WEB4PRO Proves Potential

WEB4PRO boasts a successful history of strong projects and satisfied clients, and we take great pride in the value of our eCommerce and web development projects, as well as our web and UI/UX design talents.

Our team excels at creating solutions for our customers’ challenges, and our expertise, attention to details, and effective project management have long paid off in helping our clients, and their businesses exceed expectations and recently garnered us recognition from Clutch and The Manifest for our consistent track record.

Clutch and the Manifest Research and Review Platforms

The two Washington, D.C. business research, and insight firms have featured WEB4PRO among other top web developers, highlighting our performance and skills as a team. With Clutch and The Manifest analyzing various aspects of our operations, such as our previous experience, market presence, and client satisfaction, our team takes pride in having the all-around reputability and excellence of our products, strategies, and customer satisfaction acknowledged and affirmed by the professionals.

WEB4PRO Client Reviews on Clutch

Beyond this showcase of WEB4PRO, we wanted to thank our clients for their partnership in collaborating with our team to fulfill their development and design needs. In the reviews that previous customers left on our Clutch profile, they touted our dedication to building and sustaining strong client relationships, exceptional service, and excellent products.

“They’re highly responsive and ready to deal with emergencies any time of day or night. They address immediately any issues or bugs, striving to meet all expectations. Their affordable rates and high-quality work make them stand out among other vendors, contributing to a long-term partnership,” praised one client. “They offer a rare mix of timeliness, professionalism, rate, and all-around work in the industry.”

“The team at WEB4PRO was trusted with the execution of clear directives, as well as with the room to innovate towards the best possible end product, and their initiative has paid off. The team is capable and ambitious,” emphasized the second client. “They can handle work that is not necessarily cookie cutter; they can do the cookie cutter features, but they didn’t shy away from the custom features that I asked them to build. They did them well, and they are seamless. The custom features ended up flowing well with the rest of the website.”

“They’re excellent,” underscored the third client. “They’re very friendly, courteous, and professional. They do an amazing job. There’s nothing we’ve asked them to do that they have balked at, so we enjoy working with them.”

Choosing Magento 2 Version for Your eCommerce Store

If you own an eCommerce store, you’ve probably known about Magento® 2 version. Anyone who has used the platform has raved about Magento 2 benefits. Still, what exactly is Magento 2 and how can you benefit from using it? Below, we’re going to discuss why Magento 2 is the solution you’re looking for.

Benefits of Magento 2 Over Magento 1

Before we get into the specific advantages of Magento 2, we’ll talk about the transition of Magento 1 to Magento 2. This transition is causing Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration.

Flexibility

Magento 2 is much more flexible than Magento 1. That’s because it has more extensions at the disposal of merchants. These extensions make it possible for eCommerce stores to be completely customizable. From sales to inventory, you can have the store you want with ease and precision.

Extended Functionality

Magento 2 functionality has undoubtedly improved compared to its previous version. Magento 2 allows you to optimize SEO to generate leads and increase conversions.

Magento 2’s upgrade can introduce eCommerce stores in countries all around the world, and can also do so in different currencies. Merchants can expand their reach to a broader range of people.

Magento 2 offers B2B functionality to ensure that your clients have an easier time during their shopping experience. With things like self-serve and instant-purchase, your customers will undoubtedly find their shopping experience easier.

Fewer Module Conflicts

Magento 2 is an open-source platform; which means, eCommerce sites that build with Magento are completely customizable. While other programs are limited in features and non-flexible core system to customize, you can create a store that suits your needs with Magento 2.

Magento 2 introduces fewer module conflicts by allowing developers to use the themes and the extensions they want. This demonstrates that as Magento evolves, it becomes more user-friendly and more user-concentrated.

Better Performance

This is one of Magento 2 biggest perks. It performs significantly better than Magento 1 did. Magento 2 runs 20% quicker than Magento 1 did. As time goes on, it becomes more apparent that speed is the most sought-after feature in eCommerce stores.

Not only this, but Magento 2 uses a Javascript library; thereby, making it an easy platform to use. This feature makes it extremely sought-after among developers.

Advantages Of Magento 2 From Different Perspectives

When you upgrade to Magento 2, there are many more advantages than those listed above. Below, we’re going to discuss Magento 2 CMS and the benefits of using this platform from different perspectives.

Scalability

Magento 2 can meet your needs whenever you need it to. This is especially demonstrated with Magento 2 scalability. Scalability is useful because as times change, your site needs to change as well. If you have an eCommerce website, you’ll appreciate Magento 2 because it’s much easier to add storage, RAM, etc. with this eCommerce platform compared to others.

Magento 2 uses PHP and works with the newest versions. It will also work with the following frameworks:

• MySQL
• Hadoop

Advanced Reporting

Magento 2 allows merchants to have access to advanced reporting on all Magento 2 sites. With the platform’s many extensions, you can have access to all statistics right from your admin panel.

With advanced reporting, you can:

• Personalize customer experience
• Have access to advanced statistics
• Generate more leads
• Increase conversions

By knowing what your customers are searching and buying, you can determine which items are working best in your store and which services are needed the most. Because of this, you can personalize the customer experience by offering your customers and clients products that you think he or she will be interested in. Send emails to your customers and potential clients to guide them to parts of your website.

Strong Security

Magento 2 is more secure than all previous versions. The company has changed directories so that it has five folders in the root. Magento 2 has also deleted a skin folder from the root directory.

These changes in Magento’s code make it harder to hack. Magento 2 has also created a new directory called “Pub.” In Pub you can find the following folders:

• JS
• Skin
• ERROR

Big Community

Part of Magento’s appeal is its community. With so many people using Magento, you can find plenty of tutorials online and even more ideas on how to organize your eCommerce store. You can also find support at any time. If Magento doesn’t answer you right away, someone in the community will be able to.

With the pairing of Magento and Adobe, you can expect the Magento community to expand anymore. By including cloud services in Magento, your entire site will work more quickly and smoothly.

Full Page Caching

Magento’s first version didn’t provide full-page caching. The moment Magento 2 featured this, it made a major difference in the speed at which the page loaded.

With full-page caching, you and your clients can load pages much quicker. Your customers don’t want to be waiting around for shopping carts and pages to load, so this feature is sure to increase conversions. You’ll run more quickly than the competition.

Easy Integration

Magento stores provide merchants with easy integration. This is because of the various add-ons and extensions, which allow you to connect your store with other platforms.

You can, for example, use a variety of Instagram integration extensions so that your Instagram will have direct access to your store. Not only this, but you can use Amazon or eBay integration to update your customers on what your store is up to! By using integration in Magento 2 extensions, you can expand your reach to a broader number of people.

