Email Marketing for eCommerce: Your Guide to Getting Started

The post Email Marketing for eCommerce: Your Guide to Getting Started appeared first on HostGator Blog.

Did you know that email marketing has the highest return on investment (ROI) out of any other digital marketing tactic?

It’s true. The median ROI for email marketing is 122%. That’s four times higher than all other digital marketing channels.

The high likelihood of capturing additional website traffic from your email marketing efforts is the reason you should start building your email list as soon as you launch your website.

If you’re new to email marketing, and the process sounds daunting, don’t worry. This quick guide to getting started with email marketing will cover:

• How to find a reliable email service provider (ESP)
• How to capture subscribers
• The best WordPress plugins for email marketing
• How to set up your welcome campaign

By the end of this post, you’ll have the knowledge you need to get started with email marketing and to attract your first batch of subscribers.

How to find a reliable email service provider

Long gone are the days of sending bulk email messages to a giant list of subscribers. Today’s email marketing technology makes it possible to create highly personalized and automated messages that convert.

Here are just some things you can do with one of the best ESPs on the market:

• Automate the process of capturing subscribers. ESPs allow you to create unique forms that send subscribers right to your designated email list. You don’t have to do any manual work.

• Send emails to a large list. Did you know that free email services (e.g., Gmail, Outlook) have caps on how many recipients you can include in an email, and how often you send large emails? ESPs don’t.

• Track emails. Every good ESP comes with tracking, analytics, and reports. These tools will help you see things like what content is converting, what your open rates are, and what links are most popular.

• Automate campaigns. Why send one email when you can send a sequence of emails? ESPs allow you to set up a series of emails that are sent out automatically, based on things like subscriber behaviors, date, etc.

• Customize email templates. If you’re not a designer, you don’t have to worry. The top ESPs come with various proven and well-designed templates that you can customize. Using a template is a much better option than a plain text email.

• Segment your lists. With the help of an ESP, you can create various lists and only send relevant content to specific customer profiles. For example, let’s say you sell shoes. You could create two lists based on gender. Then, you can send your men’s shoe collection to your male subscribers, and your women’s shoe collection to your female subscribers. 

• Create emails with dynamic content. Dynamic content is another big advantage of an ESP. Instead of creating two emails, you also have the option to switch out content blocks based on subscriber data. Sticking with the shoe example, you could create a unique block of content with the new men’s collection that appears to your male subscribers and another unique block of content with the new women’s shoe collection that would appear in the same place for your female subscribers. 

These are just some of the advantages of using an email service provider. Keep in mind, when choosing an ESP, you have several options, but not all options are created equal. 

At HostGator, we recommend Constant Contact. Not only does Constant Contact integrate with HostGator, but it is also easy to navigate, has robust features, and the reporting is phenomenal. 

How to capture email subscribers for your eCommerce site

If you already have some email contacts, that’s great! If you are starting completely from scratch, don’t get discouraged. 

Constant Contact, and other ESPs, make it easy for you to build your email list via your WordPress website. How? These services provide a unique email form code to paste into your website. 

When you paste this code into your website and refresh your website, you’ll see a gorgeous email subscription box. Every time someone enters their email address, the new email address will be added to your designated list in your ESP.

When you sign up for Constant Contact and have a WordPress site, the process is even easier. Here is how it’s done.

How to create a Constant Contact subscriber form in WordPress

Step 1: Install the Constant Contact Forms plugin for WordPress. If you don’t remember how to install a WordPress plugin, here is a quick tutorial.

Step 2: Sync your contact list or create a new list. You can sync your contact list by clicking on the “Constant Contact” icon in the right dashboard, and selecting “Sync Lists with Constant Contact” button on the top. You can create a new list by selecting “Add New List” and naming your list.

Image source: Constant Contact

Step 3: From your WordPress dashboard, click “Contact Form” and then “Add New Form.”

Image Source: Constant Contact

Step 4: Name your form and include a description of why visitors should subscribe to your list.

Step 5: Select the Constant Contact list you want to add new subscribers to. 

Image Source: Constant Contact

Step 6: Edit your button text, personalize any other text, additional fields as desired, and design your form.

Step 7: Press publish.

As soon as you publish your form, you can add it to a webpage or blog post on your eCommerce site. Let’s quickly cover how to add your new form to a webpage and to a blog post.

How to add a subscriber form to your web page in WordPress

Let’s say you want to add your subscriber form to a static page on your website (e.g., your contact page). Here’s how you do it.

Step 1: Navigate to your WordPress dashboard and click the “Constant Contact Form Icon” and choose all “All Forms” from the menu.

Step 2: Turn your attention to the form page and copy and paste the shortcode of the form you want to put on your static page.

Image Source: Constant Contact

Step 3: Navigate to the dashboard and click “Pages” and then “All Pages.”

Step 4: Find the page where you want the form and click “Edit.”

Step 5: Click on the plus sign in the content box and choose “shortcode” from the options.

Step 6: Paste the shortcode you copied earlier.

Once you paste the shortcode, you’ll see the subscriber box on your static page.

How to add a subscriber form to a blog post in WordPress

One of the highest converting places to put a subscriber form is directly in a blog post. If someone finds your blog post, likes what you wrote, and wants to keep hearing from you, they can subscribe to your email list right after they read your blog post. 

