The JetRails Podcast

Friendly fraud isn't particularly friendly to eCommerce merchants. In fact, for many, it's the most frequent and damaging type of fraud they're experiencing right now. Learn what the payment card industry has put forth to help merchants avoid chargebacks, and what it means to your business. Guest: Yitz Mendlowitz, Paay.co Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Additional resources about fighting eCommerce fraud: https://jetrails.com/podcast/?season=1&episode=28 https://jetrails.com/podcast/?season=1&episode=34 https://www.bestworlds.com/blog/keeping-fraudsters-from-disrupting-your-magento-business-10-kinds-of-ecommerce-fraud-to-avoid/

Many software platforms reach their peak within a decade. However, at 20 years old, Drupal is still going strong and differentiating from the competition. A lot of Drupal's success can be attributed back to the open-source nature of this CMS platform and the community and ecosystem that continues building up around it. Learn about the past, present, and future of this content management system from one of the key people helping to ensure that future is bright. Guest: Tim Lehnen, CTO, Drupal Association, Drupal.org Host: Robert Rand, Director of Partnersions & Alliances, JetRails.com ...and if you're a member of the Drupal Association, don't miss out on these special member benefits that JetRails just announced: https://jetrails.com/drupal-association-member-benefits/ Not a member of the Drupal Association yet? Support this great non-profit organization by becoming an Individual Member: https://www.drupal.org/association/individual-membership

Paying for goods and services hasn't changed very much since the inventions of checks and subsequently, credit cards. As Peer-2-Peer (P2P) payment platforms are becoming popularized, what's stopping eCommerce websites from getting paid faster and with fewer fees by interfacing more directly and securely with banks? How long will it be until the eCommerce checkout process includes a more modern payment processing standard, and is it the old guard payment processors that are holding up the evolution of payment technology? Guest: Max Robbins, Paystand.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Recommended Reading: B2B Digital Payments Stats for Merchants to Know in 2020, authored by Paystand: https://bit.ly/3hGIH31

Search Engine Optimization is a moving target, but it turns out that the recipe for long-term success is more predictable than some people tend to suggest. Learn how an SEO agency has evolved to help clients rank, and what strategies they're recommending for eCommerce sites. Guest: Vlad Mkrtumyan, LogicInbound.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Recommended Reading: Best SEO Backlinking Sources for eCommerce Websites - https://jetrails.com/blog/best-seo-backlinking-sources-for-ecommerce-sites/

On one side, you have your ERP and Point of Sale (POS) software. On the other, you have your eCommerce platform and digital sales channels. How do you manage inventory and orders? What happens when shoppers expect faster, more seamless shopping experiences across your sales channels than you're able to provide? As we uncover in this episode, many businesses either find themselves stuck on old software, or they've moved to a new eCommerce platform with the promise of modernization, but their software is still siloed. In today's world of click-and-collect ordering and curbside pickup, you need more than old multichannel integrations to meet the expectations of your shoppers. Guest: Anil Patel, Hotwax.co Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

Wouldn't it be nice if website and application development projects were simple? It would be great if you could have all of the tech of Amazon's marketplace in minutes and for a low fixed price. However, like so many things in life, it's just not that simple. What looks easy to the user can require a tremendous amount of complex coding to deliver. How have agencies stepped up their game when it comes to project management and communications? What do buzzwords like Waterfall, Agile, and Scrum have to do with it? How can you set yourself up for success in a complex project, like the buildout of an eCommerce website? We cover it all in this episode! Guest: Matthew Krecker, Liventus.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

How has the Magento Extension world evolved? Which types of extensions are in demand? How does the Magento Marketplace fit into the mix? What are the top support issues extension developers face? A few weeks ago, Robert sat down with a couple of veterans of the Magento Extension world to get answers! Guests: Alexander Galtsow + Artem Kuznetsov of Aheadworks.com, a RaveDigital company Host: Robert Rand of JetRails.com

Nextopia and Searchspring spent years competing head-to-head to provide eCommerce sites with the best site-search and navigation tools. They each honed their solutions to help shoppers connect with products that they were most likely to purchase. Then they were both bought by the same company. Now they're one company: Searchspring. What's happening behind the scenes? Why is there tech so valuable? Why do merchants need help from a company like Searchspring to deliver better shopping experiences? We've got answers! Guest: Thomas Turley, Searchspring.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Recommended Reading: https://jetrails.com/blog/3-ways-to-improve-your-magento-search/ https://searchspring.com/magento-end-of-life:-stats,-dates,-solutions-&-resources/

In previous episodes, we've discussed optimizing product data, and the term "PIM" always comes up. So we invited a guest to break down just what a good PIM does, and how product information management software can bring a lot of value to businesses with eCommerce sales channels. Guest: Jon Marsella, JasperPIM.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com If you enjoyed this episode, you'll probably like episode 33 on Digital Merchandising too: https://jetrails.com/podcast/?season=1&episode=33

