Updates 2023
A brief on-point overview of key features released in Ecwid every month to help your business grow.
August
Customize store permission for your employees’ staff accounts
Have a lot of employees to help with store management? Now you can assign restricted permissions to each person in your team: to add products, process orders, run marketing campaigns, etc. Permissions determine which specific store admin sections and features a staff member can access.
Learn more about store permissions for employees →
Try Lightspeed Payments in the United Kingdom
Lightspeed Payments is now available in the United Kingdom. Lightspeed Payments allows you to accept all major credit and debit cards, including payments through Apple Pay and Google Pay. It also allows you to offer subscriptions in your store.
Learn more about Lightspeed Payments →
Offer Klarna payment options for your Italian and Spanish customers
Your customers from Italy and Spain could face an issue at checkout with Klarna, a popular European payment solution. We fixed the integration issue, and from now on you can offer “Pay now” and “Slice it” (installments) payment options to your customers from Italy and Spain. Still, due to Klarna limitations, the “Pay later” payment option is unavailable to those customers.
Germany: Buy shipping labels with DHL
Good news for stores from Germany. DHL shipping labels are available for buying and printing directly from your Ecwid admin. For now, you can buy labels for domestic shipments only. For shipments outside Germany, you need to buy shipping labels in the post office or online.
Learn how to buy and print shipping labels in Germany →
Check out the new export and import tool
New import and export tool supports all the catalog settings you might need to add or update in bulk, including product options, variations, files, and more. It’s a quick way to upload the suppliers catalogs to the store, make changes to hundreds of items at once, and so on.
Merchants who signed up recently have the new import and export tool enabled, but if you’ve been selling with Ecwid for a while, give it a try! The tool is ready for enabling in the Settings → What’s new section.
Learn more about new export and import tool →
Europe: control what sales tax calculation scheme is appled to shipping costs
By default, the tax calculation on shipping is pre-set in your store according to what’s considered the most commonly used schema in your country. However if your tax adviser suggests using another option, you can adjust how shipping costs are taxed at checkout. This is an optional feature, but if you need that, you can control the tax calculation scheme on the Settings → Taxes and Invoices page by clicking the Tax on shipping depends on product in cart section.
Currently, it’s available in the EU, UK, and Switzerland in stores where product-specific tax rates are used.
Coming soon…
URL redirects to navigate your customers from one link to a completely different one. Comes in handy when migrating your business to Ecwid, running ad campaigns and just to keep the store up to date.
July
Showcase your products with videos
All your products can now have not only images, but also videos that explain why your products are the best. That can be a video from any hosting platform; YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or any other. Shoppers will see the video along with product images. Statistics say people are more likely to buy goods after watching videos.
Learn how to add video to the product gallery →
Bulk Product Editor: manage your SEO titles and descriptions
No need to open each product to edit its SEO. Now all you have to do is go to the Bulk Product Editor and quickly update SEO titles and descriptions (and their translations).
Learn how to update dozens products in bulk →
Copy customer’s phone or email in a blink of an eye
New buttons on the order details page let you easily copy the customer’s email address and phone number to paste the data into another tool or input area. What is more, you can click the email address to email a client in your default email client. And if you manage your store from the Ecwid mobile app, tapping the phone number will dial the number.
Try Lightspeed Payments in Australia
Lightspeed Payments are now available in Australia. Lightspeed Payments allows you to accept all major credit and debit cards, including payments through Apple Pay and Google Pay. It also allows you to create subscriptions.
Why you should try Lightspeed Payments →
¡Hola, TikTok!
TikTok is now available for Mexican stores. You can upload your catalogs to TikTok and run ads on TikTok, or use TikTok Pixel to measure your ads performance.
Learn how to create TikTok ads →
Coming soon…
Improved staff accounts that will allow you to customize the store access levels for different employees.
June
Take a quick overview on key features released in Ecwid in the first half of 2023 to help your business grow.
Create a digital business card with shoppable links
Need a small landing page to showcase all your links in one place? Try Linkup, a simple tool that allows you to showcase links to your store, blog, portfolio, Pinterest and anywhere else. You can add a link to your landing page anywhere, for example, in your Instagram profile or in marketing emails. You can also print a QR code to share the link offline.
