Collective #716

Original Source: https://tympanus.net/codrops/collective/collective-716/

Inspirational Website of the Week: Jorge Toloza

An excellent design with a unique feel and smooth animations. Our pick this week.

Get inspired

Collective 713 item image
This content is sponsored via BuySellAds

Build websites faster with Divi Cloud

Divi Cloud is like Dropbox for your Divi websites: save something to Divi Cloud and it becomes available on all of your and your clients’ websites while you build them.

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Mobile-First CSS: Is It Time for a Rethink?

Patrick Clancey summarizes the advantages of the mobile first approach and some alternate solutions if mobile-first doesn’t seem to suit a project.

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The World’s Most Satisfying Checkbox

Some great insight into how the (Not Boring) Habits app became Apple Design Award winner with a game feel approach.

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Fresh

Just in time edge rendering, island based interactivity, and no configuration TypeScript support using Deno.

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Untools

A collection of thinking tools and frameworks to help you solve problems, make decisions and understand systems.

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Software Engineering

Addy Osmani shares some of the software engineering soft skills he has learned from his first 10 years on Google Chrome.

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CSS Shadow Gradients

A generator for supercool shadow gradients with pure CSS. By Alvaro Trigo.

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In circles and spheres

In this Offscreen Canvas edition, you’ll learn all about looping over circles, sines, cosines, and spheres.

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Simple CSS solutions

Kevin Powell shows some straigh-forward CSS solutions using pseudo-classes.

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Aspects of Accessibility (a11y) – Semantics, Contrast and… Anxiety?

An article by Sara J. Wallén that covers some a11y issues, also looking at anxiety-inducing design.

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Plain text. With lines.

Kartik Agaram writes about an app he made that allows to write and draw.

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Stack Tower Game

Michal Zalobny made this Stack Tower Game with THREE.js and React based on Hunor Márton Borbély’s tutorial.

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The End of Localhost

Learn why swyx thinks that in the future, most development will not be done on localhost.

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Tooll 3 – A realtime animation toolkit

An open source software for motion design and procedural content generation. Makers are calling for folks to help and try it out!

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Three.js Particle Skull

Anderson Mancini made this interactive skull in Three.js. Watch the breakdown and check out the code.

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Better scrolling through modern CSS

Learn all about improving scrolling through CSS in this article by Mayank.

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Useful utilities and toys over DNS

Free and useful services over DNS accessible on command line.

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How to: Make your multilingual website suitable for RTL

Some knowledgeable things to make your website suitable for RTL and LTR languages with just HTML and CSS.

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I’ve locked myself out of my digital life

A very interesting article by Terence Eden on a situation that shows the limits of the “Code Is Law” movement.

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Calendar.txt

Keep your calendar in a plain text file with Calendar.txt. It is versionable, supports all operating systems and easily syncs with Android mobile phone.

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Patterns

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) shares some essential patterns for understanding when and why to use ARIA.

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Dialogs and shadow DOM: can we make it accessible?

Nolan Lawson takes another look at getting dialogs to play nicely with shadow DOM.

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Sake

Sake is a command runner for local and remote hosts. You define servers and tasks in a sake.yaml config file and then run the tasks on the servers.

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The post Collective #716 appeared first on Codrops.

Creating a Particles Galaxy with Three.js

Original Source: https://tympanus.net/codrops/2022/06/21/creating-a-particles-galaxy-with-three-js/

In this new ALL YOUR HTML coding session we will look into recreating the particles galaxy from Viverse using Three.js.

Original: https://www.viverse.com/

Made by: https://ohzi.io/

This coding session was streamed live on June 19, 2022.

Check out the live demo.

Image credit goes to https://www.instagram.com/tre.zen/

Support: https://www.patreon.com/allyourhtml

Setup: https://gist.github.com/akella/a19954…

The post Creating a Particles Galaxy with Three.js appeared first on Codrops.

DSers vs Oberlo: Can Dropshippers Expect the Same Great Service?

Original Source: https://ecommerce-platforms.com/dropshipping/dsers-vs-oberlo

Shopify dropshippers were thrown off guard when Shopify announced it would close the popular dropshipping app in June 2022. Shopify also recommended that all former Oberlo users transfer their products and orders to their new, official dropshipping partner, DSers. So, that begs the question, what are the differences between DSers vs Oberlo?

Can you still find and import products from AliExpress? Does it still seamlessly integrate with the Shopify ecommerce platform and offer things like a Chrome extension, free plan, and the ability to make bulk orders? 

These are all valid questions, since Shopify actually has a myriad of AliExpress dropshipping apps to choose from, so we want to get a solid idea as to why Shopify decided to vouch for DSers over the rest of them. To do so, we’ve heavily tested and researched the DSers Shopify app and compared it to all the features Oberlo used to offer. This way, you’re able to make your own decision as to which dropshipping tool you should add to your Shopify store, and figure out how close DSers and Oberlo are when it comes to features. 

Table of contents

Toggle

Oberlo vs DSers
Pricing Comparison: DSers vs Oberlo

Oberlo vs DSers

DSers vs Oberlo

This guide is for beginners to the dropshipping game, as well as advanced Oberlo users who want close to the exact features from DSers as they came to expect from Oberlo. 

Oberlo

We’ll review:

Features of DSers vs OberloPricing of DSers vs OberloInterface of DSers vs OberloCustomer support of DSers vs Oberlo

Let’s get started. 

Feature Comparison: DSers vs Oberlo

Both DSers and Oberlo offer large collections of features, both of which are meant to make dropshipping easy for merchants. You pick products from AliExpress (and some other sources), sync the product details with your Shopify story, then the orders get automatically sent for fulfillment to the suppliers. Both of them also ensure that the merchants don’t have to mess with inventory updates or shipping, seeing as how the suppliers complete all of that for you. 

Integrations

Oberlo Ecommerce Integrations

One interesting part about Oberlo is that it only integrated with one ecommerce platform: Shopify. 

DSers Ecommerce Integrations

DSers, on the other hand, integrates with quite a few:

ShopifyWooCommerceWixPayPal (not exactly an ecommerce platform, but you can sell on other platforms with PayPal)

So, DSers actually gives store owners more flexibility when it comes to platform integrations. Working with Oberlo meant that your entire operation had to remain on Shopify. If you move to DSers, you may not have any plans to shift to Wix or WooCommerce, but there’s at least the option in case your situation changes. 

Oberlo Sourcing Integrations

As for sourcing and other integrations, Oberlo only provided a direct link to AliExpress. That technically taps you into thousands of suppliers, mainly in China and India. 

DSers Sourcing Integrations

DSers is the same way, so you can link your DSers account and Shopify site to AliExpress to connect with the same suppliers you would have found through Oberlo. 