Here’s how to add a subscriber to your blog posts with the Constant Contact plugin.

Step 1: Navigate to the dashboard and click “Posts” and then “All Posts.”

Step 2: Click “Edit” on the blog post where you want to place your subscriber form.

Step 3: Click “Classic.”

Step 4: Place your cursor where you want your form and click “Add Constant Contact Form.”

Step 5: Select your form from the drop-down menu.

Step 6: Click “Insert shortcode.”

Once you are ready to publish or republish your post, click “Publish” or “Update,” and you will see the Constant Contact subscriber form in your blog post.

The best WordPress plugins for email marketing

While the Constant Contact plugin for WordPress is an awesome tool, it’s not your only email marketing plugin option. 

Here are some additional email marketing WordPress plugins to consider when setting up an email marketing strategy for your eCommerce website.

Sumo

This email marketing plugin helps you set up subscriber forms on your website in the most strategic places. 

Here are some of the top places where you can place a Sumo email list subscriber form:

• A smart bar that appears at the top or bottom of your website.
• A list builder popup that shows up one second after page load.
• A list builder popup that is embedded within an article.
• A list builder popup that shows up after the user hovers the mouse over the address bar.
• A list builder popup with a call to action button that appears one second after page load.
• A list builder popup that shows up after a user clicks the button below the first paragraph.
• A scroll box that will show after page loads and upon user scroll.
• A welcome mat that will show up after the page loads and appear above page, and many other welcome mat options.
• And more!

It’s easy to install the Sumo WordPress plugin, connect it to your ESP, and include forms in various strategic places on your website.

Sumo also offers share buttons to help you boost your social media presence.

MailPoet

MailPoet is another cool WordPress plugin that allows you to get subscribers, set up automated welcome messages, and build newsletters from excellent templates right within your WordPress dashboard. 

Additionally, you can set MailPoet to automatically notify your lists whenever you publish new content.

Some other notable MailPoet features include:

• Customizable sign-up forms
• Removes inactive subscribers
• Segmentation
• WooCommerce customers email subscription at checkout
• Abandon cart emails
• SMTP for WordPress
• And more!

One of the best things about MailPoet is you can handle your email marketing right within the WordPress platform. 

It doesn’t matter whether you use the Constant Contact plugin, the Sumo plugin, or MailPoet. What matters is that you sign up for one of these services, create your first list and sign up form, and start your first eCommerce email campaign.

How to set up a welcome email campaign for your eCommerce website

There are many different email marketing campaigns you might create, including promotional campaigns, holiday campaigns, product launches, and more. But, one campaign every eCommerce website owner will use is a welcome campaign. 

A welcome campaign is the first email your subscribers will see from you, so it’s critical to make a good impression. Here is what you want to address in your welcome email:

• Build a relationship. If someone signs up for your email list, the first thing you should do is focus on them. This can include a warm welcome, a quick congratulations, or a reaffirmation that they made the right decision. Focusing on the customer from the get-go is a great way to go.

• Set expectations. Someone just subscribed to your email list, but they aren’t quite sure what that entails. Don’t leave your subscribers hanging. Instead, outline what being part of the email newsletter means, including when to expect content and what type of campaigns to expect.

• Address spam filters. Spam filters are so good these days, they sometimes even mark safe content as spam. It’s smart to ask your users in your welcome email to add them to their list of trusted contacts. 

• Include an offer. What screams “welcome to our online store” better than an introductory offer? People love discounts and special discounts, so give them one as a reward for joining the list.

• Thank your new subscriber. Thank yous go a long way. Do as your mother taught you and thank your subscribers for joining your list.

Here is a good example of a welcome email from Bombas.

This Bombas email is well-designed, it welcomes the subscriber into the Bombas family, and it provides a discount code so subscribers can start shopping immediately. Good work, Bombas.

The process of setting up a welcome email is different for every ESP or WordPress plugin, but should be fairly intuitive, regardless of what you’re using.

Here is a quick-reference guide to how to set up your welcome email if you’re using Constant Contact.

Getting started with email marketing for your eCommerce website

Email marketing is a must if you’re looking to boost website traffic and increase conversions. Thankfully, it’s easy to get started with an email service provider and insert your subscriber forms into your eCommerce website and any relevant blog posts.

At HostGator, we recommend making the process easy by using Constant Contact. We also offer a free 3-month trial of Constant Contact. Get started today!

Find the post on the HostGator Blog

source https://www.hostgator.com/blog/email-marketing-ecommerce-guide/

How Will COVID-19 Impact eCommerce This Holiday Season? (3 Predictions)

The post How Will COVID-19 Impact eCommerce This Holiday Season? (3 Predictions) appeared first on HostGator Blog.

Retailers know that winter holiday gift shopping is what keeps the industry going, and until this year, holiday sales figures were on a roll, steadily climbing year after year. 

Now, though, many consumers say they’re not sure if they’ll spend as much in 2020 as in years past. Some are already committed to spending less. And many say they’ve made big changes in how they plan to shop for holiday gifts this year.

Here’s what small online retailers need to know now about consumers’ holiday 2020 spending plans, popular gift categories and potential changes to major sales days. Use this info to plan your holiday season marketing, product selection, pricing, and promotions.

eCommerce looks different this year.

