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A 10-Year Milestone: Interview with our CTO

A 10-Year Milestone: Interview with our CTO

As our CTO, Stjepan Udovičić, hits the ten-year mark at Inchoo, we sat down to talk about his career journey. We could learn many things from our Chief Technology Officer, who’s been shaping the Inchoo tech scene for the last decade, but we decided to keep it short and insightful. We’re not going to make this introduction any longer; let’s hear more from Stjepan – the wins, the hurdles, and where things are heading.

Stjepan, on your 10th anniversary, could you reflect on your early aspirations in web development and how Inchoo featured in your journey? Is Inchoo the first IT company where you began your career, or did you have prior experiences in the field?

I had no formal employment in IT before joining Inchoo. However, I was deeply involved in development for many years prior. I explored various branches of software development, including embedded systems, game development, and mobile and desktop applications. Nevertheless, I found that eCommerce was the best fit for me. What appealed to me about it was the immediate real-world impact. The results of every change or feature I built were easily visible and could be directly attributed to that change. This aspect allowed me to better understand the significance of my work on eCommerce sites. And Inchoo was a great fit due to its approach where developers actively engage in discussions with the clients and the whole decision-making process.

Inchoo was the pioneering Magento-focused company in Croatia. How would you compare its current standing with its initial days?

When Inchoo started, there were relatively few competitors in the field. Back then, our influence in the Magento community was notable, with our blog often regarded as unofficial documentation for the platform. However, as Magento’s popularity grew and more agencies entered the scene, the landscape shifted. Today, there are plenty of quality learning sources, including official documentation. However, Inchoo never embraced Magento solely because it was an unexplored territory at the time. We always saw its potential, as a means to facilitate innovation and achieve better things. We saw it as an opportunity to build features we had challenges with on the other platforms and achieve goals more easily as the platform was flexible. It helped us craft solutions that stand out and make a difference. Over the years we had plenty of experience in doing just that. Helping merchants elevate their businesses to a new level. Between then and now, we are still a company that’s a merchant’s best friend. A company that helps them grow by taking care of technical solutions and allows them to achieve their goals. And I believe that our current and future clients still see that in our work.

Could you name a specific year that holds special significance for you at Inchoo and elaborate on why it stands out? (e.g., relocation, team growth, major projects)

If I had to choose a defining moment in my career, it would be the year we transitioned to a new office. However, it wasn’t about the change in workspace. It marked a period when I was a team leader in a growing team that was tackling our most ambitious projects at that time. Working on projects that push beyond conventional boundaries has always been my passion. It inspired me to embrace new challenges, reevaluate conventional approaches, and continuously learn. Handling both team growth and complex projects during that time provided invaluable lessons that have influenced my career.

On the flip side, which year presented the most significant challenges for you? Is it perhaps tied to your transition to the CTO position or something else?

Becoming a CTO certainly was a challenge. The role was completely different from what I was used to before. It required me to learn new skills and adapt to a more strategic, less hands-on role. It was a bit outside my comfort zone at the time, but it was a welcoming change and something I saw as the next step in my career. However, If I were to pinpoint a specific year that presented the most significant challenges for me in my journey, it would be the year leading up to my transition to CTO. During that time, our company underwent a major restructuring, which involved significant changes in leadership, strategy, and organizational culture. That period demanded a lot of flexibility and strategic thinking to maintain stability. Ultimately those experiences helped me prepare for a transition to a CTO position and everything that comes with it.

A ten-year-mark in Inshoo: Interview with our CTO - Stjepan

Reflecting on your time as CTO, what have you learned that you could share with our audience that would be meaningful to them?

During my time as CTO I have learned a lot, but I would like to share three main lessons that I believe are valuable for anyone who wants to grow in their career:

Keep learning. Explore new technologies, reevaluate approaches, keep up with trends and tools, and collaborate with your team and your peers. Technology is constantly evolving, and only by embracing continuous learning can you keep up with it.

Prioritize communication and collaboration. They are essential for success. Organization and teams can only be successful if team members can have open and transparent communication where they feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback, sharing ideas, and working towards common goals.

Focus on customers and values. To develop and deliver a good solution, you need to understand what goals need to be achieved, which pain points need to be addressed and what value should it bring to its end users. Going beyond the technical specification makes the difference.