Order Fulfillment and Automation

Oberlo Order Fulfillment

Most elements of order fulfillment were automated in Oberlo. All products continually synced with your Shopify store to ensure the most accurate information. You could also automate some of the pricing so as to achieve a certain margin across your store. 

As for fulfillment, an order came in, and you had the option to automate that order, so it went directly to the supplier for them to fulfill and send to your customer. Inventory automation was also possible, keeping your inventory counts accurate at all times and ensuring that you weren’t selling items that were no longer in stock. 

DSers Order Fulfillment

Automation comes in many forms in DSers. First of all, you’re able to set variant mapping, product bundling, and bulk orders to all happen based on certain rules. There’s also a supplier optimizer that automatically filters down your supplier search to ones that fit your criteria. 

DSers also has an auto-sync tool for order status and tracking numbers, giving you the option to send all order tracking numbers to your store and PayPal. That goes for stock management, shipping, and order updates as well. An order comes through, gets sent to the supplier, and they fulfill and ship the order to your customers; so it’s completely automated from start to finish. 

The same can be said for pricing and inventory. When you add a product on DSers, all details get continually synced between AliExpress and your store. This way, if a price changes, or the inventory drops, or even the product description changes, all of those adjustments get reflected on your store, without having to manually update it yourself. 

Chrome Extensions and Importing

Oberlo Chrome Extension and Importing

The Oberlo Chrome extension was free, offered the ability to browse AliExpress, and gave you options to import products directly to the Oberlo dashboard. 

DSers Chrome Extension and Importing

There’s not much different about the DSers Chrome extension except the unique branding. You can still download it for free, browse AliExpress, and import products from the site in bulk or individually. 

Tracking Options

Oberlo Tracking Options

As long as a supplier provided shipment tracking, Oberlo sent that tracking information to your Oberlo dashboard. It also synced with your Shopify store for the most streamlined process. 

Both sales and shipment tracking came standard, and, of course, you receive tracking reports on the Oberlo dashboard. 

DSers Tracking Options

Tracking is relatively similar in DSers: you get tracking codes from whichever suppliers provide them, and those codes get transferred into the DSers dashboard. After that, they sync with your Shopify store in order to manage everything in one place and send the tracking information to customers. 

All of those tracking numbers get synced with Shopify and PayPal, or whatever platform you use. So, it shouldn’t feel much different, at least in terms of tracking, when switching from Oberlo to DSers. 

Supplier Switching

Supplier Switching on Oberlo

Oberlo was known for having the option to switch to any other supplier you wanted, at any time. This meant that you could drop a supplier who wasn’t replying and not have to worry about any red tape along the way. 

Supplier Switching on DSers

DSers takes this up a notch, considering that you can trade suppliers, but also use the Supplier Optimizer tool to filter out certain suppliers while searching for new ones. There’s also a variant mapper and product bundler for mapping multiple suppliers to one variant or bundle, often removing the need to worry about which suppliers are the most reliable in the first place. You can include multiple suppliers for one product and make sure that one delivers for one variant while the other covers another variant. 

Product Editing Options

Oberlo Product Editing

Oberlo served as more of an import tool than a product editing module. That meant that you couldn’t edit any of your products within Oberlo. This happened because it didn’t make sense to edit in Oberlo, considering it would mess up any syncing that occurred between AliExpress and Shopify. 

It was technically possible to edit products in Oberlo, but it usually made for a mess between your Shopify store and Oberlo, leaving you with inaccurate information. 

DSers Product Editing

DSers doesn’t necessarily encourage product editing in its own dashboard, but it’s definitely possible. Not only that, but any changes seem to also render in your Shopify store. So, DSers appears to have improved upon the setup from Oberlo by allowing you to edit products anywhere (whether it’s on your online store or DSers) while maintaining the syncing that occurs between the two. 

Pricing Comparison: DSers vs Oberlo

Switching from Oberlo to DSers, or any other Shopify dropshipping app for that matter, makes everyone curious about whether you’ll have to pay extra fees. 

Oberlo was fairly affordable across the board, even for rookie dropshippers who wanted to start with the free plan and work their way up to the $29.90 per month paid plan. 

Does DSers offer a similar pricing structure? Let’s take a look. 

Oberlo Pricing

Oberlo offered three tiers of pricing:

Starter: $0 (forever) as long as you kept your dropshipping store to 500 products and 50 orders every month. So, it allowed for smaller stores to place orders without problems. You also received the free Chrome extension for sourcing, pricing automation, product syncing, and sales reports. Basic: $29.90 per month for up to 10K products in your store, along with 500 orders each month. You also received all features from the previous plan, plus shipment tracking and monitoring for order fulfillment and order processing. Pro: $79.90 per month for a store with up to 30K items, unlimited orders, multiple users, and all features from the previous plans. 

DSers Pricing

DSers is a little different when compared to Oberlo in pricing, since it offers 4 plans, and the pricing doesn’t line up exactly with Oberlo. Having said that, you’re still getting a good value, and many people might argue it’s a stronger deal than Oberlo, depending on your situation. Oh, and there’s still a free plan, just like Oberlo. 

Here are the pricing plans from DSers:

 Basic: Free (forever) for up to 3000 products, no limit on orders, up to 3 stores, and tools for limited inventory management, cost change management, and automated price rules. Advanced: Starting at $15.90 per month for a store with up to 20K products and 10 shops. You also get a special shipping adaptor, bulk ordering, priority customer support, and automations for inventory management, cost changes, and pricing. You also get variant mapping, BOGO/bundle mapping, and affiliate support. Pro: Starting at $39.90 per month for up to 75K products, 25 stores, everything from the previous plans, plus more products supported in the shipping saver adaptor. Enterprise: Starting at $399 per month for up to 100K products, 50 stores, everything in the previous plans, plus full customization for features and higher usage volume. 

Conclusion on Pricing: DSers has more flexible pricing than Oberlo (with more plans to choose from). And you still have access to a Free plan. Not to mention, the product and order limits are higher in just about every DSers plan when compared to Oberlo. So, for pricing, it looks like a win to move from Oberlo to DSers.

Interface Comparison: DSers vs Oberlo

The Oberlo Interface

It was easy to install Oberlo from the Shopify App Store, add products from their own dashboard or your Shopify store, and filter through thousands of products from AliExpress suppliers across the globe. 

The product search provided collections, and you could also import products based on URL or ID, or even go for the bulk import tool. After that, it allowed you to sort based on where the product was able to ship to. One downside was that it was difficult to see shipping times at a glance, considering you had to click through each product to gain any insight on shipping times, or where the product shipped from. This made it extremely difficult to filter based on shipping speed. 

Oberlo dashboard

Other than that, the Oberlo Chrome extension worked like a charm, helping merchants browse any products on AliExpress, while also providing a quick way to import all of those product details, as well as photos, into Oberlo and Shopify. 