Ordinarily, the holiday season is the big event retailers spend all year preparing for. The sheer volume of site traffic, orders, and fulfillment requests pushes many sellers to their limit. Think of it as the big marathon you’ve been training for. But things are different now.

What’s changing? With many stores closed and people sheltering at home, everyday eCommerce volume is way, way up over previous years. Every day in April, for example, eCommerce sites overall had more traffic than they did on Black Friday 2019, the most popular shopping day of the holiday season. That’s like running a marathon a day since shutdowns began.

What do the changes mean? Does this mean your holiday season will be even bigger than in a regular year? Or will consumers tap out their budgets before the holidays? No one’s really sure yet, because factors like pent-up demand from consumers who’ve so far escaped financial damage may drive holiday sales. 

However, it’s a safe bet that if your customers are already price-sensitive, they will be even more so this winter. In early 2020, 42% of consumers said they made their 2019 online purchases based on price, and 24% said they never paid full price online. That survey was taken when unemployment was at a 50-year low. Now, it’s close to 11%. 

What you can do now

Review your metrics to see if 

• Your bestsellers have changed from more to less expensive items.
• Your discount offers are getting more conversions than during the same time last year.
• The price points on your customers’ most recent wishlist items have dropped.

This data can show you if your customers are scaling back their spending and searching for more deals. If so, they’ll probably expect great deals and the lowest possible prices during the holidays. 

Focus on products that fit your customers’ price range and wishlist trends. And start planning your discount offers, free shipping, and other promotions to keep your holiday shoppers happy.

The holiday sales calendar might get weird.

In previous years, more than a third of consumers started their holiday gift-buying before November. But the long weekend that includes Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday accounted for a huge proportion of eCommerce and retail sales. This graph from the 2019 National Retail Federation holiday consumer survey shows how things usually go:

What’s changing? In-store Black Friday sales almost certainly won’t be anything like the crowded events of yesteryear. Macy’s, and presumably other retailers, are looking at buy-online, pickup-curbside options to reduce in-store crowding, and more shoppers may stick to buying online instead of returning to physical stores. That could mean even more website traffic on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The biggest unknown right now is when Amazon Prime Day will happen. From 2015 until last July, Prime Day was the biggest online shopping event of the summer, racking up more than $7 billion in sales in 2019. This year, the eCommerce giant has postponed Prime Day until the fall, possibly in early October. 

What do the changes mean? What happens when you move a $7 billion, single-retailer sales event to the month before Black Friday? No one can say for sure, but if shoppers grab holiday gifts then, they may spend less on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

What you can do now

Watch for Amazon’s announcement of its 2020 Prime Day date. Start thinking about promotions you could run at the same time as Prime Day, to encourage your customers to stick with you. 

If you’re not already offering your products on Amazon as well as your own website, consider getting started so you can get in on the Prime Day frenzy, whenever it happens.

And now’s a good time to make sure your hosting plan can scale up to accommodate any surges in traffic this holiday season.

Bestselling product categories may change this year.

Some of the products that seem to always make the top 10 list for holiday gift-giving may not do as well this year. Consider this list from the NRF 2019 holiday consumer survey:

Clothing may still do well because of seasonal shifts and holiday traditions. Now more than ever, we need matching flannel pajamas for lounging at home in style, for example. Books and media, toys and food all seem like safe, comforting bets for holiday gifting.

What’s changing? Jewelry sales haven’t fared well since the start of the pandemic, with retailers ranging from Kay to Tiffany reporting big sales drops. It’s unclear whether shoppers will shift gears and treat their loved ones to jewelry during the holidays. Demand for cash has been dropping, too, since the CDC recommended that retail workers avoid handling it. 

What do the changes mean? To avoid gifting cash, shoppers may buy more gift cards this holiday season. Gift cards are already gaining popularity with shoppers looking to support their favorite local businesses. Google has even added a way for shoppers to buy gift cards from retailers’ Google My Business profiles.

As for jewelry, sales aren’t down in all markets. Chinese shoppers are the bright spot for jewelry and other luxury brands right now, according to CNN Business, as their economy starts to recover from the initial impact of the pandemic.

What you can do now

Keep tabs on sales trends for each of your product categories as the holidays approach. Think about discounts and promotions that could boost slower-selling items you have in-stock. Offer gift cards and plan gift card promotions for the holidays. 

If your store offers products that are selling slowly at home but faster abroad, you may want to start selling across borders to boost your revenue. International marketplaces can be an easy tool for  building a customer base overseas.

What else do consumers expect when they shop for the holidays? Online stores that load fast, don’t crash and protect their data. If you need to upgrade your hosting plan, now’s the time. Get started with HostGator today.

Find the post on the HostGator Blog

source https://www.hostgator.com/blog/ecommerce-holiday-season-predictions-covid/

How To Choose The Perfect Domain Name For Your Business

The post How To Choose The Perfect Domain Name For Your Business appeared first on HostGator Blog.

Choose A Domain Name for Your Business

Choosing the right domain name for your business is a big decision. Your domain name is more than the words you type into the browser, it’s the foundation for your online identity.

Choose the wrong domain name and you’ll end up doing your business a disservice. But, choose the right domain name and you’ll make your online success that much easier.

But, how exactly do you choose a good domain name for your blog or business?

