Have you heard of option paralysis? It’s what happens when you sit in front of your screen and don’t know which extensions to choose for your Magento ecommerce store. Let’s approach this like eating an elephant. One bite at a time.
In a previous article, we covered Woocommerce plugins, so we’ll focus on Magento in this blog. Before we get into the details, just a note on choosing extensions. You can’t just look at reviews or ratings because some of the best extensions only have a few reviews. Sticking to free extensions will also not cut the mustard. They might cost you in the long run. Consider the time a developer will take to integrate and maintain the plugin as part of the cost. Secondly, ensure the extensions you choose offer great support. Check if they offer installation support and documentation to help you get your store up and running quickly and effortlessly. Lastly, ensure your extension suppliers provide regular updates to keep up with new Magento releases.
It makes sense to divide extensions into the functionality you need to run an effective ecommerce store and business. These extensions are not only necessary for sales and for keeping your web interface attractive and functional, you need them to run your back end. Stock management, invoicing, and customer service are just some of the essentials that come to mind. Before we get into some details, make sure you download extensions from a reliable, secure source.
Payments and security
The Truevo Payment Plugin integrates with Magento 2, 2.1 and 2.2, WooCommerce as well as PrestaShop. It enables your store to accept payments in over 150 currencies, it’s easy to set up, PCI compliant and completely secure. Our Developer Documentation provides comprehensive installation instructions for Magento, and we’re known for some of the best customer service in the business. So you can accept online payments from anywhere, at any time and on any device. The Truevo Payment Plugin also includes a Save Card feature, allowing your users to securely save their payment details for future purchases. The Truevo Portal provides transaction insights and detailed settlement history to help you manage your ecommerce business.
Shipping and fulfilment
ShipperHQ helps define shipping rules for items, calculate dimensions, reduce shipping costs and provide international shipping options. It allows flexibility for users when they check out without causing problems on your end. ShipperHQ provides multiple layout options for a store locator page and Magento SEO optimisation. Look at the Magento Amasty multi-warehouse inventory plugin that helps you manage warehouses. You’ll save significantly on shipping costs and be able to link different sources to your sales platform.
Conversion rates and product discovery
Unbxd is an AI-powered ecommerce product discovery tool for Magento that helps you personalise and contextualise product discovery to make product recommendations. More relevant product recommendations mean higher conversion rates which are always welcome when you look at your bottom line. The plugin keeps track of your inventory for new additions, deletions, product changes and descriptions. It also transforms your website’s catalogue pages into searchable data. A must-have for anybody serious about ecommerce. Combined with Searchanise, an advanced search and upselling tool, it makes for a powerful, searchable and personalised ecommerce site.
Communication
There are various extensions available to enable and enhance communication with your customers in Magento. They range from LiveChat (an Adobe Ecommerce Magento extension that enables customers to speak to your customer support while they navigate your website) to Email Templates and email marketing extensions like Bronto and Klaviyo. Whichever communication extensions you choose, the most important weapon in your arsenal is customer data. It drives everything from sales funnels to product selection to marketing campaigns. Blueshift is a customer data activation platform that will help you scale all your customer engagement across channels to deliver 1:1 personalised experiences at scale. It’s worth its weight in gold.
Marketing
Instagram is one of the most important social platforms where people engage and browse products. Elfsight will help you display your products on Instagram as well as on YouTube.
We’ve just touched on some of the thousands of extensions out there. Before you dive into all the alternatives be sure to check out the Magento extension marketplace. You’ll find extensions that have already received the nod from Magento themselves.
If there’s anything you’d like to know about payments speak to Truevo. We’re constantly evolving to bring you the latest in payment technology, customer service and fast payments. We can’t wait to do ecommerce with you.