Great Usability

The best part about Magento is how easy this CMS is for you to use. You don’t need to know to code to get your store started. All you have to do is open your account, install the extensions you’re interested in, and you’re ready to go! Also, you can set up your store look and change setting the way you want.

Supportive Products

You can use Magento’s step-by-step product creation guide to ensure that your Magento store supports your products. From here, your guide will allow you to make the best catalog you can so that your products will be more likely to sell.

You can use a supportive video to sell your products. Short videos allow you to provide your customers with more insight into your products and your business in general.

Perfect For Midsize Businesses and Enterprises

Magento 2 is the best for midsize businesses because it allows everyone to create the store they want, within the budget that they can afford.

Not only this, Magento 2 is the perfect opportunity for companies to expand their platforms until they can upgrade to the Enterprise edition. If your business needs to build more clientele and have a professional platform to offer services, this is the best for you. Below, you can see that Magento 2 has clear excellence comparing to Magento 1.

What Else to Consider?

Now that you know all about Magento 2 and the advantages of using it for your online store, here’s a short Magento 2 feature list.

• Professional developers
• Extensions
• Scalability
• Fewer module conflicts
• Advanced cloud features when you combine Adobe and Magento

As you can see, Magento 2 has more features and opportunities to expand your business and online presence. For us, it is a clear leader in this comparison guide.

Magento Omnichannel Features

By expanding your business with omnichannel capabilities, you give customers an integrated in-person and online experience. Omnichannel unites traditional commerce with online commerce, helping you to reach more customers and enhance customer experience. It offers consumers the opportunity to explore your entire stock at their leisure and enter your shop knowing what they would like to purchase. Magento® omnichannel helps your business to step into this trend, giving customers a way to browse and buy without limits.

Define Omnichannel Business Model

The omnichannel approach integrates online, traditional, and phone shopping. It lets consumers access your goods in any way they like. Going Omnichannel can bring your business to the top of the competitive edge. It lets your customers find your goods the way that is easiest for them, guaranteeing higher sales. Omnichannel allows consumers to browse and shop on any device and with a range of delivery options.

What Omnichannel Customer Experience Looks Like

The appeal of omnichannel is that it reflects and expands your physical store, letting customers view your products the same way they would in person, and buy from wherever they are. Mainly, you can take the inventory of your shop and present it online, allowing customers to access your full stock from the comfort of their home. When they see something they like, they can buy it online or by phone. The goods can then be delivered right to their door. Customers can also browse on the net and finalize the sale by visiting the physical location of your business. This lets you combine eCommerce with in-store experience, giving customers everything they’re used to and more.

How Is Magento Omnichannel?

Magento provides innovative eCommerce solutions to present your goods to consumers. It offers solutions for sales preference, inventory tracking, and a host of other features. Essentially, Magento expands a real business into the world of eCommerce. You can offer your customers a mobile point-of-sale, letting them buy whenever and however they like. Magento can centralize your global inventory, lower costs, and enhance the shopping experience. It makes your store more flexible so that you can stay competitive.

Magento Omnichannel Experience Benefits

Magento omnichannel services offer a host of benefits to both the buyer and seller. When consumers can explore your products before entering the store, they spend 30-40% more time in the shop on each visit.

Magento allows you to reach shoppers worldwide, helping you to manage your business and offer simple solutions for order fulfillment. It increases business efficiency and offers consumers a world-class experience.

How does Magento Implement Omnichannel eCommerce?

Magento Commerce allows you to present your products online. It lets consumers explore your goods and buy without hassles. They can explore your stock as they like, without having to worry about aggressive sales tactics or even the confusion of physical inventories.

Omnichannel commerce makes it easy for consumers to find your products. Magento brings this new trend, making it simple for you to connect with your consumers with any device and across a wide range of channels.

Magento Order Management

The most significant challenge for a physical shop is to have the right stock in the right location when it is needed. Magento order management and omnichannel sales make this headache a thing of the past. Magento allows you to seamlessly link offline and online offerings, intelligently source order products, and centrally manage your global inventory. With one simple platform, you can raise efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience.

Magento 2 POS

Magento 2 version comes equipped with a Point-Of-Sale application that multiplies the sales outlets for a physical shop. It simplifies the process of buying online. Plus, the sales are visible to both your admin staff and salespeople. This helps you to manage and process the orders quickly. At the same time, all orders are cross-referenced with local and global inventory. This practically eliminates the hassle of inventory paperwork and keeps your business on-track effortlessly.

Magento Business Intelligence

Companies succeed by knowing their customers. They provide the customers with the goods they want at the highest level of customer service. Magento Business Intelligence is designed to do just this. It crunches the numbers for you, providing information about the highest-value customers and helping you find out how best to reach them. It lets you know how merchandising and advertising impact sales, helping you to grow more quickly and efficiently. Magento offers a holistic analysis of customer behavior, facilitating the optimization of your business.

Which Magento 2 Edition Has Omnichannel Functionality?

Magento Community is a hot solution for omnichannel functionality and general consumer experience. More than 4 million users have opted for this edition. It offers custom website design, website optimization tools, and integrated content management, alongside a host of other features to help you achieve the highest levels of success for your business. Shipping functionality, SEO, if you opt for Magento Community, you’ll have everything required to blend eCommerce with your in-store approach seamlessly.

Magento Commerce takes this one step further with features like Magento Commerce Order Management, order fulfillment solutions, and inventory management. It is an ideal solution for existing businesses, allowing the integration of services offered by your physical shop with trending eCommerce. Magento Commerce helps you to interlink all channels, providing your business with interactive omnichannel capabilities.

How to Call Static Block in Magento

Static blocks are blocks that help to display different type of content on one or multiple pages for advertising purposes. It can be a banner, sidebars, images or other pieces of content.

If you want to call static block, please follow our small guide.

How to Add Static Block In XML File

To add a static block in XML file use:

<referenceContainer name="content">
  <block class="Magento\Cms\Block\Block" name="block_identifier">
    <arguments>
      <argument name="block_id" xsi:type="string">block_identifier</argument>
    </arguments>
  </block>
</referenceContainer>

How to Call Static Block in Magento 2 CMS Page

To create static block in Magento CMS page, use the following steps:

Step 1. Go to the Admin Panel of the Magento store, navigate to the Content tab from the left corner of the page and then click on the Pages option.

Step 2. Click the Edit on the [Your Page].

Step 3. Go to the Content section and add block code:

{{block class="Magento\Cms\Block\Block" block_id="[Identifier]"}}

Step 4. Click Save.

How to Call Phtml File in CMS Page in Magento

This will help you to call a Phtml file in CMS static block as well. To do it, you need:

Step 1. Go to the Admin Panel of the Magento store, navigate to the Content tab from the left corner of the page and then click on the Pages option.

