Introduction Ecwid Donation
Have you ever Wondered if you are using the right ecommerce platform for sale on the internet? Do you sometimes stumble upon a new service that’s more functional and cheaper than what you’re using now? Starting a small business is all about keeping your prices low, and locating an ecommerce platform to help you with that is half the battle. Unfortunately, when you operate a small company site it often becomes tricky when you want to bring on a brand new ecommerce platform or perhaps just alter your site whatsoever. Read our Ecwid review to find out more about this option. Ecwid Donation
Click Here to register up to Ecwid today!
Many solutions Intentionally create a closed system, which can be tedious to maneuver away from as soon as you get started. But with a stage called Ecwid, you no longer have to be concerned about it. Actually, the whole goal of the company, which started in 2009, would be to quickly and quickly make an internet store system in your existing websites.
You don’t have To make a completely different site. Just apply Ecwid on any platform, CMS or social networking (in five minutes) and you’re good to go.
This increased my Attention, because I understand the struggles that come along with attempting to migrate websites, particularly in regards to ecommerce. So, I wanted to put together an in-depth review of this Ecwid system to find out if it’s worth the time.
How Many People Use Ecwid?
It’s quite Remarkable what Ecwid has done since 2009, with more than 1 million merchants getting signed up. What’s even more cool is that the Ecwid merchants span over 175 different countries, demonstrating that this is not just a platform for most people in the US or Europe. Even businesses in developing nations have a chance to get an online store heading, and you don’t even have to squander your prior site if you have one.
The usership Continues to grow, especially considering Ecwid is currently PCI DSS Level 1 certified. If you’re not sure what this is, it is pretty much the gold standard for security in the ecommerce world. You can rest easy knowing you and your customers’ information is safe and protected.
Along with The overall merchant count, over 20,000 active users are using the Ecwid Shopping Cart for WordPress. The difference between that 20,000 and the 1 million is the fact that you don’t need a WordPress site to implement Ecwid. So, the 20,000 simply refers to WordPress users using the plugin.
What’s Ecwid, and how can this function?
Ecwid is a hosted Solution for building an online store. Unlike competing products such as Shopify, Bigcommerce and Volusion, which permit you to construct a fresh site with e-commerce performance, Ecwid is geared more towards people who already have a website and just want to add an internet store for this.
Much like other E-commerce platforms, Ecwid lets you set up’catalogs’ of goods, and include photos, pricing, weight etc. for each. You can specify shipping rates, accept credit card payments etc — all of the crucial things that you’d expect to be able to do with an e-commerce solution.
However it differs Apart from competing products such as Shopify, Volusion, Squarespace and Bigcommerce in that it is not actually designed to allow you to produce a fully-featured, standalone e-commerce website; instead, it is intended to allow you add an online store to an present online presence.
(That said, Ecwid have Recently added some new functionality, called’Starter Website’, which will allow you create a one-page standalone offering. We’ll talk via this in more depth later on in the review.) Ecwid Donation
Click Here to sign up to Ecwid today!
The Product works by providing you a widget which gets put on other websites — hence the title Ecwid: it is short for’E-commerce Widget’. You get a few lines of HTML code (the widget) to add into an existing website or social media profile, and your store is displayed wherever you have inserted this code.
Features
Ecwid makes Strides in the market by catering to companies which don’t want to begin a brand new site. The main attribute is that you can take your old site and quickly incorporate the Ecwid system inside a couple of minutes.
You can also Mirror the system onto several other sites if you anticipate selling elsewhere on the web. Manage all these sites from 1 location rather than switching between multiple dashboards.
Another pleasant Feature is the syncing between multiple devices. Sell on-the-go together with your smartphone. This usually means you could visit a tradeshow to make a number of sales and all these sales are reflected onto the back part of your site.
The system is Also designed to integrate well with social networks, so you may sell your items on Facebook if desired. One part of Ecwid that we particularly enjoy is the delivery facet. With real time shipping integrations you constantly know what’s happening with your orders and where they are being shipped to.
