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Recent Posts
- Thinking About Switching From WordPress? What Should You Consider Before You Move?
- The Airtable Acquisition Raises a Bigger Question: Do You Really Own the Software Your Business Runs On?
- How to Use Google Search Console’s New Generative AI Data to Improve Your SEO
- How to Update the Same Website Content on Multiple Pages at Once
- Discovered vs. Crawled Not Indexed in Google Search Console: What’s the Difference and How to Fix Each
- The Small Business Guide to Auditing Google Ads and Website Costs
- Do Professional Writers Still Need SEO in the Age of AI?
- Search Engine First vs. People First Content: Why Generic FAQ Dumps Harm Your SEO
- Looking for a Website Builder Without AI? Which One Should You Choose?
- Keyword Cannibalization: How to Find and Fix the Pages Stealing Your Own Google Traffic
- Why Great Content Gets Stuck on Page 8 (And How to Fix It)
- Why MySQL FULLTEXT Search Returns 0 Results (And How to Fix It)
- The Reality of Domain Speculation on New TLD Launches: Is It Still Worth It?
- The Hidden Domain Name Lock-In: Which Registrars Restrict Nameservers?
- Paying $10,000 a Month for SEO? Here’s How to Tell If You’re Getting Your Money’s Worth
- Introducing New WordPress Magazine Layouts in UltimateWB 9 (With Early Access)
- How to Fix the WordPress “Critical Error” on the Widgets Page After a PHP Upgrade
- The Hidden Risk of SaaS Website Builders: Lessons from the Recent Wix Outage
Categories
Category Archives: E-commerce
Why Google Deindexed 99% of My E-Commerce Site Overnight – And How to Fix “Crawled – Currently Not Indexed”
You log into Google Search Console (GSC) and see a vertical cliff. A WooCommerce (why didn't you use UltimateWB?!) store that held 5,000+ stable product URLs for months is suddenly down to just a handful of indexed pages. Your core catalog is completely gone. At least your homepage is left standing, you say to yourself.
You run the standard technical triage checklist:
- Robots.txt? Clean.
- Noindex tags? None. Everything is set to index, follow.
- Canonical tags? Correct and self-referencing.
Posted in E-commerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Tagged 301 redirect, algorithm changes, algorithmic filtering, bloat, bottlenecks, canonical tag, canonical tags, core updates, crawl priorities, crawl stats, crawled, crawled not indexed, database bottlenecks, deindexed, duplicate content, fast website, google algorithm penalties, Google Search Console, Googlebot, gsc, hpos, html, http errors, indexed, indexing, javascript, malware, noindex, noindex tag, pagespeed insights, performance bottlenecks, quality content, rendered html, robots.txt, security flags, seo, server log, site-wide quality signals, sitemap, soft 404, submit sitemap, technical penalty, technical seo, test live url, thin content, time to first byte, ttfb, unique value, url inspection tool, visibility, woocommerce, WordPress
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GoDaddy Storefront Disaster: Why a Forced Update Is Scrambling E-Commerce Sites
If you are currently running an online shop on GoDaddy’s all-in-one website builder, you might want to log into your dashboard and check your active inventory right now.
Over the last few days, a massive wave of store owners have taken to community forums and subreddits to report what is being called a complete "storefront disaster." GoDaddy has been quietly executing a massive, mandatory overhaul to the commerce backend of their Websites + Marketing platform.
This wasn't an optional migration
... Continue reading
Posted in Compare Website Builders, E-commerce, Technology in the News
Tagged bloat, bugs, clear browser cache, data corruption, e-commerce, forced updates, godaddy, godaddy alternative, godaddy storefront disaster, google merchant center, hosted website builder, incognito, inventory, third-party plugins, WordPress
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WooCommerce Subscriptions Cost: Avoid the $279 Add-On Trap
If you are building an online shop with WordPress, the initial pitch sounds incredible: the core software is open-source, and WooCommerce is "completely" free.
But there is a catch that catches almost every small business owner off guard.
The exact moment you try to move away from simple, one-time checkouts and add a recurring revenue stream - like a monthly subscription box, a premium membership, or a repeat service plan - you hit a major financial wall.
Suddenly,
... Continue reading
Posted in Compare Website Builders, E-commerce
Tagged bloat, core web vitals, e-commerce, hacked, open-source, pagespeed insights, performance, plugin vulnerabilities, plugins, stability, subscriptions, third-party plugins, vulnerabilities, woocommerce, WooCommerce subscriptions, WordPress
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How to Design a High-Converting Website Homepage: Step-by-Step Guide
Most website homepages don’t fail because of design quality - they fail because they don’t guide the visitor.
A homepage is not just an introduction. It is a decision-making layer. Its job is to help users quickly understand what the site offers and move them toward the right action.
