(8442,1,'2026-02-15 11:19:32','2026-02-15 11:19:32','Shopify has grown into one of the largest eCommerce platforms in the world and every company is looking to use it. Due to this, the competition in the eCommerce industry is at an all-time high, and you need to work on standing out from the rest.\r\n\r\nOne of the best ways to get the edge on your competitors is to use Shopify to its complete potential. This includes making use of the interface, store design and more.\r\n\r\nWhile you’re working on these aspects of your eCommerce website, it’s crucial to keep its primary purpose in mind, getting customers to buy your products. The experts at Actuate Agency help companies use best practices to build a successful Shopify store.\r\n\r\nTo help you out, we’ve made a list of the best practices for Shopify to help you <a href=\"http://inbusinessworld.com/7-ways-to-grow-your-online-business-and-increase-revenue/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gain more sales and traffic</a>. These tips are easy to follow and could be the answer to how to make your Shopify shop look good.\r\n<h2>Let’s get started!</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Take Advantage of Visual Hierarchy</h3>\r\nYour website is a visual medium that communicates with your customers. Whenever you’re looking to develop a website, it’s crucial to organise your content in a way that catches the attention of your customers.\r\n\r\nIn other words, you need to create a strong visual hierarchy on your eCommerce website. This helps website viewers know where they should look and how they should navigate your website.\r\n\r\nWe recommend using large images and texts to showcase products or deliver certain information to your website. Users are more likely to be drawn to bigger graphics, making it highly likely that they will click on them.\r\n\r\nThe experts at Actuate Agency understand the importance of visual hierarchy in a Shopify store design. Therefore, if you’re looking for a <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/shopify-ecommerce/\">reliable Shopify UX designer</a>, you should <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">contact us today</a>!\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Make Navigation Easier</h3>\r\nYour Shopify store should be easy to navigate and visitors should be able to find the items they desire. Studies have shown that visual appeal and navigation are two crucial factors in leaving a good first impression on visitors.\r\n\r\nYou must avoid overwhelming a visitor with options and keep things simple in terms of navigation. You must carefully consider how you want to organise items on your website and create categories.\r\n\r\nWork on reducing the number of clicks it takes for a visitor to reach their desired product. To do this, we recommend grouping similar products and services into a single page. Don’t forget to prioritise the pages that are crucial for you and your customers, and ensure that they’re featured on the homepage.\r\n\r\nYou don’t have to try something unique when it comes to navigation. Choosing an effective way to navigate is simply choosing what will work best for your specific website. Therefore, we recommend <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\">hiring someone experienced</a> when it comes to <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\">developing an effective eCommerce website</a>.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Make a Smooth Checkout Process</h3>\r\nSurveys suggest that around a whopping 70% of online shoppers <a href=\"https://www.optimizely.com/optimization-glossary/shopping-cart-abandonment/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">don’t complete the checkout process</a>. While there are several factors that prevent users from completing a transaction, you must work on creating a smooth checkout process on your website.\r\n\r\nHere are some suggestions to create a seamless checkout experience on your eCommerce website\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Create a clean UI to ensure that customers feel secure entering their sensitive information</li>\r\n 	<li>Keep a clean layout to help users focus on checkout</li>\r\n 	<li>Allow your customers to check out on the website without having to register</li>\r\n 	<li>Guide customers on what step they’re on (if your website uses a multi-step checkout process)</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nTaking these steps ensures that shoppers are satisfied with the checkout process. It could make a <a href=\"https://cxl.com/ways-to-increase-your-conversion-rate/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">massive difference to the conversion rate</a>, helping your business grow.\r\n\r\nIf you’re looking to create a smooth checkout experience on your Shopify store, we highly recommend taking the <a href=\"http://actuate.agency/contact\">help of the experts at Actuate Agency</a>. They can provide the best ways to improve the customer checkout experience.','Maximising Customer Experience: 3 Best Practices for Shopify','','inherit','closed','closed','','5739-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:19:32','2026-02-15 11:19:32','',5739,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8442',0,'revision','',0),(8443,1,'2026-02-15 11:21:15','2026-02-15 11:21:15','If you’ve been looking to start an eCommerce store or already run one, you may notice Magneto 2 is a popular option. It’s used by around 200,000 websites and helps to provide a unique eCommerce experience.\n\nHowever, many eCommerce websites use the older version, also known as Magneto to run their online store. If that’s the case with your website, we highly recommend upgrading it to Magneto 2.\n\nThe application provides many useful features that contribute towards providing a high-quality shopping experience to customers. To emphasise further on this point, we’ve created a list of benefits that your business can gain by using Magento 2 on their eCommerce store.\n\nLet’s get started!\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">1. Improve Website Performance</h3>\nOne of the biggest benefits of Magento 2 is that it provides improved performance compared to its predecessor. The application has an advanced indexer that provides answers to a visitor’s queries quickly.\n\nMagneto 2 also updates the store data frequently, including catalogues and prices to improve the overall performance of your store. It ensures that your web pages load quickly, improving the user experience.\n\nIt’s crucial because if your website takes more than a couple of seconds to load, it can double your bounce rate. Therefore, if you choose Magento 2 for your eCommerce store, we can <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/web-design/4-reasons-startups-need-ux-design/\">provide you with a good UX design</a>, giving customers with a better shopping experience.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">2. Mobile-Friendly</h3>\nCustomers have begun to use their smartphones for online shopping. In fact, more than half of mobile users have made online purchases on their devices. Your business needs to ensure that its eCommerce store is easily accessible to phone users.\n\nFortunately, Magento provides a mobile-friendly experience, ensuring your eCommerce store is accessible to eCommerce users. It also provides a mobile-friendly checkout experience, which is crucial if you want to increase your conversion rate.\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">The Magento 2 platform</a> provides responsive design themes for all devices. You can design and provide an eCommerce site that can be used on different devices.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">3. Advanced SEO Features</h3>\nThe best way to gain more visitors to your eCommerce site is through an organised search. Many people use search engines like Google to find their desired products. Due to this, it’s crucial to have a <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/maintain-optimise/\">properly optimised website</a>, if you’re looking to gain more sales.\n\nTo help you out, <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">Magento 2</a> offers many advanced SEO features you’ll need to get on top of these search pages. The platform has been made keeping SEO in mind and allows users to implement many unique SEO tactics.\n\nSome SEO features on Magento 2 include meta implementation, SEO titles, data snippets for product pages and more. The platform can provide <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">great UX design on your website</a> while keeping it SEO-friendly.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">4. Customisable Security Features</h3>\nYou need to focus on your security if you want visitors to trust your eCommerce website. Customers have to submit sensitive information like credit card details to purchase products from your website, which they won’t do if they don’t feel secure.\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">The Magento 2 platform</a> provides you with options and lets you add multiple levels of security permissions. It gives your website the defence it needs against <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/guides/privacy-project/how-to-protect-your-digital-privacy\">potential data breaches and bot attacks</a>.\n\nThe developers also actively release security updates to cover for any vulnerabilities on the website. Overall, tools like 2FA, SSL and other security features ensure that you can keep your online store safe.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">5. UX Design Freedom</h3>\nAll businesses have unique styles and branding, depending on the product or service they sell. Therefore, if you want to stand out from your competitors, you’ll need the freedom to customise your website.\n\nOne of the biggest advantages of the <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">Magento 2 platform</a> is that it provides various themes, extensions, and custom web development features. The platform also allows you to implement a One Step checkout process.\n\nIt helps allows users to check out quickly and reduces your website’s cart abandonment rate. These features ensure<a href=\"https://www.prnewsblog.com/news/tech/14415/5-tips-to-creating-an-exceptional-user-experience-for-your-website/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> the user experience is top-notch</a>, bringing your brand in a positive light.\n\nWith user-friendly features like quick view, friendly designs and the options to view the website in multiple languages, <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">Magneto 2</a> could be the best platform for your website.','5 Amazing Benefits of Using Magento 2 for Your eCommerce Store','','inherit','closed','closed','','5737-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:21:15','2026-02-15 11:21:15','',5737,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8443',0,'revision','',0),(8444,1,'2026-02-15 11:21:31','2026-02-15 11:21:31','If you’ve been looking to start an eCommerce store or already run one, you may notice Magneto 2 is a popular option. It’s used by around 200,000 websites and helps to provide a unique eCommerce experience.\r\n\r\nHowever, many eCommerce websites use the older version, also known as Magneto to run their online store. If that’s the case with your website, we highly recommend upgrading it to Magneto 2.\r\n\r\nThe application provides many useful features that contribute towards providing a high-quality shopping experience to customers. To emphasise further on this point, we’ve created a list of benefits that your business can gain by using Magento 2 on their eCommerce store.\r\n<h2>Let’s get started!</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Improve Website Performance</h3>\r\nOne of the biggest benefits of Magento 2 is that it provides improved performance compared to its predecessor. The application has an advanced indexer that provides answers to a visitor’s queries quickly.\r\n\r\nMagneto 2 also updates the store data frequently, including catalogues and prices to improve the overall performance of your store. It ensures that your web pages load quickly, improving the user experience.\r\n\r\nIt’s crucial because if your website takes more than a couple of seconds to load, it can double your bounce rate. Therefore, if you choose Magento 2 for your eCommerce store, we can <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/web-design/4-reasons-startups-need-ux-design/\">provide you with a good UX design</a>, giving customers with a better shopping experience.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Mobile-Friendly</h3>\r\nCustomers have begun to use their smartphones for online shopping. In fact, more than half of mobile users have made online purchases on their devices. Your business needs to ensure that its eCommerce store is easily accessible to phone users.\r\n\r\nFortunately, Magento provides a mobile-friendly experience, ensuring your eCommerce store is accessible to eCommerce users. It also provides a mobile-friendly checkout experience, which is crucial if you want to increase your conversion rate.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">The Magento 2 platform</a> provides responsive design themes for all devices. You can design and provide an eCommerce site that can be used on different devices.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Advanced SEO Features</h3>\r\nThe best way to gain more visitors to your eCommerce site is through an organised search. Many people use search engines like Google to find their desired products. Due to this, it’s crucial to have a <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/maintain-optimise/\">properly optimised website</a>, if you’re looking to gain more sales.\r\n\r\nTo help you out, <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">Magento 2</a> offers many advanced SEO features you’ll need to get on top of these search pages. The platform has been made keeping SEO in mind and allows users to implement many unique SEO tactics.\r\n\r\nSome SEO features on Magento 2 include meta implementation, SEO titles, data snippets for product pages and more. The platform can provide <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">great UX design on your website</a> while keeping it SEO-friendly.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Customisable Security Features</h3>\r\nYou need to focus on your security if you want visitors to trust your eCommerce website. Customers have to submit sensitive information like credit card details to purchase products from your website, which they won’t do if they don’t feel secure.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">The Magento 2 platform</a> provides you with options and lets you add multiple levels of security permissions. It gives your website the defence it needs against <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/guides/privacy-project/how-to-protect-your-digital-privacy\">potential data breaches and bot attacks</a>.\r\n\r\nThe developers also actively release security updates to cover for any vulnerabilities on the website. Overall, tools like 2FA, SSL and other security features ensure that you can keep your online store safe.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">UX Design Freedom</h3>\r\nAll businesses have unique styles and branding, depending on the product or service they sell. Therefore, if you want to stand out from your competitors, you’ll need the freedom to customise your website.\r\n\r\nOne of the biggest advantages of the <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">Magento 2 platform</a> is that it provides various themes, extensions, and custom web development features. The platform also allows you to implement a One Step checkout process.\r\n\r\nIt helps allows users to check out quickly and reduces your website’s cart abandonment rate. These features ensure<a href=\"https://www.prnewsblog.com/news/tech/14415/5-tips-to-creating-an-exceptional-user-experience-for-your-website/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> the user experience is top-notch</a>, bringing your brand in a positive light.\r\n\r\nWith user-friendly features like quick view, friendly designs and the options to view the website in multiple languages, <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">Magneto 2</a> could be the best platform for your website.','5 Amazing Benefits of Using Magento 2 for Your eCommerce Store','','inherit','closed','closed','','5737-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:21:31','2026-02-15 11:21:31','',5737,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8444',0,'revision','',0),(8445,1,'2026-02-15 11:23:24','2026-02-15 11:23:24','<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eCommerce has evolved rapidly over the years and lots of businesses and companies have entered the online market. While this side of the business can be beneficial, competition is at an all-time high. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you’re a small business entering the eCommerce market, you need to stand out from the crowd. While investing money into developing your eCommerce website plays a crucial role, it doesn’t guarantee success. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You need to plan strategically to attract more customers and ensure that they purchase your products. For instance, having a thought-out marketing strategy can help you reach a wider audience, regardless of your business’ size.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many aspects you can focus on, depending on the type of products and services that you offer. However, there are some basics that you’ll need to cover to facilitate growth for your eCommerce business.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To help you out, we’ve created a list of eCommerce strategy tips for small businesses to help you gain more sales. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let’s get started! </span>\n<h2><b>1. Highlight New Products</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A common eCommerce strategy for beginners is to highlight certain products on your website. We highly recommend putting your new products and services in the spotlight, because they will have a higher appeal. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can promote these products and services on different social platforms and link to your eCommerce website. If you put the new item on your main page, this helps consumers purchase it quickly. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Highlighting and promoting new products plays a crucial role if you’re a small business looking to build an online presence. It can cause customers to stay on their toes if they want to buy your products, especially if you have limited stock. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several aspects go into making this </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-strategy/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eCommerce strategy</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> successful for small businesses. We recommend taking the help of experts, like the </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ones at Actuate Agency</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to help grow your eCommerce business. </span>\n<h2><b>2. Offer More Payment Options</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you’re running an eCommerce website, it’s essential to provide a lot of payment options for your customers. This allows for a seamless purchase experience and appeal to a wide range of consumers. It also helps to reduce cart abandonment rates, increasing your sales. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure to add payment options that have proper security and comply with regulations. This shows customers that you care about providing them with a premium and safe shopping experience. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, make sure to </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/web-design/4-reasons-startups-need-ux-design/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">provide good UX design</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as it gives a more premium feel to your website. It can get your customers to trust you, increasing the chances that they’ll purchase from you. </span>\n<h2><b>3. Provide Discounts</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discounts provide an incentive for your web traffic to purchase your products and services. This is an effective eCommerce strategy for small businesses that are looking to get new customers. </span>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.invespcro.com/blog/ecommerce-discount-pricing-strategies/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Products with discount prices</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are eye-catching on a website and customers feel good about buying at a lower price. If you want to get more sales by providing a discount, we recommend advertising them on your website. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The location of the discounts, any promotions and the timing can have a big impact on your conversion rate. You can take advantage of your website design to provide these discounts to your customers. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In such cases, we recommend using our </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aero and Shopify eCommerce development services</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These development applications provide more versatility, helping you implement </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-strategy/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more eCommerce strategies</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on your website. </span>\n<h2><b>4. Optimise Your Website Content</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimising your content is an effective way to grow your eCommerce website, especially if you’re a small business. It can help you gain more visitors that can easily turn into potential customers. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It doesn’t matter how many features you can provide on your products, they won’t come out on the top of Google search results if your content isn’t optimised. If you optimise the content and come up with </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an effective eCommerce plan</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can generate more sales. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to this, you must take a look at the product pages on your website and optimise them to attract your target audience. You can optimise your eCommerce website by providing a </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">better user experience, design</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and content. </span>','4 Useful eCommerce Strategy Tips for Small Businesses to Get Started','','inherit','closed','closed','','5735-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:23:24','2026-02-15 11:23:24','',5735,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8445',0,'revision','',0),(8446,1,'2026-02-15 11:23:41','2026-02-15 11:23:41','eCommerce has evolved rapidly over the years and lots of businesses and companies have entered the online market. While this side of the business can be beneficial, competition is at an all-time high.\r\n\r\nIf you’re a small business entering the eCommerce market, you need to stand out from the crowd. While investing money into developing your eCommerce website plays a crucial role, it doesn’t guarantee success.\r\n\r\nYou need to plan strategically to attract more customers and ensure that they purchase your products. For instance, having a thought-out marketing strategy can help you reach a wider audience, regardless of your business’ size.\r\n\r\nThere are many aspects you can focus on, depending on the type of products and services that you offer. However, there are some basics that you’ll need to cover to facilitate growth for your eCommerce business.\r\n\r\nTo help you out, we’ve created a list of eCommerce strategy tips for small businesses to help you gain more sales.\r\n<h2>Let’s get started!</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Highlight New Products</h3>\r\nA common eCommerce strategy for beginners is to highlight certain products on your website. We highly recommend putting your new products and services in the spotlight, because they will have a higher appeal.\r\n\r\nYou can promote these products and services on different social platforms and link to your eCommerce website. If you put the new item on your main page, this helps consumers purchase it quickly.\r\n\r\nHighlighting and promoting new products plays a crucial role if you’re a small business looking to build an online presence. It can cause customers to stay on their toes if they want to buy your products, especially if you have limited stock.\r\n\r\nSeveral aspects go into making this <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-strategy/\">eCommerce strategy</a> successful for small businesses. We recommend taking the help of experts, like the <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact\">ones at Actuate Agency</a>, to help grow your eCommerce business.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Offer More Payment Options</h3>\r\nIf you’re running an eCommerce website, it’s essential to provide a lot of payment options for your customers. This allows for a seamless purchase experience and appeal to a wide range of consumers. It also helps to reduce cart abandonment rates, increasing your sales.\r\n\r\nMake sure to add payment options that have proper security and comply with regulations. This shows customers that you care about providing them with a premium and safe shopping experience.\r\n\r\nAdditionally, make sure to <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/web-design/4-reasons-startups-need-ux-design/\">provide good UX design</a> as it gives a more premium feel to your website. It can get your customers to trust you, increasing the chances that they’ll purchase from you.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Provide Discounts</h3>\r\nDiscounts provide an incentive for your web traffic to purchase your products and services. This is an effective eCommerce strategy for small businesses that are looking to get new customers.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.invespcro.com/blog/ecommerce-discount-pricing-strategies/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Products with discount prices</a> are eye-catching on a website and customers feel good about buying at a lower price. If you want to get more sales by providing a discount, we recommend advertising them on your website.\r\n\r\nThe location of the discounts, any promotions and the timing can have a big impact on your conversion rate. You can take advantage of your website design to provide these discounts to your customers.\r\n\r\nIn such cases, we recommend using our <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/\">Aero and Shopify eCommerce development services</a>. These development applications provide more versatility, helping you implement <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-strategy/\">more eCommerce strategies</a> on your website.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Optimise Your Website Content</h3>\r\nOptimising your content is an effective way to grow your eCommerce website, especially if you’re a small business. It can help you gain more visitors that can easily turn into potential customers.\r\n\r\nIt doesn’t matter how many features you can provide on your products, they won’t come out on the top of Google search results if your content isn’t optimised. If you optimise the content and come up with <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\">an effective eCommerce plan</a>, you can generate more sales.\r\n\r\nDue to this, you must take a look at the product pages on your website and optimise them to attract your target audience. You can optimise your eCommerce website by providing a <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">better user experience, design</a> and content.','4 Useful eCommerce Strategy Tips for Small Businesses to Get Started','','inherit','closed','closed','','5735-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:23:41','2026-02-15 11:23:41','',5735,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8446',0,'revision','',0),(8447,1,'2026-02-15 11:25:29','2026-02-15 11:25:29','<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main objective of an eCommerce website is to gain more traffic and sell more products. There are several factors that go into achieving a successful eCommerce business but UX design plays a big part towards it.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The core of great UX design is to provide a smooth, logical and satisfying shopping experience. On top of that, a good visual design will help your brand image, taking your business to new heights.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An eCommerce UX design plays a major role in the first impressions of your website. These impressions can be positive or negative and can impact your sales. Statistics show that around 75% of visitors abandon their cart if they’re unhappy with their eCommerce shopping experience. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, it’s a good idea to leave the UX design process in the hands of the professionals at Actuate Agency. We can help provide an excellent user-friendly experience and improve your brand image. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To help you understand the need for good UX design, we’ve made a list of the benefits that it can provide for your eCommerce website. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let’s get started! </span>\n<h2><b>1. Increases Conversion Rate</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On an eCommerce website, customers have to entrust their personal data and money to your business. However, they won’t enter that information if your </span><a href=\"https://www.lcn.com/blog/7-tips-to-make-your-website-look-more-professional/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">website doesn’t look professional and trustworthy</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If users don’t feel comfortable on your website, they won’t spend a lot of time navigating your page. On top of that, they won’t purchase the products on your website because you’ll have lost credibility in their head.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might have the best products for your audience but if you don’t present them well on your website, you’re bound to fail. A great user experience can help you gain that important credibility, increasing your conversion rate. </span>\n<h2><b>2. Reduces Overload of Information</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you provide too much information to your website visitor, they become distracted and lose focus on the product. It’s one of the most </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/4-common-ecommerce-mistakes/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">common mistakes made by eCommerce companies</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Instead, eCommerce websites must provide the necessary information to improve their SEO ranking. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it’s important to display the product’s description, it won’t matter if you fail to present it properly. Due to this, you need the experts at Actuate Agency to create a good experience for your users. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can help your website provide specific information in the right place. </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX eCommerce designs</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> help consumers purchase products quicker and increase sales.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is because consumers don’t have to spend a lot of time and effort to get the information they want about the product. </span>\n<h2><b>3. Boosts Engagement </b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the main objectives of using UX design on eCommerce websites is to make users more involved in the shopping experience. </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good UX designs</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can help customers feel like they can interact well with your website. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It should consist of a straightforward design that catches the user’s eye and impacts their shopping experience positively. You should also ensure that the experience is unique and separates you from your competitors. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consistent design and tone can help you achieve more user engagement and it also provides a good brand image. If you don’t focus on these two elements, you may create confusion among users and they’ll </span><a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/why-people-leave-your-website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lose interest in your website</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, you must make sure that the elements are interactive and create a need for exploring other pages on your website. The </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">experts at Actuate Agency</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can help you provide good UX design for your eCommerce visitors. </span>\n<h2><b>4. Increases Customer Loyalty</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customers will begin to become loyal to your eCommerce website if you consistently provide a good experience. This means that your website can receive an increased retention rate. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By taking customer feedback and catering to their needs with an </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">effective eCommerce plan</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you will create a good impression. This also helps consumers become familiar with the product and develop a good relationship with the company.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to this, you’ll need good UX designs for your website to create the most efficient and enjoyable experience. We can help take customer feedback and provide necessary </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX design changes to your eCommerce website</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This ensures that your customers are consistently </span><a href=\"https://www.swiftlocalsolutions.com/blog/6-ways-you-can-improve-your-customers-shopping-experience-and-increase-sales-without-spending-a-bunch-of-money\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">satisfied with the shopping experience</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, keeping them loyal to your company. </span>','4 Reasons Good UX Design is Crucial to an eCommerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5732-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:25:29','2026-02-15 11:25:29','',5732,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8447',0,'revision','',0),(8448,1,'2026-02-15 11:26:15','2026-02-15 11:26:15','The main objective of an eCommerce website is to gain more traffic and sell more products. There are several factors that go into achieving a successful eCommerce business but UX design plays a big part towards it.\r\n\r\nThe core of great UX design is to provide a smooth, logical and satisfying shopping experience. On top of that, a good visual design will help your brand image, taking your business to new heights.\r\n\r\nAn eCommerce UX design plays a major role in the first impressions of your website. These impressions can be positive or negative and can impact your sales. Statistics show that around 75% of visitors abandon their cart if they’re unhappy with their eCommerce shopping experience.\r\n\r\nTherefore, it’s a good idea to leave the UX design process in the hands of the professionals at Actuate Agency. We can help provide an excellent user-friendly experience and improve your brand image.\r\n\r\nTo help you understand the need for good UX design, we’ve made a list of the benefits that it can provide for your eCommerce website.\r\n<h2>Let’s get started!</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increases Conversion Rate</h3>\r\nOn an eCommerce website, customers have to entrust their personal data and money to your business. However, they won’t enter that information if your <a href=\"https://www.lcn.com/blog/7-tips-to-make-your-website-look-more-professional/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website doesn’t look professional and trustworthy</a>.\r\n\r\nIf users don’t feel comfortable on your website, they won’t spend a lot of time navigating your page. On top of that, they won’t purchase the products on your website because you’ll have lost credibility in their head.\r\n\r\nYou might have the best products for your audience but if you don’t present them well on your website, you’re bound to fail. A great user experience can help you gain that important credibility, increasing your conversion rate.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Reduces Overload of Information</h3>\r\nWhen you provide too much information to your website visitor, they become distracted and lose focus on the product. It’s one of the most <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/4-common-ecommerce-mistakes/\">common mistakes made by eCommerce companies</a>. Instead, eCommerce websites must provide the necessary information to improve their SEO ranking.\r\n\r\nWhile it’s important to display the product’s description, it won’t matter if you fail to present it properly. Due to this, you need the experts at Actuate Agency to create a good experience for your users.\r\n\r\nWe can help your website provide specific information in the right place. <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">UX eCommerce designs</a> help consumers purchase products quicker and increase sales.\r\n\r\nThis is because consumers don’t have to spend a lot of time and effort to get the information they want about the product.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Boosts Engagement</h3>\r\nOne of the main objectives of using UX design on eCommerce websites is to make users more involved in the shopping experience. <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">Good UX designs</a> can help customers feel like they can interact well with your website.\r\n\r\nIt should consist of a straightforward design that catches the user’s eye and impacts their shopping experience positively. You should also ensure that the experience is unique and separates you from your competitors.\r\n\r\nConsistent design and tone can help you achieve more user engagement and it also provides a good brand image. If you don’t focus on these two elements, you may create confusion among users and they’ll <a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/why-people-leave-your-website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lose interest in your website</a>.\r\n\r\nTherefore, you must make sure that the elements are interactive and create a need for exploring other pages on your website. The <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">experts at Actuate Agency</a> can help you provide good UX design for your eCommerce visitors.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increases Customer Loyalty</h3>\r\nCustomers will begin to become loyal to your eCommerce website if you consistently provide a good experience. This means that your website can receive an increased retention rate.\r\n\r\nBy taking customer feedback and catering to their needs with an <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\">effective eCommerce plan</a>, you will create a good impression. This also helps consumers become familiar with the product and develop a good relationship with the company.\r\n\r\nDue to this, you’ll need good UX designs for your website to create the most efficient and enjoyable experience. We can help take customer feedback and provide necessary <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">UX design changes to your eCommerce website</a>.\r\n\r\nThis ensures that your customers are consistently <a href=\"https://www.swiftlocalsolutions.com/blog/6-ways-you-can-improve-your-customers-shopping-experience-and-increase-sales-without-spending-a-bunch-of-money\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">satisfied with the shopping experience</a>, keeping them loyal to your company.','4 Reasons Good UX Design is Crucial to an eCommerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5732-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:26:15','2026-02-15 11:26:15','',5732,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8448',0,'revision','',0),(8449,1,'2026-02-15 11:26:33','2026-02-15 11:26:33','The main objective of an eCommerce website is to gain more traffic and sell more products. There are several factors that go into achieving a successful eCommerce business but UX design plays a big part towards it.\r\n\r\nThe core of great UX design is to provide a smooth, logical and satisfying shopping experience. On top of that, a good visual design will help your brand image, taking your business to new heights.\r\n\r\nAn eCommerce UX design plays a major role in the first impressions of your website. These impressions can be positive or negative and can impact your sales. Statistics show that around 75% of visitors abandon their cart if they’re unhappy with their eCommerce shopping experience.\r\n\r\nTherefore, it’s a good idea to leave the UX design process in the hands of the professionals at Actuate Agency. We can help provide an excellent user-friendly experience and improve your brand image.\r\n\r\nTo help you understand the need for good UX design, we’ve made a list of the benefits that it can provide for your eCommerce website.\r\n<h2>Let’s get started!</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increases Conversion Rate</h3>\r\nOn an eCommerce website, customers have to entrust their personal data and money to your business. However, they won’t enter that information if your <a href=\"https://www.lcn.com/blog/7-tips-to-make-your-website-look-more-professional/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website doesn’t look professional and trustworthy</a>.\r\n\r\nIf users don’t feel comfortable on your website, they won’t spend a lot of time navigating your page. On top of that, they won’t purchase the products on your website because you’ll have lost credibility in their head.\r\n\r\nYou might have the best products for your audience but if you don’t present them well on your website, you’re bound to fail. A great user experience can help you gain that important credibility, increasing your conversion rate.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Reduces Overload of Information</h3>\r\nWhen you provide too much information to your website visitor, they become distracted and lose focus on the product. It’s one of the most <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/4-common-ecommerce-mistakes/\">common mistakes made by eCommerce companies</a>. Instead, eCommerce websites must provide the necessary information to improve their SEO ranking.\r\n\r\nWhile it’s important to display the product’s description, it won’t matter if you fail to present it properly. Due to this, you need the experts at Actuate Agency to create a good experience for your users.\r\n\r\nWe can help your website provide specific information in the right place. <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">UX eCommerce designs</a> help consumers purchase products quicker and increase sales.\r\n\r\nThis is because consumers don’t have to spend a lot of time and effort to get the information they want about the product.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Boosts Engagement</h3>\r\nOne of the main objectives of using UX design on eCommerce websites is to make users more involved in the shopping experience. <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">Good UX designs</a> can help customers feel like they can interact well with your website.\r\n\r\nIt should consist of a straightforward design that catches the user’s eye and impacts their shopping experience positively. You should also ensure that the experience is unique and separates you from your competitors.\r\n\r\nConsistent design and tone can help you achieve more user engagement and it also provides a good brand image. If you don’t focus on these two elements, you may create confusion among users and they’ll <a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/why-people-leave-your-website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lose interest in your website</a>.\r\n\r\nTherefore, you must make sure that the elements are interactive and create a need for exploring other pages on your website. The <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">experts at Actuate Agency</a> can help you provide good UX design for your eCommerce visitors.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increases Customer Loyalty</h3>\r\nCustomers will begin to become loyal to your eCommerce website if you consistently provide a good experience. This means that your website can receive an increased retention rate.\r\n\r\nBy taking customer feedback and catering to their needs with an <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\">effective eCommerce plan</a>, you will create a good impression. This also helps consumers become familiar with the product and develop a good relationship with the company.\r\n\r\nDue to this, you’ll need good UX designs for your website to create the most efficient and enjoyable experience. We can help take customer feedback and provide necessary <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">UX design changes to your eCommerce website</a>.\r\n\r\nThis ensures that your customers are consistently <a href=\"https://www.swiftlocalsolutions.com/blog/6-ways-you-can-improve-your-customers-shopping-experience-and-increase-sales-without-spending-a-bunch-of-money\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">satisfied with the shopping experience</a>, keeping them loyal to your company.','4 Reasons Good UX Design is Crucial to an eCommerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5732-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:26:33','2026-02-15 11:26:33','',5732,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8449',0,'revision','',0),(8450,1,'2026-02-15 11:28:02','2026-02-15 11:28:02','<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">E-commerce has given businesses an incredible opportunity to grow their customer base, brand image and business. With an eCommerce business, your customers can purchase your products anytime and anywhere. It </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/understanding-the-total-cost-of-ownership-for-your-e-commerce-website/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">saves you the expenses of a retail store</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and makes business smoother and easier.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, to take your business online, you may require a solid eCommerce platform. This is where Shopify eCommerce comes in. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shopify has been a prominent eCommerce platform and contains everything you need to successfully run your eCommerce business. Shopify offers security as well as flexibility for your eCommerce store and allows you to create multiple pages with an in-built online editor.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also sell in multiple different places due to the integration of local language support, making it easier to </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=5133&amp;preview=true\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">connect with a broader range of customers</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let us take an in-depth look at why Shopify eCommerce is one of the best online platforms for businesses.</span>\n<h2><b>5 Reasons Why Shopify is the eCommerce King</b></h2>\n<h3><b>1. Shopify Gives Businesses a Hosted Solution</b></h3>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you are looking to launch your online business, you likely need web hosting, which can be a real challenge. You need a considerable amount of technical support to host a shopping cart. This can be difficult for </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/web-design/4-reasons-startups-need-ux-design/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">startups, who do not have the time</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and technical support to get this done. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shopify, however, offers a cloud-based setup to solve this problem. It is a hosted platform where you do not have to look into setting up servers or databases. The cloud setup lets you access your store from anywhere at any time. All you require are your admin login credentials and a secure Internet connection. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, payments become easier as well. Shopify supports you with your </span><a href=\"https://gocardless.com/guides/posts/payment-gateways/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">payment gateway</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and also looks after any returns or refunds for you.</span>\n<h3><b>2. Shopify Offers In-built Business Marketing Tools</b></h3>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another reason why Shopify is the best eCommerce platform is that it offers businesses in-built marketing tools that can considerably lower the actual costs of business and product marketing. This enables you to add unique elements to your eCommerce pages—like </span><a href=\"https://themeisle.com/blog/meta-description-examples/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">meta titles</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, unique URLs and more—to increase page visibility.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Besides, with Shopify eCommerce, you can also optimise your store based on your preference. Not only that, Shopify also lets you integrate your shop into various social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. This helps you market products to a larger audience, as well as </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">increase your brand visibility</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span>\n<h3><b>3. Shopify Gives You Increased Speed and Security</b></h3>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For any eCommerce website to be successful, you need to ensure that your </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/what-is-ecommerce-customer-experience-and-why-does-it-matter/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customers have a smooth shopping experience</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If they can navigate through your website easily, they are more likely to purchase from you. Shopify makes this possible by ensuring that your web pages have a great loading speed and that they retain customers. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, Shopify also ensures that your online business is absolutely secure. It offers the best service in terms of security and integration among payment providers. Shopify also includes an in-built speed checker that lets customers complete their payments within a good loading time.</span>\n<h3><b>4. Shopify Offers a Payment Gateway</b></h3>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the key elements to running a successful eCommerce business is to have a fast, smooth and easy payment process. If you have a payment gateway that is slow and full of errors, your customers are more likely to abandon their cart. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Shopify eCommerce is integrated with a large number of payment gateways that let your customers make their payments with ease. Moreover, they also offer their own payment gateway without transaction fees. </span>\n<h3><b>5. Shopify’s Advanced Functionalities</b></h3>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Shopify, you will also be able to avail advanced functionalities with a plugin or an application. This will let you download, install and customise your online shop. Shopify also offers additional features, like inventory management, accounting and business reporting. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to that, you will also find options like email autoresponders, which can help automate your responses to customers about common queries. With such features, it becomes considerably easier to run your business on autopilot if, for example, you are away. </span>','5 Reasons Shopify is Stealing eCommerce Market Share','','inherit','closed','closed','','5730-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:28:02','2026-02-15 11:28:02','',5730,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8450',0,'revision','',0),(8451,1,'2026-02-15 11:28:05','2026-02-15 11:28:05','E-commerce has given businesses an incredible opportunity to grow their customer base, brand image and business. With an eCommerce business, your customers can purchase your products anytime and anywhere. It <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/understanding-the-total-cost-of-ownership-for-your-e-commerce-website/\">saves you the expenses of a retail store</a> and makes business smoother and easier.\r\n\r\nHowever, to take your business online, you may require a solid eCommerce platform. This is where Shopify eCommerce comes in.\r\n\r\nShopify has been a prominent eCommerce platform and contains everything you need to successfully run your eCommerce business. Shopify offers security as well as flexibility for your eCommerce store and allows you to create multiple pages with an in-built online editor.\r\n\r\nYou can also sell in multiple different places due to the integration of local language support, making it easier to <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=5133&amp;preview=true\">connect with a broader range of customers</a>.\r\n\r\nLet us take an in-depth look at why Shopify eCommerce is one of the best online platforms for businesses.\r\n<h2>5 Reasons Why Shopify is the eCommerce King</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">1. Shopify Gives Businesses a Hosted Solution</h3>\r\nWhen you are looking to launch your online business, you likely need web hosting, which can be a real challenge. You need a considerable amount of technical support to host a shopping cart. This can be difficult for <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/web-design/4-reasons-startups-need-ux-design/\">startups, who do not have the time</a> and technical support to get this done.\r\n\r\nShopify, however, offers a cloud-based setup to solve this problem. It is a hosted platform where you do not have to look into setting up servers or databases. The cloud setup lets you access your store from anywhere at any time. All you require are your admin login credentials and a secure Internet connection.\r\n\r\nMoreover, payments become easier as well. Shopify supports you with your <a href=\"https://gocardless.com/guides/posts/payment-gateways/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">payment gateway</a> and also looks after any returns or refunds for you.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">2. Shopify Offers In-built Business Marketing Tools</h3>\r\nAnother reason why Shopify is the best eCommerce platform is that it offers businesses in-built marketing tools that can considerably lower the actual costs of business and product marketing. This enables you to add unique elements to your eCommerce pages—like <a href=\"https://themeisle.com/blog/meta-description-examples/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">meta titles</a>, unique URLs and more—to increase page visibility.\r\n\r\nBesides, with Shopify eCommerce, you can also optimise your store based on your preference. Not only that, Shopify also lets you integrate your shop into various social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. This helps you market products to a larger audience, as well as <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\">increase your brand visibility</a>.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">3. Shopify Gives You Increased Speed and Security</h3>\r\nFor any eCommerce website to be successful, you need to ensure that your <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/what-is-ecommerce-customer-experience-and-why-does-it-matter/\">customers have a smooth shopping experience</a>. If they can navigate through your website easily, they are more likely to purchase from you. Shopify makes this possible by ensuring that your web pages have a great loading speed and that they retain customers.\r\n\r\nMoreover, Shopify also ensures that your online business is absolutely secure. It offers the best service in terms of security and integration among payment providers. Shopify also includes an in-built speed checker that lets customers complete their payments within a good loading time.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">4. Shopify Offers a Payment Gateway</h3>\r\nOne of the key elements to running a successful eCommerce business is to have a fast, smooth and easy payment process. If you have a payment gateway that is slow and full of errors, your customers are more likely to abandon their cart.\r\n\r\nHowever, Shopify eCommerce is integrated with a large number of payment gateways that let your customers make their payments with ease. Moreover, they also offer their own payment gateway without transaction fees.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">5. Shopify’s Advanced Functionalities</h3>\r\nWith Shopify, you will also be able to avail advanced functionalities with a plugin or an application. This will let you download, install and customise your online shop. Shopify also offers additional features, like inventory management, accounting and business reporting.\r\n\r\nIn addition to that, you will also find options like email autoresponders, which can help automate your responses to customers about common queries. With such features, it becomes considerably easier to run your business on autopilot if, for example, you are away.','5 Reasons Shopify is Stealing eCommerce Market Share','','inherit','closed','closed','','5730-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:28:05','2026-02-15 11:28:05','',5730,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8451',0,'revision','',0),(8452,1,'2026-02-15 11:28:27','2026-02-15 11:28:27','E-commerce has given businesses an incredible opportunity to grow their customer base, brand image and business. With an eCommerce business, your customers can purchase your products anytime and anywhere. It <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/understanding-the-total-cost-of-ownership-for-your-e-commerce-website/\">saves you the expenses of a retail store</a> and makes business smoother and easier.\r\n\r\nHowever, to take your business online, you may require a solid eCommerce platform. This is where Shopify eCommerce comes in.\r\n\r\nShopify has been a prominent eCommerce platform and contains everything you need to successfully run your eCommerce business. Shopify offers security as well as flexibility for your eCommerce store and allows you to create multiple pages with an in-built online editor.\r\n\r\nYou can also sell in multiple different places due to the integration of local language support, making it easier to <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=5133&amp;preview=true\">connect with a broader range of customers</a>.\r\n\r\nLet us take an in-depth look at why Shopify eCommerce is one of the best online platforms for businesses.\r\n<h2>5 Reasons Why Shopify is the eCommerce King</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Shopify Gives Businesses a Hosted Solution</h3>\r\nWhen you are looking to launch your online business, you likely need web hosting, which can be a real challenge. You need a considerable amount of technical support to host a shopping cart. This can be difficult for <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/web-design/4-reasons-startups-need-ux-design/\">startups, who do not have the time</a> and technical support to get this done.\r\n\r\nShopify, however, offers a cloud-based setup to solve this problem. It is a hosted platform where you do not have to look into setting up servers or databases. The cloud setup lets you access your store from anywhere at any time. All you require are your admin login credentials and a secure Internet connection.\r\n\r\nMoreover, payments become easier as well. Shopify supports you with your <a href=\"https://gocardless.com/guides/posts/payment-gateways/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">payment gateway</a> and also looks after any returns or refunds for you.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Shopify Offers In-built Business Marketing Tools</h3>\r\nAnother reason why Shopify is the best eCommerce platform is that it offers businesses in-built marketing tools that can considerably lower the actual costs of business and product marketing. This enables you to add unique elements to your eCommerce pages—like <a href=\"https://themeisle.com/blog/meta-description-examples/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">meta titles</a>, unique URLs and more—to increase page visibility.\r\n\r\nBesides, with Shopify eCommerce, you can also optimise your store based on your preference. Not only that, Shopify also lets you integrate your shop into various social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. This helps you market products to a larger audience, as well as <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\">increase your brand visibility</a>.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Shopify Gives You Increased Speed and Security</h3>\r\nFor any eCommerce website to be successful, you need to ensure that your <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/what-is-ecommerce-customer-experience-and-why-does-it-matter/\">customers have a smooth shopping experience</a>. If they can navigate through your website easily, they are more likely to purchase from you. Shopify makes this possible by ensuring that your web pages have a great loading speed and that they retain customers.\r\n\r\nMoreover, Shopify also ensures that your online business is absolutely secure. It offers the best service in terms of security and integration among payment providers. Shopify also includes an in-built speed checker that lets customers complete their payments within a good loading time.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Shopify Offers a Payment Gateway</h3>\r\nOne of the key elements to running a successful eCommerce business is to have a fast, smooth and easy payment process. If you have a payment gateway that is slow and full of errors, your customers are more likely to abandon their cart.\r\n\r\nHowever, Shopify eCommerce is integrated with a large number of payment gateways that let your customers make their payments with ease. Moreover, they also offer their own payment gateway without transaction fees.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Shopify’s Advanced Functionalities</h3>\r\nWith Shopify, you will also be able to avail advanced functionalities with a plugin or an application. This will let you download, install and customise your online shop. Shopify also offers additional features, like inventory management, accounting and business reporting.\r\n\r\nIn addition to that, you will also find options like email autoresponders, which can help automate your responses to customers about common queries. With such features, it becomes considerably easier to run your business on autopilot if, for example, you are away.','5 Reasons Shopify is Stealing eCommerce Market Share','','inherit','closed','closed','','5730-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:28:27','2026-02-15 11:28:27','',5730,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8452',0,'revision','',0),(8453,1,'2026-02-15 11:30:47','2026-02-15 11:30:47','<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the holiday season, there is bound to be a surge in both online and offline shopping. People all over the world are under pressure to find the best gifts for their loved ones and get a head start on their Christmas shopping.