In this article, we will go over the benefits of a store or shop finder page on your website. Furthermore, we will also tell you how you can add an Elementor store locator to your website.
Running an online business is very challenging. There are so many things an online business owner needs to take care of such as:
- Order Management
- Shipping and Packaging
- Revenue management
- Marketing
- Customer Service
- Employee management
- and the list goes on.
Product shipping is one of the most complex tasks an online business has to deal with because it involves moving products from your physical location to your customers. The problem is that delivering products is very resource-intensive. Moreover, and it is very easy to mess things up by shipping the wrong product to the wrong customer. In addition, many of your customers may not be willing to pay delivery fees for shipments. All these obstacles pose a serious challenge to online business owners.
An ideal solution would be to simplify shipping solutions by encouraging customers to visit your physical locations (shop, pick-up points, warehouses, etc.). This will save you time and money on shipping products to customers. One particular tool that can help you achieve this is a store locator.
What is a Store Locator?
Before we jump into the main topic, let’s go over what a store or shop locator is.
In short, a shop locator widget is a tool on your website that allows your visitors to determine where your physical locations are. Furthermore, it consists of a large map that marks all your shop locations. In addition, there is also a list that shows all the locations that are marked on the map.
A store locator also provides additional information for each shop such as address, directions, opening hours, contact number, etc. Lots of shop finder software even provide the option to change or customize the provided information.
Benefits of a Store Locator
A store locator widget is an extremely useful tool for online businesses that also have physical selling locations.
If a visitor on your website likes a product you are selling, he/she may want to come to one of your dealerships to make an in-shop purchase. But, what if they are unable to locate any of your locations? Then they might give up coming to your shop, or worse, go to one of your competitors to get the same product you are selling. As a result, you will lose a sale, and if this keeps happening, there is no telling how many lost sales you will incur.
A store locator widget will ensure your potential customers have everything they need to easily and quickly get to any one of your locations. After all, it is also in your best interest to make sure your potential customers don’t get frustrated trying to find your shop(s).
This is where a shop locator or finder comes into play. A shop-finding section can guide your potential customers with purchase intent to your shops. Thus ensuring customers who are in a “buying mood” easily and quickly reach any of your store locations. As a result, you will increase your chances of making more sales.
A store locator is a step to ensure interested website visitors have everything they need to come to your place of business and make a purchase.
Adding a Store Locator to Your Website
Now you may be thinking that is very complicated to add a shop finder because you are not very skilled in website development.
Well, the good news is that there exist certain store locator plugins, such as Agile Store Locator, which can almost instantly add a dealership finder to your website. All you need to do is configure a widget with your shop locations, and at the end, you will get a code that you simply copy and paste on your site.
Introduction to the Agile Store Locator Plugin
Agile Store Locator (ASL) is one of the best store locator plugins for brands that want to direct customers from their website to their physical location (shops, kiosks, pickup points, etc.). This is because, through its dealership finder widget, you will ensure customers who are in a “buying mood” have all the information they need to reach your physical location without getting lost and frustrated.
This will raise the chances of more visitors coming to your store from your website. As a result, you will have more opportunities to build relationships with customers, which may eventually lead to more sales.
How Agile Store Locator Helps Business Owners
Agile Store Locator provides its users with all the tools they need to create and embed an outlet locator widget that will make it easier for people to reach your stores. Moreover, this plugin is very easy to use (even for non-tech people) and it is usable without any knowledge of coding.
Once you configure a store locator using this plugin, you will get an HTML code. Copy and paste this code onto your webpage, and the shop finder will integrate into your website. It’s that simple.
You can choose between 4 templates, which you can further customize, for creating your outlet finder. Once you have selected a design, you will then have a myriad of options available to you on how to operate and customize your widget.
With Agile Store Locator, you will have access to a comprehensive backend management system that will allow you to manage locations, themes, logos, markers, and much more. In addition, you will be able to import/export data, customize your shop finder according to your requirements, and view analytics.
All the above features coupled with quality support, regular updates, and detailed documentation make this plugin a good choice for both beginners and experienced business owners.
Retailing at $34 for the regular license, ASL offers the best value for money (in our opinion) for a premium quality dealer locator plugin.
Key Features of Agile Store Locator
- Easy to use and requires no knowledge of coding
- Simple to install and operate
- Compatible with All Devices and web platforms
- Integration with Top map provider Google Maps
- Bulk upload data using CSV
- Highly responsive UI
- Complete backend management system
- Extensive customization options (Shop list, infobox, etc.)
- 4 eye-catching templates to choose from
ASL is a very versatile plugin that can work with any web platform. Furthermore, it is also compatible with many other third-party software.
For example, many sites use the Elementor page builder to create new pages. Moreover, Agile Store Locator can also work with Elementor to give your website an Elementor store locator.
What is Elementor?
To create a website or a new page on it, you will need a site creator. Besides Gutenberg, Elementor is one of the most popular software for creating websites and for creating new pages, such as outlet finder pages, on them.
Elementor is a plugin that can be downloaded and installed to work with your WordPress website. Once it is installed, you can use it to create stunning web pages using many design options and without writing any codes.
Elementor also has many of the same features as the Gutenberg editor when it comes to designing web pages. However, Elementor does not use a block-based system, instead, it uses a drag-and-drop interface where users create a web page by dragging various widgets (text, images, videos, etc.) onto the page creator. This gives users a more visual approach to designing web pages, as they will know exactly how a webpage will appear on their website before it is even published.
With Elementor, you get access to various design options and pre-built layouts that let you create a wide variety of elements such as tables, buttons, sliders, etc.
When it comes to advanced features such as dynamic content, motion effects, line editor, marketing tools integration, landing page creation, etc. Elementor is one step ahead of the Gutenberg editor because it has many of these features available by default.
How to Embed an Elementor Store Locator Using Agile Store Locator
Let’s now see how you can create an Elementor store locator using the Agile Store Locator plugin.
The process is almost the same as when you would normally add a shop finder through other means. I.e. all you need to do is configure the widget and then add it to your website via Elementor.
To add a store locator to your website via Elementor, please follow these steps:
- Download and Install the Elementor plugin
- On your WordPress account, click on “Add New Page”
- Click on the “Edit with Elementor” button to begin using it
- Once you’re on the Elementor page builder, click on the “Elements” tab, and type in “store locator”
- Drag and drop the “Store Locator” icon to the page builder, and the ASL shortcode will be added to the page builder
- From the right-hand column, you can select various options for the widget, such as “template”, “layout”, “Head Title”, etc.
- Once you are done selecting the options, press on the “Publish” button, and your Elementor store Locator will be active on your website
Conclusion
A store locator widget is one of the most valuable tools an online business owner can have, and Agile Store Locator is one of the best plugins you can use to add an Elementor store locator to your website.
Since Agile Store Locator is a very versatile app that is capable of working with all web platforms and third-party software, it is also perfectly capable of working with Elementor to provide your website with a stunning Elementor store locator.