EPiServer Condor: Mobile-First, eCommerce and Content. Oh My!

In December 2013, EPiServer plans to release the newest version of their commerce platform, codenamed “Condor”. With this release, EPiServer’s users can take advantage of the continuous growth of e-commerce that is impacting both the B2C and B2B markets. Consumers who shop online are more connected, and needing convenience and better site capabilities, as well as looking for a cost advantage, and EPiServer’s Condor release can help users meet these customers’ needs.

EPiServer’s commerce platform allows users to take advantage of the current shift in marketing to consumers, which is moving toward a content marketing approach. Rather than making sales by delivering product specs, marketers can create a narrative about a product and its value to the customer. EPiServer’s commerce platform allows for this content marketing, as well as user generated content and contextual delivery. Ideally, it can help users create an environment of “selling without selling.”

Content And Commerce Combined

Studies show that the top two areas for technology investments in the upcoming year are e-commerce platforms and web content management systems and tools. EPiServer includes both of these in one solution. Many companies use a side by side solution that integrates separate CMS and e-commerce platforms. Since they don’t combine content and commerce together, it can be very complex to use the two different systems to get results. EPiServer brings everything into one single platform, enabling seamless operation for business users, merchandisers, and marketers. This provides the opportunity to do a much better job of content marketing as part of the e-commerce process.

EPiServer’s Condor release has the full flexibility of EPiServer 7, with the addition of the ability to use catalog information in any place on the site, according to the layout. Associations can be created between catalog items and other content on the site, and flexible layouts allow users to easily drag content onto pages, including carousels, merchandising blocks, and media content like images and videos. Everything works in a drag and drop interface.

In the latest version of the EPiServer CMS, a new media management system has been built into the platform, allowing users to easily manage images, videos, and other content. The editing capability has also been improved, and the capability to handle localized content has been added. Layout control has been improved, allowing for more flexibility for rendering content, and improvements have been made to the software platform itself, which allows for speedier deployment of changes.

A Mobile First e-Commerce Approach

EPiServer seeks to reach the connected consumer, allowing for personalization of content based on user context, making use of different templates based on the user’s journey as they navigate through the site. Condor is the first e-commerce platform in the market with mobile-first strategy built in to the product right out of the box. Users can design and build for mobile devices first, automatically creating responsively designed content.

Another added advantage of EPiServer is the rich Add-On ecosystem that provides easy-to install components that can increase the functionality of your site. A growing set of technology partners are working to create key components of the customer environment, including marketing automation solutions, payment providers, search engine optimization, merchandising, and support of cloud operations.

EPiServer’s Condor release empowers business users, and allows merchandisers and marketers to combine commerce and content together seamlessly. By including mobile first capability and a rich add-on ecosystem, it provides the agility to respond to market trends quickly, as well as enabling business growth through multi-site and multi-market support and good inventory control. EPiServer provides a high value in short timeframe with the ability to get sites up and running quickly. Do you have any questions about how EPiServer’s Condor release can help you improve your website’s e-commerce? Let us know in the comments below or start the conversation offline.