Short Summary

• Surfer SEO is an AI-powered on-page optimization tool that provides data insights to help users improve their search engine rankings.

• Its features include Content Editor, SERP Analyzer, Content Audit, and Surfer AI for content creation.

• It offers a range of powerful features at different price points and can be integrated with other tools to expand its capabilities.

Understanding Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is a robust on-page optimization tool that evaluates more than 500 ranking elements, providing data-driven recommendations for content enhancement. Why is it so popular among SEO professionals? The secret lies in its ability to analyze the top-ranking pages for a given keyword and offer actionable insights to improve your content’s SEO performance. In this surfer seo review 2023, we will explore the features and benefits of Surfer SEO. In our surfer seo review conclusion, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the tool’s capabilities.

While there are surfer seo alternatives in the market, such as Page Optimizer Pro, Frase, and Scalenut, Surfer SEO stands out with its ease of use, content structure assistance, LSI keyword analysis, and the ever-evolving Grow Flow feature.

However, it’s important to note that the tool is not without its drawbacks, such as the less-than-optimal AI writing capability.

What is Surfer SEO?

Surfer SEO is a powerful SEO tool designed to optimize your content for improved search engine rankings by providing insights based on the analysis of top-ranking pages. Among various SEO tools, this one evaluates more than 500 on-page signals, including on page seo factors, such as:

• TF-IDF

• Meta titles

• Alt tags

• LSI

• NLP

These insights help users identify the best target keyword to focus on for their content using the Surfer keyword research tool. Whether you’re a data-driven content creator or a professional working on scalable content, Surfer SEO is an ideal choice for you.

One of the most popular features of Surfer SEO is the Content Editor, which allows users to import content from a URL, create documents, and write pieces while following the formatted guidelines and terms provided by the tool. The AI-powered Outline tab in Surfer’s Content Editor generates sections of content based on competitors’ content, making it easier for users to create SEO-optimized articles.

How Surfer SEO Works

Surfer SEO works by evaluating multiple on-page elements, such as keyword utilization, meta tags, and backlinks, to provide actionable insights for content optimization. The tool analyzes various on-page factors and helps users enhance their website’s performance on search engine results pages (SERPs). One of the features of Surfer SEO is the Domain Planner tool, which helps users identify quick wins and missed SEO opportunities by displaying metrics like Content Score, monthly search volume, traffic, ranking position, and impressions.

To edit a page in Surfer SEO’s Content Editor, users can follow these steps:

1. Click the purple icon next to the page in the Domain Planner report.

2. Make necessary alterations based on Surfer’s recommendations.

3. Republish the page in their content management system (CMS).

The process is designed to be user-friendly and efficient, ensuring that your content is optimized for both humans and search engines.

Key Features of Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO offers a range of features to help users optimize their content and improve their search engine rankings. These features include:

• Content Editor

• SERP Analyzer

• Content Audit

• Content Planner

• Surfer AI

Each of these features serves a unique purpose and adds value to the overall user experience.

In this section, we’ll explore each of these key features in detail and discover how they can help you create data-driven, SEO-optimized content.

Content Editor: The Heart of Surfer SEO

The Content Editor lies at the heart of Surfer SEO, providing comprehensive real-time feedback, keyword analysis, and content optimization suggestions. By offering insights into how your content is performing and how to optimize it for SEO, the Content Editor becomes an invaluable tool in your content creation process. The interface is intuitive and straightforward, similar to creating content on Google Docs or MS Word, ensuring a seamless user experience.

As you write your content, the Content Editor provides you with a list of relevant keywords and phrases to include, which can help in optimizing your content for search engines. By following the recommendations provided by Surfer SEO’s Content Editor, you can ensure that your content is not only engaging for your audience but also optimized for search engine rankings.

SERP Analyzer: Competitive Analysis Made Easy

Understanding your competition is crucial in the world of SEO, and Surfer SEO’s SERP Analyzer tool makes this task easier than ever. By analyzing the competition for a given keyword, the SERP Analyzer provides insights into on-page factors that contribute to high rankings, such as:

• keyword usage

• meta tags

• backlinks

• average word count

• the number of H2 tags of ranking pages

• using a keyword research tool

The primary output of Surfer SEO’s SERP Analyzer is a graph illustrating the correlation between word count and average position over time. This data can help you identify the optimal content length and keyword distribution for your content, ensuring that you stay ahead of your competition.

The new feature in Surfer SEO’s SERP Analyzer that displays common backlinks for the SERP being analyzed provides further insights into the backlinks that contribute to high rankings.

Content Audit: Reviving Old Content

Reviving old content is essential for maintaining a strong online presence, and Surfer SEO’s Content Audit feature helps you do just that. The Content Audit enables you to:

• Detect and rectify issues with your existing content

• Receive data-driven recommendations for improvement

• Identify obsolete data

• Improve formatting

• Avoid keyword stuffing

By utilizing the Content Audit feature, you can ensure that your content is up-to-date, well-optimized, and engaging for your audience.

As a result, you can boost the overall quality of your content and make it more appealing to search engines.

Content Planner: Strategic Planning Assistance

The Content Planner in Surfer SEO is designed to assist users in planning and strategizing content creation based on keyword research and search intent. By providing preliminary data such as monthly search volume and keyword difficulty for each cluster of related content, the Content Planner allows you to make informed decisions about which topics to cover in your content strategy.

This helps you focus your efforts on the most promising content opportunities, ensuring that you get the most out of your content creation efforts.

Surfer AI: AI Content Writer

Surfer AI is an AI-driven content writer that helps users create SEO-optimized content quickly and efficiently. By using natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, Surfer AI analyzes the content of a website and creates SEO-optimized content, along with recommending keywords and phrases to be incorporated in the content.

While the produced content may not be as original or imaginative as content composed by a human, Surfer AI’s efficiency and speed make it a valuable tool for those looking to create content at scale.

Surfer SEO in Action: Real-Life Results

When it comes to real-life results, Surfer SEO has proven its effectiveness in improving search engine rankings and driving organic traffic. Authority Hacker, a well-known digital marketing company, reported double-digit growth in traffic after optimizing pages with Surfer SEO. This is just one example of how Surfer SEO can help businesses and content creators achieve their goals.

Another case in point is Surfer SEO’s Grow Flow, an AI-driven assistant that provides practical steps to enhance SEO visibility. While it’s not perfect and cannot substitute for quality tools and expertise, the Grow Flow feature can still offer valuable insights and recommendations to help users improve their website’s performance.

These real-life examples showcase the potential of Surfer SEO in helping users achieve better search engine rankings and increased organic traffic. By leveraging the tool’s powerful features and data-driven recommendations, content creators can ensure that their content is optimized for both humans and search engines, resulting in a winning combination.

Pricing and Plans: Is Surfer SEO Worth the Investment?

Surfer SEO offers four core plans:

1. Essential: Pricing starts at $59/month and includes access to the Content Editor, SERP Analyzer, and basic keyword research.

2. Advanced: Priced at $99/month, this plan offers additional features such as the Content Audit and Content Planner.

3. Max: Unlock Surfer AI and other premium features with the Max plan, priced at $199/month.

4. Enterprise: For businesses with unique requirements, the Enterprise plan offers custom pricing and includes personalized training, a dedicated customer success manager, and premium support.

Note: Annual discounts are available for all plans.

While Surfer SEO might be more expensive than some of its competitors, the tool’s robust features and data-driven recommendations make it a worthy investment for those looking to improve their website’s search engine rankings and drive organic traffic. By choosing the right plan based on your needs and budget, you can ensure that you get the most out of Surfer SEO and its powerful capabilities.

Comparing Surfer SEO to Competitors

When deciding whether Surfer SEO is the right tool for you, it’s essential to compare it to its competitors in the market. Some of these competitors include Content At Scale, Frase, and Scalenut, all of which offer similar features but differ in terms of pricing, capabilities, and user experience.

By comparing these tools, you can make an informed decision about which one best fits your needs and budget.

Content At Scale Overview

Content At Scale is an approach to creating a large volume of content in an efficient and effective manner, often leveraging AI-powered tools. This method can be utilized for marketing, product development, and social media management. Content At Scale provides a range of features, including AI-powered content creation, content optimization, and content analysis, as well as tools for content planning, scheduling, and tracking.

When comparing Content At Scale to Surfer SEO, it’s worth noting that both tools emphasize content creation and optimization but have distinct features and capabilities. For example, Content At Scale focuses on creating content at scale, while Surfer SEO’s primary focus is on competitive analysis and content audits. By considering the unique features and capabilities of each tool, you can determine which one is the best fit for your needs.

Surfer SEO’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Surfer SEO offers numerous strengths, including:

• Its ability to provide superior data and recommendations for on-page optimization compared to other tools like Website Auditor

• The tool’s user-friendly interface and well-designed dashboards make it easy to navigate and use, even for those who are new to SEO

• The Content Editor, SERP Analyzer, and other features make Surfer SEO a comprehensive solution for content creators and marketers looking to improve their search engine rankings.

However, Surfer SEO is not without its weaknesses. While it is more affordable than Clearscope, starting at $59/month, some users may still find the cost prohibitive. Additionally, certain features like the Surfer AI may not be as advanced as those offered by competitors, leading to content that may not be as original or imaginative as content composed by a human.

It’s essential to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of Surfer SEO when deciding whether it’s the right tool for your needs. While the tool offers many benefits, it’s crucial to consider its limitations and compare it to other solutions in the market to make an informed decision.

Integration Possibilities: Expanding Surfer SEO’s Capabilities

One of the advantages of Surfer SEO is its ability to integrate with other tools, such as SEMrush and Writesonic, allowing users to benefit from enhanced capabilities and improved user experience. By integrating with other tools, you can streamline your SEO workflow and make the most of your content creation efforts. For instance, the Google Docs integration feature enables writers to view all of Surfer’s suggestions directly within the Google Doc, making it easy to optimize content in real-time.

Surfer SEO provides a public roadmap of their ongoing projects, which can be found on their Trello page. This transparency allows users to keep track of upcoming features and improvements, ensuring that they can make the most of the tool as it continues to evolve. By integrating Surfer SEO with other tools, you can unlock its full potential and take your content optimization efforts to new heights.

Summary

In this Surfer SEO review 2023, we’ve explored the various features, strengths, and weaknesses of the tool, as well as its pricing and integration possibilities. Surfer SEO is a powerful on-page optimization tool that can greatly benefit content creators and marketers looking to improve their search engine rankings and drive organic traffic. Its user-friendly interface, comprehensive feature set, and data-driven recommendations make it a valuable resource in the ever-changing world of SEO.

While Surfer SEO may not be perfect, its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, making it a worthy investment for those looking to up their SEO game. By choosing the right plan based on your needs and budget, and leveraging the tool’s powerful features, you can ensure that your content is optimized for both humans and search engines. So, are you ready to unlock the full potential of your content and reach new heights with Surfer SEO?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Surfer SEO easy to use?

SurferSEO makes it easy to generate a report and optimize content with detailed recommendations, so it is easy to use.

By using SurferSEO, you can quickly and easily create a report that provides detailed recommendations for optimizing your content. This makes it easy to make changes and improve your content quickly and efficiently.

Does Surfer SEO work?

Surfer SEO is a comprehensive on-page SEO optimization tool, complete with features like keyword research, content planner, content editor, SERP analyzer, and SEO audit. Its features make it an effective tool to optimize website pages and improve rankings.

Confirming that SEO works.

How does Surfer SEO work?

SurferSEO provides data-driven insights into a website’s on-page optimization, allowing users to compare and analyze their pages against what currently ranks on SERPs. It offers an accurate assessment of missing elements, allowing website owners to make more informed decisions.

What’s a good score in Surfer SEO?

A score between 67-100 is considered optimal for quality and relevance in SurferSEO, while anything below 33 may suggest low-quality or irrelevant content.

34-66 indicates decent quality and relevance.

What are the key features of Surfer SEO?

Surfer SEO provides powerful features such as Content Editor, SERP Analyzer, Content Audit, Content Planner, and Surfer AI, allowing users to analyze their website’s performance and create effective content.

These features help users optimize their website for search engine rankings, improve their content quality, and increase their visibility online. With these tools, users can easily identify areas of improvement and create content that is tailored to their target audience.

Surfer SEO also provides detailed reports.

The post Surfer SEO Review 2023: A Comprehensive Look Into the On-Page SEO Tool appeared first on A Better Lemonade Stand.

15 Digital Marketing Tools to Use in 2022

1. VEED

VEED.IO is an online video editor tool designed to make creating high-quality videos simple and fast. With an intuitive and user-friendly interface, it’s perfect for everyone, whether you’re a beginner or a professional. The platform offers essential editing tools, allowing users to trim, crop, merge, and resize videos effortlessly. You can also automatically generate subtitles and transcriptions in multiple languages, making your videos more accessible to a global audience.

2. Adobe Creative Cloud

One of the digital marketing tools to use in 2022 is none other than Adobe Creative Cloud. You’ll have access to the whole suite of tools, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, XD, and other apps for social media, design, video, web, and more. Most marketers use Adobe Creative Cloud for social media, whether for TikTok and YouTube videos or Instagram posts. For example, an ecommerce marketer might also use Adobe Creative Cloud for product photography and videography. The digital marketing tools most often used by digital marketers who use Adobe are Photoshop for images and Premiere Pro for video. The whole suite of tools costs $69.99/month.

3. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is one of the most popular digital marketing tools for businesses that attract audiences through content and SEO. You can do keyword research, competitor analysis, and SEO analysis for your own website. When analyzing your own site, you can see your Ahrefs ranking out of all websites in the world to know how you’re doing. On top of this, you can view the exact number of backlinks you have and which websites are linking to you. You can even see which keywords you’re ranking for. But the special icing on the cake is that you can even get a dollar sign for how much those keywords are worth in a dollar amount in case you’re planning to sell your business. You can run site audits to find broken backlinks, uncrawled pages, and the top issues of your website. You can also do a content gap analysis to see which keywords your competitors are ranking for that you aren’t. Overall, this is the digital marketing tool people in the SEO space use the most because of how comprehensive the features are.

4. Beamer

Digital marketing tools like Beamer allow you to send push notifications to your audience when they visit your website. You can also send boosted announcements, segment your user base, and monitor the performance of your marketing efforts. While push notifications aren’t as popular as they were a few years ago, they’re great at generating traffic back to your website or a specific page. Depending on its size, the influx of traffic you get from a push notification can sometimes even be comparable to your email list. Getting people to subscribe to push notifications is easier than convincing people to opt-in to an email list as it only requires one click.

5. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the best free digital marketing tool you’ll find when it comes to your website analytics. This marketing tool allows you to view real-time traffic of your website so you can see the traffic in real-time when running an ad, sending an email, or going viral from a shout-out on TikTok. You can also view the demographics of your website traffic to understand who’s visiting your site. Age, gender, location, interests, and device are some of the audience details you can view for free in Google Analytics. You can also view how you acquired those audiences. For instance, you can see how much traffic came from social, email, referrals, organic, or even directly visited your website. And if you’re creating landing pages or blog posts for your website, you can view how many page views each page receives. Plus, how much time they spend on each page and the bounce rate of the page are also included in detail. Overall, every website should have Google Analytics installed on it, since it’s a free digital marketing tool that gives you a lot of data to better understand your website’s performance.

6. Dashlane

Every digital marketer knows the importance of storing your passwords securely. After all, hacks are becoming more common every day. You can no longer use “123456” or “password” as the passwords for your digital marketing tools, social media sites, and other log-ins. Dashlane is a password manager that allows you to store your passwords securely. You’ll be able to safely store all your auto-fills, passwords, and credit card details. If you work on a team with other marketers, you’ll be able to share the company credit card details safely as it is encrypted. Their password manager is used by 14 million people, making them a legitimate choice for password, credit card, and other confidential information. You’ll be able to create accounts for your team so that everyone can securely access passwords for team accounts.

7. Long Tail Pro

Long Tail Pro is an SEO tool for digital marketers. Like other popular SEO tools, you can use the tool to do keyword research to find profitable keywords to rank for. You can also track your rank position for your best-performing keywords, articles you recently did a content freshness on, and more. This tool also allows you to monitor your backlinks, which can be useful when doing backlink exchanges. You can also run a site audit with Long Tail Pro to help reduce the technical SEO issues on your website.

8. MailChimp

MailChimp is one of the most established digital marketing tools in the email marketing space. The affordability of the tool makes it one of the leading email marketing tools for small businesses and bloggers. MailChimp allows you to create email campaigns, manage email lists, and distribute emails to your audience. You can use a template or create your own to create a professionally designed email. The tool is no-code friendly, allowing anyone to type text in without needing a technical background. You can also automate email campaigns directly from your blog as new content is posted. Or you can choose to schedule your emails at a specific time of your choosing. Those who’d like to take their email marketing to the next level can even run A/B split tests, to better optimize the performance of campaigns to improve open and click-through rates.

9. Semrush

You can use digital marketing tools, such as Semrush, to help with SEO, content, market research, advertising, and more. This digital marketing tool allows you to do keyword research, on-page SEO, competitor analysis, and ranking tracking, just as other SEO tools do. However, it takes it a step further by offering features for other types of marketing as well. You can also optimize content, distribute it, and analyze it with Semrush. Now, if you want to take it a step further, you can also see your competitor’s ad copy so that you can improve your advertising campaigns. Not only this, but you can do some pretty detailed competitor analysis to determine what the best performing keywords your competitors are ranking for and more. If you’re currently running PPC campaigns, you can do your keyword research on Semrush, making this one of the most well-rounded digital marketing tools.