Step 2. Click the Edit on the [Your Page].

Step 3. Go to the Content section and add block code:

{{block class="[BlockClassFullName]" template="[VendorName]_[ModuleName]::[YourTemplateFileLocation].phtml"}}

For example:

{{block class="Magento\Bannerslider\Block\Slideshow" template="Magento_Bannerslider::bannerslider.phtml"}}

Step 4. Click Save.

How to Add Static Block in Magento via Phtml File

To call static block in Magento via Phtml file, use the following block code:

<?php echo block->getLayout()->createBlock('Magento\Cms\Block\Block')->setBlockId('block_identifier')->toHtml();?>

Now you know how to call static block in Magento using Phml file, XML file, and CMS page.

Voice Search in eCommerce

For any business at present, online presence is of utmost importance. Advancement in the field of Artificial Intelligence has made things quite easy on the managers’ end. To retain or manage customer queries, issues, and other particulars, we see chatbots, automated ordering system, and much more. For online shoppers, convenience is of the highest priority. In providing convenience to the customers, voice search is gaining popularity each day. All one needs to do is say what the user wants to be searched or looked for; the smartphone does rest of the job.

Why is Voice Search Highly-Demanded?

In the United States alone, more than 40% of adults and teenagers use voice search regularly. When asked about the reason, the answer is convenience and simplicity. Thanks to having a smartphone for every individual voice search facility is available all the time for its users. The reason why users prefer voice search in the field of eCommerce is they don’t face any difficulty in usage. The voice recognition is accurate; around 95% of the time and understands more than 100 languages. Other than smartphones, voice search features are now expanding in home appliances, computers, tablets, and other electronic devices. As you can see from the chart below, voice search is highly-demanded and will be the next most used technology among the Internet and electronic devices users.

How Does Voice Search Work?

From a user’s end, voice search works in the blink of an eye. You have to tap in the voice search button, say what you are looking for, and the voice search assistant will perform the task for you based on your instructions. As far as the back-end work is concerned, the assistant recognizes the speech and comes up with possible outcomes for the speech.

Voice Search Trends

Recent voice search trends suggest that two years from now, voice search will be the preferred mode of online search for more than 50 percent of the users. This is a great opportunity for marketers to utilize voice search features to tap into a more significant customer segment.

The growth of voice search usage. To keep up with the increasing demand for voice search usage, the speech recognition market will triple its growth within the next five years. Data collection and storage has become more accessible than ever before. Convenience and ease of use facilitated the increasing voice search usage.

Better consumer experience. The stats on Voice Search 2018 shows that this feature for eCommerce helps to build better customer experience. The younger populace is opting to voice search more compared to the adults, and they are the main target group in the eCommerce sector. The customers prefer voice search for seeking online information since they can multitask through this.

Impact on commerce. The idea of online purchase came into being to provide convenience and the fact that people are unwilling to put in time and effort to go a store and search manually for a product. For online purchase before, users had to type what they wanted and thus needed to provide full concentration there. Now customers can simply focus on the task that they are doing and order voice search assistant to do the job for them.

Advantages of Voice Search

As already mentioned before, the number of users opting to voice search is on the rise. This means using voice search will hold on to more customers. In short here is the list of voice search advantages:

• simplicity;
• customer’s loyalty;
• better conversion results;
• advanced navigation through the website.

Regarding customer satisfaction, the consumers prefer talking about the product rather than typing about it. Therefore, the chances of marketing techniques and tools driving into sales become higher due to the use of voice search. Let’s move on to the tools and devices that help businesses and customers to use voice search technology.

Voice Search Assistants

Voice Search assistants are in literal terms your assistant for seeking online information or purchasing a product. You make a purchase decision by talking to a bot. This is more of a conversation than typing what you need. In simple terms, you will speak something; the assistant will recognize it and provide you with an answer verbally.

Voice Search Market Leaders

First mover advantage and brand recognition worked behind making the following market leaders in voice search.

Google Assistant

Google assistant can recognize your voice and perform the task being asked on the tap of a button. It can also provide reference information when asked for it.

Amazon Echo

Amazon Echo has started the journey in 2014. In simple terms, this voice search performs the command as per the instructions of its users. This is an excellent example of a personalized voice search.

Siri

Siri is made for iOS users. This is more of a conversation tool other than merely voice search. Siri will answer queries, provide recommendations, and understand the user choices after a period of usage.

Cortana

Cortana is a product of Microsoft. This voice search is expanding in android and hopes to come with an iOS version as well.

Mobile Devices and Voice Search

According to Statista, 31% of smartphone users worldwide use voice tech at least once a week. The overall number of search queries isn’t significant; however, it tends to be growing for the last 2 years.

The first question that app or website owner should ask is the following: In which situation, people are more likely to use voice commands instead of typing the question? Stone Temple Consulting carried out the research which shows that in 2019, people tend to use voice search at home alone, with friends or at the office alone – 30% to 60% respectively. There are even more places and situations where people can use any voice assistant, and this is good news for those who want to add voice search in their projects. Now, let’s move on to the voice search strategy for a business.

A Baseline for Voice Search Strategy

As a voice search was introduced by Google, we can make a conclusion that SEO optimization is the upmost point in building the voice search strategy. The second point is how voice search is performed on different devices: whether these are voice assistants like Siri on iPhone or Google Smart Speaker, they all have one thing in common. Voice assistants respond to the questions with a snippet that reflects the “featured snippet” on mobile and desktop results 41% of the time. Only the top search results reach the customers for every 2 or five queries, or a few answers outside the top results, but rarely.

How to Improve Search Results?

1. Target different queries for your product/service. You can use services like Answer the Public, or Google first queries to get the most popular questions.
2. Keep answers short. Make a limit of answers under 30 words. This will help you to reach higher positions in queries.
3. Increase your pages’ speed. Page speed is crucial not only for a customer but for voice assistants, as the average page with voice search result loads in 4.6 seconds. Thus you need to control and optimize your website speed.
4. Use https to appear higher on Google’s search results. According to Backlinko statistics, voice search results from websites that use https appear on Google’s first page on 70.4% more than other websites. Also, https make your site secure from man-in-the-middle attacks.

For better user experience, voice search is going to be a useful tool for improving store results. With the speech recognition facility, even a child can look for options online simply by speaking what it wants. People who have a functional disability to type what they want will be able to use search by voice feature for conveniently seeking online information.

As we work quite a lot with Magento-based stores, we want to give you some options on how to implement the voice search in your Magento 2 store.

Choose Voice Search Extension For Magento® 2 Store

At present, Magento 2 Store provides two voice search extensions. The increasing demand suggests that the scope will expand further.

