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Is WordPress Really the Best Option for Your E-Commerce Store?
07 Dec

WordPress? But isn’t that for blogs?

Yes, you’re very astute. But WordPress has also evolved far beyond blogging into an e-commerce giant in the running with the likes of Shopify and Magento.

Actually, it’s not only in the running, it’s leading the pack.

There are plenty of reasons why WordPress alone makes a great platform for a traditional website, but for e-commerce in particular it’s a fantastic option, and one that we wholeheartedly recommend.

Here’s why.

Download this comparison chart to help you compare each platform faster.
Click Here

WooCommerce, The Undisputed Champ

There can only be one Rocky Balboa, so to speak, and it’s WooCommerce.

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WooCommerce is WordPress’ most robust plugin, turning your average site into an e-commerce masterpiece. And like the Rocky movies (okay, the first few, but definitely not the last one), it’s a knockout in terms of popularity.

WooCommerce holds a staggering 41% market share of all e-commerce sites.

marketsharewoocommerce
Chances are that WooCommerce is already running some your favorite online stores. But it’s popularity isn’t the only reason we think WordPress/WooCommerce is a better choice.

In fact, we can give you five more reasons why it kicks ass over its competitors. (Go ahead and play “Eye of the Tiger” if you must).

1. It’s Fully Customizable

Don’t get us wrong, platforms like Shopify have a great pitch – they’re all inclusive so you don’t have to find a host and figure out how to install anything; it’s a one-click setup.

For someone that doesn’t much care about programming or fiddling with the fine details of their site’s backend, that’s probably enough. After all, Shopify will certainly get the job done.

But what it can’t do is customization, at least not to the degree that WordPress can.

You can tweak nearly every aspect of your site’s design. Currently there are around 39 different WooCommerce enabled themes (many of which are free) that will help newbie designers rock a killer look. But even if you know what you’re doing, you have plenty of room to work your coding magic.

WordPress and WooCommerce are completely open source, too, which is pretty much any programmer’s dream.

While Magento is a close second when it comes to customization, adding extensions and customization is much more difficult than WooCommerce, and its steep learning curve may be a challenge for those with no coding experience.

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2. It’s Free

Aside from hosting, you don’t really have to pay for anything if you don’t want to. WordPress is free to set up and WooCommerce is free to download (though you may still need to purchase license upgrades, extensions, and updates as necessary).

This makes it the perfect solution for e-commerce startups that are trying to grow their business from scratch. You don’t have to invest hundreds or thousands of dollars to launch a really good looking website.

Comparatively, Shopify has relatively affordable plans depending on your needs (starting at $9/month), which makes it a runner up for those looking to save money. Magento, on the other hand, is a bit pricey.

Some of Magento’s extensions can cost as much as $1,000 to purchase and you’ll probably need a special developer to add them.

WooCommerce comes with some fairly robust features out of the box and has less of a learning curve for newbies, and all together it’s still the cheapest of the bunch.

It will also evolve with you relatively organically, meaning that you don’t have to abandon it as you grow, which can save you money in the long run too.

3. It Plays Well With Others

WooCommerce doesn’t just have flexibility in the design department; it’s also robust when it comes to e-commerce functionality and integrations.

It currently supports integration with just about any service provider, but some of the biggest integrations include Zapier, Taxamo, and Xero.

Zapier alone will bring nearly any third-party app into your site, giving youevery bit of functionality you could ever want or need. Automation alone will save you time and energy running your store.

You can set up zaps to do everything from send emails, create purchase orders, send reports, and notify team members of various tasks.

 

woocommerce-zapier-integration-650
Shopify also has integrations, though they’re mostly limited to MailChimp, QuickBooks, and other e-commerce apps like Fulfillrite and itDuzzit.

Magento also supports integrations through Magento Connect, but they’re not nearly as robust as WooCommerce and they may require some expert skill to set up.

4. It’s Blogger Friendly

Yes, selling products is a big part of e-commerce, but we know that content marketing is also a big deal for many online shops. Blogging can draw visitors to your store that may have never found it otherwise, and let’s face it: anyone who’s anyone has a blog these days.

But maybe you’re primarily a blog that wants to sell merchandise alongside your content without having to set up a completely different site for your store. Well, you can have both with WordPress.

While sites like Magento and Shopify have the ability to blog, WordPress was designed with the blog in mind. Zo whether you want to run a blog with a store or a store with a blog, it will give you total control over your content delivery.