What other trendy Items are included with Ecwid?
It runs on a super quick frame
It comes with an address book to get customers and customers
The system has over 43 translations for selling round the planet
You get lots of promotional instruments like coupons, discounts, bulk pricing and more
Produce your own customized email alerts
Utilize the automatic tax alternative (automatic tax charges at checkout, tax reporting and filing)
Point-of-sale performance
Thanks Into Ecwid’s point-of-sale (POS) performance, you may use your Ecwid shop to market not just online but in bodily places too — in shops, market stalls, in theatres and so forth.
With Ecwid’s POS Functionality, regardless of whether or not a customer purchases a product in store, online, in their telephone or via Facebook, everything remains in sync – i.e., the retailer’s catalog, inventory and customer / trade information.
There’s a few ways you can take advantage of this attribute: the easiest is probably to use’Paypal Here.’ This involves downloading the Ecwid iOS program from the Apple’s App store, linking it to the Paypal Here service, then taking payments utilizing a mobile card reader (pictured above).
You have two options when it comes to POS Hardware and Paypal Here: you can buy a chip and swipe reader (for $24.99) or a chip and tap reader (for $79.99). Both may be ordered straight from Ecwid.
There’s a few Things worth noting the Paypal Here integration: it’s only available to merchants in america and UK. Secondly, it’s not yet available on Android devices. (On their website, Ecwid state it’ll be available shortly — but they have been saying that for quite some time now). Ecwid Donation
If you’re located outside That the US / UK, or want to utilize another mobile device type, the good thing is that Ecwid also works with the Vend, Clover, NCR Silver and Square POS systems. These all facilitate using a wider range of hardware at a physical retail location (full-sized card readers, receipt printers, cash drawers tablet racks etc.) and are usable in more countries.
Although you can avail Of the Paypal Here POS choice on all paid-for programs, you will want to be on the priciest’Unlimited’ plan if you would like to avail of a Vend, Clover, NCR Silver or Square integration.
Reactive storefronts
Ecwid Storefronts are responsive, meaning that they will display correctly across devices — desktop, tablet computers and cellular. In a age where smartphone internet surfing is eclipsing desktop browsing, this is vital.
Free plan
Unlike many similar Products, Ecwid provides a totally free program.
Granted, it’s a pretty Basic plan, where attributes such as discount vouchers and support aren’t accessible, and it only lets you sell up to 10 products in 2 categories — but this may really be sufficient for some users, and using it’s a good way to try out the system.
But, A key point to notice about the free program is the fact that it is not good from an search engine optimization point of view — you have to be on a paid program to ensure your product pages talk to hunt engines accurately (more on SEO below).
Language detection
Ecwid is forward of the Pack because its storefronts can be mechanically translated into nearly 50 different languages — customers can see your store in their own language, without you needing to worry about creating alternate versions of it. Ecwid provides this performance by discovering visitors’ language automatically based on their browser preferences / IP address.
Competing products such as Shopify And Bigcommerce are yet to provide this type of performance — they force you to rely on third party programs, the creation of numerous shops or Google Translate to supply different language variations of your store, which can be less than perfect. Therefore a definite triumph for Ecwid here.
Ecwid and search engine optimisation
Search engine Optimisation (SEO) in Ecwid is a fairly straightforward affair. You are able to edit the name of your page and its own meta description; the relevant fields are pre-populated for you automatically, however you can tweak them to suit your search engine optimization objectives.
So Far as I could tell However, you can not manually change the URL of a product — you have to make do with the one which Ecwid generates for you. This isn’t ideal because keywords in URLs are used by some search engines to categorise content during indexing.