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Along with an increase in shoppers, comes an increase in competition. If you’d like your eCommerce store to stay ahead of your competitors, you’ll need to adopt effective </span><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pricing_strategies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pricing strategies</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. While consumers are looking to buy more, they’re also looking to spend less, which is why they are likely to be enticed by great deals and discounts.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By offering the right types of discounts, you can maximise your holiday sales opportunities, prevent shoppers from abandoning their carts and encourage new customers to try your brand. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Actuate Agency</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, our experts can provide you with a variety of </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-strategy/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eCommerce strategies</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and solutions to help you increase your AOV. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we’re going to discuss the meanings and importance of discount pricing strategies and AOVs. We\'ve also come up with a few effective holiday discount pricing strategies to help you attract customers. </span>\n<h2><b>What is a Discount Pricing Strategy?</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discount pricing is a promotional pricing strategy where the original prices of products and services are lowered, with the ultimate goal of increasing sales. By applying discounts to products via sales, bundles, codes or coupons, you can encourage your customers to buy more products. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A reduced price often causes customers to perceive the discounted product as more valuable. Deep discounts and flash sales have proven to be highly effective in </span><a href=\"https://www.oberlo.in/blog/website-traffic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">increasing website traffic</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and improving conversion rates and revenues.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to properly activate and monitor your holiday pricing strategies and discounts, you’ll need an efficient eCommerce platform. At Actuate Agency, our eCommerce experts can provide you with the best platform to help you smoothly grow and maintain your online business. We work with high-quality eCommerce platforms like </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Magento</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/shopify-ecommerce/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shopify</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/aero-ecommerce/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aero</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to offer the best results.</span>\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Call us</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for effective holiday pricing tips and tricks.</span>\n<h2><b>What is Your Average Order Value?</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The average amount of money spent by your customers on each transaction is called your </span><a href=\"https://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/what-average-order-value/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">average order value (AOV)</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You can increase your AOV by convincing your customers to buy more products and spend more money at your eCommerce store.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The average order value formula is your total revenue/your number of orders.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another similar eCommerce metric is the average basket value, which measures the number of items that your online store sells per transaction. </span>\n<h2><b>Holiday Discount Pricing Strategies</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are numerous ways to increase your AOV and drive traffic to your website. Let’s check out a few helpful discount tactics.</span>\n<h3><b>1. Buy One, Get One Free</b></h3>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The BOGO discount is one of the top performing pricing strategies in the eCommerce industry. It is used by multiple brands and has been quite successful in boosting sales.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this pricing strategy, you can give away a free product that’s either exactly the same or related to the one being purchased by your customer. The customer will then only have to pay for the product with the higher value.</span>\n<h3><b>2. First-time Customer Discounts</b></h3>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Christmas shoppers are often looking for the best holiday deals and offers, this is your opportunity to attract new customers to your online store. New visitors will often judge your website within the first few seconds, which is why you need to make a good first impression to keep them browsing.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aside from adding some attractive </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/tips-for-ecommerce-website-for-christmas/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christmas decor to your website</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can also offer first-time customer discounts. Customers are more likely to try out new brands if they can purchase the products for a lower price. </span>\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get in touch with us</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to help you add a festive touch to your eCommerce store and creatively display your holiday discounts.</span>\n<h3><b>3. Cross-selling, Up-selling and Bundling</b></h3>\n<a href=\"https://www.leadsquared.com/cross-selling-strategies/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cross-selling</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and up-selling are great ways to increase your AOV. While up-selling promotes more expensive and upgraded products, cross-selling convinces customers to buy complementary products alongside their main purchase. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, you can create product bundles, allowing customers to buy more at a lower price. You can also let your customers create their own customised bundles and packages. These strategies can be adapted within your website’s product pages, shopping carts or checkout process.</span>','Holiday Discount Pricing Strategies: 3 Ways to Increase Your AOV','','inherit','closed','closed','','5728-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:30:47','2026-02-15 11:30:47','',5728,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8453',0,'revision','',0),(8454,1,'2026-02-15 11:30:57','2026-02-15 11:30:57','During the holiday season, there is bound to be a surge in both online and offline shopping. People all over the world are under pressure to find the best gifts for their loved ones and get a head start on their Christmas shopping.\r\n\r\nAlong with an increase in shoppers, comes an increase in competition. If you’d like your eCommerce store to stay ahead of your competitors, you’ll need to adopt effective <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pricing_strategies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pricing strategies</a>. While consumers are looking to buy more, they’re also looking to spend less, which is why they are likely to be enticed by great deals and discounts.\r\n\r\nBy offering the right types of discounts, you can maximise your holiday sales opportunities, prevent shoppers from abandoning their carts and encourage new customers to try your brand.\r\n\r\nAt <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\">Actuate Agency</a>, our experts can provide you with a variety of <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-strategy/\">eCommerce strategies</a> and solutions to help you increase your AOV.\r\n\r\nIn this article, we’re going to discuss the meanings and importance of discount pricing strategies and AOVs. We\'ve also come up with a few effective holiday discount pricing strategies to help you attract customers.\r\n<h2>What is a Discount Pricing Strategy?</h2>\r\nDiscount pricing is a promotional pricing strategy where the original prices of products and services are lowered, with the ultimate goal of increasing sales. By applying discounts to products via sales, bundles, codes or coupons, you can encourage your customers to buy more products.\r\n\r\nA reduced price often causes customers to perceive the discounted product as more valuable. Deep discounts and flash sales have proven to be highly effective in <a href=\"https://www.oberlo.in/blog/website-traffic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increasing website traffic</a> and improving conversion rates and revenues.\r\n\r\nIn order to properly activate and monitor your holiday pricing strategies and discounts, you’ll need an efficient eCommerce platform. At Actuate Agency, our eCommerce experts can provide you with the best platform to help you smoothly grow and maintain your online business. We work with high-quality eCommerce platforms like <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/\">Magento</a>, <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/shopify-ecommerce/\">Shopify</a> and <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/aero-ecommerce/\">Aero</a> to offer the best results.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Call us</a> for effective holiday pricing tips and tricks.\r\n<h2>What is Your Average Order Value?</h2>\r\nThe average amount of money spent by your customers on each transaction is called your <a href=\"https://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/what-average-order-value/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">average order value (AOV)</a>. You can increase your AOV by convincing your customers to buy more products and spend more money at your eCommerce store.\r\n\r\nThe average order value formula is your total revenue/your number of orders.\r\n\r\nAnother similar eCommerce metric is the average basket value, which measures the number of items that your online store sells per transaction.\r\n<h2>Holiday Discount Pricing Strategies</h2>\r\nThere are numerous ways to increase your AOV and drive traffic to your website. Let’s check out a few helpful discount tactics.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Buy One, Get One Free</h3>\r\nThe BOGO discount is one of the top performing pricing strategies in the eCommerce industry. It is used by multiple brands and has been quite successful in boosting sales.\r\n\r\nIn this pricing strategy, you can give away a free product that’s either exactly the same or related to the one being purchased by your customer. The customer will then only have to pay for the product with the higher value.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">First-time Customer Discounts</h3>\r\nAs Christmas shoppers are often looking for the best holiday deals and offers, this is your opportunity to attract new customers to your online store. New visitors will often judge your website within the first few seconds, which is why you need to make a good first impression to keep them browsing.\r\n\r\nAside from adding some attractive <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/tips-for-ecommerce-website-for-christmas/\">Christmas decor to your website</a>, you can also offer first-time customer discounts. Customers are more likely to try out new brands if they can purchase the products for a lower price.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Get in touch with us</a> to help you add a festive touch to your eCommerce store and creatively display your holiday discounts.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Cross-selling, Up-selling and Bundling</h3>\r\n<a href=\"https://www.leadsquared.com/cross-selling-strategies/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cross-selling</a> and up-selling are great ways to increase your AOV. While up-selling promotes more expensive and upgraded products, cross-selling convinces customers to buy complementary products alongside their main purchase.\r\n\r\nSimilarly, you can create product bundles, allowing customers to buy more at a lower price. You can also let your customers create their own customised bundles and packages. These strategies can be adapted within your website’s product pages, shopping carts or checkout process.','Holiday Discount Pricing Strategies: 3 Ways to Increase Your AOV','','inherit','closed','closed','','5728-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:30:57','2026-02-15 11:30:57','',5728,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8454',0,'revision','',0),(8455,1,'2026-02-15 11:35:09','2026-02-15 11:35:09','<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the holiday season approaching, you’re probably wondering if you should prepare your eCommerce website for Christmas. The answer is YES! </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christmas calls for gifts, decorations and numerous other festive elements. This means that customers will soon begin their holiday shopping, both online and offline. You can capitalise on the holidays and maximise your sales opportunities by creating an eye-catching web presence for the Christmas season.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regardless of the occasion, the success of your eCommerce website will depend on four key factors, i.e. design, content, SEO and c</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ustomer experience. By improving these aspects, you can increase your chances of success for your </span><a href=\"https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/media/blog/10-of-the-best-christmas-campaigns-past-and-present\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christmas retail campaign</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our web design experts at </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Actuate Agency</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have come up with a few effective tips to help you improve your eCommerce website for Christmas. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let’s take a look at these Christmas eCommerce ideas.</span>\n<h2><b>1. Design Your Website</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By dressing up your website for the holidays, you will not only improve the look and feel of your page but also provide a festive and memorable experience for your customers. An attractive Christmas website is sure to bring you and your customers into the holiday spirit.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your </span><a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/holiday-homepage-design-examples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">website’s holiday theme</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can include a festive colour palette and Christmas-y fonts, illustrations and photographs. Decorate your call-to-action buttons by adorning them with snowflakes, gift icons, Christmas trees and other festive elements. Give your social media icons a simple yet attractive Christmas-y touch that will encourage customers to click on them.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Actuate Agency, our web design specialists can help you create the most striking Christmas eCommerce website, one that is sure to make a lasting impression on your customers. We can provide you with the best designs to enhance your website’s visual appeal and give it a festive feel.</span>\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get in touch with us</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to create a holiday-themed website.</span>\n<h2><b>2. Prioritise Customer Experience</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are numerous benefits to focusing on customer experience, such as improving customer satisfaction and increasing your opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell your products. That’s why one of the best Christmas eCommerce ideas is to find simple and effective ways to </span><a href=\"https://www.moengage.com/blog/7-ways-to-improve-customer-experience-for-your-ecommerce-website/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">improve your customers’ shopping experience</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capture your customers’ feedback in real-time by providing them with live chat tools. This will help you find out if your customers are satisfied with your website experience. By improving your customer experience, you can yield more conversions and revenue, retain your customers and ensure that they come back for more.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the holiday season, your customers may have several questions about your products, services, shipping policies, return policies and more. Your Christmas eCommerce website’s customer service team should be able to efficiently solve these queries to ensure that your customers have a good shopping experience.</span>\n<h2><b>3. Improve Mobile Responsiveness</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During Christmas or any other occasion, people often prefer shopping on their smartphones. This is because it’s more convenient and they might not always have access to a desktop. That’s why you need to adapt your Christmas eCommerce website to be mobile-friendly.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By </span><a href=\"https://digitalhabitus.com.au/blog/5-reasons-why-your-business-will-benefit-from-a-mobile-friendly-website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">creating a mobile-friendly website</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can not only provide an excellent user experience but you can also effectively increase your sales conversion rates. If your website is already adapted to mobile devices, now is the best time to test it. Confirm that it works efficiently and will not cause any problems when the web traffic increases.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An unresponsive website can be quite frustrating for your customers as it will slow down their shopping process. When it comes to eCommerce websites, customer satisfaction will depend on the speed, simplicity and overall quality of the website. The highly-skilled web developers and designers at Actuate Agency can help you create an exceptional Christmas eCommerce website with a mobile-first approach. </span>\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Call us</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to help you provide your customers with a satisfying mobile shopping experience.</span>\n<h2><b>4. Create Gift Guides</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most effective Christmas eCommerce ideas is to </span><a href=\"https://squareup.com/gb/en/townsquare/how-to-create-a-holiday-gift-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">create gift guides for the holiday season</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. With people scrambling to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones, you have a great opportunity to inspire your shoppers with some creative and festive gift ideas.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As these guides can be separated into different sections, your customers will easily be able to find exactly what they’re looking for. This also gives you a chance to showcase your top-selling products and highlight how beneficial they are when paired with other products. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure that your gift guides are unique and thoughtful, you could also provide options to personalise certain Christmas-y products. Let your customers add personalised messages to Christmas t-shirts, sweaters, ornaments, etc.</span>','How to Setup Your eCommerce Website for Christmas: 4 Tips to Boost Sales','','inherit','closed','closed','','5726-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:35:09','2026-02-15 11:35:09','',5726,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8455',0,'revision','',0),(8456,1,'2026-02-15 11:35:25','2026-02-15 11:35:25','With the holiday season approaching, you’re probably wondering if you should prepare your eCommerce website for Christmas. The answer is YES!\r\n\r\nChristmas calls for gifts, decorations and numerous other festive elements. This means that customers will soon begin their holiday shopping, both online and offline. You can capitalise on the holidays and maximise your sales opportunities by creating an eye-catching web presence for the Christmas season.\r\n\r\nRegardless of the occasion, the success of your eCommerce website will depend on four key factors, i.e. design, content, SEO and customer experience. By improving these aspects, you can increase your chances of success for your <a href=\"https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/media/blog/10-of-the-best-christmas-campaigns-past-and-present\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christmas retail campaign</a>.\r\n\r\nOur web design experts at <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\">Actuate Agency</a> have come up with a few effective tips to help you improve your eCommerce website for Christmas.\r\n<h2>Let’s take a look at these Christmas eCommerce ideas.</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Design Your Website</h3>\r\nBy dressing up your website for the holidays, you will not only improve the look and feel of your page but also provide a festive and memorable experience for your customers. An attractive Christmas website is sure to bring you and your customers into the holiday spirit.\r\n\r\nYour <a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/holiday-homepage-design-examples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website’s holiday theme</a> can include a festive colour palette and Christmas-y fonts, illustrations and photographs. Decorate your call-to-action buttons by adorning them with snowflakes, gift icons, Christmas trees and other festive elements. Give your social media icons a simple yet attractive Christmas-y touch that will encourage customers to click on them.\r\n\r\nAt Actuate Agency, our web design specialists can help you create the most striking Christmas eCommerce website, one that is sure to make a lasting impression on your customers. We can provide you with the best designs to enhance your website’s visual appeal and give it a festive feel.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Get in touch with us</a> to create a holiday-themed website.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Prioritise Customer Experience</h3>\r\nThere are numerous benefits to focusing on customer experience, such as improving customer satisfaction and increasing your opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell your products. That’s why one of the best Christmas eCommerce ideas is to find simple and effective ways to <a href=\"https://www.moengage.com/blog/7-ways-to-improve-customer-experience-for-your-ecommerce-website/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">improve your customers’ shopping experience</a>.\r\n\r\nCapture your customers’ feedback in real-time by providing them with live chat tools. This will help you find out if your customers are satisfied with your website experience. By improving your customer experience, you can yield more conversions and revenue, retain your customers and ensure that they come back for more.\r\n\r\nDuring the holiday season, your customers may have several questions about your products, services, shipping policies, return policies and more. Your Christmas eCommerce website’s customer service team should be able to efficiently solve these queries to ensure that your customers have a good shopping experience.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Improve Mobile Responsiveness</h3>\r\nDuring Christmas or any other occasion, people often prefer shopping on their smartphones. This is because it’s more convenient and they might not always have access to a desktop. That’s why you need to adapt your Christmas eCommerce website to be mobile-friendly.\r\n\r\nBy <a href=\"https://digitalhabitus.com.au/blog/5-reasons-why-your-business-will-benefit-from-a-mobile-friendly-website\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">creating a mobile-friendly website</a>, you can not only provide an excellent user experience but you can also effectively increase your sales conversion rates. If your website is already adapted to mobile devices, now is the best time to test it. Confirm that it works efficiently and will not cause any problems when the web traffic increases.\r\n\r\nAn unresponsive website can be quite frustrating for your customers as it will slow down their shopping process. When it comes to eCommerce websites, customer satisfaction will depend on the speed, simplicity and overall quality of the website. The highly-skilled web developers and designers at Actuate Agency can help you create an exceptional Christmas eCommerce website with a mobile-first approach.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Call us</a> to help you provide your customers with a satisfying mobile shopping experience.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Create Gift Guides</h3>\r\nOne of the most effective Christmas eCommerce ideas is to <a href=\"https://squareup.com/gb/en/townsquare/how-to-create-a-holiday-gift-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">create gift guides for the holiday season</a>. With people scrambling to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones, you have a great opportunity to inspire your shoppers with some creative and festive gift ideas.\r\n\r\nAs these guides can be separated into different sections, your customers will easily be able to find exactly what they’re looking for. This also gives you a chance to showcase your top-selling products and highlight how beneficial they are when paired with other products.\r\n\r\nTo ensure that your gift guides are unique and thoughtful, you could also provide options to personalise certain Christmas-y products. Let your customers add personalised messages to Christmas t-shirts, sweaters, ornaments, etc.','How to Setup Your eCommerce Website for Christmas: 4 Tips to Boost Sales','','inherit','closed','closed','','5726-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:35:25','2026-02-15 11:35:25','',5726,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8456',0,'revision','',0),(8457,1,'2026-02-15 11:36:54','2026-02-15 11:36:54','<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this digital age, anyone can </span><a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/how-to-start-an-online-store/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">start an online store</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which has resulted in the eCommerce industry becoming highly competitive. As an eCommerce store owner, one of your main priorities should be to provide your customers with a great shopping experience. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With so many options available, customers are spoiled for choice. If they make a purchase from your online store and have an unpleasant experience, they’re not likely to return. They may also give your store a bad review, resulting in a loss of potential customers.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managing an eCommerce store can be incredibly stressful and you’re likely to make a few unintentional errors along the way, especially if you’re a beginner. That’s why our web development experts at </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Actuate Agency</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have made a list of some common eCommerce mistakes that you should avoid especially if you are a beginner.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let’s take a look.</span>\n<h2><b>1. Choosing The Wrong eCommerce Platform</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most important aspects of building an eCommerce business is choosing the right platform. While there are numerous platforms to choose from, some only offer the most basic features while some have additional hidden costs, making them quite expensive.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ideal eCommerce platform will grow with your business. It should have customisable features and options to upgrade as you scale and expand your online business. That’s why you need to conduct thorough research before </span><a href=\"https://www.sitecore.com/blog/commerce/4-risks-choosing-wrong-ecommerce-platform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">picking your eCommerce platform</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Actuate Agency, we can help you create your online store on efficient eCommerce platforms like </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/shopify-ecommerce/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shopify</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Magento</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Magento 2</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If you’ve already got an online store, we can also help you migrate it to a more appropriate platform to enhance your business.</span>\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get in touch with us</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to create a satisfying online experience for your customers.</span>\n<h2><b>2. Not Understanding Your Target Audience</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You cannot </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">build a successful online business</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if you don’t understand your product and audience. Instead of simply creating a product and assuming that your customers will buy it, you need to conduct market research to identify their needs.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By finding out what’s lacking in the existing options in the market, you can create products and services that will </span><a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/niche-market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cater to a niche audience</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The attractiveness and affordability of your products and services won’t matter if you’re unable to identify your target market.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should also avoid pricing your products without any research. Gather essential information about your target audience and how you can solve their problems. This will help you appropriately price your products. </span>\n<h2><b>3. Not Providing A Great User Experience</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to eCommerce businesses, user experience is everything. One of the most common eCommerce mistakes is having a </span><a href=\"https://usabilitygeek.com/real-effects-bad-web-design/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">non-responsive website design</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If your users are unable to easily navigate your website, they’re more likely to abandon their shopping cart.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To help your potential customers find their desired products, your website should have clear product categories. You also need to ensure that your customers can easily find the contact information as well as shipping and return policies. Regardless of how good your products may be, if your website has too many glitches, it’ll gain a bad reputation.</span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our web design specialists at Actuate Agency can help you create an exceptional online store that provides your customers with a seamless user experience. With a visually appealing and functional website, you can make a great impression on your customers and increase your conversion rates.</span>\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Call us</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to help you </span><a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">design an impactful website</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span>\n<h2><b>4. Not Effectively Showing Off Your Products</b></h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another important aspect of your website is your product pages. Beginners’ eCommerce mistakes often include not providing proper information about products or not presenting products in a clear, attractive manner. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your product’s images and videos are the only reference materials your customers have to make a purchasing decision. If poor photography makes your products look unprofessional and unappealing, customers are unlikely to buy them. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aside from showcasing your products in the best light, you also need to ensure that your </span><a href=\"https://www.referralcandy.com/blog/product-descriptions-that-sell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">product descriptions</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are clear, concise, and persuasive. The descriptions should provide detailed information about your product’s key features and benefits.</span>','4 Common eCommerce Mistakes That Beginners Make (And Should Avoid)','','inherit','closed','closed','','5724-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:36:54','2026-02-15 11:36:54','',5724,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8457',0,'revision','',0),(8458,1,'2026-02-15 11:37:09','2026-02-15 11:37:09','In this digital age, anyone can <a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/how-to-start-an-online-store/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">start an online store</a>, which has resulted in the eCommerce industry becoming highly competitive. As an eCommerce store owner, one of your main priorities should be to provide your customers with a great shopping experience.\r\n\r\nWith so many options available, customers are spoiled for choice. If they make a purchase from your online store and have an unpleasant experience, they’re not likely to return. They may also give your store a bad review, resulting in a loss of potential customers.\r\n\r\nManaging an eCommerce store can be incredibly stressful and you’re likely to make a few unintentional errors along the way, especially if you’re a beginner. That’s why our web development experts at <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\">Actuate Agency</a> have made a list of some common eCommerce mistakes that you should avoid especially if you are a beginner.\r\n<h2>Let’s take a look.</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Choosing The Wrong eCommerce Platform</h3>\r\nOne of the most important aspects of building an eCommerce business is choosing the right platform. While there are numerous platforms to choose from, some only offer the most basic features while some have additional hidden costs, making them quite expensive.\r\n\r\nThe ideal eCommerce platform will grow with your business. It should have customisable features and options to upgrade as you scale and expand your online business. That’s why you need to conduct thorough research before <a href=\"https://www.sitecore.com/blog/commerce/4-risks-choosing-wrong-ecommerce-platform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">picking your eCommerce platform</a>.\r\n\r\nAt Actuate Agency, we can help you create your online store on efficient eCommerce platforms like <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/shopify-ecommerce/\">Shopify</a>, <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/\">Magento</a>, or <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/magento-ecommerce/magento-2/\">Magento 2</a>. If you’ve already got an online store, we can also help you migrate it to a more appropriate platform to enhance your business.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Get in touch with us</a> to create a satisfying online experience for your customers.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Not Understanding Your Target Audience</h3>\r\nYou cannot <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/how-to-create-an-ecommerce-plan/\">build a successful online business</a> if you don’t understand your product and audience. Instead of simply creating a product and assuming that your customers will buy it, you need to conduct market research to identify their needs.\r\n\r\nBy finding out what’s lacking in the existing options in the market, you can create products and services that will <a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/niche-market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cater to a niche audience</a>. The attractiveness and affordability of your products and services won’t matter if you’re unable to identify your target market.\r\n\r\nYou should also avoid pricing your products without any research. Gather essential information about your target audience and how you can solve their problems. This will help you appropriately price your products.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Not Providing A Great User Experience</h3>\r\nWhen it comes to eCommerce businesses, user experience is everything. One of the most common eCommerce mistakes is having a <a href=\"https://usabilitygeek.com/real-effects-bad-web-design/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">non-responsive website design</a>. If your users are unable to easily navigate your website, they’re more likely to abandon their shopping cart.\r\n\r\nTo help your potential customers find their desired products, your website should have clear product categories. You also need to ensure that your customers can easily find the contact information as well as shipping and return policies. Regardless of how good your products may be, if your website has too many glitches, it’ll gain a bad reputation.\r\n\r\nOur web design specialists at Actuate Agency can help you create an exceptional online store that provides your customers with a seamless user experience. With a visually appealing and functional website, you can make a great impression on your customers and increase your conversion rates.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Call us</a> to help you <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">design an impactful website</a>.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Not Effectively Showing Off Your Products</h3>\r\nAnother important aspect of your website is your product pages. Beginners’ eCommerce mistakes often include not providing proper information about products or not presenting products in a clear, attractive manner.\r\n\r\nYour product’s images and videos are the only reference materials your customers have to make a purchasing decision. If poor photography makes your products look unprofessional and unappealing, customers are unlikely to buy them.\r\n\r\nAside from showcasing your products in the best light, you also need to ensure that your <a href=\"https://www.referralcandy.com/blog/product-descriptions-that-sell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">product descriptions</a> are clear, concise, and persuasive. The descriptions should provide detailed information about your product’s key features and benefits.','4 Common eCommerce Mistakes That Beginners Make (And Should Avoid)','','inherit','closed','closed','','5724-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:37:09','2026-02-15 11:37:09','',5724,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8458',0,'revision','',0),(8459,1,'2026-02-15 11:44:22','2026-02-15 11:44:22','One of the main reasons why many businesses fail upon launching is because they don’t begin with a solid strategy. A great eCommerce business plan can be used as a roadmap to map the success of your company.\n\nThese business plans can help your company focus on its main goals while also allowing you to identify any <a href=\"https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6028-small-ecommerce-challenges.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">potential roadblocks</a> that it might face. Not only does it provide you with a better understanding of your business but it also helps evaluate any opportunities and address any weaknesses.\n\nIf you’ve got an eCommerce business or you’ve considered starting one, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work that goes into it. To help you navigate this complicated process, our experts at <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\">Actuate Agency</a> have prepared a list of elements to assist you in creating a successful eCommerce strategy and plan.\n\nLet’s take a look at these tips.\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">1. Create an Executive Summary</h2>\nYour executive summary should be a clear and concise one-page outline of your business idea. To create an executive summary, you will need to ask and answer certain questions about your business venture:\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">A) What Does Your Business Do?</h3>\nHere, you can provide a brief and easy-to-understand summary about what your business does, the industry your business is in, whether is it ‘business-to-business (often referred to as B2B) or business-to-consumer’ (B2C), and what products or services it sells or offers.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">B) What Are Your Business Goals?</h3>\nHere, you\'ll explain your vision for your business. Outline what you intend to accomplish with your business and how it stands out from its competitors in the market.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">C) What Are You Selling And To Whom?</h3>\nProvide a short overview of your products and services and explain why they’re better or more important than your competitors. You should also specify your target audience here.\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">2. Create a Company Overview</h2>\nBy providing a comprehensive overview of your company, your business plan’s reviewers will gain a better understanding of what type of business you run. This overview should include the following topics in detail.\n<ol class=\"list-alpha\">\n 	<li>A) Brand Name</li>\n 	<li>B) <a href=\"https://companieshouse.blog.gov.uk/2018/07/18/choosing-the-right-business-structure/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Business Legal Structure</a></li>\n 	<li>C) Domain Name</li>\n 	<li>D) Business Mission</li>\n 	<li>E) Your Vision</li>\n 	<li>F) Business’s Background Information</li>\n 	<li>G) Your Team</li>\n</ol>\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">3. Conduct a Market Analysis</h2>\nUnderstanding your target market is an essential part of growing your business and succeeding in the eCommerce industry. This part of the <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-strategy/\">eCommerce strategy plan</a> will help you study your competitors, learn about consumer demographics, and understand the market potential of your business.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">A) Market Opportunities</h3>\nFor your company to make profits, you need solid data to estimate how interested your target market is in your products and services. For this, you need to <a href=\"https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/customer-behaviour-data-driven-marketing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">understand your customer’s behaviours</a> as well as your industry’s growth and trends. You can conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to help you tackle issues that may negatively impact your business.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">B) Competitive Analysis</h3>\nBy conducting a <a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/competitive-analysis-kit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">competitive analysis</a>, you can identify your direct and indirect competitors and find out more about their strengths and weaknesses. Once you’ve determined what you are up against, you can position your brand as a better alternative.\n\nOur <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/\">web development specialists</a> can offer you exceptional eCommerce strategy solutions and help you create an effective roadmap for your business.\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Call us</a> to let us guide you in creating your eCommerce plan.\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">4. Create a Marketing Plan</h2>\nOnce you’ve created a business idea and chosen your niche, you need to make sales. An effective marketing plan will not only drive traffic to your website but also persuade your customers to buy your products.\n\nAfter determining your campaign budget, you will need to introduce your products and services to your potential customers.\n\nHere, your online store business plan could benefit from implementing the modern marketing <a href=\"https://blog.oxfordcollegeofmarketing.com/2020/10/08/understanding-the-7ps-of-the-marketing-mix/\">concept of the 7 Ps</a>. These include product, price, place, promotion, packaging, positioning, and people.\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">5. Create a Financial Plan</h2>\nTo create a business plan for an eCommerce startup business, you will need a stable financial plan. Determine if you plan to look for investors, take a business loan, create a crowdfunding campaign, or form an alliance with a wealthy partner.\n\nYour financial plan will require three major economic analyses: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement.\n\nThis will help you estimate your revenue and expenses and your required working capital. It will also help you determine your fixed and variable costs, allowing you to optimise your profit margins.\n\n&nbsp;','How to Create an Amazing eCommerce Plan to Improve Your Numbers','','inherit','closed','closed','','5721-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:44:22','2026-02-15 11:44:22','',5721,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8459',0,'revision','',0),(8460,1,'2026-02-15 11:44:54','2026-02-15 11:44:54','One of the main reasons why many businesses fail upon launching is because they don’t begin with a solid strategy. A great eCommerce business plan can be used as a roadmap to map the success of your company.\r\n\r\nThese business plans can help your company focus on its main goals while also allowing you to identify any <a href=\"https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6028-small-ecommerce-challenges.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">potential roadblocks</a> that it might face. Not only does it provide you with a better understanding of your business but it also helps evaluate any opportunities and address any weaknesses.\r\n\r\nIf you’ve got an eCommerce business or you’ve considered starting one, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work that goes into it. To help you navigate this complicated process, our experts at <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\">Actuate Agency</a> have prepared a list of elements to assist you in creating a successful eCommerce strategy and plan.\r\n\r\nLet’s take a look at these tips.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Create an Executive Summary</h2>\r\nYour executive summary should be a clear and concise one-page outline of your business idea. To create an executive summary, you will need to ask and answer certain questions about your business venture:\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">What Does Your Business Do?</h3>\r\nHere, you can provide a brief and easy-to-understand summary about what your business does, the industry your business is in, whether is it ‘business-to-business (often referred to as B2B) or business-to-consumer’ (B2C), and what products or services it sells or offers.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">What Are Your Business Goals?</h3>\r\nHere, you\'ll explain your vision for your business. Outline what you intend to accomplish with your business and how it stands out from its competitors in the market.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">What Are You Selling And To Whom?</h3>\r\nProvide a short overview of your products and services and explain why they’re better or more important than your competitors. You should also specify your target audience here.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Create a Company Overview</h2>\r\nBy providing a comprehensive overview of your company, your business plan’s reviewers will gain a better understanding of what type of business you run. This overview should include the following topics in detail.\r\n<ol class=\"list-alpha\">\r\n 	<li>Brand Name</li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"https://companieshouse.blog.gov.uk/2018/07/18/choosing-the-right-business-structure/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Business Legal Structure</a></li>\r\n 	<li>Domain Name</li>\r\n 	<li>Business Mission</li>\r\n 	<li>Your Vision</li>\r\n 	<li>Business’s Background Information</li>\r\n 	<li>Your Team</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Conduct a Market Analysis</h2>\r\nUnderstanding your target market is an essential part of growing your business and succeeding in the eCommerce industry. This part of the <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-strategy/\">eCommerce strategy plan</a> will help you study your competitors, learn about consumer demographics, and understand the market potential of your business.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">Market Opportunities</h3>\r\nFor your company to make profits, you need solid data to estimate how interested your target market is in your products and services. For this, you need to <a href=\"https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/customer-behaviour-data-driven-marketing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">understand your customer’s behaviours</a> as well as your industry’s growth and trends. You can conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to help you tackle issues that may negatively impact your business.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading-alpha\">Competitive Analysis</h3>\r\nBy conducting a <a href=\"https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/competitive-analysis-kit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">competitive analysis</a>, you can identify your direct and indirect competitors and find out more about their strengths and weaknesses. Once you’ve determined what you are up against, you can position your brand as a better alternative.\r\n\r\nOur <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/ecommerce-development/\">web development specialists</a> can offer you exceptional eCommerce strategy solutions and help you create an effective roadmap for your business.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Call us</a> to let us guide you in creating your eCommerce plan.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Create a Marketing Plan</h2>\r\nOnce you’ve created a business idea and chosen your niche, you need to make sales. An effective marketing plan will not only drive traffic to your website but also persuade your customers to buy your products.\r\n\r\nAfter determining your campaign budget, you will need to introduce your products and services to your potential customers.\r\n\r\nHere, your online store business plan could benefit from implementing the modern marketing <a href=\"https://blog.oxfordcollegeofmarketing.com/2020/10/08/understanding-the-7ps-of-the-marketing-mix/\">concept of the 7 Ps</a>. These include product, price, place, promotion, packaging, positioning, and people.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Create a Financial Plan</h2>\r\nTo create a business plan for an eCommerce startup business, you will need a stable financial plan. Determine if you plan to look for investors, take a business loan, create a crowdfunding campaign, or form an alliance with a wealthy partner.\r\n\r\nYour financial plan will require three major economic analyses: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement.\r\n\r\nThis will help you estimate your revenue and expenses and your required working capital. It will also help you determine your fixed and variable costs, allowing you to optimise your profit margins.','How to Create an Amazing eCommerce Plan to Improve Your Numbers','','inherit','closed','closed','','5721-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:44:54','2026-02-15 11:44:54','',5721,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8460',0,'revision','',0),(8461,1,'2026-02-15 11:54:01','2026-02-15 11:54:01','October has finally begun, which means that the spooky season of Halloween is quickly approaching. Now is a great time to begin your preparations and join in on that Halloween hype.\n\nHowever, if you have your business’ website to look after, you’ve got more than just your home to decorate for Halloween. Adding a Halloween twist to your site allows you to show your visitors the lighter side to your brand.\n\nYou can implement a variety of Halloween marketing ideas to your website and your social media channels to reflect the spirit of the spooky season.\n\nOur website design experts at <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\">Actuate</a> have curated several eerie and effective Halloween-specific ideas that can help you to spook up your website.\n\nLet’s check them out!\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">1. Add a Spooky Logo</h3>\nThere’s no better place to start than the trademark of your website. As is often done by Google, updating your <a href=\"https://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/best-google-doodles-1012933\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website logo for different festivals</a> and seasons is an excellent way to interact with your customers.\n\nHere’s where you can be very creative. Try adding Halloween colours or designs, like spider webs or witch hats, to your logo to spook it up. You could also add moving animations.\n\nOur <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">web design specialists</a> can help you come up with a variety of unique and eye-catching designs to add a creep factor to your logo.\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Reach out to us</a> to add a ghostly touch across your webpage.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">2. Create a Creepy Background</h3>\nEmbrace the spirit of Halloween, along with its colour palette, by adding splashes of orange, yellow, black and grey throughout your website. Just ensure that your Halloween-themed logo goes well with your website background, so none of the elements seem out of place or messy.\n\nYou can also add a creepy background image to enhance your Halloween theme. You’ll need web developers who have a way with web design to nail your Halloween look.\n\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Fill in this form</a> and let us know what spooky design ideas you need to bring to life this Halloween!\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">3. Add an Eerie Font</h3>\nAnother great way to add a spooky charm to your website is to change the fonts of your website text. Adding a spectral font to your website’s tagline and heading can be quite effective in grabbing the attention of your target audience.\n\nHowever, you should avoid using the ghost-like font in your website’s body copy, as it could affect its readability. You wouldn’t want your customers to have trouble reading your content now, would you?\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">4. Add Creepy Decor</h3>\nWhile decorating your website for Halloween, if you’d prefer to opt for something more subtle and creative, you can skip the colours and add some supernatural visuals instead.\n\nAmp up your Halloween aesthetic with some fun, animated designs, such as spiders hanging from webs or zombies and ghosts wandering around your homepage.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Offer Halloween Promotions</h3>\nOffering <a href=\"https://www.constantcontact.com/blog/best-holiday-promotions/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">holiday-specific promotions</a> is a great way to engage with your customers. You can offer a variety of discounts, especially if your website sells halloween decorations, costumes and gifts.\n\nIn order to encourage your customers to take advantage of your promotions and place orders, you could also add creative and catchy call-to-actions on your website.\n\nEerie touches like these throughout your online store are bound to create a buzz for your business.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Send Halloween Emails</h3>\nEmail marketing is a great way to let your customers know about your Halloween offers and promotions. Pick a <a href=\"https://email.uplers.com/blog/halloween-email-examples/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Halloween email</a> template and customise it to suit your brand.\n\nBe sure to add attractive Halloween-specific designs and images to make your email stand out from any competition. You could also customise your text to promote your products and services while also reflecting the spirit of Halloween.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Use Social Media</h3>\nAllow your Halloween marketing efforts to spill into your brand’s social media pages. This is an ideal way to interact with your customers and generate a buzz about your products and promotions.\n\nYou can create Halloween-centric social media campaigns, such as costume and photo contests.\n\nOn your website, you can also revamp your social media icons to match your Halloween designs. The design options here are endless!\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Create Halloween Content</h3>\nVarious minor and major holidays are excellent opportunities to attract new customers. Creating engaging and useful seasonal content can prove to be highly effective in driving traffic to your website.\n\nPeople often look for relevant content that is specific to an upcoming holiday. You can use this to your advantage by publishing themed content that still relates to your core business. Spoilers, this is what we’re doing right now!','8 Tips to Dress-up Your Website for Halloween in 2022','','inherit','closed','closed','','5112-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:54:01','2026-02-15 11:54:01','',5112,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8461',0,'revision','',0),(8462,1,'2026-02-15 11:54:15','2026-02-15 11:54:15','October has finally begun, which means that the spooky season of Halloween is quickly approaching. Now is a great time to begin your preparations and join in on that Halloween hype.\r\n\r\nHowever, if you have your business’ website to look after, you’ve got more than just your home to decorate for Halloween. Adding a Halloween twist to your site allows you to show your visitors the lighter side to your brand.\r\n\r\nYou can implement a variety of Halloween marketing ideas to your website and your social media channels to reflect the spirit of the spooky season.\r\n\r\nOur website design experts at <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/\">Actuate</a> have curated several eerie and effective Halloween-specific ideas that can help you to spook up your website.\r\n<h2>Let’s check them out!</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Add a Spooky Logo</h3>\r\nThere’s no better place to start than the trademark of your website. As is often done by Google, updating your <a href=\"https://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/best-google-doodles-1012933\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website logo for different festivals</a> and seasons is an excellent way to interact with your customers.\r\n\r\nHere’s where you can be very creative. Try adding Halloween colours or designs, like spider webs or witch hats, to your logo to spook it up. You could also add moving animations.\r\n\r\nOur <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/services/design-ux/\">web design specialists</a> can help you come up with a variety of unique and eye-catching designs to add a creep factor to your logo.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Reach out to us</a> to add a ghostly touch across your webpage.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Create a Creepy Background</h3>\r\nEmbrace the spirit of Halloween, along with its colour palette, by adding splashes of orange, yellow, black and grey throughout your website. Just ensure that your Halloween-themed logo goes well with your website background, so none of the elements seem out of place or messy.\r\n\r\nYou can also add a creepy background image to enhance your Halloween theme. You’ll need web developers who have a way with web design to nail your Halloween look.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/contact/\">Fill in this form</a> and let us know what spooky design ideas you need to bring to life this Halloween!\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Add an Eerie Font</h3>\r\nAnother great way to add a spooky charm to your website is to change the fonts of your website text. Adding a spectral font to your website’s tagline and heading can be quite effective in grabbing the attention of your target audience.\r\n\r\nHowever, you should avoid using the ghost-like font in your website’s body copy, as it could affect its readability. You wouldn’t want your customers to have trouble reading your content now, would you?\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Add Creepy Decor</h3>\r\nWhile decorating your website for Halloween, if you’d prefer to opt for something more subtle and creative, you can skip the colours and add some supernatural visuals instead.\r\n\r\nAmp up your Halloween aesthetic with some fun, animated designs, such as spiders hanging from webs or zombies and ghosts wandering around your homepage.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Offer Halloween Promotions</h3>\r\nOffering <a href=\"https://www.constantcontact.com/blog/best-holiday-promotions/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">holiday-specific promotions</a> is a great way to engage with your customers. You can offer a variety of discounts, especially if your website sells halloween decorations, costumes and gifts.\r\n\r\nIn order to encourage your customers to take advantage of your promotions and place orders, you could also add creative and catchy call-to-actions on your website.\r\n\r\nEerie touches like these throughout your online store are bound to create a buzz for your business.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Send Halloween Emails</h3>\r\nEmail marketing is a great way to let your customers know about your Halloween offers and promotions. Pick a <a href=\"https://email.uplers.com/blog/halloween-email-examples/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Halloween email</a> template and customise it to suit your brand.\r\n\r\nBe sure to add attractive Halloween-specific designs and images to make your email stand out from any competition. You could also customise your text to promote your products and services while also reflecting the spirit of Halloween.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Use Social Media</h3>\r\nAllow your Halloween marketing efforts to spill into your brand’s social media pages. This is an ideal way to interact with your customers and generate a buzz about your products and promotions.\r\n\r\nYou can create Halloween-centric social media campaigns, such as costume and photo contests.\r\n\r\nOn your website, you can also revamp your social media icons to match your Halloween designs. The design options here are endless!\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Create Halloween Content</h3>\r\nVarious minor and major holidays are excellent opportunities to attract new customers. Creating engaging and useful seasonal content can prove to be highly effective in driving traffic to your website.\r\n\r\nPeople often look for relevant content that is specific to an upcoming holiday. You can use this to your advantage by publishing themed content that still relates to your core business. Spoilers, this is what we’re doing right now!','8 Tips to Dress-up Your Website for Halloween in 2022','','inherit','closed','closed','','5112-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:54:15','2026-02-15 11:54:15','',5112,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8462',0,'revision','',0),(8463,1,'2026-02-15 11:56:20','2026-02-15 11:56:20','As the pace at which the world goes digital increases, it’s no secret that your business should have a website.\n\nIf you’re selling products at scale, there’s so much you stand to gain with a well-built and well-optimised <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/seo/myths-facts-about-e-commerce/\">eCommerce website</a>.