Your website is your initial point of contact with your audience. And no one wants to make a bad first impression. Using the correct content management system (CMS) can help you create the best website for your business. Let’s explore Squarespace vs WordPress.
An Overview of WordPress Features
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) that lets anyone easily build and manage websites. Since it was launched in 2003, it’s become one of the most popular CMS, powering over 43.5% of all websites on the Internet.
Whether you have extensive coding knowledge or are learning how to code, WordPress has options to help you create and customize your site.
An Overview of Squarespace
Squarespace is a different website builder that, like WordPress, provides everything you need to build a website. It allows people who have little to no technical knowledge to quickly build and launch a custom site without worrying about day-to-day management.
WordPress uses the Gutenberg block editor for creating pages and posts. Each block represents a distinct element like text, images, or buttons, offering granular control over content structure. With over 60,000 plugins and countless free and premium themes, WordPress empowers you to build your website to your exact needs.
Easy to use once you learn
No coding required
Highly customizable
There is a learning curve at the beginning so need to invest time in playing with the tools
The dashboard can be cluttered and hard to navigate
Hard to navigate the menu and settings
Ease of Use: Squarespace
If you aren’t familiar with designing or building a website, it can seem like an intimidating process. However, Squarespace prides itself on being user-friendly and can help anyone build a website.
Uses a visual editor like WordPress
User-friendly interface and drag-and-drop editor
Great for beginners
There’s no autosave when editing so need to remember to save your work
Has a learning curve like any program
Winner: Both
WordPress is a great tool if you have some web development and coding skills. If you’re still working on those skills, or trying to find them, Squarespace has everything you need to help you easily build your new site.
Customization: WordPress
Your website needs to work for you. WordPress gives you total control over the design and functionality of your site with thousands of themes and plugins. You don’t have any limits with coding, which allows you to create customizations like lists, video insets, and tables that will set your business apart from its competition. For example, if you’re selling a product with a specific feature, you can create a video inset showing off that feature so the customer can get a full view of your product.
Doesn’t limit any major media types so you can use any combination of text, images, and videos
Coding opportunities to create custom elements like tables, block quotes, or specific designs for your business
Access to a large plugin library to add different functions to the site
Can be overwhelming for beginners
Need coding knowledge
Using too many plugins can slow your site down and potentially cause issues
Customization: Squarespace
You don’t want your website to look like everyone else’s. You want to stand out from the rest. Squarespace offers many different layouts, templates, and themes to help you create a custom look.
Have access to dozens of features, including gallery boxes, podcast support, and newsletter signup forms
Customization is limited compared to WordPress since you can’t develop your own themes or plugins
Only have access to what Squarespace offer
Winner: WordPress
Squarespace offers basic customization, but WordPress takes it to another level. From plugins to coding, you have the ability to create the exact website that works best for you.
Pricing: WordPress
WordPress is generally more affordable than Squarespace, with lower upfront costs and flexible monthly plans starting from $4. While the core platform is free, you’ll need to pay for website hosting and a domain name. Additional features like custom domains, extra storage, and e-commerce capabilities can be added through premium plans.
Has a free tier plan in addition to paid plans
Can pay for what you need
Can use most themes and plugins with any plan
Have e-commerce plans
Need to pay for domain name and hosting
Not all themes and plugins are free
Pricing: Squarespace
With Squarespace, your plan’s price is what you pay for everything, including hosting, templates (site themes), integrations, extensions, and a content delivery network (CDN) for swift page-loading times.
Price reflects all costs—from hosting to domain name to content delivery network
Get a discount when purchasing an annual plan
Have several different e-commerce plans
No free plan
Price increases when paying month-to-month
To become an e-commerce site, you need to purchase a premium plan
Winner: WordPress
Squarespace is one of the more expensive CMS systems on the market. While having one price for everything is convenient, WordPress gives you more cost-saving options.
SEO and Internet Marketing: WordPress
WordPress excels in SEO and internet marketing. Its SEO plugins like Yoast and Rank Math offer advanced features for optimizing your site. For e-commerce, WordPress integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce and CRMs like HubSpot, enhancing marketing efforts.
Can download or purchase WordPress plugins to support your digital marketing
Can also optimize your site through the backend with technical SEO
Can edit any part of your site’s underlying code to remove any unnecessary HTML, CSS, or Javascript slowing down your site or preventing it from being indexed
Downloading, purchasing, and updating these tools will require time and money
Relies on plugins for SEO, which as we mentioned earlier can slow down your site
SEO and Internet Marketing: Squarespace
Unlike WordPress, Squarespace has the basics covered but that’s it. You’ll be able to do a few foundational tasks to support your site in search and other digital marketing initiatives. But you won’t be able to do more technical internet marketing work.
Can customize the title, meta description, image alt text, and URL of your posts and pages
Create 301 redirects to avoid broken links and 404 error pages
Can choose from over 60 mobile-optimized templates
No SEO plugins or add-ons are available
You’re limited to the marketing features Squarespace provides
Can’t do some of the more technical SEO work
Winner: WordPress
Squarespace is one of the more expensive CMS systems on the market. While having one price for everything is convenient, WordPress’s open-source nature and vast plugin ecosystem provide unparalleled flexibility and advanced features, surpassing Squarespace’s internet marketing capabilities.
Security and Maintenance: WordPress
If you choose WordPress, it’s up to you to keep your security updated. The positive is this gives you more control over your website.
Has features like logging out idle users and adding two-factor authentication
Has a community of developers to help support
Can do automated backups on some plugins
Requires more attention to security
You need to keep the core software, themes, and plugins updated yourself
Security and Maintenance: Squarespace
Squarespace reverses the process by handling many of the security updates itself meaning you can be more hands off.
Handles security updates and maintenance for you, making it a more secure option for beginners
Has a dedicated 24/7 email support team
Offer limited customized security options
Security settings are hidden in menus
Winner: Depends on Your Needs
Both sites have many of the same security features. If you’re someone who isn’t afraid of getting into your site and keeping things updated then WordPress will work for you. However, if you would rather let someone else assume that responsibility, then Squarespace has you covered.
So Which is Better?
Squarespace is a great option for creating your website. It’s a user-friendly platform that offers basic SEO features and strong security.
However, for a more flexible and powerful solution, we recommend WordPress. It provides greater customization options, advanced SEO capabilities, and a wider range of e-commerce features to cater to your business needs.
Your website should help grow your business—not cause problems.
Still unsure about Squarespace vs WordPress? No worries—our team is here to help answer your questions and find the perfect solution for your business.
Choosing a platform for your website is difficult — especially if you’re not sure what factors should be considered. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. Continue reading to see what it looks like to compare Shopify vs WordPress for your business’s website.
WordPress Features At A Glance
Before we dive into the details of Shopify vs WordPress, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with the basic WordPress features and functions. As an open-source platform, WordPress makes creating, customizing, and managing content easy. It does this by offering various internet marketing tools and resources including, but not limited to:
An online platform designed for selling products, Shopify has become increasingly popular for building and managing eCommerce websites. Similarly to WordPress, you can find an assortment of Shopify features to support your business and create an accessible online storefront for users. Some of these features include:
When comparing Shopify vs WordPress, the first thing to consider is the ease of use. In some cases, WordPress user experience depends on your background knowledge of web design and coding.
It may take more time to learn the ins and outs of WordPress, but once you do, you’ll find it’s easy to use and provides opportunities for you to improve your website’s design, search visibility, and overall performance.
Several available plugins simplify site management and extend functionality
Highly adaptable to changing needs with numerous WordPress themes and customization options
User-friendly admin dashboard with advanced features and tools
More technical and may require basic web design and coding skills
A vast platform can be overwhelming with so many tools and options
You are responsible for finding your own WordPress hosting platform
Ease of Everyday Use: Shopify
The Shopify interface is simple and clean, making it easy to use whether you have web design experience or not. Its comprehensive guides provide you with the tools and direction you need to create and launch your site quickly and effortlessly.
The set-up guide helps beginners get their site running quickly
Intuitive navigation with no coding or web design skills required
Shopify hosting is automatically managed for you
Not as flexible with fewer customization options available
Less control over server environment and configurations
Fewer Shopify marketing integrations limit you in what you can do with your site
Winner: Both*
Since both platforms provide user-friendly features and tools, it’s hard to choose a clear winner.