5. It’s Super Helpful

Whether you’re new to e-commerce or you’ve been operating a store for a while now, you’re far more likely to find help when you need it with WordPress.

While it’s not necessarily a one or two click setup like Shopify, the documentation, tips, tricks, and guides to setting up your store are simply unmatched by other platforms. Even if you don’t know how to code like a pro, the setup is still relatively painless (especially compared to Magento).

And you won’t have to dig around in the deepest forums of the Internet to figure out how to add or modify a product description or set up automatic email notifications – there’s a plethora of advice available to anyone who needs it, making it one of the user-friendliest options on the market.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of WooCommerce vs. Magento vs. Shopify.
Click Here

Final Thoughts

In terms of power and flexibility, WordPress is rarely matched. While there is a bevvy of other options specifically engineered for e-commerce – like Magento and Shopify – WooCommerce still holds its own, which is why we recommend it for so many business owners.

It’s particularly great for those who are new to e-commerce or who are looking to build a quick but powerful online store. But it also has a dynamic range of options for medium and large e-commerce businesses as well.

And if you’re a programmer, you will be especially be delighted by the flexibility, customization, and knockout power that WordPress gives you over its competitors. Just don’t let Ivan Drago hear about it.

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7 E-Commerce Insight Tools Compared
23 Nov

Coke or Pepsi?

Google or Apple?

Kissmetrics or Mixpanel?

Okay, maybe you’re not as familiar with the last two, but you should be – especially if you run an e-commerce business.

See, the only way to make sure that your website is performing well is to track your analytics. You need to know how well your sales funnel is doing, whether people are buying certain products over others, and how many people are visiting your site on a regular basis.

All these metrics are important, so you need the best insight tools to provide you with that data. If you’re looking for the cream of the crop, however, there are three big insight tools that currently hold a lion’s share of the market: Google Analytics, Kissmetrics, and Mixpanel.

There are three big insight tools that currently hold a lion’s share of the market.

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If you’re looking to gather more marketing data for your site, consider this an honest-to-goodness overview of the biggest contenders. But just so we don’t play favorites, we’re also including four more insight tools you might not want to overlook.

Check out this quiz for more info: What Insight Tool Best Fits My Needs?
Click Here

Google Analytics vs. Kissmetrics vs. Mixpanel

Here’s a general breakdown of the three titans of analytics. In case you’re thinking that they all do the same thing, know that while they all will give you valuable insight into how your website functions, each has it’s own specialty that may benefit certain businesses more than others. Let’s take a look.

new-google-analytics-dashboard-example

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is probably the most well-known solution, and thanks to its popularity there are plenty of guides out there that can turn any greenhorn into an analytics expert. It’s also easily integrated with many different e-commerce platforms, including WooCommerce.

The biggest plus for Google Analytics is its ability to measure traffic. If one of the focuses of your marketing strategy is to bring unique visitors to your page, this is a great tool for tracking that information. It’s also fairly easy to setup, and you can start pulling data right away.

Google Analytics can also measure funnels, which it calls “goals”. For the uninitiated, funnels measure things like the success of your sign-up flow (how many users land on your website, how many click to sign up, how many enter their email address, etc.).

When you set up funnels, you can view data going forward only, which means that you won’t be able to view data that happened before the funnel was set up.

Some have argued that Google Analytics’ funnels are less accurate than, say, Kissmetrics, but for businesses that want a general overview for their primary funnels, it’s not a deal breaker.

The one downside is that while it has the ability to track events, the setup process can be cumbersome unless you really know what you’re doing, and again, the data may not be as robust as you need it to be depending on your goals. It does have a feature to view real-time stats, but it won’t break down the stats any further than a general counter number on your dashboard.

Best for: Analyzing Traffic
Worst for: Tracking Events
Setup – Easy
Cost – Free and Premium – Premium provides higher data limits with more custom variables

WordPress has a WooCommerce/Google Analytics integration app that you can find here.

kissmetrics

 

Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics is another highly popular and comprehensive analytic solution. While Google Analytics can be used with any business, Kissmetrics really has an edge when it comes to e-commerce.

Funnel and event tracking are strong points for Kissmetrics, both of which can help you increase customer acquisition rates and improve customer retention. It also has an advantage when it comes to building intuitive reports. Kissmetrics is more funnel-focused, allowing you to edit and tweak funnels much easier than other tools.