\n\nA strong website helps build a great first impression, attract and create a solid client base, amplify brand awareness, and do so much more, giving you another channel to achieve your business goals.\n\nWhilst you might think your website is perfect, there is always room for upgrades and fixes. What\'s more, upgrading from time to time can help <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/what-is-ecommerce-customer-experience-and-why-does-it-matter/\">you increase your traffic.</a>\n\nIt’s always a good idea to test new updates before putting them up. What this basically means is that you cannot simply predict what would work without testing it first.\n\nA/B split testing makes this possible by splitting your audience so you can test variations of your upgrades and campaigns before you roll things out.\n\nTo make it simple for you, the experts at Actuate have put together a guide on how A/B split testing works.\n\nLet\'s take a look!\n<h2>A/B Split Testing Explained</h2>\nThe logic behind A/B split testing is quite simple. You essentially present version A of your campaign to one half of the audience, while the other half is presented with version B.\n\nEveryone who visits your website is going to react differently to the changes they see. The difference in their response is valuable data that you can use. Since everyone behaves differently, you are able to get a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.\n\nFor example, you might want to test if moving your “<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/increasing-sales-with-buy-now-pay-later/\">Buy Now!</a>” button to the top of your homepage increases click-through rates. With A/B split testing, there would be an alternative webpage that implements the new placement.\n\nHalf of your audience will be directed to this webpage, while the other half is directed towards the original. This happens over a period of time to collect data.\n\nAfter you receive the A/B testing analysis, you will find out whether there has indeed been an increase in click-through rates due to a change in placement.\n<h2>The A/B Split Testing Process</h2>\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">1Pick Your Variable</h3>\nWhen you wish to optimise your website, you may have a number of changes you want to make. However, it’s better to test one specific variable separately to obtain true results.\n\nWhile it’s possible to test more than one variable at a time, you should test them one at a time. We do this because it is possible that a combination of variables might affect <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/an-introduction-to-customer-personas-and-their-importance-to-your-business-and-website/\">consumer behaviour</a>, and it becomes too difficult to pinpoint exactly what has caused the change.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Identify Your Goal</h3>\nBefore you go ahead with the test, you need to decide upon your exact goals. What are you trying to measure? What do you want to achieve out of this test?\n\nIt\'s important to choose a primary metric to focus on before you run the test. This way, you’ll receive more focused results which will pave the way for a more successful website optimisation.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Split Your Sample</h3>\nA/B testing split traffic is basically an equally divided website traffic. Your sample is the number of people you are testing. For A/B testing, you are required to split your sample equally in two groups.\n\nAdditionally, an important tip to remember is that if <a href=\"https://tools4dev.org/resources/how-to-choose-a-sample-size/#:~:text=A%20good%20maximum%20sample%20size%20is%20usually%20around%2010%25%20of,the%20maximum%20would%20be%201000.\">your sample size</a> is large, your results are going to be more conclusive.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Select an A/B Testing Tool</h3>\nA/B testing tools basically help you to be better equipped to compare your alternative website with the original. Using A/B testing tools is important to the test to be able to understand the results.\n\nGoogle Analytics is one of the most <a href=\"https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/ab-testing-google-analytics/\">efficient tools for A/B split testing</a>. It lets you compare up to ten versions of your webpage and offers detailed insights. Remember to give it time to collect enough data to be able to produce conclusive results.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Make Appropriate Changes</h3>\nOnce the A/B testing analysis is complete, you can compare the insights you receive. If one variation is better than the other, you can update your website with the more favourable changes.\n\nHowever, it is possible that the alternative version is not better than the original. In this case, your results will be marked as inconclusive. You should then continue with the original version or run another test.','The Beginner’s Guide To A/B Split Testing','','inherit','closed','closed','','5095-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:56:20','2026-02-15 11:56:20','',5095,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8463',0,'revision','',0),(8464,1,'2026-02-15 11:56:24','2026-02-15 11:56:24','As the pace at which the world goes digital increases, it’s no secret that your business should have a website.\r\n\r\nIf you’re selling products at scale, there’s so much you stand to gain with a well-built and well-optimised <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/seo/myths-facts-about-e-commerce/\">eCommerce website</a>.\r\n\r\nA strong website helps build a great first impression, attract and create a solid client base, amplify brand awareness, and do so much more, giving you another channel to achieve your business goals.\r\n\r\nWhilst you might think your website is perfect, there is always room for upgrades and fixes. What\'s more, upgrading from time to time can help <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/ecommerce/what-is-ecommerce-customer-experience-and-why-does-it-matter/\">you increase your traffic.</a>\r\n\r\nIt’s always a good idea to test new updates before putting them up. What this basically means is that you cannot simply predict what would work without testing it first.\r\n\r\nA/B split testing makes this possible by splitting your audience so you can test variations of your upgrades and campaigns before you roll things out.\r\n\r\nTo make it simple for you, the experts at Actuate have put together a guide on how A/B split testing works.\r\n\r\nLet\'s take a look!\r\n<h2>A/B Split Testing Explained</h2>\r\nThe logic behind A/B split testing is quite simple. You essentially present version A of your campaign to one half of the audience, while the other half is presented with version B.\r\n\r\nEveryone who visits your website is going to react differently to the changes they see. The difference in their response is valuable data that you can use. Since everyone behaves differently, you are able to get a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.\r\n\r\nFor example, you might want to test if moving your “<a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/increasing-sales-with-buy-now-pay-later/\">Buy Now!</a>” button to the top of your homepage increases click-through rates. With A/B split testing, there would be an alternative webpage that implements the new placement.\r\n\r\nHalf of your audience will be directed to this webpage, while the other half is directed towards the original. This happens over a period of time to collect data.\r\n\r\nAfter you receive the A/B testing analysis, you will find out whether there has indeed been an increase in click-through rates due to a change in placement.\r\n<h2>The A/B Split Testing Process</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Pick Your Variable</h3>\r\nWhen you wish to optimise your website, you may have a number of changes you want to make. However, it’s better to test one specific variable separately to obtain true results.\r\n\r\nWhile it’s possible to test more than one variable at a time, you should test them one at a time. We do this because it is possible that a combination of variables might affect <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/an-introduction-to-customer-personas-and-their-importance-to-your-business-and-website/\">consumer behaviour</a>, and it becomes too difficult to pinpoint exactly what has caused the change.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Identify Your Goal</h3>\r\nBefore you go ahead with the test, you need to decide upon your exact goals. What are you trying to measure? What do you want to achieve out of this test?\r\n\r\nIt\'s important to choose a primary metric to focus on before you run the test. This way, you’ll receive more focused results which will pave the way for a more successful website optimisation.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Split Your Sample</h3>\r\nA/B testing split traffic is basically an equally divided website traffic. Your sample is the number of people you are testing. For A/B testing, you are required to split your sample equally in two groups.\r\n\r\nAdditionally, an important tip to remember is that if <a href=\"https://tools4dev.org/resources/how-to-choose-a-sample-size/#:~:text=A%20good%20maximum%20sample%20size%20is%20usually%20around%2010%25%20of,the%20maximum%20would%20be%201000.\">your sample size</a> is large, your results are going to be more conclusive.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Select an A/B Testing Tool</h3>\r\nA/B testing tools basically help you to be better equipped to compare your alternative website with the original. Using A/B testing tools is important to the test to be able to understand the results.\r\n\r\nGoogle Analytics is one of the most <a href=\"https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/ab-testing-google-analytics/\">efficient tools for A/B split testing</a>. It lets you compare up to ten versions of your webpage and offers detailed insights. Remember to give it time to collect enough data to be able to produce conclusive results.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Make Appropriate Changes</h3>\r\nOnce the A/B testing analysis is complete, you can compare the insights you receive. If one variation is better than the other, you can update your website with the more favourable changes.\r\n\r\nHowever, it is possible that the alternative version is not better than the original. In this case, your results will be marked as inconclusive. You should then continue with the original version or run another test.','The Beginner’s Guide To A/B Split Testing','','inherit','closed','closed','','5095-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:56:24','2026-02-15 11:56:24','',5095,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8464',0,'revision','',0),(8465,1,'2026-02-15 11:57:51','2026-02-15 11:57:51','No matter what type of business you’re running, your website needs to be designed in a way that ensures a good experience for your visitors.\n\nWhether you’re directing your visitors to make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter or interact with the content on your page, you need to focus on your UX design.\n\nThis is especially true for startup businesses, as they need to focus on establishing their brand and creating a good client base. However, UX design for startups can be a complex process, which is why a professional website design agency, like Actuate, can help.\n\nWe work with you to <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/an-introduction-to-customer-personas-and-their-importance-to-your-business-and-website/\">understand your audience</a> and their preferences and objectives. With this information, we create a prototype design for you and carry out multiple user tests, before coming to the perfect solution for your website.\n\nTo help you out, we’ve laid out a couple of ways in which UX design is <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/insights/the-importance-of-user-experience-design-for-your-website/\">beneficial for your startup</a>. Let’s take a look!\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Understanding Your Product’s Value</h3>\nStartup businesses often fail to understand the value that their product or service provides before presenting it to their market. It is important to validate and understand the kind of market you are targeting and to find out the exact solutions that your product provides to customers.\n\nLuckily, when it comes to UX design for startups, you can find out exactly how your products will make a difference. With the help of prototypes and user testing, you can create test versions of your products and release them to your target audience.\n\nThis process helps you to determine exactly how your customers use your product and how well it is working.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increasing Conversion Rates</h3>\nWhen it comes to designing for startups, one of the most important goals you want to achieve is to <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/seo/getting-to-grips-with-local-seo-part-2/\">bring up the conversion rates</a>. Startup businesses often face the trouble of not achieving conversions, despite having a fully functional website.\n\nStartup UX design, however, covers everything you need, including helping to encourage your audience to buy from you. Designing for startups essentially involves looking after the purchase process for you. If your purchase process is well-designed, short and straightforward, you’re going to see fewer people <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/increasing-sales-with-buy-now-pay-later/\">abandoning their carts</a>, boosting your conversion rate.\n\nWith the help of a specialist agency, you can set up a no-nonsense purchase path that gives clear, concise information to your customers, making buying as easy as possible.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Understanding CAC</h3>\nAs a startup business, it is important to <a href=\"https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/accounting/customer-acquisition-cost-cac/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">understand your CAC</a> (customer acquisition cost). You need to pay attention to ensure that your investment into CAC is not higher than your returns. UX design for startups provides excellent solutions for this problem.\n\nFor example, through A/B split testing, you can work towards the best CAC possible. Moreover, UX design also helps you to understand customer journeys or the key stages that they go through when they visit your website. This helps you to identify where users have difficulty and then you can make the necessary improvements.\n\nThe first five minutes of a user’s time on your website will decide whether they continue their journey or leave. This is why it is important to adopt the right UX design ideas and solutions to keep your audience interested.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">4A Base for New Ideas</h3>\nUX design helps you better understand your target audience, their objectives and their preferences. It also helps you understand how well your products and services are performing. Once you have this information, it’s easier to build a <a href=\"https://www.wellersaccountants.co.uk/blog/8-key-elements-of-a-business-plan-you-need-to-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proper business plan</a>.\n\nHowever, UX design can also be a platform for new ideas. With the range of information that it provides on your products and your customers, you can rely on this data to launch new competitive products.\n\nThrough UX design, you can perform in-depth market research and analysis to come up with better ideas for new products and services.','4 Reasons Why You Need UX Design for Startups','','inherit','closed','closed','','5103-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:57:51','2026-02-15 11:57:51','',5103,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8465',0,'revision','',0),(8466,1,'2026-02-15 11:57:58','2026-02-15 11:57:58','No matter what type of business you’re running, your website needs to be designed in a way that ensures a good experience for your visitors.\r\n\r\nWhether you’re directing your visitors to make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter or interact with the content on your page, you need to focus on your UX design.\r\n\r\nThis is especially true for startup businesses, as they need to focus on establishing their brand and creating a good client base. However, UX design for startups can be a complex process, which is why a professional website design agency, like Actuate, can help.\r\n\r\nWe work with you to <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/an-introduction-to-customer-personas-and-their-importance-to-your-business-and-website/\">understand your audience</a> and their preferences and objectives. With this information, we create a prototype design for you and carry out multiple user tests, before coming to the perfect solution for your website.\r\n\r\nTo help you out, we’ve laid out a couple of ways in which UX design is <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/insights/the-importance-of-user-experience-design-for-your-website/\">beneficial for your startup</a>.\r\n<h2>Let’s take a look!</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Understanding Your Product’s Value</h3>\r\nStartup businesses often fail to understand the value that their product or service provides before presenting it to their market. It is important to validate and understand the kind of market you are targeting and to find out the exact solutions that your product provides to customers.\r\n\r\nLuckily, when it comes to UX design for startups, you can find out exactly how your products will make a difference. With the help of prototypes and user testing, you can create test versions of your products and release them to your target audience.\r\n\r\nThis process helps you to determine exactly how your customers use your product and how well it is working.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increasing Conversion Rates</h3>\r\nWhen it comes to designing for startups, one of the most important goals you want to achieve is to <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/seo/getting-to-grips-with-local-seo-part-2/\">bring up the conversion rates</a>. Startup businesses often face the trouble of not achieving conversions, despite having a fully functional website.\r\n\r\nStartup UX design, however, covers everything you need, including helping to encourage your audience to buy from you. Designing for startups essentially involves looking after the purchase process for you. If your purchase process is well-designed, short and straightforward, you’re going to see fewer people <a href=\"https://actuate.webpreview.co/digital-strategy/increasing-sales-with-buy-now-pay-later/\">abandoning their carts</a>, boosting your conversion rate.\r\n\r\nWith the help of a specialist agency, you can set up a no-nonsense purchase path that gives clear, concise information to your customers, making buying as easy as possible.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Understanding CAC</h3>\r\nAs a startup business, it is important to <a href=\"https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/accounting/customer-acquisition-cost-cac/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">understand your CAC</a> (customer acquisition cost). You need to pay attention to ensure that your investment into CAC is not higher than your returns. UX design for startups provides excellent solutions for this problem.\r\n\r\nFor example, through A/B split testing, you can work towards the best CAC possible. Moreover, UX design also helps you to understand customer journeys or the key stages that they go through when they visit your website. This helps you to identify where users have difficulty and then you can make the necessary improvements.\r\n\r\nThe first five minutes of a user’s time on your website will decide whether they continue their journey or leave. This is why it is important to adopt the right UX design ideas and solutions to keep your audience interested.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">A Base for New Ideas</h3>\r\nUX design helps you better understand your target audience, their objectives and their preferences. It also helps you understand how well your products and services are performing. Once you have this information, it’s easier to build a <a href=\"https://www.wellersaccountants.co.uk/blog/8-key-elements-of-a-business-plan-you-need-to-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proper business plan</a>.\r\n\r\nHowever, UX design can also be a platform for new ideas. With the range of information that it provides on your products and your customers, you can rely on this data to launch new competitive products.\r\n\r\nThrough UX design, you can perform in-depth market research and analysis to come up with better ideas for new products and services.','4 Reasons Why You Need UX Design for Startups','','inherit','closed','closed','','5103-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:57:58','2026-02-15 11:57:58','',5103,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8466',0,'revision','',0),(8467,1,'2026-02-15 11:58:29','2026-02-15 11:58:29','<h2>Magento Update: Security Patch.</h2>\nLast week Adobe announced a security release for their current Magento platforms 2.3.x and 2.4.x. This security patch covers a serious vulnerability in their platform.\n\nThe patches MDVA-43395 and MDVA-43443 help to close a arbitrary code execution exploit.\n\nAll Magento users on 2.3.x and 2.4.x are advised to apply these patches as soon as possible. Users on versions 2.2.x and below are urged to move to 2.4.x as versions 2.2 and below are no longer supported.\n\n<strong>You can find more information on the latest security patches below:</strong>\n<ul>\n 	<li><a href=\"https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb22-12.html\">Adobe Security Bulletin</a></li>\n 	<li><a href=\"https://support.magento.com/hc/en-us/articles/4426353041293-Security-updates-available-for-Adobe-Commerce-APSB22-12-\">Developer Installation Notes</a></li>\n</ul>','Urgent Security Fix for Magento 2.3 & 2.4','','inherit','closed','closed','','5706-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:58:29','2026-02-15 11:58:29','',5706,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8467',0,'revision','',0),(8468,1,'2026-02-15 11:58:40','2026-02-15 11:58:40','<h2>Magento Update: Security Patch.</h2>\r\nLast week Adobe announced a security release for their current Magento platforms 2.3.x and 2.4.x. This security patch covers a serious vulnerability in their platform.\r\n\r\nThe patches MDVA-43395 and MDVA-43443 help to close a arbitrary code execution exploit.\r\n\r\nAll Magento users on 2.3.x and 2.4.x are advised to apply these patches as soon as possible. Users on versions 2.2.x and below are urged to move to 2.4.x as versions 2.2 and below are no longer supported.\r\n<h3>You can find more information on the latest security patches below:</h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/magento/apsb22-12.html\">Adobe Security Bulletin</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"https://support.magento.com/hc/en-us/articles/4426353041293-Security-updates-available-for-Adobe-Commerce-APSB22-12-\">Developer Installation Notes</a></li>\r\n</ul>','Urgent Security Fix for Magento 2.3 & 2.4','','inherit','closed','closed','','5706-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:58:40','2026-02-15 11:58:40','',5706,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8468',0,'revision','',0),(8469,1,'2026-02-15 11:59:44','2026-02-15 11:59:44','The Magento 2.4.3 update is now available. This update is a big one! The release includes over 370 new fixes to the core code and 33 security enhancements. It’s really important to keep up to date with Magento releases. These releases not only help keep the day to day running of your online store smooth, they also help to keep it secure.\n<h2>What’s in the 2.4.3 update?</h2>\nThis release is bursting with enhancements! There are literally pages and pages of details available to read <a href=\"https://devdocs-beta.magento.com/guides/v2.4/release-notes/open-source-2-4-3.html\">here</a>. We know you’re busy so we’ve picked out some of our favourite highlights that we think will benefit you the most:\n<h3>Substantial Security Enhancements</h3>\nWe all want to make sure that our customers\' details are secure. The latest release includes 33 Security patches that help to close remote code execution (RCE and cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities.\n<h3>New Composer Plugin</h3>\nThe new Composer Plugin for Magento Open Source will minimize a security vulnerability known as dependency confusion. The plugin will perform integrity checks during installation.\n<h3>Infrastructure Updates</h3>\nThis includes enhanced functionality within the Customer Account, Catalog, Cart &amp; Checkout and Promotions to name a few!\n<h3>PayPal Pay Later</h3>\nOffering a “buy now, pay later” service to your customers can help increase sales. Magento 2.4.3 now supports Paypal Pay Later allowing customers to pay for their order in bi-weekly installments rather than at the time of purchase.\n<h3>Performance Enhancements</h3>\nThe improvements decrease indexation time for Product Price and Catalog Rule indexers. It also exclude a website from a customer group or shared catalog, which reduces the number of records for indexing and improves indexing times.\n<h3>Page Builder</h3>\nThe Page Builder extension is now the default content editing tool for Adobe Commerce 2.4.3 and Magento Open Source 2.4.3. If required, it can replace the WYSIWYG editor with any third-party module.\n\nPage Builder replaces the TinyMCE editor in the following Admin areas:\n\nCMS Page\n\nCMS Block\n\nCategory Description\n\nProduct Description\n\nAll the content created in TinyMCE has been migrated into Page Builder as HTML.\n<h3>Bundle Products</h3>\nThere have been some great improvements to the Bundle Product feature including the ability to add a bundle product with more than one checkbox option to the cart. Also, the stock status is now updated based on the stock levels of the child products.\n<h4>How Can You Update to Magento 2.4.3?</h4>\nWe highly recommend upgrading your website to Magento 2.4.3 as soon as possible. After the update your store will deliver an even better user experience which is more secure than ever.\n\nActuate can help you to upgrade to Magento 2.4.3 in a smooth and timely fashion. We will clone your existing site and perform the update to it before deploying to your live website. This ensures minimal down time to your business by ironing out any bugs on the development site first.\n\nFor details on a full website audit and upgrade to Magento 2.4.3 call us on 0161 672 0877.\n\nWe will look forward to hearing from you.','Magento 2.4.3 Update','','inherit','closed','closed','','4917-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:59:44','2026-02-15 11:59:44','',4917,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8469',0,'revision','',0),(8470,1,'2026-02-15 11:59:52','2026-02-15 11:59:52','The Magento 2.4.3 update is now available. This update is a big one! The release includes over 370 new fixes to the core code and 33 security enhancements. It’s really important to keep up to date with Magento releases. These releases not only help keep the day to day running of your online store smooth, they also help to keep it secure.\r\n<h2>What’s in the 2.4.3 update?</h2>\r\nThis release is bursting with enhancements! There are literally pages and pages of details available to read <a href=\"https://devdocs-beta.magento.com/guides/v2.4/release-notes/open-source-2-4-3.html\">here</a>. We know you’re busy so we’ve picked out some of our favourite highlights that we think will benefit you the most:\r\n<h3>Substantial Security Enhancements</h3>\r\nWe all want to make sure that our customers\' details are secure. The latest release includes 33 Security patches that help to close remote code execution (RCE and cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities.\r\n<h3>New Composer Plugin</h3>\r\nThe new Composer Plugin for Magento Open Source will minimize a security vulnerability known as dependency confusion. The plugin will perform integrity checks during installation.\r\n<h3>Infrastructure Updates</h3>\r\nThis includes enhanced functionality within the Customer Account, Catalog, Cart &amp; Checkout and Promotions to name a few!\r\n<h3>PayPal Pay Later</h3>\r\nOffering a “buy now, pay later” service to your customers can help increase sales. Magento 2.4.3 now supports Paypal Pay Later allowing customers to pay for their order in bi-weekly installments rather than at the time of purchase.\r\n<h3>Performance Enhancements</h3>\r\nThe improvements decrease indexation time for Product Price and Catalog Rule indexers. It also exclude a website from a customer group or shared catalog, which reduces the number of records for indexing and improves indexing times.\r\n<h3>Page Builder</h3>\r\nThe Page Builder extension is now the default content editing tool for Adobe Commerce 2.4.3 and Magento Open Source 2.4.3. If required, it can replace the WYSIWYG editor with any third-party module.\r\n\r\nPage Builder replaces the TinyMCE editor in the following Admin areas:\r\n\r\nCMS Page\r\n\r\nCMS Block\r\n\r\nCategory Description\r\n\r\nProduct Description\r\n\r\nAll the content created in TinyMCE has been migrated into Page Builder as HTML.\r\n<h3>Bundle Products</h3>\r\nThere have been some great improvements to the Bundle Product feature including the ability to add a bundle product with more than one checkbox option to the cart. Also, the stock status is now updated based on the stock levels of the child products.','Magento 2.4.3 Update','','inherit','closed','closed','','4917-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 11:59:52','2026-02-15 11:59:52','',4917,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8470',0,'revision','',0),(8471,1,'2026-02-15 12:00:09','2026-02-15 12:00:09','The Magento 2.4.3 update is now available. This update is a big one! The release includes over 370 new fixes to the core code and 33 security enhancements. It’s really important to keep up to date with Magento releases. These releases not only help keep the day to day running of your online store smooth, they also help to keep it secure.\r\n<h2>What’s in the 2.4.3 update?</h2>\r\nThis release is bursting with enhancements! There are literally pages and pages of details available to read <a href=\"https://devdocs-beta.magento.com/guides/v2.4/release-notes/open-source-2-4-3.html\">here</a>. We know you’re busy so we’ve picked out some of our favourite highlights that we think will benefit you the most:\r\n<h3>Substantial Security Enhancements</h3>\r\nWe all want to make sure that our customers\' details are secure. The latest release includes 33 Security patches that help to close remote code execution (RCE and cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities.\r\n<h3>New Composer Plugin</h3>\r\nThe new Composer Plugin for Magento Open Source will minimize a security vulnerability known as dependency confusion. The plugin will perform integrity checks during installation.\r\n<h3>Infrastructure Updates</h3>\r\nThis includes enhanced functionality within the Customer Account, Catalog, Cart &amp; Checkout and Promotions to name a few!\r\n<h3>PayPal Pay Later</h3>\r\nOffering a “buy now, pay later” service to your customers can help increase sales. Magento 2.4.3 now supports Paypal Pay Later allowing customers to pay for their order in bi-weekly installments rather than at the time of purchase.\r\n<h3>Performance Enhancements</h3>\r\nThe improvements decrease indexation time for Product Price and Catalog Rule indexers. It also exclude a website from a customer group or shared catalog, which reduces the number of records for indexing and improves indexing times.\r\n<h3>Page Builder</h3>\r\nThe Page Builder extension is now the default content editing tool for Adobe Commerce 2.4.3 and Magento Open Source 2.4.3. If required, it can replace the WYSIWYG editor with any third-party module.\r\n\r\nPage Builder replaces the TinyMCE editor in the following Admin areas:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>CMS Page</li>\r\n 	<li>CMS Block</li>\r\n 	<li>Category Description</li>\r\n 	<li>Product Description</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAll the content created in TinyMCE has been migrated into Page Builder as HTML.\r\n<h3>Bundle Products</h3>\r\nThere have been some great improvements to the Bundle Product feature including the ability to add a bundle product with more than one checkbox option to the cart. Also, the stock status is now updated based on the stock levels of the child products.','Magento 2.4.3 Update','','inherit','closed','closed','','4917-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:00:09','2026-02-15 12:00:09','',4917,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8471',0,'revision','',0),(8472,1,'2026-02-15 12:00:19','2026-02-15 12:00:19','The Magento 2.4.3 update is now available. This update is a big one! The release includes over 370 new fixes to the core code and 33 security enhancements. It’s really important to keep up to date with Magento releases. These releases not only help keep the day to day running of your online store smooth, they also help to keep it secure.\r\n<h2>What’s in the 2.4.3 update?</h2>\r\nThis release is bursting with enhancements! There are literally pages and pages of details available to read <a href=\"https://devdocs-beta.magento.com/guides/v2.4/release-notes/open-source-2-4-3.html\">here</a>. We know you’re busy so we’ve picked out some of our favourite highlights that we think will benefit you the most:\r\n<h3>Substantial Security Enhancements</h3>\r\nWe all want to make sure that our customers\' details are secure. The latest release includes 33 Security patches that help to close remote code execution (RCE and cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities.\r\n<h3>New Composer Plugin</h3>\r\nThe new Composer Plugin for Magento Open Source will minimize a security vulnerability known as dependency confusion. The plugin will perform integrity checks during installation.\r\n<h3>Infrastructure Updates</h3>\r\nThis includes enhanced functionality within the Customer Account, Catalog, Cart &amp; Checkout and Promotions to name a few!\r\n<h3>PayPal Pay Later</h3>\r\nOffering a “buy now, pay later” service to your customers can help increase sales. Magento 2.4.3 now supports Paypal Pay Later allowing customers to pay for their order in bi-weekly installments rather than at the time of purchase.\r\n<h3>Performance Enhancements</h3>\r\nThe improvements decrease indexation time for Product Price and Catalog Rule indexers. It also exclude a website from a customer group or shared catalog, which reduces the number of records for indexing and improves indexing times.\r\n<h3>Page Builder</h3>\r\nThe Page Builder extension is now the default content editing tool for Adobe Commerce 2.4.3 and Magento Open Source 2.4.3. If required, it can replace the WYSIWYG editor with any third-party module.\r\n\r\nPage Builder replaces the TinyMCE editor in the following Admin areas:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>CMS Page</li>\r\n 	<li>CMS Block</li>\r\n 	<li>Category Description</li>\r\n 	<li>Product Description</li>\r\n 	<li>All the content created in TinyMCE has been migrated into Page Builder as HTML.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Bundle Products</h3>\r\nThere have been some great improvements to the Bundle Product feature including the ability to add a bundle product with more than one checkbox option to the cart. Also, the stock status is now updated based on the stock levels of the child products.','Magento 2.4.3 Update','','inherit','closed','closed','','4917-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:00:19','2026-02-15 12:00:19','',4917,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8472',0,'revision','',0),(8473,1,'2026-02-15 12:01:12','2026-02-15 12:01:12','eCommerce customer experience refers specifically to the digital experience a business delivers to their customers. This experience can often trigger an emotional response which will keep the customer coming back time and time again. The digital experience often starts way before your customers will even land on your website, however for the purpose of this insight post this is exactly where we are going to focus on.\n\nYour website should cater to your customers. When in discovery meetings with clients we often tell them that it doesn’t really matter what they think about their website, it’s their customers’ opinion that is important. Your website should be mindful of the exchanges being made between your brand and the customer. It should invoke a positive, emotional feeling that will ensure your customer is compelled to make their purchase and become a repeat customer. By delivering an optimised and personalised experience you’ll show customers that your business cares.\n<h2>Why is eCommerce Customer Experience so important?</h2>\nYour eCommerce customer experience can set your company apart from your competitors. By being customer focused you will remove all of those pain points that cause customers to abandon their basket, if they even get that far! Therefore making your company more competitive and ultimately increasing sales and business growth. It is reported that customers will even pay more for the exact same product if the customer experience is great!\n\nThere are some quick wins that can really enhance your customer experience. Let’s take a look at what you can do today to enhance your website.\n\nMake sure the basics are in place.\n\nBy basics we’re talking about things like navigation, search functionality and product information. It’s reported that almost 80% of customers abandon their purchases because their experience with these pieces of functionality is poor...leading them straight into the arms of your competitor. If you get angry using your website, imagine how your poor customers must feel!\n\nThink about it from your customers point of view, are your categories structured correctly so that products are easy to find? Could you find your best seller in two clicks? A thoughtful layout will make your site easy to navigate and will reduce abandonment, helping to drive sales.\n\nConsider adding intelligent search to your website, where AI recognises what the customer is searching for and makes suggestions. You can even add a ‘buy now’ button to the search results making it even faster for the customer to make their purchase.\n\nMake sure your products have detailed product information. By giving your potential customers as many details as possible you can empower them to make the correct purchasing decision. Creative messaging can also help to highlight some of the key product features, making it even easier for the customer to make their product selection.\n<ul>\n 	<li>Inspire your customers</li>\n</ul>\nThere are lots of clever things you can do to inspire your customers’ purchasing decisions. Did you know you can suggest specific products based on the weather report at your customers location? Using geolocation can determine where your customer is and suggest appropriate products. For example, it’s forecast rain in Manchester, perhaps your customer needs a new coat! Use the featured product section to make these suggestions and inspire purchases!\n<ul>\n 	<li>Be Mobile Friendly</li>\n</ul>\nIt is reported that over 55% of consumers worldwide make purchases online using their mobile phone. If your website doesn’t offer a streamlined mobile experience you could be missing out on huge sales. The same rules apply for mobile websites as they do desktop. Take it back to the basics and make sure the navigation, search functionality and product information are all present, correct and easy to use.\n<ul>\n 	<li>Offer Flexible Delivery Options</li>\n</ul>\nThis is often an overlooked element of customer experience. Offering customers different options for delivery gives them freedom. For example, you might think that offering free standard delivery is a great service, but what if your customer is willing to pay for next day delivery? By offering this as an upgrade your customers are more likely to go through and complete their purchase as you offer what they want.\n\nWhilst we’re talking about delivery, make sure your delivery options are obvious, where possible have it detailed on the product page. We’ve already discussed how creating a positive emotional response can boost sales, it is also possible to trigger a negative emotional response which should be avoided at all costs. No one likes to get all the way through to the checkout process only to find delivery will take 10 days! This is guaranteed to cause abandoned baskets and potential customers that you’ll probably never see again.\n<ul>\n 	<li>Offer Flexible Purchasing Options</li>\n</ul>\nMuch like offering multiple delivery options, offering different payment options is key to a good customer experience. Obviously taking card payments and Paypal is a no brainer, but have you considered adding Klarna, Zip or Clearpay? Adding one of these payment options allows your customers to split their payments over 3 interest free monthly payments which can be extremely convenient for many people. Don’t worry, you still get paid in full at the time of the purchase.\n\nAfter you’ve made changes to your customer experience you’ll want to know if it has worked. It may sound obvious but speaking with your customers is a great way to gather feedback. Inviting your customers to take part in a survey is a great way to start, you could even offer them a special discount off their next purchase to sweeten the deal. By analysing your customer experience you’ll learn what they like and be able to rectify what they don’t like. Analysing and modifying your customer experience is a continuous task and should not be neglected.\n\n<strong>If you’d like help with reviewing your customer experience get in touch. We can help by analyising the existing customer experience and detailing how it could be improved. If you like, we can even help you to make the improvements.</strong>','What is “eCommerce Customer Experience” and why does it matter?','','inherit','closed','closed','','5702-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:01:12','2026-02-15 12:01:12','',5702,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8473',0,'revision','',0),(8474,1,'2026-02-15 12:02:08','2026-02-15 12:02:08','eCommerce customer experience refers specifically to the digital experience a business delivers to their customers. This experience can often trigger an emotional response which will keep the customer coming back time and time again. The digital experience often starts way before your customers will even land on your website, however for the purpose of this insight post this is exactly where we are going to focus on.\r\n\r\nYour website should cater to your customers. When in discovery meetings with clients we often tell them that it doesn’t really matter what they think about their website, it’s their customers’ opinion that is important. Your website should be mindful of the exchanges being made between your brand and the customer. It should invoke a positive, emotional feeling that will ensure your customer is compelled to make their purchase and become a repeat customer. By delivering an optimised and personalised experience you’ll show customers that your business cares.\r\n<h2>Why is eCommerce Customer Experience so important?</h2>\r\nYour eCommerce customer experience can set your company apart from your competitors. By being customer focused you will remove all of those pain points that cause customers to abandon their basket, if they even get that far! Therefore making your company more competitive and ultimately increasing sales and business growth. It is reported that customers will even pay more for the exact same product if the customer experience is great!\r\n\r\nThere are some quick wins that can really enhance your customer experience. Let’s take a look at what you can do today to enhance your website.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Make sure the basics are in place.</h3>\r\nBy basics we’re talking about things like navigation, search functionality and product information. It’s reported that almost 80% of customers abandon their purchases because their experience with these pieces of functionality is poor...leading them straight into the arms of your competitor. If you get angry using your website, imagine how your poor customers must feel!\r\n\r\nThink about it from your customers point of view, are your categories structured correctly so that products are easy to find? Could you find your best seller in two clicks? A thoughtful layout will make your site easy to navigate and will reduce abandonment, helping to drive sales.\r\n\r\nConsider adding intelligent search to your website, where AI recognises what the customer is searching for and makes suggestions. You can even add a ‘buy now’ button to the search results making it even faster for the customer to make their purchase.\r\n\r\nMake sure your products have detailed product information. By giving your potential customers as many details as possible you can empower them to make the correct purchasing decision. Creative messaging can also help to highlight some of the key product features, making it even easier for the customer to make their product selection.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Inspire your customers</h3>\r\nThere are lots of clever things you can do to inspire your customers’ purchasing decisions. Did you know you can suggest specific products based on the weather report at your customers location? Using geolocation can determine where your customer is and suggest appropriate products. For example, it’s forecast rain in Manchester, perhaps your customer needs a new coat! Use the featured product section to make these suggestions and inspire purchases!\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Be Mobile Friendly</h3>\r\nIt is reported that over 55% of consumers worldwide make purchases online using their mobile phone. If your website doesn’t offer a streamlined mobile experience you could be missing out on huge sales. The same rules apply for mobile websites as they do desktop. Take it back to the basics and make sure the navigation, search functionality and product information are all present, correct and easy to use.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Offer Flexible Delivery Options</h3>\r\nThis is often an overlooked element of customer experience. Offering customers different options for delivery gives them freedom. For example, you might think that offering free standard delivery is a great service, but what if your customer is willing to pay for next day delivery? By offering this as an upgrade your customers are more likely to go through and complete their purchase as you offer what they want.\r\n\r\nWhilst we’re talking about delivery, make sure your delivery options are obvious, where possible have it detailed on the product page. We’ve already discussed how creating a positive emotional response can boost sales, it is also possible to trigger a negative emotional response which should be avoided at all costs. No one likes to get all the way through to the checkout process only to find delivery will take 10 days! This is guaranteed to cause abandoned baskets and potential customers that you’ll probably never see again.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Offer Flexible Purchasing Options</h3>\r\nMuch like offering multiple delivery options, offering different payment options is key to a good customer experience. Obviously taking card payments and Paypal is a no brainer, but have you considered adding Klarna, Zip or Clearpay? Adding one of these payment options allows your customers to split their payments over 3 interest free monthly payments which can be extremely convenient for many people. Don’t worry, you still get paid in full at the time of the purchase.\r\n\r\nAfter you’ve made changes to your customer experience you’ll want to know if it has worked. It may sound obvious but speaking with your customers is a great way to gather feedback. Inviting your customers to take part in a survey is a great way to start, you could even offer them a special discount off their next purchase to sweeten the deal. By analysing your customer experience you’ll learn what they like and be able to rectify what they don’t like. Analysing and modifying your customer experience is a continuous task and should not be neglected.','What is “eCommerce Customer Experience” and why does it matter?','','inherit','closed','closed','','5702-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:02:08','2026-02-15 12:02:08','',5702,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8474',0,'revision','',0),(8475,1,'2026-02-15 12:02:38','2026-02-15 12:02:38','eCommerce customer experience refers specifically to the digital experience a business delivers to their customers. This experience can often trigger an emotional response which will keep the customer coming back time and time again. The digital experience often starts way before your customers will even land on your website, however for the purpose of this insight post this is exactly where we are going to focus on.\r\n\r\nYour website should cater to your customers. When in discovery meetings with clients we often tell them that it doesn’t really matter what they think about their website, it’s their customers’ opinion that is important. Your website should be mindful of the exchanges being made between your brand and the customer. It should invoke a positive, emotional feeling that will ensure your customer is compelled to make their purchase and become a repeat customer. By delivering an optimised and personalised experience you’ll show customers that your business cares.\r\n<h2>Why is eCommerce Customer Experience so important?</h2>\r\nYour eCommerce customer experience can set your company apart from your competitors. By being customer focused you will remove all of those pain points that cause customers to abandon their basket, if they even get that far! Therefore making your company more competitive and ultimately increasing sales and business growth. It is reported that customers will even pay more for the exact same product if the customer experience is great!\r\n\r\nThere are some quick wins that can really enhance your customer experience. Let’s take a look at what you can do today to enhance your website.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Make sure the basics are in place.</h3>\r\nBy basics we’re talking about things like navigation, search functionality and product information. It’s reported that almost 80% of customers abandon their purchases because their experience with these pieces of functionality is poor...leading them straight into the arms of your competitor. If you get angry using your website, imagine how your poor customers must feel!\r\n\r\nThink about it from your customers point of view, are your categories structured correctly so that products are easy to find? Could you find your best seller in two clicks? A thoughtful layout will make your site easy to navigate and will reduce abandonment, helping to drive sales.\r\n\r\nConsider adding intelligent search to your website, where AI recognises what the customer is searching for and makes suggestions. You can even add a ‘buy now’ button to the search results making it even faster for the customer to make their purchase.\r\n\r\nMake sure your products have detailed product information. By giving your potential customers as many details as possible you can empower them to make the correct purchasing decision. Creative messaging can also help to highlight some of the key product features, making it even easier for the customer to make their product selection.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Inspire your customers</h3>\r\nThere are lots of clever things you can do to inspire your customers’ purchasing decisions. Did you know you can suggest specific products based on the weather report at your customers location? Using geolocation can determine where your customer is and suggest appropriate products. For example, it’s forecast rain in Manchester, perhaps your customer needs a new coat! Use the featured product section to make these suggestions and inspire purchases!\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Be Mobile Friendly</h3>\r\nIt is reported that over 55% of consumers worldwide make purchases online using their mobile phone. If your website doesn’t offer a streamlined mobile experience you could be missing out on huge sales. The same rules apply for mobile websites as they do desktop. Take it back to the basics and make sure the navigation, search functionality and product information are all present, correct and easy to use.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Offer Flexible Delivery Options</h3>\r\nThis is often an overlooked element of customer experience. Offering customers different options for delivery gives them freedom. For example, you might think that offering free standard delivery is a great service, but what if your customer is willing to pay for next day delivery? By offering this as an upgrade your customers are more likely to go through and complete their purchase as you offer what they want.\r\n\r\nWhilst we’re talking about delivery, make sure your delivery options are obvious, where possible have it detailed on the product page. We’ve already discussed how creating a positive emotional response can boost sales, it is also possible to trigger a negative emotional response which should be avoided at all costs. No one likes to get all the way through to the checkout process only to find delivery will take 10 days! This is guaranteed to cause abandoned baskets and potential customers that you’ll probably never see again.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Offer Flexible Purchasing Options</h3>\r\nMuch like offering multiple delivery options, offering different payment options is key to a good customer experience. Obviously taking card payments and Paypal is a no brainer, but have you considered adding Klarna, Zip or Clearpay? Adding one of these payment options allows your customers to split their payments over 3 interest free monthly payments which can be extremely convenient for many people. Don’t worry, you still get paid in full at the time of the purchase.\r\n\r\nAfter you’ve made changes to your customer experience you’ll want to know if it has worked. It may sound obvious but speaking with your customers is a great way to gather feedback. Inviting your customers to take part in a survey is a great way to start, you could even offer them a special discount off their next purchase to sweeten the deal. By analysing your customer experience you’ll learn what they like and be able to rectify what they don’t like. Analysing and modifying your customer experience is a continuous task and should not be neglected.','What is “eCommerce Customer Experience” and why does it matter?','','inherit','closed','closed','','5702-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:02:38','2026-02-15 12:02:38','',5702,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8475',0,'revision','',0),(8476,1,'2026-02-15 12:04:51','2026-02-15 12:04:51','So you\'re starting a new and exciting project or have decided to refresh your existing website, great, but what next? The foundations to a great website begin with a strong website brief, an overview of what you want the website to achieve, who are your competitors and what sets you apart etc.\n\nAlthough Actuate will help you outline your goals and strategy during our discovery phase, we\'ve also put together a handy list of items you may wish to consider thinking about for your website brief.\n<h3>Your Branding</h3>\nDo you have an existing brand or brand guidelines you can share? Or do you have any design preferences you\'d like implemented on your site? What are your brand\'s values?\n<h3>Your Business</h3>\nOutline your business and list your USP\'s (unique selling points). What is your company history? What are your achievements? Have you won any awards?\n<h3>Your Ideal Customer</h3>\nWho is your ideal customer or customers? What are their pain points, and how do you plan to fix them? List their key characteristics, age, gender, location, income, family status. Consider creating a customer persona.\n<h3>Your Competitors</h3>\nWho are your top competitors, and why? How do you plan to compete with them? What makes you and your product better?\n<h3>Your Project</h3>\nWhat do you want your new website to achieve? If you are planning a redesign, why have you decided to take this step? Do you have real-world data (surveys, focus groups, analytics) that can help with the planning of your project? What is your budget?\n<h3>Your Success Criteria</h3>\nHow are you planning to measure the success of your new site? Is it based on the number of sales, revenue, email signups, position on Google search? Do you have any secondary or tertiary goals for the website?\n\n<b> Your Deadline</b>\n\nWhen do you wish to launch the website? Who are the key stakeholders?\n<ol start=\"8\">\n 	<li><b> Your Infrastructure</b></li>\n</ol>\nDo you want us to host and manage your website, or do you have hosting already in place? If you\'re using your own provider, who are they and what is the server spec? Do you have the option to install your own server extensions? What support is offered?','Writing a website brief for your next website project ','','inherit','closed','closed','','2168-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:04:51','2026-02-15 12:04:51','',2168,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8476',0,'revision','',0),(8477,1,'2026-02-15 12:05:42','2026-02-15 12:05:42','So you\'re starting a new and exciting project or have decided to refresh your existing website, great, but what next? The foundations to a great website begin with a strong website brief, an overview of what you want the website to achieve, who are your competitors and what sets you apart etc.\r\n\r\nAlthough Actuate will help you outline your goals and strategy during our discovery phase, we\'ve also put together a handy list of items you may wish to consider thinking about for your website brief.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Your Branding</h3>\r\nDo you have an existing brand or brand guidelines you can share? Or do you have any design preferences you\'d like implemented on your site? What are your brand\'s values?\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Your Business</h3>\r\nOutline your business and list your USP\'s (unique selling points). What is your company history? What are your achievements? Have you won any awards?\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Your Ideal Customer</h3>\r\nWho is your ideal customer or customers? What are their pain points, and how do you plan to fix them? List their key characteristics, age, gender, location, income, family status. Consider creating a customer persona.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Your Competitors</h3>\r\nWho are your top competitors, and why? How do you plan to compete with them? What makes you and your product better?\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Your Project</h3>\r\nWhat do you want your new website to achieve? If you are planning a redesign, why have you decided to take this step? Do you have real-world data (surveys, focus groups, analytics) that can help with the planning of your project? What is your budget?\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Your Success Criteria</h3>\r\nHow are you planning to measure the success of your new site? Is it based on the number of sales, revenue, email signups, position on Google search? Do you have any secondary or tertiary goals for the website?\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Your Deadline</h3>\r\nWhen do you wish to launch the website? Who are the key stakeholders?\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Your Infrastructure</h3>\r\nDo you want us to host and manage your website, or do you have hosting already in place? If you\'re using your own provider, who are they and what is the server spec? Do you have the option to install your own server extensions? What support is offered?','Writing a website brief for your next website project ','','inherit','closed','closed','','2168-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:05:42','2026-02-15 12:05:42','',2168,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8477',0,'revision','',0),(8478,1,'2026-02-15 12:08:33','2026-02-15 12:08:33','Unless you\'ve been living under a rock for several years, you won\'t have missed the popularity and explosion of buy now, pay later on websites across the internet. The boom in popularity of buy now, pay later has seen new players enter the eCommerce payments market, such as Klarna, Laybuy and Clearpay, and existing providers such as PayPal diversify to serve this market.\r\n\r\nBut what does buy now, pay later offer your eCommerce business and should you take the time to implement new buy now, pay later payment options on your website? Actuate has all the answers...\r\n<h2><b>What is buy now, pay later?</b></h2>\r\nMost of us are familiar with buy now, pay later, once reserved exclusively for the likes of sofa warehouses and kitchen installers, buy now, pay later offers consumers the flexibility to pay for goods after taking delivery of them, usually in instalments.\r\n\r\nLike credit cards, buy now, pay later in the literal sense allows consumers to buy an item and pay for it later. Credit is either offered by the eCommerce retailer directly (Amazon does this on Amazon manufactured items) or via a third-party such as Klarna or PayPal using their PayPal Credit product.\r\n<h2>How does buy now, pay later work?</h2>\r\nFor eCommerce websites opting to offer buy now, pay later options, the general aspects are very similar to accepting credit card payments. When a consumer chooses to checkout and selects buy now, pay later, they often enter into a contract with a third party such as PayPal or Klarna to pay the balance and any interest over a set period of time. For you, the retailer, nothing changes, and you receive the payment in full, minus any service fee, from the payment provider, and the onus is on them to chase late or non-payment.\r\n\r\nFor the payment provider, money is often made through interest charges, and late payment fees levied on the consumer.\r\n<h2>Reasons to add buy now, pay later to your eCommerce website</h2>\r\nIt\'s easy to see the attraction of buy now, pay later for consumers, but why should you add buy now, pay later options to your business website? Below we\'ve listed the major advantages buy now, pay later payments can bring to your business.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increased Average Order Values</h3>\r\nYou\'re customers usually shop to a budget, but with buy now, pay later, the option to place higher value orders or shop for more significant, higher value items is opened up and becomes an option. A report by PayPal showed that the average order value on websites offering consumer credit options rose by 15% on average, with 93% of first-time consumer credit users saying they would use consumer credit again.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increased Conversion Rates</h3>\r\nA survey featured on the BigCommerce blog revealed 30% of shoppers using consumer credit stated they wouldn\'t have purchased at all if the retailer hadn\'t have offered financing options. This statistic alone underlines just how strong an incentive buy now, pay later can be.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increased Customer Loyalty</h3>\r\nOffering a buy now, pay later option on your website promotes a better customer experience; this, in turn, translates into increased customer loyalty and a positive brand image.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Increased Customer Lifetime Value</h3>\r\nMore flexibility and control for customers brings with it a more positive user experience at your e commerce site. These positive interactions with your brand will help bring consumers back time and again safe in the knowledge they can buy now and pay later for their next big-ticket purchase.','Increasing Sales With Buy Now Pay Later ','','inherit','closed','closed','','2166-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:08:33','2026-02-15 12:08:33','',2166,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8478',0,'revision','',0),(8479,1,'2026-02-15 12:09:47','2026-02-15 12:09:47','<strong>Being one of the top digital agencies in the UK, the team here at Actuate speak to lots of people during a typical year, and when it comes to myths and false beliefs about eCommerce, we\'ve heard them all.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>We\'ve decided to break down the top myths and facts about eCommerce that we\'ve come across in our time as leading eCommerce developers. Let\'s jump right in!