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Ecwid Article

To wrap up this featured week with Ecwid, we’re focusing on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ecwid.com/apps/Featured">Ecwid App Market</a>.Coming back to today’s topic, it’s my view that no platform is truly complete without at least a basic app store to provide optional functionality boosts. And Ecwid has that – and more.Let’s take a look at Ecwid’s App Store.<h2>Keep Your Store Growing</h2><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-3-1-1024x489.png" alt="sshot-3" />Adding functionality to the front-end and back-end of your store will help keep its growth on track. And Ecwid recognized that by making weekly additions to its App Store.Some of the categories found within the store include:<ul><li>Marketing</li><li>Shipping</li><li>Store Management</li><li>Theme customization</li><li>Accounting</li></ul>And what’s more is, many of the apps are totally free.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ecwid-apps.png" /><h2>Developer Friendly</h2>I could tell you that Ecwid is developer-friendly, but I think it sounds better coming from an actual developer:<blockquote>“Most eCommerce platforms only partially support 360º views. Crazy, I know, but there is good news…Many eCommerce platforms are catching up, albeit slowly. We've built 360º view Apps for other eCommerce platforms, but most platforms are hesitant to let us build a deeply integrated App that works perfect.And then, there's Ecwid.Ecwid is the first eCommerce platform that decided to have 100% compatibility with our 360º viewer at Imajize. In fact, we worked directly with the software engineers at Ecwid.The result? Together, we built one the most polished 360º view Apps yet. With this App installed, you can easily add our 360º viewer into your Ecwid product page. It's almost too easy.The team at Ecwid played a huge role at making this happen (so thanks, Ecwid!).”</blockquote>All that praise for Ecwid came recently from Imajize, an app developer that was happy about Ecwid’s support for its 360 degree view image producing application. Support that, they say, has been hard to come by elsewhere in the eCommerce industry.If that’s not developer friendliness, I don’t know what is.To check out the Ecwid App Market for yourself, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ecwid.com/">head over to their website</a>.And with that, we tie up the last entry of Ecwid’s featured week here on CMS Critic.

The Ecwid App Market: A Hub of Growth & Customization

mike-johnston

To continue with this Ecwid-focused featured week, we’re taking a look at how the product helps keep its users effective – even when they’re away from their desks.
Previously, we discussed the <a href="/retail-app-ecwid-shopapp/">Ecwid ShopApp feature</a>, <a href="/ecwids-automated-tax-feature/">tax automation</a>, and the <a href="/ecwid-for-wordpress-an-easy-secure-ecommerce-plugin/">Ecwid WordPress plugin</a>.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how it caters to merchants who like to get out and about as they handle their business.
<h2>Manage Your Store, Wherever You Are</h2>
There’s nothing quite like the freedom that comes with running an online business. But that freedom is expanded upon when you can cope with your daily routine from just about anywhere with internet coverage.
Ecwid has mobile-specific features that make it supremely easy to manage your entire store whilst on the move.
This is done through the Ecwid App, which allows all users to log in and get to work.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/products-main-min.jpg" alt="products-main-min" />
Here’s a breakdown of the Ecwid App features:
<ul>
<li>Manage orders on your mobile device: Ecwid merchants can see their new and existing orders and begin taking the necessary actions to get them shipped or delivered.</li>
<li>Photograph and upload your products: Shoot, upload, and sell, all from a mobile device.</li>
<li>Modify inventory, you can update product names, prices, and descriptions from within your Ecwid App.</li>
<li>Get notified: The app will send you push notifications about new orders.</li>
<li>Share your products: You can share products from the app to Instagram and Facebook, or via text messaging and email.</li>
<li>Sell on the go: At a trade show? No problem. The Ecwid App lets you accept payments directly, like a makeshift POS system with a credit card swiper.</li>
</ul>
Furthermore, Ecwid deploys an extremely simple and standardized checkout procedure, which streamlines the checkout process for customers using mobile devices.
When customers access an Ecwid on their mobile phone the store utilizes responsive design to the store automatically matches the size of the screen. So combining responsive design with a standardized checkout process and having this all automatically part of the product means higher conversion rates on mobile for the merchant.
<h2>The Ecwid ShopApp</h2>
<a href="/retail-app-ecwid-shopapp/">Ecwid’s ShopApp</a>, which we discussed previously, is yet another example of the focus Ecwid has given to the world of mobile.
The ShopApp enables (Ecwid Unlimited) users to launch their very own retail app, personalized for their specific Ecwid store. An excitingly awesome feature, by all means.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ios-img.jpg" alt="ios-img" />
This helps merchants reach their audience not just through responsive design that works well with mobile web browsers, but through the medium of an app, which are far easier to access – and give off a heightened sense of professionalism.
To find out more about the Ecwid App, check out the dedicated page on their website.

