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Initial salesThese initiatives are updated frequently to showcase the best new templates based on more subjective criteria.Goals: Increase the early visibility of high-quality templates regardless of the creator's publish rate. Reward templates for dev quality, visual quality, uniqueness, etc.Continued salesThese initiatives are mostly data-driven, with tough criteria based on the buyer’s actions. Goals: Increase the value of high-quality templates over time. Reward templates that find “market fit” based on the buyer's actions.
CriteriaScoring high on the rubric: Templates scoring high on dev quality, visual quality, or uniqueness.Highlight new creators: Templates from new creatorsCreators with consistently high quality: Templates from creators who have a transaction volume per template in the 90th percentile.WhenSelected on publish if criteria are met
CriteriaNote: All criteria can be adjusted based on a CategoryFactor added to the formula.High Transaction Volume: Templates with consistently high transaction numbers over a specific period. Conversion Rate: Listings that convert a high percentage of views into sales.Low Refund Rates: Listings with a low percentage of refunds –– signaling buyer satisfaction.Longevity: Listings that have sustained success over time.WhenDynamicly selected when criteria are met anytime in the lifetime of the template –– regardless of publish date.Weighted formula – inputsSales: Total number of transactions for the listing during the evaluation period.SalesBenchmark: Average or target transaction volume for high-performing listings in the category.ConversionRate: Percentage of views that converted into sales for the template during the recent timeframeConversionBenchmark: Good conversion rate for templates in the marketplaceRefunds: Total number of refunds issued.CategoryFactor: A value representing the relative difficulty or competitiveness of the listing’s category.Might be good to create a single formula that can output a CategoryFactor for each category, so we can maintain a fair metric across all categories.w1, w2, w3, w4: Our applied weights.
Quality Control and IncentivesIncentivize consistent publishing, range & selection, and higher standards by rewarding high-quality templates and creators with badges.Sellers are motivated to improve and maintain template qualityImprove the lifetime sales of templates so sales don’t drop off quickly after the launch window for high-quality templatesImproved VisibilityHelp buyers discover hidden gems in the marketplace and high-quality templates regardless of publish date, and sort through templates easier when there's an influx in new supply.Help creators get more attention to their high-quality templates in competitive categories.Badges like "Trending" / “New & Noteworthy” highlight fresh, high-potential templates and help valued solo creators with average publish rates compete with high publish rates.Improved LiquidityHighlighting high-quality creators and templates improves buyer trust and can reduce the time to match –– leading to higher conversion rates and faster sales for high-quality templates.Making templates visible based on other buyers' actions increases the likelihood that new buyers can find suitable products –– again reducing the time to match.Gamification Badges like "Rising Star" or "New Creator" gamify the creators' experience, encouraging creators to continue publishing high-quality templates consistently.Recognition through badges lets creators know that their effort is recognized –– this can help improve the current sentiment among creators.Stronger ReputationShowing the marketplace recognizes and promotes quality templates can help attract more talented creators.
CriteriaRecent Sales Growth: A spike (compared to marketplace benchmark) in transaction volume within a short timeframe.Conversion Rate: A spike (compared to marketplace benchmark) in views converting into purchases within a short period.Outperforming Category benchmarks: Spikes relative to templates in the same category.Weighted formula –– InputsSales: Total number of transactions for the listing during the evaluation period.SalesBenchmark: Average or target transaction volume for high-performing listings in the category.ConversionRate: Percentage of views that converted into sales for the template during the recent timeframeConversionBenchmark: Good conversion rate for templates in the marketplaceRefunds: Total number of refunds issued.CategoryFactor: A value representing the relative difficulty or competitiveness of the listing’s category.Might be good to create a single formula that can output a CategoryFactor for each category, so we can maintain a fair metric across all categories.w1, w2, w3, w4: Our applied weights.
CriteriaNote: All criteria can be adjusted based on a CategoryFactor added to the formula.High Transaction Volume: Templates with consistently high transaction numbers over a specific period. Conversion Rate: Listings that convert a high percentage of views into sales.Low Refund Rates: Listings with a low percentage of refunds –– signaling buyer satisfaction.Longevity: Listings that have sustained success over time.Weighted formula – inputsSales: Total number of transactions for the listing during the evaluation period.SalesBenchmark: Average or target transaction volume for high-performing listings in the category.ConversionRate: Percentage of views that converted into sales for the template during the recent timeframeConversionBenchmark: Good conversion rate for templates in the marketplaceRefunds: Total number of refunds issued.CategoryFactor: A value representing the relative difficulty or competitiveness of the listing’s category.Might be good to create a single formula that can output a CategoryFactor for each category, so we can maintain a fair metric across all categories.w1, w2, w3, w4: Our applied weights.