Search by Voice

Search by voice possesses the quintessential characteristics of a voice search. It recognizes the speech and performs the task assigned to it. The task is mostly limited to searching the sites or places; the customer is looking for. It is compatible with Magento 2.1- 2.2 Community edition.

Voice Search by Emipro

This extension is available for Magento 2.1 – 2.2 Community or Open Source editions. It gives you an opportunity to add Voice assistant and supports multiple languages with the current language of the store. However, this extension is compatible only for the Chrome browser. The price is $50 for the 12-month support.

These are the two most known tools to implement voice search in your Magento store. However, many extensions and devices have voice search, and for sure, there will be more options for Magento store owners soon.

Magento 2.2.4 Core Bug: Saving Store-View Design Configuration Changes

Magento® released its update to 2.2.4, and a problem has been identified on Magento sites. When administrators tried to edit any design configuration parameter (Content/Design/Configuration), changes could not be saved, and administrators were shown the following error: “Something went wrong while saving this configuration: Area is already set.” We had to identify the reason for this error and fix it.

Let’s consider the entire sequential process of solving this problem.

Problem: Error When Editing Design Configuration for Store View

We checked the Magento log to examine the error, where it was recorded in the following form:

[2018-05-14 09:20:16] main.CRITICAL: Exception message: Area is already set Trace: #0 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-theme/Model/Design/Config/Validator.php(117): Magento\Email\Model\AbstractTemplate->setForcedArea('design_email_he...') #1 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-theme/Model/Design/Config/Validator.php(68): Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator->getTemplateText('design_email_he...', Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #2 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-theme/Model/DesignConfigRepository.php(91): Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator->validate(Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #3 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(58): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository->save(Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #4 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(138): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository\Interceptor->___callParent('save', Array) #5 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(153): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository\Interceptor->Magento\Framework\Interception\{closure}(Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #6 /var/www/zenzii_beta/generated/code/Magento/Theme/Model/DesignConfigRepository/Interceptor.php(26): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository\Interceptor->___callPlugins('save', Array, Array) #7 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-theme/Controller/Adminhtml/Design/Config/Save.php(75): Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository\Interceptor->save(Object(Magento\Theme\Model\Data\Design\Config)) #8 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/App/Action/Action.php(107): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save->execute() #9 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-backend/App/AbstractAction.php(229): Magento\Framework\App\Action\Action->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #10 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(58): Magento\Backend\App\AbstractAction->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #11 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(138): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->___callParent('dispatch', Array) #12 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/module-backend/App/Action/Plugin/Authentication.php(143): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->Magento\Framework\Interception\{closure}(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #13 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(135): Magento\Backend\App\Action\Plugin\Authentication->aroundDispatch(Object(Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor), Object(Closure), Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #14 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(153): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->Magento\Framework\Interception\{closure}(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #15 /var/www/zenzii_beta/generated/code/Magento/Theme/Controller/Adminhtml/Design/Config/Save/Interceptor.php(26): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->___callPlugins('dispatch', Array, NULL) #16 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/App/FrontController.php(55): Magento\Theme\Controller\Adminhtml\Design\Config\Save\Interceptor->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #17 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(58): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #18 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(138): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController\Interceptor->___callParent('dispatch', Array) #19 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/Interception/Interceptor.php(153): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController\Interceptor->Magento\Framework\Interception\{closure}(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #20 /var/www/zenzii_beta/generated/code/Magento/Framework/App/FrontController/Interceptor.php(26): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController\Interceptor->___callPlugins('dispatch', Array, Array) #21 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/App/Http.php(135): Magento\Framework\App\FrontController\Interceptor->dispatch(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Request\Http)) #22 /var/www/zenzii_beta/vendor/magento/framework/App/Bootstrap.php(256): Magento\Framework\App\Http->launch() #23 /var/www/zenzii_beta/index.php(39): Magento\Framework\App\Bootstrap->run(Object(Magento\Framework\App\Http\Interceptor)) #24 {main} [] []

It was found that this error occurred in the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator class in the getTemplateText method.

Let’s look at this method:

private function getTemplateText($templateId,
DesignConfigInterface $designConfig)
{

   //
Load template object by configured template id

   $template = $this->templateFactory->create();

   $template->emulateDesign($this->getScopeId($designConfig));

   if (is_numeric($templateId)) {

       $template->load($templateId);

   } else {

       $template->setForcedArea($templateId);

       $template->loadDefault($templateId);

   }

   $text = $template->getTemplateText();

   $template->revertDesign();

   return $text;
}

The following line causes the error:

$template->setForcedArea($templateId)

We analyzed the cause. The $template is the object of Magento\Email\Model\Template class. The setForcedArea method is specified in its parent Magento\Email\Model\AbstractTemplate and looks like as follows:

public function setForcedArea($templateId)
{

   if ($this->area) {

       throw new \LogicException(__('Area is already set'));

   }

   $this->area = $this->emailConfig->getTemplateArea($templateId);

   return $this;
}

As you can see, the method throws an exception if the class variable “area” already has a value at the time of the call. It remains for us to find out which method it was set in. Based on the code of the getTemplateText method, we know that it could be either a constructor or the emulateDesign method.

Let’s analyze the code of the latter:

/**

* Get design configuration data

*

* @return DataObject

*/
public function getDesignConfig()
{
 
   if ($this->designConfig === null) {

       if ($this->area === null) {

           $this->area = $this->design->getArea();

       }

       if ($this->store === null) {

           $this->store = $this->storeManager->getStore()->getId();

       }

       $this->designConfig = new DataObject( ['area' => $this->area, 'store' => $this->store] );

   }

   return $this->designConfig;
}
/**

* Initialize design information for template processing

*

* @param array $config

* @return $this

* @throws LocalizedException

*/
public function setDesignConfig(array $config)
{

   if (!isset($config['area']) || !isset($config['store'])) {

       throw new LocalizedException(__('Design config must have area and store.'));

   }

   $this->getDesignConfig()->setData($config);

   return $this;
}
…
public function emulateDesign($storeId, $area = self::DEFAULT_DESIGN_AREA)
{

   if ($storeId !== null && $storeId !== false) {

       // save current design settings

       $this->emulatedDesignConfig = clone $this->getDesignConfig();

       if ($this->getDesignConfig()->getStore() != $storeId || $this->getDesignConfig()->getArea() != $area ) {

           $this->setDesignConfig(['area' => $area, 'store' => $storeId]);

           $this->applyDesignConfig();

       }

   } else {

       $this->emulatedDesignConfig = false;

   }
}

As you can see, emulateDesign is always called with the parameter area = “frontend” and at the same time, it calls the getDesignConfig method, which sets the “area” variable, leading to an error in setForcedArea. We can only guess why Magento developers added the call of the setForcedArea method in version 2.2.4. In version 2.2.3, this method was not called in the design configuration class validator.

