Specifically designed for independent booksellers, IndieCommerce (IC) is a full featured e-commerce solution with powerful online marketing tools.
- Tier 1 offers the e-commerce essentials for a low-cost web presence that is simple to maintain.
- Tier 2 supports advanced features like Store Merchandise, In-Store Stock, Integration With POS, Multiple Store Locations and more.
(The comparison chart is a work in progress, please check again for updates)
Site Domain, SSL etc.
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Site Domain
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Use own domain for the website
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SSL Certificate
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Free SSL certificate for secure transactions
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Theme & Design
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Responsive & Mobile Friendly
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Custom theme designed and developed for a bookstore website, optimized for mobile and tested on various devices
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Multiple Designs
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Can have multiple user friendly designs, with one being active
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ADA Compliance
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Built into the platform : Color picker with contrast checker, fonts, required alt text field for all images, slideshow with transition control, navigate using keyboard, ARIA labels, ADA compliance seal and more.
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Multiple Design Elements
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Can choose from 3 Headers options, multiple Call To Action blocks, Slideshow, Banner, upto 7 navigation icons, grid with 1 - 9 images and much more
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Clean Admin Theme
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Clean, powerful and accessible administration theme
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Admin Dashboard
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Clean and accessible front page of the admin UI, providing convenient and quick access for daily and common admin tasks
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Search & Browse
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Book Search
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Search the entire ABA's Book Database System by ISBN, Title, Author or Keyword
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Audio Book Search
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Include Libro.fm audio books in book search
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Store Merchandise Search
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Search for store merchandise by Title or SKU
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Basic Browse
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Browse by Category / BISAC Code, with filter and sort options
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Customized Browse
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Create new categories, edit or delete basic browse categories, promote specific categories
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Predictive Search
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Coming Soon...
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Content Types
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Homepage
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Customizable Homepage using the easy-to-use design elements like Header, Slideshow, CTAs, Image Row, Navigation Icons and more
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Basic Page
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Simple content type with a WYSIWYG editor for basic information
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Landing Page
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Customizable page created for particular campaigns, promotions etc. with Product Lists and CTA blocks
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Product Lists
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A collection of books and store merchandise making it easy for customers to make a purchase. Can be a stand alone content and /or included on the Homepage and Landing Pages as carousels
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Blogs
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Maintain store blogs with options for multiple tags
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Events & Events Calendar
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Single day and recurring events (weekly and monthly), feeding into a calendar with list view. Supports in-store, off-site and online events and links to third party services. Possible to promote books and store merchandise with events
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Staff Reviews
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Provide staff reviews per ISBN or for all formats of a title, displayed on the product page
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Bulk Upload Of Staff Reviews
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Upload multiple staff reviews in one .csv file
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Catalog
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Online version of a store catalog with a catalog cover, multiple pages with books and store merchandise listed, banner images on catalog page etc.
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Site Alerts
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Display critical, time sensitive message across the homepage
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Webforms
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Powerful and customizable for creating online forms and managing submissions
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ABA Curated Lists
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Includes Indie Next List, Indie Kids Next List, Reading Group Indie Next List and Indie Bestsellers
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Curated Catalogs
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Readily available to promote - ABC Group Best Books For Young Readers and Regional Holiday Catalogs
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Independent Bookstore Day
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Available to all participating stores - Marketing assets and Landing Page with the IBD products, ready to promote and sell online
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Policy Pages
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Privacy Policy, Return Policy, Shipping Policy, Terms & Conditions, ADA Compliance - Default copy provided for stores to customize
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Books & Inventory
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Inventory of 12 - 13 million titles
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Titles with metadata available on all sites, at the time of launch
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All Formats & Editions
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All available formats (Paperback, Hardcover, Audio Books etc.) and editions listed on the product page
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Detailed Product Pages
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Detailed description, cover image, reviews, annotations etc.
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Books In Series
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When viewing one book, other books in the series included in a carousel on the book product page
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Preorder Titles
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Promote and offer pre-order titles for purchase on the site
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Not For Sale
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Option to suppress and block the purchase of specific titles of choice. Upload of 'Not For Sale' titles in bulk is possible for Tier 2 sites
|
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Sync Store Inventory
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Automated syncing of store inventory from the POS system, several times a day. Manually adjusting the stock per product is also possible, if needed
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Signed Copies - Simpler Solution
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Let customers know that signed copies of a book are available by simply enabling the 'Signed Copy' flag on the book. Customers can place orders for the signed copy or the regular book.
|
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Signed Copies - Advanced Feature
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An advanced feature to create Signed Copies as variations for the 'parent' book, with a unique SKU. Options available for price, stock, custom description, inscription and a separate format listing. Search and Browse pages will have reference to the signed copy.