How Ecwid Puts Mobile First

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ecwid-shopping-cart-logo-1024x269.png" alt="Ecwid-Shopping-Cart-Logo" />
After covering <a href="https://www.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">Ecwid’s</a> awesome ShopApp feature – which allows merchants to launch their own native iOS and Android retail app – it’s time to take a look at another Ecwid feature; automated taxes.
On a personal level, taxes make my brain hurt. In fact, I deem it as one of eCommerce’s scariest hurdles – and I’m sure I’m not alone.
To make life easier for merchants though, Ecwid recently partnered with TaxJar to automate the entire process. What more is, that automation is available for free for all paid Ecwid users.
<h2>Tax Is No Longer Taxing</h2>
The alliance between Ecwid and TaxJar means something very significant; merchants from the U.S., Canada, EU, and Australia can set up tax rates in their store with just one click. Seriously.
Once enabled, the automatic tax rate will determine a precise tax rate at checkout depending on where you and your customer are located. All the technical stuff is done behind the scenes.
How? Well, the tool knows the tax rules in your country, state, and even your county – which is the hardest part, really. It then simply applies them properly to each order as and when they come in.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ecwid-tax-feature-1-1024x459.png" alt="Ecwid Tax Feature" />
If you’re worrying about its level of tax knowledge, don’t. Here’s why:
The TaxJar integration knows whether you’re located in a region with origin-based or destination-based tax schema, whether shipping cost or discounts are taxable, whether you should charge tax in another state or country not, whether the tax rate is calculated with a zip code accuracy. If your customer provide zip+4, it will be calculated with even higher precision. In some U.S. states the tax is calculated with a street address level precision!
The real beauty of this automated tax feature is that it will stay up to date with all new tax laws that get implemented in your country. So you never have to worry about updating your tax configurations – it’s all automatic.
<h2>More To Come</h2>
But that’s not all, because Ecwid has already unveiled some of its plans to expand their automated tax feature with the help of TaxJar.
By the end of 2016, they hope to introduce:
<ul>
<li>Multiple nexuses for US sellers, which allows for accurate rates to be calculated if your store operates in several states.</li>
<li>Automated reporting &amp; filing to fully automate sales tax management, and more.</li>
</ul>
Essentially, Ecwid is taking that scary tax hurdle and throwing it off the track, so you can focus on running your business.
To find out more about Ecwid’s tax automation feature, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/ecwids-automated-tax-feature/">check out their blog</a>.

A Closer Look at Ecwid’s Automated Tax Feature

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It's easier than you might think to add eCommerce to your website. No matter the platform, you can quickly and easily add an online store within minutes and not only that, you can do it for free!
Recently, I had an opportunity to visit the offices of <a href="/ecwid1" target="_blank">Ecwid</a> (short for ecommerce widget) that makes this very functionality available for anyone to use. It's so incredibly easy that if you aren't using it, you are missing out. Not only does Ecwid let you sell things on your website easily (we're talking set up in 5 minutes or less) but you can even sell on Facebook with it.
Here's a quick video showing off the product:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y1b7m3uzaOo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The best part about Ecwid in my mind is that it's already integrated with a large number of systems such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and more. It's also fully responsive and integrates directly with your site. In the case of the plugins, it will even adopt the styling based on your theme. There's even a mobile app that lets you manage your store from your phone or tablet, making adding new products very easy to do.
You don't, however, have to just have an existing website to use Ecwid. You can also sign up on <a href="/ecwid1" target="_blank">their website</a> and host your store there for a very low cost. When I did a comparison between Ecwid and some of the other big players in the eCommerce space like Shopify, for instance, the cost if significantly lower with Ecwid and you actually get more integrations. The average store can be created for free whereas other packages are priced between $15 and $99 (with this high end package, you get an enormous amount of functionality).
The $15 package that Ecwid offers quite literally should be more than enough for the average person looking for slightly more functionality than the free offering (although the free offering is also loaded with quite a few features you won't find free elsewhere).
Here's a look at a sample product page, keeping in mind of course this is from the demo, which you can try out on the Ecwid website.
 
