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Hi there, hope you're having a great Friday!
This is Colm and Simon from CommerceGurus, with a handpicked weekly roundup of eCommerce articles.
WordPress 6.9, released earlier this month, is shipped with a new Abilities API that introduces a new system designed to make advanced AI-driven functionality possible for themes and plugins.
The Abilities API will standardize how plugins, themes, and core describe what they can do in a format that humans and machines can understand.
This positions WordPress sites to be understood and used more reliably by AI agents and automation tools, since the API provides the structured information those systems need to interact with site functionality in a predictable way.
It is designed to address a long-standing issue in WordPress: functionality has been scattered across custom functions, AJAX handlers, and plugin-specific implementations.
Learn more about the WordPress 6.9 Abilities API
🎉 New Shopify App: Shoppable Video!
We're looking for Shopify merchants and agencies to test our new CommerceGurus Shoppable Video app and provide valuable feedback. In exchange for your insights, you'll receive a free lifetime license!
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After researching our own CommerceGurus blog post on eCommerce product quizzes I like to keep an eye out for any new ones I come across.
Aesop uses a simple but nicely branded Gift Finder quiz to help customers choose the right present.
The experience starts with a warm, wellbeing-focused quote, then asks three short, conversational questions about the occasion, the recipient and the shopper’s budget.
Based on those answers, the site presents curated product recommendations and offers paths to explore more options or retake the quiz. The whole flow uses hand-drawn illustrations and sensory-driven copy, making it feel personal and guided rather than like a typical product filter.
For eCommerce stores, this kind of guided-shopping experience can be incredibly valuable. Quizzes reduce choice overload, increase confidence in the purchase, and help customers discover products they may have overlooked.
Check out Aesop's Product Finder Quiz
This excellent article on Smashing Magazine argues that improving site speed isn’t a one-time task but an ongoing process.
It’s about collecting meaningful data, finding what’s actually slowing users down, and continuously watching for regressions.
The practical workflow: start with real-user monitoring to see where visitors experience slowness, use synthetic testing to uncover the technical causes, and then set up continuous tracking to catch performance drops as your site evolves.
The goal is to make performance monitoring a regular part of development, not an afterthought.
Learn How to Effectively Monitor Web Performance
Den Odell recently highlighted one of HTML’s hidden gems — the output tag. Although it’s been around since HTML5, it’s often forgotten. This simple tag is great for showing live results or calculations, and it automatically works with screen readers without extra accessibility code.
He came across it while improving a form’s accessibility and was impressed by how effortlessly it handled dynamic updates.
His post is a nice reminder that sometimes the best tools are already built into the language.
Discover the Output HTML tag
This is a free, curated library showcasing hundreds of top-tier landing pages, pricing pages, product pages and more.
For designers, developers, or marketers building a SaaS website, its a handy showcase when you’re looking for layout ideas, section structure inspiration or visual cues that have been built and proven.
Browse the Best SaaS Web Design Inspiration
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Have a great week and best of luck with your projects!
Simon and Colm from CommerceGurus
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