We discussed the past, but let’s switch to the present now. What challenges do you believe Inchoo is currently facing? Are there any noticeable market changes, and how do we adapt?

Adobe always lacked a proper roadmap for Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce. This has always been a pain for companies such as us and a problem for potential new customers. Mixed with the global economic climate and geopolitical factors currently in the world, it impacted market demand and made clients more uncertain about tomorrow. On the other side, especially new developers find Magento’s default tech stack a bit outdated, and not something they are willing to work with. We counter it by working closely with our clients to understand their goals and challenges. To ensure they have a trusted partner that has a plan and vision for their online shops and has them covered. We work on a series of internal solutions for common problems that we use to enrich our solutions. Those are built based on years of experience and with performance and usability in mind. And of course, we are always on the lookout for what is happening in the community. So when something interesting like Hyva or MageOS shows up that boosts performance and tech stack, we are happy to join in.

What unique value does Inchoo provide to clients who choose us as their partner agency and what to potential employees?

At Inchoo, we always nurtured long-term relationships with clients. Our goal is to take ownership of the technical solution. Maintain it and have a plan on how to grow it according to its vision and goals. This would allow our clients to focus on business and what truly matters to them. Having more than just a development agency, but also a knowledgeable partner to help you grow is what sets us apart, in my opinion. For our employees, I believe it is the opportunity to work on meaningful projects that make a real impact on our clients. Each business is unique, each market is different. And by working closely with clients, there is always something new to learn and it’s an opportunity for professional development.

Looking ahead, what do you envision for Inchoo’s development in the next five years?

Five years is a lot of time in this industry- new things pop up every day. It’s our job to adapt and make new technology work for us. But ultimately the value we bring is what truly matters in our work. Therefore, built on the foundations of change that was made in recent years, I want to see Inchoo grow and expand. Both in the client base and our team. I see us working on projects that would challenge us, but at the same time make us proud of, both how they have been completed and what impact they have made. And through the culture of integrity and excellence be a merchant’s best friend.

A ten-year-mark in Inshoo: Interview with our CTO

Lastly, Stjepan, is there a particular achievement or goal you aspire to personally or collectively in the future in Inchoo?

One achievement I aspire to personally is for Inchoo to be recognized for creating highly optimized websites for our clients. Aside from design and user journey, I believe focusing on optimization for speed, performance, and stability is crucial. I see that by continuously refining our work, leveraging the latest technologies, complying with best practices, and relying on our years of experience we can create shops that are performant and efficient. Ultimately, my goal is for Inchoo to be renowned for stores that deliver exceptional performance and user experience.

Reflecting on his journey, Stjepan shared insightful perspectives on his career path. Looking ahead, he envisions a future where Inchoo continues to push the boundaries of technology and deliver unparalleled value to its clients. With a strong emphasis on optimization, performance, and user experience, he aims to establish our further reputation as a leading provider of eCommerce solutions.

As we conclude this milestone interview, it’s evident that Stjepan’s dedication, vision, and commitment to excellence, alongside the team’s support, will drive the business forward. Here’s to the next decade of innovation, collaboration, and accomplishment for Stjepan and the entire Inchoo team.

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Navigating the Future: A Recap of eCommerce Trends in 2023

Navigating-the-Future-A-Recap-of-eCommerce-Trends-in-2023

In the dynamic world of eCommerce, where every click holds the promise of a transaction, staying ahead of the curve is the key to success. As we said goodbye to 2023, now’s a good time to look back at the trends that shaped the eCommerce world in that year. What lessons can we glean for a successful path in 2024? Let’s explore!

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How Do I Assess the Quality of My Landing Pages in an eCommerce PPC Audit?

How do I assess the quality of my landing pages in a PPC audit for eCommerce_

When it comes to eCommerce, the performance of your PPC campaigns heavily relies on the quality of your landing pages. Assessing their quality is important to ensure they effectively convert visitors into customers. That is a key factor in every PPC audit for an eCommerce business. Regular optimization of your landing pages boosts conversions and improves user experience, leading to a better return on investment. Here is a short guide on how to assess the quality of your landing pages.

