Martin is a Solutions Architect at Jola Interactive and has 25 years of experience programming, 15 of those on the Magento platform. His role involves not only the technical aspects of coding but also understanding and analyzing business needs to deliver comprehensive digital solutions. The work he does at Jola involves building complex eCommerce websites that function as business platforms for large furnishings companies. What makes this work different from programming simple websites is that they are heavily focused on structuring data information and integrating with ERP, PIM, DAM, etc systems to automate business processes such as managing shipments, payments, product information, and updates for Jola clients.

Experimenting with AI for programming began as individual members of the team dabbling and exploring possibilities, but through this trial and error, the team has now invested in AI-based programming tools such as Github Copilot and is working on incorporating them into their workflows.

In this interview, Martin delves into the transformative impact of AI on his work and shares his vision for the future of web development. Read on to learn more!

#1: Efficiency Unleashed

As the conversation unfolds, Martin sheds light on the efficiency gains facilitated by AI tools such as Github Co-pilot.  He has found significant time savings, particularly by handling repetitive and mundane tasks such as improving code readability, offering the correct syntax, and tweaking code through the chat feature. “There’s definitely a 5 to 10% increase in efficiency because everything is in line, in an editor.” This testament to AI’s role in streamlining workflows underscores its transformative potential in optimizing development processes and maximizing productivity.

#2: Jointly Elevating Quality Assurance

Martin expressed his desire for greater accuracy and reliability: “the only desire I’d have is for the tools to be more accurate so that you don’t have to tweak it to get the code correct.” He reflects that code quality is where AI tools have the largest room for improvement.

The way that AI helps with code quality and integrity is by freeing up time and allowing developers to reclaim it for creative problem-solving, which in itself has been invaluable.

#3: Redefining Collaboration

For Martin, AI transcends its role as a mere tool, evolving into a dynamic learning companion in his coding process. He emphasizes the educational value of AI-generated code suggestions, envisioning it as a catalyst for professional growth and development. In this relationship between human and machine intelligence, developers embark on a journey of continuous learning and exploration.

#4: Future Generations of Programmers

When asked if it is time to make significant changes to curricula for upcoming generations of developers, Martin expressed that the current state of AI programming tools is far from allowing developers in the upcoming generation to skip the rigor of programming languages. However, he mentioned that the tools help get results much faster for someone with a solid knowledge base.

In the future, Martin envisions AI’s transformative potential in catalyzing collaborative endeavors, stating, “The jobs might shift… developers might be prompting more than writing actual code, to just getting the program to do the right thing. Though business analysis may be a bit farther off.”

Conclusion:

Martin Babic’s reflections leave us optimistic about the future of AI in programming. He acknowledges having only scratched the surface of its capabilities, and feels that the efficiency gains and transformative potential he’s experienced are undeniably promising. With each interaction, Martin’s confidence grows, envisioning a future where AI not only streamlines tasks but can also elevates the quality and creativity of programming endeavors. As developers continue to explore and embrace these tools, the possibilities for innovation and collaboration are truly boundless.

As the furnishings industry recovers from and evolves through post-pandemic trends, new technological advancements continue to shape and be shaped by shifting consumer behaviors.

This article dives into 4 top trends for the Furnishings eCommerce industry to help your company stay ahead of the curve in 2024.

#1: The Expansion of Omni-channel Retail

3 years ago, worldwide lockdowns pushed brick-and-mortar stores to strengthen their online presence. In 2024, the reliability of physical stores is pushing even online brands to build outlets offline.

Not only does it give brands more touchpoints with consumers to attract more buyers, but the customer experience allowed by seamless online-to-offline connections is unparalleled and promotes brand loyalty. However, the space has become more competitive. Brands that are serious about capturing business need to build exceptional online and offline experiences to keep up with consumer expectations.

Palliser Furniture is one example of a brand that invested in an innovative in-store design kiosk and application for their retail partners to showcase their entire line and customize visually with all available options. Their newly launched website also allows consumers to build their product and then share it with a store near them to fulfill the order at the store.

#2: The Rise of Immersive Experiences

Advancements in 3D technology are revolutionizing the way that consumers interact with furnishings online and offline. From 3D technology enhancing virtual shopping experiences to the integration of augmented reality (AR) for visualizing products in real-life settings, brands are leveraging immersive technologies to captivate consumers. As younger generations dominate the market, the demand for seamless and engaging experiences continues to rise, driving innovation in this space.

In addition, as consumers gravitate towards mobile devices for browsing and shopping, offering mobile-first experiences on brand websites is also becoming imperative. From responsive design to streamlined checkout processes, prioritizing mobile accessibility enhances customer satisfaction and drives conversions. Upgrading your website with Adobe Commerce storefronts is a great way to wow such consumers.

Visit our 3D Product Configurator page to build more immersive product presentations on your website.

#3: Social Selling at an All-time High

Social selling has reached unprecedented levels–60% of consumers mentioned learning about new products through Instagram–prompting brands to invest in high-quality video content. From attracting customers through captivating social media campaigns to leveraging marketing automation for personalized interactions, brands are leveraging social platforms and forging strategic relationships with influencers, to guide consumers through every stage of the buyer’s journey.
Additionally, retail and wholesale websites nowadays cater to the full buyer journey, including integrating social media aggregators so that your prospects can see how your products can be styled, to making the actual purchase and aftercare and claims. For reference, check out Hubbardton Forge’s website featuring a social media aggregator that allows them to engage more deeply with the spaces consumers and designers are creating using their products.

#4: The Focus on Sustainability

Finally, as consumers become increasingly conscious of their environmental footprint, sustainability emerges as a pivotal trend in the furnishings industry. Brands are prioritizing eco-friendly materials, ethical sourcing practices, and responsible manufacturing processes to appeal to environmentally-conscious consumers. By aligning with sustainable values, businesses contribute to a greener future but also resonate with a growing segment of socially-aware shoppers.

Conclusion

In the ever-evolving landscape of furnishings e-commerce, adaptation is key to staying ahead of the curve. Businesses can position themselves for success in 2024 by embracing trends such as omnichannel integration, immersive experiences, social selling, and sustainability. As consumer preferences continue to evolve, agility and innovation will remain essential pillars for navigating the dynamic terrain of e-commerce.

Ready to future-proof your furniture eCommerce business? Contact Jola today and unlock a world of innovative solutions!

Client Overview:

Pacific Coast Lighting is a family-owned business founded in 1979 and headquartered in Southern California. They supply top-quality designer portable lighting to the largest retail chains and lighting department stores in the US. With showroom locations at High Point Market and Las Vegas Market, PCL has established itself as a leader in the lighting industry.

Discovering the Challenge:

• Pacific Coast Lighting faced a pressing challenge as their existing website platform was nearing expiration, leaving them in urgent need of a robust and stable online solution within a tight timeframe. This compelled them to seek a reliable partner capable of delivering a new, feature-rich website on a more sustainable platform to ensure uninterrupted online operations and future scalability.
• The PCL team’s priority was to elevate its online presence to match its brand identity. They felt that their older website lacked the user experience that would wow their target audience and give them an edge over the competition, and to achieve this, they invested in high-quality photoshoots and lookbooks. They wanted a website that matched this quality.

• Some of their needs from this project with Jola included upgrading their website to a modern new platform, implementing key features such as overhauled product data, stock details and ERP integrations so that products, inventory, customer-specific information, and orders would sync back and forth between the ERP and the website seamlessly and continuously.

• They were also looking for continued support and website maintenance.
• The long-term goal was to expand their reach beyond already engaged customers

The Evaluation/Selling Point:

• The PCL team was already working with an agency at the time they approached Jola, however, they were looking for a better quality of service than their current partners offered. Specifically, they wanted to work with a partner that had the technical expertise to build a powerful website on a leading platform like Adobe Commerce, while also elevating the visual experience, thus allowing them to capture more customers online.
• While PCL was evaluating a few other industry leaders in the PWA space as well, they found Jola’s pricing to be the most competitive.
• Most importantly, they were reassured by the Jola team’s expertise in the Home Furnishings industry and portfolio of websites that Jola designed and built for some of the biggest names in the furnishings industry. Their decision was validated by many within the industry who vouched for the brand’s quality of service and reputation.

“Given the short timeline from the moment the contract was signed to website launch, there were growing pains within our company as to how to work with an agency to build our website from scratch and given everything, we’re proud and believe we chose the right agency to help us develop the site. Things I wish we had done or planned differently looking back in hindsight, but overall we’re very pleased with the outcome and the dedication from the Jola team to ensure this site was not only up and running on time but was designed with intention. Hoping the close relationship and support continue through monthy maintenance as we are eager to continue improving the site. Something the previous agency lacked and fell short on their commitments.”

Rachel (Sevilla) Teebken, Marketing Manager

The Solution: Features of the new PCL Website

After this project, the result has been a new Pacific Coast Lighting website with a visual appeal and brand alignment that differentiates it from competitors.

• The website is built on Adobe Commerce’s Open Source platform. All product data is updated to Magento through a custom interface via integrations. The website is also fully integrated with their ERP AS400, as well as Epsilon Harmony for email marketing.
• Since PCL’s target audience is primarily B2B customers, (including designers, architects, contractors, furniture stores, home staging businesses, lighting stores, retailers, interior design firms, and online retail establishments), the website has been built to cater to such audiences, with features such as custom pricing, favorite lists, etc

• In line with their branding goals, the new homepage features sliders showcasing their collections with all important product information to enhance user experience

• A custom-built feature important to the PCL team involved temporary login access for prospective buyers while they considered becoming active customers. This allows them a 10-20 day trial period of access to the complete PCL experience.
• The website also prominently highlights the longstanding partnership between Kathy Ireland and PCL through a dedicated section showcasing products in a visually appealing and easily accessible manner. Customers can explore a range of exclusive designs endorsed by Kathy Ireland, adding a touch of prestige and sophistication to the overall shopping experience.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the partnership between Pacific Coast Lighting and Jola Interactive led to the successful development of a website that effectively reflects PCL’s brand identity and enhances user engagement. This collaboration underscores the importance of strategic alignment and dedication in achieving mutual goals.

Rachel (Sevilla) Teebken, Marketing Manager at Pacific Coast Lighting said the following when asked about her experience of working with Jola:

Summary:

Odette Furniture is a young, family-owned lifestyle furniture brand based in Birmingham, Alabama. They wanted to create an online presence to complement the unique elegance of their thriving flagship showroom in High Point, North Carolina.

They entrusted Jola with this undertaking as they wanted to work with a partner who understood their vision, had experience launching and scaling tech for successful furniture companies, and build a website powerful enough to engage their various B2B partners.

The Challenge:

• As a new B2B brand that has already built credibility among High Point furniture enthusiasts, Odette wanted a website that matched their design sensibilities and brand identity.
• It was important to digitize their catalog, to expand their reach in the addressable market.
• Odette’s website also needed to have robust abilities to support transactions with their B2B customers – which are of various types, including wholesalers, retailers, and designers.

The Solution & Features:

• A beautiful website that captured the designer vision of the founding team at Odette.

• Account Approval to engage various tiers of partners
  • Users are able to register on the website and seek approval from the Odette team to become partners. Pricing tiers are assigned based on the user type (eg. wholesaler, designer 1, designer 2).
• Customer’s Own Material (COM) feature for Fabric Customization
  • The team built a form that allows fabric customization with image upload, fabric details, and specific frame compatibility for a simplified quote process. Jola created a very intuitive flow to initiate the request, incorporating image upload, fabric details, and specific frame compatibility, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Hays Vogtle, Director of Operations at Odette said the following when asked about his experience of working with Jola:

“Working with Jola has been a great decision for Odette! Our account manager, Erin, always goes above and beyond expectations. Building a website was new territory for us! We greatly appreciate all of the sound advice from the Jola Team. Our site is sophisticated and customized, but still user friendly. We feel that Jola did a great job capturing our brand image!”

Hays Vogtle, Director of Operations

• Dynamic tear sheets
• Emphasized Antiques Section:
  • A dedicated section for one-of-a-kind antique furniture was strategically emphasized, showcasing Odette’s unique offerings. This section not only highlights the brand’s diverse product range but also caters to clients with a penchant for unique, timeless pieces.
• Dynamic events section
  • The High Point Market Events section on Odette’s website is a dynamic feature that aims to elevate user engagement, especially during the prestigious High Point Market events.
  • Key components of the High Point Market Events section include event listings, speaker profiles, and schedule overviews.

Conclusion:

The collaborative effort between Odette’s design vision and Jola’s expertise in crafting robust B2B e-commerce websites resulted in a beautiful and powerful business platform. This platform will be Odette’s number 1 tool in expanding the reach of their business across the country.

Palliser Furniture, one of the largest manufacturers in the North American furniture market, sought to revolutionize the in-store experience for its customers visiting premium retail locations. Since building personalized pieces is core to their mission, they were looking to take their customers on an immersive journey through their extensive product line.

Finding a rare blend of expertise at Jola Interactive, combining 3D modeling, visual configurations services, custom application development, and Adobe Commerce solutions, they decided to partner with us to build the Palliser Interactive Designer–an in-store kiosk application to bridge the gap between in-store limitations and online potential, reshaping the retail landscape.

The Challenge:

• As a brand, the Palliser team prides itself on its focus on personalizing pieces to fit the dreams and needs of its customers. However, their intricate customization options—ranging from recliner motions to diverse colors, shapes, sizes, fabrics, and more—challenged effective product showcasing.
• They needed to optimize space and inventory, granting consumers in furniture retail stores the ability to select from the wide range of products and options available to them, surpassing hundreds of thousands of combinations.
• Customers faced limitations in envisioning personalized furniture, having to rely on imagination without tangible representations. Rather than their customizability being an asset, Palliser and their retailers were losing out on sales opportunities when consumers weren’t able to visualize the options best suited to their needs.