When it comes to payment processors, you can use any of their over 30 different ones they support which is pretty extensive. Further to this, shipping options include an automatic shipping calculator for UPS, Fedex and other shipping partners and a huge list of other features which you can read about on their website.
Just to clarify, this isn't a sponsored post. I'm a huge fan of Ecwid and think they are doing amazing things and wanted to share. Making eCommerce easy is something that alot of companies want to do but I think Ecwid is definitely leading the charge here. The capabilities of this product are quite extensive and being able to not have to worry about changing your CMS in order to accommodate a store (or being forced to move to an ecommerce platform) is a huge bonus.
If you are in the market and considering adding an online store to your site, you definitely need to <a href="/ecwid1" target="_blank">check out Ecwid</a>.

Add an Online Store to your Site in Minutes

<a href="https://www.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">Ecwid</a> has rolled out a brand new API platform to encourage developers to get creative in lieu of the <a href="https://www.ecwid.com/apps/Featured" target="_blank">Ecwid App Market's</a> imminent expansion.
Well over 600,000 online stores are powered by Ecwid, which is well known for its excellent integration options for platforms such as WordPress and Drupal.
The brand new <a href="http://api.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">Ecwid API</a> enables any third-party developer to extend, modify and customize nearly every aspect of an Ecwid store. It’s now easier than ever to create an application for Ecwid and become a part of the upcoming Ecwid App market.
<h2>A Milestone for Ecwid Third-party Apps</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/update_combo_docs700x0.png" alt="Ecwid API" />
Third-party application developers can now have more fun with Ecwid than ever before.
Ecwid’s new API is a RESTful API with oAuth2 authentication. Any developer can use it to manage store data, add new interfaces to the Ecwid Control Panel, and even customize the storefront from an external application.
Ecwid developers can also now create embeddable applications which can find a place within the Ecwid control panel. In fact, depending on the nature of the application (and it's role in the control panel), developers can now customize the control panel to a degree, applying their own custom styles, widgets and more.
The new API specs and documentation provide examples and even a playground tool, all of which are available via the <a href="http://api.ecwid.com" target="_blank">Ecwid API page</a>.
<h2>Ecwid App Market Due for Expansion</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1700x0.png" alt="Ecwid App Marketplace" />
Naturally, the release of this new API will lead to an app marketplace that's bigger, better, and more useful to the average Ecwid user.
According to Ecwid, when the App Market matures and “officially launches”, Apps on this page will be categorized to allow merchants to easily find a service they need, install apps, and more. However, the App Market does exist right now, and it contains a healthy range of apps already. So, the introduction of third-part apps should make things interesting for Ecwid's 600,000 users.
To find out more about the new Ecwid's new API, check out the official announcement, as well as the <a href="http://api.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">Ecwid API page</a>.