AliExpress: DSers vs Oberlo

And to top it off, Oberlo offered excellent inventory management, product syncing, and automated fulfillment tools. 

The DSers Interface

We would argue that the DSers overall onboarding and installation process is actually cleaner and easier to understand than Oberlo. Not only do they provide a simple integration, but the welcome guide explains everything you need to know for finding products and setting up your store. 

The dashboard is a pretty one as well; it’s filled with categories, filters, and collections that tap right into the AliExpress products that relate to your own store. We also like that you can find the “ship from” location much easier on DSers, and they have more transparent information about how long it should take to ship products to your customers. 

filter by country in DSers

Product imports work smoothly in DSers as well, whether it’s through the seamless Chrome extension (which lets you browse and add products in AliExpress), or you add products in DSers to the import list and push it to your Shopify store. 

add product

Finally, DSers offers a considerable number of features that are easily accessible from the main menu, including options to:

Find dropshipping suppliersImport productsView ordersImport bulk ordersTrack ordersOptimize shippingView reports

DSers dashboard vs Oberlo

Interface Conclusion: DSers is no slouch in the interface department, mainly because of its Chrome extension, beautiful dashboard, and its stronger filtering and transparency when compared to Oberlo. The Oberlo interface wasn’t that bad, but it needed some improvements. We feel the vast majority of Oberlo users will feel right at home with DSers, and even be surprised by some of the extras that appear on the DSers dashboard. 

Customer Support Comparison

Oberlo Customer Support

For direct customer support, Oberlo provided a chatbox and an email ticketing system for merchants to reach out with questions. From our previous interactions with the customer support, they seemed responsive, courteous, and knowledgeable about the platform. 

But the vast majority of customer support was directed to the Oberlo Help Center, which included a decent number of articles on managing your account, setting up a store, and handling products and pricing. We wouldn’t say it was an overwhelming amount of documentation, but it sufficed. 

Oberlo help center

Oberlo also provided a blog, online courses, and an FAQs page for training and onboarding purposes. You were also able to reach out to the company, or browse for resources, through social media channels like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 

DSers Customer Support 

DSers provides a direct email address to contact its support team at anytime. Our tests with common questions show that they, like Oberlo, offer responsive information with respectable knowledge. There doesn’t seem to be a phone number, but that wasn’t available through Oberlo either. You can also reach out via Messenger, which is a unique option not available from Oberlo. 

The Help Center is the main resource for merchants that want to learn about the platform and research themselves. The DSers Help Center has far more articles than what was available on Oberlo. You can read about account issues, products, orders, and migration information, and for multiple platforms like Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce. There’s even an FAQs section right on the Help Center page. 

DSers help center - DSers vs Oberlo

Along with all of that, dropshippers can read the DSers blog and explore solutions through the DSers pages on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Customer Support Conclusion: Oberlo may have done a better job with videos and social media, but real customer support comes in the form of direct human support and knowledgebase articles. For both of those, DSers seems to beat out Oberlo. So, it appears that those converting from Oberlo to DSers should find the customer support rather appealing. 

Our Summary

Overall, we feel that dropshipping merchants who switch from Oberlo to DSers are in good hands. 

The feature set from DSers provides just about everything you received from Oberlo, with some notable additions like the supplier optimizer, editable products in DSers, and variant mapping. For pricing, DSers has more plans than Oberlo had, and you still get the option to use a free plan. Not to mention, every plan from DSers provides support for more products and orders than what you would have gotten from Oberlo. The DSers interface is definitely stronger than Oberlo’s. Perhaps Oberlo stopped developing the platform if they knew it wasn’t going to stick around much longer but, from the welcome guide to the sleek dashboard, DSers beats out Oberlo when it comes to the interface. The customer support from DSers is fairly similar to what you received from Oberlo. However, we found that DSers provides more documentation in its Help Center, whereas the Help Center from Oberlo was a little skimpy. Regardless, DSers provides quality email support, much like you would’ve gotten from Oberlo. 

Overall, DSers seems to provide everything you may have gotten used to with Oberlo. And Shopify has made it easy to transfer from Oberlo to DSers without losing any of your inventory. We believe that most merchants will find the extra features from DSers quite appealing, and that most people will embrace the improved pricing. 

If you’ve already moved from Oberlo to DSers, please let us know in the comments if you agree with our comparison. Do you feel that DSers is a comparable, or stronger, platform than Oberlo for your dropshipping business?

The post DSers vs Oberlo: Can Dropshippers Expect the Same Great Service? appeared first on Ecommerce Platforms.

Visual identity for an alternative investment broker

Original Source: https://abduzeedo.com/visual-identity-alternative-investment-broker

Visual identity for an alternative investment broker
Visual identity to an alternative investment broker

abduzeedo0615—22

Klave is an alternative investment broker that turns content producers into assets and fans into investors through an easy-to-use platform – transforming the act of investing into something more fun and passionate.

The aim of the project was to create a relaxed brand, but pass security. That refers to creativity and is not boring like a bank. Considering this and the brand’s personality (Male / Adult / Contemporary / Technological) Monga Design created an identity that mixes strong and bold typography for the logo and texts, with a highly readable sans serif for the supporting texts. They also created patterns and shapes that add more personality to the brand and defined the yellow circle as a representation of digital currency. In addition to the main colors, a secondary palette was created to strengthen the fun side of the brand and also represent its main editorial lines: video, music, stream and paid content. 

The letters «a» and «v» in the logo form two arrows betting in opposite directions, representing a financial transaction movement (the investment being made and the money going to the investor).

 

Nowadays, more and more young people have been interested in and have access to the investment world. This, together with the popularization of cryptocurrencies and NFTs and the consolidation of artists, gamers and content producers as idols and digital influencers, gave our client the idea of creating a broker/distributor that unites it all: fans (especially young people) become investors, and idols become investments: the fan invests in his idol, helping him in his professional career, and at the same time the fan earns a financial return from it. All this in a simple and uncomplicated platform.

 

Project created and shared by Monga Design (via Mateus Yuzo e Michel Refatti). Original article on Behance. 

Top 10 Best Compact Printer Reviews

Original Source: https://designrfix.com/reviews/best-compact-printer

Finding the best compact printer can be a daunting task in the current world, where the market is flooded with several printers. You might need to spend many hours of research and testing before deciding which one will suit your needs. Doing all this can get quite demanding if you are not well versed. But…

The post Top 10 Best Compact Printer Reviews appeared first on DesignrFix.

A Quick Return Rabbit Review (June 2022)

Original Source: https://ecommerce-platforms.com/ecommerce-reviews/return-rabbit-review

Product returns are often a nightmare for ecommerce merchants. They represent a potentially dissatisfied customer, additional costs, and a loss of revenue that you had already presumed in your pocket. On top of this, they’re often a hassle as presenting a smooth returns and refund procedure is usually far from easy.

