Tech Stack for Handmade Sellers

Tech Stack for Handmade Sellers: What It Means and Why It’s Important

If you’ve been diving into the business side of your handmade venture, you might have come across the term "tech stack." Sounds techy, right? Well, it kind of is, but don’t let it intimidate you. Your tech stack is essentially the collection of tools, apps, and software you use to run your business smoothly. From managing inventory and orders to marketing and customer experience, having the right tech stack can make a world of difference for handmade sellers. Let’s break down what a tech stack is, why it’s important, and some of the must-have tools for your business toolkit.

What is a Tech Stack, Anyway?

In simple terms, a "tech stack" refers to the group of technologies, software, and apps that work together to help you manage different aspects of your business. Think of it as the backbone of your operations—your virtual team working behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly. A good tech stack can help streamline processes, improve customer experience, and ultimately drive more sales. For handmade sellers, having the right tech stack is crucial to scaling your business without feeling overwhelmed.

Why Is a Tech Stack Important for Handmade Sellers?

Imagine this: you’re juggling orders, updating your Etsy shop, managing your Shopify store, scheduling social media posts, sending email newsletters, and keeping track of inventory—all at the same time. Sounds exhausting, right? That’s where your tech stack comes in! With the right tools, you can automate repetitive tasks, keep everything organized, and focus on what you love—creating beautiful handmade products.

Example from My Experience: I'm always keeping an eye on what the big players in my space are doing. Take Fenty Beauty, for instance. This beauty giant, launched by Rihanna in 2017, has become a powerhouse in the beauty industry, making over $14 million a month! What’s their secret? Sure, Rihanna’s star power helps, but they also have a killer tech stack that motivates customers to keep coming back.

Here are a few tools Fenty Beauty uses that could inspire handmade sellers:

Must-Have Tools to Elevate Your Handmade Business Tech Stack

1. Ordergroove

   What It Does: Ordergroove is a subscription management platform perfect for handmade sellers with products that customers love to replenish regularly, like candles, soaps, or skincare items. The app helps you create custom subscriptions, product bundles, and encourages customers to add repeat orders to their cart with just one click.
   

   Why I Like It: Ordergroove excels at improving customer retention and increasing lifetime value—key goals for any handmade business looking to scale. It simplifies the subscription process for customers, making it easy to keep them coming back without needing to think twice. This not only builds a loyal customer base but also provides predictable recurring revenue.
   

2. Wishlist Plus

   What It Does: Wishlist Plus allows customers to bookmark their favorite items to purchase later or share their wishlist with friends and family via social media, email, or text message. It’s a handy tool for driving engagement and creating buzz around your products.

   Why I Like It: Wishlist Plus acts like a built-in recommendation engine for your shop! When customers save items to their wishlists, it not only encourages them to return and make a purchase later but also increases the visibility of your products when they share their lists with others. This app is all about leveraging the power of customer preferences and word-of-mouth to boost sales.

   Example of Use: Fenty Beauty has seamlessly integrated Wishlist Plus into all of their product detail pages (PDPs). A heart icon next to the product name allows customers to save an item to their wishlist in just one click. They can also organize products into collections and create multiple lists, enhancing the shopping experience and driving sales.
   

3. YOTTAA Insights

   What It Does: YOTTAA Insights is a site performance optimization tool that prevents customers from abandoning their carts by keeping your site speed in check. It monitors website performance metrics and provides actionable insights to ensure your e-commerce store is running smoothly.
   

   Why I Like It: For a visually-driven brand like a handmade business, site speed is crucial. High-resolution images and engaging content can slow down your website, but YOTTAA Insights helps identify performance bottlenecks and suggests fixes to improve load times. This is a game-changer for reducing bounce rates and keeping customers engaged from browsing to checkout.
   

   Example of Use: Fenty Beauty, known for its high-quality product images and videos, uses YOTTAA Insights to maintain optimal site speed. The app’s dashboard shows how site speed affects bounce rates and identifies culprits affecting load times, helping the brand optimize the user experience and boost customer satisfaction.
   

Why These Apps WORK for Handmade Sellers

These tools are designed to enhance customer experience, improve retention, and optimize sales, all while keeping your business operations smooth and efficient. Handmade sellers can benefit immensely from integrating these apps into their tech stack to not only grow but thrive in a competitive marketplace.

By utilizing these tools effectively, you can create a seamless shopping experience that encourages repeat customers, reduces cart abandonment, and ensures your website remains speedy and reliable.

Your tech stack is more than just a collection of tools; it's the engine that powers your handmade business! Make sure it's running smoothly and helping you grow.

A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAINS

Here are the tools you can use to analyze a competitor's tech stack, complete with links for easy access:

1. Wappalyzer: A technology profiler that can show you what a website is built with, including its CMS, framework, e-commerce platform, and JavaScript libraries. Wappalyzer is available as a Chrome Web Store extension.

2. BuiltWith: A competitive analysis tool that allows you to look up a website's technology and primary keywords. This is great for understanding the tech stack of any competitor.

3. WhatRuns: A free Chrome browser extension that lets you view a website's technology. It's a lightweight, easy-to-use tool that provides valuable insights into what runs behind the scenes of your favorite websites. Install it from the Chrome Web Store.

4. SimilarTech: Allows you to search for a competitor's tech stack using their website URL. It’s particularly good for detailed insights into e-commerce technologies and third-party integrations.

5. Snov.io: A free Chrome browser extension for quick technology lookups. It’s perfect for those who want to gather information on what technologies competitors are using without diving deep into paid tools.

6. Hexomatic: A free tech stack analyzer that lets you quickly identify the technologies behind any website. It's an excellent choice for beginners who want a simple interface and quick results.

7. SEOmator: A website technology checker and lookup. It’s a great addition to any digital marketer's toolkit, offering a comprehensive analysis of website tech stacks and SEO health.

8. My Personal Favorite: Koala Inspector: Koala Inspector allows you to "spy" on your competitors’ Shopify stores, giving you insights into the apps they use, their best-selling products, and traffic sources. For handmade sellers, understanding what works for successful competitors can provide valuable insights to replicate or differentiate your own strategy. Install it from the Chrome Web Store.
   

These tools can help you gain a better understanding of the technology your competitors use, helping you make more informed decisions when building or improving your tech stack.

How to Build Your Tech Stack as a Handmade Seller

Building a tech stack doesn’t have to happen all at once. Start with the essentials—your e-commerce platform, inventory management, and marketing tools. From there, add specialized tools that address specific needs, like customer retention, email marketing, or abandoned cart recovery.

Example from My Experience: For my handmade jewelry business, I started with Shopify as my main e-commerce platform. I then added apps like Klaviyo for email marketing automation and Judge.me for product reviews. Over time, as I wanted to reduce cart abandonment, I added the app Privy to create pop-up offers and exit-intent discounts. This combination helped boost my conversion rates without requiring a ton of manual work.

Question for You:

What’s in your tech stack? Have any favorite tools or apps that have been a game-changer for your handmade business? Share your recommendations in the comments below—let’s help each other build the ultimate tech stack.

Building an effective tech stack is crucial for handmade sellers looking to grow their businesses without the overwhelm. Whether you’re just starting out or scaling up, having the right tools in place can save you time, improve your customer experience, and increase your bottom line. Happy stacking! 🌟