</strong>\r\n<h2>Myths About eCommerce</h2>\r\n<h3><b>All eCommerce Platforms Are The Same</b></h3>\r\nMyth: All eCommerce platforms are built the same and will work for your online shop. It\'s how you develop them that makes the actual difference, so you can easily cut costs by working with cheaper platforms.\r\n\r\nFact: The adage \"you get what you pay for\" comes to mind; whilst there are many eCommerce platforms that can perform well for your business, it\'s essential to choose the right platform for your needs. DIY platforms such as WIX, Shopify and BigCommerce can have you up and running in a matter of weeks. Still, the trade-off with SEO, user experience and conversion rate optimisation can be counterproductive. Self-hosted platforms such as Magento, Aero Commerce, and WooCommerce have different core functionality sets, so what may be bundled freely with one could come at a premium with another.\r\n<h3><b>Being Successful In eCommerce Comes Down To Price Alone</b></h3>\r\nMyth: If you set your prices lower than the competition, you\'re sure to succeed in eCommerce.\r\n\r\nFact: Basing your business model on low prices may sound like the way to corner the market and disrupt the status quo; the reality, however, is a little different. The first thing you must realise is that your supplier will typically be an unfaithful partner, so someone will always popup willing to beat your prices. Secondly, the cheaper your pricing, the lower your profits; this means you must sell more units to make the same amount of money as a competitor charging more for their stock. Set out actual UPS\'s for your business and products and sell at fair prices; the return will be far more favourable.\r\n<h3><b>You Should Keep Content To A Minimum For Optimal User Experience</b></h3>\r\nMyth: A user doesn\'t wish to be distracted by a lot of text or other content when looking to purchase a product from your website. An eCommerce site should be clean, to the point and offer little distraction.\r\n\r\nFact: By minimising content, you could deter consumers from purchasing from your website. As with any website, content should be tailored to your audience and, in eCommerce sites, for the product itself. If you\'re selling toiler paper, chances are you don\'t need to explain how it works, but if you\'re selling a digital music player, then things may be different.\r\n<h3><b>You Need A Lot Of Text For SEO</b></h3>\r\nMyth: When writing your website\'s content, you should include lots of text to rank highly on search engines and get your site seen by consumers.\r\n\r\nFact: If you\'re writing the text of your website for search engines, you\'re probably already ignoring the needs of your users. When it comes to your website, it should be written for your users. Even if lack of content did result in fewer visitors to your site, the increased conversion rate of a page written to address your target audience\'s needs should outweigh the marginal drop in traffic.\r\n<h3><b>A Pretty Website Will Equal More Sales</b></h3>\r\nMyth: A great looking website will outperform your competitors and make your eCommerce business an overnight success story.\r\n\r\nFact: Having an appealing website is only part of a larger picture and often the downfall of many new eCommerce websites. It\'s also essential to consider the user experience, technical aspects such as loading speed and search engine optimisation, and psychological factors such as colour and content.\r\n\r\n<b><i>Do you have any eCommerce myths you\'d like us to expose? Let us know by leaving us a comment below...</i></b>','Myths & Facts About eCommerce ','','inherit','closed','closed','','2164-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:09:47','2026-02-15 12:09:47','',2164,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8479',0,'revision','',0),(8480,1,'2026-02-15 12:12:18','2026-02-15 12:12:18','The popularity of direct-to-consumer sales is growing, fuelled by unreliable sales during the pandemic and the greater control offered by this sales approach. A recent study by IAB UK showed 97% of UK internet users were aware of at least one of the leading UK DTC brands, with 39% having purchased from one or more of them.\r\n\r\nIt\'s not difficult to see why the DTC model is loved by manufacturers and shoppers alike. For manufacturers, the barrier between them and the consumer is eliminated, in turn, giving them greater control over the user experience, brand exposure and reputation. For shoppers, the removal of middle-men in the whole process helps to drive down cost.\r\n\r\nThe best part about the whole process of DTC is its low barrier to entry; with a strong strategy and good online presence, you\'ll be in a solid position to disrupt the market and compete against the numerous traditional players in your sector.\r\n<h2>Direct-To-Consumer or Wholesale</h2>\r\nMany companies looking to experiment with direct-to-consumer usually have a wholesale system currently in place. The traditional method of supplying your products to a retailer who sells them to a consumer has its place and is still a popular method of bringing a product to market. Whether you\'re looking to replace wholesale with direct-to-consumer or are looking at a hybrid business model, you\'ll have to prepare for the switch, which commonly means:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Investing time and money in training your team.</li>\r\n 	<li>Updating or creating new eCommerce systems.</li>\r\n 	<li>Updating or creating new social media channels.</li>\r\n 	<li>Communicating with customers and partners.</li>\r\n 	<li>Working closer with digital partners.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h2>The Modern Consumer</h2>\r\nDTC will bring your company in direct contact with consumers, allowing you to control the end-to end customer experience directly. This approach can be hugely influential but requires a proper understanding of your customer. To do this, you\'ll need to build processes to engage, learn and cater for their needs.\r\n\r\nSo how do you learn to cater for the modern consumer? Thankfully, the technology is already in place to help inform your decisions with real-world data, and a digital agency such as Actuate can walk you through the options available to you. Choosing the right digital agency should be the cornerstone of your plans. IAB UK\'s Chief Marketing Officer James Chandler says, \"As DTC brands evolve, they often expand their marketing strategies to include other channels beyond their core digital activity, increasing the need for external coordination and expertise.\"\r\n<h2>Tips When Starting Out With DTC</h2>\r\nSo you\'re ready to take on Amazon and dive into DTC. We\'ve put together five tips below to help with the switch.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Alleviate Pain Points</h3>\r\nDo your customers hate the thought of visiting shops or don\'t have the time to visit the post office to return unwanted goods? Make pain points the reason your business thrives by first finding out about them and finally alleviating them for your customers.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Give Customers A Reason To Buy From You</h3>\r\nWhy should a consumer buy from your website over Amazon? It\'s sometimes a tricky question to answer, but if you give it some thought and come up with proper answers, it will put you in good stead for DTC success.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Use Data To Make Smart Decisions</h3>\r\nThe modern consumer expects websites to be tailored to their needs, use the data you have to make wise, data-driven decisions and enhance the whole user experience.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Consider Working With Influencers</h3>\r\nSocial media is awash with influencers, and although opinions on them are mixed, working with a select few influencers who are popular with your customer demographic can have a significant impact on your sales.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Choose Your eCommerce Platform Wisely</h3>\r\nWith so many eCommerce platforms to choose from, it\'s essential to evaluate each solution\'s pros and cons. Work with an agency with experience in several platforms and work together to select the right fit for your company or brand.','Breaking Into The Direct-To-Consumer Sales Market ','','inherit','closed','closed','','2162-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:12:18','2026-02-15 12:12:18','',2162,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8480',0,'revision','',0),(8481,1,'2026-02-15 12:13:23','2026-02-15 12:13:23','Choosing an eCommerce platform for your business isn\'t the easiest of tasks. Usually, digital agencies\' recommendations play the deciding factor, but with most agencies tending to specialise in a single platform, how do you know the platform you end up with will tick the boxes for you and your business?\r\n\r\nActuate are a little different; we\'ve been at the forefront of eCommerce during our history. Our development team has built websites on several platforms, from Magento and Shopify to WooCommerce and beyond. What we have learnt over the years is that it\'s handy to have one eye on the future of eCommerce and focus on providing the best solutions on a project by project basis. With this in mind, we\'re excited about the possibilities of a reasonably new player in the world of e commerce platforms, Aero Commerce.\r\n\r\nMuch like Actuate, Aero Commerce focuses on delivering incredible customer experiences and provide a flexible platform that grows along with your business.\r\n\r\nTraditionally as eCommerce sites evolve and grow, you find they must move on to different solutions, whether because they need extra functionality, additional speed or better support, it\'s a problem faced all too often within the industry. With each change comes additional costs, not only the cost of re-platforming but also the cost and time involved with training staff on new systems and processes.\r\n<h2>The Aero Difference</h2>\r\nAero Commerce is different because it has been developed with the evolving needs of retailers in mind. In fact, it was developed in collaboration with retailers and focussed on driving revenue and growth whilst minimising costs. But what does \"minimising costs\" mean in real terms?\r\n<h3>Infrastructure</h3>\r\nHere at Actuate, we love Magento 2, but we\'re not afraid to admit it\'s not without its shortcomings; when it comes to site infrastructure, costs can quickly add up. Whilst you may be lucky and get away with using a shared host for Magento 2, a lot of the time, as soon as you start to grow, you will need to realise that a high powered dedicated server is a must.\r\n\r\nAero Commerce, on the other hand, is built to be light and swift, meaning it can be deployed on much cheaper infrastructure without issue. The saving on hosting costs alone could be as much as 80%.\r\n<h3>Functionality</h3>\r\nMany eCommerce platforms, including Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce come with minimal functionality \"out of the box\". Although Aero Commerce is a lean system, it packs a punch with more functionality than major competitors, bringing instant ongoing savings for many retailers.\r\n<h3>Merchant Services</h3>\r\nMany hosted eCommerce platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce charge a premium for merchant services (taking payment from your customers). Again costs such as these can add up over the year, and utilising a platform without these additional costs can provide you with significant savings.\r\n\r\nAero Commerce also has the power to supercharge your sales because of its speed for the end-user. When pitted against other popular platforms in an average speed test, Aero Commerce easily came out on top.\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Aero Commerce: 1.6 seconds</li>\r\n 	<li>Shopify: 2.2 seconds</li>\r\n 	<li>WooCommerce: 3.3 seconds</li>\r\n 	<li>Magento: 4 seconds</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIn real terms, this should mean lower bounce rates and happier customers. Aero also excels where other platforms fail and doesn\'t start to slow down as your product catalogue grows larger, great for you and your customers.','Could Aero Commerce Hit The Sweet Spot For Your Business ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5696-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:13:23','2026-02-15 12:13:23','',5696,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8481',0,'revision','',0),(8482,1,'2026-02-15 12:15:02','2026-02-15 12:15:02','In October 2020 we featured our first local SEO blog post and promised to follow up with a second containing even more tips and tricks to help your website take the lead on search engines in your local area. So without any further introduction, here are five further tips for preparing your site for local SEO.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Add Structured Data To Your Website</h3>\nStructured data is information provided in the markup (code) of your website that can be read by search engines such as Google and Bing and can be used to enhance your listings and provide them with further details about your site. Structured data can provide geographical information about your business location and other important data such as phone numbers etc.\n\nCreating structured data doesn\'t have to be hard, Google even has a tool for it which you can find at <a href=\"https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/markup-helper/?hl=en\">https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/markup-helper/?hl=en</a>\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Guest Blogging</h3>\nMost people are familiar with the term blog or blogging, but have you considered writing for someone else\'s blog? Guest blogging is becoming increasingly popular and can be great for local SEO.\n\nImagine you are a picture framing business and collaborate with a local artist by writing a blog article about choosing the right picture frame for new artwork. The post could include links and references to your own business, which should help your search engine rankings, and you\'ll also likely be seen by local visitors to the blog. What more could you want for a few hours of your time?\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Start Your Own Blog</h3>\nWhilst we\'re talking about blogging, consider adding a blog to your own site if you don\'t already have one. Blogs are a great way to keep your website current, which usually means more visitors and better search rankings. When writing blog articles, keep on the lookout for local events or news you can tie in with and write about; this will help with that local SEO. For example, if you\'re running a hotel and one of the Royal Family is visiting the area, write an article about the afternoon teas available at your establishment which are fit for the Royal visit!\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">NAP Consistency</h3>\nNo, we\'re not on about getting to bed early, NAP stands for name, address, phone number, and it\'s vitally important that you use the same details across all listings for your business online. Don\'t shorten the word street to st. on some listings or miss lines out on others. Consistency is key here, and it helps with your rankings.\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Optimise Your Site For Mobile</h3>\nGoogle has started to move to a mobile-first policy when it comes to ranking your website. In real terms, this means you should make sure your mobile site is up to scratch, or else you could be missing out.\n\nBut why has Google done this, you may ask? That\'s easy; most searches are now performed on a mobile device, which means most people will be looking at your website on a mobile device, so it\'s important that your site works well on mobile. Make sure no content is missing and that everything works well, not to mention quickly for mobile visitors.','Getting to grips with local SEO - Part 2 ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5686-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:15:02','2026-02-15 12:15:02','',5686,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8482',0,'revision','',0),(8483,1,'2026-02-15 12:15:05','2026-02-15 12:15:05','In October 2020 we featured our first local SEO blog post and promised to follow up with a second containing even more tips and tricks to help your website take the lead on search engines in your local area. So without any further introduction, here are five further tips for preparing your site for local SEO.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Add Structured Data To Your Website</h3>\r\nStructured data is information provided in the markup (code) of your website that can be read by search engines such as Google and Bing and can be used to enhance your listings and provide them with further details about your site. Structured data can provide geographical information about your business location and other important data such as phone numbers etc.\r\n\r\nCreating structured data doesn\'t have to be hard, Google even has a tool for it which you can find at <a href=\"https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/markup-helper/?hl=en\">https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/markup-helper/?hl=en</a>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Guest Blogging</h3>\r\nMost people are familiar with the term blog or blogging, but have you considered writing for someone else\'s blog? Guest blogging is becoming increasingly popular and can be great for local SEO.\r\n\r\nImagine you are a picture framing business and collaborate with a local artist by writing a blog article about choosing the right picture frame for new artwork. The post could include links and references to your own business, which should help your search engine rankings, and you\'ll also likely be seen by local visitors to the blog. What more could you want for a few hours of your time?\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Start Your Own Blog</h3>\r\nWhilst we\'re talking about blogging, consider adding a blog to your own site if you don\'t already have one. Blogs are a great way to keep your website current, which usually means more visitors and better search rankings. When writing blog articles, keep on the lookout for local events or news you can tie in with and write about; this will help with that local SEO. For example, if you\'re running a hotel and one of the Royal Family is visiting the area, write an article about the afternoon teas available at your establishment which are fit for the Royal visit!\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">NAP Consistency</h3>\r\nNo, we\'re not on about getting to bed early, NAP stands for name, address, phone number, and it\'s vitally important that you use the same details across all listings for your business online. Don\'t shorten the word street to st. on some listings or miss lines out on others. Consistency is key here, and it helps with your rankings.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Optimise Your Site For Mobile</h3>\r\nGoogle has started to move to a mobile-first policy when it comes to ranking your website. In real terms, this means you should make sure your mobile site is up to scratch, or else you could be missing out.\r\n\r\nBut why has Google done this, you may ask? That\'s easy; most searches are now performed on a mobile device, which means most people will be looking at your website on a mobile device, so it\'s important that your site works well on mobile. Make sure no content is missing and that everything works well, not to mention quickly for mobile visitors.','Getting to grips with local SEO - Part 2 ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5686-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:15:05','2026-02-15 12:15:05','',5686,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8483',0,'revision','',0),(8484,1,'2026-02-15 12:16:11','2026-02-15 12:16:11','Be honest; what do you know about your customers? More specifically, what are their likes and dislikes, motivations and frustrations. If you\'re honest, the answer may be \"not as much as we\'d like to\". Never fear, this is where customer personas come in, and today, we\'re going to give you an introduction to customer personas and their importance to your business and website.\r\n<h2>What Is A Customer Persona?</h2>\r\nA customer persona is a fictional character representing your ideal customer along with characteristics, likes, dislikes and more. The information used to create customer personas should come from your personal research, analysis of real customers and analytics provided via multiple sources such as Google and Facebook.\r\n\r\nThe more detailed your customer persona, the more value it will have to your business or brand. <b>How Can Customer Personas Help Your Business?</b>\r\n\r\nCustomer personas provide insight into your ideal customer base, allowing you to make informed decisions based on real-world data. These personas will enable you to increase customer experience and, ultimately, your sales. You can use the information in your customer personas across all areas and aspects of your business, including your website.\r\n<h2>How To Create A Customer Persona</h2>\r\nWhile a customer persona can include all sorts of information and data, we recommend concentrating on three key areas when creating your first personas.\r\n\r\n<b>Demographic information</b>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>age, gender, income, education, occupation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<b>Geographic Information</b>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>location, country, county, town</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<b>Psychographic Information</b>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>personality, interests, behaviours, lifestyle, values</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nYou should gather the information used to create your customer personas from first-hand experiences such as polling your customers, conducting research and focus groups, as well as secondary information from places such as Google Analytics and Facebook. Remember, the more real-world data you use, the better your personas will turn out to be.\r\n\r\nIt can also help add a representative picture of your customer persona, which usually helps to bring the persona to life.\r\n<h2>Customer Personas For Web Design</h2>\r\nIf using customer personas to influence your new website\'s design and development, it can be helpful to include additional information you may not have thought about when you initially created them. This information should include:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Their level of tech-savviness.</li>\r\n 	<li>Their knowledge of the web.</li>\r\n 	<li>Their openness to change.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese three critical pieces of information have the power to impact your new website significantly. <b>How Many Personas Should You Have?</b>\r\n\r\nIt\'s easy to get carried away when you start the journey of creating customer personas, but in an ideal world, you should try and limit the number of customer persons to around 4-6. The reason for creating customer personas is so you can tailor your business to the needs of your ideal customers; very rarely will you have more than 4-6 ideal customer types.\r\n<h2>Pulling It All Together</h2>\r\nThe world of website design and development can be hit or miss; with an array of companies competing for your business, it can be hard to sort the good from the bad. If, however, you look for an agency that can give you reasons behind their decisions based on real-world data such as customer personas, then you should be on your way to success.\r\n\r\nThe team at Actuate Digital are happy to help you develop customer personas to support your business efforts and are even available to perform research such as hosting focus groups. Our goal is a lasting partnership with you and your company, fuelled by a successful customer-centric website.\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to hear more or get together to see what Actuate can do for your business, please contact us today.','An Introduction To Customer Personas And Their Importance To Your Business And Website ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5684-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:16:11','2026-02-15 12:16:11','',5684,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8484',0,'revision','',0),(8485,1,'2026-02-15 12:16:36','2026-02-15 12:16:36','Be honest; what do you know about your customers? More specifically, what are their likes and dislikes, motivations and frustrations. If you\'re honest, the answer may be \"not as much as we\'d like to\". Never fear, this is where customer personas come in, and today, we\'re going to give you an introduction to customer personas and their importance to your business and website.\r\n<h2>What Is A Customer Persona?</h2>\r\nA customer persona is a fictional character representing your ideal customer along with characteristics, likes, dislikes and more. The information used to create customer personas should come from your personal research, analysis of real customers and analytics provided via multiple sources such as Google and Facebook.\r\n\r\nThe more detailed your customer persona, the more value it will have to your business or brand. <b>How Can Customer Personas Help Your Business?</b>\r\n\r\nCustomer personas provide insight into your ideal customer base, allowing you to make informed decisions based on real-world data. These personas will enable you to increase customer experience and, ultimately, your sales. You can use the information in your customer personas across all areas and aspects of your business, including your website.\r\n<h2>How To Create A Customer Persona</h2>\r\nWhile a customer persona can include all sorts of information and data, we recommend concentrating on three key areas when creating your first personas.\r\n<h3>Demographic information</h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>age, gender, income, education, occupation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Geographic Information</h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>location, country, county, town</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Psychographic Information</h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>personality, interests, behaviours, lifestyle, values</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nYou should gather the information used to create your customer personas from first-hand experiences such as polling your customers, conducting research and focus groups, as well as secondary information from places such as Google Analytics and Facebook. Remember, the more real-world data you use, the better your personas will turn out to be.\r\n\r\nIt can also help add a representative picture of your customer persona, which usually helps to bring the persona to life.\r\n<h2>Customer Personas For Web Design</h2>\r\nIf using customer personas to influence your new website\'s design and development, it can be helpful to include additional information you may not have thought about when you initially created them. This information should include:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Their level of tech-savviness.</li>\r\n 	<li>Their knowledge of the web.</li>\r\n 	<li>Their openness to change.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese three critical pieces of information have the power to impact your new website significantly. <b>How Many Personas Should You Have?</b>\r\n\r\nIt\'s easy to get carried away when you start the journey of creating customer personas, but in an ideal world, you should try and limit the number of customer persons to around 4-6. The reason for creating customer personas is so you can tailor your business to the needs of your ideal customers; very rarely will you have more than 4-6 ideal customer types.\r\n<h2>Pulling It All Together</h2>\r\nThe world of website design and development can be hit or miss; with an array of companies competing for your business, it can be hard to sort the good from the bad. If, however, you look for an agency that can give you reasons behind their decisions based on real-world data such as customer personas, then you should be on your way to success.\r\n\r\nThe team at Actuate Digital are happy to help you develop customer personas to support your business efforts and are even available to perform research such as hosting focus groups. Our goal is a lasting partnership with you and your company, fuelled by a successful customer-centric website.\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to hear more or get together to see what Actuate can do for your business, please contact us today.','An Introduction To Customer Personas And Their Importance To Your Business And Website ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5684-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:16:36','2026-02-15 12:16:36','',5684,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8485',0,'revision','',0),(8486,1,'2026-02-15 12:17:26','2026-02-15 12:17:26','<strong>Today\'s the day the Teddy Bears have their new website... with the launch of a plush, new Magento 2 site built by the team here at Actuate! </strong>\r\n\r\nYes, it\'s time for our team to break out the picnic basket filled with marmalade and honey as we celebrate the successful launch of Be My Bear\'s new retail and wholesale stores built on the Magento 2 platform.\r\n\r\nThe website was a labour of love for our team, who took the sites from M1 to M2 with a brand-new design stuffed with lots of new features and functionality. Before we tell you what Actuate did, please allow us a moment to introduce our client.\r\n<h2>Who Are Be My Bear</h2>\r\nBe My Bear is an award-winning teddy bear manufacturer based in North Wales specialising in make your own bears similar to the Build-a-Bear experience. Founded in 2001, the company has grown to become the largest make your own bear supplier in the United Kingdom, regularly supplying its bears to celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Tamara Ecclestone and TV shows including The X Factor, The Apprentice and Killing Eve.\r\nBe My Bear have been clients of Actuate for several years. This latest move to Magento 2 was the perfect opportunity to create a genuinely customer-centric website focused wholly on a fantastic user experience.\r\n<h3>What Actuate Did</h3>\r\nActuate spent the day with Be My Bear discussing their wants and needs, analysing data from Google Analytics and HotJar and developing customer personas to facilitate the building process and make accurate decisions based on real-world data.\r\n\r\nActuate Digital gave competitors websites the once over, including leading sites in the toy and games sector, to make sure we had a deep understanding of the industry as a whole.\r\n\r\nThe data gleaned from our day with Be My Bear and the subsequent research allowed us to develop designs for the new website which appealed to their customers and answered their needs, driving conversions and negating customer drop-off.\r\n\r\nFor Be My Bear\'s retail arm, we found that visitors to their website didn\'t necessarily understand the differences between each of their main product types. We ensured that the new website introduced people to each product within their respective drop-down menus, meaning people knew what was on offer without the need to click through to each category, increasing the user experience.\r\n\r\nIncreasing average order value was of high importance for the new retail website, which we addressed in several ways, including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>One-click upsells on product pages.</li>\r\n 	<li>Visual cues to increase spending in exchange for free delivery.</li>\r\n 	<li>Allowing past purchases to be reordered from your account.</li>\r\n 	<li>Utilising countdowns to create a sense of urgency on sale items.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe new website not only focuses on the customer journey up to the point of sale; it also shapes the customer journey after a sale happens. Users are encouraged to post about their order from the order confirmation screen; we also urge product reviews through emails sent post-delivery.\r\n\r\nWhen it came to Be My Bear\'s wholesale arm, we again focused on their clients, with a great deal of time spent on evolving the customer account pages. We transformed the customer account to become a useful resource for their customers that also contained news, upcoming days of importance and direct downloads of banners and POS material. These changes to the account area added value to Be My Bear\'s offering and helped increase order value and spend.\r\n\r\nOverall we could BEARly contain our excitement with the resulting website and can\'t wait to see how it performs for Be My Bear over the coming months.\r\nIf your website is a little \"Pooh\" or you require an agency that won\'t \"Bungle\" the job, please pick up the phone and call Actuate Digital today. Our bear puns may be bad, but our websites are absolutely amazing!','Be My Bear Launches New Magento 2 Website By Actuate','','inherit','closed','closed','','2146-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:17:26','2026-02-15 12:17:26','',2146,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8486',0,'revision','',0),(8487,1,'2026-02-15 12:24:07','2026-02-15 12:24:07','<h2>5 eCommerce Predictions And Trends For 2021</h2>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps the most anticipated year for decades has arrived. Unfortunately, on the stroke of midnight at the end of December 2020, when 2021 finally began, the world\'s problems weren\'t solved, and COVID was still with us. Whilst we don\'t know how the pandemic will end, we can predict with a little more certainty the state of eCommerce for the year, so join us for a trip into the future of e commerce and our top 5 predictions for 2021. </span>\n\n<b>1) Higher Competition &amp; Costs For Customer Acquisition </b>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to the COVID pandemic, global eCommerce sales soured during 2020. Retail eCommerce sales in the UK accounted for 27.5% of total retail sales, and this number will rise even more over the coming years. With more businesses vying for online trade, we\'ve seen the cost for customer acquisition rise as well; this means those relying on paid traffic from the use of PPC (Pay Per Click) and ads on social platforms may need to rethink their strategies. </span>\n\n<b>2) Smart Personal Assistants &amp; Voice Search </b>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hey Google! Did you know that almost one-quarter of UK households now have a Smart Personal  Assistant such as Google\'s Home device or Amazon\'s Echo? According to an EY report, the trend shows no sign of stopping, with 41% of households planning to own one within the next five years. If  you haven\'t optimised for voice search, you may find you\'re missing out. </span>\n\n<b>3) Product Fulfilment Matters </b>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to compete in 2021 and beyond? Then take a big look at your eCommerce fulfilment. If your deliveries aren\'t fast, free and sustainable, then you\'re missing a trick, and we\'re not even going to mention branded packaging (wait, we just did)! The majority of consumers in the UK say free shipping has a significant impact on whether they buy from a brand or not, but that\'s just the tip of the iceberg. Consumers now demand fast, same-day or next-day delivery which must also be sustainable. When it comes to differentiating your eCommerce operation from that of your competitors, product fulfilment matters. </span>\n\n<b>4) Marketplaces Continue To Dominate eCommerce Sales </b>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trend of marketplace domination when it comes to online eCommerce sales continues to climb,  and it\'s becoming harder for brands to compete with these behemoths. In 2019 nearly two trillion  dollars was </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">spent globally across the top 100 online marketplaces, the big challenge for retailers is to  differentiate themselves and woo consumers away to their own websites. </span>\n\n<b>5) Personalisation Becomes Mainstream </b>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With 3D printers becoming commonplace and customisation demanding a premium that brands can\'t refuse, personalisation is becoming mainstream. From a personalised Toblerone to customised Nike Air\'s, brands are realising the power of personalisation, and its ability to uplift profits.</span>\n\n<b>Conclusion </b>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of the current eCommerce trends and predictions have been fuelled by an increase in competition only exacerbated by lockdown. With the internet flooded with more e-tailers, higher costs for advertising were a given, add to this the dominance of marketplaces and the importance of brand and differentiating yourself from the competition come to the forefront. </span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The future of eCommerce is not an easy one for start-ups. Choosing the right online partner to guide your business will have the power to make or break start-ups.</span>','5 eCommerce Predictions And Trends For 2021 ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5680-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:24:07','2026-02-15 12:24:07','',5680,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8487',0,'revision','',0),(8488,1,'2026-02-15 12:24:17','2026-02-15 12:24:17','<h2>5 eCommerce Predictions And Trends For 2021</h2>\r\nPerhaps the most anticipated year for decades has arrived. Unfortunately, on the stroke of midnight at the end of December 2020, when 2021 finally began, the world\'s problems weren\'t solved, and COVID was still with us. Whilst we don\'t know how the pandemic will end, we can predict with a little more certainty the state of eCommerce for the year, so join us for a trip into the future of e commerce and our top 5 predictions for 2021.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">1) Higher Competition &amp; Costs For Customer Acquisition</h3>\r\nDue to the COVID pandemic, global eCommerce sales soured during 2020. Retail eCommerce sales in the UK accounted for 27.5% of total retail sales, and this number will rise even more over the coming years. With more businesses vying for online trade, we\'ve seen the cost for customer acquisition rise as well; this means those relying on paid traffic from the use of PPC (Pay Per Click) and ads on social platforms may need to rethink their strategies.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">2) Smart Personal Assistants &amp; Voice Search</h3>\r\nHey Google! Did you know that almost one-quarter of UK households now have a Smart Personal Assistant such as Google\'s Home device or Amazon\'s Echo? According to an EY report, the trend shows no sign of stopping, with 41% of households planning to own one within the next five years. If you haven\'t optimised for voice search, you may find you\'re missing out.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">3) Product Fulfilment Matters</h3>\r\nWant to compete in 2021 and beyond? Then take a big look at your eCommerce fulfilment. If your deliveries aren\'t fast, free and sustainable, then you\'re missing a trick, and we\'re not even going to mention branded packaging (wait, we just did)! The majority of consumers in the UK say free shipping has a significant impact on whether they buy from a brand or not, but that\'s just the tip of the iceberg. Consumers now demand fast, same-day or next-day delivery which must also be sustainable. When it comes to differentiating your eCommerce operation from that of your competitors, product fulfilment matters.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">4) Marketplaces Continue To Dominate eCommerce Sales</h3>\r\nThe trend of marketplace domination when it comes to online eCommerce sales continues to climb, and it\'s becoming harder for brands to compete with these behemoths. In 2019 nearly two trillion dollars wasspent globally across the top 100 online marketplaces, the big challenge for retailers is to differentiate themselves and woo consumers away to their own websites.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">5) Personalisation Becomes Mainstream</h3>\r\nWith 3D printers becoming commonplace and customisation demanding a premium that brands can\'t refuse, personalisation is becoming mainstream. From a personalised Toblerone to customised Nike Air\'s, brands are realising the power of personalisation, and its ability to uplift profits.','5 eCommerce Predictions And Trends For 2021 ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5680-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:24:17','2026-02-15 12:24:17','',5680,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8488',0,'revision','',0),(8489,1,'2026-02-15 12:24:35','2026-02-15 12:24:35','<h2>5 eCommerce Predictions And Trends For 2021</h2>\r\nPerhaps the most anticipated year for decades has arrived. Unfortunately, on the stroke of midnight at the end of December 2020, when 2021 finally began, the world\'s problems weren\'t solved, and COVID was still with us. Whilst we don\'t know how the pandemic will end, we can predict with a little more certainty the state of eCommerce for the year, so join us for a trip into the future of e commerce and our top 5 predictions for 2021.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Higher Competition &amp; Costs For Customer Acquisition</h3>\r\nDue to the COVID pandemic, global eCommerce sales soured during 2020. Retail eCommerce sales in the UK accounted for 27.5% of total retail sales, and this number will rise even more over the coming years. With more businesses vying for online trade, we\'ve seen the cost for customer acquisition rise as well; this means those relying on paid traffic from the use of PPC (Pay Per Click) and ads on social platforms may need to rethink their strategies.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Smart Personal Assistants &amp; Voice Search</h3>\r\nHey Google! Did you know that almost one-quarter of UK households now have a Smart Personal Assistant such as Google\'s Home device or Amazon\'s Echo? According to an EY report, the trend shows no sign of stopping, with 41% of households planning to own one within the next five years. If you haven\'t optimised for voice search, you may find you\'re missing out.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Product Fulfilment Matters</h3>\r\nWant to compete in 2021 and beyond? Then take a big look at your eCommerce fulfilment. If your deliveries aren\'t fast, free and sustainable, then you\'re missing a trick, and we\'re not even going to mention branded packaging (wait, we just did)! The majority of consumers in the UK say free shipping has a significant impact on whether they buy from a brand or not, but that\'s just the tip of the iceberg. Consumers now demand fast, same-day or next-day delivery which must also be sustainable. When it comes to differentiating your eCommerce operation from that of your competitors, product fulfilment matters.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Marketplaces Continue To Dominate eCommerce Sales</h3>\r\nThe trend of marketplace domination when it comes to online eCommerce sales continues to climb, and it\'s becoming harder for brands to compete with these behemoths. In 2019 nearly two trillion dollars wasspent globally across the top 100 online marketplaces, the big challenge for retailers is to differentiate themselves and woo consumers away to their own websites.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Personalisation Becomes Mainstream</h3>\r\nWith 3D printers becoming commonplace and customisation demanding a premium that brands can\'t refuse, personalisation is becoming mainstream. From a personalised Toblerone to customised Nike Air\'s, brands are realising the power of personalisation, and its ability to uplift profits.','5 eCommerce Predictions And Trends For 2021 ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5680-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:24:35','2026-02-15 12:24:35','',5680,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8489',0,'revision','',0),(8490,1,'2026-02-15 12:29:01','2026-02-15 12:29:01','<h2>How To Know Your SEO Is Working</h2>\r\nSEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a multi-billion pound industry with a seemingly endless supply of \"experts\" vying for your business. Whether you\'ve signed on the dotted line and engaged one of the many companies offering this service or are attempting to go down the DIY route, how do you know your SEO is working?\r\n<h3>White Hat vs Black Hat</h3>\r\nBefore moving on, it\'s worth explaining the two different types of SEO available to you today. The high quality, reputable practice of search engine optimisation is known as White Hat SEO. The questionable and downright dodgy methods of search engine optimisation are known as Black Hat SEO.\r\n\r\nBelieve it or not, both ways can initially have positive and sometimes excellent results on both your search engine rankings (the position of your site within a search engines index) and the number of visitors to your website. However with SEO, and indeed your website in general, it pays to play the long-game, and at some point, if you or your SEO team rely on black hat techniques, you will pay the price and wish you\'d taken a more wholesale white-hat approach to SEO.\r\n<h3>Spotting Black Hat SEO Techniques</h3>\r\nSo you\'ve engaged the services of an SEO company to manage your SEO efforts... Great! But how would you know if they were taking shortcuts by dipping into the black hat spellbook when it comes to your websites SEO?\r\n\r\nLuckily, Actuate are here to help, and with a little practice you can usually spot things aren\'t right quite quickly, and without blowing our own trumpet, this is when you should cease all work with them and call Actuate on 01244 911360 instead.\r\n\r\nBelow is a typical list of items you should look out for when it comes to your SEO. If you find any of these techniques deployed for your SEO, it should raise serious concerns about the reputability of the company you have hired.\r\n<h3>Keyword Stuffing</h3>\r\nThe act of repeating the keywords you want to rank for with search engines. Keyword stuffing is easy to spot because it doesn\'t read like a natural sentence. For example, \"Our pork shoulder was voted the best pork shoulder by pork shoulder connoisseurs nationally. Not only did they love our pork shoulder, but they also said our pork shoulder was better than other pork shoulders based on the great pork shoulder taste it has.\"\r\n<h3>Plagiarism</h3>\r\nYour website\'s number one asset is unique content, take this away, and search engines know you have nothing of relevancy to offer potential visitors. So if you outsource your copywriting to another company, make sure it\'s written just for you and not plagiarised from other sites. There are manytools to help you check if your content is unique or not; one of them is <a href=\"https://plagiarismdetector.net/\">https://plagiarismdetector.net/</a>.\r\n<h3>Hidden Text</h3>\r\nHiding text full of keywords designed to manipulate search engines but irrelevant to users is an ancient and poor SEO technique. This one is harder to spot unless you know what you\'re looking for, but some methods are easier to spot than others. If someone has hidden text by changing its colour to match your site\'s background, you can usually find it by dragging your mouse over your site\'s content and looking for highlighted information you didn\'t see previously.\r\n<h3>Link Farms</h3>\r\nLink farms are websites built with the primary purpose of linking to other sites. Some less than reputable web firms use them as a way to gain backlinks to your website quickly. These link farms usually have little to no unique content and are seen as spammy by search engines. The links surrounding yours may also be spammy (we\'ve seen links to buy cheap tobacco, Viagra and more next to links for children\'s teddy bears) which means your site gets tarnished by hanging out in the wrong neighbourhood!\r\n\r\n<i>\"Old McSpammer had a farm, e-i-e-i-oh,</i>\r\n\r\n<i>And on that farm he built some links, e-i-e-i-oh</i>\r\n\r\n<i>With a backlink here, and a backlink there,</i>\r\n\r\n<i>Here a link, there a link,</i>\r\n\r\n<i>Everywhere a link, link...\"</i>\r\n\r\nCredit <a href=\"https://moz.com/blog/whiteboard-friday-link-farming\">Scott Willoughby</a>\r\n<h3>Location Spam</h3>\r\nLocal search is big business, and with many people wanting products quickly, the popularity of local search and click and collect is growing. To gain more visitors to clients websites, some un-reputable agencies add several new geo-targeted pages to their clients\' sites each targeting a specific location.\r\n\r\nYou\'ll often see links towards the bottom of the site or in the website footer for these pages which often look like this, \"Chester Plumber, Cheshire Plumber, Manchester Plumber\" and so forth. Each linked to a different page with more keyword spam.\r\n\r\n<i>There are many other types of Black Hat SEO and if you\'re concerned that you may have unwittingly been affected by Black Hat techniques, get in touch with the team here at Actuate who will be more than happy to take a look on your behalf.</i>\r\n<h3>Don\'t Be Fooled By Fancy Reporting</h3>\r\nSEO companies operate in many ways; some offer glossy reports to show you what they have achieved; others prefer a verbal catch-up over coffee and cake. Whatever happens, make sure fancy reporting doesn\'t fool you.\r\n\r\nJust what do we mean when we talk about fancy reporting? Well, imagine you receive a report like this:\r\n<h3>Google Ranking (August 2021)</h3>\r\n<i>Keyword(s) Rank Last Month Rank This Month </i>Pink Apples Chester 104 1\r\n\r\nRed Apples Cheshire - 2\r\n\r\nCrunchy Green Apples Chester 57 1\r\n\r\nImpressive! And that\'s just an example with three sets of keywords, but imagine it scaled up with forty or fifty keywords, now we\'re talking. But if you stop and think we\'re missing one huge and vitally important piece of the puzzle, any guesses? If you said the number of people searching for those keywords, you win a gold star. Anyone can rank highly on search engines for obscure keywords that don\'t receive any searches; the real trick is ranking for high-quality search terms with hundreds if not thousands of searches per month. You have been warned!\r\n<h3>Don\'t Chase Unrelated High Intent Traffic</h3>\r\nFirstly what\'s high intent traffic I hear you shout. High intent traffic usually relates to traffic generated from a search engine that uses keywords indicating that the user is highly motivated to place an order. A great example could be something along the lines of \"McDonald\'s Delivery Birmingham\".\r\n\r\nNow we know what high intent traffic is why shouldn\'t you chase unrelated terms? Looking at our previous example, if we were a burger bar in Birmingham, we may think raising our position in search engines for the phrase \"McDonald\'s Delivery Birmingham\" could be an ideal way to siphon more business our way. You could be right, but there is also a high probability that a user has already made up their mind they want a McDonald\'s branded burger and whatever you do will fall upon deaf ears. Concentrating on other, more generic terms may be a better strategy, for instance, \"Burger Delivery Birmingham\".\r\n\r\nAlways concentrate on keywords and phrases that are more likely to convert, only after thoroughly exhausting these possibilities should you look at longer \"unrelated high intent\" shots with a high probability of bouncing.\r\n<h3>Avoid Ranking Guarantees</h3>\r\nAs a website owner, you\'ve probably had an email or three promising to get you to the number one spot on Google. Be warned that no company can make this guarantee and Google itself warns against such companies.\r\n\r\n<i>\"No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a \"special relationship\" with Google, or advertise a \"priority submit\" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.\"</i>\r\n\r\nGoogle (link to https://developers.google.com/search/docs/beginner/do-i-need-seo )\r\n\r\nDon\'t be put off by genuine companies who can show actual real-world results for their clients and offer estimations of what you should expect. But do steer clear of anyone promising or guaranteeing positions, they are just lying!\r\n<h3>Don\'t Confuse SEO with CRO</h3>\r\nBy now we know that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, but the chances are that the anacronym CRO may have you baffled. CRO stands for Conversion Rate Optimisation which means optimising your website\'s content to help increase the number of conversions (often sales). Whatever you do, don\'t confuse these two objectives, whilst they often overlap if you have hired someone purely for SEO their goal is to get people to your website, nothing more. If you hire someone for CRO their goal is to get your current visitors to convert more, and not attract new visitors to your site. If you want to achieve both goals, then make this clear from the start of your relationship with whoever you chose to engage.\r\n<h3>Partner With Companies Willing To Work</h3>\r\nSo we\'ve concentrated on a lot of the do-nots, but what about the dos? When it comes to SEO, the first thing any genuine and high-quality agency will often do is audit your site as well as those of your direct competitors. By doing this, you get to see the whole picture, including what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Without this initial work at the beginning of your relationship, there is no way for an SEO agency to come up with an exact blueprint of what your requirements are. Never be tempted to skip these steps to save money. If you ask a legitimate agency to do so, the answer will usually be no, mainly because it could hamper their efforts and affect your relationship with them negatively.\r\n<h3>Have A Little Patiences</h3>\r\nWhite Hat SEO can have a tremendous effect on the number of organic visitors to your site in the long-term, but it\'s never a quick-fix (which is why Google invented Pay Per Click)! A reputable SEO firm should manage your expectations which usually can take a good twelve months to pay dividends.\r\n\r\nAgain be wary of the Black Hat sellers who often promise results within weeks, which may sound appealing, but when your house of cards comes tumbling down in the longer term, it will take much longer to rebuild.\r\n<h3>Analyse Results Yourself</h3>\r\nIt\'s great leaving everything in the hands of your SEO guru\'s, but it\'s also worth learning the basics of SEO analysis yourself. It\'s quite simple to keep your finger on the pulse of your sites SEO, and with tools such as Google Analytics, it can take just a few minutes out of your busy schedule per month to stay up to date.\r\n\r\nBut why bother with this added work when you don\'t have to? The reason is simple, so you know you\'re not having the wool pulled over your eyes. If you\'re looking at the numbers yourself and are told that \"Last month you had 67,000 visitors\", it\'s easy to see someone isn\'t telling the whole truth when it turns out that you only had 3,400 visitors and 67,000 page views (the number of pages with your site that your actual visitors viewed).\r\n\r\nLearn to use the tools available to you to keep a broad check on what you are told; you\'ll soon learn if you can trust the company you have chosen to work with this way.\r\n<h3>Pro Tip</h3>\r\n: Learn to locate these three items each month in your Google Analytics dashboard, which is enough for basic analysis.\r\n\r\n1) Number of unique visitors to your site for the month. You want these to increase.\r\n\r\n2) Top sources of traffic to your website (i.e. Search engines, social media etc.). SEO should focus on organic search engine traffic and inbound links from other websites.\r\n\r\n3) Your sites bounce rate as a percentage of traffic. You\'ll be looking for this to decrease if possible or stay steady; however, an increase in bounce rates can indicate a problem with your on site content and not necessarily the SEO work undertaken.\r\n<h4>Conclusion</h4>\r\nAs the number of sites added to the internet expands exponentially, many businesses are desperate to be seen. That desperation can often lead to bad decisions, especially when faced with the many snake oil peddlers rife in today\'s SEO industry. Learn to take a step back, evaluate your goals and make an informed decision on who you work with based on knowledge gleaned from articles such as this. Good luck with your SEO and remember Actuate are always here if you\'d like a no-obligation chat about your website strategy.','How To Know Your SEO Is Working ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5678-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:29:01','2026-02-15 12:29:01','',5678,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8490',0,'revision','',0),(8491,1,'2026-02-15 12:35:01','2026-02-15 12:35:01','<h2>How To Know Your SEO Is Working</h2>\nSEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a multi-billion pound industry with a seemingly endless supply of \"experts\" vying for your business. Whether you\'ve signed on the dotted line and engaged one of the many companies offering this service or are attempting to go down the DIY route, how do you know your SEO is working?\n<h3>White Hat vs Black Hat</h3>\nBefore moving on, it\'s worth explaining the two different types of SEO available to you today. The high quality, reputable practice of search engine optimisation is known as White Hat SEO. The questionable and downright dodgy methods of search engine optimisation are known as Black Hat SEO.\n\nBelieve it or not, both ways can initially have positive and sometimes excellent results on both your search engine rankings (the position of your site within a search engines index) and the number of visitors to your website. However with SEO, and indeed your website in general, it pays to play the long-game, and at some point, if you or your SEO team rely on black hat techniques, you will pay the price and wish you\'d taken a more wholesale white-hat approach to SEO.\n<h3>Spotting Black Hat SEO Techniques</h3>\nSo you\'ve engaged the services of an SEO company to manage your SEO efforts... Great! But how would you know if they were taking shortcuts by dipping into the black hat spellbook when it comes to your websites SEO?\n\nLuckily, Actuate are here to help, and with a little practice you can usually spot things aren\'t right quite quickly, and without blowing our own trumpet, this is when you should cease all work with them and call Actuate on 01244 911360 instead.\n\nBelow is a typical list of items you should look out for when it comes to your SEO. If you find any of these techniques deployed for your SEO, it should raise serious concerns about the reputability of the company you have hired.\n<h3>Keyword Stuffing</h3>\nThe act of repeating the keywords you want to rank for with search engines. Keyword stuffing is easy to spot because it doesn\'t read like a natural sentence. For example, \"Our pork shoulder was voted the best pork shoulder by pork shoulder connoisseurs nationally. Not only did they love our pork shoulder, but they also said our pork shoulder was better than other pork shoulders based on the great pork shoulder taste it has.\"\n<h3>Plagiarism</h3>\nYour website\'s number one asset is unique content, take this away, and search engines know you have nothing of relevancy to offer potential visitors. So if you outsource your copywriting to another company, make sure it\'s written just for you and not plagiarised from other sites. There are manytools to help you check if your content is unique or not; one of them is <a href=\"https://plagiarismdetector.net/\">https://plagiarismdetector.net/</a>.\n<h3>Hidden Text</h3>\nHiding text full of keywords designed to manipulate search engines but irrelevant to users is an ancient and poor SEO technique. This one is harder to spot unless you know what you\'re looking for, but some methods are easier to spot than others. If someone has hidden text by changing its colour to match your site\'s background, you can usually find it by dragging your mouse over your site\'s content and looking for highlighted information you didn\'t see previously.\n<h3>Link Farms</h3>\nLink farms are websites built with the primary purpose of linking to other sites. Some less than reputable web firms use them as a way to gain backlinks to your website quickly. These link farms usually have little to no unique content and are seen as spammy by search engines. The links surrounding yours may also be spammy (we\'ve seen links to buy cheap tobacco, Viagra and more next to links for children\'s teddy bears) which means your site gets tarnished by hanging out in the wrong neighbourhood!\n<blockquote cite=\"https://moz.com/blog/whiteboard-friday-link-farming\">\"Old McSpammer had a farm, e-i-e-i-oh,\nAnd on that farm he built some links, e-i-e-i-oh\nWith a backlink here, and a backlink there,\nHere a link, there a link,\nEverywhere a link, link...\"</blockquote>\n<cite>Credit <a href=\"https://moz.com/blog/whiteboard-friday-link-farming\">Scott Willoughby</a></cite>\n<h3>Location Spam</h3>\nLocal search is big business, and with many people wanting products quickly, the popularity of local search and click and collect is growing. To gain more visitors to clients websites, some un-reputable agencies add several new geo-targeted pages to their clients\' sites each targeting a specific location.\n\nYou\'ll often see links towards the bottom of the site or in the website footer for these pages which often look like this, \"Chester Plumber, Cheshire Plumber, Manchester Plumber\" and so forth. Each linked to a different page with more keyword spam.\n\n<i>There are many other types of Black Hat SEO and if you\'re concerned that you may have unwittingly been affected by Black Hat techniques, get in touch with the team here at Actuate who will be more than happy to take a look on your behalf.</i>\n<h3>Don\'t Be Fooled By Fancy Reporting</h3>\nSEO companies operate in many ways; some offer glossy reports to show you what they have achieved; others prefer a verbal catch-up over coffee and cake. Whatever happens, make sure fancy reporting doesn\'t fool you.\n\nJust what do we mean when we talk about fancy reporting? Well, imagine you receive a report like this:\n<h3>Google Ranking (August 2021)</h3>\n<i>Keyword(s) Rank Last Month Rank This Month </i>Pink Apples Chester 104 1\n\nRed Apples Cheshire - 2\n\nCrunchy Green Apples Chester 57 1\n\nImpressive! And that\'s just an example with three sets of keywords, but imagine it scaled up with forty or fifty keywords, now we\'re talking. But if you stop and think we\'re missing one huge and vitally important piece of the puzzle, any guesses? If you said the number of people searching for those keywords, you win a gold star. Anyone can rank highly on search engines for obscure keywords that don\'t receive any searches; the real trick is ranking for high-quality search terms with hundreds if not thousands of searches per month. You have been warned!\n<h3>Don\'t Chase Unrelated High Intent Traffic</h3>\nFirstly what\'s high intent traffic I hear you shout. High intent traffic usually relates to traffic generated from a search engine that uses keywords indicating that the user is highly motivated to place an order. A great example could be something along the lines of \"McDonald\'s Delivery Birmingham\".\n\nNow we know what high intent traffic is why shouldn\'t you chase unrelated terms? Looking at our previous example, if we were a burger bar in Birmingham, we may think raising our position in search engines for the phrase \"McDonald\'s Delivery Birmingham\" could be an ideal way to siphon more business our way. You could be right, but there is also a high probability that a user has already made up their mind they want a McDonald\'s branded burger and whatever you do will fall upon deaf ears. Concentrating on other, more generic terms may be a better strategy, for instance, \"Burger Delivery Birmingham\".\n\nAlways concentrate on keywords and phrases that are more likely to convert, only after thoroughly exhausting these possibilities should you look at longer \"unrelated high intent\" shots with a high probability of bouncing.\n<h3>Avoid Ranking Guarantees</h3>\nAs a website owner, you\'ve probably had an email or three promising to get you to the number one spot on Google. Be warned that no company can make this guarantee and Google itself warns against such companies.\n\n<i>\"No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a \"special relationship\" with Google, or advertise a \"priority submit\" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.\"</i>\n\nGoogle (link to https://developers.google.com/search/docs/beginner/do-i-need-seo )\n\nDon\'t be put off by genuine companies who can show actual real-world results for their clients and offer estimations of what you should expect. But do steer clear of anyone promising or guaranteeing positions, they are just lying!