The Evaluation/Selling Point:

• While Palliser was evaluating a few other industry leaders in the visual configuration space as well, they were only able to offer one part of the whole program, such as 3D visualization.
• Jola’s proposition outshone competitors by offering a rare all-inclusive approach that united 3D visualization, kiosk application development, and website integration seamlessly.
• In contrast to competitors offering fragmented services, Jola’s comprehensive solution was not only cost-effective but also streamlined operations, significantly impacting overall costs for Palliser.

The Solution:

• Implemented the ‘Palliser Interactive Designer’:
  • Jola developed a Retail Kiosk Application showcasing Palliser’s products and configurations, leveraging WordPress & Microsoft technologies to provide an interactive in-store experience. It is a one-of-a-kind touch screen incorporating 3D modeling technology, live pricing, and endless product details, which helps create a frictionless shopping experience for both the sales associate and the customer.

• Visual Configurator Interface:
  • Integrated a cutting-edge WebGL-based 3D modeling interface for customers to explore and personalize furniture options.

ANIMATION OF CONFIGURATOR COMPLETE SECTIONAL VISUALIZATION COMPLETE BED CUSTOMIZATION

• User Management System for Kiosk & Website Integration:
  • Employed Magento & Adobe systems, enabling store owners to analyze inquiries, manage flexible pricing, and oversee inventory across English, French, and Spanish demographics.

• Seamlessly linked the website’s inventory with Palliser’s ERP & PIM system for synchronized updates.

The Impact:

• Rollout and Expansion:
  • The kiosks have been implemented in 56 locations across North America by November 2023, with ambitious plans to scale to 200 by the end of 2024.
• Sales Surge:
  • Stores equipped with the kiosk witnessed an astonishing 49% increase in sales compared to those without, defying industry standards.
• Positive Reception:
  • Resounding endorsements from stores, attributing heightened Palliser item sales to the game-changing customer experience delivered by Jola’s solutions.

“Our Design Center and Interactive Designer (kiosk application) have in many respects become the heartbeats of our studios. While we are always continuing to innovate and enhance its offering, the digital tool to date not only helps consumers visualize their upholstery configuration and options available, it helps train sales associates on the Palliser lineup and allows them to sell more confidently and efficiently.”

      Steve A., Chief Marketing Officer @ Palliser

Conclusion:

Jola’s comprehensive approach not only addressed Palliser’s challenges but also significantly boosted sales, challenging the norms of traditional retail. By unifying the in-store and online realms, Jola and Palliser set a new benchmark for a seamlessly connected retail ecosystem, redefining the buyer journey and competition landscape within the industry.

In this article, we will discuss five essential tweaks to make your website run better. By following these tips, you can improve your website’s performance and provide a seamless experience for your visitors.

The Importance of Page Speed for UI/UX

Page speed refers to the amount of time it takes for a website’s pages to fully load in a user’s web browser. It’s important because it directly affects the user experience: slow-loading pages can lead to higher bounce rates, lower engagement, and a negative impact on conversions.

Search engines like Google have even indicated that page speed is a factor in their search ranking algorithms, so a fast-loading site can help improve visibility and drive more traffic to your site. A high-functioning website is the first impression you give customers, so it’s crucial to ensure it’s optimized for sales and ease of use.

5 Tips for Improving Website Performance Through Optimization

#1. Optimize Images

High-quality images can make your website visually appealing, but large image files can slow down the loading time. To speed up your website, optimize your images by compressing them and reducing their file size without sacrificing quality. You can use online tools like TinyPNG or Compressor.io to optimize your images.

#2. Minimize HTTP Requests

Every time a user visits a page on your website, the browser has to make multiple requests to the server to load different elements of the page, such as images, stylesheets, and scripts. Minimizing the number of HTTP requests can reduce the load time of your website and improve performance. One way to minimize HTTP requests is to combine multiple stylesheets into a single file and do the same with JavaScript files.

#3. Implement a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A CDN is a network of servers that distribute content to users based on their location. By using a CDN, you can reduce the distance between the user and the server, which can lead to faster load times and improved performance. Additionally, a CDN  like Cloudflare, Fastly or Azure, can help reduce the strain on your own server by distributing content across multiple servers.

#4. Enable Browser Caching

Browser caching allows frequently accessed elements of your website, such as images and stylesheets, to be stored on the user’s device. This means that the next time the user visits your website, the browser will not have to make new requests for these elements, which can result in faster load times. To enable browser caching, you can add code to your website’s .htaccess file or use a plugin like W3 Total Cache for WordPress.

#5. Minimize the Use of Plugins

Plugins are a convenient way to add features and functionality to your website, but they can also slow down your website if not used judiciously. To improve performance, minimize the use of plugins and only install those that are essential to your website. Additionally, keep your plugins up to date to ensure that they are not causing any performance issues.

In addition to the tips mentioned earlier, implementing a Progressive Web Application (PWA) can also greatly improve the performance and user experience of your website. PWAs are web applications that are designed to work offline and have features typically associated with native mobile apps, such as fast loading times and offline functionality.

At Jola, we have extensive experience building PWAs and can help you take advantage of this cutting-edge technology to create a fast, reliable, and engaging website. Our PWAs are built with load speeds and browser caching in mind, so your users will enjoy a seamless experience regardless of their connection quality. Whether you’re looking to create a new website or optimize an existing one, our team of experts is here to help.

In conclusion, optimizing your website for faster page speed can have a significant impact on user experience and search engine visibility. By following the five tips outlined in this article, you can improve the performance of your website and provide a better experience for your users.

Contact Jola today to learn more about our web development services and how we can help you achieve your online goals!

Today’s buyers expect to be able to see whatever they are shopping for in various colors, sizes, textures, and materials from different angles before buying. It’s all part of the customer experience. So, brands that make doing business on their website more convenient and a fun, exciting experience will find consumers will reward them with more business.

That’s why 3D virtual photography is a rising trend in the business world – it often yields more stunning results than traditional methods and can be more cost-effective.

If you haven’t utilized 3D virtual photography for your product photos, here’s a quick overview of what it is and how it can help your business.

3D virtual photography uses CAD software to create an image that looks like a real photo. These images can be very realistic and often look indistinguishable from an actual photograph. Virtual photography uses lighting, 3D modeling, and rich textures to create these images. Even though they look realistic, they only require a 3D artist’s talent.

To create an image, you first need to create a 3D model. Once the model is created, you can render the model as an image using other software, such as V-Ray, for texturing the images.

If you haven’t added 3D virtual photography to your website, here are four reasons you should.

Reason #1: Virtual Photography Will Save You Money!

Images have always been part of the customer experience, but in years past a couple of photos were enough to keep customers happy. Unfortunately, today it takes more and more to provide them with a good shopping experience.

According to eMarketer magazine, in 2016 consumers expected to see three images of a product when shopping online. By 2019 they expected eight.

Today’s online shoppers expect to be able to see what they are buying from all angles and want to customize what they are ordering. Having 3D renderings from virtual photographs where they can not only see the item from all sides but also see the item in various colors, sizes, and configurations is what online shoppers want now. As a result, online customization has become a vital part of the user experience.

In today’s market, companies are expected to use 3D virtual photography and renderings if they want to stay ahead of the competition. Moreover, with the increasing trend of consumers shopping online instead of in-person at brick-and-mortar stores, even those retailers and manufacturers who are more old-fashioned are investing in e-commerce.

However, it’s not easy to stand out from the competition, especially regarding imagery. In addition, product photography can be costly because of the transportation and photo shoots required.

But what about traditional photography….

With traditional photography, creating a set to display new products can be costly. First, you’ve got to rent a studio and set it up to best showcase your product. You’ll also have to hire an entire photography crew.

Even when the product is photographed against a blank backdrop, the cost of the studio, crew, and lighting must be considered. Doing a photo shoot becomes even more difficult if your product is oversized or otherwise difficult to photograph, such as houses.

Products available in multiple colors or configurations require images for each configuration. For example, let’s say you sell couches available in 10 different colors. With traditional photography, you would have to build a couch in each color, which can be expensive, and taking a photo of each couch costs you hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars. And every time you changed or added a new color, you’d have to start the whole setup again.

With 3D virtual photography, one photo of the couch can be rendered in 3D and used in various ways, particularly in allowing customers to customize their couch in the color they want. Once rendered into 3D, the couch image can also be manipulated to show the couch in various configurations and options, allowing consumers to customize their couch. It also allows you to use the couch in different room styles generated by the computer.

For some products, you don’t need anything set up physically, and you don’t even need the actual product. With virtual photography, you can build your product without it ever existing.

3D virtual photography is an incredibly effective way to create stunning, realistic images that can save you time and money. On average, 3D virtual photography and rendering, or CGI (where the product image is created entirely on the computer to look like an actual item), is usually 5 to 10 times more affordable than traditional photo shoots.

Reason #2: Virtual Photography Will Help Increase Sales

Virtual photography is an incredible marketing tool that can bring your business to life with pictures. Whether you need photos for catalogs, ads, social media, or newsletters, visuals are vital in sharing what your products look like and their value to consumers. Even if you only market to other businesses, the business owner will likely use photos to decide if a product is right for them.

Today’s consumers expect to see 3D images when shopping online. Virtual photography and 3D rendering are vital in providing a great buying experience for your customers. If a buyer can customize your product, then it is critical they can see their customization before buying.

By using 3D rendering, your customers not only get to see your product from every angle, but it also allows them to see what their custom choices will look like. Having these 3D images available is especially important if you intend to sell your products on other sites, such as Wayfair or any successful online retailer.

Survey says….

A Harris Poll found US adults are 60% more likely to buy a product shown in 3D. Having 3D images helps them make decisions with more confidence.

In short, investing in quality virtual photography is a great way to show off your products and help increase sales. However, while 3D product rendering has become the more effortless choice, the tricky part is that these services come at varied costs.

For simple products, rates can start as low as $150 for a simple product and increases depending on how detailed or complex the product design is. The more detailed or complex the product design is, the more the rendering will cost. On the other hand, if your product needs a complete setting, such as a room scene to showcase your furniture, that will generally start around $500 and go up, again depending on complexity.

While these are average starting rates, cheaper isn’t always better. Many companies offer very cheap rates in many countries, but the reality is that there is no shortcut to doing a quality product. It simply takes time to pay attention to the details, and you do usually get what you pay for.

Reason #3: You Can Launch Products Faster with Virtual Photography

With any new product, it is essential to get to market fast. So, companies worldwide are racing to be the first to market with any new market.

One way to compete successfully is to ensure your product is in the marketplace first. This may not always be possible or practical with a physical product. Traditionally companies have built prototypes, at great expense, to get their advertising out fast.

With virtual photography, you can create a lifelike representation of a product that doesn’t even exist. For example, an artist can take detailed information about what the product should look like and use it to create a 3D model. This model is used in virtual photography to set up and photograph the product as if it were the real thing.

This can be a big help with advertising and making sure your product is out there first.

Reason #4: 3D Images Are More Versatile

Virtual photography is one of the best things you can use.  Create any scene you want without being limited by the real world.

In traditional photography, what you can do is limited by what colors are available, what props you can use, and the studio size. With virtual photography, you can customize the scene however you want. You can access any color, prop, or style you can imagine.

An advantage of using virtual photography is the versatility of the final product. Traditionally, photo shoots are used to get an image for a specific advertising outlet. Images used for a billboard, for example, may not be suitable for use in a catalog. You may need several photo shoots to get the best images for every advertising outlet, including your website design.

With virtual photography, the images can be shot in a format that can be used for all these different types of advertising, saving time and money.

3D virtual photography and renderings were groundbreaking when first launched by Nike in 1991, and in today’s market, shoppers expect this technology when they go to your website. If your company isn’t using virtual photography and renderings, you may miss out on potential customers and opportunities.

If you’re still using traditional photography methods for your business, switching to virtual photography may be your best decision. Once you’ve made the switch, you may never go back to traditional photography again.

However, even with the tragedies that continue to ravage our planet, it seems that a sliver of a silver lining is keen on keeping select others in good spirits. 

Though COVID-19 negatively impacted many businesses, some industries were able to take advantage of lockdowns and 6 feet distance requirements. The eCommerce industry may have been the biggest beneficiary, as eCommerce sales increased by over 43% within the first year of covid. 

With an increased demand for stores accessible at your fingertips and guidelines restricting gatherings, An already expanding service was sought out with vigor. 

We’re talking Virtual Photography. 

How has Virtual Photography impacted businesses?

Using CGI to create virtual representations of products, placed in settings and with different configurations, changed- not only how businesses were able to market. But also their ability to rapidly increase revenue with low initial costs. Enabling risk-free preorders, advancing focus groups to test customer sentiment, lowering marketing costs, and creating engagement with interactive scenes. A way to test, showcase, customize, and reuse, meeting all the needs at an affordable price. 

With another recession firmly gripping the economy. And inflation driving up everything from Rent to Gas; everyone is looking for an out. Or rather, an In. A way into the eCommerce industry. Many businesses had already switched their operations to being online during the pandemic. And when the world was resuming some semblance of normalcy, began to reopen their physical storefront. 

However, that was short-lived. 

Post-pandemic costs had skyrocketed, leaving businesses with much higher advertising and marketing costs that led to higher product costs to offset the increased expenditure. It became quickly apparent that the customer was suffering, and if the customers suffer, then so does your business. 

Virtual Photography is king. It has proven to be cost-effective, fast, and reusable. And a service that works alongside your brand strategy to maximize your business’s success. 

And as many businesses have found, moving operations online effectively keeps and expands their customer base, all while having a reasonable budget and materials that continue to work for them in a variety of settings and situations. 

The world is continuously growing into a system that values technology and accessibility. And with eCommerce being dependent on these features, you shouldn’t get left behind. 

Virtual Photography Services are here to stay.

For the last decade, talented CGI artists have refined their craft. Allowing the creation of scenes and products so hyper-photorealistic that they’re indistinguishable from actual Photography. And with COVID-19, MonkeyPox, and one thing after the next threatening the concept of direct human interaction, it is safe to say that Virtual Photography has become the future. 

Learn more about Virtual Photography with Jola. 

