HatfieldBusinesses that rely heavily on e-commerce – as most do these days – know that there are three principal issues which can reduce the effectiveness of their site. This blog is the first in Josh Hatfield's three-part series, “3 Problems that Plague E-Commerce Sites.” Check back in for subsequent entries the next two weeks.
Every year, a series of predictable, avoidable failures occurs. Big-name brands are punished for their lack of preparedness as the peak season arrives. It reduces their profits, knocks their brand down a peg, and serves as a reminder that anyone can suffer the consequences.
Call it Spike Overflow Syndrome – the S.O.S. sent out by a company’s IT staff when the walls come crashing down. In 2015, Target was a victim of Black Friday failures. Neiman Marcus struggled for consecutive days during peak gift-buying season, while PayPal went down on Cyber Monday and the day before.
For smaller retailers, it’s a stark reminder: Traffic can surge without warning, and websites generally go down when the most money is coming in. So how can you prevent your e-commerce site from buckling under pressure? Here are three suggestions.
Lighten Your Landing Page Load
Which pages on your site get visited the most? Probably your home page, any Google ads landing pages you have, destinations of links in emails, and so on. Ensure those load fast: two out of every five users will leave a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. Maximize this speed by making your landing pages as light as possible. It’s a delicate balancing act to lighten the load while keeping the site compelling. But to keep your site up and running during spikes, it’s a crucial one.
Use a Content Delivery Network
A high-quality CDN, and offsite source for images, will enable faster page load times, better video streaming and smoother shopping cart processing. Web-hosting providers and telecommunications providers offer CDNs, as well as third-party specialists. Many employ geographically diverse servers to ensure faster load times for visitors around the world.
Move to the Cloud
To increase bandwidth during peak seasons without paying for maximum volume year-round, embrace a cloud hosting model. This way, you can quickly add computing power for those occasional spikes, then reduce capacity when they end.
Prepare now for Cyber Monday 2016 – or for any other traffic spike.

Let’s take a look at 5 must-haves every online retailer needs for their e-commerce shopping cart.When it comes to offering a top-notch customer experience, one aspect of a retailer's website is often overlooked: the shopping cart. Once content has been optimized, merchandise is showcased and the overall look and feel is tailored, some companies might call it a day. However, the work isn't quite done yet, as the shopping cart can mean the difference between your customer enjoying their shopping experience, or abandoning it for a competitor.
Even if a retailer has a beautiful site and popular merchandise, a shopping cart that is confusing, difficult to use or doesn't appear secure could cause customers to jump ship. For this reason, it's important to ensure that the cart is a top priority.
But what features should a cart include, and how do these contribute to the overall customer experience? Let's take a look at five must-haves:

1) A streamlined checkout process

As a customer, there's nothing worse than seeing a multi-step, convoluted checkout process. Once a shopper picks out the items they'd like to buy, the retailer should make it easy for them to complete their purchase without unnecessary steps and collecting more information than necessary.
One way to avoid this is to offer express and/or guest checkout. Express checkout enables repeat customers to simply login and double-check the address, payment information and other data used on previous purchases instead of filling out all of these details with each transaction.
Guest checkout prevents a new customer from having to create an account if they aren't ready to. While helpful, this process can also add extra steps to checkout.
"The checkout process at many online stores can be as frustrating – if not more so – than standing in a long checkout line at a brick-and-mortar store," Network Solutions pointed out. "When visitors are ready to buy, your e-commerce shopping cart must make it as simple as possible."

A retailer's shopping cart can make or break the customer experience.
A retailer's shopping cart can make or break the customer experience.

2) Diverse payment options

Another shopping cart essential is support for a range of payment options. Credit and debit cards, PayPal accounts and digital wallets like Apple Pay have all shifted the way shoppers complete transactions. Providing support for all these options can also quell concerns about security.
Some consumers may still be wary about entering in their credit or debit card numbers, particularly as news of high-profile data breaches become more common. Accepting PayPal or Apple Pay payments can make hesitant customers more confident, and encourage them to complete their purchase.