\n<h3>Don\'t Confuse SEO with CRO</h3>\nBy now we know that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, but the chances are that the anacronym CRO may have you baffled. CRO stands for Conversion Rate Optimisation which means optimising your website\'s content to help increase the number of conversions (often sales). Whatever you do, don\'t confuse these two objectives, whilst they often overlap if you have hired someone purely for SEO their goal is to get people to your website, nothing more. If you hire someone for CRO their goal is to get your current visitors to convert more, and not attract new visitors to your site. If you want to achieve both goals, then make this clear from the start of your relationship with whoever you chose to engage.\n<h3>Partner With Companies Willing To Work</h3>\nSo we\'ve concentrated on a lot of the do-nots, but what about the dos? When it comes to SEO, the first thing any genuine and high-quality agency will often do is audit your site as well as those of your direct competitors. By doing this, you get to see the whole picture, including what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Without this initial work at the beginning of your relationship, there is no way for an SEO agency to come up with an exact blueprint of what your requirements are. Never be tempted to skip these steps to save money. If you ask a legitimate agency to do so, the answer will usually be no, mainly because it could hamper their efforts and affect your relationship with them negatively.\n<h3>Have A Little Patiences</h3>\nWhite Hat SEO can have a tremendous effect on the number of organic visitors to your site in the long-term, but it\'s never a quick-fix (which is why Google invented Pay Per Click)! A reputable SEO firm should manage your expectations which usually can take a good twelve months to pay dividends.\n\nAgain be wary of the Black Hat sellers who often promise results within weeks, which may sound appealing, but when your house of cards comes tumbling down in the longer term, it will take much longer to rebuild.\n<h3>Analyse Results Yourself</h3>\nIt\'s great leaving everything in the hands of your SEO guru\'s, but it\'s also worth learning the basics of SEO analysis yourself. It\'s quite simple to keep your finger on the pulse of your sites SEO, and with tools such as Google Analytics, it can take just a few minutes out of your busy schedule per month to stay up to date.\n\nBut why bother with this added work when you don\'t have to? The reason is simple, so you know you\'re not having the wool pulled over your eyes. If you\'re looking at the numbers yourself and are told that \"Last month you had 67,000 visitors\", it\'s easy to see someone isn\'t telling the whole truth when it turns out that you only had 3,400 visitors and 67,000 page views (the number of pages with your site that your actual visitors viewed).\n\nLearn to use the tools available to you to keep a broad check on what you are told; you\'ll soon learn if you can trust the company you have chosen to work with this way.\n<h3>Pro Tip</h3>\nLearn to locate these three items each month in your Google Analytics dashboard, which is enough for basic analysis.\n<ol>\n 	<li>Number of unique visitors to your site for the month. You want these to increase.</li>\n 	<li>Top sources of traffic to your website (i.e. Search engines, social media etc.). SEO should focus on organic search engine traffic and inbound links from other websites.</li>\n 	<li>Your sites bounce rate as a percentage of traffic. You\'ll be looking for this to decrease if possible or stay steady; however, an increase in bounce rates can indicate a problem with your on site content and not necessarily the SEO work undertaken.</li>\n</ol>\n<h3>Have A Little Patiences</h3>\nWhite Hat SEO can have a tremendous effect on the number of organic visitors to your site in the long-term, but it\'s never a quick-fix (which is why Google invented Pay Per Click)! A reputable SEO firm should manage your expectations which usually can take a good twelve months to pay dividends.\n\nAgain be wary of the Black Hat sellers who often promise results within weeks, which may sound appealing, but when your house of cards comes tumbling down in the longer term, it will take much longer to rebuild.\n<h3>Analyse Results Yourself</h3>\nIt\'s great leaving everything in the hands of your SEO guru\'s, but it\'s also worth learning the basics of SEO analysis yourself. It\'s quite simple to keep your finger on the pulse of your sites SEO, and with tools such as Google Analytics, it can take just a few minutes out of your busy schedule per month to stay up to date.\n\nBut why bother with this added work when you don\'t have to? The reason is simple, so you know you\'re not having the wool pulled over your eyes. If you\'re looking at the numbers yourself and are told that \"Last month you had 67,000 visitors\", it\'s easy to see someone isn\'t telling the whole truth when it turns out that you only had 3,400 visitors and 67,000 page views (the number of pages with your site that your actual visitors viewed).\n\nLearn to use the tools available to you to keep a broad check on what you are told; you\'ll soon learn if you can trust the company you have chosen to work with this way.\n<h3>Pro Tip</h3>\nLearn to locate these three items each month in your Google Analytics dashboard, which is enough for basic analysis.\n<ol>\n 	<li>Number of unique visitors to your site for the month. You want these to increase.</li>\n 	<li>Top sources of traffic to your website (i.e. Search engines, social media etc.). SEO should focus on organic search engine traffic and inbound links from other websites.</li>\n 	<li>Your sites bounce rate as a percentage of traffic. You\'ll be looking for this to decrease if possible or stay steady; however, an increase in bounce rates can indicate a problem with your on site content and not necessarily the SEO work undertaken.</li>\n</ol>','How To Know Your SEO Is Working ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5678-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:35:01','2026-02-15 12:35:01','',5678,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8491',0,'revision','',0),(8492,1,'2026-02-15 12:35:06','2026-02-15 12:35:06','<h2>How To Know Your SEO Is Working</h2>\r\nSEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a multi-billion pound industry with a seemingly endless supply of \"experts\" vying for your business. Whether you\'ve signed on the dotted line and engaged one of the many companies offering this service or are attempting to go down the DIY route, how do you know your SEO is working?\r\n<h3>White Hat vs Black Hat</h3>\r\nBefore moving on, it\'s worth explaining the two different types of SEO available to you today. The high quality, reputable practice of search engine optimisation is known as White Hat SEO. The questionable and downright dodgy methods of search engine optimisation are known as Black Hat SEO.\r\n\r\nBelieve it or not, both ways can initially have positive and sometimes excellent results on both your search engine rankings (the position of your site within a search engines index) and the number of visitors to your website. However with SEO, and indeed your website in general, it pays to play the long-game, and at some point, if you or your SEO team rely on black hat techniques, you will pay the price and wish you\'d taken a more wholesale white-hat approach to SEO.\r\n<h3>Spotting Black Hat SEO Techniques</h3>\r\nSo you\'ve engaged the services of an SEO company to manage your SEO efforts... Great! But how would you know if they were taking shortcuts by dipping into the black hat spellbook when it comes to your websites SEO?\r\n\r\nLuckily, Actuate are here to help, and with a little practice you can usually spot things aren\'t right quite quickly, and without blowing our own trumpet, this is when you should cease all work with them and call Actuate on 01244 911360 instead.\r\n\r\nBelow is a typical list of items you should look out for when it comes to your SEO. If you find any of these techniques deployed for your SEO, it should raise serious concerns about the reputability of the company you have hired.\r\n<h3>Keyword Stuffing</h3>\r\nThe act of repeating the keywords you want to rank for with search engines. Keyword stuffing is easy to spot because it doesn\'t read like a natural sentence. For example, \"Our pork shoulder was voted the best pork shoulder by pork shoulder connoisseurs nationally. Not only did they love our pork shoulder, but they also said our pork shoulder was better than other pork shoulders based on the great pork shoulder taste it has.\"\r\n<h3>Plagiarism</h3>\r\nYour website\'s number one asset is unique content, take this away, and search engines know you have nothing of relevancy to offer potential visitors. So if you outsource your copywriting to another company, make sure it\'s written just for you and not plagiarised from other sites. There are manytools to help you check if your content is unique or not; one of them is <a href=\"https://plagiarismdetector.net/\">https://plagiarismdetector.net/</a>.\r\n<h3>Hidden Text</h3>\r\nHiding text full of keywords designed to manipulate search engines but irrelevant to users is an ancient and poor SEO technique. This one is harder to spot unless you know what you\'re looking for, but some methods are easier to spot than others. If someone has hidden text by changing its colour to match your site\'s background, you can usually find it by dragging your mouse over your site\'s content and looking for highlighted information you didn\'t see previously.\r\n<h3>Link Farms</h3>\r\nLink farms are websites built with the primary purpose of linking to other sites. Some less than reputable web firms use them as a way to gain backlinks to your website quickly. These link farms usually have little to no unique content and are seen as spammy by search engines. The links surrounding yours may also be spammy (we\'ve seen links to buy cheap tobacco, Viagra and more next to links for children\'s teddy bears) which means your site gets tarnished by hanging out in the wrong neighbourhood!\r\n<blockquote cite=\"https://moz.com/blog/whiteboard-friday-link-farming\">\"Old McSpammer had a farm, e-i-e-i-oh,\r\nAnd on that farm he built some links, e-i-e-i-oh\r\nWith a backlink here, and a backlink there,\r\nHere a link, there a link,\r\nEverywhere a link, link...\"</blockquote>\r\n<cite>Credit <a href=\"https://moz.com/blog/whiteboard-friday-link-farming\">Scott Willoughby</a></cite>\r\n<h3>Location Spam</h3>\r\nLocal search is big business, and with many people wanting products quickly, the popularity of local search and click and collect is growing. To gain more visitors to clients websites, some un-reputable agencies add several new geo-targeted pages to their clients\' sites each targeting a specific location.\r\n\r\nYou\'ll often see links towards the bottom of the site or in the website footer for these pages which often look like this, \"Chester Plumber, Cheshire Plumber, Manchester Plumber\" and so forth. Each linked to a different page with more keyword spam.\r\n\r\n<i>There are many other types of Black Hat SEO and if you\'re concerned that you may have unwittingly been affected by Black Hat techniques, get in touch with the team here at Actuate who will be more than happy to take a look on your behalf.</i>\r\n<h3>Don\'t Be Fooled By Fancy Reporting</h3>\r\nSEO companies operate in many ways; some offer glossy reports to show you what they have achieved; others prefer a verbal catch-up over coffee and cake. Whatever happens, make sure fancy reporting doesn\'t fool you.\r\n\r\nJust what do we mean when we talk about fancy reporting? Well, imagine you receive a report like this:\r\n<h3>Google Ranking (August 2021)</h3>\r\n<i>Keyword(s) Rank Last Month Rank This Month </i>Pink Apples Chester 104 1\r\n\r\nRed Apples Cheshire - 2\r\n\r\nCrunchy Green Apples Chester 57 1\r\n\r\nImpressive! And that\'s just an example with three sets of keywords, but imagine it scaled up with forty or fifty keywords, now we\'re talking. But if you stop and think we\'re missing one huge and vitally important piece of the puzzle, any guesses? If you said the number of people searching for those keywords, you win a gold star. Anyone can rank highly on search engines for obscure keywords that don\'t receive any searches; the real trick is ranking for high-quality search terms with hundreds if not thousands of searches per month. You have been warned!\r\n<h3>Don\'t Chase Unrelated High Intent Traffic</h3>\r\nFirstly what\'s high intent traffic I hear you shout. High intent traffic usually relates to traffic generated from a search engine that uses keywords indicating that the user is highly motivated to place an order. A great example could be something along the lines of \"McDonald\'s Delivery Birmingham\".\r\n\r\nNow we know what high intent traffic is why shouldn\'t you chase unrelated terms? Looking at our previous example, if we were a burger bar in Birmingham, we may think raising our position in search engines for the phrase \"McDonald\'s Delivery Birmingham\" could be an ideal way to siphon more business our way. You could be right, but there is also a high probability that a user has already made up their mind they want a McDonald\'s branded burger and whatever you do will fall upon deaf ears. Concentrating on other, more generic terms may be a better strategy, for instance, \"Burger Delivery Birmingham\".\r\n\r\nAlways concentrate on keywords and phrases that are more likely to convert, only after thoroughly exhausting these possibilities should you look at longer \"unrelated high intent\" shots with a high probability of bouncing.\r\n<h3>Avoid Ranking Guarantees</h3>\r\nAs a website owner, you\'ve probably had an email or three promising to get you to the number one spot on Google. Be warned that no company can make this guarantee and Google itself warns against such companies.\r\n\r\n<i>\"No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a \"special relationship\" with Google, or advertise a \"priority submit\" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.\"</i>\r\n\r\nGoogle (link to https://developers.google.com/search/docs/beginner/do-i-need-seo )\r\n\r\nDon\'t be put off by genuine companies who can show actual real-world results for their clients and offer estimations of what you should expect. But do steer clear of anyone promising or guaranteeing positions, they are just lying!\r\n<h3>Don\'t Confuse SEO with CRO</h3>\r\nBy now we know that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, but the chances are that the anacronym CRO may have you baffled. CRO stands for Conversion Rate Optimisation which means optimising your website\'s content to help increase the number of conversions (often sales). Whatever you do, don\'t confuse these two objectives, whilst they often overlap if you have hired someone purely for SEO their goal is to get people to your website, nothing more. If you hire someone for CRO their goal is to get your current visitors to convert more, and not attract new visitors to your site. If you want to achieve both goals, then make this clear from the start of your relationship with whoever you chose to engage.\r\n<h3>Partner With Companies Willing To Work</h3>\r\nSo we\'ve concentrated on a lot of the do-nots, but what about the dos? When it comes to SEO, the first thing any genuine and high-quality agency will often do is audit your site as well as those of your direct competitors. By doing this, you get to see the whole picture, including what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Without this initial work at the beginning of your relationship, there is no way for an SEO agency to come up with an exact blueprint of what your requirements are. Never be tempted to skip these steps to save money. If you ask a legitimate agency to do so, the answer will usually be no, mainly because it could hamper their efforts and affect your relationship with them negatively.\r\n<h3>Have A Little Patiences</h3>\r\nWhite Hat SEO can have a tremendous effect on the number of organic visitors to your site in the long-term, but it\'s never a quick-fix (which is why Google invented Pay Per Click)! A reputable SEO firm should manage your expectations which usually can take a good twelve months to pay dividends.\r\n\r\nAgain be wary of the Black Hat sellers who often promise results within weeks, which may sound appealing, but when your house of cards comes tumbling down in the longer term, it will take much longer to rebuild.\r\n<h3>Analyse Results Yourself</h3>\r\nIt\'s great leaving everything in the hands of your SEO guru\'s, but it\'s also worth learning the basics of SEO analysis yourself. It\'s quite simple to keep your finger on the pulse of your sites SEO, and with tools such as Google Analytics, it can take just a few minutes out of your busy schedule per month to stay up to date.\r\n\r\nBut why bother with this added work when you don\'t have to? The reason is simple, so you know you\'re not having the wool pulled over your eyes. If you\'re looking at the numbers yourself and are told that \"Last month you had 67,000 visitors\", it\'s easy to see someone isn\'t telling the whole truth when it turns out that you only had 3,400 visitors and 67,000 page views (the number of pages with your site that your actual visitors viewed).\r\n\r\nLearn to use the tools available to you to keep a broad check on what you are told; you\'ll soon learn if you can trust the company you have chosen to work with this way.\r\n<h3>Pro Tip</h3>\r\nLearn to locate these three items each month in your Google Analytics dashboard, which is enough for basic analysis.\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Number of unique visitors to your site for the month. You want these to increase.</li>\r\n 	<li>Top sources of traffic to your website (i.e. Search engines, social media etc.). SEO should focus on organic search engine traffic and inbound links from other websites.</li>\r\n 	<li>Your sites bounce rate as a percentage of traffic. You\'ll be looking for this to decrease if possible or stay steady; however, an increase in bounce rates can indicate a problem with your on site content and not necessarily the SEO work undertaken.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h3>Have A Little Patiences</h3>\r\nWhite Hat SEO can have a tremendous effect on the number of organic visitors to your site in the long-term, but it\'s never a quick-fix (which is why Google invented Pay Per Click)! A reputable SEO firm should manage your expectations which usually can take a good twelve months to pay dividends.\r\n\r\nAgain be wary of the Black Hat sellers who often promise results within weeks, which may sound appealing, but when your house of cards comes tumbling down in the longer term, it will take much longer to rebuild.\r\n<h3>Analyse Results Yourself</h3>\r\nIt\'s great leaving everything in the hands of your SEO guru\'s, but it\'s also worth learning the basics of SEO analysis yourself. It\'s quite simple to keep your finger on the pulse of your sites SEO, and with tools such as Google Analytics, it can take just a few minutes out of your busy schedule per month to stay up to date.\r\n\r\nBut why bother with this added work when you don\'t have to? The reason is simple, so you know you\'re not having the wool pulled over your eyes. If you\'re looking at the numbers yourself and are told that \"Last month you had 67,000 visitors\", it\'s easy to see someone isn\'t telling the whole truth when it turns out that you only had 3,400 visitors and 67,000 page views (the number of pages with your site that your actual visitors viewed).\r\n\r\nLearn to use the tools available to you to keep a broad check on what you are told; you\'ll soon learn if you can trust the company you have chosen to work with this way.\r\n<h3>Pro Tip</h3>\r\nLearn to locate these three items each month in your Google Analytics dashboard, which is enough for basic analysis.\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Number of unique visitors to your site for the month. You want these to increase.</li>\r\n 	<li>Top sources of traffic to your website (i.e. Search engines, social media etc.). SEO should focus on organic search engine traffic and inbound links from other websites.</li>\r\n 	<li>Your sites bounce rate as a percentage of traffic. You\'ll be looking for this to decrease if possible or stay steady; however, an increase in bounce rates can indicate a problem with your on site content and not necessarily the SEO work undertaken.</li>\r\n</ol>','How To Know Your SEO Is Working ','','inherit','closed','closed','','5678-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:35:06','2026-02-15 12:35:06','',5678,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8492',0,'revision','',0),(8493,1,'2026-02-15 12:47:22','2026-02-15 12:47:22','<h2>Conquering eCommerce Conversion Rates</h2>\nAre you besieged continuously with three-letter acronyms and wish for once that someone would explain the link between SEO, CTR, CRO and KPI\'s? Luckily Actuate is here to help your navigate the internet marketing highway and learn how to conquer eCommerce conversion rates.\n<h3>Internet Marketing Glossary</h3>\nBefore we move on, it\'s probably handy for most of you to explain what some of these important acronyms relating to internet marketing mean so we\'ve put together a brief guide below.\n\n<b>CRO </b>or <b>Conversion Rate Optimisation </b>is the act of improving the number of visitors to your website who perform a pre-planned specific action.\n\n<b>SEO </b>or <b>Search Engine Optimisation </b>is the act of tweaking your websites code or content to perform better on a search engine.\n\n<b>CTR </b>or <b>Click-Through Rate </b>is the number of clicks that a paid ad or free link to your website receives divided by its number of impressions.\n\n<b>PPC </b>or <b>Pay-Per-Click </b>is an advertising model whereby you pay only when someone physically clicks on your website\'s link.\n\n<b>CPC </b>or <b>Cost Per Click </b>is the actual price you pay for each click on your ad in a Pay-Per-Click campaign.\n\n<b>KPI </b>or <b>Key Performance Indicator </b>is a measure of how well a company is doing regarding meeting its business objectives.\n<h3>How To Measure Your eCommerce Conversion Rates</h3>\nNow that the explanations are behind us, we can concentrate on working out your conversion rate, indicating how well your website works for you. You can work out your eCommerce conversion rate by taking the number of unique visitors to your website for a given period and dividing by the number of transactions in that same period.\n<blockquote><i>\"Ecommerce Conversion Rate is the ratio of transactions to sessions, expressed as a percentage; for example, a ratio of 1 transaction to every 10 sessions would be expressed as an Ecommerce Conversion Rate of 10%.\"</i>\n\n<b>Google Analytics Support </b>(<a href=\"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6014873?hl=en\">https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6014873?hl=en</a>)</blockquote>\nOnce you have your conversion rates at hand, you can compare the data with industry averages to see how well your website performs.\n<h3><b>Conversion Rate Industry Averages</b></h3>\nRather than trawl the internet to look for industry averages specific to your sector, Actuate has done the work for you. You can reference your eCommerce conversion rates with the information in the table below to see how well you perform. The averages presented below cater to UK retailers, so those reading this article from anywhere other than Great Britain may wish to treat this information with a grain of salt.\n<h3><b>Industry Average Conversion Rate Average Order Value</b></h3>\nArts &amp; Crafts 3.79% £102.62 Baby &amp; Child 0.99% £132.30 Cars &amp; Motorcycles 1.55% £123.79 Electricals &amp; Commercial Equipment 2.23% £78.56\n\nFashion, Clothing &amp; Accessories 2.44% £81.00 Food &amp; Drink 2.37% £85.89 Health &amp; Wellbeing 3.62% £44.87 Home &amp; Giftware 2.16% £61.40 Kitchen &amp; Appliances 2.48% £46.31 Pet Care 3.28% £86.02 Sports &amp; Recreation 1.75% £76.87\n<h3><b>Raising eCommerce Conversion Rates</b></h3>\nNow you have all the data and can see how well you rank against your industry average we can start to look at how you can increase your eCommerce conversion rates through CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation). Some of these tips are simple to achieve and highly effective yet are usually missed by agencies who focus their efforts on producing a website that may look appealing but lacks real substance and user-centred design focussed on conversion and sales.\n<h3><b>Chase High-Value Visitors Showing Intent</b></h3>\nSTOP... Just what do we mean when we say high-value visitors showing intent? That\'s just a posh way of saying visitors who are actively searching for your products or services. Statistics show that people who arrive at your website because they have typed in the name of a product or service are much more likely to buy than those who have found you whilst doing other things, such as using social media. What does this all mean? Quite simply if you only have a finite amount of time to attract new visitors, look to attract those who show intent for your products which usually means those coming from search engines.\n<h3><b>Get Rid Of Unnecessary Form Fields</b></h3>\nHow much do you enjoy filling out forms on the internet? If your answer is anything but \"not much\" then you\'re in the minority. The leaner you make your forms, and this includes your checkout, the more people will fill them in. You may enjoy asking people how they found you or if they would like to subscribe to your fun newsletter but will these form fields help you win a sale? If the answer is no, get rid of them! If you dislike the idea of losing them altogether, move them to your thank you page and make them optional.\n<h3><b>Increase Trust In You And Your Brand</b></h3>\nLet\'s face it; we don\'t all have the luxury of our business being a household name, in fact, many times when a visitor arrives at your website they have never heard of you before, so it\'s important to impress them and help increase their trust in your brand. There are many ways to do this, including:\n<ul>\n 	<li>Having a visually appealing website</li>\n 	<li>Listing accreditations and featuring site seals</li>\n 	<li>Having a green address bar</li>\n 	<li>Showcasing independently gathered reviews</li>\n</ul>\n<h3><b>Tweak Your Sites Copy</b></h3>\nWhich is more appealing \"Sign Up\" or \"Sign Up For 10% Discount\"? You probably chose option two, and why wouldn\'t you, everyone likes a discount. By tweaking the copy of your website, you can increase the likelihood of people performing specific actions. You can take this process further by utilising A/B testing and gathering real-world data on how small changes to your website influences sales.\n<h3><b>Create A Sense Of Urgency</b></h3>\nWe\'ve all seen the clips on YouTube showing herds of people trampling each other to get to the crazy, limited offers during Black Friday in the USA. Why do they do it? Because they don\'t want to miss out! Take these same principles and create a sense of urgency on your website. Consider a deal of the week limited to only ten items and show the number of remaining items to your visitors to help capture a sale or promote a \"deal of the day\" with a countdown timer showing how long is left to grab that deal. Simple changes such as these can easily translate into higher conversion rates.\n<h4>Contact Actuate Digital</h4>\nWe\'ve left the most straightforward option on this list until last, which is to contact Actuate Digital today on <b>01244 911360 </b>or by emailing <b>hello@actuate.agency</b>. Working with a dedicated agency such as Actuate, who understand the intricacies of internet marketing, the ins and outs of conversion rate optimisation and how to make your website work for you will pay dividends. No, we\'re not the cheapest, but we will make the most of your website and help you reap the rewards of working with an award-winning agency.','Conquering eCommerce Conversion Rates','','inherit','closed','closed','','5676-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:47:22','2026-02-15 12:47:22','',5676,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8493',0,'revision','',0),(8494,1,'2026-02-15 12:48:06','2026-02-15 12:48:06','<h2>Conquering eCommerce Conversion Rates</h2>\r\nAre you besieged continuously with three-letter acronyms and wish for once that someone would explain the link between SEO, CTR, CRO and KPI\'s? Luckily Actuate is here to help your navigate the internet marketing highway and learn how to conquer eCommerce conversion rates.\r\n<h3>Internet Marketing Glossary</h3>\r\nBefore we move on, it\'s probably handy for most of you to explain what some of these important acronyms relating to internet marketing mean so we\'ve put together a brief guide below.\r\n\r\n<b>CRO </b>or <b>Conversion Rate Optimisation </b>is the act of improving the number of visitors to your website who perform a pre-planned specific action.\r\n\r\n<b>SEO </b>or <b>Search Engine Optimisation </b>is the act of tweaking your websites code or content to perform better on a search engine.\r\n\r\n<b>CTR </b>or <b>Click-Through Rate </b>is the number of clicks that a paid ad or free link to your website receives divided by its number of impressions.\r\n\r\n<b>PPC </b>or <b>Pay-Per-Click </b>is an advertising model whereby you pay only when someone physically clicks on your website\'s link.\r\n\r\n<b>CPC </b>or <b>Cost Per Click </b>is the actual price you pay for each click on your ad in a Pay-Per-Click campaign.\r\n\r\n<b>KPI </b>or <b>Key Performance Indicator </b>is a measure of how well a company is doing regarding meeting its business objectives.\r\n<h3>How To Measure Your eCommerce Conversion Rates</h3>\r\nNow that the explanations are behind us, we can concentrate on working out your conversion rate, indicating how well your website works for you. You can work out your eCommerce conversion rate by taking the number of unique visitors to your website for a given period and dividing by the number of transactions in that same period.\r\n<blockquote cite=\"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6014873?hl=en\"><i>\"Ecommerce Conversion Rate is the ratio of transactions to sessions, expressed as a percentage; for example, a ratio of 1 transaction to every 10 sessions would be expressed as an Ecommerce Conversion Rate of 10%.\"</i>\r\n\r\n<cite>Google Analytics Support (<a href=\"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6014873?hl=en\">https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6014873?hl=en</a>)</cite></blockquote>\r\nOnce you have your conversion rates at hand, you can compare the data with industry averages to see how well your website performs.\r\n<h3>Conversion Rate Industry Averages</h3>\r\nRather than trawl the internet to look for industry averages specific to your sector, Actuate has done the work for you. You can reference your eCommerce conversion rates with the information in the table below to see how well you perform. The averages presented below cater to UK retailers, so those reading this article from anywhere other than Great Britain may wish to treat this information with a grain of salt.\r\n<h3>Industry Average Conversion Rate Average Order Value</h3>\r\nArts &amp; Crafts 3.79% £102.62 Baby &amp; Child 0.99% £132.30 Cars &amp; Motorcycles 1.55% £123.79 Electricals &amp; Commercial Equipment 2.23% £78.56\r\n\r\nFashion, Clothing &amp; Accessories 2.44% £81.00 Food &amp; Drink 2.37% £85.89 Health &amp; Wellbeing 3.62% £44.87 Home &amp; Giftware 2.16% £61.40 Kitchen &amp; Appliances 2.48% £46.31 Pet Care 3.28% £86.02 Sports &amp; Recreation 1.75% £76.87\r\n<h3>Raising eCommerce Conversion Rates</h3>\r\nNow you have all the data and can see how well you rank against your industry average we can start to look at how you can increase your eCommerce conversion rates through CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation). Some of these tips are simple to achieve and highly effective yet are usually missed by agencies who focus their efforts on producing a website that may look appealing but lacks real substance and user-centred design focussed on conversion and sales.\r\n<h3>Chase High-Value Visitors Showing Intent</h3>\r\nSTOP... Just what do we mean when we say high-value visitors showing intent? That\'s just a posh way of saying visitors who are actively searching for your products or services. Statistics show that people who arrive at your website because they have typed in the name of a product or service are much more likely to buy than those who have found you whilst doing other things, such as using social media. What does this all mean? Quite simply if you only have a finite amount of time to attract new visitors, look to attract those who show intent for your products which usually means those coming from search engines.\r\n<h3>Get Rid Of Unnecessary Form Fields</h3>\r\nHow much do you enjoy filling out forms on the internet? If your answer is anything but \"not much\" then you\'re in the minority. The leaner you make your forms, and this includes your checkout, the more people will fill them in. You may enjoy asking people how they found you or if they would like to subscribe to your fun newsletter but will these form fields help you win a sale? If the answer is no, get rid of them! If you dislike the idea of losing them altogether, move them to your thank you page and make them optional.\r\n<h3>Increase Trust In You And Your Brand</h3>\r\nLet\'s face it; we don\'t all have the luxury of our business being a household name, in fact, many times when a visitor arrives at your website they have never heard of you before, so it\'s important to impress them and help increase their trust in your brand. There are many ways to do this, including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Having a visually appealing website</li>\r\n 	<li>Listing accreditations and featuring site seals</li>\r\n 	<li>Having a green address bar</li>\r\n 	<li>Showcasing independently gathered reviews</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Tweak Your Sites Copy</h3>\r\nWhich is more appealing \"Sign Up\" or \"Sign Up For 10% Discount\"? You probably chose option two, and why wouldn\'t you, everyone likes a discount. By tweaking the copy of your website, you can increase the likelihood of people performing specific actions. You can take this process further by utilising A/B testing and gathering real-world data on how small changes to your website influences sales.\r\n<h3>Create A Sense Of Urgency</h3>\r\nWe\'ve all seen the clips on YouTube showing herds of people trampling each other to get to the crazy, limited offers during Black Friday in the USA. Why do they do it? Because they don\'t want to miss out! Take these same principles and create a sense of urgency on your website. Consider a deal of the week limited to only ten items and show the number of remaining items to your visitors to help capture a sale or promote a \"deal of the day\" with a countdown timer showing how long is left to grab that deal. Simple changes such as these can easily translate into higher conversion rates.','Conquering eCommerce Conversion Rates','','inherit','closed','closed','','5676-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:48:06','2026-02-15 12:48:06','',5676,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8494',0,'revision','',0),(8495,1,'2026-02-15 12:52:21','2026-02-15 12:52:21','Let\'s face it; price is usually a leading factor in making a business decision, and choosing your next e- commerce solution is no different. Unfortunately, not all eCommerce solutions are built equally with many coming with hidden costs or caveats which you\'d probably like to know upfront. In this post we\'re going to look at some of the many points you should consider when choosing your next e- commerce solution and the effect these points have on your eCommerce TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).\n<h3>E-Commerce Platform</h3>\nFirstly it\'s important to realise that when it comes to choosing your next eCommerce platform, the options available to you will usually fit into two broad groups:\n<h3>Self-Hosted</h3>\ne.g. Magento Open Source or Aero Commerce\n\nSelf-hosted solutions are just that, software hosted on a hosting platform of your choosing, whether that be a shared hosting solution or a dedicated hosted solution. You own the platform outright and are usually free to do with it as you please, making changes, moving hosts and even transferring themes to new systems. Typical ongoing costs include the cost of hosting itself, software and security updates and data backups.\n<h3>SaaS (Software as a Service) / Cloud-Based</h3>\ne.g. Magento Commerce Cloud, Shopify, BigCommerce, Visualsoft\n\nSaaS options live in the cloud and are hosted by the software creator and licensed to you, usually at an ongoing monthly cost. It is important to realise the platform isn\'t owned by you and just licensed, meaning you can\'t take it to another host and if the service was suddenly shut down you would have to start from scratch. Typical ongoing expenses include the monthly license fee, functionality addons and sometimes a percentage of your sales.\n<h2>Areas of Cost</h2>\n<h3>Design &amp; Build</h3>\nYour website\'s design and build is one area where pricing can be pretty similar irrespective of the chosen software option. The time and effort that goes into the design phase doesn\'t change too much between platforms. The build of this design again can be very similar.\n<h3>Software Licensing</h3>\nLicensing is the cost many people look at when deciding on their new platform. Some software can look very attractive at this stage such as Magento Open Source which doesn\'t have a licensing fee or many SaaS offerings such as Shopify, which has a license fee of $29 per month for their basic plan at the time of writing.\n\nIt is essential to look at the coming 12-24 months, as changes within your organisation or your sales could significantly impact these fees.\n\nLet\'s take a quick look at three popular platforms, Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce with some typical examples of changes to your business in the first 12-24 months of operation:\n<h3>Startup</h3>\nYou\'ve just started your eCommerce site, and there are two members of your team. Your turnover in the first 12 months is £35,000.\n<table width=\"348\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt; width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td class=\"xl65\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\">\n<div title=\"Page 2\"><strong>Magento</strong></div></td>\n<td class=\"xl66\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\"><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\n<td class=\"xl66\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\"><strong>BigCommerce</strong></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\n<td>$0</td>\n<td>$29 / Month</td>\n<td>$29.95 / Month</td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td class=\"xl65\"></td>\n<td></td>\n<td></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\n<td>$0</td>\n<td>$348</td>\n<td>$359.40</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\n<h3>Growing</h3>\nYou\'ve been operating for 12 months, and you\'ve taken on an extra member of staff bringing your total to three. Your turnover in year two is £100,000.\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt; width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td class=\"xl65\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\">\n<div title=\"Page 2\"><strong>Magento</strong></div></td>\n<td class=\"xl66\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\"><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\n<td class=\"xl66\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\"><strong>BigCommerce</strong></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\n<td>$0</td>\n<td>$79 / Month</td>\n<td>$79.95 / Month</td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td class=\"xl65\"></td>\n<td></td>\n<td></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\n<td>$0</td>\n<td>$948</td>\n<td>$959.40</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\n<h3>Established</h3>\nYou\'ve been operating for 18 months, and things are going well. You now have six staff members an annual turnover of £200,000 and have branched out with a dedicated wholesale website, each with one module to add free gift functionality.\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt; width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td class=\"xl65\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\">\n<div title=\"Page 2\"><strong>Magento (Multi-Store)</strong></div></td>\n<td class=\"xl66\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\"><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\n<td class=\"xl66\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\"><strong>Big Commerce</strong></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\n<td>$0</td>\n<td>$79 / Month x 2</td>\n<td>$79.95 / Month x 2</td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td class=\"xl65\"></td>\n<td></td>\n<td></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>Free Gift Extension</strong></td>\n<td>$239 (one time)</td>\n<td>$29.99 / Month x 2</td>\n<td>¢0</td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td></td>\n<td></td>\n<td></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\n<td>$239</td>\n<td>$7,895.76</td>\n<td>$7,198.80</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\n<h3></h3>\n<h3>Extensions, Addons and Apps</h3>\nExtensions, addons or apps add additional functionality to your website to fill your needs; this functionality usually comes with additional cost. We briefly saw an example of what can happen when we require additional functionality in the licensing information above. Many SaaS platforms continue the tradition of monthly fees for their apps, so in our previous example, the app that allowed us to offer free gifts cost $29.99 per month, per storefront. Compare that to the self-hosted Magento Open Source platform which allowed us to pay a one-time fee for the same functionality, saving money in the long term. It\'s not uncommon with SaaS solutions to be spending at least a few hundred per month on these extensions.\n<h2>Payment Gateways</h2>\nA payment gateway allows you to accept credit cards, debit cards and other payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay directly on your website. Many self-hosted platforms have popular payment gateways baked into their solutions. However, SaaS providers usually have custom solutions and will sometimes charge more for third-party payment providers. Again let\'s take a look at three popular eCommerce platforms:\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt; width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td class=\"xl65\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\">\n<div title=\"Page 2\"><strong>Magento</strong></div></td>\n<td class=\"xl66\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\"><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\n<td class=\"xl66\" style=\"width: 65pt;\" width=\"87\"><strong>BigCommerce</strong></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>PayPal Fees</strong></td>\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\n<td>1.85% + 18p</td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"></td>\n<td class=\"xl65\"></td>\n<td></td>\n<td></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 16.0pt;\">\n<td style=\"height: 16.0pt;\" height=\"21\"><strong>Platform Fees</strong></td>\n<td>N/A</td>\n<td>Up to 2%</td>\n<td>N/A</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\nHere you see that Magento allows PayPal as standard and the charges are those incurred by using PayPal itself. On the other hand, Shopify charges you up to an additional 2% for the privilege of using PayPal and BigCommerce bucks the trend and passes on a specially agreed discount they have through a partnership with PayPal.\n<h2>Security Updates</h2>\nSecurity is where SaaS usually comes into its own as a hosted, closed platform security updates are applied across the board for all of their customers as and when needed. However, self-hosted sites require a helping hand, which usually means a DIY approach or a maintenance contract with your web agency. You should usually budget at least a few thousand per year for security updates if you aren\'t on a SaaS platform.\n<h2>Future Migration</h2>\nOne huge negative for SaaS eCommerce solutions is that they aren\'t portable. If at any point, you wish to migrate to a new platform or even if your SaaS provider were to stop operating for any reason you would be left without a site and starting from scratch. When you physically host a website yourself, you can change your hosting provider and take elements from it to use with a new site in the future.\n<h4>Conclusion</h4>\nWhen it comes to eCommerce, the choices are endless, and you should take great care not to look just on the surface of everything, but also a little deeper and to the future of your business. A reputable company such as Actuate Digital can help you make the best decision for your business, taking into account all of these points and more. Get in touch for a free no-obligation chat about your next project.','Understanding The Total Cost of Ownership For Your E- Commerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5673-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:52:21','2026-02-15 12:52:21','',5673,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8495',0,'revision','',0),(8496,1,'2026-02-15 12:52:26','2026-02-15 12:52:26','Let\'s face it; price is usually a leading factor in making a business decision, and choosing your next e- commerce solution is no different. Unfortunately, not all eCommerce solutions are built equally with many coming with hidden costs or caveats which you\'d probably like to know upfront. In this post we\'re going to look at some of the many points you should consider when choosing your next e- commerce solution and the effect these points have on your eCommerce TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).\r\n<h3>E-Commerce Platform</h3>\r\nFirstly it\'s important to realise that when it comes to choosing your next eCommerce platform, the options available to you will usually fit into two broad groups:\r\n<h3>Self-Hosted</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Open Source or Aero Commerce\r\n\r\nSelf-hosted solutions are just that, software hosted on a hosting platform of your choosing, whether that be a shared hosting solution or a dedicated hosted solution. You own the platform outright and are usually free to do with it as you please, making changes, moving hosts and even transferring themes to new systems. Typical ongoing costs include the cost of hosting itself, software and security updates and data backups.\r\n<h3>SaaS (Software as a Service) / Cloud-Based</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Commerce Cloud, Shopify, BigCommerce, Visualsoft\r\n\r\nSaaS options live in the cloud and are hosted by the software creator and licensed to you, usually at an ongoing monthly cost. It is important to realise the platform isn\'t owned by you and just licensed, meaning you can\'t take it to another host and if the service was suddenly shut down you would have to start from scratch. Typical ongoing expenses include the monthly license fee, functionality addons and sometimes a percentage of your sales.\r\n<h2>Areas of Cost</h2>\r\n<h3>Design &amp; Build</h3>\r\nYour website\'s design and build is one area where pricing can be pretty similar irrespective of the chosen software option. The time and effort that goes into the design phase doesn\'t change too much between platforms. The build of this design again can be very similar.\r\n<h3>Software Licensing</h3>\r\nLicensing is the cost many people look at when deciding on their new platform. Some software can look very attractive at this stage such as Magento Open Source which doesn\'t have a licensing fee or many SaaS offerings such as Shopify, which has a license fee of $29 per month for their basic plan at the time of writing.\r\n\r\nIt is essential to look at the coming 12-24 months, as changes within your organisation or your sales could significantly impact these fees.\r\n\r\nLet\'s take a quick look at three popular platforms, Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce with some typical examples of changes to your business in the first 12-24 months of operation:\r\n<h3>Startup</h3>\r\nYou\'ve just started your eCommerce site, and there are two members of your team. Your turnover in the first 12 months is £35,000.\r\n<table width=\"348\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td><strong>Magento</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>BigCommerce</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$29 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$29.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$348</td>\r\n<td>$359.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Growing</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 12 months, and you\'ve taken on an extra member of staff bringing your total to three. Your turnover in year two is £100,000.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td><strong>Magento</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>BigCommerce</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$948</td>\r\n<td>$959.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Established</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 18 months, and things are going well. You now have six staff members an annual turnover of £200,000 and have branched out with a dedicated wholesale website, each with one module to add free gift functionality.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td><strong>Magento (Multi-Store)</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Big Commerce</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month x 2</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Free Gift Extension</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239 (one time)</td>\r\n<td>$29.99 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>¢0</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239</td>\r\n<td>$7,895.76</td>\r\n<td>$7,198.80</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3></h3>\r\n<h3>Extensions, Addons and Apps</h3>\r\nExtensions, addons or apps add additional functionality to your website to fill your needs; this functionality usually comes with additional cost. We briefly saw an example of what can happen when we require additional functionality in the licensing information above. Many SaaS platforms continue the tradition of monthly fees for their apps, so in our previous example, the app that allowed us to offer free gifts cost $29.99 per month, per storefront. Compare that to the self-hosted Magento Open Source platform which allowed us to pay a one-time fee for the same functionality, saving money in the long term. It\'s not uncommon with SaaS solutions to be spending at least a few hundred per month on these extensions.\r\n<h2>Payment Gateways</h2>\r\nA payment gateway allows you to accept credit cards, debit cards and other payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay directly on your website. Many self-hosted platforms have popular payment gateways baked into their solutions. However, SaaS providers usually have custom solutions and will sometimes charge more for third-party payment providers. Again let\'s take a look at three popular eCommerce platforms:\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td><strong>Magento</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>BigCommerce</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>PayPal Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>1.85% + 18p</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Platform Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n<td>Up to 2%</td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\nHere you see that Magento allows PayPal as standard and the charges are those incurred by using PayPal itself. On the other hand, Shopify charges you up to an additional 2% for the privilege of using PayPal and BigCommerce bucks the trend and passes on a specially agreed discount they have through a partnership with PayPal.\r\n<h2>Security Updates</h2>\r\nSecurity is where SaaS usually comes into its own as a hosted, closed platform security updates are applied across the board for all of their customers as and when needed. However, self-hosted sites require a helping hand, which usually means a DIY approach or a maintenance contract with your web agency. You should usually budget at least a few thousand per year for security updates if you aren\'t on a SaaS platform.\r\n<h2>Future Migration</h2>\r\nOne huge negative for SaaS eCommerce solutions is that they aren\'t portable. If at any point, you wish to migrate to a new platform or even if your SaaS provider were to stop operating for any reason you would be left without a site and starting from scratch. When you physically host a website yourself, you can change your hosting provider and take elements from it to use with a new site in the future.\r\n<h4>Conclusion</h4>\r\nWhen it comes to eCommerce, the choices are endless, and you should take great care not to look just on the surface of everything, but also a little deeper and to the future of your business. A reputable company such as Actuate Digital can help you make the best decision for your business, taking into account all of these points and more. Get in touch for a free no-obligation chat about your next project.','Understanding The Total Cost of Ownership For Your E- Commerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5673-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:52:26','2026-02-15 12:52:26','',5673,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8496',0,'revision','',0),(8497,1,'2026-02-15 12:57:22','2026-02-15 12:57:22','Let\'s face it; price is usually a leading factor in making a business decision, and choosing your next e- commerce solution is no different. Unfortunately, not all eCommerce solutions are built equally with many coming with hidden costs or caveats which you\'d probably like to know upfront. In this post we\'re going to look at some of the many points you should consider when choosing your next e- commerce solution and the effect these points have on your eCommerce TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).\r\n<h3>E-Commerce Platform</h3>\r\nFirstly it\'s important to realise that when it comes to choosing your next eCommerce platform, the options available to you will usually fit into two broad groups:\r\n<h3>Self-Hosted</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Open Source or Aero Commerce\r\n\r\nSelf-hosted solutions are just that, software hosted on a hosting platform of your choosing, whether that be a shared hosting solution or a dedicated hosted solution. You own the platform outright and are usually free to do with it as you please, making changes, moving hosts and even transferring themes to new systems. Typical ongoing costs include the cost of hosting itself, software and security updates and data backups.\r\n<h3>SaaS (Software as a Service) / Cloud-Based</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Commerce Cloud, Shopify, BigCommerce, Visualsoft\r\n\r\nSaaS options live in the cloud and are hosted by the software creator and licensed to you, usually at an ongoing monthly cost. It is important to realise the platform isn\'t owned by you and just licensed, meaning you can\'t take it to another host and if the service was suddenly shut down you would have to start from scratch. Typical ongoing expenses include the monthly license fee, functionality addons and sometimes a percentage of your sales.\r\n<h2>Areas of Cost</h2>\r\n<h3>Design &amp; Build</h3>\r\nYour website\'s design and build is one area where pricing can be pretty similar irrespective of the chosen software option. The time and effort that goes into the design phase doesn\'t change too much between platforms. The build of this design again can be very similar.\r\n<h3>Software Licensing</h3>\r\nLicensing is the cost many people look at when deciding on their new platform. Some software can look very attractive at this stage such as Magento Open Source which doesn\'t have a licensing fee or many SaaS offerings such as Shopify, which has a license fee of $29 per month for their basic plan at the time of writing.\r\n\r\nIt is essential to look at the coming 12-24 months, as changes within your organisation or your sales could significantly impact these fees.\r\n\r\nLet\'s take a quick look at three popular platforms, Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce with some typical examples of changes to your business in the first 12-24 months of operation:\r\n<h3>Startup</h3>\r\nYou\'ve just started your eCommerce site, and there are two members of your team. Your turnover in the first 12 months is £35,000.\r\n<table width=\"348\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$29 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$29.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$348</td>\r\n<td>$359.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Growing</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 12 months, and you\'ve taken on an extra member of staff bringing your total to three. Your turnover in year two is £100,000.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$948</td>\r\n<td>$959.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Established</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 18 months, and things are going well. You now have six staff members an annual turnover of £200,000 and have branched out with a dedicated wholesale website, each with one module to add free gift functionality.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td><strong>Magento (Multi-Store)</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Big Commerce</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month x 2</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Free Gift Extension</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239 (one time)</td>\r\n<td>$29.99 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>¢0</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239</td>\r\n<td>$7,895.76</td>\r\n<td>$7,198.80</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3></h3>\r\n<h3>Extensions, Addons and Apps</h3>\r\nExtensions, addons or apps add additional functionality to your website to fill your needs; this functionality usually comes with additional cost. We briefly saw an example of what can happen when we require additional functionality in the licensing information above. Many SaaS platforms continue the tradition of monthly fees for their apps, so in our previous example, the app that allowed us to offer free gifts cost $29.99 per month, per storefront. Compare that to the self-hosted Magento Open Source platform which allowed us to pay a one-time fee for the same functionality, saving money in the long term. It\'s not uncommon with SaaS solutions to be spending at least a few hundred per month on these extensions.\r\n<h2>Payment Gateways</h2>\r\nA payment gateway allows you to accept credit cards, debit cards and other payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay directly on your website. Many self-hosted platforms have popular payment gateways baked into their solutions. However, SaaS providers usually have custom solutions and will sometimes charge more for third-party payment providers. Again let\'s take a look at three popular eCommerce platforms:\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>PayPal Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>1.85% + 18p</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Platform Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n<td>Up to 2%</td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\nHere you see that Magento allows PayPal as standard and the charges are those incurred by using PayPal itself. On the other hand, Shopify charges you up to an additional 2% for the privilege of using PayPal and BigCommerce bucks the trend and passes on a specially agreed discount they have through a partnership with PayPal.\r\n<h2>Security Updates</h2>\r\nSecurity is where SaaS usually comes into its own as a hosted, closed platform security updates are applied across the board for all of their customers as and when needed. However, self-hosted sites require a helping hand, which usually means a DIY approach or a maintenance contract with your web agency. You should usually budget at least a few thousand per year for security updates if you aren\'t on a SaaS platform.\r\n<h2>Future Migration</h2>\r\nOne huge negative for SaaS eCommerce solutions is that they aren\'t portable. If at any point, you wish to migrate to a new platform or even if your SaaS provider were to stop operating for any reason you would be left without a site and starting from scratch. When you physically host a website yourself, you can change your hosting provider and take elements from it to use with a new site in the future.\r\n<h4>Conclusion</h4>\r\nWhen it comes to eCommerce, the choices are endless, and you should take great care not to look just on the surface of everything, but also a little deeper and to the future of your business. A reputable company such as Actuate Digital can help you make the best decision for your business, taking into account all of these points and more. Get in touch for a free no-obligation chat about your next project.','Understanding The Total Cost of Ownership For Your E- Commerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5673-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:57:22','2026-02-15 12:57:22','',5673,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8497',0,'revision','',0),(8498,1,'2026-02-15 12:58:04','2026-02-15 12:58:04','Let\'s face it; price is usually a leading factor in making a business decision, and choosing your next e- commerce solution is no different. Unfortunately, not all eCommerce solutions are built equally with many coming with hidden costs or caveats which you\'d probably like to know upfront. In this post we\'re going to look at some of the many points you should consider when choosing your next e- commerce solution and the effect these points have on your eCommerce TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).\r\n<h3>E-Commerce Platform</h3>\r\nFirstly it\'s important to realise that when it comes to choosing your next eCommerce platform, the options available to you will usually fit into two broad groups:\r\n<h3>Self-Hosted</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Open Source or Aero Commerce\r\n\r\nSelf-hosted solutions are just that, software hosted on a hosting platform of your choosing, whether that be a shared hosting solution or a dedicated hosted solution. You own the platform outright and are usually free to do with it as you please, making changes, moving hosts and even transferring themes to new systems. Typical ongoing costs include the cost of hosting itself, software and security updates and data backups.\r\n<h3>SaaS (Software as a Service) / Cloud-Based</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Commerce Cloud, Shopify, BigCommerce, Visualsoft\r\n\r\nSaaS options live in the cloud and are hosted by the software creator and licensed to you, usually at an ongoing monthly cost. It is important to realise the platform isn\'t owned by you and just licensed, meaning you can\'t take it to another host and if the service was suddenly shut down you would have to start from scratch. Typical ongoing expenses include the monthly license fee, functionality addons and sometimes a percentage of your sales.\r\n<h2>Areas of Cost</h2>\r\n<h3>Design &amp; Build</h3>\r\nYour website\'s design and build is one area where pricing can be pretty similar irrespective of the chosen software option. The time and effort that goes into the design phase doesn\'t change too much between platforms. The build of this design again can be very similar.\r\n<h3>Software Licensing</h3>\r\nLicensing is the cost many people look at when deciding on their new platform. Some software can look very attractive at this stage such as Magento Open Source which doesn\'t have a licensing fee or many SaaS offerings such as Shopify, which has a license fee of $29 per month for their basic plan at the time of writing.\r\n\r\nIt is essential to look at the coming 12-24 months, as changes within your organisation or your sales could significantly impact these fees.\r\n\r\nLet\'s take a quick look at three popular platforms, Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce with some typical examples of changes to your business in the first 12-24 months of operation:\r\n<h3>Startup</h3>\r\nYou\'ve just started your eCommerce site, and there are two members of your team. Your turnover in the first 12 months is £35,000.