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How to Prepare PPC Campaigns for Christmas

How to prepare PPC strategy for Christmas

After the most significant sales days and the madness of Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, we haven’t even had time to take a breather, and the Holiday season is already upon us. Numerous brands release colorful new ads during Christmas, offering users products and special deals. If you’re worried that you won’t know how to stand out from the crowd, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. The following article contains valuable tips we have prepared to help you stay on top of your game during this hectic period.

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The Top 5 eCommerce PPC Mistakes to Avoid

PPC Mistakes to Avoid

We already talked about the main reasons to prioritize PPC Audit, and we also published a quick guide for PPC Audit. Sometimes, one of the most valuable lessons, along with the previously mentioned ones, is also what to avoid. That leads us to today’s topic, where we dive into the most commonly found PPC mistakes while auditing clients’ campaigns. Having done many of them, we decided to detect the mistakes we see repeating among clients, for which we did a PPC audit. And also to help you avoid making the same with your campaigns.

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8 Key PPC Strategies for Black Friday

Black Friday Ads

The biggest sale of the year is just around the corner. It’s not only a great chance for users to save money on their favorite brands but also a golden opportunity for businesses to boost sales and revenue. With some effort with your PPC campaigns, you can catch more conversions and users and achieve results in a short period of time. If you still didn’t start to prepare for it, now is the time! This blog post will reveal our strategies for Black Friday, and early planning is definitely the first one.

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Is Hyvä Your Next Magento Frontend Solution?

Inchoo meets Hyvä

Magento, a global name in the eCommerce platform arena, has been the backbone for countless online stores since the year of Inchoo’s inception – 2008. Yet, despite its robust backend capabilities, Magento’s frontend has historically been its Achilles’ heel. In this article, we’ll delve into why Hyvä theme has emerged as the premier choice for many Magento stores.

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Why Should eCommerce Business Owners Prioritize PPC Audit?

Why Should eCommerce Business Owners Prioritize PPC Audit?

In the fast-paced world of eCommerce, where every click and conversion counts, ensuring your pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are performing at their best is critical. Before we jump into the ‘why,’ let’s take a moment to understand the ‘what.’ A PPC audit is an in-depth analysis of your PPC campaigns. It’s the equivalent of examining a high-performance engine, ensuring it runs at peak efficiency. Achieving success with your digital advertising goes hand in hand with it.

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GA4 Funnel Exploration Report

ga4-funnel-exploration-inchoonet

Funnels are a visual representation of the customer journey, illustrating the process from initial discovery of your business to the development of loyal client relationships. In this post, we’ll share 3 different ways to use the funnel exploration report in Google Analytics to track and understand your customer journey better.

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Google Ads for Amazon Products

Google-ads-for-amazon-ads

Google Ads for Amazon products is definitely not a new advertising strategy but has recently become more popular among Amazon sellers. As the Amazon marketplace becomes more competitive, sellers are looking for new ways to find customers and drive traffic directly to their listings without battling it out on crowded Amazon search results pages.

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Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Self-Audit

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Self-Audit

Google Analytics 4 is a powerful tool that allows businesses and website administrators to track, measure, and analyze various aspects of their online presence. It’s very likely that you have GA4 and you probably use it. However, like most users today, you are probably not aware if it is used to full potential. We hope that this article will help in answering whether it is time to seek for expert assistance.

Our goal with this post is to help you audit your GA4 and identify some of the gaps. Areas that need attention. GA4 has to be set up correctly so you can track the performance and effectiveness of your marketing campaigns effectively. Otherwise, you risk making important business decisions based on inaccurate and false data. 

Identify a gap in monetization reports

Google Analytics LightbulbWhen doing a Google Analytics self-audit, a good first step is identifying the gaps in monetization reports. Compare the monetization numbers in GA4 and your website’s reports. It’s normal for GA data to be slightly lower than the actual numbers. However, if the difference is more than 10%, it means that you should seek assistance from an expert and figure out whether something that can be done. Please note that if you are using “Ecommerce purchases report” in GA4, the item revenue metrics show the total revenue from items only, excluding tax and shipping.

Event Tracking

Event tracking in Google Analytics 4 allows you to track specific actions that users perform on your website link clicks, purchases, file downloads, etc. You can use that data to track which buttons perform best or which ones don’t perform well at all. You can also track how far down the page users scroll, amongst other things.  

