What it is
Each Ecwid store has the plain-HTML version that can be easily accessed by search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) and mobile phones. It is called "Mobile Catalog". It consists of HTML pages which are static, simple and search-engine-accessible. They have no fancy design, just the information your customers need. This makes them ideal for SEO. When customers click any indexed link of mobile catalog in Google, they're prompted to go to the full version of your store.
There are two main purposes of the mobile catalog:
- your store is accessible for mobile phones that don't support modern HTML/JS technologies
- your store is accessible by search engines, so your products can be found in Google. Mobile catalog has only the necessary content(e.g. product title and description) without any wistles-and-bells, so it helps for good rankings in SERP.
Mobile catalog is available for all Ecwid accounts.
Each mobile catalog also has the XML sitemap that is generated automatically. Sitemaps help Google to index all pages.
How to set up
You don't need to do anything to setup mobile catalog. Ecwid creates and regenerates it automatically. However you can assign it with any custom domain.
The catalog's URL may look like:
app.ecwid.com/jsp/store_id/catalog
If you want to keep the first option, you don't need to do anything.
Subdomain on the ecwid.com domain
For this option, perform the following steps:
- Log in into the Ecwid Control Panel
- Go to the System Settings → General → Mobile Version page
- Click the [change] link.
- Enter the necessary subdomain(e.g. 'mystore') and press the "Apply" button.
Subdomain of your own domain
To set up your mobile catalog on your own domain, perform these steps:
- Log in into the Ecwid Control Panel
- Go to the System Settings → General → Mobile Version page
- Click the "Use My Subdomain for Mobile Version" link.
- Follow the steps from the popup window.
FAQ & Troubleshooting
Why is Add to Bag not showing in my mobile catalog?
Ecwid mobile catalog usually allows your customers to buy products and checkout with it. If the Add to Bag button is not visible in your mobile catalog, it is because you have turned on the option "Require customers to create accounts on checkout". Unfortunately, registering in mobile catalog is not currently possible, and hence checking out is not possible for mobile users. So, the Add to Bag button is also disabled for them.
To allow your customers to buy via mobile catalog, please disable "Require customers to create accounts on checkout" option in your Ecwid control panel, System Settings → General → Cart.
How do I verify my Ecwid mobile catalog in Google Webmaster Tools?
Please, see this dedicated article: How to verify your mobile catalog in Google Webmaster Tools
