What is Ecwid? Everything you need to know.

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how a business extends the functionality of its website? How do some organizations add an online store to their websites without making a new one? How does someone with minimum to no coding skills develop an online store and style it? The answer to all these questions is an eCommerce plugin. Ecwid, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc., are a few such plugins.

Ecwid is a means for making your online store. It's a SaaS product which means you do not own the software but pay a monthly fee to use it.

Summary

Moving from one website hosting platform to another was difficult because the solutions people created were closed systems, unlike Ecwid. Ecwid is a platform that aims to build an online store system on your existing website fast and inexpensively. It means that using Ecwid ensures you do not need to develop a whole new website; you are free to implement Ecwid on any platform, CMS, or social network. Ecwid is an eCommerce plugin that allows you to extend your websites' functionalities. It does not require you to start from scratch. In 2016, Ecwid reported that it had over 1 million users, present around the globe in over 175 countries. 1. Ecwid makes launching and configuring an online store easier, faster, and more cost-effective. You just require only a few JavaScript or HTML lines on an existing website in order to install Ecwid and get started with it. 2. Ecwid makes the creation and installation of an online store appear effortless, and it also lets users optimize their online stores in accordance with all operating systems and devices. 3. Ecwid possesses a POS functionality that lets users buy products through the means of online payments. 4. Ecwid users can connect it with many platforms like Wix, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and social media platforms. 5. Ecwid allows you to set up various shipping rates and carriers based on your preferences and customer needs. 6. The business plan of Ecwid covers 1GB per digital file and 2500 products. 7. Ecwid does not ask for a single penny on your sales (no transaction fee) though Ecwid has limited payment options. 8. Ecwid provides email marketing for the Business plan and the Unlimited plan users to market their products and skyrocket their sales. 9. Ecwid is backed up by an App Market wherein you can find extra tools to add to your store to extend the functionality of your website.

What is Ecwid?

Ecwid is an eCommerce plugin that enables users to add eCommerce functions to their websites. It also helps individuals and businesses build their online eCommerce stores. The appealing thing about Ecwid is that it does not ask its users to create a new website; users have the comfort of extending their websites without starting from scratch. Therefore, we formally describe Ecwid as a platform that builds and manages an online shop in the cloud.

Over one million sellers across 175 countries use Ecwid because it is the most comfortable way one can ever get to connect websites, the marketplace, social media platforms, and online shops.

Ecwid is easy to use as it comes with intuitive building functionality to assist users in making online catalogs and using features like flexible payment options, photos, etc. Ecwid also has a unified control panel, a feature that syncs all your Ecwid storefronts, thus making store management easy for you.

Features of Ecwid

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Here we list some features of Ecwid below.

1. Automatic Updates
2. Inventory Tracking
3. Shopping Experience
4. Sell Digital Goods
5. Save Favorite Products
6. Smart Shipping Calculator
7. Easy Checkout
8. Customer Address Book
9. Boost Sales
10. Accept Payments
11. Language Detection
12. Sell on Multiple Sites
13. Manage Product Options
14. Define Shipping Options
15. Customizable Design Schemes

Ecwid Benefits

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Make an Online Store Swiftly

As said before, using Ecwid does not mean that you need to make an e-commerce website from the very start. On the contrary, it means the online store you create with this platform only needs to be embedded in your existing websites, mobile apps, blogs, etc. It makes launching and configuring an online store easier, faster, and more cost-effective.

Easy Installation

You just require only a few JavaScript or HTML lines on an existing website in order to install Ecwid and get started with it; it shows your Ecwid stores piggybacks on your existing site.

Therefore, it saves you from putting time and effort into building a new e-commerce site or separate online store.

Ecwid Responsive Storefronts

Ecwid makes the creation and installation of an online store appear effortless, and it also lets users optimize their online stores in accordance with all operating systems and devices.

You can show your catalogs and products with a responsive storefront on all types of devices, be it desktops, tablets, or smartphones.

POS Functionality

Ecwid possesses a POS functionality that lets users buy products through the means of online payments. Users can make payments via a tablet or an Apple smartphone. The POS functionality enables users to accept payments in physical locations. It also gives users the liberty to go for online payment, thus offering unmatched flexibility.

