The JetRails Podcast

Cash flow can make or break a business, and eCommerce businesses are no exception. Online sellers need liquidity to pay for inventory and other expenses. In times of turmoil, merchants may need more cash on hand because revenue is lower than normal. Conversely, a loan can be crucial when you need to buy more inventory or bring in more labor to meet increased demand. While traditional loans and lines of credit may be helpful, the tech industry has created special data-driven products just for the eCommerce market. In this episode, we look at some particular offerings specifically for online sellers, while also talking about the economic landscape that merchants are currently facing. Guest: Alex Sklar, Payability.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Special Offer from Payability for JetRails Podcast Listeners/Viewers: $250 Sign on Bonus + Preferred Rates for High Volume Businesses! http://go.payability.com/JetRails 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 https://offline2on.com/ 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.

Successfully transitioning B2B buyers to an eCommerce sales channel is often much more complex than opening up an online retail store. However, whether you're a manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, or sell complex or high-ticket B2B items, an eCommerce website can empower you and your team to greatly increase the efficiency and success of your sales and marketing operations. Guest: Angela Murphy, MSTS.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Public Service Announcement: If your business is being impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis, assistance is available from the eCommerce community. We highly recommend that you take advantage of initiatives like https://offline2on.com/ and https://www.tompuchalski.com/

There have been recent calls to extend the end of life of Magento 1 because, to quote a very wise person, "now is not the time" for merchants whose businesses are experiencing an unprecedented market event to be focused on hitting a deadline to replatform. While Adobe has not extended the EOL of M1, luckily, the Magento community has created options to safely and securely stay on Magento 1. On this episode, we specifically discuss Mage One and Magento 1 patching after June of 2020. Guest: Rico Neitzel, Mage-One.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Want to learn more about M1 EOL? Visit https://jetrails.com/magento-1-eol-end-of-life-quick-guide/ For a more recent 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 Public Service Announcement: If your business is being impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis, assistance is available from the eCommerce community. We highly recommend that you take advantage of initiatives like https://offline2on.com/ and https://www.tompuchalski.com/

With so many brick-and-mortar shops closed, if a fraudster wants to use a stolen credit card to make purchases, they pretty much have to turn to eCommerce stores. At the same time, with some eCommerce websites experiencing lower sales, they may actually see a higher percentage of fraudulent orders. Fraudsters don't take a vacation because of a pandemic, even if normal shoppers may be more skittish about placing orders. Tune in to learn more about current eCommerce checkout fraud trends in the age of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, and learn about full-time fraudsters that are always trying to make a quick buck, and how to protect your bottom line without getting in the way of good orders. Guest: Rafael Lourenco, Clear.Sale Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Public Service Announcement: If your business is being impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis, assistance is available from the eCommerce community. We highly recommend that you take advantage of initiatives like https://offline2on.com/ and https://www.tompuchalski.com/

We're experiencing unprecedented market conditions, but this is not the first recession that eCommerce businesses have experienced. While not all challenges can be overcome, many online shops can position themselves to grow both during and immediately after this downturn. Guest: Sasha Berson, CatapultRevenue.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Public Service Announcement: If your business is being hurt by the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis, assistance is available from the eCommerce community. We highly recommend that you take advantage of initiatives like https://offline2on.com/ and https://www.tompuchalski.com/

In order to meet your requirements, you may need a website or app that "breaks the mold". While using a popular eCommerce, CMS, or other framework will often be your best bet, that's not always the case. So, how do you know if custom is right for you? Tune in to learn the in's and out's from risk analysis, through project planning, and long-term maintenance. If your organization is scrambling to launch something new due to COVID-19, like a new eCommerce site that you believe will require a complex site build, be sure to check out this episode. Guest: Tim Dolloff, Liventus.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

Merchants need to be versatile enough to meet customer needs and expectations. An omnichannel experience can allow you to support your customers seamlessly across systems, channels, and even physical locations. This episode was recorded shortly before retailers started closing their doors in the USA, but we're quickly seeing just how important omnichannel strategies - like Buy Online Pickup In Store (BOPIS) - are to eCommerce operations. If you're using Magento, or considering it, this episode will help you understand the basics of developing an omnichannel gameplan with Magento 2. Guest: Ivona Namjesnik, ImaginationMedia.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Additional Recommended Materials: https://jetrails.com/blog/how-to-make-your-magento-ecommerce-business-omnichannel/

Popular Content Management Systems like Magento, Drupal, WordPress and WooCommerce provide you with lots of features, plugins, integrations, and flexibility. However, their popularity can also make them targets for hackers who look for weaknesses they can exploit en masse. Need to know how to keep your site safe and secure on a great CMS or eCommerce platform? Then this episode is for you! Guest: Victor Santoyo, Sucuri.net Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Additional Recommended Resources: https://jetrails.com/security/ https://jetrails.com/magento-1-eol-end-of-life-quick-guide/