Learn how to create a Linkup business card →
Try Lightspeed Payments in Canada
Lightspeed Payments are now available in Canada. Lightspeed Payments allows you to accept all major credit and debit cards, including payments through Apple Pay and Google Pay. It also allows you to create subscriptions.
Learn why you should try Lightspeed Payments →
Download abandoned cart information
You can export various information on the attempted orders, including customer emails, payment and shipping methods selected, products in the cart, and much more. Data is useful for analyzing your customers’ behavior and creating marketing campaigns.
Learn how to download abandoned cart data →
Try the new version of the Ecwid plugin for WordPress
Now you can see the live-preview of the storefront block of your website while editing it in the Gutenberg editor. That makes it easier for you to design and customize your ecommerce website.
Learn how to create a store in the WordPress Gutenberg editor →
Sell on the Miinto marketplace
Miinto is one of the largest marketplaces for fashion in Europe with around 2 million unique monthly visitors. With the Koongo app, you can add your store to Miinto and reach out to a large number of loyal customers all over Europe.
Learn how to add your store to Miinto →
Ecwid mobile app: create pre-orders
With pre-orders, you can sell both stockouts and upcoming collections yet to hit the shelves. All you have to do is enable pre-orders for products, and even with zero stock they will still be available for purchase.
Learn how to accept pre-orders in your Ecwid app for iOS →
Learn how to accept pre-orders in your Ecwid app for Android →
UK: inform customers about estimated delivery when using Royal Mail
Better and safer checkout experience for stores that use the automatic Royal Mail shipping rates. Now it’s possible to inform users how long it will take for an order to be delivered. Customers will see an estimated delivery time at checkout.
Learn how to enable an estimated delivery time at checkout →
Coming soon…
New PayPal version with the Buy Now Pay Later payment option.
Setting up the lowest price for products before discounting to inform your customers about the actual benefit they get during a sale.
May
Export and import all product details at once
With a new import and export tool you can upload and download a CSV file with all product settings at once. That allows you to quickly upload the suppliers catalogs to your store, make bulk changes to dozens items at once, and create a backup for your catalog.
To try a new tool for product import and export, contact support →
Learn ins and outs of Ecwid import/export tool →
Add pickup or delivery schedule for upcoming orders to your calendar
With dozens of deliveries to a certain time, it’s easier to manage the fulfilling process when you have a clear delivery schedule in front of your eyes. Now you can create the schedule by adding delivery and pickup orders to your calendar — all new orders with a delivery time will appear there.
Learn how to add pickup and delivery orders to your calendar →
Charge the UK customers VAT for orders under £135
When you sell outside the UK to the UK customers, a so-called cross-border tax should be collected at checkout for orders that cost £135 or less. You can improve your customers’ shopping experience by collecting VAT right away at checkout instead of making them pay upon delivery. To enable the option, you need to be registered for the UK VAT.
Learn how to enable charging VAT when selling to the UK →
Issue refunds with Lightspeed Payments through the mobile app
It’s now possible to refund orders paid via Lightspeed Payments in the Ecwid mobile app. Both full and partial refunds are supported. Refund details appear on the order details page.
Learn more about Lightspeed Payments →
Choose a site template that fits your business
All templates for Instant Site are now grouped into categories based on the business type. For example, Apparel, Electronics, Food, etc. That will help you to decide quicker what template to use and get inspiration for the site design for your niche.
Learn about creating and editing your Instant Site →
Welkom bij de Ecwid mobiele app! The app is now available in Dutch
The Ecwid mobile app supports the Dutch language from now on. The app has all main features to manage your online store on the go, including stock management, order fulfillment, website editing, and more.
Learn more about the Ecwid app for iOS →
Learn more about the Ecwid app for Android →
Coming soon…
Adding videos to the product gallery to better showcase items and increase the chances of purchase.
Domain purchasing from Ecwid to choose and manage your domain right from your admin.