3) Clear signs of security

A shopping cart should also feature obvious signs of security. Encrypting payment details isn't just a beneficial way to prevent unauthorized access to customer data, it's also part of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. As such, any organization that in any way deals with payment card information must have encryption in place.
An SSL certificate can provide this encryption, and display recognizable icons that signal protection is in place. In addition to a seal on the checkout page itself, many SSL certificates will also adjust the display of the address bar so that a small, green lock is visible. In this way, customers know that their sensitive information is adequately safeguarded.

4) Product images for multi-item sales

Another helpful feature is the inclusion of large product images, not only on product pages, but during checkout as well. Practical Ecommerce noted that having the ability to see the items being purchased, and even zoom in to view finer details, is one of the best ways to communicate with customers.
In addition, featuring images is advantageous for customers who are purchasing multiple items. Instead of only including the name of the product, which could include numbers or other identifiers solely for the use of the brand, a photo makes it easier for customers to remember what they're buying and ensure that sizes, colors and other details are all correct before completing their purchase. This prevents confusion or errors that could lead to cart abandonment or subsequent product returns.

"Customers appreciate being kept in the know."

5) Order tracking capabilities

It's important that customers can glean as many details as possible both before and after their purchase. This extends to order tracking capabilities – shoppers want to know when their items are being shipped and when they can expect delivery. Consider sending notifications via email or mobile – customers appreciate being kept in the know, and the brand will be top of mind.

Bonus must-have: An industry-leading provider

In addition to these features, a top-tier e-commerce solution provider can offer not only a top-notch shopping cart, but other platforms and technology as well. Hostway provides a full suite of e-commerce solutions. To find out more, contact us today.

What are the best ways to go about targeting certain e-commerce customers? Let's take a look at a few top strategies and best practices. Online shopping is more popular than ever. The first quarter of 2014 saw a staggering 198 million Americans – 78 percent of the adult U.S. population – use online platforms to make purchases, according to a comScore study.

Experts agree that it is best to target a specific subset of this vast group of shoppers and appeal to their interests and needs. This increases the chances that these users will visit the site, complete a purchase and become a loyal customer.

But what are the best ways to go about targeting certain e-commerce customers? Let's take a look at a few top strategies:

"The first quarter of 2014 saw a staggering 198 million Americans use online platforms to make purchases."

Identifying your target audience: Research is key
First and foremost, retailers must determine who, exactly, is their target audience. Who are the users visiting the site, and which of these individuals are making purchases?

Practical Ecommerce contributor Erica Tevis noted that research is critical in order to identify a company's potential target audience. Tevis recommended looking into the local area to gauge who might be interested in the products or services being offered. This will help the retailer establish a consumer persona for use in marketing and promotional efforts.

"Identify their presumed age, gender, income, household size, where they shop. what they read, what they browse online," Tevis wrote. "Narrow your audience as closely as possible and focus on one segment at a time. You can always diversify, expand and add customers segments after you become established."

Tevis also suggested asking a few basic questions to help better identify the target audience:

Establish customer segments
Once a large group of consumers has been identified as the target audience, it's time to narrow the focus further with customer segments. These are specific categories in which different types of customers can be organized. While disparate types of shoppers are included in the target audience, they will be organized into separate customer segments.

Besides breaking customers down into segments according to their gender, income level or age, there are several other customer segments to consider, according to Optimizely contributor Junan Pang:

Pang pointed out that these segments are not only valuable for target marketing, but also for data analysis and trials.

"When practicing website optimization, leveraging segmentation provides a framework for running intentional, well-hypothesized experiments on your website that drive value," Pang wrote. "Experiment data you gather from specific visitor segments interacting with your site will help you provide a more personalized, engaging experience."

Understanding who a brand's target audience is can be a considerable boon for marketing and promotional efforts.
Understanding who a brand's target audience is can be a considerable boon for marketing and promotional efforts.