It may take beginners a bit longer to learn the ins and outs of WordPress, but once you familiarize yourself, it’s straightforward and allows you to do more with your site. Shopify is ideal for beginners because of its setup guide, and you don’t need any background knowledge in coding or web design.
Customization: WordPress
When comparing Shopify vs. WordPress, a key element is each platform’s ability to adapt to your needs. As we mentioned in the section above, WordPress is highly customizable.
With countless WordPress themes and plugins available, you can customize even the smallest details of your website. This makes it an ideal choice if you want more control over its look and functionality.
More than 11,000 free WordPress themes with options to use paid themes as well
Flexible templates allow you to customize anything in your site’s design
WordPress themes can be used on a variety of websites including eCommerce stores
For beginners who are building a site for the first time and prioritize scalability over customization, Shopify may be the right choice for you because of its user-friendly tools and ready-to-use templates for eCommerce businesses of all sizes.
While it doesn’t have as many design options available as WordPress, Shopify still provides an assortment of themes, layouts, and editing features that will ensure your site looks professional and runs smoothly on any device.
More than 140 themes to choose from
Themes are professionally designed and ready to go right after installation
Only 12 themes are free while the rest vary in cost
Templates don’t allow as many editable features
Winner For Customization: WordPress
Pricing: WordPress
Pricing is another crucial factor to consider when comparing Shopify vs WordPress. Your budget and business goals will have an impact on your site’s design and functionality. At first glance, WordPress is the more cost-effective option because it’s free to use. The pricing comes into play once you decide what your needs are and which WordPress features you’ll want to use to help you meet them.
Free to use with the option to choose from a variety of pricing plans
Plans vary based on your needs and include personal, premium, business, commerce, and enterprise
Discounts are available on two-year or three-year plans
Pricing can escalate when paying for WordPress themes, hosting, plugins, and tutorials
Pricing: Shopify
You cannot use Shopify without signing up for a subscription. However, Shopify’s pricing plans vary depending on your website’s needs. The basic plan starts at $29 per month on a month-to-month subscription.
Provides a variety of pricing plans
Plans include everything you need to run a website including Shopify hosting, security, and support
Doesn’t offer a free plan
Must purchase a domain through Shopify for $14.95 per year
Winner For Pricing: WordPress
SEO And Internet Marketing: WordPress
From technical SEO to on-page optimization, the vast WordPress plugin ecosystem offers plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math, which give you more control over SEO and help you improve your site’s visibility in search results.
WordPress internet marketing tools also make it an ideal choice for businesses that want to adopt more content-driven marketing strategies. With advanced blogging capabilities and extensive formatting options, you can craft blog posts, product descriptions, and other content.
Available plugins to manage SEO activities
Can add/edit URLs, meta titles, descriptions, and meta tags with target keywords
Customizable blog designs and templates
Can embed multiple media types like images, videos, and audio
Site optimization requires basic SEO knowledge and skills
SEO set-up and management is time-consuming
WordPress internet marketing features are reliant on plugins
SEO And Internet Marketing: Shopify
While Shopify’s internet marketing capabilities aren’t as advanced as WordPress, they still provide basic SEO and blogging services to help you optimize your website. Shopify also specializes in eCommerce, so its focus is to provide everything you need to start and manage an online store or eCommerce shop.
Basic blogging functionality and user-friendly blog editor
Built-in Shopify SEO tools and features for website optimization
Proper WordPress security and site maintenance help you protect your site from being hacked. While some WordPress site maintenance needs can be handled automatically, you need to stay on top of software and plugin updates to ensure your site isn’t vulnerable. Since you are responsible for your hosting provider, most of the responsibilities will fall on you.
Gives you full control over your content, data, and site changes
WordPress software is built with secure code and regularly releases updates to address new vulnerabilities
Plugins can provide automated WordPress backups
You are responsible for all WordPress site maintenance and security measures
May require greater technical knowledge and resources
Customer support depends on the WordPress hosting provider
Security And Site Maintenance: Shopify
Unlike WordPress, when you use Shopify, they are responsible for ensuring your site doesn’t contain serious security vulnerabilities. From software updates to server configuration, Shopify site maintenance takes care of all the technical details that go into running a website.
Shopify software engineers address all technical issues
The bulk of responsibility for security falls on Shopify
Shopify backups won’t always restore content for individual sites
Shopify can remove content (or an entire site) if it conflicts with their acceptable use policies
Less control over content and product data
Winner For Security: Both*
WordPress and Shopify both provide users with the tools they need to keep their sites secure and up-to-date. When it comes down to it, choosing the best platform for security and site maintenance is about personal preference.
If you want more control over your site and responsibility for maintenance and security, WordPress is the best choice. However, if you’re new to running a website and would rather take a backseat to the technical details security, and maintenance required, Shopify may be a better fit.
Who Wins The Fight Of Shopify vs WordPress?
When it comes down to choosing between Shopify vs WordPress, the answer is clear. While Shopify may be the easy choice for beginners, we recommend using a platform that allows you and your site to grow.
WordPress offers the opportunity to create a website that’s uniquely yours. By leveraging the advanced WordPress features, you can ensure your brand’s name is not only being seen by your target audience, but when they visit your site, they have a positive experience.
Don’t settle for a site that blends in when you can build a site that stands out — let us help you navigate the complexities of WordPress. Talk to one of our developers to see what we’re capable of today.
Exploring your options for a content management system (CMS) and stuck between Wix vs WordPress? Here’s everything you need to know to pick which is the best fit for your business.
WordPress Features At A Glance
WordPress is an open-source content management system that’s used by 43% of businesses and individuals on the web. It’s a popular choice as it allows people to create and manage their websites without needing extensive coding knowledge.
That said, if you have coding experience or access to a developer, it’s also a powerful tool as there is a lot of customization you can do with it. (More on that to come.) WordPress features include:
Themes to choose from with a variety of artistic styles
Security features like DDoS, WAF, 2FA, and more
Flexible hosting options
Simple-to-use interfaces for publishing content and creating new pages
Custom content types
Access to a huge WordPress plugin ecosystem to support a variety of tasks (eCommerce, SEO, security, spam filtering, etc.)
An active developer community with lots of rich resources
Wix is another content management system that’s become popular over the years. Its original founders were frustrated with how difficult building a site was in the mid-2000s. So they had the idea to create a platform that’d make it easy to create a website without coding or design skills.
Wix features include:
Access to 800+ designed templates for various subject matters
A simple drag-and-drop editor for content
Starter SEO tools to optimize your site
eCommerce functionality
Code development platform
An app market for third-party integrations
Options for automation, custom forms, and a built-in CRM
Wix vs WordPress: Which Is Better?
Ease Of Everyday Use: WordPress
The WordPress user experience is top-quality, if you have access to developer support to set up your site. However, if built with the Gutenberg editor, it’s easy for anyone to make site changes without requiring code. There are also 60K+ plugins to choose from to boost the functionality of your website. Plus, you’ve got endless options of free and paid themes to pick from.
User-friendly themes and plugins
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) visual editors make content changes easy
Robust dashboards of settings
Offers responsive themes and plugins for mobile display
Advanced functioning will require coding
Too many plugins lead to slower performance
Dashboard has a lot of settings that can be overwhelming for beginners
Need a business account or above to add plugins
Ease Of Everyday Use: Wix
When it comes to the WIX user experience, it’s designed with a beginner in mind. The drag-and-drop interface lets you customize elements intuitively. It also offers plenty of pre-designed templates to choose from.
Intuitive visual site editor
Offers responsive design without extra work
Easy access to customer support
Provides additional features like support designing a logo
Can’t change your template once your site is designed
Your website isn’t transferable if you decide to use a different CMS in the future
Can have site speed issues if you have a lot of photos or videos
Winner: Both*
Wix is the perfect solution if you’re a small business or just need to have a presence online. It doesn’t require extensive coding knowledge, and it’s easy to get started on. But if you’ve got plans to scale your business over time, it’s not a long-term solution.