Unlike Google Analytics, Kissmetrics funnels can retrieve historical data. For example, you can set up a sign-up funnel and then view how it’s been performing over previous months.

Kissmetrics also has a feature that many other insight tools like Mixpanel lack: The ability to show retention from a first time event to a repeat of that event.

Say, for example, that a customer clicks on a certain product page, but decides not to buy it in that moment. If they come back to your site and click on that page again, you’ll be able to track that event.

KISSmetrics lets you add a parameter in your URL (i.e. “http://yoursite.com/yourpage?kme=Track+This+Event”) and then automatically logs it without any additional Javascript code. This is very helpful to track clicks on links for example and is not currently support in Mixpanel.

The only downside is that it’s not necessarily for newbies. While someone who doesn’t know much about analytics or, say, JavaScript, can still navigate around Kissmetrics with relative ease, the more advanced functions – like event tracking – may come with a steeper learning curve.

Best for: Measuring Funnels
Worst for: Analyzing Traffic
Setup – Moderate
Cost – Multi-tiered pricing starting at $29/month

WooCommerce has step by step instructions for integrating with Kissmetrics here.

mixpanel

 

Mixpanel

Mixpanel is similar to Kissmetrics in many ways, but Mixpanel is a step up in terms of being developer-friendly. In other words, you will probably get the same if not more functionality out of Mixpanel than Kissmetrics, but you have to know what you’re doing.

A few upsides to Mixpanel that make it a good alternative to the above include real-time analytics and opportunities for things like running your own front-end analytics. This can be very practical for de-bugging and catching errors as they happen, especially for new, buggy products.

In addition to event tracking, Mixpanel also lets you to segment your retention reports by additional properties, giving you more detailed data should you need it.

The downside is that some developers claim that the process to measure funnels isn’t as good as Kissmetrics or other similar insight tools. Mixpanel does support chronological funnels similar to Google Analytics. However, Celso Pinto, Founder and CEO of SimpleTax, wrote an article about why Mixpanel is still a better option over Kissmetrics for some developers.

Best for: Tracking Events
Worst for: Measuring Funnels
Setup – Difficult
Cost – Free and Multi-tiered pricing starting at $99/month

WooCommerce has step by step instructions for integrating with Mixpanel here.

WordPressIntegrations also has an infographic with comparisons between Google Analytics, Kissmetrics and Mixpanel with a breakdown of page authority, social metrics, and other metrics.

Other Insight Tools to Consider

Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about some other options available. Here are four great alternatives if you’re not really sure you want to buy into the three listed above.

RetentionGrid

RetentionGrid is frequently mentioned in the same space as Kissmetrics, and for good reason. It’s an app that provides similar data reports in easy to understand, color-coded graphs. It also provides suggestions to help with marketing strategies based on that data, which makes it a good solution for those who want some of the main features of Kissmetrics but don’t have a lot of experience as a developer. They also have the option of running abandoned cart campaigns (as well as other campaigns), which can come in handy for businesses that struggle with retention.

While they were originally created for BigCommerce, they also have an open API that is compatible with WooCommerce.

Best for: Measuring Funnels/Campaigns
Worst for: Tracking Events
Setup – Easy
Cost – Free to download

Clicky

Clicky is another real-time analytics tool similar to Mixpanel, only far more user-friendly. No matter how experienced you are, you’ll be able to navigate the dashboard with relative ease. It’s a great option for those who still want detailed analytics without the stress of complicated setup.

Best for: Analyzing Traffic
Worst for: Measuring Funnels
Setup – Easy
Cost – Free and Multi-tiered pricing starting at $9.99/month

Adobe Marketing Cloud

Adobe Marketing Cloud is another powerful analytical tool often used by large e-commerce stores. The only reason it’s not included in the top three is that it takes a significant amount of knowledge to setup and use properly. While it’s perhaps one of the best out there in terms of analytics, it’s also not for the faint of heart. Adobe Marketing Cloud consist of six solutions.

  • Adobe Analytics
  • Adobe Campaign
  • Adobe Experience Manager
  • Adobe Media Optimizer
  • Adobe Social
  • Adobe Target

You can run campaigns, track events, create content to targeted audiences, and much more, The only other downside is that it’s expensive, as each solution comes with its own individual pricing. So if you want all the benefits of the cloud, you’ll need to lay down some serious dough.