Ecwid Pros/ Advantages of Ecwid

1. The Ecwid free plan provides users with decent features.
2. A starter Site package for those merchants who do not have websites is also on the market.
3. Ecwid houses dropshipping businesses.
4. Ecwid has plugins for integrating with several prominent web hosting platforms.
5.  Responsive.
6. Users can launch a multilingual online store on the platform.
7. Ecwid is a GDPR compliant plugin
8. Ecwid offers several eCommerce features, which are available at reasonable prices.
9.  The POS functionality of Ecwid benefits users a lot, and it lets people have a supplementary offline store.
10. The Ecwid App Store has a wide range of eCommerce apps.

Ecwid Cons/ Disadvantages of Ecwid

1. The Ecwid Free Plan does not have "Search Engine Optimization editing capabilities."
2. Users can not edit product URLs for the purpose of SEO.
3. It has no support for product page AMP versions.
4. One can not build a complete eCommerce website on Ecwid.
5. Only premium subscribers enjoy the phone-support facility offered by Ecwid.

Advantages of selling on Ecwid

Opening your online shop on Ecwid gives you a plethora of advantages.

We list a few features that Ecwid users enjoy below:

1. Its users can connect it with many platforms like Wix, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and social media platforms.
2. Users can make an online shop on Ecwid quickly and for free.
3. It gives users numerous payment gateways options.

Disadvantages of selling on Ecwid/ Why should you not sell on Ecwid?

1. One can not completely translate the platform into other languages.
2. Users can not completely customize Ecwid.

Store management

Ecwid supplies several decent eCommerce management features. You can add a broad range of products accompanied by their variant attributes such as weight, price, size, etc.

You can easily monitor Ecwid since it is an Omnichannel. Users can also control their store on the go with the Ecwid app. Although their functionalities cannot measure up to all the functionalities on the web backend, you can depend on the apps for several things; editing product categories, adding product images, receiving orders, changing storefronts, etc.

Automatic language translation

Ecwid also helps you globalize your brand as it can automatically detect and translate more than 51 languages. Also, you can add other favorite languages of your customers.

Along with additional languages, your customers can receive automatic Emails (Invoices, Orders, abandoned cart recovery reminders, etc.) in their browser language. Though, the number of languages is limited.

Shipping options

Ecwid allows you to set up various shipping rates and carriers based on your preferences and customer needs. In this regard, with real-time shipping integrations, you always keep track of the order fulfillment process.

Speaking of which, we cannot forget to mention the dropshipping function. Ecwid offers dropshipping to platforms that do not provide it, for example, Wix or Squarespace.

Can Ecwid Help With Sales and Marketing?

The following things are available in regards to sales and Marketing:

1. A deserted cart saver tool to enable customers to come back to complete left transactions
2. Discount coupons that buyers punch right into the shopping cart
3. Social media tools so shoppers on your site can like your page or share it with friends and family.

Business model

Ease of use

It is child's play to use Ecwid; all a user needs to do is integrate it with their website. Users are not supposed to worry about coding, hosting, updating, or installing anything. To add Ecwid to your website, you need not do much; just add a widget to the backend of your site, and you are good to go.

A few sites that have special Ecwid plugins are:

1. Wix
2. Weebly
3. Squarespace
4. Strikingly
5. SITE123
6. GoDaddy
7. WordPress

If you are one of those who have a custom website, you would need to use code to add Ecwid to your website.

Suggested Reading: 

Revenue Model of Ecwid | Complete Guide

Pricing

Free Plan 

 The free plan of Ecwid does not need you to pay for it. All the things you can access while being a free plan user are:

1.  Google Shopping
2. Facebook advertising
3.  Facebook pixel
4. The facility to sell simultaneously on multiple sites
5.  adding a store to any website, starter site
6.  unlimited bandwidth. 

The only unpleasant thing about the free plan of Ecwid is that it only covers ten products.

Venture Plan 

You would need to pay $15 per month (monthly) or $12.50 per month paid annually to use the Venture Plan of Ecwid. The Venture plan offers the following things:

1.  chat support
2.  Google Shopping
3. Facebook advertising
4.  Facebook pixel
5. advanced SEO tools
6.  inventory management
7. access to App Market extensions
8.  selling simultaneously on multiple sites
9.  automated tax calculations
10. discount coupons
11.  adding a store to any website
12.  starter site
13.  and unlimited bandwidth. 

You need to know that this Ecwid plan covers 100MB per digital file and a hundred products.

Business Plan 

If you are interested in using the Business Plan of Ecwid, it would cost you $35 per month (paid monthly) or $29.17 per month (paid annually). 