WordPress is ideal if you want a CMS that can grow and evolve alongside your business. It offers a lot more customization, better performance for digital marketing, and robust eCommerce capabilities. And if your developer sets it up using Gutenberg in the back end, editing your site can be as easy as using Wix.
Customization: WordPress
With this CMS, what you want is what you can get. WordPress, with the help of a knowledgeable dev team, can deliver a site that’s unique to you. Plus, you can shop around your hosting and work with a partner that best fits your needs and budget.
Huge library of plugins with lots of different functionalities
Can use HTML, CSS, and PHP for advanced customization
Capable of doing complex, unique layouts
Hosting flexibility so you can choose your provider
Takes more time to create a custom site
Requires extensive coding knowledge
Risk of slow site performance if you’re using too many plugins
Customization: Wix
Wix offers some opportunities to tailor a site to fit your brand. Once you pick your theme, you will be able to make some key design adjustments to it. However, there are a lot more limitations in place, so you won’t be able to modify it as much as a WordPress site.
Large template library gives you options to choose from
Limitations on how much you can customize underlying code of themes
Not able to easily switch between themes
Site must be hosted through Wix
Winner For Customization: WordPress
Like the idea of a custom site where you’re in control? Our developers can build the site you want and make it easy for you to manage, no coding needed.
WordPress has fewer upfront costs and ongoing hosting and domain fees to consider. If you need advanced functionality like custom domains, extra space, or eCommerce capabilities, you can choose from plans ranging from $4 to $45+ a month.
Open source and free to install
Flexible hosting so you can price shop
Lots of free themes and plugins for use
Pay only for functionality you need
Some themes and plugins will be an additional cost
SEO and ongoing content generation are key in helping increase your site’s visibility online. WordPress has all the tools you need now and tomorrow to be successful and keep up with internet marketing trends.
Have full control over meta, tags, sitemaps, and more
Lots of SEO-focused plugins in the WordPress ecosystem
Wix offers some tools to help you cover some SEO basics that will help your site’s performance in search. But you won’t be able to implement more critical technical SEO tactics, which could ultimately hinder your potential online.
Includes built-in SEO tools
Can run a blog and add landing pages
Platform SEO tools are limited
Fewer SEO apps to choose from compared to WordPress
Blog templates are less customizable
Fewer ways to troubleshoot and control site speed
Winner For SEO: WordPress
Security And Site Maintenance: WordPress
With WordPress, you’re ultimately accountable to keep up with security. However, you have more control in doing so, which is a benefit if you have the right resources in place to manage your site.
WordPress and core plugins are regularly updated to fix vulnerabilities
Supportive community of developers that provide resources and tips
Plugins let you do automated backups
Security plugins are available to help you enhance security with firewalls, malware scanners, or brute force attack prevention
Site can have new vulnerabilities if you’re not regularly installing updates
Poorly crafted plugins or themes can be targeted by hackers
Ultimately, you’re responsible for managing your site’s security
Security And Site Maintenance: Wix
Wix assumes a lot of the responsibility in keeping your site safe. They automatically make updates and changes, but the tradeoff is that it’s out of your hands. You’re relying on them keeping everything up to date and patching vulnerabilities.
Wix takes care of security on its server, so you don’t need to worry about it
The platform is automatically updated to keep it secure
You have less control of Wix’s underlying security infrastructure compared to WordPress
You’re relying on Wix to responsibly handle security risks
Winner For Security: Both*
Both approach security differently, so there isn’t a clear winner. It’s all about which approach better serves you and the resources you have in house.
If you have the know-how to manage your site, WordPress will give you better control. But if you don’t have the resources in-house, then Wix will ensure you stay safe without requiring more work from your team.
Final Verdict: Is Wix or WordPress Better for Your Business?
The main difference between Wix and WordPress for businesses lies in their ease of use, customization, pricing, and SEO capabilities.
Ease of Use: Wix is user-friendly with drag-and-drop functionality, ideal for beginners. WordPress, especially with the Gutenberg editor, allows more customization but may require developer support for setup.
Customization: WordPress offers extensive customization options with over 60,000 plugins and flexible hosting. Wix limits template customization and requires hosting within its ecosystem.
Pricing: WordPress has flexible pricing, allowing users to choose hosting options, while Wix has all-inclusive plans with less flexibility.
SEO and Marketing: WordPress provides powerful SEO tools and control over technical SEO, suitable for long-term growth. Wix has basic SEO tools but limits technical SEO features.
Overall Verdict: WordPress is the better long-term choice for scalability, customization, and SEO, while Wix is a quick, accessible option for small business needs and beginners
Still on the fence about Wix vs WordPress? We’re here to help you learn more and find the CMS that’s right for you.
We all know that a bad website leaves a bad impression. In this day and age, the quality of your site is a reflection of your brand, and the last thing you want to do is drive people away. So let’s take it back to the beginning and answer the question: which content management system is best for your business? Today we’re going to analyze Duda vs WordPress.
Basic WordPress Features
Back in the day, WordPress was known for blogging, but it can do so much more. Used by over 40% of websites, WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS), meaning that anyone can access and edit the source code. It gets regular updates and is constantly improving as developers collaborate to customize the experience.
WordPress can support any type of website, from eCommerce to portfolios. However, you are responsible for finding a hosting provider. One of the biggest perks is the WordPress plugin ecosystem. Because it’s open source, there are thousands of plugins made by outside developers that can integrate with WordPress and add new functionality to your site.
Basic Duda Features
Duda is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that allows you to build a website in your own browser. It uses basic drag-and-drop content and design techniques to create each page, with no coding required. This may be a good option if you have zero experience in web development.
Unlike WordPress, Duda is not open source, meaning the source code is not publicly available. Some of the most useful Duda features include basic SEO tools, blogging capabilities, a widget builder, and designed templates. Any Duda site also includes hosting with Amazon Web Services.
One of the biggest ways Duda and WordPress differ is their editors. While neither requires coding, they each have a unique user experience.
Modern WordPress sites use the Gutenberg block editor to create pages and posts. Each block represents a different element, such as text, images, galleries, buttons, or even custom HTML.
This gives you complete control over how your content is structured. WordPress also integrates with page builders like Elementor, and its editor can be expanded with thousands of plugins to add new functionality.
Intuitive to use once you learn WordPress
No coding required
Access to thousands of plugins to expand functionality
Highly customizable
Advanced features like reusable blocks and saved templates to streamline content creation
Steeper learning curve
Can be overwhelming for beginners
Advanced customization requires plugins or an experienced web developer
No visual editor without using a plugin
Must have a business-level account or above to install plugins
Ease Of Use: Duda
Designed for ease of use, the Duda interface allows you to create a website by simply dragging pre-designed elements—such as text, images, and buttons—onto a page. It uses a visual editor, so no coding is required. Customizable templates and a user-friendly interface help you quickly build a site with limited experience, balancing flexibility and simplicity.
Good for beginners
Convenient and easy to use
Not much of a learning curve
Quick setup
Good for small projects
No coding required
Limited customization for personalized site features, design changes, or functionality tweaks
Less flexibility for complex sites
Simple editor can feel limiting as you try to grow
Winner: Duda
Customization: WordPress
A good website needs to be fully customized to your brand and that is where WordPress shines. You have complete control over the functionality and design of your site. Plus there are thousands of WordPress themes and plugins. These allow you to adjust the basics like layout and typography, along with more advanced features like eCommerce or membership portals.
WordPress also lets you add custom code. Overall, this CMS can adapt to any vision, making it a top choice for personalized websites.
Every aspect of your site is fully customizable
Custom coding opportunities
Hosting flexibility
Access to WordPress themes and page builders
Can personalize your theme to match your branding
Time-consuming to create fully customized sites
Complex for beginners
Potential for over-reliance on plugins
Customization: Duda
With Duda’s streamlined approach to web design, it’s clear they prioritize ease of use over customization. You can edit pre-designed templates by arranging and resizing elements. You can also adjust key design features like fonts, colors, and layouts, but that’s where the flexibility ends. Overall, Duda offers basic customization options, but it’s not as adaptable as WordPress.