10. SERP Watcher

Digital marketing tools like SERP Watcher allow you to do keyword research, track your rank position, analyze your backlinks (and competitors), and analyze your overall SEO numbers. Some call this tool the “budget Ahrefs,” allowing you to do the same type of SEO work at a more affordable price. You can look up keywords for your business and see what keywords your competitors are ranking for. You can even track the ranking of your best-performing keywords to see if there’s been an increase or decrease in rank position. SERP Watcher also allows you to look up other websites as part of your research. If you upgrade your plan from Basic, you’ll also be able to have multiple people log in simultaneously for your growing SEO and content teams.

11. Shoelace

Shoelace is a digital marketing tool that specializes in ad optimization. The tool can be used to create retargeting ad campaigns and Google ads. You can even add workflows to improve the performance of your emails. If you don’t have an in-house ad team, you can use Shoelace to help create high-performing ad campaigns for you. The ads are split between acquisition and retention to ensure that you keep the customers you bring in. Each business gets a dedicated account strategist who helps manage the ad account, customer journey, and more. You’ll even get access to app reporting so you can view the result of your campaigns 24/7. If you’d prefer to use Shoelace for your email campaigns, you’ll be able to generate an average of 122% return on investment through the abandoned cart, post-purchase, and even welcome emails.

12. Social Bee

Social Bee is a social media management platform making it a worthy digital marketing tool for social media marketers. This platform allows you to manage social accounts like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and even Google My Business. With this digital marketing tool, you’ll be able to create content, schedule it, analyze your post’s performance, reuse content, publish content, and collaborate with others on your team. This tool integrates with popular tools like Canva. You can actually design your social media post directly in Social Bee using Canva. The tool also syncs up with a calendar so you can quickly view your promotional social events at a glance.

13. Webinar Ninja

Webinar Ninja is a digital marketing tool that allows you to create webinars. Digital marketers often focus on providing value to their customers, which can come in the form of education like an online course or a webinar. Some of the biggest companies offer webinars to help educate their customers on their products so people can reap the most benefits from a product. For example, Shopify webinars help teach you how to start a Shopify store, how to use Google Shopping, and even how to move your store from Etsy to Shopify. With Webinar Ninja, you could do live webinars for special events or automated webinars that are pre-recorded and played at the same time every day.

14. Canva

Digital marketing tools like Canva allow you to design social media posts, slide decks, and other marketing assets. You could even design products like business cards, notebooks, and more in Canva. Some small businesses and entrepreneurs turn to Canva to design logos, flyers, posters, or social media posts on their own, without needing a professional designer to complete the design. Canva has a drag-and-drop functionality that allows you to easily add graphics, change colors, and even remove backgrounds at the click of a button. For those who aren’t proficient at using tools like Photoshop, Canva is a great alternative for digital marketers looking to quickly design something professional themselves.

15. Airtable

Airtable is one of the digital marketing tools marketers use to help them stay organized. It’s similar to tools like Trello and Asana but offers additional functionality, making it one of the best cloud collaboration tools for marketers. You can add your content calendar, create spreadsheets, and automate workflows. The advanced digital marketing tool includes apps that allow you to automate more processes, simplify your reporting, and help you view data in various ways. The tool is no-code friendly, allowing digital marketers to create advanced reporting without being technical.

Conclusion

Digital marketing tools can save you time and money while helping you hit your marketing goals with the kind of data you need to set you up for success. Whether you invest in an SEO tool, an email marketing one, one that helps you manage your marketing calendar, or all of the above is up to you. No matter what marketing obstacles you face, there’s a digital marketing tool out there that gives you the data, analytics, and competitive advantage to become a better marketer. So, which digital marketing tools will you be investing in next? Let us know.

The post 15 Digital Marketing Tools to Use in 2022 appeared first on A Better Lemonade Stand.

Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Is Better in 2022?

1. Price

When comparing Shopify vs WooCommerce in terms of price, the answer isn’t directly clear cut. Shopify offers a tiered pricing system starting at $29 a month, though as features get tacked on the price increases. The pro to Shopify’s pricing is that it includes hosting, which can get pretty expensive as your website’s popularity grows when purchased from a third-party. Shopify also offers unlimited products, use of sales channels, and more even on their lowest price plan.

WooCommerce’s pricing model is unique, mostly because there isn’t a cost to use it (or WordPress either). Those looking to save money when running an online store, especially in the early stages might be more inclined to choose WooCommerce as their go-to for price alone. However, building an online store isn’t totally devoid of any costs. You’ll need to pay for your own hosting on WooCommerce, which typically only costs a couple of dollars a month on a shared server and increases as your business grows with it. The risk will be on whether your website has a reliable uptime when running your online store, especially on Black Friday.

So in terms of price, which is better: Shopify vs WooCommerce? WooCommerce wins out if you’re an early stage business or testing out ecommerce. However, more established brands may turn to Shopify for an all-in-one bundle in terms of features and price.

2. Ease of Setup

Shopify and WooCommerce both allow you to set up an online store relatively easily. Their ecommerce website builder allows a non-developer to set up a website without needing technical skills or support. But is one easier than the other? Let’s find out.

When signing up to Shopify, you can follow a step-by-step process of setting up your online store. While most of the process is straightforward, some of the details get missed in early setup. For example, most Shopify stores get set-up with a .myshopify.com domain. However, having your own custom domain name is an important step that many people only do afterwards. You need to separately add your .com domain after setting up your Shopify store.

WooCommerce’s setup is also a bit disjointed. While adding WooCommerce to your WordPress site is pretty straightforward, if you’ve never set up a WordPress site before, you’ll also need to invest and point your hosting, which can take 24 hours. So, there are a few more moving parts, such as setting up WordPress, installing WooCommerce, purchasing hosting, and buying a .com domain, and then of course setting up your website.

When comparing WooCommerce vs Shopify, Shopify wins this round. Keep in mind that you can easily figure both of them out by reading their documentation, blogs, or watching videos to get some extra support in the early stages of building your Shopify or WooCommerce website.

3. Apps vs Plug-ins

When comparing Shopify vs WooCommerce in terms of apps and plug-ins, they both have their own add-ons that you can use to optimize, improve, and increase the features of your online store.

Shopify boasts over 6,000 apps on their App Store, which are all specialized in ecommerce allowing you to add sales channels, better market your website, enhance SEO, and much more. Shopify apps tend to be created by third-party developers who charge monthly subscriptions to use their app on a monthly basis. Unfortunately, this can dramatically increase the cost of running an online store. However, Shopify does have a collection of free apps as well.

WooCommerce also has its own collection of plug-ins, but because it’s hosted on WordPress, you can also tap into all of the plug-ins on WordPress too. WordPress, at the time of writing, has over 59,500 plug-ins you can install on your website. Ultimately, you’ll be able to customize nearly any aspect of your website. Just search for any plug-in to help you solve any problem you have. However, there’s an added benefit too: most of them are free or only require a one time payment. While some are recurring, it’s not as common.

So if you’re deciding on Shopify vs WooCommerce based on customization ability through apps and plug-ins, WooCommerce wins first prize here folks.

4. Theme Design

The look of your website matters. Depending on the type of website you design, you might find yourself browsing through countless themes and templates to find the perfect design for how your website will look. Both Shopify and WooCommerce have their own themes that you can add to your website.

When comparing Shopify vs WooCommerce, it seems that WooCommerce has a much bigger collection of themes to choose from because it’s hosted on WordPress. You can find thousands of themes that allow you to integrate content and commerce on popular sites, such as ThemeForest and WooCommerce Theme Store.

Shopify, on the other hand, has a smaller pool of themes to choose from. You can find some on the Shopify Theme Store. Shopify offers several free themes but the best ones have a fee attached to them. While Shopify allows store owners to blog, there aren’t many themes with good blog designs unlike WooCommerce.

On ThemeForest, you can find over 8,500 WooCommerce themes, whereas Shopify only has 1,400 themes available.

So, when comparing WooCommerce vs Shopify, WooCommerce has a greater collection of themes available to help you find a website design you love and that works for your business.

5. Payment Gateways

A payment gateway is the company that processes payments on your online store. For example, PayPal is an example of a payment gateway. However, around the world there are dozens of brands that offer payment processing services for different regions.

Shopify and WooCommerce both offer over 100 payment gateways, proving themselves to be the leaders in this space when comparing to other reputable ecommerce platforms.

The only difference between them is that Shopify tacks on an additional fee for payment processing. The percentage added depends on the plan you’ve signed up for. However, WooCommerce doesn’t charge any additional fees for payment processing. Therefore, WooCommerce is better in terms of payment gateways when comparing Shopify vs WooCommerce.

6. Website Maintenance

Shopify and WooCommerce both have regular website maintenance. However, their processes for doing so vary slightly.

On Shopify, you will never need to update your website for the latest version. Shopify automatically updates the website with new layouts, features, and bug fixes constantly. Since Shopify has a full-development team at the company, the process of updating the website is seamless for the merchant. You never have to worry about bug fixes because they’re patched without you even knowing. You also don’t have to worry about issues around big days like Black Friday because Shopify does code-freezes during that period. Ultimately, there’s no down time, loading wait times, or anything like that while using Shopify.

WooCommerce and WordPress have store updates as well. However, you need to choose to update to the latest version. The downside to this is that you’re liable if you don’t update your website for bug fixes and so on. The upside is that you decide whether or not to install a version in case you don’t like what the newest version offers. In this case, WooCommerce gives you the freedom of choice.

When comparing Shopify vs WooCommerce in terms of website maintenance, Shopify wins this round for not burdening users to have to install updates but we commend WooCommerce for letting us keep a version we love if we want to.

7. Scaling Your Business

Your business can continue to grow on both WooCommerce and Shopify. WooCommerce has had some huge brands on it’s platform. The only downside to it is that hosting costs will grow as your business grows, whereas you can stay on Shopify’s $29 a month plan even with millions of visitors. There’s tight competition when comparing WooCommerce vs Shopify in terms of scalability because both platforms have hosted some of the biggest names and brands you’ll find online. You can browse some of the most popular Shopify stores.

8. Content Marketing

Both Shopify and WooCommerce allow you to build a blog on their platform. With SEO being one of the biggest sources of website traffic for brands, SEO and content marketing are a crucial part of building a big name brand.

Shopify has several SEO apps in it’s app store allowing you to better optimize your website for search engines. It has a simple content management system that you can create blog content for too. You can easily change slugs, redirect pages, and more in Shopify too.

WooCommerce was built on WordPress so it’s safe to say that WooCommerce’s content marketing and SEO capabilities can stretch farther. WordPress has many of the best SEO plug-ins you can find online and many of them haven’t created apps for Shopify yet. WooCommerce also has many more blog-friendly themes that allow you to build a huge blog alongside an online store so that your blog readers can easily find your store. It also allows you to copy and paste documents from Google Docs without any formatting issues.

Overall, when comparing Shopify vs WooCommerce in relation to content marketing and SEO, WooCommerce is the premier choice for merchants looking to scale through search.

9. Dropshipping and Print-on-Demand

WooCommerce and Shopify have plug-ins and apps that allow you to build dropshipping or print-on-demand stores.

You’ll find dropshipping apps that allow you to sell products from AliExpress on your own website in only a few clicks. However, Shopify allows you to do more than just AliExpress dropshipping. You could also install AliExpress alternative apps to dropship from Etsy, or create a print-on-demand business. You can add several different print-on-demand apps to include hundreds of unique products with custom designs on your website, only paying for each product sold rather than a monthly subscription.

WooCommerce has countless WooCommerce dropshipping plug-ins that allow you to dropship from AliExpress, Etsy, Amazon, and eBay. You can even find single apps that allow you to dropship from different platforms, making it more convenient in a lot of ways. You’ll also find pages of print-on-demand companies like Gooten and many more.

While Shopify has exclusive apps on it’s platform, WooCommerce still has plug-ins that offer the same functionality. Both choices are worthwhile if you plan on building a print-on-demand or dropshipping store.

10. Customer Support

With hundreds of thousands or even millions of customers on their platform, there’s always a way to learn how to maximize sales, fix issues, and receive support while building your online store.

Shopify offers customer support through live chat, email, and phone. Some of their support via email is available in multiple languages. In addition, Shopify has help docs, blog posts, webinars, and even online courses that you can access to educate yourself about ecommerce, marketing, and business in general.

WooCommerce, on the other hand, is a bit more complex when it comes to customer support. If you’re having issues with hosting, you’ll need to contact your hosting provider. If you’re having an issue with a plug-in, you’ll need to reach out to the plug-in creator. Themes purchased through a third-party will require you to get support from the creator. Overall, while it’s still possible to receive support for a WooCommerce theme, you’ll need to reach out to different companies for different components of your website making it more tedious and complicated.

Overall, Shopify’s support is more comprehensive and more convenient to get a hold of, making them the winner of this round.

Conclusion

So, Shopify vs WooCommerce, which is better? If you’re looking for an all-in-one ecommerce solution that allows you to easily set-up your website, get support, and still allows you to scale with ease, Shopify is the best option. If you’re looking for maximum customization, a content and commerce machine, and affordable pricing, WooCommerce is your best bet. Overall, both platforms are used by some of the biggest platforms online, so there’s no bad choice here. Choose the platform that works best for your business’ needs.

The post Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Is Better In 2022? appeared first on A Better Lemonade Stand.

13 Best Print On Demand Companies in 2022

1. Printful

Print-on-demand companies like Printful offer a wide-range of items that you can add your design to. While most print-on-demand companies likely have t-shirts, Printful also has other items that are harder to find on other platforms. For example, skirts, dresses, bean bags, jewelry, fabrics, pet products, and more can all be designed using Printful’s services.

When it comes to labeling, your products can come in custom packaging. You could also add your logo to the inside of clothing to ensure that people wear your label.

Printful has integrations with some of the most popular ecommerce platforms from Shopify to BigCommerce to Wix, allowing you to add Printful to your website’s backend. You’ll be able to easily add products to your store in only a few clicks after the design has been completed. Printful also integrates with sales channels like Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, and more in case you want to sell on other social platforms.

One of the best features of Printful is that there are extra services you can also add on. For example, if you want custom photography for your website, Printful is able to take professional lifestyle or studio photos for you that you can use for social media, your website, or other marketing purposes. Not only that, but you can even use their video services to make custom videos for you.

Check out our Printful review for more information about this print-on-demand company.

2. Gooten

Print-on-demand companies, such as Gooten make it easy for you to create custom merch, personalized products, and to stock your online store with unique products. So whether you’re an on the rise influencer or an up and coming entrepreneur, you can use Gooten as your print-on-demand company.

Gooten boasts over 150 trending products that you can add your design to. When it comes to unique items you could sell, Gooten allows you to add custom designs to puzzles, kitchen accessories like tablecloths and tea towels, wall calendars, stickers, magic mugs, and so much more.

Gooten integrates with ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce, Etsy, WooCommerce, and Shopify. Though its preferred platform is Bigcommerce.

You can also use Gooten as a learning hub, and learn from their webinars, blog posts, ebooks, and other content on how to succeed in e-commerce.

3. Printify

Print on demand companies like Printify have countless products ready to ship with a custom design you made from Creative Market or Photoshop. Printify, specifically, has a collection of over 500 print-on-demand products.

You’ll find unique products, such as car seat covers, teddy bears, airpod cases, shower curtains, handbags, lamps, suitcases, and hundreds of other products. You can add any design on these items to make them a one-of-a-kind piece your customers want to buy.

You can use a mockup generator on Printify to see how the design looks on the product. Doing this will help you understand if you need to alter or make changes to your website in any way.

Printify integrates with eBay, Etsy, Shopify, and many other platforms to make designing and selling your products easier. Large enterprises also benefit from having branded customer support when using Printify so you can outsource customer support to the manufacturer who has better insight into issues.

4. Custom Cat

Custom Cat is a print-on-demand company you can use to design your own products. While most of their items are in the apparel space, they also offer housewares and accessories. Items like pillows, drinkware, blankets, towels, bags, and flip flops are among some of their unique POD products they offer.

Custom Cat integrates with traditional ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

When you create products, you can choose to order a sample of every item you create. You can then use the sample to create unique photos and videos with them for your online store and social media.

You can sell your products internationally to over 30 countries, and many of them include full tracking.

One of the benefits of Custom Cat is that fulfillment typically takes about a day and a half so that products could get to your customer much quicker.

5. TeeLaunch

Print-on-demand companies like TeeLaunch surprisingly offer much more than t-shirts despite the name. While you’ll still find plenty of t-shirts, tank tops, and other apparel on this platform. Their whole collection of products boasts some gems that could be great additions for your online store. You can offer print-on-demand balloons, car chargers, mats, cutting boards, plates and bowls, backpacks, headphones, die-cut metal signs, wall tapestries, and more. With over 300 products, you’ll likely find a few great items to add to your Shopify store.

This print-on-demand company integrates with Shopify and Etsy.

6. Redbubble

Redbubble isn’t a traditional print-on-demand company. Instead of owning your own website, you can sell your unique products on Redbubble’s website. One of the benefits of doing this is that you don’t need to pay for hosting or marketing. Redbubble will market your products for you. However, you’ll need to create a design that stands out on the marketplace so that people will want to snatch up your products because it can be more competitive.

You can design dresses, leggings, kid’s clothing, scarves, tech accessories, stationery, and so much more. Their product collection includes over 70 different items.

Once you upload your design, you can optimize your title to maximize views by optimizing it for search engines. You can then benefit from Redbubble’s existing audience to draw visitors to their site, when someone buys your product, they’ll ship it to them themselves. And finally, you get paid. As your products grow in popularity, you can have items featured under Gifts or your own artist page.