Solution Using the Customization of the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator Class

Two problems arose when trying to solve the problem with the getTemplateText method code. First, the getTemplateText method of the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator class is private. This means that it’s not possible to rewrite it using the “around” plugin. Furthermore, the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator class contains only one public method besides the constructor, and the rest are private.

Secondly, the object of the class is initialized in the Magento\Theme\Model\DesignConfigRepository class using the object manager in a private method. If it was passed as a parameter to the constructor, then the class would be replaced at the constructor level using the dependency injection. But because it cannot be redefined that way, all that’s left is to completely rewrite the class and replace it using “preference.” This is an extremely undesirable method for customizing Magento 2, but in this case, due to the above-mentioned reasons, this is the only possible method.

That’s why we redefine the Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator class in di.xml and implement it:

<preference
for="Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator"
type="Web4pro\All\Model\Design\Config\Validator"/>

class Validator extends \Magento\Theme\Model\Design\Config\Validator
{

   /**

    * @var string[]

    */

   protected $fields = [];

   /**

    * @var TemplateFactory

    */

   protected $templateFactory;

   /**

    * Initialize dependencies.

    *

    * @param TemplateFactory $templateFactory

    * @param string[] $fields

    */

   public function __construct(TemplateFactory $templateFactory, $fields = []) 
   {

       $this->templateFactory = $templateFactory;
 
       $this->fields = $fields;

       parent::__construct($templateFactory,$fields);

   }

   /**

    * Validate if design configuration has recursive references

    *

    * @param DesignConfigInterface $designConfig

    *

    * @throws LocalizedException 

    * @return void

    */

   public function validate(DesignConfigInterface $designConfig)

   {

       /** 
       
       * @var DesignConfigDataInterface[] $designConfigData
        */

       $designConfigData = $designConfig->getExtensionAttributes()->getDesignConfigData();

       $elements = [];

       foreach ($designConfigData as $designElement) {

           if (!in_array($designElement->getFieldConfig()['field'], $this->fields)) {

               continue;

           }

           /* Save mapping between field names and config paths */

           $elements[$designElement->getFieldConfig()['field']] = [                'config_path' => $designElement->getPath(), 'value' => $designElement->getValue() ];

       }

       foreach ($elements as $name => $data) {

           $templateId = $data['value'];

           $text = $this->getTemplateText($templateId, $designConfig);

           // Check if template body has a reference to the same config path

           if (preg_match_all(Template::CONSTRUCTION_TEMPLATE_PATTERN, $text, $constructions, PREG_SET_ORDER)) {

               foreach ($constructions as $construction) {

                   $configPath = isset($construction[2]) ? $construction[2] : '';

                   $params = $this->getParameters($configPath);

                   if (isset($params['config_path']) && $params['config_path'] == $data['config_path']) {

                       throw new LocalizedException( __( "The %templateName contains an incorrect configuration. The template has " . "a reference to itself. Either remove or change the reference.", ["templateName" => $name]

                           )

                       );

                   };

               }

           }

       }

   }

   /**

    * Returns store identifier if is store scope

    *

    * @param DesignConfigInterface $designConfig

    * @return string|bool

    */

   protected function getScopeId(DesignConfigInterface $designConfig)

   {

       if ($designConfig->getScope() == 'stores') {

           return $designConfig->getScopeId();

       }

       return false;

   }

   /**

    * Load template text in configured scope

    *

    * @param integer|string $templateId

    * @param DesignConfigInterface $designConfig

    * @return string

    */

   protected function getTemplateText($templateId, DesignConfigInterface $designConfig) 
   {

       // Load template object by configured template id

       $template = $this->templateFactory->create();

       $template->emulateDesign($this->getScopeId($designConfig));

       if (is_numeric($templateId)) {

           $template->load($templateId);

       } else {

           $template->loadDefault($templateId);

       }

       $text = $template->getTemplateText();

       $template->revertDesign();

       return $text;

   }

   /**

    * Return associative array of parameters.

    *

    * @param string $value raw parameters

    * @return array

    */

   protected function getParameters($value) 
   {

       $tokenizer = new ParameterTokenizer();

       $tokenizer->setString($value);

       $params = $tokenizer->tokenize();

       return $params;

   }
}

After that customization, it was possible to successfully save the design configuration. It was far from ideal to have to completely redefine all the methods just to remove one line that contains errors, simply because Magento made them private. In turn, our developer made the methods “protected.” If someone has to fix something in the validator class, then they will be able to inherit it from its class by creating a new class.

Features of Social Commerce for eCommerce Business

Social media has become an essential aspect of the modern world. Our social networks shape our interaction and opinions. With social commerce, this extends into our shopping habits and behavior as well. There are many beneficial features of social commerce. These include group shopping and shopping communities that bring together like-minded consumers. This social approach to commerce enhances the customer experience. Social commerce also offers features like mobile payments and bill splitting.

How Do We Define Social Commerce?

Social commerce is the blending of social networks with eCommerce. Social networks offer participants the opportunity to present and like posts. When combined with eCommerce, customers gain the option to buy. It is a natural step in the evolution of social networks.

Customers can share products and receive recommendations. Social commerce makes use of discussions, recommendations, votes, and influencers. Customers can discuss shopping decisions, receive group discounts, and recommend products or services to friends. This makes the online shopping experience more like offline shopping.

Impact of Social Commerce on the Buying Decisions

Social commerce influences the decision to buy in many ways. Recent studies show that trust, quality of information, and perceived usefulness are essential to the buying process. Trust is the most crucial factor and the best predictor for consumer purchasing. Comments, recommendations, and ratings are important for larger purchases.

Social networks create a trust for eCommerce production lines. They provide a forum for sharing customer reviews. This lets the consumer feel that the information is high-quality and useful. For more details on the impact of social commerce on buyer’s decisions check out this survey.

Future of Social Commerce

At this point, many consumers are still resistant to online purchases. But, eCommerce trends have been on the rise. Social media referrals to eCommerce websites more than doubled between 2014 and 2015. This trend has been growing steadily since this time.

The current generation has grown up with the Internet and social media. Information received through these channels is now seen as reliable. Social networking sites have kept up with this trend. Many now include “buy now” buttons, shopping platforms, and payment options. In the coming decade, social commerce activity is expected to grow to a level rivaling traditional shopping methods.

Benefits of Social Commerce

Shopping has been a forum for social networking since long before we developed the internet. As our mediums for social networking expand, they offer more ways to connect and share. In turn, we have more ways to expand this interaction to the shopping experience.