If users land on your homepage and don’t immediately understand what you do, who it’s for, and what they should do next, conversions drop.
This guide breaks down how to design
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, E-commerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Design
Tagged bloat, call-to-action, clarity, clean code, clean structure, consistency, conversions, cta, design consistency, easy navigation, fast-loading times, first impressions, headlines, high-converting website, homepage, intent, responsive, responsive app, web design
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Beat the System: Avoid Paying Website Builder Transaction Fees
In the early days of e-commerce, the deal was simple: you paid a monthly fee for your website software, and you paid a payment processor (like Stripe or PayPal) a small percentage to handle the credit card transaction. But as we move into 2026, the rules have changed for some website builders. The industry giants - Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, BigCommerce - have introduced what can only be described as a "success tax." Good news, UltimateWB has not.
... Continue reading
Posted in Compare Website Builders, E-commerce
Tagged avoid transaction fees, best ecommerce platform for profit, bigcommerce, e-commerce, ecommerce profit margins, hidden ecommerce costs, merchant account savings, no transaction fee platforms, online store overhead, pay to play, payment gateway, payment gateway comparison, service fee, Shopify alternatives, shopify payments, shopify transaction fees 2026, squarespace, squarespace payment fees, stripe vs shopify payments, surcharge, transaction fees, website builder success tax, Wix, wix service fees
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SEO Is Working – So Why Aren’t Sales Increasing?
Ask David: "My traffic statistics have grown organically, so SEO is working, but sales are not growing - how do I know I am on the right track or what else should I be doing?"
This is a very common situation, and it’s also one of the most confusing for website owners.
The important thing to understand is that organic traffic growth and sales growth are related - but they are not the same metric.
If
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, E-commerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Traffic
Tagged call-to-action, conversion friction, conversion rate optimization, conversions, convert leads, engagement, increase sales, leads, messaging, organic traffic, reach, sales, search engine optimization, seo, small business websites, trust, trust signals, trustworthy, website builders, website conversions, website optimization
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E-commerce vs Marketplace: What’s the Difference?
When you’re planning to start an online business, one of the first decisions you’ll face is what kind of platform you actually need. Should you build a traditional e-commerce store where you sell your own items? Or should you create a marketplace where many sellers can list their products, like Etsy, Amazon, or eBay?
These terms get mixed up a lot, but they represent two very different business models - each with its own setup, features, and management style.
... Continue readingDo More Google Clicks and Visitors Eventually Help with Conversions?
It's easy to assume that if your website is getting more clicks from search engines, your conversions will naturally go up. After all, more traffic should mean more sales or sign-ups, right?
Not always.
While increasing your website’s visibility in search results and generating more clicks is a critical step, it's only the beginning. If you're not seeing the conversions you expected, it's time to dig deeper and optimize the full journey.
Here’s what you need to know - and
... Continue reading
Posted in Business, E-commerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Tagged boost conversions, bounce rate, build credibility, call-to-action, digital marketing, fast loading times, Google clicks, Google Search Console, keyword targeting, mobile-friendly, outdated, PageSpeed, pagespeed insights, responsive app, search engine optimization, seo, target keywords, trust signals, user experience, webp, webp converter, website conversions, website optimization, website speed, website traffic
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1 Cent No More: Will You Need to Change Prices in Your Online Store?
The U.S. penny is on its way out. After more than a century in circulation, the 1-cent coin is being phased out due to rising production costs and the increasing dominance of digital payments.
While the change might seem simple on the surface, it actually brings up key considerations for how prices are set, rounded, and perceived - especially for online businesses.
💡 Why Is the Penny Retiring Production?
Each penny costs over two cents to produce, making it
... Continue reading
Posted in E-commerce, Marketing, Technology in the News
Tagged digital payments, e-commerce, ecommerce pricing strategy, end of the penny, marketing strategy, online store, online store pricing, outdated, penny discontinued, penny phase out, pricing strategy, psychological appeal, psychology
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How Does Website Speed Impact Online Sales and Customer Experience?
Website speed is a critical factor in online business. A slow website drives customers away, reduces sales, and creates a frustrating user experience. A fast-loading site, on the other hand, keeps users engaged, boosts conversions, and improves satisfaction. Here’s how website speed affects online sales and customer experience.
1. First Impressions Matter
Users expect websites to load quickly. Research shows that 40% of consumers abandon a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Slow load times
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Posted in Ask David!, E-commerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Design
Tagged bloat, boost conversions, bounce rates, clean code, code bloat, conversion rates, customer experience, engagement, fast loading times, higher revenue, mobile friendly, navigation, online credibility, online sales, optimize website, organic traffic, page speed, pagespeed insights, ranking factor, responisve, responsive app, revenue, search engine ranking, sleek, user experience, webp, webp converter, website speed
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