Can customize templates, design features, and widgets
Can implement global design changes across the whole site, making it easy to manage style updates for multiple pages
Confined to Duda’s available templates and themes
Fewer extensions and plugins
Limited custom coding opportunities
Not ideal for complex sites
Only advanced plans allow for site export
Winner: WordPress
Web Design Is Our Specialty. Let Us Help You Customize A Site That Perfectly Matches Your Brand.
When deciding between Duda vs WordPress, price is a significant factor. WordPress itself is free, but the total cost of using it varies depending on your specific needs.
First, you need to purchase hosting from a provider such as WP Engine or InMotion. WordPress hosting fees typically range from $5-$30 a month. Additional costs can include premium themes and plugins. For advanced features like custom domains, more storage, and eCommerce support, you can opt into monthly price plans that range from $4 to $45 a month.
Has a free plan
Offers monthly price tiers
Cheaper than Duda
Requires additional fees for hosting, themes, and plugins
Lowest tier offers limited features compared to Duda
Pricing: Duda
Similar to WordPress, Duda offers a tiered pricing structure based on your website needs. The basic plan starts at $25 a month and includes their drag-and-drop editor, hosting SSL certificates, and responsive website templates. If you’re looking for advanced features like team collaboration, client management tools, and custom widget building, pricing can go up to $39, $69, or $199 a month.
Offers monthly price tiers
More features are available in the lowest tier than WordPress
No cost to host
More expensive than WordPress
No free plan
Winner: WordPress
SEO And Internet Marketing: WordPress
The internet marketing capabilities of Duda vs WordPress differ greatly. With the vast array of WordPress SEO plugins like Yoast and Rank Math, you can access advanced sitemaps, keyword tracking, and in-depth optimization.
For an eCommerce site, WordPress integrates with WooCommerce and CRM platforms like HubSpot to help advance your marketing efforts. Its open-source nature and the WordPress plugin ecosystem make it a powerhouse for internet marketing, offering more flexibility and advanced features than Duda.
Advanced blogging features
WordPress SEO plugins for comprehensive optimization
Vast marketing integrations
Supports advanced eCommerce marketing
Customizable content and analytics
Marketing features rely on plugins
Less-beginner friendly
Time-consuming to set up SEO plugins and analytics
SEO And Internet Marketing: Duda
Unlike WordPress, Duda marketing integrations are limited. Any Duda site will include built-in SEO tools like customizable meta tags, alt text, and automatic Google Page Speed optimization. It can integrate with Google Analytics and most social media platforms. However, the lack of plugins makes Duda eCommerce marketing more limited.
Built-in SEO tools for beginners
Simple blogging capabilities
Integration with GA4 and relevant social media platforms
Limited SEO customization that lacks advanced capabilities
Less extensive blogging features
Fewer marketing integrations
Only supports basic eCommerce marketing
Lack of advanced tools makes it harder to manage and expand marketing efforts
Winner: WordPress
Scalability: WordPress
When it comes to scalability between Duda vs WordPress, it’s obvious who takes the cake. The WordPress plugin ecosystem gives it a significant advantage. As your business grows, WordPress can easily accommodate complex websites, high traffic, and custom features. You have virtually unlimited options with a WordPress site, making it a strategic choice for someone looking to expand their online presence.
Plugins can optimize site performance without needing to change the core application
Can handle high-traffic volumes
Flexible hosting options
Easy migration to another host if needed
Offers multi-site management
Lower-tiered plans have limited storage
Costs increase as you install more advanced themes and plugins
Possible performance issues (such as slower load times) if you’re using a lot of plugins
Scalability: Duda
As we’ve mentioned previously, Duda’s growth potential is limited. While it supports multi-site management and basic eCommerce features, it lacks the extensive customization and third-party integrations needed for serious growth. In our opinion, Duda is well-suited for smaller businesses managing simple sites, but not for someone looking for long-term growth.
No storage limits
Automatically optimized for mobile
Includes client management tools
Limited eCommerce functionality
Lacks third-party integrations that are needed for growth
Doesn’t support complex coding features
Fewer hosting options
Migration challenges
Winner: WordPress
Security And Maintenance: WordPress
Looking for robust security and maintenance control? WordPress has you covered. However, it will require more active involvement on your end. You can install various security plugins which allows you to implement measures like firewalls, malware scanning, and login protection. Regular updates to the core WordPress software are crucial to maintaining security and functionality.
Greater control over site security
Strong community of developers that provide support and resources
Plugins allow for automated backups
Regular updates to the software, themes, and plugins help improve functionality
You’re responsible for managing maintenance tasks
Falling behind could make your site vulnerable
Customer support varies depending on the hosting provider
There’s a learning curve to WordPress site maintenance
Security And Maintenance: Duda
Because they provide a fully managed hosting environment, Duda site maintenance is quite simple. You benefit from automatic backups, security updates, and protection against common vulnerabilities without needing to worry about managing the server.
Duda’s system includes SSL certification for secure data transmission and built-in security measures to safeguard user information. While Duda simplifies maintenance for you, it also limits control over specific security configurations, which isn’t ideal for everyone.
Simple maintenance
Automatic backups
Fully managed hosting
Built-in security features like SSL certificates and updates
Dedicated customer support if needed
Limited control over security measures
Fewer community resources
Complex process if you want to move your site from Duda
Winner: Depends On Your Goals*
*If you have the resources and skills to stay up to date with maintenance, then WordPress offers much more control and security over your site. If you’re looking for something easy and simple, Duda is a good place to start.
Who Wins The Fight Of Duda vs WordPress?
The answer is simple: WordPress.
There is certainly a time and place for Duda. If you’re a beginner with a small site, Duda will feel less overwhelming. However, it will be harder to customize and scale your business with their reduced capabilities.
For most clients, we would recommend WordPress. You can’t beat its customization options, internet marketing features, advanced security controls, and the ability for unlimited growth.
Your website should help you expand, not restrict you. If you’re looking for maximum flexibility and scalability (especially for larger and more complex websites) it’s a no-brainer—WordPress is the way to go.
WordPress can be overwhelming—we get it. That’s why you have us. Reach out to our developers for a website that keeps your customers coming back for more.
HubSpot offers a comprehensive platform that promises to streamline your workflows, enhance your marketing efforts, and boost overall engagement. But is it the perfect fit for your business?
Join me as we explore both the benefits and drawbacks of HubSpot, from its ease of use and powerful features to its escalating costs and limitations. We’ll delve into its pricing tiers, add-ons, and how it compares to other providers — helping you decide if HubSpot will be your marketing hero or a budget-straining villain.
The Pros Of HubSpot: Why It Could Be Your Marketing Hero
HubSpot has earned its reputation as a leader in the marketing industry. From its all-in-one capabilities to its user-friendly interface, the functionality it provides can significantly improve efficiency and drive growth. Let’s examine the key upsides of HubSpot and why it might just be the resource your organization needs.
It’s An All-In-One Platform
One of HubSpot’s most significant advantages is its versatility. It consolidates a wide range of products, allowing professionals to combine and monitor their:
Marketing tools
Sales tools
Service tools
Content tools
Operations tools
Commerce tools
The ability to manage all these pillars without needing to juggle multiple third-party solutions can be a strong incentive for those who prioritize efficiency.
It Boasts A User-Friendly Interface
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a brand new to marketing, HubSpot’s streamlined design minimizes the learning curve and allows teams and individuals to get up and running quickly.
This ease of use is especially important for small-to-medium businesses that may not have the time and money to invest in the training needed to maintain more complex systems.
It Provides A Wealth Of Educational Resources
HubSpot Academy, their educational library, offers a plethora of courses and certifications on topics ranging from inbound marketing to sales automation.
These resources are also routinely updated, empowering companies to maximize the product’s value without having to rely on external consultants.
It’s Highly Scalable
Various tier levels are available through HubSpot, from free accounts to advanced Enterprise plans — allowing customers to expand their services as they grow.
A free plan provides access to their CRM, email marketing, forms, live chat, ad management, integrations, and reporting. However, there are notable drawbacks, including:
Limited customization (their branding can’t be removed from emails, forms, or live chats)
No marketing automation
No A/B testing
No advanced analytics
No custom sales pipelines
No custom dashboards
No phone or email support
Integration limits
Moving to higher-tier plans unlocks more advanced tools, and when comparing the free vs paid HubSpot options, it becomes clear there are significant benefits to upgrading.