\r\n<table width=\"348\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$29 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$29.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$348</td>\r\n<td>$359.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Growing</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 12 months, and you\'ve taken on an extra member of staff bringing your total to three. Your turnover in year two is £100,000.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$948</td>\r\n<td>$959.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Established</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 18 months, and things are going well. You now have six staff members an annual turnover of £200,000 and have branched out with a dedicated wholesale website, each with one module to add free gift functionality.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td></td>\r\n<td><strong>Magento (Multi-Store)</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Shopify</strong></td>\r\n<td><strong>Big Commerce</strong></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month x 2</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Free Gift Extension</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239 (one time)</td>\r\n<td>$29.99 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>¢0</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239</td>\r\n<td>$7,895.76</td>\r\n<td>$7,198.80</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3></h3>\r\n<h3>Extensions, Addons and Apps</h3>\r\nExtensions, addons or apps add additional functionality to your website to fill your needs; this functionality usually comes with additional cost. We briefly saw an example of what can happen when we require additional functionality in the licensing information above. Many SaaS platforms continue the tradition of monthly fees for their apps, so in our previous example, the app that allowed us to offer free gifts cost $29.99 per month, per storefront. Compare that to the self-hosted Magento Open Source platform which allowed us to pay a one-time fee for the same functionality, saving money in the long term. It\'s not uncommon with SaaS solutions to be spending at least a few hundred per month on these extensions.\r\n<h2>Payment Gateways</h2>\r\nA payment gateway allows you to accept credit cards, debit cards and other payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay directly on your website. Many self-hosted platforms have popular payment gateways baked into their solutions. However, SaaS providers usually have custom solutions and will sometimes charge more for third-party payment providers. Again let\'s take a look at three popular eCommerce platforms:\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>PayPal Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>1.85% + 18p</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Platform Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n<td>Up to 2%</td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\nHere you see that Magento allows PayPal as standard and the charges are those incurred by using PayPal itself. On the other hand, Shopify charges you up to an additional 2% for the privilege of using PayPal and BigCommerce bucks the trend and passes on a specially agreed discount they have through a partnership with PayPal.\r\n<h2>Security Updates</h2>\r\nSecurity is where SaaS usually comes into its own as a hosted, closed platform security updates are applied across the board for all of their customers as and when needed. However, self-hosted sites require a helping hand, which usually means a DIY approach or a maintenance contract with your web agency. You should usually budget at least a few thousand per year for security updates if you aren\'t on a SaaS platform.\r\n<h2>Future Migration</h2>\r\nOne huge negative for SaaS eCommerce solutions is that they aren\'t portable. If at any point, you wish to migrate to a new platform or even if your SaaS provider were to stop operating for any reason you would be left without a site and starting from scratch. When you physically host a website yourself, you can change your hosting provider and take elements from it to use with a new site in the future.\r\n<h4>Conclusion</h4>\r\nWhen it comes to eCommerce, the choices are endless, and you should take great care not to look just on the surface of everything, but also a little deeper and to the future of your business. A reputable company such as Actuate Digital can help you make the best decision for your business, taking into account all of these points and more. Get in touch for a free no-obligation chat about your next project.','Understanding The Total Cost of Ownership For Your E- Commerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5673-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 12:58:04','2026-02-15 12:58:04','',5673,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8498',0,'revision','',0),(8499,1,'2026-02-15 13:01:47','2026-02-15 13:01:47','Let\'s face it; price is usually a leading factor in making a business decision, and choosing your next e- commerce solution is no different. Unfortunately, not all eCommerce solutions are built equally with many coming with hidden costs or caveats which you\'d probably like to know upfront. In this post we\'re going to look at some of the many points you should consider when choosing your next e- commerce solution and the effect these points have on your eCommerce TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).\r\n<h3>E-Commerce Platform</h3>\r\nFirstly it\'s important to realise that when it comes to choosing your next eCommerce platform, the options available to you will usually fit into two broad groups:\r\n<h3>Self-Hosted</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Open Source or Aero Commerce\r\n\r\nSelf-hosted solutions are just that, software hosted on a hosting platform of your choosing, whether that be a shared hosting solution or a dedicated hosted solution. You own the platform outright and are usually free to do with it as you please, making changes, moving hosts and even transferring themes to new systems. Typical ongoing costs include the cost of hosting itself, software and security updates and data backups.\r\n<h3>SaaS (Software as a Service) / Cloud-Based</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Commerce Cloud, Shopify, BigCommerce, Visualsoft\r\n\r\nSaaS options live in the cloud and are hosted by the software creator and licensed to you, usually at an ongoing monthly cost. It is important to realise the platform isn\'t owned by you and just licensed, meaning you can\'t take it to another host and if the service was suddenly shut down you would have to start from scratch. Typical ongoing expenses include the monthly license fee, functionality addons and sometimes a percentage of your sales.\r\n<h2>Areas of Cost</h2>\r\n<h3>Design &amp; Build</h3>\r\nYour website\'s design and build is one area where pricing can be pretty similar irrespective of the chosen software option. The time and effort that goes into the design phase doesn\'t change too much between platforms. The build of this design again can be very similar.\r\n<h3>Software Licensing</h3>\r\nLicensing is the cost many people look at when deciding on their new platform. Some software can look very attractive at this stage such as Magento Open Source which doesn\'t have a licensing fee or many SaaS offerings such as Shopify, which has a license fee of $29 per month for their basic plan at the time of writing.\r\n\r\nIt is essential to look at the coming 12-24 months, as changes within your organisation or your sales could significantly impact these fees.\r\n\r\nLet\'s take a quick look at three popular platforms, Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce with some typical examples of changes to your business in the first 12-24 months of operation:\r\n<h3>Startup</h3>\r\nYou\'ve just started your eCommerce site, and there are two members of your team. Your turnover in the first 12 months is £35,000.\r\n<table width=\"348\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$29 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$29.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$348</td>\r\n<td>$359.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Growing</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 12 months, and you\'ve taken on an extra member of staff bringing your total to three. Your turnover in year two is £100,000.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$948</td>\r\n<td>$959.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Established</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 18 months, and things are going well. You now have six staff members an annual turnover of £200,000 and have branched out with a dedicated wholesale website, each with one module to add free gift functionality.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month x 2</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Free Gift Extension</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239 (one time)</td>\r\n<td>$29.99 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>¢0</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239</td>\r\n<td>$7,895.76</td>\r\n<td>$7,198.80</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3></h3>\r\n<h3>Extensions, Addons and Apps</h3>\r\nExtensions, addons or apps add additional functionality to your website to fill your needs; this functionality usually comes with additional cost. We briefly saw an example of what can happen when we require additional functionality in the licensing information above. Many SaaS platforms continue the tradition of monthly fees for their apps, so in our previous example, the app that allowed us to offer free gifts cost $29.99 per month, per storefront. Compare that to the self-hosted Magento Open Source platform which allowed us to pay a one-time fee for the same functionality, saving money in the long term. It\'s not uncommon with SaaS solutions to be spending at least a few hundred per month on these extensions.\r\n<h2>Payment Gateways</h2>\r\nA payment gateway allows you to accept credit cards, debit cards and other payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay directly on your website. Many self-hosted platforms have popular payment gateways baked into their solutions. However, SaaS providers usually have custom solutions and will sometimes charge more for third-party payment providers. Again let\'s take a look at three popular eCommerce platforms:\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n  <tr>\r\n  <th></th>\r\n  <th>Magento</th>\r\n  <th>Shopify</th>\r\n  <th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n  </tr>\r\n  </thead>\r\n  <tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>PayPal Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>1.85% + 18p</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Platform Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n<td>Up to 2%</td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\nHere you see that Magento allows PayPal as standard and the charges are those incurred by using PayPal itself. On the other hand, Shopify charges you up to an additional 2% for the privilege of using PayPal and BigCommerce bucks the trend and passes on a specially agreed discount they have through a partnership with PayPal.\r\n<h2>Security Updates</h2>\r\nSecurity is where SaaS usually comes into its own as a hosted, closed platform security updates are applied across the board for all of their customers as and when needed. However, self-hosted sites require a helping hand, which usually means a DIY approach or a maintenance contract with your web agency. You should usually budget at least a few thousand per year for security updates if you aren\'t on a SaaS platform.\r\n<h2>Future Migration</h2>\r\nOne huge negative for SaaS eCommerce solutions is that they aren\'t portable. If at any point, you wish to migrate to a new platform or even if your SaaS provider were to stop operating for any reason you would be left without a site and starting from scratch. When you physically host a website yourself, you can change your hosting provider and take elements from it to use with a new site in the future.\r\n<h4>Conclusion</h4>\r\nWhen it comes to eCommerce, the choices are endless, and you should take great care not to look just on the surface of everything, but also a little deeper and to the future of your business. A reputable company such as Actuate Digital can help you make the best decision for your business, taking into account all of these points and more. Get in touch for a free no-obligation chat about your next project.','Understanding The Total Cost of Ownership For Your E- Commerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5673-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:01:47','2026-02-15 13:01:47','',5673,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8499',0,'revision','',0),(8500,1,'2026-02-15 13:03:04','2026-02-15 13:03:04','Let\'s face it; price is usually a leading factor in making a business decision, and choosing your next e- commerce solution is no different. Unfortunately, not all eCommerce solutions are built equally with many coming with hidden costs or caveats which you\'d probably like to know upfront. In this post we\'re going to look at some of the many points you should consider when choosing your next e- commerce solution and the effect these points have on your eCommerce TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).\r\n<h3>E-Commerce Platform</h3>\r\nFirstly it\'s important to realise that when it comes to choosing your next eCommerce platform, the options available to you will usually fit into two broad groups:\r\n<h3>Self-Hosted</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Open Source or Aero Commerce\r\n\r\nSelf-hosted solutions are just that, software hosted on a hosting platform of your choosing, whether that be a shared hosting solution or a dedicated hosted solution. You own the platform outright and are usually free to do with it as you please, making changes, moving hosts and even transferring themes to new systems. Typical ongoing costs include the cost of hosting itself, software and security updates and data backups.\r\n<h3>SaaS (Software as a Service) / Cloud-Based</h3>\r\ne.g. Magento Commerce Cloud, Shopify, BigCommerce, Visualsoft\r\n\r\nSaaS options live in the cloud and are hosted by the software creator and licensed to you, usually at an ongoing monthly cost. It is important to realise the platform isn\'t owned by you and just licensed, meaning you can\'t take it to another host and if the service was suddenly shut down you would have to start from scratch. Typical ongoing expenses include the monthly license fee, functionality addons and sometimes a percentage of your sales.\r\n<h2>Areas of Cost</h2>\r\n<h3>Design &amp; Build</h3>\r\nYour website\'s design and build is one area where pricing can be pretty similar irrespective of the chosen software option. The time and effort that goes into the design phase doesn\'t change too much between platforms. The build of this design again can be very similar.\r\n<h3>Software Licensing</h3>\r\nLicensing is the cost many people look at when deciding on their new platform. Some software can look very attractive at this stage such as Magento Open Source which doesn\'t have a licensing fee or many SaaS offerings such as Shopify, which has a license fee of $29 per month for their basic plan at the time of writing.\r\n\r\nIt is essential to look at the coming 12-24 months, as changes within your organisation or your sales could significantly impact these fees.\r\n\r\nLet\'s take a quick look at three popular platforms, Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce with some typical examples of changes to your business in the first 12-24 months of operation:\r\n<h3>Startup</h3>\r\nYou\'ve just started your eCommerce site, and there are two members of your team. Your turnover in the first 12 months is £35,000.\r\n<table width=\"348\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th></th>\r\n<th>Magento</th>\r\n<th>Shopify</th>\r\n<th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n</tr>\r\n</thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$29 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$29.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$348</td>\r\n<td>$359.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Growing</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 12 months, and you\'ve taken on an extra member of staff bringing your total to three. Your turnover in year two is £100,000.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th></th>\r\n<th>Magento</th>\r\n<th>Shopify</th>\r\n<th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n</tr>\r\n</thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$948</td>\r\n<td>$959.40</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3>Established</h3>\r\nYou\'ve been operating for 18 months, and things are going well. You now have six staff members an annual turnover of £200,000 and have branched out with a dedicated wholesale website, each with one module to add free gift functionality.\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th></th>\r\n<th>Magento</th>\r\n<th>Shopify</th>\r\n<th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n</tr>\r\n</thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>License Fee</strong></td>\r\n<td>$0</td>\r\n<td>$79 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>$79.95 / Month x 2</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Free Gift Extension</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239 (one time)</td>\r\n<td>$29.99 / Month x 2</td>\r\n<td>¢0</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Year Total</strong></td>\r\n<td>$239</td>\r\n<td>$7,895.76</td>\r\n<td>$7,198.80</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n<h3></h3>\r\n<h3>Extensions, Addons and Apps</h3>\r\nExtensions, addons or apps add additional functionality to your website to fill your needs; this functionality usually comes with additional cost. We briefly saw an example of what can happen when we require additional functionality in the licensing information above. Many SaaS platforms continue the tradition of monthly fees for their apps, so in our previous example, the app that allowed us to offer free gifts cost $29.99 per month, per storefront. Compare that to the self-hosted Magento Open Source platform which allowed us to pay a one-time fee for the same functionality, saving money in the long term. It\'s not uncommon with SaaS solutions to be spending at least a few hundred per month on these extensions.\r\n<h2>Payment Gateways</h2>\r\nA payment gateway allows you to accept credit cards, debit cards and other payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay directly on your website. Many self-hosted platforms have popular payment gateways baked into their solutions. However, SaaS providers usually have custom solutions and will sometimes charge more for third-party payment providers. Again let\'s take a look at three popular eCommerce platforms:\r\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th></th>\r\n<th>Magento</th>\r\n<th>Shopify</th>\r\n<th>BigCommerce</th>\r\n</tr>\r\n</thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>PayPal Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>2.9% + 30p</td>\r\n<td>1.85% + 18p</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Platform Fees</strong></td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n<td>Up to 2%</td>\r\n<td>N/A</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\nHere you see that Magento allows PayPal as standard and the charges are those incurred by using PayPal itself. On the other hand, Shopify charges you up to an additional 2% for the privilege of using PayPal and BigCommerce bucks the trend and passes on a specially agreed discount they have through a partnership with PayPal.\r\n<h2>Security Updates</h2>\r\nSecurity is where SaaS usually comes into its own as a hosted, closed platform security updates are applied across the board for all of their customers as and when needed. However, self-hosted sites require a helping hand, which usually means a DIY approach or a maintenance contract with your web agency. You should usually budget at least a few thousand per year for security updates if you aren\'t on a SaaS platform.\r\n<h2>Future Migration</h2>\r\nOne huge negative for SaaS eCommerce solutions is that they aren\'t portable. If at any point, you wish to migrate to a new platform or even if your SaaS provider were to stop operating for any reason you would be left without a site and starting from scratch. When you physically host a website yourself, you can change your hosting provider and take elements from it to use with a new site in the future.','Understanding The Total Cost of Ownership For Your E- Commerce Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5673-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:03:04','2026-02-15 13:03:04','',5673,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8500',0,'revision','',0),(8501,1,'2026-02-15 13:05:02','2026-02-15 13:05:02','<h2>Deepen Your SEO Knowledge</h2>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     \r\n  <dl>                                   \r\n  <dt>Homepage or Home Page</dt>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         \r\n  <dd>The index page of a website which is the initial page seen when visiting the domain name of a website without any additional paths or query strings.</dd>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          \r\n\r\n  <dt>HTTPS</dt>\r\n  <dd>Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, the secure protocol for transferring data from one point to another over the internet. HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP and means if it is in use that hackers are unable to intercept communications between your browser and the website you are using.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Impressions</dt>\r\n  <dd>The number of times an advertisement is displayed either to a real human visitor or to bots and other software accessing the site. Impressions are non-unique meaning one person refreshing a page 20 times can cause 20 advert impressions.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Keyword or Keyphrase</dt>\r\n  <dd>A targeted word or phrase which is deemed of \'high value\' or high importance to a website. Users of search engines use keywords to indicate which type of website they are looking for, by targeting these keywords by using them in your content you may receive a higher position for them on a search engines index.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Keyword Research</dt>\r\n  <dd>The action of researching which terms are used by your target audience when looking for your product or service on a search engine. Keyword Research can take the form of manual face-to-face research in such settings as focus groups as well as online using tools and data provided by search engines like Google and Bing.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Keyword Stuffing</dt>\r\n  <dd>The action of cramming keywords into your website content with the sole intention to deceive search engines and improve your ranking for these words. Seen as a black hat form of SEO and has the ability to get your website removed from a search engines index.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Landing Page</dt>\r\n  <dd>A page designed for a single purpose such as getting a visitor to click on a link, download a document or fill out a form. Landing pages are often used to provide highly targeted information to consumers clicking on PPC (Pay Per Click) links within a search engine.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Link Building</dt>\r\n  <dd>The process of generating links to your website or your own content from third-party websites. Links play a large part in the ranking of your website with search engines, so generating high-quality inbound links can help boost your position over time.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Load Speed</dt>\r\n  <dd>The time taken for your page to fully load and be visible to a user. Page loading speed is a ranking indicator with many search engines, and slow loading pages can be penalised by search engines.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>NoFollow</dt>\r\n  <dd>NoFollow is a protocol implemented by search engines which allow a webmaster to indicate which links on a page should be following by a search engine robot. Links that are marked with the NoFollow tag do not receive \'Link Juice\' - a boost in search ranking.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>NoIndex</dt>\r\n  <dd>Much like the NoFollow tag, the NoIndex protocol allows a webmaster to indicate which links should be indexed (linked to) by a search engine and which should be hidden from its results. Pages with little value to users or pages which contain duplicate content are often marked with NoIndex tags.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Responsive</dt>\r\n  <dd>A responsive site is a website which reacts to the size of a users screen or browser window making it compatible with a whole host of devices from smartphones to tablets and desktop computers. Responsive websites also rank better with search engines and help to increase conversions due to their better usability.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>SPAM</dt>\r\n  <dd>The term used by many to indicate unwanted or unsolicited marketing materials including, but not limited to email and telephone communications. Websites, in general, can also be referred to as spammy, often meaning they include black hat SEO techniques, misleading links and low-quality content.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n','SEO Jargon Buster (Additions) Part 2','','inherit','closed','closed','','5667-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:05:02','2026-02-15 13:05:02','',5667,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8501',0,'revision','',0),(8502,1,'2026-02-15 13:08:09','2026-02-15 13:08:09','<h2>From cats to hamburgers and hugs to paperclips...</h2>\r\n  <p>...there is a day of the year for all of them! So when it comes to creating content for your social media accounts, company blog or website, don\'t stress and worry about the subject matter, take a look at Actuate\'s free social media calendar for 2021 and start getting creative.</p>\r\n\r\n  <p>For those looking for even more ideas, the Internet is full of many more days of the year, celebrating all manner of things.</p>\r\n\r\n  <h3>January 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>1st New Year\'s Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Start the New Year as you mean to go on with a fresh start to your social media marketing.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>4th Trivia Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Share facts and trivia about your company, industry or the products you sell.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>14th Dress Up Your Pet Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Everyone loves a cute pet picture, so dress up your office pet and prepare to melt the hearts of your social media followers.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>27th Chocolate Cake Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>There is nothing like a slice of chocolate cake to appeal to people and their stomach!</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>29th Fun At Work Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Fun and work, yes, it is possible! Showcase the lighter side of your business with a funny photo or story.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>February 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>4th World Cancer Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Take the time to show that your company supports this day dedicated to raising awareness about cancer, its prevention and treatment.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>14th Valentine\'s Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Add a little love to your website to promote St. Valentine\'s Day, the national holiday spreading love and affection to those we love.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>16th Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)</dt>\r\n  <dd>You\'d be \'flippin\' mad to forget this popular yearly event which helps fill kitchens up and down the country with plastic lemons!</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>20th Love Your Pet Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Pet photos at the ready to make all of your followers go aww, an excellent excuse for some cuteness.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>24th Pink Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Turn your social media accounts pink to raise awareness of bullying and show your support for those in this unfortunate situation.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>March 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>4th World Book Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>World Book Day aims to change lives through a love of books and shared reading, why not get involved and show off your teams\' favourite reads?</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>8th International Women\'s Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Champion women\'s rights and celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women worldwide.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>17th St. Patrick\'s Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Turn your profile green and celebrate this national day of Ireland for Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>19th Red Nose Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Show what your office is doing to support Comic Relief and help the fight to end child poverty.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>20th First Day of Spring</dt>\r\n  <dd>Share your excitement for the first day of spring when the weather starts to get warmer and trees begin to regain their leaves.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>28th Daylight Savings</dt>\r\n  <dd>Spring forward, fall back... Yes, it\'s that time of the year when we all lose 1 hour of sleep but get to welcome British Summer Time!</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>April 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>1st April Fools Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Get ready to announce your latest breakthrough in time-travel or that your team has been replaced by your new ACME Roboworker (Model 3000)! Yes, it\'s time for April Fools Day.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>2nd World Autism Awareness Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Shine a spotlight on the hurdles faced by people living with autism and do your bit to show you support.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>4th Easter</dt>\r\n  <dd>Hide eggs throughout your website, promote an Easter egg hunt for your followers, or dress Dave up as a giant bunny! The fun you can have is endless.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>11th Pet Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>It\'s time for a full-on cuteness offensive as you welcome Pet Day, the perfect day to fill your timeline with cute and cuddly images of all things furry.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>22nd Earth Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Champion environmental issues and even consider making a small environmental change in your office to show your support for this fantastic movement.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>May 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>1st May Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>The ancient festival of spring synonymous with dance, singing and CAKE... Need we say more?</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>2nd Baby Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Not that we need a special day to celebrate these bundles of joy, but it is a great excuse to go googoo for babies.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>10th Mother\'s Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Celebrate the most important humans of all, our mums and a great reason to promote suitable gifts.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>17th International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia</dt>\r\n  <dd>Break out your rainbows and fight for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>20th World Bee Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Get your social channels buzzing for World Bee Day in celebration of these cute little pollinators.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>28th Hamburger Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Does the office need an excuse to order in or eat out at your local gourmet burger joint? We are sure it\'s classed as teambuilding.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>June 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>5th World Environment Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Organised by the United Nations, World Environment Day encourages awareness and protection of our environment.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>6th Cancer Survivor\'s Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Most people know someone who has been touched by this awful disease, but more people are surviving, and that\'s something to celebrate.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>20th Father\'s Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Father\'s day is another prime time of the year to promote gifts for dads and help to boost your sales.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>21st First Day of Summer</dt>\r\n  <dd>Defined by the Earth\'s axis and orbit around the Sun, the first day of summer (astronomical summer) is a great time to start your summer promotions.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>28th Logistics Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Logistics Day, the perfect time to talk about the speedy and excellent delivery service your company offers.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>30th Social Media Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>If you can\'t make a fuss and connect with your followers on Social Media Day, then maybe you should look at outsourcing your social media to a company like us here at Actuate!</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>July 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>1st Joke Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Make someone laugh or smile on what should be one of the funniest days of the year.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>17th World Emoji Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>។៕៖ៗ៘៙ᩢᩣᩤⶡⶢⶣⶤⶥሀሁ</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>25th Parents\' Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Make sure you promote parents\' day and the gifts that can help show they are loved and thought fondly of.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>26th Aunt and Uncle Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Following on nicely from Parent\'s Day, the reasons keep coming to promote gifts and more sales for your shop.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>30th Friendship Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Designed to celebrate friendship and a happy and positive day to work into your social calendar.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>August 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>5th Blogger Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Make sure your blog is up to date with the perfect excuse to write a post... Blogger Day.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>5th National Relaxation Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Encourage your followers to treat and pamper themselves for National Relaxation Day.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>16th National Tell a Joke Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>More jokes abound with National Tell a Joke Day!</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>September 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>5th International Day of Charity</dt>\r\n  <dd>The title says it all: show your business\'s caring side by supporting this fantastic day and showcasing your work within the community.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>19th Talk Like A Pirate Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Ahoy, \'ave some fun wit\' Talk Like A Pirate Day \'n why nah even dress fer th\' occasion.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>21st International Day of Peace</dt>\r\n  <dd>A United Nations sanctioned holiday, also known as World Peace Day intended to promote peace and harmony worldwide.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>22nd Business Women\'s Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Shout about the amazing women who work for your company and perhaps encourage them to write a guest blog article about an average day for them within your organisation.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>October 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>1st World Vegetarian Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>With more and more people turning veggie, this is your perfect opportunity to promote vegetarian and even vegan products to your audience.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>15th World Students\' Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Consider offering students a discount to promote World Students Day across your website.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>31st Halloween</dt>\r\n  <dd>Celebrate all things spooky for Halloween.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>November 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>13th World Kindness Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Another day for spreading positivity around the world which you should grasp and work into your marketing activities.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>25th Thanksgiving</dt>\r\n  <dd>Not a UK holiday, but with a large American community now living in the UK, it\'s still worth keeping in mind as a reason for great promotions and fun.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>27th Small Business Saturday</dt>\r\n  <dd>Get online and promote yourself on one of the best days of the year to encourage people to shop locally.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n\r\n  <h3>December 2021</h3>\r\n  <dl>\r\n  <dt>21st First Day of Winter</dt>\r\n  <dd>Although your company Christmas celebrations will be well and truly underway, the first day of winter is still worth mentioning.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>24th Christmas Eve</dt>\r\n  <dd>Promote last-minute gift card sales up until Christmas Eve and then get ready for the sales.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>25th Christmas Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Show your human side and wish your followers a very Merry Christmas from your entire team.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>26th Boxing Day</dt>\r\n  <dd>Did someone say SALES?</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>31st New Year\'s Eve</dt>\r\n  <dd>Time to break out the bubbly and welcome in the New Year and even more sales.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n','Free Social Media Content Calendar for 2021','','inherit','closed','closed','','5669-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:08:09','2026-02-15 13:08:09','',5669,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8502',0,'revision','',0),(8503,1,'2026-02-15 13:09:18','2026-02-15 13:09:18','<h2>Understand SEO Basics</h2>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         \r\n  <dl>                                                                 \r\n  <dt>Above The Fold</dt>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                \r\n  <dd>Content that appears when your website loads without the need for scrolling. It\'s often believed that this content has a high chance of converting as people will always see it compared to content lower down the page which has the potential to be missed due to people clicking away from your site.</dd>                                                                                                                      \r\n\r\n  <dt>Alt Text</dt>\r\n  <dd>Meta Data which you can include in the coding of your website to describe an image. This \'alternative text\' can explain the image to bots or visitors using assistive technologies to view your website. Seen as an essential aspect of SEO for high-quality websites.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>AMP</dt>\r\n  <dd>Accelerated Mobile Pages, a protocol originally created by Google to help webpages load faster. AMP, a basic, stripped back sub-set of HTML is used to serve website information more quickly to mobile users. These AMP pages are often served from third parties such as Google.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Anchor Text</dt>\r\n  <dd>The visual element of an embedded link within HTML. Often the text a user sees and clicks to visit a link.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Authoritative Content</dt>\r\n  <dd>Content which offers valuable insight into a topic or subject and is easily understood by a wide variety of people. The depth of the content must be sufficient to explain it to your audience adequately; this means everyday topics people are familiar with are usually shorter than more niche, lesser-known subjects.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Blog</dt>\r\n  <dd>A section of a website dedicated to supporting articles, news and guides often referred to as \'posts\'. These posts are usually served in reverse-chronological order. Blogs greatly aid in the SEO process if used regularly, and the content which is produced is high quality authoritative.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Bounce Rate</dt>\r\n  <dd>Quite simply, bounce rate is the term used to analyse the number of visitors to your website which leave before ever clicking into other pages of your site.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Breadcrumbs</dt>\r\n  <dd>A visual aid allowing site users to see where they are in relation to your website as a whole. This awareness allows a better understanding of your site. Breadcrumbs can also be useful to search engines.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>CTA</dt>\r\n  <dd>Call To Action, a visual cue intended to get a visitor to perform a desired action. CTA\'s can include buttons, links, forms and many other methods.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Content</dt>\r\n  <dd>The information contained within your site whether it be text, imagery, videos, news, downloads and many more items.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Conversion</dt>\r\n  <dd>The number of visitors who perform a desired action such as purchasing a product, filling out and submitting a form or getting in contact with you.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>CRO</dt>\r\n  <dd>Conversion Rate Optimisation, the action of increasing the number of visitors on your website who perform a desired action through tweaking of your sites coding, design or a number of on-page elements.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Duplicate Content</dt>\r\n  <dd>Content which is copied from either an external source or another page on your website. Duplicate content negatively impacts your SEO ranking with search engines.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Evergreen Content</dt>\r\n  <dd>Content which is relevant all year round and doesn\'t have a predefined end of life date. Evergreen content is usually maintained and kept up-to-date to help in this goal.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Google Analytics</dt>\r\n  <dd>A free tool provided by Google which allows you to embed a small piece of code within your website in return for valuable insights on your websites traffic.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Heading Tags</dt>\r\n  <dd>HTML formatting which provides titles to different sections of content on a website. Heading Tags are categorised from H1 to H6 with the former featuring more prominently in the hierarchy of a site. Header tags should be nested appropriately and in order and contain relevant information to aid users when reading your website. When done correctly will help to influence the SEO for your website.</dd>\r\n  </dl>\r\n','SEO Jargon Buster (Additions)','','inherit','closed','closed','','5665-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:09:18','2026-02-15 13:09:18','',5665,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8503',0,'revision','',0),(8504,1,'2026-02-15 13:10:23','2026-02-15 13:10:23','<h2>Kick start the new year</h2>\r\nJanuary and February are statistically the slowest months for eCommerce sales around the world, and the United Kingdom is no different. After the busy festive shopping period, retailers feel the hit of dwindling sales as people cut back on spending after indulging in the run-up to Christmas.\r\n\r\nBut what if we told you that it didn\'t have to be this way? Most eCommerce sites have everything already baked into their systems to have a happy start to the year; you must use what you have to your advantage. Treat Q1 as you would any other quarter by continuing your marketing efforts, promoting your site on your social channels and pulling people into your website.\r\n\r\nLet\'s take a look at some of the tactics you can use to help increase January sales and get the year off to a successful start.\r\n<h3>5 Tips For A Successful First Quarter</h3>\r\nHere are Actuate\'s top tips on avoiding the January and February sales slumps and eCommerce\r\neuphoria.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Tis The Season</h4>\r\nThe number one rule when it comes to starting the first quarter with a bang is to join in with the festivities. Yes, Christmas is officially over, but it is not necessarily that way in people\'s minds. When people think about January, thoughts focus on sales and bargains, or for somewhere to spend their Christmas money, so use this to your advantage. Do not suddenly stop your marketing activity on 25th December.\r\n\r\nMake sure your storefront is at the forefront of people’s minds, send out newsletters, ramp up your social media activity and consider PPC (Pay Per Click) to nudge people in your direction. Once you have people on your website, utilise CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) to encourage more sales and consider tactics designed to drive up the average order value of users to get the most out of people this time of year.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Sales Tactics</h4>\r\nThe phrase \'January Sales\' can fill a store owner with dread, after all with January and February being traditionally slow months, the last thing you want is to reduce prices and therefore your profits. Turn your thinking around and use the January Sales as an opportunity to rid yourself of old or slow-moving inventory and to clear room for this year’s next big thing!\r\n\r\nConsider combining deep discount offers with tactics designed to push up the average spend, meaning consumers will be buying a variety of both discounted and non-discounted products to reach a predefined spending threshold and ultimately driving up the profits for you.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Turn Returns Into Return Business</h4>\r\nNo business enjoys processing returns and the period directly after the festive rush can be overwhelming with more than your fair share of return requests. Again, shift your way of thinking and see these requests as an opportunity. If a user is returning something that is damaged or broken, suggest a replacement. If the return is simply because an item is unwanted, a duplicate or unsuitable then consider offering an incentive to accept store credit rather than a refund. A great example would be offering an additional 10% in-store credit during January and February turning a £50 return into a £55 in-store voucher instead of a refund. Not only would this keep the money in your business bank account, but it would also promote happiness and loyalty with the customer and could even turn into additional sales when they come to spend their credit.\r\n\r\nFor those customers adamant on a refund, if you have their permission to send them direct marketing campaigns, consider emailing or texting them a code for a discount off their next order, again attempting to bring them back to your store.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Make The Most Out Of Marketing</h4>\r\nYes, we\'ve spoken about marketing throughout this post, but that\'s because it\'s so important. Many companies turn off their marketing once they break up for Christmas, which is the worst thing you can do. Capitalise on the season and the reasons people may wish to come to your store and use this to drive sales.\r\n\r\nUtilise the information gleaned during the festive months and send out newsletters to your new consumers, urging them to return and spend. The same can be said about your social channels which should be busy with posts and chatter making you stand out amongst your rivals.\r\nFinally, if you have the budget, consider PPC (Pay Per Click), traditional print advertising and remarketing, all designed to get traffic to your website.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">The Next Holiday</h4>\r\nFinally, start the ball rolling for the next big holiday in your yearly calendar and remind your customers that they need to start shopping again. From Chinese New Year to Valentine’s Day and even St. Patrick\'s Day, there are plenty of holidays to promote and get people excited about.\r\n\r\nThink new banners, redesigned gift sections and offers or promotions. The year is just beginning and has plenty of opportunities for those willing to grab them.','Avoiding Q1 Sales Slumps at your eCommerce Store','','inherit','closed','closed','','5662-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:10:23','2026-02-15 13:10:23','',5662,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8504',0,'revision','',0),(8505,1,'2026-02-15 13:12:09','2026-02-15 13:12:09','<h2>Aero Commerce x Actuate = A Winning Combination</h2>\r\nThere\'s a new eCommerce platform in town, and refreshingly it\'s designed with the ever-evolving needs of retailers in mind!\r\n\r\nIt\'s no secret that when it comes to choosing an online shopping platform for your business, the options are endless. From business behemoths such as Magento and Shopify to smaller, more niche contenders, deciding on the software that will be taking your business forward can be intimidating and quite frankly make you want to pull your hair out. Luckily when partnered with an Agency such as Actuate, we help you navigate these difficult decisions by getting to understand you, your business, and it\'s needs, both now and in the foreseeable future. Using our industry knowledge, we\'re able to make reliable recommendations on the best solutions designed to deliver outstanding performance just for you. Enter UK based Aero Commerce, one of the newest additions to the world of eCommerce and already drawing huge praise due to its performance, incredible customer experiences and low total cost of ownership.\r\n\r\nLike all fantastic businesses, Aero Commerce is investing time in creating lasting partnerships with top tier agencies who can utilise their software to its best ability and showcase its power to a broad audience. With this in mind, it was no surprise that last week, Actuate was welcomed by Aero as their latest agency partner after months of meetings and a thorough period of evaluation from our team of experts.\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Aero Commerce X Actuate</p>\r\nWe are delighted to welcome <a href=\"https://twitter.com/actuate_agency?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@actuate_agency</a> to the Aero Agency Partner Program.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/ecommerce?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ecommerce</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/ecommerceplatform?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ecommerceplatform</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/ecommerceagency?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ecommerceagency</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/agency?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#agency</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/UP946R1eSu\">pic.twitter.com/UP946R1eSu</a>\r\n\r\n— aerocommerce (@AeroCommerce) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AeroCommerce/status/1334467621534756865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 3, 2020</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\nTogether, our partnership with Aero Commerce should enable the award-winning websites that we produce to break new ground and provide the very best investment for our customers now and for the future.\r\n<h3>Aero Commerce</h3>\r\nThe team behind Aero Commerce have a deep background in retail and software development. Designed to be world-leading which means Aero has created an improved experience for agencies, developers, and most importantly, you the retailer and your customers.\r\n\r\nAero themselves state that:\r\n<blockquote>\"With Aero Commerce, you get all the essential features you\'d expect from a modern, powerful e- commerce solution - right out of the box. From SEO and marketing features to security best practice and multi-tier customer support service, you\'re good to go from day one.\r\n\r\nIf you need to expand and customise Aero Commerce, it\'s easy with modules and themes created by our development community - or you can work with one of our partner agencies to create something one-of-a-kind.\"</blockquote>\r\n<h3>Designed &amp; Developed For UK Businesses</h3>\r\nWhen you think of mainstream eCommerce platforms, the list will include the likes of Magento, BigCommerce, Shopify and WooCommerce. The common thread linking these brands is that the focus during their development was America and an American audience. Granted, language packs, modules and extension have been produced to bend these software platforms for a more international audience. Still, issues remain which take time to remedy for UK businesses.\r\n\r\nAero Commerce is a breath of fresh air, designed and developed with the UK market in mind, simplifying the build process and making it easier for customers to understand.\r\n<h3>Benefits For Your Business</h3>\r\nAero\'s modern platform and ideology enable you to deliver a better experience for your users whilst also making things easier and quicker for you and your team. Add to that reduced costs both at launch and during the lifetime of your site, and we\'re sure you\'d agree that Aero Commerce sounds excellent already.\r\n\r\nThe benefits of Aero are endless, however here are some of the things you should expect from your next Actuate website powered by Aero Commerce.\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Lightning fast speeds</li>\r\n 	<li>Better product listings</li>\r\n 	<li>More efficient workflow</li>\r\n 	<li>Quick to perform everyday tasks</li>\r\n 	<li>Efficient integration with offline processes</li>\r\n 	<li>A flexible and scalable solution</li>\r\n 	<li>Reduced costs</li>\r\n 	<li>Caters for complex requirements</li>\r\n 	<li>Increased traffic and transactions</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nFind out how Aero could help reduce your outgoings whilst encouraging more sales and increased visitors to your website by getting in touch with Actuate today.','Aero Commerce x Actuate = A Winning Combination','','inherit','closed','closed','','5660-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:12:09','2026-02-15 13:12:09','',5660,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8505',0,'revision','',0),(8506,1,'2026-02-15 13:13:11','2026-02-15 13:13:11','<p>Working with a web agency on your websites SEO - that\'s search engine optimisation for the uninitiated - may feel more like learning a new language than working on getting new users! Luckily, the team here at Actuate are about to smash open the mystifying language of SEO with our the ultimate SEO jargon buster.</p>                                                                                                        \r\n  <dl>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   \r\n  <dt>Backlink</dt>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      \r\n  <dd>Links from websites which point back to your website. They are also referred to as inbound links.</dd>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             \r\n\r\n  <dt>Black Hat</dt>\r\n  <dd>The process of using frowned upon search engine optimisation techniques that violate Google\'s quality guidelines.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Bot</dt>\r\n  <dd>A piece of software written to collect data and information from websites. Also known as spiders or crawlers.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Caching / Cached</dt>\r\n  <dd>The process of saving some or all of your website or website content for quick retrieval or archival purposes.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Cloaking</dt>\r\n  <dd>Showing different content to search engines than you do to \"normal\", human visitors. A black hat technique.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Crawling</dt>\r\n  <dd>The gathering of data from your website to aid a search engine in ranking your website for their index.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>De-Indexing</dt>\r\n  <dd>The action of a website being removed from a search engine.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Engagement</dt>\r\n  <dd>How a user interacts with your website, what actions they take and how long they stay on your site.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Featured Snippet</dt>\r\n  <dd>A featured answer or summary based on a snippet of information taken from a website contained within a search engines index often featured in a special box at the top of search results.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Google My Business</dt>\r\n  <dd>A free tool provided by Google to help local businesses manage their online presence across Google, incorporating by Google Search and Google Maps.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Google Quality Guidelines</dt>\r\n  <dd>Guidelines set out by Google on how you should and should not optimise your site for inclusion in their search index.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Google Search Console</dt>\r\n  <dd>Formerly Google Webmaster Tools, Google\'s Search Console allows website owners to monitor how their website is performing in Google search.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>HTML</dt>\r\n  <dd>Hypertext markup language, the code in which web pages are written.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Index</dt>\r\n  <dd>The database of web pages and content that make up a search engines results. Indexing The action of a website being included on a search engines index.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Internal Link</dt>\r\n  <dd>A link from your website linking to another resource or page on your website.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>KPI</dt>\r\n  <dd>A KPI or key performance indicator is a way of measuring the success of a business for any particular activity.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>META Tags</dt>\r\n  <dd>Elements used within a web page which provide structured information about that page. Common META tags include the description, keyword and robots tags.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Organic Result</dt>\r\n  <dd>A search engine listing which has earned its place naturally in a search engines index due to good quality SEO practices, rather than being paid for.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>PageRank</dt>\r\n  <dd>Google PageRank is an algorithm created by Google to rank the importance of web pages and named after Larry Page, one of the founders of Google.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Query</dt>\r\n  <dd>The words typed into a search engines search bar.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Ranking / Rank</dt>\r\n  <dd>The position of your website in a search engines results for any given query or search term.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Robots.txt</dt>\r\n  <dd>A file uploaded to your website which instructs search engines on which pages they should index and which they should ignore.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>SERP</dt>\r\n  <dd>Search Engine Results Page, the page you see after searching for a query using your favourite search engine.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Sitemap</dt>\r\n  <dd>A web page containing structured data which informs search engines which pages make up your website, making it easier for search engines to discover all of the pages of your website.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>Traffic</dt>\r\n  <dd>The users who visit your website.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>URL</dt>\r\n  <dd>Uniform Resource Locator, the address of any given piece of content or information on a website.</dd>\r\n\r\n  <dt>White Hat</dt>\r\n  <dd>The process of using good search engine optimisation techniques that comply with Google\'s quality guidelines.</dd>\r\n  </dl>','The Ultimate SEO Jargon Buster','','inherit','closed','closed','','5658-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:13:11','2026-02-15 13:13:11','',5658,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8506',0,'revision','',0),(8507,1,'2026-02-15 13:13:48','2026-02-15 13:13:48','<strong>If you\'ve spoken to any web professionals recently, they may have stressed the importance of the \"user experience\" or \"UX\" of your website. But what is user experience? How does it relate to design? And is this just another buzzword to confuse and help salespeople ramp up the cost of your new website? Let\'s dive right in and find the answers!</strong>\r\n<h2>What is UX?</h2>\r\nAs touched upon in our opening paragraph, UX stands for user experience, but explaining what UX is to clients is where many agencies fall-down, relying on technical terms which can leave a client scratching their heads.\r\n\r\nHere at Actuate, because of our deep understanding of user experience design, we find explaining UX within web design relatively easy. In simple terms, UX is the emotion and feeling you get when interacting with a website; this is either good because the website is easy to navigate, helps you to find what you\'re looking for and makes your life easy or it can be bad. Obviously, when it comes to your website, you\'re aiming for the user experience to be good. If you happen to partner with an agency that has a solid understanding of UX design, then you can change the word \"good\" into the word \"great\", and things really start looking bright for your project.\r\n<h3>The Importance of UX</h3>\r\nNow we know what user experience is, you\'ve probably already got an inkling of why it may be important for your website. Ask yourself a quick question, name the single action you both want and don\'t want a user to perform once they hit your website? Hopefully, your answer is something along the lines of:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>I want a user to complete a desired action, such as buying a product or signing up for further information (known as conversion).</li>\r\n 	<li>I don\'t want a user to leave my website (known as bounce). Apart from your website containing the information a user searched for to find it in the first place, the significant deciding factor to both of these questions comes down to UX.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>If your website looks awful and off-putting to a user causing them to leave, this is a UX (and UI - user interface) issue.</li>\r\n 	<li>If your website looks great but is hard to navigate and search, then you may find a user leaves looking for another option, this is a UX issue.</li>\r\n 	<li>If users get angry because your website takes too long to load on a mobile device, this is a UX issue.</li>\r\n 	<li>If your checkout is overly complex or asks too many questions causing a user to leave for your competitors, this is a UX issue.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nWe could go on, but fingers crossed you\'ve started to see a pattern here, UX is important! You want the user experience of your website to be joyful, awe-inspiring, refreshing or at the very least, better than those of your competitors.