The advancement in technology has brought a decisive change in the business world. Consumption, exchange, and distribution of goods and services via the Internet have been made more accessible than before. An impressive advancement in this evolution is the emergence of targeted online marketplaces. These platforms offer an upscale solution for entrepreneurs and businesses by building intricate, tailored, two-sided platforms.
Sharetribe's roots trace back to 2008 when founders Antti Virolainen and Juho Makkonen began developing their first online marketplace. Originally focused on serving local communities, the duo soon recognized the broader potential of digital marketplaces. Their vision culminated in 2014 with the launch of Sharetribe, a groundbreaking software solution that democratized platform ownership. In January 2024, the company launched its latest breakthrough: the new Sharetribe. This release brings a new era of marketplace creation, providing a unique custom development potential far beyond the most advanced no-code builder solutions.
The revolution of Sharetribe: harnessing custom development for market domination
Creating an online marketplace is no longer a domain reserved for people with deep pockets or extensive coding knowledge. The new Sharetribe is redefining this landscape by offering a platform that combines the ease of no-code solutions with the power of custom development. This approach meets a broad spectrum of needs, from testing a basic marketplace idea to launching a fully-fledged, custom-designed online platform. With the new Sharetribe, you are empowered to bring your marketplace vision to life, regardless of your technical background.
At the core of the new version of Sharetribe lies a commitment to flexibility and sophistication. The platform provides an easy-to-use interface for laying out the foundation of a marketplace. However, the true strength of Sharetribe's latest offering is in its custom development capabilities. This flexibility allows you to start with a simple model to validate your concept and then scale up, integrating advanced features and tailor-made functionalities. From intricate transaction systems to comprehensive review mechanisms and dynamic search capabilities, the current Sharetribe marketplace empowers you to craft a marketplace that adapts to your unique vision and the evolving needs of your users.
Whether you aim to create the next global sensation akin to Uber, Airbnb, or eBay or have a niche concept that caters to a specific audience, the Sharetribe platform has the tools and flexibility for bespoke marketplace development. Forget the constraints of traditional coding - now, your marketplace vision can be transformed into reality, offering a custom-crafted solution that meets the specific demands of your target market.
What to expect
Sharetribe strengthens its foundation and expands its reach by further simplifying the creation of peer-to-peer marketplaces. More people worldwide can become marketplace entrepreneurs. By making marketplaces easier to build, manage, and scale, the new Sharetribe app helps turn promising business ideas into reality.
This latest offering from Sharetribe introduces several new integrations:
Marketplace builder
The new Sharetribe marketplace builder tool redefines simplicity and efficiency, allowing users to construct and manage their marketplaces efficiently. It's a testament to Sharetribe's commitment to democratizing marketplace creation, making it an inclusive platform for all entrepreneurial aspirations. As a no-code marketplace builder, it emphasizes accessibility and user-friendliness.
Stunning new design
The visual appeal of a marketplace can be the difference between a fleeting visit and a lasting engagement. Recognizing this, Sharetribe introduces a stunning design overhaul. This improvement goes beyond purely visual appeal - it's about crafting all-encompassing user experiences that seize and maintain visitors' attention.
Customizable data schema and flexible transaction engine
The uniqueness of a marketplace lies in its journey and transaction flows. The recently developed Sharetribe offers unparalleled customization in this realm. With its flexible transaction engine and customizable data schema, entrepreneurs can craft unique user pathways, ensuring each marketplace stands out in its functionality and user experience.
Integration API and events
This feature empowers developers to construct complex integrations with ease. From adding social logins to syncing with third-party services, the possibilities are boundless. Using Sharetribe API paves the way for automated workflows and enriched functionalities, enhancing the overall user experience and making your marketplace more competitive in the online marketplace landscape.
Headless marketplace solution
This component allows seamless integration with any third-party service or custom backend. It ensures that your marketplace is not just about what users see but also about robust, scalable, and versatile operations beneath the surface. This feature is particularly beneficial for those who want to maintain a unique brand identity and user experience while leveraging the power of Sharetribe's marketplace solutions.
Smooth navigation
The platform introduces smooth, intuitive navigation, enhancing the overall user experience. This feature ensures that users find what they're looking for effortlessly, making their journey through the marketplace pleasant and memorable. It also helps in reducing bounce rates and increasing user engagement, which are crucial for the success of any online marketplace.
Preview changes before publishing
With the ability to preview changes before going live, The current Sharetribe offers greater control over marketplace content and design. This feature allows for meticulous adjustments, ensuring that every element aligns perfectly with your vision before it reaches your audience.