We’ve got you covered. Below you’ll learn how to choose a domain name for your business, and the most important factors in getting your domain name right

1. Go with “.com”

When it comes to choosing your domain extension you’re going to have a lot of different options available. It can be tempting to go with a TLD that’s innovative and creative. However, if you can it’s always a good idea to go with .com.

The .com TLD is by far the most commonly used and recognized TLD. So, people already have a built-in association with .com being the primary TLD. You can use this to your advantage and build a higher-quality brand by choosing .com

You can also think of it this way. If your website does become very successful and you decided to start with something like .co, then you’d probably need to eventually purchase the .com too

2. Scoop up other domain extensions, too

When you register your .com domain name, pick up top-level domain variations like .biz and .net if you can. Redirect them to your .com site so visitors who type in the wrong domain will still find your site.

For example, sephora.biz, sephora.net and sephora.info all take you straight to Sephora.com.

As the number of domain registrations continues to increase, good names are becoming more and more competitive.  For this reason, it’s possible to have a competitor snatch up the “.net” or “.biz” version of your URL – even if you’ve secured the “.com” version.

Because this can lead to lost traffic – especially if your competitors wind up outranking you in the search engine results pages – consider buying up popular TLDs (top-level domains) for your chosen domain, if they’re available.

3. Keep it short

When in doubt, make your domain as short as possible. This will help with making your brand more memorable. The fewer characters your domain has the easier it’ll be to type, say, and share with friends.

Now it might be hard to find a single word domain that’s related to your business, especially today. However, consider combining two or three shorter words together to make something memorable.

Plus, since more internet users today use their smartphones to browse the web, you need to make it easy for them to type your domain into their browser

4. Avoid “cutesy” names and abbreviations

Don’t use cute shorteners like 4U and 2U in your domain names because:

• They’re hard to remember.
• They look unprofessional.
• Only Prince could get away with that, and 4 real UR not Prince.

If you think people might have trouble remembering long URLs, know that they’ll have a field day trying to remember your text-speak domain name!  Steer clear and look for alternative domain names that convey your company’s brand messaging without resorting to tricks like these.

5. Don’t make it awkward

Domain names don’t include spaces, and using hyphens in domain names is a terrible idea, so whatever you choose shouldn’t look awkward written as one word. 

To see what we mean, consider the real-life URLs for the following legitimate company names:

• Pen Island – “www.penisland.net”
• IT Scrap – “www.itscrap.com”
• Who Represents – “www.whorepresents.com”
• Experts Exchange – “www.expertsexchange.com”
• Speed of Art – “www.speedofart.com”

Clearly, carefully reviewing your final selection before hitting the “Register” button is always a good idea!

6. Make it brandable

Brandable means that when you see or hear your domain it sounds like a brand. By looking at your domain name your visitors should be able to intuit what your website is going to be about. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to spell out exactly what your business does with a list of keywords but instead try to capture the essence of what you do.

When a customer sees a name like billreducer.com, they have one expectation in mind: this website is going to help me save money by reducing my bills in some way.

Choose a name that is going to let customers know what they are in for from the moment they read it. Your site should deliver what it says on the label, and your domain name is the label.

For example, if you sell pet supplies in Tulsa, www.tulsapetsupplies.com makes that clear to visitors in a way that, say, www.treatsandtoys.com does not.

Don’t make it confusing for your visitors to figure out what your business does. Say it all with a great domain name.

7. Choose a domain that’s easy to remember

Customers will find your website URL on flyers, newsletters, search queries, and other websites so making the address stick is key.

Memorable domain names are often short, clever, and avoid trendy humor, hyphens or numbers. The longer or more complicated the domain name, the less likely it is to stick. A good rule of thumb is if you saw the domain name on a delivery-truck sign, could you remember it later?

Think obvious, catchy, unique, and memorable.

Do a quick analysis of your favorite domain names and see what makes them stand out, and incorporate those elements you like into your own business domain name.

8. Stay clear of copyright issues

If you’re pretty much settled on a domain name, then you need to spend some time looking into the past of your domain.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Have there been any associated domain names that have a negative public opinion?
• Does your domain name contain any words that have a double meaning?
• Are there any existing trademark issues with the words used in your domain?

The last thing you want is to find and register the perfect domain name, only to realize that your domain is creating brand confusion, or that you’re accidentally stepping on someone’s trademark.

Double-check social media, too. You want to make sure any relevant social media handles are still available. This will help you build brand consistency and make it that much easier for your visitors to find your business on social media.

9. Unlock the power of keywords

Internet search is based on a framework of keywords and phrases when indexing addresses and sites, so why not take advantage of this when choosing your domain name?

Brainstorm keywords related to your organization and use these in shaping your chosen name. For example, your butcher’s shop might name meat, butcher, smoked, cured, savory, friendly, and service as descriptive keywords for your business. An appropriate name might then be SavoryService.com or TheSmilingButcher.com. Either domain respects the fact that search engines work off of such keywords when indexing and fetching information for users, while providing a description of what customers can expect in the process.

What keywords do people use to search for businesses like yours? Use them in your domain name if you can.

10. Protect your privacy

When you register your domain, the rules of the internet require that you give your

• real name
• home or business address
• email address
• phone number

Anyone online can find that information through the global WHOIS database. When you can register a domain, your information becomes public knowledge and anyone can do a domain lookup to see who owns the domain. Don’t want randos looking up your contact info? Sign up for HostGator’s WHOIS privacy service when you register. We’ll replace your private information with ours.

