Hello everyone,

A little trick that might help many of you with your SEO.
If you are customizing your meta title and description (and you really should) you might want to use some dynamic information to save time and help you out.

First of all, before telling you about this trick, a few reminders about metas and what I think is the best way to use them.

You should always keep in mind that metas are directed to people on the web, they must be readable, attractive and relevant.
Also remember that they will appear on Google search results. People will take less than a second to decide if they will click on your link or not, do not try to make it a clickbait, just try to explain, in very few words what is your product or your service. You will get more clicks and a better bounce rate.

You should customize them as much as you can:

This is actually the most common mistake I see and one of the reason of this post.
I know, customizing metas for each product is very time consuming, more over if you work on websites with thousands of products.

My advice:
Make a global meta title and description as many dynamic values as possible, with custom attributes. This will do most of the work for you. You will just have to check the result while creating new products and make minor adjustments.

Keep it simple:
This point is almost like the 1st advice but need to be said twice 🙂
Many site decide to put the name of their site in the meta title, or their shop catchphrase, I think this is a mistake.
If someone is searching in Google “iPhone X 16GB”
They will click on a meta showing :
“iPhone X 16GB from $200, 1 year warranty”
Not on :
“Best iPhones at the best price from superphonesite.site”

Now, many plugin that helps you manage SEO have features to create dynamic meta titles and meta descriptions for your products, including Smartcrawler pro. But if you need to add a custom attribute, it is not possible. Adding a custom woo commerce attribute like color, size, model number can be very useful to customize your meta automatically and save you a lot of time.

Here is how you can add custom attribute in your meta for WPMU Dev’s Smartcrawl plugin

1st thing, You will have to create a small mu-plugin. Open up your favorite HTML editor and save tis code as custom-meta-attribute.php.

Now head over to your WordPress installation and upload this little mu-plugin to wp-content/mu-plugins folder. Once you done that it is instantly activated by the system and no more action is needed on your side. If the “mu-plugins” folder doesn’t exist then create it in the wp-content folder.

WordPress MU-plugin code:

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name:  Add custom META attribute WPMU  DEV Smartcrawl
 * Plugin URI: https://shorturl.gg
 * Description: Enables custom META attribute
 * Author:      Simple URL Shortner
 * License:     GNU General Public License v3 or later
 * License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
 */

// Basic security, prevents file from being loaded directly.
defined( 'ABSPATH' ) or die( 'Cheatin&#8217; uh?' );

// Begin mu-plugin code
add_filter( 'wds-macro-variable_replacement', function( $replacement, $macro ){
 if( strpos( $macro, '%%ct_') === 0 && is_single() ){
  global $post;
  $pattern = "/(%%ct_[a-z_]+%%)/";
  $matches = array();
  $replacements = array();
  $match_result = preg_match_all( $pattern, $macro, $matches, PREG_PATTERN_ORDER );
  if ( ! empty( $match_result ) ) {
   $placeholders = array_shift( $matches );
   foreach ( array_unique( $placeholders ) as $placeholder ) {
    $taxonomy_name = str_replace( array( "%%ct_", '%%' ), '', $placeholder );
    $taxonomy = get_taxonomy( $taxonomy_name );
    if ( empty( $taxonomy ) ) {
     continue;
    }
    $replacement = wp_strip_all_tags( get_the_term_list( $post->ID, $taxonomy_name, '', ', ' ) );
    break;
   }
  }
 }
 return $replacement;
}, 10, 2);

However personally I find both platforms rather expensive though with rather horrible reviews on Trustpilot which tells something. It is always good to make a due diligence before you buy or try something and I think TrustPilot is good place to start.

WooCommerce with only 2.5 stars:
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/woocommerce.com
–AND–
Shopify with only 1.5 stars:
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.shopify.com

But I guess since they are the most well know options that is what people use first?
But there are of course other options too for WordPress users:
https://wordpress.com/plugins?s=ecommerce which is in my opinion worth looking into too.