Overview: Adjusted discovery controls for buyers - mentioned in the videoFiltering for pre-built features / “deal breakers” a buyer may have - mentioned in the videoTrack the amount each filter item is used to give creators an idea of what features are in demand or where there could be an imbalance in supply vs demand.Eliminating misleading filtersShown in the videoOrganizing category + subcategory navigation to be more familiar - shown in the videoYou can see how all these marketplaces organize their Main Categories & Sub Categories in one sidebar.Breadcrumbs + visual details: Simplify navigating between subcategories and main categories
Team & Solo: These aren’t meant to be public. Having the ability to track how the two types of accounts are performing can give webflow insight into:How both account types are performing. Both account types can create high-quality templates. Dividing data between account types can help us understand how hard it is for solo creators to find success without a large catalog or high publish rates.This is very important for attracting + retaining new talent and high-quality supply. Solo webflow power-users that come to mind are Joeseph Berry, Ilja Van Eck, Jo Mor, Dennis Sneillberg, JP, Niccolò Miranda, etc. These kinds of creators would be great for the marketplace ecosystem, but if teams with high publish rates take most of the visibility purely based on “newness,” these talented creators will continue to leave or never join.Talented solo creators like those mentioned can help incentivize quality templates among competing creators, improve the current sentiment around the marketplace “being filled with mediocre work,” and help attract other talented creators.
Why is Template Activation Rate an inaccurate metric for measuring the health of the marketplace? Some of the core measures of a healthy marketplace are how well buyers are matched with creators i.e. Time to Match, Time to x Sales, Transactions per Template, Fragmentation, etc.None of those core metrics for a marketplace involve how the product is used after it’s purchased. It would be like Envato measuring how many Adobe Premier Pro templates sold get used in exported videos.Template Activation Rate also doesn’t imply the level of quality in the marketplace or buyer satisfaction since whether a buyer activates a site plan or not has many outside factors.A better metric might be to measure how the marketplace is impacting webflow –– How much “lock-in” is the marketplace creating for webflow users? Lock-in of users who purchase templates can be measured by:How much time is spent on webflow?How many workspace accounts are purchased?How long is a user subscribed to a workspace plan?Personal experience: back in 2018, I used 6 templates but only ever activated one for a site plan. I used webflow almost daily for the next 7 years – working with brands like PepsiCo, comic-con, and many smaller companies on webflow, plus maintaining a workspace plan the entire time. The marketplace was what led to “lock-in” for me when I started using webflow, even though I only activated one site plan out of 6 templates –– I’d expect the marketplace has done the same for others.
Identifying common actions of past buyers to identify future buyers with intent can help make sure your data isn’t lying. Otherwise, your data will be mixed with buyers who have intent with designers just looking for inspo – no intent.
This can influence creators to follow the guidelines strictly –– licensing, rubric suggestions & requirements, visual design & development fundamentals, etc. Templates with fundamental problems are slipping through –– horizontal scroll issues, interaction issues, image formatting issues, problems on multiple browsers...the list can go on and on.
Sidebar top three linksSearch results pageTemplate details pageTemplate reviewsAdding ratings to badging & spotlight formulasTemplate comments for public Q&A / supportCreator page itemsInclude social links?Include a contact or hire button?Let creators organize their catalog
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Webflow Marketplace Slides
Two buckets – Initial sales & Continued Sales
Intro to the two buckets
Both initiatives combine to create a flywheel to benefit creators & buyers. The first bucket helps high-quality templates gain visibility within a launch window. Then, the second bucket increases visibility based on buyer's actions –– increasing the value of a template over an extended timeframe, rewarding/incentivizing high-quality supply, and helping buyers discover the right or best template instead of just a new one.
Spotlight sections
Organizing real estate and sizing based on importance
All spotlight sections have no minimum or maximum number of templates that can be added. When they meet the criteria, they are added.
New & Noteworthy Initial sales Spotlight section
Overview: Balance showcasing new templates and new creators while meeting the criteria for high-quality templates. Selected on template publish to help templates get visibility within a given launch window.
Best Sellers Continued sales Spotlight section
Note: Might be good to factor in how long the template has sustained success –– reward templates for attracting consistent sales even if the volume is average.
Note: Create a single formula that can output a CategoryFactor for each category to offset marketwide benchmarks.
Important Note: Using a CategoryFactor with marketwide benchmarks instead of only category benchmarks makes it harder for creators to game the system.
If you use category benchmarks instead of a CategoryFactor with marketwide benchmarks, creators can game the system by publishing mediocre templates in low-volume categories and using high publish rates to gain more visibility, thus increasing conversions and pushing a mediocre template into a best seller or trending badge that otherwise wouldn’t have. The CategoryFactor makes it a little easier to become a best-seller based on category but not easy enough for anyone to game the system. If you want to incentivize supply in low-volume categories, DO NOT do it with best-seller or trending badges.