Ready to register?

It only takes one click to check if your dream domain name is available. Once you’ve found the right name and made sure it’s available, it takes just a few minutes to buy and register it. 

Check now to see if your domain name is available today.

Find the post on the HostGator Blog

source https://www.hostgator.com/blog/whats-in-a-name-choosing-the-right-domain-name-for-your-website/

7 Reasons Why You Should Choose WordPress For Your Website

The post 7 Reasons Why You Should Choose WordPress For Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog.

Why Choose WordPress for Your Website?

Have you ever wanted to start a side business but hesitated because you knew you’d need a website? Or missed out on customers because your small business doesn’t have a site yet?

If you’re not a tech-minded person, setting up a site can seen confusing and time-consuming if you do it yourself–or expensive if you hire someone else to do it.

Those worries are understandable. However, it’s 2018.

A website is a must if you want to reach your target market, and setting up a website is a lot easier than you may realize, especially if you use WordPress to set it up. 

What Exactly Is WordPress?

WordPress is a content management system (CMS), which means it’s designed to help you organize and display the content on your site.

What counts as content? Everything that appears on your site, from the header with your business name to your contact information to your blog posts and tutorial videos. If it’s on your site, it’s content.

(A note about WordPress.com versus WordPress.org, because you’ll see both online: WordPress.org offers the free CMS we’re talking about. WordPress.com offers a free, WordPress-CMS-powered platform for non-commercial blogs which can’t be customized with plugins or custom themes. If you’re running a business, WordPress.com is not a workable option.)

7 Reasons to Choose WordPress for Your Business Website

It may help to think of your website as an empty retail space. Your CMS is the shelving and racks you set up to make sure the contents of your store are organized logically, easy to reach, and displayed attractively.

When you’re choosing a CMS, just as when you pick out store fixtures, you have lots of options—and they’re not all equal in terms of cost, function, and aesthetics.

Here’s why WordPress is the busy, non-techie, small-business owner’s friend.

1. WordPress is free.

Free is good when you’re operating on a small-business budget. You’ll still have to pay for web hosting, and you may want to buy a theme instead of using a free one to change the way your site looks (more about that in a moment), but the WordPress CMS costs nothing to download.

2. WordPress is easy to use.

WordPress prides itself on its five-minute installation and support guides to walk you through the process.

I’m not a technical savant but I’ve set up several WordPress sites, and it really is that easy to get a basic site running and looking respectable. Doing something complex may require some reading and conversations in the support forums, but for most new site owners, going from zero to website in a few minutes is more than enough.

The topic of support forums brings us to the next thing WordPress has going for it.

3. WordPress has a vast support community.

Thirty percent of all websites run on WordPress, and it has a 60% share of the CMS market. The number of people using WordPress means that if you have a problem or a question, odds are there’s an answer waiting for you in one of the WordPress support or developer forums.

It also means that if you ever want to outsource your site maintenance, content, or design, there are plenty of developers, writers, editors, and designers who know how your site’s CMS works.

4. It’s easy to make your WordPress site look unique.

Because WordPress’s code is open source, hobby and professional developers are always finding ways to improve it. There are thousands of free and paid themes you can choose from to make your site look the way you want it to.

Think of your theme as similar to the interior decor of a brick-and-mortar store. Your theme will take care of your virtual color scheme, signage, and the details of your site layout. You can search by keyword to find themes that fit your business best, and if you ever get tired of your theme, it’s usually pretty easy to switch to a new theme, although there are some steps you’ll want to take first to keep your site working the way you want after the switch.

5. Create your dream functionality with WordPress plugins.

Once you’ve chosen a web host and a theme and set up your basic site, there are thousands of plugins you can use to make the site work exactly the way you want it to. Whether you want it to load faster, backup automatically, or optimize your blog posts for search results, there’s a plugin (or five) for that.

And because WordPress supports multimedia content, you’re not limited to blog posts and photos. You can embed videos, podcasts, and slideshows on your site with the right plugins.

6. WordPress takes security seriously.

WordPress also makes it easy to keep your site’s software up to date, which is critical to keeping hackers and data thieves out of your site. Some WordPress software updates are automatic, to prevent security vulnerabilities, and you can choose whether you want your plugins to update automatically or whether you’ll handle those updates yourself.

To update plugins and themes, all you have to do is click the checkboxes next to the items you want to update and then hit the update button. The trick is remembering to check for updates, which is why the auto-update option is so useful.

7. WordPress plays well with others.

Even the coolest looking website needs to interact seamlessly with other platforms and with people, so you can get found and make sales.

First, getting found: WordPress is structured to be easy for search engine crawlers to navigate, which means your site will perform better in search results, especially if you add an SEO plugin like Yoast. WordPress also plays well with Google’s new criteria for mobile-friendly websites. You can make your site easier for mobile users to navigate by choosing a mobile-optimized or responsive theme from the start, or by installing a plugin to make your site work better on mobile devices.

As for making sales, if you intend to sell directly from your site, WordPress plugin Woo Commerce makes it easy to sell products, digital downloads, subscriptions, and membership access to your site.

And if you ever want to change web hosting services, you can migrate your entire WordPress site to a new host easily, with fewer steps and in less time than it would take you to migrate a free site builder-hosted site.

