Monday, May 10, 2021

How to Use Ecwid Control Panel to Manage Your E-Commerce Store

How to Use Ecwid Control Panel to Manage Your E-Commerce Store

Do you have an online store on your website and on social media? Do you wish that you could see all your online stores on one platform? You can do all this and more with the Ecwid control panel.

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Ecwid is a platform where you can use desktop or mobile to run your e-commerce store.

Ecwid is the perfect choice for launching an online store. It's a robust e-commerce platform with lots of options.

One of the advantages of Ecwid is that you can see everything in one spot. Ecwid is where you can really take control of your online business and grow it to its full potential. Maximize your management of your online store with Ecwid's control panel.

Ecwid doesn’t require you to make a new website to use it. Use it with already existing websites and social media. Just connect them to Ecwid. The Ecwid platform also makes it easy for users to create and design an online catalog. You can:

  • manage your website
  • handle social media
  • design your product catalog
  • set up payment options
  • program automated emails
  • and more

In this tutorial, you'll learn more about the Ecwid control panel. You'll discover what it is and how it's used. We'll even go over some of the most frequently used Ecwid control panel features. 

What Is the Ecwid Control Panel?

The heart of Ecwid is the powerful control panel. The Ecwid control panel is the page you land on when you log in. The Ecwid control panel is simple and straightforward to use. It's a vertical menu on the left side of your screen. 

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The black menu area on the left of the screen is the Ecwid control panel.

The control panel is an important part of Ecwid because it’s where you access all the tools you need to run your online store. There are three groups in the control panel: 

  1. Store Management
  2. Sales Channels 
  3. Configuration

Under each group are tabs that allow you to perform tasks for your online store. The most commonly used tabs are located at the top of each group.

For complete instructions on how to set Ecwid up, read this article:

The Ecwid control panel adapts to your browser size. So, it looks good on any screen or device. On small screens you'll see icons instead of section names.

Now let's learn about the sections of the Ecwid control panel.

 1. Store Management

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The Store Management tab on the Ecwid control panel has sections that you'll use often.

The first section of the Ecwid control panel is Store Management

Store Management is conveniently located at the top of the control panel. It contains five main tabs that you’ll probably use every day:

  • Dashboard
  • My Sales
  • Catalog
  • Marketing
  • Reports

To select a tab, click on it. Let’s take a closer look at each option:

Dashboard

The dashboard is the page that you land on when you log in. The vertical design of the control panel makes it easy to access and understand.

The Dashboard will help you set up your store. From the Dashboard, you can see what your storefront looks like to your customer. You'll also be able to see what your client sees when they visit the website by clicking on the view storefront link in the right corner at the top of the page.

Next, let’s look at the other features of the Ecwid control panel under and discover more of the most used features.

My Sales Tab

The My Sales tab is one of the most used features of Ecwid. When you click on the My Sales tab, another submenu appears.

The My Sales section of the Ecwid control panel is your sales headquarters.

From the submenu, you can:

  • Track your orders. Automatically displays a list of orders.
  • Track Carts. This section lets you see items in abandoned carts and email customers to complete the sale.
  • See your customers list. Use the filter to look through your customers. You can search customers by a number of options such as name and email address.
  • Edit orders. Use this feature to create and edit customers’ orders from within the control screen.

To use a submenu option, simply click on it to see the associated screen. In the example below, you can see the Customers search screen that lets you look through your customer orders quickly:

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Find a customer quickly on the Customers screen.

Use the Customers screen to find customers. You can export all or part of your customer list to CSV format to use in most spreadsheets. 

Catalog Tab

The Catalog tab under Store Management is useful and used often. It's where you add all your store's inventory.

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In the Catalog section you can see and edit your products, put your products in sections, and create gift cards.

Once you’ve added your store inventory, you’ll be able to bulk edit and bulk update your inventory. This is a nice feature because you won’t have to edit products one by one.

Another helpful function of this section is the search bar. You’ll be able to search your inventory by the product name or SKU. This makes it easy to find a specific product.