But, The URLs that are automatically generated by Ecwid comprise the title you have given to your product – so if you include some keywords on your product title (maybe not a bad idea anyhow ) that your URL will include them also. This functions as a tool of a workaround, but I’d prefer whole control over URLs. Ecwid Donation
One area where Ecwid doesn’t perform so Well on the SEO front entails AMP — accelerated mobile pages. As the name suggests, AMP pages load quicker on mobile devices. This encourages people to remain longer on your webpage, thus increasing’dwell time’ –something that’s considered by many SEO experts believe to be rewarded with Google with preferential treatment in search results. Additionally, Google occasionally highlights AMP pages in carousels in search results, providing AMP articles an extra little boost.
Regrettably However — and unlike competing products such as Bigcommerce or even Shopify, you can not produce AMP variations of your goods using Ecwid.
Importing and exporting data
Like many competing Products Ecwid allows you to import and export your data in CSV format.
The Export option permits you to export merchandise information, orders and clients (again, in CSV format) and means that if you ever feel the need to migrate your shop to another e-commerce platform, you shouldn’t have some significant problems doing so.
Using Ecwid with other programs
Ecwid and WordPress
WordPress doesn’t Provided any e-commerce functionality out of the box, so anybody wishing to sell on the platform will require a third-party alternative like Ecwid. There’s an Ecwid plugin available, therefore adding an Ecwid store to your WordPress site is very straightforward — you can get up and running with a couple clicks.
You just sign up for an Ecwid accounts and install the free plugin.
Ecwid and Squarespace
Squarespace includes Increasingly good e-commerce features, but the number of payment gateway options is very limited — you need to utilize Stripe or Paypal. (And using Stripe only functions if you’re selling goods from particular countries). The other principal problem with the built-in Squarespace selling tools is they don’t facilitate dropshipping, and full export of merchandise is not currently possible.
Integrating Ecwid with Squarespace allows you to bypass these limitations, and adding it to a Squarespace site is quite easy: it’s a simple matter of including a code block into a page and pasting some HTML to it.
Ecwid and Wix
As With Squarespace, there is currently no dropshipping choice for Wix users, so again Ecwid can provide a fantastic workaround. A committed app is provided by Ecwid to enable you integrate the product onto a Wix store easily.
Programs and plugins
Ecwid provides a fairly Restricted number integrations with other well-known apps. Integrations do exist together with key services Mailchimp, Xero and Freshbooks; but to be fair the assortment of integrations could be more extensive — competing products like Shopify provide a much wider assortment of apps. Notable omissions from the Ecwid store include Quickbooks and Zendesk, for example (that said, a Quickbooks integration is coming soon).
The Picture is better when it comes to CMS plugins: All these are offered for WordPress, Wix and Joomla, allowing for you to set up Ecwid on these platforms very easily. Ecwid Donation
Interface and ease of use
Ecwid’s Interface is rather easy to use. Like most similar online shop builders, you receive a vertical menu on the left which lets you access key functionality, and the place on the right can be used to edit or display associated products, site reports and content.
Much like any e-commerce tool, you will have to Spend a fair amount of time getting your head about producing catalogues and product variants, setting up transport prices etc…but there is nothing here that should represent too much of a learning curve.
Matters are aided by an ‘onboarding checklist’ that is supplied to you when you log in for the first time.
If You’re stuck however, you could always get in touch with Ecwid’s support staff — more on that later — or, if you are on a’Business’ or’Unlimited’, you are able to take advantage of this included customization service (you get 2 hours and 12 hours customization time from Ecwidon these programs ).
Ecwid and GDPR
I am not a Lawyer, so please be aware the below observations should not be interpreted as legal advice, but I am planning to do my best to spell out a number of the major GDPR problems facing Ecwid users under.
With the introduction of That the EU’s new GDPR laws, there are several legal steps that site owners now should take to ensure they are adequately protecting EU customers’ and visitors’ privacy. There are severe financial penalties for not doing so (to the point where it’s usually a great idea to speak with an attorney about what to do); and even when your business isn’t based in the EU, you still will need to obey the regulations where any website visits in the EU are worried.
