Why your store’s PHP version matters (and how to check it)
Behind every WooCommerce store is software written in PHP. You don’t need to know how it works,…
Marketing to Humans and Machines
Agentic shopping presents ecommerce marketers with a familiar problem in a new form. The promise is simple…
New Ecommerce Tools: January 21, 2026
Every week we publish a list of new products and services for ecommerce merchants. This installment includes…
Google’s Core Updates, Explained
Google released another Core Update to its search algorithm over the holidays. It was the most comprehensive…
Are Your Product Pages Invisible to AI? Retail’s New Fix
Two new product updates aim to help retailers use agentic AI more effectively by improving shopper trust…
New Ecommerce Tools: January 14, 2026
Our rundown this week of new products and services for ecommerce merchants includes updates on agentic commerce,…
E-Commerce Orders Surged in 2025, Dominated by Top-Performing Brands
E-commerce orders in the United States jumped 147% year-over-year in 2025, with more than half that growth…
What is branding? How to create a lasting ecommerce brand
A lasting ecommerce brand is more than a line of products or a catchy name — it’s a tone,…
58% of consumers use AI tools to research products
Product discovery still mostly happens on marketplaces, with 37 percent of consumers starting their shopping journey there….
Unified Platforms and Agentic AI Will Define E-Commerce in 2026
Digital vendors and e-commerce businesses enter 2026 facing a radically changed retail landscape, shaped by rising customer…
Yes, 404 Status Codes Hurt SEO
A common question among search optimizers is whether a “404” HTTP status code conveys negative ranking signals…
2025 Top 25: Our Most Popular Posts
George W. Bush had just begun his second presidential term when we launched Practical Ecommerce in mid-2005….
New Ecommerce Tools: December 31, 2025
Since 2016 I’ve published a weekly rundown of new services for ecommerce merchants. This final 2025 installment…
Thank You (2025 Edition)
If I had to whittle down my favorite thing about CSS-Tricks to one thing — and like…
GSC Groups Keywords as AI Queries Expand
Google Search Console’s “Insights” section no longer shows click trends for individual keywords. It now displays trends…
The Good, Bad, and Ugly of 2025
I talk a lot on the podcast about business, growth, and solving problems, but at some point…
A beginner’s guide to ecommerce SEO
Stocking your online store with high-quality, desirable products is only part of building a successful and profitable…
Ecommerce Marketing amid AI ‘Slop’
“Slop” is the word of the year for 2025, according to the human editors of the Merriam-Webster…
New Ecommerce Tools: December 17, 2025
This week’s rundown of new products and services for ecommerce merchants includes updates on agentic commerce, marketplaces,…
What’s !important #1: Advent Calendars, CSS Wrapped, Web Platform Updates, and More
Welcome to the first ever What’s !important, a roundup of the best CSS and web development news from…
AI Favors Ecommerce Giants — for Now
Artificial intelligence has seemingly raised the barriers to ecommerce success. The industry has long been a David-and-Goliath…
UK shoppers rely on online marketplaces
Online marketplaces dominate almost every stage of the purchase journey of consumers in the United Kingdom. In…
Long-Tail SEO in an AI World
In 2006, Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson famously described the availability of niche products online as the…
Can AI-Driven Intent Shopping Eclipse Chinese Retail Models?
Walmart and OpenAI’s October partnership could be the most significant shift in e-commerce since the “Buy Now”…