Targeting mobile shoppers
A rising number of consumers are leveraging their smartphones, tablets and laptops every day for online shopping, making this an essential – and growing – piece of the target audience puzzle.

However, retailers shouldn't jump straight to mobile. Econsultancy contributor Arie Shpanya suggested building trust by offering a top-tier desktop experience first, and following up on this with a winning mobile experience. For instance, one vendor found mobile success after encouraging desktop shoppers to utilize its mobile app through a targeted email campaign.

While there are millions of online shoppers, it's in a company's best interest to target those who have a need for its products or services and will be the most likely to make a purchase and become loyal customers.

Let's take a look at a few of the top ways your business can optimize its website and gain a competitive edge in its respective marketplace.Once a retailer has established its online store, the job isn't done. Continual work goes into ensuring this essential resource is doing the most that it can. Not only the venue where customers to purchase items, an e-commerce site represents the online face of a company. It's critical to ensure that optimization on the site is an ongoing process.

So, how do you identify the weaknesses of a store's website?

 

"One of the most important lessons a retailer can learn is the significance of a first impression."

Load Time: First impressions are everything

One of the most important lessons a retailer can learn is the significance of a first impression. If a new customer has a bad experience with the brand or its online store, they are unlikely to become a loyal client. Therefore, it's critical to ensure that shoppers can appreciate the site from their very first visit.

The design and user experience of the site deserve special attention. Crazy Egg contributor Sharon Hurley Hall noted that one essential aspect is page load time. One study showed that retailers only have two seconds to capture a user's attention, and every second after this mark can result in a 10 percent loss of visitors.

"A slow loading site equals lost revenue: It's a simple equation," Hall wrote.

When optimizing website speed, work with an expert hosting provider to ensure that the site has the proper backend support. It may be necessary to increase the company's current resources to prevent performance issues.

Ensure easy navigation

When it comes to first impressions and overall UX, navigation is also key. Hall noted that customers can get frustrated when a site isn't easy to navigate, potentially costing them opportunities for conversion.

"If they can't find it, they can't buy it," noted Smashing Magazine contributor Christian Holst.

The website should have distinct categories shoppers can browse, as well as an accessible search bar for targeted queries.

Product catalog: Don't remove out-of-stock items

It's also imperative to showcase available inventory in a way that helps shoppers understand what they'll be getting. Larger photos can really make a difference, as increasing image size can boost sales.

In addition, brands shouldn't take items that are out of stock off the site. Shoppers may still be searching for these products in particular, and keeping them on the site can help capitalize on these searches, boosting the site's ranking. Retailers can offer alternatives to these out-of-stock items, which can extend a visitor's time on the site and prevent them from leaving empty-handed.

Hall pointed out that product descriptions can be enhanced as well. Copying and pasting generic product description information straight from the manufacturer won't do anything for the site's search rankings or visitor engagement.

"Avoid generic descriptions; instead, make sure the description identifies the problem the product solves for the reader," Hall advised.

Retailers shouldn't overlook the shopping cart when optimizing their site.
Retailers shouldn't overlook the shopping cart when optimizing their site.

Improve the shopping cart

For many customers, the shopping cart is the point in the transaction when stumbling blocks can creep up. Information from Radware shows that a staggering 70 percent of carts are abandoned before checkout, and a mere 2 second delay in the process can boost abandonment rates by as much as 87 percent, Hall reported.

"People abandon shopping carts because they run out of time, because they don't want to create an account or because the process is too complex," Hall wrote. "Sometimes they leave because they get a nasty surprise about shipping costs or they can't pay with their preferred payment provider or method."

Besides using industry-leading shopping cart software, there are other ways to improve the website's cart. Hall suggested providing a step-by-step map for customers so they better understand where they currently are in the transaction process. This can include simple cues like, "Shipping information," "Payment details" and "Confirm and submit order."

It can also be helpful to allow shoppers to checkout as guests as opposed to forcing them to register an account.

Finally, brands should ensure payment is simple. Displaying the total cost of the purchase – including any tax and shipping costs – can help prevent sticker shock. The company should also provide support for a range of different payment methods, including debit and credit cards as well as digital wallets.