It Offers Automation And Personalization
Automating repetitive tasks and personalizing customer interactions can lead to higher levels of engagement, better user experiences, and increased conversions. These valuable features enable organizations to create precise and targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with individual customers.
Examples of these advanced offerings from HubSpot include:
Workflows
Lead scoring and segmentation
Email personalization
Smart content
Behavioral triggers
Multi-Channel marketing
It Has Robust Integration Capabilities
With over 1,600 integrations as of 2024, companies that use other specialized applications can still benefit from HubSpot’s central CRM. Some of the most popular connections include Gmail, WordPress, Outlook, and Facebook.
Plus, new products and connections are continuously added, ensuring the list stays current.
The Cons Of HubSpot: Why It Might Be Your Marketing Villain
While HubSpot offers a host of complementary services, it also presents its fair share of obstacles, from stacking fees to platform limitations and difficulty exiting the system.
It Can Be Prohibitively Expensive
How much does HubSpot cost per month? Unfortunately, for those attempting to plan a marketing budget, the answer can vary greatly based on your number of contacts and required functionality.
The price of higher-tier plans, particularly at the Professional and Enterprise levels, can be exorbitant for small businesses. For example, the Marketing Hub Professional plan starts at $890 per month, while the Enterprise plan starts at $3,600 per month.
Additionally, there are supplemental costs associated with add-ons, which may make HubSpot more expensive than it initially appears. Some of their most common upgrades include:
API limit increase: $500/month
Ads limit increase: $100/month
Custom SSL: $100/month
Dedicated IP: $300/month
Transactional email: $600/month
It’s A Jack Of All Trades (But Master Of None)
While HubSpot is praised for its all-in-one approach, this versatility means it also doesn’t excel in any single area to the extent that other, more specialized products do.
Here are some HubSpot alternatives to consider, based on your marketing needs:
CRM Functionality: Salesforce
For companies with complex sales processes, a service like Salesforce offers deeper customization, robust reporting, and nuanced sales automation.
Email Marketing: ActiveCampaign
Dedicated email senders like ActiveCampaign provide advanced list segmentation, more automation triggers/actions, and a sophisticated campaign builder.
Content Management: WordPress
Those that require custom web design or multifaceted content strategies would benefit from a more flexible platform like WordPress.
SEO: SEMrush
Online visibility tools like SEMrush provide detailed analytics, competitive analysis, and keyword research capabilities.
The integrated nature of HubSpot can become a double-edged sword if consumers decide to leave and transition to another solution.
Migrating data, adjusting workflows, and retraining staff can be time-consuming and costly, as opposed to the effort required to adopt a new channel-specific technology.
Is HubSpot The Right Fit For You?
Ultimately, the decision to invest in HubSpot will come down to your individual needs, budget, and long-term objectives.
If you’re a small to medium-sized business looking for a comprehensive product with numerous integrations and extensive resources, HubSpot could be a viable choice.
However, if your organization requires advanced customization, has a complex dataset to manage, or operates on a tight budget, you may need to explore more specialized options.
Need more help deciding what marketing platform(s) to pursue?
Where’s your cell phone right now? It’s probably within an arm’s reach, definitely close enough to hear the ping of a new text message.
Across the globe, over 6 billion text messages are sent daily. If you work in digital marketing, you can use this to your advantage.
Think about how often you pick up your phone a day. Now think about the visibility your messages could have if you can reach people through text.
If you’re looking for an effective customer retention strategy to keep your audience engaged, text marketing can be a powerful channel to invest in. From best practices to tips on growing your contact list, explore how SMS marketing campaigns can transform your business.
SMS Marketing: The Basics
Short message service, or SMS, marketing is a form of mobile marketing that uses text message campaigns to send information to a consumer’s cell phone. This could include anything from discounts and order confirmations to business updates and customer feedback surveys.
Much like email marketing, SMS messages are managed in a CRM where texts can be sent manually or in bulk. Unlike emails, however, SMS marketing campaigns are simpler, more concise, and more likely to be opened.
Bottom line: it’s one of the most powerful digital marketing tools because it puts businesses in direct contact with customers on a channel that’s proven to capture attention.
Types of Campaigns
SMS marketing campaign messages usually fall into 1 of 2 categories: promotional or transactional. Let’s take a look at how they’re used.
1. Promotional
Anything that pushes the sale of a product or service — discounts, coupon codes, limited-time offers — is categorized as a promotional message. These have a clear marketing intent: user engagement.
Whether it’s to make a purchase, fill out a survey, or opt-in to a loyalty program, promotional messages are sent with conversions in mind.
Some examples of promotional text message campaigns might include:
Coupons
Flash sales
Sweepstakes
New product announcements
Event promotions
Loyalty program invitations
Early access deals
Overall, promotional campaigns help keep your business top of mind and are popular for driving engagement with new and repeat customers.
Promotional SMS Marketing Compliance
Just like email marketing, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lays out clear opt-in and opt-out requirements for text message campaigns. Sending unsolicited promotional messages without permission is illegal and punishable by some hefty fines.
To stay compliant, businesses must obtain explicit consent from users before any communications are sent.
From a marketing standpoint, sending messages without permission could be detrimental to your brand reputation as well. Text inboxes are perceived as more personal than email inboxes. Sending a text to your customers without an invitation is an invasion of privacy and could cause them to think about your brand differently.
For this reason, they are a valuable customer service tool that can help boost customer satisfaction and trust.
Transactional SMS Marketing Compliance
Unlike promotional SMS text regulations, transactional compliances are a bit more flexible because they’re seen as an expectation. Consent can sometimes be implied because communications provide convenient updates for recipients about their orders.
As a best practice, however, it’s still highly encouraged to obtain expressed consent. It shows your customers that you value their privacy and boundaries, and it protects your business from any possible legal infringements.
Benefits of SMS Marketing Campaigns
Now that you have a better idea of what text campaigns are and how they can be used, let’s take a look at why you should use them.
Boosts engagement rates: SMS open rates are astoundingly high. For perspective, email open rates average just above 20%, while text campaigns average 98%. Not only are the open rates higher, but engagement rates are, too. Click-through-rates of text message campaigns average a whopping 19%!
Delivers information faster: 90% of text messages are read within the first 3 minutes of being received. If you have a time-sensitive message to share, an SMS marketing campaign is highly effective and can guarantee it reaches your audience.
Builds loyalty: Through personalization and respecting communication preferences, text campaigns can make your customers feel valued. The more important they feel, the greater the chances they’ll become a repeat customer.
Supports other channels: On its own, SMS campaign performance is strong. But it can also be used to boost your performance on other digital channels, too. You could run a promotional SMS marketing campaign to get users to subscribe to your email list or to follow your social media accounts.
Easy to create: Character counts and other content constraints make SMS messages easy to produce. They must be short and to the point, which can save time and get time-sensitive messages to your contacts faster.
Accessible for any industry: Whether you work in retail, finance, tourism, or healthcare, text campaigns can support communications in any B2B or B2C industry.
Disadvantages of SMS Marketing Campaigns
Though the list of advantages is long, there are a few drawbacks to also consider.
Permission-based: Explicit consent is required to send text campaigns. If you’re building your contact list from scratch, finding customers to opt-in can be a challenge.
But don’t let this stop you — according to an Attentive Mobile Consumer Report, over 91% of survey respondents expressed interest in receiving SMS marketing campaigns from businesses.
Message limitations: Most CRMs have text limitations in place, which can complicate the delivery of certain messages via SMS. Standard plans require texts to contain 160 characters or less. Anything exceeding that limit will be sent in a string of 2 messages and will cost 2 SMS credits.
Character limits are even more restrictive if your text contains Unicode. Messages with Unicode must be kept to 70 characters or less. (Emojis are considered Unicode and are counted as 2 characters, so craft your messages wisely!)
SMS Marketing Strategies
After you’ve decided to add SMS to your business toolkit, it’s time to perfect your strategy. Below, we’ve outlined some best practices to follow when it comes to building lists and improving engagement.