Social networking provides many added benefits. It allows consumers to connect with those who share their shopping habits and preferences. Social commerce lets the customer become an active participant. It also lets companies personify their brands. Consumers can receive personal recommendations from friends with similar interests. Finally, personal experience and reviews make consumers more comfortable with buying. This increases engagement and the likelihood of purchase.

Social Commerce Trends

As social commerce continues to explode into the consumer world, there are several trends that are leading market growth in 2018. One of the most powerful is the Facebook social commerce tool. Facebook messenger is one of the most widely-used messenger systems, including more than 1.3 billion users. Recently, Messenger has partnered with third-party software providers. This allows customers to integrate eCommerce activities with their messenger platform. Purchasing through the Facebook account makes transactions hassle-free.

Other trends include the use of chatbots, live-streaming videos, and influencers. Chatbots give the customer the same kind of experience they might have if they were talking to a real person, making them feel more valued. Plus, they have the highest approval rating of all customer engagement tools.

A live-streaming video is also on the rise, and more companies are using this medium to sell products every day.

Finally, influencers can speak to their customers in real time. This offers a unique opportunity to engage and monetize their audience. These trends make it easier than ever for entrepreneurs to enter the field of eCommerce.

eCommerce Through Social Media

Social media allows businesses to direct consumers towards deals and new products. It also allows a business to engage with customers and create a shopping community. Social commerce helps companies to retain customers and provide greater customer care. It facilitates personal engagement.

Social networking allows a company to bring attention to an eCommerce storefront. Plus, it’s simple. Consumers can share the interest with no more than the click of an icon. It also lets customers and companies share high-quality photographs to showcase products.

Social networks

Social media lets consumers share experiences, pictures, and ideas. They allow people to connect and communicate with one another. This is where social media and commerce come together. Commerce is social. Brands connect with people, and people are interacting with online shops and their products. Social commerce takes out the extra steps. It makes eCommerce as social as offline shopping.

Content and Social Sharing

For user engagement, content is king. Websites provide valuable content to their consumers, increasing engagement and attracting customer attention. Social networks are amazing mediums for collecting content from users. New users can read reviews and gain trust about the product and company that sells it. The key here is trust, the most important factor in consumer purchasing. More trust means a greater likelihood that potential clients will buy a product.

Online Reviews

As mentioned above, reviews bring in more customer confidence. This is more important for higher-cost purchases like computers and electronics. Customers don’t need to rely so heavily on online reviews when buying small things like books or kitchen products. However, major purposes require a bit more consideration and greater confidence. Essentially, online user reviews are a form of advertisement. Plus, consumers view them with greater attention than company-issued advertisements. They receive honest product feedback and then expect to experience similar results.

The Power of Social Commerce

Social commerce is one of the most powerful trends in eCommerce. It uses the popularity of social networking to gain product recognition. Plus, customers receive unbiased feedback about products and services.

Features of social commerce include group shopping and community engagement in commerce. It provides a platform for personal recommendations and reviews. Social commerce is the future of eCommerce. It has expanded steadily in the last decade and continues to pick up momentum as social networking evolves.

Magento 2 Marketing Features: How to Attract Potential Customers

Anyone who has an eCommerce company knows how important it is to invest in marketing; that said, it can be difficult to know where to start. In our below guide, we’ll discuss our top Magento® 2 marketing features. By using these tips, you can attract more potential customers and generate more conversions in the process.

General Magento 2 Marketing Features

Before we get to know how to implement marketing strategies effectively, let’s first discuss which marketing features are available in Magento.

Marketing Tools

Magento has plenty of marketing tools to offer; including:

• Up-Selling and Cross-Selling
• Pricing Rules Feature
• Coupons and Other Discounts
• Landing Page for Categories
• Items Promotional Tool
• Product Management
• Newsletter Management

For more information about these Magento marketing tools, read below.

Up-Selling and Cross-Selling

Many are turning toward up-selling and cross-selling to generate more potential clients. Basically, eCommerce owners use up-selling to promote items that are similar and more expensive. Cross-selling, on the other hand, suggests related items that can complement or complete a set in your cart. By doing this, business owners can get potential customers to add items to their carts and to spend more.

Pricing Rules

Magento eCommerce business owners use pricing rules to attract potential customers. They offer smaller prices on items that are bought in bulk. That means instead of paying $3 per item; a customer might buy the same product at $2 or $2,50 if a certain number of items are bought. This will also help to increase your sales and to pay your customer’s attention to specific products.

Coupons and Other Discounts

Everyone loves a good discount. That’s why merchants know that the way to attract new customers is to provide them with a discount or coupon. Using coupons and discounts during a specific period will give potential customers a sense of urgency, and they’ll be more likely to buy your products.

Landing Pages for Categories

Landing pages allow merchants to use customizable URLs, search engine optimization, etc. This feature targets potential customers so when they search for specific topics, sales, and your landing pages are more likely to appear.

Most merchants include “On Sale” sections, where items at discounted prices are displayed. This is where people who want to save money will go first, and using these pages is one of the most useful tools you can use. They expand your reach and generate conversions.

Items Promotional Tool

Promoting items will be quite useful for anyone who needs to attract customers. Item promotion uses images and search engine optimization to ensure that the products you want to be shown are displayed on the specific page.

This is a useful method of marketing because you can:

• customize coupons;
• use long-lasting shopping carts;
• quantity discounts.

Working With Products

One of the best things to do when you’re trying to generate more customers is to work with your products. By managing your products properly, they’ll be easy to access. This attracts people more than anything else because your customers don’t want to search for products endlessly; they want to find your products so they can check out quickly.

Newsletter Management

This Magento multi-level marketing tool is known for reminding customers of their existing carts and which products they might be interested in. You can use newsletters to let your potential customers know about what’s new in your store and about which sales you have coming up. Simply reminding people about your presence will ensure that you generate more conversions for your store.

New Features of Marketing in Magento Community Edition

Now that you know about the basic Magento 2 marketing features, we can move onto Magento functionality and its benefits for your store.

Admin Panel Features

First, we’re going to discuss Magento admin panel features that you can use for your business demand.

CMS System

The acronym CMS stands for the enhanced content management system. With the new features in this category, Magento allows merchants to built their content pages easily. These pages are built with WYSIWYG that helps eCommerce owners to do the following:

• add content;
• insert menus and page hierarchy;
• control who publishes content.

Automated Email Reminders

This is one of the most effective ways to deal with customers who have left their carts empty. Merchants know that the abandoned items interest the potential customer. That is why they should consider the ways how to remind customers about the remaining products and also suggest other items. Automated email reminders can be compared to the little follow-up that tells them to buy a product. For anyone who’s looking for Magento marketing features, this might be one of your safer bets.