\r\n<h3>What Makes A Great UX?</h3>\r\nAfter establishing we need UX and we want great UX when it comes to your website, the real question we need the answer to is what makes a great UX?\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, the answer to this question isn\'t straightforward because everyone and every website is different. This is why the importance of partnering with an agency who understands the intricacies of user experience is so vital.\r\n\r\nThe first step on creating a great UX for your website is understanding your business, your product and the users it will be serving. This information can be passed on by you, the client or gleaned from other sources such as analytics software and user research. Once we have a clear indication of the purpose your website is designed to fill and the people it will be serving, then a tailor made list of user experience goals can be created and built into the fabric of your website.\r\n\r\nAlthough every website is different, UX does have some universal principles which carry over from project to project, these include:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Simple and easy to understand navigation</li>\r\n 	<li>Easy to find information and products</li>\r\n 	<li>A quick and light checkout procedure</li>\r\n 	<li>Prominent branding and on-brand messaging</li>\r\n</ul>','The Importance of User Experience Design For Your Website','','inherit','closed','closed','','5656-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:13:48','2026-02-15 13:13:48','',5656,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8507',0,'revision','',0),(8508,1,'2026-02-15 13:14:23','2026-02-15 13:14:23','The festive season is almost upon us, meaning everywhere we turn is about to get a makeover with a light dusting of glitter, plenty of snow and touch of magic. Supermarket shelves are packed with selection boxes, people are starting to put up decorations, and John Lewis has launched their Christmas Advert encouraging us all to give a little love. So when it comes to your online shop, what should you do to mark Christmas and help boost your sales figures after a pretty gruelling year? Luckily the team here at Actuate took the time recently to sit down with a mug of hot chocolate, and put together our top tips to increase your online orders this Christmas.\r\n<h2>Give Your Website That Festive Feel</h2>\r\nImagine some of your favourite brick and mortar shops at Christmas time; it\'s probably a safe bet to  say they are decorated to the nines with lights, a tree and plenty of ornaments to add a magical  feeling to the shop. With an eCommerce shop, you can still go all out and make your visitors feel  the joy of Christmas with festive banners, tweaks to your logo and the general design of your site.  Little touches can go a long way in helping boost your sales, the subliminal effect of those Christmas  reminders helps add a sense of urgency and unlock their gift-giving side, ultimately leading to more sales.\r\n\r\nOur graphic designers here at Actuate understand the importance of visual elements in the festive  sales journey and can help with the smallest of changes to extensive site makeovers.\r\n<h3>Offers, Deals and Seasonal Sales</h3>\r\nLet\'s get serious; when it comes to the festive period, everyone loves a bargain, so give your  audience what they are looking for and at the same time have some fun with it! Consider  advertising Santa\'s Super Sale or a December Daily Discount and encourage people to shop shop  shop.\r\n\r\nOur \"technical elf\" division here at Actuate is ready and waiting to help you with setting up seasonal  sales and organising your offers within popular eCommerce systems such as Magento, Shopify and  BigCommerce. Reach out now to get the bauble rolling!\r\n\r\nWe Wish You A Merry Christmas...\r\n\r\nYou didn\'t think you\'d get away without wishing your customer base a Merry Christmas this year, did  you? Encouraging past customers to return and spend more on your website is much easier than finding new customers, so jingle their jangles and do it with style!\r\n\r\nThere are many ways in which to do this as we are sure you know... After all unless you\'ve been  living under a rock, you will have seen plenty of festive wishes sent your way by shops over the  years. Put together a plan to reach as many of your past customers as possible. If some of your  ideas overlap that\'s even better, consider things like:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Email Newsletters</li>\r\n 	<li>Social Posts</li>\r\n 	<li>A real Christmas card through their door</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe list of ideas is endless, and the effort won\'t go unnoticed by those receiving your well-wishes  and kind gestures.\r\n\r\nIf you don\'t have the time or inclination to do this yourself, Actuate are here as an extension of your  in-house team to bring your ideas to life. From print work to digital, we promise you won\'t be  disappointed.\r\n<h3>Customer Service Angels</h3>\r\nWith the hustle and bustle of Christmas, it\'s easy to forget about the things that make your business  stand out, things like fantastic customer service. Make sure this year you remember the little things  and challenge yourself to be the best in your niche. A great example may include challenging your  customer service team to become \"customer service angels\" during the festive period and coming  up with ideas on how customer service can be used to increase returning trade after Christmas.\r\n\r\nConsider adding a hand-signed Christmas card into each parcel you send out on the run-up to  Christmas. The card can be signed by the person who packs the order and adds a personal touch to  your company and emphasises the human element of your business. You could also consider  extending the return period for items ordered in the months leading up to Christmas; it may help  increase sales and also displays your commitment to customer service.','Top Tips To Increase Online Orders This Christmas','','inherit','closed','closed','','5654-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:14:23','2026-02-15 13:14:23','',5654,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8508',0,'revision','',0),(8509,1,'2026-02-15 13:14:59','2026-02-15 13:14:59','We\'ve hit \"lockdown 2.0\" here in England, and as a business owner, you\'re probably preparing for the worst... You\'re tightening your belt, reducing overheads where at all possible and generally battening down the hatches hoping to survive 2020. But what if you could thrive during lockdown? What if your eCommerce website had the power to deliver outstanding results even throughout a global pandemic? Thankfully Actuate is here to tell you how this is possible and invite you for a free one-to-one eCommerce review with one of our team of digital commerce professionals to help create a tailored plan of action for your website.\r\n<h2>Thrive Not Survive!</h2>\r\n<span>Many businesses have felt the pandemic pinch which has sadly left millions without jobs and millions more fearing the worst. The specialist team here at Actuate have decided to put our knowledge of eCommerce and digital to use and help small to medium-sized businesses break free of their survival instincts and instead focus on thriving.</span>\r\n<blockquote>August retail sales were up 3.9% year-on-year, boosted by 42.4% rise in online non-food sales\r\n\r\n<cite>BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor</cite></blockquote>\r\n<span>One of our team will sit down one-to-one with you and take a look at your current eCommerce website, offering free tips and advice on how you can increase exposure, sales and conversion rates. The session draws on years of experience and knowledge from our in-house team and explains in actionable terms the places where improvement is needed and required. This information is yours to take away from our meeting and use as you see fit.</span>\r\n\r\n<span>Meetings are \"COVID-secure\", which pretty much means we\'re using video chat software such as Zoom or holding meetings over the telephone and tailored to your specific needs and requirements.</span>\r\n<h3>What Things Will The Meeting Cover?</h3>\r\n<span>Although we have a standard list of criteria, we cover when reviewing your website, we also tailor the later stages of our meeting to your own needs and requirements. For instance, if you currently sell online and in-store but don\'t offer click and collect, we can specifically focus on this point and make recommendations. Don\'t plan on providing click and collect but are looking to harness the collective advertising power of online selling platforms such as Amazing and eBay? Again we can cover this during our meeting.</span>\r\n\r\n<span>The standard criteria covered in our one-to-one includes:</span>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><span>Inbound Marketing</span></li>\r\n 	<li><span>The User Experience</span></li>\r\n 	<li><span>Sales Funnels</span></li>\r\n 	<li><span>Conversion Rate Optimisation</span></li>\r\n 	<li><span>E-Commerce Security</span></li>\r\n 	<li><span>Delivery Options</span></li>\r\n 	<li><span>Brand Loyalty</span></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>So What\'s The Catch?</h3>\r\n<span>There is no catch! Actuate Digital have a firm ethical policy and are looking to help businesses both locally and further afield grasp the opportunities that the global pandemic has produced for e commerce growth. We realise this is a sad and dark time in our history, but together it\'s possible to emerge stronger if we choose the right actions now.</span>\r\n\r\n<span>We won\'t tell fibs; we hope that the findings unearthed during our free one-to-one meeting will lead you to choose to work with Actuate for the implementation phase. However, this is by no means required. You\'re free to walk away with the expert knowledge we have freely given and an extra follower on your social media channels (we like making connections)!</span>\r\n\r\n<span>At the end of the day, we believe in our award-winning team and know we can make a difference for not only your business but the lives of your staff as well, so what do you have to lose by giving up a few hours of your time? Contact us now to arrange your free, no-obligation, one-to-one and let us show you how to help your business thrive during lockdown.</span>','Free One-to-One eCommerce Review To Help Your Business Thrive During Lockdown','','inherit','closed','closed','','5653-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:14:59','2026-02-15 13:14:59','',5653,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8509',0,'revision','',0),(8510,1,'2026-02-15 13:15:20','2026-02-15 13:15:20','If you operate an eCommerce business, you may have found that the global pandemic has caused an increase of visitors to your website and with it an increase in sales. This trend shows no signs of ending anytime soon with research from Retail Economics and buy now pay later payment provider Klarna showing 71% of British consumers are hesitant to shop on the high street on the run-up to Christmas. 56% of respondents also said they plan to spend more online for Christmas than they have over previous years. Whether you\'ve had an influx of online sales or not, one thing you should be prioritising with lockdown and increased home working is the security of your eCommerce system. Both new staff members and old should receive annual training on how to maintain the highest levels of security for your business and your eCommerce website.\n<h2>Why You Should Provide eCommerce Security Training For Your Staff</h2>\nAs the numbers of Coronavirus cases have skyrocketed around the world, so have the number of cybercrime attacks and scams aimed to trick home workers into compromising their companies security. From fake contact tracing apps to phishing emails and scam COVID-19 domains, it\'s sad to say that if you don\'t organise regular security training for your team members that your eCommerce website will be hacked or compromised. The clock is ticking; it\'s essential to train your staff on what to look out for and how to keep what they do safe and secure. Below we\'ve listed some of the popular ways that your employees\' systems could be compromised; once this happens, it\'s not a massive leap over to your eCommerce site.\n<h3>Emails</h3>\nIn March 2020, email scams related to COVID-19 increased a staggering 667%. Email phishing scams can take several forms, but the end goal is usually the same, they want you to click on a malicious link. Once you click on a link, login credentials are stolen, or malware is added to your computer allowing remote access or the unauthorised collection of data. Some of the best ways to combat phishing attacks involve training employees on how to spot fake emails and links as well as stressing the importance of using your organisation\'s email system rather than personal email for work purposes. The UK\'s NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) has a useful guide on defending your organisation from phishing attacks which can be viewed at <a href=\"https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/phishing\">https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/phishing </a>\n<h3>Remote Desktop Connections</h3>\nWhile your staff are working at home, they may be connecting to their work desktops using a remote desktop connection. When your system is set up to allow these remote connections, it is vital that default, \'system accounts\' are disabled or restricted as these are a popular way for hackers to gain access to third-party systems. To access their remote desktop, a user enters their login credentials, and a connection is made from one computer to another. Problems, however, arise when a user\'s computer is configured to remember connection details or not log out after a set amount of inactivity. If a users home computer is compromised by hackers, stolen or left unattended in a publicly accessible space someone could gain access to your systems. Likewise, if generic and easy to guess credentials are used to secure desktops, hackers could also gain access via brute force tactics. Earlier this year Microsoft released information for securing remote desktop usage within your organisation which is available at <a href=\"https://www.microsoft.com/security/\">https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/04/16/securityguidance-remote-desktop-adoption/</a>\n<h2>Cloud Storage</h2>\nWith affordable cloud storage accessible to all businesses, both small and large, the cloud has become a reliable way to share, save and access files from your organisation for anyone not physically sitting in your office. Apart from allowing centralised storage, the cloud also protects from data loss with multiple redundancies in place to mitigate the risk to your business. Again, like everything else mentioned in this article, cloud storage is not without its risks and should be carefully monitored. The UK\'s ICO (Information Commissioner\'s Office) has put together a handy document on the use of cloud computing within your organisation available from <a href=\"https://ico.org.uk/media/fororganisations/documents/1540/cloud_computing_guidance_for_organisations.pdf\">https://ico.org.uk/media/fororganisations/documents/1540/cloud_computing_guidance_for_organisations.pdf</a>\n<h2>Passwords</h2>\nIt\'s likely your organisation has accounts with many websites, and when your employees are working from home, the temptation to send a list of passwords to help with productivity is high (this includes your eCommerce passwords). Imagine the risks to your business if just one of these lists were compromised. Employees should only be granted access to systems and accounts that are essential for their day-today job, minimising the potential for hackers to gain access to multiple systems. Further guidance is available from the UK\'s NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) as well as general advice on home working and the use of personal IT equipment from <a href=\"https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/\">https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blogpost/secure-home-working-personal-it</a>\n<h2>The Bottom Line</h2>\nCoronavirus, lockdown and the pandemic has caused such disruption on a worldwide basis that we\'re sure you don\'t want to risk more problems. Take advice, use up to date systems specifically designed with security for home workers (such as Magento 2.4, which includes 2-factor authentication) and engage your staff members on the importance of eCommerce security. The benefits to your business are worth the effort.','Training Your Staff To Maintain Tight eCommerce Security During Lockdown','','inherit','closed','closed','','5652-autosave-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:15:20','2026-02-15 13:15:20','',5652,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8510',0,'revision','',0),(8511,1,'2026-02-15 13:16:16','2026-02-15 13:16:16','If you operate an eCommerce business, you may have found that the global pandemic has caused an increase of visitors to your website and with it an increase in sales. This trend shows no signs of ending anytime soon with research from Retail Economics and buy now pay later payment provider Klarna showing 71% of British consumers are hesitant to shop on the high street on the run-up to Christmas. 56% of respondents also said they plan to spend more online for Christmas than they have over previous years. Whether you\'ve had an influx of online sales or not, one thing you should be prioritising with lockdown and increased home working is the security of your eCommerce system. Both new staff members and old should receive annual training on how to maintain the highest levels of security for your business and your eCommerce website.\r\n<h2>Why You Should Provide eCommerce Security Training For Your Staff</h2>\r\nAs the numbers of Coronavirus cases have skyrocketed around the world, so have the number of cybercrime attacks and scams aimed to trick home workers into compromising their companies security. From fake contact tracing apps to phishing emails and scam COVID-19 domains, it\'s sad to say that if you don\'t organise regular security training for your team members that your eCommerce website will be hacked or compromised. The clock is ticking; it\'s essential to train your staff on what to look out for and how to keep what they do safe and secure. Below we\'ve listed some of the popular ways that your employees\' systems could be compromised; once this happens, it\'s not a massive leap over to your eCommerce site.\r\n<h3>Emails</h3>\r\nIn March 2020, email scams related to COVID-19 increased a staggering 667%. Email phishing scams can take several forms, but the end goal is usually the same, they want you to click on a malicious link. Once you click on a link, login credentials are stolen, or malware is added to your computer allowing remote access or the unauthorised collection of data. Some of the best ways to combat phishing attacks involve training employees on how to spot fake emails and links as well as stressing the importance of using your organisation\'s email system rather than personal email for work purposes. The UK\'s NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) has a useful guide on defending your organisation from phishing attacks which can be viewed at <a href=\"https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/phishing\">https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/phishing </a>\r\n<h3>Remote Desktop Connections</h3>\r\nWhile your staff are working at home, they may be connecting to their work desktops using a remote desktop connection. When your system is set up to allow these remote connections, it is vital that default, \'system accounts\' are disabled or restricted as these are a popular way for hackers to gain access to third-party systems. To access their remote desktop, a user enters their login credentials, and a connection is made from one computer to another. Problems, however, arise when a user\'s computer is configured to remember connection details or not log out after a set amount of inactivity. If a users home computer is compromised by hackers, stolen or left unattended in a publicly accessible space someone could gain access to your systems. Likewise, if generic and easy to guess credentials are used to secure desktops, hackers could also gain access via brute force tactics. Earlier this year Microsoft released information for securing remote desktop usage within your organisation which is available at <a href=\"https://www.microsoft.com/security/\">https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/04/16/securityguidance-remote-desktop-adoption/</a>\r\n<h3>Cloud Storage</h3>\r\nWith affordable cloud storage accessible to all businesses, both small and large, the cloud has become a reliable way to share, save and access files from your organisation for anyone not physically sitting in your office. Apart from allowing centralised storage, the cloud also protects from data loss with multiple redundancies in place to mitigate the risk to your business. Again, like everything else mentioned in this article, cloud storage is not without its risks and should be carefully monitored. The UK\'s ICO (Information Commissioner\'s Office) has put together a handy document on the use of cloud computing within your organisation available from <a href=\"https://ico.org.uk/media/fororganisations/documents/1540/cloud_computing_guidance_for_organisations.pdf\">https://ico.org.uk/media/fororganisations/documents/1540/cloud_computing_guidance_for_organisations.pdf</a>\r\n<h3>Passwords</h3>\r\nIt\'s likely your organisation has accounts with many websites, and when your employees are working from home, the temptation to send a list of passwords to help with productivity is high (this includes your eCommerce passwords). Imagine the risks to your business if just one of these lists were compromised. Employees should only be granted access to systems and accounts that are essential for their day-today job, minimising the potential for hackers to gain access to multiple systems. Further guidance is available from the UK\'s NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) as well as general advice on home working and the use of personal IT equipment from <a href=\"https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/\">https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blogpost/secure-home-working-personal-it</a>','Training Your Staff To Maintain Tight eCommerce Security During Lockdown','','inherit','closed','closed','','5652-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:16:16','2026-02-15 13:16:16','',5652,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8511',0,'revision','',0),(8512,1,'2026-02-15 13:17:24','2026-02-15 13:17:24','A new grant scheme has been announced for businesses based in Cheshire and Warrington, designed to help you invest in offsetting lost sales due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Aimed at small businesses in the region, the grant will offer funding up to 80% on capital items with a maximum level of £5,000. £1 million has been awarded by Cheshire &amp; Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership for the scheme with applications opening on Wednesday, 28th October.\r\n\r\nAvailable for a range of expenditure from IT equipment to support Test &amp; Trace obligations and contactless payments to the purchase of PPE equipment for staff. One of the more creative options for the funding is the option to invest in offsetting lost sales. By utilising digital platforms to establish online delivery and digital ordering systems, not only can lost revenue from physical sales be offset, in some cases, it may also lead to increased business, especially once fully established.\r\n\r\nThe application process will be split over five rounds which start on Wednesday 28th October 2020 at noon, and we advise anyone looking to take advantage of this scheme to apply sooner rather than later. Actuate Digital are on hand to help facilitate your application by providing quotations for work, and we advise you to get in touch with us immediately so we can discuss the needs of your business in full. The five application rounds will be launched by Blue Orchid on the following dates:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Round 1 - Wednesday, 28th October 2020 at noon and closes once 20% of the overall budget is allocated.</li>\r\n 	<li>Round 2 - Monday, 9th November 2020 at noon and closes once 20% of the overall budget is allocated.</li>\r\n 	<li>Round 3 - Monday, 23rd November 2020 at noon and closes once 20% of the overall budget is allocated.</li>\r\n 	<li>Round 4 - Monday, 7th December 2020 at noon and closes once 20% of the overall budget is allocated.</li>\r\n 	<li>Round 5 - Monday, 14th December 2020 at noon and closes once 20% of the overall budget is allocated.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h2>Grant Eligibility</h2>\r\nIf you can answer yes to the following questions, then your business should be eligible for the grant:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Are you a small to medium Cheshire and Warrington based business?</li>\r\n 	<li>Are you a business with commercial premises AND/OR employs staff other than yourself? 3. Are you a business that hasn\'t previously received a Cheshire and Warrington Covid Recovery capital grant?</li>\r\n 	<li>Do you have a business bank account that you will use for your project spend?</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<h2>Project Examples</h2>\r\nActuate are able to implement a range of digital solutions to help offset lost sales due to COVID-19, which could include:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>A new eCommerce website based on Magento 2.4, specifically designed to addresses problems faced by businesses during lockdown. Features include online ordering for timed in-store pickup or delivery and heightened security features for employees working remotely.</li>\r\n 	<li>Updates to a current Magento website build to introduce the new features and functionality added in the Magento 2.4 release.</li>\r\n 	<li>EPOS setup and integration with your current eCommerce platform for seamless stock tracking combined with contactless payments to help keep your business COVID-secure.</li>\r\n 	<li>Social commerce setup and integration with popular social media platforms such as Facebook to attract more visitors to your digital storefront.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nInvesting now to offset lost sales is vital for businesses feeling the pinch due to COVID-19. Consumers continue to switch to digital solutions and are driving growth for many aspects of eCommerce. By taking advantage of grants such as this from Cheshire &amp; Warrington LEP, you could secure an affordable solution from Actuate to move your business forward, so why not explore the options available to you now. Call Actuate on 01244 911360 and start the journey to recovery for your business.\r\n\r\nGrant applications should be made through Blue Orchid via their website at\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://blueorchid.co.uk/cheshire-warrington-restructure-grant/\">https://blueorchid.co.uk/cheshire-warrington-restructure-grant/</a>','Invest in offsetting lost sales and claim funding of up to £5,000 if your business is based in Cheshire and Warrington','','inherit','closed','closed','','5651-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:17:24','2026-02-15 13:17:24','',5651,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8512',0,'revision','',0),(8513,1,'2026-02-15 13:19:09','2026-02-15 13:19:09','Are you looking to launch a new website or refresh your current site in the next 6-12 months? You may be surprised to read that you should really start planning now for your new website and book a meeting, or at the bare minimum a chat with your preferred digital agency. But surely it doesn\'t take that long to plan and execute a successful launch or relaunch of a website? You\'d be surprised...\r\n\r\nBelow, we will run you through the crucial reasons why you should plan ahead for your new website build and the pitfalls you\'ll avoid.\r\n<h2>Customer Analysis</h2>\r\nCan you name your perfect customers, do you know their age, sex, income or even favourite things to do? What about colours and their preferred social platforms? If the answer is yes, well done, you\'re actually in a better position than 99% of the population when it comes to truly understanding the behaviour of their consumers.\r\n\r\nA great website isn\'t about merely picking a beautiful design, adding some content and waiting for sales or customers to contact you; a great website is designed around its customers\' needs. Until you understand your customers, you can\'t anticipate their needs. This information takes time to acquire and analyse, so it\'s essential to engage with your digital agency as soon as you can.\r\n<h3>Website Analysis</h3>\r\nDo you know the reasons you want a new website? If you have a current site have you sat down and listed your likes and dislikes about it? Have you listed your main competitors and again pulled out your likes and dislikes about their websites? Much like customer analysis, the analysis of your current website and those of your competitors takes time and effort.\r\n<h3>Website Content</h3>\r\nUnless your website is bursting with fresh, unique and tip-top content lets face it, you\'re going to need time to create the backbone of your new website. Yes yes, we all know the saying \'content is king\' but when it comes to your website how much time have you ever dedicated to copywriting and content? The number of hours probably can be counted on one hand!\r\n\r\nSolid, authoritative content takes time to plan, write and check for errors; it doesn\'t matter if you, your marketing department or an external copywriter creates it for you, it takes time to do it right. If you don\'t plan ahead, you could end up using your current content for your new website, and that\'s probably not the best thing to do.\r\n<h3>Google Rankings</h3>\r\nEver launched a new website and seen your Google Rankings plummet faster than the sale of ice cream in winter? Sure you have, and there is probably a simple reason for this catastrophic blunder... time! Failing to give a design agency time to properly spec, build and craft a high-quality website often resorts in cut corners to meet client deadlines.\r\n\r\nThe answer to this particular problem was simple, redirecting old pages to their new equivalents in a way that Google recommends. Amid an angry client whose number one focus is launching their new site in as soon as possible, these things are easily overlooked when receiving a barrage of emails stressing the importance of the website going live NOW.\r\n<h3>Angry Managers!</h3>\r\nFinally, we\'re sure if you\'re the manager or owner of your company you don\'t want to get angry or frustrated, the same goes if you\'re working on behalf of your company manager or owner. When a website is rushed and the right amount of time isn\'t allocated to the project, tempers flare, and things tend to get heated.\r\n\r\nThis is easily avoided by allowing time for your new project, which in turn means you can talk through issues and don\'t feel the pressure of deadlines.','Planning ahead for a new website','','inherit','closed','closed','','2045-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:19:09','2026-02-15 13:19:09','',2045,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8513',0,'revision','',0),(8514,1,'2026-02-15 13:19:56','2026-02-15 13:19:56','It\'s the beginning of October, the weather has well and truly turned, at least here in Chester, and believe it or not it\'s time to think about Old St. Nick and that magical \"C\" word... That\'s right, Christmas is almost upon us and thanks to both national and local lockdown, you probably think where has the year gone! Well, there\'s no time to worry about that, whether you\'re local to Chester or not, it\'s time to start planning your COVID secure Christmas, and there is no better place than right here in the walled city of Chester in Cheshire. Here at Actuate\'s top 5 picks for a great Christmas out and about in Chester this year:\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">1. Chester Christmas Market</h2>\r\nWhen you start to see the small traditional wooden chalets organised around a magnificent tree, you know Christmas has officially arrived in the heart of Chester. With a host of handmade gifts, locally sourced produce not to mention the mulled wine and hot food, Chester Christmas Market is the perfect way to experience the joys and historic beauty of Chester. Chester Christmas Market returns on Thursday, 19th November to Tuesday, 22nd December 2020 dependant on government guidance and takes place outside of Chester Cathedral, Storyhouse and Chester\'s historic Town Hall. Visit the Chester Christmas Market Facebook page for the latest news and announcements at <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ChesterChristmasMarket/\">https://www.facebook.com/ChesterChristmasMarket/</a>\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">2. A Christmas Carol at Chester\'s Storyhouse</h2>\r\nChristmas isn\'t cancelled! That\'s the promise made by Chester\'s very own Storyhouse theatre as they prepare to host their Christmas show Charles Dickens\' A Christmas Carol. One of a handful of venues around the UK still operating this Christmas, the show has been designed around social distancing rules with less than half of the regular ticket allocations on sale for their shows between 7th November 2020 and 17th January 2021. Act quickly to avoid disappointment and enjoy a little normality this Christmas. Book your tickets now from the Storyhouse website at https://www.storyhouse.com/event/achristmas-carol\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">3. Chester Zoo Lanterns - A Starlit Christmas Experience</h2>\r\nChester Zoo like you have never seen before with their illuminated winter experience set after the zoos regular closing time. Back for its 9th year, Chester Zoo Lanterns is a beautiful way to spend an evening for the whole family. Escape the worries of 2020 in their eleven magical worlds this year aimed at taking you to faraway lands. The experience created in partnership with Wild Rumpus aids Chester Zoo\'s vital efforts with wildlife conservation and will be an event you remember for years to come.\r\n\r\nTickets are available from <a href=\"https://www.chesterzoo.org/events/\">https://www.chesterzoo.org/events/the-lanterns-a-starlit-christmas/</a> now for selected dates between Friday, 13th November and Wednesday, 23rd December 2020.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">4. The Snowman at Chester Cathedral</h2>\r\nThe Snowman has returned to Chester Cathedral for its 8th year accompanied by live orchestra for a screening of this iconic British animated adventure. The performance also features a beautiful solo of the famous \"Walking in the Air\", performed by a local audition winner as well as a visit from The Snowman himself, guaranteed to melt the heart of little ones. Tickets can be booked online from <a href=\"https://chestercathedral.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173603999/events/428301050\">https://chestercathedral.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173603999/events/428301050</a> for the four performances on Monday, 21st December 2020.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">5. Chester Cathedral\'s Christmas Tree Festival</h2>\r\nLose yourself in the lights of Chester Cathedral with their amazing Christmas Tree Festival and forget your troubles. This year Chester Cathedral is determined to bring hope and happiness to everyone who has had such a rough time during 2020, and their annual Christmas Tree Festival will do just that. Especially adapted based on government guidance, this year will see sparkling trees throughout the cathedral. For further information about the festival visit <a href=\"https://chestercathedral.com/about/\">https://chestercathedral.com/about/christmas-treefestival/</a> on the Chester Cathedral website. Know of an event happening in Chester this Christmas that we\'ve missed? Get in touch and let us know.','Top things to do in Chester this Christmas','','inherit','closed','closed','','2042-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:19:56','2026-02-15 13:19:56','',2042,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8514',0,'revision','',0),(8515,1,'2026-02-15 13:20:13','2026-02-15 13:20:13','It\'s the beginning of October, the weather has well and truly turned, at least here in Chester, and believe it or not it\'s time to think about Old St. Nick and that magical \"C\" word... That\'s right, Christmas is almost upon us and thanks to both national and local lockdown, you probably think where has the year gone! Well, there\'s no time to worry about that, whether you\'re local to Chester or not, it\'s time to start planning your COVID secure Christmas, and there is no better place than right here in the walled city of Chester in Cheshire. Here at Actuate\'s top 5 picks for a great Christmas out and about in Chester this year:\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Chester Christmas Market</h2>\r\nWhen you start to see the small traditional wooden chalets organised around a magnificent tree, you know Christmas has officially arrived in the heart of Chester. With a host of handmade gifts, locally sourced produce not to mention the mulled wine and hot food, Chester Christmas Market is the perfect way to experience the joys and historic beauty of Chester. Chester Christmas Market returns on Thursday, 19th November to Tuesday, 22nd December 2020 dependant on government guidance and takes place outside of Chester Cathedral, Storyhouse and Chester\'s historic Town Hall. Visit the Chester Christmas Market Facebook page for the latest news and announcements at <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ChesterChristmasMarket/\">https://www.facebook.com/ChesterChristmasMarket/</a>\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">A Christmas Carol at Chester\'s Storyhouse</h2>\r\nChristmas isn\'t cancelled! That\'s the promise made by Chester\'s very own Storyhouse theatre as they prepare to host their Christmas show Charles Dickens\' A Christmas Carol. One of a handful of venues around the UK still operating this Christmas, the show has been designed around social distancing rules with less than half of the regular ticket allocations on sale for their shows between 7th November 2020 and 17th January 2021. Act quickly to avoid disappointment and enjoy a little normality this Christmas. Book your tickets now from the Storyhouse website at https://www.storyhouse.com/event/achristmas-carol\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Chester Zoo Lanterns - A Starlit Christmas Experience</h2>\r\nChester Zoo like you have never seen before with their illuminated winter experience set after the zoos regular closing time. Back for its 9th year, Chester Zoo Lanterns is a beautiful way to spend an evening for the whole family. Escape the worries of 2020 in their eleven magical worlds this year aimed at taking you to faraway lands. The experience created in partnership with Wild Rumpus aids Chester Zoo\'s vital efforts with wildlife conservation and will be an event you remember for years to come.\r\n\r\nTickets are available from <a href=\"https://www.chesterzoo.org/events/\">https://www.chesterzoo.org/events/the-lanterns-a-starlit-christmas/</a> now for selected dates between Friday, 13th November and Wednesday, 23rd December 2020.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">The Snowman at Chester Cathedral</h2>\r\nThe Snowman has returned to Chester Cathedral for its 8th year accompanied by live orchestra for a screening of this iconic British animated adventure. The performance also features a beautiful solo of the famous \"Walking in the Air\", performed by a local audition winner as well as a visit from The Snowman himself, guaranteed to melt the heart of little ones. Tickets can be booked online from <a href=\"https://chestercathedral.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173603999/events/428301050\">https://chestercathedral.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173603999/events/428301050</a> for the four performances on Monday, 21st December 2020.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Chester Cathedral\'s Christmas Tree Festival</h2>\r\nLose yourself in the lights of Chester Cathedral with their amazing Christmas Tree Festival and forget your troubles. This year Chester Cathedral is determined to bring hope and happiness to everyone who has had such a rough time during 2020, and their annual Christmas Tree Festival will do just that. Especially adapted based on government guidance, this year will see sparkling trees throughout the cathedral. For further information about the festival visit <a href=\"https://chestercathedral.com/about/\">https://chestercathedral.com/about/christmas-treefestival/</a> on the Chester Cathedral website. Know of an event happening in Chester this Christmas that we\'ve missed? Get in touch and let us know.','Top things to do in Chester this Christmas','','inherit','closed','closed','','2042-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:20:13','2026-02-15 13:20:13','',2042,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8515',0,'revision','',0),(8516,1,'2026-02-15 13:21:07','2026-02-15 13:21:07','<h2>5 ways to increase eCommerce conversion rates</h2>\nDid you know that the average UK conversion rate for eCommerce websites is just 1.4%? This number is 0.4% lower than the global average of 1.8% and underlines the importance of conversion rate optimisation for UK businesses, whether B2C or B2B.\n<h3>What is conversion rate optimisation?</h3>\nConversion rate optimisation, often abbreviated to CRO is the act of converting a higher percentage of website visitors into customers. The methods used to achieve this goal can vary, but any changes made to your website to accomplish this task is classes as CRO.\n<h3>How to increase eCommerce conversion rates?</h3>\nIn the UK, the B2C eCommerce market is worth around £181 billion, which accounts for 19% of the UK\'s total retail spend. The pandemic has also changed shopping habits, increasing online spending habits further, but how do you capture your share of this booming eCommerce  business? One of the easiest methods is to invest time and money into conversion rate optimisation for your website.\n\nHere are five ways you could increase your conversion rates.\n<h4>1. Boost your sites loading times</h4>\nGoogle research shows that 53% of visitors to your website will abandon their session if your page takes 3 seconds or more to load. With the average loading speed of websites in the UK standing at 8.9 seconds, there is a massive opportunity for your site to stand out amongst the crowd.\n\nFind out where your website is hosted and see how quickly it loads by using a free tool such as Google\'s <a href=\"https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights\">Page Speed Insights</a>.\n\nHere at Actuate, we purposely chose to partner with UK Fast for our client\'s web hosting needs, drawing on their <a href=\"https://www.ukfast.co.uk/fast-host.html\">need for speed</a> and best in class infrastructure to give the sites we host that competitive advantage.\n<h4>2. Responsive &amp; Mobile-First Design</h4>\nDo you know how many visitors to your website are using a mobile device compared to a desktop?\n\nThe probability is that the majority of your visitors already use a mobile device and by 2023, your mobile sales will overtake desktop sales. But have you ever tested your website using a mobile device? It\'s easy in an office environment to forget mobile exists, which can have severe consequences for your bottom line.\n\nMake sure your website is responsive (adapts to work across a variety of devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops). If you\'re planning a redesign, indicate you\'d prefer a mobile-first approach (when a site is designed primarily for mobile devices and adapted for larger\nscreens as a secondary measure).\n\nAt Actuate, unless otherwise requested, all eCommerce sites are built responsively with a mobile-first design.\n<h4>3. Simplify your checkout</h4>\nYou\'ll find most of your visitors drop-off your site during the checkout process; it\'s advisable to take a long, hard look at your checkout, with top reasons for abandonment including:\n<ul>\n 	<li>Being forced to create an account</li>\n 	<li>Making the checkout process too complex</li>\n 	<li>Unexpected delivery costs</li>\n 	<li>Security concerns</li>\n</ul>\nWe create customer profiles to tailor your eCommerce site to the needs of your audience, making the user experience better for all involved.\n<h4>4. Include multiple payment options</h4>\nWhy would a consumer choose a competitor selling an identical product to yours, even if that product is more expensive? Maybe if they offer PayPal or another preferred payment method and you don\'t. Why? One of the reasons is because payment providers such as PayPal allow items to be purchased using PayPal Credit, giving you four interest-free months to pay for an item. Now, do you see the advantages?\n\nWe\'ll advise and help you consider your target audience when thinking about the payment methods you include on your checkout. If you sell high-value items, consider some of the buy-now-pay-later payment providers, PayPal is recommended for ease of use, and mobile payment providers are also growing in popularity.\n<h4>5. Rely on social proof</h4>\nSocial proof is the action of people following the actions and recommendations of others and is a powerful tool in helping boost conversion rates on your website. Promote customer reviews across your product pages and social media channels to encourage sales. If you don\'t currently collect reviews, consider adding this as a priority.\n\nSurveys show that 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and even Google have admitted that reviews play a role in your search rankings.\n\nWe\'re able to set up and integrate reviews for your eCommerce site as well as advising on Google licensed review providers to make sure Google counts your on-site reviews, rather than ignoring them because of how they were collected.\n<h3>Conclusion</h3>\nConversion rate optimisation is all about changing your site for the better. By analysing your statistics and analytics, educated changes can be introduced to influence the ways consumers interact with your site. Don\'t settle for anything other than outstanding when it comes to your conversions, book a meeting with Actuate today and let\'s turn your website around.','5 ways to increase eCommerce conversion rates','','inherit','closed','closed','','2028-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:21:07','2026-02-15 13:21:07','',2028,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8516',0,'revision','',0),(8517,1,'2026-02-15 13:21:07','2026-02-15 13:21:07','<h2>Winning Local Business With Local eCommerce</h2>\nAnalysis from Deloitte Digital in Great Britain has shown that since lockdown 3 in 5 consumers have chosen to shop more at local shops than previously. The same report also showed that 57% of consumers say they will be more likely to shop locally once lockdown ends. While excellent news for retailers that already have a local eCommerce presence, those that don\'t have some catching up to do.\n<h3>The Benefits of Local eCommerce for your business</h3>\nBoosted by lockdown, there is a growing trend for people wishing to shop locally if they can find the products they\'re looking for close to their home or workplace and at a reasonable price. The benefits to you as a business are numerous, but some of the key reasons to grow your local eCommerce presence include:\n<ul>\n 	<li><strong>Competing with the multi-nationals.</strong> Amazon may have Prime delivery, but if a consumer can pick up an item within 24 hours locally, then you could well find they shop with you.</li>\n 	<li><strong>Building your customer base through word of mouth.</strong> 92% of consumers trust recommendations made by their friends. Capitalise on this by getting locals talking about you.</li>\n 	<li><strong>Reducing your overheads.</strong> It takes time to print packing labels, book parcels into your delivery system or take them to the local post office. By encouraging users to pick up their orders, you can save time and money.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Why Customers Choose To Shop Local</h3>\nToday\'s modern consumer is much more ethically focussed than in the past, so choosing to shop local allows them to feel that they are making a difference. Apart from helping the local economy and high street, consumers are also more environmentally aware; this makes local shopping the ideal choice for those wishing to ensure a better world for future generations.\n\nSome of the top reasons for shopping locally include:\n<ul>\n 	<li>Supporting the local economy</li>\n 	<li>Saving jobs</li>\n 	<li>A safer way to shop</li>\n 	<li>Helping the environment</li>\n 	<li>Preserving the local community</li>\n</ul>\nIf you can help tick these boxes for your customers, then you won\'t be far away from making a sale. Don\'t be afraid to reveal your human side as a business, showing that you support the environment and or local charities goes a long way in building trust with potential customers.\n\n62% of users will more likely spend money at a shop that takes extra steps to ensure the safety and well-being of staff.\n\nIf you already deliver locally to some of your customers, consider adding this as an additional service giving website users a wide choice of delivery options when shopping with you. The flexibility of knowing an order can be delivered quickly if need be is another great way to tip the scales in your favour.\n<h3>What to Look For in a Local eCommerce Website</h3>\nWhen it comes to choosing the right eCommerce software for your business, you may find yourself struggling to compare one system to another. On the surface, most eCommerce software packages are created equally, it\'s only when you drill down to the specifics that you find significant differences starting to appear.\n\nEssential to a local eCommerce site are the following features:\n<ul>\n 	<li>In-Store Pick Up or Local Delivery Options</li>\n 	<li>Multiple Payment Methods</li>\n 	<li>Great Customer Experience</li>\n 	<li>Mobile-Friendly Design</li>\n 	<li>Reviews &amp; User Generated Content (UGC)</li>\n 	<li>Strong Localised SEO</li>\n</ul>\nWhilst we work with several eCommerce platforms here at Actuate Digital, one platform that is currently adapting to the trend of local eCommerce is Magento, more specifically, Magento 2.4. With new features including enhanced in-store pickup, multiple speed enhancements and workflow tools, it\'s a great contender for your next local eCommerce site.\n\nIn today\'s digital world, it pays to offer a digital version of your storefront to visitors who for one reason or another may visit your website before your physical store. With window shopping often occurring online, don\'t lose a sale just because you\'ve never needed a website in the past. As lockdown proved, businesses with the ability and foresight to adapt were able to make significant gains and those who didn\'t unfortunately lost out. Prepare for the changing habits of your customers now and enjoy the success of selling locally.','Winning Local Business With Local eCommerce','','inherit','closed','closed','','2022-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:21:07','2026-02-15 13:21:07','',2022,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8517',0,'revision','',0),(8518,1,'2026-02-15 13:21:07','2026-02-15 13:21:07','<h2 class=\"p1\">Blogging For Your Business</h2>\n<p class=\"p2\">We all hate ads, that\'s a fact! So when it comes to marketing, it makes sense to focus on content rather than more traditional, ignored methods of advertising. Blogs are directly responsible for over 430% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. You can\'t ignore those numbers; it\'s time to start blogging for your business.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">So why do users prefer blog posts over other advertising methods? The main reasons include feeling closer to a company after reading blog posts as well as feeling more positive about a company, everything you\'re looking for to ease visitors down the conversion path.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">But what if you don\'t have the time or really can\'t bring yourself around to the thought of crafting the perfect blog post? Well, why not consider outsourcing? 62% of companies outsource their content marketing to agencies like us here at Actuate Digital and see an upturn in traffic and sales because of it.</p>\n\n<h3 class=\"p2\">How To Start Blogging With Your Existing Website</h3>\n<p class=\"p2\">Congratulations, you\'ve decided that blogging is the next logical step to increase brand awareness, visitors and sales, but how should you start and what software should you use?</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The answer can vary depending on your current website setup, personal preferences and features you\'re looking for in blogging software. We do, however, have a few suggestions to make the process of choosing easier and a lot of the time it includes the term WordPress!</p>\n\n<h4 class=\"p2\">Existing WordPress Users</h4>\n<p class=\"p2\">If you\'re already using WordPress to manage your website, you\'re in luck. Over 63.5% of all content managed sites use WordPress, which amounts to over one-third of all websites in existence today. It\'s a scalable platform designed originally for blogging, so you\'re already well on the way to success.</p>\n\n<h4 class=\"p2\">Magento Users</h4>\n<p class=\"p2\">For those using Magento, arguably one of the most popular eCommerce platforms today, FishPig produces a free extension for both Magento 1 and Magento 2, which integrates WordPress into the Magento architecture. Once installed, you\'re free to enjoy all the benefits of Magento for selling and WordPress for blogging.</p>\n\n<h4 class=\"p2\">Shopify &amp; BigCommerce Users</h4>\n<p class=\"p2\">While it\'s not currently possible to integrate WordPress directly with Shopify or BigCommerce, you do have many options available to you when it comes to creating a blog.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The first is using the inbuilt blogging capabilities of each system, while basic, they are more than adequate for the occasional blog post. The second option is to use one of the many third-party blogging plugins available.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Users with a love of WordPress can even set up their blog using a sub-domain such as blog.domain.com and install WordPress here. The drawback, however, is that Google classifies both www.domain.com and blog.domain.com as two different sites meaning you won\'t get all of the benefits of hosting your blog together with your main website. The choice, however, is ultimately yours, and companies such as Actuate can help explain the pros and cons for your business.</p>\n\n<h3 class=\"p2\">Blog Post Planning</h3>\n<p class=\"p2\">For some, the thought of writing blog articles can be terrifying. The idea of being chained to your computer for days attempting to think of something to write about isn\'t pleasant. Make things easier for yourself by starting a content calendar using a simple spreadsheet. Here you should list ideas for blog posts as you get them, a schedule of when you plan to post articles to your blog as well as additional information on the type of blog post you plan on writing.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Ideas for posts themselves can come from anywhere, other blogs you frequently read, industry news and announcements and your own ideas and thoughts. If you keep your blog in mind as you go about your everyday business, you\'ll find ideas jump out at you almost all the time.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Some of the most popular blog posts which engage users and pull in views include:</p>\n\n<ul>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">\"How-To\" articles which answer questions on a specific topic.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">List-based posts which are easy to skim through and give ideas.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Pillar pages, which are an in-depth analysis of a given subject.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Newsjacking posts which capitalise on trending news and topics.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Infographic posts which are highly visual and include in-depth statistics.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 class=\"p2\">Writing Blog Posts</h3>\n<p class=\"p2\">Once you\'ve decided what you want to write about, it\'s time to sit down and get to work. Firstly, don\'t be put off if it takes you a while to get into the swing of things, the average blog post takes 3 hours and 57 minutes to write. Persevere, and you\'ll find the number of new visitors to your site is well worth the time spent writing and promoting your new blog.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">You\'ll also find your blog posts fall into two categories. The first is topical, time-sensitive content which focuses on current trends and news appealing to your target demographic. The second is evergreen content addressing questions users have on a particular topic. Evergreen content can be marketed to users time and time again as they usually stay relevant for a reasonable amount of time, topical content while useful for tapping into current trends typically has a short shelf-life.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Try and work out what tone is right for your audience and adapt your writing style to match, it\'s no use writing very technical and advanced articles if you\'re posting for beginners with little to no knowledge of a subject. Consider asking friends and family for honest feedback on some of your posts and find out if they understand your article. They usually won\'t have an intimate understanding of your business which will help them give honest feedback on your writing and ability to explain a subject.</p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Follow these tips to make your article easy to follow:</p>\n\n<ul>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Break up your article with headings, images and statistics. Most people skim through blog posts, so make things easy for them.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Utilise free stock image sites such as freepik.com to add visual touches and great looking photos to your posts. Websites like this operate in exchange for simple attribution for using their images.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Don\'t be afraid of having a healthy mix of short (600 words), medium (1,500 words) and long (2,500+ words) articles.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Whatever you do, resist the urge to copy articles or \'borrow\' lines of text. Google will penalise you for plagiarism, plus it\'s just NOT COOL!</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 class=\"p2\">Marketing Your Blog</h3>\n<ul>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">After you\'ve written your blog post, it\'s time to tell your customers, social media users and everyone else about it. You\'ll have to put in a little legwork before people start coming back of their own accord to check for new posts, but again the reward is worth the effort.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Make sure you advertise your blog posts on your website, it makes sense right? But you\'d be surprised how many people make this mistake. Consider adding a blog section to your homepage and placing a prominent link to your blog within your navigation menu and in sidebars throughout your site.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Post to the social media platforms used for your business and remember to include relevant #hashtags which will enable more people to find your content. Remember to adapt the frequency of posts to complement the platform you\'re using.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Remember to include a link and overview of your latest blog post within your company newsletter, whether it\'s digital or printed. It will also save you time having to think of additional content to include in your mailing.</li>\n 	<li class=\"p2\">Finally, make sure you include the basics of on-page SEO (search engine optimisation) within your blog post. At a minimum utilise META information, title tags and alt tags for your images. Post, refine, repeat, and before long with a little luck and the help from your friend Google, you\'ll find your efforts start to pay off, and you should see a steady increase in traffic to your site.</li>\n</ul>','Blogging For Your Business','','inherit','closed','closed','','2011-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:21:07','2026-02-15 13:21:07','',2011,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8518',0,'revision','',0),(8519,1,'2026-02-15 13:22:23','2026-02-15 13:22:23','You\'re convinced... Whether you\'ve attended a local marketing seminar, read about the trends online or can simply feel it in your bones... Social media - if done right - plays a vital role in helping businesses thrive, but what exactly should you and your business post about? For many, the thought of sitting down to write their next social media post can fill them with dread, but with a little time and planning, writing for social media doesn\'t have to be so bad. Of course, you could always talk to an agency such as Actuate about handling this for you, but you may find with the right ideas, social media marketing isn\'t too bad after all. Below we\'ve compiled a list of social media post ideas designed to make your life easier the next time you log in to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to connect with your followers.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Promote a competition or giveaway</h2>\r\nA recent study revealed that Instagram accounts which held regular contests seemed to grow 70% faster than those that didn\'t, a great reason to make a monthly competition a staple of your social media marketing plan. You don\'t need third-party plugins or tools, choose something to give away, ideally something that represents your business, make sure you\'ve got some written terms and conditions that you can link to and finally think of a creative idea for entry, and you\'re all set to go! Some popular examples include like this post, follow our account or tag three friends, but the options are truly endless.\r\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CGPJ2wwgoLU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"12\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\">\r\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CGPJ2wwgoLU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\"background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> </a>\r\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; 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font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\r\n<div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\r\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"></div>\r\n</div>\r\n</div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;\"><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CGPJ2wwgoLU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\"color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">*COMPETITION TIME* Happy #ChocolateWeek. To celebrate we’re giving away one of our NEW Signature Cabinets. With 147 chocolates, it’s definitely big enough to share. To enter, simply tag who you’d choose to experience this with in the comments. Competition ends midnight Sunday 18th October. T&amp;Cs apply. The winner will be announced the following week.</a></p>\r\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">A post shared by <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hotelchocolat/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> hotelchocolat</a> (@hotelchocolat) on <time style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\" datetime=\"2020-10-12T08:28:36+00:00\">Oct 12, 2020 at 1:28am PDT</time></p>\r\n\r\n</div></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"//www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Share, Retweet and Regram!</h2>\r\nLet your audience do the talking by sharing, retweeting and regramming their content, with 88% of consumers trusting user reviews as much as personal recommendations; you have a pretty powerful reason to share share share! It goes without question that you shouldn\'t just fill your timeline with other peoples content, like all of our tips try and find a healthy balance of content to achieve social success.