1. Accessibility
2. Speed
3. Security
4. Bounce Rate
5. Competition
6. SEO
7. Improved Technology 

• ACCESSIBILITY 

According to Outerbox, more than 40% of purchases were made on a smartphone during the 2018 holiday season. And to be more current, in the last six months, 79% of smartphone users have purchased using their mobile device. These stats strongly advocate why a traditional eCommerce website needs to enhance its accessibility. With a controlling percentage of consumers using their mobile device for eCommerce, rebuilding your site to be mobile-friendly or having it rebuilt as a Progressive web application is a step in the right direction. 

• SPEED

Users lose interest if a webpage takes more than 3 seconds to load. It’s a hard pill to swallow when you consider just how short a time 3 seconds is. However, consumers expect their browser to have an almost instantaneous reaction, and the longer it takes for a product or image to load, the more frustrated a user becomes. It causes them to lose interest in your products and trust in your Brand. Newer technology, such as PWA, has become the answer to this speed issue, allowing customers to view pages in a fraction of a second. An impressive turn away when 3 seconds is all it takes to lose a sale. 

• SECURITY

Data breaches, hacks, stolen bank information, and funds- all of these are some of the serious issues that online users face regularly. So, if they’re going to buy something online, they need to know that their personal information is safe and secure. Most browsers even tell you when you’re about to access a website that isn’t secure. Upgrading your website security by implementing a firewall, encrypting your data on your website, and using reCAPTCHA are all excellent ways to show users that they’re safe when browsing, and especially when purchasing on your eCommerce website. 

• BOUNCE RATE

High bounce rates indicate that users visit your website and quickly leave after viewing just one page, an undesirable statistic for an eCommerce website. However, there’s not just one reason for high bounce rates; it can be a combination of things. Poor landing page design, expired offers, moved or broken page links, slow pages or images, too many ads, misleading information, etc. The best way to pinpoint the issue while preparing for the site redesign would be to analyze the data from analytics software. Analytics play a significant role in gaining data about website traffic, and it’s the best line of defense when trying to understand the metrics you’re trying to optimize.

• COMPETITION 

Nothing says staying ahead of the game like a redesign- but it should have a purpose. In the eCommerce industry, you should always pay attention to your competitors. Checking the trends, the technology, and most importantly, the mistakes made. What your competitors do can tell you a lot about what your audience wants and doesn’t want and allows you to adjust to fit their needs. 

• SEO

Your SEO is one of the greatest deciding factors in ranking on search engines. It is the driving factor behind how your customers find you and your products. Having up-to-date information, accurate descriptions, current posts, and recently updated content, whether seasonal or topical, ensures that Google can properly crawl your website and display the most relevant and recent information to customers. Learn more about how to improve your content for SEO 

• IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY 

Technology is constantly changing, and the best changes are the ones that increase our productivity and keep us engaged. PWA,  (Progressive web applications) are a fast-evolving and revolutionary solution to M-Commerce (eCommerce done on Mobile devices). PWA is the only choice for website redesign with Offline capabilities, ridiculously fast loading speeds, native app-like characteristics, and user-friendly notifications. It increases user engagement, customer retention and has proven to be a driving factor in increasing sales. 

Jola is a North American Web Development company specializing in Magento B2B and B2C Commerce and PWA. Redesigning your website is a necessary step to take in your business’s journey, and with so many positive immediate impacts, why wait? Connect today.

Written by Teace Findlay

CAPTCHA, short for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, is used to determine whether the user on your website is human or not. Its purpose is to stop spam and protect your website from possible attackers.

Where do you encounter CAPTCHA?

When filling out a form or creating an account, you’ve probably encountered a CAPTCHA. You need to decode and enter a string of distorted numbers and letters into a prompt box. Correct entry means access. And incorrect means denial. 

This program worked well for a long time, but eventually, the bots outsmarted the system. Research determined that bots had a 99.4% success rate when deciphering and entering distorted text. While humans only had a 33% success rate, the CAPTCHA was doing the opposite of its original intention. 

Enter Google’s reCAPTCHA in 2014!

Recaptcha gave prompts to users based on their interactions on the web page and their mouse movements. reCaptcha was built to identify the difference between human movements and bots. It displays a prompt and checkbox- and once they take the desired actions, users get another set of instructions involving identifying squares that host a specified image.  

This has proven to be highly effective in deterring spam.

So, here’s the big question, do you need CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA on your eCommerce website?

The answer is undeniable; yes, you need all the security you can get.  Cyber-attacks, copycat sites, and data hackers have become some of the biggest obstacles for online businesses and consumers. Therefore, consumers put a lot of stock into a company that takes the extra step to secure their personal information. After all, you wouldn’t want to live in a house with no locks on the doors. 

How do you add reCAPTCHA to your eCommerce website?

eCommerce platforms like WordPress and Magento have purchasable extensions. Front-end developers can install all these in no more than a few hours.

Jola is a North American company specializing in developing B2B and B2C Magento eCommerce websites. With a decade of experience, they’ve proven themselves to be a team worth building with. Get in contact now.

1. Be descriptive
2. Use text
3. Optimize your images 
4. Stay on Topic
5. Build site authority
6. Be detailed
7. Update
8. Stay on trend

Targeted Page Titles

When building your Website, be sure to have descriptive, targeted Page Titles. Put different services, products, and topics on separate pages. Why? Because having a clear, targeted topic helps search engines identify your content and the related information on each page. It’s the first line of defense used to Optimize your content.

Use Text

Video, gifs, and audio are excellent additions to your Website; they show your versatility and your ability to utilize different kinds of media to communicate with your audience. However, too much of a good thing can be bad! Search engines can’t recognize the content in videos. So be sure to add the necessary text that states and describes the topic of your content. 

Optimize images 

No website consists of only text. And the truth is, your images can work for you just as hard as your copy does. You just need to Optimize! Compress your images, use alt-text, add captions, and of course, use relevant images.

Stay on Topic

Using unnecessary descriptive words to fill space can negatively impact your Website. Instead, you should ditch the fluff! Stay on topic with all of your Website’s copy. Whether for blog posts, the about us page, or product and service descriptions, always be direct with your information. 

Build Site authority

99.7% of websites don’t appear in the first five pages of a google search for an unbranded keyword. And that’s because they lack Site authority which refers to the number of backlinks that your Website has. Backlinks tell search engines that your Website is an excellent place to go for certain information. A great way to get backlinks would be to Guest blog, blog, and build relationships with websites that have a high site authority, meaning they rank within the first three pages of a google search.

Be Detailed

 Establishing your expertise on a specific topic is best to become a high-ranked thought leader on search engines. 

Update!

Search engines show users the most relevant, recently available information on the topic they’re searching for. That’s why it’s important to make consistent updates to your Website’s content, namely your blog! Revising old blog posts and updating them with new information and publish dates tells search engines that your content is relevant, recent, and up to date. 

Stay on trend

Seasons change, and so do your deals, discounts, seasonal offers, and articles. Be clear about featuring the items you have available in the right season.

Written by Teace Findlay

Designing quality virtual photography scenes takes time, dedication, patience, and most importantly, a deep and thorough understanding of the client. 

Ana,  an Interior Designer, says that “creating a room scene is like designing any room in your home. It’s an adventure because it’s fun. However, it’s also stressful because you don’t know if it’ll turn out the way you want. And very uncertain because you don’t know if what you’ve explained to the digital artist is what you’ll see at the end.”

By taking the time to understand the client’s needs, goals, products, and who they are as a business, Ana is able to design awe-filled renders that are then turned into amazing scenes by the CGI team.

When asked how Ana establishes a working relationship with the client, she said that she meets with the client to understand what they want to achieve. 

In her words, “Generally people want a room with lots of light and open space. And of course, it should be beautiful. But then, I take a look inside the client to see what they really want or if I’m able to assist them on this journey based on what they’re looking for. And in my experience, it’s much easier to start the conversation and get into the process when they know or have a fairly good idea of what they want to see.”

Ana and I dove into some of those comments, and what I’ve learned is that most people want what they perceive to be a beautiful room; tall ceilings, lots of light, and clean spaces. However, it’s essential to dig deeper and gather the unique elements for each client to design the perfect scene. 

Inside the Process

Having those initial thoughts in mind, with an understanding of what the client is looking for, Ana broke down her process from beginning to end. 

She said, “To narrow down the design, I usually make an inspiration board which contains a lot of similar spaces to what the client expressed.”

 “From that, they pick an image that they like best. Then I create a mood board using the image the client picked. Dividing into separate details for how each individual element should be done.” 

Ana describes this as the freer part of the designing journey. Allowing her to carefully look at notes and start bringing this room scene to life. Defining the style, color scheme, product locations, and mood takes a couple of additional sessions with the client, but it’s all worth it once the client gives the go-ahead.

Ana uses Sketchup to create clay models(above) to capture the final scene’s angles and desired product placements. 

From there, the model is handed over to the CGI team and then revised by Ana upon completion. Take a look at the scene’s progression. Going from a Clay model (above) to a Photorealistic room scene (below).

Ana says, “the most important thing to remember is what the client is selling. The room you’re creating isn’t a personal space. However, the product is very personal to your client.” Ana goes on to note that “a successful scene does not look staged; it has a kick to it! Hopefully, that kick is your client’s product, and even if it isn’t, everything should sit right. Every component must be designed with your client’s products in mind. To give them the result that best suits their needs.”

Find the right team

At Jola, we’re committed to creating solutions to help your products look better and sell better. We treat all of our clients with the respect they deserve. And offer them the time and dedication necessary for each of their needs. Connect with us today to start designing your Virtual Photography scenes.

Written by Teace Findlay 

With continuous advancements in technology, CGI experts can change the way we see things.  Swapping out backgrounds, building three-dimensional interactive objects on a screen, and even decorating a house without ever setting foot inside or buying a piece of furniture. They’re able to create the most complex scenes using programs that are not only cost-effective but also fast, produce hyper photorealistic images and allow for edits at any time. 

And there’s more. 

Benefits of using Virtual Staging

• Cost

Take a second to think about everything that goes into staging. Buying/Renting furniture. Moving. Professional photographers. Other professionals such as plumbers, masons, electricians, carpenters, e.t.c. The list might seem short, but the cost is high. By eliminating the need for equipment and additional personnel, each with their own specialty, you’re cutting your costs by more than 70%. And that is not a number to be frowned upon. 

CGI is the most cost-effective option when your goal is to showcase a property’s best features and get a potential buyer to close. 

• Creativity

Let’s talk about the freedom of creativity. When someone is buying a home, they start to envision how they’ll make it look once they move in. The walls. The appliances, the fixtures, the floors. From top to bottom, they’re dreaming up ways to make the property uniquely theirs. However, most buyers find themselves stumped since they lack the creative know-how to actively put their vision in motion. 

Virtual staging allows you to give your buyer ideas—just one, or maybe twenty. By working with CGI experts, you can create multiple options. Change the color of the walls, turn hardwood floors into carpets, make the guest bedroom into a home gym. You can let your creativity run wild- allowing you to appeal to multiple buyer personas. And at the same time, giving you a leg up in communicating a vision and creating a positive emotion in your buyers. 

• Visualization 

According to the National Association of Realtors, 82% of buyers said that a staged home made it easier for them to visualize themselves living there. In addition, studies show that 48% of homebuyers feel an impact when the living room is staged. Why? Because it’s where we spend most of our time. The living room is where memories are made, and if they can’t see themself creating memories with their family, they won’t feel the kind of connection they need to buy. 

And isn’t that what virtual selling is about? You want the buyer to be able to visualize what they desire. Just like using Visual Configurators in an eCommerce website, using Virtual Staging builds the desire and emotion that a potential buyer needs to purchase a home. 

• Increased sales

A crazy 77% of Realtors said that they believed virtual staging helped them sell houses. That statistic speaks for itself. Realtors understand the market, and they have a deep understanding of their buyers and the process. By acknowledging the difference in sales from staged and unstaged homes, they’re able to draw a firm and positive conclusion that Virtual Staging works! 

• Faster sales 

Homes are said to sell 73% faster when staged. What does that mean? Well, from entering the market to selling, the median is 70 days. So you do the math! Simply put- faster sales mean more opportunities. Virtual staging allows you to give your potential buyer all the options they need to make a decision quickly and in return, give you the ability to take on more projects which ultimately means more profit in less time.  A ratio that no one is mad about. 

In closing, what you need is Impact!

With almost everything happening on a digital scale, showcasing a property and getting a buyer to feel a connection becomes challenging without the right tools. But, by placing your needs into the hands of the experts at Jola Interactive, you can set yourself up for success. 

Create a mood board, collaborate on finishes, pick the lighting fixtures, and ultimately, build the most breathtaking scenery that gets your buyer to connect. That’s how Jola uses Virtual staging to bridge the gap between changed minds and closed deals—maximizing benefits for Agents and giving buyers the wealth of options they desire.

So contact Jola to sell more homes with Virtual Staging.

Written by: Teace Findlay

Traditional Photography is out

Ask yourself this question; How much does my business rely on the use of lifestyle and inspirational photography to present my products to customers?

If you’re in the furniture, lighting, hardware, and other products related to the furnishings industry, I’m going to guess your answer is; a lot. 

With the human eyes being the first line of defense, you want to make your products stand out in the best possible way. And since photography is cost-prohibitive and needs additional resources, it’s often difficult to create scenes for all of your products. 

There’s a lot that goes into Traditional Photography. Photographers, equipment, schedules, models, leasing/renting locations, print materials, and even redesigning the space for each particular shoot and product. These costs add up quickly, especially if you have a variety of products that need to be shot with their specific accent pieces and in different colors and lighting. Often, your products aren’t available in the various options you offer to your customers, which makes photographing them impossible. 

So how do you get around this?

Easy, Virtual Photography. 

Virtual Photography and its benefits 

 Virtual Photography is the creation of photorealistic scenes with 3D software that are often indistinguishable from the real thing. These scenes can range in size from vignettes to large environmental scenes. Indoor and outdoor settings all without any limitations. Scenes can be created in residential homes, hospitality settings, senior living facilities, commercial properties, and other locations that are difficult to photograph.