To Use Woocommerce or Shopify

Are you looking to set up an online store but don’t know where to start? If you’re considering using WordPress for your eCommerce website, then you’ve likely heard of the two most popular eCommerce plugins: WooCommerce and Shopify.

In this post, we’re going to pit WooCommerce against Shopify and help you figure out which platform is the best for your needs. We’ll try to cover everything from the basics of each platform to the key differences between them. By the end of this post, you should have a good understanding of which platform is right for you.

Why WooCommerce Is The Best ECommerce Platform For WordPress?

When it comes to eCommerce, there are a number of different platforms available. However, WooCommerce is the best option for WordPress-based stores. It’s free to use, and it integrates seamlessly with WordPress. This means that setting up and managing your online store is easy.

In addition, there are a wide range of plugins and themes available for WooCommerce, giving you the ability to customize your store to meet your specific needs. Moreover, WooCommerce is very popular; this means that there is a large community of users who can offer support and advice when needed.

WooCommerce is the eCommerce platform for WordPress. It’s free to use, and it integrates seamlessly with WordPress. This means that setting up and managing your online store is easy. In addition, there are a wide range of plugins and themes available for WooCommerce, giving you the ability to customize your store to meet your specific needs. Moreover, WooCommerce is very popular; this means that there is a large community of users who can offer support and advice when needed. So if you’re looking for an eCommerce platform that will make your life easier, then WooCommerce should be at the top of your list.

The Benefits Of Using WooCommerce Over Shopify
More than 26% of the top 10 million sites on the web use WordPress, so it’s definitely a popular platform. WooCommerce is one of the most popular WordPress plugins, and it offers a lot of benefits that can be useful in your store

For example, WooCommerce gives you more control over your store and data. You can manage everything from product prices to shipping information in WooCommerce. Additionally, WooCommerce is more flexible when it comes to choosing a payment processor. So you can use any payment processor that you want, without having to worry about compatibility issues or limitations with Shopify. Finally, Shopify is a hosted platform which means you don’t have to worry about hosting fees or server maintenance.

However, there are some disadvantages to using WooCommerce over Shopify. For example, WooCommerce doesn’t offer as many features and options when it comes to editing the design. So if you’re looking for a more non-developer friendly platform, then Shopify may be a better option. Additionally, WooCommerce more technical knowledge than Shopify when it comes to setting up your store or managing your content.

The Key Differences Between WooCommerce And Shopify
If you’re looking to start an ecommerce business, there are a few key differences between WooCommerce and Shopify that you should consider.

WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress, while Shopify is a standalone platform. This means that WooCommerce is free to use, while Shopify charges monthly fees. Additionally, WooCommerce offers 24/7 customer support, whereas Shopify does not.

Shopify also has a built-in payment gateway, while WooCommerce does not. If you want to accept payments through your ecommerce site, then you’ll need to purchase and install a payment gateway such as PayPal or Stripe. This can be costly, and may not be feasible if your ecommerce site only handles small orders or doesn’t have significant traffic volume.

Despite these key differences, there are some things that both platforms can do well. WooCommerce is popular for its user-friendly interface, while Shopify has a more customizability level. Additionally, both platforms offer drag and drop builder tools which make it easy to create custom ecommerce websites.

Ultimately, the choice between WooCommerce and Shopify comes down to your specific needs and preferences. If you’re looking for a free platform with comprehensive features, WooCommerce is a good option. However, if you want to pay for premium features or have more control over your ecommerce site’s design, then Shopify may be a better fit.

To Summarize:
Overall, WooCommerce is the best eCommerce platform for WordPress. It’s free to use and integrates seamlessly with WordPress, making it easy to set up and manage your online store. In addition, there are a wide range of plugins and themes available for WooCommerce, giving you the ability to customize your store to meet your specific needs. Moreover, WooCommerce is very popular, so there is a large community of users who can offer support and advice when needed. So if you’re looking for an eCommerce platform that will make your life easier, WooCommerce should be at the top of your list!