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Merchandise & Inventory
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Store Merchandise
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Offer unlimited number of merchandise (grouped by category) unique to the store
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Bulk Upload of Store Merchandise
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(Coming soon) Create several store merchandise from one .csv file
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Sync Store Inventory
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Automated syncing of store inventory from the POS system, several times a day. Manually adjusting the stock per product is also possible, if needed
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Sidelines From Wholesaler
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Calendars, maps, book-like sidelines, board games, puzzles etc. available on all sites at the time of launch
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Non-Shippable Store Merchandise
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'Store merchandise' that are not shippable products like event tickets and services like memberships
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Subscription
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Option to sell Subscription Boxes or services. Comes with various options for data.
|
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Social Media, GA & Email Marketing
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Social Media
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Built in icons to support Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, Vimeo, YouTube
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Email Marketing
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Integrated with Mail Chimp, Constant Contact and MyEmma (could expand to other services in the future). Supports Newsletter signup forms on a page or modal
|
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Google Analytics
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Support for Universal and GA4
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SEO
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Meta tags, Schema, Site Verification
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eCommerce - General
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Guest Checkout
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No account necessary to place an online order. Only information required are name, email and phone number
|
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Flatrate Shipping Methods
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Multiple custom rates - Flat rate, Flat rate + per item, Flat rate per item
|
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Pickup Options
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In-Store Pickup, Curbside Pickup, Off-site Pickup
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Payment Options
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Pay At Store, Credit Card and Paypal are currently supported. Few more options to be added in the future
|
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Sales Tax Options
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Source Based and Destination Based sales tax, tax for shipping
|
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Tax Exemption
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Organizations and customers exempt from sales tax can make tax free online purchases
|
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Sales Tax Holiday
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Offer tax free sales during Sales Tax Holiday for all online purchases
|
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Fraud Alert
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Point based logic to alert store staff of possible fraudulent orders
|
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Promotions & Coupons
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Coupons and Promotions (with or without coupons) with various options
|
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IC E-Gift Cards
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Built-in IndieCommerce E-Gift Card available to all stores at no cost. Customers can purchase these E-Gift Cards, have them emailed to a recipient, who in turn can redeem it online towards a purchase
|
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Gift Receipt
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Customers can request and receive gift receipts for orders
|
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eCommerce - Order Processing
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Manage Orders
|
Edit and process customer orders, create new orders on behalf of customers
|
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Order Tagging
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Multiple, custom, color coded tags to tag orders. Each order can have multiple tags
|
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Manage Payments
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Multiple payments per order, with options to capture, void, refund or cancel payments
|
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Manage Shipments
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Multiple shipments per order, each with its own tracking information updated on the order and shared with the customer
|
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Pick Lists
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Downloadable list of ordered items with availability information to streamline order processing and packaging of orders
|
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Store Fulfillment
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Process and ship orders from the store
|
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Wholesaler Fulfillment
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(Work in progress) Have the order shipped from a wholesaler (Ingram) directly to the customer, with a single click.
|
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Bulk Operations
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Process in bulk - Orders, Order by SKU, Payments and Printing Invoices
|
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Order Reports
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Sales Report, Sales Report by SKU, Customer Report, Sales Tax Report, Tax Exempt Report
|
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Financial Reports
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Credit Card Charge Report, Paypal Charge Report, Gift Card Report, Commission Report, Reconciliation Report for wholesaler fulfilled orders
|
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Integration With POS Systems
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Manage Inventory
|
An automated upload of stock inventory from the POS to the website, multiple times a day, for books and store merchandise. Available for Anthology, Booklog, Basil, IBIDie, WordStock and iMRCHNT
|
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Sync Online Orders To The POS
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Automated, at regular intervals, making it easier for stores to process online orders on the POS.
Available for Anthology and Basil POS, working on the other POS systems, one at a time. |
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Gift cards
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(Coming Soon)
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Integration With Third Party Services
| Feature Name | Feature Description | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Libro.fm
|
Audio Books - Search option for audio books and 'Digital-Audio' format included on the book product page
|
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PirateShip
|
Basic integration with PirateShip to export order shipping information to print shipping labels and import tracking information
|
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Givex
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(Coming Soon) Offer physical and e-gift cards, with option to redeem the gift cards towards an online purchase
|
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Constant Contact
|
Email Marketing, Newsletter Signup - standard form or modal
|
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MailChimp
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Email Marketing, Newsletter Signup - standard form or modal
|
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MyEmma
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Email Marketing, Newsletter Signup - standard form or modal
|
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