Best for: Analyzing Traffic
Worst for: Cost savings
Setup – Difficult
Cost – Single subscriptions start at $99/month

Crazy Egg

Like Google Analytics, Crazy Egg isn’t necessarily an analytics tool targeted to e-commerce, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great option. It offers equally comprehensive and user-friendly graphs, including heat maps that can tell you which areas of your website to focus on (or alternatively, which are being ignored).

Best for: Tracking Events
Worst for: Measuring Funnels
Setup – Easy
Cost – Multi-tiered pricing starting at $9/month

Still not sure what to pick? Take our Insight Tool Quiz to help you decide.
Click Here

Final Thoughts

There are a couple things to keep in mind when selecting an analytics tool.

Make sure that you know how much data you actually need to collect. While having detailed funnel graphs and traffic reports can be good if you know what you’re doing, you may not need all that fancy information. Don’t pay extra for features you’re not going to use because you don’t need them (or you don’t know how to use them).

Finally, if you’ve committed to an analytic solution but you don’t know how to use all the features to their best ability, find someone who can either teach you how to use them (or read the data) or find someone whose job it is to put that data into practice.

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Bundle WooCommerce Products for All Your Greedy Shoppers
09 Nov

Do you want to increase profits and improve customer satisfaction?

Silly question, we know. But the reason we ask is that many ecommerce stores often overlook a simple competitive pricing strategy that could easily incentivize more purchases, they just never do it.

It’s called bundling, and if you’re not already doing it, you should be. Here’s why.


Here are 5 tips for pricing your bundled products.
Click Here

The Power of Bundling

Bundling is exactly what it sounds like: Combining similar products together into one kick-ass product.

The reason bundling is so appealing from a consumer perspective is that customers are inherently greedy. They want the most value for the least amount of money, which bundling gives them.

product_bundling
They’re essentially receiving way more value for their single purchases than they would by buying each product individually, and they usually save a bit of money in the process. They also don’t have to waste time searching for other products that they may need, which means they’re more likely to return to your store to find what they’re looking for in the future.

Bundling is great because you’re making more money on the total value of the order.

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From a business perspective, bundling is great because you’re making more money on the total value of the order. Sure, you may lose some margin here if you’re offering an extreme discount, but you also have the potential of selling more products.

But how exactly do you bundle? Maybe your products don’t readily lend themselves to bundling, or you’re not exactly sure which products to combine with others. Well, take a deep breath.

There are several ways you can approach it.

Bundling Techniques to Try

If one bundling strategy won’t work for your products, chances are that another will. Here are a few options you can try to maximize your earning potential.

Pure Bundling

Pure bundling is where you offer certain products that are only available in a bundle. Customers either won’t be able to find them separately, or wouldn’t necessarily need or want to purchase them separately.

purebundle
A real life example of this would be cable providers bundling their channels together, or how Adobe or Microsoft bundle their software services together in one suite. The plus side is that customers purchase products they would otherwise never consider.

If you have several products that work really well together (or really don’t work well without each other), consider packaging them together as one offering. You can even use subscription pricing with pure-bundled products, like how Microsoft Office 365 uses a month-to-month subscription.

Mixed Bundling

Mixed bundling is similar to pure bundling except customers can also purchase the products individually. This is probably the most popular type of bundling out there, and for good reason. Mixed bundling gives customers the option to purchase products individually, so even if they can’t decide on your bundle, you’re still more likely to make a sale.

The goal here is to:

  • Choose products that are already best sellers, so you can charge a special price to package them together
  • Choose products that are okay sellers individually, but would be a better deal for the customer if sold together
  • Choose one product that sells well and another that doesn’t sell well, so that you can sell more of both products

The nice thing about mixed bundling is that shoppers often can’t resist a great deal. If they’re already paying for something they want, and they get a little something extra along with it, they’re more than happy to spend a few extra dollars.

Cross-Sell Bundling

If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon, you’ve seen an example of cross-sell bundling. They usually have a section on each product page with items that are “Frequently Purchased Together” featuring the original product along with other recommended products.

crosssellbundle
This can work well for many online shops depending on what you sell. But, even if you don’t necessarily have products that are “frequently purchased together,” you can use data and analytics to bundle products that could be purchased together.

By analyzing customer data and tracking product performance, you can create “recommendations” based on other products you think would benefit the customer. You can also create groups of users who may be more interested than others in purchasing your bundle, and target them specifically.

If you have two or more products that could benefit from being used together, or you have products that could benefit a single user group, consider cross-promoting them as a bundled offering.