There was a time when your users would access your entire website directly from your web hosting server. Now, if you're focused on speed, security, scalability, and reliability, you're undoubtedly using an edge network to deliver a better experience to your web visitors while doing a better job of keeping your hosting server(s) stable and safe. How does all of this work? Will this technology give you a leg up on your competitors? What about using different vendors for CDN, WAF, and other solutions that live on an edge network? We tackle this (and more) in this informative episode! Guest: Stewart McGrath, Section.io Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

There are more teams of web developers in the world than we can count. While they all have different strengths and weaknesses, pros and cons, what if some of them started to evolve into Public Benefit Corporations? What would change? Who would be better off? Listen to this episode to learn why one agency is following the path of companies like Allbirds, Ben & Jerries, Bombas, New Chapter, Patagonia, and Tom's Shoes to operate as a "B Corp". Guest: Charles "Carlos" Fry of Codexitos.com Host: Robert Rand of JetRails.com More about Code Éxitos: https://youtu.be/v2uKCLHsCbQ

If you're migrating to a new Magento 2 website, the last thing that you want to do is lose historical SEO rankings along the way. Ideally, you want replatforming to this brand new version of your eCommerce store to lead to better results, not worse. So, how do you make sure that you accomplish your SEO goals (and avoid common pitfalls) while moving to a fresh instance of M2? Tune in to learn what to do AND what not to do to keep your SEO rankings stronger than ever! Guest: Rita Demyanchik, Mobecls Host: Robert Rand, JetRails Additional Recommended Resources: https://mobecls.com/magento-migration-seo-checklist/ https://mobecls.com/migration-seo-control/ https://jetrails.com/blog/best-seo-backlinking-sources-for-ecommerce-sites/ https://emarsys.com/learn/blog/6-ways-web-hosting-impacts-digital-marketing-success/

Magento has been in the process of deprecating just about all of their payment gateway integrations. Why are they doing it? What impact will it have? Tune in and find out! Guest: Alex Povolotski, CollinsHarper.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Recommended reading: https://community.magento.com/t5/Magento-DevBlog/Deprecation-of-Magento-core-payment-integrations/ba-p/426445 https://docs.magento.com/user-guide/stores/compliance-payment-services-directive.html Still on Magento 1? Learn about M1 EOL Resources: https://jetrails.com/magento-1-eol-end-of-life-quick-guide/ Public Service Announcement: If your business is being impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis, assistance is available! We highly recommend that you take advantage of initiatives like https://keepsmallstrong.org/ and https://www.tompuchalski.com/ that focus on pairing merchants with industry experts and firms, many of whom are offering services at no charge, or at steeply discounted rates.

Having proper systems and processes to allow your eCommerce team to collaborate and produce outstanding product information can give you a leg up on the competition in multiple ways. After all, your product data impacts your site navigation, digital marketing, site search, conversion rates, your ability to sell across online channels like marketplaces, and more! Learn where businesses get stuck in the mud when it comes to managing their product data, and how some companies are taking a more modern approach to optimize their data. Guest: Steve Engelbrecht, Sitation.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Public Service Announcement: If your business is being impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis, assistance is available! We highly recommend that you take advantage of initiatives like offline2on.com/ and www.tompuchalski.com/ that focus on pairing merchants with industry experts and firms, many of whom are offering services at no charge, or at steeply discounted rates.

We've spoken about Magento 1 End of Life (EOL) and the security implications of staying on M1 after June of 2020... but in our previous episodes, we've only mentioned PCI Compliance. In this episode, we'll dive deep into the risks Magento 1 merchants will face and the actions they should take to stay compliant. Spoiler alert! Magento 1 merchants are risking losing their ability to run credit cards on their websites. Guest: Joe Rollinson, BestWorlds.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Recommended Resources Best Worlds M1 EOL PCI Compliance Checklist: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dAFeAyebPv_V8HXU8UZgLTouBdbhTqBhfi6xdZ99N9E/edit?usp=sharing JetRails M1 EOL Security & Support: https://jetrails.com/magento-1-eol-end-of-life-quick- guide M1 End of Life eBook: For a 2020 update on this topic, check out this helpful eBook: https://www.bolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Bolt-Magento-1-End-of-Life-Survival-Guide-1_compressed.pdf JetRails FAQ on PCI Compliance: https://jetrails.com/pci-compliant-hosting/ Visa Advisory on M1 EOL: https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/acquirer-advisory-magento-migration.pdf Public Service Announcement: If your business is being impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis, assistance is available from an even wider range of the eCommerce community. We highly recommend that you take advantage of initiatives like offline2on.com/ and www.tompuchalski.com/ that focus on pairing merchants with industry experts and firms, many of whom are offering services at no charge, or at steeply discounted rates.