According to my Understanding of the crucial GDPR rules, the principal priorities for prospective Ecwid store owners are to:
· Provide sufficient privacy and cookie notices
· Process and store data securely
· Get explicit permission from those registering to mailing lists it is okay to send them e-newsletters
· Provide a way to opt in or revoke permission to use of non-essential cookies onto a site (and to log that consent).
There doesn’t Appear to be Anything that stops you meeting the first three requirements easily enough with Ecwid, although you will need to devote time and potentially money creating adequate notices and crafting information capture forms so that they are GDPR compliant.
Where things get Complicated with Ecwid is the fourth requirement — cookie cutter consent. To Guarantee GDPR compliance, you need to display a cookie banner to your customers which
· Allows them to choose which cookies they want to run BEFORE those biscuits are run (i.e., to provide’prior permission’)
· Logs their approval to run cookies Ecwid Donation
· Enables them to revoke approval at a later point
So for example, if you Utilize a Facebook Ads cookie in conjunction with your Ecwid shop, you will be breaking GDPR legislation unless you have a banner set up which does all of the above.
Now, out of the box at Least there is not a means to deal with the cookie approval issue with Ecwid. Nor is there an adequate program accessible from the Ecwid app shop (the only option on this front I can locate, the’EU cookie banner’, does not appear to provide the essential performance — despite costing $1.99 a month to use).
It Appears to me that the only option available to Ecwid users would be to use a professional product such as CookiePro, which does supply all the necessary functionality to generate cookie consent fully GDPR compliant. Despite being a strong product nonetheless, Cookiepro does require quite a great deal of configuration and you’ll want to set quite a great deal of time apart to set it up.
Setup and Design
I really like The fact which you’re able to run a web site without paying anything. This makes the setup process that much easier, because you just have to punch in your email and make a password to proceed right to the backend interface.
The system has Wizards for each platform that you would like to set your shop on. In case you’ve got a WordPress site, just walk through three steps to get up and running. You could also click on options like Facebook and Joomla, based on where you would like to sell.
The backend Design is perfect, since it walks you through each website creation and integration step with a few nice text and photos. As soon as you get your shop implemented on a website or societal page it looks fairly sleek.
The design Depends somewhat on the subject you have on your website, but as you can see below, it shows photos well and appears clean and simple to navigate. I especially enjoy the Shopping Bag area, which can be outstanding and easy to locate for clients when they want to checkout.
Although many Sites will be mobile friendly, it;s fine knowing that Ecwid involves a native shopping program for both iOS and Android. Merchants now get a native shopping application for iOS and Android.
This means you Can mange your shop and sell on the go, while also providing your customers an opportunity to buy products from the mobile interface.
The final Design item which makes sense to mention is the language instrument. Since conducting an internet store generally requires one to reach out to individuals from throughout the world, you are bound to stumble upon a few clients who would love to read product webpages and other content in their native tongue. Ecwid supports 45 languages, so when a user would like to translate from English to Spanish, that is not a problem at all.
The Ecwid Program Market
Possessing the Opportunity to install applications is a sure fire way to scaling up your ecommerce site in a fair manner. Ecwid includes a location called the Ecwid App Market. It provides 65 applications, helping merchants extend their shop performance readily. Ecwid Donation
Some of the programs Can give you a hand with reviews and rating, rewards programs, automatic advertising tools, analytics, customized layout topics and much more.
SEO and Marketing
Ecwid is a Third-party remedy to your present website, so you’d normally need to employ additional SEO and marketing tools to really get the word out. That said, Ecwid supplies quality SEO qualities to help merchants increase their visibility in Google searches.
Moreover, Google now indexes AJAX sites, therefore all Ecwid shops are indexed by Google without any extra work. It gets even better with WordPress sites, since you gain access to additional search engine optimization plugins as well as the default search engine performance around the dashboard.
Managing Your Inventory
The Ecwid Inventory process is as straightforward as they come, since it doesn’t appear to incorporate any of those unnecessary bells and whistles you might find on other e commerce platforms.
Each measure is Concise and clear, so that you may just go in there and type in a product name, price and picture then save the product for afterwards. Obviously you could always open up the Powerful Options, but they different these for when you’re ready to start ramping up your store.