Shopping Assistance

Assisted shopping is a bonus for anyone in the eCommerce world. Shopping assistance involves real-life people who aid customers in their shopping adventures. It can be controlled right from the admin panel, which makes it lightweight and manageable for anyone.

Customized Product Settings

You want to ensure that every product attracts a certain kind of client; because of this, merchants are learning the importance of customized product settings. This allows complete control from the merchant and for the recipient.

Private Sales Event

Private sales are like the name suggests: they’re sales which are specifically held for a selected group of people at a certain time. Invitations are usually sent personally which is the most popular trend in eCommerce this year. It provides potential customers with a sense of belonging; thereby, encouraging them to buy from this vendor.

Full Page Caching

Cache involves the personal information of customers and potential customers. When pages have access to full-page caches, they’re able to target pages toward specific individuals. Caching allows merchants to know about which products are most searched for and which are working best for the site; thereby, allowing them to focus on the ones that are most valuable.

Advanced Roles

Magento 2 allows eCommerce owners to create several sites from the same administration page. Advanced roles also allow administrators to view all actions that have been taken from these sites; giving complete control to merchants.

Better Security

We live in a society that stresses internet security more than ever before. With so many people saving their credit card and baking information on the web, many customers are happy to know that Magento 2 is proven to be a completely safe way to shop online.

Reward Points

Reward points are used for customers and potential clients around the world. Usually, these reward programs will offer customers some discounts or presents instead of points they gained when they buy certain products. This is an excellent way to attract customers to your store.

Attribute Management

Attribute management essentially helps merchants describe the characteristics of their products. The attributes of your products are values that describe your products. An example of this is the word “color” or “size.”

Customer Credit

You can provide customer credit in a variety of ways: you can decide to accept donations and provide potential customers with credit in exchange. This is a great method for anyone who wants to maintain their inventories while attracting more people. Customer credit is awarded to the customer(s) in question at checkout to make their cart(s) less expensive.

Best Magento Instagram Free Extension in 2019

Social media is necessary for any business that wants to perform its best, which is why so many eCommerce businesses are turning toward media for higher conversions. Instagram is one of the most prominent forms of social media, which might lead you to the question what the best Magento® Instagram free extension is.

Why is Social Media Presence Important for eCommerce?

More than a third of the world’s population is on social media. Using social media expands the reach of eCommerce businesses and owners. By using social media, you’re allowing more people to have access to your site than you would otherwise.

Not only this, but word-to-mouth is more effective on social media. When someone with hundreds of Instagram followers shares your products, you’re more likely to have people visit your site.

Anyone who’s signed up for Facebook has decided to provide the social media giant with their personal information. In doing so, they’ve helped to create one of the best marketing methods in the digital age.

By having access to this information, organizations can tailor the feed of individuals so that advertisements work for those are more likely to buy specific products. If you’re a person who enjoys reading about sports and who follows several pages on just that, you’re more likely to see extensions about sports.

This form of marketing is different than any that have appeared in the past. That’s because while ads have always been used and popular, the marketing techniques on your television or your computer did not use your personal information.

Because these marketing techniques didn’t have access to as much of your personal information, they didn’t have the resources to get information about their customers. Without social media, it’s much harder to get ahold of phone numbers, preferences, and addresses.

Choose Your Magento Instagram Free Extension

If you want to choose your Magento Instagram extension, you’ll have to know what you’re looking for. The section below will show you the following extensions:

• Instagram Feed Plugin on Magento by POWr
• Free Responsive Magento 2 Module by Magnetech
• Magento 2 Instagram Integration by MageComp
• Instagram Feed Widget by Technology Mindz
• Magento Instagram Extension by eGrove Systems

These extensions allow you to incorporate your Instagram feed into your eCommerce business. With it, your Instagram followers can see everything that your store is up to and your Instagram visitors can access your store easily.

Instagram Feed Plugin on Magento by POWr

This extension allows you to install your Instagram account right on your Magento store. Match your plugin’s colors to those of your site and to place your Instagram feed wherever you want on your eCommerce website. Installing your Instagram feed on your website increases your chances of ranking higher in search engines. It also provides your Instagram followers with access to your eCommerce website.

You can start using this extension by free and then extend additional features with a package price.

The best parts about using this advanced Magento Instagram extension can be found below:

• Free
• No coding
• Mobile-friendly

Free Responsive Magento 2 Module by Magentech

This Magento extension uses a grid layout to showcase the images on your Instagram feed. The addon also features pop-up images and a single admin page to help you manage your feed.

This addon is compatible with many Internet browsers; including, Firefox 2 , Safari, Chrome, etc. It is absolutely free which will be as a benefit and great to try it out.

Since this Magento extension is entirely customizable, so you can cause it to perform as much as you need it to. With it, you can:

• Set Instagram users
• Access tokens
• Support responsive layouts

Magento 2 Instagram Integration by MageComp

Instagram is a tool for anyone who enjoys sharing their images and videos with the world. By installing this addon, business owners can increase their visibility. Because of how many people use Instagram, pictures and videos from a given company will appear in the feeds of those that might be interested.

The basic community edition of this product is entirely free. That said, you can decide whether you want to upgrade your extension for the premium version for more money.

With Magento 2 Instagram Integration, you’re able to:

• Share content with hashtags
• Enable and disable extensions
• Approve posts

Instagram Feed Widget by Technology Mindz

The major benefit of this tool is that you can install your content on every post or page. This allows owners complete control and flexibility over what appears on their websites. You can limit the number of items that are shown on your page. For anyone who might be worried about the speed of the pages, this doesn’t have too much of an effect on your load time.

The community edition of this Magento 2 extension is inexpensive (currently costs $34), which makes it appealing to many in the eCommerce field. Instagram Feed Widget uses, as the name suggests, a widget to link an Instagram feed to an eCommerce website.

The benefits of using this extension include:

• Install content on every post or page
• Complete control over websites
• Limit the number of items on your page

Magento Instagram Extension by eGrove Systems

The interface of this extension is easy-to-use and very useful, which is one of the reasons why eCommerce business owners love it. Nowadays, business owners don’t want to have a website that needs to be reprogrammed and continuously retouched; instead, they want to ensure that they can use it whenever they need to. If you’re one of these people, consider installing the extension.

You can find this extension in several Magento versions. You can pay for six months worth of support and an initial installation fee.

Here’s a list of everything you can do with this extension:

• Limit the number of photos shown on your site
• Send emails or thoughts to customers
• Connect easily with your customers

How to Increase Sales with Friendly Interface – A Sight for Sore Eyes

When deciding on buying online, we always want it to be convenient – no one wants to forge through endless pages and waste time. A clumsy interface is one of the most important reasons for users to leave the website. Well, it is easy to say how vital interface is, but there should be tips on how to make it better. So, let’s find out what should you pay attention to in your store and how to increase online sales with these tips.

