I admit I have neglected my websites look recently and decided it was time for a spring clean. A fresh new look and some SEO love.
There are thousands of web pages dedicated to web design and SEO, here are some worth looking at:
For choosing colour palates I use this scheme chooser and colour scheme generator. They make it easy to select complementing colours.
You can also check your colour scheme used in CSS with this free and easy to use colour contrast tool.
iWebtool have a page dedicated to free on-line tools to analyse your website.
CopyBlogger offer some useful tips on copy writing for SEO success.
If you are unfamiliar with the jargon of web page components there is a a good basic guide to SEO web essentials at webconfs.com
My favourite page is Web Pages That Suck. It’s a humorous and attention grabbing title yet packed with loads of information. By showing you how NOT to design a website you can learn how to do things the right way. It was this site that provoked me to get rid of my red and green theme. They offer a detailed check list to apply to your own web-site design and then suggestions for further action.
And finally if you need some new buttons for your Zen or OS Commerce cart then Advance Software have a free on-line tool where you can create and download an entire button set with correct labels for simple uploading to your site.
Tags: graphics, seo, template, web design, web page, website, Zen Cart
I wanted to adjust the Zen Cart customer sign up to make it more straightforward and not to collect information that would not be used. After all, potential customers can be wary of giving out personal information are are suspicious when fields are asked for that are not strictly required for an on-line transaction for example, you don’t need someone’s date of birth and so it is pointless to ask for it.
To turn these off use a blank, not zero, value in admin, configuration, minimum value. Just use the backspace key to delete whatever value is present. Don’t use zero as an error will come up and require a customer entry. I have DOB, telephone and company as blank entries. You can also turn off the DOB and fax fields in admin, configuration, customer details.
If you wish to get rid of the * required text on the customer sign in form then you will need to edit includes/languages/english/.php around line 240 ENTRY_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_TEXT just delete the * and it will no longer appear on the customer sign up form. Please save the english.php file in the appropriate includes/languages/your_template_name folder/english.php rather than overwriting the original file.
Tags: customer fields, customer sign up form, optional telephone, telephone required, Zen Cart
Well just as I start thinking about what to stock for when the weather improves and have listed some kites we get storm force winds! A bit too strong for kite flying I think.
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Falcon Sports Kite. The Falcon kite is another great value kite with carbon fibre frame which gives great lift. This is a fast kite. Part of our Sport kite flying range.
Titan Sports Stunt Kite. Top of the range, a hi-tech performer with a massive 2.2 metre wingspan, the Titan will give a magnificent performance of precision flying with power and speed at hand.
Air Bear Kite - Kite With Parachuting Teddy. Not just a kite but a whole new game! Fly Air Bear as a kite for as long as you want - then slacken the line and he will release and come down like a parachute. Who can catch him first!
Skyray Fish Style Spinnaker Nylon Kite Age 6+. The Skyray kite is like a fish on a line and is easy to fly.
Still, I’m sure the weather will improve soon - spring is just around the corner. Here’s hoping for a hot summer. You can view the range of kites here if you wish.
Tags: brookite, kite flying, kites, outdoor, parafoil., sports kite, stunt kite
PayPal express was still not showing shipping or billing addresses - a known bug in ZenCart when using Payflow Pro UK - see previous post.
After altering line 1825 in paypalwpp.php file as well as the previous fix it works fine. Credit cards processing and PayPal express back to normal.
There are currently many changes affecting sellers on eBay. This includes:
- Fee structure. There is a reduction in insertion fees and a hefty increase in final value fee. Some volume sellers will get discounts off the final value fee but only very large business will receive significant reductions in their fees. This fee structure is in place, discounts will appear on Aprils invoice for March listings.