7. Society6

Similar to Redbubble, Society6 allows artists to sell unique products that they sell to customers. You won’t need to create your own online store, your audience will be Society6’s website visitors. While the platform specializes in wall art, they’ve expanded their product line beyond that to include furniture, comforters, office supplies, sunglasses, and more.

Your designs can get more visibility if your work gets included in a featured collection, such as “yoga and mindfulness” or “Black History Month.” You can also rise to the top by becoming a featured artist by becoming a best-seller, ending up on a curated list, and so on. New artists also get featured so you can get an early boost when you sign up.

8. Cafe Press

Print-on-demand companies like CafePress allow you to sell on their platform. All you need to do is design your product, they’ll market it for you, and you earn money. Your designs will need to be original as they do monitor for infringement, though.

Cafe Press’ website is divided into multiple categories that allow you to help increase your visibility in their searches. People can search by product, interests, pop culture shows like Star Trek and Peanuts, who the recipient is such as gifts for mom, and by occasion.

There are dozens of products you can add your design to, such as clothing, accessories, stationery, phone cases, stickers, home decor, drinkware, and much more.

9. Zazzle

Zazzle is another print-on-demand company that allows you to sell to their website visitors. They have an extensive collection of products you can add your designs to. For example, you can sell wedding invitations, party supplies, business supplies such as posters or promotional supplies, phone grips, flash drives, baby blankets, and seasonal gifts.

Zazzle has collections for gift guides, trending products, and much more that you can optimize your designs for.

If you’re a designer in the wedding or business niches, Zazzle could be a good option for you as that’s their area of speciality. Wedding, bridal and baby shower invitations tend to be one of the most popular items you could sell on the platform. Though, their product collections are quite extensive if you plan on expanding into other verticals.

10. Sellfy

If you’re looking for print-on-demand companies that allow you to have your own website, look no further than Sellfy. Using this print-on-demand company, you can sell products ranging from physical to digital goods all from one convenient website. You could charge monthly subscriptions and allow customers to stream videos without worrying about piracy.

Sellfy integrates with YouTube, Wix, WordPress, Facebook, and more. You can sell products on any platform using a link or Buy Button.

Their product collection includes t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and hats.

11. Spreadshirt

Independent designers looking for a print-on-demand company that acts as a marketplace can turn to Spreadshirt. You can add your design to products, such as clothing, accessories, stuffed animals, embroidered items, phone cases, mouse pads, and much more.

The website is categorized into collections, such as birthday gfits, baby gifts, graduation, wedding, and much more. Optimizing your designs for popular collections can help you get the most visibility for your products. By producing many items for a single collection, your likelihood of finding success increases.

If you’re not design savvy but are looking to create products that you can sell on your business, you can even invest in the design services that Spreadshirt offers. This will likely work well if you’re looking to create business swag or for personal use, though.

12. Teehatch

Teehatch is a Canadian print-on-demand company for those looking for a cheaper alternative instead of paying in USD. Their product collection includes trending products, such as face masks, t-shirts, polos, long-sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, pullovers, sweatpants, jackets, and tank tops. They also sell hats, tote bags, and aprons.

They’ll ship the products out to your customers for you. That means, all you need to do is design and market your products to generate sales for your online store and business. Right now, the tool only integrates with Shopify.

13. Printeez

Print-on-demand companies like Printeez offer a wide-collection of products that you can add your custom designs to. Popular products include t-shirts, leggings, jackets, tote bags, caps, and beanies among others. You can choose between screen, embroidery, and digital printing for your products.

Unlike other print-on-demand companies, Printeez offers add-ons, such as hang tags, hem tags, or sizing stickers in case you’re planning on selling these items in a retail store. You could also add inside tags for clothing. Folding and bagging services are also available for an additional fee.

Like other print-on-demand companies, fulfillment is available so Printeez will ship your items directly to your customers, retail store, or to your business. So as long as you’ve got the design covered and can handle marketing and customer support, Printeez will cover the manufacturing and fulfillment of your business.

Conclusion

After comparing the best print-on-demand companies, you might notice that many offer unique products you can’t find anywhere else. You could use a combination of different services as most POD companies don’t charge monthly subscriptions. Using their individual product fees, you can add unique products from multiple sites to create a comprehensive collection of products. You could build an everything store with unique designs no one can find anywhere else. So, which print-on-demand companies are you excited to work with this year? Let us know in the comments!

The post 13 Best Print On Demand Companies for Your Online Store in 2022 appeared first on A Better Lemonade Stand.

Part 1: How to Shoot Product Photos

Understand Your Camera’s Capabilities

There’s no denying that DSLRs are capable of taking better photos than smartphones. However, smartphone cameras are getting better and better, and the trick to great product photography is actually in the setup. You can take high quality, professional-looking product shots on a smartphone. That being said, it’s important to understand what your camera is capable of so that you can use it to its full potential.

DSLR PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY

If you’ve invested in a DSLR, then you should definitely make the most of it and shoot manual. Start by getting familiar with the “exposure triangle”—aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. These three elements will determine how light or dark your image is, and the idea is to find the perfect combination for your setup and product.

The aperture is the opening in the lens that determines how much light your camera will let in, and it’s measured in f-stops. It’s pretty straightforward—larger openings allow more light to pass through the lens and subsequently produce a brighter image. The confusing part is that the larger the f-stop number, the smaller the aperture.

(Source)

So, why can’t we just use the aperture to control the brightness of the photo? The aperture also determines the depth of field, or in other words how much of the product is in focus. A small aperture will capture everything in the frame, whereas a large aperture is likely to leave the back of the product blurry. If you look at the two photos below, they were taken with apertures of f-1.8 and f/10 respectively.

The trick is to find an aperture large enough to produce a well-lit photo, but small enough to capture the entire product clearly. Start with f/8 or f/10 and work your way up/down from there.

The shutter speed is the amount of time the opening in the lens is open for. Outside of product photography, shutter speed is altered in order to determine the way a moving object appears in the photo. However, for product photography purposes, it’s important to use a slow shutter speed to allow for a smaller aperture. Once you’re happy with your aperture setting (i.e. the entire product is in focus), you should adjust the shutter speed until you get the brightness level you need.

The last element of the trio is the ISO, which is your camera’s sensitivity to light. Increasing the ISO will allow you to take photos when the lighting conditions aren’t great, however, this does decrease the quality of the photo. You should never exceed 400 as you’ll start getting some camera noise. If you can’t take a well-lit photo under 400, your light sources aren’t bright enough. Aim to use natural lighting where possible.

SMARTPHONE PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY

If you’re using a smartphone, avoid using any pre-defined filters and frames and don’t touch the digital zoom, which actually just crops the photo as you shoot. All of this will decrease the quality of the photo, so save these kinds of adjustments for the image production stage.

Take advantage of the auto-focus and tap on the product prior to taking the photo. There are also a number of iOS and Android apps that allow you to control some of the manual settings (though the results won’t be the same as using a DSLR).

And regardless of whether you’re using a DSLR or a smartphone, never use the in-built flash. If you know what you’re doing, you can use an external flash. But generally speaking, if your product is too dark, this is a sign that you’re using insufficient lighting.

Also, given the popularity of filters, keep in mind that this can change the color of how the product is perceived, which can result in refunds if the product doesn’t match what the image looks like. So avoid altering the colors of your product photos, so customers are given a realistic picture of what they’ll be getting.

Steady Your Camera

Even if you have the steadiest hands IN THE WORLD, always use a tripod or a smartphone mount. This will ensure that you have track-sharp images, even if you’re working with a slow shutter speed.

A fool-proof method of capturing clear and crisp photos is to use a tripod or mount and set a timer on your camera. When you press down on the shutter, or even lightly tap the capture button on your smartphone’s touchscreen, you apply downward/forward pressure to the camera—setting a timer will allow your camera/smartphone to re-stabilize. I like to use a 2-second timer because I find that it gives my camera just enough time to return to a steady position (and I’m too impatient to sit through the 10-second timer beeps).

Set Up a White Backdrop

When it comes to product photography, the key to a good setup is to shoot against a white backdrop. The white backdrop will reflect white light back onto your product and prevent any color spills. It’ll also ensure that your camera’s white balance calibration is on point, which will result in accurate colors.

Using a sweep is definitely the way to go, which is just a backdrop that seamlessly transitions from the vertical to the horizontal surface. For smaller products, definitely opt for a shooting table and do tabletop photography; it’ll give you more flexibility with how you position the backdrop in relation to the light source because of how portable it is. Buy a shooting table online or make your own with an old table, some scrap wood, a hammer and nails, spring clamps, and the sweep itself. I like to use white wrapping paper as my sweep because it’s smooth and reflective, but you can use anything you have on hand.

For larger products, it gets a little trickier. If you’re going to shoot frequently, buying a sweep with a stand will make your life a lot easier. If it’s a one-off shoot, grab an old sheet and find something to drape it over. I’ve used a DVD rack before!

Shoot Near a Window

Unless you know what you’re doing, avoid using artificial light sources. They require a lot of skill and expertise to use and it’s not worth the time or money if you’re just starting out.

Natural lighting is the way to go, just make sure you use it indirectly. Taking photos by a window and in a well-lit room tends to work best. In terms of positioning, the window should be to the left or right of the product, never behind or facing the camera. Natural light makes set up much easier as you don’t need to set up as much stuff.

When pairing natural light with a diffuser, you can create some beautiful product photography.

If you find that the lighting is too intense, you can diffuse it by covering the window with a white curtain/sheet or taping over it with white paper. You can also buy a diffuser for product photography online.

It’s also important to be prepared and get through the shoot as quickly as possible. The color and intensity of natural light changes throughout the day, so for consistent images, you need to be organized and work fast. Having an extra pair of hands will definitely help!

If natural light is your go to lighting source, aim to take all product photos at the same time every day, so your photos have a consistent look on your online store. However, you can edit your images in post production to help with a consistent branding.

Grab a Reflector

The only problem with shooting by a window is that the light will only hit the product on one side. To avoid harsh shadows and evenly distribute light across the product, you should use a fill light or a reflector. You can buy a reflector or create your own fill light with a white piece of card. Covering the card with aluminum foil will make it extra reflective.

You should place the reflector on the other side of the product, opposite the window. You’ll just need to play around with the angle of it to find what works best for your product and setup.

Part 2: How to Optimize Your Product Photos for Ecommerce

Remove the Background

A white background will really make your images POP. It’ll draw attention to the product and give the image a clean, professional look. Furthermore, white doesn’t clash with any other color, so you can reuse this same shot regardless of the website theme or platform design.

In post production, you’ll want to remove backgrounds for your images to maintain a consistent look on your professional product photography. The most accurate way of removing the background is to use the pen tool in Adobe Photoshop. It’s not the only way; there are a number of background removal tools online and you can try using the magic wand and quick selection tools in Photoshop too, but you’re unlikely to get a clean cut around the product.

To use the pen tool, select the pen tool and mark an anchor point on the edge of your product. The idea is to work your way around the product, creating what’s called a “clipping path” until you get to the first point and complete the path.

If you’re new to the pen tool, you’ll quickly realize that the tricky part is when the edge of the product isn’t straight. If you click and hold, you’ll see these two funny lines with dots at the end appear; these are called “bezier handles” and can be used to manipulate the curve of the line. You’ll have to play around with the pen tool yourself to get the hang of how they work.

Once you’ve completed the path, click “Selection” at the top and hit enter. You’ll see that the product has been selected.

Swap to the selection tool, right-click the selected area and click “Layer via Cut,” which will separate the background and product onto two separate layers. Delete the background layer and you’ll have the product on a transparent background (represented by grey and white checkers). If you’d like a white background, simply add a new layer and fill it in with white.

Although the results are amazing, unfortunately, background removal does take time and it is quite a fiddly process, particularly when it comes to more intricate and detailed products such as jewelry. It’s a good idea to outsourcing the editing so that you (or your graphic designer) can spend time on more growth-related tasks.

For those looking for budget ways to remove backgrounds, you can find Shopify Apps like Pixc which will remove backgrounds. However, if you’re looking to do it yourself affordably, you can find a background removal tool on Canva’s Pro Plan. All it takes is a quick one click button. The technology has come a long way, making it possible without Photoshop.

Keep the Editing Simple

There’s nothing more annoying than receiving your online purchases and discovering that they’re nothing like what you imagined. You’d probably return the item and never shop on that store again. Your product photography and post production editing needs to mirror what the product actually looks like.

Adjust the color balance of the photo to ensure that the colors in the photo match those in real life, and only tweak the brightness and contrast (or the levels if you’re Photoshop savvy) to give it a more professional product photography look.

Note: Learn more great ways to edit your product photography for your ecommerce store with our Step-by-Step Photoshop Tutorials for Ecommerce article and create perfect product pages with our guide to Product Page Design!

Apply a Template

Creating a product image template is an easy and efficient way to make your product images look consistent. Start by choosing a size you’ll use across your ecommerce store—anywhere between 1200px and 1600px on the longest side is ideal because it’s large enough for an effective zoom function and to use across social media.

Note that the size you choose will be applied to all your product images, so you should think about the shape of your product when you’re choosing your dimensions. If your products are longer vertically, a portrait template might be better. Similarly, if you have really wide products, a landscape template will help you reduce the unnecessary amount of space at the top and bottom.

Note: If your products are all different shapes and sizes, stick to a square template.

The easiest way to create a template is to create a blank file in Adobe Photoshop and to resize it to the dimensions you want. Use guides to identify the center-point by creating a vertical and horizontal line at 50%, which will help you position your products later.

Your products should take up around 90% of the canvas, so it’s also good to create equal guidelines around the edges. When you drag each individual product into the canvas, resize it until either the top and bottom or left and right sides of the product touch the guides.

Doing so will allow you to align your products, which is a lot more noticeable when they’re all next to each other on a white background. If you look at the two rows of product images below, it’s easy to see that the first row has been created without a template; the shirts are all different sizes within their own canvases. This is likely to happen when you resize your products by eye. On the other hand, it’s clear that the products in the bottom row were resized using a template, as the top and bottom of each shirt is aligned.

Reduce the File Size

As can be expected, large images take longer to load. When I say large, I’m referring to file size rather than the dimensions of an image, i.e. the value in KB, MB, GB, etc. Seeing as 47% of users expect a webpage to load in under 2 seconds, and 40% will abandon a page that takes more than 3 seconds to load, it’s important that your images are small enough to ensure a speedy site.

It’s possible to reduce the file size without significantly reducing the quality of your images. My favorite method of reducing file size without significantly reducing the quality of the image is to use Photoshop’s “Save for Web” function. Open your image in Photoshop and go to File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)… A window will appear which will allow you to choose your export quality. I find that a quality of 60 works best because it drops the file size down to below a megabyte and there’s no noticeable difference in quality.

Note: ImageOptim (Free) is a great little app that will further compress your images just by dragging and dropping them on the ImageOptim application icon. It will re-save the file and can save you another 20-40% in file size on average.

If you take a look at the photos below, the left shot of the earrings was saved as a regular JPEG image, with the quality level set to 12 or “Maximum.” The shot on the right is an exported web JPEG, where the quality level was set to 60 or “High.” The difference between the two is barely noticeable; the right is simply a little less saturated in terms of color. Learn more about optimizing images for the web in this step-by-step article (that also includes a video walkthrough!).

A Few More Product Photography Tips

1. Take A lot of Product Photos

Product photography requires multiple angles and photos to help people clearly see the product they want to order. Taking photos of a product’s sheerness in clothing will help reduce unnecessary refunds. Every product has it’s quirks. It’s important to capture the many sides of a product, so customers aren’t surprised when it finally arrives. Taking multiple product photos will also help you find the best photo to use to best represent the product. Plus, if you aren’t hosting video on the product page, you’ll want product photos of the sides and back.

2. Take Lifestyle Shots

Depending on the product, lifestyle photos might be a great addition for your collection. It could work well for fashion, beauty, or even outdoors products. When it isn’t clear what exactly a product is, a lifestyle shot can help people see an item being used to better understand its purpose. Alternatively, lifestyle shots can be used on social media to promote the product on your website. So while you don’t need to use lifestyle shots for your online store, you might use it to promote the product visually in other marketing channels.

3. Group Other Products

While this doesn’t work for all product photos, in some niches like fashion, combining other products in a single photo can help with a buying decision. Taking photos of a two-piece outfit, with footwear, and jewelry can help you sell more products on your online store. It can also create a better visual appearance seeing an entire look put together, so that people want to add all those items to their cart. Plus, great photos aren’t always about a singular product. Sometimes, mixing and matching other products together can create high quality images that push sales, which is what you want your product photos to do anyway.

4. Avoid Mixing Lighting Types

If you’re using artificial product photography lighting, you won’t want any sunlight in the photo. Mixing lighting types can create an unappealing product photo. So choose: natural or artificial light. If you use artificial light, take your photos in a dark room. If you use sunlight, turn off artificial lighting. It’ll just make photo editing that much easier.

5. Show Scale

One of the challenges of shopping online is that you can’t see an item in person. Ultimately, showing an item’s scale can be a great way to accurately represent your product. You don’t need a fancy product photography setup to do this. Even having a ruler or common object in the photo to show the item’s size can help people understand how big or small the item truly is. Don’t do photo editing that tricks people into thinking something is bigger or smaller than it is. It’ll only result in refunds. Be as transparent as possible for your product photography.

Product Photography Conclusion

So what are you waiting for? Grab your camera, set up your studio, and snap away! Although optimizing your product photos for ecommerce may seem like a lot of extra work, the results are worth it!

Take the time to get them right, because amazing photos will make your ecommerce store look a lot more professional and you’ll also be able to use them across social media to drive traffic to your store. Plus, once you get into a routine, you’ll be pumping out retail-ready product images in no time. Once you master the art of taking great product photography, take the next step and write great product descriptions, too!