Bundling in WooCommerce

The good news for WooCommerce users is that they offer a variety of bundling options like:

  • Product Bundles – Where you can create combos of bundled products
  • Chained Products – Where you can gift other products to customers when they make a purchase
  • Forced Sells – Where you can required certain items to be bundled, like a service and a part, for example
  • Grouped Products – Where customers can directly add items to their cart from a range of products
  • Mix and Match Products – Where you can bundle up products based on customer preference, like picking the different fruit they want in a fruit basket, for example
  • Composite Products – Where customers can select between different, compatible product alternatives and adjust quantities as needed

WooCommerce also has documentation, tips, and additional tricks for helping you bundle your products together here. (Of course, if you need more help with specific bundling advice, we’re always available to help.)

Other Considerations

If and when you’re ready to start bundling, there are a few other details you may want to keep in mind.

Focus on customer experience. As much as possible, tailor the experience to your customer’s needs and wants. Give them options to customize, add, remove, or edit products from your base bundles if possible. This will make the buying process more satisfying overall.

Mitigate decision exhaustion. Customers are a fickle bunch, and while they love choices, they don’t want to be overwhelmed by a million options all at once. So even though they want the ability to customize their bundles, you shouldn’t necessarily provide them with every option out there.

Make sure you direct customers toward choices you think would be beneficial, and eliminate anything that would confuse them or otherwise keep them from buying the bundle outright. The best way to do this is by recommending bundled options. You get the benefit of eliminating decision-making from customers while also being seen as the “authority” on what products go best together.

Use customer feedback to drive confidence. It’s important to let the customer drive his or her own experience. You certainly don’t want to force them to purchase a bundle if they don’t want to (that’s why mixed bundling is more popular than pure bundling).

You can also use customer feedback to help with this while first starting out. If your bundling endeavor is a success, you can also use feedback to help drive confidence for other customers considering purchasing bundled items.

Get advice on pricing your bundles with these 5 tips.
Click Here

Final Thoughts

Bundling can be a great solution to improve your bottom line while giving something of value to your customers.

Remember that not all of your products need to be bundled together, but if you have some products that you believe really should be purchased together, offer them as a bundle at a competitive price. (This also works for products that aren’t selling as well as they should.)

You can choose from any type of bundling to fit you and your customer’s needs, just remember to get feedback during the process to see what works and what doesn’t work. Use that feedback to create better bundles and to boost confidence for customers looking for a good deal.

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These Words Will Make Any Developer Your BFF
26 Oct

Whether you’re trying to get the most out of your in-house team or you’ve decided to hire out to a third-party developer, getting the most out of your relationship is essential to completing your projects successfully.

And a big part of that success is about communication. Namely, what you say (or don’t say) to them can mean the difference between getting everything you want or simply getting a door slammed in your face.

So, here’s what you need to know to make every developer adore you.

See our list of 7 tips for getting the most out of your dev team.
Click Here

Do’s and Don’ts for Communication

Sometimes it’s easy to assume that when you say one thing, your dev team is hearing it the way you meant it. But a lot of times, client requests – especially those from non-technical clients – get lost in translation. Here are few ways to tweak your words to make sure you’re understood.

designer-developer

DON’T say: “This isn’t what I wanted”

Here’s the best advice we can give: devs can’t read your mind.

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Here’s the best advice we can give: devs can’t read your mind, so don’t pretend they can. You have to say what you want and say it very clearly. Draw a diagram. Over explain. Don’t treat them like children, obviously, but make sure you can show exactly why you want a project developed the way you do.

Are you trying to meet a certain goal? Do you have a specific target audience you’re trying to reach? Give your devs as much information as you can up front instead of just complaining about the project halfway through. It saves both of you headaches and hassle.

Do say: “This is what I want, and here’s why…”

DON’T say: “I want you to copy this exactly”

As they say, there’s nothing new under the sun. While a lot of what you see out there on the web will follow a basic formula or template, there is some really cool, innovative stuff being created every day by devs all around the world.

If you’re hiring a dev team to build you something amazing, don’t sell yourself short by asking them to carbon copy another site. Take some inspiration, show them some examples, but then step back and give your team some room to run with it.

Do say: “Here are some examples of things I like. How close can you get to this while still being original?”

DON’T say: “Just do it how I asked you to do it”

fullstack-image
A dev’s whole job is to turn your ideas into a reality, and they’ve dedicated their lives to learning the latest technology and trends to make it happen. If you have experience as a coder, and you know the difference between Java and JavaScript and can speak the language, then you have some room to do things your way.

