Magento Extensions Your Ecommerce Site Needs

One of the best things about Magento is the way in which it’s a sort of out-of-the-box Ecommerce solution – as in everything you need to get set up and running comes as standard. However, one of the most prevalent problems with a CMS like this is the way in which there are far too many that do exactly that. They download Magento, tick the basic boxes and that’s where things come to an end. The result is hundreds of thousands of Magento stores that look, feel and operate the same, which may not technically be a bad thing but isn’t ideal either.The thing is, with so many Magento extensions available – most of which are free of charge – you can make an enormous difference to not only the way your store runs, but also the amount of work you have to do to keep things moving along flawlessly. There are literally tens of thousands that are more than worth trying out, but narrowing it down to just a select few you’ll be really glad you have a play with, here’s a quick overview of some of the best:MatrixRate         As effective as it is gloriously free of charge, MatrixRate by WebShopApps is all about making shipping costs as easy to work out as possible. If, for example, you ship worldwide and stock a variety of items of all different shapes and sizes, you’re going to find it tricky to work out shipping on a buy to buy basis. With MatrixRate, you create a simple table in accordance with the item’s size, weight, quantity and the region it is to be shipped to, in order that the software may then instantly apply the correct shipping charge every time a purchase is made.BrontoOf course you’d like to be taking the time to write targeted and personalised email marketing campaigns in accordance with the past purchases of your customers, but what’s the actual likelihood of this ever happening? This is where Bronto comes into the equation, which is a top-rate Magento extension that helps you get in touch with your shoppers based on their past purchases and buying habits. From the amount they spend to how often they visit to the exact items they buy, it makes it so much easier to tailor your communications accordingly.Magento-WordPress Integration The best of both worlds? To a degree, yes, as this unique extension basically allows you to bring WordPress to life as part of your Magento CMS. This will be of particular interest to those with WordPress experience, but is in any and all cases worth taking a look at to see the kinds of differences it can make.Blog by AheadWorksAnd finally, the answer to the question as to how important a blog really is to your Magento site is simple…very. The voice, tone and story you establish through your own personal content is what makes you and your site less a virtual vending machine and more a brand the buyers will trust…and hopefully remain loyal to. Blogs are brilliant for brand building, reputation management, increasing conversions and even SEO – there’s really no excuse for not getting one set up.