Optimization efforts are never done

Finally, it's important to keep in mind that optimization is not a one-and-done project – it should be an ongoing process of continuously improving the site. New technologies and e-commerce strategies are emerging all the time, and this only scratches the surface of available optimization techniques.

Hostway has put together this informational graphic to help further guide these efforts. To find out more, contact Hostway today.

There are a few questions and considerations to factor in when choosing the best e-commerce platform for your brand. Choosing the software you'll use to support your brand is one of the most important decisions you'll make for your online business. The right e-commerce platform can set your company up for success for many years to come.

Selecting the best merchant software is no easy task. There are plenty of options available, each with its own unique capabilities, features and benefits. So how can you choose the optimal fit for your business both now and well into the future?

There are a few questions to answer along the way:

1) Does it have the capabilities your business needs?
Examine the features and tools included with each software. Depending upon the type of online business you are running, you may have unique functionality needs. Make a list of the capabilities you will need and compare this to each platform's features.

"Not only do you need features to help you drive conversion – stuff like suggested products, behavioral discounts and more – you need ease of use from a back-end management perspective," SparkPay pointed out.

Many merchants will offer trial periods so you have the opportunity to ensure that the platform has the tools your brand needs. Such a test drive can be the best way to pick a product.

2) Does it offer a beneficial end-user experience?
It's also critical to examine the solution from the point of view of the end user. Not only does the platform need to have specific tools for the business owner, but it must address the needs and pain points of the end user as well. An enjoyable end-user experience can not only help attract and retain customers, but it can also set your brand apart in the marketplace.

"If your store requires [customers] to jump through hoops to complete their purchase. odds are they'll head for the hills without spending a penny," SparkPay noted. "Your customers are the ones who'll use your shop, so make sure their experience is paramount."

An enjoyable end user experience can help set your brand apart in the marketplace.
An enjoyable end user experience can help set your brand apart in the marketplace.

3) What are the top platforms being used today?
It can also be helpful to see which platforms have the most users. For example, according to Datanyze, Magento has the most users among the Alexa top 1 million websites, with a 26 percent market share. WooCommerce, PrestaShop and Shopify are also leading solutions, each powering more than 2,000 of today's top sites.

4) What security protections does the platform offer?
In the current environment, security is more important than ever. With threats ever increasing, it is paramount to ensure that your customers' sensitive information will be continually protected. Therefore, it is essential to examine the protections that come along with the e-commerce platform.

SparkPay advised ensuring that security measures align with PCI guidelines for full industry compliance. This standard requires that brands have specific safeguards in place. Any breach can severely damage a brand's reputation. It is critical to have the right security in place.

5) Can the platform integrate with other solutions?
Administrators often focus on the initial rollout of the solution without examining how the platform might connect with their other systems. Practical Ecommerce contributor Armando Roggio pointed out that today's companies will need to unify their solutions to ensure they have the full breadth of capabilities they need. For example, the brand may want to integrate an email marketing solution within their website to better connect with its customers.

"Look for app stores, extensions and integrations for the e-commerce platforms you're considering," Roggio recommended.

6) What will it cost?
It's also important to factor cost into your considerations. This includes not only the price of the initial deployment, but the costs incurred throughout the company's lifecycle.

Roggio pointed out that there are free platforms available, as well as those that come with high price tags. Often, the price of the platform is equivalent with its capabilities – a more expensive solution will likely have more to offer. However, you must select the one that suits your needs as well as your budget.

"Half of today's users expect a page to load in two seconds or less."

7) How will the platform be hosted?
You must also decide what hosting environment is right for your brand. Roggio pointed out that a hosted solution – where the vendor takes care of the maintenance and upkeep of the platform – can be particularly beneficial for organizations that have limited technical resources.

In addition, having the proper support can also make a big difference when it comes to scalability and speed. Merchants often have to expand their hosting environment as their business grows or to account for seasonal spikes in traffic. A robust hosting provider can provide this flexibility.