Does Your Navigation Safes from Getting Lost?

Imagine you have come to a shop to buy a fiction book, but instead of getting straight to the fiction section, you get lost among endless poorly organized shelves without any information signs. That’s poor navigation.

Navigation in a web store is as important as it is in a real one. When customers are unable to find the desired thing, they leave the shop with a deep feeling of sadness for wasted time and efforts. On the contrary, convenient navigation will keep users satisfied and help them in buying.

In its turn, navigation is the issue too complicated to be considered in one piece, so it is better to divide the issue into several parts and examine them solely:

Search

Many people already know what they need and want to find the particular item quickly and easily. Provide them with a direct path to it. The traditional yet efficient solution is to add a search bar in the upper part of the website – the most expected place for it.

To make search even more comfortable, you can add autocomplete. Some users don’t know the exact name and the offered variants will help them. There is also an issue of spelling errors, so take it into account as well.

Convenient Filters

Some users don’t have a solid vision of the item they need, but they have some specifications. Let them narrow their search by applying filters. It will release your clients from scanning an enormous amount of goods they don’t need and drive them right to the point they find interesting.

Sitemap

Sometimes it is easier for a customer to see all the pages your website has and then choose the one that has drawn his or her attention. A site map will be the best solution here. Just put a link to it on every page and by that reduce the searching time of your clients.

Go to Section and Scroll Up

No one likes much scrolling. But it is inevitable if you have products with a huge description and lots of sections. So don’t forget that after reading all of it, clients will have to return to the upper part, where the functionality is located.

Allow your users to jump to the start with one click using an extension like, for example, Scroll Up. Ease their pain and give them a little table of content with clickable links at the beginning of the text just like Wikipedia does:

Benefits of Mobile Optimization

Mobile eCommerce is rapidly growing each year. According to the OuterBox research, in 2018 62% of phone users have purchased something with their devices. However, the more interesting fact is that 84% have faced some troubles during the mobile purchase. It shows that for now, show owners don’t pay much attention to the mobile platform, underestimating its value.

Don’t make the same mistake. New clients may appear only because of smartphone optimization. However, to have a high and stable conversion rate, it is better to have the mobile version working correctly. Luckily, Magento® 2 has some means for essential responsiveness like SEO optimization and easily adjusted interface to any screen.

Do You Suffer from Shopping Cart Abandonment?

Customers are fickle folks. Even having all the desired products in the cart, they can still change their mind and leave without buying. This is usual practice – according to SaleCycle, a bit more than 75% of all the carts are abandoned. Moreover, the reasons for it lie in the interface. Here is the table with quickly from the Barilliance research.

Main Reasons for Cart Abandonment in the USA

There are many issues. But when you think of them, you realize that some of them may be resolved. So, let’s see the possible ways out.

Improve Shipping Methods

It’s hard, but various shipping methods offer new opportunities. Not all the people are ready for customer pickup, and lots of them will pay for convenience. Add this convenience in their life with express shipping and enlarge your interface. Even more, some users prefer to have products of a single cart to be delivered to different addresses. Though vanilla Magento doesn’t have such an option, you can add it with, for example, Extended Table Rate Shipping extension.

Give Folks a Coupon

Not just for nothing, of course. But a little bonus for a huge purchase or on the particular date will give you more credibility and make your customers more loyal. Or you can excellently greet them a happy birthday and present a slight discount coupon. If you do not tend to follow all the users’ birthday manually, you can install an extension like Birthday Coupon.

Simplify the Checkout System

A list with lots of lines to fill in is a challenge for a client. Just do it simply and remove all the unnecessary questions, like mother’s maiden name and hobbies. It is possible to place an order without this information indeed. One step checkout will help here as well.

Make Users Feel Secure

Search for security is vital for all of us in all the spheres of life, what to tell about payments. Improve your general store security by adding advanced password settings, password authentication, and encrypted connections (SSL is meant). Frequent Magento updates with security patches are also great. Still, to have all the possible tools for security improvement, it is better to have a security extension, like Security Suite instead of check all the issues manually by yourself.

Remind Them About Their Cart

It is not a problem if they decide to buy something later. It is a problem when they forget about it. Remind them of you with a cart abandonment email. If sent within a short period (up to three hours) it even can convince clients to buy the items right now. If not – it will be a reminder for them.

To increase sales more, you can use a cross-selling technique right in the email. Just add here featured, most viewed, or other products to keep their interest. Moreover, you can add these tabs with products to your web store with Featured Products extensions. Cross-selling is too effective to underestimate.

Creating Another Account Should Be Quick

There are various reasons for creating another account – it’s nothing bad in it. Still, to help, clients, you can make the procedure of signing up easier. Just remove all the unnecessary registration lines again or offer the connection with social networks – it will simplify the registration.

Show All the Costs at Once

Hiding something, especially additional costs, is a bad idea. Clients will learn about them anyway, but they can feel deceived. To avoid it, display all the costs a client will have to pay clearly – it is fair.

Are Your Products Appropriately Displayed?

Visual representation is an ace in the hole of a store owner. It is because of our psychology – if we see something beautiful and eye drawing, we want to buy it. There are not empty words – according to Martech, 93% of clients take visual representation as the main buying factor.

But visual doesn’t only mean the product photos, though they are essential as well. There are a few other things that touch upon the website interface and products representation that is worth being implemented. That’s how to increase your business sales and make your brand stronger.

Make a collection

Though it works better for clothing websites, stores or other specification may also use it. The idea is in setting all the items according to their collection or trend. Still, these “collections” may be of various types – if you sell an instrument, you can make a professional collection for locksmiths or plumbers.

See, what your targeted audience may find interesting and provide them with it. Sorting all the products in the right order and following their in-stock availability is also a great thing. To perform it easily, you may use such extension as Product Sorting.

Video Explanation

According to the Hubspot’s statistics, on the average we watch 1.5 hours of video content per day and 15% of all the responders watch even up to 3 hours. A broad opportunity for creativity, knowing that 97% of marketers claimed that videos had helped them in sailings.

Make a video of someone using your item instead of written guidelines and put it on the product page. Your users will probably find it more useful than a text explanation.

360-Degree View

Despite the type of products you sell, your clients want to see it from all the angles. Offering this opportunity will positively affect the user experience and will lead to more sales. Moreover, customers like extra interactions with items and we can see how Addidas perform this feature flawlessly.

Product Comparison

Sometimes people can’t make a quick decision and need some time to think. Provide your users with a possibility to compare products and see all the characteristics. Probably this may require some changes in your interface, but this is the point – to make it more user-friendly.