The post Product Photography: The Ultimate DIY Guide in 2022 appeared first on A Better Lemonade Stand.

What is a Backlink?

A backlink is an incoming hyperlink from one website to another website.

For example: In one of our previous articles, a Shopify Review, our opening sentence reads:

“It’s been long overdue that we post a Shopify review on A Better Lemonade Stand.”

In that sentence, we included a link to Shopify, the business that we’re making reference to, and that’s a backlink for Shopify.

Any link from another website to yours is considered a backlink to your site. Any link on your website to another page on your website is called an internal link. As a website, your goal is to get quality (more on that soon) backlinks from other websites because it increases your website value, so you increase your ranking position in search results.

Why Backlinks are Important

Backlinks are important because search engines read them as a way of websites vouching for one another which helps to improve the rank and domain authority (think of this as credibility) of the linked site. However, these days, site owners practice link building with sites in relevant industries because relevancy is an important factor. So, it’s not as simple as getting links from any site.

In the example mentioned above, when we’re linking out to Shopify from A Better Lemonade Stand, Google reads that and come to the conclusion that:

• Shopify is likely a reputable website because A Better Lemonade Stand is linking out to them, and;
• A Better Lemonade Stand is likely in the same industry as Shopify.

Backlinks are recognized by search engines as a vote of confidence and the more reputable websites that link back to your own website, the more reputable it makes your website seem to search engines by association. To simplify this, a link from CNN is seen is much more credible and valuable than a link from Joe’s random thought blog that he started 2 weeks ago.

When you have other websites with high domain authority vouching for your website it helps to improve your organic search engine ranking, you get indexed faster and you also get direct referral traffic from websites that are relevant to yours which means targeted traffic gets passed on to you and you’ll experience a lower bounce rate.

How Backlinks are Measured

That being said, different websites are ranked differently in a variety of ways when it comes to reputation, and that, amongst other variables, affects how backlinks are measured.

No backlinks are created equally. They depend on a variety of ranking factors that are, for the most part, speculated.

DOMAIN & PAGE STRENGTH

Website authority can be measured in two different ways:

• The overall strength of the domain
• The strength of the URL

This means that, for example, abetterlemonadestand.com has its own rank of website authority as one entire domain, whilst abetterlemonadestand.com/blog (or this particular blog post) will have an independent authority that’s connected to the domain but separate still because it is its own page.

Bonus: To better understand domain and page authority, check out this free website and page authority checker. To use it, just enter some of your favorite websites to see what their domain and page scores are.

NOFOLLOW & DOFOLLOW LINKS

Backlinks can also be measured by being either nofollow and dofollow links.

• Nofollow links are when a website links to another but it doesn’t boost the external website’s page rank or change it’s placement in search results. Nofollow links are often used by websites if they’re linking to an unverified source for any reason, don’t want to be associated to the page they’re linking out to, or in the case of paid sponsorships, as per Google’s advertising guidelines, they require those links to be nofollow.
• Dofollow links exist when one website links to another one and they want search engines to consider that link as a vote of confidence for the website they’re linking out to. Dofollow links are common when websites or blogs are linking out to other websites or blogs and see no detriment in being associated with that website in the eyes of the search engine.

Note: Generally most links are DoFollow links unless the author of a website, post, or page specifically decides to make a link or set of links NoFollow. NoFollow links are identified by adding the nofollow attribute to the link code.

For example:

• A DoFollow link will look like this: <a href=”https://www.shopify.com”>Shopify</a>
• A NoFollow link will look like this: <a href=”https://www.shopify.com” rel=”nofollow”>Shopify</a>

One important exception to note is easily self-attainable backlinks from self-posting sites/forums and social networks (like Facebook, Twitter, Quora, or comment sections of blogs) are almost always NoFollow.

Bonus: To get a better idea of which links around the web are DoFollow vs. NoFollow, download the NoFollow for Chrome extension. It will highlight all links and show you which ones are DoFollow and which ones aren’t.

LINK PLACEMENT

Link placement is also thought to play a role in how search engines rank backlink authority. If a link is included in the context of written content on the page of a website it’s thought that search engines place more emphasis on it because it’s more likely to be relevant to the content of the website overall and is likely to be clicked more than links that are placed elsewhere on a webpage such as in the footers or sidebars.

ANCHOR TEXT

What words the link is linked to on a page is also thought to be an indicator to search engines of how relevant it is, this is known as Anchor Text. For example, anchor text is the words where the link is tethered to. For search engines, these words are indicative that they’re relevant to the content and likely to be clicked.

As another example, in the yellow bonus section above we purposely linked to a free website and page authority checker and specifically chose the words that were linked. Google and other search engines read and register the words that are linked (anchor text) and these words help search engines better understand what the page or website you’re linking to is about and what it should rank for in search engine results. By specifically linking the descriptive words like “free website and page authority checker,” we have provided that website with a quality backlink that helps search engines better understand what they are and what they do, and we help that website rank higher for some keywords that are important to them and to other people finding them.

LINK RELEVANCY

Finally, link relevancy also plays a role in determining the strength of a backlink. Depending on several factors that search engines are well equipped to measure such as anchor text, other outbound links, keywords, H-Tags, the context surrounding the links and more, each of those helps determine whether a link is relevant to the overall content of the page and therefore whether the backlink is relevant or not.

Search engines place an emphasis on rewarding websites with authority via backlinks carefully and measure the relevancy of links in a variety of different ways to ensure that the backlinks are authentic and not spammy to encourage well-constructed content by websites that are relevant and helpful to searchers so they find what they’re looking for. Search engines reward websites that meet their demand with higher domain and URL authority as well as relevant organic traffic.

Low-Quality Links & Spam

Acquiring links from websites or web pages that have been deemed by search engines to have low domain strength because they’re any combination of being low-quality sources, inappropriate, or spam can result in penalizing your own website. It’s important to not fall into the trap of thinking that more backlinks from more sourcing all pointing back to your website will increase your website’s rank authority in the eyes of search engines. It’s the quality of backlinks that counts more than the quantity. Aim to get links from authoritative sites that are relevant to your own in terms of subject matter and search engines will reward you with increased search traffic over time.

How to Get Backlinks

Now that you have a background on what backlinks are, why they’re important, and how they’re measured by search engines, let’s dive into the ways you can build backlinks for your own website.

1. Reddit Social Proof Method

For those who haven’t already started using the forum Reddit for your business, now is the perfect time to start getting acquainted with it. It’s a very particular kind of forum with savvy users, so if you’re unfamiliar with their content policy, what “subreddits” are and proper “Reddiquette”, get familiar with it before you start using these next two methods to build backlinks

The purpose of this method is to give value, get upvotes, and then replace the content of the socially-proofed post with a link to your site.

Here’s how to perform it:

• Create a remarkable piece of content (more on that in our Content Strategy article).
• Find the subreddit within Reddit that best suits the niche you’re trying to target (make sure to thoroughly search through all the different subs to find the right one (or ones) that is relevant to your content. Relevancy is key as Redditors don’t appreciate spam and this method won’t work if the right niche of people aren’t engaged with the post).
• Create a post to that subreddit following that sub’s community guidelines (this step of the process is crucial. You have to approach your post on the subreddit very carefully. You cannot just post a link to your content and expect the subscribers of that sub to see the value in it, you have to give value first).
• Whilst creating the post, include all the valuable information you discuss in the remarkable piece of content you created. Your goal is to tell people the details you discuss in your piece content, why it’s interesting and why it’s relevant to them, and then, after you provide a thorough few paragraphs of information and if the community guidelines permit it, include a link to your piece of content and let users know they can click on that link for the full article.
• Once you’ve created that post, publish it to the subreddit.
• Once the post has been up for several hours and it’s generated a significant amount of upvotes and comments, edit the original message of your post to just include the link to your piece of content so that users will then have to click through to your web page to view the content. This only works if you’ve generated a significant amount of upvotes and comments.

Links on Reddit start off as nofollow links and as we discussed earlier in this article, that means that there is no link juice transferring over from Reddit to any outgoing links, unless, and this is the important part, a certain amount of upvotes are achieved and then those links become dofollow. The actual number of upvotes isn’t public knowledge, but through educational speculation and testing, it’s widely believed that this theory is true. Getting a dofollow backlink from Reddit is hugely beneficial as their rank and domain authority is very high.

Test out this backlink building method for yourself but remember not to be spammy on Reddit, follow the community guidelines, give value and get social proof first then leave a link to your piece of content and hopefully get some high-value link juice and referral traffic.

Example: Below is an example screenshot of the /r/entrepreneur subreddit. You can see from the highlighted link colors which ones are DoFollow (Purple) and which ones are NoFollow (Red).

2. Create Remarkable Content

If you post remarkable content consistently that’s interesting, engaging, valuable, and helpful, you’ll get high-value websites linking out to you organically without having to ask for a backlink.

This is a difficult method because it takes a lot of time to produce helpful and valuable content consistently and to sustain it over a long period of time. Even if you publish high-value content on your website from day one it’s going to take a while for others to take notice of your effort and in the meantime, it’s easy to get discouraged due to lack of an engaged audience. The difficult part is providing value on a consistent basis over a long enough time period to generate an engaged audience that supports your efforts. Once you reach that point you’ll start to see backlinks from other high-value sources start to come in and that’s when you reap the rewards of the work you put in creating remarkable content from day one.

Until then, you just have to create content that’s interesting, engaging, and helpful, promote it via every possible method, and work on every other link building method.

Bonus: For more on how to create remarkable content, check out our content strategy blog post where we share all our secrets with you.

3. Create Linkbait Content

Link building works best when you don’t need to do a lot of upfront work to get it. A simple hack to get quality backlinks to your site is to create linkbait content. For example, statistics and studies are some of the most linked to pieces of content. By creating content around industry stats for your niche, you can have more people linking out to your content. Depending on your industry, you can also collaborate with a local university or college to do a study in your industry so people link out to your content.

Alternatively, you can also create custom linkable images like infographics with stats compiled. That way, if the research isn’t your own you can include it with a source section on the bottom of the page but still benefit from quality backlinks while ensuring the source gets credit.

4. Get a Link from Your Manufacturer/Wholesaler/Supplier

Depending on your manufacturer, this may be an easy method to build a backlink. Basically, you want to reach out to the manufacturer who you source your products from and ask that they link you as a retailer of their products on their website, or link you as a business that they work with. Manufacturers are likely to have aged domains which are thought to be a high ranking factor by search engines. The older the domain the more authority it keeps.

The difficulty of this method is middle of the range because your manufacturer may not have a place for this kind of link on their website or they simply may not want to link out to you. If your manufacturer is open to the idea it’s an easy link to get but if not, you’re out of luck.

Beyond the difficulty of this method, the value of this backlink also lays in the middle of the range. It won’t be a low-value or spammy backlink by any means, but it also might not give you super high-quality link juice like you would be getting from a high-authority domain. That being said, if you can get your manufacturer to link out to you then it’s relatively easy to acquire and it’s one more backlink than you had before.

Before you reach out to your manufacturer make sure you have a reputable-looking website with some valuable content on it (like we discussed in the previous method) so the manufacturer is more likely to link out to you. They want to make sure they’re linking out to a reputable website as well so make sure you look like one.

Example: Below is an example of Beardbrand’s list of online resellers. When you sell other branded products, it’s usually in the best interest of the supplier or manufacturer to link to you, providing your store with a valuable backlink.

5. Interview Authorities in Your Niche

Seek out “authorities” in your niche, whether they be bloggers, influencers, speakers, entrepreneurs, creators, etc. and interview them. Post the content to your website and reach out to whomever you interviewed and let them know about the content you created.

More often than not the person will share your content, whether it’s on social media or, if you’re lucky, on their own website, and you’ll generate a backlink from it. People love it when they get noticed, even if it’s by a smaller player in their niche, so you will likely be recognized.

The trick with this method is to be persistent in every way. Persistently pursue influencers when you’re reaching out to interview them and persistently pursue influencers when you’re reaching out to share your content with them. It’s likely that they have a lot of emails coming in at any given time, so persistently follow up with them. The more eager you seem the more likely they will be to engage with you. Always be polite, don’t get upset or offended if they aren’t getting back to you, but do be persistent.

If they have a press page also ask to be featured on there as you’ll get a prominent backlink that is likely to have high authority. Build a relationship with the person you interview, generate some good content, and then work on getting the backlink.

6. Republish Old Content

Don’t let great content that you’ve created in the past go to waste. There are some websites where you can syndicate content which means that articles that you’ve published on your own website can be re-published on other websites relevant to your niche that have a much larger and diverse following than your own website. This enables you to get your content out in front of a larger audience and the original source of the content (your website) will get a link back to acknowledge where it was originally published.

Well known websites where you can syndicate your content include:

• Business 2 Community
• Huffington Post
• Lifehacker
• Medium
• Social Media Today

While it’s commonly thought that content syndication can lead to penalization from search engines for publishing duplicate content, that isn’t the case because there will be a link back to the original piece of content acknowledging its origin. Oftentimes the original creator of the content will also add a new introduction or title to the content as a means to differentiate it from the original post, but that’s optional.

Look for high-quality sites you can syndicate your content to (like the ones we mentioned above) so that you get valuable link juice from an authoritative domain. This method is also likely to generate social shares and put your content in front of an audience that’s interested in your niche so you’ll be gaining valuable referral traffic as well.

Bonus: For an additional 46 publications that accept republished content along with the appropriate contact info, please see this list, originally curated by the good folks at Sumo.

7. Reach out to media sources

You can get a lot of high quality backlinks by reaching out to the media. Keep in mind that while media sites have high domain authority, most of the time they aren’t relevant. So don’t focus on this strategy exclusively to ensure that you have a well-rounded backlink profile.

You can build links using sites like Help A Reporter Out (HARO). This tool will send you emails three times a day (morning, noon, evening) with various reporters reaching out for sources for their articles. Not all pitches are accepted, so aim to put a unique spin to your response.

Alternatively, you can also reach out to niche magazines to promote your blog, business, or app for a potential feature. Not only will this help you get a backlink but it might also help you generate more sales too.

8. Guest Posting

One of the most authentic ways to build a backlink is to guest post on someone else’s blog and earn a link back to your website in the byline or add some relevant contextual links to your website throughout the piece of content. When you guest post on someone else’s website you’re able to showcase your expertise in front of a new audience and control which pieces of your own context you link out to. It’s also a mutually beneficial relationship for you and the website host as you provide them with valuable content and they provide you with a quality backlink.

Securing guest post assignments isn’t always easy and you’ll likely have to start small and build a portfolio before you earn guest posts on larger blogs. Your best strategy is to be persistent, polite, eager, and let the website hosts know what value you have to offer. Always lead with what value you have to offer them, not with what you’re hoping to get out of it as they’ll be much more receptive to your guest posting pitch if they see that you genuinely have value to give and want to share it with their audience.

If you plan to reach out to other websites to guest post for them make sure your own site has valuable content already published on it so they have some way to gauge whether you’d be a good fit for their audience or not. Make sure your website looks professional and like you would fit into their niche market. Don’t forget to peruse their website and see if they have any guest post requirements or any particulars your guest post would need to meet such as a specific word count or formatting.

9. Promote on social media

Those wondering how to get backlinks should consider promoting their website on social media despite some of the no-follow links pointing back at your site. Link building on social media means that you’re guaranteed a link and might also get some decent website traffic back.

If you’re promoting blog content, the two easiest social platforms to promote links on are Pinterest and Quora. The cool thing about Pinterest is that it’s a search-based image site for links. You can use a keyword research tool to find the site content with the most search volume and start posting those links on Pinterest first. While you won’t get high quality backlinks from it due to no-follow, you can generate a lot of traffic back to your site. Plus, when something goes viral on Pinterest, it typically ranks higher in search results too. So double win.

Quora is also pretty laid back about including external links to your site on their platform, as long as your response is at least a few of paragraphs long. Link building strategies centered around social media tend to be beneficial for traffic too, so it’s an additional bonus to link building.

10. Broken link outreach

Using SEO tools, you can find websites with broken links based on keywords. For example, say you own a fitness app, you might search for articles that link to the “best fitness apps” and scrape a tool to find broken links in the article. Then, you reach out to those sites and tell them that you found a broken link on their website and your site could replace it. This is a link building strategy that’s really effective for cold, outreach emails.

You can also use a target keyword for other pages that your article has. For example, if someone links to a study that has a broken link, you might promote one of your statistics webpages with a newer updated link they can replace it with. You don’t need to do a Google search to find this information, but you can also do it manually if you can’t find free tools that do this.

11. Product Reviews

If you have a certain product you’d like to promote to an audience, getting a blogger, influencer or another website to publish a review of your product is a valuable way to not only have your product featured in front of an audience that’s relevant to your niche, but a great way to get a contextual backlink as well.

As per search engine ranking systems, product reviews garner high ranking backlink authority because they fulfill many of the high-value ranking requirements such as optimal link placement (within the post itself, not in a sidebar or footer) and link relevancy (within a relevant niche). If it is a sponsored product review, which depending on the website you work with they may only accept sponsored product reviews, as per Google guidelines, the link will have to be a nofollow link as opposed to a dofollow link, which isn’t ideal for a backlink but is still thought to provide some ranking power.

Make sure you reach out to reputable websites for product reviews, and as we recommended with guest posting you may have to start with being featured on smaller websites before you’re able to get onto more popular ones. Approach potential product reviewers with some fact-based data of your product such as how many units you’ve sold, what your customer/market demographics are or how much revenue you’ve earned so you can give reviewers a way to gauge the demand of your product or what target market would be interested in it. Always lead with what value you have to offer the reviewer, be persistent, polite, eager, have a valuable product with some reputable reviews or data backing it up, find reviewers that serve a relevant niche to yours, and have your own professional looking website.