So, how can Virtual Photography benefit you and your business?

By using Virtual Photography, you substantially reduce your creative and photography costs. Providing you with previously unable opportunities and options that will increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and maximize the use of your sales tools.

How about time?

Time is of the essence when you’re trying to make sales. And having your photos ready faster means that your potential customers are able to get a look at your products before your competitions’, giving you an instant leg up in your industry.

Virtual Photography offers flexibility.

When you’re launching an Ad campaign, you need a large selection of creatives. Different scenes, on different backgrounds, in different sizes from different angles, to fit the limits of where you’re placing your ads. Whether it be on social media, or on the third page of a print magazine. By using Virtual Photography, you can order every kind of file you’d need upfront without second-guessing or reneging your previous order.

And of course, there’s speed.

Since everything is done virtually, you can rest assured that what you ordered will be done on time. And not just that, if there are changes that need to be made, a product placement that you don’t like, or an object that stands out awkwardly in the scene, you can have it removed, or altered to fit your needs in little to no time. In addition, there’s no need to scrap an entire file since each of these is editable and reusable. Meaning you can essentially switch out any or all of your products in an existing scene or setting for new ones. 

The most important thing.

Virtual photography helps bring your vision to life. Your goal is to capture the beauty and necessity of your company’s products and visually deliver it to your customers. By providing a mood/vision board, or creating one alongside a team of CGI experts, you’re able to breathe life into the scene in your head. All you need to do is provide your desired textures, finishes, and product models and everything will be virtually constructed. 

The end result is a stunning, indistinguishable realistic scene that showcases and highlights your products. 

With the covid-19 pandemic still holding the world in digital limbo, you should invest your efforts into Virtual Photography. It’s a smart and economical approach for your business. And thankfully, I know just the team for you. Jola Interactive has a team of CGI experts that creates amazing scenes to showcase their client’s products. They are a force when it comes to highlighting the beauty of products in a variety of industries. Home furnishings, Government facilities, Educational Institutions, Commercial, and even senior living. Contact them today to get started on wowing your customers into pressing buy.

Advertisers use the power of images to connect with the audience and convey the intended message about a product or business. In our everyday lives, we often come across impressive images and marvel at the possibilities of how the photo was taken. However, most of the time, these images are not actual photographs; they’re Computer Generated Images. Computer-generated Imagery (CGI) is quickly becoming the go-to tool for advertisers as advanced technology has made it more accessible and cost-effective. CGI offers endless opportunities for designers and artists to produce the images they need to represent a product. And when compared to traditional photography, CGI offers a range of advantages.

Advantages of using CGI 

Cost Reduction

CGI reduces advertising costs for businesses by eliminating the need for additional costs, like hiring crews for photography, moving, and even staging.

Product rendering is done using advanced CGI, removing the need for travel, a photographer, and all the other costs that accompany this route. By using CGI, you can get the background you want, the lighting you want, and set the mood in the scene you want, all without the cost of execution in the real world. 

CGI maximizes your time. 

No need to cancel or reschedule a shoot due to bad weather, traffic, or factory delay. Instead, you can handle all aspects of ad production without ever leaving your desk. By communicating remotely with the CGI team, you can rest assured that you have an abundance of time to carry out additional tasks throughout your day without the stress of wondering if your ad material is ready. You can be quickly updated, communicate concerns, and check on progress without ever physically needing to leave your space. 

In addition, it also saves time when there are a lot of different options for one product. Simply rendering the color, texture, or shape digitally is much faster than waiting for each product to be physically built. 

User engagement and satisfaction

Your ad campaign has a goal; delight your audience so they can become customers. 

Using CGI to create amazing product images, interactive ads, virtual videos, and room scenes is an excellent way to showcase what your business has to offer. Giving your potential customers the ability to change, customize and interact with products ensures that they get a unique experience that leaves a lasting impression. Instilling the confidence they need to buy from you and become loyal customers who brag about your brand. 

Marketing

In most industries, it’s essential to have digital renders even before the pre-production stage has begun. Visualizing the colors, combinations, and other physical features of a product can aid when doing market research, like through study groups. It’s also a great way to secure guaranteed revenue by taking advanced orders for products that haven’t been produced yet. 

And not just that, CGI can be useful in Real Estate. Selling a house has a lot to do with helping the potential buyer to envision themselves in the home. Using CGI to create lifelike room scenes for brochures allows real estate agents to have a leg up with enthusiastic buyers who have gotten a look at what their new home could look like. 

In that way, CGI helps create the emotion and desire that marketers need to sell the products their company is offering, no matter what it is. 

Increases the Brand Value

Though we wish it were different, your audience trusts what they see. They place value in the technology and quality of your products. And also the experience they have with your website.  

How fast your renders respond. If they’re able to view variations of products. If they’re able to interact with your products. 

By using CGI, you increase your brand value and trust your audience has in your website by giving them options, interaction, and full product comprehension. 

Options

Using CGI has led to limitless possibilities.  Bringing scenes to life, turning a sunny day into a snowy oasis, morphing an armchair into a loveseat, the list goes on. With computer-generated imagery, the only limitations are the ones that you set. So why hold yourself back? 

Cross-Platform Compatibility 

The best thing about using CGI is its adaptive nature. When running a business, you need to think about every possible way your audience interacts with your eCommerce website. 

Cell phones, Tablets, and PCs are the three most commonly used mediums for interaction, with Cell phones (mobile) making up a large percentage of user interaction. 

That’s why it’s essential to have the ability to offer your audience the same or similar experience, no matter what they’re using. 

Consumers value familiarity. They love being able to experience a product or interact with a page in a known way. This ease of use creates trust, converts, and breeds loyalty. 

From start to finish, CGI can be woven into your business. Increasing productivity. Decreasing costs. Driving up sales. Reducing turnaround times. And most importantly, delighting your audience.

Jola Interactive is a North American company with an amazing team of CGI experts. They specialize in the furnishings and home decor industry, creating solutions for some of the biggest names in the USA. Contact them today for a free site evaluation to find out how you can bridge the gap with CGI.

The author updated this post on 9/8/21

The Honeybee of Digital Evolution. 

Progressive web applications are like an invasion, creeping into our lives with their prompts to add to the home screen, faster speeds, push notifications, and offline abilities. Over the years, PWA’s have grown in usage and popularity, becoming a buzzword back in 2018. Since then, PWA’s have been implemented into hundreds of websites and installed on millions of devices. 

So what is a Progressive Web Application?

Choosing between a website and a mobile application was a decision that many companies faced, and most continue to face today. Choosing between accessibility, looking at cost, considering maintenance and functionality is a huge part of effectively running an eCommerce business since operational expenses make up a significant portion of the budget. With so many citing this issue, Google looked for a solution. A program (software) that could offer all the benefits of both entities, with minimal to no drawback. That’s how Progressive web applications were created.

PWA’s or Progressive Web Applications are a happy marriage between the concept of native applications and websites, resulting in faster, installable web pages that resemble and work like a native app but have the reach of the internet.

Progressive web applications have specific characteristics; they’re incredibly fast, provide an integrated user experience, offer offline reliability, and generate high user engagement. But that’s not all it takes to understand PWA, so let’s dive in.

PWA’s are Fast.

When it comes to mobile usage, speed is the most important aspect for any user. Studies show that 53% of users abandon a website that takes 3 seconds or more to load. You must be thinking that 3 seconds isn’t that much time, but in reality, you can take nine steps, speak seven words, tie your shoelaces, peel a banana(and take a bite), and even fold a shirt in just 3 seconds. 

Naturally, time is taken for granted unless you feel the effects, like when waiting for a page to load to a website that you’ve just opened. Instantaneous load times retain users by reacting to their requests in record time and delivering the information they need without anticipation.  That’s how Progressive web applications are changing the narrative on speed. 

PWA’s integrate the user experience. 

The answer to getting more eyes on your website comes from accessibility. The mobile experience has always had its ups and downs. While web browsing has come a long way on desktops, users still experience a challenge when interacting positively on mobile browsers. 

With PWA’s, mobile users can experience a website in the format of an app. From opening the web app to viewing the information and personalizing settings, everything feels and works like a native application. Studies show that mobile users spend 87% of their time using apps and a mere 13% using their mobile browsers. This highlights a need for an experience that users can easily familiarize themselves with. 

These images are a perfect example of how PWA’s integrate the user experience. All of the images are taken from PrimaLighting. The first is the website; note the URL at the top of the screen. However, in image 2, the page is identical, but the only noticeable difference is that there is no URL bar. That’s because we took image 2 after Primalighting was installed. The information and features available didn’t change; only the accessibility and experience did. Likewise, in image 3, we see that PrimaLighting exists in the recent drawer, just like any other app.

PWA’s offer offline reliability.

In the age of broadband, being online is a round-the-clock occurrence. A privilege we take for granted until we try accessing our web browser only to get a no connection message. There’s never a need to consider your internet connection with PWA’s since the information is always available even when the internet is not. 

Take this for example; You’re an assistant working in a busy city like New York, taking the train daily to commute. Your trip includes numerous dead spots and extended periods without an internet connection. However, your job entails finding products that your client may need. Not having a steady connection can significantly impact your day. How? No connection means no browsing. It also means that if you were viewing a product on a website that wasn’t built using a PWA, that you’d lose the information you were browsing until your connection was steady enough. PWA’s can maximize your productivity in whatever space you’re in with whatever connection type you’re dealing with. 

These images reflect the offline reliability of a website PropacImages built as a Progressive Web Application. The PWA notifies a user that their internet connection has been severed and browsing in Offline mode. However, users are still able to navigate throughout the pages and read any text information.

PWA’s drive engagement.

Before PWA’s, native apps had the leg up on eCommerce websites because of their successful engagement resources; push notifications.

What are they? Simply one of the greatest tools for re-engagement ever created. With native apps, mobile users receive notifications daily or, however they choose, containing offers and reminders at their fingertips. Users consistently engage with these notifications, whether from mobile games, social media, or tracker apps. 

By becoming a PWA, an eCommerce business inserts itself into a user’s daily activity by giving them push notifications that contain offers based on their recent activity, reminders to check out and buy, and even events that the eCommerce business may be running.

Some of you might be thinking that emails already serve this purpose. Still, in reality, not everyone consistently checks their email. Some users also sign up for on-site offers with an email address that they aren’t particularly keen on checking regularly. However, as a PWA, you can bridge the gap by giving your customers timely, targeted push notifications that they encounter the second they check their phones, which, according to Asurion, is a whopping 96 times a day.

PWA’s lack limitations

Something fundamental sets Native apps aside from PWA’s, and that’s their codependent nature. Native apps rely on digital distribution software to exist and be accessible to users. On the other hand, since PWA’s are essentially webpages, all a user needs to access and install is a web browser. Without it, users are unable to search, find, and ultimately download the app. 

When a user visits a website built as a PWA, their information is logged. When they revisit the website, the user is prompted to install. Once the PWA is installed, the user also receives an onscreen message of the installation success. Whether on the home screen or in the app menu, they now have instantaneous, single-touch access to the content that would otherwise need to be found through web navigation. 

 These three images showcase Primalighting, a website that was built as a PWA. The first image is a representation of the installation prompt. It was first shown at the bottom of the screen, and when tapped, told the user to install. The second image shows you the app-like appearance at the bottom of the home screen, allowing Primalighting and PropacImages to fit right in. The last image shows the open window after tapping the Primalighitng app; it shows the logo and app name, just like a native app would upon opening.

Make the switch!

As the world continues to digitize, and people become increasingly reliant on mobile accessibility, an eCommerce business may find themself losing their footing in customer reach. That’s why it’s important to keep your business updated by changing. Jola Interactive is a North American leader in Magento business solutions and PWA; get in contact with them today for a free site evaluation to get your business on the path to success.

The eyes. 

Shakespeare said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. And it’s true because your eyes are the key to building desire. Engrossing yourself in a book, picking out an outfit, engaging with media, and anything else you do throughout your day. Science confirms that your eyes account for 90% of the information received by your brain, so it’s perfectly reasonable to say that your shopping experience is 90% reliant on your eyes. 

Visualization is the key to making any decision, especially when purchasing on an eCommerce website. The less you see, the more you lose interest, and it’s one of the main reasons why online businesses lose potential customers. 

Giving your customers a solution to an age-old problem is the key to securing and continuing to build their loyalty. But unfortunately, a lot of online businesses miss the mark. Taking great display pictures and having a trendy public figure as a spokesmodel is terrific, but customers undoubtedly want the full details on what they’re getting. And the best way to give them this knowledge is through Visual Configuration.

What is Visual Configuration?

Visual Configuration is the process of selecting and changing design features on a product on an eCommerce website. Simply put- customers make the changes and see them in real-time. That way, they’re able to be completely confident while having absolute control over the decision they’re making.  

A few types of software can be added to showcase the various options offered by an eCommerce business.

Why should you use Visual Configurators in your eCommerce business?

I’ve mentioned this before; Visualization.

And to take it a step further, interaction, delight, competition. Adding  Visual Configurators to your eCommerce business can benefit you in more ways than one. Quite notably with a definitive increase in customer retention and online sales. 

The harsh truth of having an eCommerce business is that you’re unable to take photos for all or, at times, any of your products. And that’s where Visual Configurators come in. With the software, you’re able to create digital representations of your products and all of the options available to your customers. Giving them the freedom to browse and ultimately select the option that’s best for them. 

Visual Configurators allow customers to change, reshape, customize, personalize and ultimately design a product that is uniquely theirs. Adding the key benefit of being able to see every single aspect of the changes applied right in front of them.

Which Configurator best suits your business?

With more than a decade of innovation, Configurators have come a long way. With the enhancement of bandwidth, people are browsing and consuming online information faster than ever. According to (Akaimai), bandwidth in 2009 was a mere 3.8 Mbps compared to the year 2019, which was at 96.25 Mbps on avg.  That’s an over 2000% increase. It makes sense that anything online now has higher usability than it did over ten years ago. 