WordPress: The Right Choice for Your Website

The bottom line is that if you want a site that looks professional, gets results, and is easy to set up and maintain, WordPress is almost always going to be your best bet, especially if you’re not code-savvy and want to get on with running your business.

Have more questions about how to install and use WordPress? We’ve got answers.

Ready to get started with WordPress? See why customers trust HostGator’s WordPress hosting.

Find the post on the HostGator Blog

source https://www.hostgator.com/blog/reasons-why-wordpress-website/

Web Hosting vs. WordPress Hosting

The post Web Hosting vs. WordPress Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.

Web hosting is an absolutely critical aspect of any online business. Without the proper hosting plan, you won’t have a website, it’s as simple as that. However, choosing the right kind of web hosting package for your needs is another thing entirely.

There are a variety of hosting options you’ll come across. The most common being basic shared hosting, VPS, WordPress hosting, and dedicated servers. To keep things simple we’re going to look at two of the most commonly used hosting providers and options for websites that utilize the WordPress CMS.

Below we dive deeper into the world of web hosting as we compare WordPress hosting vs. web hosting with shared hosting services.

What is WordPress Hosting?

WordPress hosting is a hosting environment that’s specifically designed to cater to WordPress websites. Think of this web host as wearing a well-tailored suit, custom fitted to your body. WordPress hosting is tailor-made to work with WordPress sites.

Here are some of the WordPress hosting advantages:

• It’s incredibly fast. Every aspect of the server has been tweaked to cater to WordPress’s setup and enable quick loading times. This level of hosting can often drop page loading speed and response time by a second or more.

• It’s much more secure. This kind of web hosting service offers increased security protocols and more individualized attention. Plus, if you do get hacked you’ll have a support team who has experience with WordPress-specific attacks.

• Your server is always up to date. The team who manages your hosting will always ensure the server is running the latest software, so your site will perform as efficiently as possible. Their goal is to keep you, and your website, happy.

• Dedicated customer support. The support teams who run managed WordPress hosting accounts are generally WordPress experts. They offer support, troubleshooting and hosting problem solutions whenever needed. 

• Increased uptime. Since your site will be sharing resources with less websites, and in some cases, none, your site is able to use a greater portion of the server resources.

Are There Any Drawbacks?

Since WordPress hosting is a more customized hosting solution, there are a few drawbacks that come with the upgraded service. For instance, the costs for this kind of web hosting are generally higher because of how customized it is. 

In addition, there are also limitations on the amount of customization you can do across your site. Some WordPress hosts won’t allow your site to use certain plugins. So, if your site requires certain plugins to function, and those plugins are on the host’s restricted list, you may need to find another hosting option. (HostGator customers on our managed WordPress plan can find the full list of disallowed plugins here.)

Lastly, you can only run a WordPress blog on WordPress hosting. Any other kinds of CMSs aren’t allowed.

Why Would I Use Shared Web Hosting?

The advantages of shared hosting can be great if you’re just getting started with building a website and are unsure if you want to commit all the way or not. However, if you’re looking to grow your website and are expecting to receive a very large amount of traffic, then you may want to consider upgrading to something more reliable than shared hosting. 

For context, when you use a shared hosting option your website is put on a server with hundreds, and sometimes thousands of others. You have no idea who these other websites are, and whether or not they have proper security measures in place, or if they are using a properly coded theme.

The resources on the shared server will get divided between every website using the server. This means that if a different website on the server experiences a large surge in traffic from a post going viral, then your site may load slowly as a result.

You can definitely use WordPress on our shared hosting plan, but you will be responsible for a little more management of the environment than you would if you choose our optimized WordPress hosting package.

There’s no “right” hosting choice for every kind of business out there. But, if you can afford the additional costs of WordPress managed hosting, and have plans to grow your website in the future, then utilizing the hosting services of managed WordPress hosting is generally the way to go.

If you’re unsure about the higher price point, then stick with the basic shared web hosting, you can always upgrade in time, as your site grows!

What kind of hosting do you prefer for your website? Please share in the comments below.

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source https://www.hostgator.com/blog/shared-hosting-vs-wordpress-hosting-whats-the-difference/

Cloud vs. Shared Hosting

The post Cloud vs. Shared Hosting appeared first on HostGator Blog.

Cloud Hosting vs. Shared Hosting

To have a site live on the Internet you’re going to need web hosting. But, how do you choose the right kind of hosting for your business? And what is the difference between cloud hosting vs. shared hosting?

Web hosting can be complex and there are a lot of options. It’s easy to get lost, so don’t feel bad if you’re confused at the starting point.

Below we dive into the differences between cloud hosting and shared hosting. These are two of the most common hosting choices. Remember, there is no right choice for everyone; the right type for you depends upon the needs of your website.

Let’s jump in!

What is shared hosting?

Shared web hosting is the cheapest, most popular and most widely available type of hosting solution. You’ll usually see it advertised for $9.99 or less a month.

With shared hosting a single server is divided up between multiple users. Each user will get a shared amount of bandwidth. However, each user can also put an unlimited amount of sites on their account. So the server that’s being split up between multiple accounts can sometimes end up hosting thousands of sites!

This means that your site could perform poorly if another site on the server is taking up too many resources. However, web hosts usually do their best to mitigate these effects.

