This post is a little off the beaten path of what I typically write about but I get quite a few emails and questions on how we like Ecwid (our shopping cart / eCommerce software provider). I’ve always replied with the same answer and thought it would be helpful to post it. We have been using Ecwid since 2010 and have only positive things to say about the software and customer service. The store was easy to setup. Their statement on the homepage “Takes less than 5 minutes to setup”… Continue reading…

Recently I’ve seen quite a few posts on the Etsy forums about how to get Google Analytics setup on to Etsy accounts. Being a visual learner myself I created this pictorial. Happy tracking! First thing you’ll need is to setup your Google Analytics account/profile Find out how from Google Analytics. During setup you’ll want to note (as per Etsy): When asked for your ‘Website’s URL’ enter Etsy’s URL (www.etsy.com) When asked for your ‘Account Name’ enter your Etsy shop website address (shopname.etsy.com) Hit ‘Continue’ when you arrive at the page… Continue reading…

This installment of plugins features ones embe uses for layout. Without some of these, especially the custom widgets, our site wouldn’t allow us much flexibility with our different pages. TS Custom Widgets Enables us to use different widgets on different pages. It can also display different widgets on posts, pages, categories, authors posts and tag pages. I like this one for its ease of adding different sidebar items without having to mess around in the HTML. Exclude Pages from Navigation Like the name says, this plug in allows you to… Continue reading…

My first blog was on Xanga.com. For a long time it was great, but eventually I wanted something a little bit more mature and migrated over to Blogger. Blogger lasted me for awhile as well but again, I wanted something with more “oomph.” After trying out a handful of different blogging services, I settled on WordPress and started craftycathy.wordpress.com. It gave me exactly what I needed: pages, various themes, easy posting and editing– essentially a website without needing to code! When Mary and I started talking about building a website… Continue reading…