This links directly to Configurators. 

Faster internet speeds mean faster loading on product renders, higher resolution images, and speedy visualization of applied changes. It’s absolutely a no-brainer why Configurators are now a dominant and ravaging force in the eCommerce industry. 

Let’s get to know some of the Configurators. 

The first is the 2D Visual Configurator.

It is the simplest and most cost-effective. It’s lightweight, has a hyper photorealistic display quality, and allows for minor changes to the product. Meaning if it’s just color/texture options that are available, the 2D configurator is the best choice. 

This Configurator comes with limitations. Businesses with an excessive range of configurable options will find that rendering costs get much higher as their number of purchasable options grows. 

With that in mind, if you’re a company that offers products with a fair range of texture options and not any notable physical modifications, then this is perfect for your business. It’ll give you the ability to focus on offering the best visuals to your customer while showing them the options you offer.

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The next is the 360 Visual Configurator. 

Though quite similar to the 2D Configurator, the 360 allows for a full 360-degree view of the product by stitching together a host of different images from different angles (minus any above or below).  This makes the product rotatable so that a customer can see all the changes they’ve made in one seamless rotation. 

However, it also cannot be animated. Meaning objects which have moveable parts cannot be manipulated. Doors on cabinets, or folding beds, for example, won’t be shown in continuous motion. Thankfully, the AR capabilities, paired with the hyper photorealistic quality, give customers a stunning and interactive experience. Thus making up for the lack of animation.

This Configurator is ideal for a business that needs its customers to understand the product features fully but doesn’t allow for shape customization. 

The final and possibly most immersive configurator is the WEB GL 3D Configurator.

It boasts the best kind of technology for businesses with products that allow for changes in shape and carries an expansive collection of options. Product combinations that can get to thousands or tens of thousands, millions even, are best built using this software since configurations are virtually limitless and will give your customers options beyond their comprehension. When using WEB GL 3D, customers can see the product with physical shape changes applied in real-time.  

And that’s not all; products that consist of moving physical parts can be animated. 

For Example:

That new bathroom cabinet that’ll be installed near a shower, your customer wants to know how far back the door goes. Well, with this Configurator, they can. Just the click of the button allows them to see the cabinet with open doors. A bonus, once they’re done applying changes to the product, they can view that cabinet where it will be ultimately placed using the AR feature, allowing them to check for a more accurate fit, as well as the color and height.  

On the reverse side, due to the reshapable features of the WEB GL 3D Configurator, it lacks the hyper photorealistic display qualities present in the Configurator mentioned earlier. 

Check out this WEB GL 3D configurator

Benefits of using Configurators

Revolutionizing modifications

Visual Configurators have revolutionized the traditional buying experience. Before, the only way to personalize a product was to go through a sales rep, working with them at a desk as they showed you the different options for an available product. And if the customer wanted modifications, it took a while to see the renders. But with Configurators, customers can skip the middle man, the wait time, and the back and forth and create the product they want on their own in little to no time. 

Increase Sales

According to Forbes, using Visual Configurators can significantly boost sales and increase conversions by up to 40%. Having a Configurator allows your customers to spend their time productively finding the option that suits their needs, which means a decrease in cart abandonment and a higher chance that your customers will make a purchase.

Buyer confidence

Which company would you choose to buy from? 

One that allows you to see the changes you’re applying to a product you’re going to buy? Or one that only allows you to see a standard product image as a representation of what you’re going to buy?

The answer? You guess.

Giving your customers the ability to visualize what they’re considering builds buyer confidence. Purchasing a large item online is often met with anxiety as it’s hard to get a good look and properly customize parts. But with a Configurator, customers can view all of their changes on the fly, giving them complete confidence over their decisions and allowing them to feel more comfortable placing their order. In the end, they’re able to build what they want and buy what they want.

Remain competitive. 

You want your customers to choose you, always. But in an ever-evolving digital world filled with like-minded competitors, Visual Configurators will keep your business ahead of the curve. Offering customers solutions in different forms ensure that they’ll seek out your business to answer their problem. And there’s more to this. By giving your customer unique solutions, they’re more likely to share their experiences with friends and family, and in turn, name your company as the one to find answers with. This word-of-mouth practice is an invaluable tool when it comes to staying ahead of the competition.

Cross-Platform Compatability

According to csoinsights.com, 70% of buyers self-serve through their phones, laptops, or tablets. Meaning they spend most, if not all of their time, making decisions on their device without the help or professional input from sales personnel.

For this reason, it’s essential to give customers the same immersive experience through a variety of devices. Allowing the same level of visualization across all device types ensures that you’re serving your customers in the way they desire, no matter what device they’re using.

These shots were taken on different devices from the same automobile customizing company 3Dtuning. However, both devices allowed for seamless modification while still maintaining quality.

Ways to implement a Configurator

Now that you have this information, how do you implement a Visual Configurator to help your business?

Should you build a Configurator? Should you find a plugin that you can add to your site that can work for your business? Those are just a few questions to get your mind pointed in the right direction. Generally, there are two main options to implementing a Configurator on your website;

    1. Pay to License and Host

This option entails paying an ongoing licensing fee to a company that will install the Configurator on your website. That’s great, considering there will be little to no additional programming necessary. However, you never technically own your assets as they’ll be hosted by the vendor. And you must continue to pay the licensing fee, which does add up over time. 

In addition, Licensing fees range depending on traffic to the configurable products, and also the number of products and options. Remember that you don’t own your code when licensing. And also you and the vendor will be partnered for life. 

     2. Pay a one-time fee

The one-time fee option allows you to design and customize a solution specific to your business requirements.  That makes it possible for you to provide the most refined solution to your customers. Though with a higher upfront cost than the licensing counterpart, those costs will be significantly lower over a short time compared to continuously paying a licensing fee. 

The most important thing about this option is that the Configurator and the assets will be owned by you. Meaning you can make any changes you deem necessary.

In the end, your goal is to provide your customers with solutions that leave them feeling satisfied. And the best way to do so is to offer them an innovative and progressive way to find what they need. 

Visual Configurators have grown, evolved, and cemented their place in the eCommerce industry; it’s time to add your business to the list that customers brag about by getting in contact with Jola Interactive, a North American leader in Business solutions through the use of Visual Configurators. 

What are furniture and home decor items?

Both the furniture and home décor industries are product-based, and people in the current era are more interested in putting their money in these types of goods.  The list of furniture and home décor items is endless, but some of the most popular products are as follows:

Top selling home decor items

1: Rugs

2: Vintage lighting fixture

3: Monogram mug

4: Wall arts

5: Mirror

6: Bar carts

7: Wallpaper and much more

How furniture and home décor items can spruce the overall look of your place?

Both the furniture and the home décor industries are multiplying because people have enough money to spend on making their home or office feel more comfortable and look more attractive. An empty living room can be made more inviting just by adding a beautiful piece of sofa set, or you can make your kitchen complete by throwing just a couple of chairs around the shelve.

In addition to furniture, home décor items are another great way to take the overall decoration of your place to the next level. Just add a wall décor to a dull-looking wall or just put a vintage lighting fixture beside your sofa set. Making these little additions to your place can have a big impact on the decoration of your place.

How do amazing websites help in selling furniture and home decor items?

If you are planning to sell your furniture or home décor items online, then the most important thing that you will need is a good website. It doesn’t matter which type of online marketing strategy you use, it is your website that will act as your virtual store, and this will be the place from where customers will interact with your brand and product.

This is why having an amazing website by choosing a good Digital Marketing Agency in NYC becomes necessary, especially for product-based businesses like furniture and home décor.

Step up the game of showcasing products with 3D rendering

One of the best things that you can do to improve your website is to use 3D rendered images. By using 3D rendered images in your furniture or home décor business, you will not only be able to showcase your furniture or home décor items more appealingly, but you will also be able to give a reason for the customers to stay on your website.

3D rendered images by Digital Marketing Agency in NYC are totally realistic, and since they offer more customization, you can make the product look more appealing. You will just have to choose a good Digital Marketing Agency in NYC like Jola Interactive, and you will be able to get high-quality 3D rendered products for your website.

Start using web analytics

In addition to this, you will also need to start using web analytics tools in order to understand the performance of your website in a better way. But instead of doing it on your own, it will be a better idea to opt for a Digital Marketing Agency in NYC.

Web analytics covers every aspect of your website’s performance, like bounce rate, number of visitors on each page, location of visitors, and much more. If you have better data about the performance of your website, then you will be able to optimize your website in a much better way.

With proper web analytics, you will be able to understand the behavior of visitors to your website in a detailed way, and instead of making changes according to what you think, you will be able to make changes to how your customers are interacting with your website.

Other online marketing techniques to fuel the growth of your furniture or home décor business

Go Social to Increase Customer Engagement

One of the main things that you will need to focus on the online platform is to increase customer engagement, and it can be done by taking advantage of various social media websites. Different social media websites give you the opportunity to interact with customers directly, and through ads, campaigns, and posts, you can surely influence the customers to engage with your brand.

Jola Interactive, the most trusted Digital Marketing Agency in NYC, offers unparalleled digital marketing services that allow you to go social in a precise manner. From taking care of your posts to making sure that you are always active, we cover everything on the social media platform under our digital marketing services.

Trawl Furniture Shoppers with Paid Ads

If you are able to design a relevant paid ad that is targeted to your customers, then Google will surely reward you with more visitors. And the best thing is the visitors that you will get from paid ads will be more relevant. But in order to build relevant and attractive paid ads, you will have to use the digital marketing services of a good Digital Marketing Agency NYC like Jola Interactive. We are an expert when it comes to designing paid ads for our clients.

Amplify Furniture Marketing through Lead Magnets

The use of coupons is one of the most effective lead magnets for amplifying your furniture business. Coupons have been generating revenue for retailers since the 19th century, and they are relevant on the online platform as well. A coupon offering free delivery, additional discount, or early access to limited discounts can add value to an offer and help you fuel the growth of your furniture business.

Running email campaigns

Email campaigns in the furniture industry can work like a magic wand. Being the most responsive marketing campaign, you can really make people know about your brand and your products and make them visit your website with a good email campaign. Even Jola Interactive offers world-class email campaign service for its clients by taking advantage of advanced email campaign tools and experienced digital marketing professionals. Choosing a Digital Marketing Agency in NYC for an email campaign is always a better idea than doing it on your own.

Home décor items can fill in the missing piece of decoration at any place, and that’s why they are so important. With more people realizing the need and importance of furniture and home décor items, capitalizing on the growing home décor and furniture industry has become necessary. Choose the specialized digital marketing services from Jola Interactive to grow your business.

We would love to know what things you are doing to grow your business. Let us know.

If you’re joining the digital world, here’s a quick guide on the things your website needs to be effective in helping you grow your business.

Qualities of an effective website

Although creating a website has become much easier, there’s still a need for strategy and determining what you want and need from your website. It takes more than pretty to drive business, so it’s important to create a list of wants, needs, and must-haves.  One of the major decisions you need to consider is what platform will you use and who will build it.

If you are looking to build an effective website, then it should have the following qualities:

The ability to drive relevant traffic

You can’t stay dependent upon a single aspect of your B2B website in order to attract qualified traffic. From making sure that your website is regularly updated with fresh and relevant content to using customer-centric and keyword-rich language, every aspect of your website will play an important role in driving relevant traffic.

The ability to engage visitors

An ideal website shouldn’t only attract visitors, but it should also engage visitors; otherwise, you will end up with a very high bounce rate. In order to engage visitors on your website, your website shouldn’t have any dead ends; there should be proper cross-linking with other pages, and a call to action should be present in your content

The ability to create business

The traffic that you are getting on your website should also be converted into leads; otherwise, there is no use in having a good B2B website. Incorporating a tiered opt-in mechanism and lead generation call to action are some of the essential elements of an ideal B2B website that helps in converting traffic into leads. B2B Website Design Services can help you with this.

Stages of Website Design

Value proposition

If you do not have a clear value proposition, then you will never be able to build an effective B2B website. An ideal website is able to build a connection with the visitors the moment they click on the page, and you will be able to build that connection only if you will be clear about what your business is all about and what you are offering.

You need to be properly clear about what you can do best and for whom. Starting with a value proposition is an ideal way to initiate the process of building a good B2B website. Even companies providing B2B Website Design Services start with this.

Content strategy

The content becomes very important; when it comes to building a good B2B website. After getting clear about your objective, your market, the people whom you are going to serve, and what you really want, you will need to move on to developing a good content strategy.

Just any piece of content won’t work on your website since, unlike the B2B website where impulse buying is prioritized, you will have to focus on educating your customers. Clear-cut, crisp, unique, easily readable, and engaging content is what you will need on your website.

Keyword strategy

Being easily discoverable in relevant search results is the key to an effective website. In order to achieve this, you will need to make a good keyword strategy. You will need to begin building your keyword strategy by first identifying target keywords and then including them in website content, image description, meta description, URL, and page. This will increase the chances of your website appearing on the first page of the relevant search result.

You will also need to ensure that your blog outreach strategy, social media presence, and content marketing strategy all support your keywords strategy. If you don’t know anything about keywords, then it will be a better option to opt for B2B Website Design Services.

Throughout the history of our market economy, the driving force behind any significant transformation of any given sector has been technological innovations. E-commerce is currently in the beginning phases of one such transformation. In this case, the driving force is Virtual Reality (AR).

According to leading IT experts, AR is going to be “the next big thing,” and it will revolutionize the way consumers interact with businesses, bringing shoppers and products closer together than ever before. The furniture industry, in particular, is witnessing the astonishing benefits of AR, and after piloting our AR services with some of our more ambitious clients, we here at Jola are positive that AR is not only the future of the furniture industry, it’s here now for all to embrace and benefit from. Not convinced? Keep on reading and we’ll tell you why!

