developers worldwide to customize their site, and add features to meet its unique needs. WordPress makes it easy to switch themes as a site’s identity changes and to add and delete plugins as needed. Also, while WordPress users don’t need to know to code in order to set up and run a site, those with development skills can fine-tune WordPress even more by working with the core code, as well as theme and plugin files to fine tune the site’s appearance and features.

Costs for Setup and Maintenance

The cost of setting up and running a website depends on a wide range of factors, and that can change considerably over time as a site evolves. Because it’s a hosting platform, as well as a site builder, Wix makes it easy for users to calculate costs with a tiered series of monthly plans that also include a domain name and varying levels of storage, access to add-on apps and more. There is also a completely free starter plan, but it has limited features and requires users to accept advertising on their site. As a site grows and changes, users, can scale up to a higher pricing plan that offers the features they need.

Because Wix offers all of its tools in packages with fixed monthly fees, users don’t need to factor in external costs, such as hiring developer services or purchasing assets from outside sources. This kind of one-stop shopping makes it especially attractive to new users looking for an easy and relatively economical way to set up a site, even though it limits options for customization and specialized functions.

WordPress itself is free to download and install – and it is possible to set up an entire site nearly for free with a basic hosting package and free themes and plugins from the official WordPress directories. But depending on the features and functions a particular site needs, the actual cost of setting up and running a WordPress site can be highly variable. Those costs include buying and registering a domain name and can also include purchasing any premium themes and plugins needed to get the right look and functionality for the site, or hiring a developer to work with the site’s core code.

E-commerce Support

E-commerce is booming – and just about anyone can set up an online store with both Wix and WordPress. Wix includes a number of e-commerce themed templates for setting up your site, but to get full e-commerce functionality that includes the payment gateways PayPal and Authority and other key e-commerce tools, you would have to buy their e-commerce web hosting package at a higher monthly price than the standard fees.

With powerful e-commerce plugins like the worldwide favorite Woocommerce, WordPress offers an array of e-commerce themes and plugins to create an online store of any kind and scale it up as the venture grows. Installed on any basic WordPress site, Woocommerce and similar free and premium plugins allow users to choose from a variety of payment gateways, product display layouts, and shopping cart configurations to do business both locally and globally.

Both Wix and WordPress put the tools for creating a visually appealing and fully functioning website within the reach of any user. Wix is a hosted site builder that promises an all-in-one site building solution, but users are limited to the features and tools created by its own development team. That’s a trade-off new users with small sites might be willing to accept – but for site runners who crave control over all aspects of their site and the flexibility to build in new features as it evolves, self-hosted WordPress offers unlimited options for unlimited growth. Now that you know the differences between WordPress vs. Wix, you can now choose the one that’s best for you and your site.

For further questions regarding our WordPress hosting vs. regular web hosting packages, check out our website or contact our customer support team today. Our website offers a variety of WordPress products to help you get your site up and running.

5 Winning Ways to Optimize Your Online Store

by allinwebit | Oct 17, 2023 | All Posts, Winning Ways

Business is booming in the world of eCommerce and just about anyone can set up an online storefront – even on the slimmest of shoestring budgets. Success depends on making sure potential customers can find your store and receive the best possible shopping experience when they visit. Paid publicity can help, but there are a number of things you can do to optimize your store for maximum visibility right on your website without spending a dime. Here’s a look at five low-cost ways to increase traffic to your website and boost customer engagement.

Optimize Your Store for Organic Search

Paid advertising and other kinds of marketing strategies can play an important part in promoting your new online shop, but it’s also essential to make a plan to rank high in organic searches by practicing search engine optimization – the natural way that people search for information or products online. These searches respond to keywords or questions submitted to search engines like Google or Bing and deliver the best matches to the searcher. Ranking high – on the first page of search results – is the goal of just about every online business, since nearly two-thirds of searchers never click to the second page of their search results.

Long-tail keywords aren’t the only criteria for ranking high or improving your online presence through search engine optimization. Google and other search engines operate on a mysterious algorithm system that also factors in many other features of a website when assigning rankings. These can include a site’s authority, which can be established by quality backlinks, or links back to the site by other reputable websites, and the quality of the user experience it offers visitors. That’s why Google’s recent algorithm changes heavily penalized spammy, keyword stuffed sites with low value to visitors.

Learning how to optimize your website for easy searching and engaging user experience can not only boost your search engine rankings but also establish your site as an authority in your niche and enhance your brand’s visibility. Additionally, you don’t need to be an expert in web design and development to make small but significant changes that will make your site more search friendly.

Include Quality Content – Everywhere

If you visited a brick and mortar store and found empty shelves, a vacant front window and no one available to serve you, you would probably turn around and leave. The same is true for your online store. Make sure that your product pages include a range of products, not just one or two, and that they’re packed with keyword rich descriptions of your products and organized in intuitive ways. Add featured content, testimonials, or reviews to a visually appealing homepage. Add a blog to your site and keep it updated with a mix of topical and evergreen content that is relevant to your customers’ interests and needs.

Since search engine crawlers regularly search sites for new, relevant content, having an active, interactive site that is updated on a regular basis shows visitors and search engines that your store is a thriving online concern.

Make Your Store Interactive

Search engines also consider factors such as “dwell time,” – the amount of time a visitor spends on your site and what they do there – in search rankings. Making sure your site is attractive and easy to navigate can encourage visitors to stick around, but you can also engage visitors by encouraging them to interact with your store and your brand. Adding features such as comments and live chat can encourage them to ask questions and express opinions. Consider showcasing customer content, such as sharing product photos, or running contests for things like naming new products. Beyond selling products, these kinds of strategies can build brand awareness and create a loyal tribe of supporters willing to share your content with others.

Make Your Site Mobile Friendly

More than half of all online shopping now takes place from mobile devices, rather than desktop or laptop computers. For that reason, Google and other search engines now consider mobile responsiveness a key factor in higher search rankings. Consider installing a mobile-responsive theme for your WordPress site, or add a plugin to make an existing theme more mobile friendly. To improve the mobile experience, even more, eliminate intrusive “interstitial,” content such as large popups or overlays that block a user’s view of your pages.

Use Keywords Where It Counts

Although Google penalizes poor quality and keyword stuffed sites, it rewards sites that use keywords smartly. Incorporate keywords, especially “long tail,” keywords of four or more words, into key areas of your site, including page and post titles, headers, subheaders, and product descriptions. Don’t forget to add them to image alt text and site metadata, and set custom URLs for all pages, so that they include keywords rather than default strings of numbers.

Include Navigation Tools and Site Maps

Make sure navigation and user tools, such as your site’s menus, are up to date and point clearly to the relevant content – a key feature for making your site easier for visitors to navigate. Make sure that contact information and other essentials about your store and your products are easily visible. Submit a site map to Google, as well. A site map includes all the pages on your site, with their relevant keywords, and helps to ensure that all the pages on your site will be crawled for indexing. If you change or update content on the site, be sure to update your site map too, so that it stays current.

It’s never been easier to open your own online store, thanks to an array of free and paid tools for building your dream website and reaching potential customers from around the world. You can optimize your new storefront for maximum search visibility and user-friendliness from within your website using resources you already have – all for free, no development experience or digital marketing budget required.

Ready to build a website? Learn more about our web hosting options from our customer support experts at AllinwebIT today.