Product Review Sites:

• Bless This Stuff
• Cool Material
• Firebox
• Gear Moose
• HiConsumption
• Product Hunt
• Uncrate
• Werd

12. Try influencer marketing

Every company has potential influencers in it. It could be your content creator, social media team, founder, or even product person. By using the spokespeople in your company, you can get backlinks from making statements and being included in expert round-ups.

Those active on social platforms like LinkedIn or on your website’s blog, could easily be quoted by another website, with a backlink included to their personal website or workplace. You can get more links by being active online and creating quotable content. If someone links to your social media instead, you can look up your brand mentions and ask for a link to your website instead.

13. Reach out to “Resource” pages

Many popular websites have resource pages. In the ecommerce community, many people refer to them as “partner” pages. By looking up listicles of popular blogs, websites, or even Shopify Apps, you’ll find countless resource pages.

You can then reach out to those companies who have set them up and ask to be included. This is an easy way to get a backlink to your website from a company who is willing to give them out. Often, resource pages show that a company is backlink-friendly.

You can find resource pages manually by going through lists of websites in your niche, browsing app stores, or through a Google search. You can also try the broken link tactic for these pages too if you notice that another site featured in the section is no longer active.

14. Request a Link

Search for blogs or websites that have conducted roundup lists or compilations of products, businesses or websites in your niche and ask to be added to the list.

For example, we occasionally get requests from businesses operating a graphic design service to add their website to our blog post, 200+ Free and Premium Graphic Design Resources. From our perspective, this is a mutually beneficial request: It enables us to keep our list up-to-date with the best resources out there and the business is able to get a dofollow backlink without having to guest post, comment on our blog posts, pay for a product review or republish their own content, and the link placement and relevancy is perfect. It’s also a simple request, you’re asking to be added to the already existing post, so it’s a fairly simple request for businesses to fulfill.

Look for posts where your website would just be a simple addition to the post, you’re not looking to re-write it. Find posts that are roundups or ones that have numbers in the title. See what your niche has to offer and just reach out! Make sure your website or product is relevant though, there’s no point if it’s not.

15. Unlinked Mentions Method

One of the ways on how to get backlinks is by doing the unlinked mentions method. As your website grows in popularity, you’ll notice that people start mentioning your website, app, or brand. Sometimes, they link to another article about your website whereas other times there aren’t any links at all.

If you’re looking for a good link building technique, you can use tools for online mentions and reach out to websites asking for a link. You can get high quality backlinks to your website using this method. If you notice that a link was missed, these sites can be added to your list of referring domains.

16. Contact competitor’s backlinks

Using SEO tools, you can easily see all the backlinks your competitor’s get. You can find countless referring domains for any popular website on the internet. By looking up all your competitors, you can sort through their referring domains to determine which sites link out to competitors the most. Then, you can contact those websites and ask for links to your site.

By looking at the website before reaching out, you can create a more personalized message. You can also look up the best ranking content on their site to see if there’s any alignment with your articles and business. Find out if there are any link building opportunities by doing cold outreach or by contacting the SEO employee at that company.

17. Subreddit Moderator Method

This is a very little known method of generating backlinks on Reddit and is lower in difficulty than the last method because you don’t have to generate social proof as a means of turning the backlink into a dofollow link. Even if you have no previous experience using Reddit this is an accessible way to get backlinks without having to engage with subreddit communities.

Here’s how to generate dofollow links to your website from Reddit:

• Create your own subreddit (please note that your Reddit account will have to be at least 30 days old and you’ll need to have a small amount of positive karma).
• Once you’ve created your own sub, you don’t have to post anything to it ever (if you don’t want to) but the value comes from linking your content in the sidebar. As a subreddit owner/moderator, you have the ability to add relevant links and information to your subreddit’s sidebar.
• Every time you have a new piece of content or a webpage you can to link out to, add it to the sidebar of your own subreddit and that will generate dofollow links to your website from Reddit.

As we’ve said above, Reddit is a high-value domain to receive link juice from, so a dofollow backlink from Reddit is beneficial and this is one of the easiest ways to get them. Please note, however, that your subreddit’s webpage will have a much lower authority than Reddit’s domain authority, but you will still acquire link juice and a backlink associated with Reddit.

18. Create more webpages

This might be a given, but the more webpages your site has the easier it is to get backlinks. Having a static one-page website will be much harder to get backlinks to than a website with landing pages, a blog, or multiple product pages. Content marketing is an important part of link building. Without tons of content, it’ll be a harder ask for backlinks. So, if you want to know the secret on how to get backlinks: build a blog.

A quick Google search shows that there are tons of topics you can write about that are relevant to your niche. You can use a free tool for keyword research to come up with ideas. But by writing relevant content in your space, search engines will understand what your website is about and you’ll rank higher in results in that industry. Relevant sites will be more likely to start link building with you. So write some long form content on a regular schedule and stick with it for years to come, so people can rely on your expertise in your industry.

19. Add your own internal links

While building links can be quite a challenge, there’s an easy way to get links to your site: practice internal link building. While you won’t get the same elevation in ranking from an internal link, there are many benefits to adding links to other pages of your websites, such as lowering bounce rate and keeping people on your site.

You can add internal links easily. The more content you have, the more likely that keywords you’ve written about show up in an article. Relevant websites will typically have multiple topics in the same area which makes internal linking easier.

20. Rank higher in search

You can attract links by ranking higher in search. Most people don’t do thorough searches when linking out to another website. If creating link building campaigns and doing cold outreach scares you, you’ll want to rank high in search results to get a few links organically. Referring domains typically pick the top articles to link out to or the article with the exact search intent they’re looking for.

Keep in mind that without backlinks, it’s hard to rank high in search. So if you’re playing the organic game, it’ll be a slow climb up. How many backlinks you get organically will depend on how many articles are ranking in the top three positions in search. But it is possible to earn backlinks organically without doing outreach.

Conclusion

Now you know the top 10 ways you can build backlinks to your website. We encourage you to try out each method for yourself and see what response you get. Don’t forget to be persistent, polite, and eager whilst still providing value when reaching out to other websites. Building backlinks is a marathon, not a sprint so be diligent about building a link here and there over time and they’ll begin to accumulate. First things first though, start working on remarkable content, a valuable product, and a beautiful website if you haven’t already so that you have something to direct potential collaborators to. Remember, it’s the quality of backlinks that count, not the quantity, so aim for quality.

The post How to Build Backlinks: 20 Ways to Get Backlinks to Your Store appeared first on A Better Lemonade Stand.

How Does Print-on-Demand Work?

A print on demand company supplies the products, and they’re usually completely blank products that have no identifying markings on them that merchants or customers can print their own designs on. For merchants, this means they can create their own unique products on what would otherwise be a blank product, and for customers, it means they can create custom one-off items they might not be able to find in a store.

How to Start a Print-on-Demand Business

To start a print-on-demand business, you don’t need very much experience and you don’t need a lot of resources. You can use an ecommerce platform like Shopify to host your website which helps you get your website set up quickly and easily, and then you need to find a print-on-demand product supplier to source products. We’ll list print-on-demand product suppliers throughout this article for each specific product, but some of the main print-on-demand product suppliers include:

• Printful
• Gooten
• Printify
• Pixels
• TeeLaunch
• Kite
• InkThreadable

One of the main advantages of using Shopify to set up your print-on-demand store is that these print on demand services are all found in the Shopify App Store. You’ll be able to add a print provider to your website in a click of a button, allowing you to automatically import your newly design custom products on your own online store. Some of the top recommended print-on-demand suppliers in the Shopify App Store include:

• Printful
• Gooten
• Printify
• Pixels
• TeeLaunch
• Kite
• InkThreadable

Note: For more great dropshipping apps on the Shopify App Store that don’t necessarily fit into the print-on-demand category, check out our list of the best Shopify dropshipping apps.

Print-on-Demand Apparel Products

T-SHIRTS

This is one of the most well-known print-on-demand products to sell, and is likely one of the first types of print-on-demand products that was ever sold! In fact, we started our very own ecommerce store in 24 hours by selling print-on-demand t-shirts, and we documented the entire process in our How to Start a T-Shirt Business in 24 Hours with $24 and How You Can Too article. You too can sell t-shirts using the print on demand services below.

• Printful T-Shirts
• Gooten T-Shirts
• Printify T-Shirts
• Pixels T-Shirts
• TeeLaunch T-Shirts
• Kite.ly T-Shirts
• InkThreadable T-Shirts

LEGGINGS

Activewear apparel has become a trending product in recent years, and the demand for it continues to grow. One of the top popular products in the activewear market are leggings, and with print-on-demand suppliers, you can stock your own custom all over print leggings in your online store.

• Printful Leggings
• Printify Leggings
• InkThreadable Leggings

TANK TOPS

Similar to t-shirts, tank tops are another good print-on-demand product idea. If you’re already selling t-shirts in your ecommerce store, consider stocking tank tops as well with the same designs! This will give your customers more choice and since you don’t have to purchase any additional inventory upfront from your print provider, it will be at no extra cost to you.

• Printful Tank Tops
• Gooten Tank Tops
• Printify Tank Tops
• Pixels Tank Tops
• TeeLaunch Tank Tops
• Kite.ly Tank Tops
• InkThreadable Tank Tops

BASEBALL (RAGLAN) TEES

Baseball tees, otherwise known as raglan tees, are another popular variation of the more traditional t-shirt design. With their distinctive sleeve design that’s typically three-quarter length and a contrasting color to the main body of the top, it gives a casual and sporty look to the garment which could be desirable for some brands using a print on demand service.

• Printful Baseball Tees
• Gooten Baseball Tees
• Printify Baseball Tees
• TeeLaunch Baseball Tees

LONG-SLEEVED SHIRTS

Keep it simple and add long-sleeved shirts to your ecommerce store! Long-sleeved shirts are a classic and a staple in many people’s wardrobe, and a product that can easily be revamped with a fun, clever and custom design and sold on your own website.

• Printful Long-Sleeved Shirts
• Gooten Long-Sleeved Shirts
• Printify Long-Sleeved Shirts
• Pixels Long-Sleeved Shirts

POLO SHIRTS

If you’re interested in selling digital printing t-shirts online but feel that the niche might be oversaturated, polo shirts might be a better option for you. They’re slightly more niche than just plain t-shirts and polo shirts with custom designs are more difficult to locate in traditional retail stores.

• Printful Polo Shirts
• Printify Polo Shirts

HOODIES & SWEATSHIRTS

For the ultimate casual comfort, consider stocking hoodies or sweaters on your online store! They’re also a great addition to your store if you’re selling similar products like t-shirts and tank tops as they give your customers more options to choose from.

• Printful Hoodies & Sweaters
• Gooten Hoodies & Sweaters
• Printify Hoodies & Sweaters
• Pixels Hoodies & Sweaters
• TeeLaunch Hoodies & Sweaters
• Kite.ly Hoodies & Sweaters
• InkThreadable Hoodies & Sweaters

SKIRTS

This is one of the less saturated options when it comes to products that are available on the market, and it’s definitely one worth exploring if you want to offer something different or if you want to round out your store’s apparel offering and sell for a good retail price.

• Printful Skirts
• Printify Skirts

DRESSES

Dresses are a versatile product which can be made into unique items with interesting custom designs. Try adding them to your product offering along with skirts to expand your options so customers can have more choice. Selling both can help customers save on shipping costs when they order multiple items from your online store.

• Printful Dresses
• Printify Skirts

SWIMWEAR

A popular product to sell with an all over print is swimwear. To create a comprehensive online store centered around swimwear and other related products, add custom beach towels and hats to round out your product offering.

• Printful Swimwear
• Printify Swimwear
• TeeLaunch Swimwear

ACTIVEWEAR

If you’re starting a fitness apparel online store, you can sell various activewear items. From sports bras to leggings to tank tops and more. You’ll find print on demand services have various activewear items that you can design custom products for your own store.

• Printful Activewear
• Printify Activewear

BODYSUITS

Bodysuits are a popular product primarily in the women’s apparel niche, as they’re something that can be worn in both casual or formal contexts and they can be as subdued or loud as the wearer prefers. There’s lots of versatility in this apparel item, so if you’re looking for a simple core product you can jazz up with custom designs, this could be a good option for you.

• Printful Bodysuits

KIDS’ CLOTHING

Creating custom products isn’t just for adults, kids’ clothing is an existing business audience you can start selling products for. When it comes to kids’ clothing, the designs can often be more colorful, loud, bright and bold, so there’s lots of room to be creative when designing print-on-demand kids’ clothing.

• Printful Kids’ Clothing
• Gooten Kids’ Clothing
• Printify Kids’ Clothing
• Pixels Kids’ Clothing
• Kite.ly Kids’ Clothing

BABY CLOTHING

Not only is there a huge market for kids’ clothing, but there is for baby clothing items as well. In this category of print-on-demand products, consider the entire spectrum of baby clothes and accessories: Bibs, beanies, onesies, tops, blankets and more. Many print on demand sites offer baby clothing allowing you to design white label products for babies. Parents can save on shipping costs when they buy multiple items from your company.

• Printful Baby Clothing
• Gooten Baby Clothing
• Printify Kids’ Clothing
• TeeLaunch Baby Clothing

Print-on-Demand Accessories

HATS

Although it’s a hugely saturated market, there’s still demand for hats and they never seem to go out of style. Whether it’s baseball hats, trucker hats, dad hats or something in between, hats are a popular accessory that can easily be spruced up with creative printed designs. You can also sell toques, beanies, bucket hats, and visors, giving you the flexibility to sell multiple hat styles from various print on demand sites.

• Printful Hats
• Printify Hats
• InkThreadable Hats
• Printful Toques & Beanies
• Printful Bucket Hats
• Printful Visor

PHONE CASES

Phone cases are a top-selling item, and also a product that’s been trending in recent years. Since people tend to upgrade their smartphone every year or two, it often means that these same customers upgrade their phone cases as well, meaning demand isn’t slowing down any time soon. Learn how to start your own phone case business. As phone models change, the styles available by print on demand services also adapt so you can always sell the most popular cases.

• Printful Phone Cases
• Gooten Phone Cases
• Printify Phone Cases
• Pixels Phone Cases
• TeeLaunch Phone Cases
• Kite.ly Phone Cases
• InkThreadable Phone Cases

TOTE BAGS

A highly customizable product, these bags are a blank canvas in the accessories world. With essentially a blank slate to work with, create any design you’d like: Use images, patterns, designs, words, typography, etc. They’re also a product that’s gaining momentum in a growing market as consumers become more conscious of their environmental impact and switch from plastic shopping bags to reusable ones.

• Printful Tote Bags
• Gooten Tote Bags

DRAWSTRING BAGS

Drawstring bags are another great reusable bag option for order fulfillment. If you’re considering stocking other bags in your ecommerce store, consider also stocking drawstring bags so your customers have more product choices to choose from.

• Printful Drawstring Bags
• InkThreadable Drawstring Bags

BACKPACKS

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, but you can redecorate it! Backpacks have stood the test of time and there’s very stable market demand for them, so if you’re looking for a really solid product idea you know will sell but you still want to inject your brand’s personality into in some way, then sell custom products like backpacks.

• Printful Backpacks
• Printify Backpacks

SOCKS

Another product that has stood the test of time (no pun intended) are socks. You should start selling custom products like socks as they are a main piece of nearly every person’s day-to-day wardrobe. They’re also a product that fosters so much potential when it comes to creativity and design, plus they’re an easy product for customers to switch up in their wardrobe. You’ll find many print on demand companies who give you the option to do an all over print so you can sell socks people love.

• Printful Socks
• Printify Socks
• TeeLaunch Socks
• InkThreadable Socks

TRAVEL BAGS & WEEKEND BAGS

Travel is a big part of many consumers’ lives, so you should sell products like travel bags. This is a great product idea to sell online in the travel niche using a print on demand company.

• Gooten Travel Bags
• Printify Travel Bags
• Pixels Travel Bags

COSMETICS BAGS

Print on demand companies sell a lot of fun products like this cosmetic bag. They’re also practical products used by consumers for both travel and storage so they have many different potential uses for which the designs can cater towards. You can set your own prices by selling high quality products like this with a unique design. The fulfillment process from the various print on demand companies makes running an ecommerce business in the beauty space so much easier.

• Gooten Cosmetics Bags
• Printify Cosmetics Bags
• Pixels Cosmetics Bags
• TeeLaunch Cosmetics Bags

SCARVES

Print on demand companies are starting to diversify their product collections to include items like scarves. Currently, two print on demand services sell this popular winter item, which makes a good addition for a clothing, accessories, or scarves ecommerce business. Your existing website can include these direct to garment printing products.

• Gooten Scarves
• Printify Scarves

MAKEUP

There is currently a print-on-demand company that allows you to sell private label makeup. You could add your logo to makeup so that your brand receives recognition as the creator. For those looking to sell lipsticks, skincare products, brow kits, bronzer, mascara, and more will be able to sell makeup in 2022.

• Blanka Makeup

BANDANAS

This a product that can round out any accessories store as bandanas have been rising back onto the fashion scene as of late. If you’re including bandanas in your ecommerce store, consider the types of designs you’ll get printed onto them to make them appealing to your target market. The print quality on fabrics is typically high quality, making the final product a great addition for your product line.

• Gooten Bandanas

SHOES

Print-on-demand companies also sell a range of footware that you can add custom designs too all over. Whether you create a shoe store or a fashion store that includes shoes is your choice, but either option could work successfully.