The Current Dilemma

When the internet was still in its early phases, digital mediums such as music, movies, and books took up most of the limelight on the growing platform of goods available for purchase online. Without the need to feel or touch these virtual items, users were happy to pay for these various downloadable products. Eventually, as internet capabilities continued to improve, most other consumer goods found their way to accessibility on e-commerce websites as well. The furniture industry, however, seems to be lagging behind. So why hasn’t the online furniture business soared at the same heights as virtually everything else? One explanation may be that standard furniture e-commerce platforms while giving customers the opportunity to examine the normative aspects of the furniture pieces, lack of proximity to consumers prevents sellers from ensuring accurate translation of product features, inspiring marketable storytelling, and sufficient customer interaction. These substantial hindrances prevent the furniture industry from taking off online, a pressing dilemma that AR is in the process of eliminating.

AR and Its Application in the Furniture Industry Today

With the help of AR’s revolutionary technology, users will not only be able to inspect your furniture from every angle, but they will also have the power to see how your furniture can fit into their homes and offices. Currently, industry-leading AR applications are being used by the paint industry to help customers visualize the improvements that can be made with certain paint jobs, among other things. Those same apps can be utilized to give your shoppers the unique opportunity of virtually placing furniture items into their living rooms in order to fully conceptualize how your products can fit into their interior design. AR is the only way for furniture shoppers to take into account the interplay of design, functionality, and size with their current home/office setup when choosing which furniture to buy.

Augmented Reality Benefits for Your Furniture Business

1: Minimize translation errors

It can be quite disappointing for a buyer to open a furniture delivery to find that it is nothing like its representation online–a potential detrimental error for a furniture business that can lead to loss of reputation and sales. With the help of AR, both buyers and sellers can minimize the effect of such translation errors. By implementing AR into your digital storefront, customers are able to see how your furniture fits into their home/office space. This visualization allows the buyer to interact with the furniture, thus nullifying the probability of translation errors.

2: A completely new way of showcasing a wide range of furniture products

If you are able to use AR for your furniture business in an effective way, then you will be able to provide a highly memorable shopping experience to your customers. No need to stay limited to 2D images or dependent on lengthy catalogs. AR allows your customers a first-person experience of the variety of your portfolio in its entirety, even from their smartphones. The monetary and logistical hassles of making your warehouse presentable for new clients will be worries of the past. Just give them the virtual tour—with AR,  it couldn’t be easier.

Through AR, you can showcase your furniture in a space where millions of customers can admire and interact with your product. AR provides a truly unique experience to everyone who uses your platform; and if more people become engaged with your product, then your sales figures have nowhere to go but up.

3: Build a strong connection with clients

AR provides an incomparable shopping experience to your customers where they can explore every feature and inspect each detail of your products. Through AR,, the customer can easily assess which items fit like a glove into the context of their homes/offices and which ones look odd. We can say with confidence that AR provides shoppers with the most personal shopping experience—arguably exceeding even in-person shopping—to help them find the best product available on the market.

AR is the future of online furniture shopping. The experience of seeing how certain products look in certain settings from the comfort of one’s home is a difference of night and day compared to conventional e-commerce—even compared to conventional showrooms for that matter. In order to stay relevant as an e-commerce based business in the furniture industry, AR is an absolute necessity.

Are you as excited about AR as we are? Contact Jola Interactive for more information on how our AR services can add value to your online furniture business.

With unprecedented growth in the last decade, eCommerce has become a monster in consumer-based revenue. Traditionally, smaller businesses were out of these markets, but small businesses have flourished, thanks to users consuming and creating content geared towards exposure and recognition. 

Over the last two years, small businesses have gained a foothold in the eCommerce industry, with most advertising on TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram, as a way to gain exposure and push traffic to their eCommerce, local, or hybrid businesses. 

However, even with this positive increase, it is estimated that only about 26% of small businesses have an eCommerce store. A saddening statistic that lends to the notion that most small businesses may not survive the current recession or be able to withstand the next digital revolution.

Remembering that not everyone is savvy enough to build their own website, we’ve listed two ways to give small businesses a platform that may help increase exposure—also, jumpstarting growth and revenue.

Online Marketplaces 

Online Marketplaces or 3rd party platforms are excellent places to set up virtual stores and sell products. Websites like Amazon, eBay, and even Walmart allow sellers to create their own accounts, take orders while tracking inventory, and allow shipping, ultimately giving them their own eCommerce store. 

From a marketing standpoint, Amazon regularly promotes items and has different ways to have products from sellers featured. Based on previous searches or other demographic information, they also suggest items to members. And as the biggest online retail platform, with over 50 million monthly users, Amazon has come up with other programs that allow influencers, TV personalities, and more to review, post, and advertise products listed on Amazon. 

Through the symbiotic relationship, businesses get an eCommerce platform along with helpful marketing, unlimited exposure, and increased revenue. The hosts gain a hosting fee and additional commission fee on sales. And the products are able to reach new audiences without restrictions. 

eCommerce Platforms

eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, WordPress, and Magento Open Source offer business owners the ability to build their online stores from scratch without personally utilizing complex code.

Most have drag-and-drop features. This allows minimal website customization, page and content management, and other easy-to-use tools that can help with a business’ scalability and even optimize layouts for mobile usage.

In addition, these websites come with various tools, plugins, and extensions that can be added to the website at a cost. They also make email remarketing, retargeting, and personalization possible in your brand strategy.

But, perhaps one of the best features is that these sites offer resources. They make sure that the eCommerce website has security implemented and help with SEO optimization, which is key to getting a website discovered. They also offer out-of-the-box payment and shipping options that make supplying your customers easier. 

Their social media integration tools also make advertising and sharing more streamlined for users. Creating a simplistic experience that makes gaining and keeping customers fairly easier. 

However, every pro has a con. And the biggest drawback of using these platforms is that they are time-consuming to manage and offer limited customizations. 

That’s why hiring an eCommerce developer is the way to go. They build and monitor your site to ensure that your online business is always running at its best. Most importantly, a developer means code. Code ensures the ability to customize your eCommerce business to the smallest detail. Giving you the individuality and brand differentiation needed to stand out. 

In closing, 

The only way forward is digital. By shifting into a hybrid or fully eCommerce business model, a small business can see immediate and continuous growth. With the right advertising and marketing, of course. Which is great for the economy and the business owner.

At Jola, we are always striving to bridge the gap. And we hope that your journey forward leads you to a bright future. As eCommerce specialists, we’re here to answer any of your questions. Reach out today!

This post was updated for clarity and relevance on 8/10/22

We are sure you would want to know why it is that eCommerce remains our primary focus when it comes to utilizing the Magento platform. Thus, we have listed a few reasons down for you to trust Magento beyond words:

1. Bigger brands trust it – with the increasing use of smartphones, more and more people are shopping online through this medium. You might not have thought so – but there are bigger brands – like Samsung, Nike, Lenovo etc. –who trust Magento CMS. This may come as a surprise for you – but it is a fact and we hope that this bolsters the faith you have in this platform.

2. Open source –You know this is the major reason why most people even head to Magento in the first place. Once you have learned Magento  – you can make the best use out of it and we are sure you would be able to garner the best results for yourself. However, if you are too busy managing your business – you can always outsource your work or hire a professional who would help you develop a Magento website for your eCommerce platform.

3. Magento ’s second name is eCommerce – It is needless to say that Magento was developed in the first place so that it could support all kinds of eCommerce platforms. The power that Magento can confer to your business is unimaginable. You are most likely signing up for success and it is going to help you go a long way. The features and designs of this platform are enchanting – they will blow your mind and you would not be able to stop thinking about Magento (as soon as your eCommerce website development comes to your mind).

4. Load time – Having mentioned the magic that Magento embodies, you must understand that this platform means great performance. If a website takes a lot of time to load – the customers are likely to leave it within no time because the attention span of the people has been divided. If not this then they will switch to something else. Thus, you have to ensure that you gather their attention and in a jiffy. Do you know how is that possible? Through Magento, because the load time is so low – you do not have to worry at all.

5. Task task, all the way – While you are working on Magento  – you must rest assured that you are not missing out on anything important. You are only signing up for the best time of your life, in terms of efficiency. Why? Because this platform is going to help you work on various tabs at the same time and you do not have to think twice that your time is being wasted. Magento would save your time, at best, and meanwhile, you are working on so many things at once – it is going to ensure that you can also monitor your website’s performance.

6. SEO friendly – You know it is important for you to relevant and current. In this world of fast evolution, you cannot be laid back. You have to work and you have to work hard. In terms of Google – you have to use relevant keywords and there are have to be enough so that you can be easily found. I know you might be wondering whether Magento is SEO-friendly or not, amidst the many benefits that this platform has to offer – SEO friendly is yet another benefit that you can rely upon. It will help you rank better and you would be easily found. You know – you could thank me when you are successful but most importantly, you would be thanking Magento.

7. Flexibility –We all like doing our thing without being stopped; thus, we like exercising authority without being restrained by anything in this world. Do you know which platform is going to help you do so? You got it, it is Magento. It is going to help you have the time of your life because of how flexible this platform is. You can use as many features and as many designs as you want and there is no limit to how creative you want to be. From the front-end to the back-end, everything is going to work wonders because you are going to experiment with it as much as you want.

8. Integration is great – You know this is your platform – tailor-made for you when it allows you to make use of it as much as you want without any interruptions. When you are developing an eCommerce platform – you might want to put various payment gateways in place or make use of Google analytics and whatnot. Now you might be worried whether the platform you use is going to allow you to do so. Allow me to reintroduce you to Magento. The platform is going to help you be at ease without any doubt.

9. Support – Yet another important component for you to judge a service is the after-sales service that you receive. On similar lines, is the support system of Magento. No matter what issue it is that you are facing – they are going to help you resolve it so that you get back to work as quickly as possible. It is a reliable platform that offers safety, security and stability. Isn’t all that exactly what you have been looking for all this while in a platform. With the efficiency of the support staff of this efficient platform – you are going to enjoy a seamless experience that is going to allow you to go along way ahead.

Summing it up…

Thus, Magento has got a lot to offer you. It provides great flexibility and aptly meets the needs of clients. Merchants love it because of the vast number of functionalities and features, Magento provides out of the box.

What next? Looking for a trusted Magento website development company? Then head to Jola Interactive for full-scale Magento website development and maintenance services. The proficiency of our team experts can help you gain a competitive edge in the market.

So, why wait for more. Just contact us today and we will surely help you meet your business demands!!

Know What You Want

You must already be sure about the kind of business you want to set up. Once there, it should be easy to assess what your requirements are. With a wide array of choices and the ability to customize your store however you want to, you should be set to start your new venture. Having a clear direction for your business make the whole process a lot easier through the omission of trial and error, simultaneously accelerating the development process.

Track Customer Reviews

Look through customer reviews to get an idea of the work ethic your developer holds. Evaluate the claims made in the reviews with what your developer promises to deliver. Check the authenticity of solutions that have the potential to be required at your business. Tallying reviews give you the ability to know what and what not to expect from a developer and hence let you choose the ideal developer for you.

Ideal Developer

One of the things that you should be looking for while choosing a developer is the experience of the process. If you are starting a business or trying to revive one, you must choose a developer that has experience in the field and know what they are doing. This rules out the probability of your business from suffering through small losses that stem though casualties. Fewer mistakes ultimately lead to respect in the market, which brings in goodwill for the company and a steady rise in sales in return.

Communicating with the Development Team

The development team will play the most crucial role in your venture. They help you interact with the team by pitching your ideas for you. It is essential that you properly communicate with the development team to make sure that your business runs on your terms. Communicating with the development team is an excellent way to make sure that your ideas for the company are being discussed and considered and your team is giving you the respect you rightfully deserve.

Company Goodwill

Get first-hand experience of how the company deals with its clients by asking for a portfolio. A company that knows how to deal with their disputes, channels their ability to deal with things logically. Check how good they are at claims and if they are true to their clients. This gives you a clear horizon to anticipate what and what not to expect. Thus, the first-hand experience gives you the knowledge to decide whether or not a developer has the capability to be hired for your project.

Go Easy on your Pocket

One sometimes has to dish out a substantial amount of money to get the service they had hoped for only to be met with disappointment. Keeping the points mentioned above, it is often small companies that offer the services they proudly claim because mostly, their humble beginnings make them claim only what they can afford to provide. Magento provides a platform for new ventures. Which means, it is a hub for passionate new developers and clients that have the opportunity to interact and achieve their co-dependent goals. So, as a new or reviving project, it allows you to go easy on your pocket while getting quality service from worthy developers.

Privacy Policy

As a new e-store, you must form a firm moral ground and abide by them. Making sure the developer goes by them is also essential. This makes dealing with future mishaps comparatively smoother. In the Magento website, there are a lot of different privacy policies and developers that abide by them, allowing you to choose the perfect partner for you. This makes sure that your store is always working the way you want it to.

Healthy Relations

After keeping the points mentioned above in mind and achieving things a little smoother with the help of Magento, it is equally your responsibility to maintain a cooperative relationship with your client. For, they can be helpful in the future and make your experience worth it by sharing their journey and time with you. Magento also has POST DEPLOYMENT SUPPORT that gives you back up if your e-store faces issues after the developer has done his work. This helps with any future dilemmas.

Keeping this advice in mind combined with the one of a kind service that Magento provides, the probability of your new e-commerce store running smoothly becomes relatively high. The number of registered developers on-site gives a lot of options to choose from. Making you want the best. This allows you to accelerate the foundation of your venture and set your dreams in motion. Using these as advice will help; however, one will have to apply them in their chronological order to get the best result suited for them and their business. 

Trivial things that might help

1. Keywords for specific requirements

2. Planning your budget 

3. Woking on communicating 

4. Seeking technical support 

5. Making deadlines for specific tasks and keeping others flexible 

6. Going thoroughly through company reviews

7. Acknowledging good work when it’s required  

Starting up a new venture can be tiresome and taxing. So, before taking a huge step, it is essential that one asks themselves questions and find their answers with the help of Magento to achieving things that brings better quality into the world. When you are hiring a Magento developer, make sure that you ask him or her the right questions to determine if the skills and expertise he or she has matches with your requirement. Once analyzed, you can remember the points mentioned above and hire the best one possible for your company.