If, however, you’re not a dev yourself, it’s better to ask what the best solution is to get what you want. Chances are your team has some great experience or recommendations for building the site or app of your dreams.

Do say: “Here is what I would prefer. Is this the best way to build it?”

DON’T say: “Can you get this done faster?”

Everyone loves a panicked time crunch, right? Not so much. Dev teams are notorious for putting in long hours problem solving, so making more demands of their time is the fastest way to get on their grouchy side. If you have a specific timeline in mind, and it needs to be met, then find out what you can do to make the process easier on them.

Do they need your approval on projects quickly? Will they need certain files or content from you in order to move to the next step? Make sure you can keep pace with them so they can keep pace with your deadlines.

Do say: “Here is our projected timeline. What do you need from me to get this done?”

DON’T say: “Here’s my budget, make it work”

devsalary_01

Unless you’re Tim Gunn, you probably shouldn’t go around demanding that your team “make it work” if you’re not paying them to work. Your goal here is to hire the best, not the cheapest, because you do ultimately get what you pay for. If you’re on a limited budget, pick one or two projects you know that the team will do exceptionally well, and worry about upgrading the rest as you go.

Do say: “Here is what I want you to focus on, is that doable for now?”

The key to successful communication is to ask questions and be open to suggestions. There’s a level of trust that goes into working with any team. But, the more trust and freedom you give the team, the better they’ll respond (if they’re worth their salt, anyway).

What Devs Really Want You to Know

At the end of the day, devs have your best intentions at heart. If they could tell you anything about working with them, it’d probably be these things:

We really do want your project to succeed. We’re not just here to eat pizza and code. Okay, maybe some of us are, but we like accomplishing things, too.

We’re not designers. Well, sometimes we do both, but most developers just code. If you want both, make sure you ask. Don’t assume we can Photoshop you a pretty picture just because we know HTML (or vice versa).

use-software-for-web-designers-and-developers-thumb
Source: Zen Freelancing

We want to speak your language, but it can be hard. We’re technical people, and if you’re not, we’ll have to try to explain some complicated terms to you. We’re not always the best at it, but we try.

We’re on a timetable, too. We want to get things done as quickly as you do, but sometimes problems need to be solved or other pieces need to fall into place first. If we’re not getting things done fast enough, there’s probably a legitimate reason.

We want to do cool things. Building websites or apps the way everyone else does pays the bills, sure, but we really want to tackle new and exciting challenges. If you have some cool ideas, throw them our way and we’ll see what we can do.

We hate bugs. Yes, crawly bugs are pretty gross, but so are bugs in our codes – which is why we spend so much time testing and retesting. Websites and apps go through numerous tests, so keep that in mind when making your deadlines.

We don’t mind feedback. Though we should add, “As long as it’s productive.” Feedback can be very helpful, but we often deal with a lot of complexities, so we need that feedback to be as specific as possible. Instead of saying, “No, I don’t like this,” give us a detailed list.

We’re experts, so trust us. We’ve been doing this a long time, and the worst feeling in the world is to think that you’re not confident in what we do. Take a breath, sit back, relax, and trust that we’re going to build you something great.

Get 7 free tips that will make your outsourced dev team love you.
Click Here

Final Thoughts

Working with a team of devs, whether in-house or outsourced, can be a great way to implement some new, creative strategies into your business. But the last thing you want is to stress out the team trying to get things done.

Be sure to communicate as clearly (and as often) as possible. Provide feedback, give us suggestions, and show us what you like (or don’t like). Just make sure that you’re not micromanaging or expecting things to be done at lightning speed.

Give us your timeframe, set expectations, and then sit back and watch us go to work. You’ll be surprised at what we can accomplish when you give us a little room to run.

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This is When You Know It’s Time to Stop Developing In-House
12 Oct

To keep things in-house, or not to keep things in-house?

That’s the question every business owner who needs to hire a developer has asked.

While in-house dev teams can be great, they’re also not your only option. In fact, outsourcing to a third-party dev team may be a better solution not only for your time and energy, but also for the quality of your projects.

But do you really need to hire out? And will it really solve all your problems?

Well, here’s what you should know…

Here are 5 questions to ask before you decide to outsource
Click Here

Do I Need to Outsource?

business-team-850x476
Maybe “outsource” isn’t the right word, because we’re not necessarily talking about packing up your operations and shipping them overseas. What we’re really suggesting is using a third-party service to help lighten the load (though that team could be from any country… like somewhere in North America… hint hint).