Building Your Contact List
Building your contact list starts with awareness. Your target audience must know that you have a text message option available. In that same vein, it’s also a best practice to let them know how you intend to use their number.
Any additional information you can provide about the type of messaging and the frequency of messaging could be a determining factor in getting users to join your list. Transparency = trust = conversions.
So how do you get users to join your list? There are plenty of strategies your business can try.
Text-to-join: The most basic, but tried and true method for getting users to join your SMS contact list. It requires users to text a keyword to your SMS short code or 10-digit number to opt-in
Sign-up forms: Get users to sign up using a form. Try embedding forms on your homepage, site footer, or in blog content.
Use your email list: If you already send newsletters to an email list, use that to your advantage by encouraging them to sign up and stay connected via SMS. (Note: Even if they consented to receive email communications, it cannot be assumed they want to receive text campaigns, too. Consent is still required!)
Checkout opt-ins: If you have an eCommerce site, ask users for their phone number during checkout. Add a check box near the number entry for users to check yes or no to consent to receive SMS communications.
Incentives/exclusive discounts: With a little extra incentive, like offering opt-in discounts or running deals for only your SMS contact list, more users are likely to sign up.
Promoting on other channels: Raise awareness for your SMS program by promoting it on social media. For the best results, try running a paid ad on your preferred social media platform. If you don’t have the extra budget, promoting it organically will work just fine.
Best Times to Send
Like your email marketing strategy, the success of text marketing campaigns relies heavily on being sent at the right time. Textedly suggests limiting send times to regular business hours for promotional SMS campaigns. Transactional, on the other hand, can be sent at any time since they’re typically sent by an automation triggered by a user action.
Audience Segmentation
If you’re looking for additional ways to optimize your SMS campaigns, audience segmentation can be crucial. Segmentation is the process of categorizing your target audience into additional smaller subgroups based on interests, behaviors, or other criteria.
To get started, here are some basic ways to categorize your contact lists:
Engaged/unengaged users
First-time/repeat purchases
Location/time zones
You can use these categorizations to help improve your personalization strategy. If you know how they’ve engaged with your SMS marketing campaigns in the past, you can send personalized offers based on what you know they’re most interested in.
Drive Results with an Integrated SMS Marketing Strategy
SMS is proven to be a highly effective tool for driving results, especially when integrated to assist your existing marketing efforts. If you want to boost your brand visibility and meet your users where they are most active, it’s time to tap into SMS marketing.
Explore how your business can benefit from text marketing. Contact our team of specialists to start seeing results.
On July 31, 2019, Google announced a new way to unify both app and website measurement with their new platform Google Analytics 4 or GA4 with the plan to sunset Universal Analytics in the near future.
After the original announcement, there have been many delays in the official plan to sunset Universal Analytics (UA) after backlash from many businesses. But now, there is an official date of July 1, 2023, in which Universal Analytics will stop processing your business’ data.
The switch to GA4 has huge implications if you rely on Google Analytics for measuring your KPIs, but being prepared is the best way to combat the inevitable confusion and questions you have when the switch happens.
Our goal is to help you understand eight of the main differences between Google Analytics 4 vs Universal Analytics so you are prepared to start making those business decisions you rely on.
Main Difference #1: Google Analytics 4 Interface
The most striking difference you’ll immediately notice in GA4 is the new interface. The GA4 interface looks very different from UA.
Right off the bat in GA4, you’ll see more data in the home section that’s generated by Google’s “automated insights” feature. These insights are automatically created by Google using its new machine-learning capabilities. They’ll trigger automatically whenever GA4 detects spikes or falls in your data.
You’ll also notice there are new navigation features. In GA4, you will see on the left-hand side of the property “Home, Reports, Advertising, Exploration, and Configure.” When you compare this to Universal Analytics you will see “Home, Customization, Realtime, Audience, Acquisition, Behavior, and Conversions.”
When comparing Google Analytics 4 vs Universal Analytics, all the navigation options on Universal Analytics are now under “reports” in Google Analytics 4. Under the reports function, you’ll be able to see where your users came from, what valuable actions they took on your site, and much more.
Most importantly, there are two new navigation options “Exploration” and “Advertising” which are brand new to Google Analytics 4.
Exploration Report
Out of all the changes to the platform, the most valuable to businesses is the new Exploration Reports.
With the exploration reports, you will be able to track your key business metrics in much more detail than in UA. These reports allow you to perform custom analysis and gain insights into your app and/or website’s performance.
The Exploration reports provide a variety of visualization options, such as charts, tables, and graphs, to help you understand the data more easily. Additionally, you can use the “Analysis” feature to apply machine learning algorithms to your data and uncover deeper insights.
The Exploration reports are particularly useful for identifying trends, tracking user behavior, and measuring the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. We suggest learning Google Analytics 4 exploration reports as soon as you understand the basics of the new interface, as it yields the most powerful insights.
Advertising Report
The Google Analytics 4 advertising report provides insights into your paid media efforts with a focus on attribution modeling.
The GA4 advertising report allows you to track key metrics, such as impressions, clicks, and conversions, and analyze the data by dimensions like ad creative, campaign, or audience. You can also use the reports to monitor the cost and return on investment (ROI) of your advertising campaigns.
Most notably, the “conversion paths” allow you to see your performance across all inbound advertising campaigns including Facebook, LinkedIn, Spotify, Google Ads, and more.
The advertising reports, if you use them properly, will help you optimize your advertising spend, refine your targeting, and improve the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Main Difference #2: Event-Based
Besides the initial interface differences between Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics, the next biggest difference is the use of events in GA4.
Every metric in Google Analytics 4 is an event while Universal Analytics is hit-based.
This means when you are analyzing your data in GA4, everything from a page view to a form fill is an event.
While Universal Analytics can record events as well as page views, GA4 provides a more comprehensive view of user behavior and engagement. Comparing this to Universal Analytics, which tracks and measures the number of times a page is viewed by the user.
Main Difference #3: Session Scope
If you are comparing your Google Analytics 4 vs Google Universal metrics, you may notice, they are not the same. Why? There are a couple of different answers, but the most notable is the way GA4 defines sessions.
Firstly, GA4 defines sessions as “when a user opens your app in the foreground or views a page or screen and no sessions are currently active”. Whereas in Universal Analytics, a session is “ a group of user interactions with your website that takes place within a given time frame.”
The main difference between Google Analytics 4 vs Universal Analytics sessions is that GA4 uses sessions as a period of user activity whereas Universal Analytics sessions are a period of time.
Google has also said sessions in your GA4 property may be lower than your Universal Analytics property because “Google Analytics 4 does not create a new session when the campaign source changes mid-session, while Universal Analytics does create a new session under that circumstance.”
Secondly, GA4 sessions are based on events, rather than page views. A session in UA is calculated as the time between the first and last hit. Whereas GA4 is calculated as the time between the first and last event.
Lastly, a single session in GA4 can be across multiple traffic sources where a UA session stops when the original campaign source is stopped.
One last note about sessions in GA4 is the metrics associated with them. Since GA4 is based on events, there are new session metrics within GA4.
These include:
Engaged Sessions
An engaged session in GA4 is a session that spent 10 seconds or more on the site/app or viewed 2 or more screens/pages or had a conversion event.
Engaged Sessions Per User
Engaged sessions per user is the number of engaged sessions divided by the total users on your site and mobile apps.
Main Difference #4: User Scope
Another distinction between Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics is the way the users on your site are measured.
In Universal Analytics there are two user metrics: total users and new users. In Google Analytics 4, there are now three user metrics:total users, new users, and active users.
As mentioned above, since everything in GA4 is based on events, the user metrics are also based on events.
These new metrics mean:
Total Users: Number of users who had an event
New Users: Number of users who had an event occur for the first time
Active Users: Number of users that had an engaged session
In Google Analytics 4, the primary metric is active users, whereas in UA it is total users.
Main Difference #5: Pageviews
Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics differ in their pageviews measurement methodology, making it difficult to make an accurate one-to-one comparison between the two platforms.
Page views are defined in two specific ways between the two platforms:
Universal Analytics: Total number of pages viewed
GA4: Total number of app screens and/or web pages the user saw
Please note, the metric of unique pageviews which is measured in UA is not measured in GA4.
