2021.5: your e-commerce is growing and ready for social media
Published by Incomedia in WebSite X5 News · Tuesday 09 Nov 2021
We know: more and more of you are using WebSite X5 to create e-commerce stores. And we're thrilled!
After all, it's obvious: we've all grown confident in the world of online shopping. For sellers, the web is an opportunity you can't pass up.
So, what choice did we have? We rolled up our sleeves and introduced a few new features to make your online stores even more profitable and easy to manage.
Are you ready to find out what lies in store for you in version 2021.5? Let's go.
Social Commerce: in other words, how to sell on Facebook and Instagram.
Oh, social media, our modern joy and torment.... At first, we used it for fun, to distract ourselves from everyday life, and to enjoy ourselves online. Things have changed however: now, social media is much more than simple entertainment.
For example, social media now offers extraordinary storefronts through which companies can sell their products online.
Facebook and Instagram have already moved in this direction. All you need is a company profile and a page to open a Facebook Shop or start selling your products through shoppable Instagram posts.
Since Facebook does not yet allow in-app transactions (except within the United States), however, it's best to connect your shop to your own online store: this makes it easier to keep your catalog up to date, and most of all, to complete the sales.
This is where WebSite X5 comes in. Now, in just one click, you can activate the option to have the program generate a file with all the necessary information about the products in your store. Upload the URL for this file into Facebook and you're all set!
Your WebSite X5 e-commerce and your Facebook Shop now work together: the catalogs on both your site and your social media will always be synced, and sales will be completed through your e-commerce page. All that's left to do is to use all of the promotional tools available on Facebook and Instagram to reach a vast, targeted audience.
Has your interest in Facebook and Instagram suddenly shot up? We've prepared a step-by-step guide for you: How to sell products through Facebook Shops and shoppable Instagram posts
VAT management: when you make sales throughout the EU
Social media alone won't cut it: let's talk about more “serious” tax questions.
If you're already selling your products throughout the EU as well as in your home country, you are probably aware that on July 1, new VAT legislation came into force regarding indirect e-commerce in the B2C sector.
To put it simply, this legislation introduced a single threshold for all member states, which is €10,000. In practice, if an e-commerce generates more than €10,000 in B2C sales in another EU country, it must apply the VAT tax that applies for that product in the purchasing country.
In order to help you meet this new legislation, we updated the entire VAT management system in WebSite X5. Now, you can easily manage VAT rates depending on each product and specify what rates should be applied depending on the country in which the customer is making the purchase. You can also make decisions for cases in which, depending on the country, extra tax may be placed on the same item.
This might sound complicated, but don't worry. We've written a guide with many examples to explain how to do the technical part, although we won't get into the fiscal side. How do I set up and manage VAT in my store?
Order tracking: for flawless service.
Customers love being able to check the status of their order. It's useful: so that they know when to be home, or at least organize the pick-up. It's reassuring: it wasn't a scam, the package is on its way! It's exciting: especially when counting down until its arrival.
Well, now you can offer your online customers the option to track the packages you send them. How? Just specify the URL of the shipping company that will deliver the package, and remember to insert the tracking code that you receive through the online control panel or the WebSite X5 Manager App.
All of the tracking information will be included in the shipment confirmation e-mail that your store automatically sends to your customer, so you won't have to worry about anything else.
Want to learn more? Read our guide to find out everything there is to know: How do I set up order tracking?
Anything else? Of course
More good news for e-commerce owners: from now on, you will be able to assign each product its own SKU code. SKUs are unique codes that allow you to identify and track products within a store. This code will not be visible in the product sheets or the shopping cart, but it can be used as a search key, both while you're working in WebSite X5 and in the online store. Furthermore, the SKU code will be added to the structured data that is used to optimize your products for search engines.
Setting aside e-commerce for now, we've also added the option of using animations for line backgrounds. We know how useful they are for creating sections within pages to highlight important content: with this new feature, they will look even more spectacular.
Finally, we added 9 new templates to the preset template included in Pro. This brings us to a total of 150 templates! After all, we know that templates are like chocolates: they're so great you always have room for one more.
And that's all for now... Until the next WebSite X5 update!
As usual, you can find a list of all the updates included in the new version 2021.5, as well as the older ones, in the News page.
If you have an active WebSite X5 license, you can install the new version right away: launch the program and follow the instructions for doing so in just a few clicks.
If you no longer have an active WebSite X5 license, you can renew it now to receive the new version 2021.5.
Finally, if you don't have WebSite X5, now's your chance to buy it now. The usage license includes the Hosting service, a 12-month guarantee for receiving updates and any new versions, as well as access to our Priority Assistance program.