Maybe you don’t feel quite ready for that, though. You might be thinking that your team isn’t that stressed, or that you’re not sure you can afford outside help quite yet.

But there are many, many benefits to hiring a dev team outside of your company. To name a few:

  • You’re building a new application and your current dev team just doesn’t have the expertise
  • You want to build something new and you already have a great dev team, but they’re swamped with other projects
  • You need to get things done faster and your deadlines aren’t being met
  • You’re trying to hire an in-house team but it’s taking longer than you thought
  • You have big problems that need solutions, and those solutions are outside your wheelhouse
  • You have concerns about the quality of your developer’s work, and you need an outside eye

Or maybe your current team is bugging you and you want to get back at them by threatening to hire out (no judgments). Either way, if any of the above situations sound familiar, you may want to consider looking into a third-party development team.

No But Really, Do I Need This?

Look, we’re not wizards who can predict the future. We can’t say with 100% certainty that third-party will help you accomplish all your goals. But we do know there are things third-party services can do for you that in-house teams simply can’t.

You’re Hiring for Experience

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You may be thinking, “Well everyone who’s anyone has their own in-house team!” But that’s not entirely true. In fact, there are several big companies out there that were built using third party dev teams, including Slack, Skype, and GitHub. Even Basecamp outsourced their dev team, and their whole company is built on being a third-party resource.

While each company has its own reasons for outsourcing, one of the biggest benefits that they have in common is the idea is that you’re hiring a ready-made team of experts who know what they’re doing.

You don’t have to spend days, weeks, months, or even years sorting through resumes trying to find the perfect team to build one project. Besides, what will you do with your specialized task force of developers when a new, totally unrelated project comes along?

Third-party teams often specialize in certain areas, so even if you don’t want to hire out every single project, you can still find teams with the experience you need to build the project you want.

Even if you’ve had a bad experience in the past with incompetent third-party teams, know that not every team is that way, and you can always keep looking to find the right fit.

You’re Hiring for Time

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Some dev teams run really efficiently, but others not so much. If your team falls into that latter category and you find yourself constantly running against the clock, then you should be at least considering hiring out to some degree.

If you already have an in-house team, take a load off their plate.

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If you don’t have an in-house team, what are you waiting for? The time it takes you, or even you and that other guy who swears they know JavaScript and can totally code a website for you in no time to build your project, you’ve wasted time that could be spent doing more important things.

Remember, third-party teams are designed to handle the projects you will throw at them. That’s why they exist. If you haven’t found one you love, keep looking. They’re out there.

You’re Hiring for Consistency

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At some point you will probably have to deal with turnover. It’s an inevitable part of any traditional business. What happens when your best developer accepts another job offer in the middle of the project? What happens if someone falls ill during a tight deadline?

What happens if your whole team quits because someone keeps bringing the wrong type of bagels to the meeting?

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This happens.

If you’re not prepared to handle any of these situations as is, hiring out is a great solution.

But Am I Ready?

Boy, you ask a lot of questions, but that’s okay.

Trust us, if you’ve resonated with anything we’ve said so far, you’re probably ready to outsource. But we know that sometimes finding the right team can be difficult, or maybe you want to avoid negative outcomes so you feel a little cautious.

Here are a few things you can do to successfully find the right third-party team:

If you think you can’t afford it… Take a good look at the projected cost of having an in-house team versus the value you’re receiving for keeping them around. A lot of people will turn their nose up at hiring out-of-house, but you can actually save quite a bit of money by outsourcing. The average in-house developer’s salary hovers around $100k per year, whereas by outsourcing you can find a team of people to work for you at much lower costs.

If you’re worried about consistency… By hiring a team of people as opposed to a freelancer or two, you’ll have a full skill set at your disposal without having to constantly search for new talent. You get one team, and they stick with you. Over time, they become familiar with your product and your workflow, and you get all the same benefits of an in-house team with half the hassle.

If you’re worried about your timeline… Sometimes creative types dance to their own rhythm, and your definition of when the project is “done” may differ from an outsider’s perspective. But you can easily overcome this by setting clear expectations both before and during the project, and by remembering that you have all the power here. If they’re not meeting your needs, you can walk. It’s also important to look for teams that have a track record of getting things done on time, so if you’re unsure, ask around.