BestSeller = (w1 * (Sales / SalesBenchmark))
+ (w2 * (ConversionRate / ConversionBenchmark))
- (w3 * (Refunds / Sales))
+ (w4 * CategoryFactor)
Sales
000
SalesBenchmark
000
ConversionRate
000
ConversionBenchmark
000
Refunds
000
CategoryFactor
0
There are no rows in this table
w1
0
w2
0
w3
0
w4
0
Result
[ ]
There are no rows in this table
Sorting & Badging
Both sorting and badging require pulling transaction data and analytics to run functions that output a decimal –– using similar formulas to the examples below. Then, send the decimal to the associated cms items in webflow. The frequency of these requests/updates will likely be determined based on rate limits and other development factors. The decimal would be stored in a cms field so you can set up “if greater than” logic for displaying badges and add the ability to sort results by “Best Seller” or “Trending” –– displaying templates with the highest decimal first in the sorted field.
Badging
The goal of badging is to reward and promote quality templates through badges on template cards and creator profiles. Rewarding templates based on subjective and data-driven criteria, we can help buyers find the right templates (not just new templates) faster and incentivize high-quality templates from creators.
Trending Continued sales Template Badging
Trending: Indicates templates with a surge in transaction volume within a short timeframe.
When: Dynamicly selected when criteria are met in a given timeframe –– regardless of publish date.
Note: The big difference between “Trending” & “Best Seller” is the timeframe with adjusted benchmark values for the duration.
Note: Create a single formula that can output a CategoryFactor for each category to offset marketwide benchmarks.
Important Note: Using a CategoryFactor with marketwide benchmarks instead of only category benchmarks makes it harder for creators to game the system.
If you use category benchmarks instead of a CategoryFactor with marketwide benchmarks, creators can game the system by publishing mediocre templates in low-volume categories and using high publish rates to gain more visibility, thus increasing conversions and pushing a mediocre template into a best seller or trending badge that otherwise wouldn’t have. The CategoryFactor makes it a little easier to become a best-seller based on category but not easy enough for anyone to game the system. If you want to incentivize supply in low-volume categories, DO NOT do it with best-seller or trending badges.
Trending = (w1 * (Sales / SalesBenchmark))
+ (w2 * (ConversionRate / ConversionBenchmark))
- (w3 * (Refunds / Sales))
+ (w4 * CategoryFactor)
Sales
000
SalesBenchmark
000
ConversionRate
000
ConversionBenchmark
000
Refunds
00
CategoryFactor
0
There are no rows in this table
w1
0
w2
0
w3
0
w4
0
Result
[ ]
There are no rows in this table
Best Seller Continued sales Template Badging
Best Seller: Indicates templates with a transaction volume in the 90th percentile –– with a slight adjustment based on category.
When: Dynamicly selected when criteria are met anytime in the lifetime of the template –– regardless of publish date.
Note: The big difference between “Best Seller” & “Trending” is the timeframe with adjusted benchmark values for the duration.
Note: Might be good to factor in how long the template has sustained success –– reward templates for attracting consistent sales even if the volume is average.
Note: Create a single formula that can output a CategoryFactor for each category to offset marketwide benchmarks.
Important Note: Using a CategoryFactor with marketwide benchmarks instead of only category benchmarks makes it harder for creators to game the system.
If you use category benchmarks instead of a CategoryFactor with marketwide benchmarks, creators can game the system by publishing mediocre templates in low-volume categories and using high publish rates to gain more visibility, thus increasing conversions and pushing a mediocre template into a best seller or trending badge that otherwise wouldn’t have. The CategoryFactor makes it a little easier to become a best-seller based on category but not easy enough for anyone to game the system. If you want to incentivize supply in low-volume categories, DO NOT do it with best-seller or trending badges.
BestSeller = (w1 * (Sales / SalesBenchmark))
+ (w2 * (ConversionRate / ConversionBenchmark))
- (w3 * (Refunds / Sales))
+ (w4 * CategoryFactor)
Sales
000
SalesBenchmark
000
ConversionRate
000
ConversionBenchmark
000
Refunds
00
CategoryFactor
000
There are no rows in this table
w1
0
w2
0
w3
0
w4
0
Result
[ ]
There are no rows in this table
More badges
Like the badges and sorting explained above, most of these require pulling transaction data and analytics to run functions that output a decimal –– using similar formulas mentioned. Then, send the decimal to the associated cms items in webflow. The decimal would be stored in a cms field so you can set up “if greater than” logic to display badges.
Categories & Filters
Creator Account Types - no visual
Template Activation rate
Question: Is the Template Activation rate a metric that the team uses to measure the health of the marketplace, or is it primarily used to show leadership how the marketplace impacts webflow? The latter seems more likely since it has nothing to do with the health of the marketplace. Am I wrong?
🚨 Transaction Velocity
Question: Are you measuring transaction velocity per template – averages or based on creators that fall in a specific percentile? How fast template transaction volume is increasing or decreasing throughout different timeframes.
Question: What metrics are you using to qualify a buyer with intent vs someone looking at the marketplace for inspiration?
Suggestion: Auditing templates from creators who fall below a certain benchmark or randomly.
Areas not mentioned
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