However, it’s impossible to opt out of returns. At least 30% of all products ordered online are returned due to damage, mismatched expectations, or a completely wrong product sent out in the first place. 

However, returns don’t have to mean the end of a relationship with that customer. In fact, 92% of consumers would buy again if the return process was easy.

This is where Return Rabbit comes in. Return Rabbit is a Shopify app that allows you to streamline and customize your returns process. It’s focused on ROI, allowing you to keep as much revenue as possible and even encourage new purchases.

It’s a neat idea, so we’ll look at everything Return Rabbit has to offer in this article and review its advantages and downsides.

Let’s get started!

About Return Rabbit – How it Works

Return Rabbit review

As we just hinted at, Return Rabbit streamlines the customer’s returns and refund experience. 

The app was only launched in February 2022, so there aren’t many online reviews yet. However, those that exist are wildly positive. 

By Return Rabbit’s estimation, they’ve delivered 500% merchant ROI and over $1M in value.

That said, here’s how Return Rabbit works. More specifically, here’s what your buyers will experience step by step:

Customers can initiate a return with just one click on your website.They enter their name and order number to identify the item they wish to return.Shoppers can review your entire product catalog to find merchandise that might better suit their needs or is of equal value to the unwanted item. At this point, your customer can choose to exchange their product for a new one rather than request a refund.Customers select their return label method: I.e., they can print their return labels or keep them on their phones.

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Return Rabbit Review – Key Features

Return Rabbit offers a wide range of features to make the return process more manageable and lucrative. So, with that said, let’s take a look at the nitty-gritty of what Return Rabbit has to offer:

Encourage Exchanges

Exchanges are often a much better solution for sellers than refunds. Refunds mean you lose the sale and the profit gained from it. Plus, you also incur shipping costs for the initial delivery and the return. 

So, suppose your customers opt for product exchange instead. Although you still incur shipping costs, you don’t lose out on the product’s revenue. It gets one of your products into the customer’s hands, which is more likely to encourage them to buy from you again. 

As we just alluded to, Return Rabbit encourages customers to opt for product exchange instead of a refund. They display your full product catalog and enable you to offer monetary incentives when customers begin the return process. 

Return Rabbit’s AI automatically displays exchange recommendations tailored to the customers’ purchase behaviors, which are more likely to catch their attention. For instance, sellers can waive fees on exchanges, like processing or shipping costs. You can also forward discounts applied to the customer’s original item to the exchange options. Lastly, you can also offer additional exchange credit to your customers.

All this makes it easy for shoppers to see which exchange options are available.

Custom Return Reasons

Return Rabbit enables you to customize the available ‘return reasons’ per item or product category. This is because different types of items incur different problems. For example, apparel might have the return reason “The item didn’t fit,” which doesn’t apply to electronics. 

You can also provide customers with an option to upload an image of the item they wish to return. This is vital if you need to see proof of breakages before approving a refund or exchange.

Custom return reasons also ensure you get more accurate, sensible data from your returns, allowing you to improve your future product offerings and, hopefully, reduce your overall return rate. 

Analytics and Reports

You can review your returns data from an intuitive analytics dashboard. Here you can identify return trends and learn more about your shopper’s consumer habits. For instance, you can see product performance, Shopify store sales, returns, and exchanges in real-time. Plus, you can download and schedule system-wide reports whenever you need to.

Brand Your Returns and Exchanges

Brand consistency is essential for building customer loyalty. With Return Rabbit, you can brand your post-purchase process by providing a branded returns and exchanges experience. For instance, you can choose your brand’s colors, logo, logo placement, and message in your customer’s return portal. 

Instant Labelling

Return Rabbit automatically creates printable return labels so that customers can send their merchandise back via mail, store, drop-offs, and pickups. Alternatively, customers can decide to handle the return themselves and use their favorite carrier. 

If customers don’t want to print a label, they can download a QR code onto their phone, which they’ll need to show to the carrier at pickup. 

Custom Automation and Business Rules

Best of all, you can streamline the returns process not just for your customers but also for yourself. 

Return Rabbit allows you to pinpoint the parts of the returns process you wish to automate and which rules these stages follow. For example, you can automate your return emails or decide how many exchanges are allowed per return transaction. You can also automate when and how returns are approved and automatically process them for your warehouse teams. 

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Return Rabbit Review – Pricing

Return Rabbit review

Return Rabbit is geared towards mid-sized businesses (and up), handling vast numbers of returns and revenue. Unfortunately, there’s no free plan, but you can request a demo or try the tool for free for 14 days.

There are three pricing plans and one enterprise plan:

Startup: $200 per month

Handle 500 returns each monthCustomize return reasonsReturn policy customizationYou can launch a white-labeled return portalTracking pagesExchanges from your entire product catalogLabel-free QR codes for customersAnalytics and reporting functionality3PL integrationsMajor carrier support

Growth Plan: $400 per month

You get everything in the startup plan, plus:

You can process 1,000 monthly returnsDedicated customer supportExchange incentives (make exchanges more convenient and save your customers money)Product recommendations engine (recommend exchanges based on customer buying behavior)

Market Leader Plan: $515 per month

You get everything above, plus:

You can process 1,5000 monthly returns

Finally, the Enterprise plan unlocks a custom number of monthly returns, custom integrations, and international shipping.

It’s also worth mentioning the price of Tracking Rabbit, another tool created by the same developer which tracks your shipments in transit. Combined with Return Rabbit, this provides customers further clarity and improves the returns process. Tracking Rabbit comes with a free plan, including up to 200 shipments, after which you pay $0.04 per shipment. Premium plans range from $20 per month to $110 per month and cover 400-5,000 monthly shipments.

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Return Rabbit Review – Integrations

Return Rabbit comes with a few integrations in the following categories: shipping, logistics, and customer experience. 

Here’s the complete list:

Shipping Integrations:

Generate labels, set preferred shipping rates, and access more carriers:

EasyPostShippo

Logistics Integrations:

Provide transparency in your returns process:

WhiplashShipHero

Customer Experience Integrations: 

Gain more post-purchase data to improve your customer service processes:

Recharge

As the app is expanding, Return Rabbit also encourages users to get in touch and tell them which integrations they need. For example, Return Rabbit currently doesn’t integrate with any other ecommerce solution aside from Shopify.

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Return Rabbit Review – Customer Support

Return Rabbit review

Customer support is available 24/7 by ticket or email. Their team is spread across all US time zones. In addition, they offer personalized onboarding. Just get in touch, and they’ll handle as much or as little of your setup as possible and go through strategies with you in a face-to-face chat over Zoom.

Beyond this, there’s not much self-help documentation available online. While FAQs are answered, no process or feature is explored in much detail. In addition, there’s neither live chat nor phone support.