Google Analytics allows you to create up to 500 events in your account. There are a few different types of events. First, we have events that GA automatically collects when you set up GA for a website. They are triggered when users perform basic interactions like click or form_submit.  Another type that’s automatically collected is Enhanced measurement events. They offer more information on how users interact with your website.

Next, there are two types of events you must implement yourself, recommended and custom events. Recommended events have predefined parameters, while Custom events don’t, you set them up yourself based on your specific needs.

How to ensure you’re making the most out of this GA4 feature? By using custom events for your specific needs. Custom events are the best way to track your customers’ journey. They allow you to track specific things that are relevant to your business. 

To check the events you have set up, go to your GA4 dashboard > Reports > Life Cycle > Engagement > events. There you can see all your events. If you have less than 10 events, you’re likely not utilizing event tracking in the best way. Without setting up custom events, you can’t track your customers’ journey as well as you could.

Google Analytics 4 Audiences

GA4 AudiencesAudiences in GA4 let you segment users that visit your website in ways that make the most sense for your business. For example, you can create an audience of users who are from the US or an audience of users who visited a specific page on your website. The audiences can be as broad or as specific as you need them. 

Audiences come in handy, especially for advertising. You can connect Audiences to your Google Ads account and use them in remarketing campaigns. That means your ads will be shown to users who have already engaged with your website, making the ads more effective. 

If you haven’t created audiences yet, this is your friendly reminder to do it, otherwise you’ll miss out on everything you could do with them. Our guide on creating GA4 Audiences can help you with that. 

GA4 Audiences can help you understand your website users better and create more effective marketing campaigns. But what if the audiences you created aren’t right for you and your business? Think of audiences as different groups of users that are your target audience. For example, if you have an online shop and only ship to the US, create an audience with users from the US. Users from other countries aren’t relevant to your business if you don’t ship there. 

How to ensure you’re making the most out of this feature:

  • Go to your GA4 dashboard > Reports > Life Cycle > Engagement > Audiences. There you can see all the audiences you created and analyze the data
  • Review the data to make sure your audiences aren’t too narrow or too broad – how can you make them more fitting for your marketing campaigns?
  • Archive audiences that aren’t relevant anymore

GA4 Content Grouping 

Content grouping in GA4 is a way to organize pages on your website based on different topics. For example, if you have an online store, you can organize your content based on product categories so that each category would be one content group. Or, if you’re a service-based business, you can create a group for each service you offer, etc. Content grouping is helpful as it allows you to track the performance of each group separately. 

Content grouping allows you to:

  • track the performance of each group on its own
  • analyze the behavior of users who visit the group (e.g., new vs. recurring, location, etc.)
  • compare different content groups based on performance

If you’re not sure whether you have content groups set up, go to your GA4 dashboard > life cycle > engagement > Pages and screens: Page path and screen class > in the left drop down menu click on “content group”. If you have set up content groups, they will appear here. If not, the table will be empty. By not having any content groups, you’re missing out on the valuable information they could provide. 

Content grouping sounds great, but what if it’s done incorrectly? What if the content groups don’t make sense for your business? Content groups aren’t predefined on GA4, you have to set them up yourself. If you don’t effectively arrange them, they won’t be as useful as they could be. 

Take a look at your content groups and ask yourself these questions:

  • Do my content groups make sense? How are the pages inside one content group related?
  • Are these content groups relevant to my marketing goals? 
  • Does comparing data from these groups tell me anything important?

GA4 with Content Groups

GA4 with Content Groups


GA4 without Content Groups

GA4 without Content Groups

If your content groups aren’t giving you answers to these questions, it means they aren’t organized well, and you need to rethink your content grouping strategy

Conclusion

In conclusion, Google Analytics 4 offers many tools and features that help you track your website’s performance, but it’s useless if it’s not set up properly. That’s why it’s essential to perform a GA audit regularly to ensure it’s used to a full potential and tracking the right data.

Does performing an audit on your own sound like too much work for you? Does all this work feel overwhelming? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We can help you! You can sit back and relax while we audit your Google Analytics for you.

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5 Reasons to Clean Up Your GTM Containers 

5 Reasons to Clean Up Your GTM Containers 

When was the last time you cleaned up your GTM containers? You’re not alone if you don’t remember. Many e-Commerce managers often overlook the importance of regularly reviewing them, leading to various issues and challenges for the website. In this article, we will discuss how to know when is the time for your GTM containers to be purified and what benefits you’ll get from that. Let’s begin!