• Printful Men’s High Top Canvas Shoes
• Printful Women’s High Top Canvas Shoes
• Printify Men’s Low Top Sneakers
• Printify Flip Flops
• Printify Women’s Canvas Boots
• Printify Men’s Canvas Boots

NECKTIES

Print-on-demand services are starting to sell POD neckties to potential customers like you. If you’re interested in customizable products like neckties, get ready to have lots of fun designing the prints that will be printed onto them.

• Gooten Neckties

BELT

Print-on-demand companies allow you to sell belts with a unique all over design on them. You could create belts in solid colors that aren’t typically found in stores, or you could add a unique design to them to stand out from the competition.

• Printify Belt

COMPACT MIRRORS

Most merchants probably don’t think about compact mirrors when they think about POD products to sell online, so if you’re looking for a less conventional product idea, this could be a good option. Consider also adding this as a product to your store if you’re selling cosmetics bags like we mentioned above.

• Gooten Compact Mirrors

LUGGAGE AND ACCESSORIES

Another accessory that fulfills the needs of the travel niche, suitcases and luggage tags can be a useful addition to travel-inspired stores. Pair this type of product with travel bag products for a well-rounded ecommerce store using a print-on-demand service like Printify or Gooten.

• Printify Cabin Suitcase
• Gooten Luggage Tags
• Printify Luggage Tags

JEWELRY AND ACCESSORIES

The best print-on-demand product is one that caters to a big market. Jewelry is a popular niche you can sell in. The print quality is high with this product and the order fulfillment process is quick. Since the product is small you’ll also benefit from cost effective shipping.

• Printify Oval Necklace
• Printify Jewelry Box

YOGA MATS

As an accessory for athletic consumers whether they’re working out at home, in the gym or in studios, yoga mats are a versatile product that have lots of room for creative designs to suit whatever their main target market is.

• Gooten Yoga Mats
• Pixels Yoga Mats

PUZZLES

A less-conventional POD product, but one that you as a merchant can have a lot of fun with, puzzles are a tried-and-tested product there’s steady demand for. If you chose to pursue this product idea, think about the type of niche you’ll target with the designs to separate yourself from competitors.

• Gooten Puzzles
• Printify Puzzle

PIN-BACK BUTTONS

Pin-back buttons are a rising trend in recent years, especially within the music scene and for consumers interested in participating in social or environmental campaigns.

• Gooten Pin-Back Buttons

Print-on-Demand Homewares

DINNERWARE

Plates and bowls can be manufactured by print on demand companies like TeeLaunch. You could design elegant patterns, holiday designs, and more for people looking to find dinnerware sets.

• Teelaunch Bowls
• Teelaunch Plates

CANDLE

You can also find candles with printing options. They can come in a range of scents making the product quality high. You can add your own branding using POD companies like Printify. These customized products can be sold on ecommerce platforms like Shopify.

• Printify Scented Candle
• Printify Aromatherapy Candle

APRONS

Another practical item that can be used by so many different types of consumers, this type of product can be a great addition to homeware stores or stores selling kitchen-related items. This is another product where the design printed on it is what makes it unique, so take thoughtful consideration into the niche market you want to appeal to if you choose to supply print-on-demand aprons.

• Printful Aprons
• Gooten Aprons
• InkThreadable Aprons
• Printify Aprons

COFFEE MUGS

An essential product in most household, coffee cups are one of those items that never falls out of style. With steady demand for this product you can be sure that it’s something your target market will likely have a use for, and it’s something you can make unique to your store with custom designs, patterns or slogans printed on it.

• Printful Coffee Mugs
• Gooten Coffee Mugs
• Printify Coffee Mugs
• Pixels Coffee Mugs
• TeeLaunch Coffee Mugs
• Kite.ly Coffee Mugs
• InkThreadable Coffee Mugs

THROW PILLOWS

A popular home-decor item, throw pillows are typically interchanged and updated throughout the seasons so they can be a lucrative product to sell. They’re very versatile in terms of what designs and slogans can be printed on them, so it’s possible to create an entire brand around them.

• Printful Throw Pillows
• Gooten Throw Pillows
• Printify Throw Pillows
• Pixels Throw Pillows
• Kite.ly Throw Pillows
• InkThreadable Throw Pillows

PILLOWCASES

Similar to throw pillows, pillowcases are an additional option to stock in homeward-related ecommerce stores. With pillowcases, customers can switch up designs and patterns more easily on their throw pillows which can make them more versatile throughout the year.

• Printful Pillowcases
• Gooten Pillowcases
• Printify Pillowcases

MAGNETS

You can also sell magnets. Custom products like magnet invitations for weddings or ones with business logos can help you sell more magnets. You could also sell magnets with popular designs on them.

• Gooten Magnets
• Kite.ly Magnets
• Printify Magnets

WALL ART

If you’re an artist or creator interested in selling your own work, this is a great type of product to pursue. Bring your creations to life and sell them to your customers so they can display them in their homes

• Printful Wall Art
• Gooten Wall Art
• Printify Wall Art
• Pixels Wall Art
• Kite.ly Wall Art
• InkThreadable Wall Art

POSTERS

Similar to print-on-demand wall art, posters are virtually the same thing except they’re printed on poster paper rather than more high-quality printing paper. This means that posters are generally a less expensive option, which could be more ideal for your store depending on your target audience and the types of designs you sell.

• Printful Posters
• Gooten Posters
• Printify Posters
• Pixels Posters
• Kite.ly Posters
• InkThreadable Posters

BEACH TOWELS

This is another less common print-on-demand product idea that there’s lots of consumer demand for. It’s also a product you as a merchant could have lots of fun designing as there’s plenty of room for creative approaches depending on the niche market you serve.

• Printful Beach Towels
• Gooten Beach Towels
• Printify Beach Towels
• Pixels Beach Towels
• TeeLaunch Beach Towels
• Kite.ly Beach Towels

CANVAS PRINTS

For a more professional and polished look, consider selling canvas prints of your artwork or designs. Canvas prints are more robust and hearty than wall art or poster prints, as they resemble more of a real painting effect. If you want to provide a more luxury print-on-demand product, consider stocking canvas prints in your ecommerce store.

• Printful Canvas Prints
• Gooten Canvas Prints
• Printify Canvas Prints
• TeeLaunch Canvas Prints
• Kite.ly Canvas Prints
• InkThreadable Canvas Prints

BLANKETS

With so many different avenues to pursue when it comes to print-on-demand blankets, the possibilities are endless and this type of product could cater to so many different niches. Create baby blankets, blankets for movie-buffs, print your own artwork on blankets, etc. The only limit is your imagination.

• Gooten Blankets
• Printify Blankets
• TeeLaunch Blankets

LAUNDRY BAGS

Reusable bags are trending right now, and it doesn’t just stop with shopping bags. Reusable laundry bags are another environmentally friendly option and a desirable addition to sell alongside clothing or accessory products.

• Gooten Laundry Bags
• Printify Santa Sack

PLACEMATS

Dine in style with custom-printed placemats! This is another type of product you have free reign when it comes to the types of images, designs, patterns or slogans you print on it and one that makes a welcome addition to homeware-focused stores.

• Gooten Placemats

TABLECLOTHS

Create beautiful and unique tablecloths for your ecommerce store, no matter what your niche audience is. With essentially a blank canvas to work with, there’s lots of room to create a great product whether you print your own designs, artwork or slogans onto it.

• Gooten Tablecloths

TABLE RUNNERS

Dress up any table quickly and simply with a unique table runner! These types of products are meant to be the focal point of a table so they can be completely unique and custom. You have plenty of space to add images and designs to so let your imagination run wild.

• Gooten Print-on-Demand Table Runners

CUTTING BOARDS

This is the type of product you can have a lot of fun bringing to life as a print-on-demand product as cutting boards are typically sold in very generic and simple colors. If you want to offer something different, consider creating cutting boards your customers have never seen before by getting images, photos, patterns, or slogans printed onto them.

• Gooten Print-on-Demand Cutting Boards
• TeeLaunch Print-on-Demand Cutting Boards

KOOZIES

Bring your own brand of drink koozies to your store with these print-on-demand options! These are a well-loved item you can stock as a quick add-to-cart product or upsell to suggest to customers at checkout. If you sell beverage products on your ecommerce store too, these could be a relevant bonus product to encourage customers to purchase as well.

• Gooten Koozies

BOTTLE OPENERS

Another quick add-to-cart product are bottle openers, especially if you’re selling kitchen items or beverage-related products. These are also easy products that you can add to your site and although they’re small, so there’s not much room to print on them, if you make use of the space efficiently you can come up with some clever designs.

• Gooten Bottle Openers

LUNCH BOXES

A print-on-demand service can allow you to design lunch boxes for people who work in an office. The lunch box will help keep their food warm or cool and separated from other things in their bags. Currently, the only print-on-demand company to offer lunch boxes is Printify.

• Printify Lunch Box
• Printify Bento Box

CLOTH NAPKINS

Add cloth napkins as a final addition to your print-on-demand product offering to round out your ecommerce store. Consider printing the designs, artwork or slogans you print on your other products onto this product as well so you can create matching sets or give your customers more choice.

• Gooten Cloth Napkins

ICE BUCKET

Print-on-demand companies have started selling ice buckets. You could add summer designs, your brand’s logo, or reach out to licensed brands for permission, such as sports teams, Disney, or other big brands, to add their designs on your ice bucket.

• Printify Ice Bucket With Tongs

OVEN MITT

Print-on-demand companies like Printify also allow you to sell kitchenware like oven mitts. You could add unique colors, holiday designs, or cool patterns to sell unique oven mitts people will love.

• Teelaunch Oven Mitt

ACRYLIC TRAYS

These products are convenient for using as a catchall tray in entrances for keys or on tables for trinkets, and they’re also used as a decorative item, especially if they’re printed with an eye-catching design or an interesting slogan. Add them to your store to provide customers with a unique homeware item they might otherwise think to purchase.

• Gooten Acrylic Trays

TEA TOWELS

These are perhaps one of the most widely-used homeware items in every kitchen and they’re certainly something you have lots of space to print your own designs or images onto. Print your own artwork, sketches or creations onto tea towels for a unique upgrade on conventional tea towels, or bring the tea towel of your dreams to life with whatever pattern or design you’d like to see printed onto a tea towel.

• Gooten Tea Towels
• Pixels Tea Towels

SHOWER CURTAINS

There’s certainly a lot of room for unique shower curtains on the market, so if you’re stocking any other homeware items from this list onto your store, consider offering your same designs onto shower curtains as well. There’s steady demand for this type of product, so you don’t have to worry about a lack of market demand.

• Gooten Shower Curtains
• Printify Shower Curtains
• Pixels Shower Curtains
• TeeLaunch Shower Curtains

BATH MATS

Another homeware staple, bath mats are an essential item in every bathroom. If you’re rounding out your bathroom-focused ecommerce store, a bath mat is a perfect product to add to your inventory. When creating designs for this type of product, remember that bath mats are generally made out a fuzzy, carpet-like material which means that small details won’t show up well. Go for more bold designs or slogans and contrasting colors so it’s clear what the bath mat is depicting.

• Gooten Bath Mats
• Printify Bath Mats

BATH TOWELS

An essential product in every household, bath towels are a product that have stood the test of time. This product can be made to appeal to so many different types of niches so there’s no limits with what can be printed on the bath towel of your brand’s dream.

• Gooten Bath Towels
• Printify Bath Towels
• Pixels Bath Towels

OTTOMANS

This is one of the biggest print-on-demand products you’ll find on this list, which, if you’re well versed in shipping ecommerce products you’ll know that shipping large products like ottomans can be quite costly. With this information in mind, be aware that if you choose to sell ottomans on your ecommerce store, you’ll have to price your products carefully so that they cover the cost of shipping as well as the other costs required to print and pack the product. This is just something to be aware of, and your print-on-demand supplier will likely be able to help you price the product so that you can cover all manufacturing costs plus make a profit on the item.

• Gooten Ottomans

RUGS

One of the slightly more unusual print-on-demand products, rugs aren’t your run-of-the-mill customizable items. Take this opportunity to add a great product to your inventory that your customers wouldn’t normally expect to see.

• Gooten Rugs

TAPESTRIES

Not only can artwork be printed on posters or canvases, consider printing it on tapestries, too. They make stunning wall hangings and they’re often easier and less expensive to ship than artwork printed on canvases, which means your profit margins will be more generous.

• Gooten Tapestries
• Printify Tapestries
• Pixels Tapestries
• TeeLaunch Tapestries

COASTERS

A classic product and one that has served its purpose throughout the ages, coasters are the kind of item that can be printed with anything on them. No matter what niche you’re serving or who your target audience is, you can print relevant artwork, designs or slogans on them. Create an entire store around coasters or add them to your product offering, they’re the type of product that can stand alone or with others.

• Gooten Coasters

STOCKINGS

A staple item throughout the holiday season for some consumers, holiday stockings can be decorative or functional parts of holiday celebrations. Depending on your niche, this might be a product you want to offer, however, bear in mind that the sales for this type of product fluctuate throughout the year and will likely have low sales rates outside of the holiday season.

• Gooten Holiday Stockings
• Printify Holiday Stockings

HOLIDAY TREE SKIRTS

This is another product where the sales fluctuate throughout the seasons, so take that into consideration if this is a product you’re interested in selling. Tree skirts are most popular around the main holiday period, as they’re used to decorate the floor area around the base of a holiday tree, and there’s very little similar use for them throughout the year. To boost the sales for this type of product year after year, consider making limited edition versions of this product that your customers may be interested in collecting year after year.

• Gooten Holiday Tree Skirts
• Printify Holiday Tree Skirts

DUVET COVERS

A common household item, duvet covers are the perfect canvas to print designs, artwork, and slogans onto. Since there’s so much room for versatility, they make a great product to sell to nearly any niche and audience. With this product, however, it’s important to remember that you’ll likely have to stock different sizes of the product, as duvets typically come in more than one size. This means that you’ll have to list multiple Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) for every design you list on your store, which is just an important piece of website housekeeping to be aware of.

• Gooten Duvet Covers
• Printify Duvet Covers
• Pixels Duvet Covers
• TeeLaunch Duvet Covers

OUTDOOR FLOOR MATS

Create unique floor mats your customers can lay on their doorsteps to welcome visitors to their homes with custom print-on-demand floor mats. Since this product is slightly on the larger and heavier side, it’s going to be more complicated and costly to ship, so keep that in mind when determining your product pricing.

• Gooten Floor Mats
• TeeLaunch Floor Mats

OUTDOOR PILLOWS

Rather than just focusing on indoor pillows like throw pillows, outdoor pillows are another great product option that aren’t typical print-on-demand products. This type of product will also be slightly more costly to ship because it’s bulky, so think about that when developing your product pricing.

• Gooten Outdoor Pillows

ORNAMENTS

Another predominantly seasonal item on this list, ornaments rise and fall in popularity around the holidays. Turn your own designs into ornaments, create custom slogan ornaments or print images onto them, the options are endless when it comes to ornaments. No matter what your niche is, this product type could be a welcome addition to your store’s product offering every season.

• Gooten Ornaments
• Printify Ornaments

Print-on-Demand Stationery & Office Supplies

JOURNALS & NOTEBOOKS

Journals and notebooks have been a trending product in the last few years so if you’re looking for a print-on-demand product that on the rise, this could be a good option for you. When creating a business around journals and notebooks, take into consideration that there are so many brands selling similar products on the market, so ask yourself how your products will stand out from the crowd. Since you’ll be using print-on-demand, this differentiation will likely come from the designs, patterns or slogans you get printed on journal cover itself.

• Gooten Journals & Notebooks
• Pixels Journals & Notebooks
• TeeLaunch Journals & Notebooks

GREETING CARDS

Greeting cards have a huge amount of versatility and they’re a great product to sell if you have your own artwork or writing to sell on them. They make a great addition to any stationary store, so if you’re looking to create a well-rounded ecommerce store for stationery lovers, consider adding greeting cards to your roster.

• Gooten Greeting Cards
• TeeLaunch Greeting Cards

CALENDARS

Calendars are another relevant item that can be added to stores that sell stationary-related products, however, remember with calendars that they have an expiration date, so to speak, in that they are only relevant for a year and then they’re outdated. Since you’ll be using the print-on-demand business model though, this won’t be a major concern for you because you’ll be purchasing stock one-by-one as your customers order it, so you won’t have to worry about whether you’ll be able to sell out of all of your stock before the new year comes around.

• Gooten Calendars

TABLET CASES

Tablet cases are a practical product that can be lucrative to sell as their margins can be quite comfortable. Remember, however, that when tablets get updated to new versions it’s likely that their cases will have to be as well, meaning that you’ll have to constantly be on top of stocking the right cases for the products that are currently being sold on the market. Again, because you’ll be sourcing from dropshipping suppliers that have no MOQs, this shouldn’t be a problem because you won’t be purchasing inventory in advance.

• Gooten Tablet Cases
• Kite.ly Tablet Cases

ACRYLIC BLOCKS

These transparent picture frames are a trendy and modern approach to conventional picture frames and they make a simple yet striking addition to any room. These are a unique print-on-demand product to sell and one that can be used to showcase artwork, designs or slogans.

• Gooten Acrylic Blocks

STICKERS

Depending on the niche you target, stickers can be a useful and sought-after product. An audience that’s highly interested in stickers, for example, are teachers and another use case for stickers includes brands where they use them as brand merchandise and in the shipping box packing process. Although not all niche markets have a use case for sticker products, the ones that do will likely purchase in bulk and they may even repurchase over and over, so it could be a high-volume ecommerce product to pursue.