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Return Rabbit Review – Pros and Cons

Before we wrap up, here are the key advantages and disadvantages of Return Rabbit:

Return Rabbit Pros

Seamlessly integrates with ShopifyEncourage exchanges over returnsYou can customize the return reasons available per product or categoryYou gain a decent array of customer insights and return and exchange data You can simplify the returns process with instant return labels and QR codesYou can use automation to streamline the returns processYou can offer store credit instead of a refund

Return Rabbit Cons

No free plan is available, and the pricing is unsuitable for smaller businesses or new merchants on tight budgets Customer support is limited to email and tickets, and there isn’t a detailed online knowledge baseVery few native integrations are availableThe app is still relatively new, so you can’t rely on user reviews to get a good impression of their serviceThe only eCommerce platform it integrates with is Shopify

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Return Rabbit Review – Our Final Verdict

Return Rabbit is undeniably a product that understands the hassle and frustration involved in the returns process and strips it away. Return Rabbit does everything to encourage customers not to abandon a purchase altogether. Instead, it uses clever features like exchange recommendations and monetary incentives to secure another sale and protect your cash flow.

While there are few features, everything Return Rabbit offers caters perfectly to what’s needed to create a great return experience. The only downside is that tracking costs extra. Still, for this, Return Rabbit offers a second app from the same developers. 

Its features compare admirably to alternatives like Oloop, Returnly, and HappyReturns. For example, it incorporates plenty of ways for customers to execute returns and customize the returns process. 

All in all, we think Return Rabbit is worth a try. Check out their 14-day free trial to better understand what to expect. While unfortunately, there’s no free or cheap plan available. You can contact the Return Rabbit team to ask any questions you have.

Let us know what you think in the comments below – will you be using Return Rabbits?

The post A Quick Return Rabbit Review (June 2022) appeared first on Ecommerce Platforms.

How to make a children's picture book: An 8-step guide

Original Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/advice/make-a-childrens-picture-book

Expert tips for success.

The Best Podcast Hosting Platforms in 2022

Original Source: https://ecommerce-platforms.com/articles/the-best-podcast-hosting-platforms

The best podcast hosting platforms ensure you can take your audio content online quickly and earn a dedicated following in no time. Podcasting platforms like Buzzsprout or Anchor work by giving you access to a convenient range of tools for reaching your target audience. The question is, which platform is best?

These days, podcasting is rapidly growing in popularity, with around 80 million Americans listening to their favorite podcast on a weekly basis. As a convenient and easily accessible form of entertainment, podcasts have taken the world by storm. This means the number of tools available for hosting and sharing podcasts is growing too.

If you’re having a tough time figuring out which podcasting platform is best-suited to your needs, you’re in the right place. Today, we’re going to look at some of the best podcast hosting platforms in 2022, and what makes them so fantastic.

Best overall

Buzzsprout logo

Buzzsprout

Visit site

Full review

If you want a quick and simple way to get online as a beginner, then Buzzsprout can help you to get started with a very small learning curve.

Best for monetization

Anchor logo

Anchor

Visit site

Full review

If you want a free way to get your content up and running on Spotify, then Anchor.FM could be the right tool for you.

Best for beginners

RSS.com logo

RSS.com

Visit site

RSS.com is one of the simplest tools for getting podcast creators active online, with convenient back-end environment and immersive analytics.

Best Podcast Hosting Platforms

BuzzsproutAnchor.fmRSS.comCaptivateSpreakerSimplecastTransistorCastosPodbeanResonateLibsynBlubrrySoundcloudbCastPodomatic

Buzzsprout – Best Overall Podcast Hosting Platform

buzzsprout - best podcast hosting platform

One of the better-known podcast hosting options on the market today, Buzzsprout promises to simplify the art of getting your content online. The solution comes with access to get your podcast listed in all of the top directories, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and TuneIn.

You’ll also have a fantastic range of reports and statistics to help you understand the preferences of your target audience and get to know your listeners a little better. With Buzzsprout, you can bring members of your team into the ecosystem, so it’s easy to work as a collaborative group to get your podcast in front of the right people.

Buzzsprout also offers a host of automatic optimization tools. All you need to do is upload your podcast and the platform sorts out everything else. The service even allows you to add pre and post-roll segments for advertising, and sharing previously published podcasts, and you can add chapter markers too.

Pricing

Pricing starts with a free package which allows you to upload 2 hours of content for month for up to 90 days. After that, paid options include:

$12 per month for up to 3 hours a month and indefinite hosting$18 per month for 6 hours a month and indefinite hosting$24 per month for up to 12 hours and indefinite hosting

All packages allow you to support unlimited team members, and access advanced stats.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Easy to use environment
Lots of support for team members
Chapter markers and pre/post-roll segments
Automation elements for publishing podcasts
Get your content on all the right directories

Cons 👎

Limitations for free plan
Free plan includes ads

Who is it Best For? ✅

If you want a quick and simple way to get online as a beginner, then Buzzsprout can help you to get started with a very small learning curve.

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Anchor.FM

anchor - best podcast hosting platform

Created by market-leading audio company, Spotify, Anchor.FM promises to simplify the process of getting your content online. The solution comes with built-in uploading, editing, and recording tools, so you can create and publish episodes in the same place.

You also get the option to distribute your podcasts to all of the top listening apps with a single tap, and host unlimited content with your account. Anchor FM comes with the opportunity to build subscriptions and sponsorships for your podcast, and you’ll also have access to a host of advanced analytics and insights to help you understand your audience.

Anchor even give you various tools for monetizing your content if you need help earning more cash through ads. Perhaps the biggest benefit of Anchor is you can access the features for free, no matter what kind of content you want to upload.

Pricing

Podcast is completely free to use, with unlimited hosting and streamlined distribution online, as well as a host of analytics and monetization options. However, you are limited to the kind of ads you can use to make your money online.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Excellent range of easy-to-use features
Unlimited hosting option with quick distribution online
Monetize your content with ads by anchor
Insights into your target audience
Instant import from other podcasting services

Cons 👎

Limited monetization options
Not the largest number of features

Who is it Best For? ✅

If you want a free way to get your content up and running on Spotify, then Anchor.FM could be the right tool for you.

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RSS.com

rss com - best podcast hosting platform

Probably the best-known podcast hosting solution on this list, RSS.com is one of the top ways to start and grow your podcast. You get unlimited audio storage, automatic distribution to the major directories, and sponsorship opportunities, all built-in.

Cross-platform analytics provide a behind-the-scenes look into listener habits, while a free podcast website improve your chances of reaching the right people online. RSS.com also comes with a host of useful tools for episode scheduling and managing your podcast experience. The easy-to-use backend even allows you to make your own unique episode and chapter art.

RSS.com also has a range of partnerships you can use to find the perfect sponsors for your show and get paid quickly. High-traffic podcasts can also opt-in for dynamically inserted advertisements.