With the proper computing resources in place, pages load faster. KISSmetrics noted that a speedy website can support increased conversions. Half of today's users expect a page to load in two seconds or less, and they will likely abandon the site in favor of a competitor if content doesn't load in under three seconds. The majority of shoppers – 79 percent – won't return to a site if they've had performance problems with it in the past.

For these reasons and more, it is essential to not only select a top e-commerce platform, but to also choose a hosting partner that can provide the support your brand needs. The best hosting vendors can provide the flexibility, scalability and customer support to ensure the success of your company throughout its lifecycle.

For more information on Magento and e-commerce hosting, contact Hostway today.

magento-logoOur allies at Magento have issued the following advisory for our Magento Merchant customers:

Today, Magento has released a new security patch (SUPEE-6788) and Community Edition 1.9.2.2 to address over 10 issues identified through our comprehensive security program, including remote code execution and information leak vulnerabilities. This patch is unrelated to the recent Guruincsite malware issue. There are no confirmed reports of attacks related to these issues to date, but it is important that you deploy the patch in order to protect your store. More information about the patch is provided in the Magento Security Center and in the Magento Community Edition release notes.

BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY
This patch breaks backward compatibility in ways that can affect your extensions or customizations (see notes for details). For example, certain updates to admin routing can make improperly coded extensions and customizations inaccessible from the admin panel. We expect that many extensions and customizations will be affected by this change, so we are releasing the patch with it included, but turned off. This lets you immediately benefit from the rest of the patch, while also giving you time to update your code before turning on the admin routing change.

We recommend that you first test the code in a non-production environment with the admin routing change turned on. If it works, deploy the fully enabled patch to production. If you discover issues with accessing extensions or customizations from the admin panel, deploy the patch with the admin routing change disabled. Then work with your developer and extension providers to update impacted customizations and extensions. We urge you to turn on the admin routing change as soon as possible to protect your site from automated attacks, like the malware issue we recently experienced.

DOWNLOADING THE SECURITY PATCH
Patches are available for Magento Community Edition 1.4 and later releases and Magento Enterprise Edition 1.7 and later releases. Before implementing this new security patch (SUPEE-6788), you must first implement all previous security patches. This will ensure that the patch works properly.

To download the patch, choose from the following options:

Information about installing patches for Magento Enterprise Edition and Magento Community Edition is available online.

magento-logoOur allies at Magento have passed along the following information for our Magento Merchant customers:

Magento is investigating reports of Magento sites being targeted by Guruincsite malware (Neutrino exploit kit). They have not identified a new attack vector at this time, but have found that nearly all impacted sites tested so far were vulnerable to a previously identified code execution issue for which Magento released a patch in early 2015; sites not vulnerable to that issue show other unpatched issues. The malware can also take advantage of situations where an administrative account has been compromised through weak passwords, phishing, or any other unpatched vulnerability that allows for administrative access, so it is important to check for fake user accounts and for leftover demo accounts.

Magento has posted full instructions for you to identify and fix the Guruincsite issue in the Magento Security Center. They strongly encourage you to immediately do a security health check for your site:

Hostway strongly recommends keeping your mission-critical applications updated to latest versions and patched for all ongoing security concerns.

Now, e-commerce businesses must not only focus on increasing profits and carving out a favorable position in the market, they must also ensure they are making an impression on their customers as well.E-commerce is about more than offering products and services. The marketplace is more competitive than ever, with online companies and brick-and-mortar brands boosting their e-commerce capabilities every day. Now, these businesses must focus not only on increasing profits and carving out a niche, but also on making an impression on their customers.

But how can brands drive revenue and connect with their client base? There are a few key strategies:

Bring user experience and customer service to the forefront
With so many technological systems at their disposal, e-commerce companies need to ensure that user experience is not an afterthought. When establishing or updating the website, business leaders should consider the possible pain points users might have when utilizing the platform, and address these to offer the best user experience possible.