April
Instant Site: Add promo sliders to highlight brands, features, collections, and more
With a new Promo Slider section, you can add the image carousel to your Instant Site. It’s a great way to showcase particular products in detail, list the brands you sell, highlight an art portfolio, or explain why customers need to choose your brand.
You can publish up to 10 slides in one section. It can be both images and gifs combined with a short description and the Call-to-Action button.
Learn how to add sliders to your site →
Instant Site: Choose between dark and light modes
Your New-Gen Instant Site editor now has dark and light modes that you can choose from. Adjust the look of your website editor to your liking:
Learn how to add sliders to your site →
Create custom order statuses from your mobile app
In addition to the default order statuses like “Paid” or “Shipped”, you can now create up to 6 new statuses tailored to your business. Now you can do it both from desktop and from your Ecwid mobile app. Custom statuses appear in order filters and are displayed in customer accounts and email notifications.
Learn about mobile app for iOS →
Learn about mobile app for Android →
Enable the IOSS scheme to charge your EU customers VAT right at checkout
Starting July 1, 2021, all goods imported to the EU are subject to cross-border VAT. This means that either you should charge your customers at checkout, or they will be charged when receiving their order in the EU. Charging customers at checkout is allowed if the order is below €150 and you register with the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS). Now you can enable the IOSS scheme in your store to charge customers right away so they don’t need to pay anything when receiving the order.
Learn how to enable the IOSS scheme →
Improved taxes for Norway, Switzerland, and Australia
We no longer calculate sales tax on shipping based on item prices or the weight for stores in Norway, Switzerland, and Australia. When tangible products are added to the cart, we now apply a fixed standard sales tax rate to shipping costs, regardless of what sales tax rates (standard, non-standard, zero) are calculated for the order items.
Learn how to set up taxes in your store →
March
Create custom statuses for your orders
In addition to the default order statuses like “Paid” or “Shipped”, you can now create up to 6 new statuses tailored to your business. For example, “Starting sewing” or “Enrolled”. Custom statuses appear in order filters and are displayed in customer accounts and email notifications.
Learn how to create custom order statuses →
Set order quantity limits
You can now limit the quantity of products that can be ordered. For example, you want shoppers to purchase at least 3 avocados in your grocery, or at most 10 event tickets per order to avoid reselling. Order quantity limits can be applied to individual products and product variations, and set in bulk.
Learn how to set order quantity limits →
Speed up tax reporting with better US taxes calculation
Paying taxes becomes less of a headache with improved tax calculation. If your business is located in the US and you use automated tax calculation, the sales tax collected for each order is now split into state and local tax, whether its county, city, or special district tax. You will also see the percentage of state and local tax. Tax breakdown is shown on the order details page (on hovering on the total tax amount), in tax invoices, and customer emails.
Learn more about collecting sales tax in your store →
Adapt your Instant Site’s mobile view
Cover image of your Instant Site is now easier to adapt for mobile screens. You have two options how to show your cover on mobile:
- Crop the image so that your site cover takes all the screen and the title is displayed above it.
- Fit the cover to the width of the screen. In this case, the cover image remains fully visible and is displayed at the top of the screen with title placed below it.
Learn about configuring design of your Instant Site →
Instant Site: add JavaScript code to the body section of the site
From now on, you can add JavaScript code to the body section of your Instant Site instead of the site header. With that improvement, you can show any custom content on your website page or integrate chat widgets, date pickers, live video feeds, trust marks, or any other third-party service anywhere on the Instant Site home page. Codes added to the body section don’t affect the loading speed of your site.
To add the code, go to Website → Overview → Custom JavaScript code and click Add code.
Learn more on how to add the code →
India: Automatic tax calculation is here
Exciting news for Indian merchants: you don’t have to manually set up tax rates anymore—your store now automatically calculates a precise tax rate on each order depending on the customer and store locations. Also, you can set non-standard tax rates (classes) for different products in your catalog. Available tax classes are: Increased rate (28%), Standard rate (18%), Reduced rate (12%), Reduced rate (5%), Zero rate (0%). The standard tax rate is applied by default unless a tax class is selected for a product.