Pricing

There are three packages available for RSS.com:

Student and NGO: $4.99 per month for students and NGOs with unlimited episodes, unlimited duration, cross-platform analytics, episode scheduling and more.All-in-one podcasting: $8.25 per month with all the features of Student and NGOs, plus monetization features via sponsors and 24/7 customer support.Pro and Enterprise: Tailored plans with dynamic ad insertion, custom analytics, 24/7 support and more.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Excellent automatic scheduling and distribution
Customization features and free website
In-depth listener analytics
Monetization options with dedicated partners
Affordable pricing

Cons 👎

Slightly simpler features than some alternatives

Who is it Best For? ✅

RSS.com is one of the simplest tools for getting podcast creators active online, with convenient back-end environment and immersive analytics.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Captivate

captivate - best podcast hosting platform

Offering unlimited podcast hosting options for professional podcasters, Captivate is one of the best ways to grow your presence online. The solution comes with a fantastic intuitive interface, which allows easy access to a range of commonly-used features in a couple of clicks.

You can host an unlimited number of shows, with no limits on storage space or uploads. Instead, limitations are based on the number of downloads you achieve. The platform offers comprehensive analytics to help you track the reach of your various shows, and there’s even a convenient one-click sponsor-pitch creation tool for collating analytics.

The Captivate solution offers a host of monetization and growth models, as well as a “Call To Action” feature which you can use to add links to your podcast. You’ll also be able to list your podcast in all of the top directories, like Spotify and Apple.

Pricing

There are three pricing packages to choose from with Captivate, which differ only by the number of downloads you can support. The cheapest $19 per month plan allows for 12,000 downloads per month, while you can support 60,000 downloads with the $49 per month plan.

The most expensive $99 per month plan allows users to offer 150,000 downloads per month.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

All features available on every plan
Unlimited hosting and storage options
Instantly get your podcasts on the right directories
Transcription support included
Access to links for capturing leads in your podcast

Cons 👎

Can be quite expensive over time

Who is it Best For? ✅

Captivate is the right tool for established podcast creators who want to be able to upload a wide range of podcasts with unlimited storage.

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Spreaker

spreaker - best podcast hosting platform

Promising ease of use and flexibility, Speaker is a convenient hosting solution for podcast creators, with access to a dedicated “live podcasting” feature. This feature means you can allow your users to listen to you in real-time, and even send comments and interact through a chat box.

The Spreaker podcast hosting platform also comes with a studio app which allows you to access everything you need to record and publish your podcast from anywhere. There’s also a convenient upload and distribute option which allows you to share your content in a single click, with directories like iHeart Podcast network, and Spotify.

You can automatically integrate advertising into your podcasts with Spreaker too, which is ideal if you’re looking for convenient ways to start monetizing your creations. The solution makes everything as simple and straightforward as possible.

Pricing

There are various pricing plans available for Spreaker depending on your needs. The first option is the free plan which allows you to upload up to 10 episodes of your podcast, though you can’t make money with ads. After that, options include:

On-air talent: $8 per month with auto-uploads and 100 hours of storage.Anchorman: $50 per month with ads, custom RSS feeds, full statistics, and 1,500 hours of storage, as well as 12 months of statistics.Broadcaster: $20 month with 500 hours of storage, 12 months of statistics, adds, in-app support, and automatic uploads.Publisher: $120 per month with full statistics, enhanced private podcasts, more customizations for your podcast player, and an ad campaign manager. Plus, you get 24 months of statistics and unlimited storage.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Easy to make money on your podcasts
Automatically upload content to directories
Lots of support for live streaming
Easy-to-use distribution features
Analytics and advanced statistics

Cons 👎

Can be expensive to get all the features

Who is it Best For? ✅

If you’re looking for a podcast hosting solution with live streaming and access to instant monetization, Spreaker could be the tool for you.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Simplecast

simplecast - best podcast hosting platform

Simplecast is one of the most advanced podcast hosting solutions on the market for companies who want to learn as much as they can about their target audience. The company combines hosting options with in-depth analytics and insights, to guide your publishing strategy.

With Simplecast, you can get unlimited storage and uploads even on the cheapest plan, as well as access to your own customizable show website with a dedicated domain. You can create multiple shows on a single account and create embeddable episode web players too.

The detailed analytics provided for your podcast strategy is one of the most valuable things about Simplecast. You can get a full overview of what kind of content your customers are listening to, as well as what technology they’re using, and where they come from. You can even compare analytics across multiple episodes.

Pricing

There’s a 14-day trial for Simplecast to get you started experimenting with the features. After that, you’ll have three packages to choose from:

Basic: $15 per month with 2 team member seats, unlimited storage and uploads, easy distribution, basic analytics, a customizable website and domain, and embeddable players for your podcast.Essential: $35 per month for all the features of Basic, plus additional team member seats (4) more web players, and analytics for location, unique listener insights, web player and technology details.Growth: $85 per month for everything in Essential plus 9 team member seats, more comparison metrics, detailed location analytics, and network analytics.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Easy to use with lots of simple features
Fantastic for unlimited and easy uploads
Dedicated domain and website
Detailed analytics and insights
Fantastic web player

Cons 👎

Can be expensive for some packages
Takes a while to master all the reports.

Who is it Best For? ✅

Simplecast is best for learning as much as possible about your target audience, so you can create more customized content in future.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Transistor

transistor - best podcast hosting platform

Transistor is a powerful publishing platform which allows companies and individuals to publish infinite podcasts for a single monthly price. The hosting tool comes with a built-in website generator, so you can create an eye-catching online presence for your podcast too.

Transistor helps to rapidly distribute your podcast to all of the top platforms, like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. You also get a customizable Podcast player you can embed into an existing website if you already have a presence online.

As an added benefit, you’ll also get a host of easy-to-follow analytics and reports to show you everything you need to know about your subscribers, listener trends, and download patterns. This ensures you can create more impactful content in the future.

Pricing

There’s a 14-day free trial to help you out initially, followed by a range of monthly pricing packages. All packages include access to unlimited podcasts.

Starter: $19 per month for live customer support, advanced analytics, built-in podcast website, 2 additional team members, 50 private podcast subscribers and 15,000 downloads a month.Professional: $49 per month for all the features of Starter, plus 5 additional team members, dynamic ads, dynamic show notes, 500 subscribers, and 75,000 monthly downloads.Business: $99 per month for all the features of Professional, plus 10 additional team members, 200,000 monthly downloads, and 3,000 subscribers.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Unlimited podcasts on every package
Built-in website creation tool
Custom podcast player
Access to dynamic ads and show notes
Suitable for teams

Cons 👎

Can get quite expensive for downloads

Who is it Best For? ✅

Transistor is great if you want to host multiple podcasts at the same time and distribute them to all of the top channels.