Still not sure? Here are 5 questions you can ask to help you decide
Click Here

Final Thoughts

We’re not saying that outsourcing is right for everyone, but speaking from experience (we are a third-party dev team, after all), there are a great many benefits to resourcing outside of your current pool of talent.

Maybe you have a great dev team but they’re overloaded, or you want them to focus on some specific projects. Hiring out lets you keep the burden off your team so you can build cool things without sacrificing your current talent.

Or maybe you don’t have a dev team at all and you were going to do everything yourself. To that we say, “Don’t do it!” Third-party dev teams are designed to help you, and if you find yourself needing a helping hand, don’t hesitate to ask.

And if you’re in need of a great WooCommerce site, our team of experts here at Saucal can help. Our team has been doing this for years, and we do it well, so don’t be shy about contacting us here. You won’t regret it.

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Case Study With Seth Kravitz: Hitting the Next Level
26 Sep

Does this sound like you?

You’re getting by with the development team you’ve got, but you’re bursting at the seams. You want to take risks and move your company to the next level, but you’re not sure your team can really handle everything that needs to be done.

Well, that’s the very issue one of our clients faced when we first started working together.

Meet Seth Kravitz, CEO of Phlearn.com. Phlearn is the #1 Photoshop and photography tutorial website in the world, with 1,000,000 YouTube subscribers and customers in 140 countries, they have built a trustworthy, engaging and supportive community available to anyone with a passion to learn.

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Seth spends his time making sure that Phlearn is equally affordable and accessible (without the ego, of course), but he’s most interested in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with Photoshop, and taking risks to move the company into new territory.

We recently caught up with him for an interview discussing the unique challenges he faces moving his business to the next level, and how we’ve been able to help him maintain steady growth during the process.

Grab this list of powerful takeaways from our case study with Seth Kravitz
Click Here

Seth has only taken over as CEO in the last few months. His goal is to take the company from where it’s been – holding steady for the last five years – to being a much bigger and better platform.

“It’s nice and all,” he quips, “But I think it could be a larger and much more amazing company.”

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His main challenge in accomplishing that goal was getting the most out of their current platform.

Because Phlearn was already utilizing WooCommerce to power their transactions, Seth needed a way to really get the most out of the platform without sacrificing a lot of his personal time digging through code and reconfiguring the system.

After all, he’s busy trying to revolutionize the Photoshop game. He shouldn’t have to spend hours doing all the dev work.

“I honestly would have started over from scratch, but everything about Phlearn is so heavily built into WordPress that I needed to find an agency that does nothing but WordPress, and more specifically WooCommerce. You really don’t want to mess around when it comes to WooCommerce” (we agree, Seth!).

After a few online searches for agencies in North America that do WordPress/WooCommerce, he decided to ask some engineers over at WP Engine for recommendations. They graciously pointed him our way.

That’s when we had the privilege to meet with him and get more details about his vision and where he wanted to take Phlearn over the next few years.

Phlearn is slowly becoming one of the bigger players in the creative education space, and Seth’s goal is to see that influence reach farther. Security and speed are priorities for his site because he’s looking to transition from their current system to streaming tutorials online.

As of now, users are able to purchase and download tutorials through the WooCommerce platform, but Seth would like to see that grow to something more user-friendly, like a subscription-based model.

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That’s part of the reason we’ve been working with Seth: to get his site moving in the right direction.

“On top of getting WordPress sites to be lightning fast, stable, and secure, Saucal has a lot of experience with people switching over to subscriptions. Helping power that transition seamlessly will provide a better experience for the user.”

“I just want people to have a really great experience on our site,” he adds.

But we know that transitioning into subscriptions isn’t always easy, and our goal was to make sure that Seth wasn’t bogged down with the little things so that he could keep kicking ass at the big things.

“There are tons and tons of little projects we’ve been working on as well. Saucal has been very responsive. They allow me to hop on a Slack channel and go back and forth with them at any time, which is wonderful from a customer standpoint. You can tell they’re not just two kids in a basement.” (That’s true).

“It’s like having my own private dev team.”

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We love working with Seth and his team, and we’re dedicated to helping Phlearn hit the next level so he can take over the Photoshop world (and possibly the rest of the world, too).

If you want to learn more about Seth or get started brushing up on your Photoshop skills from his sweet tutorials, check out Phlearn.com. You won’t be disappointed!

Don’t forget to download this list of powerful takeaways from this case study
Click Here

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