Mastering the migration to the new Sharetribe
The transition is seamless for customers with existing Sharetribe Flex projects, as Sharetribe Flex has simply evolved into the new Sharetribe. No backend migration is required, ensuring that your project continues without interruption. When it comes to custom frontends, the path diverges based on the initial setup. Marketplaces built on the Flex Template for the Web Daily/Hourly version have the flexibility of a partial upgrade. This option allows you to adopt new features and enhancements without losing the essence of your customized user experience. On the other hand, those who utilized the Sharetribe Web Template for their custom frontends can embrace a complete upgrade. This path is not just about transitioning; it's about transforming your marketplace to harness the full potential of the new platform, offering an enriched user interface and advanced capabilities.
Transitioning from Sharetribe Go to the new Sharetribe also involves a collaborative and carefully orchestrated process. It starts with a detailed consultation with the Sharetribe team, where expectations are set, and the migration plan is discussed in detail. Before taking the plunge, you'll have the opportunity to test the migration, a critical step that ensures every aspect of your marketplace, from user data to functional integrity, aligns with your expectations and standards. This support and guidance from the Sharetribe team will give you the confidence that your marketplace is in safe hands. Once the testing phase confirms everything is in order, the Sharetribe team will perform a live migration.
Sustaining evolution: securing long-term marketplace success
The brand-new Sharetribe marketplace builder is designed with the future in mind. It's not just about meeting the needs of marketplace creators but about anticipating and facilitating their growth journey.
Robust infrastructure and maintenance
Complementing its array of features, The New Sharetribe offers a robust web template for building websites or mobile apps. Its hosted cloud infrastructure encompasses software maintenance, server monitoring, backend software updates, and data backups, ensuring a seamless, secure, and efficient marketplace operation.
Continuous updates and innovations
Sharetribe is committed to continuous improvement and innovation. Users can expect regular updates, releases of new features and enhancements, ensuring their marketplace remains at the cutting edge. Sharetribe's dedication to excellence is evident in its achievements. The platform was ranked daily #2 for January 30th, 2024, a testament to its impact and reputation within the tech community.
Robust support and resources
With resources for learning and a supportive community, users are never left to figure things out independently. Through documentation, special Slack channels, or direct support, Sharetribe ensures that marketplace creators have the knowledge and tools to succeed.
The new Sharetribe features: diving deeper
User types and custom onboarding
The updates of Sharetribe are packed with a set of valuable tools that are intended to make the work of both the providers and customers more effective. Among these, the most revolutionary is the “User Types,” especially for marketplaces operating in B2C and B2B settings. This feature and other features like custom display names and improved phone number collection allow marketplace operators to design more personalized and effective onboarding.
Tailored onboarding with user types
In any successful marketplace, it is always important to have an easy onboarding process. The new “User Types” option in Sharetribe allows marketplace owners to have different signup forms for different user types, whether they are providers, customers, or any other type. This is especially useful in B2C or B2B environments where different types of users may have different needs and expectations.
For instance, a marketplace might require businesses to provide detailed information, such as their business name, address, and VAT number. At the same time, individual customers only need to enter basic contact details. With User Types, you can create custom onboarding flows that cater to these different needs without coding. By linking directly to specific user-type signup pages, you can guide your users to the most appropriate form, minimizing confusion and enhancing the overall user experience.
Customizable display names for enhanced user identity
Another significant update is the introduction of customizable display names. This feature is particularly beneficial for marketplaces that cater to businesses or require a certain level of anonymity. With the new display name field, businesses can now be represented by their business name rather than a personal name, enhancing their presence on the platform. Alternatively, users can be identified by a nickname for marketplaces that prioritize privacy.
The flexibility of this feature extends to the platform's text editor, where you can customize the label of the display name to suit your marketplace's needs. For example, in a B2C marketplace, you might prefer to use "business name" instead of "display name," aligning the platform's terminology with your users' expectations.
Enhanced phone number collection options
Finally, Sharetribe has revamped its approach to phone number collection, offering operators more control and flexibility. Previously, phone numbers could only be collected as part of a user's contact details after signup. Now, operators can make phone number collection a mandatory part of the signup process or disable the field entirely if it's irrelevant to the marketplace.
This update also includes enhanced privacy controls. By default, phone numbers remain protected data, visible only to the marketplace operator and the user. However, if your marketplace requires users to share their phone numbers publicly, you can turn off the default protected phone number field and create a custom user field instead. This allows you to manage phone number visibility in a way that best suits your marketplace's needs, whether for customer support, security, or user verification purposes.
Manually grant posting rights
In one of the latest Sharetribe releases, the spotlight shines on a powerful new feature to enhance the quality and control of your marketplace listings: Manually Grant Posting Rights. This feature is tailored for marketplaces seeking to elevate their listing quality and maintain stringent control over who can publish content.