As an example of the inventory Rich management toolset, you obtain access to things like out of stock product tracking, mobile device inventory management, barcode scanning and more.
Customer Care
Ecwid provides A Chat With Sales feature which is always one of my favourite ways to converse with companies. Simply send them a question and you can work on something else until they respond.
The Business also Provides a powerful support department with FAQs, a knowledge base, email capabilities and a forum.
Overall, the Support outlets include telephone support, online chat service and email support, keeping the response time brief and support quality .
In my eyes, the Platform has everything you might want concerning support.
Payments and Safety
It’s not always Easy to find an ecommerce platform that does not charge fees, but that is exactly what you get with Ecwid. They never control any sort of transaction fee with any of the programs they offer, making it desirable for any store that’s trying to keep down costs and also to improve margins.
Remember that Ecwid is not a payment processor, which means you have to setup something like PayPal or Stripe to process all of the trades that come through your site. It’s pretty easy to employ these systems, because Ecwid integrates with over 40 international payment choices. However, each of those processors have their own transaction fees so you have to prepare for them.
It is quite Evident that Ecwid takes safety seriously, because the provider is a PCI DSS Grade 1 accredited service provider. The company also claims that each transaction that includes sensitive information is transferred through a secure HTTPS channel. Ecwid Donation
Imagine if you Would love to accumulate both online and offline payments? Perhaps you’d prefer a point of sale integration?
Ecwid Integrates with with Square, Clover, Vend POS, iZettle and PayPal card readers, allowing Ecwid to turn your performance into both an offline and online system.
Benefits and disadvantages of utilizing Ecwid
Advantages
· Ecwid signifies a really simple way to add e-commerce to any existing website.
· Point-of-sale performance can be obtained, and there are a number of ways to implement it.
· The item is cheap by comparison to other alternatives.
· It supports multi-language versions of your store.
· The store designs are responsive.
· Plugins / apps are available for major platforms (such as WordPress, Drupal and Wix).
· It permits users of website building products that don’t facilitate dropshipping to start doing so (i.e., Squarespace, Jimdo, Wix etc.. )
· The’starter site’ option is a fantastic stopgap measure for retailers who want a store fast, but have yet to create a complete site in order to add the Ecwid widget to.
· The free Ecwid program is not time-limited, includes support, and is fairly generous concerning features.
Cons
· The Paypal Here POS system is Limited to the US and UK.
· The Paypal Here POS process is limited to iOS users.
· Telephone support is only available on the more expensive plans.
· There is a restricted number of apps / integrations offered from the Ecwid Program shop.
· You can not alter merchandise URLs, which can be slightly annoying from an search engine optimization point of view.
· You can not create AMP versions of product pages using Ecwid.
· Creating Ecwid GDPR-compliant (with respect to getting cookie consent) seems difficult.
· The free version doesn’t allow you to get any of the SEO tools.
Pricing
Ecwid comes With four strategies, one of which is completely free. They market the free program like crazy, and mention that many other platforms drag you in free trial, where you will finally have to pay.
That is where Ecwid stands out, and you’ll be able to see that the other payment plans are fairly reasonably priced.
The Free plan Lets you sell 10 products, while the Venture plan ups that count to 100 products and you get items like an iPhone direction app. The Business program goes up to 2500 merchandise for a wonderful price and you also get live chat service. Priority support comes alongside the Unlimited program and you can also market an unlimited amount of products.
Ecwid is one of The most economical solutions available on the marketplace. You may see that it’s actually more affordable than many of the other platforms we’ve reviewed previously, so if you’re looking for value, this might be the perfect plugin for you.
Summary
In short, I am Starting to believe that Ecwid is among the best ways to market online, as long as you employ the best methods to improve your sales online as well. Ecwid is a sleek system, with super simple implementation steps, making it ideal for your small business crowd. Ecwid Donation
Click Here to sign up to Ecwid today!