Also helpful in the Catalog tab is the Categories screen, where you can edit your store’s front page. Add text, images, and even videos to your store's front page. You can also put your products into categories using the Assign Products to Category feature under Category Products. Finally, you can use the Create New Products option to add new products to your store.

Next, the Gift Cards option lets you create gift cards. Gift cards are a great revenue booster as the customer pays you before ordering products. Once created, the gift card is delivered to your customer through email.

Marketing Tab

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The Marketing tab is where you can see an overview of all your marketing, edit your Facebook and Google ads, create discounts, automated emails, and create your business newsletter.

The next section that you’ll use the most is the Marketing tab under Sales Management. This tab lets you use Ecwid to coordinate all your marketing efforts from a single place

The Overview section of your Marketing tab contains shortcuts to commonly used marketing functions to help you grow your business:

  • Get more traffic with Google or Facebook ad campaigns.
  • Convert visitors to customers by following up and targeting ads.
  • Improve customer loyalty with emails and newsletters.
  • Analyze performance with Google analytics and reports.

Reports Tab

The Reports tab in Store Management is a section that'll help you run your online store. Use this section to see your store analytics.

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The Reports tab is where you get analytics and other reports for your business.

In this section, you can download a number of apps to give you a complete picture of how your online store is doing. Once you've set up the apps, you can view store metrics from within the Ecwid control panel.

Here are just some of the reports and analytics that you can harness:

  • Download a free app that'll give you real-time conversions, product sales, and store revenue. This is helpful because you can see how your store’s sales are doing in real-time.
  • Add an app that allows you to see graphs of sales customers and products. Graphs are a great data visualization tool that can help you notice trends and patterns. Noticing trends and patterns can help you serve your customers better.
  • Copy and paste your Google Analytics ID into your Ecwid store so that you can monitor your store data using the Google Analytics dashboard.
  •  Use Ecwid mobile to track your store's analytics from your mobile device.

2. Sales Channels

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The Sales Channels tab is where you can locate all your sales information.

Sales Channels is located under Store management. It contains five tabs:

  • Overview
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Mobile
  • Other Channels

Overview Tab

The first section on Sales Channels is the Overview tab. This is another tab that you’ll use regularly. From this tab, you get to see an overview of every social media platform or website that you sell your products on. 

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The Overview section is where you can manage your Facebook shop and Instagram shop.

This section enables you to check all your shops from many different platforms and sites in one place. This helps because you can check on your total sales and manage inventory. If you sell your products on more than one site or platform, being able to check on them without going to each site individually saves time. 

Website Tab

Next is the Website tab. This is where you can make quick changes to your website with Ecwid's easy-to-use editor. Change the store's location and/or its content using the options you find here. You can even redo the store's look and layout. 

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Customize your store quickly with the options under the Website tab.

The Website tab has two main options:

  • Overview 
  • Design

Personalize your website quickly with the Overview option. Or completely redesign the look of your store using the Design feature.

Facebook Tab

Next is the Facebook tab. This is where you manage your Facebook store.

The Facebook tab in the Ecwid control panel is where you manage your Facebook sales efforts.

Each sale made on Facebook is tracked on Ecwid. All you need to do is click on the Facebook section. Then click on the connect Facebook Page button. Then, log in to your Facebook profile and select your business page. Ecwid makes it easy to sell on your Facebook business page on desktop and mobile.

Mobile Tab

Mobile is the next tab under Sales Channels. Use the Mobile tab to manage your mobile settings and what you can see on mobile. 

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Ecwid Mobile tab gives you access to the mobile app settings.

Use this app to manage your store on your mobile devices. The app will also notify you when there are new orders so that you can process orders directly from your mobile device. T

Other Channels Tab

The last tab under Sales Channels is the Other Channels section. This section lets you upgrade to manage your stores in different places such as:

  • Instagram
  • Facebook Messenger
  • Google Shopping
  • Square
  • eBay
  • Amazon.

