Auctiva Commerce merchants can now customize nearly every aspect of their shops with the new Auctiva Commerce Store Designer.
The much anticipated feature, released earlier this month, gives store owners a simple drag-and-drop way to customize category trees, page layouts, image support and e-mail subscription sign-up widgets, among many other things. But it also rolls in some advanced options, such as custom CSS, for users who are technically inclined.
The project had been in the works for months, and sellers were eager to have access to it, says Product Lead Chris Eckland.
"Many months ago we asked Auctiva Commerce merchants what features and enhancements they most wanted. The resounding response was a desire for greater control over the look and feel of their stores," he explains. "A well designed and professional-looking store can be the tipping point in a buyer's purchase decision."
One of the unique features Eckland says he's most proud of is the ability to create and preview up to three storefront designs before publishing them. This allows merchants the freedom to transition to a new store design at their own pace—and even create and save different themes for special promotions or holidays.
Auctiva Commerce will also keep its original library of store templates, but rename these "Classic," so sellers can continue to use these if they wish.
Although Auctiva Commerce is continuing to develop features that will make the Store Designer even more robust—such as the ability to import custom pages that were built using a Classic theme—users have thus far been pleased with the capabilities and ease-of-use of the design tool, Eckland notes.
"I've received several e-mails from Auctiva Commerce merchants that were very complimentary—especially regarding the drag-and-drop feature," he says.
For more information about the latest Auctiva Commerce release, please read the Auctiva Commerce Blog.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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