How to Change Product Zoom Size in Woocommerce Easily!

Hello everyone,

Today I like to share a very and easy, quick trick I have been using to improve UX on a WordPress Woocommerce website.

As a user of og Woocommerce you might have noticed, that on certain websites, that the zoom is too strong on the products and it makes the preview blurry and hard to view for customers.

It is specifically true for small items.
What a shame when you are uploading good-quality pictures which end up being ruined by this.

Fear no more my developer lords, the solution to your issues is coming to the door right next to you soon!

Just use a simple code you can apply in your WordPress’s themes function.php or with a mu-plugins which you create and it easy too! (I have a mu-plugin for almost everything. I love mu-pluigns because they do not bog down the server as much as plugins do.)

I’ve added an example of a MU-plugin below:

So now that you you created the MU-plugin add it to your wp-content/MU-plugins folder (if not there create it), and just save it. it is instantly activated so you do not need to manually active it.

Now add this code to fix the Woocommence UI zoom issue so you get beautiful eye-candy product images presented to your customers!

Now after the code has been applied you can test your way around with the 0.7 value and find what fits your products and your personal preference.

Hope this helps!

How to Insert Google Ads Conversion Tracking to Woocommerce.

Hello everyone,

Quick ‘How to’ today for something very important that should be done by every site owner who also uses Google Ads.

I was a bit surprised recently to see that there is no ‘click and connect’ solution made by Google Ads for Woocommerce as I was looking for a simple way to explain to a client. This seems very odd.

A little reminder : conversion tracking allows you to track every time a user buys something from your shop and understand his behavior.
It will help understand what drove him here and how much this cost you in advertising.
This is crucial to calculate your ROI (Return On Investment), basically, what this sale cost you.

You will also be able to use the smart bidding functionality offered by Google that will automatically improve your conversion rates and cost.

This then helps you optimize your campaigns and create more campaigns with the right information.

I have seen several site owners spending a lot of money on Google Ads without having this on their website, most of the time this means throwing money by the window !
Another quick tip related to Google merchant center : make sure you only advertise products in stock !! This is a major issue too less considered, you cannot convert if you cannot sell the product !

Back at it now. Here is the process for tracking conversion with Woocommerce.

1. Get your code from Google

To do that you need to go to your Google Ads account, in the top menu bar, click on tools, then on conversion.
You will then get the list of your conversions. If you have not created one yet you will have to create a conversion, you can call it “woocommerce sale” for example.

Next, you will have to click on this conversion and go to the step “Configuring tags”, and then select “configuring yourself”.

On the new page, you have to go to the bottom to “Event snippet” and you will see the code you need to insert to your Woocommerce. Copy this code

You should have something like this :

2. Go to your Woocommerce ‘Thank you’ page

To do that you have to go, with your FTP, to the following folder :
wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/templates/checkout
And open the page ‘thankyou.php’

3. Insert the code

At the end of this file, you can paste your code like this

You can save now and visit your site to make sure nothing is broken and you did this step correctly. If you get a PHP error just remove the code and check that you did everything right.

4. Change the default conversion value

By default, Google put a static value for your conversion code. In my example, the value is set at 10€, which means that every conversion will come back to Google with a 10€ total order price.
We do not want that since the goal is to calculate the ROI. So we will need to add the dynamic Woocommerce order price.
I order to do that we will need to use $order->get_total()

Here is your final code:

5. Verify that your code is working well.

You can create a test virtual product at 0€ and make an order as a guest.
On the ‘Thank you’ page you can check the page code source and see if the value is correctly showing.
You can also save the URL of this order ‘Thank you’ page and use it to verify the conversion from Google.
To do that you have to go into the conversion list, and click ‘verify’ or ‘debug’ depending on your conversion status.

I hope this helps