• Gooten Stickers
• TeeLaunch Stickers

MOUSE PADS

This is another instance where not every consumer has a use case for this product, however, there are certainly niche groups that do. For example, avid mouse-users like computer gamers and office workers likely still use mouse pads frequently, so we recommend thinking carefully about your target audience if you choose to pursue this print-on-demand product and possibly consider offering as an add-on product at checkout.

• Gooten Mousepads
• TeeLaunch Mousepads

Print-on-Demand Pet Supplies

DOG BEDS

Stocking products for furry friends rather than humans? Why not sell dog beds with your own custom designs printed on them!

• Gooten Dog Beds
• TeeLaunch Dog Beds

PET BANDANAS

While you’re at it, how about selling pet bandanas, too? They’re a versatile product that almost every different breed of dog can wear and you can even zone in on creating breed-specific designs to hone in on a certain niche of dog lovers.

• Gooten Pet Bandanas

PET LEASHES

Gooten and Printify are print-on-demand companies that allows you to sell pet leashes. You could customize the leash with your customer’s pet’s photo, your logo, or a popular design.

• Gooten Pet Leashes
• Printify Pet Leashes

PET COLLARS

A print-on-demand company like Gooten also sells pet collars that you can customize with your customer’s pet’s name or with an attention grabbing design.

• Gooten Pet Collars

PET BOWLS

Gooten is the only print-on-demand company that sells pet bowls. You can customize the pet bowl in numerous ways to appeal to all pet owners.

• Gooten Pet Bowls

Conclusion

That’s our roundup of 85 print-on-demand business ideas you can choose to start your own print-on-demand business! With the information and ideas in this article you should have an understanding of how to get your print-on-demand business started and some product ideas to get started selling!

The post 85 Easy to Sell Print-on-Demand Product Ideas in 2022 appeared first on A Better Lemonade Stand.

What is Ecommerce?

Ecommerce is a shortened version of the phrase “electronic commerce” which essentially describes any type of exchange of currency for goods or services online.

Ecommerce is an umbrella term that covers everything there is to do with buying or selling online, and can sometimes be otherwise written as “E Commerce,” “e-commerce,” or “eCommerce.” Any variation of the spelling is correct, and it all describes the same act of performing business via the internet.

Since the definition of ecommerce is so open-ended (it literally includes any type of buying or selling of goods or services online) there are so many different types of ecommerce businesses that exist. In this article, we dive deeper into the different types of ecommerce businesses that ecommerce business owners can run.

What is an ecommerce store?

An ecommerce store is a website that accepts payment for selling goods online. An example of an ecommerce store is Amazon, which allows you to buy products ranging from books to clothing using your credit card or other payment methods.

What is the difference between ecommerce and ebusiness?

The difference between ecommerce and ebusiness is that ecommerce is one type of ebusiness. Ecommerce focuses on online sales only, whereas ebusinesses generate revenue in multiple ways including ecommerce but also through offline transactions.

The Types of Ecommerce Business Models

First things first, when you ask yourself, “What is ecommerce?” the best way to begin to describe different ecommerce businesses, and the different types of ecommerce businesses, is to break them down into the types of ecommerce business models that exist.

Ecommerce business models can be differentiated into three main categories:

• What types of products are sold
• Who the products are sold to
• Where the products are sold on

Let’s look into these three identifiers further:

What Types of Products Are Sold?

Every ecommerce business can be differentiated by the types of products that it sells. There are four types of products that any ecommerce business can sell and they are:

• Physical Products: clothing, dinnerware, picture frames, etc.
• Digital Products: ebooks, music, online courses, etc.
• Services: coaching, cleaning, tutoring, etc.
• Affiliates: digital products, physical products, services, etc.

Every single ecommerce business online can fit into one or more of these categories, and this basically just tells you what type of products they sell to their customers.

Some ecommerce businesses sell physical products which means that the business has actual tangible products that they ship to their customers, and when their customers open the shipping package there will be a physical product they can touch, feel and see.

Conversely, digital products are a type of product that ecommerce businesses can sell online without shipping a product physically but digitally. Digital products can be instantly downloaded by customers so there’s a sense of immediacy with this type of product. It also helps to satisfy impulse shoppers since they get to dig into their new purchase right away rather than wait for their item to ship for a couple weeks.

Businesses can also provide digital or in-person services that their customers can purchase online. These services can include anything from design services or streaming services (both are digital services) to home improvement services or dog-walking services (which are in-person services). Any business that provides a service, rather than a physical or digital product, can be included in this category.

Finally, ecommerce businesses can also earn commissions via affiliate links which pay them a portion of the revenue for facilitating a sale. Ecommerce businesses that earn affiliate commissions could be blogs, influencer websites, or even websites like Canopy that curate products sold online for consumers. If you’re interested in creating your own affiliate ecommerce store, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Creating an Affiliate Ecommerce Store article.

Who the Products Are Sold To

Ecommerce businesses differ from each other based on who their target market is or who they sell to. A customer can be a person, a business, or a government. Let’s take a look at the three types of groups of that ecommerce businesses sell to:

These are the three main categories that ecommerce businesses sell their products or services to:

• B2B: This stands for Business-to-Business. Ecommerce businesses that sell physical or digital products or services to other businesses fall under this category. For example, this could include manufacturers or suppliers that provide materials or products for other businesses. Shopify is a B2B business as it sells ecommerce subscription services to other businesses.
• B2C: This stands for Business-to-Consumer. Ecommerce businesses that sell physical or digital products or services to consumers fall under this category. This includes retailers or ecommerce retailers that sell products to the end consumer. Amazon is a B2C business that sells various physical and digital products to consumers.
• B2G: This stands for Business-to-Government. Ecommerce businesses that sell physical or digital products or services to government institutions or agencies fall under this category. For example, this could include businesses that create specialized software, office furniture, uniforms, etc. Mark 43 is B2G business that specializes in providing technology for police.

While most businesses generally sell their products to one of these categories, it’s entirely possible for ecommerce businesses to sell to more than one category of consumers. It’s important for ecommerce businesses to understand who exactly they sell their products to because it impacts important decisions such as their marketing, their branding, their shipping procedures, their markup, etc.

Where the Products Are Sold On

Finally, ecommerce businesses can also be differentiated based on the way they sell their products to their customers. These options are:

• Branded Ecommerce Stores: These are ecommerce stores that are owned and operated by the founder(s) or creator(s) of the store, and they sell their own products on their own terms to their customer base. These types of stores are generally built on ecommerce platforms such as Shopify or BigCommerce.
• Ecommerce Marketplaces: Ecommerce businesses can also sell through online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay or Etsy. Each platform will have its own terms and conditions you’ll need to abide by to prevent being kicked off the platform. Certain products may be prohibited from different platforms. You might also need to keep a merchant review score to maintain your ability to sell on the platform. Also, some ecommerce marketplaces compete with their sellers, which might make it harder to sell your products on their website. Ultimately, you give up a bit of control when selling on ecommerce marketplaces.
• Conversational Commerce: With social media being a major part of consumers’ daily routines, social media platforms are making it easy for consumers to shop through the posts on their newsfeed. Instagram Shop, Facebook Marketplace, Pinterest Shopping, and TikTok all have conversational commerce options that ecommerce brands can sell their products through.

The Different Ecommerce Platforms

Every ecommerce business needs an ecommerce store, which is essentially just a website where their customers can come to browse, learn about, and purchase their products.

Ecommerce businesses have different options when it comes to the ecommerce platforms they use to sell their products online, as we discussed in our Ecommerce Platforms: The Best Software, Reviews & Comparisons article. No matter whether a store wants to sell on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy they should also have an ecommerce store set up so they aren’t selling all their products through a middleman. Creating a self-branded store on an ecommerce platform is the only way to get full control over your ecommerce business, and it’s the best way to get full say on branding, marketing, customer experience, and revenue.

We discussed the Top 10 Ecommerce Platforms in great detail in this article, so for anyone interested in becoming an ecommerce business owner, that’s the most in-depth guide on ecommerce platforms we can recommend. For those who just want to get started on the best ecommerce platform in the industry, we recommend building on Shopify. We’ve discussed why they’re the most highly recommended ecommerce platform in our Shopify Review, so if you’re interested to learn more about the features and services they offer, check that out. We update it regularly as they come out with new features and services.

If you require specific features from your ecommerce platform or just want to get a personalized recommendation based on your unique situation and circumstances, check out our Personalized Ecommerce Platform Recommendation Tool. No matter where you are in the process of building, launching, or growing your ecommerce business, this tool can recommend the best ecommerce platform for you.

Who Can Start Their Own Ecommerce Business?

Anyone can start their own ecommerce business. Anyone can go from asking themselves, “What is ecommerce?” to building their very own ecommerce business in the span of weeks by dedicating time to learning and testing out ecommerce platforms to get the hang of it. Some commerce businesses are easier to start than others. Some ecommerce business owners can learn quickly even if they’re beginners. Anyone can build, launch, and grow their own ecommerce business if they have some time, energy, and resources and they’re ready to put in the work.

Some benefits for new ecommerce business owners is this:

• There’s a Low Barrier to Entry: To start a brick-and-mortar business in the past when online business wasn’t an option, entrepreneurs had to get a bank loan to rent out a store and purchase inventory and equipment upfront before they could even get started selling to customers. They had one shot to succeed and if they failed, they would be out a huge sum of money and they’d repel any other bank they approached in the future. Today, you can start your own business without carrying inventory, or you can run your business online for less than your monthly cell phone bill. Signing up to start your own ecommerce business only takes a few minutes and there are no prerequisites needed to get started. So, after you finish reading ‘what is ecommerce’ you can start experimenting by building your own ecommerce store today.
• Unlimited Audience Reach: New ecommerce entrepreneurs can sell to anyone in the world, whereas brick-and-mortar businesses can only sell to those who live locally. The main benefit of being able to sell anywhere in the world is that it opens up your chances of generating sales. The more people you can reach, the more likely you are to land sales. As a result, it makes it easier for anyone exploring ‘what is ecommerce’ to actually build their first ecommerce business.

We truly believe that with the right resources, everyone and anyone can become an ecommerce business owner. You don’t have to quit your day job if you don’t want to, we just highly recommend that you start something. Building an ecommerce business teaches so many valuable lessons and even if you’re not quite ready to start your own fully-fledged ecommerce business yet there are still steps you can take to get something on the go! Check out our How to Start an Ecommerce Business When You’re Not Ready to Start an Ecommerce Business article to learn more.

It’s common for those starting their first ecommerce business to struggle with Imposter Syndrome, the feeling of not being good enough to start your own business. Push past those feelings and to start your own ecommerce business anyways. Starting your own ecommerce business is about so much more than just being successful or earning lots of money. It’s about the journey from turning nothing into something and turning ideas, resources, and inspiration into something tangible.

In our manifesto, we discuss the 7 traits of successful entrepreneurs, so if you’re just getting started in ecommerce we recommend having a look over that article. You may not have all the industry knowledge or the time and money to get your ecommerce business started but if you have any of those 7 traits, you can still be successful.

The Pros and Cons of Starting Your Own Ecommerce Business

Taking the first step to in learning how to start an ecommerce business, you’ll begin to think about what the advantages and disadvantages of ecommerce are. In the early stages, you asked yourself “what is ecommerce?” whereas now you might be wondering “is ecommerce worth it?” or “what are the advantages of ecommerce?” So, let’s dig into the pros and cons of starting an ecommerce business to help you decide if this is the right path for you.

Pros of Starting Your Own Ecommerce Business

• Building Something from Nothing: With ecommerce, you have the ability to take ideas, knowledge, and inspiration and use them to build your own business from scratch.
• Earning Money At Any Time: There’s no set 9 to 5 business hours when it comes to ecommerce business. You can earn money at any time, day or night.
• Connecting with Your Audience All Over the World: You’re not limited to one area or region when it comes to the customers you can sell to; you can sell to customers all over the world.
• Lower Overall Costs: Compared to a brick-and-mortar business, there might be no rent, storage, or even employee costs in the early stages of your ecommerce business depending on the business model you choose.
• Being Your Own Boss: When you build your own business you can be your own boss and have the autonomy to bring the vision of your business to life.
• Selling Everywhere: You’re not restricted to where you can sell. You can have a brick-and-mortar business and an online business, you can sell at pop-ups, festivals, markets, shows, conferences, online marketplaces, etc.
• Working from Anywhere: As long as you have a wifi connection and some of your systems and processes automated, you have the freedom to work from anywhere at any time.
• Making it Your Full-Time Job or Part-Time Hobby: You don’t have to go all-in on your ecommerce business if you don’t want to; it can be your side hustle. But, you make the rules so if you want to make it your full-time job and get out of the rat race you can do that, too!

Cons of Starting Your Own Ecommerce Business

• No Physical Storefront: You can get a ton of foot traffic from having a physical location from people who live locally. Most people are more likely to shop in-person than online, despite ecommerce’s growing popularity.
• No Face-to-Face Time with Your Customers: You can build meaningful relationships with customers when they visit your brick and mortar store. While it’s possible to build relationships online, the path to doing so takes a bit longer and more effort.
• Competition & Standing Out from the Crowd: There’s a lot of competition online, and differentiating your ecommerce businesses from others can be a challenge. To stand out from the crowd your ecommerce business needs to offer something that other ones don’t, whether that’s based on service, selection, price, variety, brand, or something else.
• The Learning Curve: Starting a business, making a website, creating a brand, building a customer-based, etc. takes time and effort to learn how to do properly so at first, it can definitely be a bit of a learning curve. We suggest looking to reputable sources of information online such as our blog, the Shopify blog, and Skillshare to get started learning about “What is ecommerce?”

How to Start Your Own Ecommerce Business

Starting your own ecommerce business has never been easier, which is good news if you’re asking yourself, “What is ecommerce?” and want to get started with building your own ecommerce business as soon as possible.

There are so many resources out there to help you learn what is ecommerce and to start your own ecommerce business. These are a few places we recommend checking out first to get you started:

• Find a Product Idea: As you learn what is ecommerce, you’ll quickly realize you need something to sell to start an ecommerce business. You can sell physical or digital products, services, or even other brands products through affiliate marketing. To get started, you might want to check out our trending products post to discover the popular products people are buying right now. You can also download our guide on 500 Niches to help you determine which category to start a business in.
• Plan Your Business: The next step is to start formulating a plan. When you’re new to ecommerce, there might be some aspects of building your ecommerce business that you may not know to consider, so this One Page Ecommerce Business Plan has been specifically created to help budding ecommerce entrepreneurs identify any advantages or disadvantages they may face when building their business, plus other aspects of building an ecommerce business that are important to consider.
• Sign Up to an Ecommerce Platform: Once you’ve found a product to sell and planned your business out thoughtfully, your next step is to sign up to an ecommerce platform so you can start working on the website you’re going to call your online store. When you sign up to an ecommerce platform like Shopify you’ll be able to pick your business name right away and your domain name, then you can start customizing your website with a theme, fonts, and colors to make it personal to your brand. It’s super easy, and it’s fun to see your website start to take shape!

Then when it comes to learning about how to actually design your ecommerce business’ website, such as your theme and branding, we recommend checking out these resources:

• Ecommerce Branding Guide: Build a great brand from the beginning so you can connect with your customers and get them engaged with your ecommerce business.
• 50 Beautiful Ecommerce Website Designs: Check out what other ecommerce businesses do to not only make their website beautiful but also functional for their visitors.
• How to Come Up With a Business Name: Your business name is likely going to be the first thing people hear about your brand, so you want it to be representative of what they can expect from you. Come up with a killer business name thanks to the tips and advice in this guide.
• Create a Beautiful Company Logo: Your logo is the face of your brand, so make sure you make the right impression with a beautiful company logo. This guide will help you get the best logo created for your business that you possibly can, no matter what your budget is (even if you don’t have one!).
• The Best Shopify Themes: In today’s online world a website is judged by its cover, so you have to make sure your store’s theme reflects your brand’s personality and values while still being functional and easy to navigate. With an ecommerce platform such as Shopify, however, creating a beautiful and functional online store is as easy as browsing through all the available Shopify themes and we’ve rounded up the top ones in this article.

What Kind of Ecommerce Business Can You Start?

It’s time to move on from asking yourself, “What is ecommerce?” and to start asking yourself, “What kind of ecommerce business can I start?” Since you’ve read this article up to this point you already know that anyone can start their own ecommerce business and that anyone can be you.

When it comes down to it, you can start any kind of ecommerce business you want as long as you:

• Have something you can sell to consumers whether it’s a physical product, digital product, service, or affiliate link. If you don’t have a product to sell yet, you can browse the Shopify App Store for dropshipping apps and wholesale apps so you can find products to sell for your ecommerce business.
• Have somewhere online you can sell your product from, like the ecommerce platforms we’ve discussed earlier in this article. You can build your ecommerce business on Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or any other popular ecommerce website builder.

As long as you have a product to sell and somewhere to sell it you can start your own ecommerce business.

To get started, check out these articles to get step-by-step instruction on ecommerce businesses you can start from scratch:

• How to Start a T-Shirt Business: Learn to start an ecommerce business in the most popular niche: fashion. With print on demand, dropshipping, and wholesale, you’ll quickly learn there are many ways to start a t-shirt business.
• How to Start a Clothing Line: Take your business to the next level by starting an entire clothing line. You can sell all types of apparel, such as leggings, dresses, ties, suits, and much more.
• How to Start a Phone Case Business: Phone cases are a great business to start due to the low wholesale cost and good markup for retail prices. Since it’s a small item to ship, it’s easy to start an ecommerce business selling phone cases.
• 31 Ecommerce Products You Can Make Yourself: If you’re passionate about product creation, you can choose to make your own ecommerce products. As a maker, you’ll be able to sell original products for your ecommerce business giving you a competitive advantage.
• How to Start 11 Different Types of Ecommerce Businesses: Discover the types of ecommerce businesses you can start and pick the type that suits you best.