Cloud hosting is better for larger sites, while shared hosting can be a great choice for those with a very tight budget or for people who are planning on keeping their sites very small.

What is cloud hosting?

Curious about cloud hosting? Cloud hosting, or cloud VPS hosting, allows you to use the resources of multiple servers, rather than having your site confined to a single server location. This makes cloud services highly sought after.

The main benefit of cloud hosting is that it allows for unlimited expansion and is a must-have for heavy traffic sites. Cloud hosting also allows for greater protection from an overwhelmed server. If one server is overwhelmed, you’ll simply be switched to another cloud server. 

Cloud Hosting vs. Web Hosting: Which one should you choose?

Cloud hosting is widely seen as a better option to shared hosting because of its ability to handle large amounts of traffic, its improved security protection, and its reliability.

However, these extras do come at a cost, and most cloud hosting options are more expensive than shared hosting plans. But if you’re planning on growing your site and you need a site with a high performance rate, the advantages then cloud hosting will probably be the best option for your needs.

That being said, if you’re just getting started and have a very small or nonexistent budget, a shared hosting plan may be a good option for you then you until you have the cash to upgrade.

What hosting plan do you have? Let us know in the comments below.

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source https://www.hostgator.com/blog/cloud-vs-shared-hosting/

How to Create an eCommerce Subscription Business [4-Step Guide]

The post How to Create an eCommerce Subscription Business [4-Step Guide] appeared first on HostGator Blog.

Did you know the eCommerce market is growing by more than 100% a year, and that subscription-based services are increasing at unprecedented rates? Data shows that by 2023 as many as 75% of direct-to-consumer brands will offer subscriptions.

The subscription-based business model is booming right now, and consumers are responding positively, especially amid the COVID-19 crisis. 

Research shows that approximately 20% of consumers purchased subscription services during the pandemic, so they wouldn’t risk running out of specific products.

If you are a current store owner that wants to add subscription options for your products, or if you’re going to start a subscription business from scratch, now is the perfect time to get started.

This post will cover everything you need to know to create an eCommerce subscription business.

Step 1: Source and package products

You know what you want to sell online, but how do you get started? The first step is finding out where you’ll source your products and how you will package them. Let’s cover how this works.

Where can you source products?

There are three main ways people source products to sell online, including:

• DIY creation
• Working with a manufacturer
• Dropshipping

DIY product creation

If you are creating your own products, bravo! It takes a lot of talent to make your own products, physical or digital, and bring them to the market. 

While it may be a lot of initial work to get your handmade product off the ground, the benefits are robust. You will have full control over the quality of your products, your startup costs will be low, and you can scale your business at your own pace.

Working with a manufacturer

When you are ready to scale your business, or if you want to hire someone to create your products, you’ll need to get in contact with a manufacturer. 

The best way to start is to research manufacturers online and see what options you have. You can also ask a trusted friend in the industry for recommendations.

Once you have narrowed your list down to three or four contenders, start doing your research. Compare how much it will cost to use the different manufacturers, look at their previous work, ask them about successes and failures, and make sure they have legal and ethical business practices.

Drop shipping

If you build an impressive online following, you may not even need to create your own products. You may be able to make money by purchasing relevant products from another vendor and selling them in your online store.

With drop shipping, you make the sale, and the other vendor takes care of inventory, packaging, and fulfillment.

If you grow a successful blog or website and work to increase your traffic, drop shipping is a stellar option.

How do you handle product packaging?

Once you have product creation settled, it’s time to determine how you will package your products. 

With the rise of the unboxing experience on social media, it’s critical to put thought and attention into your packaging. Here are some things to consider:

• Hire a product marketer to give you insights into how to best package your products.
• Your product packaging is the equivalent of a customer walking into your store for the first time, so invest in making a good first impression.
• Use your product packaging as another branding opportunity by placing your logo and website on the box.
• Take necessary precautions to protect your products, including using bubble wrap, looking into dry ice packs, shrink wrapping your products, or anything else that helps you protect your merchandise.
• Encourage additional purchases by including a coupon code in the box.

For more information on product packaging, check out this guide. 

Step 2: Build your online store

Now that you have solidified your product sourcing and packaging, you’re officially ready to build your online store.

Hopefully, you already have a website. If not, don’t worry. With HostGator’s WordPress hosting, it’s easy to get a WordPress website set up and running in less than a day. 

All you have to do is choose a web hosting package, install WordPress, and choose a WordPress theme to customize. For more info, read our step-by-step guide to setting up your WordPress site.

If you already have a WordPress website up and running, it’s easy to add an online store. Not to mention, you have several awesome options. Here are some of the best WordPress plugins for building an eCommerce store.

• WooCommerce – WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce platform built specifically for WordPress. With WooCommerce you can set up your online store without having to know one line of code. It also allows you to sell affiliate products, offer digital and physical products, and capture recurring payments with WooCommerce subscriptions.
• Subscriptio – Subscriptio is a stellar WooCommerce extension that helps you sell subscriptions on your website. This extension adds the capability to accept recurring payments on WooCommerce sites. If you’re looking to sell something like a magazine subscription, online subscription, or a subscription box, checkout Subscriptio.
• WebToffee – WebToffee is another great option for adding a subscription payment option to your WooCommerce site. With WebToffee, you can create simple and variable subscriptions, offer a free trial, and provide recurring discounts. WebToffee also supports synchronization. WebToffee is a paid plugin, but the extra functionality may be worth it if you’re serious about setting up and scaling your online subscription store.

