Magento is considered to be a good platform for eCommerce stores and is being used by many successful ones. An eCommerce store depends as much on technology as it depends on the products and services it offers.
Unlike other eCommerce platforms like BigCommerce or Shopify, Magento doesn’t come with a plug-and-play feature. As a result, you need extensions for customer support, inventory management, sales, and marketing.
In this blog, we will dive deep into essential Magento extensions for improving the performance of an eCommerce store.
Essential Magento eCommerce Platform Extensions
There are a plethora of Magento extensions available which help in the smooth operation of your eCommerce store.
Let’s see essential extensions which are a must-have for Magento-based eCommerce business.
LiveChat
This extension allows the eCommerce store executive to chat with customers as they navigate the app/website. Based on what they are for, you can send customized messages.
It has features like auto-templates which have in-built responses to routine queries by customers. There are options for customization of the chat window to make it look in tune with your storefront.
Analytics are also provided in the form of chat reports and logs. This feature also allows you to create support tickets.
Magento 2 Instagram Connect
Instagram needs no introduction with millions of monthly active users. With its user base, it provides marketing opportunities to all businesses.
The Magento 2 Instagram Connect extension allows eCommerce stores to display products on their Instagram account.
They can add CTA buttons which appear when someone points the cursor on any of the product photos. Analytics reports showing which photos are generating the maximum number of orders are also available.
Stripe Payments
This Magento extension helps in processing payments made through debit/credit cards or mobile wallets. It is safe and secure for the customers as well as for eCommerce store owners.
The benefit it provides is that it is compatible with all major debit/credit cards and currencies.
It also works in a multi-store scenario and can detect fraudulent payments by making use of machine learning.
ShipStation
This Magento extension is very useful in the order fulfillment process. The features provided allow store owners to import orders from multiple channels.
It allows Ecommerce store owners to compare rates of different carriers, send automated updates to customers regarding shipping, and print shipping labels.
There is an inventory management dashboard to keep track of stock and send alerts related to it. This extension is very user-friendly, and its setup is also very easy.
Gorgias
This extension is for customer support and reduces the workload of the Customer Support team. They get powerful support features like a centralized dashboard, self-service options, and automated ticket generation.
This can help in slashing the number of workers needed for customer support. It also prioritizes customer queries based on the ones that are the most important and need a quick response. These customer support features help in repeat purchases and loyalty.
Yotpo Reviews
eCommerce purchases are influenced a lot by reviews, and that is why your review section needs to be carefully curated. Yotpo’sMagento extension enables collecting product reviews and putting them up on your storefront.
The unique feature this extension provides is that it allows uploading purchased product photos to create an environment of trust. You can also share these reviews on your social media account with ease.
Yotpo also has features that help in boosting your SEO by indexing your reviews.
Delivery Date
When your customers have ordered a product and are looking forward to receiving it, they get disappointed when it arrives when they are away.
Delivery Date extension helps in preventing such a scenario by allowing customers to choose a date and time of their convenience.
This extension is highly customizable, as you can set up different delivery and shipping options for your customers.
Magediary Product Scheduler
This extension provides widgets for promotional timers or product launch timers. It also enables sending automated product notifications to customers.
The countdown timer widgets are customizable with options for both “coming soon” and “ends soon” timers.
The timers play a major role in conversions during promotional activities.
Facebook Pixel
Almost all of you would have encountered this, you search for on the internet, and the next time you visit Facebook, you see an ad for the product.
Facebook Pixel extension collects data as customers browse go through products and then use it to send relevant ads on Facebook.
This is referred to as retargeting and is an effective way to increase sales by reminding the customers what they are searching for.
The extension is very straightforward, and you don’t have to do any lengthy installation process. It has an event tracking feature that tracks whatever is happening on your storefront. You can also choose products that you want to promote on Facebook.
Fraud Prevention
Online Fraudulent activities are on the rise these days, and eCommerce is no exception. This extension provides protection from such activities by tracking suspicious purchases and blocking future purchases.
There is a provision for blacklisting purchases based on criteria matching name, email address, IP address, or location.
Fraud prevention extensions can also block payments before they get processed, thus preventing hassles.
Aheadworks
Abandoned carts and slow checkout are one of the major issues faced by eCommerce stores. Aheadworks extension provides smart one-step checkout, which provides options for adding or removing pre-defined fields.
The unique features it provides includes provisions to track conversion rate and support for various payment methods.
It also provides automated address suggestions to quicken the checkout process.
Wrapping Up…
Magento customization depends a lot on the extensions we saw above. Adding this extension is not that costly or complicated. However, you should go for only those extensions which are required for your eCommerce store and your customers.
In case you need any help from a Magento developer in the development of your eCommerce store using Magento and its extensions, get in touch with us at Webplanex. The company provides services including Magento customization, upgrade, migration from M1 to M2, bug fixing, and Magento Cloud Support.
