Prime Day is a super important event, with record sales every year!

What most people might not know is that even if you’re NOT an Amazon seller, you can benefit from Prime Day and its ‘halo effect’ on your website.

Here is a video to share 3 tips to make the most of Amazon’s Prime Day and boost your revenue this week, even if your shop is on Shopify or WooCommerce, or another platform.

Cheaper “Per Month” Plans, Costly Website Repairs

The WooCommerce “plugin” for WordPress is free, meaning the only costs come from paying for website hosting, your domain name, and security certificates. Furthermore, WooCommerce sites are much more flexible, allowing you to add features and connect outside services (e.g. – Etsy stores, Mailchimp), with no problem.

… That is, if you are familiar with coding!

The downside to WooCommerce’s cheap base plan and customizable features are that many storeowners will complain of the hours they themselves spent trying to fix “bad code” on their site, or the hundreds of dollars they had to pay a developer to come in and do the fixes for them. 

Many owners who are not tech-savvy have huge problems with speed load times, which we’ve talked about as being one of the most important features of your e-commerce site.  WooCommerce owners may be saddling their site with plugins that are unnecessary.  However, if you are not a coding-savvy storeowner, it can become incredibly frustrating to hire a web developer every time you want to update your product line.

A Website Audit Identifies the Solutions to Your WooCommerce Store

If you already have a WooCommerce store, and have experienced any of the issues above, Ad360 is the solution to your website promotion and repair!  We offer a free website audit, can identify any issues with site speed, and make sure your store is ready to succeed online 😊

Shopify just announced that they will be shutting down the Oberlo app on June 15th, 2022. This is the end of an era, as Oberlo has been one of the key pillars of the Dropshipping movement for the most part of the last decade.

For a long time, Oberlo was simply a must-have app for any newly created Dropshipping store. It popularized Dropshipping to vast cohorts of young business owners who enjoyed its simplicity. With a few clicks, you’d be able to add products from marketplaces like AliExpress to your Shopify store. Dropshipping is still very popular, as it allows you to start an e-commerce business with very little capital, without ordering and managing stock, and with limited working capital needs.

Oberlo, which was acquired by Shopify in 2017 for $15 million, is still used by 100 000 active stores, making it a super popular app.

However, Shopify has delisted the Oberlo app from its App Store on May 12th, 2022. It can no longer be installed, including from any other 3rd party source.

More critically, if you already have it installed, the App will be automatically uninstalled on June 15th, 2022. It will then be completely unaccessible.

This is a serious move by Shopify, which could be linked to recent issues with many Dropshipping stores’ shipping delays. The global supply chain disruptions have created many issues for websites that relied on shipping overseas products from China.
This may also be linked to the recent news by Shopify about the Delivery acquisition and its ambitions to creating a more integration shipping experience within the Shopify app.

Right now, there isn’t an official communication from Shopify or Oberlo really explaining the reasons behind this decision.
In this video, we discuss in more detail this piece of news and try to understand its repercussions on Dropshipping.

Customizable Shop and Free Plugins

WooCommerce is well-known for being an affordable option because the website does not come “pre-packaged.”  Instead, users can add a variety of plugins to their store, providing a virtually unlimited number of combinations.  When looking to increase ecommerce sales, WooCommerce offers a chance to lower your overhead – and simultaneously create a one-of-a-kind store design.

Furthermore the code that underlays your WooCommerce store is open source!  This means that, if in the future you decide to set up your e-commerce store somewhere else, you can take the code with you.  If you spent hours configuring your stores code (or paid someone to do it for you), that time and money does not go to waste if you move on from Woo! 

Content Management Handled Through WordPress

It’s also important to know that WooCommerce is integrated with WordPress – the world’s largest content management site.  When trying to increase e-commerce sales, consistent quality content is one of the key pillars of success.  Many storeowners appreciate the full integration WooCommerce into WordPress. It provides a central location for your entire Content Management System.  You can run email correspondence, social media links, and your e-commerce business all from WooCommerce. 

If you want help understanding WooCommerce plugins or how to better customize your store, download the Ad360 app today or try our free demo!  We’ll provide a free site audit and our expertise on how you can increase your e-commerce sales today 😊 We look forward to meeting you and making your store the next e-commerce success!

Business owners interested in taking their business online may be wondering, “Do I sign up with Shopify paid advertising or WooCommerce?”  Read below to figure out which e-commerce platform will best increase your sales online!

Shopify vs WooCommerce: Features & Functions

When it comes to functionality, the comparison between these two e-commerce giants is simple – Shopify is easier to use for beginners, while WooCommerce has better flexibility and a wider array of customization features.

If your online advertising strategy is in its early stages, and you do not feel comfortable with the technical aspects of e-commerce yet, it may be best to go with Shopify paid advertising.  WooCommerce may be better for business owners who want firm control over customization of their website.  WooCommerce also is known for its high-end SEO plugins

Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Pricing

Shopify paid advertising, while having the edge in simplicity and ease of use, is usually more expensive than WooCommerce.  Be prepared to spend up to $200/month just to keep your store up and operating on Shopify! 

Make sure your Shopify advertising strategy is in place before you take on this expense.  E-Commerce overhead can add up, and if you do not have a blueprint of how to advertise on Shopify, you could end up feeling overstressed on your store’s performance.

WooCommerce’s plugins are “a la carte,” meaning you can only pick the necessary plugin and run your store for half the price ($100).

Whether you use Shopify or Woocommerce for your e-commerce business, partner with Ad360 to get the best promotional software on the web.  Our app is free to download, and after getting our free trial, you’ll be convinced our automated ad bidding services bring you optimal exposure for an affordable price 😊

Book a Demo and a Free Consulting call with our team.