- Sellers can no longer leave negative feedback for buyers. This is to stop retaliatory feedback and, eBay hope, will give buyers the opportunity to leave honest feedback for a transaction without fear. Due to begin in May. I think this fear is over emphasised, do people really worry about a red dot on a computer screen? Negative feedback may affect sellers (is the jury not still out on this one?) but how many sellers read buyers feedback? There are many voicing concern over this change but as I do not think feedback is important to buyers I don’t consider the change to be radical or much cause for concern.
- Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR) will determine if you receive a discount on your eBay fees and how high you are placed in their listing visibility. Under 4.5 in any category and you will not receive a discount and under 4.3 you will be placed at the bottom of listing visibility. These numbers could change at any time.
I have already changed to auto feedback when people pay. Thinking about it I should have done it ages ago, after all, a little trust can go a long way. After reading Seth Godin’s article on the honour system I am convinced it is the right decision.
Feedback, fees and others small things are always liable to change. Rising costs are, unfortunately, nothing new. The most important change is those little DSR stars. I have began to implement Channel Advisor’s advice on how to improve DSR rating that can be found summarised on Tamebay.
I don’t pretend to have any easy answers but, after I was feeling somewhat demotivated since the Christmas break, I find the changes on eBay has rekindled my interest in selling there . I’ll let you know how I get on.
Tags: , DSR, ebay, ebay.co.uk, fee increases, feedback, fvf, selling, seth godin, tamebay
I found another couple of things to do with Zen Cart today – one minor and one major:
First the minor – X Sell module.
I like this module. It allows upselling and should display other products people may like to buy with the text ‘We also recommend’ but instead displayed ‘TEXT_XSELL_PRODUCTS’.
Of course, I had not defined what the text should be. This is defined in
includes/languages/english/product_info.php
define(’TEXT_XSELL_PRODUCTS’, ‘We Also Recommend :’);
which was overwritten when I upgraded to 1.38a. Admittedly, I probably defined this before but altered the default file rather than create my own version in my template directory. I have now corrected this and it works fine.
Thanks to TTLNTL for posting the solution and saving me trawling through lots of cross sell threads.
Solution here: http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62821
One major and BIG problem is PayPal Express not functioning correctly.
Since installing Payflow Pro UK and getting rid of IPN I noticed that customers shipping addresses were not always appearing in my admin. Checked everything but couldn’t find out a problem. The details were definitely there as they displayed correctly in confirmation emails but did not appear in the admin section that meant I am unable to print packing slips or address labels.
Back to pen and paper!
I then noticed PayPal Express payments failing because the county address was not being passed and assumed the two problems were corrected. Fortunately, I was able to search the zen cart forums using the error code (10731) and found a solution. Looks like lots of people were having the same problem.
Thanks to Dr Byte for quickly finding and solving it!
Solution here:http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83968&page=5
I think there is definite wisdom in upgrading a short time after new releases rather than straight away. It gives others time to identity and solve a problem so the answer is already there when you need it.
Thanks to the Zen Cart team for their great support again.
Tags: 1.38a upgrade, cross sell module, payflow pro uk, paypal, x-sell, Zen Cart
I considered for some time reasons for starting this, mainly focusing on time, commitment and content and have finally been motivated to get on and do it by reading the posts on the UK Business Forums so thanks to all the contributors there.
My blog will cover three main areas:
AllGiftsDirect news, products launches, promotions, discounts and other information.
Zen Cart Software – I have quite a bit of experience in running Zen Cart and find I can set up a site and be online with listed stock quite quickly. While not an expert I began with no knowledge of PHP or CSS and others starting out from a similar situation may be interested to pick up tips and shortcuts. I keep my own websites updated to the latest version and will post here what needs changing and how to do it.
E-commerce. Having spent years in the retail industry working in both small and large shops from independents to international chains, I have plenty of customer service experience. Although not strictly customer facing, customer service is still paramount to any business, on-line or not. Here I wish to reflect on e-commerce, eBay, Amazon and business in general.
Tags: AllGiftsDirect, amazon, blog, E-commerce, ebay, new blog, welcome, Zen Cart