Then, check out these ecommerce business case studies to learn how other ecommerce business owners have built, launched, and grown their own ecommerce businesses:

• Ecommerce Business Case Studies
• 7 In-Depth Case Studies on Starting an Ecommerce Business from Scratch

Finally, if you just want some more general knowledge that takes your what is ecommerce query to the next level, such as what product markets are trending at the moment or ways to find great product ideas, check out these resources:

• Reverse Engineering the Perfect Ecommerce Product
• Instant Product Evaluator Tool

Where to Source Products for Your Ecommerce Business

Sourcing products for your ecommerce business is going to be the next most important step when starting your own ecommerce business, and it depends largely on which ecommerce business model you choose to sell through.

There are 4 main ecommerce business models and each one dictates the way you’ll source your products. You can:

• Make your products
• Manufacture your products
• Wholesale your products
• Dropship your products

Make Your Products

If you choose to make your products, you’ll be in charge of sourcing all your materials so you can bring your products to life. The main challenge with making products for your ecommerce store is the time it takes to make your products, the cost, and difficulty incurred with sourcing materials to make your products, and how difficult it may be to scale your business should demand for your products increase. Another challenge with making your own products is that there’s no proof of concept that it’ll sell well. However, if the hard work pays off, you’ll be the exclusive owner of that product giving your ecommerce business a competitive advantage.

Manufacture Your Products

If you choose to get your products manufactured, you’ll need to source a manufacturer that can make your products. To do this, you could consult online directories such as our Manufacturer Directory to find a curated list of reputable manufacturers capable of making a range of different products, you could use a third-party manufacturer sourcing service such as Sourcify to help you find the perfect supplier for your products (the founder of Sourcify wrote two articles for our blog, check them out here: How to Source Products from Chinese Manufacturers and The Untold Secrets to Cutting Manufacturing Costs & Lead Times) and you could also find a manufacturer via an online manufacturer marketplace such as Alibaba or Maker’s Row. If you’re interested in sourcing your products from Alibaba, we highly recommend checking out our Guide to Sourcing Products from Alibaba so you can source your products as safely and securely as possible.

The main advantage of working with manufacturers to create your products is that you can custom-build products, you can get your products created exactly how you want them and you can keep your costs to a minimum. The biggest disadvantage of working with a manufacturer, however, is that you’ll very likely have to meet the minimum order quantities of your manufacturer which can be a major upfront cost.

Wholesale Your Products

When sourcing your products from wholesalers, you’ll be able to purchase your products in bulk without having to manufacture them yourself. Check out online wholesale directories (like our Wholesale Suppliers Directory!) to find wholesalers that sell products you’re interested in selling on your online store, or you could even source products in wholesale via AliExpress or these AliExpress Alternatives. You can also check out Handshake, a wholesale platform created by Shopify.

Dropship Your Products

If meeting upfront minimum order quantities sounds daunting or you just want the flexibility of not having to store inventory or ship products, then dropshipping may be the ideal business model for you. To source your products from dropshippers, your best bet is to check out an online dropshipping directory or even a roundup of the best Dropshipping Apps to Acquire Inventory for Your Business that integrates directly with Shopify stores, should you choose to start one. One of the advantages of dropshipping businesses is that you can sell best-selling items, quickly and at their peak. The downside is that other businesses might be selling the exact same product as you making it a more competitive space.

How Much Does It Cost to Start An Ecommerce Business?

Ecommerce businesses can be built on any budget. As we discussed in the “What is Ecommerce?” section of this article, ecommerce businesses are so vast and varied, they’re nearly impossible to define by any other identifiers rather than simply, “ecommerce.”

Since each ecommerce business is solely up to the entrepreneur(s) starting it, ecommerce businesses can truly be built on any budget. If your an entrepreneur building your first-ever ecommerce business and you only have a small budget to work with, start a dropshipping business, and pay attention to money-saving resources such as blogs dedicated to helping ecommerce businesses save money such as Bootstrapping Ecommerce, and keep your eye out for discounts on services to help you build, launch and grow your business such as our own Exclusive Offers page or AppSumo.

In any other case, your budget is entirely dependent on what you have to work with and how you want to allocate your finances. Work with an accountant or a bookkeeping team like Bench to keep your finances in check and use handy resources such as a Business Loan Calculator or a Profit Margin Calculator and even our PayPal Fee Calculator & Stripe Fee Calculator to make sure you’re keeping an eye on your budget in the places that matter most.

How to Buy & Sell Ecommerce Businesses

If you’re not completely interested in starting your own ecommerce business from scratch, it is possible to purchase ecommerce businesses that ecommerce entrepreneurs have already put time, effort, and money into growing to where they are today.

The best place to look for ecommerce businesses to buy online is Shopify’s Exchange Marketplace. Exchange Marketplace is a marketplace where Shopify store owners can go to list their businesses for sale or to purchase existing Shopify businesses, and the businesses available there are listed at a variety of prices depending on their traffic, customer base, revenue, etc.

If you’re interested in starting an ecommerce business and the idea of not having to completely start it from scratch is appealing to you, then check out Exchange Marketplace and see what’s on the market!

No matter when you’re starting your ecommerce business, though, it’s imperative to have an exit strategy sorted out so that if and when the time comes to sell your business or shut it down, you and any of your potential partners or investors know what the procedure is. Having an exit strategy in place can also help you make better decisions for your business throughout the years of its existence and it can help make investors keener to jump on board with your business. Learn more about crafting an exit strategy in our How to Sell a Business: Why Ecommerce Entrepreneurs Need to Have an Exit Strategy article.

How to Grow Your Ecommerce Business

Once you’ve gotten past the “What is ecommerce?” stage and you move onto building your ecommerce business, the final step and the step that’s going to take up the majority of your time as your business ages and scales, is how to grow your ecommerce business.

There are many ways to grow an ecommerce business but two of the main ways are through traffic and conversions. The more traffic you get coming to your ecommerce store the more conversions you’re likely to make which means more revenue and thus, more profit.

Traffic + Conversions = Revenue & Profit!

There are an endless amount of ways you can increase your store’s traffic, which we discuss some of in our How to Increase Website Traffic article, but one of the most successful ways is to treat your customers like people, not just numbers. If you focus too much on the numbers and how much revenue you’re making, you can lose sight of the most important aspect of your ecommerce business that makes everything worthwhile, and that’s your customers.

Obviously getting traffic to your store quickly helps keep you afloat when you’re new and just finding your footing and for that, we recommend checking out an article like our How to Get Your First 100 Sales article, but beyond that, take into serious consideration how you can add value to your customer’s lives so they’re more likely to purchase from your site again and spread the word about your company with their peers and social following.

To quickly bring traffic to your ecommerce store and generate buzz about your products or your store launch is to partner with influencers on platforms like TikTok. Partnering with the right influencer will allow your products to be positioned in an exciting way that helps generate tons of sales. You can also run paid ads on any social platform. Video ads tend to convert better as they have a loopable replay value that keeps people hooked.

Finally, if you’re looking for more in-depth ways to grow your traffic and conversions, we’ve created a 52 Week Marketing Plan to guide you through the process of growing your new business step by step. We created this guide because we noticed that growing a new business was such a daunting prospect for so many new merchants and we constantly receive questions from entrepreneurs asking us for our advice and recommendations. So, we put everything we know into one guide with the intention of helping as many new entrepreneurs as possible.

Once you start bringing more traffic to your ecommerce store then your conversion rate should grow organically from there but if you want to try out some other methods to get more visitors purchasing your products, check out our guide to Conversion Rate Optimization and this article on Conversion Rate Optimization for 1st Year Stores.

Conclusion

While you may have come to this article wondering “What is ecommerce?” we hope all the information provided in this comprehensive post has given you a thorough insight into what ecommerce is and what options are available to you to start your own ecommerce business.

Starting an ecommerce business really is accessible for anyone, so take the information, knowledge, resources, and guides provided throughout this article and start something for yourself. Now that you know “What is ecommerce?” you’re well equipped to build, launch, and grow your own ecommerce business and start the entrepreneurial journey for yourself.

The post What is Ecommerce? appeared first on A Better Lemonade Stand.

In this post, we’ll show you the best t-shirt templates as well as t-shirt mockup generators for your clothing line. We’ll also provide you with a tutorial to show you exactly how to use Photoshop for t-shirt templates.

Note: Are you in the process of getting your t-shirt line started? Don’t forget to check out our article on How We Started a T-Shirt Business in 24 Hours with 24 Dollars and our video webinar walking you through How to Start a T-Shirt Business from Scratch. Plus, if you’re totally new to the clothing industry and aren’t sure what next steps you should take, check out our How to Start a Clothing Line post and our corresponding How to Start a Clothing Line Video Webinar for all the information you need. You can find icons to use on your t-shirt design on Noun Project.

The Best T-Shirt Mockup Generators

Mockup generators are usually online services that make customizing t-shirts and adding your t-shirt design as simple as selecting a shirt color and uploading your image. The tradeoff when using a pre-made template rather than a software program like Adobe Photoshop is that t-shirt mockup generators are usually less customizable. This can make it difficult to get your image exactly like your final printed t-shirt and, in general, gives you fewer options on your final design, especially when it comes to clothing tags, fabric texture, the background, etc.

Placeit

Placeit has a wide variety of apparel for creating mockups including t-shirts, tank tops, polo shirts, and activewear for both men and women. Generating images is as simple as selecting a blank t-shirt apparel template and uploading your design. The generator will take care of the rest, including applying all shadows and curves.

The wide variety of images and scenes makes Placeit a noteworthy option for creating your clothing mockups.

This paid tool is free to try out and includes a variety of designs for t-shirts all on one platform.

Check out Placeit’s T-Shirt Template & Mockup Generator

Printful Clothing Mockup Generator

The Printful clothing & apparel mockup generator is definitely one of the best, especially if you plan to use Printful as your clothing printer. Not only will Printful easily create a great-looking product image with your designs on it but it will also properly prepare the print file which your printer will need to actually print your designs. The biggest benefit of using free t-shirt templates like Printful is that you can make alterations to the custom t-shirt design to ensure it looks flawless.

The Mockup Generator from Printful allows you to choose from t-shirts, sweatshirts, posters, tote bags and many more different types of products. To learn more about Printful’s entire product selection and the other features and services they offer merchants, check out our Printful Review. The stock images are all high-resolution. It also includes various print on demand products beyond t-shirts.

There are many print on demand services available, such as Custom Ink, Printify, Gooten, and more that allow you to try out their free tshirt mockup generators.

CHECK OUT PRINTFUL’S T-SHIRT TEMPLATE & MOCKUP GENERATOR

InkThreadable Mockup Generator

You can find the InkThreadable Mockup Generator where you’ll be able to add and save logos or designs on t-shirts. If you’re on Shopify, the InkThreadable app can be installed on your store for free. The mockup tool allows you to choose different brands of t-shirts and change the color with ease. If you’re looking for resources that allow you to sell the t-shirts you mock up, InkThreadable is one of the best print on demand tools in the world. The app is free so you won’t need to pay for a subscription, however, you’ll need to pay for the cost of goods and shipping. Your creativity can go far with this all-in-one print on demand service.

The Best T-Shirt Templates for Photoshop

T-shirt templates are different from mockup generators as they require a bit more work on your end, but are usually much more flexible and customizable. This customizability allows you to adjust texture, color, typography, and placement of your design.

USING ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

Most (nearly all) t-shirt templates require Adobe Photoshop or an equivalent image editing app that can handle PSD files with layers. Adobe Photoshop can seem complicated to many new users, but it’s actually really easy to use with t-shirt templates. It’s usually as simple as opening the file, double-clicking the layer where you need to add your design and then clicking save.

With Photoshop you can add your t-shirt design to a free stock photo and make it look like the person is actually wearing your clothing. You can generate many lifestyle images to add some personality to your business and ensure the mood and tone of your business is accurately represented.

WHERE TO GET PHOTOSHOP

You can view all the plans for all Adobe programs here, however, the only plan you need is the Creative Cloud Photo Bundle which is currently available for $9.99/month. This bundle comes with Adobe Photoshop CC, which you can read more about here. Photoshop also comes with a free trial so you can get familiar with it.

BONUS: Get your free trial of Adobe Photoshop CC. Click here.

HOW TO USE ADOBE PHOTOSHOP WITH T-SHIRT TEMPLATES & CLOTHING TEMPLATES

Where to Find the Best Clothing Templates for Adobe Photoshop

By far, Creative Market is the best marketplace to find t-shirt templates that are editable with Adobe Photoshop. They feature many different styles and all are very high-quality. Below, we list several of the best templates for each different style — like t-shirts laying flat, 3D models, t-shirts isolated on white backgrounds, people wearing them, etc. — but it’s also worthwhile to conduct your own search for “t-shirt templates” or “clothing templates” on Creative Market.

The Best Flat T-Shirt Templates

This is our favorite template and the one used in the 24 hour t-shirt business. It comes with a white t-shirt template but the files also have an additional 8 colors you can easily switch to. The design is clean, simple, and easy to use which is why its a favorite.

CHECK OUT THE REALISTIC TEMPLATE ON CREATIVE MARKET

Best Clothing Mockup Resources

If your business sells more than just t-shirts, you can also browse apparel mockups that you can add your designs to. You won’t need a team of people to help you add your designs to these items. You can do everything yourself and from scratch. Bring your design to life on any clothing item you can imagine. You’ll have access to over 3,500 mockups with this set, which includes t-shirts, hats, tote bags, tank tops, sweaters, and more. You’ll also find various brands including American Apparel, Anvil, Bella + Canvas, and much more. This comprehensive set of mockups includes everything you’ll need if you’re looking for flat mockups.

CHECK OUT CLOTHING MOCKUPS ON CREATIVE MARKET

The Best Hanging Shirt Template

The Majestype Mockup is easily one of the best hanging shirt templates. It has a lot of depth created by the highlights and shadows which gives it a very realistic look. This template also features the ability to remove the hanger, the tag on the back of the shirt, the ability to change the color of the neckline and it comes with 4 different stylized backgrounds. This template allows you to change colors, remove the hanger, and even change the background.

CHECK OUT THE MAJESTYPE T-SHIRT TEMPLATE ON CREATIVE MARKET

The Best Ghosted Template

Name: Ghosted T-Shirt Templates

These ghosted black & white t-shirt templates are super high-resolution and include both men’s and women’s shirts (6 unique shirts in total). Like the previous example, you can also add this ghosted t-shirt to a hanger. This style is available in both men’s and women’s t-shirts so you can design your clothing for anyone in the world.

CHECK OUT THE GHOSTED T-SHIRT TEMPLATE ON CREATIVE MARKET

The Best Model Shirt Mockup, Isolated

This is a great template if you’re looking for images that have a model in but with no background. This template features both crew and v-neck shirts and the skin color of the man is interchangeable between light-colored skin and dark-colored skin. This t-shirt template comes in both men’s and women’s versions. You can change and choose the shape of the neck collar on this t-shirt. Also, you can choose between loose and fitted t-shirt designs.

Men’s: Men’s Template

Woman’s: Women’s Template

CHECK OUT THE MEN’S T-SHIRT TEMPLATE ON CREATIVE MARKET

T-shirt Design Templates with Models

You can create a custom t-shirt design with professionally designed templates that include models. Bella + Canvas has new templates with lifestyle photography that you can customize. People will likely wear a t-shirt that they can visualize what it looks like on or with a pair of jeans. Lifestyle photos create the ability to help people envision your custom t-shirt on. With t-shirt design templates like this one, you get photos in a beautiful outdoor setting that truly looks social media ready.

CHECK OUT THE BELLA + CANVAS MOCKUP ON CREATIVE MARKET

Professionally Designed Templates with the Same Model

A blank canvas allows you to add your own images onto a t-shirt. However, customers love seeing your designs worn by models. In design templates like this, you’ll be able to customize the t-shirt while also benefiting from having the same model in different styles. Brands often hire a model for more than one item so it’ll help you establish your brand in a fun way. You can add your logo or design for this model to wear in six different photos. This PSD mockup can be edited in Photoshop.

CHECK OUT THIS MOCKUP IN MOKKA COLORS ON CREATIVE MARKET

Outdoors Lifestyle Design Templates

If you’re selling a lot of t-shirts in your collection, you might want to mix it up by adding some adventure photos, especially if you’re in the outdoors business. You can purchase or design logos, fonts, or typography from Creative Market to create one-of-a-kind pictures that highlight your brand’s style. You don’t need many tools for this mockup, all you need is Photoshop. You can add filters to your design or use the design as is. With Photoshop and a bit of creativity, you can do anything. This set includes 25 unique images you can download in the outdoors category. You’ll be able to choose from three colors: black, white, and heather grey. The designs include both the front and back of t-shirts.

CHECK OUT THIS ADVENTURE TEMPLATE ON CREATIVE MARKET

The Best Comprehensive Clothing Template Bundle

Name: Storefront Apparel Mockups Bundle

At $79, this is by far the most expensive clothing template bundle, but for good reason. This bundle has over 120 clothing templates and includes both men’s and women’s versions of t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, tank tops and much more. If you’re looking for a full range of blank clothing templates that all match, this is the bundle for you.

CHECK OUT THE COMPREHENSIVE T-SHIRT TEMPLATES BUNDLE ON CREATIVE MARKET

Conclusion

Choosing images for your apparel brand can be challenging. Not only do you have to pay attention to the style, texture, and details of the template, but you also need to consider your brand and the image you are trying to portray to visitors and customers. This guide should have given you a better idea of the available t-shirt templates and styles that are available and will hopefully make your choice easier!

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