Learn how to set up taxes in your store →
February
Add payment-based fees to checkout
Payment gateways charge a service fee for each transaction. To cover that or similar expenses, you can now add fees to payment methods. When a customer chooses the payment method with fees at checkout, surcharges are applied to the order total.
Learn how to add surcharges to payment methods →
Sell subscriptions with Lightspeed Payments
Subscriptions allow you to charge customers for products on a regular basis. To enable recurring subscriptions, you need to use particular payment methods in your store. From now on, subscriptions are available with Lightspeed Payments, the native Ecwid payment gateway (available for the US only).
Learn how to enable subscriptions in your store →
Sell products for subscriptions on a half-year basis
The billing cycle for subscriptions can now be set to every six months. That gives you seven billing cycles in total to choose from: daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, biannually, or annually. You can offer subscriptions along with the one-time purchase to improve your customers' experience and grow revenue.
Learn how to enable subscriptions in your store →
Set individual subscription pricing for product variations
Products with variations are now more flexible to adjust to sell as subscriptions. For each variation, you can set individual pricing both for a subscription and one-time purchase.
Learn how to set individual pricing for product variations →
Export the UTM parameters history for orders
UTM tags are short text codes that you add to links to track where the orders came from. When you use UTM tags, you can see the link that led to purchase and also the list of UTM parameters from different marketing campaigns that a customer interacted with. That UTM tags history is now available to download when you export your orders as a CSV file. Clearly seeing UTM tags helps you to understand which campaigns perform better.
Export order subtotal excluding shipping cost
One more parameter that you can include to your order-related info when exporting data: order subtotal excluding shipping cost. Having that parameter in a separate column speeds up calculating subtotal excluding shipping costs and helps you to prepare tax reports.
Ecwid mobile app: Filter orders by key parameters
Finding orders is now easier than ever with a bunch of new filters added to the Ecwid mobile app. In your Ecwid mobile app, you can filter orders by payment and shipping methods, carrier, fulfillment type (shipping, pickup, delivery), pickup or delivery date. Advanced filtering settings allow you to display orders with or without tracking number, with or without tips, orders with a specific discount coupon applied, and also orders with customer comments and staff notes.
Learn how to filter orders in your Ecwid app for iOS →
Learn how to filter orders in your Ecwid app for Android →
Ecwid mobile app: Save order filters as presets
To speed up orders searching, you can create a custom filter for frequently used searches. For example, bookmark local orders that should be delivered within the next 7 days.
Once you create a custom filter in your app, it appears in the preset filters list and you can tap it to see all orders matching your preferences.
Learn how to create custom filters for orders →
Ecwid mobile app: Use in-app order reminders
Adding in-app reminders about orders is a great way to make sure they are fulfilled on time, or to keep track of the upcoming deliveries. Creating a reminder for an order is pretty much similar to setting any other in-app reminder. In your Ecwid app, open an order, tap Add reminder and choose a time when you want to get a push notification about the order.
Set tax-included pricing for products for Algeria
Great news for Algerian stores! You can now choose between setting gross prices (with tax included) or net prices (without tax) for your products. With the tax-inclusive pricing, you don’t have to calculate the net price for each product and set up taxes separately.
January
Export data from custom checkout fields
Custom fields at checkout allow you to collect specific data from shoppers: tax ID, delivery notes, and so on. That information is now included in order details that you can export as a CSV file. Instead of checking each order, you can download the CSV file and open it to clearly see all important information about upcoming orders. New checkout-related columns are added as the last columns of the CSV file.
Learn how to create custom checkout fields →
Learn how to export data from your store →
Hide long product descriptions in a collapsible accordion
You can break down long product descriptions into smaller sub-sections and hide each text part in a collapsible accordion. Simply speaking, when your customers open a product page they will see a title that expands when clicked on. Collapsible accordion comes in handy when you want to highlight different product features like ingredients, health benefits, fabric care instructions, etc.
Learn how to use text editor to create product description →
Rename site sections in your Instant Site
When you use an Instant Site, you add sections to build your site. Some sections with different content may have the same name. To make it easier to navigate in the editor, you can change names displayed in the editor sidebar. Custom names help you to see your site structure more clearly and quickly locate the section you want to edit.
Learn how to design your site →