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Link to company articles, blog posts and news content</h2>\r\nDo you regularly post a blog article on your company website or find you have a constant stream of news sitting on your website? Leverage this content for social media and drive more traffic to your articles. Consider creating an eye-catching supporting image and picking out important information to connect with your audience. Finally, you should even think about scheduling several posts throughout the year for a particular article if it\'s not time-limited and is considered \'evergreen\' content. (content that remains fresh and vital)\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\">\r\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">How can you prepare your eCommerce site for the upcoming holiday season? First find out the real “gifts” shoppers want - no socks or sweaters on this list. ? Take a look: <a href=\"https://t.co/y9xb1lHStw\">https://t.co/y9xb1lHStw</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/ucA6qZIRoI\">pic.twitter.com/ucA6qZIRoI</a></p>\r\n— Magento Commerce (@magento) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/magento/status/1313961060249071616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 7, 2020</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Show off your lighter side</h2>\r\nRemember that your followers don\'t want to see adverts every five minutes, they want to see your company principles, your quirks and some personality. If it fits with your company philosophy, why not schedule a few fun posts once in a while, do it correctly, and your users will stick around for the next one.\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\">\r\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING BREAKFAST NEWS</p>\r\n57 problems but breakfast ain\'t one. We\'ve teamed up with <a href=\"https://twitter.com/HeinzUK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@HeinzUK</a> to make some new smoothies that are perfect for the mornings.\r\n\r\nSay hello to our new breakfast super smoothiez. <a href=\"https://t.co/sLYqZhhNMa\">pic.twitter.com/sLYqZhhNMa</a>\r\n\r\n— innocent drinks (@innocent) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/innocent/status/1314468139237744640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 9, 2020</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Go behind the scenes</h2>\r\nDoes your company employ a few members of staff, have regular interns or even an office pet? Then go behind the scenes with a post or two about your staff members, fuzzy friend or new recruit. Your followers will enjoy getting a glimpse of day to day life in your office, and it also helps them connect with your company on a personal level.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Industry facts and figures</h2>\r\n73.6% of all statistics you read are made up! But there is a reason for their popularity, and that\'s because facts, figures and statistics make good reading and can help promote your products, services or business. Now we\'re not suggesting you make up your facts, do some research online and you\'re sure to turn up something that fits the bill for your next social post.\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Keep your eye out for trending topics</h2>\r\nIf you\'re really looking to gain traction and pull in new readers and hopefully followers too, then keep your eye out for trending topics. Keeping your finger on the pulse of what\'s popular right now could spark an idea that catapults your business ahead of your competitors overnight.\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\">\r\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Power out? No problem. <a href=\"http://t.co/dnQ7pOgC\">pic.twitter.com/dnQ7pOgC</a></p>\r\n— OREO Cookie (@Oreo) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Oreo/status/298246571718483968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 4, 2013</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Daily #hashtags</h2>\r\nYou\'re probably aware of hashtags such as #FollowFriday and #MondayMotivation. Still, you may be surprised to hear that there are literally hundreds of common hashtags for every day of the week. Jump on the bandwagon and join in with some of them. Here are just a few of our favourites: Monday #MondayMotivation #MarketingMonday #MusicMonday #MondayFunday #ManicMonday Tuesday #TravelTuesday #TipTuesday #GoodNewsTues #TransformationTuesday #TakeMeBackTuesday Wednesday #WayBackWednesday #WisdomWednesday #WinItWednesday #WellnessWednesday #WoofWednesday Thursday #ThursdayThoughts #ThrowbackThursday #ThursdayVibes #ThankfulThursday Friday #FashionFriday #FlashBackFriday #FollowFriday #FridayFun #FreebieFriday Saturday #SaturdaySale #Caturday #SaturdayStyle #SaturdayShoutOut Sunday #SundayFunday #SelfieSunday #SpotlightSunday #WeekendVibes\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Plan a poll</h2>\r\nThinking about launching a new product and wish you could get some feedback from your followers? Then think about planning a poll and get the information you\'re craving. Polls are available on many social platforms and take just seconds to set in motion. Whether serious or fun, they should certainly feature in your social media content plan.\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\">\r\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Cosy season is here! What is your favourite thing to buy now that chilly days have arrived? ?</p>\r\n— New Look (@newlook) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/newlook/status/1314525407060930560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 9, 2020</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n<h2 class=\"list-heading\">Celebrate a milestone</h2>\r\nHow many milestones can you think of? Business anniversary, 1,000th Facebook follower, the first customer through the door... One thing you can never be short of is a milestone, so why not celebrate them with your followers? Milestones are a great way to show your human side and have some fun with your social media followers\r\n\r\nOver to you Social media shouldn\'t be challenging; social media should be fun, easy and rewarding. Enjoy your social media journey, and see where it takes you, and if you find you need a little help along the way, our experts here at Actuate Digital are always just a phone call away. Have any social media ideas of your own you\'d like to share with us? Let us know by using the comments section below. Good luck!','Social Media Post Ideas for Your Business','','inherit','closed','closed','','2039-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:22:23','2026-02-15 13:22:23','',2039,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8519',0,'revision','',0),(8520,1,'2026-02-15 13:23:34','2026-02-15 13:23:34','Local SEO, the art of attracting local consumers to your business and one of the best ways to increase your sales, especially if you have a physical location. Did you know that today a consumer is more likely to buy from you if you meet just two criteria:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>You\'re reasonably priced</li>\r\n 	<li>You can get their purchase to them quickly</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIgnoring point 1, the easiest way to get a purchase from point a to point b is if the consumer lives locally to your business. If you\'re lucky enough to be in this situation the delivery options available to you for a fast, hassle-free delivery service are much greater, including local delivery by your team and collection from your store.\r\n<h2>Is there a demand for local eCommerce?</h2>\r\nSo we\'ve established that localised eCommerce could help you increase your delivery speed, but is there truly a demand for local eCommerce? Aren\'t people just as likely to shop nationally or even internationally? You may be surprised to know that consumers in the UK are much more likely to \"shop local\" compared with our European counterparts. Only 45% of British consumers have reported buying products internationally over the last 12 months. The only European country with a lower percentage is Germany at 37%. Experts believe the trend of shopping locally has been driven by the CV-19 pandemic, demand for lower delivery costs and with Brexit the fear of import fees and duties.\r\n<h2>Taking advantage of the local eCommerce trend</h2>\r\nSo where should you start when it comes to capitalising on the growing UK trend of shopping locally? One of the easiest ways is with local search engine optimisation, which you can complete yourself or with the help of a digital agency such as Actuate.\r\n<h2>Local SEO checklist</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">1. Register for Google My Business</h3>\r\n\r\nMore than just a business directory, <a href=\"https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/business/\">Google My Business</a> gives you access to a suite of features all designed to push local business to you thanks to search giant Google. You\'re able to create a business profile which can appear in \'position zero\' for localised search on Google, you can collect reviews and feedback, and you can also post news and offers directly to the first page of Google\'s search results. The power of Google My Business really shouldn\'t be underestimated.\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">2. Prepare your site for local SEO</h3>\r\n\r\nTo prepare your site for localised searches, you\'re going to need to reference your location in strategic areas around your website. From page title and META tags to in-body headings and general paragraphs, it\'s important to remember your geographical location when you\'re writing your web copy.\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">3. Consider a localised domain name </h3>\r\n\r\nMore for startups and unestablished sites, choosing a localised domain name can instantly help to connect local consumers with your business. For instance, for those in the UK, consider a .co.uk or .uk domain name. Narrowing this further Wales has .wales and .cymru, Scotland has .scot, and Ireland has the .ie domain. Believe it or not, this can be taken even further if you live in a large city like London, with the domain .london available to register. All of these options can help you resonate with the local community and are search signals to Google about the audience your website is targeting.\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">4. Find local business directories</h3>\r\n\r\nBusiness directories litter the internet with many unworthy of the time and effort to create a listing; there are, however, exceptions to every rule. Take the time to search for directories local to your geographic area, so, for instance, here at Actuate, we would search for terms including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Chester Link Directory</li>\r\n 	<li>Cheshire Link Directory</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAdd the resulting links to a simple spreadsheet, one per row. Once you have a list of possible local directories, use a tool such as <a href=\"https://analytics.moz.com/pro/linkexplorer/home\">Moz\'s Link Explorer</a> to check the domain authority of each link. Simply create an account on Moz, and search for each domain using their Link Explorer tool, finally making a note of the Domain Authority score in your spreadsheet. Anything over 50 is considered good, and a score of 60+ is considered excellent. Take the time to manually submit your website to these sites and ignore the rest... simple! Much like using a localised domain, these links will provide Google with strong ranking signals about the target area of your site.\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">5. Build up your reviews</h3>\r\n\r\nReferencing point 1 above, we mentioned that Google My Business gives you the ability to collect reviews for your business listing. Talk to your best customers and see if they are willing to write a genuine and honest review for your company on Google to help you attract more clicks to your website. The process will take just a few minutes, but the rewards once you gather several reviews can be hugely beneficial.\r\n<h4>Conclusion</h4>\r\nThe number of people who are looking to shop locally in the UK is on the increase and competing locally is a lot easier than competition nationally or internationally for sales. Fly the flag for the #ShopLocal movement and increase your sales and exposure at the same time. Look out for part 2 of our Getting to grips with local SEO series in the months to come, where we\'ll include even more local SEO tips.','Getting to grips with local SEO','','inherit','closed','closed','','2036-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:23:34','2026-02-15 13:23:34','',2036,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8520',0,'revision','',0),(8521,1,'2026-02-15 13:23:53','2026-02-15 13:23:53','Local SEO, the art of attracting local consumers to your business and one of the best ways to increase your sales, especially if you have a physical location. Did you know that today a consumer is more likely to buy from you if you meet just two criteria:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>You\'re reasonably priced</li>\r\n 	<li>You can get their purchase to them quickly</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIgnoring point 1, the easiest way to get a purchase from point a to point b is if the consumer lives locally to your business. If you\'re lucky enough to be in this situation the delivery options available to you for a fast, hassle-free delivery service are much greater, including local delivery by your team and collection from your store.\r\n<h2>Is there a demand for local eCommerce?</h2>\r\nSo we\'ve established that localised eCommerce could help you increase your delivery speed, but is there truly a demand for local eCommerce? Aren\'t people just as likely to shop nationally or even internationally? You may be surprised to know that consumers in the UK are much more likely to \"shop local\" compared with our European counterparts. Only 45% of British consumers have reported buying products internationally over the last 12 months. The only European country with a lower percentage is Germany at 37%. Experts believe the trend of shopping locally has been driven by the CV-19 pandemic, demand for lower delivery costs and with Brexit the fear of import fees and duties.\r\n<h2>Taking advantage of the local eCommerce trend</h2>\r\nSo where should you start when it comes to capitalising on the growing UK trend of shopping locally? One of the easiest ways is with local search engine optimisation, which you can complete yourself or with the help of a digital agency such as Actuate.\r\n<h2>Local SEO checklist</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">1. Register for Google My Business</h3>\r\nMore than just a business directory, <a href=\"https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/business/\">Google My Business</a> gives you access to a suite of features all designed to push local business to you thanks to search giant Google. You\'re able to create a business profile which can appear in \'position zero\' for localised search on Google, you can collect reviews and feedback, and you can also post news and offers directly to the first page of Google\'s search results. The power of Google My Business really shouldn\'t be underestimated.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">2. Prepare your site for local SEO</h3>\r\nTo prepare your site for localised searches, you\'re going to need to reference your location in strategic areas around your website. From page title and META tags to in-body headings and general paragraphs, it\'s important to remember your geographical location when you\'re writing your web copy.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">3. Consider a localised domain name</h3>\r\nMore for startups and unestablished sites, choosing a localised domain name can instantly help to connect local consumers with your business. For instance, for those in the UK, consider a .co.uk or .uk domain name. Narrowing this further Wales has .wales and .cymru, Scotland has .scot, and Ireland has the .ie domain. Believe it or not, this can be taken even further if you live in a large city like London, with the domain .london available to register. All of these options can help you resonate with the local community and are search signals to Google about the audience your website is targeting.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">4. Find local business directories</h3>\r\nBusiness directories litter the internet with many unworthy of the time and effort to create a listing; there are, however, exceptions to every rule. Take the time to search for directories local to your geographic area, so, for instance, here at Actuate, we would search for terms including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Chester Link Directory</li>\r\n 	<li>Cheshire Link Directory</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAdd the resulting links to a simple spreadsheet, one per row. Once you have a list of possible local directories, use a tool such as <a href=\"https://analytics.moz.com/pro/linkexplorer/home\">Moz\'s Link Explorer</a> to check the domain authority of each link. Simply create an account on Moz, and search for each domain using their Link Explorer tool, finally making a note of the Domain Authority score in your spreadsheet. Anything over 50 is considered good, and a score of 60+ is considered excellent. Take the time to manually submit your website to these sites and ignore the rest... simple! Much like using a localised domain, these links will provide Google with strong ranking signals about the target area of your site.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">5. Build up your reviews</h3>\r\nReferencing point 1 above, we mentioned that Google My Business gives you the ability to collect reviews for your business listing. Talk to your best customers and see if they are willing to write a genuine and honest review for your company on Google to help you attract more clicks to your website. The process will take just a few minutes, but the rewards once you gather several reviews can be hugely beneficial.','Getting to grips with local SEO','','inherit','closed','closed','','2036-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:23:53','2026-02-15 13:23:53','',2036,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8521',0,'revision','',0),(8522,1,'2026-02-15 13:24:49','2026-02-15 13:24:49','<h2>5 ways to increase eCommerce conversion rates</h2>\r\nDid you know that the average UK conversion rate for eCommerce websites is just 1.4%? This number is 0.4% lower than the global average of 1.8% and underlines the importance of conversion rate optimisation for UK businesses, whether B2C or B2B.\r\n<h3>What is conversion rate optimisation?</h3>\r\nConversion rate optimisation, often abbreviated to CRO is the act of converting a higher percentage of website visitors into customers. The methods used to achieve this goal can vary, but any changes made to your website to accomplish this task is classes as CRO.\r\n<h3>How to increase eCommerce conversion rates?</h3>\r\nIn the UK, the B2C eCommerce market is worth around £181 billion, which accounts for 19% of the UK\'s total retail spend. The pandemic has also changed shopping habits, increasing online spending habits further, but how do you capture your share of this booming eCommerce  business? One of the easiest methods is to invest time and money into conversion rate optimisation for your website.\r\n\r\nHere are five ways you could increase your conversion rates.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">1. Boost your sites loading times</h4>\r\nGoogle research shows that 53% of visitors to your website will abandon their session if your page takes 3 seconds or more to load. With the average loading speed of websites in the UK standing at 8.9 seconds, there is a massive opportunity for your site to stand out amongst the crowd.\r\n\r\nFind out where your website is hosted and see how quickly it loads by using a free tool such as Google\'s <a href=\"https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights\">Page Speed Insights</a>.\r\n\r\nHere at Actuate, we purposely chose to partner with UK Fast for our client\'s web hosting needs, drawing on their <a href=\"https://www.ukfast.co.uk/fast-host.html\">need for speed</a> and best in class infrastructure to give the sites we host that competitive advantage.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">2. Responsive &amp; Mobile-First Design</h4>\r\nDo you know how many visitors to your website are using a mobile device compared to a desktop?\r\n\r\nThe probability is that the majority of your visitors already use a mobile device and by 2023, your mobile sales will overtake desktop sales. But have you ever tested your website using a mobile device? It\'s easy in an office environment to forget mobile exists, which can have severe consequences for your bottom line.\r\n\r\nMake sure your website is responsive (adapts to work across a variety of devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops). If you\'re planning a redesign, indicate you\'d prefer a mobile-first approach (when a site is designed primarily for mobile devices and adapted for larger\r\nscreens as a secondary measure).\r\n\r\nAt Actuate, unless otherwise requested, all eCommerce sites are built responsively with a mobile-first design.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">3. Simplify your checkout</h4>\r\nYou\'ll find most of your visitors drop-off your site during the checkout process; it\'s advisable to take a long, hard look at your checkout, with top reasons for abandonment including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Being forced to create an account</li>\r\n 	<li>Making the checkout process too complex</li>\r\n 	<li>Unexpected delivery costs</li>\r\n 	<li>Security concerns</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nWe create customer profiles to tailor your eCommerce site to the needs of your audience, making the user experience better for all involved.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">4. Include multiple payment options</h4>\r\nWhy would a consumer choose a competitor selling an identical product to yours, even if that product is more expensive? Maybe if they offer PayPal or another preferred payment method and you don\'t. Why? One of the reasons is because payment providers such as PayPal allow items to be purchased using PayPal Credit, giving you four interest-free months to pay for an item. Now, do you see the advantages?\r\n\r\nWe\'ll advise and help you consider your target audience when thinking about the payment methods you include on your checkout. If you sell high-value items, consider some of the buy-now-pay-later payment providers, PayPal is recommended for ease of use, and mobile payment providers are also growing in popularity.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">5. Rely on social proof</h4>\r\nSocial proof is the action of people following the actions and recommendations of others and is a powerful tool in helping boost conversion rates on your website. Promote customer reviews across your product pages and social media channels to encourage sales. If you don\'t currently collect reviews, consider adding this as a priority.\r\n\r\nSurveys show that 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and even Google have admitted that reviews play a role in your search rankings.\r\n\r\nWe\'re able to set up and integrate reviews for your eCommerce site as well as advising on Google licensed review providers to make sure Google counts your on-site reviews, rather than ignoring them because of how they were collected.','5 ways to increase eCommerce conversion rates','','inherit','closed','closed','','2028-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:24:49','2026-02-15 13:24:49','',2028,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8522',0,'revision','',0),(8523,1,'2026-02-15 13:25:06','2026-02-15 13:25:06','<h2>5 ways to increase eCommerce conversion rates</h2>\r\nDid you know that the average UK conversion rate for eCommerce websites is just 1.4%? This number is 0.4% lower than the global average of 1.8% and underlines the importance of conversion rate optimisation for UK businesses, whether B2C or B2B.\r\n<h3>What is conversion rate optimisation?</h3>\r\nConversion rate optimisation, often abbreviated to CRO is the act of converting a higher percentage of website visitors into customers. The methods used to achieve this goal can vary, but any changes made to your website to accomplish this task is classes as CRO.\r\n<h3>How to increase eCommerce conversion rates?</h3>\r\nIn the UK, the B2C eCommerce market is worth around £181 billion, which accounts for 19% of the UK\'s total retail spend. The pandemic has also changed shopping habits, increasing online spending habits further, but how do you capture your share of this booming eCommerce  business? One of the easiest methods is to invest time and money into conversion rate optimisation for your website.\r\n\r\nHere are five ways you could increase your conversion rates.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Boost your sites loading times</h4>\r\nGoogle research shows that 53% of visitors to your website will abandon their session if your page takes 3 seconds or more to load. With the average loading speed of websites in the UK standing at 8.9 seconds, there is a massive opportunity for your site to stand out amongst the crowd.\r\n\r\nFind out where your website is hosted and see how quickly it loads by using a free tool such as Google\'s <a href=\"https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights\">Page Speed Insights</a>.\r\n\r\nHere at Actuate, we purposely chose to partner with UK Fast for our client\'s web hosting needs, drawing on their <a href=\"https://www.ukfast.co.uk/fast-host.html\">need for speed</a> and best in class infrastructure to give the sites we host that competitive advantage.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Responsive &amp; Mobile-First Design</h4>\r\nDo you know how many visitors to your website are using a mobile device compared to a desktop?\r\n\r\nThe probability is that the majority of your visitors already use a mobile device and by 2023, your mobile sales will overtake desktop sales. But have you ever tested your website using a mobile device? It\'s easy in an office environment to forget mobile exists, which can have severe consequences for your bottom line.\r\n\r\nMake sure your website is responsive (adapts to work across a variety of devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops). If you\'re planning a redesign, indicate you\'d prefer a mobile-first approach (when a site is designed primarily for mobile devices and adapted for larger\r\nscreens as a secondary measure).\r\n\r\nAt Actuate, unless otherwise requested, all eCommerce sites are built responsively with a mobile-first design.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Simplify your checkout</h4>\r\nYou\'ll find most of your visitors drop-off your site during the checkout process; it\'s advisable to take a long, hard look at your checkout, with top reasons for abandonment including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Being forced to create an account</li>\r\n 	<li>Making the checkout process too complex</li>\r\n 	<li>Unexpected delivery costs</li>\r\n 	<li>Security concerns</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nWe create customer profiles to tailor your eCommerce site to the needs of your audience, making the user experience better for all involved.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Include multiple payment options</h4>\r\nWhy would a consumer choose a competitor selling an identical product to yours, even if that product is more expensive? Maybe if they offer PayPal or another preferred payment method and you don\'t. Why? One of the reasons is because payment providers such as PayPal allow items to be purchased using PayPal Credit, giving you four interest-free months to pay for an item. Now, do you see the advantages?\r\n\r\nWe\'ll advise and help you consider your target audience when thinking about the payment methods you include on your checkout. If you sell high-value items, consider some of the buy-now-pay-later payment providers, PayPal is recommended for ease of use, and mobile payment providers are also growing in popularity.\r\n<h4 class=\"list-heading\">Rely on social proof</h4>\r\nSocial proof is the action of people following the actions and recommendations of others and is a powerful tool in helping boost conversion rates on your website. Promote customer reviews across your product pages and social media channels to encourage sales. If you don\'t currently collect reviews, consider adding this as a priority.\r\n\r\nSurveys show that 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and even Google have admitted that reviews play a role in your search rankings.\r\n\r\nWe\'re able to set up and integrate reviews for your eCommerce site as well as advising on Google licensed review providers to make sure Google counts your on-site reviews, rather than ignoring them because of how they were collected.','5 ways to increase eCommerce conversion rates','','inherit','closed','closed','','2028-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:25:06','2026-02-15 13:25:06','',2028,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8523',0,'revision','',0),(8524,1,'2026-02-15 13:25:52','2026-02-15 13:25:52','Local SEO, the art of attracting local consumers to your business and one of the best ways to increase your sales, especially if you have a physical location. Did you know that today a consumer is more likely to buy from you if you meet just two criteria:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>You\'re reasonably priced</li>\r\n 	<li>You can get their purchase to them quickly</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIgnoring point 1, the easiest way to get a purchase from point a to point b is if the consumer lives locally to your business. If you\'re lucky enough to be in this situation the delivery options available to you for a fast, hassle-free delivery service are much greater, including local delivery by your team and collection from your store.\r\n<h2>Is there a demand for local eCommerce?</h2>\r\nSo we\'ve established that localised eCommerce could help you increase your delivery speed, but is there truly a demand for local eCommerce? Aren\'t people just as likely to shop nationally or even internationally? You may be surprised to know that consumers in the UK are much more likely to \"shop local\" compared with our European counterparts. Only 45% of British consumers have reported buying products internationally over the last 12 months. The only European country with a lower percentage is Germany at 37%. Experts believe the trend of shopping locally has been driven by the CV-19 pandemic, demand for lower delivery costs and with Brexit the fear of import fees and duties.\r\n<h2>Taking advantage of the local eCommerce trend</h2>\r\nSo where should you start when it comes to capitalising on the growing UK trend of shopping locally? One of the easiest ways is with local search engine optimisation, which you can complete yourself or with the help of a digital agency such as Actuate.\r\n<h2>Local SEO checklist</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">1Register for Google My Business</h3>\r\nMore than just a business directory, <a href=\"https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/business/\">Google My Business</a> gives you access to a suite of features all designed to push local business to you thanks to search giant Google. You\'re able to create a business profile which can appear in \'position zero\' for localised search on Google, you can collect reviews and feedback, and you can also post news and offers directly to the first page of Google\'s search results. The power of Google My Business really shouldn\'t be underestimated.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Prepare your site for local SEO</h3>\r\nTo prepare your site for localised searches, you\'re going to need to reference your location in strategic areas around your website. From page title and META tags to in-body headings and general paragraphs, it\'s important to remember your geographical location when you\'re writing your web copy.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Consider a localised domain name</h3>\r\nMore for startups and unestablished sites, choosing a localised domain name can instantly help to connect local consumers with your business. For instance, for those in the UK, consider a .co.uk or .uk domain name. Narrowing this further Wales has .wales and .cymru, Scotland has .scot, and Ireland has the .ie domain. Believe it or not, this can be taken even further if you live in a large city like London, with the domain .london available to register. All of these options can help you resonate with the local community and are search signals to Google about the audience your website is targeting.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Find local business directories</h3>\r\nBusiness directories litter the internet with many unworthy of the time and effort to create a listing; there are, however, exceptions to every rule. Take the time to search for directories local to your geographic area, so, for instance, here at Actuate, we would search for terms including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Chester Link Directory</li>\r\n 	<li>Cheshire Link Directory</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAdd the resulting links to a simple spreadsheet, one per row. Once you have a list of possible local directories, use a tool such as <a href=\"https://analytics.moz.com/pro/linkexplorer/home\">Moz\'s Link Explorer</a> to check the domain authority of each link. Simply create an account on Moz, and search for each domain using their Link Explorer tool, finally making a note of the Domain Authority score in your spreadsheet. Anything over 50 is considered good, and a score of 60+ is considered excellent. Take the time to manually submit your website to these sites and ignore the rest... simple! Much like using a localised domain, these links will provide Google with strong ranking signals about the target area of your site.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Build up your reviews</h3>\r\nReferencing point 1 above, we mentioned that Google My Business gives you the ability to collect reviews for your business listing. Talk to your best customers and see if they are willing to write a genuine and honest review for your company on Google to help you attract more clicks to your website. The process will take just a few minutes, but the rewards once you gather several reviews can be hugely beneficial.','Getting to grips with local SEO','','inherit','closed','closed','','2036-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:25:52','2026-02-15 13:25:52','',2036,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8524',0,'revision','',0),(8525,1,'2026-02-15 13:26:05','2026-02-15 13:26:05','Local SEO, the art of attracting local consumers to your business and one of the best ways to increase your sales, especially if you have a physical location. Did you know that today a consumer is more likely to buy from you if you meet just two criteria:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>You\'re reasonably priced</li>\r\n 	<li>You can get their purchase to them quickly</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIgnoring point 1, the easiest way to get a purchase from point a to point b is if the consumer lives locally to your business. If you\'re lucky enough to be in this situation the delivery options available to you for a fast, hassle-free delivery service are much greater, including local delivery by your team and collection from your store.\r\n<h2>Is there a demand for local eCommerce?</h2>\r\nSo we\'ve established that localised eCommerce could help you increase your delivery speed, but is there truly a demand for local eCommerce? Aren\'t people just as likely to shop nationally or even internationally? You may be surprised to know that consumers in the UK are much more likely to \"shop local\" compared with our European counterparts. Only 45% of British consumers have reported buying products internationally over the last 12 months. The only European country with a lower percentage is Germany at 37%. Experts believe the trend of shopping locally has been driven by the CV-19 pandemic, demand for lower delivery costs and with Brexit the fear of import fees and duties.\r\n<h2>Taking advantage of the local eCommerce trend</h2>\r\nSo where should you start when it comes to capitalising on the growing UK trend of shopping locally? One of the easiest ways is with local search engine optimisation, which you can complete yourself or with the help of a digital agency such as Actuate.\r\n<h2>Local SEO checklist</h2>\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Register for Google My Business</h3>\r\nMore than just a business directory, <a href=\"https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/business/\">Google My Business</a> gives you access to a suite of features all designed to push local business to you thanks to search giant Google. You\'re able to create a business profile which can appear in \'position zero\' for localised search on Google, you can collect reviews and feedback, and you can also post news and offers directly to the first page of Google\'s search results. The power of Google My Business really shouldn\'t be underestimated.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Prepare your site for local SEO</h3>\r\nTo prepare your site for localised searches, you\'re going to need to reference your location in strategic areas around your website. From page title and META tags to in-body headings and general paragraphs, it\'s important to remember your geographical location when you\'re writing your web copy.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Consider a localised domain name</h3>\r\nMore for startups and unestablished sites, choosing a localised domain name can instantly help to connect local consumers with your business. For instance, for those in the UK, consider a .co.uk or .uk domain name. Narrowing this further Wales has .wales and .cymru, Scotland has .scot, and Ireland has the .ie domain. Believe it or not, this can be taken even further if you live in a large city like London, with the domain .london available to register. All of these options can help you resonate with the local community and are search signals to Google about the audience your website is targeting.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Find local business directories</h3>\r\nBusiness directories litter the internet with many unworthy of the time and effort to create a listing; there are, however, exceptions to every rule. Take the time to search for directories local to your geographic area, so, for instance, here at Actuate, we would search for terms including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Chester Link Directory</li>\r\n 	<li>Cheshire Link Directory</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nAdd the resulting links to a simple spreadsheet, one per row. Once you have a list of possible local directories, use a tool such as <a href=\"https://analytics.moz.com/pro/linkexplorer/home\">Moz\'s Link Explorer</a> to check the domain authority of each link. Simply create an account on Moz, and search for each domain using their Link Explorer tool, finally making a note of the Domain Authority score in your spreadsheet. Anything over 50 is considered good, and a score of 60+ is considered excellent. Take the time to manually submit your website to these sites and ignore the rest... simple! Much like using a localised domain, these links will provide Google with strong ranking signals about the target area of your site.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Build up your reviews</h3>\r\nReferencing point 1 above, we mentioned that Google My Business gives you the ability to collect reviews for your business listing. Talk to your best customers and see if they are willing to write a genuine and honest review for your company on Google to help you attract more clicks to your website. The process will take just a few minutes, but the rewards once you gather several reviews can be hugely beneficial.','Getting to grips with local SEO','','inherit','closed','closed','','2036-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:26:05','2026-02-15 13:26:05','',2036,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8525',0,'revision','',0),(8526,1,'2026-02-15 13:26:55','2026-02-15 13:26:55','<h2>Black Friday, Cyber Monday, deep discounts and the new normal for holiday shopping!</h2>\r\nOriginating from the USA, Black Friday has quickly taken hold around the world, and the UK isn\'t any exception. Driven by the urge to compete with sales giants such as Amazon, UK retailers have mostly embraced the Black Friday tradition, which continues to grow in popularity and length each year.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, although the popularity of Black Friday has grown, many small and medium retailers fail to prepare, with last-minute offers hastily thrown together in a bid to cash in on the popularity of this massive annual event.\r\n\r\nWith Black Friday sales dominated by large corporations such as Amazon, it\'s crucial to\r\n\r\nprepare your offers and sales strategy in advance. Don\'t rely on 10% off you worst- performing product, a social media post and slapdash banner if you want to draw in the shoppers this year. It\'s time to start planning for Black Friday now to see the most significant rewards from what has become the largest shopping day in the UK, if not the world.\r\n<blockquote>In 2018, the average spend per person during Black Friday in the UK was £346</blockquote>\r\nSo where do you start when it comes to planning for this year\'s Black Friday sales event? We\'ve put together a handy guide to get you off to a flying start.\r\n<h3>Choose a mix of popular and less popular products</h3>\r\nIt\'s always tempting to discount stock that has been sitting in your warehouse for the past 12 months gathering dust, after all, if you can get rid of it then you have more space to bring in popular new lines. The problem with this mentality is that unless you offer serious discounts of 50% or more, an unpopular product will remain an unpopular product. Try to reach a balance and choose several popular products and several less popular products, this way you\'re guaranteed to have items people will want. Plus if they choose to purchase one of the more popular products, they are then more likely to take advantage of a deal on one of the lesser popular items as well.\r\n<h3>Try to offer free delivery</h3>\r\nThere\'s nothing more annoying than finding an absolute bargain online, only to find that shipping costs more than the item itself. 70% of consumers say the top reason for choosing one brand over another when shopping online is free delivery, so try and tap into this market by offering free delivery yourself. If you really can\'t offer free delivery on all orders, consider trialling a free delivery threshold, where consumers spending a certain amount receive free delivery and promote it everywhere.\r\n<h3>Have a variety of offer types</h3>\r\nIf your eCommerce system allows, opt for a healthy variety of offer types. From money off (both fixed and percentage-based) to buy one get one free and even multi-saves, having a variety of offer types can add fun to your Black Friday sales event. Just think of your local discount supermarket and the weekly offers they promote, it\'s all about variety.\r\n<h3>Prepare marketing material in advance</h3>\r\nSadly unless you\'re one of the large e-tailers, very few people will stumble across your Black Friday deals. You need to push and promote to drive visitors and sales in your online shop.\r\n\r\nBut where do you start? The answer surprisingly is simple. Statistics show that if a consumer has previously purchased from your company, there is at least a 60% chance that the same consumer will make at least one further purchase. Use this to your advantage and prepare digital marketing material for your current customer base, including:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>An email newsletter (two or three if possible)</li>\r\n 	<li>Social media posts (both counting down to Black Friday and during Black Friday)</li>\r\n 	<li>Banners to upsell directly on your checkout pages</li>\r\n 	<li>Blog and news posts</li>\r\n 	<li>SMS messages</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Plan to exceed expectations</h3>\r\nPreparing for Black Friday is a constant process, and even when dispatching orders, you can help encourage repeat custom for the next Black Friday event 12 months down the line. Imagine placing a free gift into the box of every Black Friday order you dispatch; it doesn\'t have to be much, even a simple chocolate to say thank you for your order. Little touches can have a lasting effect, social followers and interaction will build, reviews if you collect them will increase, and you may find the same customer returns 12 months later, if not before to place further orders. If you can differentiate yourself from the competition and exceed customer expectations, you\'ll go from strength to strength. This same advice also applies to delivery speed. Aim to dispatch orders in a timely fashion, and you\'ll be surprised how quickly you start to see the benefits.','Preparing for Black Friday','','inherit','closed','closed','','2025-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:26:55','2026-02-15 13:26:55','',2025,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8526',0,'revision','',0),(8527,1,'2026-02-15 13:34:19','2026-02-15 13:34:19','<h2>8 Reasons why digital prototyping is good</h2>\r\nIf you\'re developing any sort of product, then you might find that building a prototype is among the most expensive and time consuming parts of the process – after all, you\'re building a unique item from scratch – and if you\'ve missed something along the way. Fortunately, technology has handed us a means of sidestepping these problems – digital prototyping. Let\'s examine some of the benefits digital prototyping might\r\nyield.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Money</h3>\r\nFirst and foremost in the mind of many manufacturers will be the cost associated with prototyping a product. Digital prototyping helps to minimise the actual building of things – which in turn reduces both the labour required during the process, and the materials.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Time</h3>\r\nLikewise, digital prototyping will help to ensure that this stage of production is as short as possible. This helps to keep the product development cycle short, which allows manufacturers to be more agile when it comes to getting those products to market.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Compatibility</h3>\r\nThe pen-and-paper designs of the past are still terribly useful in many respects, but they lack the ability to be easily manipulated. A digital prototype can be tweaked ad infinitum, and multiple versions of it can sit in storage, to be worked on using a range of different devices.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Efficiency</h3>\r\nSince digital prototyping can be conducted more quickly, it follows that the prototyping stage of production can be a great deal more thorough. The result is products that are superior to those which has to deal with the creaking unwieldiness of a traditional project.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Accuracy</h3>\r\nA modern digital prototype can be created to extremely fine tolerances – far tighter than those we might find in the real world. This allows us to accurately model how a real production version of the device in question might function – without going to the trouble of actually building it.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Collaboration</h3>\r\nIn a modern manufacturer, it\'s likely that an entire design team will be working together on a single prototype. Being able to all work on the same data simultaneously is therefore invaluable – and a good digital prototyping package will afford exactly this luxury.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Testing</h3>\r\nOne of the most important functions of the prototyping phase is to ensure that the product works as it\'s supposed to, and that any initial flaws are ironed out before the product goes into production. Since digital prototyping is quicker, it follows that we can get more tests in before this stage of production is abandoned.\r\n<h3 class=\"list-heading\">Attainable</h3>\r\nOf course, there\'s a reason that digital prototyping has thus far been the sole preserve of larger businesses – the software and the expertise necessary to work it are difficult to implement on smaller scales. But this is steadily changing, with digital prototyping technology becoming ever more accessible – even at the smaller end of the spectrum.','8 Reasons why digital prototyping is good','','inherit','closed','closed','','802-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:34:19','2026-02-15 13:34:19','',802,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8527',0,'revision','',0),(8528,1,'2026-02-15 13:35:01','2026-02-15 13:35:01','<h2>How a Poorly Managed Data Feed Affects Your Sales</h2>\r\nClearly, there are a number of issues that could affect your sales but have you ever looked into the effect that poorly managed data could be having on your figures? The truth is that this is one of the big factors that many companies fail to take fully into account.\r\n\r\nSo, if you want to boost your sales then there are a few important points to take into account. This should begin by fully understanding what a data feed is and how you should be looking to use it to good effect.\r\n<h3>What Is a Data Feed?</h3>\r\nTo put it simply, a data feed is a file that gives you a range of information that relates to your sales. This could include useful details such as product name and information, sales prices and quantity of sales.\r\n\r\nTypically, this information can then be imported into a database and filtered or manipulated as needed. It should be in a format that can be read and interpreted very easily, even by someone with no specialist knowledge or IT skills.\r\n\r\nA high quality data feed can be used to help you boost your conversion rate and ROI. However, the following points are some of the areas in which businesses sometimes go wrong when reading this data.\r\n<h3>Getting the Wrong Data</h3>\r\nA set of data that doesn’t have the right type of information on it can be even worse that not having a data feed at all. Just imagine the chaos that it could cause if the data you receive gives you completely the wrong impression of how you are doing.\r\n\r\nThis means that it is vital that your reports contain the information that you most need and is completely accurate as well. Therefore, a good starting point is to consider what you would most like to see on here.\r\n\r\nBy getting this right at the outset you will feel comfortable that you are getting fed the information that is likely to be most valuable to you. However, don’t rule out the possibility of your needs changing over time and your data feed having to change with them.\r\n<h3>Not Reviewing the Data Regularly</h3>\r\nEven if the data that you receive is comprehensive and relevant, it won’t count for much if you don’t review it regularly. After all, things can move very quickly in the world of online sales and you don’t want to fall behind your rivals.\r\n\r\nIf your number of sales plummets or your cost per sale rises then this is something that you need to know about right away. Even just a few days of poor sales or rising costs that you don’t analyse well could turn out to be very costly in the long run.\r\n\r\nOf course, it can be tempting to leave this kind of report for later on. However, it is good to get into the habit of checking it regularly and then acting on it swiftly.\r\n<h3>Not Acting On It</h3>\r\nIt is entirely possible that someone in the company reads the data feed regularly but doesn’t ever act on it in the right way. How is that possible and how can you avoid it happening in the future?\r\n\r\nWell, perhaps the biggest possibility is that the person who reviews the data feed doesn’t have the skills, experience or authority to do anything significant with it. It could be that they automatically check this report every day but without really fully understanding what they should be looking for on it.\r\n\r\nTherefore, it makes sense to put in place a process for acting on your sales data feed once it has been reviewed. This process should make it clear exactly what needs to be done whenever certain issues are flagged up.\r\n<h3>Missing the Chance to Spot Trends</h3>\r\nIt is also important to remember that looking at each day in isolation isn’t the best approach with your data feeds. If you work in this way then you run the risk of missing out on trends that could prove to be very important for your future business.\r\n\r\nIn this way, it is far better to look for trends that are only apparent through comparing a few days or weeks’ worth of data together. These trends may sometimes be fairly obvious but at other times you may need to look hard to find them.\r\n\r\nOf course, there are both good and bad trends to look out for. It isn’t just about looking for bad news, as you may find positive news that you can use to your benefit from now on too.','How a Poorly Managed Data Feed Affects Your Sales','','inherit','closed','closed','','814-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:35:01','2026-02-15 13:35:01','',814,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8528',0,'revision','',0),(8529,1,'2026-02-15 13:35:30','2026-02-15 13:35:30','<h2>How will social shopping shape 2017?</h2>\r\n2016 was a year in which marketing over social media came of age. With a greater proportion of shoppers in the UK now connected to social networks, it’s imperative that retailers take advantage of this considerable chunk of the market. In 2017, this looks to become still more so.\r\n\r\nSocial shopping affords customers the chance to share their retail experience with their peers, and fulfils a fundamental human desire for validation. In many respects, social shopping aims to ape the rewarding nature of walking into a real store with some friends and making a purchase.\r\n\r\nLet’s take a look at some of the ways in which the trend might gain additional traction in 2017\r\n<h3>Decision reassurance</h3>\r\nWhen millennial shoppers make purchases online, they’re often informed by their interactions with other customers. And this is also true, albeit to a lesser extent, of older customers. If you’re going to buy a new monitor for a computer, for example, you might visit forums and YouTube videos populated by experts and enthusiasts, and effectively collaborate with them on the purchasing decision.\r\n\r\nSocial shopping takes this collaboration to the next level; by browsing a product feed curated specifically for you, you’ll be sure that the items you’re considering are popular with other users. This helps to reduce the likelihood that you’re unwittingly taking a leap into the dark with an unproven product.\r\n<h3>Integration</h3>\r\nWith social networks now an integral part of our daily routine, they’re familiar and trusted. This familiarity fosters trust which can make the difference when it comes to conversions. What’s more, rather than simply including a link to the shop, where the user will be forced to go to the trouble of filling a basket and entering addressing details, social shopping allows users to get to the checkout directly from their feed. Facebook’s implementation of a ‘buy’ button allows users to make an impulse purchase in a matter of moments. Instagram has now also recently launched shopping functionality into their application, which yields much the same benefit.\r\n<h3>Interaction</h3>\r\nOne of the cardinal virtues of a presence on social media is that it allows users to quickly interact with other customers and sales reps. This offers online shops a means of connecting directly with their customers, and thus influencing how a customer might feel about the brand. The influence on a purchasing decision exerted by a person’s emotions is often extremely underrated, and savvy branding in 2017 will undoubtedly seek to make products part of a lifestyle. A great example of this sort of success was Coca-cola’s #ShareaCoke campaign of a few years back, which saw millions of people share a picture of a bottle of coke with their name on it – providing the company with enormous amounts of priceless marketing, at zero cost. Smaller campaigns of this sort are undoubtedly what will help push social shopping forward in 2017.','How will social shopping shape 2017?','','inherit','closed','closed','','5615-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:35:30','2026-02-15 13:35:30','',5615,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8529',0,'revision','',0),(8530,1,'2026-02-15 13:35:58','2026-02-15 13:35:58','<h2>Using personalisation to boost conversion rates</h2>\r\nThe modern online shopper has long expected certain minimum requirements from their e-retailers of choice. The opportunity to find and purchase their goods quickly, browse in an intuitive and user-friendly way, and select from a range of delivery options, have been considered minimum requirements for a while now.\r\n\r\nBut technology has now moved to the point where retailers, and the marketers they work beside, are able to offer a more bespoke experience, tailored to the precise needs of the customer. The more data collected about the shopping habits of the person in question, the more precise such marketing is capable of being.\r\n<h3>How effective is personalisation?</h3>\r\nIt’s widely, and understandably, assumed that a personal approach is more persuasive. But to what extent is this true, and are there any limits on the effect? According to last year’s <a href=\"https://econsultancy.com/reports/conversion-rate-optimization-report/\">Conversion Rate Optimisation Report from Econsultancy</a>, just under a third of the companies surveyed report a ‘major uplift’ in conversion rates after implementing a personalisation programme. When we extend the figure to include companies who’ve experienced any kind of improvement at all, the figure rises to 90%\r\n\r\nOf course, it’s worth attaching a few cautionary notes to these findings – they rely on self-reporting of data that’s not easily quantified – we can’t, after all, easily tell what proportion of the conversion rate improvement came as a result of the more personal approach. Given the trend of the data, however, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that personalisation is effective.\r\n<h3>Why is personalisation effective?</h3>\r\nIn the not-too-distant past, the extent of personalisation in online marketing was such that conversational phrases like ‘welcome back’ was considered cutting-edge. Now, the rapport between an engaged customer and an effective website is far more nuanced, largely because the latter knows so much more about the former. Armed with this knowledge, gleaned from mining data about the customer’s habits and online behaviour, a far more targeted approach is possible.\r\n\r\nSo, if a customer has displayed an interest in books by a certain author, or electric guitars, or outdoor hot-tubs, then presenting them with marketing material about those specific sorts of items is going to be far more effective than offering a more general catalogue.\r\n\r\nPurchases of this sort will also serve to improve customer retention, as personalised offers are among the strongest drivers of repeat purchases. By building a familiarity between your customers and your website, you’ll make yourself the first port of call in the future.\r\n\r\nBy providing content that predicts what a customer might want, rather than reacting to their demands, you’ll be able to provide them with a beacon of clarity in a stormy sea of content. Consequently, effective personalisation should be seen as a priority for anyone looking to sell just about anything.','Using personalisation to boost conversion rates','','inherit','closed','closed','','5617-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:35:58','2026-02-15 13:35:58','',5617,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8530',0,'revision','',0),(8531,1,'2026-02-15 13:37:03','2026-02-15 13:37:03','<h2>Why Google Shopping Ads Convert Better Than Text Ads and Deliver Better ROI</h2>\r\nIf you are looking to get a terrific ROI with your online ads then you may be wondering which approach will give you the best results.\r\n\r\nAmong the best current options is the Google Shopping service. In fact, there are a number of powerful reasons for believing that this could be a far better method for you than traditional text ads.\r\n<h3>Matches Specific Shopping Search Enquiries</h3>\r\nOf course, you already know that there are plenty of people looking online for what you sell at any given time. Therefore, the key is in finding a way to match your offers to specific search enquiries, which is exactly what Google Shopping does.\r\n\r\nIn this way, you can help your potential customers to find exactly what they want at the time they are looking for it. You can also get a high level of control over when and where your ads appear, to help you to squeeze the maximum benefit out of them.\r\n\r\nYou only get charged for advertising when someone clicks on one of your ads and gets sent to your website for more details on your offers. In addition, the fact that Google Shopping works on mobile devices as well as desktops means that you can reach out to people who are shopping on the move as well as those who do it at home or at work.\r\n<h3> A More Focused Approach</h3>\r\nIt is easy to get a highly structured approach to your Google Shopping listings. You get started by putting all of your product inventory onto AdWords and then working out the different product groups and categories that you want to use.\r\n\r\nIn this way, you get a better level of control over how you show off your products to potentially interested customers. This control extends to the custom labels and campaign priorities that you can also take advantage of.\r\n\r\nIf you have certain special offers that you want to let people know about, then this is a fantastic way of doing so. By focusing on the special deals that you have on the go you can try and steal a march on your rivals by directing shoppers straight to your site as soon as they start looking.\r\n<h3>Excellent Reporting</h3>\r\nWith any type of marketing campaign, it is vital that you can rely upon reports that show you how well you are achieving your targets. The good news in this respect is that Google Shopping gives you excellent reporting ability.\r\n\r\nInterestingly, the performance data that you receive is linked to the individual items rather than groups. This means that you can filter all of the details by product for a far greater level of control.\r\n\r\nIn terms of your ROI, this means that you can take charge of exactly how much you spend and how well it is used. If one of your products is giving far better results than the others, then the reporting tools will let you see all of the details in an easy-to-read way.\r\n<h3>Check Out the Competition</h3>\r\nA powerful benefit of using this type of online advertising is that it gives you a very useful look at what the competition is doing. For example, you can see the average CTR and max CPC estimates for your competitors before making your own decisions.\r\n\r\nIt is worth pointing out that the data you see is anonymous, so you can’t see which exact companies it relates to. However, it is still a fine way of getting a feel for the market before you go ahead with your own campaigns.\r\n\r\nWhether you are new to the market or not, it is always great to see what your rivals are up to and how successful they are right now.\r\n<h3>Overall Summary</h3>\r\nBy using Google Shopping wisely, you can make sure that your products are more visible on the internet to those people who are currently interested in them. This should allow you to get higher quality leads, more site traffic and a better click-through rate too.\r\n\r\nOf course, the overall result should be that you make your advertising budget work far harder for you. Once you given this method a try you are likely to find a great way of getting a better ROI while staying completely in control of your budget and advertising tasks.\r\n\r\nIt is also extremely easy to get started with. This is particularly true if you have an AdWords account just now and want to make the switch to a smarter way of advertising online from now on.','Why Google Shopping Ads Convert Better Than Text Ads and Deliver Better ROI','','inherit','closed','closed','','5619-revision-v1','','','2026-02-15 13:37:03','2026-02-15 13:37:03','',5619,'https://actuate.webpreview.co/?p=8531',0,'revision','',0),