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Castos

castos - best podcast hosting platform

An all-in-one platform for today’s podcast content creators, Castos ensures you can automate almost every aspect of building a fantastic podcast. You get all the tools you need to grow your audience, connect with your community, and generate new opportunities through audio.

With Castos, content creators can publish unlimited podcasts, with as many episodes as they choose. There are no extra fees for creating longer episodes or launching secondary shows. There’s also a range of tools for monetizing your podcasts and collecting direct revenue from listeners.

For learning more about your community, Castos offers a variety of analytics tools, with easy-to-digest insights into top episodes, listening behavior, audience demographics, total listens, and more. The more you learn, the more likely you are to increase engagement with your audience. There’s also republishing for YouTube and transcriptions to expand your reach.

Pricing

Like many podcast solutions, Castos comes with a 14-day trial to introduce you to its various features. After that, there are four packages to choose from, all with unlimited podcasts:

Starter: $19 per month for unlimited episodes and podcasts, in-depth listener analytics, 100 private subscribers, and 20,000 downloads per month.Growth: $49 per month for all the features of Starter, video republishing to YouTube, headliner audiogram integrations, 250 subscribers, and 75,000 downloads a month.Pro: $99 per month for all the features of Growth, plus file hosting, advanced analytics, 500 private subscribers, and 200,000 downloads per month.Premium: $499 per month with all the features of Pro, plus single sign-on, increased limits, custom contracts and invoices, and an account manager.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Unlimited episodes and podcasts on all plans
Excellent transcription service
YouTube republishing included
In-depth audience and listener insights
Easy-to-use environment

Cons 👎

Very expensive for some packages

Who is it Best For? ✅

If you’re looking for a convenient tool with unlimited podcasts, which you can use to publish across a range of channels, Castos is a great choice.

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Podbean

podbean - best podcast hosting platform

Combining ease of use with powerful features, Podbean is a state-of-the-art tool for creating and promoting podcasts. Everything you need for successful podcasting comes already built-in, from tools to make your own podcast from your smartphone with a recording app, to professional-quality live streaming. You can also publish video alongside your podcasts.

Podbean helps to get your name out there, with promotional tools to bring awareness to your social accounts, websites, and your podcast lists on the top distribution sites. You can get your episodes into a range of environments quickly and effectively and monetize your podcast in no time.

There’s an ads marketplace, dynamic ad insertion technology, and even the option to sell premium content or get donations straight from listeners.

Pricing

Podbean is one of the few podcast hosting solutions which includes a free package for beginners. The free plan gives you up to 5 hours of storage space and 100GB of monthly bandwidth. You can also build your own site and distribute to all the major apps. Other packages include:

Unlimited audio: $9 per month for unlimited storage space and bandwidth, all the features of Basic, and custom designs. You can also access a host of monetization tools.Unlimited Plus: $29 per month for all the features of Unlimited, plus multiple podcast channels, video podcasts, and access to more monetization options.Business: $99 per month for all the features of Unlimited Plus, plus SSO authentication, groups, engagement intel and multiple admins.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Video and audio podcasting in one package
Dynamic ad insertion and monetization technology
Excellent easy-to-use environment
Lots of customization methods
Useful analytics

Cons 👎

Can have a small learning curve

Who is it Best For? ✅

If you want to access video and audio podcasts, as well as live streaming in the same environment, Podbean is for you.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Resonate

resonate - best podcast hosting platform

Resonate Recordings promises an easier way to podcast with a comprehensive all-in-one solution. The company is already trusted by major companies like Honda and EA Sports. With thousands of users worldwide, Resonate has made a name for itself by helping to produce market-leading podcasts from countless major companies.

The Podcast hosting platform doesn’t just allow you to host your podcast, it also gives you everything you need for audio production and marketing. You get content editing tools, launching features, cover art, video production, and podcast marketing in the same place.

For companies who need a more comprehensive solution for podcasting, you can also get a custom end-to-end solution with a blend of all the producer services, video and audio production tools, and advertising solutions you need built-in.

Pricing

Pricing for Resonate varies depending on what you need. You’ll need to go through a slightly complicated process of explaining all the features you want to access to get the right pricing for your specific requirements.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Excellent range of marketing tools
Support for in-app video and audio production
Content editing and launching features included
Powerful back-end analytics
Comprehensive all-in-one technology

Cons 👎

Complicated pricing

Who is it Best For? ✅

Resonate is ideal if you’re looking for an all-in-one package to support your podcast creation, publishing, and marketing efforts.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Libsyn

libsyn - best podcast hosting platform

One of the most popular podcast hosting sites on the market, Libsyn has plenty of functionality to offer old and new podcasters alike. The company has been around for a long time – almost 20 years – far beyond podcasting became a mainstream concept.

With lots of unique features and simple podcasting tools, Libsyn can help you to build your following in no time. You’ll have access to unlimited bandwidth, so you don’t have to worry about running out of access if you end up with a popular podcast. Libsyn also has a very easy-to-use interface.

Unfortunately, Libsyn is a little confusing when it comes to pricing, as only the basic services for uploading new episodes of your podcasts are available in the standard package. You need to buy separate capabilities, like monetization features as add-ons.

Pricing

Libsyn hosting plans are pretty affordable for hours of audio upload. You can spend $5 per month on 50 MB of uploads per month, ore $15 per month on up to 250 MB. There’s also a $20 plan for 400 MB and a $40 plan for 800 MB.

You can also access more storage, with Advanced 1500, for 1500 MB at $75 per month, or Advanced 3000 for 3000MB at $150 monthly.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Easy to use interface
Unlimited bandwidth for your podcast episodes
Excellent for uploading to the podcast directories
Support for plenty of storage
Paid plans can be quite affordable

Cons 👎

Add-on costs are a little confusing

Who is it Best For? ✅

If you want basic podcast hosting, without the extra bells and whistles, but you still want unlimited bandwidth and plenty of storage space, Libsyn is for you.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Blubrry

blubrry - best podcast hosting platform

Easily one of the most flexible podcast hosting solutions on the market, Blubrry will help you to share your new podcast with your audience in no time. If you already have an existing WordPress Website, there’s also a podcasting WordPress plugin available called PowerPress, which makes it easy to manage your podcast directly within your website.

The WordPress integration is perhaps the most compelling part of Blubrry, because you can upload your top podcast episodes directly to your hosting provider with minimal effort. At the same time, you can still submit your podcast directly to Apple and Google Podcasts.

Blubrry gives you plenty of access to statistics within your Podcast app, and unlimited storage options, so you never run out of data.

