Friday Link Wrapup – Blogging, Ecommerce Trends, Booking Plugins

This week’s WordPress and web marketing links.

Are you familiar with that never-ending struggle to find enough to blog about? I have something for you… This is a great resource post from ProBlogger on how to come up with great ideas for your blog. It’s got lots of ideas based on 10 major topics, including stealing a title from another blog, republishing an old post, or writing about a conversation with one of your readers to find out what they’re struggling with in their own business (hopefully it’s not coming up with blog fodder).

Here’s an overview of 7 ecommerce trends that will affect WordPress sites in 2017. A couple to note:

• Mobile-friendly ecommerce experience – if you’re site’s not responsive, you’re late to the show and need to get that taken care of ASAP. More purchases will be made from mobile devices in 2017.
• Trust builders – users like to see that a business is legit. How to do it? Show client testimonials. Display logos of high-profile customers. Show the trustmarks from SSL or other security features. If a local business, link to a Yelp page. Encourage customers to review your business.

Finally, if you run a business that requires customers to schedule appointments with you, like a salon or a B&B, here are some of the best WordPress scheduling plugins. I’ve used the venerable (since 2009!) Booking Calendar and can recommend that plugin.