And the first step towards a sound online business starts with selecting a trusted eCommerce website development company. However, with a large pool of web development service providers, it becomes quite difficult to select the one who aptly meets your requirements.

Therefore, to lend you a helping hand in selecting the best eCommerce web development company, we have listed down some crucial factors to consider. 

1. Company’s portfolio and background

2. Credibility in the market

3. Service Quality, Customer reviews, and testimonials

4. Time and convenience in delivering projects

5. Proficiency and unique skill set as per your business requirements

6. Time to market and capability to meet deadlines

7. Development and delivery of team members professionalism and expertise

8. Extended support and services

Thorough research needs to be carried out regarding the suitability of the enterprise’s solution to your business need. Furthermore, a few additional things that you need to look for before choosing the best eCommerce web development company are:

A. Determining business needs- The needs of your business must match the deliverables of the website development company you choose. Therefore, choose the one whose expertise strictly aligns with your business needs and who holds the relevant experience of working on similar projects.

B. Evaluate Budget- Budget plays an important role, especially when you are in the initial days of your business. So, make sure the eCommerce development company you choose offers you cost-effective solutions within your stipulated budget.

C. Check company portfolio – To determine the capabilities of an organization, browse through its portfolio. This will provide you with an insight into the company’s previous works. This is strong proof of the company’s expertise in design and development services. One such trusted eCommerce development company that provides clients with a sneak peek into its past projects is Jola Interactive. For getting information about the company’s past projects, just have a look through its templates.

D. Client and developer interaction- eCommerce development company you choose should leverage the support at levels. There should be effective communication between the developer and the client. The company should engage with clients through all possible communication platforms such as social media platforms, email, and video conferencing. 

E. Company’s Technical expertise and experience- Before you get into an agreement with a company, check its expertise and experience. The company should have an experienced team of professionals with tested results in the field. Moreover, the developing team of the company should be acquainted with the latest technology and trends. They should be proficient enough to understand and cater to your needs effectively. However, if you choose Jola Interactive as your eCommerce development agency, then you can enjoy varied benefits.

F. Discipline and deadline of the company – Never compromise the choice of the company on meeting deadlines. Businesses are based on ideas that can be overtaken by your competitors. Therefore, it is crucial to consider the timeline for your project’s completion. An eCommerce developer should always be able to meet the deadline without any delay. And if in case delays occur, they should not exceed more than a few months. However, if you are not quick, then you might end up wasting your resources, time, and money.

G. Check your Company’s skills- A good company should have a team of developers who are well acquainted with coding skills. They must be proficient in all coding languages, including CSS, HTML, XML & PHP. This is imperative to creating a pleasing eCommerce website that is worth grabbing attention. To bring the best results a company should have a dedicated team of developers and designers to carry out the tasks distinctly.

Benefits of choosing Jola Interactive for eCommerce development

The most crucial asset for an eCommerce company to survive and succeed in this fast-paced world is through its website or online store. Therefore, businesses need to own a reliable and quality eCommerce platform. And this is where Jola interactive can help you. You can immensely benefit from the expertise of Jola’s web development team.

There are several advantages that your business can gain once you select Jola Interactive as your partner. 

They include: 

1. Fully functional and easy-to-use eCommerce solutions.

2. Custom-made appealing websites.

3. A website with a wide audience reach capabilities.

4. A competent website that can pull clients using novel methods.

5. Increased traffic and enhanced optimization.

6. Website capable of providing helpful information to clients easily.

7. Capable to run multiple services or offer items.

8. Easier navigation with ease for clients to fetch information.

9. Easy-to-use features and functionalities such as a shopping cart, currency support, and calculators. etc.

10. Great client support features.

The Final Verdict:

Only a top-rated web development company can help you enjoy a fully customizable and competitive eCommerce website design. If you want to excel in your business locally as well as globally, choose the development cautiously. Before entering into an agreement, remember to analyze a company based on the factors above. Hiring the right company is essential because it can either make or break your business. 

Thus, hire Jola Interactive, a renowned eCommerce development company that passes all the aforementioned criteria. It holds relevant experience in creating eCommerce websites for the business. We provide exclusive multiple web development and web design services to our clients. Our professionals also hold expertise in eCommerce website design and mobile app development. We are also a trusted SEO agency specializing in offering a complete range of digital marketing solutions at affordable prices. Hire us for reliable services.

For more information or queries, contact us today.

Indeed, both interior designers and architects can give a new dimension to their work by using this technology. Presently, they can provide visual work in the form of a model’s drawing. They take help from software to give a great look to the product.

Do you understand the meaning of Product Visualization?

Product visualization or you can say product rendering is a method required for showcasing the products while using a digital image. It has become a craze among home décor businesses. Nowadays, this technology has been widely used for performing marketing campaigns. Moreover, commercial purposes can also be accomplished for attracting clients. 

Home décor work is full of responsibilities and needs to be the best as per the clients. With excellent 3D product visualization techniques, it becomes easy to provide excellent work. You can say that technical drawing while keeping in mind of detailing, is the best way to give the required outcome. Hence, it becomes easy for home décor service providers to look out the 3D model, use accurate tools, and make the amendments likewise. The home décor method is a task that includes both mental and physical involvement. The home décor companies, by using 3D product visualization, can prepare the models without any probable flaws.

Reasons home décor businesses are ready to invest in 3D product visualization

There are numerous reasons to prove the need for 3D product visualization technology. Let’s get started with a few of them. 

Getting different categories of promotional images

Every homeowner wants to give a new and edgy appearance to their space which is why they are opting for 3D visualization images. Such images are taken from different angel to get a quicker look at every nook and corner while describing the proper size and shape of the specific room. Whether you have an isolated or a happening lifestyle, the home décor services can use the 3D images to give a better look. 

Exhibiting products that can be customized

Earlier it was tough to show how they will place the portrait, vase, curtains, and many more. But, presently, via photorealistic visualization, the clients can get a bigger picture and know the changes that are going to happen.

Offering a realistic portrayal

The homeowners can expect the same work in real life that they have seen in 3D modelling. The way of looking at the wall colors, furniture placement, hues, and different materials can effortlessly be taken care of. 

Rapid and reasonable means of completing the work

It will be astounding to know that modern technology is quite affordable. Several skilled artists know their work and provide quick 3D photos at pocket-friendly prices. 

Helpful in performing situational marketing

In the market, several decorative items can make people confused as to what to choose. Thus, this step proves to be quite troublesome. Generally, decorating the home requires lots of products from which selecting the perfect one is very difficult. So, rather than wasting your valuable time and money, 3D product visualization works like a  miracle. With this, updating the décor items can also be done without any distress. 

Completely change the mind for a positive outcome

It allows the clients to experience best applications of technology as they can get an outlook of furniture and other products that complement the home décor entirely. They get access to enter the 3D space while experiencing real things. 

Get a significant number of 3D images

Unlike traditional photography, 3D product visualization is known for offering flexible services where you can get several pictures taken from different angles. 

Assist in accomplishing situational demands

In some situations, home décor companies have to meet the requirements based on certain specific models. Such kind of request generally noticed at the stretch of the festive season as people want to give a renovation to their home. It is not advisable to invest a hefty amount, valuable time, and efforts to get one-time visuals. Therefore, the experts suggest taking the assistance of 3D product visualization for classic 3D designs. Don’t get worried about the high demand, as this technology caters to the client’s requirements. 

Easy to share the images

It is the digital format of 3D product visualization that makes it capable of sharing photos with clients with convenience. Even the clients can also find it easy to view the file extension without taking much stress. 

Amendments can be done either by clients or professionals

While using 3D product visualization, it is quite simple to shift the objects, change the color, or replace décor items. By introducing the 3D model, a room of innovation, experimentation, and alteration can be done to get better results at a fast pace.

Indeed, 3D modelling has profoundly impacted the interior designing world. 

Displaying special features of décor items

Normal photography and 3D visualization have a thin line of difference. While using 3D product visualization, décor products get a completely new horizon. The 3D tools are the reason behind this, which is used by professionals creatively. They are also helpful in achieving the right tone of light, painting, sculpting, and other background necessities. Therefore, this new technology is meant to make the product look more interesting and beautiful. You can get a dreamlike appearance of the models that help in boosting the marketing of home décor products. 

Conclusion:

Most of the home décor businesses are implementing 3D product visualization techniques to get a photorealistic view of modelling. The experts will give great detailing to the whole project to charm to the audiences. There is the best way to alter images in real-time within a segment. The home décor businesses are thus gaining higher ROI by doing advertising campaigns or promotional shoots. 

3D product visualization has brought a noticeable increase in business sales while providing supreme quality of pictures, which do not get noticed in normal photography.

Get details about how Jola Interactive delivers services on 3D Product Visualization and how we help you redefine your eCommerce business. Get in touch to know more details!

Ultimate Flexibility

When the word flexibility is used in business, it often means something that can help save both time and money. Something versatile that makes things easier for the business as a whole, allowing it to function more efficiently. That’s the general idea when it comes to using 3D furniture rendering for business. It adds a new level of flexibility that improves efficiency across the board for the company, especially in departments such as graphics design, presentation, research and development, and much more.

So, how does the flexibility of 3D rendering help businesses specifically? First of all, it allows research and development teams to create mockups quickly and easily instead of having to produce a real-life prototype. This saves a lot of time, money, and manpower, allowing those resources to be allocated to other areas. Furthermore, it also allows a company to discover mistakes quickly and easily so that they can be corrected. This can help the business to avoid lawsuits and trouble with various regulations that govern their industry.

Faster Speed to Market

Speed to market is a very undervalued concept, but one that can make a company a winner or loser in their industry. In fact, speed to market can help a company with an inferior product line completely dominate other companies that may have higher quality products, but fail to get them out fast enough to capture the attention of their key demographics. This is one advantage that can’t be underestimated.

3D furniture rendering saves a load of time in all phases of a product’s creation, allowing a company to quickly prototype the product, finalize the design, and have it ready for production in very little time. On top of that, 3D furniture rendering also allows the company to produce sales material faster and easier as well since there is no need for them to wait until the product is actually produced. This eliminates the delay between the product being completed, and the sales material being created which slows down the process and prevents the product from being put on the market as quickly.

Helps Reduces Costs

Speaking of marketing, setting up photoshoots and using the actual product itself for marketing materials can cost a lot of money. This is especially true if a business is producing many different models of furniture with each requiring its own photoshoot. Just the shipping costs alone can be a huge issue for the company since transporting furniture isn’t exactly cheap of course. 

To make matters worse, this practice also isn’t very accommodating when it comes to mistakes. A company basically has only one shot at getting it right when getting photos taken of their furniture, or else they’ll have to do it all over again and pay the associated costs once again as well. This is not a very efficient way of capturing photos of a product.

The good news is that 3D furniture rendering fixes all of these problems. With the 3D model, a company can take photos of it at any angle they want. This allows them to produce multiple photos without the need for shipping or wasting furniture that would be better off heading to a distributor to be sold.

Another great thing about 3D rendering for furniture is the fact that it can also create virtual environments in addition to the models themselves. This can be a huge help in many cases, and allow the company to really show off their furniture in the best way possible. For example, a company that makes beach chairs won’t have to ship a chair all the way out to the actual beach for a photo shoot, they can just use 3D furniture rendering and a virtual beach that looks just as realistic as the real thing. This is a huge time and money saver for the business.

Better Conversion Rates

There is nothing worse than coming up with the idea for a product, creating the prototype, then the production model, then dropping money on marketing, only for it to flop. It’s a massive waste of resources and can put a huge dent in a company’s budget. In fact, if the company was staking its entire future on the product, it might just be the end for them. Fortunately, 3D rendering can help a business to avoid this problem and get it right the first time.

For one thing, it has been shown that having a 3D-rendered product shown on online product pages increases conversion rates significantly. This is because the potential customer wants to see what they’re getting. It’s basically a virtual version of the whole “you touch it; you buy it” psychology at work here. The more familiar a person is with a product, the more likely they’ll buy it, it’s that simple.

On top of that, the entire 3D rendering production method allows companies to weed out issues with a product before it’s ever produced, and allows them to test marketing materials before the product even goes into production. This allows them to come up with a product that they know will convert well before they even drop money on actually making it. This one fact alone can save a business and take them to the next level.

Easy Thematic Marketing

Imagine a company that makes a certain type of furniture, but wants to create marketing materials that are suitable for various times of the year, including special holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. They would have to do a different photoshoot for each of these themes, which would take up a ton of time and money. This is yet another situation in which 3D furniture rendering can help.

With 3D furniture rendering, it is easy to swap backgrounds and create thematic marketing materials for any conceivable occasion. For example, maybe a company is having a special Thanksgiving Day sale and wants to create ads for it. They can use the 3D rendered furniture with virtual backgrounds having to do with Thanksgiving very easily. Then if they run a Christmas sale, all they have to do is change the background. It’s fast, easy, and convenient.

3D Furniture Rendering Helps a Business Grow

One of the key components to growing a business is becoming more efficient. With Jola Interactive’s 3D furniture rendering services, a company can save time and money while improving its conversions. This is a surefire formula for success in any business. Even better is the fact that 3D rendering is becoming more technologically advanced every year, offering new options, and faster ways to create models and backgrounds. Going forward, it’s easy to see that companies that use 3D furniture rendering will have a massive advantage over those that don’t.

3D rendering is quickly becoming a major way of representing products online. It also has many benefits for designing and manufacturing those products. The benefits of 3D product rendering go all the way from design to selling the product, so using it in the furniture industry is going to be important in the years ahead.

1. Producing realistic product images without a photographer

If you are going to sell products online, you need to have an image of those products for your website. One way to get those pictures is to hire a photographer and studio to take pictures of all the products you are selling. Unfortunately, this is more than a one-time expense, but one that needs to be repeated every time you update your product list. Doing this costs a lot of money that reduces your profit margin.