The same idea can be applied to customer service. Nowadays, businesses have an array of available channels to leverage. Offering consumers several contact options helps ensure they use the channel that best suits their needs. In addition, this strategy can go a long way toward guaranteeing a positive user experience.

"It is expected that online stores will place greater focus on providing excellent customer service to distinguish themselves from the rest," TechCocktail noted. "There is a need to create a smooth shopping experience to prevent customers from going to a competing online store as they enjoy better experiences."

Always open: Can your services keep up?
A robust online presence doesn't just mean that customers can locate your online platform anytime. They must also be able to make purchases and arrange for services at all hours. This "always open" strategy is a main reason clients interact with e-commerce brands over brick-and-mortar facilities. However, Shipwire contributor Nate Gilmore pointed out that the company's service must be able to keep up. This includes the overall supply chain, fulfillment centers and customer service capabilities. Even the United States Postal Service makes deliveries on Sunday - your brand should be able to respond to customers' needs just as quickly and efficiently.

In order to effectively fulfill these needs, a brand's available channels must be unified to allow consumers to interact with different channels during their purchase journey. This is particularly key now that services like buy online, pick up in store are becoming increasingly popular.

"Retailers are evolving the in-store experience so that you can browse online and use the store as your personal pick-up center," Gilmore wrote. "[It] all comes down to being faster, cheaper and more convenient."

Mobile is a must
For years, experts have been harping on the importance of a robust mobile presence, ensuring that consumers are able to use any device they please to connect with a brand. Now that the mobile platform has considerably developed, having mobile capabilities is now an absolute must.

"For online sellers, the need to serve the needs of those who do their shopping on the mobile platform will no longer be just an option," according to TechCocktail. "As more and more people rely on their mobile devices to do various things. it will be illogical not to optimize shopping experiences for mobile users."

TechCocktail noted that those that refuse to optimize will likely fall behind their competitors.

Overall, these strategies will not only serve to improve the customer experience, but can help boost the brand and its revenues.

There are a range of advantages for businesses that accept digital payments, including a better, easier shopping experience for customers.Years ago, the only way to pay for goods was with cash, check or credit. Consumers had to travel to stores with payment in hand and pick up their items. With e-commerce, all this has changed.

Nowadays, all you need to complete a transaction is a click of a button and a few key pieces of information. Digital payments enable shoppers to sidestep purchasing forms while paying for their goods.

There are many options when it comes to digital payments. Let's take a look at a few of the top payment options accepted by e-commerce companies today, and how these payment avenues can benefit your business.

What are today's top payment options?
What technologies enable today's shoppers to purchase items from their favorite brands without a credit or debit card, and how do they work?

Digital payment platforms save a consumer's payment information for later use. PayPal largely blazed the trail for these services.

Today's shoppers don't have to keep their credit cards handy, and can instead use information saved in their digital payment accounts.
Today's shoppers don't have to keep their credit cards handy, and can instead use information saved in their digital payment accounts.

Small Business Trends contributor Joshua Sophy pointed out that PayPal has become an industry standard for digital payments. The platform is integrated with a retailer's online store and directs shoppers to a PayPal checkout page, where consumers can log in to their PayPal account and use a saved debit or credit card, money order, or other forms of payment to purchase goods. According to Search Engine Journal, more than 137 million shoppers have PayPal accounts, which they utilize in 193 markets across 26 different countries.

Another popular digital payment option is Google Wallet, which works similarly to PayPal. Google Wallet enables shoppers to utilize their stored account information to pay for items. Google also announced that they are creating a physical card for consumers to use at physical store locations.

Apple also created its own payment platform, Apple Pay, which is integrated into users' Apple devices, enabling them to purchase apps, music and more from Apple's store. This payment option is becoming more popular in e-commerce, and comes with the added benefit of a fingerprint scan to confirm payments, noted About Payments.

"There are a range of advantages for businesses that accept digital payments, including a better, easier shopping experience for customers."