The business plan offers the following things:

1.  phone and chats support
2.  automated abandoned cart recovery
3. Two staff accounts
4.  eBay integration
5. product variations
6.  product filters
7.  Google Shopping
8.  Facebook advertising
9.  Facebook pixel
10. advanced SEO tools
11.  inventory management
12. access to App Market extensions
13. selling simultaneously on multiple sites
14.  automated tax calculations
15.  discount coupons
16. abandoned cart saver
17.  adding a store to any website
18.  starter site 
19. and unlimited bandwidth.

The business plan of Ecwid covers 1GB per digital file and 2500 products.

Unlimited Plan 

The Ecwid Unlimited Plan costs $99 per month (monthly) or $82.50 per month (paid annually)

 It gives users the following things:

1. priority support
2. phone and chat support
3.  Square POS integration
4.  automated abandoned cart recovery
5.  Two staff accounts
6.  eBay integration
7.  product variations
8. product filters
9.  Google Shopping
10.  Facebook advertising
11.  Facebook pixel
12.  advanced SEO tools
13.  inventory management
14.  access to App Market extensions
15.  selling simultaneously on multiple sites
16.  automated tax calculations
17. discount coupons
18. abandoned cart saver
19.  adding a store to any website
20.  starter site
21.  and unlimited bandwidth.

It covers 10GB per digital file and unlimited products.

Ecwid Design Flexibility

Themes

Ecwid store design is something that you can integrate with your existing website. It helps maintain the color consistency of your website and online store. The current theme of your website decides the design of your store though you can tweak it later.

Customizing Your Ecwid Store

With Ecwid, you can alter the size of product images, tweak the layout of your products and their descriptions, and edit navigation and color palette. Though you can do all these things, as mentioned earlier, it has limited customization.

If you ask for real personalization, you must use CSS to edit your themes and styles; only those who know how to code can do it.

The changes that you make to your Ecwid dashboard get synced across all your platforms, relieving you of much work.

Ecommerce tools and features

Ecwid equips you with a plethora of store management tools to aid you in sustaining your business. The tools offered by them are uncomplicated but can assist in running small businesses smoothly. 

Following are a few of such tools:

1. Inventory tracking
2. Product options and variants
3. Promotion and discount creation
4. Sell physical and digital products
5. Shipping options, including flat-rate shipping, free delivery, and curbside pickup
6. Abandoned cart saver
7. Multichannel integration – Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, and eBay
8. Unlimited bandwidth
9. POS integrations include Square, Clover, Vend, and Alice

Payment Options and Fees

Ecwid does not ask for a single penny on your sales (no transaction fee) though it has limited payment options. Gateways are a means of accepting payment online. Ecwid supports over 50 payment gateways, and a few of them are as follows:

1. Square
2. PayPal
3. Stripe
4. American Express
5. 2Checkout
6. Klarna

Fees

Payment providers and their terms and conditions vary from one another; this makes it necessary for you to check with them. Your Payment providers might ask for money, but Ecwid does not charge a fee on transactions. The charges that payment gateways charge are known as processing fees. One thing that you should know is that processing fees depend on your plan. The higher your user plan, the lower the processing fee is.

Marketing and SEO

Ecwid provides email marketing for the Business plan and the Unlimited plan users to market their products and skyrocket their sales. It also helps optimize your products to rank well in search results by providing search engine optimization capabilities.

Performance and Security

Ecwid is a Level 1 PCI DSS compliant plugin. If you use its instant Site store builder, you can avail of SSL for security. SSL encrypts the data that gets traded between your consumers and your website. It means Ecwid securely processes credit card payments.

Apps and Integrations

Ecwid is backed up by an App Market wherein you can find extra tools to add to your store to extend the functionality of your website. 

A few of the recommended Ecwid apps are as follows:

1.  LiveChat
2. Product Labels
3. Advanced Discount Rules

Help and Support

Ecwid offers help & support to its users who are stuck somewhere in the following ways:

1. Live chat (premium plans only)
2. Phone support (premium plans only)
3. Email support
4. Help Center
5. Video Guides
6. Community forum
7. Priority support (highest Ecwid user plan only)

If you use the free plan, you can only take help from email or the Ecwid Help Center. Additionally, if you want more help than the free plan offers, you need to upgrade your plan. If you are the highest plan user, you get to avail of priority support for faster solutions.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a cost-effective and powerful way to add eCommerce functionality to your existing site, you can use Ecwid.

Ecwid lets you put an online store on a Facebook page or other social media presence. If you want to add an eCommerce store to your website to skyrocket your business, you should definitely go for it. If you want some professional help, contact AppsRhino today to get the best results!

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