3D rendering is the process of producing an image on a computer. Because of this, you do not need to pay for a studio or a photographer. Once you have the software, you can use it in the design, manufacturing, and sales phase, making the process less expensive and more productive.

It is also more powerful than a photograph because 3D rendering can be interactive. This means that at every stage, from design to sales, there can be an image that can be manipulated to see different angles and details. Try finding a photographer who can give you this kind of product. Yes, you can get multiple angles and use different resolutions, but this just raises the cost more for using a photographer.

 2. Allowing customers to see your future from all angles on your website

With more and more people are shopping online, having a highly interactive website to sell your products online is becoming more and more important. 3D rendering can give you a degree of interactive imagery that you cannot get from photographs. Yes, you can have multiple photographs from multiple angles, but you cannot rotate them. 3D product rendering allowed for full interaction between the customers and the image of the product. They can rotate it in any direction, enlarged and shrink it, almost anything they want to visually.

The type of interactivity that is possible with the 3D product rendering makes it a must for companies selling furniture online. Not only does this improve the shopping experience for the customer, but getting a complete view of the furniture will make the customer more likely to buy it. If the customer is in a store, they can look at it from any angle and even try it out. While they cannot try it out online, 3D rendering gives them the ability to see your product from every angle.

3. It makes the design phase of your furniture easier

3D rendering is beneficial in the design phase because you can see what the product will look like while you are designing it. In fact, most computer-aided design programs do 3D rendering. 3D product rendering also allows the product to be viewed from any angle during the design phase. This means that the designers can see the product as if it were sitting right in front of them while they are still designing it. This makes 3D rendering an indispensable design tool for furniture manufacturers.

When designing any product being able to see the results during the design process, make it easier and quicker. You can have the results in your head, but being able to see those results on your computer screen is a step above that. With furniture, you can even place it in a simulated room so that you get a better idea of how it will look in actual use. 3D rendering has many ways that it can enhance the design process. This includes being able to simulate the assembly process both at the factory and by the customer before the product is ever made.

4. It makes for simpler manufacturing at your plant

3D rendering makes manufacturing your products easier because you have a picture of what the product should look like. This means that all you need to do is reproduce the picture with the right dimensions, and you have the product. Furthermore, the workers can have access to the products they are working on from any angle as they are making it. This means that they can see how it should look and compare it to what they are making to see if they are putting it together correctly.

Once each item is assembled, all quality control needs to do is compare what they get to the picture of the product and see if they match. It makes the entire process of manufacturing and quality control easier and more accurate. This is because the employees can look at the product they are working on from any angle and check it for any defects much easier. 

The entire process of manufacturing a product from design, assembly and quality control benefits greatly from 3D rendering. It makes it possible for the entire process to be easier and more accurate because people can see what they are doing.

5. Making photorealistic images of furniture for future collections

Imagine that you have an opportunity to show off your entire upcoming product line, but there is a small problem. You have not actually built any of the furniture in that line. With 3D product rendering, all you have to do is boot up a computer and show the customer what is coming. That is one of the greatest advantages of 3D rendering. With it, you do not have to actually build a single piece of furniture before showing it to a customer. 

It gets even better than that because you do not even need a showroom and your sales team can carry around your entire product line on a flash drive. 3D rendering makes the otherwise difficult process getting customers to come to see your products easy because you can take the 3D rendered images of all your product lines past, present and future to the customer to look at. It also allows you to show off those lines of furniture to your customers online. This can be by way of your website or by sending them an email. Either way, you get your lines of furniture to the customer quicker and easier.

3D rendering is an excellent way of presenting your furniture products to your customers. It is less expensive than other ways, in part because it can be used in the entire process from design to selling. Jola Interactive can help you in a better way for your products to be designed, built and presented because 3D renderings do not need to be static images. They can be interactive presentations of your product that will get the attention of prospective customers to increase the likelihood that they will buy your product.

Magento helps businesses tap on the effective abilities of ecommerce and can help grow an ecommerce brand’s reach exponentially in a short period of time with a small investment, something which is tremendously hard to achieve in offline retail.

In eCommerce, Magento and WooCommerce are two of the most widely used platforms. In this post, we list some features that make Magento a better choice than WordPress with WooCommerce.

Functionality and scalability

Magento offers e-commerce oriented features like sorting and arranging of search results, which enhances the surfing experience. It also lets you implement cross-selling and upselling strategies, with sections like “related products” on the product page and “you may like…” in the cart. When it comes to analyzing the performance of your website, Magento offers more data-like most sold, most viewed, most searched- readily available to the administrators. In addition to that, Magento also offers functionalities for product reviews, creating wish lists, setting pricing guidelines, and much more when it comes to product customization. Hence, making it a clear winner when it comes to functionalities in comparison to WooCommerce.

Since it is not bound by the capabilities of WordPress, Magento can handle websites that have a 100 products, to marketplaces as large as Amazon.

Affordability

WooCommerce is freely available as a plugin for its parent, WordPress. This means that there is almost no upfront cost involved in implementing the platform. Magento, on the other hand, provides an open source version that is totally free to use. It’s better because you get a more robust platform that has more features and is continuously developed.

Magento also offers a service, tailored particularly for small businesses, which was earlier called “Magento Go”. This makes Magento quite affordable, even for small-scale businesses

Security

An e-commerce platform has to store and maintain a large database of users and data related to their on-site behavior. There are also financial transactions taking place, other than the orders and invoices, which are transferred to-and-from customers and business partners. Hence, security is a priority and that the security of the website needs to be tight. This is where Magento triumphs again with its continuous delivery of security patches and updates, while WooCommerce is able to offer its users the basic security updates and features to protect their ecommerce store.

To Conclude

As you can see, Magento is clearly a superior platform and should be your choice for an e-commerce platform. The expertise at Jola Interactive can help you create a stunning e-commerce website that provides optimal user experience aimed at converting visitors.

But our services not just end at delivering an e-commerce platform that is tailored to your business’ needs. We also provide dedicated support for your Magento website. This means that your website will stay functional with continual updates, accounting for the growth of your catalog.

Optimize SEO

Make sure that the old URLs, or the varying URLs you own, redirect (301) to the right website.

Also, make sure that all “non-www” pages redirect to their “www” counterparts

Remove any duplicate pages or pages with duplicate content.

Offer rich SERP snippets, at least for the featured categories or products.

Manage Customer Interaction and Experience

* Make sure that the customer sees the featured products first

* Utilize clear and easily accessible breadcrumbs on every page. Path-based and category-based breadcrumbs work best on eCommerce websites.

* Do the crumbs correspond to page titles?

* Is the website optimized for the common (small and big) screen sizes?

* Do responses and animations work well on devices with low-spec processing hardware?

* Ensure that at least the payment page, if not the whole website, has an SSL certificate, which will show as https secure padlock in common browsers.

* Is there a transparent rating and reviewing system?

* Make sure that the non-product pages meet W3C accessibility guidelines.

* Remove any category page that doesn’t have any products.

* There should be an option that takes the customer directly to the checkout process, and another that just adds the product to the cart, without changing the page.

Product catalogs

* The product images should for optimized for speed and at the same time

* If you’re sourcing from sellers, clearly mention who’s the supplier, with a link that leads to a page with more details about the seller.

* Provide a method for the customer to check the deliverability of the product to their location, how much time it will take, and how much will it cost.

Make the shopping cart and account accessible

* Only the checkout process should require the user to login or signup.

* All the steps of the checkout process should be visible clearly to the buyer. Make sure that throughout the process, the current step, or location, should be clearly visible.

* Payment options should be sorted by category, such as “Cash on Delivery” or Wallet (e.g., “Paypal”), and transparently mention the options.

* The cart should be accessible from every page.

* In case the account holder forgets the password, implement an easy and speedy system for password change or retrieval.

Armed with this checklist, you can perform rounds of quality tests that will ensure a consistent user experience and smoothen any wrinkles in the functionality.

How We Can Help?

Talking about consistent user experience, the team of developers at Jola Interactive knows how to design an eCommerce website that enables growth of sales. We deliver magento-based websites that are optimized for mobile devices and big screen computers. Find out more about how Jola delivers on Magento Maintenance and how we help you redefine your ecommerce business. Get in touch to know more details!

Why Magento is the leader in B2B e-commerce development?

Magento’s front-end UI has been designed around principles of simplicity and interaction behavior is governed by intuition. The designers and developers at Magento strive to bring B2C like ease of use and functionality into B2B online retail. With the release of version 2.2, the platform has introduced specific features that are designed to resolve common B2B ecommerce related problems like account management, and cater to the scale of your wholesale business.

Benefits of Magento for B2B e-commerce

Magento has introduced some specific B2B functionalities in its new version 2.2 Enterprise Edition. Businesses can benefit greatly from the platform’s in-build company account management features that allow multiple buyers per account.

Custom catalogues and pricing features allow store owners to set up custom catalogue access definitions for different accounts. The platform also helps the business owners to better cater to their customers’ needs by introducing customer-specific order functionality.

Buyers can post a custom quote to the merchant, and merchants can make use of smooth quote management and fulfillment system on the back-end. This will help drive sales by providing better opportunities for negotiation, helping in development of buyer relations.

To facilitate wholesale orders and repeat business, customers are given the benefit of quick orders and reorders. There’s also the option of uploading comma separated values file of the stock keeping units in order to search multiple catalogued items.

Sunpan is an online furniture store that specializes in designing and manufacturing contemporary furnishings. Their enterprise level website is ideal to showcase the B2B functionalities for an enterprise. It permits customers from Canada and The US to login and see items with pricing and shipping rules by country. Since the website is directly connected to their ERP / database, products and inventory are updated in real time. This allows the customers to login and start placing their orders as well as view their entire account history online.

In addition to the B2B specific features, Magento enhances business with features like mobile-ready sites, multiple payment options/gateways, and detailed reporting on visitors’ on-site behaviour to help you help you adjust your catalogue in order to drive sales.

Make the most out of your Magento B2B site today

The demand for online B2B retail is ever increasing, from New York to New Delhi, and there’s no better time than now to get your business online. With the help of an expert Magento web developer, your business can take full advantage of the e-commerce powerhouse that is Magento 2.2 Enterprise Edition. A well implemented Magento based e-commerce website will not only drive your sales but will make expansion to other, bigger markets a breeze.

What Makes Magento the Best Ecommerce Platform?

The best thing about Magento Open Source in comparison to other platforms that charges businesses in the form of a compulsory subscription, while, on Magento you can get a basic but fully functional e-commerce website, complete with a backend, without any upfront cost. If you don’t have stack development expertise, then you’ll need to hire a Magento expert, but this applies to other platforms as well.

This doesn’t mean, however, that Magento falls behind on any features.

An illustration of efficient customizability achieved through Magento can be seen at Mirror Image Home’s website. Mirror Image Home is manufacturing custom-made decorative mirrors. They opted for building a site in Magento community edition which does not have a licensing fee. They offer customers the ability to login and view stock status, place orders, or create custom quotes.

There is a rich collection of extensions, themes, and partner plugins available on the Magento Marketplace, which can help you customize the user experience to the one that best suits your e-commerce model. Magento also triumphs when it comes to performance, in terms of query resolution efficiency and database handling, and optimization for low performance mobile devices.

Impacting Features of Magento Open Source

Magento allows you to define multiple customer segments, run segment specific targeted promotions, and list merchandising in line with the segmentation. It also automates linking of related products, helping in implementation of cross-selling and up-selling strategies.

The powerful visual merchandiser is there to take care of product displays and driving sales of particular “hero” products, defining categories, and implementing in-category sorting features. Magento also offers features to streamline catalog management and browsing. The development suite is complete with front-end features like multiple wishlists, gift registry, and back-end like order management, content scheduling and preview.

How does this help with your Online Business?

All these features and ease of management means that you can provide the best possible experience to your visitors, and work efficiently in catering to their demands. Magento also gives you the ability to modify your product listings according to the on-site customer behaviour, and scales with your growing business. When the right strategies are implemented with Magento, customers are greeted with an intuitive user-interface and merchandising presentation that takes ample care of their wishes.

Now that you’ve been introduced to Magento, particularly the open source version, you know which platform should your e-commerce business run on. Magento provides efficient solutions all the features that your website will ever need, and more.

Now that we have a better understanding of what specifically you would be upgrading within your platform, let’s take a closer look at the components that make up the LAMP stack and the affects that upgrading has on them.

Operating system

As far as operating system go, most Linux options today are updated on a regular basis and you should make sure your system administrator implements these updates. Chances are you’ll find a CentoOS or Ubuntu server on most websites and updating them is quite easy, everything can be done with a couple of terminal commands.

Database

We have run some parallel tests between websites that were built with MySQL versions 5.1 to 5.7 and have found that there was not much difference in terms of how the site functioned speed wise, but upgrading your database can still provide your site with bug and security fixes that can overall help the health of your site.

Apache

Apache is an integral part of the web and is fairly consistwnt with it’s releases (updates) for the last two decades. Similar to databases, our development team did not see a considerable difference in how any updates to this affected the speed of a site.

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor)

It’s been now almost two years since the release of PHP 7 and we’ve had some really good experiences with it. The major improvement is, of course, performance. PHP 7 is incredibly fast compared to previous versions and the overall feeling is that pages load much faster for our clients and their customers. Not only is there a difference for our clients and their consumers, but from a site development standpoint, we have found that PHP 7  has helped with the previously long load times when working with Magento by turning off cache and css/js merging. With thanks to the good people at Inchoo and their Inchoo_PHP7 extension (which solves a few Magento to PHP7 backward compatibilities), we’ve already upgraded a dozen of our client sites (utilizing Magento 1.9 CE). These upgrades went smoothly and the responses from our clients were very positive.

Overall Benefits

These four components: Operating System, Database, Apache, and PHP are the four supports that keep your site up and running. As you can see from the research, testing, and comparisons that we’ve made, keeping these components up to date and healthy will not only mean that your site will be secure and bug free, but also means that you’ll have happier customers and better sales with minimum effort.