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Google PPC Vs. Amazon PPC: Key Differences

Google PPC Vs Amazon PPC: Key Differences Featured Image

Amazon is a leading retail eCommerce company with a US market share of almost 40% in 2022. At the same time, Google is the biggest search engine, with 93% of the search engine market share worldwide. Unsurprisingly, both companies have an advertising platform that plays a massive role in the online advertising market. We decided to share the knowledge learned from our experience providing eCommerce PPC Services. In this article, we’ll touch on key differences in how advertising works on each platform, and the pros and cons.

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6th Year of Collaboration with Faculty of Economics in Osijek

E-trgovina - odabir pobjednika featured image

Oh my, seeing how many years have passed in our collaboration is incredible. Once again, we are honored to be part of such an amazing journey. It was only possible with the help of our dear colleagues and professors. We greatly thank Antun BiloĹĄ, PhD, Full professor,  and Bruno Budimir, mag.oec., Research and teaching assistant, for the given trust in all these years. Before discussing our side of the story and the things we cherish, here is what the professor said.

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Managing Workflows at Inchoo with Kanban Methodology

Inchoo Kanban Methodology

In our blog section, we’ve covered a wide range of topics related to our full-service eCommerce business. However, one area we haven’t explored in depth is project management. In this article, we’re excited to take you behind the scenes at Inchoo and shed light on our project management practices. Specifically, we’ll delve into why we’ve chosen the Kanban methodology as our preferred approach for managing workflows effectively.

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Avoid Account Suspensions With Google Merchant Center Feed Rules

How to use Merchant Center Feed Rules to Avoid Account Suspension

Let’s face it; if you’re running shopping ads, the reality is that you’ve probably gone through product disapprovals and maybe even account suspension warnings in Google Merchant Center. Sometimes the solutions are straightforward and easy, but oftentimes – that isn’t the case. It requires a lot of patience and work, and since the clock until account suspension is ticking, it can get really frustrating and stressful. That’s where Google Merchant Center feed rules can come in handy and provide a quick fix until the core of the issue is completely resolved.

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Guide: How to Create GA4 Audience

Guide: How to Create GA4 Audience

As the 1st of July approaches, now is the last call to set up Google Analytics 4. For those still unfamiliar with the new property, it may be confusing when it comes to creating segments, audiences, etc. If you want to know more about GA4 audiences and how to set them up so they can be useful, keep reading.

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We Came a Long Way: 15 Years Of Inchoo

15 years of Inchoo featured image

Last week, on May 7th, we celebrated our 15th birthday. Choosing the beautiful Orlov Put as our birthday location in nature allowed us to truly relax and enjoy our celebration. You’ll get the details of our birthday celebration, but first, we’d like to reflect on our previous 12 months.

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SEO Health Check Competition

Employees discussing the SEO of the webshop

You probably got a few hints from the headline, but you must have been wondering what’s going on here. The spring served us more energy this year, as some unusual things are going on in the office. Here’s a quick introduction.

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Magento 2 SEO Expert Advice Straight To Your Fingertips

Employees that are in interview

Everyone already knows that in order to bring traffic to your site, you have to work hard. Having put so much effort into a site, who would want it to turn into a ghost town? We’re betting no one… If you agree, your options go in two ways (more or less), you can pay for your traffic or work on optimization a bit harder. Both PPC and SEO bring their value. That means you need the best of both worlds.

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What To Track For CRO of Your Automotive Website

What to track for CRO of your Automotive Website

When it comes to automotive sites (eg. webshops that sell vehicle parts), it’s good to track additional events that can give more insights into visitor behavior, their actions, and needs. In this article, we will summarize and explain additional tracking events that we use in automotive eCommerce sites as a foundation for conversion rate optimization of those sites.

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Why Should You Add Google Tag Manager to Your Magento?

What's a Google Tag Manager

Almost every webshop owner heard about Google Analytics, if not using it already as many of them do. And it’s obvious why the Google Analytics tool is so widely used. It’s free, it’s easy to connect to the webshop, and relatively easy to use. It can give the webshop owner/merchant insightful data on user behavior and answers to many questions like who their visitors are and what’s going on in their webshop in general. But, the full benefit of Google Analytics comes together with the use of Google Tag Manager.

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