What are the benefits of accepting digital payments?
Digital payments can create a better, easier shopping experience. Consumers no longer have to fill out lengthy forms for every transaction. With digital payment platforms like Google Wallet and Apple Pay, users are able to create accounts and save their payment information. Even when a person's debit card isn't accessible, they can still use their digital account to pay.

These systems also boost security for both users and retailers. Having shoppers log in to their digital wallet accounts adds an extra layer of protection, making it much harder for a cybercriminal to intercept or otherwise disrupt the payment. Apple has upped the ante here with the fingerprint scan, implementing an additional safeguard that makes it nearly impossible for a third-party breach to occur.

Digital payments also help support an increasingly mobile world. Today's shoppers are increasingly leveraging their smartphones, tablets and laptops to browse and make purchases. Being able to utilize a payment portal that is supported on these devices streamlines the transaction process.

Overall, accepting digital payments is about providing choices and enabling customers to pay for goods in a way that best suits their needs. Many consumers are beginning to appreciate the ease that comes with digital payments as opposed to repeatedly entering their credit or debit information. Supporting these technologies can help a company maintain a favorable position in the marketplace as they seek to address customer pain points related to paying for goods and provide for shoppers' needs.

While there are numerous capabilities and benefits provided by the Magento platform, today we'll focus on the top three things you should know about this all-encompassing e-commerce solution.These days, e-commerce companies have more than a few options at their fingertips when it comes to supporting their websites and online presence. One of these solutions is Magento, an industry-leading e-commerce software that has become increasingly popular in recent years. With the release of Magento 2 just around the corner, with merchant availability scheduled for November, now is the time to examine Magento and what it can offer your organization.

While there are numerous capabilities and benefits provided by the Magento platform, today we'll focus on the top three things you should know about this all-encompassing e-commerce solution.

1) More retailers use Magento than any other platform
We weren't kidding when we said Magento has become popular. Magento has held the top spot in e-commerce software for a number of years now, and currently, 1 in 4 online businesses utilizes Magento to support its brand. This translates to over 240,000 retailers across the globe that leverage the platform for their e-commerce needs. Thanks to Magento, these businesses rake in a combined $25 billion or more in online transactions every year.

"Over 240,000 retailers across the globe leverage Magento."

With the next version of the solution, Magento 2, set to be released by year's end, it's safe to say the platform's popularity won't wane anytime soon.

2) Magento makes PCI compliance easy
One consideration for every retailer is conforming to the guidelines set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which helps ensure that the payment information and personal customer details remain protected. PCI compliance can be complicated, and any strategy to streamline it is helpful.

Magento has special capabilities built in to help ensure merchants' PCI compliance. This includes the Magento Secure Payment Bridge, a PA-DSS certified feature that comes with a subscription to the Magento Enterprise edition.

"Magento makes PCI compliance easier by separating the Magento Secure Payment Bridge application from our eCommerce platform," Magento states on its website. "This enables updates to the core Magento eComme​rce application with new marketing, merchandising and content management capabilities, without having to go through PCI compliance reassessment of the entire Magento eCommerce platform."

Magento is the number one e-commerce platform in the industry.
Magento is the number one e-commerce platform in the industry.

To ensure full PCI compliance, Magento must be installed in a secure environment that meets 12 requirements.

With its specialized capabilities and features, businesses utilizing Magento can work to achieve PCI compliance in a way that won't disrupt transaction processes or interfere with the brand's goals.

3) Keeping customers in the loop
Magento is also ideal for maintaining interactions with clients in order to keep the brand top of mind. Website Magazine contributor Danial Wright pointed out that the solution's unique Product Alert Notification feature ensures that customers never miss a beat when it comes to the newest available items. Alerts can be sent to notify customers about new products that align with shoppers' recent interests, providing a customized experience. These notifications also provide an easy path to the featured product page on the brand's website, ensuring consumers can easily find what they're looking for and complete their purchase.

Magento can make the difference when it comes to a brand's e-commerce capabilities and online presence. To find out more about how Magento can benefit your company, contact Hostway today.

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