3. Configuration

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The Configuration tab is where you set up your store's website design, payment options, shipping & pickup, and other settings.

The Configuration menu is the last group on the Ecwid control panel. This is where you get all the technical things done. It has six tabs:

  • Design
  • Payment
  • Shipping & Pick up
  • Settings
  • Apps
  • My Profile

Design Tab

The first section under Configuration is the Design tab, where you can further customize the design of how your products look on your website.

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The Design tab on the Ecwid control panel lets you customize the look and feel of your storefront.

In this section, you can set products up in your store to match your branding. Use the Design tab to change:

  • image size
  • image aspect ratio
  • product card details and layout
  • category name position
  • product page layout
  • image gallery thumbnails
  • sidebar
  • change storefront navigation
  • customize themes
  • and more

Payment Tab

The next section is the Payment tab. This is where you choose which payment methods you’ll accept from your customers. 

Set up, edit or remove payment methods using the Payment tab on Ecwid.

Choose from a wide variety of payment methods including:

  • cash
  • manual payment
  • Stripe
  • Square
  • PayPal

In the US, even more payment options are available:

US Payment options

Shipping & Pickup Tab

Next is the Shipping & Pickup tab. In this section, you decide who you want to ship packages locally and around the country. Ecwid makes using shipping services easy because it automatically calculates the price for many shipping services such as:

  • USPS
  • UPS
  • FedEx
  • and more

Ecwid calculates the cost of shipping based on the weight of the items that you entered on the product page. If you have a company shipping rate, you can enter that instead of using Ecwid’s default shipping costs.

You can also set up a single product to have specific shipping options on one product. Doing this will override your shipping setting for that product. So, if you want a specific product to have free shipping for a promotion, you can easily do it. 

Settings Tab

The next tab is the Settings tab, where you can edit every detail of the store's settings: 

Ecwid's setting tab

Options under the Settings include: 

  • General
  • Taxes
  • Legal
  • Notifications
  • Invoice
  • Customer Groups
  • Product Types
  • Product Filters
  • Edit Store Labels

Of all these options, you'll probably use the General tab the most. The General tab is arranged in four sections:

  1. Store Profile. Edit the store name and web address, the company name and email, the company address, and the social media accounts.
  2. Regional Settings. Set the type of currency the store will use and how it displays. Define the store language. You can also define the weight and size of a product for shipping purposes. Plus, define how the date and time will display on the screen.
  3. Cart and Checkout. With this feature you determine catalog settings such as whether to hide out of stock products or show the price per unit. You can also define detailed checkout settings and determine whether a product comparison or related products list displays. Plus, define your order ID format and allow customers to favorite your products to create a wish list for future orders. 
  4. Tracking & Analytics. Use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Pinterest tags, Snapchat Pixel, a Google Ads tag or a custom tracking coe to track your orders. 

Also, in this tab, you can use the other options to set taxes and legal areas. Legal areas such as your privacy policy and whether you use cookies. You can also choose what notifications you want your customers to receive and upload your company’s logo. Plus, you can create an invoice template, create customer groups, product types and filters, and edit store labels. All these will help your e-commerce business run more smoothly. 

Apps and My Profile Tabs

The next two sections in this tab are the Apps tab and the My Profile tab.

The apps tab opens Ecwid's large app market. Ecwid has a lot of apps that can give your store more functionality. It also lets you view the apps that you've already installed. 

The My Profile tab is where you can choose what billing plan you want or upgrade to a new billing plan. Depending on your needs and the number of products in your store, Ecwid offers four pricing plans. Including a forever free plan.

Use Ecwid Today for Your Online Business!

Are you looking for a platform that makes it easy to run an online business? Then Ecwid is right for you. The Ecwid control panel makes sense for running an online business because it’s easy to use. When everything is in one place, it saves time because you don’t have to switch to multiple websites or platforms.  

Sign up for Ecwid today and make an account to start using the Ecwid control panel today.  Run your online business easily with everything you need all in one place. 


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