Ecwid Releases New API Platform

<a href="https://www.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">Ecwid</a>, the popular eCommerce solution, has just made order management a whole lot easier for merchants.
Powering over 500,000 online stores, Ecwid is a shopping cart that seamlessly integrates with existing websites and platforms.
With this update, online merchants using Ecwid can re-visit existing orders and make changes quickly and easily. So, there's no more stressing when a customer wants to amend or add to their order.
<h2>Powerful Order Management</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/edit-orders-cp.jpg" />
Ecwid users can now do the following with ease:
<ul>
<li> Add new items to an order</li>
<li> Remove items</li>
<li> Edit existing items: product name, SKU, options, quantity</li>
<li> Edit customer’s address, name and email</li>
<li> Add or remove a discount</li>
<li> Edit names of payment and shipping methods</li>
<li> Edit order total or shipping fee</li>
</ul>
All you need to do is install the “Order Editor” Ecwid app from this page: <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/ecwid-rolls-out-order-editor-feature/" target="_blank">order-editor.ecwid.com</a>. The Order Editor app is available at no charge for all users on <a href="https://www.ecwid.com/pricing">Business and Unlimited plans</a>.
To find out more about Ecwid's new order editor, <a href="https://www.ecwid.com/blog/improve-customer-service-with-ecwid-new-order-editor-feature.html" target="_blank">check out their blog announcement</a>.

Ecwid Rolls Out “Order Editor” Feature

<a href="https://www.drupal.org" target="_blank">Drupal 7</a> users can now make use of Ecwid on their Drupal sites, a popular and lightweight eCommerce solution.
Ecwid is shopping cart that seamlessly integrates with existing websites. It can also be added to your page on social media networks, such as Facebook or mySpace.
After securing itself as an <a href="/ecommerce-integration-arrives-for-wordpress.com-business/" target="_blank">integrated eCommerce option for WordPress.com Business users</a> as well as Joomla users, Ecwid has now entered the world of Drupal, too. The third most popular CMS around according to the statistics.
<h2>Ecwid for Drupal 7</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/drupal_storefront700x0.png" alt="Eciwd Drupal 7" />
There's already an Ecwid module for Drupal 6, which Ecwid admit is “outdated”. Mostly because it wasn't compatible with Drupal 7.
The new Ecwid module for Drupal 7 inherits the functionality from the Drupal 6 module and brings a lot of the new features and improvements. Among the new features for Ecwid on Drupal 7 are:
<ul>
<li>Nice and intuitive design for module settings pages. Completely revamped plugin backend make setting up a store a piece of cake.</li>
<li>The Drupal module supports Google AJAX Crawling technology to help Google find product and category pages in your store.</li>
<li>More SEO improvements ensure better store indexation in search engines. These include:
<ul>
<li>Auto-generated meta tags (title, description, canonical) on the product and category pages</li>
<li>Microdata-formatted product descriptions to make products appear as rich snippets in search engine results pages.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/drupal_backend700x0.png" alt="Eciwd Drupal 7" />
To download Ecwid for Drupal 7, <a href="https://www.drupal.org/project/ecwid_shopping_cart" target="_blank">check out the download page</a>.
For further information on Eciwd for Drupal 7, read their <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/new-ecwid-module-gives-drupal-users-a-new-way-to-sell-online/" target="_blank">official blog announcement</a>. Plus, you can explore more of Ecwid via our CMS Directory.

New Ecwid Module Gives Drupal Users a New Way to Sell Online

<a href="https://www.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">Ecwid</a> has taken steps to improve their order status listings, making them more descriptive.
Powering over 500,000 online stores across 175 countries, Ecwid is a popular eCommerce platform with a growing user base.
The new order status system will help existing and new Ecwid merchants by making order management easier for them and their customers. Let's take a look at how Ecwid hope to achieve that.
<h2>Five Order Status Improvements</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/statuses_header_1700x0.png" alt="Ecwid" />
Ecwid have implemented five changes to their order status system, covering more bases and making situations easier to understand for both merchant and customer. Here they all are:
<h3>1. Two New Statuses</h3>
<ul>
<li>Refunded in the Payment statuses list</li>
<li>Returned in the Fulfillment statuses list</li>
</ul>
Ecwid have decided that ‘refunded’ and ‘returned’ each deserve their own status to allow merchants to better track their sales and react to any possible issues.
<h3>2. “Queued” &amp; “Accepted” Statuses Renamed to “Awaiting Payment” &amp; “Paid”</h3>
These two new names better describe whether the money has been received from customer or not. This update is sure to clarify each status for both the merchant and the customer.
<h3>3. “Declined” has merged with “Canceled”</h3>
Although an order becomes Declined or Canceled under different conditions (declined is set by the payment gateway while Canceled is set manually by store administrator), the store owner sees both as a canceled order. Now, the formerly independent Declined status appears as Canceled.
<h3>4. “Chargeable” Replaced with “Awaiting Payment”</h3>
Ecwid have claimed that the Chargeable status became redundant because it is either Queued or Awaiting Payment. To eliminate unnecessary complexity, Chargeable no longer exists as a separate status.
<h3>5. “New” Renamed to “Awaiting Processing”</h3>
Similar to Awaiting Payment in the payment status list, Awaiting Processing will say much more to merchants and customers about state of the order rather than New.
And that's it. Subtle changes for some, but they will come in very handy for merchants – especially for those with large amounts of orders.
To learn more about these Ecwid changes, check out the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/ecwid-introduces-improved-order-statuses/" target="_blank">official blog announcement</a>.