Pricing

There are a few different pricing options available:

Standard: The standard plan for Blubrry starts at $12 per month, with 125 MB of monthly storage, and standard statistics, as well as phone and email support, unlimited downloads, essential themes and plugins, and free episode migration.Advanced: $20 per month with all the features of Standard, plus unlimited downloads, free WordPress site access and the Powerpress plugin, domain mapping, and advanced statistics. You can also create a custom embed player.Professional hosting: $100 per month for advanced hosting with in-depth statistics and intelligent ad insertion.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Excellent storage and bandwidth levels
Dynamic ad insertion available
Powerful WordPress site plugin
Customizable embedded player for podcast episodes
Exceptional insights

Cons 👎

Can be expensive to access all the features

Who is it Best For? ✅

Blubrry is ideal if you want to embed podcast functionality into your existing WordPress website, or build your own site around your podcast.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Soundcloud

soundcloud - best podcast hosting platform

Easily one of the better-known ways to get your podcast online and into your own website, Soundcloud is a popular music and podcast hosting solution. The tool allows users to embed their podcast episodes into their existing site from Soundcloud, just by placing an URL within a page or WordPress post.

As one of the best podcast hosting services around, Soundcloud is free for up to 3 hours of content, which make sit a good choice if you’re not sure how well your podcast is likely to take off. The paid plans available from the company also come with more features to explore, including easy submission to iTunes (Apple Podcasts) and analytics.

Although this service is easy to use, it does have some limitations in terms of flexibility.

Pricing

As mentioned above, you can upload a small amount of content with SoundCloud without spending a penny. The paid plans start at £2.50 per month when you’re paying for a yearly package, allowing you to distribute to other channels. You can also get a £7.50 plan with access to unlimited upload time, and monetization.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Very easy to use environment which integrates with your website
Access to tracking and analytical tools
Monetization and distribution features available
Easy to use embeddable player
Free package available

Cons 👎

Limited flexibility with podcast players
Not a lot of advanced features

Who is it Best For? ✅

SoundCloud is ideal for true beginners in the podcast space, who are just getting started with testing the waters. This could be the ideal service for you if you’re new to podcasting.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

bCast

bcast - best podcast hosting platform

Advertised as podcast hosting solutions for high-growth businesses, bCast supports companies in growing social engagement and revenue with their podcasting service. The company is excellent for marketing companies taking advantage of podcasts for advertising.

Features like the Audio Insert option mean you can place CTAs into your podcasts, and encourage people to sign up for webinars, email lists and more. There are also fantastic automatic transcription services, and automated guest notifications when an episode goes live.

bCast offers the tools you need to not only get your content online, but start sharing with customers through social media and other channels too.

Pricing

Pricing starts at an affordable $15 per month for up to 10,000 downloads and unlimited episodes and storage. You also get a host of bonus features like private podcasts, custom domains, transcription, and advanced analytics included.

Upgrading to the Growth package at $35 per month gives you support for around 50,000 downloads each month, unlimited podcasts and storage, and you can publish up to 3 podcasts. You can also share directly to YouTube and other channels. The Legendary $75 plan makes everything virtually unlimited, with Premium support and the option to remove bCast branding.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Excellent unique features for marketing and promotion
Automatic transcriptions
Direct publishing to other channels
In-depth insights and analytics
Audio messages and inserts

Cons 👎

You’ll need the most expensive package to remove the branding

Who is it Best For? ✅

BCast is ideal if you’re looking for podcast hosting with a strong focus on marketing and brand promotion.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Podomatic

podomatic - best podcast hosting platform

Offering an easy solution to starting your own podcast and monetizing your content, Podomatic ensures you can record, publish, distribute, and grow your podcast fast. The service comes with all the tools you need to upload and store multiple episodes of your podcast via iOS and Android apps, so you’re free to create on a mobile basis.

The tools built into Podomatic ensure you can instantly push your content to the right directories, and promote everything in front of the right audience. You’ll even be able to access crowdsourcing revenue through Patreon connectivity and access to other similar tools.

There’s a free account for up to 500MB of storage and 15 GB of bandwidth. You can also test the Pro package with all the bonus analytics and insights that come with it for 60 days.

Pricing

Paid packages start at $2.49 for 100 GB of bandwidth per month and 2GB of storage. Pro Plus is available for $8.32 with 200 GB of bandwidth and 3GB of storage for $8.32. Alternatively, the Platinum package is $20.82 per month with 500GB of bandwidth and 5GB of storage.

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Convenient visual analytics
Easy-to-use back-end environment
Revenue through Patreon
Powerful mobile apps available
Easy distribution to your chosen directories

Cons 👎

Requires an advanced plan for the best features

Who is it Best For? ✅

If you want an easy way to start uploading content from your phone and monetizing your podcast, Podomatic is a great choice.

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illustration of a cat climbing a ladder

Choosing the best Podcasting Platform

The best podcast hosting platform for you will depend on a host of different factors. There is no shortage of options out there, many of which include the option to immediately send your content to locations like Amazon Alexa and Google play.

When looking for your podcasting solution, it’s worth thinking about whether you want to simply add a media player to an existing website, or you need the tools to create your own website from scratch with a dedicated domain name.

It’s also worth looking at concepts like ease of use, and how much support you’ll get to take your podcast online. While there are usually plenty of tutorials to get you started, it’s a good idea to go with a service that’s relatively easy to use.

The post The Best Podcast Hosting Platforms in 2022 appeared first on Ecommerce Platforms.

Popular Design News of the Week: May 30, 2022 – June 5, 2022

Original Source: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2022/06/popular-design-news-of-the-week-may-30-2022-june-5-2022/

Every day design fans submit incredible industry stories to our sister-site, Webdesigner News. Our colleagues sift through it, selecting the very best stories from the design, UX, tech, and development worlds and posting them live on the site.

The best way to keep up with the most important stories for web professionals is to subscribe to Webdesigner News or check out the site regularly. However, in case you missed a day this week, here’s a handy compilation of the top curated stories from the last seven days. Enjoy!

Bob Ross Ipsum

22 Apps Designers Can’t Live Without

15 Best New Fonts, June 2022

Payload is Now Completely Free and Open Source

Why Does Every Movie Poster Design Look like This?

Web Design Tools for Fast and Efficient Design

Developers: Stop Feeling the Pressure – Do this Instead

What People Think that Web Developers do Vs. What We Really do

Anytype: A Local, Privacy-first Notion Alternative

Rumor: Apple to Announce New Search Engine Next Week

Background Grids, from Paper to Display

Source

p img {display:inline-block; margin-right:10px;}
.alignleft {float:left;}
p.showcase {clear:both;}
body#browserfriendly p, body#podcast p, div#emailbody p{margin:0;}

The post Popular Design News of the Week: May 30, 2022 – June 5, 2022 first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

UI Design Inspiration: Do You Think About Your Textures?

Original Source: https://www.sitepoint.com/ui-design-inspiration-do-you-think-about-your-textures/?utm_source=rss

Using Texture in UI design

Looking for UI design inspiration? Rather than adding a new color or changing a font, have you thought about your textures?

Continue reading
UI Design Inspiration: Do You Think About Your Textures?
on SitePoint.