Main Difference #6: Conversions
When you switch to GA4, you’ll notice a disparity in conversion tracking. GA4 uses an event-based system, meaning that each site conversion is treated as an event, rather than a pageview. This results in each user action on the site being tracked as an event.
With the addition of events, comes more advanced methods of conversion tracking in GA4. Most notably, conversion modeling.
Conversion modeling uses the machine learning capabilities of GA4 to estimate the number of conversions that may have been missed due to data gaps or incomplete data.
The machine learning model uses data from users who did convert on your custom conversions and those who did not convert. This allows you to identify patterns and correlations that may indicate which user behaviors are most likely to learn to convert.
Alongside the conversion modeling comes the addition of cross-device tracking. This means you can track how your users are converting whether they are on your website or on your mobile app. This makes tracking GA4 conversions much easier than Universal Analytics.
A great example of how GA4 has led to more conversions is McDonald’s in the Hong Kong Market. They were able to successfully increase in-app conversions by 550% while utilizing the various machine-learning algorithms in which GA4 operates.
Main Difference #7: Bounce Rate & Engagement Rate
One of the more popular metrics you could gain valuable insights from in Universal Analytics is bounce rate. This is the percentage of sessions that contain a single page view on your website.
However, in GA4 since everything is event-based, the definition changes. The GA4 bounce rate definition is the “percentage of sessions that were not engaged sessions.”
When using Google Analytics 4, it’s preferable to examine the engagement rate rather than bounce rates, which is a significant factor that sets it apart from Universal Analytics.
The engagement rate in GA4 is the percentage of engaged sessions. This can be more helpful than bounce rate as you can analyze and decide which pages have low engagement rates and strategize how to increase the engagement rate on those pages.
Main Difference #8: Filters
In Universal Analytics, it was industry standard to create multiple views within each property. Usually, this was to segment and filter out data that wasn’t valuable to your business.
When you migrate to Google Analytics 4, you won’t see the filters you were used to seeing. Instead, you will see only two “data filters” in GA4. These are “developer traffic” and “internal traffic.”
The developer traffic filter is a predefined filter that allows developers to exclude their own traffic from analytics data. These filters are automatically applied to each GA4 property when created. (It’s worth noting that these are not foolproof and may not catch all the testing developers are doing on your site. )
The internal traffic filter in GA4 is a predefined filter that allows website or app owners to exclude traffic from their own organization’s network or devices.
Those are all the filters you can add in GA4. You cannot exclude certain IP addresses, include only your operating country of business, or segment your site’s content.
This means that all traffic in your GA4 right out of the box is similar to an “unfiltered” view in Universal Analytics. This means you can be making assumptions about your data and users that may not even apply to your business.
While there are less robust filters in GA4 vs Universal Analytics, there are several ways to “create a view” in GA4. The best way we would recommend to create “views” would be to create custom reports in GA4 using the filters in there.
For instance, if you wanted to look at only United States event conversions, you would create a custom report and add the filter view “County = United States”. You can apply this logic to other segments you wish to view including channel grouping, all events, etc.
These are just eight of the main differences between Google Analytics 4 vs Universal Analytics. There are countless differences between the two platforms, but ultimately, the switch to GA4 will give you a better understanding of the actions a user takes on your website or app.
Interested in improving your marketing efforts through data analysis? Reach out to our team to develop a custom plan that helps you track and meet your business goals.
In 2016, online sales of physical goods amounted to $360.3 billion and are projected to surpass $603.4 billion in 2021. Maybe you’ve used a brick and mortar retail strategy for years and are now ready to jump into online sales. Or maybe you’re a new business that will be selling online from day one. Either way, you’ll need to build an eCommerce website.
This can be accomplished in many ways — from adding a simple PayPal plugin on an existing site to creating a brand new, custom site. No matter how you get it done, here is a rundown of what successful eCommerce websites all have in common.
eCommerce Website Design
A More Complex Sitemap
When a client comes to our team seeking an eCommerce website design, we know up front it’s going to require additional or different components than those found on a standard website design. This results in more time spent early on in the design process as we finalize the sitemap, categorizing individual products and determining how each category page, sub-category page, and product page connects to other pages.
Additional Page Templates
For a traditional website design project, there may be a handful of unique page templates created — homepage, contact page, careers page, service page, etc. As the website is built, all pages can be created from these approved page templates.
When completing an eCommerce website design, additional template designs will be needed, such as templates for a category page, subcategory page, product page, cart page, and check out page.
Other design features that may be incorporated into your eCommerce web design include:
product “quick view” pop-ups
online catalogs
product reviews
recommended products areas
The Power of Product Photography
Strong product photography can make or break eCommerce sales. Customers don’t always feel comfortable making a purchase if they don’t know what they’re getting. Product pages should include multiple photos whenever possible, including:
products on a white background
product views from all sides
close-ups of unique details
photos of all colors, prints, or other variations
products in and out of the packaging
products in use
Building Your eCommerce Website
Choosing a Content Management System
Building an eCommerce website starts with choosing a content management system (CMS). It is important to understand the limitations and designs of certain content management systems.
WordPress is a widely-popular CMS that was developed initially as a blog management system but quickly grew to incorporate full, custom sites and eCommerce sites through its WooCommerce platform. Other platforms, such as Magento, were strictly made to handle eCommerce, while a third platform category, that includes ExpressionEngine and the Expresso Store, was built to incorporate both website development and eCommerce.
Each has its own pros and cons:
While WordPress is generally easy to code on and has a large number of documentation and plugins to fit almost every need of an eCommerce store, its search functionality is sometimes lacking when it comes to larger stores. WordPress is also frequently targeted by malware, just based on the popularity of the CMS.
Magento is built to handle larger sites with many variables, but their limitations aren’t as easily fixed as WordPress which has the history, developers, and documentation to back it up. Furthermore, Magento’s search engine optimization may require additional installations which could cost more money.
ExpressionEngine is a completely custom CMS, so you can build based on your needs. However, this means that support issues could take longer to complete based on complexity.
Off-site Payment Processing vs. On-site Payment Processing
Off-site payment processing involves the user leaving your site to complete the sale. This is easier to manage from a business standpoint and many users feel more comfortable paying through trusted names like PayPal or Authorize.net. However, you are driving users away from your site. You will also be limited to the check-out process of the authorizer, as opposed to setting up any custom fields you’d be interested in adding.
On-site payment processing is more expensive but it keeps the users on your site and provides the ability to add new fields to capture user information in the future. Many on-site payment processors come with a monthly fee.
SSL Certification
For every eCommerce website we build, we acquire an SSL certificate. An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is an extra layer of security that encrypts a customer’s personal and credit card information as it travels from the web server to a browser. The only difference you’ll see in your final site is that your website’s URL will begin with HTTPS instead of HTTP.
SEO and Content Support for eCommerce Websites
Optimize Category Pages
Category pages are very useful, especially for shoppers who don’t know the exact product they are looking for. Optimize your eCommerce catgory pages by:
Focusing on your product categories. If you have thousands of products, trying to produce unique content may be overwhelming. Center your SEO efforts on amplifying the product categories by optimizing internal links and adding relevant products to each category.
Building deep-links to product categories. Use social media and other forms of content marketing, such as blog posts, to build internal links that help drive relevancy.
Avoid Duplicate Content
Unique content on product pages can be an issue when building an eCommerce website. In many cases, product information is gathered from a database, leading to duplicate content. How many times have you seen a product page where there is only a photo, SKU number, and few generic bullet points? How are users, never mind a search engine, going to understand what the page is about and what your products relate to when there is a lack of information? This is how you can avoid duplicate content on your eCommerce site:
Manually add content to your most popular product pages. Use Google Analytics to identify the best-selling product pages and make sure they have unique, relevant content that is easy to understand.
Add user generated content. When users add content, it will distinguish your products from one another. Use reviews, user photos, and endorsements to help incorporate unique content.
Product Copy In Great Detail
In terms of optimization, search engines love long-form copy. The more content on a page, the more opportunity to incorporate vital keywords throughout the text. Lengthy copy also provides more opportunity for creativity and intrigue, keeping customers on the page longer and building interest as they read.