Ecwid Introduces Improved Order Statuses

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<a href="https://www.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">Ecwid</a> enables you to create a simple yet effective online store in a matter of minutes.
The platform was recently <a href="/ecommerce-integration-arrives-for-wordpress.com-business/#.UzVS5_l_vvV" target="_blank">chosen by WordPress.com alongside Shopify</a> as an e-commerce integration partner, and when you discover just how flexible Ecwid can be, it's easy to see why it made the cut. It currently boasts a user base of over 400,000 merchants spanning 175 countries.
Their free plan lets you sell up to ten products, whilst their priced plans give you greater freedom without breaking the bank. With unlimited storage and bandwidth, no transaction fees and over 35 payment options, Ecwid is a lucrative e-commerce solution.
<h2>Pure Flexibility</h2>
Ecwid is all about going with the flow. It takes almost no time at all to go from signing up on their website, to testing out your brand new online store.
You can create your account using email, Facebook, Google or even PayPal before being directed to your admin panel. Then, you can decide on using your own domain name, an Ecwid free domain, or more interestingly, you can also embed Ecwid into a current website.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/e0_1700x0.png" alt="Ecwid Facebook" /> 
But Ecwid's flexibility doesn't stop there. You can embed your store into a huge range of platforms, content management systems and even social media websites. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Squarespace are just some of the names which Ecwid can quickly and easily fit in to.
Furthermore, you can embed Ecwid stores into Facebook, Tumblr, Yola, Ning and other social networks. It's fair to say that there aren't many places on the web where Ecwid doesn't integrate.
<h2>As Easy as Ecwid</h2>
With all those integration options, you may be wondering about the complexity of Ecwid behind the scenes. Thankfully, there isn't much to wonder about.
The Ecwid admin panel is super easy to understand, and you won't be needing any technical knowledge to create, embed or manage your store.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/0_2700x0.png" alt="Ecwid Dashboard" /> 
Ecwid's embed code – which you will require for integrating with existing websites and platforms, is one of the first things you'll notice on your dashboard, and so it's easy to locate, copy and paste into wherever you please. Embedding Ecwid really is that simple.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/0_3700x0.png" alt="Ecwid Embed Code" /> 
Additionally, Ecwid can be mirrored on multiple sites at the same time. This means that you can embed your store into various websites and social networks, yet still manage them all from the same place.
<h2>A Simple Shopping Experience</h2>
Ecwid is ideal for those on the hunt for a straightforward store that's not too visually heavy. The default store layout is minimal, with a simple shopping cart and catalogue making up the core shopping experience.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/e1700x0.png" alt="Ecwid Store Front" /> 
Actually shopping using Ecwid is also easy for the average customer. For example, items can be dragged and dropped into the shopping cart from any page, whilst items already in the customer's cart are marked in the catalog, making browsing easier.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/e2700x0.png" alt="Ecwid Drag and Drop" /> 
Ecwid isn't lightweight in all areas though. Features like coupon codes, customer profiles, social sharing buttons and more are all supported and easy to configure. Setting tax, shipping,language and other imporant parameters is also easily done via the admin panel.
Visit the <a href="https://www.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">official Ecwid website</a> for more details and a completely free selling plan.

Ecwid: Create, Embed & Manage an Online Store in No Time at All

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