A year ago, we talked about the end of life of Magento 1 as something that merchants would have lots of time to plan for. Now, it's becoming clear that a very large number of merchants will remain on M1 for a period of time after the official end of life. What will change for these merchants? What risks will they have, and how can they mitigate those risks? Tune in to learn more! Guest: Mark Lewis, CTO & Founder, Netalico.com Host: Robert Rand, Director of Partnerships & Alliances, JetRails Looking for an article mentioned in this episode? Check out https://jetrails.com/blog/ Many of the resources mentioned in this episode are also referenced in this recent article about M1 End of Life: https://www.nextopia.com/blog/2020/01/magento-end-life-stats-dates-solutions-resources/ 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 You can also learn more about how JetRails is supporting Magento 1 users at: https://jetrails.com/blog/magento-1-end-of-life-hosting-support/

Whether through Apps, Extensions, Modules, Plugins, or Addons, eCommerce website owners are compelled to integrate additional features and functionalities into their sites in order to improve the shopping experience for customers and make operations more efficient and profitable. With so much software out there, how do you find the best software to add to your website? How do you measure the risks, rewards, and real costs of apps, extensions, and integrations? Two industry veterans shed some light on how different sized merchants can and should tackle this need in different eCommerce ecosystems like Magento and Shopify. Guest: Derric Haynie, eCommerceTech.io Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

With Magento, you can enhance your site with additional software, such as by installing individual extensions or integrating other standalone systems via API. However, some extension developers have been pushing these boundaries. There are limitations to what an extension can do, and there are questions about long-term support for extensions (as many Magento 1 users have begun to experience). Tune in to learn about this journey of shifting from offering one-off extensions to creating more robust and better supported SaaS solutions. Guests: Virgil Ghic & Tristan Oker, WeltPixel.com / WeSupplyLabs.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

There are times when both agencies and end-users alike determine that they need freelancers to help with particular short-term or long-term projects. However, finding high-quality, dependable freelancers that will be available right when you need them can be very difficult. Robert and Raleigh discuss the challenges that businesses face in finding dependable freelance devs, including some of the ways that Codeable has streamlined the process for the WordPress and WooCommerce communities. Guest: Raleigh Leslie, Codeable Host: Robert Rand, JetRails Mentioned Resources: Get a $60 credit to try out Codeable for the first time: https://codeable.io/partners/jetrails/ (Note: JetRails gets no kickbacks, this is simply an offer extended by Codeable for our podcast listeners) Test your Time to First Byte (TTFB): https://jetrails.com/speed/ Learn about WordPress Loading Speed Optimization: https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/wordpress-page-speed/#7-providers-of-tools-for-checking-page-speed

Magento 2.0 and 2.1 already reached their "end of life" dates, and Magento 2.2 will go end of life in a few weeks. Meanwhile, Magento has started to release patches for Magento version 2.3.2+, allowing merchants to patch instead of upgrading, minimizing the development work needed to keep a Magento 2 site secure. Add to that Temando, the system powering Magento Shipping, is being shut down, and some payment gateways like Cybersource and eWay are being deprecated from Magento releases. There's a lot to take in, but in this episode, we cut through the noise and talk about what Magento merchants can do to operate safely and effectively. Guest: Brandon Alberts, NuEthic Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Read up on more details about these M2 End of Life dates on The JetRails Blog: https://jetrails.com/blog/magento-2-0-2-1-and-2-2-end-of-life-dates/ Still have questions about upgrading and patching your Magento 2 site? Get a free consult from the NuEthic team! https://nuethic.com/

In the early days of eCommerce, digital marketing was [relatively] easy. There was less competition, and channels like Google Ads had a lower average cost per click (CPC). Of course, paying for clicks that don't turn out to be profitable, or that may even turn out to be from bots and not real shoppers, can be a big risk. What's not a bit risk, is a new pay-for-performance model that's emerged. Guests: Cooper Harris, Founder & CEO, Klickly Daren Limas, Accounts Director, Klickly Klickly is currently by invite only, but as JetRails Podcast Subscribers, you can skip the line: http://bit.ly/Skip-The-Line Host: Robert Rand, Director of Partnerships & Alliances, JetRails.com

In eCommerce, you need lots of systems and experts to grow and thrive, including an eCommerce platform, designers and developers, marketers, apps and extensions, web hosts, and systems that will integrate with your website, such as to accept credit cards. While there may be many independent companies providing solutions for your site, many of these teams work together to bring you better solutions, support, and results. In this episode, we get into details on best practices, why some companies are partnered, why some aren't, and what it all means to you. Guest: Rachel Jacobs, eCommercePartnerships.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com