High-quality listings are crucial for attracting and retaining users in any marketplace. The new "Manually Grant Posting Rights" feature gives you unprecedented control over who can publish listings, ensuring that only vetted and verified providers can contribute. This level of control helps maintain the integrity of your marketplace and enhances user trust.
Key benefits of manually granting posting rights
- Provider review and approval: This means you can ensure that only providers who meet your standards and criteria get the opportunity to post content.
- Subscription-based posting rights: You can restrict posting rights to providers who have paid a subscription fee.
- ID verification requirement: The feature also supports ID verification, adding a layer of security and trust. Providers must undergo a verification process before posting listings, which helps build a trustworthy and credible marketplace environment. This step reduces the risk of fraudulent or low-quality listings and ensures that all contributors are legitimate.
How it works
When you activate the "Manually Grant Permission to Publish Listings" setting in the access control panel within the Sharetribe Console, new users on your marketplace will no longer automatically have posting rights. Instead, you can review each provider's application and grant posting rights based on your criteria. This process allows you to curate a high-quality pool of providers, guaranteeing that only those who meet your standards can contribute listings.
Custom user fields and interface texts
Sharetribe has added powerful features in its spring 2024 release to help your marketplace better understand and interact with the users. Perhaps the most helpful change is the option to gather information about your users pertinent to your product during the sign-up process. This new feature allows the operators of marketplaces to add new fields to the signup form and collect specific information crucial for segmentation, personalization, and the creation of detailed user profiles.
Customized user fields
Knowing your users is vital for running a successful marketplace. The Sharetribe update empowers marketplace operators to gather tailored information immediately by incorporating custom user fields into the signup form. This feature offers three types of user fields:
- Free text: Allows users to enter any text response.
- Select one: Users choose a single option from a predefined list.
- Select multiple: Users can select multiple options from a predefined list.
These user fields are mandatory during signup, ensuring all users provide the most relevant information to your marketplace. For instance, a surfboard marketplace might include a dropdown for users to select their surfing skill level, ranging from beginner to expert. Similarly, a marketplace for home-cooked meals could ask users to specify their favorite cuisine, while a B2B marketplace might gather business details like the company name and industry.
Displaying and editing custom field content
The information collected through these custom fields doesn’t just vanish after signup. Instead, it becomes part of the user’s public profile, enriching their presence on the platform and allowing for a more tailored experience. Users can easily edit the content of these custom fields in their profile settings, ensuring that their information remains current and relevant. For example, a user initially identified as a novice surfer could later update their profile to reflect their progress to an intermediate level.
User interface texts
Sharetribe also introduces new user interface texts. If your marketplace operates in a language other than English or you wish to customize the default English texts, you'll need to manually update these through your marketplace text editor.
Restricted transactions
One of the most powerful new features in the new Sharetribe is the ability to restrict transaction rights on your marketplace. It provides marketplace owners with unprecedented control over who can initiate transactions and conversations, significantly enhancing trust and safety for all users.
How it helps
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Decide who can initiate transactions: This allows you to maintain quality control over the sellers or service providers on your platform.
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Control who can start conversations: By restricting communication, you can prevent spam and ensure that only serious, vetted users are engaging with others.
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Set specific criteria for transaction privileges: You can restrict transactions to:
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Users you've personally reviewed
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Users with verified IDs
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Users who have paid a subscription
This level of control is particularly valuable for marketplaces that prioritize trust and quality, such as high-end goods marketplaces, professional services platforms, or any marketplace where user verification is crucial.
Sharetribe pricing plans
Sharetribe has recently unveiled a revamped pricing structure that is as versatile as the platform. From testing the waters to managing a fully established platform that needs advanced customizations, Sharetribe's flexible plans offer everything you need to achieve success.
Key differences and customization options
Important note on customization
The major differentiator lies in customization capabilities - only the Extend Plan provides complete control over the live marketplace’s code. This makes it essential for businesses requiring specific modifications to suit their operations, while earlier plans serve customers looking for simpler, no-code, or low-code solutions.
Conclusion
The introduction of the latest Sharetribe marketplace solution marks a revolutionary change in the world of marketplace building. This innovative platform symbolizes Sharetribe’s unswerving dedication to addressing the changing needs of modern entrepreneurs and developers and enabling them to move forward bravely to the future. Launching revolutionary features, such as improved customization, smooth integrations, and a headless marketplace solution, is a milestone, allowing users to make their marketplaces the way they could not imagine.
At the dawn of this new age of marketplace creation, the new Sharetribe calls on entrepreneurs, developers, and dreamers to come forward and leverage its full possibilities. The future of digital commerce is being accelerated through Sharetribe’s user-centric design, all-encompassing support structure, and visionary approach. The road to building a powerful and lasting marketplace has become more accessible and empowering than ever, signaling the start of a thrilling journey of growth, novelty, and prosperity.