However, writing just for the sake of writing won’t cut it. Once you’ve given the basics (size, color, materials, best uses, etc.) and what makes the product unique, explain how customers will benefit from the purchase. Be sure to include a call to action, providing the customer with further steps to take like add to cart, save to favorites, or view similar products.
And remember, a picture is worth a thousand words so your product pages need to include high-quality photography. Product videos will also take product pages to the next level. This can include sales videos, instructional videos, or 360 product videos. Encourage your customers to submit images of them using your products so other shoppers can share in their user experience first-hand.
Don’t Forget Schema
We have spoken about the importance of structured data, specifically schema.org. eCommerce sites have content that is optimized for humans but not necessarily for search engines. Adding markup code to product pages using schema.org will provide search engines with access to your data and an understanding of your products. These protocols developed by schema.org will assist Google in returning properly-organized results for users’ search queries.
How to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment
When customers shop online, they generally don’t feel as rushed to make a decision as they would shopping in-store. Rather, an online shopping experience leaves plenty of time and opportunity to really think the purchase through before making a final decision to buy. This can often result in an abandoned shopping cart.
Price discrepancies and an unfriendly check-out process are two of the main reasons that online shoppers may abandon their purchase and are red flags you want to avoid when building an eCommerce website.
Eliminate Cost Confusion
Shoppers often abandon their carts when they get to the checkout and realize that the cost is higher than expected or that there are unexpected costs associated with the purchase. A good way to settle this confusion is to have an area at the side or top of the screen that provides a snapshot of their cart along with their total so far. This way, the customer knows the whole time what their running total is, eliminating surprises at the end.
Help Shoppers Save on Shipping
Another reason shoppers abandon their shopping carts is that they don’t want to pay shipping fees. In fact, 58% of shoppers will leave their order if shipping costs were more than expected. Free shipping is a wonderful incentive to encourage shoppers to buy. But if you can’t swing this deal all the time, consider one of the following options:
offer free shipping as a promotion only during peak selling seasons
offer a low, flat-rate shipping fee
add an option to pick up in-store, if you have physical retail stores
create product discounts that compensate for shipping costs
Be sure to promote your shipping deals as soon as a customer lands on your site, on home page banners and page headers. Even better, provide the option: “no promo code needed,” and automatically add free shipping or flat-rate shipping to their cart.
Effortless Shopping and Checkout
Shopping is meant to be fun and easy. Customers hate complicated navigation when shopping and will leave the site if too much effort is involved. Make their shopping experience easy and enjoyable by simplifying every step of the way.
Sometimes shoppers abandon their cart is because they were just browsing. Offer the option to create a “save for later” list so they so they can keep track of the items they are interested in.
Another way to reduce frustration for your customer is to provide images of their items in the shopping cart instead of a description. This allows them to glance quickly at what they have and continue with their purchase.
Don’t make it impossible to navigate away from the checkout page. Oftentimes, shoppers want to continue shopping (which is a good thing!) and should be able to return to a category or product page without hassle.
Make the actual checkout process a breeze! Provide a bar that shows their position in the checkout process so they know how close they are to completion.
Enhanced eCommerce Tracking
What is Enhanced eCommerce?
After building an eCommerce website, you’ll want to track its successes and find opportunities for improvement. Enhanced eCommerce enables you to measure user interactions with products on your site. These interactions could be product impressions, clicks, product detail views, add to cart, check out, completed transactions, and even refunds. Analyzing this data is easy and completely free with Google’s Enhanced eCommerce plugin.
Step 1 – Setup
In order to get started with Enhanced eCommerce, your web developer will need to remove the general Google Analytics code from your site and replace it with the Enhanced eCommerce code that’s generated through your Google Analytics account.
Once the code is verified, you’ll need to enable eCommerce and set up the funnel of your website’s check out process. This will help you understand the drop-off points, which can be extremely helpful during your busy seasons.
Step 2 – Measure Customer Activity
The hardest part of this step is waiting for the data to compile. We recommend giving yourself at least three to six months of data before truly analyzing customer shopping and checkout behavior through Enhance eCommerce tracking.
In this example of eCommerce tracking, our client was able to analyze the drop-off rates of their checkout process. With Enhanced eCommerce they could also:
track coupon codes and other marketing campaigns
report on product performance, sales performance, and product list categories
Step 3 – Analyze, Compare, Repeat
Now you have a starting point. Going forward, you should complete comparative checks every quarter. Compare downtimes to peak traffic times, year-over-year sales, and similarities and differences between shopping behaviors and general website use.
Stuck on how to optimize your eCommerce site? Need a hand building an eCommerce site for your brick-and-mortar store? Let us do the work for you.
In every form of internet marketing, change is inevitable. eCommerce is no different and there is a major change that will be affecting your eCommerce store. This new phenomenon is known as conversational eCommerce.
Conversational eCommerce is a method of digital marketing that encourages conversations between brands and customers who are on their purchasing journey. Actually, this is not so much a phenomenon, but rather a progressive change that was inevitable.
With more than 20 billion smartphone users worldwide, users are spending more time using their phones to search and shop. eCommerce has extended from online shopping apps to messenger apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and LINE.
In this new process, the online purchase is carried out via dialog (aka conversational eCommerce). From the business side, this concept is based on chatbot software, which utilizes preset dialog patterns to analyze customer requests using text and speech recognition.
A Conversational eCommerce Success Story
It is becoming increasingly important for brands to be able to speak with users immediately about their present needs.
Uber has done a great job of doing this. When a client needs a ride, Uber stays in contact with them providing information about the vehicle that will pick them up, the rating of the driver, and how long they can expect to wait.
While not all businesses are as large and financially lucrative as Uber, this is a great example of how conversation leads to conversion. Uber spent a lot of money developing an app and creating software that communicates with the end-user.
For smaller businesses, you can utilize websites, forums, social media, and email to talk to your audience and engage with them.
How to Increase Conversation and Improve Engagement in eCommerce
As an eCommerce retailer, engaging with your audience is crucial to transform browsers into customers. A growing number of clients are utilizing social media, review sites, and online forums to voice their opinions.
Your potential clients want to know you’re hearing them, but how do you manage all these channels of communication? Conversation management software is how most businesses keep close tabs on what their audience requires. While this is expensive, it can invaluable in securing clients and converting them into loyal users.
However, there are other ways businesses can utilize conversation with their audience, with a much smaller investment.
Conversations and Engagement Principles
Communication needs to travel in both directions; you can’t wait for your audience to initiate conversation. Businesses need to be distributing content that invites their target audience to participate with their brand. This is the first step in reaching your audience on a personal level.
Make sure you focus your content to the needs and wants of your consumers. Show them that you are trying to understand them. We have mentioned in many previous posts that share-worthy content paves the road to success. One user sharing content from your site can have a positive ripple affects, putting your brand, products, or services in front of an audience you could have never reached otherwise.
There are three main steps to take when engaging with customers:
1. Observe
Take into account what the user has to say. This allows you to direct consumer insight. Keeping up with all your channels and notifications can be exhausting, so we suggest you use tools such as Google Alerts, Social Mention, and Talkwalker to oversee brand mentions, relevant topics, and competitors.
2. Facilitate
There is no point in having a social media presence if doesn’t help your audience communicate with you. Businesses need to be active and alert throughout all channels to best correspond with users. Tip: Include your social media links on all communication channels. This could include emails, your website, your online bio, etc
3. Join the Conversation
Always begin conversations by responding to a user’s comment to the best of your ability. Make your responses personal and avoid using industry jargon that could be confusing. From there, ask questions. This shows a user that you are really trying to understand his/her needs.
The more information you glean from the conversation, the more data you can collect and act upon. How do you capitalize on customer engagement? By using the information to personalize your customer’s experience.
Once Engagement is Underway, How Do You Make it Convert?
When you’ve learned more about your target audience, you can define your KPIs and create a user-focused strategy based on the data collected. In order for conversions to take place, you need to be observant of what words resound with customers.
What calls-to-action have been confirmed to be most successful? What are the top three questions or comments that you most frequently receive? Use this information to customize your message and attract new customers.
How well do you know your online clientele? Are you targeting the right audience? How can you be sure? What can you do to improve the conversation between your brand and your client?