It’s worth it to look into each of these WordPress plugins to determine which one is right for you. They all are easy to use, have multiple features, and will help you set up your online store. What you end up choosing will largely depend on your preferences.

How to install a WordPress plugin

Now that you know about the top WordPress plugins, let’s quickly review how to install and activate a plugin in WordPress.

Here are the steps you need to follow:

• Login to your WordPress site.
• Turn your attention to the navigation bar on the left side of the dashboard screen.
• Click on “Plugins.”
• Click on “Add new.”
• Search for the name of the plugin in the keyword box.
• Press “Install Now.”
• Click on “Activate,” which will send you back to the plugin page.
• Find the Shopify plugin and click on “Settings.”
• From here, Shopify will guide you through the steps of setting up your account.

After installing your favorite respective eCommerce plugin, you can follow the steps and start adding your subscription products to your store. 

Step 3: Set your prices

Before you finalize your store, you’ll need to decide on a pricing model. With an eCommerce plugin like WooCommerce, you can price your subscriptions in different ways. Here are some options.

Sell individual products that you deliver regularly

Selling single products as part of a subscription service is a solid way to ensure repeat business and customer happiness.

You are offering an unlimited supply of products your subscribers love, and you can count on repeat revenue every month. Double win.

If you sell a perishable product (e.g., dog food, make-up, toilet paper, cookies, etc.), this model is an excellent choice.

Madison Reed is a great example of a company that uses this model. Madison Reed guides customers through a series of questions and comes up with the perfect hair color product, based on the answers.

Of course, Madison Reed allows the customer to make desired changes, but the questions are a great way to provide guidance and lead customers down the sales funnel.

Once a customer decides on a hair color kit, they can sign up for a subscription, so they never run out of hair color.

What’s particularly cool about the Madison Reed subscription model is they allow customers to choose how often the recurring deliveries happen. Since hair grows at different rates, this is an excellent way to keep control in the hands of the consumer and avoid cancellations.

Offer a subscription option

Another option you have for your eCommerce store is to offer one-off products with a subscription option. 

In other words, a customer might come to your website to buy one of your homemade cookies, but why not include a pricing option where they can opt to get cookies from you every week via a subscription.

To incentivize customers to subscribe, you can offer a slight discount for subscribing. At first glance, it may seem that offering a discounted price for something customers intend to buy often would result in lower sales. However, research shows the opposite.

Stats show that subscription businesses increased revenues nearly 5 times faster than S&P 500 company revenues and U.S. retail sales. Additionally, 61% of SMBs report more than half of their revenue comes from repeat business. 

If you’re planning on offering one product, take the time to add a subscription option as well. It will pay off in the end.

Sell a subscription box

It seems like there is a subscription box for everything these days. Books. Dog food. Makeup. Even skulls — seriously, check it out:

And, it’s with good reason. Not only are subscription boxes a surefire way to boost revenues and encourage repeat business, but they are also a killer social proof marketing tool.

I mentioned the “unboxing phenomenon” earlier. As a quick overview, unboxing is when a social influencer gets a subscription box, and opens it in front of all their subscribers. 

As of 2015, 35.3% of consumers had seen an unboxing video. In 2017, this number increased to 36.8%, according to Dotcom Distribution, and there are little signs of this trend slowing down.

Providing awesome products in beautiful packages via a subscription model is a great way to capture sales and increase brand awareness.

Bundle your subscriptions

Let’s say you offer multiple individual subscriptions. Another fun pricing model is to offer a discount when someone bundles their subscription. This model encourages more purchases and boosts your sales.

The best example I can think of for subscription bundles is streaming services. For example, you can subscribe individually to Disney+, and Hulu, and ESPN+, or you can pay $12.99 a month for all three of these services in a bundle.

Step 4: Set up shipping

The last step in the process is setting up shipping. If you offer digital products, then all you have to do is provide a download after customers pay. Every eCommerce platform makes the delivery of digital assets easy.

For shipping physical products, you have more factors to consider. You’ll need to investigate the following:

• Whether or not you want to handle shipping
• What shipping carrier works best for you
• How much you want to charge for shipping
• Whether or not you want your eCommerce platform to handle shipping for you

If you have a small brand, you may be able to handle shipping yourself. But, it’s also critical to be wary of this option. If you start to get more sales or become an overnight success, running to the post office with orders will quickly get overwhelming.

It makes sense to look into a shipping service connected to your eCommerce platform (e.g. WooCommerce Shipping). Using an eCommerce service is an easy way to create shipping labels right from the comfort of your own home.

It’s Time to Start Your eCommerce Subscription Business

Setting up an eCommerce subscription store is an awesome way to grow your business. The subscription model is exciting, customers love subscriptions, and it helps ensure steady revenue.

With HostGator, it’s easy to set up a WordPress site, and quickly install an eCommerce subscription plugin. 

To get your store up and running, you don’t have to know a single line of code. You can follow the intuitive instructions in WordPress and in your eCommerce plugin and have your website up in no time. Visit the HostGator website today to get started.

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source https://www.hostgator.com/blog/create-ecommerce-subscription-business-guide/